by J. S. Scott
“I have all my powers. Actually, I feel stronger than I was before. But I don’t think I can transport us out of here,” Hunter grumbled.
“I can do it,” she answered softly, slipping her hand into Hunter’s and visualizing his home from his memories. “Are you ready?” Athena knew she sounded breathless, excited about leaving her prison after so many thousands of years.
He nodded and the two of them disappeared.
Neither one of them saw the mansion crumble to ashes the moment after they left, the realm that Athena had spent thousands of years as a prisoner disappearing forever.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
If Hunter had expected his mating instincts to disappear after the information Athena had given him, he’d been mistaken. They were just as strong—maybe even more urgent—than they’d been before.
Dammit! Shouldn’t those feelings be gone? We’re officially mated.
He materialized nude in his own bed, watching Athena become a solid form right next to him. Sweet Jesus…the woman needed to put on some clothing. The emerald green nightgown she was wearing didn’t hide a single one of her assets. It just hugged the beautiful naked body that was beneath the thin material, tempting him to rip it from her curvy form. He’d give his right nut for just one night with her. Hell, maybe he’d give both of them. Once Athena was gone, he wouldn’t have much use for them anyway. He hadn’t even been tempted to screw a woman since he’d become a Sentinel. Now he was fucking obsessed with taking Athena. He wanted to bury his cock so deeply inside her that nobody could ever pull them apart. His dick had ached and throbbed from the moment he’d woken up beside her after his painful journey to her home. And it hadn’t stopped yet. Walking away from her after watching her come in the kitchen had taken every ounce of strength that he had. His only motivation not to nail her against the kitchen wall was the fact that she was way too good for him, too damn pure for a messed-up individual like him. He almost felt like he was committing a crime by touching her.
She was pure light; he was darkness. The two should never mix.
Mine.
Hunter shifted uncomfortably and pulled his black sheet over his rampant erection. He wished somebody would inform his cock that a goddess like Athena would never belong to him.
“This entire room is black.” Athena’s voice echoed in the silent room. “And there’s nothing except a bed in here.”
He was a Winston, a billionaire. He’d bought a large home, but he’d done very little with it. He spent almost no time here. He was usually either killing Evils, or undergoing punishment for doing it without provocation. “It was black when I bought the place.” Honestly, it suited his mood most of the time, and he’d gotten a black bed and bedding to match.
“I could decorate a little for you while I’m here,” Athena said enthusiastically.
He opened his mouth to argue, but she’d sounded so happy that Hunter didn’t have the heart to tease her about her colorful decorating. Visualizing purple walls and ornate furniture, he simply shrugged. What did it matter? It was just a place to sleep for him.
Shooting a glance at the blinds, he noted it was dark outside. “It’s hard to believe only one day has passed in the human realm.”
“It’s midnight, the next night after you left,” Athena confirmed.
Shit! Hunter felt like he’d been gone forever. The struggle through Athena’s guardian forest had seemed like an eternity, but she’d told him that time virtually stood still during his ordeal. The wards were no more than illusions with teeth and claws, but it had felt pretty damn real to him and he’d have the scars to prove it.
“Should we pay a visit to Zachary and Andrew?” Athena asked curiously, as though she wasn’t sure what they should do now that she was here.
“In the morning. I doubt they’d be happy to see us right now. They’ll be asleep with their radiants,” Hunter grunted. “And you better get used to calling them Zach and Drew. They don’t use their full names.”
Athena nodded. “That’s how Kristoff referred to them. But I wasn’t sure if it was appropriate for me to call them by their shortened names. I was afraid it might be disrespectful.”
“You’re their creator,” Hunter reminded her. “A goddess. You can call them dickhead number one and dickhead number two if you want to.”
“Being a goddess is no excuse for being rude,” she retorted, frowning at him. “I respect all of my Sentinels.”
Even the ones who want to tear your clothes off and fuck you until you beg for mercy?
The thought flew through Hunter’s mind unconsciously. Jesus…he needed to get his dick under control.
“Yes. I respect you more than any of them,” Athena replied softly.
Hunter scowled, knowing she had picked up on his rampant, horny thoughts. Maybe it had been too loud for her to ignore. Those urges were certainly screaming at him.
I trust you.
He could still hear the echoes of her statement in the kitchen in his mind. “Why? Why do you respect me? Why do you trust me?” Hunter demanded an answer with his insistent tone. “I’m unstable and unreliable. Ask Zach and Drew—”
Athena covered his lips with her finger. “They don’t understand why you’re driven to slaughter the Evils. The balance was slowly tipping even when you were human. It’s gotten worse over time. Now that we’re in a crisis, you’ve been the only thing between the Evils and total destruction of the Earth.” She paused for a moment, tracing a finger over his lips. “Do you really still want me, or do you think it’s just leftover mating instinct?” she asked hesitantly.
Her gentle touch and uncertain tone made Hunter snap. Dammit! He could still feel her longing, her profound loneliness. Most of all, he could feel her need and it was driving him crazy.
So much for the temporary mating! The damn thing didn’t work. I want her now more than ever.
“Yes,” he told her angrily, annoyed because his urge to bond and mate with her had just gotten stronger. “I don’t think the temporary mating helped.”
He flipped her onto her back and pinned her hands over her head, covering her body with his own.
Mine. Mine. Mine. I need to claim her.
Hunter imprisoned her greedily, wanting to breathe the same air that she was inhaling, wanting to absorb her innocent essence into his soul. God help him, but he wasn’t certain that he could contain the raging obsession he had to pleasure her.
“Then don’t,” Athena whispered as she looked up at him desperately. “Please don’t try to walk away this time.”
“I need to,” Hunter growled, still able to feel her desire pounding at him.
His?
Hers?
Both of them?
He didn’t know where the crazed compulsions were originating and he frankly didn’t give a damn. Their desires were entwined, spiraling quickly out of control.
“No, you don’t.” Athena removed her nightgown with her magic.
Hunter groaned as he felt the ecstasy of their fiery skin meeting without barriers, and dropped his head on her shoulder in agony. “You’re a virgin.” Visions of his dreams were still haunting him, visions of him hurting her.
“You won’t hurt me, Hunter. The pain of not being with you is worse than anything I’ll experience if you take my virginity. I know you don’t want a permanent radiant, but I don’t want to go to the Elysian Fields never knowing what real pleasure is like. Show me just once what it would feel like,” she said urgently.
Her words were like a siren’s call to Hunter, and he couldn’t leave the beckoning unanswered. “You’ll hate me,” he warned her, knowing that there was going to be some pain.
To his surprise, she broke his hold on her wrists easily and speared her hands through his hair. Twining her fingers in the strands, her eyes turning stormy with unspent passion, she tugged his head down. “I could never hate y
ou.” Her statement was as strong as a vow.
Hunter wanted to question her certainty, but he never had a chance. Once she tugged his mouth down to hers, he knew he was completely and utterly lost.
Athena recognized the exact instant that Hunter lost all mastery of his mind. Thoughts he’d been successfully guarding suddenly flooded her brain and her soul.
I’m a drunk, a no-good asshole. I can’t take any woman as my radiant—ever. Athena’s light and I’m profound darkness. I won’t taint her with my ugliness. I’d destroy her. She’d hate me forever.
Hunter’s negative thoughts rushed into her brain one after the other, seemingly never-ending. Did he really think he’d hurt her?
When he finally lifted his ravaging mouth from hers, his chest was heaving, his eyes glowing deep amber, a golden light that illuminated the room. The symbol of his desire for her was so beautiful that it bedazzled her, almost making her close her eyes to keep from being overwhelmed.
“You really do want me,” Hunter rasped, his mesmerizing eyes boring into her as she lay beneath him, stunned.
“Yes,” she breathed huskily, knowing her thoughts were now as open to him as his mind was to her. “Your eyes are glowing. I think we’re experiencing the real Sentinel mating experience now.”
Her realm was magical, imaginary to most creatures. Obviously, it changed the radiant experience. If she thought Hunter had understood her thoughts…she’d been wrong. They’d shared minds, but they had both had a part of their brain that was guarded while they were at her home most of the time. Not now. Not in the human realm. She could hide nothing; he could guard nothing. The desire she’d had for Hunter before had been multiplied times a thousand, and her entire being craved his possession.
“It was already really fucking bad,” Hunter rumbled, his voice raw and deep with sensual hunger. “Now I can’t control anything. I feel your need, and it’s killing me.”
“You sensed it before,” she reminded him breathlessly, mesmerized by the molten brightness of his golden eyes.
“Not. Like. This,” he snarled in a feral tone. “I can hear your every thought, experience your emotions, even if I try not to do it. I’m no damn good for you, Princess.”
Athena realized that just as his every thought was open to her, he could now understand exactly how she saw him. She wrapped her arms more tightly around his neck, determined not to let him get away. “Then I guess I’ll have to be bad,” she told him stubbornly. “I’m not a virgin goddess on a pedestal anymore, Hunter. Here on Earth, I’m just a female with powers. The days of the gods are gone. And your woman wants you just like you want me. You’re the only man who can take away the pain. Stay with me. Teach me passion.”
A covetous look swept over Hunter’s face. “You’re mine to pleasure. No other man will ever show you anything,” he demanded angrily, possessively.
She nodded agreeably. Like she’d want another male? She’d gone thousands of years without knowing desire, and some of the gods had been pretty hot. The carnal desire had just never been there. “Never,” she declared huskily to soothe him. “Now, show me.” Her nude body squirmed beneath him, desperate for him to claim her.
Athena could see the sweat beginning to bead on his face as he leaned down and kissed the mating mark on her shoulder gently. “Mine.”
She didn’t remind him that the mark was only temporary. Right now, the only thing that mattered was Hunter. They were connected by that faint mark, and that had to be enough. “Then claim me,” she begged.
Hunter’s mouth suckled at her shoulder and then moved to her neck. “When you’re ready,” he grumbled against her skin.
Ready? She was ready. She’d been ready. “Now,” she insisted, desperate.
She felt him shake his head, the coarse strands of his hair rubbing against her nipples as he licked his way to the valley between her breasts.
Patience, Princess. Hunter started talking to her telepathically, his mouth busy driving her insane.
Her back arched and she moaned as Hunter’s mouth clamped onto a diamond-hard nipple, not sure whether she was expressing pleasure or pain. The sensation of his teeth and tongue teasing the sensitive peak was exquisite, even if it was making her core clench with need and her body tremble from her head to her toes. “Yes,” she hissed, moving her hands into his hair and gripping the strands tightly.
His scorching mouth went back and forth, as though he worshipped her breasts. Athena’s body hummed, letting her entire being slide down a slippery slope that ended in pulsating erotic sensation. “More. I need more,” she whimpered, tightening her grip on Hunter’s hair.
Her thighs were open, cradling Hunter’s enormous body between them. She wrapped her legs around his back, her hips coming up instinctively. Her hot, wet core rubbed against the tip of his cock, and she desperately tried to seek the entire shaft as he moved slowly down her body.
Wait, Athena. Wait. This will make taking me a lot easier.
She heard his command in her mind, but she didn’t want to heed him. She needed. She wanted. And she didn’t want or need to be any more ready than she already was.
Trust me.
The low, plaintive command in her head jolted her into compliance. She stopped fighting him and allowed him to untangle her legs from around his back and push them apart.
His head was level with her pussy now, his hands holding her thighs to the bed. She might be a virgin, but she hadn’t lived thousands of years without knowledge. Athena knew exactly what he was going to do, and just the thought of his fiery mouth between her legs was…
“Oh, God,” she moaned as he lowered his head and ran his tongue along the entire length of the moist, quivering flesh between her thighs, hesitating before finally flicking it over her clit.
“Again,” she pleaded, nearly in tears from the brief, intimate touch. It wasn’t enough. It wasn’t anywhere near what her body was demanding.
You taste like nectar from the gods, Athena. So sweet, so hot. Do you know what it does to me to see you needy like this for me? Hunter stretched out as though he were making himself comfortable for a long meal.
Athena sincerely hoped it made him want to satisfy her because she couldn’t take much more. “Hunter,” she entreated. “I need you so much.”
She hadn’t even finished her sentence before Hunter’s scorching tongue gave her the pressure she needed, running the flexible organ over and over the throbbing nub between her folds. He teased and devoured, satisfied and frustrated, his scorching lips devouring her pussy and savoring it at the same time.
Athena’s head fell back against the pillow, her hands falling to her side and clenching the silky material of the bedspread. She could feel Hunter’s sole focus right now: to make her come hard. He was driven and tenacious, tasting and consuming her flesh like it was the only thing he wanted, the only thing he needed to survive.
“Yes. Make me come, Hunter. Please.” Her body writhed as Hunter ran his fingers along her slick folds, seeking and finding her sheath. He let one finger enter, pushing it in shallowly, testing her before he added another finger.
So fucking tight. So damn hot. Christ! I want to bury my cock inside you and never come out.
She shuddered as the heated words sounded in her mind. Hearing his sexy, low voice in her head while his tongue and fingers tormented her was beyond sensual. Athena panted heavily as he persistently flicked his tongue hard over her clit, her body quaking with every firm stroke.
Over and over.
Again and again.
Through a sensual haze, she recognized her need to have Hunter’s cock inside her, too. The need to be carnally claimed by Hunter made her ache in ways she couldn’t explain and had certainly never experienced before. She wanted him to thrust his fingers deeper, harder. “I need you to fuck me,” she gasped, her knuckles white from her death grip on the coverlet.
&nbs
p; Keep talking dirty to me like that, baby, and you’ll get more than you bargained for.
His deep voice in her head was a warning, and Athena knew he was on a very thin wire. Hunter didn’t want to hurt her. He wanted to initiate her to the world of sensual pleasure carefully. But hearing her ask for what she wanted in such a salacious way made his balance on the narrow wire of control extremely precarious.
“Bring it on,” she challenged aloud, welcoming the coil in her belly starting to unfurl. Perspiration was soaking her skin as she thrashed her head on the pillow, muttering incoherently as her orgasm began to swell.
Come for me, Athena. Let me hear your cries of pleasure, feel your body at the height of passion just for me. Only for me.
His voice in her head was a demand and not a request. He was obsessed with making her come. His fingers pumped into her faster and faster, his tongue moving rapidly over her clit, consuming her pussy with his entire mouth—teeth, lips, and tongue.
“Hunter!” She screamed his name as heavy waves of bliss crashed over her body, her channel clenching his fingers tightly as she found release.
Athena could feel Hunter’s triumph as her muscles gripped his fingers, and he licked sensually at the juices of her orgasm like he never wanted to stop.
She panted as the surge subsided into small ripples of pleasure she was still experiencing long after her orgasm had crested. Hunter licked his way slowly back up her body, taking his time to explore her damp skin with his tongue.
“I’m sweaty,” she protested weakly.
“I know,” he answered roughly against her belly. “I love it.”
Athena sighed as the knowledge that it made him burn red hot because he’d made her overheat drifted through her mind.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
Her body coiled tightly again as his possessive declaration pounded at her brain. The fact that Hunter in his mating phase was virtually a caveman throwback didn’t bother her in the least. A raw, answering greediness for him seized her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck as he finally made his way to her lips, his body above hers as he swooped down and covered her mouth forcefully with his.