by Brenda Huber
Xander met her question with stony silence. Not if he had anything to say about it.
“Exactly,” she nodded, even though he hadn’t agreed with her. “And how long before he finds one of the Halflings? I can’t hide here forever with my head buried in the sand. I have to help those Halflings, especially the newest one, in whatever way that I can.”
“You are the Guardian of the Arc Stone, not some damned Halfling protector.”
“Yes, Xander, that’s exactly what I am. It is my job, just as much as it is yours, to protect those that cannot protect themselves.”
“And what if we draw more than Gabriel here? What if he brings an army with him? What if those demons that were after you—Agares and the others—manage to track you here too?” He braced his knuckles on the tabletop and loomed over her. “You could spark another battle between angels and demons, this one right here on Earth.”
Alarm flared in her voice. “Are you talking about the Apocalypse?”
“No.” Frowning, he drew back. “Not that. Not with Lucifer still trapped in Hell. But it’d be damned messy.”
“Then we have to risk it.” She glanced to Sebastian and Mikhail, obviously seeking their support. But they continued to stare at him, waiting for his decree. She turned to the Demon of Temptation, clearly desperate. He could all but see the cogs turning in her head. Gideon was the one who’d come up with this plan, the least he could do was back her up here. Sure enough, she pressed, “Gideon? Help me out here.”
He, too, stared at Xander. But his gaze was far less passive.
“It’s worth the risk, Slayer.”
“The hell it is. This is my woman you’re willing to sacrifice,” Xander roared.
Kyanna leaned back in her chair. Color flooded her cheeks. But she didn’t deny him which was a very good thing. He didn’t know what he would have done if she had. “Xander.” Quietly, calmly, she informed him, “I’m going to do this.”
And the look on her face was the final straw. She’d made up her mind.
“Oh, no, you’re not.” His hand clamped around her wrist. He stared at her for one long, hard moment, and then he swore aloud. Her enchantments were preventing him from shimmering. He wasn’t going to stand here and argue with her like this in front of the others. Instead, he dragged her from her chair and towed her behind him to the bathroom.
“What are you doing?” Kyanna gasped, jerking at her arm, digging her heels in. It was no use. He was an unstoppable force, dragging her along in his wake.
He tugged her inside the bathroom, their momentum hurtling her to the far wall as he turned and slammed the door. The moment he released her, she spun around and backed away, glaring her displeasure at him. “What was that about?”
“I can’t shimmer with the enchantments in place,” he reminded her.
“So you drag me around like a caveman?” She rubbed at her forearm, and his expression was immediately contrite. Wait. She blinked, probing her arm now, examining it closely. It was the same arm that the angel had cut with his wing. But it was completely healed. How had he managed that? When? She hadn’t felt a thing.
“What did you do to my arm?”
He reached out to take her wrist, but she batted his hand away. He shouldn’t have dragged her behind him like some recalcitrant child—she didn’t care if he’d been too pissed off to think straight or not. How dare he, for one moment, imagine she would tolerate that sort of behavior?
“Did I hurt you?” Again, he reached for her. Again, she batted his hand aside. He scowled and tried once more. Grasping her hand before she could elude him, he gently but firmly tugged her arm forward for his inspection.
“No, it’s not hurt, not at all in fact. Not even where the angel cut me. What did you do?”
“I had Mikhail heal you while you slept.”
That brought her up short. The same Mikhail that had freaked out when she’d pricked her finger and dripped a tiny bit of blood? And what, exactly did he mean, heal her while she slept? How?
“I’m trying to talk some sense into you,” he interrupted her thoughts.
“In the bathroom?” She glared up at him, finally managing to tug her arm free.
“It’s the only place inside the cabin with any privacy. And I can’t exactly shimmer you outside, or anywhere else right now for that matter.”
“I’ve made up my mind, Xander.” She waved his explanation away. “Now step aside and let me go.”
He shook his head, continuing to block the doorway. “Do you have any idea the kind of monsters that are out there, just waiting for you to do something stupid like this? Do you realize what they would do to you? They may be angels, but they are far from harmless.”
“I didn’t exactly expect them to invite me to afternoon tea.”
He blinked at her. His face slowly turning red as the muscles in his jaw bunched. He popped his jaw. “I’m not joking, Kyanna. They’ll—”
“I know what they’ll do. Or, at least I have some idea. But I have no choice, Xander. I’m a Guardian. This is what I was born to do. I have to protect others of my kind from—
She stopped abruptly, caught her breath. She hadn’t meant to draw comparisons, but it was too late.
“From others of my kind,” he finished for her.
“No,” she corrected, suddenly filled with hope, despite the grim set of his face. They were so very different, the demons that hunted her and the ones that protected her. They might share some of the same physical traits, the same abilities, but they weren’t at all alike, not in the ways that truly mattered. “No, those demons like Agares are not your kind. You’re nothing like the demons I’ve been raised to hate. Nor are they anything like the angels I was trained to revere. I don’t think those beings even exist outside the pages of that book.” She took a step closer, daring to try one last time to make him see reason. “I have to do this for me, Xander. I need to do something that matter too.”
He stared at her for a long time, his gaze bleak. But then, just as she’d begun to think she’d convinced him, he shook his head and adamantly informed her, “I’m not going to allow you to do this.”
Frowning, she didn’t immediately comprehend. And then she did. She tipped her head down and glared up at him.
“You’re not going to allow me?” She drew in one impossibly deep breath through flared nostrils. And then another. “You’re not going to allow me—”
“I won’t let you be hurt.”
Without warning, he jerked her into his arms and ravished her mouth, stealing her breath, shocking her into momentary compliance. But then she realized what was happening. He was trying to get around her. Shoving at his shoulders, she attempted to twist her head to the side, attempted to break his hold on her. He clamped both his large hands on either side of her head, trapping her, holding her immobile as he ravished her mouth and overwhelmed her senses.
His tongue thrust into her mouth as his lower body came up against hers, pushing her back, maneuvering her until he pinned her against the cabinets. The hard ridge of his erection rode her hip. And still he held her head in a painless vise, plying her mouth with sensual heat, melting her resistance by slow degrees. And soon her body followed. No longer did her hands push at his chest, or wedge between them to feebly pry for some safe distance. Instead, they gripped his hips, fingertips digging in, pulling him in tighter. No longer did she try to twist her head away. Instead, her lips sought his, clung. Her tongue mated with his, urging him on.
Chest heaving, he finally released her head, his hands falling to her shoulders, sweeping down to her waist as his mouth continued to master hers. His fingers slipped up beneath the hem of her T-Shirt, seeking flesh. With a muffled oath, he leaned back long enough to wrench the cotton up her body and over her head before tossing it on the floor. His shirt and her bra met the same fate.
“I’ll die before I see
you hurt again.” She’d never seen him so determined. “You are my treasure. Wherever you are, you carry my heart with you.”
His lips seized hers once more, and soon he filled his hands with her breasts. Cupping them, molding them. Teasing her aching nipples, pressing them against his own chest.
She struggled to think beyond the sensations. His treasure? And suddenly everything clicked into place. He wasn’t trying to get around her. He was afraid for her. He was afraid of losing her, and was doing everything in his power to see that that didn’t happen. Even if it meant fighting dirty.
But the one realization that rocked her to the depths of her soul? He had feelings for her. Deep feelings.
The last shreds of her resistance fell away, and she gave herself up to him. She still had every intention of playing an integral role in capturing that angel. But this, what was happening between them, was driven by far more than motives and deceptions. This was pure emotion. A connection that would not be denied. Everything else outside of this room and what was happening between them fell away into nothing.
His lips slid across her cheek and down the side of her neck, leaving a trail of fire in their wake. He nipped at her collarbone as his nimble fingers worked the button on her jeans free. Desperate hands tugged at her zipper, dragged her jeans and panties over her hips and down her legs. She moaned low in her throat as his hot, hungry mouth found a taut nipple. Kyanna’s head fell back as she sank her fingers in his hair and her mouth fell open on a gasp. Hot spears of pleasure pierced her body. The feel of his hands on her was exquisite. And the sensation of his lips and tongue and teeth teasing her breasts was driving her crazy.
“Oh God, Xander,” she begged. His name was a ragged plea upon her lips. Her body was on fire.
He rose, shucking his own jeans on the way. In one smooth move, he wrapped her leg around his hip and thrust deep inside her. He captured her startled cry in his mouth as she shattered in his arms.
But it wasn’t enough. Not for either of them. Capturing her by the hips, he lifted her until she wrapped both legs around his waist and lock her ankles over the tight muscles of his butt. Cupping her bottom, Xander carried her a few short steps and then pressed her up against the door. He pinned her between the unforgiving wood and his hard, hot body. One large, strong hand fisted in her hair, dragging her head back. He fastened his mouth over hers and Kyanna moaned aloud as he began thrusting himself inside her. Deep. Hard. Over and over. Filling her to the depths of her soul. Shockwaves of delight rocketed through her. Already the coil of another climax began tightening deep in her core.
Kyanna wrapped her arms around his neck and accepted him. Took every violent thrust and demanded more. Trapped as she was between the door and Xander, she couldn’t move much, and so she used what little movement that was afforded her to her advantage. Her legs clamped tight. Her arms held him close. Her tongue dueled with his. And her inner muscles clenched and unclenched, squeezed and released.
“Kyanna.” He groaned into her ear. “Baby, don’t do that. I can’t,” he panted, then sucked in a sharp breath as she bore down, clenching her inner muscles tighter than before. He gasped aloud. “I’m not going to be able to hold back much longer if you do th—”
Smiling with sheer rapture, she did it again.
“Kyanna!” He slammed himself into her and exploded, igniting her own stunning orgasm. And it went on and on as he continued to thrust inside her. Slower now, languidly prolonging the friction.
Drawing a shuddering breath, Kyanna pressed a gentle kiss to his lips as he leaned into her. His legs were trembling. His whole body was trembling, but she didn’t fear he would drop her. And he didn’t.
Xander gently untangled his fingers from her hair and slid his arm around her back. Taking an unsteady step back, careful to keep himself firmly embedded inside her, he turned. With his shoulders against the door, he slowly slid to the floor. Kyanna straddled his lap now.
Xander kissed her, unhurried now. The sense of urgency tempered now by the connection they’d forged. His hand cupped her jaw. And, with measured ease, he rocked his hips, guiding her smoothly, tenderly up and down his still hard shaft.
Surprised, she drew her head back and peered at him in surprise.
“You’re so beautiful,” he whispered. “So pure. I won’t lose you. I’ll never let you go.”
Somehow she knew he was talking about more than the color of her eyes, or the luster of her hair and the curve of her breasts. When he looked at her like he was now, she felt beautiful.
Xander was the embodiment of sheer, raw power. The strength of him—wrapped around her, moving inside her—amazed her. And yet, at that moment, he held a vulnerability she’d never seen before.
Cupping his face, she leaned in and brushed butterfly kisses across his lips. Without breaking the rhythm their bodies craved, she whispered, “I’m still going to help capture that angel, Xander. But,” she hurried to add when it became obvious he was becoming tense and upset all over again, “I promise I won’t take any unnecessary risks.” She pressed a gentle kiss to his mouth and then smiled at him. “I trust you not to let anything happen to me.”
“I’m not going to change your mind about this, am I?” He continued the steady, smooth thrusts, even though a frown had formed between his brows.
She shook her head no, softening the denial with a sad smile.
He let out a deep, resigned breath. “And I can’t keep you locked away forever, can I?”
Again she shook her head.
“I don’t like this,” he grumbled, though he never stopped rolling his hips beneath her. His hands smoothed up and down her back.
“I know.”
“You’ll do exactly as I say, the moment I say it?”
Her lips twitched. “Within reason.”
His arms tightened warningly around her.
“Within reason,” she reiterated.
His put-upon sigh would have knocked her over had he not been holding her so tightly. Like that treasure he kept mentioning.
“I won’t let anything happen to you,” he vowed, moving his hips with renewed purpose.
She wrapped her arms around his neck, tipped her forehead to his, and whispered, “I know.”
A short while later, as the last shudders of her orgasm left her weak and trembling, Xander clasped her to his heaving chest. The door behind him suddenly rattled beneath the weight of a fist.
“Hey, you two might want to finish up in there,” Sebastian called. “Gideon found something in Kyanna’s book.”
“What’d he find?” Xander asked, his hold tightening on Kyanna when she made to move.
“A key.”
Chapter Twenty-One
“You’re sure this will work?” Xander watched Kyanna set the last stone in place, forming a perfect circle around Sebastian, Gideon, Mikhail, and himself. “We’ll be able to break free of the stones when the enchantment is lowered?”
Glancing up, she nodded, offering him a reassuring smile. “The stones are the same as those guarding your cabin. They won’t hinder you, but combined with the enchantments, they should effectively shield you from the others. Both sides.”
“I don’t like this,” he repeated for what had to be the hundredth time. No one seemed to be listening. Ever since they’d found a tiny key they’d speculated belonged to some kind of a strong box, Kyanna, Gideon, and the rest of them had begun making their precious plans. The key had been replaced in the spine of the book for safe keeping until they could follow up on it later. And now here they were, ready to throw Kyanna to the wolves.
Maybe he’d feel better about this if Niklas was here too. Having an extra set of hands on their side would have improved the odds. Maybe if he’d had the chance to talk to Kyanna, to tell her about taking part of her soul…
And even if the creepy-crawlies hadn’t swarmed over his neck, he’d
still have known that last to be a lie. Hell, who was he trying to fool? Absolutely nothing about this situation was going to make him feel good.
Besides, he’d had the chance to tell her the truth, many of them in fact. He’d just been too much of a coward. He drew a deep breath and resolved that as soon as this was over, the very moment he got her alone again, he’d tell her the truth. All of it. No more excuses. No more delays.
Niklas had reported in just a few hours ago that he’d tracked down a solid lead on the summoning in Iowa. It appeared it was a summoning of some magnitude, and it was happening very soon. Niklas was closing in and believed he had discovered the location. For that reason alone, he wasn’t here. Thwarting the summoning would put a serious crimp in the rebellious mastermind’s plans. Things were finally starting to turn around for them. In addition, a reliable source, namely Asher, had found evidence of a descendent of the slain Guardian who’d been charged with protecting The Sword of Kathnesh. A lead Sebastian would soon follow.
Xander had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t believe he’d let Kyanna talk him into this. Gideon and the others had decided the best place for this confrontation would be the meadow, away from the cabin. Away from civilization. But still a home field advantage, so to speak. The woods were silent around them, almost as if it somehow sensed an impending battle. Gideon, ever the strategist, had insisted that the best course of action would be an ambush. Sebastian and Mikhail had latched on to the idea like terriers with a juicy bone.
And so Kyanna, in her misguided eagerness to help, had somehow convinced him to allow her to be the bait. She’d formed a circle with her stones and would, in a few short moments, recite the enchantments. He’d been having second and third thoughts—hell, fourth and fifth thoughts, for that matter—about this whole disaster in the making.
As she straightened, he grabbed her wrist and tugged her into the circle of stones. Right in to the circle of his arms. “You don’t have to do this. We’ll find another way.”