Mated in Treason

by Christa Paige

  “Oh, God. Nadia!” His fingers curved around her hips, guiding her, helping her to take him inside.

  For a second, she paused, spine flexed and thighs shaking with the exertion. He watched her face, needing to see the moment he speared through the tight muscle and tore the thin barrier there. He didn’t think he could stand seeing the pain of his breeching. And when the first tear beaded on her eyelashes, an intense urge overwhelmed him to soothe the sting.

  Sliding one hand down to her core, he fingered the straining pearl there, rolling it between thumb and forefinger. “Kjaere, the pain is for only a moment. Then, I promise, it’s heaven.”

  Shaking her head, she squeezed her eyes and pressed her knees into his sides halting her progression. “I can’t make myself do it. Help me, Gunnar. Take me.”

  “Then kiss me, sweet Nadia.”

  The shift in her position was to his advantage. As she leaned close, pressing her mouth to his, he latched onto her hips and tugged her down, spearing through her innocence and barreling straight through to her core. She cried out, but he caught it with his mouth, taking it deep inside his lungs. Then, he froze, forced himself to remain utterly still.

  Her ragged breathing pressed furled nipples against the cotton of his shirt. He wanted to feel her against his chest not his damned button-up. With preternatural speed, he ripped the thing off and tossed it to the side.

  Lashing an arm around the small of her back, he arched her forward, back, lifting his pelvis to stroke and tease. The more he rocked her, the deeper he went, moving into the very heart of her body.

  She undulated, taking over the cadence, scooting in little thrusts. “Does that feel good, mi kjaere?”

  The tip of her tongue was poised between her teeth and she simply nodded.

  “Do you want more?” He growled the question, eager to take things further, faster…harder.

  She tilted her head, and her face lit with a gorgeous smile. “Yes, give me more.”

  That’s when he let his base animal take over. He thrust and withdrew, spearing into her repeatedly while holding her down on his steely length. Then, he lifted forward, capturing her nipple in his mouth, rasping, sucking and biting.

  Her head fell back, long hair draping his thighs and her hands balanced on his shoulders. Those sharp nails scored the skin there.

  Little moans turned into frantic cries. He picked up the pace, moving faster, shuttling into her with more force while dragging her engorged center across the base of his length.

  With her lips parted, she sucked in a breath and held it, eyelids drooping and she swayed in the opposite rhythm.

  A shimmer of white hot lightening scorched its way from the spheres at the apex of his body and detonated within his erection. He surged up, bent his knees and caged her in place. “Now!” he commanded, holding back with only a single thread of control.

  “Gunnar!” Her inner walls convulsed and the whimper tangling in her throat turned to a vibrant cry of profound ecstasy.

  Blackness rimmed his vision, the tension in his length ripped apart as shimmers of sensation detonated there and exploded in his veins. His lungs seized and with a shout, he followed her straight into paradise.

  It was all he could manage to do to slip them to the ground where he curled his body around hers in a protective, possessive hold.

  Before he closed his eyes, he had a faint thought that maybe he hadn’t been careful enough.

  Because, he’d taken her…without protection.

  The beast within him purred with glee. He’d managed to share his unique DNA with her after all.

  And he wasn’t sorry. Not even one bit.

  When he woke up, he’d probably feel different…scared shitless. Right now, damn it, he’d enjoy having her in his arms.

  She was his. It was only a matter of time before he completed the bonding and made it binding.

  Made it permanent.

  “You’re mine now,” she whispered, and he heard the joy in her words, felt it echoing in his heart.

  “Yes, yours, kjaere. Always.” He kissed her shoulder and pulled her even closer.

  “Good, because I don’t want to be anyone else’s. Ever.” She felt around until her hand hit his lower arm and tugged it even higher, right across her breasts.

  He couldn’t stop the snarl that rumbled in his chest. It was possessive and territorial. “I promise that will never, ever happen.”

  Her body went lax, the tension ebbed away. Slow even breaths followed. She’d slipped into an exhausted sleep.

  Gunnar watched her for a few minutes but his eyelids grew heavy and he could no longer fight his need to rest. As he slipped into a sated haze, he held her close and vowed he’d make her his no matter the consequences.

  He was falling head over heels for her. And, he wanted it that way more than anything else in the world.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Nadia’s lovely dreams shimmered into the gray nothingness, signaling she’d awoken. Lethargic and a bit sore, she shivered with the chill in the room. A metallic taste in her mouth had her swallowing though an intense dryness impeded the action. Perhaps, she’d slip out of the bed and get some water. Not wanting to wake Gunnar, she pushed the sheets aside and lifted on her elbow. Her momentum stopped there as a wave of dizziness crashed into her and careened straight into her belly. Nausea stampeded through her stomach and she drew her legs up into the fetal position attempting to stave off the yucky sensation.

  At that moment, it dawned on her where she currently lay—in Gunnar’s bed. She didn’t recall moving to his bedroom or even falling asleep on his soft downy pillow. One of his shirts clung loosely to her body and the sheets bunched at her waist. A shiver danced across her bare skin and she pulled the covers over herself.

  Except, when she lifted her arm, a shock of white linen caught her eye. It wrapped around her wrist several times held closed by a little silver fastener. Yup, it was definitely a bandage, which meant…

  “You were bleeding.”

  Apprehension chilled her bones and she inspected the bed looking for Gunnar. The wrist he’d wrapped was not the one he’d bitten. Which meant….oh God. Oh, no!

  “When I tasted your skin, I’d been too far gone to really think about the herbal flavor there. I just wanted to sip from you.”

  Ignoring the wooziness, she sat and scooted backward to brace herself against the headboard. Thankfully a glass of water waited on the nightstand. She took a sip. Another. “Gunnar, I—”

  “Don’t have to explain anything.” He cut her off with a near growl. “You’ve been bled for the Goblet Ceremony.”

  She couldn’t stand the anguish in his voice. Hated that she’d put him in a position of stress. Gathering her courage, she glanced across the room at the corner where he stood. The moment her eyes met his, the breath in her lungs seized.

  A deadly, vicious beast stared back at her. He wore nothing but low-slung work out shorts. The muscles in his chest twitched and expanded. The eerie glow from his eyes seemed feral. And, in his hand, he twirled a dagger.

  Distraught, she bent her legs and curled her arm around them, leaning her cheek on her knees. She didn’t have the courage to face him. “I’m sorry. I couldn’t do anything to make them stop.”

  “Did that quack Davit hurt you?” The question rumbled out of his throat on a snarl. The underlying threat of murder hung in the air.

  She held up her arm. “Only that part.”

  “God damned leeches.” He scrubbed a hand through his hair. “Has Ivan matched you?” Now the emotion turned to something else. Something vulnerable and filled with despair.

  With a shrug, she closed her eyes hoping to shutter the image of Gunnar’s torment from her sight. It didn’t work; even in her mind’s eye she could see his pain. “I’m praying he’ll take a long, long time to get around to my samples.”

  A pained moan echoed through the room. Her eyelids popped open and she looked at Gunnar again. He staggered to the side, his hand opening
and closing reflexively. His head dropped back on his shoulders and his nostrils flared with each shaky indrawn breath. “Motherfucker!” He stalked to a dresser and tugged off the top of a crystal decanter. The glass rattled as he fisted it in a trembling grasp. Not bothering to pour some into a snifter, he tipped it to his lips and sucked down a long gulp of the amber fluid.

  “There’s this rage inside me. I can’t stop it. It wants to kill. It wants to tear something apart.” Dragging his knuckles across his forehead, he paced the length of the room. That wicked blade flashed in the candlelight.

  Dread slithered down her spine. If he tried to do something to avenge her, he could end up dead. After they’d been so intimate, so utterly close, she didn’t think she could go on without him. She longed to be mated to him. To be his, forever.

  “Please, Gunnar. You’re scaring me.” She brushed a tear from her cheek.

  He stopped in his tracks and stalked to the edge of the bed. The dagger clanked on the nightstand as he dropped it there. His heavy weight made the mattress dip as he sat beside her. He grabbed her hand. The tight hold stung but she ignored the twinge needing the connection to him just as much as he needed hers.

  “I’m scared shitless right now.” He kissed the back of her hand, turned it, and pressed her palm to his cheek, cupping her fingers in his. “But, I’d never hurt you.”

  In a quick move, she propped on her knees and lashed her arms around his broad shoulders. She kissed the vivid tattoo curling around his bicep. “I know that.” Moving lower, she kissed his collarbone. His throat. Nestled her head against his neck. “There was nothing I could do. After my nan made a fool of herself trying to get the Kartal’s attention, he summoned me. Mikhail warned me to tell you. I didn’t want anything to ruin our night. I was going to, I promise.”

  He leaned his head upon hers, but his body vibrated with barely controlled aggression. “We have to do something. I can’t just sit here knowing your samples are in the Council lab waiting to be processed.”

  A nervous giggle escaped as she muttered, “Samples.” She bit her lip and grimaced remembering how those samples were taken.

  “How is that whole leech thing not common knowledge?” She still wondered how no one had spilled those gruesome details to the rumor mill.

  “Fear. Tradition. Ivan.” He licked his lips, his breathing slowed. “Can you imagine the terror a young female would experience knowing that was coming?”

  Oh, yeah, she could.

  “The Council wants everyone compliant. Keeping them all in the dark or threatening to do bodily damage is easier than subduing a female in hysterics.”

  “Ivan warned me about those hysterics.” She sighed.

  “You must have been so afraid.” He pressed warm lips to her temple and his exhalation fluttered her hair.

  “How do you know about it?” Obviously, it wasn’t common knowledge.

  He scratched his cheek and nibbled the corner of his mouth. A soft brush of his fingers on her cheek caught a wisp of her hair and he tucked it behind her ear. “I learned of the archaic procedure when Tray and I broke into the labs to switch the samples for Anna. He couldn’t risk her life by simply putting Dimitri’s goblet on the altar. Hoping for the best was never an option. He wanted concrete evidence they were compatible. Davit was persuaded to do the testing with a little help from Lucas.”

  “So, how does it work? Can we do it like at home, DIY?”

  He smirked. Not a joyful smile but a twisted agitated near grimace. “Not likely. It requires the leeches, some weird purple flower herbal thing, the candidate’s blood and some crystal-looking powder the scientist called macro-enzymes. At the time, I didn’t think I’d need the information, so to be honest, I didn’t pay complete attention to the science stuff. I just made sure everyone was safe, especially my boss.”

  Damn, she was hoping they could check their blood under a microscope, look for some anomaly and deem their mating safe. Guess they had to wait for the science stuff.

  “There has to be some way, Nadia.” He twisted about, so their bodies were flush together. Both of his strong hands held her face, tilting her forward. “There must be!”

  “What about Traian?” she asked, unsure of the aristocratic male’s willingness to intercede on their behalf.

  “I don’t know.” His fingers speared through her hair, twisted at the nape and pulled back. “Maybe Kane?” he whispered quietly.

  “Who? Is he a scientist?” Hope simmered in her belly as she waited for him to reply.

  “No, he’s the asshole running the insurgents. He’s a slimy bastard intent on destroying the kraliyet and installing a new leader with progressive ideals. If the crap he’s spouting off about the uprising is true, they might have a way to test compatibility.” He covered her mouth with his, speared his tongue inside and kissed her. It was a hard kiss, deep and provoking. Bruising. It tasted spicy. When he jolted back, his rough breathing and heaving chest showed he’d barely calmed down and dangled on the precipice of savagery.

  “Can this Kane find out if we’re able to complete a mating?” Hope bludgeoned her, but she tried to keep it tempered, tried to recognize the futility of the situation.

  His eyebrows slanted down, lips pressed into a firm line. “He claims he does. We’d have to join them. Become traitors to the kraliyet. Traitors to the Komar family.”

  Which meant she’d lose her own family and her job. He’d lose everything, too. They’d be hunted and deemed conspirators. If caught, they could be executed.

  “I don’t want that life for you, kjaere.” Regret and despair shadowed his features as the preternatural beast within his DNA seemed to retreat, some.

  “Then, let’s see what Traian says. Maybe he’ll help us. He should understand our predicament. At least, a little bit.”

  A harsh chuckle followed her optimistic statement. “You don’t know my boss very well.”

  She shook her head. “I’m too far beneath the Komar family to even rub elbows.”

  He laid her back on the pillow and curved his body against her side. With his head supported in his hand, elbow braced on the mattress he stared down at her.

  “Traian used to be the easygoing brother. He joked, enjoyed life, screwed around without any real cares. When he hired me to be his personal assistant, it was more than just a job. Life was great. He was pretty low maintenance.”

  Trailing her fingers along his jaw, down his throat and to his collarbone, she soothed the sensitive flesh there. “What happened?”

  Emotions twisted Gunnar’s features, his eyes flashed with pain. “The stories are his to tell, but my part of it haunts me every day. I didn’t save him from the subterfuge. I couldn’t get to him in time. And, he was taken to the labs in Abkhazia. They did unspeakable things to him there.” He glanced up at the ceiling, eyes unfocused. “After that, he changed. He’s brutal. Deadly. And he doesn’t give a fuck about anyone other than his family. And, his mate.”

  She’d heard horror stories about those labs. Her mind supplied her with the details Gunnar hadn’t shared. “He cares about you, too.”

  Gunnar huffed, his lips twisting with doubt.

  “He does. I can tell. We need to ask him to help us.”

  He leaned closer, hovering a sliver of an inch away. A long sweep of his tongue across his lips got her attention. She stared, waiting.

  “I will, after.” The tips of his fangs stretched his upper lip, reminding her of how they felt on her skin. He caught one of her wrists, brought her arm above her head and held it immobile. The hard slab of his chest firmed, each muscle clenched and primed.

  “After?” she mumbled, watching him move impossibly closer. He dipped close, let his breath fan out across her throat.

  “Yes, after.” He didn’t let her ask anything else. Instead, he captured her mouth and kissed her again. His hand alighted on her thigh, pushed it open and in a blink he settled between her parted legs. In the rapid motion, he’d yanked his shorts off and his rigid length
nudged her sex. On impulse, she rocked closer.

  “God, Nadia, yes, let’s forget everything right now. ‘After’ can wait.”

  Skating her hands along his sides, to his hips, she held on and guided him to her. She arched her back, inviting him to slip inside her.

  As his erection speared through the tender folds, a sting followed, fiery at first but she ignored it. The first thrust drove him home. “Gunnar!” Swooping down, he captured her cry with his mouth and his body jerked when her nails pricked deep. With a low keen, she whimpered at the complete invasion of her body.

  The rhythm began, quick and hard. Deep, short thrusts followed.

  Everything fell away. And, for the blissful moment that he mastered her body, taking her further into that haze of sensuality, Nadia forgot about everything but Gunnar.

  She didn’t even think about after.

  All she thought about was now.

  ∙•∙

  Anxiety forced him from the bed and the warmth of Nadia’s body. Gunnar paced the hallway of his apartment. Tension wound him up until his blood pressure elevated and his preternatural side bludgeoned him to let go of the humanity and wreak havoc. He’d kept his curses at a harsh murmur because he didn’t want to wake Nadia. No, when she finally roused from her fitful sleep, he wanted to have a plan, some solution, a way to calm her nerves and assure her everything would be just fine.

  So, far, he had nothing.

  For the sixth time in a few minutes, he squeezed his phone in his shaking fingers and clicked on Traian’s number. Before he could hit the call button, he dropped his hand to his side and stared at the ceiling. What could his boss even do? Son of a bitch, they were well and truly fucked.

  Every time he thought about waking up in his living room, Nadia curled around him, her arm crossed over his chest and blood pooling on his naked flesh, dread stabbed through him and sucked the oxygen from his lungs. He’d awoken with fangs elongated, stinging pain razing across his gums and a thirst he held back with sheer brute strength. At first, he’d thought it had been his mistake, his serum, and the wound had not closed from his bite. Because, they were incompatible. After he’d wiped away the blood and inspected the injury, that telltale y across her wrist could mean only one thing. That was when he’d lost his frickin’ mind. She hadn’t seen the damage he’d inflicted on the pillows as he’d torn them apart. She hadn’t seen her bloody clothes that he’d used to staunch the flow. And, thankfully, she hadn’t witnessed the brutal monster his transformation had incited.