by Lisa Kessler
They were alive, and he couldn’t get close enough to her.
…
He slid his hands down her back and lifted her a little higher, growling against her lips when she wrapped her legs around his waist. She could feel him, hard, grinding against her, making her wish their pants would vanish.
Without breaking the kiss, he walked to a large tree, resting her back against it. Her tongue twisted with his as she pushed his shirt up, her fingertips exploring his muscled torso.
Gretchen broke the fevered kiss to yank his shirt over his head. Her eyes had a field day admiring his lean body. His chiseled chest looked like a work of art. She ran her hands down his abdomen to free the button of his pants as his lips claimed hers again.
His hands slid up her from her legs, the curves of her hips, and finally molding her breasts until her entire body felt hot and hungry for his attention. The urge to rip off all their clothes was strong, but a shred of common sense reminded her that being naked in the middle of the jungle with a Demon on the loose would be a bad idea.
But what a way to go.
Instead, she slid down his zipper, pushing his pants down just enough so that she could run her hand along his hard erection. Feeling how much he wanted her only made the desire to be naked stronger. Shit.
In a heartbeat he pried his lips from hers, kneeling to help her out of her pants. When he stood, there was no hesitation. His mouth fused to hers, and she moaned into the kiss as his hand slid up her thigh, slow and possessive, making her knees wobble.
He broke the kiss, his lips trailing down her throat. She tilted her head, opening her neck to his attentions. He growled her name against her skin, drawing her leg up until she could feel him grinding against her core, the tip of his erection teasing her passion even higher.
“Take me,” she gasped against his ear.
He lifted her again and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He kissed her lips, slow, his eyes locked on hers as he sank into her. Gretchen’s heart stuttered in her chest at the honesty of the moment. She was usually a lights-out lover. Eye contact felt more intimate than the act itself. His gaze held nothing back from her. After months of being pushed away emotionally, she felt closer to him than anyone she’d ever known.
Her nails dug into his shoulders and she worked her hips into him, taking him completely into her. She kept her eyes on his, eating up the raw desire reflected in his gaze, tasting his lips over and over as their bodies collided.
His hand slid under her shirt, leaving a trail of fire behind. She arched her back into his touch, moaning against his lips as his fingers teased her nipples. Her gaze moved over his body, memorizing every muscle, all the way down his bare chest, until she could see where their bodies became one.
If she didn’t live through the night, she would definitely leave this world a happy woman.
…
Lukas thrust his hips faster, driving himself into her warmth as he watched her face. He could see every pleasure—she held nothing back from him. Her rosy lips, swollen from his hungry kisses, gasped his name, and for the first time in his never-ending existence, he felt grateful for his immortality. He could live lifetimes and not get enough of the woman in his arms.
He only wished they had more time. He would fight to his last breath to see her safe, to love her for as long as he could.
The weight of her breast in his hand, feeling her pert nipple between his fingers, made him ache to taste her skin. Lukas pushed her shirt up, lifted her breast from the lace binding of her bra, and bent to take her nipple into his mouth. His tongue circled it slowly.
Her fingers tightened in his hair, and hearing his name on her lips made him pulse inside of her, eager to take her over the peak with him.
He pressed hot kisses up her chest, her throat, fighting to keep himself from the urgent pulse, throbbing and teasing his inhuman hunger. His lips trailed along her jaw and he cupped her cheek, kissing her again, hungry and demanding, his tongue tangling with hers until his lips lingered against her bottom lip, nipping at it gently.
Her body felt so warm around him, perfect, like she was made for him. He worked himself into her harder and faster as his fingertips slid down between them, through her curls, to tease the hardened nub until Gretchen’s fingernails dug into his shoulders.
He growled against her ear, “Let go…”
Her body shuddered around him as she peaked in his arms, taking him over the edge with her. Lukas slammed his hips into her until he erupted deep inside, claiming her.
If they never moved again it would be too soon.
…
Issa stayed close behind Mulac, never taking his eyes off his treacherous brother. Kane caught up with them before they reached the pyramid, his face carefully masking the rage Issa felt radiating off of him.
“You found our dear brother before I did. Pity.”
Issa glanced at him before facing forward again. “We need him for the ritual. You know this.”
“You two should thank me for returning.” Mulac glared back at them. “If I had wanted to flee, you never would have found me.”
“Pompous bastard.” Kane lunged toward Mulac’s back, but Issa anticipated his outburst, catching his arm and holding him back.
“He is baiting you, brother.” They approached the pyramid and entered the hidden chamber. Issa scanned the room and frowned. “Where is the Guardian?”
Colin sat upright, his arm wrapped in a makeshift sling. “He and Marguerite went to feed.”
Kane froze as if time held him captive. Finally he turned toward Colin, his voice barely a whisper. “Rita?”
Colin nodded slowly. “The Guardian found her.”
Kane leaned against the stone wall. “She lives.” He rubbed his hand down his face and looked at Issa. “I need to see her.”
“And you will when she returns.” Issa held his brother’s gaze, insisting on his compliance without speaking another word. He nodded toward the God of the North. “I need you to be certain Mulac doesn’t decide to leave us.”
Kane stood tall, away from the wall, his shoulders tensing with power. “He will not be going anywhere.”
Mulac shrugged. “I do not need to go anywhere. While we cower inside, Camalotz roams free, feeding and changing the world.”
Kane punched him in the jaw hard enough for Issa to hear bones crumble. Mulac fell to the ground and spat blood into the dirt.
“Enough,” Kane growled.
Mulac’s eyes burned fire, but he made no move to retaliate.
Calisto shifted in the corner, Ch’en beside him. “We need to feed.”
“You can’t go out in the jungle to hunt like this.” She gripped his hand tightly. “I’ll go, and then you can drink from me.”
“Ch’en will not be going anywhere.” Issa knelt down to check the man’s wounds. His skin still hadn’t repaired itself completely. Part of his sternum remained exposed. He did need to feed, but Ch’en was right, he was in no condition to hunt.
Issa looked at her, and his chest constricted with guilt. All of her concern was for her mate, but it should be for herself. Her memories of her life as Ch’en were gone. She called herself Kate. How was it possible for her to call the Demon back into the world?
Across the room, Kane and Mulac bickered. Mulac. He must have found her and given her the words to summon the Demon. She couldn’t have unleashed Camalotz on her own.
Calisto stared up into his eyes and suddenly Issa felt him in his mind. His mental shields reacted immediately, shutting out the intruder.
Stay out of my mind.
Issa turned his back on them. “We will stay here until Marguerite and the Guardian return.”
“So we are your prisoners, then.” Calisto’s voice sounded raspy and weak, but the shadow of a threat still colored his words. Not that he could inflict much damage in his current condition, but Issa had no doubt he would defend his Kate until his final breath left his body.
Issa glanced back over his sho
ulder, but his eyes were not on Calisto. He stared directly at the Goddess of the Moon. “I wish it could be different.”
…
The Guardian felt her small hand tighten on his forearm as Marguerite pulled him to a stop. The air around them felt still, quiet. Too quiet. The stench of spilled blood surrounded them.
“What do you see?” he whispered.
“Death.” He could hear the shudder in her voice, her grip on his arm growing even tighter. “They are all dead.”
His senses were already on alert, searching for his mate’s scent. “Who is dead?”
“The animals. Their bodies. They are everywhere.” She took a tentative step forward, pulling him with her. He followed her lead and then connected his mind with hers, seeing the carnage through her eyes.
Blood bathed the trees, the soil, until the entire area around them, as far as the eye could see, was a monochrome landscape of scarlet and carcasses. Only Camalotz could cause so much destruction, such complete annihilation. He stretched his senses, reaching beyond himself, searching for her.
His entire body tensed. Marguerite lost her footing, and he jerked her into his chest, spinning around to go back the way they came.
She rushed to keep up with him, guiding him through the maze of trees. “What happened back there?”
“It is Camalotz. I have to get you to the others.”
“How can you be so sure?”
He didn’t slow his stride. His ancient heart thudded in his chest, beating like a war drum in his ears. He’d never felt so responsible for a single individual before. He couldn’t let Camalotz take Marguerite again. The woman had a fighting spirit, but that alone was no match for the Demon’s power. Camalotz would not allow her to live a second time.
“Answer me,” Marguerite demanded in a breathless whisper.
He finally stopped for a moment, turning his eyeless face in her direction. “Camalotz could be right beside us. The carnage you saw, all of the blood, she used it to cover her scent. She is hiding from me, and I can feel her fury.”
…
Gretchen’s skin still felt hot, glowing as they walked hand in hand back toward the pyramid. She couldn’t help replaying their lovemaking in her mind, hearing the passion in his voice as he growled her name. The way he stared into her eyes as their bodies became one.
One.
He loved her.
She wanted to pinch herself. Knowing that Lukas felt the same way she did gave her hope. The possibility of a future together warmed her from head to toe. For a moment, she could almost forget a bloodthirsty Demon lurked in the jungle.
In spite of the danger, she felt strong. Love could do that. And she loved an incredible man who respected her mind and just proved that he could also worship her body until she burst into a million pieces. He could change his body chemistry to become an owl and he’d live forever, but only at night. He drank blood to sustain his immortal body and had the ability to communicate telepathically.
As she finished the thought, she realized that she’d gotten so caught up in the moment that her mental melody had ceased playing in her mind. He was probably hearing every thought that had just crossed her mind, reading her like an open book.
She smiled up at Lukas as they ducked under the low branches of the trees. “Did I leave anything out?”
He smiled, and the sight made her knees rubbery.
“Until right now, no one, including me, has been able to get inside your mind. Do you have any idea how long it took me to learn to shield my thoughts? It was nearly impossible at first, and yet in two days’ time, you’ve mastered the art.” He lifted her hand to his lips, kissing the back tenderly. “You are an amazing woman.”
She looked up into his eyes, memorizing the expression on his face, never wanting to forget this moment. No one had ever looked at her the way he did, with so much passion and admiration. He brought her hand to rest on his chest, pressing her palm directly over his heart. Her pulse raced in answer.
“I thought I’d lost you forever.” He paused, collecting himself.
“I know how you feel… That’s how I felt watching you fly away from me on the dock in San Diego. I didn’t know if I’d ever see you again.”
“I didn’t know what else to do.” He brought her hand up to his lips again, nuzzling her fingers. “I saw what the Demon had done to you, or made you do to yourself in the hotel room during the day, and I—” He shook his head. “I can’t protect you during the daylight. If anything happened to you, I’d never forgive myself.”
“Wait a minute.” Gretchen removed her hand from his caress. “You really didn’t have any intention of ever seeing me again?”
Lukas tensed. “I knew you would be safer if I stayed away.”
“Wow.” She shook her head. “You could walk away and never look back? Just like that?”
He shrugged. “Probably not, but I’d like to think I could be that noble.” He took her hand again, his eyes staring into hers. “But I wouldn’t have been able to stay away. I love you. I loved you then, too, but I’d been lying for so long I didn’t know how to tell you.”
The honesty in his gaze buffed the edges of her hurt. “Well, turning into an owl and flying away was a pretty unforgettable way to come clean.”
He started to smile and her heart fluttered.
“Did you have any intention of honoring my request that you stay away and be safe?” He raised a brow. A playful twinkle of moonlight shone in his eyes, making her grin in spite of herself.
“In my defense, you had to know there was no way I’d turn tail and go home. My Dad didn’t raise a quitter, and we’re on to something big down here. I couldn’t just leave. Especially when people are in danger. For once, my knowledge could save lives and change the future. That doesn’t happen very often for someone who studies ancient long-dead societies, you know.” She bit her bottom lip, trying to keep the words in, but she couldn’t hold it back any longer. “Besides, you questioned my intelligence. I couldn’t let you get away with calling me a fool.”
“I never believed you were a fool, but…” Gretchen looked into his eyes, seeing the all-too familiar shadows and pain. “But you really don’t understand the whole of who I am.”
“I’ve lived with you for months, sometimes in the worst of conditions.” Gretchen searched his gaze. “I know who you are, Lukas.”
He cleared his throat, breaking eye contact, and stared out into the jungle. “When I was a man, I dreamed of finding a woman to share my life. We would have a home with children. It was all I wanted.” A sad smile crossed his lips. He pressed his palm to his temple and shook his head before meeting her gaze. Pain and guilt shone in his eyes, and a faint twinge of the Russian accent he usually buried colored his words. “I still hear the echoes of the screams of that family. Gretchen, I murdered the one thing I cherished most as a man.”
He groaned and turned away from her. With a couple of steps distance between them, he stopped without looking at her. “I left you in San Diego because that monster is still somewhere inside of me, and I couldn’t live with myself if I ever hurt you.”
Gretchen wanted to comfort him, but she had no idea how. The guilt he’d carried for centuries was a part of him, driving him in his research. If not for his need of redemption, she might never have met him.
“I don’t know enough about your…” She hesitated, searching for the right words. “Race. I can’t make up a fairy tale about the family going to a better place or even lie to myself that whatever that hunger was won’t come back. But I can promise you that as long as you are honest with me, we can get through anything. That much I do know.”
Lukas turned to face her again. “You deserve a life that I know I can’t give you. No sunshine, no family…”
“Did you ever think to ask me what kind of life I might want?” She cocked her hip with a frustrated sigh. “Maybe it’s because my Mom ran off when I was a little girl, I don’t know, but marriage hasn’t ever been on my radar. After
I lost my Dad, it’s been me against the world. I think I liked it that way.” She pressed her lips together, collecting her thoughts. “But it’s different with you. I feel like you’re my partner, and we’re stronger together than we are apart.”
She blinked back a surprise welling of tears, emotion coloring her voice. “This feeling in my heart is what I want. Adventure is what I want. And if you had taken the time to ask me, instead of just assuming I wanted a white picket fence and two kids and a husband to provide for us, you would’ve known.”
A hint of a smile pulled at the corners of Lukas’s mouth. “When I first told you that I only walk in the night and drink blood to live, you looked less than happy.”
Gretchen rolled her eyes. “Well, of course I wasn’t happy. You asked me to believe the unbelievable, and then before I could let it sink in, you made my decision for me and ran away.” Her smile faded. “Did you think I would judge you? I thought you knew me better than that.”
He shook his head slowly. “I judged myself and came up lacking. You deserve much better than I could ever give you.” Gretchen started to protest, but Lukas went on before she could speak. “That night in San Diego, I was so worried about you that I forgot to feed. I’d never been near you without feeding first, and I…”
Lukas turned away from her, looking up at the stars.
“You what?” she prodded.
His eyes met hers again, rimmed in red. “I was intoxicated by the scent of your blood. I wanted to feed on you, Gretchen. I felt like a monster, and I couldn’t bear knowing that I could hurt you or that I frightened you. It was bad enough to know you were already in danger because of me. I didn’t want to see fear in your eyes when you looked at me. So I ran. And I’d hoped you could forget me and have a chance at happiness. Was that so wrong?”
Taking a step closer to him, Gretchen reached up to touch his cool cheek. “I know what you are. Do I look afraid of you?”
“You’ve only seen me as a man. You’ve never seen the monster.”