She marched over, dropped her bag down on his coat, and turned to face her quarry.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Gods. Her scent, the sound of her smoky voice, soothed his abraded emotions left raw from all the shit his body had gone through. He barely resisted pouncing on her, but he didn’t dare touch her.
He was a ticking time bomb. Not because of his Sin that seemed to come from deep within his psyche, stretching and reforming his cells once he’d stopped fighting it, but from the immense power roiling beneath his skin.
Clammy and tense, the changes in his body hammered at his mind, dripping acid that ate through his bones. He’d kept away from humans, away from Saia to avoid hurting her. And here she was.
Part of him was ecstatic she’d come, another piece iced over in dread.
The destruction around him showed the horror of his last influx of power. The ancient trees, brutally splintered, lay like fallen soldiers on the forest bed. Several more cracked and fragmented trunks edged the clearing. If he couldn’t control the next influx, she’d pay. He was too dangerous. Even the Caligos gave him a wide berth.
But Saia drew closer.
Unable to help himself, he turned. There she stood, a heartbeat away, wearing a deep red leather coat, black tights, and muddy, black boots. She’d hidden all her hair beneath a beanie again.
He wanted to haul her to him; instead, he fisted his trembling fingers and leaned back against the window frame, his gaze fixed on the swinging vine. Far safer than succumbing to a dangerous temptation.
A warm palm stroked his arm. As usual, his mate didn’t seem to care about the precarious landmine she was determined to get close to. “I wish you’d tell me what’s wrong. If I did something.”
If she did something?
He was the one who’d used her with no care to her comfort. He’d probably hurt her, too. Guilt squeezed his belly.
Saia shifted, and the tempting curves of her breast pressed against his biceps. She remained silent, leaned against him and watched the swaying vines.
Gods, he swallowed a groan as need shot sky-high. The soft, compelling scent of her seeped through him and settled in his brain. And like a compulsion, it pulled at him. Unable to hold out, he swung his leg down and drew her between his parted knees. Her warm hands slid over his back, stroking his bare skin.
Her breathy sigh of relief undid him.
He buried his face in her…beanie-covered hair. Then he snatched it off and tossed it aside, freeing the knot she had her hair in, as well. Her black tresses fell in a silky cascade down her back. He rubbed his chin against the shiny strands. It caught on his three-day-old stubble.
She eased back, searching his face. His mouth found hers in a hungry kiss, drowning in her sweet taste…
A long while later, she broke away, inhaled a choppy breath, and pressed her lush lips to his jaw in a soft kiss. “You have a beard,” she murmured, rubbing her cheek against his in a slow caress. “It feels nice.”
After what seemed like centuries, the answering smile tugging his mouth felt strange.
Only Saia could do that; make him smile. No matter what shit rained down on him.
She drew back and unbuttoned her coat.
He frowned. “You’re hot?”
“You always make me hot.” Laughter brightened the gold flecks in her eyes and brought the single dimple back to life. She crossed to his makeshift bed, dropped her coat beside his, and straightened her long, knit top. The soft fabric hugged her body and outlined her stiff nipples.
And, of course, his mind instantly rushed to other things like getting her naked—on her back, on her knees, riding him.
She walked back to him, asked quietly, “Are you upset with me?”
Upset? Thoughts of the last time he’d been with her in her bedroom crowded his mind. Guilt flowed, but his erection pushed hard against his zipper at remembered images of her tied down. “Why would I be? I like you restrained when I take you”—his gaze trapped hers—“you did, too.”
Color flared across her face. “That’s not what I meant.” She moved to the other opening in the wall and stared out into the forest, her arms wrapped around her waist. “I wouldn’t have agreed to that if I didn’t want to.”
Gods, he didn’t deserve her. Unable to bear the small distance, he pushed to his feet and crossed to her.
“I meant why are you holed up here?” she asked.
“Because my enemies are close. And I wanted you safe from danger. But both bastards are a no-show.”
He’d left because his enemies would come after her?
Frowning, Saia pivoted and studied him in the waning light. His brow rose at her perusal.
“I get that. I know you want me safe. But that’s not what I feel. It’s…something else.” Something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. And the same feeling she’d gotten the last time he was with her washed over her.
Darker. Deadlier. It made her uneasy.
“You’re different…”
He brushed her hair away from her face, then his movements slowed. He looked past her to the window. His eyes narrowed, slowly changing. No longer a stunning emerald, they took on a more devious shade of a tree python.
A shiver slid along Saia’s spine at the familiar expression, making the fine hairs on her arms rise. Very carefully, he stepped away from her. And an ominous sensation slithered through her again. Evil was close.
“Stay. Here.” The guttural rumble from his throat matched the unfamiliar voice in her bedroom, when it had told her Riley was gone. “Whatever happens, do not come near me ‘til I come back for you, you get me?”
Anxiety riding her hard, she nodded. A squelching sound echoed in the quiet, like someone stepping onto marshy grounds. Saia spun around toward the window. Night had fallen, and the moon cast a cold silvery light over the area.
A dark figure slid out from the trees and into the clearing. Only by his black, short-sleeve shirt and cream slacks did she recognize Trevor.
Malevolent yellow eyes glowed in the dark, surveying the ruins. The changes in him shocked her. He was no longer human. No longer the young man he’d been several weeks ago. His withered flesh clung to his skeleton. He reminded her of a decaying corpse. Holes had formed in his skin, revealing the black mass inhabiting the body.
No wonder it hadn’t confronted her when she’d been with Ikaria. Its body too holey, daylight would have destroyed it.
“Come out, come out, wherever you are, little mortal,” he rasped in a singsong voice. “You can’t hide from me. I know the little demoness is gone.”
Her fearful gaze darted back to Riley.
“Shhh,” he whispered like it was some game. His python-green eyes glowed with an unholy gleam. He left her and stepped outside.
Trevor, scrutinizing the building, turned with a smirk then snarled, “You’re the asshole from the bar.”
“I’ve been called many things.” Riley prowled closer, examining his fingertips. “But most recently, Death. Destroyer, Persecutor—”
Trevor stilled, his throat worked as if he’d swallowed a rock. “I’m not afraid of you.”
He leaped, throwing a punch. Riley merely sidestepped, and Trevor went stumbling past. He skated across the ground. Snarling, he peeled a layer of skin hanging from his arm and flicked it aside.
A shudder of revulsion tore through Saia. She’d touched that thing.
Trevor pulled something from the new holey patch in his arm. A blob of iridescent black mist shimmered in his hand. He pivoted and hurled the thing, like a snaking missile, it targeted Riley, who smoothly dodged it.
“She’s mine,” Trevor screeched. “I saw her first.”
“Not in any of your lifetimes, you piece of shit.”
“Then I’ll kill her!” The thing aimed another blob, this time right toward the crumbling window where she stood. Riley moved with preternatural speed as Saia jumped back. His body slammed into the wall opening, shielding her. Rubble rained down on him.
Bits of moss and debris coated his face, his hair, but those eerie green eyes, barely recognizable, met hers through the swinging vine. So cold, ominous, it turned her blood to ice. But her heart made her reach out. “Riley...” she whispered.
Eyes slitted, he stared at her for a second then spun around. “You think to hurt my mate and live?”
Saia’s gaze drifted down his back. Oh, dear God! She pressed a hand to her stomach. A fist-sized burn marred his tanned skin. Blood dripped down his back.
She charged to the door and slammed into an invisible wall, stumbling back. She tried to shoulder through again, but couldn’t move past the barrier blocking the entrance. Dammit. He knew her far too well. Whatever shield he’d sprung around her kept her away.
Annoyed, she gritted her teeth and rushed back to the window.
With a crook of his finger, Riley summoned Trevor to him. Like a puppet on strings, Trevor stumbled forward, his gait stiff. “Did you really think you would escape my vengeance? And, by the way, your pal, Baric? Yeah, he’s long dead.”
Riley flashed, his hand striking out. He stopped on the other side. A garbling sound escaped Trevor. He stumbled back. Tripped. His head fell off and rolled away from his body.
Wide-eyed, Saia stood there, a hand on her throat. She didn’t know which was worse, watching Riley rip a man’s head off or slice one off. Seconds later, the decaying host body exploded, turning to ash, and a black, amorphous mass rose. The Caligo hovered, then moved toward the ruins.
“No, you don’t!” Riley flung a fiery arrow right at the swirling mass, engulfing it in flames. Its eerie screech echoed against the trees. The thing erupted in a poof and disappeared, leaving behind an unnerving silence.
The force field holding her back vanished. Saia barged out of the ruins and straight to Riley’s side. She came to a grinding halt and gaped. Vicious-looking talons protruded from his fingertips and dripped with blood. What the—
She looked up. Gasped. His features were no longer the sculptured handsome lines she knew, but coarser, elongated—demonic. His tan skin bore a gray tone. Reddish-hued eyes met hers. He heaved a harsh breath and turned away as his features reformed and settled back into the one she knew.
“Go wait inside. I’ll be a minute.”
Why wouldn’t he look at her? Before she could speak, he flashed out of the clearing. Slowly, Saia walked back to the ruins, a hand pressed to her churning belly. Questions barreled through her mind.
Did Riley shape-shift fully into a monster, too? She’d never thought about that, assumed monsters like the wyverns were different kinds of demonic creature. She glanced back through the window.
Trampling noises echoed in the still night. Her heart in her mouth, Saia peered into the dark. Then Riley walked into the clearing, water dripping down his torso. It appeared as if he dunked himself in a river or something. The moonlight highlighted his massive shoulders. Abs rippled with each breath he took. He looked across to where she stood by the window and hesitated.
Did he think she’d be afraid of him?
So what if his features and skin changed, he was still the man she loved.
She hurried outside and went straight for his back. He turned with her in a circle, eyeing her warily. “What are you doing?”
“Stop.” She hooked her fingers in the back loops of his jeans to hold him still and examined the wound on his lower back. All that remained was an angry-looking, red patch. The smell of cold, fresh water and lemongrass drifted to her. She inhaled his clean scent, reached out and gently stroked the reddened flesh. His muscles quivered at her touch. “Are you okay?”
He didn’t respond, but freed her grip on his jeans and pulled her to the front of him, studying her face in the moonlight.
“What? Did you think I’d go running into the swamp?” she asked. “I got over scary Riley a long time ago.” He didn’t say anything. She picked up his hand and turned them. All she saw were short nails. “But those…those talons?”
“It is what I am, Saia. You know this.” He sounded guarded.
She smoothed her thumb over the ends of his nails. “Does it hurt when they come out?”
“A little.”
She nodded, digesting that news. “Do you turn into a creature like those in Stygia, the wyverns?”
“No.” He shifted, looking uneasy. “I won’t become one of those monsters. The shift is just something I can do now.”
Now? What did he mean now? Her gaze darted to his then widened as the truth crashed into her. That’s why he was camped out here. “It’s started, hasn’t it? The transference is taking place.”
He nodded.
Betrayal like a tidal wave swamped her. She dropped his hand. He grabbed hers. “Saia—”
She evaded him. “How could you? Something this important and you didn’t tell me, even though I asked you to? Instead, you left. Didn’t care that I was worried sick about this happening.” She wheeled away and stomped back for the ruins.
“I didn’t know at first,” he said quietly, following her. “After I left you, only then did I realize the transference was happening. I didn’t dare come back. I didn’t want to hurt you. Caligos were the perfect way to release the shit consuming me. It worked for a while, but I couldn’t linger in the city—too many humans. So I came here.”
She whipped around and glared at him from across the decaying room, unable to hold back her hurt. “The last time we were together, you told me ‘this was a mistake.’ Do you have any idea what that did to me? You yanked out my heart and ripped it apart.”
Tears burned. She dashed them with her knuckles and pivoted to stare into the gloomy trees shrouded by night. “I thought maybe I’d done something, that you were still upset about Piers, except it wasn’t about me, was it?”
Debris crunched behind her. His hands slid up her arms, and he drew her against him. “I’m sorry, Saia. I thought it would occur exactly on my two-thousand year of birth. I was wrong. It just took over…wanted you, too. I was losing control, I was terrified of what it would do. So I left for the bayou. ”
His lips nuzzled her nape. His hard body pressed against hers. She struggled not to succumb to his beguiling heat and tormenting mouth as desire hummed through her veins.
“That other voice was your Sin?”
“Yeah. It was waiting for me to accept it.”
She frowned. “You’re like two people?”
“No, it’s merged with me now. My voice will change during those times when it takes over, seems what I say as a Sin becomes set in stone. It cannot be undone. I couldn’t take that chance with you. But I’m still me, just a little, er, different now.”
He kissed the side of her jaw. “Come, let me make it up to you, let me show you just how bad and dangerous I truly am.”
His words were so tempting, but she stayed put. She didn’t know what to think about his revelation, how to feel. “You can never get angry?”
“Sure I can. You’re bound to drive me crazy—”
She scowled at him over her shoulder.
He smiled. “But in regards to the Sin, I’ve only inherited a part of it. When my sire takes his eternal rest, the rest of the Sin will pass on to me. Of course, there’re a few special cases I will personally see to before then. Now. Do you plan to stand guard at the window the entire night?”
She sighed. “It’s probably a good idea.”
Soft laughter feathered her skin. He swept her off her feet and carried her over to his coat, then sat down with her cuddled on his lap. His head tipped back against the moss-covered wall, and he shut his eyes.
Saia studied his face in the moonlight dappling him. Deep lines bracketed his mouth, and tiny ones marred his forehead. How bad was this transference? He looked exhausted. Tenderness engulfed her. Unable to help him, except to offer comfort, she reached out and gently stroked the lines of pain on his rigid, stubbled jaw.
His Sin wanted her, and Riley was fighting it. She remembered those lime-green eyes staine
d with red and tried to sort through her thoughts at how she felt about this.
The Sin needed to mate with her, too.
But it would still be Riley, wouldn’t it? He would make love to her…
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Riley shifted, trying to ease the tightness building inside him. It had nothing to do with his transference and everything to do with his unruly sex. After being so rough with Saia the last time, he didn’t dare risk her now. More, he knew he was holding back because his Sin had to claim her, too.
He didn’t want to think about that. Instead, he concentrated on with agony corroding his mind as the changes in him continued. It felt as if spikes had been drilled into his skull. He clenched his teeth, breathed in deeply.
“Your Sin wants me, too. Doesn’t it?”
Her question took him by surprise, startling him out of his pain. His eyes snapped open. “What are you talking about?”
“It told me.”
Ah, shit! “I’m sorry.”
“Why?”
It took a moment before he could speak past the pain. “It must be terrifying for you. Me, with my…needs. And it, who the hell knows what it wants…”
“But you would be the one making love to me, right?” Her gaze searched his as if looking for reassurance.
He wanted to lie. Couldn’t. “I don’t know, Saia. I honestly don’t know.”
“What if we take it slow?”
“No. Later, when all of this is over.” When he had more control. He was too unstable now.
She dropped her gaze, staring at her fingers. “Did you really want to break our mating bond?”
“Wrath.” He blew out a ragged breath. His sire sure covered all his bases. “No, Saia. It was a fleeting, foolish thought that it would keep you safe, and abandoned just as fast.” He lifted her chin, held her gaze. “I could never leave you. You are mine. And that bond cannot be broken. Ever.”
A smile trembled on her lips. “I’m glad.”
Then she slid her warm lips over his in a tender kiss, distracting him from the searing pain wracking his mind. He hoped like hell this torture would soon pass.
Mystic Realms: A Limited Edition Collection Page 146