Benjamin, Karen - Creole Moon (Siren Publishing Classic)
Page 8
“What is that, my dear?” he quipped in a sickeningly sweet tone. “Your voice seems to be failing you.”
When Alisha said nothing, Alan flung his head back and laughed. “Your body is being destroyed from within. Soon it will become impossible for you to stay awake and your part in this battle will end.”
His voice sounded as if he was a long way off, and Alisha realized she was close to losing consciousness. She did her best to fight off the feeling of disorientation, but she must have passed out, because when she opened her eyes again, she was alone.
Fearing she had only a short time to live, she used her remaining strength to call out to Lucas, praying the fates would look kindly on her and allow her dying words to reach his ears.
Lucas.
I’m near, little witch. Your captor has placed several obstacles in my path to slow me down, but they won’t keep me from you.
His name is Serpentes, and you have to stay away! Poison…in my blood. My brother’s also. I can pass it to you and through you, others can be infected. Tell everyone not to come near the cabin!
Nothing will keep me from you.
Stay away! Focus on stopping Serpentes from leaving the island. The healers will need his blood to develop an antidote. Boat—
The door of the cabin exploded outward, taking with it the beams supporting the entryway. When the dust settled, a massive Wulfren with glowing red eyes stood in what had once been the doorway. Alisha swallowed around the lump in her throat and reminded herself that no matter how big or terrifying the hair-covered man beast looked, it was still Lucas. He wouldn’t harm a single braid on her head, even if his eyes did glow like hot coals, and his snouted face looked like her worst nightmare… But what the hell was he doing here anyway? She’d told him not to come anywhere near her.
“Don’t come any closer,” she croaked, managing to come to a half sitting position. “I’ve been infected with something that could kill you and your entire pack.”
When he took a step toward her, she used the last of her strength to send the equivalent of a psychic slap slashing across his mind. He stumbled backward, but quickly regained his footing, and scooped her up into his arms.
“No! No! No!” she cried, trying to squirm out of his arms. “Didn’t you hear a word I said? I’m contagious!”
Be quiet, woman, he whispered softly into her mind. Just be silent for a damn moment and let me hold you.
He looked down at her and the red haze receded from his eyes, but tiny red flames continued to flicker in the center. He still looked like something out of a horror movie, but she could feel Lucas, just below the surface, reaching out to her. She closed her eyes and slumped against him, thankful he had returned to her sound in mind and body.
I will never go feral now that I have you. And I listened to every word you said. I always will.
She opened her eyes and glared up at him. “Then why the hell did you pick me up? And why can’t you use your mouth to speak?”
In this form, speech is difficult. Mind linking is easier and faster.
“Then you won’t mind explaining why you ignored my warning.”
Calm yourself, baby. I can handle the poison. In fact I can probably handle anything Serpentes throws at me. Few outside the pack know my mother was a witch. She wasn’t as strong in her gifts as you, but she wasn’t a lightweight either. I not only have the Wulfren ability to heal quickly, but I can push the poison from my system just as you did. No others will be infected.
“Then you’re safe.” She reached a tentative hand up and gently touched the side of his face. “Thank God.”
He gave her a reassuring squeeze and she felt his essence moving within her, forcing the remaining poison from her system. She willingly accepted his aid, thankful she didn’t need to be strong for once.
You have a mate now. My strength is yours to lean on.
And mine is yours, Alisha returned over their mind link. But we don’t have time to stand around talking. My brother needs our help. And if we don’t move quickly, Serpentes will get away.
My men found your brother about a mile from the cabin. He’s slipped into some kind of coma. If he lives, his death sentence will be withdrawn.
Then there’s nothing left but to find Serpentes and make him pay.
My men have him surrounded, but he still hopes to escape.
Alisha pushed against his chest and he relaxed his hold, allowing her feet to touch the floor, but he kept an arm wrapped around her waist.
“Let go of me,” she said, pushing his arm away. “We’ve got to go after Serpentes.”
He bared his teeth, growled deep in his throat, flashing an impressive set of canines, but recognizing she had won, Alisha had the cheek to smile up at him.
“Can we go now? I want to be there when you kick Serpentes’s butt.”
His eyes flashed blood-red, but she didn’t back down, and after a moment he turned around and knelt on the floor.
“You want me to get on your back?” She wanted to laugh at the absurdity of being carried like a small child, but she wasn’t stupid. If she protested he’d probably call in a couple of his Wulfren to guard her while he went out to confront Serpentes.
“I don’t think this is a good idea,” she said, climbing onto his back. “I don’t have anything on under your shirt and my butt is going to be blowing in the wind.”
“No one’s going to see your beautiful ass as I’ll be moving at preternatural speed. And stop wiggling. You’re giving me a hard-on and I refuse to go into battle with my dick waving in the air.”
She smiled against his neck. “It works for me. We could drape a flag on it and start a new trend. By the way, I love the loin cloth. It gives a girl all kinds of naughty ideas.”
He rose to his feet.
When this is over, I’m going to spank your ass.
Kinky, but I think I can get into it. Will you be using your hands or that flag pole we were talking about?
Silence, woman, and close your eyes. Preternatural speed can be disorienting to someone unused to it.
She kept her eyes open. But when things started to rush past her as if someone had pushed fast forward on a DVD, she closed her eyes and did her best not to puke. He came to an abrupt halt some twenty minutes later, on a sand dune overlooking a white-washed beach. There was no sign of Serpentes or his boat, but she had a feeling they were close by. She slid off his back and would have fallen flat on her face if he hadn’t steadied her with an arm around her waist.
Stay here.
“Not going to happen,” she said, taking a deep, steadying breath. He turned to face her and she frowned. “You look almost human. At least your face does, but you’re still butt ugly.”
“It’s called a partial shift. Not pretty, but easier for face-to-face communications.” He gave her a smug look, his eyes lit with amusement. “As for my appearance, you’ll soon discover the advantages of a mate who is capable of partial shifting.”
Alisha held up a hand. “Not going there. ’Cause the last thing I need right now is to think about that part of you getting any bigger. I’m barely able to accommodate you as it is.” Alisha heard an amused snort and turned to see a Wulfren almost as big as Lucas standing less than three feet away from her. He was partially shifted, but despite his altered facial features, she recognized the blond giant immediately.
“Not a good idea to sneak up on people when you’re big and freaky, Vic. If I’d had enough juice, I’d have fried your brain before I recognized you.”
“I’ll remember that,” Vic said, smiling across at her. Then he turned to Lucas, all traces of humor removed from his face. He looked battle ready and just as lethal as his Alpha. “We’ve got him cornered in a cave that has only one way out. He keeps taunting the men, trying to get one of them to move in so he can infect them, but no one’s breaking rank.”
“Then let’s get this over with.” He shifted back to full Wulfren and turned to Alisha.
“Stay here.”
Lucas’s body blurred, then disappeared. But Vic lingered a moment, eyeing her as if he knew she was up to something, and then he winked at her and flashed out of sight.
Once she was certain she was alone, she sat down on the sand and sent a thin thread of magic out over the link she shared with Lucas. When she made contact, she kept her touch light, making her presence as small as possible in the shadow of his mind.
* * * *
“I should kill you where you stand,” Lucas bit out, “but I’ve agreed to the council’s request for a meeting with you. They seem to think you’ll name your employer in exchange for your life, but I’m betting you’re going to give me the satisfaction of killing you.”
Watching from behind Lucas’s eyes Alisha saw Serpentes emerge from the mouth of a cave. He’d shifted into a large anaconda, bigger around than her waist, but his head remained in human form.
“The satisfaction will be mine,” he hissed. “You will die here today, not I.”
Alisha couldn’t see Lucas’s face, but she felt him smile.
Chapter Nine
“What the hell took you so long,” Alisha shouted, hopping off the bed as Lucas walked into the room. “I’ve been stuck in this bedroom with two growling Wulfren posted outside the door for over an hour. They won’t talk to me and they won’t let me out of this room. I know they’re just following your orders, but if either of them growls at me again I’m going to singe the hair off their hairy asses.”
He gave her a cold look, but said nothing as he kicked off his shoes and began to unbutton his shirt.
She walked over to where he stood and with fisted hands on hips, glared up at him. “I know you’re mad at me. But I really needed to know you were okay after your fight with Serpentes.”
He continued undressing without saying a word, and, furious at his continued silence, she slapped him on the chest. “The least you could have done was to take me to the council meeting with you. After what Serpentes did to my brother, not to mention what he did to me, I had a right to be there.”
He tossed his shirt over the back of a chair and turned to face her. The look on his face was far from friendly, but it was the little dots of flame in the center of his pupils that had her taking a step back. He wouldn’t hurt her, but she wouldn’t put it past him to put her over his knee, and in his present mood, her butt would be sore for a week. Deciding he needed a few moments to cool off, she took a step back, but even as she did so, she knew it was too late. In one smooth motion, he grabbed her by the waist and the world turned upside down as he threw her over his shoulder. Before she could utter a word of protest, he tossed her onto the middle of the bed and started undressing her.
“Stop that!” She slapped at his hands as he quickly stripped her. “We need to talk. I want to know what was discussed in the council meeting.”
He let go of her, but only long enough to unbuckle his belt and shove his pants off, leaving her to stare at him in openmouthed outrage. Did he think hot, sweaty sex was going to appease her? Okay, maybe he had a point, she admitted when her gaze dropped to his jutting erection. But she wasn’t going to forgive him that easily. If nothing else, he deserved to be given some grief over giving her the silent treatment.
She opened her mouth to give him a piece of her mind, but Lucas leaned in and took possession of her lips, kissing her with a ruthlessness that drove all rational thoughts from her mind. She hated to admit it, but the man’s kisses were lip-smacking, pussy-wetting good. And why should she fight him when he was giving her exactly what she wanted?
When he finally broke the kiss and positioned her atop his body, resisting him was the last thing on her mind. Her brain had turned to mush and her body was on fire. She looked down at him and when his eyes locked with hers, she smiled, giving him her best “hell yeah I want to have sex with you” look. She was still mad at him, but if he wanted to have hot make-up sex before they made up, it was all right with her.
“I came in here intending to spank your little brown ass until it burned,” he snarled. “But the smell of your arousal sent every ounce of blood in my body rushing to my dick. Have you been playing with your pussy?”
Alisha felt her skin flush with embarrassment and she lowered her gaze to his chest. Damn his Wulfren sense of smell. There were some things a girl liked to keep to herself.
He grasped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. “Playing with your pussy is my job.” His hooded eyes simmered with heat, but there was an edge to his voice that said he was still far from pleased with her. “You’ve earned yourself two ass spankings, but I’m not going to give them to you now because I think you’d enjoy it. Bad girls don’t get to have fun, but I’m going to give you a chance to work your way back into my good graces.” He rolled her to his side and rose to his knees. “Up on all fours. I want that spankable ass of yours in the air.”
“Now, Lucas—“
“Be silent,” he snapped, his tone making it clear he intended to be obeyed.” It’s time you learned the meaning of the word mate.”
“Okay,” she grumbled, pushing up onto her hands and knees. “But—” She glanced at his massive erection. “You’re not putting that up my butt.”
“You get no say in what happens.”
She thought about arguing the point with him, but quickly changed her mind when she saw a flash of red in his eyes. She knew her wolf man was seriously pissed off about her hiding out in his mind during his battle with Serpentes, and she figured the best way to get out of her well-deserved punishment was to redirect him to more pleasurable pursuits. She couldn’t scent the air with pheromones, but thanks to Mother Nature, she had something that might work just as well.
She lowered her face to the mattress, and rolled her hips like a bitch in heat as she thrust her butt into the air. With her forehead pressed against the mattress, she couldn’t see his face, but she heard the swift intake of his breath. She turned her head and grinned up at him. “Like what you see wolf man, because if you do, I have no problems with skipping the caveman stuff and going for the gold.”
He ran a claw-tipped finger over the curve of her buttock, his eyes hot with need, his touch almost reverent. “Your ass is fine enough to be worth its weight in gold, and the sweet cream dripping from your pussy is enough to drive a man insane with lust.” He dipped a finger into her moist folds and slowly ringed the edge of her anus. “So tight, and eager for my touch but you’ll need some stretching before you can take me here. But when I do, you’re going to love the feel of my cock pounding into your little brown booty. It’ll be rough, raw, and thoroughly satisfying.”
She wanted to deny his words, but she knew he spoke the truth. The thought of him making love to her there was as arousing as hell. What was it about this man that had her tossing all her inhibitions to the wind? Even now, knowing that he intended to punish her, she was almost shaking in anticipation.
She felt him grab a handful of her braids, and he tugged until she sat back on her heels and met his gaze. His eyes smoldered with heat, but his brutishly handsome face had hardened with resolve.
“Before my people became members of the Supernatural Alliance, we practiced the old ways. Mates were cherished as they are today, but if one placed her life in danger by disobeying her Wulfren her punishment had to be witnessed by the males of her pack. You see, even my ancestors were so enamored of their mates that too often they forgave their transgressions. Public punishment ensured that the matter was properly dealt with, ensuring no further risk to the mated couple.”
“Public punishment? I’m not sure I like where this is heading.”
He flicked her a dark look, and continued as if she hadn’t spoken. “The woman would remove the clothing of her mate, her hands caressing,
her lips kissing every inch of his flesh. Next, she would kneel at her mate’s feet and pleasure him with her mouth until he could no longer stand upright.”
Alisha smiled. “That doesn’t sound like punishment to me.”
He snorted. “Likely you would have enjoyed it, I suspect there is a bit of the exhibitionist in you, but I’m not finished. After she had demonstrated her submission to her mate, he rewarded her with forgiveness.”
“As in jewels or—”
“As in he shifted to Wulfren, bent her over a log, and fucked her ass long and hard.”
“You wouldn’t,” she whispered, hoping he didn’t pick up the note of excitement in her voice. The man didn’t need to know that she was so into him that all he had to do was glance at her and she was ready to drop her drawers and bend over.
He arched a dark eyebrow. “If your disobedience puts your life at risk again, your ass is mine. But for now, I think it’s enough punishment that my men hear your screams of submission.”
“I said I was sorry,” she said grudgingly.
“I heard you.”
She glared at him. “But I’m Sosye. We don’t do submission.”
“We’ll just see about that.” In a lightning fast move, he shifted behind her, and Alisha found she was back on all fours, held firmly in place by his large hands on her hips. A second later, she almost screamed as she felt his tongue pierce her pussy.
“Oh you’re a wicked man, Lucas. So wicked,” she moaned, closing her eyes and giving in to the pleasure of his touch. Her comment resulted in a none-too-gentle slap on the buttocks before he returned to driving her insane with his wicked kisses. He was like a man possessed as he licked with his tongue, sucked with his lips, and kissed her between her legs as if he were kissing her mouth. Over and over again he brought her to the edge, and then he would stop and hold her trembling body in his arms as he whispered in graphic detail what he intended to do next to her body and just when she had calmed a bit, he would start in on her all over again. At some point, her moans turned to pants, her pants turned to whimpers, and all too soon she was pleading with him to give her the relief she sought. But it was only when her body began to tremble that he eased away from her and pulled her into a comforting embrace.