Lucan nodded, slipping into the elevator ahead of them.
“Watch your back, Cian. Gareth doesn’t play nice, and he won’t stop coming until he gets what he’s after.”
The doors closed and Cian went perfectly still. Jaw tight and gaze fixed straight ahead, he sought out Emma’s hand, linking their fingers. If Lucan noticed the elevator bothered Cian, he never let on.
When the doors finally opened, they were in an underground parking garage.
“You can take my car.” Lucan dug the keys out of his pocket, and she grabbed them a second before Cian.
Snippets of Lucan’s life flashed across her mind in hyper speed. In a few heartbeats she understood why Arthur had made him one of his knights. Even hired out as a mercenary, she knew with a touch of his keys that he still believed in honor, loyalty and Camelot.
Cian stopped, watching her expectantly, his eyes locked on the keys.
As if. “Maybe if people hadn’t been still using horses for personal transportation a hundred years ago I’d consider letting you drive.”
Cian scowled at her when she unlocked the car and slid behind the wheel. She lowered the window as he dropped into the passenger seat.
Lucan leaned down. “Tell Tristan to call on me if he needs anything.”
“I will.”
“And everyone else is alright? Cale? Briana?” The slight emphasis he put on Briana made Emma sit up a little straighter.
“Everyone is well,” Cian answered, still staring at the keys she’d shoved in the ignition.
When the wraith felt her studying him curiously, he ducked his head. Cian either didn’t notice or wasn’t surprised by Lucan asking about Briana. It didn’t take an oracle to see Lucan had been hoping for something a little more.
“Her computer password is Lucan, you know,” she offered. At least her laptop password had been, before she’d changed it to Pendragons when she’d given it to Cian.
Cian frowned. “How would you know that?”
She shrugged and started the car. “Buckle up.”
Lucan gave her a small nod, his expression guarded as he stepped back. Putting the car in reverse, she slid Cian a sidelong glance, anticipating the same tension he’d exhibited in the elevator.
“If you go cat on me, you’re sitting in the back.”
“Tristan let me drive his car a few times. I enjoyed it immensely.”
A few times? And he’d been ready to snatch the keys right out of Lucan’s hand?
Luckily, she’d been faster. With Cian driving she might not have made it out alive.
Chapter Eight
He wasn’t going to make it out of the car alive.
Cian gripped the door handle as she took another corner like a maniac, prepared to dive out of the car if it came to that. He was fairly certain he’d rather take his chances with oncoming traffic.
“Could you perhaps—”
She passed another vehicle at speeds the human race should not be traveling.
“—slow down?” he finished.
Tristan had driven him around the city with the top down on his BMW, and he’d reveled in reaching speeds faster than his animal half could run. Right now though, he was praying for it all to stop.
Instead of slowing down, the car picked up speed.
He slammed his eyes shut, only to crack one open at the last second. The car opposite them seemed oblivious to Emma bearing down on it, and made a left-hand turn.
Cian’s breath hissed out as she swerved to clear it. Did she not know how to use the brake?
“Sure, I do,” she said, and he realized he’d spoken aloud. “We’re just on a really tight schedule.”
“Tell me again why we didn’t just cross into Avalon at Mac’s?”
Conversation was good. By talking he could pretend they weren’t one more corner from colliding head on with another car. Immortals could survive almost anything, but beheading wasn’t one of them, and he’d be damned if tucking themselves into a metal box on wheels and traveling at speeds as fast as the gods wasn’t tempting fate.
“We need supplies first.” She weaved around two more cars, coming so close to the second one he was sure he heard the scrape of paint.
“I’m not scaring you, am I?” She glanced at him.
He pointed at the road. “Look that way.”
The crazy female grinned at him. “So I bet this would really freak you out.” She let go of the steering wheel.
If he could have bent over and kissed his ass goodbye, he would have.
“Relax, you can look now. See?”
“Two hands,” he growled, looking through the fingers on one hand. “Put them both on the wheel.”
“If you say so.”
He really didn’t like the way she said that.
Without warning, she wrenched the steering wheel in her hand, sending the car into a spin across oncoming traffic and down a narrow lane. After taking one more corner—during which he’d vow the car drove on only two wheels—she slammed on the brake.
It took him a full minute to pry his claws from the seat.
She turned to stare out the back window. He followed her gaze, certain a dragon must have been after them.
“That red SUV has been following us almost since we left the Wolf’s Den. I wanted to ditch it just to be on the safe side.”
“Oh good. So there’s a reason you nearly killed us.”
“Hey, I’ve taken defensive driving courses.”
“Maybe you wouldn’t need whatever that is if you didn’t have people after you all the time.”
“Contrary to popular belief—” his popular belief according to the look she gave him, “—that’s not the norm for me.”
“You’ve had people after you as long as I’ve known you.”
She reversed onto the street, heading in the opposite direction of the red VUS or USV or whatever she’d called it. “You don’t count. Neither does Gareth.”
Just the mention of the sorcerer looking for his mate enraged the cat.
“Do you love him?” He didn’t know why he asked or why it even mattered when his feelings for Emma weren’t real. Probably had something to do with the paralyzing fear that had been coursing through him since she’d gotten behind the wheel.
“No. His interest in me—marrying me—is only about aligning our families.”
“Are you sure about that?”
“What other reason would there be?”
He faced her. “You really don’t see it, do you?”
Suspicious, her eyes narrowed. “See what?”
“How beautiful you are.”
She snorted. “That’s the spell talking, remember?”
Was it? He wasn’t so sure anymore. The spell might fabricate the instinctive connection he felt to her, the depth of it, but anyone could see how stunning her eyes were and her smile…
“You’re staring at me.” Her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink.
“You’re blushing.”
“Am not.” She glanced over her shoulder before passing the car in front of them. He grinned, unsure if she was driving slower, or if he’d momentarily forgotten her driving was more terrifying than a legion of Morgana’s bloodthirsty trolls.
Definitely the latter, he decided another minute later, cursing as she pressed her foot right to the floor.
“Pull over.”
“Now?”
He nodded, struggling to keep still on the seat. “I need out of the car, Emma.” He wasn’t sure how long they’d been driving but it was enough he needed to be able to move more than a few inches in any direction.
“I think I saw a sign for a rest stop another mile or two ahead.”
Or maybe five. Or ten. That’s how long it seemed before she pulled off the main road and parked near a sheltered picnic table. She hadn’t brought the car to a complete stop before he threw open the door and climbed out.
He dragged in a deep breath, getting as much space between him and the parked car as he could.
“Cian?”
“I’ll be back in a minute.” Jumping over a ditch, he slipped into the trees. The deeper into the woods he moved, the easier it was to pretend the world around him hadn’t changed so drastically. Out here he didn’t need to worry about cars or elevators, or misunderstanding what someone was saying.
And he didn’t need to worry about the sorcerer who wanted Emma.
He slashed out at the closest tree, his claws slicing through the bark. Even the scent of the trees and surrounding wildlife wasn’t enough to mask Emma’s scent.
“Cian?”
He closed his eyes. Twigs snapped beneath her feet as she took a few tentative steps toward him.
“Are you okay?”
“You’re good at that, you know.”
“At what?”
“Sounding like you care.”
“Look, I know that you think I hate you or something—”
“I don’t know what to think. You’re so full of contradictions. One minute you’re trying to manipulate me and the next you seem worried about me when I’ve done nothing to deserve your concern. Why is that, Emma?”
A soft smile curved her lips. “I’ll let you know when I figure it out myself.”
He dropped his head, breathing in her scent. He wasn’t sure what answer he’d been expecting, but that wasn’t it. The female was leading him in circles. He had a better chance of catching and chewing on his own tail than figuring her out. And trying to understand such a confusing, spellbinding creature was slowly driving him out of his mind.
Everything inside him said she was his, and the only thing that stopped him from accepting it was the knowledge it was all based on magic. But the cat didn’t care. It grew increasingly agitated that Cian fought his instinct, and it was only a matter of time before the cat won.
“I have a new deal for you, sorceress.”
Her gaze turned wary.
“If you want me to track your sister, then you need to do something for me. You need to act like you’re my mate.”
“What?”
“Continuing to fight the spell distracts me, and if I’m distracted, then I might miss something.”
She shifted on her feet. “And you won’t be as distracted if…” She trailed off the moment his lips grazed her cheek.
“If I’m not pretending I don’t want you.”
Her eyes drifted shut. “So what is it exactly that you want from me?”
He studied her mouth, remembering the feel of it beneath his. “Nothing we haven’t already done.”
“We don’t have a lot of time.”
His nose bumped hers, and then he was a breath away from sinking into her lips. “If you want my full cooperation, you’ll make time.” He nipped her bottom lip, then pulled it slowly between his. “Do we have a deal or not?”
His gut told him she’d give in, but if he was wrong and she refused, he didn’t know how he’d make himself let go.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”
He was pretty sure it was the best idea he’d ever had. And when he gripped her hips and tugged her flush against him, he was convinced of it. “I’m not talking about forever.”
The cat vehemently disagreed with him.
“Just until we find my sister.”
“Mmmm,” he managed, eager to get to the part where he put his mouth all over her. Her increasing arousal was like a teasing stroke along his cock, making him achingly hard, and any second she was going to notice.
“Okay—”
He didn’t give her a chance to finish. He opened his mouth over hers, claiming as much of her as he could. They hadn’t truly finished the kiss in the elevator and he meant to make up for that starting right now.
Emma sighed, and the sound entranced him. He slid his tongue across hers, rubbing soft and slow and nearly frying his brain in the process.
Sweet Avalon.
Sinking his hand into her hair, he tipped her face up just a little more. Another breathy little sigh passed her lips, and he groaned in response.
There was no way she could know what hearing that did to him. She might not be so quick to respond to him if she realized every sound of pleasure brought him one step closer to pushing her up against the tree.
She twined her arms around his neck, and he took instant advantage by rocking his hard length against her. Her nails dragged across his nape, and she moaned into his mouth. Any plan to savor her, to linger over her mouth before moving down her throat to her breasts and the hard nipples he could feel right through her bra, went up in flames.
Between one rough breath and the next, he walked her backward. Her mouth moved in perfect rhythm with his, like they could take each other all the way in as long as they didn’t stop.
He pushed her jacket down over her shoulders, giving him more room to tug her shirt up. His fingers skimmed across her belly, not stopping until he cupped her breast.
This time he was ready for that breathy little sound she made, and deepened the kiss. She arched into him, her lace-covered breast filling his palm to perfection. He shoved her shirt up, along with her bra, then bent to flick his tongue across the dark pink tip.
She watched him from beneath heavy lids, her eyes dark with need. The kind he was more than capable of satisfying. Dipping down, he closed his lips over her nipple, pulling her into his mouth.
Her soft cry echoed through the trees, and she ran her hand through his hair, holding him to her. With a teasing drag of his teeth, he released her, giving her only a second to catch her breath before returning to her mouth.
He didn’t even try to pretend he wasn’t half out of his mind for her. Which likely explained why he didn’t remember slipping his hand between them. He rotated his palm in lazy circles, feeling her tremble.
“Is it coming back to you now?”
“Um…” She trapped her bottom lip between her teeth.
Unsnapping the button on her pants, he eased his hand inside, sucking in a sharp breath at how hot and damp she was.
“What about now?” He ran his fingers along her slick part, circling her clit, but not touching it just yet. He wanted her a little wilder, wanted her clinging to him tighter, needing him as much as he needed her.
“I think so,” she murmured.
“You don’t sound certain.” He pushed against her snug opening. “Does this help?” He thrust a finger inside her, pumping in and out.
She tucked her face against his throat. “Yes.”
“Is that yes, you remember? Or, yes, more?”
She answered him by easing her legs a little wider, and he took the opportunity to drag the moisture up to her clit, swirling over the swollen knot.
Her breath caught, and he knew she was close to release. Too close. He softened his touch so the pad of his finger barely brushed her.
“Cian.”
“You still haven’t answered the question.” He let his hand fall back.
“I don’t know.” Frustration flashed in her eyes.
That made two of them. He should have known better than to assume he could make sense to either of them when he couldn’t think of anything but making it good for her. The more aroused she became, the more satisfied they’d both be when she found release. Watching her ride the peak, feeling her clench tight around his fingers and knowing he gave her that pleasure would be almost as good as sinking his cock inside her.
And if he was really lucky—and he planned on it—he was going to get both.
“Please.” Emma caught Cian’s hand, guiding it back between her legs. Need pulsed through her in long, scorching waves. She laced her fingers through his as they brushed her sex.
“Please, what?”
Impatient, she rolled her hips. Just another stroke of his fingers… “Touch me.”
He stared at their joined hands. “I like watching you touch yourself.” The intensity in his gaze made her even hotter, and she couldn’t help but run his fingers down her sex to her opening.
; “I need to feel you inside me.” She watched his eyes darken, and then he pumped two fingers inside her. Already so aroused, the slick invasion made her feel impossibly full, and she squeezed her thighs together.
“Fuck.” He groaned against her mouth, his tongue pushing as hard and deep as his fingers. Between thrusts, he abandoned slow and soft in favor of fast and hard as he plunged his fingers inside her.
She rocked up on the balls of her feet. So, so close. His thumb brushed her clit, rubbing in harder circles.
“Oh.” She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, giving herself over to the climax that streamed through her.
Cian’s mouth slid across hers in a long, lingering sweep of lips and tongue.
I’m not talking about forever, he’d said, but with the way he kissed, she might have agreed to it. Agreed to anything if it meant she could feel this way for the rest of her life.
Cian made a sound against her lips, low and rough and like he was feeling the same thing she was. Except, for him, it wasn’t real.
There wasn’t time to dwell on that, though, as he continued to work his fingers inside her, until she moaned long and deep, eager to feel his hard length sinking into her.
Without warning he stepped away from her, but his hands weren’t at his zipper where she wanted them.
He stared at the forest behind her. “Another car just pulled up.”
Trying not to give in to paranoia, she shrugged. “It’s a rest stop.”
“Stay here.” And then he was gone, moving so quickly and silently through the trees, she might have imagined that he’d just had her pinned to the tree trunk.
A very solid tree trunk, she realized, now that he wasn’t distracting her from the rough bark she felt right through her jacket. She fixed her pants, self-conscious now that she was alone.
Had she made a mistake agreeing to his terms? But what choice had there really been? She’d never find Elena on her own.
She’d be lying to herself if she denied sex with Cian would be any kind of hardship. And it wasn’t as if she was about to fall in love with him. In another couple of days—tops—he’d be out of her life for good. As long as she kept reminding herself of that, she’d be fine.
Primal Pleasure: Pendragon Gargoyles, Book 3 Page 11