Driven by emotion, he acted, not willing to hear her argue, not willing to hear her blasted illogical logic. He drew her into his arms and stared down at her. “I won’t let them have you.” He laced his fingers through her hair. “I won’t.” Rinehart kissed her then, a wild, passionate kiss. A kiss that freed his Beast. She could choose to run, she could choose to hide. But when he was done, they would never turn her into a Beast.
Primal instinct poured through his veins as Rinehart drank of Laura with long strokes of his tongue, kissing her with insatiable passion, his hands possessively branding her body. He’d unleashed the Beast within him, told himself it was okay, told himself that she was his to claim this night. That taking her wasn’t selfish, that claiming her was her salvation rather than his own. And she gave herself to him, her anger not forgotten, not at all—simply redirected into passion.
They were naked, intimately entwined. He hardly remembered undressing, though he would never forget the way her hand stroked the hard edge of his erection through his jeans, or the soft way she had said his name—a plea for more, a promise of pleasure.
They faced one another, his thick erection pressed between her shapely legs, nuzzled inside the core of her body. He wanted to melt into her, become one with her. He’d never needed like this, never wanted anything as much, and he wondered at how the simple touch of her hands on his face, his neck, his chest, could affect him in such an intensely provocative way. Wondered how a kiss was not simply a kiss: passionate kisses, hungry kisses that drove his hunger. Her sweet moans filling his mouth as his fingers lingered on the sweet ripe peaks of her breasts.
Somehow, Rinehart held back, waited until they burned with need. Then and only then, with their lips a breath apart, did he press past the silky folds of her body, easing her on top of him, the hard ground his to bear. Her hips widened over his, taking him fully, impaling herself on his length. He shoved aside the silky mass of her hair and pulled her lips to his, kissing her. His woman. His mate.
“Rinehart,” she whispered, her body hungrily clinging to his, her stomach aligned with his, her breasts flush with his chest. Her hips swaying, stroking him with erotic friction.
His hand slid down her back, pressing her closer, molding them into one, the depth of his need beginning to shift, darken. Demand formed deep in his groin, expanding through his body, to his chest. Unfamiliar need that reached into his soul. He thrust into her, thrust again. He pressed her hips into his, lunged upward. Harder. Faster. He had. To. Have. More.
They were panting now, their movements, their touches, taking on a desperate quality, two people trying to become one. A frenzy of wanting until her body clamped down on his cock with wild demand. Instantly, his gums tingled, ached. The moment of truth had arrived. A moment that came only one time for a Knight—the one time his teeth elongated, and that was to claim his mate.
Guilt flashed in his mind as he pumped into her body, driving toward her satisfaction. Regret over how this had to happen, over claiming Laura without consent. Feelings he swiftly shoved aside. He’d made his decision, chosen his path. Lost himself in the warm, wet heat of her as he replayed Jag’s words in his head. Keep her out of the Beasts’ hands at all costs. Jag had never meant death; Rinehart knew that now. He had meant this, claiming her. Taking away her susceptibility to the enemy.
Laura might hate him for stealing her will, her choice, would most likely resent him, but she would never become a Beast.
Yes! This was what they both needed. He pumped into her, kissing her, touching her, driving them both over the edge. Burying himself inside her body as his soul reached out to hers.
Laura arched into him with a gasp of pleasure, her body tensing for a moment before the spasm clamped down on him, pulling him deep into her release. Rinehart was shaking with need when he rolled her onto her back without fully giving her his weight. Pumping into her one last time as he exploded, shuddering with release. His cuspids extended and he didn’t hesitate, didn’t give himself time for second guesses. He buried his face in her neck and sunk his teeth into her shoulder.
Her fingers dug into his arms, and she cried out, not in pain, but in pleasure, her body clenching around his as she once again found release. Wildly, their bodies quivering together, and he could feel the connection of souls. Slowly, they eased into each other, their bodies calming, sated.
He heaved a breath as he released her shoulder from his bite. But he couldn’t let go, couldn’t move away. Not yet. Please, Lord, not yet.
Chapter 19
Overwhelmed, Laura lay beneath Rinehart. His emotion, her emotion, it all pounded into her, fogging her brain. Something had happened between them. Something she didn’t understand. Was she losing her mind? Had he bitten her? She swallowed hard. And she had liked it?
It was all so confusing. The male perfection of muscle pressed close, only serving to make matters worse, reminding her of the pleasure he’d given her. The connection she had felt in those incredible moments with him; the connection she felt now, and in truth had felt since the moment she had met him. “Rinehart?” she whispered, a question in her voice, a plea to understand what had just happened.
Slowly, he eased up onto his elbows and stared down at her, his eyes telling the story she couldn’t read in his emotions. Whatever had just happened held some sort of consequence she wasn’t going to like. A consequence he had knowingly bestowed upon her. “What did you do?” she demanded, urgency growing inside her. She knew he wouldn’t hurt her, but she could also sense his feeling that he knew better than her. That he could make choices on her behalf. Her hands tightened on his arms. “What did you do?”
Torment filtered into his face. “I had to protect you,” he declared, his voice lowering into a hissed whisper. “I had to.”
The raspy declaration rattled her, and suddenly Laura needed to be up. Already, passion had driven away her good sense, made her forget the argument they were having. She couldn’t think molded to him, as if they were about to make love again.
Laura pushed at Rinehart and worked to scoot herself out from underneath him. Receiving no resistance, she found herself illogically disappointed.
Nevertheless, space had been the right choice; her mind was clearing with disturbing results. She grabbed his shirt, an easy solution to cover up, as he reached for his pants. Demons. They had been talking about Demons. Then they had made love and—her hand went to her shoulder, searching for a wound that wasn’t there—erotic images of him biting her flooded her mind. Inwardly, she shook herself.
Her arms slid into the sleeves of his shirt, the tear on the right arm catching her attention. Her gaze riveted to his arm as he buttoned his jeans, to the injury she’d forgotten. Her mouth dropped open at what she saw. She closed the distance between them and grabbed his elbow, holding him steady to survey the gash on his bicep, and saw that it was nearly healed.
Laura touched it, her lashes slowly lifting. “I saw that cut. It needed stitches only hours ago.”
He stared at her, his eyes half-veiled, his emotions a hard wall she struggled to bypass. “I heal quickly,” he said. “And now, so will you.”
“Explain,” she said, acutely aware she had not buttoned his shirt, that her breasts were exposed. Somehow, he was sitting against the wall, and she was between his legs. Heat darted to her core, and she yanked her hand from his arm. Leaning back on her heels, Laura tugged the shirt together, crossing her arms protectively in front of her body. “Stop talking in circles. Stop telling me half of everything. We’ve had the ‘Demon’ talk. I get we are not dealing with normal here.” She cringed at the choice of word and then defiantly added, “Not what I consider normal.” She swallowed, not sure how to frame her question. Was he a Demon? Did she even want to know? “You’re…What…You said you were like them—like the Beasts. Like them how?”
Laura didn’t give him time to answer; her shoulder seemed to tingle as she thought of him biting her. Her hand shoved under the shirt to probe the wound that didn’
t exist. She shoved the garment off her shoulder, desperate to prove she wasn’t insane, that he had bitten her. And there she found her proof. She gasped as she saw a marking, a star of some sort. Instantly, she thought of the snakes, of Walch, of the threats he’d made against Kresley. God, Kresley. Momentary fear for her twisted her stomach.
Her head was spinning as she fixed Rinehart in an accusing stare. “What did you do to me? What…what are you?”
He didn’t react to her obvious emotional state, his demeanor cautious, his words seemingly chosen with care. “I am as I said, Laura,” he replied. “A Hunter. A member of an elite group that fights for humanity, who were once victims of the Beasts ourselves, recruited by the leader of our group.” Without warning, he moved, his knees to hers, their thighs aligned. The heat of his body flowed into hers, his hand branding her shoulder as the mark had. “It is my offer of protection. Something I can give to only one human in my life, and that human is you. No Demon will ever steal your soul now, Laura. They will not make you one of them.”
He’d marked her and only her. An intimacy lingered in that confession that she didn’t fully understand. On some level, though, she knew they were somehow linked. She had felt that from the moment they met.
Again that overwhelming rush of emotions washed over Laura. His. Hers. Desperately she searched his eyes, trying to confirm information that seemed unreal, seemed impossible, trying to understand. She searched his face, his emotions, and found his resolve to protect her, his unshakable commitment to her safety.
But she knew there was something he wasn’t telling her. “There’s a consequence that comes with the mark, isn’t there? A reason you did it without asking me first.”
His gaze shifted, his touch easing from her shoulder. They were close but not touching. “I am immortal, and thus you, too, are now immortal. You will not age, but neither can you suppress your abilities with science. Normal will never be what you wanted it to be.”
Normal. A word that had defined so many of her actions in the past. She shoved away any reaction. He had more to say. She wanted to know everything, and she wanted to know now. “What else?”
His hands lifted as if he would touch her, then fell back to his sides. “We are bound together as mates now, our souls connected. If we were to separate, I have no way of knowing how it might affect us. There are only a few mated Knights, and each of them made the choice to come together.”
“The other mates had a choice,” she said flatly, realizing how much this bothered her. She was falling in love with Rinehart, she had no doubt of this. But now, no matter what happened, she feared she would never truly trust their bond. A bond that she realized was becoming exceedingly important to her. He was that missing thing in her life, the person she could confide in, the person who she didn’t have to hide from. She needed that to be real. Could it ever feel real with this mark on her shoulder?
Fear, pain, hurt, all rallied inside her. She was saved from the Demons, but faced a life unknown. “Why didn’t you talk to me? Why didn’t you explain?”
“I tried, Laura, I—”
“Not hard enough. I’ve been bombarded with Demons and monsters and hell, right here on earth. I can barely stand the thought of what might be happening to Kresley right now. Rock is in danger because of me. How could I not feel confused? How could I not fight for the few things in my life that felt normal?”
He raised his hands as if to reach for her, and she shrank away from him. His expression tensed. “I was told to ensure you stayed out of the enemy’s hands at all costs. I had to make a choice for us both. I had to choose your death or your immortality. I chose your immortality. I chose to claim my mate. I did this to save you, Laura. I need you to know that.” His chest rose and he cut his gaze before turning back to her. “But you deserve to know you saved me, as well. When I was given my soul back, I retained the stain of the Beast. It was eating me alive. I was turning back into a Demon. It would have consumed me again, and not far down the road. My salvation was you, Laura. Only a mate can bind the Beast within the Knight. But I didn’t mark you for me. You may decide that is the case, but it’s simply not true. You still have a chance to build a decent life, to live among humans. That has never been my life, and it never will be.” Conviction formed in his voice. “I would have walked away. You would never have known what was happening to me.”
His voice rasped the words one last time. “I would have walked away.”
If ever she was glad for the ability to sense emotion, it was in that moment. He meant those words. He really had been prepared to walk away. “I would have done it for you,” she whispered. “I would have saved you without a moment of hesitation.”
He shook his head forcefully. “No, you wouldn’t have,” he said. “I wouldn’t have let you. Don’t you see, Laura? I don’t want you out of obligation. I want you because you want to be with me. I still do. We’ll get through all of this, Laura, I promise you that. And we’ll figure this out. We’ll find out how to make it work. If you want happily-ever-after, I’ll do my damndest to find it for you.”
Her heart swelled. That sounded so unimportant right now. In fact, it sounded frivolous. People were dying. People were in danger. How could she turn her back and not do something about it? Pretend that Demons didn’t exist? She slid into Rinehart’s arms, thankful when he welcomed her, holding her close, his heart beneath her ear, his lips on her hair. “I don’t even know what that is anymore,” she whispered.
“I’ll help you find it,” he said. “I promise.”
And she believed him.
Kresley was his mate.
Deep inside a large cavern well-hidden by a hollowed-out tree trunk, Lucan held her as she sobbed; he was terrified for her safety, praying an answer would be found to end the hours of hallucination that had tormented her. She was relatively calm at the moment, but it wouldn’t last. It came in waves that seemed never-ending. Some were mild—but some were intense, powerful crashes.
Gazing down on her tear-streaked face, his chest tight, his need to comfort her immense, he knew in his heart of hearts she belonged to him and he to her. They had barely found each other, and already she was slipping away from him.
“I don’t know what to do for her,” Lucan said, eyeing Max, who sat on the floor a few feet away, edginess surrounding him. A sheathed saber sword lay across his lap. “I wish like hell I had a way to sedate her.”
“I wish like hell we could, too,” Max agreed, eyeing the eight-foot cavern door as he rotated the saber handle over and over. “For her and for us.”
Max had made his concerns over being discovered more than vocal and Des had agreed. Which was exactly why Des had opted to take the twins on to a separate shelter. Rock’s situation reeked of a chilling reality none of them wanted to think about. The chances that a Knight survived captivity with Beasts was unlikely.
Two silver-clad females shimmered into appearance just inside the entrance. Lucan’s gut wrenched. “The snakes,” he warned, forcefully setting a clinging Kresley aside as he snatched his sword and came to his feet.
“We’ve come for the girl,” they said in unison.
“You’ve come for my sword,” Lucan countered.
“And mine,” Max added.
“Your swords will not stop her pain.”
Kresley screamed behind him, and somehow he managed to remain as he was.
“We will find a way to remove your mark.”
They smiled. “We are sure you will,” one said.
“But will it be before she goes insane?” the other questioned.
Kresley screamed again and Lucan cringed visibly. The Demons smiled.
Kresley huddled against Lucan, screaming about the snakes on her face again. She needed help and Max had said “screw it” to the helicopter. If there was any chance their Healer could help Kresley they had to try and reach her and do so now. But an hour had passed and no Max. One more hour toward Kresley’s unraveling.
And she was screami
ng in a way he knew meant those Demons were returning.
They shimmered into view, directly in front of where he sat against the wall, holding Kresley. With all his will, Lucan wanted to fight, but could not. He was afraid to let go of Kresley, afraid she would lose the last bit of sanity his touch seemed to offer her.
“Are you ready to give her to us?” the Demons asked, staring down at him with silvery eyes.
“I will not,” Lucan said, and reached for his sword. “I will kill you both before you take her.”
They laughed. “Your sword will not kill us.”
“But releasing her might,” one of them said.
Desperation formed inside him, a deep need to protect Kresley. She’d spoken of a purpose that day he’d given her the injection. Spoke without fear, with resolve. He believed deep in his soul that purpose was real. That something important awaited her. “Tell me what I can do to save her.”
“You wish to negotiate for your mate?” they asked.
Kresley jerked in his arms, smacking at her arm as if to beat off another snake. “Yes,” he hissed. “I wish to negotiate.”
“Will you trade yourself for her?”
And there it was. Would he trade himself for Kresley? Would he turn his back on the duty, the honor, he had clung to for three centuries? Lucan stared down at Kresley, searched his soul as he did. Without her, he would surely fall to the darkness. He was a lost cause without her. They would both end horribly or she could be saved. What option was there? He had to save her.
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