by Linsey Hall
“Thanks. Hey, Esha? I’m going back to my place. I left the instruction manual over there. I’ll see you tomorrow.” After saying goodbye to Ana and looking at Cam questioningly, she departed.
Ana looked at Esha. “I’m going to get a shower, okay?”
“Sure. Hang on a sec.” Esha turned and rummaged through her fridge, then spun back around and handed over a bottle with a grin. “Here’s a beer.”
“Score. Shower beer is the best.”
“True story. Sorry I don’t have any donuts or we’d have the perfect dinner.”
“Well, I saw you’ve got the Die Hard movies on your shelf, so we could still have the perfect night.” Ana waggled her eyebrows.
“That I do. We can watch one when you’re out.”
“Awesome.” Ana shot Esha a grin over her shoulder that hit Cam in the chest, punched through his ribs, and yanked on his heart. Seeing her at ease, in her element with her friends. Shit, it did something to him. Something dangerous. She took so much joy in life and in other people. He loved that about her, but it gave him the strangest empty feeling. Like loneliness. He shook the thought away. He might be a loner, and his life might lack the joy Ana felt at being with her friend, but he wasn’t lonely. That was ridiculous.
“Can I get you something, Cam?” Esha’s voice cooled when she addressed him.
He turned to catch her still eyeing him suspiciously, then caught sight of the cat doing the same, his citrine eyes offering threats along with distrust. He was big, with a tomcat face and disheveled fur.
“Ah, beer. Thanks. Mind if I take a seat?” Cam shifted on his feet, feeling eerily like he’d stepped into the den of some kind of predator.
“Sure.” She snagged a beer out of the fridge and handed it to him. The sound of water singing through the pipes emitted from the bathroom. Esha sprawled in the chair across from him, but it wasn’t hard to see that the sprawl was an act. “So you and my friend have a history.”
Here it comes. He sipped his drink. Nodded.
“A fucked-up history, from what I’ve heard.”
He nodded again and she gave him an appraising look.
“Hmm. Didn’t expect you to admit it,” she said.
“Well, you’re right. It’s fucked up.”
“You gonna unfuck it up?”
“What do you mean?” But shit, he knew what she meant. Exactly what he’d been fearing since Ana showed up on his river.
Esha’s amber eyes now glowed with the same aggression that shone from her eerie cat. “Get her the fuck out of Otherworld. She hates it. No.” She shook her head and gestured. “She doesn’t just hate it. It’s killing her, from the inside out. She was a fucking mortal. Skilled and driven and strong enough to be a god, but not built for it. Not inside. She’s so lonely in Otherworld that her soul is withering.”
Cam’s grip tightened on the beer bottle as some invisible force squeezed his ribs. At first he thought it was her magic, just a hit to convince him she was serious. No need, lady.
But then he realized it was him, because he was fucking agreeing with her. Guilt was a live thing in his chest, filling him up until he nearly strangled on it. He was responsible for what had happened to Ana. For all the loneliness and misery in her life.
He’d made the decision before he’d ever set foot in Esha’s tower, but only now was he accepting it. He’d go back to Otherworld to save her. No question. He could hardly live with himself now, knowing how lonely she’d been in Otherworld. She was too bright and fun and lively to be in a place like that.
But the idea of going back, to that place where he’d tried and failed, made him sweat. He prayed that Logan Laufeyson was strong enough for the task and wanted the job, because if he wasn’t, Cam’s own life was about to get a hell of a lot more miserable.
Going back to Otherworld—well, shit. He supposed he’d been headed in this direction, he just hadn’t wanted to acknowledge it.
“I’ll fix this,” he said.
Esha seemed to see the truth in his eyes and she relaxed. The cat didn’t, and Cam had a feeling that the bruiser would be glaring at him all night. It hissed, like it could read his thoughts, and he glared back.
“The Chairman likes you,” Esha said.
He raised a brow.
“Yeah, just fucking with you. He’d eat you if he were big enough. But I trust you to take care of this. Because if you don’t…”
Then he did feel something squeeze around his chest. And his legs, arms, head. His vision temporarily blacked out, and claws of panic pierced his heart while his muscles strained to break free. When the pressure finally released and he opened his eyes, he had to force himself not to gasp in front of her.
“So we’re on the same page.” Esha gave an eerie but genuine smile. “Can I get you another beer?”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Keane Hotel, Inverness, Scotland, Present Day
“I can’t believe she wasn’t there,” Ana said as she crossed the street with Cam toward their Inverness hotel. A cold drizzle exacerbated her pissy mood.
“She’ll be there tomorrow.” He held open the door of the hotel for her.
“Yeah. It’s just so anticlimactic. We’re so close, and we came up empty.” After waking late at Esha’s—Cam on the couch and Ana in Esha’s bed with her friend and the space hog of a cat—they’d driven north all afternoon until they’d reached Inverness.
“Tomorrow,” Cam said.
Ana looked around the lobby of the hotel. She’d never have guessed it was another Mythean hotel, complete with protections, from the look of the place. A shining wood registration desk and plush couches decorated the space. It looked like any other mortal hotel in the city.
“Let’s head to the pub,” Cam said after they’d checked in.
“What, you’ve got business down there?”
“No, just thought you’d like to go out. Live a little.”
Her head swung toward him and she took in his not-quite-casual stance. “Just for fun?”
He nodded.
Huh. He’d really been listening when she’d talked about her trips to earth and wanting to live as much as she could. A smile tugged at the corner of her mouth.
“They’ve got some local whiskeys I’ll bet you’ve never tried. But no getting drunk.” He smiled. “One glass only, so we stay alert.”
It felt warm and fuzzy and strange to do something so normal with him. But maybe that was the point. They had no idea what was coming tomorrow. She knew what she hoped for. But there was no guarantee. One last night—the only night—when they wouldn’t think about what was coming.
She smiled. “Yeah, all right.”
They walked into the crowded pub in the basement of the hotel a few minutes later and managed to find a seat by the old wooden bar. The beauty of the hotel’s protection charm was that if someone sought out another with ill intent, he wouldn’t be able to find them. Not even if they were standing right in front of his face. The place was dark and low ceilinged, all wood and leather, dingy in the way of a beloved old pub that hadn’t needed to change to keep its clientele coming.
Clientele which, she noted while looking around, were quite strange. Most were human-passing Mytheans, but more than a couple looked like creepy movie extras. But then, it was the only Mythean watering hole in town, so if they wanted a drink, this was it.
When she finally turned back to the bar, Cam was holding out a heavy glass of golden liquid. One corner of his mouth was kicked up in a sexy grin. She swallowed hard and reminded herself that she had the control of a saint.
Sure.
“Thanks.” She raised her glass to his, caught his eyes and then her breath, and finally found the focus to take a sip. “It’s good.”
He nodded, and they sat on the barstools with their backs to the bar so that they could people watch.
“Not too different from your jungle bars, is it?” she asked.
“Nah. Just needs a fight ring out back to be perfect. A few of th
ese fellows could stand to work out some of their aggression.” He gestured to a group roaring over a football match on the telly.
“Work out something else, more like,” Ana said as she caught sight of a couple groping each other in a darkened corner. A flash of jealous heat streaked through her. She glanced at Cam. Her state of mind was contagious, and the dark heat in his gaze made her turn away from him and sip her whiskey to get control of herself.
But when had alcohol ever made one wiser or less prone to their baser instincts?
A man stepped up next to her on the side away from Cam. He caught her eye and grinned. He was handsome, and nearly as big as Cam. But he left her cold.
“Buy you a drink when that’s finished?” he asked.
Cam made a low noise in his throat, but didn’t intervene. He didn’t treat her like property that the other man was encroaching upon, and she liked it a hell of a lot.
“No, I’m good,” she said.
“Come on. One drink won’t hurt.” He put his hand on her back, and her skin prickled uncomfortably. Didn’t this moron understand no? Or that she was with Cam?
A low noise, like a growl, sounded from her side. It was Cam. She caught sight of his fists on the bar, the knuckles whitened.
“Seriously, I’m not interested.” She scowled up at the man, who hovered too close.
“Come on, bird.”
That’s it. She set down her whiskey tumbler and shoved the man so hard that he flew across the room and slammed against the wall. She grinned darkly. Being a god might suck, but the strength was a real bonus.
The man righted himself and surged toward her, his scowl-twisted face red as a sunset. “You bitch.”
She stood, but before she could face him, Cam slipped around her side and collided with the man. He lifted him up by his shirt collar, and Ana caught sight of Cam’s face in a mirror on the wall. Pent-up aggression twisted his features. She hadn’t seen him in a fight ring in a while, but the fighter was still there.
He shook the man, and Ana swore she heard teeth rattle.
“You sure you don’t want to rethink your approach?” Cam growled.
Ana moved to stand next to Cam, unsure of whether or not she wanted to kick her annoying suitor or save him from possible death. “I can handle my own fights!”
Cam glanced down at her and growled, “No doubt. But I’d like to help.”
Warmth spread within her. She liked to handle her own battles, but something about having Cam fight for her was undeniably appealing. She wanted him, more than she’d ever wanted anyone else. All it took was a glance from him, much less a fight on her behalf, to send her toward the deep end. Anything else—anybody else—was just fleeing from the very real thing that was developing between them.
“I think we’re done with him,” Ana said, nodding at the man, who had gone limp in submission.
Cam dropped him and turned to her. The man caught his balance and scrambled away.
“I didn’t like seeing you with him,” he growled. Something like jealousy or desire glinted in his eyes. Maybe both.
“Then with who?”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
“Me.” Cam stepped forward until he’d caged her against the bar. He wanted to grab hold of her and never let her go. He’d tried to resist. He didn’t deserve her, but even that couldn’t stop him now. With every passing day, he was reminded of all the reasons he’d grown to care for her in the past. Seeing that bastard come at her with violence in his eyes had thrown his situation into sharp relief.
He cared for her more than he cared for himself.
“You?” Ana was breathing so quickly he could see the pulse flutter in her throat.
“Yeah. What we have is better than anything you’ll find anywhere else.” He knew that for sure now. Knew that everything in their past hadn’t been a fluke.
“Maybe that’s not what I’m looking for.” She didn’t sound like she believed her words.
“You’re looking to run away, that’s what you’re looking for.” He pulled her toward him, his hands on her waist. “I remember what it was like when I first left Otherworld and came to earth. Getting close to anyone was strange as hell, even if I didn’t feel things quite as strongly as mortals.”
She nodded slowly, her eyes wide.
He leaned down to her ear. “Didn’t you say you wanted to live dangerously?”
“Yes,” she whispered.
His hand engulfed hers and he pulled her down a darkened hallway in the back of the pub to an alcove off the end. Probably once used for storage, it was now empty and dark.
“What?” she gasped as he pressed her against the wall and cupped the back of her head.
“You said you wanted excitement,” he said against her lips. And he didn’t know if he could wait to get back to the room.
“I—” she panted. “I was joking.”
He kissed her, reveling in her sweetness, and the high-pitched moan that escaped her mouth when he pushed up her shirt belied her words.
“I don’t think so. I think you like this.” He cupped her small breast, circling his thumb around her nipple until she arched into his hand.
She gripped his shoulders and he pressed himself hard against her, to keep her upright but also to feel the heat and softness of her belly pressed against his cock. He stifled a groan when she rubbed against him.
The sound of revelers in the pub a mere ten yards away clashed with his harsh breathing and her low whimpers.
He pressed his mouth to hers, parting her lips and tasting the bite of whiskey on her tongue. Desperate to feel more of her, he ran his hand down her stomach to her shorts. He unsnapped them and slid his hand inside, easing into her underwear until his fingers dipped into her heat.
She made an animal noise in her throat, tore her mouth from his. “We could be caught.”
Her breath was coming hard and fast, the lightest tinge of fear to it, but she arched into his touch. Her hands ran over the muscles of his chest and arms, squeezing and petting and making him feel like he could move mountains.
“Maybe.” He parted her sex and pushed two fingers inside her, his cock twitching jealously as her muscles closed around him. He moved his thumb in small circles around her clitoris. Damn, she was soft.
“I want you inside of me.” Need was thick in her voice, as was fear. But the edge of excitement to it had him fucking her more slowly with his fingers as he rubbed her clitoris.
“Fuck, I want to kiss every inch of you. Taste you.” His voice was scratchy.
“Cam, hurry.” Her hand ran down his abs to the fly of his jeans. But her fingers were uncoordinated, fumbling with the buttons.
Footsteps and raised voices sounded from the entrance to the hallway. Someone was coming. Cam started to withdraw, but Ana stiffened, then moaned. Her pussy clenched on his fingers.
“That gets you hot,” he said, and her whimper confirmed it. He thrust his fingers harder, making her moans come faster and closer together until her fingers failed on his jeans and her hands fluttered to her sides.
The voices faded away as the revelers changed direction, but Ana was already close to the edge.
“Come for me, Ana. Let me feel you.” He watched her head drop back against the wall as her hands gripped his shirt. Her lips had parted and her body was tensed for that final flight into oblivion.
His cock twitched as he felt her inner muscles begin to clench around his fingers. So good.
She pressed the back of her hand to her mouth to stifle her moans and he caught sight of the scar striping down her wrist. He didn’t think, just grabbed her hand and raised her wrist to his mouth. He’d barely pressed his lips to the surface before she jerked her arm away.
“No.” She tensed in his arms, the flutters of her impending orgasm fading away. Her eyes were intense on his, another type of desperation all together. “Fuck me. Fuck me now.”
Shit. He’d blown it with his careless kiss, a reminder of all that stood between them. But he wan
ted this. Wanted her. Too much to stop even when they should.
“You’re on something?” he rasped against her lips. Disease couldn’t affect immortals, but pregnancy was another matter.
She nodded frantically, reaching between them to free his cock. The feel of her hands on him made his knees weaken.
Keep it together.
They were still in a pub, he reminded himself. He struggled to keep an ear out for anyone approaching while she stroked him. Roughly, like the situation called for and how he liked.
He pushed her shorts to her ankles. They slipped off easily when he yanked her into his arms. Her legs wrapped around his waist, and he inhaled deeply of her arousal.
“Fuck, you smell good.”
“Hurry, Cam.” She rubbed against him.
He squeezed his arm between her and the bite of the stone wall, then slipped his other hand between them, yanking aside her underwear and inhaling deeply of her scent.
“Fuck, you’re wet,” he growled.
“Now, Cam.”
He wanted to look at her, to make this last and make it important. But he couldn’t. Not with Otherworld standing between them. He’d chosen the dark hallway for this because he thought she’d like it, and because it wouldn’t allow the intimacy that would suck him under and make this all harder when it was over.
“Please, Cam.”
He obeyed, sliding into her. She was tight and hot and wet and so good that his mind blanked out from the pleasure. She buried her face against his neck and keened long and low against him as he fitted himself inside her. He didn’t move, not yet, taking a too-brief moment to revel in the feel of her before his body took over.
“I need you,” he muttered. He thrust, slow and deep, savoring the feel of her, the sound of her, the smell of her.
He slipped a hand between them to find her clitoris, an awkward maneuver that was made worth it when she stiffened in his arms. The crook of his neck stung where her teeth bit into him to stifle her cries, though he couldn’t have given less of a fuck if she screamed the house down and brought the Pope in.
A low growl, animalistic in its intensity, was dragged from his throat when she spasmed around him, squeezing his cock as he thrust into her. He tried not to focus on how good it felt to have her shivering in his arms, or his desire to see her face, and finally withdrew his hand when the spasms faded.