Ana was by the closet. She glanced up at him as she walked to the bed, arms full of clothes.
“Going somewhere, darlin’?”
“Yes.”
He waited for her to elaborate, but that was it. Taking a deep, controlled breath, he leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb. “Wanna tell me where? And why?”
“The Mat-Su Valley, for starters. That’s where I was the weekend before you got here. Heading back.” She dumped her armful of clothes on the bed and started folding them.
“Okay. There’s the where. Where’s the why?”
She glanced at him, her mouth flat and unsmiling. “You wanted me to do something. I’m doing it.”
“And it involves this Mat-Su Valley. Ana, I’m not quite following your thought train here. Where’s the Mat-Su Valley? Why are you going there? And why aren’t you at work?”
Her lip curled in a sneer. “The Mat-Su Valley is about an hour north of here. I’m going there because that’s where I feel like I need to go. And work—” She broke off, laughing but the sound had absolutely no humor in it.
It was heavy and weighted, and her purple eyes were sad.
“What’s wrong, Ana?”
“I got laid off. Business is slow, I’m the new employee—nobody they can’t manage without. The story of my life, pretty much.” She finished folding her clothes and then headed back to the closet.
Shoving off the door, he caught up with her before she managed to get her busy little hands on more clothes. Catching her elbow, he tugged her to a stop, made her turn around and face him.
“I’m sorry, princess.”
She cocked a brow. He could scent the anger and frustration inside her, but none of it showed on her face, none of it showed in her voice as she calmly said, “Why are you sorry? You wanted me to do more. This pretty much opens my schedule up.” She grimaced and added, “Not indefinitely—I’m going to have to look for a job at some point. I’ll get unemployment for a while, and I’ve already taken care of that. I’d rather not rely on that, but it gives me a little bit of breathing room before I have to worry.”
He brushed her hair back from her face. “There’s no reason to worry. I can help out—”
“No.” She stepped back, evading his touch. “That isn’t necessary.”
“I know it’s not necessary. But I want to.”
“Too bad. I don’t want you to,” she said, her voice cool. She turned back to the closet and tugged a couple of hoodies from their hangers.
Duke scowled and stepped out of her way, watching as she went back to packing. She added a couple pairs of shoes and socks and then snapped the suitcase closed. He grabbed it before she could haul it off the couch, depositing in on the floor and then once more facing her.
“How long are you going to stay pissed off at me? I already told you that I’m sorry. I was wrong. I know that.”
“I’ve already told you that I’m not mad at you,” she said calmly.
“Bullshit. You are mad.”
“I’m not mad at you,” she repeated.
He narrowed his eyes. Okay—she wasn’t mad at him. But she sure as hell was mad. “Fine. You’re not mad—at me. Who in the hell are you mad at and why in the hell are you still avoiding me if it isn’t me?”
Her eyes fell away from his. Her shoulders rose and fell on a sigh and then she met his gaze again. “I’m mad at myself, Duke. But I’m handling it.”
“Why are you mad at yourself?”
She just stared at him, her violet gaze unreadable.
“Ana . . . ” He took a step toward her.
She went to back away but stopped herself. Unable to help himself, he took another step and watched her body tense as she fought the urge to put some distance between them. Dipping his head, he rubbed his cheek against hers. “Talk to me.”
“What do you want me to say?” She turned her face away.
“Tell me why you’re mad at yourself . . . tell me why you don’t want me touching you anymore. Tell me what I can do to make it better.”
You could love me, Ana thought desolately. His voice, dark and warm, wrapped around her, sending heat rushing through her. It warmed all the dark, cold places that had settled back within her soul over the past day. In a matter of days—hours—Duke had somehow managed to fill the emptiness inside her. Then, in a matter of seconds, with a couple of terse words, he’d hollowed her back out.
Now he was trying to do it all over again, warm her, soothe her, comfort her . . . but she couldn’t do this roller-coaster ride. It was too exhausting, too confusing, and she just didn’t want it.
She didn’t.
Then why don’t you pull away?
Good question. She tried to make herself do just that, but instead, she found herself turning her face into his neck and breathing his scent in. He was always doing that to her, and it might have made her feel self-conscious if she wasn’t getting pretty damned addicted to the way he smelled. Warm, strong, male . . . just a little wild.
She rubbed her lips against his neck and then licked them, tasting him there. Slowly, she brought up her hands and rested them on his waist. He eased her closer and she didn’t pay any attention to the voice of reason that told her to pull back. No, she didn’t want to do the roller coaster, but she couldn’t manage to pull away, either.
He threaded a hand through her hair and tugged, easing her face upward. Through lowered lashes, she stared at him. He was going to kiss her.
But as he dipped his head, she pulled back.
A muscle jerked in his jaw, but he said nothing as he let his arms fall away. With distance between them once more, that miserable knot of cold settled inside her. Now there was another voice whispering in her head, but it wasn’t the voice of reason.
He’s going to be gone soon enough. Gone, and he won’t be back. It’s entirely possible you won’t see him again.
Possible . . . and very likely. The pain that hit her as she realized that was staggering. She had to lock her knees just to stay upright. Never see him again . . . never see Duke.
In a matter of years, her brother Brad would be done with his training at Excelsior. He’d leave, settle into whatever assignment the Council felt he was best suited for and once Brad was gone, Ana would have no ties to Excelsior, no reason to go back.
Which meant little chance of her seeing Duke anymore. He alternated between running patrol and training the newer Hunter recruits at the school, but he tended to stay in the eastern part of the country. Once he left Alaska . . .
Ana took a deep breath. When he left, it was going to hurt, no matter what. He would leave—was it going to make any difference if she held him at arm’s length now?
Hell, no. She was in love with him. She suspected she’d started the fall the very first night they’d met. His soul had called to hers and nothing had changed that.
Whether she pushed him away or not, she’d still love him.
Whether she pushed him away or not, it was still going to tear a hole inside her when he left. The only thing she could control was whether or not she’d have some good memories to ease the ache of loneliness.
Lifting her head, she stared at him and made the decision.
Damn it, I’m going to live it up while I can. Every bit of it. She reached for the waistband of her sweater and drew it off.
Duke’s breath escaped him in a rush and his eyes went dark. “Ana, are you trying to confuse me or does it just come natural?”
She forced a smile and went to him, pressing her body to his. Just like that, the icy knot inside her dissolved, replaced by the heat of desire, the wistful ache of yearning. She pressed her lips to his chest and slipped her hands under his shirt. “I guess it’s natural.”
“Hmmm.” He cupped the back of her head and tugged on her hair.
She lifted her face to his. This time, when he lowered his head to kiss her, she pushed up on her toes and met his kiss. Met heat with heat. Yearning with yearning. They fumbled away the rest of their clo
thes and as their bodies pressed together, he growled in pleasure. She sighed in satisfaction.
Duke walked her backward until her legs bumped into the mattress and then he stopped, sank to his knees in front of her. His mouth burned a trail across her belly, his tongue circled her navel, and then he went lower, lower. Ana gasped as he pressed his mouth to her sex and licked her, spearing his tongue through her folds and teasing her entrance. Legs watery, she braced her hands against his shoulders and stared down at him.
He growled against her, the guttural noise vibrating against her sensitized flesh in the sweetest way. She whimpered. He trailed his fingers up the outer curve of her leg, up over her hip. “Fuck, I love the way you taste,” he gritted out, pulling back just long enough to glance up at her. The heat in his gaze warmed her clear down to the soles of her feet. Then he put his mouth on her again and used his tongue to tease her clit as he pressed two fingers against her entrance.
As he pushed inside, she whimpered, barely able to breathe. Her legs wobbled, threatened to buckle. He eased her down, skimming his lips over her flesh as she settled on her knees in front of him, straddling his lap.
“Pretty Ana,” he muttered, straightening up and staring down at her, watching as he fucked her with his fingers. “Watch . . . ”
Leaning back, she braced her elbows on the mattress and watched, wide-eyed. Watched as he stroked her, teased her, pumping his fingers in and out. Blood rushed to her cheeks and she squirmed with embarrassment, but she couldn’t look away. It was too damned erotic, watching him play with her, hearing herself moan as he worked her closer and closer to orgasm. But just before she could find it, he stopped touching her.
Moaning in disappointment, she wiggled in his lap and Duke laughed, easing her off his lap and turning her away from him. “You’re not coming without me inside you,” he said, urging her forward so that the mattress supported her upper body.
Fuck, she was already so close. Duke gritted his teeth as he pressed the head of his cock against her entrance and started to push inside. He had to force his way past muscles that were already clenching tight in anticipation. Sweat was dripping off his body by the time he had his dick completely buried inside her snug pussy. His hands flexed and power rippled through him, his grasp on control slick and shaky. Lightly, he raked his nails over her back and swore. His nails had lengthened, darkened to jet-black with just the faintest hook-like curl. He slammed his fists down onto the mattress and dug his fingers in. Material ripped—he heard the whisper of it even above her whimpering cry and his own ragged breathing.
“Killing me,” he muttered, shaking his head and trying to clear the lust-and-need-induced fog. Body trembling, he pressed his brow to her back and reached for control. He wanted to plunge deep, ride hard, until she was screaming, whimpering and as mad with desire as he was.
She moaned and rolled her ass back against him and Duke swore. “Don’t. Ana, fuck . . . please don’t move. Not yet . . . ”
She gave him a teasing smile over her shoulder and did it again. Duke snarled and banded his arm around her hips, locking her against him. “I’m about to crack, princess. You’re driving me insane . . . fuck, you’re so soft . . . so wet . . . just gimme a minute.”
“Uh-uh.” She didn’t want to give him a minute, he realized. Not even five seconds. She might not be able to move her hips or wiggle that sexy ass of hers, but she could damn well tease him in other ways. Painfully erotic ways—like clenching down around his cock, her silken, slick pussy tight as a fist around him. Then releasing, then tightening, a maddening rhythm that had him snarling in desperation.
Letting go of the mattress, he put one hand in front of her and flexed it, baring the nails that had yet to shift back to normal. “You’re pushing me, Ana. I’m about to break,” he rasped against her ear. He dipped his head and raked his teeth down her neck. Then he clenched his hands into fists, clenched his jaw closed and willed the beast inside him to recede, to pull back, give him some measure of sanity back.
But Ana just milked him again, reaching down and trailing her fingertips along his thigh. Swearing, Duke grabbed her hands and shifted, taking her down to the floor. He crushed her flat against the hardwood and used his knees to spread her thighs wider. Capturing her wrists, he jerked them high overhead and then he growled, “Are you trying to push me over the edge?”
“Yes . . . ” She pushed back with her ass.
He stilled—even as the beast inside him screamed. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
“You wouldn’t.”
She clenched down on him, once, twice, a third time and Duke gritted his teeth, tried to battle down the need. “Fuck . . . you better be sure . . . ” Control withered, frayed, snapped and he shoved backward onto his knees, bringing her with him. Gripping her hips, he held her steady and then drove deep, hard, fast. He held nothing back, fucking his dick inside that tight, wet pussy.
Ana cried out his name, arched her back and came. Duke rode her harder. Took her deeper. Canting her hips higher, he changed the angle so that the head of his cock rubbed against her G-spot. He watched, staring down at their bodies, her hips, that perfect, heart-shaped ass lifted for him. Hunger burned, ate at him. He licked his thumb and then pressed it to the tight pucker of her ass.
She tensed. He pushed.
She shuddered and tried to pull away, but Duke held her steady. “You wanted to see how far you could push me,” he rasped. “Now it’s my turn . . . I’m going to push you. And push . . . push . . . ”
Her slender body trembled and bucked, her spine bowing up as he continued to push. Hot and snug, the walls of her ass closed around his thumb. He pushed onward until he could go no deeper and then he started to ride her again. Slower this time, gentle. She was tighter now, but still so fucking wet, so hot.
The scent of her hunger wrapped around him and he sucked in desperate draughts of air, tried to breathe past it, tried to think past it.
With her flaming face pressed against the smooth wooden floor, Ana whimpered and trembled. She was afraid to move, afraid to even breathe too deeply although she desperately needed air. Desperately needed to move. Inside her sex, his cock throbbed and jerked. He settled into a slow, easy rhythm, stroking her deeply, completely. But too damned slow—she wanted more, wanted fast, wanted hard.
But the newer invasion kept her from pushing back. It was new, unexpected—something she’d read about, but nothing she’d ever done. It was almost too much. Too damned tight. Too damned intimate. He moved his thumb and she moaned, tried to pull away.
Duke slid his hand around and under, raked his nails across her clit. “It’s my turn now,” he muttered, using his body to control hers, keeping her from pulling away, keeping from doing much of anything that might relieve the burning, aching pressure building inside her.
He moved his thumb again, falling into a tandem rhythm. His cock stroked in, his thumb stroked out. Her breath locked inside her chest. Couldn’t breathe, couldn’t breathe—then he raked his nails over her clit a second time. Third time.
The fourth time had her coming.
The fifth time had her moving, rocking forward to meet the teasing strokes of his fingers, then back, riding his cock and his thumb, taking both penetrations as deeply as she could. A harsh growl escaped him and he went faster, rode her harder. She met each stroke, reached back and gripped one muscled thigh, crying out his name.
Heat, need, hunger, yearning . . . they swamped her, and as she came one more time, she pressed her mouth against her forearm, muffling her cry . . . muffling the words she couldn’t say to him.
CHAPTER 10
“WHY are we here again?”
Ana climbed out of the car and looked across the roof at Duke. Blood rushed to her cheeks. She just barely managed not to nibble on her thumbnail as he leaned forward, bracing his elbows on top of the rental car. He’d paid for it—he’d insisted and she’d let him have his way.
She’d already put the call in to the B and B where she’d
stayed the week before and paid for the room with her debit card. She’d briefly considered staying at a hotel, since they might be here for more than a few days. She’d bypassed the idea, though. Hotels might be cheaper but they were too crowded. Too much pressing in on her. B and Bs were just so much easier for her and right now, stressed as she was, easy was good.
“Ana?”
She huffed out a breath and said, “I’ve already told you . . . I’m not exactly sure why we are here. I came here last weekend and did some tromping around through the woods.”
“Why?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. A girl disappeared from here ten years ago—she looked a lot like Marie. She was found off one of the trails by some hikers a few weeks after she’d disappeared—or rather, by their dog. She’d been buried, but not deep enough.”
He pushed off the car and studied the area around the house. “Ana, I haven’t really taken much time to do the tourist bit, but I get the feeling there are an awful lot of trails in this state.”
“You have no idea,” she muttered with a grimace. She’d spent plenty of time doing the tourist bit, as he called it. She’d spent a great deal of time exploring in the year she’d been in Alaska and she hadn’t even touched the tip of the iceberg. She mustered up a charming grin and said, “I’m kind of hoping that you could maybe act as a bloodhound.”
He snorted. “Wrong animal, princess. I don’t go bowwow or bay at the moon.”
“But you can track by scent. More . . . well, you might pick up on something.”
“Something you didn’t pick up on?”
“I don’t have that internal homing beacon that you’ve got, Duke,” she said, shaking her head. Against her will, she found herself staring out at the sprawling mountain vista just behind the B and B. It was a beautiful view. But something about it sent shivers running down her spine. There was something out there.
She didn’t know what. But she could feel it.
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