by Kay, Sharon
“Yes. It’s a magical barrier. If you’re on the outside, you can’t see it, even if you’re right in front of it. It changes constantly, showing different scenes and landscapes.”
“So even if someone found this place, they wouldn’t know they were here?”
“Exactly.”
“You were really good out there.” Alina dropped a hand on his thigh and traced circles on his black fatigues.
“I have to be, going up against the Hunter.” Caine snorted. “Dude’s not here that much, and when he is, look out.”
“Gin said that he could tell we…you and I, um…had sex.” Her voice raised on the last two words, wondering if he would care that his friend was so observant.
Caine’s expression didn’t change. “Not surprised. He can smell everything. Does it bother you that he knows?”
“No. Does it bother you?”
A devilish grin spread across his face. “Hell no, Boots.” He cupped her nape. “I’m just sorry that little bite mark you gave me already faded.”
She turned to examine his unmarred shoulder. “Oh. Um…I didn’t mean to do that. It just kind of happened.”
“Well, it can ‘just kind of happen’ again anytime.” His hand slid down her back, caressing her as surely as his deep voice did. “And anyway, carrying your scent has its advantages.”
“Advantages? What do you mean?”
“All the other males know we’ve been together, and they’ll leave you alone.”
“No one was bothering me. I’ve barely talked to anyone except family and you since I got here.”
“You talked to Brenin.”
Oh. Is he jealous? “I just ran into him for a second. When I was leaving your room.” She nudged him with her elbow, hoping to sound playful.
He shook his head and chuckled. “I’m just teasing you. He wanted me to give you this.” He reached into his right pocket and pulled out a thin silver blade.
“That’s right!” she exclaimed. “He said he found a dagger in the weapons room. A small one.” She took it gently, marveling at the intricate scroll patterns carved into the metal hilt. Peering closer, she sucked in a breath. “It has an A on it. Look!”
Caine leaned close enough for his breath to skate across her ear. “I know.”
“Did you add this? Did he?”
“No. Though I wish I had, if it puts that look on your face.”
She turned to meet his dark eyes. “It just happened to be in the weapons room, with no one using it, and my initial on it?”
“Looks like it was meant to be.” His eyes dropped to her mouth. “Just hanging out here, waiting for you to give it purpose.”
A tingle of warning shot up her spine at the possible direction he was heading. Problem was, she couldn’t go there. And yet she couldn’t back away. His nearness was intoxicating.
“Um, you know, it feels like it’s just the right weight for me.” Her voice came out louder and more cheerful than she intended. “I want to practice throwing it.”
“Now?” His hand slid around her hip.
“Yes.”
“Can’t have an unhappy Solsti.” His hand tightened and he didn’t move to get up.
Her heart thudded in her chest. If he kissed her, she would melt into him and she didn’t know if that was a good idea. But resisting his lips wasn’t going to happen. They added sensual softness to the chiseled perfection of his face, beckoning with the promise of devastating kisses.
She released a breath and her body leaned forward as if it were done listening to her mental struggle. It knew what it wanted.
His mouth covered hers and his free hand slid into her hair. And just like the other times they’d kissed, all rational thought fled her mind. Warnings and complications dissolved like mist and disappeared into the ether. She only wanted to get as close to him as possible.
He licked at the seam of her lips and she opened for him, allowing him to take over the kiss as heat uncoiled deep in her abdomen. She wrapped an arm around his brawny bicep. Every nerve attuned to him, awash in his heat and woodsy scent. And his size…he had to weigh twice as much as she, if not more. And every ounce was solid muscle, honed to a lethal edge.
Abruptly he grunted and pulled back, glancing down.
She followed his gaze and gasped, mortified. “Oh my gosh, I’m sorry! Are you okay?”
Her new dagger, having gone slack in her hand, was poking him in the thigh.
He shook his head, “It’ll take more than that to hurt me, Boots.”
“Oh. That’s right. I knew that.” Her cheeks heated, even though she knew it was only a scratch.
His fingers skated down her bicep. “Anyway, you wanted to practice.”
“Yes.” She straightened and stood. “Let’s go.”
They descended the steps and reached the grass of the field. “Where can I throw this?” she asked, looking around for a target.
He folded his arms over his chest. “Can you make one?”
“Make one?” She scrunched her nose.
“Make a big ball of dirt or something. Or something that looks like our archery targets—only made of packed dirt.” He grinned. “Come on. I bet you could, and you need the practice.”
She nodded, eyes sweeping over the grassy field. “Yeah, okay. If we’re outside, I can’t bring down the building.” She bit her lip. “At least, I hope not.”
“This way.” He caught her hand in his. “There’s another practice ring that’s dirt, not grass.”
They walked several yards past the sparring rings, with fire bulbs flicking on when they drew closer. Their destination was farther from the building, which made her feel a tiny bit better. She had more wiggle room this way, in case her power got out of control.
Reaching the edge of the dirt circle, Caine released her hand and looked at her expectantly. Boyish anticipation lit his face.
“You can’t wait to see me do this, can you?” she asked.
“Nope.” He rocked back on his heels. “Go for it.”
She pondered the dirt as a centipede skittered in front of her toes. She’d never used her power on purpose. Maybe it would be like her cloaking ability? She used it by summoning the existing shadows to drape her body…maybe she could summon the earth to listen to her?
Picking a spot in the dirt about six feet in front of her, she took a deep breath. The ground was dry as if the area hadn’t had rain for a while. She willed the top layers of soil to lift and meld.
A low rumble and groan emanated from the spot she’d picked. The ground gave a slight tremble, but nothing like what had happened in the ring earlier. This was much more subdued.
Caine let out a low whistle as the moving mass of dirt in front of them pulled in on itself, shaping and shrinking until it was a tightly packed ball, two feet in diameter. The earth went silent and still.
“Holy shit, woman. You did it!” He turned to her, appreciation shining in his eyes. “How do you feel?”
“Fine. Excited.” She couldn’t keep a grin off her face. Sure, all she did was make a dirt ball, but it was only the beginning. “I want to make another and set it on top, to make the target higher.” She moved through the same mental steps, and in a minute, she had a second, slightly smaller ball, sitting on the first. “Time to throw. And let’s hope my new creation doesn’t crumble the first time I throw my knife.”
Her blade really was small, as far as weapons went. Dancing points of reflected fire light gleamed on its surface as she hefted its slight weight in her hand. Perfect. She drew her arm back and hurled it.
The dagger sailed end over end in a series of silver flashes, and with a solid thunk, embedded in the target. She let out a tiny breath of relief that the thing held together.
Caine gave a low whistle. “Not bad, Boots.” He jogged to retrieve it and yanked it out with practiced ease. He walked back and handed it to her. “Try for a repeat.”
“Of course.” Confident, she threw it again, hitting the same spot. She ran to wit
hdraw it from the dirt and returned to her spot.
“Did your dad teach you how to throw?” Caine asked.
“He taught me everything,” she answered.
“Everything?” Caine arched a brow.
Alina giggled. “Well, when it was time to make sure I understood about sex, he sent me to the healer woman in the town where we were staying. Guess that was too embarrassing.”
Caine chuckled. “Yeah, if I’m ever blessed with a daughter, I think I’ll have to send her to be a temple maiden somewhere. She’ll never have sex.”
His words carried a subtle sense of longing, and Alina was reminded all over again that he’d lost the ones he held dear. Frustration burned at her fingertips, and she threw her knife again.
A daughter. One she would never give him. Wait. What the hell? Her heart gave a strange pounding flutter, like it was beating too fast. The knife sailed wide of the target. She knew it as soon as it left her hand, and she didn’t wait for Caine to get it for her. She ran to the target and yanked the blade out, glaring at the lumpy dirt. It was way too soon to be thinking of daughters. Now or ever. That was ridiculous. Stop it.
“You okay, Boots?” His voice rang out across the grass, a rumble that made her melt and instantly calmed the nerves he didn’t even know were fraying. She plastered on a smile and turned back.
“I just hate to miss.” She shrugged.
He folded his arms, dark eyes glittering like he saw right through her. “Me too.”
She reached him and raised an eyebrow. “You try it.”
He laughed “With your little tiny dagger?”
“Hey!” She slammed a hand on her hip. “What if it’s the only weapon around?”
“True.” He fake-grumbled through a smile. “Lemme have it.”
She slapped the silver blade into his palm and he let out a low whistle. “Been a long time since I lifted anything this light.” He winked. “Except for you.”
“Was that supposed to make up for insulting my weapon?”
“Depends on if it worked.”
She angled her head at the packed dirt. “That depends on if you hit the target.”
“You drive a hard bargain, Boots. But you’re on.” He turned to the target and held the dagger as if calculating the trajectory it would take, given its weight and the speed he could put behind it.
He was such a warrior. It was ingrained to the core of him, yet…the way he kicked back and goofed off was unexpected. And it made her feel comfortable with him. More than that, she found herself craving his light-hearted approach to things.
Everything she did was planned and plotted, down to the tiny details of each job, weapon, and gadget. With Caine, she could let some of that worry go. Here at Watcher HQ, she didn’t feel like she had to keep looking over her shoulder in case she’d been seen stealing.
But being at ease around someone didn’t mean she should start thinking about daughters. And relaxing a little didn’t mean she could let down her guard completely. And the one thing she needed to guard above all was her heart.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CAINE THREW THE DAGGER AND dropped his eyes to Alina, wondering what the hell just happened. Her entire mood had darkened in a heartbeat, though to her credit, she had only missed one throw. The other times she’d released her dagger it flew like an arrow and landed with unerring precision.
He didn’t need to see the weapon land to know it struck true. Years of practice with any and every type of blade had instilled that awareness in him, as well as the ability to realize when those around him were distracted. What he didn’t know was where Alina’s mind had gone. He jogged to grab the dagger and ran back to her. “What’s going on, Boots?”
“Nothing.” She folded her arms.
“Bullshit.” He stepped closer and caressed the length of her spine. “Something’s bothering you.”
“You did great. And I still hate to miss.” She flashed him a smile full of confidence but not happiness.
He folded his arms, not buying her excuse. But rather than call her out on it again, he’d try a different tactic. “So do I. And you’ve done well so far. So I think it’s time to up the game.”
She scrunched her nose. “How?”
He jutted his chin toward her double tiered dirt ball. “Just throw. You’ll find out.”
“Hmm. I’m not sure I like this,” she muttered, but shifted her attention to the target.
She drew her arm back. Moving fast, Caine was at her back, hands on her hips.
She gasped.
“Go ahead. Throw.” He dipped his mouth to the side of her neck, drawing in her moonflower scent.
Arm trembling, she squeaked out, “No fair.”
“You’ll have to fight when there are distractions. Now throw.” He licked the shell of her ear.
Her breath was shaky and she let out a moan, but didn’t move.
“I’m waiting.” He moved his hands up her torso, itching to feel her soft skin instead of the cotton tank top she wore.
“I…” She whirled to face him and held her dagger’s point to his throat.
“Fucking hell, Boots.” He started to shake his head, but that only drew his flesh across the sharp tip. “Touche.”
“Like you said, there can be distractions.” Green eyes shone with a wicked smirk.
He held up his hands and stepped back. “Well done. You pass.”
“Didn’t know this was a test.”
“Pop quiz.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Next assignment: a shower.”
She huffed out a breath but allowed him to steer her toward the building. Darkness had fallen completely and the twin moons were low in the eastern sky, pale orbs that barely cleared the tree tops. A pair of night hawks streaked overhead, circling and dipping in their own mating dance.
Whatever had been bothering Alina seemed to have faded, but Caine knew that didn’t mean it was gone. But for now, he’d take her confident self. There would be plenty of time to dig into all of the mysteries that made up his little Solsti. He intended to be at her side for whenever and whatever she was willing to share.
And right now, she was willing to let him lead her through the immense headquarters and down the wing to where his room was located. Her flip flops smacked softly against the marble in the quiet halls. Caine guessed most of the Lash were locked up with their mates, or in the nearest town slaking their seasonal lust.
They reached his door. “Care to do the honors?” He leaned against the wall. “You did it the other night. Didn’t leave a scratch.”
She frowned and patted where her pockets would be, if she had them. But her form-fitting black yoga pants obviously didn’t. “I don’t have anything with me tonight.”
He chuckled and unlocked the door. “What’d you use, anyway? You don’t have your tools here.”
“A pen. Snagged it from the game room.” She shrugged as she walked ahead of him into the room and he swore she gave an added shake of her hips just for his benefit. Those pants hugged her ass perfectly, and the sliver of skin showing between her waistband and the hem of her top drew him like a magnet. He needed to touch her, now.
He kicked the door shut and crowded close behind her, sliding his hand under the back of her shirt. “Aren’t you the sneaky one?”
She turned and skated her slender fingers up his chest. “A girl’s gotta be creative.” She was so little in his arms. Her head was at the level of his pecs and she leaned in to lick a teasing path down his sternum and across his left side.
He groaned at the brush of her soft lips. His cock, which had been semi-hard as they’d neared his room, now stood at full attention. He rocked into her.
“Mmm.” She smacked her lips and grinned up at him. “You’re sweaty.”
He dipped his head and took her mouth in a savage kiss, need riding him hard and quashing the idea of going slow. But he tasted his own exertion on her lips. She was right. He pulled back. “Shower. Now.”
She stepped back an
d yanked her top up and over her head, revealing the blue bra she’d had on earlier. Sauntering toward the bathroom, she unhooked it and dropped it on the floor. “Ladies first,” she called.
Holy hell. He shucked his pants in a heartbeat and joined her. She was leaning into the large shower, adjusting the water temperature, topless and still in those tight yoga pants. He grabbed her around the waist and bent, pushing her further down at the waist but still supporting her. He licked her spine from her neck down as far as he could go.
Placing a kiss to the center of her back, he yanked her pants and panties off in one fluid motion. She shimmied to help him. One glance at her bare sexy ass and he didn’t know if he’d make it to the shower. She was feminine power and beauty combined, and the urge to please her and claim her trumped everything else in his mind.
The scent of moonflower filled his nose as his lips brushed her smooth skin, nibbling his way and enjoying how her stomach muscles clenched under his fingertips. Unable to resist the temptation of her breasts, he moved his hands to cup them. Her whole body shivered and she arched her back, which had the doubly erotic effect of pushing her breasts farther into his hands and pushing her ass up against his stomach. His cock throbbed, so close to where he wanted to be.
“In.” He grunted and thanked the gods she was on board with his monosyllabic sentences. He was too far into the crazed lust of the season to try to speak smoothly plus, having had a taste of her, his body wanted more. He had no desire to visit the cities and sleep with any of the Watcher groupies who’d offer up their bodies. No, all he wanted was the sexy female in his shower.
She ducked under the rainfall-style showerhead and tilted her head back to douse her hair. The movement pushed her breasts out, pink nipples hardening as rivulets coursed down, and he licked his lips. He bent to take one tip in his mouth and she sucked in a breath, then he felt the sweet pressure of her hands at the back of his head, holding him right there.
Hell, did she have any idea how sexy she was? He slid one hand to her lower back. With the other, he traced a line down her other breast, dragging it across her hard nipple, down her torso and around her belly button. He continued lower, slower, making teasing circles as he dipped closer to the heat between her thighs.