by Kita Bell
Brand could always count on his brothers to help him beat himself half to death.
Sometimes he just needed that.
Corin King stood in the dark of the night and waited, studying the street, the snow, and the lights dancing off the cold wet pavement.
A Sakai approached cautiously from behind, keeping a careful distance between them. “Sir. I have the station footage, sir.”
“You should have had the footage seven hours ago.”
“Apologies. There was an issue with the system. Someone corrupted the files. Intentionally, sir. They were very good. But we found the vehicle.”
“You ran the license?”
“Yes sir. We traced it to a checkpoint. They crossed into Canada earlier this evening.”
Corin King nodded and turned away from his contemplation of the icy sidewalks of Whitefish, Montana. “Canada. Very well. Then Canada is where we follow.”
Chapter 8
Brand paced the confines of his rooms and ignored the late-night talk show blaring on the TV. His hair was wet, the sweatpants clinging to his body from the cold shower.
After working the pain and frustration from his system with Seth and Khael, it had been all he could do to stagger back upstairs to the Infirmary; Samuel had frowned at the cuts on Brand’s face, given a quick healing, then pointed to a spare bed.
It was their usual routine after Brand took someone’s memories. But despite Brand’s exhaustion, he hadn’t been able to sleep. Eva haunted him.
Lovely face, silver eyes, sweet rain scent.
Brand dragged himself back to the Kade wing and stood before Eva’s door for a good five minutes before it occurred to him she was sleeping. He’d cursed, turned to his rooms, and taken a long cold shower.
It hadn’t helped.
He still wanted her. Needed her.
“You can taste her,” Brand snarled to the empty room, “You can have her. Just don’t Marque her. Not until you tell her the truth.” It was both a vow and an order to himself.
Sooner or later she would have to know. Just…not yet.
Not until he had won her. Not until she cared.
Brand raked a hand through his damp hair, scooped up the remote and muted the TV. Then he tossed the control aside and padded toward the kitchen. There was leftover pasta in the fridge. Nikandria’s cooking. The most he could hope for was that it wouldn’t kill him, but…
Footsteps shifted outside the door. It was a bare cautious move as if someone stood, debating.
Brand stilled. His immediate family would just walk in, to hell with privacy. There was only one person at Stronghold he could think of who would stand outside Brand’s door and hesitate.
Brand crossed the floor and ripped the panel back. Eva.
Her face was pale, startled. Brand’s instincts rippled as she sucked in a deep breath. Her breasts rose and fell, and he traced the movement with his gaze; her eyes widened, rose to his, and Brand realized that he had already wrapped his palm around the warm delicate skin at the nape of her neck.
The sensual scent of his amati filled his rooms, his territory. As it should.
“Brand. I tried to sleep, but… I kept thinking about today. I wanted to check on you. To see if…” Eva’s voice dwindled, her gaze fell to his chest, lower. His cock strained. Eva licked her lips; beneath his palm her throat worked. “You know what? I just…never mind.” The last emerged as a breathy whisper.
The clean scent of her arousal hit him like a fist to the gut.
Brand didn’t think, he growled.
And claimed Eva’s lips for his own.
Eva gasped the scent of Brand into her body and instantly forgot her concern. What was going on here, now, was too raw, too immediate to be ignored, and – ever since the train – her body had been burning. To be near Brand, to be with Brand. To take Brand inside her and finally work out this strange need and tension that had built inside her since that first kiss in the car, on a side street in Bockoven.
No, Eva thought, splaying her hands against him as he pushed her back against the door and pinned her there; his mouth moved from her lips to the sensitive place below her ear, his strong thigh sliding between hers, It was since I first saw him. It had begun the night she first opened her eyes in that hotel room, expecting to find an enemy, and found Brand instead.
He moved down her throat, to her chest, and Eva arched against him, gasping. She gripped his broad shoulders and rose to the heat of that deadly mouth, moving against the tuck of that thigh, her own impossible need welling deep inside. “Brand…”
“Still, Evita.”
He was licking her now.
Then came the gentle pressure of claws against her flesh – Brand slid his hands up beneath her shirt, gripping her ribcage – there was the satisfying shred of cloth as her shirt ripped away. Eva moaned. Brand growled in satisfaction at the sight of her bra, leaned closer, and gave a slow, deliberate bite over Eva’s left breast through the material. Eva was already swollen and sensitive, and she shuddered at the sensation of his teeth sinking into her soft flesh, gripping her, and yet so careful not to break skin, so careful not to hurt.
She had never been with a man before who could hurt her. Not really. I’m usually the stronger one. Uneasy entered Eva’s mind, but then Brand kneaded her buttocks and gently sucked her nipple through the flimsy bra. The heat in Eva’s belly coursed down her legs. She held onto Brand, trying to stay upright as she felt her own body melt, until his strong hands slipped down her thighs. Eva felt the now-familiar pinprick of his claws, the cool onrush of air as her pants shredded away.
“Not fair,” she whispered, pushing against his warmth, slipping her hands under the damp t-shirt he wore to run her palms over taut muscle. “Not fair.” The hard pulse of his erection was heavy against her thigh, and Eva breathed Brand deep into her lungs and gripped his shoulders, trying to maintain some balance against what he was doing to her breasts, “I want to see you. Too.”
“In Chicago,” he growled, catching her nipple with his teeth, “when I Changed back. I wanted to fuck you so badly. Could barely fucking walk.” Arousal thudded through Eva’s veins.
The memory of him, the memory of his body, the size of his cock…Eva licked her lips. “You told me…not to look. In Chicago. So you should let me look…now.”
Brand growled and pulled back. He raised up to look into her eyes; his dark blue gaze sparkled with gold, flickers of ruby, and a deeply male amusement. “You know what? I just might oblige you, Evita.”
Eva laughed and slapped his chest, squirming against him until she could step back. Brand let her go but kept her bracketed in his arms as she ran her fingernails lightly up and down his sides. “Maybe I just changed my mind. Maybe I’ll leave right now, and we’ll both never know. We’ll just sit around like a bunch of old humans in a retirement home – and wonder. Forever,” she laughed, widening her eyes to tease, because there was no way she was going to pass this up.
That blue gaze flickered again, turning serious.
That quickly, everything about what they were doing shifted. There was that secret in Brand’s eyes again…but also a need so raw it should have frightened her.
Eva stilled. It’s more than sex, she realized, the heat of his body warm against hers.
She knew Brand kept secrets from her. He kept secrets from everybody. But somehow, Eva was afraid of what he was keeping from her.
Because whatever it was – if it made him that serious – it couldn’t be good. And if Brand told that secret to her, what they had now – what they were about to do, would end.
He started to speak.
“Brand…” She shook her head sharply. Not yet, she thought with a desperation not even she understood. She needed this too. Not yet. “Brand – don’t – forget what I said. I’m not good at teasing anybody. Just…just forget it. Kiss me. Please. Right now.”
Brand closed his mouth and gave her a penetrating look.
He slowly shook his head. For a moment
, his expression was so solemn…then he smiled and grazed his hand up her spine to wrap the back of her neck, holding her tight against him. He lowered his forehead to hers, locked gazes, and whispered, “Never tease me, Evita. Not with forever.”
His kiss was brutal, almost violent, pushing her back against the door so that she was left gasping. Brand picked her up, and the next thing Eva knew he was carrying her up the steps to the upper story of his rooms. She glanced out at the loft, caught a glimpse of a large cushioned chair beneath an old sword, walls lined with books and files and a huge pile of paperwork strewn across a massive carved desk. Then Brand cut down a hall, pushed open the door to a dim room and threw Eva into the air.
Eva snarled, clawing out with her fingers in shock as she tried to find her balance, then landed on her back in the middle of a wide, cushioned surface – she bounced, and the scent of Brand filled the air around her like a gift. A bed. Brand’s bed.
The thought electrified Eva. Goosebumps prickled Eva’s flesh as she gripped at the soft gray material and looked at Brand.
He was pulling the t-shirt over his head, bronzed muscles rippling in a beautiful, masculine way. His gaze came up and latched on hers…his eyes were pure Kaspian gold, flickering with sapphire and ruby. Brand slowly perused Eva’s body, devouring her, and her flesh heated. She tensed her fingers, wanting to reach forward to rip those pants off, to pull him down to the bed. He was all heat, all strength.
Brand’s gaze arrested on her feet, and his low rough laugh set her on fire. “Seems I forgot something.”
Eva glanced down; she tapped her running shoes together and rose to her elbows to grin. “Sexy, aren’t they?”
“Yes.” But there was something so serious in Brand’s voice that it was almost unsettling. He sat on the edge of the bed and began unlacing her right foot.
Eva watched, then sucked in a breath, trying to quell her sudden nervousness. “About condoms…”
“No need,” Brand said, turning her foot to the left. “And I doubt I could find a condom at Stronghold if I tried, Eva. Though if you want,” he grimaced slightly, “I’ll certainly try.”
He didn’t have children unless he wanted to have children. He could control those things. Still…
Eva frowned. “You’re absolutely sure?”
“I think I would know by now,” Brand responded, very dryly, and met her eyes. The intensity of his look tore through Eva, and her breathing was faint again, as if she couldn’t pull enough air into her lungs. As if she couldn’t pull enough of Brand’s scent into her lungs. And Eva struggled with herself: trust him. Trust that someone, anyone could control such a thing about their body. Trust Brand. With that.
With her.
No, this wasn’t a trust issue. She was just…just being nervous. Like it was her first time or something.
She made her decision.
“Pants,” Eva demanded, prodding him with her left foot, and sat up closer to him. Closer to that phenomenal chest. Her thighs spread as she moved and her arousal stained the air; Brand’s body went rigid beneath her fingertips, and Eva laughed, enjoying the sensation. She stroked her hands down over him, petting him, appreciating his strength. Trust him. It was in internal cadence now, a mantra. “Pants, Brand.”
Trust.
“Good things come to those who wait,” Brand's voice was strained, with mock seriousness. He smoothed his hand down her calf in a slow, sensual movement to just above her ankle.
Eva yanked the shoe off her foot and he growled softly. “You don’t need to unlace it,” she said tartly. It was hardly sensual. Though, with Brand, it probably would be. Something occurred to her; Eva narrowed her eyes. “How old are you?”
“Old enough.” A slightly-too-innocent grin.
“Old enough to remember corsets?”
“Maybe,” Brand said, slipping the other shoe off her foot to set neatly on the floor.
Okay, so older than I thought. Maybe, what, two centuries? But Eva could deal with that. Sure she could. “I bet you liked unlacing corsets,” she challenged. Brand’s grin widened, and he raised her foot to his lips, kissed the arch of it, before pulling her closer to kiss her ankle as if he were about to feast on it.
“I like unlacing women.”
Brand’s grip on her ankle tightened – that was all the warning Eva had before he pulled. She fell onto the bed and Brand shifted up to kiss her calf…her knee…her inner thigh…Eva quivered as he moved up over her, pausing as he gripped her hip and her thigh, and looked straight into her eyes. “You, Eva, are the most beautiful woman I have ever…unlaced.”
So serious.
It was a line. A complete and total line. He probably used it on dozens of females. And yet, the look in Brand’s eyes, the way he said it…Eva shivered. Her body was hot, the hunger in her spiraling outward. Eva settled her hands lightly on his shoulders, almost edgy as she gazed at his handsome, intent face.
“Take your pants off,” she said again, more quietly this time.
Brand smiled, leaned to nibble her calf, and rose up closer, hotter as he gripped her thighs in firm hands, spreading them slowly as he caressed the sensitive inner flesh. The room filled with the scent of her arousal, and his smile gained a wicked, pleased edge. “Lay back, Eva. I’m not nearly ready for that.”
“But maybe I am,” she gasped, but closed her eyes, tight, at the tongue that dipped into the wet swollen folds of her body. He found the nubbin of flesh there, that bundle of nerves, circled, flicked… Eva clenched, twisting and Brand tightened his grip on her thighs to held her still, delving deeper along her cleft. Eva tangled her fingers in the blankets as heat began to hum through her veins, pleasure and arousal mixing, escalating through in a way that made everything else disappear. She was on the verge, the edge…
Dimly, Eva realized that Brand had released her right thigh, leaning back to dip his strong fingers into her. He found her clit again, brushed over it, and Eva cried out, jerking as he stroked down to dip gently into her opening. She moaned, tangling her fingers in the sheets, praying to come. So close. “Deeper,” a hoarse plea.
“Not yet, Evita,” Brand murmured, and withdrew. “This first time, I should…but I have to… Forgive me,” he growled. “I need to feel you when you come.” The bed shifted, abruptly cold, and Eva’s eyes flashed open.
“Brand…”
The rough slide of clothing on skin. His pants. “Finally,” Eva gasped. The bed dipped beneath Brand’s weight as he came over her, braced himself on his elbows. His heat stretched above Eva as she wrapped her arms around him. His erection was huge and hot and hard against her belly, pulsing. Brand nuzzled her breast above her heart. Then he raised his face to hers.
Eva caught her breath. His irises were dark ruby red. The color of pomegranate seeds, clear and deep. Kaspian gold played in the back of them, with sparks of deep sapphire blue. She raised her fingers, traced his eyebrow, staring into that gaze. So beautiful.
“Your eyes are red,” she whispered, and felt something shift, changing deep inside her heart. Brand settled his hips between the hot slickness of her thighs, and Eva canted upward, tightening her fingers into the strong flesh of his back. The blunt head of his shaft nudged her opening, spreading her slightly as he positioned…then paused. Brand’s shoulders flexed, his neck and jaw tightened. “Your eyes are beautiful,” Eva gasped, and dropped her own hand to his neck, holding to him, kneaded her fingers into the tension coiled there.
“When I take you. You will watch me, Evita,” Brand’s words were a low guttural command, “and you will keep your eyes open.”
Her mouth fell open.
“Because yours are more. More beautiful.”
He pierced her.
Eva screamed. Her confused mind almost thought it hurt…but no it didn’t, it was pleasure. God, it was pleasure. Eva wasn’t used to feeling so much, wasn’t used to his size. He filled her. She didn’t know if she kept her eyes open, but she must have, because all she saw was red – and then she r
ealized it was Brand’s eyes over hers. The blue had disappeared from his gaze, and all that remained was red and gold…
“Eva. Evita.” A hoarse demand, and she saw the concern and control as he stilled inside her.
“Fine,” she gasped. “A moment.” She was fine, she was good, she was great, oh god.
Eva gripped his shoulders, shifting against him, adjusting around the thick intrusion of his length. Brand cursed and dropped his face to her neck, his body rigid as she moved around him, seeking an easier angle.
“You’re so fucking tight,” he whispered against her shoulder.
“You’re so fucking big,” she whispered back, and felt his smile against her skin. He kissed her collarbone.
“Ready?”
She tightened her inner muscles in response. They both shuddered. Then slowly, agonizingly, Brand began to withdraw. Each long heavy inch of him pulled from the tightness of her body, coiling inside Eva, and she could feel the tension building in his shoulders. Her nipples rubbed against his chest, so tender, and she rocked her hips up, wrapping a leg around Brand’s body as the fires inside her reheated to burn at a higher, more dangerous pitch. His large hands tangled in her hair, but Brand raised his face from the crook of her shoulder.
When he pushed back in Eva’s inner muscles clenched, a stuttering beat. He thrust slowly, deeply, settling against the entrance to her womb, then seemed to push further.
Eva moaned, eyelids fluttering shut.
“Open,” a harsh snarl.
Eva opened her eyes, bared her teeth. Then Brand claimed her lips and thrust the rest of the way, claiming her cry with his mouth.
He began to pull his cock out again. Slowly. Eva’s body clenched with need. She was shaking with need. Every inch of Brand’s body was hard with tension. But he kept pace.
“Oh God, Brand,” Eva sobbed, the prospect of the night suddenly seeming like torture – beautiful, exquisite torture – “Faster. I can’t stand this. If you do this.”