Dark Flight (The Shadow Slayers)

by Cassi Carver

  Something about her room always being ready warmed her heart. Having a place nestled between Gavin’s quarters and the old Julian’s abandoned room was almost starting to feel right. “I wouldn’t mind sleeping in my room here in the palace tonight.”

  Gavin’s tired eyes lit at the news. “Really?”

  “Really. But since we’re being honest, you know what would help me rest even better?”

  “What?”

  “Sleeping in yours.”

  His chin drooped as he stared back. “My room? With me in it?”

  Kara giggled, and it wasn’t a sound she made often. “Of course with you in it. I mean, we’ve been spending almost every day together for the past eight months, rolling around, wrestling and practically kicking each other’s asses. I’m sure we could handle sleeping in the same bed if we’re just sleeping, right?”

  His mouth opened and was working as though he was trying to say something, but it took a few seconds before he finally made a sound. “Er…yes. Sleeping sounds delightful.”

  When he turned to rifle through his drawers and came back with a huge white T-shirt, Kara lifted it to her nose. Whatever laundry soap they used here on Mercury Island did little to wash away Gavin’s scent. She inhaled deeply and sighed. Why hadn’t she thought of this sooner?

  She slipped into the bathroom, noticing that servants had already cleared away the soiled rags she’d used to cleanse Gavin’s chest earlier. She used the restroom and removed her clothes, taking a moment to readjust her thin slash of underwear when she slipped on the shirt. A thong, a T-shirt and night beside Gavin… This was a good idea, right?

  When she emerged from the bathroom and stepped into the bedroom, the lamp was already switched off, but since the sun had just gone down, she could easily see Gavin stretched out beneath the covers.

  She crawled in bed beside him and fluffed her pillow then rolled onto her side, facing away from him. Trying hard not to be seduced by the thick fragrance of him all around her, she closed her eyes. “Good night.”

  “Kara.” The low timbre of his voice, quiet yet crystal clear in the deepening night, went straight to her core.

  She looked back over her shoulder. “Yeah?”

  “Come here.” When he patted his bare chest, there was no force on earth strong enough to keep her from sidling up to his warm body and laying her cheek against his skin.

  He brought his thick arm under her head, as Kara draped her forearm across his waist and flattened her hand against his ribs. His heartbeat was loud in her ear, faster than she thought it should be for falling asleep.

  She’d imagined this so many times, drifting off in the ultimate warmth and comfort of Gavin’s arms, but now that the moment was here, sleep was the furthest thing from her mind. This small slice of time felt so fragile, she didn’t want to speak or make any observations. She didn’t want to ask him if this was a good idea. She’d already come to the conclusion on her own that it most definitely wasn’t.

  But after a minute, when his heart seemed to be hammering harder still and her moist cheek was sticking to his chest, she decided she had to say something. “Interesting weather we’re having, huh? It’s so…sticky.”

  The deep intake of his breath and his expanding chest lifted her head an inch higher, but she rode it like a wave, glued to his skin. “Uh…yes. Tropical. It never varies more than a few degrees at this latitude and longitude. But I…uh…do find it interesting that it’s always the same. In the grand scheme of atmospheric science, that’s really something.”

  She swallowed, wanting to thunk herself in the forehead for stupidity. “Well, yeah. That’s true. And it seems to rain at least a little every day here, which I’m sure makes sense when you know a lot about atmosphere scientists and everything. But what I can’t figure out is why you guys wear so much suede. Seems like it would bond to your skin.”

  Gavin chuckled. “It does cling, but it’s a carryover from before we lived on the island. I think the men would much prefer loincloths here, but I hate the look of it. So Tarzan. And shorts or slacks from the mainland were never a favorite.”

  “Hmm… Yeah,” Kara answered, quickly running out of things to say. “At least you don’t have to wear them to bed.”

  “The only reason I’m wearing anything at all is out of respect for my guest. Briefs are right up there with jockstraps in popularity on the island.”

  “Yeah, but if I remember correctly from the night we met, you’re really more of a boxer guy, right?”

  He shifted, and with his size, the entire bed bobbed under his weight. “Kara.”

  “Yeah?”

  “Change the subject, please. Something above the belt.”

  She rolled onto her back with his arm still wedged beneath her, just to give him a little room to breathe. “So…I was worried about you when you followed that scout tonight.”

  “You needn’t worry about me. I don’t come across much that can take me down.”

  “It was still weird when you flashed, and I didn’t know when or if you were coming back.”

  He pulled her closer again. “I’m sorry. I hate to point out, though, that if you hadn’t asked me to take you with me, you wouldn’t have had to witness that. I still stand by my assertion that you would be safer here.”

  She lifted her head to look in his eyes. “I’d rather be there when you’re in trouble, Gavin, any day of the week.”

  “I was hardly in trouble. I won’t consider it true trouble until that scout brings Ailexon back with him, and then at that point, I will pick you up and toss you to him, screaming, ‘Take her—not me!’”

  Kara snorted and poked him in the ribs. “Be quiet. You’re all talk anyway. In reality, Alex probably just wants to say ‘hello, Kara’ and you’ll be all, ‘No! She may break a nail!’”

  “Your optimism astounds me.”

  When he adjusted his shoulder, Kara repositioned her head. “Am I hurting you?” He was silent so long, Kara shifted to look up at him again. “Am I?”

  Gavin chuckled. “There are so many ways I could answer that, princess. I think I’ll stick with the safe answer—no.”

  “Can I ask you something else?”

  “Of course. Is this what they call pillow talk? Who knew Kara Reed is so talkative after the sun goes down? I figured you for the passes-out-when-her-head-hits-the-pillow type.”

  “My pillow is a little more lumpy than usual.” She nudged Gavin’s rock-hard biceps. “Kind of makes it hard to sleep with your muscles poking out everywhere.”

  He reached behind him. “I have another pillow if you prefer…”

  Kara shoved away the pillow with an unladylike snort, and plastered herself to his side. “Not a chance, mister. I like your lumps just fine.”

  “Mmm…” She wasn’t sure what she said, but she could feel a small vibration rattling through Gavin’s chest, tickling her cheek. “Ask me your question, princess.”

  “What you said earlier tonight…back at Nefren’s…when we were dancing? Do you remember?”

  “About wanting you for my own or about our first time together?”

  Kara muffled her groan. “I was thinking of the wanting-me-for-your-own thing, I guess. I think I blocked out the other one.”

  He raised his head to stare down at her. “Blocked out? Truly? Is the idea so distasteful to you?”

  “Not exactly. I’d say it’s very tasteful. It’s something I try not to think about much because it makes everything harder.”

  At her words, he relaxed back into the mattress. “I think I know what you mean. For me, there’s only so much time I can spend wanting you, Kara…only so much time I can spend thinking about what it would be like to be with you. It’s such a well-traveled road, I have trouble going there anymore.”

  “You do? But I thought…the way you made it sound earlier, I thought you were open to the idea. Or was that just Nefren’s party atmosphere talking?”

  “Sit up. I won’t have this discussion lying down.”


  Kara’s eyebrows shot up, but she went along with Gavin’s request as he pushed the pillows against the headboard and turned slightly to face her.

  “Okay,” she said. “I’m sitting.”

  He met her gaze in the dark, and although she couldn’t make out the hazel of his eyes in the dim light, the picture of it was forever burned into her mind. When he reached out and pressed his palm to her cheek, she swallowed.

  “When I say I have trouble going there anymore, I simply mean that I cannot possibly fantasize about you any more than I already have. I would rather partake of one real kiss from your lips than a dozen more hollow fantasies. You’ve asked me for honesty—are you ready for it?”

  “I think so.”

  He leaned in slowly and brushed his lips over her brow. “Then here is the truth,” he whispered against her temple. “I’ve never wanted a woman as I want you. But it’s not only physical, and you need to know that. I see you. I know who you are on your best and worst days, and you are so pleasing to me. Make no mistake—” his hand wandered down her bare thigh and grasped her knee, “—I want you. So very much. But I want all of you. For all time.”

  She couldn’t believe this was really happening. She’d had her moments with Gavin—hell, he’d told her he loved her a time or two—but since she’d been with black-wing Julian, it seemed like Gavin had almost forgotten her. At least that was what she’d thought over these past months with their ever-deepening but very platonic friendship—until he’d made his statement at Nefren’s party.

  She’d always loved Gavin, but it had never been easy for them. There had always been something standing in the way… Laws. Lovers. The timing had never been right… Until now.

  Reeling from the feel of his breath in her ear, Kara pulled back far enough to look into Gavin’s eyes. “Can I kiss you?”

  Without saying a word, Gavin leaned closer, his gaze on her face so intent, it simultaneously broke her heart and mended it again.

  And when her lips met his, it was something more. More than the passionate kiss they’d shared at the party. More than the night they’d met so many months ago, when he was just a hot body and an intriguing scent.

  As her tongue gently touched the tip of his, he was Gavin. Her protector. Her best friend. The man who was always there, guarding her back, just a half turn away. The man who sacrificed himself time and time again for clan, for Kara, for everyone but himself.

  The sweet sensations that flooded her body when she kissed him felt like the embodiment of all that was right in the world. His lips tasted unbelievable—like spiced honey—and after all this time, she was so, so hungry for him.

  As he sat, his back against the headboard and his legs sprawled out before him, Kara grasped his head in both hands and straddled him. Her body almost melted when she settled into his lap and found his iron-hard erection pressing up against his boxer shorts.

  With the scrap of panties she was wearing, barely enough to cover her engorged lips, she could feel his cock as though nothing was between them. His heat radiated up through the thin cloth, and she was sure if she took him inside her, he’d burn her with his fever.

  His gaze reverent, Gavin trailed his thumb over Kara’s exposed collarbone where her borrowed shirt gaped. “Your skin is so soft.”

  He lowered his lips to the same spot and kissed her lightly, and Kara’s nipples beaded against the cotton fabric. “May I touch you?” he asked, his breath a warm tickle against her neck.

  In answer, Kara grasped the hem of the oversized T-shirt, preparing to yank it over her head, but Gavin placed his hands over hers to still her movement. Kara froze when his fingers found her hips and then slowly inched up her ribcage. Her skin broke out in gooseflesh when his hand traced the sensitive skin under her breasts without going farther.

  “Yes,” she said, willing his hand to move another inch. “Touch me.”

  His fingers slipped over her softly puckered areola and found her nipple, then he squeezed, shaping his thumb and forefinger to her like a blind man exploring a woman for the first time. “So beautiful. So perfect.”

  Kara closed her eyes, trying not to squirm, but she needed more. She wanted Gavin everywhere, over every inch of her body. “Kiss me,” she told him, pressing her breasts harder into his touch.

  His hands circled her waist again and grasped her nightshirt. He pulled it over her head and cast it to the floor. Then he leaned down and took one pebbled nipple into his mouth as Kara’s fingers curled into his scalp. Gavin’s mouth at her breast was a divine pleasure—one that she could hardly imagine was happening in this realm.

  He lavished attention on her breasts, one then the other, suckling until pain almost pricked under her skin and then soothing them with soft swipes of his tongue.

  She withstood the onslaught of sensation as long as she could, but soon she was rocking in Gavin’s lap in time with his heavy draws on her breast. With a moan, she cupped his face and brought his lips back up to hers. She devoured his mouth, reveling in the taste and feel of him. This was Gavin. And she’d wanted her Gavin for so long.

  “Princess…” he panted when she reached between them and pushed her panties to the side, opening her channel to him. She smoothed a finger along her clit, unable to hold back the desire that was boiling her blood.

  When she didn’t answer, just kissed him harder, he growled and found her clit with his thumb, displacing her own desperate hand. “You’re so wet for me. I feel you soaking through my boxers.”

  She nipped at his lips. “Take them off.”

  Her pussy was pulsing now, so swollen and needy that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to take it slow and sweet the way her first time with Gavin should be.

  “Talking,” he murmured as he massaged his thumb over her tightly knit bundle of nerves and almost sent her over the edge. “Not done talking. About things.”

  A saner woman might have wanted to hear him out, but she was out of her mind for Gavin Cross.

  “Sweet man—” she shifted her lips to his neck and allowed the tips of her fangs to graze his skin, “—we’ve had months of talking. No more talking tonight.”

  With a growl, Kara ran her claws down Gavin’s hard abs and curled them over his waistband. At her urging, he lifted up and she worked his boxers off, lifting her ass off his thighs only far enough to slide the cloth away that separated them.

  When she was finished discarding his clothes, she rubbed his magnificent shaft through the moisture building between her legs. It was heaven. Absolute heaven on earth. “Kara,” he moaned, in apparent agreement.

  She moved off his lap and bent to taste him, bringing her lips to his crown to lick clean the pearl of fluid she found there. “You taste so good, Gavin.”

  His fingers found her slit and pressed inside when Kara lowered her mouth down on his shaft. He was so big, she had to relax her jaw to take him deep enough to satisfy them both. As she worked the top of him with the mouth, her hand fisted the rest of him and began to pump up and down along his length.

  His scent was rich and masculine, totally unforgettable, when she left his cock and licked a path along his heavy balls. She sucked his skin into her mouth as her hand continued to pump him, but it was hard to focus completely with the way his thick fingers were working her into a frenzy.

  She began to involuntarily grind against him when his first two fingers sank into her and began to fuck her in earnest. She took a moment to just breathe, trying not to come, her breath fanning against his wide shaft.

  “Kara,” he growled when she sucked his crown farther into her mouth, letting her saliva make him slick the way she wanted to with her pussy. She took him deep and hollowed her cheeks, rubbing her tongue along the sensitive underside of his shaft as she tasted another rich drop of his fluid.

  “Perfect,” he said. “So perfect.” His growl was almost continuous now, and Kara couldn’t help but wonder how that vibration would feel with his face buried between her legs.

  She bobbed on
his hand once, twice, three more times, then scooted off. “Fuck me with your mouth,” she told him. And when he grasped her hips, as though he planned to roll her to her back, she stopped him. “No. Lie down.”

  His eyes were on fire, smoldering and intent, and she wondered if he would comply. But when he slid down to lie flat on his back, Kara scooted up. First sitting on his chest, rubbing her hungry pussy over his pecs for any contact it would bring, then she lifted to her knees and lowered herself over Gavin’s face.

  The rumble in his chest was fierce when his tongue found her slit and his hands locked onto her hips. He began to rotate Kara’s hips, rolling her in undulating waves over his mouth as though she were riding him in earnest. His tongue was firm and flat over her clit, licking her like a lollipop he couldn’t get enough of. She needed him to stop or vary his strokes, because at this rate…she wasn’t going to be able…to stop.

  Her loud moan caught her by surprise. One second she was bobbing on Gavin’s tongue and the next she was crying out, “Oh, fuck!”

  And after that, she wasn’t sure what she said, because she was frantic, dropping down on him harder, as much as he would allow, as her entire body seemed to contract to one perfect spot. “Gavin!” she called, screaming with her release.

  He kept it up until Kara was boneless, then without warning, he lifted her in his hands and flipped her onto her back. “You’re not in season,” he panted, looking into her eyes. “But would you prefer protection?”

  “Huh?” She was confused for a minute. Did Demiáre even have “protection” in their size? They were immune to every disease, and he was right, she wasn’t in season—babies weren’t gonna happen.

  “No,” she answered. “What I’d prefer is for you to come so deep inside me, I’ll never be rid of you.”

  His nostrils flared, but she could see the love in his eyes when he reached between them and parted the lips of her pussy. “I want that, Kara. Forever.”