He dipped a finger into her and her body immediately tried to push out the intrusion. Lazar seemed pleased. He dipped his finger in more, breaking through her virginal barrier. The pain was fast and fleeting. She rocked on his hand as his mouth continued to work her clit. Sabrina stared down at him. His blond hair was like a veil, covering his eyes. She pushed it away, her fingers skimming his forehead. How could a man be so sexy, so alluring and so tortured on the inside all at one time? She wanted to soothe away his worry. She wanted to right all the wrongs in his life. Mostly, she wanted to love him and be loved by him.
Lazar lifted his head from her pussy and kissed her fingertips. His chin glistened with her cream. The emotions she felt for him crashed through her at the same moment his finger found her sweet spot. Her jaw dropped as a strangled cry of pleasure released from her. Her pussy clenched involuntarily around his finger, and her legs drew in, tightening on his shoulders.
Lazar eased his finger from her body, and she nearly moaned at the loss of it. As he slid up and over her, she opened her legs more to him. He stroked his engorged cock and dipped his head, sucking on her nipple. He jerked on his shaft.
Sabrina touched the sides of his face. “Please, Lazar. I need you in me.”
“Sabrina of the Hawks and of the Falcons, do you accept me—all of me—from now until the end of time?”
She stilled. “What?”
He refused to give her what she wanted—him. “You must answer, ta’konima.”
“W-what?”
“Answer,” he said, mischief in his eyes.
“Yes. Oh God, yes.”
“Very good.”
He moved from one nipple to the other, and she thought for sure her body would somehow burn up. That she would ignite and there would be nothing but ash left to show for what he’d done to her. The pleasures he’d given.
He lined his cock head up with her core and took a deep breath. Lazar’s lips found hers. His kiss chased away her nerves. She opened her legs more for him, and he entered in one quick, long thrust. She moaned, and he ate away the sounds, his body affecting hers. They were one.
She clawed at his arms as he pushed into her, slow at first. He kept time, pumping in and out, in and out. She panted into his mouth and moved her hips, wanting what he was giving to be harder and faster. His lips twitched against hers as he smiled slightly. He gave in to her unspoken plea. He thrust hard into her again and again until she no longer knew what was happening. She only knew that every ounce of her was tingling, waiting on the edge of exploding.
He drilled her into the bed and into sweet oblivion. She thrashed at the sheets, not wanting to claw at Lazar’s arms any more than she already had. Soon the pleasure was too much. She broke the kiss and cried out as her orgasm washed over her, making her legs shake and her pussy clench around his cock.
Lazar roared before pushing and holding deep within her. She felt his cock twitching as his seed emptied into her. She wrapped her legs tighter around him, wanting him to never leave her body.
He kissed the tip of her nose.
She smiled up at him and then caressed his cheek.
He closed his eyes and tipped his head into her palm. He sighed and then kissed her palm tenderly.
Lazar stayed there above her, kissing her lazily. He never wanted to leave the haven of her body. Not now that she was his. He’d come in her. She’d agreed to his verbal claim as well. He’d forged the bond with her. She’d been different from the other women. So much more. He could never want another, not after having her.
Sabrina smiled against his lips. “That was totally worth waiting so long for.”
He snickered. “I’m pleased that you are pleased. And I agree, it was very, very, very good. We should do it again and soon.”
She laughed softly, her hands skimming his back. “Okay, but only if you have your wings out next time. I want to touch them.”
“Brina,” he said. “You understand what happened between us, don’t you?”
“We had sex, man meat.”
“Man meat?”
Her lips twitched. “Never mind. Yes. I know what happened. We had sex.”
He nodded. “More than that, though. Do you understand what it means?”
She bit her lower lip. “I’m guessing a lot more than I think it does.”
“Yes,” he said. “For our kind, what we did, what we shared, it’s a bonding ritual—what occurs between a mated pair.”
He saw the confusion in her eyes.
“Brina, you are mine now. In the eyes of our people, you are my wife. I know I’m not what you’d want. I have no title, nothing to give you. I will understand if you refuse to return to my realm with me and if you do not wish for me to remain here with you.”
She looked at him for the longest time and then surprised him by kissing him gently. “Lazar, I don’t care about titles. And I don’t know about returning to your realm. It’s all so sudden. But I don’t want to be separated from you. I know that much.”
“Good, because we will not be separated. Not now. Not ever.” He exhaled slowly. “Sabrina, Latravis will retaliate for the men he lost.”
She bit her lower lip and nodded. “I know. But, Lazar, maybe, just maybe, we could sit down and talk with him. He’s not all bad, is he?”
Lazar didn’t want to argue with her. He didn’t want to go into detail that the Hawks were now ready to launch a full-scale attack against the Falcons to remove Latravis from the throne and seat Lazar upon it. For now he just wanted to love his mate and allow her to live in ignorant bliss. The harsh realities of the war to come didn’t need to spoil their moment. They’d be living it soon enough.
A knock sounded from the door below. Lazar sniffed the air.
Sachin and the others had arrived. Sabrina would need to return to his realm, like it or not. He just hoped his young wife was willing. Abducting her would be no way to start off their lives together.
“Who is here?” she asked.
He kissed the tip of her nose. “Friends. The time has come to return to my homeland. You and Gardelle will come.”
She didn’t argue. That was a good sign.
Chapter Eleven
Sabrina stared around in absolute wonder at the castle. Already it felt as if she’d fallen through the rabbit hole while being flown by Lazar to this place. This land that wasn’t anything like the one she’d spent her life growing up in. He’d called it a name. Something that started with an A, but all she got out of it was so not friggin’ Earth.
She shivered. Lazar drew her back against his frame and rubbed her arms. “You are cold?” he asked.
She shook her head. He’d assured she’d dressed warmly for the flight and had talked her through much of it before they actually took off. Her gaze wandered to the other birdmen. The ones who had arrived at her home, handled the dead bodies of the other bad men and carried Gardelle all the way to the castle they stood in now.
The one with the deepest accent kept eyeing her. He had a twin who hadn’t said a word yet. “She is very tiny.”
“She is, my lord,” said Lazar.
My lord?
Right. King. Yes. Lazar had called him the king before. She leaned back more into Lazar’s arms. “Do I have to bow or something?”
The king chuckled. “If you dared try, I fear my wife would take vital pieces from me.”
“Damn straight,” a woman with long dark hair said as she entered the throne room. She held herself with an air that said she was in a position of power but she wasn’t untouchable. In fact, she kept coming straight at Sabrina. The woman put her arms out and yanked Sabrina into a hug.
“It’s so good to have another woman here. We’re so far from evening the numbers,” she said. “You could choke on the testosterone around this joint.”
Sabrina just stood there, letting the woman hug her.
“This is Rayna, the queen,” Lazar said softly.
“Queen, smeen,” the woman mocked. “I’m just Rayna. I see y
ou’ve met Kabril, Aeson, Sachin and Rosi—or Iorgos when he gets his way. Word to the wise, don’t give him his way.”
One of the men groaned. She guessed that might be Rosi.
Sabrina stared at the other men. She couldn’t point out who was who if someone paid her.
Rayna laughed and hooked her arm through Sabrina’s. “I’ll make them all wear nametags if it will help.”
“Oh, could you?” she blurted.
The queen laughed more.
Sabrina blushed. “You’re not what I expected a bird queen to be.”
Rayna lifted her brows. “Sweetie, I’m human. I couldn’t shift if my life depended on it, and I wouldn’t want to. I leave the heavy lifting to the boys here. I suggest you do the same. They like it. Makes ‘em feel manly and all.”
Sabrina liked the woman instantly. She reminded her of Lisa.
A pang of guilt came over her. She’d never see Lisa again.
Rayna leaned and put her lips to Sabrina’s ear. “Give them time to get a handle on what is happening with the Falcons and then we can take some trips home, okay?”
She gasped. “You read minds?”
“Pfft, no. You’re not the first woman they’ve yanked from the flip side. You won’t be the last. Come on, I’ll introduce you to Paige and Shelby. They will love you.”
She looked back at Lazar, and he nodded to her. “Go with Rayna, ta’konima. She can take you to see where Gardelle is being treated by the healers.”
She followed the queen.
Lazar waited until the women were gone and focused on the king and the others. “The attack was brutal. Gardelle was wounded gravely.”
Sachin nodded. “He will heal. It will take time.”
“There is a human woman I believe he will want guarded while he heals,” Lazar added. “Her name is Lisa. She is close friends with my mate and I believe important to Gardelle in ways he is not yet willing to admit.”
Kabril snapped his fingers and other guards appeared. “Arrange for flight to the human realm. You will watch over a human there from afar. I will get the details to you soon.”
They nodded and headed off.
“Thank you,” said Lazar.
“It is the least one king could do for a fellow king,” he said, his gaze even. “Lazar, a great battle will come upon us soon.”
“I know. It is my fight, my lord. I will go and rally those still loyal to me and…”
Kabril lifted a hand, silencing him. “You are one of us now, whether or not you see it. We stand together. We remove Latravis from the throne as one, and we help to seat you upon it together. Understood?”
Sachin snorted. “Way to give him a lot of choice.”
Kabril shrugged. “We’re all stubborn. Doesn’t matter what bird form we shift into.”
Lazar smiled, feeling at home for the first time in a long time. The fight would be long and hard, but the time had come. It had to be done. With Kabril’s help, Lazar could assure Sabrina was safe while he did what must be done—kill his brother.
The End
Retribution (Ghost Cats)
by
Jaycee Clark
Retribution © Copyright 2012 - 2014, Jaycee Clark
Fated Mates: Box Set Electronic Printing June 2014
First Electronic Printing February 2013, The Raven Books
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
All books copyrighted to the author and may not be resold or given away without written permission from the author, Jaycee Clark.
This novel is a work of fiction. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence. Novel intended for adults only. Must be 18 years or older to read.
Also by Jaycee Clark
Jaycee on Amazon
The Deadly (Kinncaid Brothers) Series
Deadly Shadows
Deadly Ties
Deadly Obsession
Deadly Games
Deadly Secrets
About Retribution
Life seems full of promise, for Reya Lynx. With her husband, her pregnancy, and her career, she knows it’s time to go before The Council to claim mateship, but keeps holding back. It’s been a long time since peace has surrounded her, and she’s learned peace doesn’t last. Detective Lorenzo Craigen has just about had it with his wife and her procrastination of the inevitable. In one night, he reminds her who she belongs to—always has, and always will no matter how many centuries they had been parted. Yet from her past, comes a wind demon, Nybras. He’s always loved his Reya, his Precious, and he won’t let her belong to anyone else.
Dedication
This one is for those always willing to try something new, even when they fear the new.
Prologue
Istanbul 1806
He looked at her crouched in the corner. Almost broken, but yet there was fire in those dark eyes. Eyes normally as dark as sin, were wide with fear…no terror. He’d done this. The edges of her eyes were speckled with green and gold. Lovely eyes.
“Precious,” he chided. “You know I prefer you ready for me.”
He motioned to the bed hung with thick ropes of silk, the canopy bannered in deep sensual colors.
She hissed at him. He kept her here, right here on this edge between her human form and that of shifting into her werecat. A lynx. He found it fascinating. She was so much fun, so enticing.
So his.
He waited, held his hand out as if he had all the patience in the world. “Don’t make me ask again.”
He watched her eyes widen more, watched as she began to mutter something, something he had never heard before, in that tongue she often used when he’d humiliated her down to the very essence that lived within her. A place neither good or bad, light or dark, simply being.
A brutal, raw and completely arousing place…
He waited, irritation growing in him. He took a deep breath, smelled the jasmine and spices of his incense heavy on the air.
Her chanting continued.
“Precious,” he warned.
Then he tried to move, but couldn’t.
What? He frowned.
And in that instant he knew.
She shifted, seamlessly into her cat and leapt. Straight at him. Her claws extended, he tried to deflect her, but could do nothing. Claws, sharp as razors raked across his arm, he tried to throw her off.
The damn cat sank her teeth into the muscles just between his neck and shoulder.
He yelled and fell to the floor.
Anger rose in him.
Her jaws tightened, her claws continued to shred. Growls and roars filled the air, yet he still heard her chanting, in that soft husky voice of hers, in his head.
Blood hot and thick ran from him, he could feel the silk of his shirt sticking to his skin, saw the walls waver.
Still the voice chanted in his mind.
He tried to call on his own power.
The teeth sank again and again, claws still shredded.
Then he felt the damned feline move away.
“I’ll…kill…” he coughed and blood rained back down on his face. The mythical beasts and beings painted on the ceiling seemed to sneer at him. “…Kill…you…,” he whispered.
He heard something crash to the floor, smelled the oil from the lamp seconds before he saw flames shoot up the banners and bed hangings.
Bitch.
“You’re…mine…”
She carefully walked to him, now in human form. She kicked him, then quickly jerked the key from the chain on his neck.
“Never.”
He smiled up at her even as the world grayed and the flames licked closer…
“Precious…” He coughed again. “My precious.”
He felt her feet on the floor, heard the door slam shut, the lock click into place.
“Precious…”
Chapter One
He looked into the pool o
f water, deep in the forgotten caves, waiting. Waiting to see what the spirits would show him. To see if he were destined as he’d believed.
What he craved was so close.
He’d seen the one he wanted. Whispering to another. Laughing in the fading light of day. And for a moment, just a moment, she’d paused, scanned the crowd.
He liked to think she knew, some part of her knew that he was watching. Waiting. Perhaps some part of her recognized…remembered.
And she damn well should remember.
He’d sent one before to bring Precious to him, but that had been his mistake. He’d entrusted too much to another.
Once a lesson was learned, he didn’t make the same mistake again.
This time, this time he would simply use the other—no more, no less. Then rid himself of the idiot. For now though, he needed the other to obtain what he desired.
He glanced to the side, to the female wolf who was only partially transformed.
Her wrath had been great enough that the magick she’d used in destruction had come back on her. She’d wanted too much. Too much power and revenge.
Not that he didn’t understand revenge. In fact--he touched the mottled and scarred skin on the left side of his chest and neck. The skin smooth and puckered under his fingers--he understood it all too well. His was more focused, sharpened, and honed. He didn’t burn with hatred, but with affection…with desire…. He would not make the same mistake Selinna did last year.
Yes, last fall had been a mistake. Now the spirits nudged him to move back to what he wanted.
And what he wanted was the love of the woman he’d once possessed not so long ago. He’d worked too long, set up too many things, to let this go, to let it slide.
The wolf in the corner, whimpered. He ignored her and breathed deep the scent of incense and smoke, the fainter smells of dry sand and the dankness of the cave.
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