by Donna Grant
He lifted both knees and jammed them into the Wendigo’s chest. The creature stumbled backwards, and Cristian, now released, landed back on the ground. He wasted no time in attacking.
With a growl, he barreled into the creature and slammed him against the opposite wall.
Now that the Wendigo was dazed, Cristian rose up to hit him again. Except the Wendigo moved quicker. With one shove from the creature’s hand, Cristian flew across the space and slammed into the wall again.
Pain exploded in his body as he slid to the ground. He crouched on the balls of his feet, his hands on the ground for balance as he focused on the Wendigo. The creature stalked him, ready to deliver the killing blow.
Cristian stayed where he was, letting the Wendigo think that he was wounded.
“No. Cristian, he’s coming!” Jules screamed.
He wanted to reassure her, to let her know that he could – and would – beat the Wendigo, but he couldn’t even spare her a glance. He needed all his attention focused. It would all come down to a matter of heartbeats if he was to succeed.
The Wendigo growled and glanced at Jules. Cristian could hear her yanking on her bonds, her breathing harsh in the stillness of the cave.
Cristian let the beast in him center on the Wendigo. No longer could he hear Jules. The only thing he heard, the only thing he saw, was the Wendigo.
The creature spread its claws and crouched as he readied to jump at him. Cristian inhaled deeply as a bead of sweat ran down his temple to his cheek.
And then it happened.
The Wendigo sprang at him.
Chapter Nine
Jules opened her mouth to scream for Cristian to move, yet in a blink, he rolled to the side and came up on his feet as the Wendigo landed where he had been a moment before.
The Wendigo bellowed in fury and turned to face Cristian, but Cristian moved quicker. He grasped the Wendigo’s head and jerked it to the side until she heard the neck snap.
Her heart pounded in her chest, ready to burst from her body at any moment from the fear and worry for Cristian. She closed her mouth and watched as he let the creature fall to the ground before moving to her.
Tears filled her eyes as relief swept through her. Cristian cut the ropes with his talons before retracting them and becoming once more the man she had come to care greatly about.
He took her head in his hands and made her meet his gaze. “It isn’t over.”
“What? The Wendigo is dead.”
“No. He’s made of magic, Jules. He must be burned to be fully killed, but I want to search the cave first. We don’t have much time though.”
She nodded and rubbed her sore arms. Her wrists were raw and bloodied from trying to get free. He helped her to her feet before he moved away from her.
As much as she didn’t want to, Jules knew she had to search the corpses for her father. She could no longer deny that it was a distinct possibility the Wendigo had gotten him.
She moved from body to body, saying a prayer of thanks that it wasn’t her father after each one. But then she came to a body that she recognized as her father. Most of his flesh was gone, his face was unrecognizable, but Jules would know his brown vest anywhere.
The tears she had been fighting could no longer be held in check. She knelt by her father and let them fall. A comforting hand gripped her shoulder.
“Your father?” Cristian asked.
Jules nodded and wiped the tears from her face as she stood and turned to him. She noticed he held something. “What did you find?”
He took her hand and placed something cool and metallic in her palm. “Stay to the right, and it’ll lead you to the cave’s entrance. I’ll end this now.”
She didn’t want to leave him, but understood he had to do this alone. She gave him a quick kiss before she turned to follow the tunnel. It was night when she reached the cave entrance. The sky was clear and the stars bright.
Her gaze was caught by the beautiful sky, so she didn’t hear Cristian until he was upon her. “It’s done?”
He glanced back in the cave. “It’s done. The Wendigo is no more.”
“Thank God,” she murmured.
She barely got the words out of her mouth before he pushed her up against a tree and claimed her mouth in a kiss that left her breathless and dazed.
His hands roamed over her body, teasing her breasts and making her sex clench in need. She tried to pull back, to ask him what was wrong, but his hands came up on either side of her face to hold her still.
She gave into his soul-stealing kisses, letting the desire build with each touch of his lips. When he finally ended the kiss, Jules could barely stand.
He rested his forehead against hers. “I’ve never been so scared in my life. When the Wendigo took you, I thought I’d lost you forever. I didn’t like that feeling.”
His admission stunned her, but it also made her realize she had an admission herself. “I tried to tell myself the passion between us was nothing, but when I woke in that cave I had to face the reality that I was going to die. My feelings for you, feelings I tried to ignore, made me realize I don’t want to be without you.”
He lifted his head to look into her eyes. “Don’t leave Brasov. I don’t have a lot of money, but I’ve enough that we can live comfortably.”
“You want me to stay?”
“I want to see the sun on your face every morning for the rest of my life. I want you for my wife.”
Her heart lurched into her throat. “Your wife? You don’t know me.”
“Yes, I do. My soul and my body know you. As for the rest, I want to know every detail, every secret. I want to know all of you. And in turn, I’ll give you the same. You know my most important secret already.”
Jules traced his lips with her finger. “You’re offering me my dreams.”
“Say yes, Jules.”
She grinned. “Yes. I’m yours. I’ve always been yours.”
Her words had barely left her lips before his crushed her against his chest, his mouth hungry as he devoured her, his hands pulling her clothes off until the cool night air brushed against her bare skin. In a matter of moments, he had removed his clothes as well.
Jules started to move back into his arms when he turned her around and pressed her back against his chest. His lips moved against her neck, teasing the spot just behind her ear.
“This night is ours,” he whispered seductively.
She shivered as his hands came up to cup her breasts while his thumbs circled her nipples, teasing them until they were tight and aching.
Her back arched, her body needing more of him. His cock was pressed against her, hot and hard. She sighed as her head turned to the side and his mouth found her neck, licking and kissing the sensitive skin until she shivered at his touch.
His hands moved from her breasts down to her stomach, over her hips to pull her against him as he rubbed his rod against her. A low moan passed his lips and his hand found her sex.
She sighed and dug her fingers into his arms when he parted her folds and touched her heated center. One finger dipped inside of her before he pulled it out and ran it slowly over her clitoris.
Jules ground her hips into his. Liquid heat rushed through her as his fingers teased her swollen flesh. She tried to move her hips so his fingers would once more fill her, but he refused to give her what she needed.
Instead, he continued to rub her clit while his mouth did deliciously wicked things to her skin. Yet, it wasn’t enough. She needed so much more.
As if reading her mind, he knelt and brought her down with him, careful to keep her facing away from him. Jules wanted to touch him, but each time she tried to turn around, he wouldn’t let her.
Gently, he nudged one of his legs between hers. Then, his finger moved over her sex once more before his finger entered her, moving in and out of her in a leisurely pace.
Already Jules could feel the now familiar feeling of heat rushing through her as she built toward her climax. Then, his hand lef
t her and Cristian pushed her forward until she was on her hands and knees.
His hands caressed her back and bottom, touching her, tasting her with his lips. She was surprised when he sat down, and then pulled her atop him, once more keeping her back to him. And then he entered her. She gasped at the new sensations he continued to wring from her.
She closed her eyes and let her body go.
* * * *
The next morning, Cristian opened his eyes to see a bird perched on a limb above his head.
“Is that really a bird?”
He smiled and looked down at Jules nestled against him. “It is. It didn’t take the animals long to realize the evil was gone.”
“I’m glad.”
He moved a strand of her hair off her shoulder and sighed. He still couldn’t believe she had agreed to be his wife. How he had made it so long without her next to him, he wasn’t sure, but he didn’t want to go another day without her.
“What is this?” Her voice was soft as she held up the ring he had placed in her hand the night before.
Cristian reached out and touched the large yellow sapphire. “It was my mother’s. It had been passed down in her family for over three hundred years from mother to daughter, but since she never had a daughter she had intended for my wife to have it. She never went anywhere without it.”
Jules leaned up on her elbow and kissed him softly. “I’m sorry, Cristian. I hoped your parents hadn’t been taken by the Wendigo.”
Her words gave him comfort. “At least I know what happened to them.”
“What now?”
He sat up and took the ring from her only to slide it onto the ring finger of her left hand. “Now, we return to the village and let them know what happened.”
“We’re going to tell them everything?”
He shook his head. “Not everything. We’ll just tell them something got your father and my parents, and that we buried them up here.”
Her gaze lowered to the ground.
“As for us,” he continued. “I’d like to find a church and get married immediately.”
She laughed and returned her gaze to his. “Can I at least have a bath and put a proper dress on?”
“If you must,” he teased. Yet, once again her gaze moved nervously from his. “Jules? What is it?”
Her finger made circles on the ground. “The money I promised you–”
“Don’t worry about it,” he interrupted her. “I’m not going to take your money.”
She gave a half laugh and looked at him through her lashes. “That’s a good thing since I gave you my very last coin before we left Brasov.”
Cristian chuckled and pulled her into his arms. “It’s a good thing those men ran off.”
“Most certainly.” Her face lifted to his. “I’m glad I came to Romania.”
He glanced at the cave that would forever be the grave of her father and his parents. Despite losing them, it had opened a new chapter in his and Jules’ life.
“I couldn’t agree more,” he said. He looked at their clothes. “Should we get dressed now and start the descent?”
“Or?” she prompted.
“Or do we spend a few more hours alone?”
She gave him a smile that made his cock harden instantly. “I say we stay for a few more hours.”
Cristian didn’t argue with her as she pushed him back and straddled his hips. Life with Jules would certainly keep him sated.
Also look for the other books in the Wicked Treasures series…
SEIZED BY DESIRE
First book in the Wicked Treasures series
Forced to take drastic measures to keep his people from dying out, Achates risks his life to save a woman only to learn she’s the one deemed strong enough to rule with him by Poseidon himself.
It isn’t just her mind – but her body – Achates stirs when Livia wakes in his arms. She’s unsure of her place in this new world she learns is the home she was stolen from. It’s with Achates strong heart, gentle hands, and trust that she begins to understand what her true role is. But will it be in time to stop the destruction of their world?
ENTICED BY ECSTASY
Second book in the Wicked Treasures series
For six long years vengeance has driven Channing St. John. He will do anything – even if it means using his enemy’s daughter – to punish the man responsible for ripping his world apart and nearly killing him.
Abby Huntington puts her trust in a guide in the wilds of Africa and pretends to be kidnapped in order to deal her father a blow he’ll never see coming. But Abby isn’t prepared for Channing’s haunted eyes or his entirely too handsome, too appealing body. Will the desire neither can ignore be enough to temper two damaged hearts?
Author Bio
Donna Grant has been praised for her “totally addictive” and “unique and sensual” stories. She’s the bestselling, award‐winning author of more than twenty-five novels spanning multiple genres of romance.
She lives with her husband, two children, a dog, and four cats in Texas. You can visit Donna at her website: http://www.donnagrant.com.
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Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine