Untamed Hawaiian Heat (Rift Hunters)

by MacLean, Shay

  “More, Mateo…please…I need…”

  Mateo roared his frustration as the same feeling that something was missing seeped into his heart. The magic he’d learned about less than a month ago flooded him anew. It ignited something dark and decadent in his soul. Something he’d felt only once before and had never allowed himself to feel since. The desire to fuck a man sliced through him. No, not any man. Tiaki. He reached around and flicked Kiana’s clit, making her buck against him even harder. “Oh God, Kiana… I love the way you feel inside.” That was it. He just needed to focus on her. Mateo shoved the longing away and leaned his head against her back. He kissed the edge of the tattoo gracing her side along her hip, traced it with his tongue.

  He opened his eyes when her magic shimmered to life under his mouth, searing his very soul with the intensity of it. In the back of his mind, he sensed the presence of what—no, who—was the missing piece of his heart. He shied away from examining the specter lurking in the shadows of his head and concentrated on Kiana.

  He could feel her muscles clenching around him. Sensing her climax was near, he pounded into her harder, trying to ignore the missing piece.

  Kiana cried out beneath him.

  The wave of her orgasm crashed over his senses through their link. His control slipped, allowing an image of himself plunging into Tiaki while he fucked Kiana to form in his mind. All at once, the restlessness inside his soul stilled. His climax assailed his body with a piercing sense of completeness. He released his mental hold on Kiana’s hands and moved them to her sides.

  He leaned over her until his chest was against her back. He lay there for several moments, his breath coming in short gasps. Closing his eyes, he could still see the mental images he’d had of being with Tiaki. Mateo had to draw on every trick he’d learned after Remi’s death to keep things he didn’t want to dwell on out of his thoughts. Especially his desire to be with a man.

  Kiana shifted under him. “Why won’t you tell me who Remi is?”

  Mateo opened his eyes to find Kiana looking at him out of the corner of her eye. The curiosity he saw burning in their depths told him he’d not been quick enough to shut the lid on his memories when he’d recalled how his lover had looked the last time they’d been together. “Someone from the past. Someone I don’t want to talk about.” He kissed her shoulder and leaned his forehead against her back. “You belong to me, Kiana. Not anyone else. Do you understand?” he whispered.

  Kiana was silent so long Mateo thought she hadn’t heard him. Then he heard her say quietly, “Then what was the vision of you making love to Tiaki about?”

  Mateo pulled out of her and started righting his clothes. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Kiana turned to face him, adjusting her clothes as well. “Bullshit. Why are you fighting this so hard, Mateo? I felt you respond more strongly when I pushed those images of the three of us through our link. And I know I didn’t imagine the one you sent.”

  Mateo clenched his jaw and turned to leave, but Kiana grasped his arm. He looked down at her. “I don’t care what you think you felt, Kiana, about what happened last week or just now. You’re wrong.” He shrugged her hand off and walked to the door. “I didn’t respond any differently than I did before he arrived.”

  “What the hell are you afraid of, Mateo? It’s obvious you’re attracted to men as well as women. You can’t hide that from me.”

  He closed his eyes and ground his teeth together in an attempt to keep his anger in check. “Just leave it alone, Kiana. Whatever you think you see, you’re wrong.” He jerked the door open. “I don’t want to be with a man. Not now.” He didn’t wait to hear if she replied before he stormed out of the Com Center.

  Not ever again.

  Chapter Fourteen

  “I’d be happy to talk with your crew and see if any of them—” Tiaki stopped talking abruptly. His chest tightened painfully as something teased his magic…called to it… He closed his eyes and reached out with his magic while attempting to keep a tight rein on it at the same time. A stab of longing mixed with a sharp pang of lust sliced through his gut.

  “Are you all right?” Grant asked.

  Tiaki opened his eyes to find Grant and Monte watching him. “Umm… Yes, I’m fine. Ah…” He glanced at the paper he held in his hand. “Monte, here’s the list of the other supplies I think we’ll need to continue training.” He shook his head, trying to clear away the intense emotions assailing him. “Vice Admiral, I’ll need to speak with each member of your crew so I can determine if they possess the magic naturally. If they do, then they are welcome to join in the training sessions.”

  Grant clapped him on the back. “Please, call me Myles, or Grant if you’re uncomfortable using my given name. After how you saved my daughter’s life, there’s no need to stand on ceremony.” He smiled. “Hell, it practically makes you family.”

  The memory of making love with Kiana and Mateo drifted through his mind. Family. The thought of them joining him in the soul bond and becoming his family sent warmth racing through him. It had been so long since he’d had a family. Not since his mother had passed away. He was just thankful she hadn’t seen what his brother had become. He opened his mouth to respond when a wave of dizziness washed over him and made him stumble.

  Grant grasped him under an arm and steered him toward a large rock under a palm tree.

  Monte waved a hand in front of Tiaki’s face. “Hey, man. Are you okay? You look a little pale. Maybe you should head over to the Med Center and have Niki check you out.”

  “I agree with Monte. We can’t afford to have you out of commission. Not with the information you’ve just given us on the OS,” Grant said.

  Tiaki sucked in a controlled breath as another wave of desire and something else crashed into him. “I don’t need her to check me out. I just need a little rest. Between being pulled through the rift, healing Mateo, and then saving Kiana, I’ve used more magic than I’m used to using in such a short period of time.” He lied. It had been nearly three weeks since he’d arrived. He’d had plenty of time to regain his strength. No, this had something to do with the soul bond. He was sure of it. God, he hoped they didn’t notice how carefully he was holding himself together. He didn’t know what the hell was going on, but he damn sure didn’t want anyone else trying to figure it out before he’d done a little research himself. “Go on. I’m just going to sit here for a moment, then head back to the barracks.”

  Monte and Grant both looked at him skeptically. “If you’re sure,” Monte said. They both turned and headed toward the Med Center to check on Grant’s men.

  Tiaki waited until they rounded the corner of the building before he leaned forward and took several slow, deep breaths. Focusing on the center of his magic, he loosened his control on it and started to seek for the source. He knew it didn’t have a damn thing to do with his reserves. It had been over a week since the battle, and he’d slept for two days straight immediately afterward. No, his reserves had been fully restored when he’d awoken with Kiana in his arms. And the sex he’d had with her and Mateo shortly thereafter had strengthened it even more.

  When he encountered nothing out of the ordinary—well, as far as he could tell, anyway—he decided to go back to the Com Center and grab a tablet to take back to his quarters. Maybe he could find out what he needed to know in the archives he’d given the Resistance on the Rift Hunters. There had to be something in all those files about what the soul bond entailed.

  Tiaki glanced up as he approached the Com Center and stopped when he saw Mateo exit the building. He studied the other man a moment. Something had upset him…something that didn’t sit well. What, Tiaki couldn’t be certain, but he had known instinctively it probably had to do with Kiana. He’d heard her ask him to stay and talk after the conference meeting. If the look on Mateo’s face was anything to judge by, it hadn’t gone the way he’d wanted it to.

  And if he was just now coming out of the conference room, Kiana was probably st
ill there. He fought the urge to go to either of them. No good could come from a confrontation with their emotions so heightened right now.

  Deciding it best to wait until Kiana left the building, he headed to the Med Center instead. Maybe Ash would have some information he could impart on the soul bond. The gods knew Ash seemed to know a hell of a lot that he hadn’t imparted to his commanders. He would access the files on the soul bond later.

  * * * *

  One week later

  Mateo leaned against the corrugated steel wall of the training room, careful to remain hidden in the shadows the unused mats and equipment afforded. His mind vaguely noted how warm the metal had become already, thanks to the oppressive heat they’d been experiencing. And the day had barely begun. Sweat beaded on his temple, but he didn’t pay it any heed. His attention was centered on the Hunter. The man was definitely in his element when it came to guiding those he’d deemed the easiest to train.

  He let his eyes drift over his mate. No. He shook his head. He was just a man. You know that’s not true, his magic whispered. He ignored it.

  Tiaki stood at one end of the room, his lithe legs once again encased in the black formfitting pants he’d arrived in, but that was where his normal attire ended. He’d forgone the skintight, long-sleeved shirt he favored for one of the loose-fitting, short-sleeved black T-shirts the Resistance preferred. His biceps strained against the material.

  From where he stood, Mateo could see the small tattoo on Tiaki’s neck. It was a tiny replica of the Rift Hunter crest. He knew what it was from the picture he’d seen in the files Tiaki had uploaded to their computer.

  Three inches long and two and a half inches wide, it glinted with a golden light whenever Tiaki used his magic. Absently Mateo realized it was the mark Kiana had been about to touch the day the Hunter regained consciousness. Mateo had the strongest urge to pin Tiaki to the floor and run his tongue over the spot. Somehow, he just knew that the Hunter’s magic would respond instantly to his touch. He forced the thought away and concentrated on what Tiaki was saying.

  He’d been waiting for the right time to confront Tiaki to find out more about Eris. There was more to the story than the little bit he’d told them. He’d gotten the feeling Tiaki knew more about how the OS had gotten to Earth than he’d let on. He had a hunch Eris had something to do with it. He’d tried to find a reference to her in the files they’d been given, but it had yielded nothing. Once he’d exhausted all avenues of research available to him, he’d finally admitted to himself that he’d have to talk to the Hunter. Though he preferred to have as little contact with the man as possible. He glanced around the room, wondering where Kiana was.

  Mateo frowned when he didn’t see her. It wasn’t like her to miss any of the lessons the Hunter gave on how to control the power they possessed. He searched for her with his sensors, and found her at the small inlet at the entrance of the valley with her dad. Mateo relaxed. He recalled her mentioning something about needing to talk to her dad. He focused his attention back to the training session when Tiaki blocked a fire bolt Monte threw at him. Something in him tensed, not liking someone firing any type of weapon at the Hunter. Even if it was during training.

  His magic stirred, burning with an intense demand to be joined with the other man’s. He pushed it aside and concentrated on what was being said. He’d wait until they broke for lunch to talk to Tiaki. Then he’d get the hell away from him as quickly as he could. There was no way he’d be allowing his magic to join with the Hunter’s. At least, not any more than it already has, he added when the memory of the afternoon he’d spent with Tiaki and Kiana threatened to surface. He forced it back into the box of things he didn’t want to think about and slammed the lid shut.

  * * * *

  Tiaki lowered the magic shield he’d formed. “Not bad, but you can do better than that, Monte. You’re still not trying to put as much power behind the blast as you could. Trust me when I tell you I trained with some of the best Rift Hunters in the Legion. I can guarantee Legatus Cacus, Arthur, Merlin, and the rest of the twelve never went easy on any of us when we were new recruits or tirones.” He smiled when the eyes of everyone in the room went wide at his mention of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. “Not even with my best friend, Leonidas, who is the crown prince of Asmerya.”

  Monte approached him. “Arthur? Really?”

  Tiaki grinned. “One and the same. I met him and Queen Guinevere when I went through my Genesis Ceremony. As a member of the Rift Hunter Council, which is one branch of the Ternion, the twelve are expected to attend.”

  Niki sauntered up and put her arm around Monte. “Genesis Ceremony?”

  “Yes. When a Rift Hunter has learned all he or she can, they reach a stage known as genesis. It’s when the magic within a planet’s core acknowledges the Hunter as worthy. It marks them, so that when they travel to other planets, the magic within that planet will grant leave to harness its energy to bolster his own when needed. The ceremony marks the beginning of a Rift Hunter’s career; thus, it was named genesis.”

  Monte and Niki exchanged a look. Niki placed a lingering kiss on his lips, then moved off to the side of the training area.

  Tiaki regarded the couple for a moment. Absently he wondered if they held each other’s soul bond. Or if, like Kiana and Mateo, there was someone else who might come between them. He shook himself mentally. It really didn’t matter. The love he saw pass between them spoke volumes. Nothing was going to break them apart.

  He was still watching Niki when Monte’s fist connected with his jaw. He stumbled back several steps before regaining his balance. He faced his opponent and grinned. “Good use of distraction, Lieutenant, but in a real battle, you won’t be able to employ that particular tactic.”

  A smile spread across Monte’s lips as he raised his fist engulfed in orange flames. “Oh, I know. I’m just tired of getting my ass handed to me because you say I’m not trying hard enough.” He threw the fireball he’d formed in his hand.

  Tiaki laughed and gathered his magic with a flick of his wrist and extinguished the flaming projectile before it even got halfway to him.

  Monte sputtered in surprise. “Hey…that’s cheating!”

  Tiaki gathered his magic and ordered it to form another spell they hadn’t covered yet. “No, it’s not. It’s called you haven’t learned everything yet, fledgling, whereas I have been fully trained for nearly three hundred years.” He didn’t wait for his revelation to sink in before he wove the spell around himself.

  The cavernous room was filled with sudden gasps when they noticed he’d disappeared. He smiled. This particular spell had gotten similar reactions out of him and the other Hunters he’d trained with. They had been even more ecstatic when they’d learned to do it themselves. Which most here were on the brink of being ready to do.

  The memory of all the times he and his friend Leo had attempted to play tricks on one another while staying concealed floated to the surface of his mind. Absently he wondered if Leo had been able to stop Aizik before he’d used his transdimensional gate. He didn’t envy Leo, having to arrest his own cousin. A cousin he’d been friends with until recently. Much like his relationship with Thanos. He shook his head to clear away the disturbing thoughts.

  The din of voices grew louder as they tried to figure out where he’d gone. He once again drew on the power he held within to become visible again, but just before he could call on it, his magic thrummed with sensual awareness at the approach of one of his mates. He turned around, expecting to find Kiana standing there. His gaze clashed with deep brown eyes.

  Definitely not Kiana.

  Mateo looked him up and down. “Like teasing the underlings with things they can’t do yet?” His tone dripped with sarcasm, though his eyes flashed with heated hunger before he could conceal it.

  Tiaki stared at Mateo in surprise. There was no way Mateo should be able to see him with the invisibility spell humming gently around him. “How can you…”

  Mateo
moved a step closer. “Don’t know, don’t care. What I would like to know is what this could possibly be teaching them?”

  Tiaki shuddered as his magic rippled in recognition of Mateo. It began to reach out to him. Before he knew it, the invisibility spell vanished without him commanding it to dissipate.

  He heard a collective gasp and knew the recruits could see him again, but Tiaki couldn’t break eye contact with Mateo even if he wanted to. He forced his magic to stop reaching for the man he desperately desired. He had a harder time, though, pushing away the urge to shove him against the wall and claim his lips until he acknowledged what he really felt.

  Mateo took another step forward and pushed him with one hand. “Well, I’m waiting. What good is it to show them something they can’t do? Might never be able to?”

  At the touch of Mateo’s hand, Tiaki shook off the confusion from his spell’s failure. His magic quivered wildly at the unexpected contact, demanding to be allowed to join…to merge…to intertwine…to bond with Mateo’s magic, magic that would strengthen both of them in ways too numerous to count. By sheer force of will, he clamped a tight rein on his magic and pulled it back. Fighting the urge to reach out and touch Mateo, Tiaki circled him instead. “What would you know of what they’re capable of? You haven’t been to a single training session.”

  Mateo followed his movements as though he didn’t trust having someone at his back. “Oh, I read through the files you uploaded to our system. There was one particular one detailing how a person uses their innate magic.”

  “I know the file you’re referring to. While it’s useful for general information purposes, it doesn’t begin to go into the many subtle variations and intricate ways there are to tap into one’s magic.”

  “Yes, well, it gives enough information to begin learning. The rest will come as I need it,” Mateo replied, arrogance dripping from his words.

  Tiaki stopped in front of Mateo. Mere inches separated them. Tiaki met his gaze and laughed. “I didn’t have you pegged for a braggart, Mateo. You have no idea what the magic you possess is capable of. To believe that a fragment of information in a computer file is enough for you to learn how to control it is insane.”