They all hung in similar prisons. Different bedrooms surrounded them while different tortures tore screams from their throats. One similarity remained—Calan suffered with them. Every time he touched their minds, he experienced the same pain they did. Still, Calan reached out to them, trying to comfort them the way he had for her.
Love. The emotion had wrapped around her. She’d let it work its way into her and had tugged Calan’s strong body more firmly around her. After almost a decade of staying up all night, she’d thought she’d have no problem keeping her eyes open. The warmth of his body and his comforting scent ripped her convictions apart.
Harley yanked her top over her head, slipped on her thong, and bent to pick up her jeans. Warm palms on her ass jerked her upright. Calan hooked his arms around her waist and pulled her firmly against him. His cock pushed, hard and needy, into her spine.
“Tired of me already?”
“No, of course not.” She turned in the loose circle of his arms and slid her hands over his chest. “I told you about Raul. He threatened my family if I didn’t go to him by sunrise.”
Red seeped into the whites of the eyes focused on her. She sucked in a rough breath, not at the sight of the blood filling them. The images he unintentionally showed her last night had clued her in to exactly what her lover could become. The form she would’ve assumed belonged to a monster if she didn’t know the soul inside didn’t frighten her. It was the sight of two distinct rings of blue in his eyes that stopped her heart.
The hazy dark blue circling his pupil that had developed yesterday now formed a solid band, eclipsing his familiar color.
“Your ey—”
“Do you not think I will keep my promise of protecting your brother?” Calan’s orbs took on a faint glow.
“I do, but—”
“But you think I’ll fail?”
“No! But I need to go to him and—”
“What? Bind him to you? Give him your love, which I hope to earn? What, Harley? What do you need to do?”
The guttural growl to his voice drew her gaze to his mouth. Pointy molars replaced his flat teeth. The sight of them made her shudder. She shoved the fear away and stood on her tiptoes. The deadly fangs lengthened. His jaw cracked. The sharp ends on his fingernails dented the skin of her hips. She dug her fingers into his hair and pulled his head to hers, bringing them eye-to-eye. He might be angry, but so was she. Angry at herself. “Never. I’m not binding him to me, not willingly at least. And that’s how it has to happen, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, to claim a redcap, there’s a ceremony performed that binds him to your body, then your soul. The redcap and every sluagh he creates can then ultimately be controlled by you.”
He didn’t tell her how it was done. Fine by her. She had no plans on tying Raul or any redcap to her. The very idea disgusted her. “Good, then you have nothing to worry about. You are the only man I want bound to me, body or soul.”
A smile spread over his face. Her toes curled under the heated and hungry look.
“Then, come back to bed. Let me finish loving you.”
She took a step back, mouth hanging open. She snapped it closed and glared at him until his brows scrunched. “I just told you Raul put an ultimatum on my compliance. The sun is up. He’s going to unleash his sluaghs on my family!”
“Calm down. Sluaghs cannot attack during the daylight hours. You know this.”
The order given in a placating tone made her see red. Of course, she knew that. It didn’t stop her irrational fear, though. She snapped her teeth together, anger and guilt turning her gut into a rolling mess. With quick, jerking motions, she finished getting dressed and strode for the doorway.
Calan caught her hips before she could pass through the opening. With his other hand, he grasped her wrists, stretched her arms over her head and pressed her body to the smooth black wall. She squirmed in his hold, bucking against the incredible male body holding her still. He widened his stance, his legs locking her hips against him.
“I said”—he nipped her jaw—“calm down.”
He stripped her of the anxiety before she could shove his metaphysical presence out. “I will not calm down. My brother—”
“Is safe.” He dragged his lips across her cheek to her ear. “Riesa, my female hound, has watched over him all night. He’s currently sleeping in his SUV, which is parked in front of a home with a pink car in its driveway.”
Cynthia’s house. Ian had mentioned her pink Volkswagen. Harley’s body sagged with instantaneous relief. “But Raul—”
“Is nowhere close. The male dogs have been prowling the area surrounding here looking for any sign of the redcap or his creatures.” Calan pressed an openmouthed kiss to her skin, then traced a small circle with the tip of his tongue. “They haven’t found him. Remember, whether I’m sleeping or making love to you, they will share their knowledge if they discover any threat. I have ordered them to do so.”
He popped the button on her jeans. She sensed his intent, wanted to resist, knew it was the proper thing to do. Raul was still out there. He’d swoop in with his sluaghs as soon as night fell. She needed to get Ian and Cynthia to safety before that happened. The thoughts danced through her head, but when Calan’s roughened fingertips brushed her skin, all she could manage was a small whimper.
He unzipped her pants, and the tight material of her jeans parted. She held her breath in anticipation of what he’d do next—shove them down or slip his fingers underneath the crotch of her underwear. He toyed with the small bow at the top of her panties before inching his fingertips lower. He cupped her sex and massaged her. The slow caress flooded her core and sensitized her achy clit. Arousal slickened her lower lips, drenching her thong.
His chest expanded with quicker breaths, and his hard muscles pressed firmly to her back, making her intimately aware of their state of dress—her mostly clothed, him naked and aroused.
“You are mine. That means your brother is under my protection too. I feel what the loss of him would do to you.”
Calan shoved roughly at her jeans, and they pooled around her ankles. She opened her mouth to say…what, she didn’t know. Her words got lost with the sensation of his thumb flicking over her clit. He pushed her thong to the side and dipped two fingers into her opening. He kept up the circular rubbing to the sensitive bundle of nerves. Combined, the stimulation left her quivering in his arms.
“I promise you.” He stilled his prodding fingers. “You won’t lose Ian. Ever.”
Calan’s cock replaced his fingers before she could question his vow. The head of his erection breached her lower lips. With her legs trapped by his powerful thighs, she couldn’t widen her stance to accept him, and his shaft sliding inside her body felt impossibly large.
“I want to love you.” He nudged at her chin until she tipped her head for his kiss. The slow swipe of his tongue along her lips stoked her needs. He eased back before she could give into them. “Right here, right now.” Another lick, and her sex tightened around his cock. “Do you deny me?”
“No, I love…”
He swallowed her words on a kiss and slammed into her. The orgasm caught her by surprise. She writhed over the thick length impaled within her. He held still and let her squirm. Finally, the incredible feeling eased. A breathy sigh escaped. He took the sound and fed her a low growl.
He shifted his hips and drove into her. Her body shook under the rough thrust. More growls, more grunts accompanied the powerful strokes. He kept their lips locked so each of his pleasured sounds spilled into her.
She couldn’t move, couldn’t return his passion, couldn’t even finish her declaration. He urged her to feel—his strength, his stamina, his devotion. She greedily accepted it all and kissed him hard, needing to show him what he’d stopped her from saying.
The grinding press of his driving cock allowed her orgasm to build. He rolled his hips before it could whip through her and take her up higher. The intimate caress along her sensitive core tore a whimper
from her throat.
He quickened his pace until he pounded into her, kissing her madly the whole time. The emotion she’d allowed into her soul while they’d slept together wrapped around her, seeming to pull him inside. It wasn’t real. She knew that, but the consequence of the moment hit her. She and Calan were mates.
Mated, not simply married.
He would be hers for an eternity. To love. To cherish. To worship.
Tears slipped free and trailed down her cheek. She couldn’t stop them.
The brush of Calan’s mind against hers touched her with hesitant butterfly wings. “Harley, why the tears?”
“Happy. I’m happy.” A pleased sound met her words. She’d never heard anything better. The Hunter who’d been created to punish her kind was everything she never knew she wanted. Or needed. “Oh, Calan, I love…”
One more hard thrust stopped her confession. The release he’d built picked her up and slammed her into a sea of sensation. She floated in the unending waves. Colors dimmed. Sounds faded. Blackness encroached but a pair of blue-ringed eyes centered her. She latched on to their image and let paradise have its way with her body and soul.
After what felt like forever, the jerking of Calan’s cock eased, and the waves along her inner muscles slowed to gentle ripples.
“Not even like this, angel. Save those words. Make sure.”
She tipped her head to stare into his face. “Nothing will change the emotion behind them. It’s built from the moment I first looked into your eyes, and tonight…” She laid a hand against his stubble-covered cheek. “Tonight has made me realize the truth I’ve known for years.”
He separated their bodies, turned her in his arms, and lifted her until they were eye to eye. “Okay.” He grinned. “Okay, my beautiful little flower.”
He set her on her feet and strode across the room. From the table on which a bowl of luscious strawberries sat, he picked up a pitcher of water and a napkin. He returned to her and dropped to his knees. He wet the cloth and gently wiped away the evidence of their loving. Her heart flipped over. She bit her lip and focused on what Calan was doing to her, not the emotion threatening to consume her.
He tugged up her pants and stepped away. She followed his movements as he dressed in modern clothes he pulled from a closet. The sight of his hard body in jeans and a tight black T-shirt reignited the sparks of arousal. He looked damn good in the clothes he shouldn’t own. She considered asking him about it, but compared to everything else she’d experienced over the years, his magical wardrobe didn’t concern her as much as the thoughts flying through her head.
For the first time in her life, she wondered if she really could find happiness. She didn’t know if it was possible, but she was determined to find out.
Harley lifted her hand. One black circle shone against her pale skin. The other still hadn’t formed. Only the innermost arc showed. Her love. She had to declare her love.
She smiled and curled her hand to hold the sign of Calan’s commitment close. She’d give him her love. Soon, very soon. Then she’d get to keep her ghost man for…eternity.
Yeah, she liked that idea. Liked it a lot.
Chapter Sixteen
Calan took his time getting dressed. For one, he enjoyed Harley’s heated gaze on his ass every time he bent over. The main reason, however, stemmed from guilt. He took a few moments visiting each of his siblings, even the ones who’d long since stopped speaking. It felt wrong to leave them behind. Necessary, though.
He was the only one who hadn’t been condemned to suffer under the fairy curse. No, his punishment was worse. He’d been forced to stare at the dagger that would free his siblings, knowing he couldn’t use it.
Knowing he had failed in his duty to protect.
He hung his head.
“Why do you delay?”
Calan paused with his fingers around the laces of his boot. He drew Rhys’s image close. “I don’t want to leave you.”
“No lies, brother. You feel guilty because of the pleasure you’ve found in your fairy lover’s arms.” Rhys focused narrowed eyes on him. The disapproval in them was clear.
Calan held his brother’s stare without responding. He refused to argue with Rhys about Harley. There was no point. She was Calan’s choice.
Finally, Rhys shook his head. “You’ve told the others about your mate?”
Calan closed his dual-ringed eyes. “I can’t exactly hide it.”
“You’ve made a horrible mistake.” Rhys waited until Calan met his gaze. “The female is not worthy of you. She’ll cling to you and use you, not sacrifice and be the mate the leader of the Hunt needs to remain honorable.”
Harley stepped behind him and slipped her arms around his waist, pulling his attention from Rhys. She rubbed her cheek against Calan’s spine, and the tension in his muscles eased. “Are you okay? You’ve been staring at your shoes for several minutes.”
He pulled her in front of him and lifted her. She automatically linked her arms and legs around him. He kissed her deeply until the desire only she could stir in him flared.
He broke their lip lock and met Rhys’s eyes, the image of him held inside his mind. “She will be.” At Rhys’s sigh, Calan laid his cheek over her curls. “She is.”
“For all our sakes, I hope so, my brother. Go now. We will endure until you return.”
He let the connection to Rhys’s mind break. The loss of him hit Calan with another wave of guilt. Once he stepped out of his prison, he wouldn’t be able to connect with Rhys. Without Calan to keep his siblings linked, each Huntsman would suffer alone.
Harley skimmed her hands over his back, once more redirecting his thoughts to her. Harley’s touch soothed him. He greedily took the comfort she offered even though it shamed him to do so. His siblings had no one to offer the same to them, no one to even talk to.
“We’ll free them, Calan.”
He turned his head, and Harley’s sultry eyes came into view. “I will free them once I transfer the curse back to Dar. I don’t want you anywhere near him.”
“Now that I’m mated to you, Dar will come after me, won’t he? To hurt you through me.”
He cracked his jaw. What worried him more was why Dar had allowed her to reach fairy adulthood. Harley’s maturity made her his equal. He should’ve ensured her obedience and her acceptance of her heritage, not allowed her freedom.
Calan couldn’t come up with any plausible reason why, other than the one she offered. Yet why hadn’t Dar come? Calan had half expected him to show up. It’d been part of the reason why Calan had insisted Harley mate him immediately.
He pushed the worry aside for the moment. The mate bond, even the partial one they’d established, provided her with the best protection he could give her. For the moment, he had to focus on capturing Dar, not on trying to understand the male’s thought process.
Harley made an aggravated sound. “Maybe mating me was a bad idea. I’ve endangered you.”
“No. It was the right one.” Calan pulled her closer and stared deeply into her eyes. “The only one. With the bond I formed with you, I am with you, a part of you. You can communicate with me, anytime, anywhere. I won’t let him touch you.”
She grinned. “I just need to call out to you, and you’ll race to my side on your ghostly steed?”
He chuckled. “Yes. I will come. Nothing would stop me.”
The teasing smile on her face faded. “And if he gets to me first?”
“You can’t die, Harley.”
“But he can tempt me, can’t he? Make me angry enough so I give in to my darker side. Every time I act on my rage, I lose a little bit of myself.” She touched her chest. “You didn’t heal me completely, did you? Because I still feel the darkness inside me. It’s just calm now.”
He focused on his mate’s stricken face and didn’t know what to say. She was right. Acting on her anger, causing pain, and relishing another’s misery opened her to the damaging effects of the same chaos Dar had ingested. Chaos was eve
rywhere. The power lived in anything disordered or violent—thunderstorms, earthquakes, floods, and even in the shadows. It lurked and waited to disrupt the natural order of the world, but through the fairies, it had a vessel to cause the destruction it sought.
“Dammit, tell me the truth.”
He sighed. “No, I didn’t heal you. I can’t. I can only be your shield and your strength.”
She shook her head and slipped out of his arms. “And I’ll take you down with me if I fall, won’t I?”
“You’re not alone in this fight, my mate. I am with you always. Together we will endure.” He grasped her hand, stopping her from turning away from him. “You promised to live for me. That includes holding on to your honor. Now more than ever, you need to remember your vow.”
She raised her chin. “I will keep my promise to you, but—”
He kissed her before she could tag on any qualifier. Her renewed oath eased his anxiety. He would trust his mate and help her exactly as he’d promised to do. He didn’t care if she clung to his strength or used it to maintain her purity. As long as he could hold her in his arms, nothing else mattered.
Calan pulled away from her sweet lips with a jerk, but not because he wanted to. The day was slipping away. Each one that passed without finding Dar was one more his siblings had to suffer.
“Come, Harley.” He tugged her with him. “I want to meet your brother before I begin my hunt for Dar.”
“I’d like that.” She flashed him a smile.
Eyes focused on the path ahead, he led his mate out of his living tomb. He looked forward to the day it sealed for all time along with the damaged barrier. Soon. By the gods, soon his hell would be but a memory.
He stopped at the entrance, released her hand and plucked the blade from the shelf where it had sat for a thousand years. Whether Dar had left it or the angel, Calan didn’t know. It had been the first thing he’d noticed upon waking, and it had acted as a reminder of his failure every day of his incarceration. He couldn’t help but think if he’d followed Dar that day, he would’ve been able to stop him. He’d made his choice, though. So had his siblings. Their endurance would be rewarded. Calan would make sure of it.
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