He offered no reply, but his expression was tense.
How long had he been here? she wondered as guilt torched her insides. She should have fought Strider harder. Should have escaped and found Micah before hed been beaten. He suffered now because of her.
Shed never be able to make it up to him, but God, did she want to try. Micah? Gaze never leaving his beautiful, savaged face, she scooted even closer to him. She placed their twined hands on his waist as she leaned incloser stilland softly, gently, pressed their lips together. Im so sorry youre here. Im so sorry for everything that was done to you.
At first, he gave no reaction. Not to her words and not to her kiss. He still didnt reply. Didnt flinch from pain or encourage her to deepen the contact, either. Then he stiffened, his fingers squeezing at hers. Then he inhaled deeply, as if he couldnt get enough of her scent. Then he canted his head and opened his mouth. Not just welcoming her, but encouraging her.
Moaning, she slipped her tongue past his lips, past his teeth, and jerked at the sudden bolt of arousal that speared her. His taste was minty from the wash, but spiced with a dark drug, luring, temptingdemanding a response. A response she couldnt deny. Her breath grew shallow, her nipples pearled and every cell in her body smoldered with the sweetest kind of fire.
More, she thought.
His tongue met hers, rolled and coiled, danced and sparred, the heat spreading, intensifying. And then he was moaning, pressing more fully, thrusting his tongue as if their mouths were having sex.
Shed kissed him a few times before and had been disappointed in each of the experiences. This time, there was no disappointment. There was shattering excitement, sultry danger and heady bliss. Her fingers moved of their own accord, up, up, tangling in his hair. Soft, silky hair, the strands baby fine.
More, he said this time, the single word a growl inside her head.
Oh, yes. More. She never wanted this to end. She had a mind filled with bad memories, yet as she swallowed his exotic flavor, she was swept away by him, the past forgotten, the present a thrill and the future something to anticipate. So good. I dont want to hurt you. Dont let me hurt you.
Stoppings the only thing that will hurt me. The kiss must have caused an adrenaline reaction in him, something, because the next thing she knew, he had enough strength to heft her up, forcing her to straddle his lap.
His erection pressed against her needy core, hard and thick, and she gasped. Good? No longer an adequate word. The earth freaking moved. Unable to help herself, she rubbed against him, arching forward and back. Each time she hit him, each time they connected, she released a groan of need. Nerve endings did the sizzling thing, pleasure rushing through her in heated waves.
More.
Please. Her voice was little more than a needy whimper.
One of his hands dove past the waist of her pants and cupped her ass. Skin-to-skin, a white-hot brand of possession. His other hand rode up her spine and latched onto the back of her neck. In the next instant, he spun her, basically tossing her on top of the mattress and looming over her, his weight smashing into her.
The kiss never even paused. Over and over his tongue worked hers, feeding her the ecstasy she needed but also making her ache. Didnt help when his hips began a slow grind against her clitoris, that hand on her ass forcing her to rise up and meet him, to slide up and down his shaft. The friction burned, burned so damned sweetly. Shed never experienced anything like this.
We shouldnt be doing this.
For her, it was too late to care about their surroundings, the danger. I need you.
Yes.
She would have laughed at how easily hed been convinced to continue, but at the moment she cared about only one thing. Climax. Her nails scoured his back, probably drawing blood. She tried to temper her reaction, to calm before she erupted, went wild and injured him further, but couldnt. The achewas consuming her, driving her, fogging her brain.
I need Haidee wound her legs around his waist and locked her ankles. He palmed her breast, rolling her nipple between his fingers. Even through her shirt and bra, she could feel the heat of him. The fiery brand. I need
Me. You need me.
AMUN WAS LOST.
Hed placed his hands around Haidees neck ready to snap the bone in two. Shed looked over at him with those eyes of pearl-gray, lashes long and sweeping, lips soft and pouty, pink locks of hair falling over her forehead. Shed talked of saving himthen a dark emotion had claimed her expression. One he hadnt been able to read, but one hed hated.
She had leaned into him, somehow innocent in a way hed never been, apologized to him as if his pain were somehow her fault, and hed forgotten his bodys wounds. His forgotten everything. Hed been helpless to do anything but accept her lips against his. Then hed breathed her in and accepting hadnt been an option, either. Hed needed to possess her. Own her. Taking everything. Giving everything.
He hadnt understood the desires, still didnt understand them, but he couldnt bring himself to care. The moment their tongues intertwined, his body had become a storm, and this woman had become his only anchor.
Now, all the demons inside himso many voices, so many thoughts and urgeslurched frantically, unable to remain at the back of his mind. They did not like her, had tried to hide from her, but now they were desperate to stay away from her. He sensed their agitation, their fear, but they were being pulled toward her unbidden, as he had been. They resisted.
He hadnt resisted. Hed simply given in.
Now he struggled to tether the demons, to keep them in place as Haidee writhed in his arms, the decadent chill of her skin teasing his palms. Soon he had trouble even remembering to do that. She was undiluted pleasure in his arms. A demon in her own right, consuming him, driving him.
Just then, he realized he didnt care that she was a Hunter. Didnt care that she meant to harm his friends. That she had harmed his best friend. This wasnecessary. She tasted like the Water of Life found only in the heavens. Pure, fresh, crisp. And when she bit at his lips, no longer concerned with being gentle with him, too passion-crazed to care, like him, his thoughts derailed, realigning to his first goal: possessing her. Totally, completely.
He pried his fingers from her ass and slid his hand to the front of her. Panties. Cotton. Damp. Nice.
Mine, he thought next and still didnt care about the consequences. He would care later. Tomorrow, maybe. Here, now, she was his. Desperate to feel her most feminine core, he shoved those panties aside. More than damp. Slick, ready. Gods, the way she wanted him
A groan rose from low in his throat and rumbled out. He stiffened for a moment, fearing what might follow even so slight a sound, but his mouth remained focused on Haidee and her thrusting tongue, no words forming.
Relaxing, he tunneled through her folds, found her clitoris and pressed with the heel of his hand. She cried out, hips shooting off the bed, nails scoring his back.
This is good. You like this. They should have been questions; they emerged as statements of fact.
Yes, please. More.
Hearing her beg was a climax all its own. What do you want? What do you need? What else did she like?
You. Just you. Her eyes were closed, her tongue swiping at her lips to find his taste. Oh, yes. She was as lost as he was.
Has it ever been this way before? Between us? The moment he asked, he stiffened. He didnt want to know. He didnt
God, no. We were terrible before.
He fed her another kiss to show his approval, and that surprised him. Amun wasnt like Strider, possessive to the extreme. Hed never minded sharing anything. Had never gone caveman on a woman before. Had never claimed one as his very own. Actually, he hadnt had a lover in hundreds of years. To always know what they were thinking, what they truly thought of him, truly wanted from him It had gotten old fast. So hed concentrated on the war with the Hunters and what he was good at: killing. But Haidee
He wanted to be her best. Her only. Didnt want her thinking the old Micah was better. Didnt want her thinking about any man but Amun.
You arethis isamazing.
Gonna make you so happy you said that.
Amun worked his way down her throat, nipping, licking, sucking. Until he reached her nipple. Tenderness was abandoned. He bit through the fabric of her shirt, tugging the little bud into the fiery heat of his mouth, even as he shoved a finger deep, deep into her sex.
Another cry left her, renting the air. Every muscle in his body clenched, savoring the sensation. Holy hell, but she clasped him tight. Seed leaked from the slit in his cock; he was hungry for her, for this, for more, so hungry. He added a second finger, moving in and out, in and out. She writhed, she begged some more.
The demons grunted hysterically as they gripped the tether hed created, trying desperately to stay inside him as she pulled at his hairas though she was pulling on them again. And yet, agitated as they were, they still could not overtake his mind.
Haidees head thrashed left and right. So closejust a little moreand Ill I have to I need Please!
He couldnt let the beasts near her. Not that they wanted near her; they were still fighting. He should stop this, stop the madness, but he had to taste her. He needed to taste her. Life wouldnt be worth living if he didnt.
She was panting, little beads of ice crystallizing over her skin as he worked his way down. An oddity he barely registered. Sweating ice? Her T-shirt was rucked up to the middle of her bracotton, white, prettythe flat plane of her stomach and the dip of her navel revealed. Gorgeous. Had a woman ever been so gorgeous?
As he ripped the crotch of her panties, paving the way for his mouth, he licked into her navel. Her belly quivered. Her knees pressed into his sides, squeezing. Had he been human, she would have cracked bone.
He kissed his way to her zipper. Barrier. He couldnt allow a barrier. Another rip, and the pants were gaping open just like the panties. Then he was peering down at her, at a tiny triangle of pale curls, the rest of her pink and glistening. His. Ready.
Liiick. Holy hell, he thought again. Nothing had ever tasted this good.
Another cry left her, this one hoarse and broken. She released him to reach behind her and grip the headboard, her back bowing. Surprisingly the demons calmed, but only slightly, the pull on them somewhat eased, allowing them to go back into hiding.
The door handle rattled.
Amun was dimly aware of the possible intrusion but unconcerned. Liiick. Heaven and hell wrapped in temptation, leading him straight to his downfall. Addicting him. Consuming him. Owning him.
The door handle rattled again.
This time, there was a flicker of rational thought in his head. Someone meant to enter his bedroom. Friend? Foe? Didnt matter. He had to wait to finish tasting her.
The intruder would pay for that. Painfully.
Haidee must have sensed his growing disquiet, because she opened her eyes and said, What are you Her mouth floundered open and closed as she gasped in horror. Your eyes. Theyre completely red. Glowing.
What she didnt say: demon. Shed known he was possessed, no matter what she thought his name was, and had claimed she would shield him from Hunters. But this must be her first true confirmation.
There was no time to placate her. Someone comes. He swiped the glass shard from the nightstand and whipped around. Haidee jolted upright, the spike of glass under the pillow already palmed. She tried to right her ruined clothing as another rattle sounded.
An instant later, the person on the other side decided to take things to the next level. Wood split from the hinges as the door was savagely kicked, the vanity in front of it skidding to the middle of the room.
A scowling Strider strode inside, knives in both hands. All the demons inside of Amun danced into a sudden frenzy, Haidee forgotten, rushing back to the surface. Tormentpunishpainbloodsufferingmust have. Needed.
Something else struck him. Something that had nothing to do with the demons, but everything to do with a long-buried instinct. Safeguard. He would safeguard the girl. Her taste was still in his mouth, and he needed more. Still had to have more. If she were hurt, he couldnt have more.
Wrong, that thought was wrong, but he couldnt banish it. Instinct demanded; he heeded. Go! he mentally screamed at the warrior, but Strider didnt hear him. Or didnt care.
When Strider spotted Amun and Haidee on the bed, lower bodies still twined around each other, he blinked. His jaw even dropped. And if Amun wasnt mistaken, there was a flicker of fury over his expression.
Will safeguard, Amun thought, scowling at his friend. No matter what.
You bitch, the warrior growled to Haidee. What the hell did you do to him?
CHAPTER SIX
HAIDEE JUMPED TO SHAKY LEGS, breath sawing in and out of her mouth. As shed predicted, the glass shard she held had already sliced through skin, blood dripping to the floor. She barely noticed the sting or the loss.
Without her there to cushion him, Micah hit the mattress face-first and grunted, but she paid him no heed. She couldnt. Not if she wanted to get him out of this fortress alive.
And shit! This showdown couldnt have happened at a worse time. Desire still pumped through her veins, thick and heavy, dulling her reactions and making her limbs feel weighted with rocks. Her chest felt hollowed out, and her muscles ached. Perhaps she could have dealt with those things, but her mind was as clouded as if shed popped a dozen different pills, a mix of sedatives, stimulants and aphrodisiacs.
She could only blame Micah. His kisses had been CPR to her soul. Hed made her come alive. Split apart. Forget everything and every one. Common sense had abandoned her. So had survival instinct. Shed never ignored her survival instinct before. All shed been able to think about was him. His touch, his taste. His tongue lapping between her legs. God, she could fly apart simply thinking about that heady caress. In seconds, hed reduced her to an animal state, where nothing had mattered but sensation.