Shed loved this man with an intensity that had left her blind to the danger, to anything but keeping him in her arms. It was that love for him, the insanity of their being together, that had brought such destruction. Such death. Such catastrophic joy.
He watched her, his pale eyes burning with a cold, carnal light as he plotted her seduction. Im going to fuck this body of yours, hed said. A chill danced over her skin, a fear that hed see her bracelet. Because she was all too afraid he knew about red moonstones, that they kept an Ilina from turning to mist. If Kougar saw her cuff, hed be furious.
Which meant she had to make certain he was too focused on getting inside her to notice anything else. Her true goal was to get him to free her hands. And the moment he did? Shed call on the transport magic woven into that cuff and be gone.
He reached for her, his fingertips trailing down her neck, sliding slowly, sensuously with a gentleness she knew he didnt feel. But the memory of how hed once touched her in just this way, with aching tenderness, sparked a longing inside her for those lost days. The feel of his warm fingers on her skin sent tremors of desire vibrating down into her body.
Hed always given her such pleasure. She needed that again. The mere thought of his thick erection sliding inside her had her body melting, wanting. Five minutes in his company, and all she could think of was taking him inside her again.
But not like this, not for the reason he intended. Always in the past, as shed climaxed around his swollen shaft, as hed pumped his seed inside her, shed turned to mist. It had been glorious for them both, a true melding of body and spirit.
Thats all he wanted from her, now. To force her to turn to mist. He had no feelings for her anymore. Goddess, he thought she was soulless. He hated her.
And hed hate her even more when he realized she would never save his friends.
Watching her with those pale eyes, he dipped his head, his mouth replacing his hand, his warm lips caressing her sensitive neck, his soft beard tickling her skin. She shivered, the need growing. As if he sensed her weakening, he grasped her waist, his hands sliding beneath her shirt, his fingers cool against the heat of her skin.
She inhaled deeply, arching at the delicious touch of him. Goddess, she had to get control. Already, her breathing was turning shallow, her breasts aching for the feel of his hands. Or mouth.
Think, Ariana. Seduce him. Seduction came as easily as breathing to an Ilina. Pleasureher own and otherswas a necessary source of strength for a mist warrior. The challenge was to avoid falling into the seduction herself.
Let me see you. Her voice sounded husky even to her own ears. I want to see you, Kougar. At the thought of him removing his clothes, her body began to give off the mating scent few immortal males, and no human, could resist.
His eyes darkened. Her own quick glance below his waist told her his body was more than ready.
Behind her contacts, her eyes began to tingle in a way that told her theyd started to sparkle with sexual heatanother natural seduction she hadnt felt in far too long. Thered been no one in a millennium whom shed wanted to seduce. But her eyes would do little to attract him hidden, as they were, behind the contacts shed worn for years in the unlikely event she stumbled into the path of an immortal who might recognize her too-blue eyes for what they wereIlina eyes.
Release one of my hands, Kougar. My contacts are growing uncomfortable.
No. The word came out rough, little more than a growl. Leave them in. His own eyes had turned silver, his pupils dilated. His breaths were becoming as shallow as her own.
It was a game they both played, now. Maintain as much control as possible while seducing the other. It was a game he wouldnt win. But could she?
Let me see you, Kougar, she said huskily. Take off your shirt for me.
He ignored her, his mouth moving lower, to the flesh bared by the vee neck of her scrubs. His hands rose beneath her shirt, his fingers brushing against her abdomen, then sliding up and over her breasts to claim them. The feel of his hands on her, cupping her, squeezing her, had her arching into his touch and gasping with true pleasure.
He released her suddenly, and she made a sound of dismay before she could stop herself, then quieted, holding her breath when he reached behind her to unfasten her bra. A moment later, he pushed the lacy garment up and out of his way, covering her breasts, skin to skin, her sensitive nipples brushing the rough curve of his palms.
Her head tipped back at the achingly right feel of his touch. She reveled in the roughness of that touch, which revealed his own growing need. He dipped his head, pushing her shirt out of his way with an impatient tug, and sucked the fullness of one hungry breast deep into his mouth.
Ariana moaned, her hips rocking, her body hot and wet, burning to be filled by this man whose touch shed missed so desperately. Kougar . . .
Still suckling her breast, he grasped the waistband of her pants with hands as unsteady as the pounding of her heart and pushed them down over her hips. With a low growl, he released her breast, meeting her gaze with eyes like hot steel before he stepped back and turned his attention to her feet. With quick, efficient movements, he pulled off her shoes and socks, then yanked her pants down her legs and off.
She stood shaking before him, wanting what he was about to give even as her heart rebelled.
His breathing shallow and erratic, he rose and met her gaze again, a rich, carnal promise in his eyes. And a hard determination that told her that he was still firmly in control. Ripping that control from him was never going to happen. This was his game, his experimentto see if he could make her turn to mist.
And he was going to fail.
But oh how her body looked forward to the trial, even as her heart ached at the callousness of it. She longed to tell him the truththat shed never lost her soul. That she loved him still and always had.
But the truth was far too dangerous. All she could do was play this out and keep him safe, the wreckage of her heart a price she gladly paid.
The breaths tore into Kougars lungs, the oxygen barely reaching his brain as all the blood in his body pulsed and throbbed between his legs. He pressed his pelvis against hers, a hiss tearing between his teeth at the damp heat he swore he could feel even through the fabric of his pants. As if his cat had taken over, he found himself rubbing his cheek against her hair, marking her with his scent even as her own scent made his blood pound a deep, thunderous beat.
He was losing control.
Hed meant to excite Ariana to release, taking her with his fingers or his mouth, forcing her to turn to mist, proving to them both that she couldthat she was either a liar or, at the very least, mistaken. But the moment hed started to touch her, his need for herfor the woman she used to becrashed over him like a pent-up wave.
He had to get this over with to prove his point and secure her cooperation. Then hed be done with her once and for all. But his body wanted more. His cat growled at him to claim her completely, to make her his again as shed once been. And the soft feelings hed lived with for so long demanded that if this was the only time her body was to be his again, he savor every moment.
It was a mistake to give in, he knew that. The more he tasted her, the more he touched her, the more he remembered. And the deeper the pain corkscrewed into his heart that this wasnt the Ariana he wanted.
Nothing would bring his love back to him. Joining with her fully would only drive that fact home. But he could touch her. He could see her. And, dammit, he needed to see herthe queen, not the nurse. His glorious Ariana. One last time.
Drawing claws, he ripped her shirt down the middle, then her bra. Then he shredded the sweater and shirt from shoulders to wrists in one quick move that left her skin unscathed. As he reached her right wrist, his claws clinked against metal, a bracelet of some sort.
With a quick tug of destroyed fabrics, he bared her from the waist up.
Her breasts lifted on a gasp as she stood before him in nothing but a scrap of white lace panties and the silver bracelet winking at her wrist.
His chest contracted, his heart taking a hammerblow as he stared at the body of the woman hed loved for so long, this body hed once known every inch of, every freckle, every taste.
She was glorious. More beautiful even than he remembered, her breasts perfectly shaped, her waist small, her hips sweetly rounded, and her legs lithe and shapely. Hed loved touching her in bygone days. Loved trailing his lips and tongue over every inch of the skin now revealed to his hungry eyes. How he longed to kiss her shoulder, trailing his lips down her arm, over the curve of her elbow, all the way to her wrist. . .
He stilled as his gaze, which had been following his thoughts, snagged on that bracelet. A silver cuff set with . . . red moonstones.
Fury stirred as a growl rumbled in his chest.
Kougar, wait!
You bitch. Moonstones kept an Ilina from turning to mist. No wonder she was so certain he couldnt turn her. Shed have convinced him she couldnt help, then disappeared on him yet again. Leaving his friends to die.
He grabbed for the bracelet.
Kougar, dont!
With a single furious move, he unsnapped the manacle that bound her to the wall, pried open the offending bracelet, and tossed it across the room.
No! A desperate horror sliced through Arianas voice, her skin turning suddenly, deathly pale. The cuff. Her eyes clutched at him, wide and terrified. Ill tell you everything. Just give me the cuff!
Kougar stared at her, part of him wanting her to suffer as he was suffering. Another part of him, driven by the cat inside him, desperate to protect her from whatever was causing her such distress.
Even knowing what she was, the sight of her anguish was a blade twisting in his gut. With a frustrated burst of air, he went to retrieve the bracelet from the rug by the foot of the sofa.
Returning to her, he clasped it back around her wrist. At once, the tension left her on a shuddering sigh as she collapsed against the wall behind her, eyes closed. Its okay, its okay, its okay, she murmured, the litany, a desperate mantra.
He kept hold of her wrist, suspecting the bracelet held the transport magic shed used to escape him before, and he wasnt letting her go again. Not until he knew what the hell was going on.
Suddenly, she stiffened, her eyes flying open, eyes filled with shock and terror.
Ariana. Though one manacle kept her chained to the wall, he grabbed her as her knees gave way beneath her. Tell me.
Her gaze lifted to his, her eyes deep wells of horror. He knows. A tense quaking invaded her body.
Kougar felt like hed walked into the middle of a movie he knew nothing about. He lifted his hand, cupping her face, his thumb brushing her cheek. Who knows, Ariana?
I have to get to my maidens, Kougar. Theyre in danger. Her voice trembled, her eyes almost wild. You have to let me go!
Tell me whats going on.
She struggled against his hold, thrashing wildly. Let me go!
Inside, his cat yowled with distress. His gut knotted at the anguish in her eyes. But if he let her go now, he might lose his only chance to save Hawke and Tighe. He couldnt be certain where shed go. And if it wasnt the Crystal Realm, he wouldnt be able to follow.
He tightened his grip on her jaw, forcing her to look at him. A sheen of perspiration dampened her too-pale skin. Youre not going anywhere until you tell me whats going on, Ariana.
He waited as she struggled to pull herself together though her breaths remained ragged, and her lips pressed together with a faint tremble that told him she was close to tears. She blinked hard, pulled in a shuddering breath, and met his gaze.
Who knows? he prompted quietly.
A Mage. She tried to look away. The moonstones have kept him from finding me. Hell attack us.
Kougar frowned. I didnt think anyone knew you were alive. Those who knew the truth had a way of dying beneath Melisandes sword. Or being dragged back to the Crystal Realm to die there.
He didnt. Now he does.
Kougar stared at her, struggling to fill in the blanks. Since when did the Mage attack Ilinas?
Hes attacked you before? He stilled. When, Ariana?
She glanced at him, but couldnt hold his gaze. A hundred years ago.
Youre lying. Goose bumps erupted on his arms as understanding crashed over him. Not a hundred years ago, but a thousand. Am I right?
When she didnt answer, he squeezed her jaw harder. Am I right?
Yes! Yes, it was a thousand years ago. She met his gaze, truth and anguish in her eyes. He all but destroyed us. The moonstones were all thats kept us safe. I dont know why he couldnt sense me through them, but he couldnt. Tears began to roll down her cheeks. But now he knows.
Kougar reeled at the implications. It was never dark spirit that attacked you, but a Mage?
His breath lodged in his throat as his world flipped upside down, as Ariana rewrote thousand-year-old history in the space of seconds. Twenty-one years ago hed learned the Ilinas werent extinct. That Ariana still lived. Twenty-one years later, he was still reeling from that revelation. But this rocked him even more. Because if Ariana hadnt been attacked by dark spirit . . . she wasnt soulless. The woman hed loved still lived.
His hands began to shake.
Why didnt you tell me?
Her lashes swept down, tears running down her cheeks. Kougar . . . it was a long time ago.
Why didnt you tell me?
Because I should never have mated with you in the first place! Brown eyes snapped open, desperation and anger in their depths. If Id never taken you to mate, the Mage would have had no reason to attack us. Nearly two-thirds of my maidens died, Kougar. She shook her head, a bleakness in her eyes that mirrored that rushing through his heart. If he attacks again, all will die. Hell win.
His head pounded. Only one thing shone through the chaos, crystal clear. She wasnt soulless.
The hand holding her wrist spasmed. With his other, he gripped her chin, forcing her to meet his gaze. Take off your contacts.