CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Sage knew the only way to keep up with a tiger was in animal form. She stepped into the shadows even farther, somewhat thankful that Himani’s wounds had distracted everyone else. Shedding her clothes, she hid them near one of the buildings before letting her wolf take over. She picked up his scent with no problems and headed in the direction he had disappeared.
The Maddux reserve took up a good ten thousand acres in the middle of Louisiana. It also held many different eco systems from small swamps and lakes to wooded areas. That was one thing she had always loved about Louisiana, but right now, knowing that if Kenyon ran through water she could lose his scent, this aspect did not have as much appeal. Luckily, it seemed he was heading toward the forested area.
It didn’t take long for her to catch up with him. He had turned back into a human and was lying in a clearing under the moonlight. From where she was standing, she couldn’t tell if he had been injured, so she moved in closer, sniffing the air for blood. Of course, she smelled it, but it could have been Himani’s.
“Kenyon,” she called as she changed back into her human form.
He raised himself up on his elbows when he heard her voice. “What are you doing out here?” She couldn’t tell if he was angry about her appearance or if he was just angry in general. “You could have been killed if she had caught your scent.”
“I had to be sure you were all right.”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” He sat up and cocked his head to the side. “I thought you would be safely at home by now.”
She shrugged and sat next to him on the ground, oblivious to her nakedness. “I couldn’t leave. I tried but I couldn’t.”
“Well you should have because everything is fucked now.” He ran a hand through his hair, frustration clear on his face. Then he caught sight of her large scar that was finally healing. It practically glowed in the moonlight. “You lost your bandage.”
“Yeah. Kind of doesn’t stick to the fur.”
“So you changed and came looking for me? I assume you had a reason to do that. You saw what happened with my mother.”
She nodded, then reached out to touch him, wiping blood from his shoulder before showing him her hand. “Yours?”
“No. Hers. Damn it, I can’t believe she pushed me like that. Declared Nik to be dead. Made demands. You heard her?” His voice had evened out finally and his breathing had slowed back to its normal rate. Still, his anger permeated the air.
“Yes. I heard it all. I know what she has done to you, what she wants you to do. And I know that I can’t let you go.”
“I was hoping you would say that. We can figure this out together.” He pulled her into his lap, and she could feel that he was already hard. She couldn’t help but smile. Even after everything that had happened, he still had this kind of physical reaction to her. It was empowering.
Her body pressed against his, her breasts flattening against his chest, and she breathed in his scent and the scent of blood and the earth and ten thousand other things. She steadied herself by holding onto his shoulders and lifted her body above his. He wrapped his hands around her waist. She was already wet for him, so he slid into her effortlessly.
“Oh my God, Sage. I just want to disappear into you.”
“I think I can help you with that.”
She began moving her hips, rocking on top of him, her pussy clenching around him, squeezing his cock. They joined hands and she used her leverage to push him to the ground, so he was flat on his back. She sat up straight, then arched her back, holding his hands above his head. Of course, he was much stronger than her and could move his hands any time he wanted, but it felt good to be on top of him, to take control of him, especially after everything that had happened. She felt he needed to give up control for a few minutes anyway.
“You slay me.” He let out a low growl, full of passion and heat as she moved above him, raising herself off him, then moving back down so he slid in and out of her body with ease.
“Shhh. Don’t talk.” She threw her head back, enjoying the moment, feeling the moonlight on her back, hearing the sounds of the night as their bodies danced in a rhythm only wild, hot sex could create.
He raised his head enough to take one of her nipples between his teeth, and he gave a gentle tug. She could feel the pull all the way down her body, working its way to her toes. He wasn’t satisfied with just a taste, and instead opened his mouth wide to fit her entire nipple and areola inside. He sucked with a hard pressure that almost sent her over the edge.
Her movements became more rapid, more frenzied. She was going to come all around him if he kept doing that. She could feel him grind against her as if he knew what she was thinking. He moved his mouth to her other breast and first nipped at her nipple, then sucked it into his mouth like he had with the other one. She threw her head back, trying to steady her heartbeat. She didn’t want to come. Not yet. She wanted to tease him, to drive him to the edge of torment. Instead, he was doing that to her.
In one motion, he was able to retake control as he sat up, then pressed her back against the grass. She lost her hold on his hands as he rose above her, pulling her hips into his even further before burying himself into her body all the way to the hilt.
The entire world spun, then disappeared around her. He moved in and out, his cock setting a wild rhythm. She couldn’t think as she felt her body quake around him and her orgasm build.
“I’m not going to last long,” he muttered against her, bringing his face close to hers, but careful to hold his body off the wound on her chest. It was mostly healed, but he was still being cautious.
She dragged her fingernails across his back as his mouth latched onto her neck. His teeth sank into her flesh, careful not to pierce it, but still causing an erotic sensation that moved all through her body until her pussy clenched around him, spasming, milking his cock. He thrust into her once more, his low roar washing over her neck as he continued to bite down on her flesh.
When he came, his entire body melted into hers. He released her neck with a shudder, then collapsed onto the grass next to her.
“You should chase after me more often.” He traced his finger along her cheek, then pulled her to him for a kiss. She felt as if she were pouring her entire soul into their kiss, and she couldn’t help but wonder what was supposed to happen next.
“I know you have an obligation to your family,” she began.
He raised himself up on his elbows and studied her face. She’d never been this weak before, but he had brought out every weakness she had ever known. She didn’t know what he was going to say, but she knew he had the power to destroy her. “I have an obligation to
our
family. Tonight, I established my dominance. My mother wants me to be the leader of the Maddux family, and I will. But I won’t do it without you.”
“That can’t happen. You heard what she said. She wants you to bond with the Canadian clan.”
“My family has no choice. I am the leader now, and this is my wish. You are mine. You will be by my side no matter what happens next. And I am yours, Sage. All yours.”
He was completely serious. For the first time in days, his face had softened and those lines didn’t seem to be so harsh, even though he had just fought against his mother. She reached out to touch him, to make sure he was really here.
“All mine? I like the sound of that, tiger.”
“You only think you like that sound. Wait until you hear what else I have in store for you, my wolf.”
He rolled her back on top of him, the low rumble in his throat becoming a growl, then a roar, the kind of roar a tiger lets out when he’s found his mate and is bound to her forever.
THE END
Part 2
Nik
CHAPTER ONE
Juliette knew something was wrong. She could feel it on the wind as it blew across the Atchafalaya Basin and onto her front porch. The sun had gone down two hours ago and the night creatures were starting to come out to hunt. Every noise that floated through the swamps was a familiar one, but there was something amiss about the night. She could feel it in her very soul. The owl hooted in the distance and the crickets still sang their mating song, but underneath the soundtrack that had been her life for the past six months there was a menacing vibration she couldn’t ignore.
She sat on her front porch, shotgun in her hands, a box of bullets next to her on the creaky old porch swing. Tonight could be the night she’d been dreading for half a year, the night when those who were hunting her finally found her and dragged her away, forcing her to bend to their will, at their command. She looked down at her wrists, at the marks that would never go away, proof she had been held hostage, tied down and forced to do things that made her crazy with regret.
She had hurt people. More than hurt them, she had destroyed them, pulling their souls from their bodies, turning them into walking shells, forcing them to do the bidding of those who hunted her. There was no real word for the devils that’d been chasing her, but she called them Les Damnes, the Damned. They were the ones who used those soulless humans to do their dirty work, to control the area around the Basin and even farther, making their way to New Orleans and to Baton Rouge, determined to run the entire state by the time they were finished.
Juliette had tried in vain to escape during the three months they’d held her, , lost in some unknown part of the state, kept in a dark cell until her powers were needed. They barely fed her, kept her in isolation as a slave until she could be of use. And then the true horror began as she was forced to lay her hands on those people and pull their life forces from their bodies. Even now as she clung to the shotgun, she remembered how it felt to drain them, to pull their essence away and leave them hollow. They were nothing more than zombies, moving sluggishly, ambling along, and doing exactly what they were told with no regard for life or limb.
When her keeper had been occupied with one particularly stubborn individual, she’d seen her moment for escape and taken it, moving blindly through the shadowed hallways, not sure if she would meet day or night on the outside, not sure if she would even make it that far. But she had to try, had to force her legs to move, to carry her away from that hell-hole. If she hadn’t been able to get out, she would’ve found a way to force them to kill her. Or she would have killed herself. But first, she’d had to try.
Her hand shook now as she remembered those few fevered hours when she had escaped. Her feet were raw and red from traveling over rocks, her legs were cut from the trees and limbs scraping against her, but she still pushed her way into the forest, using the night sky as her guide. She had always been told to head north, and she knew how to guide herself by the stars. Somewhere soon, she would find civilization. Somewhere soon, she would be free.
She would never forget the woman who had taken her in, had helped her heal, had honored her wishes to avoid a hospital, and made sure she was returned home.
They
would be looking for her, and they knew how badly she was injured. She had left a trail of blood behind. Breathing in the night air, she whispered a silent prayer to whichever god or goddess felt the urge to listen tonight. She prayed for her friend’s safety, for the kindness she’d been shown. And tonight, she prayed that whatever was prowling on the edges of the swamp would stay away from her.
The moon settled above the trees, and she could tell midnight was here. Her grand-mére had taught her that midnight was for banishing spells and for controlling evil and inflicting harm. Just before midnight was for healing and protection. However, she’d learned that evil knew no time, had no limit. It never mattered what time of day or night it was when her powers were needed. None of the damned seemed to care about tradition.
She waved a hand in front of her eyes, calling upon the night, conjuring up the sight she needed. The wind had stilled, but there was still a hint of the forbidden licking around at the edges of her swamp, honing in on the wards she had put around it. Something was trying to get in.
Her back stiffened and sweat began beading on her forehead and dripping down into her eyes.
“Let me see,” she whispered.
The vision hit her square in the chest, causing the gun to fall from her fingers and bounce onto the wooden porch. Luckily, it hadn’t fired, but it startled her just the same. She could see what was coming, and she’d never seen anything like it before.
It was a man, but not a man. He moved with catlike grace and his eyes reflected the moonlight. His face was covered with soft white fur, barely visible to the naked eye but very clear in her vision. His nose was flat and wide, his forehead elongated. He half crawled, half walked as he edged toward her boundaries.
Breathing in the night air, hoping to pull more of him into her, making the vision even clearer, she gasped, her mouth open wide, her throat dry. He was completely naked. Gloriously naked. Seeing him, even if he was a vision, sent heat straight to her core. There was something about him, about the combination of man and animal that called to her primitive self and unnerved her. And his eyes…his eyes looked just as pained as hers, just as fed up with the world.
He raised a hand in front of his face and she saw red. Blood. He was hurt. He stumbled now, falling against a tree. Bracing himself against it, he pushed away, trying to steady his gait, trying to move himself forward. He was less than a hundred yards from her when he collapsed.