The Dark-Hunters (321 page)

“Impatient much?”

He laughed at her question. “Get that key ready or I might kick the door in.”

The tone of his voice told her he wasn’t joking. Marguerite was laughing as she tried to get the key into the lock. Wren growled before he tossed her onto one shoulder and took the key away from her. He had the door opened a heartbeat later.

He entered the house, slammed the door shut, then set her down in front of it.

Marguerite was still laughing as she faced him. His eyes scorched her with heat as he pulled his shirt over his head. Her humor died at the sight of his bared tawny chest. The scar on his shoulder was a harsh reminder of what he’d sacrificed for her. He seized her for a scorching kiss that stole her breath.

She wrapped her arms around him and groaned at the wicked taste of him, at the sensation of his hot skin under her hands. She could feel his heart pounding against her breasts as he deepened his kiss.

He moved from her mouth to her neck, where his breath scorched her. Chills spread all over her as he gently suckled the tender skin there. She had missed him so.… Much more than she would have thought possible. It didn’t make sense, but then, feelings almost never did.

“I love the way you smell,” he said in a ragged breath beside her ear.

“I love the way you feel.”

Most of all, she loved the way his whiskered cheeks prickled her skin. His body was so hard compared to hers. So incredibly masculine.

Wren couldn’t think with her in his arms. All he wanted was to be inside her again. It was a desire so potent that it overrode all reason. She trailed her lips along his jaw as he lifted her skirt so that he could cup her and press her closer to his swollen cock.

Part of him wanted to take his time savoring her, but the other was beyond that. He would play with her later. Right now the beast in him needed her.

His breathing ragged, he slid her panties down her legs.

Marguerite shivered at the sight of Wren kneeling between her feet. She lifted her feet up one by one so that he could strip her underwear from her. He looked up at her, and the heated intensity of those pale blue eyes scorched her.

He rose slowly, lifting her skirt again as he did so, his gaze never wavering from hers. Marguerite moaned deep in her throat as he brushed his hand through the small triangle of hair. His touch was incredibly tender as he slowly separated the folds of her body to touch her. It was all she could do to remain standing as he pleasured her, and when he slid his finger inside her she moaned in ecstasy.

Wren watched her closely as she slowly rode his fingers. There was nothing more beautiful than this woman taking her pleasure from him. Unable to stand it, he pulled away long enough to unfasten his pants and free himself. The beast within growled as it came to the forefront and possessed him. He could feel his teeth growing inside his mouth as he fought to remain in human form with her.

But it was hard.

Burying his head against her neck, he lifted her leg enough so that he could enter her. She cried out in pleasure as he buried himself all the way to his hilt.

Marguerite couldn’t think straight as he filled her completely and they made love furiously. She wasn’t sure how he could hold her up and still thrust, but he managed and it was incredible. She’d never had a man so desperate to be with her.

He licked and nuzzled her neck as she leaned her head back against the door while he plunged himself in and out of her.

“Oh, Wren,” she breathed as she buried her hand in his soft golden hair.

She could hear his own ragged breathing as he held her against the door. “Come for me, Maggie,” he whispered. “I want to see the pleasure on your face.”

She arched her back against the wood as he continued to slam himself into her. She wrapped both of her legs around his waist so that she could draw him even deeper into her body.

The rhythm of his thrusts … it was more than she could stand. Two seconds later, her orgasm claimed her as she cried out his name.

Wren smiled as he watched the ecstasy on her face. He could feel her body clutching his. He moved faster until he joined her in that one perfect moment of complete physical bliss.

Throwing his head back, he roared with the pleasure that coursed through him as he finally felt the beast inside him cry out in triumph.

Marguerite smiled at the sight of Wren coming in her arms. It wasn’t until he started to pull out that a horrible thought occurred to her.

“We didn’t use protection.”

He frowned at her. “What?”

“I just realized that I could be pregnant! I could—”

“Maggie,” he said firmly. “Don’t worry.”

“That’s easy for you to say,” she said, angry at the typical male response. “You’re not the one—”

“Maggie, listen to me,” he said in a calm, rational tone. “I can’t make you pregnant. I can’t.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

His face was sad as he brushed the hair back from her forehead and kissed it. “I’m sterile, okay? I know this for a fact. There’s no way I could ever make you, or any other woman, pregnant.”

She let out a relieved breath. “You’re sure?”

“Absolutely.”

She felt better until a new thought struck her. “But what about diseases?”

He scoffed at her. “I’ve only been with
you.
I told you that.”

Was he telling her the truth? Honestly, she had a hard time believing it. “Are you sure about that? You don’t make love like a novice.”

He made a small X on his bare chest, over his heart. “Cross my heart. You are the only woman I’ve ever wanted to be this intimate with. I swear it.”

Those words touched her deeply. She smiled up at him. “I’m so sorry you’re sterile.”

He gave a short, bitter laugh. “Don’t be. Believe me, it’s for the best.”

But how could that be? A man like him should have a house full of kids. He was protective and gentle. Patient.

She reached out to touch his cheek. Closing his eyes, he kissed her palm as he unbuttoned her blouse.

Marguerite shivered as he ran his hands over her right breast and caressed her through her bra. She could see he was already growing hard again. “How do you do that?”

“I don’t know. I only do it around you.”

She shook her head. “You keep saying all the right things, and I just might have to keep you.”

He peeled her blouse off of her before he reached around and unhooked her bra, then he slowly removed her skirt. Marguerite swallowed as she found herself naked in her living room. Wren kicked his shoes off, then removed his pants completely.

The look on his face scorched her as he reached for her and kissed her. She ran her hand down the colorful tattoo on his forearm. It was such a beautiful work of art that featured a hiding tiger that was peeking out through jungle grass.

Wren pulled back with a devilish grin. “You know what I want to do with you?”

“I think you already did that.”

He laughed, then pulled her toward the sliding glass door that led to the small courtyard in the back.

Marguerite balked the instant he moved her curtain aside. “What are you doing?”

“I want to make love in your pool.”

She made a noise of complete disagreement. “Are you insane? It’s broad daylight. Someone could see us.”

“No one will see us.”

“Bull! You don’t know that.”

He dipped his head to lightly lave her breast. Marguerite groaned at the sensation of his hot tongue on her skin.

“No one will see us, Maggie. I promise.” He straightened up. “Trust me?”

This was so not something she should do. “For all we know there could be reporters out there with cameras.”

“If there are, I’ll kill them before they can turn the film in.”

“Yeah, right.”

“I swear, there’s no one out there, Maggie. C’mon, be adventurous with me.”

Marguerite bit her lip as she considered it. Her father would die …

But this wasn’t her father’s life. It was hers. She’d never done anything like this before. It was strangely exciting … invigorating.

Erotic.…

“Okay, but if we get caught…”

“I’ll let you geld me.”

She gave him a faux angry stare. “I will.”

“I know.”

She bit her lip in trepidation as he opened the door and pulled her out onto the patio. This was absolutely horrifying and yet it was strangely titillating to be outside in the sunlight, completely naked.

She looked about nervously, half-expecting to find someone spying on them, but to her relief it was just the two of them. Always paranoid about privacy, her father had hired gardeners to plant high shrubs all around her yard. There really wasn’t any way for anyone to spy on them.

Wren released her to dive into her pool. He broke the surface of the water to find her still standing on the cement, covering herself as best she could with her hands. She was absolutely beautiful with the sunlight kissing her skin.

“Join me, Maggie.”

Her smile was shy an instant before she waded into the pool with him. Like all tigers, Wren loved to play in water. He could hold his breath under the surface for a lot longer than a human.

He dove under and propelled himself toward his prey. He nipped her thigh under the water before he broke the surface.

Marguerite shivered as she felt Wren’s naked body up against hers in the water. He nudged her thighs apart to place his hips between her legs. She moaned at the sensation of the water lapping against the tenderest part of her body as the tip of his swollen cock pressed against her core.

She stared up at Wren. He was gorgeous with his hair slicked back from his face. His features really were perfect. But it wasn’t until then that she realized he no longer hid his eyes from her. In public, he still kept his gaze down and his hair over his eyes.

But around her he didn’t. If she brushed the hair out of his eyes, he left it that way.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” he asked.

“I was just thinking of how different you are from the night we met.”

She closed her eyes as he slid himself inside her again.

How could any man be ready to have sex again so soon?

“I’m not different, Maggie. I’m still the same.”

But not around her he wasn’t. He was much more open and trusting. He spoke to her, while he didn’t normally speak to others. It made her extremely tender toward him.

Hissing, she lowered herself onto his shaft, taking him all the way into her body, before she pushed him away. She swam away from him.

“Maggie?” he called. “Did I do something wrong?”

She treaded water. “No. But if you want me, you have to catch me.”

He smiled before he dove under the water and headed for her. Marguerite squeaked before she raced him toward the cement steps that led out of the pool.

Wren caught up to her just as she reached the steps. To his shock, she actually flipped him over in the water and pinned him against the steps. Of course he wasn’t really pinned, he could easily overpower her. But he was curious as to what she had planned for him.

She kissed his lips before she cupped him in her hand. Pleasure blinded him as she gently stroked his cock from tip to hilt.

She moved herself so that she was between his legs. Wren sank down to the steps, then moved up them so that she could get on top of him if she wanted to.

Instead, she cupped his butt in her hands and lifted his hips until he was out of the water. He started to ask her what she was doing, but before he could speak she took him into her mouth. Stunned by the unexpected pleasure, he let his hand slip and ended up with his head under the water.

Wren came out of the water, sputtering to see Maggie’s brown eyes teasing him. “I didn’t mean to drown you.”

He couldn’t speak as he continued to cough.

She nudged him closer to the edge so that he could lean his head on the dry concrete while she returned to teasing him with her mouth.

Wren’s head reeled in ecstasy as he watched her pleasure him. He cupped her face in his hand as her tongue swirled around his cock. The sight of her there … it was more than he could stand. He’d never known anything more blissful or sweet.

He came in a fierce, blinding wave of pleasure. But still she didn’t pull away. She continued to tease him until she had wrung the last bit of pleasure from his body.

Wren was completely stunned by her actions, by the strange tenderness inside him.

He looked at his hand, expecting the mating mark. Surely no woman could make him feel like this without being his mate. But still there was no burning on his flesh, no magic sign that they were destined mates.

Grinding his teeth in frustration, he wanted to curse in disappointment. He pulled her body flush to his and held her in his arms.

“Thank you, Maggie,” he said before kissing her cheek.

Marguerite sighed in complete bliss as she held him close. If she could, she would stay lost in this perfect moment for the rest of her life.

She never wanted to leave the pool.

“Wren?” she asked, lifting her head up from his chest to stare at him. “I don’t want to be a downer or anything, but I need to know that you’re not going to walk out on me again. I’ve never felt like this before and I don’t want you to think that I just jump all over any guy who comes into my house.”

He teased her cheek with his fingers as he offered her a timid smile. “I would like to keep seeing you, Maggie. Let’s just take it one day at a time and see what happens. Okay?”

She nodded, then leaned her head back on his chest.

Wren closed his eyes and held her while his thoughts churned inside him. Katagaria and humans didn’t mix. Not to mention there were a lot of Katagaria and humans who wanted him dead. He didn’t even know if he had a future at all.

All he knew was that if he did have one, he wanted her in it.

But that wasn’t up to him, either. He better than anyone else knew the cruelty of the Fates. One moment they blessed you and the next they cursed you.

And he’d been cursed enough to know better than to expect something better. No, something was going to happen. He could feel it deep inside. His time with Maggie was limited. He only hoped that when the trouble he sensed came, it fell solely to his shoulders. The last thing he wanted was for Maggie to be hurt because of him.