The Dark-Hunters (645 page)

And she did see him for all his faults and strengths, and it didn’t matter to her.

Smiling so sweetly that it made his breath catch, she cupped his cheek in her soft hand. Tilting his head, he kissed the inside of her wrist.

“I’m so sorry for what Zeus did to you.”

“It’s all right. It was worth it.” Part of him wanted to tell her why he felt that way—because it had been for her—but the other part didn’t want to shatter her memories of her childhood. What good would it do to tell her that he was the reason she’d been spared?

It wouldn’t help her. Telling her that would only serve him, and he didn’t want her to love him for what he’d done back then.

He wanted her to love him for himself. For what they shared together now. Not out of gratitude or debt. He wanted her love untainted.

I can’t believe you said that.
More than that, he couldn’t believe that he wanted her love or anyone’s. He was a god of hatred and strength. He’d always been disdainful of love and all tender emotions. He’d scorned anyone and everyone for acting a fool over something as transitory as love.

Yet as he lay here, naked with her, there was nothing inside him except a gentle peace he never wanted to end. She knew him. Had seen him at his worst, and yet she weathered it with grace and kindness, all the while never giving in to him.

She was the best part of him and he knew it.

Never in his life had he begged anyone for anything. But for her, he would gladly sacrifice his dignity and life.

Something you will be giving up as soon as Zeus has his hands on you.
But that was all right, too.

He could live with that.

“What are you thinking about?” she asked. “You look so sad.”

He kissed her brow. “Only that I wish we could stay like this forever. That we never had to get out of this bed.”

“It would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

Jericho nodded before he rolled over, putting her on top of him and cupping her breasts in his hands. Though they were on the small side, they were still the most perfect breasts he’d ever seen.

Delphine sucked her breath in sharply as Jericho rose up to suckle her right breast. Every flick of his tongue made her stomach flutter in response. She was on fire now, craving him with a madness she barely understood. It was as if she held an emptiness that only he could fill and until he did, she was going to ache for it.

She cupped his head in her hands while he teased her. His hard erection pressed against her stomach. She wished she had more experience to know how to please him. What it would take to make it special.

“What should I do for you?”

He looked up with a frown. “What?”

“I want to please you. I’m just not sure how.”

His smile touched her deep inside. “Baby, I’m happy just to taste you. But…” He took her hand and showed her how to cup him.

His groan of pleasure made her smile. At least until she squeezed too hard and he hissed. “Gentle, love, gentle.”

“I’m sorry.”

Jericho laughed at her fearful tone. It thrilled him that she was so concerned about him and his pleasure. Most of all, he wanted to bathe in her scent until it was branded into his senses. Until he was coated with her.

Laying her back on the bed, he pulled back to stare at her there in the dim light. Her pale skin was gorgeous, her legs slightly parted in open invitation. And he was going to love her so thoroughly that she’d never forget this moment.

Zeus could put him in chains any minute now. But before he went, he wanted this one last memory to take with him. She would be the only balm he’d ever know.

Delphine was stunned by the ferocity of his kiss as he returned to her lips. But he didn’t stop there. He moved over her body slowly, thoroughly, kissing and licking every inch of her. From her throat to her breasts, then lower to her hips. He worked his way down her legs to her feet and toes. Squealing in pleasure, she had to force herself not to kick as he suckled each of her toes in turn.

But it was when he came up between her legs to taste the part of her that craved him the most that her real pleasure began. He lifted her hips from the bed as his tongue delved deep inside her.

Delphine couldn’t breathe at the intensity of the heat that cut through her body. She buried her hand in his hair as he tasted her fully.

“Come for me, Delphine,” he growled. “Let me taste your pleasure.”

But she didn’t give in until he sank his fingers deep inside her. The moment he did, she screamed out in release as her body burst into ribbons of ecstasy.

Jericho smiled at the sound of her orgasm. Finally it was time for what he wanted most. Her body was still convulsing as he lay over her and slid himself inside.

Delphine gasped at the sudden fullness inside her body. At the sensation of Jericho full and hard. Never in her life had she imagined just how good this would feel. And when he slowly began to rock himself against her, she honestly thought she’d die from the bliss.

He held himself up on one arm to look down at her. “Are you all right?”

She wrapped her legs around his, drawing him in even deeper. “Absolutely. I couldn’t be more so.”

His smile made her heart flutter. She cupped his scarred cheek, staring into his dual-colored eyes as she watched the pleasure play across his face. He drove himself deep inside her, then paused. Gathering her in his arms, he rolled, putting her on top of him.

She gasped as he lifted his hips.

“Ride me, Delphine. I want to see you take your pleasure from me.”

Unsure, she was timid at first, afraid she might somehow harm him. But as she moved and he growled tenderly, she grew more bold. Honestly, she loved being able to look down at him. To see the way the muscles of his abdomen moved.

His gaze locked with hers, he reached down between their bodies to where they were joined. She had no idea what he intended to do until his fingers stroked her cleft.

The moment he touched her, she jumped in pleasure. “Oh, my goodness.”

He smiled again. “Like that, do you?”

Unable to speak, she nodded.

Jericho laughed as he stroked her in time to her thrusts. He loved the sight of her biting her lip as she quickened her strokes. He wanted to come so badly he could taste it, but he didn’t want this to end. He wanted to stay inside her forever.

Why did sex have to be so short?

He ground his teeth, trying to stave off his climax, but as she found her own release while he was inside her, he was lost to it. Throwing his head back, he roared with the ferocity of his orgasm.

Damn …

He drove himself as deep as he could while his body exploded with pleasure. Oh, yeah, she was worth hell and then some. And he’d sell his soul to the lowest bidder if he could stay here with her like this for eternity.

Damn you, Zeus.
But he’d made his bed and he would lie in it.

For Delphine. He could never lose sight of why he’d made his pact. It was for her and her alone.…

She’d been right all along. Sometimes people did do things for others without expecting anything in return.

Love was real and he felt it with every part of him. All he needed was to know she was happy, and it was enough for him.

I am the worst sort of fool.

But even with his conscience yelling at him, he couldn’t regret what he’d done. This was exactly what she’d tried to explain to him, and it was only by experiencing it that he finally understood.

His mother was wrong. Hatred wasn’t the strongest emotion. What he felt for Delphine gave him more courage and more determination than all the hatred that had corrupted him. This was the reason to live.

Not for revenge and definitely not for hatred.

He lived for her love.

Sighing, Delphine sank down over him. She laid her head against his chest so that she could hear his heart beating as her body settled down. His arms held her close, making her feel protected, and as far-fetched as it was … loved. She knew better than to hope for that where he was concerned.

He thought of love as a weakness to be spurned. If only she could make him understand what she felt for him.

But it wasn’t meant to be. She could only dream of having Jericho love her the way her parents had loved each other. Even now she remembered the way her mother had wept when her father had died.

She’d been thirteen when he’d caught an infection. For weeks he’d suffered while her mother did everything she could to heal him.

He’d left them in the middle of the night. Her mother’s anguished screams had awakened her in the morning. It’d taken three men to pull her mother away from her father’s body, and there had been no consoling her.

Her mother had only lived six months before she’d succumbed to an illness herself. At least that’s what they told Delphine. But she’d known the truth. Unable to live without her father, her mother had willed herself dead. Nothing Delphine had done had been able to cheer her mother.

“You will find love one day, daughter. And you will understand. I only hope that when it comes for you, you’re able to grow old and have decades together.”
Those had been the last words her mother had spoken to her.

Arik had brought her here three days later.

Since the day of her arrival on the Vanishing Isle, Delphine had given up on ever understanding what her mother had tried so desperately to explain.

And when it had finally come for her, she’d found it in the most unlikely of places. In the arms of a god of hatred …

Who would have ever imagined?

She propped her head up on her hand to stare up at his beautiful eyes. “That was incredible.”

He laughed gently as he brushed his fingers through her tangled hair. “I’m pretty sure you broke me.”

She jerked up, concerned over what he meant. “What? Did I hurt you?”

“No. I’m just too content now to move.”

She returned his smile. “You’re so wrong.”

Jericho wrapped his arms around her and held her tight against him until she protested. Never in his life had he felt like this about another being.

No anger. No pain.

Just her.

At least until a sharp crash sounded outside their doors. He could hear angry voices and something that sounded like breaking glass.

Anger destroyed his hard-won peace. “I should have known it was too soon to be feeling satisfied,” he groused, dressing himself.

“Let’s at least hope it’s not a gallu.”

He scowled at her, and the tone of her voice that said it was the worst thing she could imagine. “Why? They’re not all bad, in a smelly, skanky, need-to-be-killed kind of way.”

“My point exactly.” She dressed and joined him by the bed.

Jericho took her hand and led her from the room, making sure to keep himself between her and the possible threat they were heading toward.

By the time they reached the hall, three Oneroi were holding Zeth back while M’Adoc brushed at his clothes. It appeared that Zeth must have attacked him.

But at least M’Adoc was looking better. Some of the bruises had healed, and he wasn’t nearly as pale as he’d been earlier.

“I want his heart in my fist,” Zeth snarled.

M’Adoc gave him a patient stare. “As do we all. But for now, we’re blocked out of Azmodea. The best we can do is prepare to fight until we find a way in.”

Zeth struggled against the men holding him. He let loose a battle cry that echoed around them.

“Easy, tiger,” Jericho said, letting go of Delphine to join their small group. “I don’t want that shit ringing in my ears. If it does, you’ve got a much worse problem than Noir. I’ll be the one beating your ass.”

Zeth shook the others off him. He straightened up to give Jericho a knowing once-over. “I remember you. You tried to get through the drugs to talk to me.”

Jericho inclined his head. “You were definitely out of it.” He looked around at the Skoti and Oneroi … and remembered a time when the two groups had seldom interacted. “You guys all good now?”

M’Adoc shrugged. “Depends. Now that we have emotions again, some of us are harboring grudges and hard feelings.” He passed a meaningful look at Zeth. “While others just want to kill because they can’t handle their anger.”

Jericho scoffed. “Sounds like a regular walk in the park for me.”

M’Adoc gave a sarcastic laugh. “We’re trying to restructure our duties, and some of us are in disagreement about who the new leaders should be.”

Zeth curled his lip. “The Skoti need their own rep. We don’t trust you assholes. Too many centuries of you killing and stalking us.”

M’Adoc growled low in his throat. “Excuse me? You were the ones who provoked
us.
None of you could behave, and you were one step away from bringing the wrath of Zeus down on
all
of us. Having been one of the original ones he tortured, I can tell you we were kinder on you than he would have been on us.”

Zeth rolled his eyes. “Whatever.”

Jericho cast a sideways glance to Delphine, who seemed as bemused by their argument as he was. Not to mention he really resented being pulled out of her arms for something so stupid. They were lucky he was feeling a bit mellow right now.

Delphine looked about the room of gathered Oneroi and Skoti. “You all appear a lot more clear-headed than you were earlier. What else have you decided?”

M’Adoc indicated several of the Oneroi around him. “We’re getting rid of the nomenclature Zeus forced on us.”

Jericho scowled, not understanding. “The what?”

“M, V and D apostrophe names. Zeus gave them to us as a punishment and to strip out our individuality. Our real names were forbidden, and he used those letters to further humiliate us by reminding us that we were his obedient servants and not our own entities.”

Zeth’s blue eyes glowed with hatred. “Each letter designated a job we were supposed to perform. M were those who policed the Oneroi and Skoti—basically the narcs of the group. The V’s helped humans through sleep and the D’s helped the gods and the Dark-Hunters. It’s why one of the first things Skoti do when they rebel is to revert to the names we were given at birth. In most cases. There have been a few such as V’Aiden who didn’t. But I’ve always thought he was an idiot anyway.”