Hunter Betrayed, page 8
part #1 of Wild Hunt Series
“You were never a problem.”
She gave him a watery smile, both glad and saddened he hadn’t argued with her. “I’m getting out of here, Ian. I’ve had my fill of half-naked women for the night.”
He watched her intently for a long moment. “You’re going to release him?” She nodded. “You’re taking off then too?”
“Hopefully with Calan, but if not, I’m going to hunt for my siblings myself.”
“Not alone, Sis. If your ghost man doesn’t go with you, you shouldn’t do this. It’s too dangerous.”
“I have to. No one else will save them.”
“Then I’ll ask Trevor if he’ll go with you.”
Like hell. She wouldn’t risk another innocent’s life. “Sure, okay.” She forced a smile, hoping he’d believe her.
He narrowed his eyes as if he didn’t buy her lame acting skills but gave her hand another small squeeze anyway. “You’ll call, right?”
She patted her back pocket and the cell phone there. “You know I will. Every day, just like I promised.”
“Good.” He nodded. “That’s good.”
Before she broke down in tears, she turned away and left her only family member behind, or at least the only one she knew wouldn’t turn into a raving monster someday.
She evaded another one of Ian’s friends who stepped in her path and slipped outside. She scanned the parking lot. The habits she’d developed, second nature. At nearly midnight, the lot was deserted.
One more sweep and she strode toward where she’d left her car, one of the spare SUVs from Ian’s company. The black monstrosity was the biggest vehicle she’d ever driven. Inside the metal shell, she had a sensation of power, though she doubted it’d win any races.
A few feet from the decked-out beast, an awareness she’d felt too many times over the years skipped over her skin. Normally, the taint she carried would flare in response. Tonight, it remained dormant and calm under Calan’s silky barrier. She breathed a sigh. Her happiness over the knowledge that Calan really had healed her faded with the first sight of the man she wanted to gut for what he’d done to her family.
Raul walked around the edge of the building in the same nonchalant amble he’d sported the last time she’d seen him.
How did he find me so quickly?
She pulled her dagger from the sheath she’d shoved inside her boot. His gaze flicked to it, but he continued to approach, not even eyeing it with a tiny bit of apprehension. Her pulse raced.
Shit, shit, shit. She knew his change in patterns indicated more than his unraveling mind. It looked as if she’d find out the reason. She tightened her grip and waited.
He stopped several feet away and matched her widened stance. His empty hands hanging loosely at his sides didn’t fool her. His nails could grow into curved talons as sharp as a razor blade. Unlike the sluaghs who were more animal than human without the glamour their redcap leader bestowed upon them, men like Raul retained their human appearance. For the most part, at least. The whites of their eyes turned red and pointy teeth filled their mouths when they allowed their nonhuman side out.
Raul swept desire-ridden, dilated eyes over her. He let his gaze linger on her breasts the same way most men did. She had a healthy dose of mammary glands. He tore his attention from them and focused on her face.
“Happy belated birthday, Harley.”
The raspy tinge to his words reminded her of a smoker. The last time he’d spoken to her, she’d been equally disgusted and intrigued by his voice. It had appealed to the darker half of her persona. With Calan’s touch holding it at bay, she felt only revulsion.
“How did you—”
“Know you just turned twenty-seven?” He gave her a lopsided smile. “Because you’ve matured. I feel the change in you.”
She didn’t know what he was talking about but the fact that he made a point of telling her about it worried her.
“And now you no longer want to kill me,” she guessed.
Quicker breaths expanded his chest. “No, I don’t want to kill you.”
She focused on the cock straining his pants. Fear rose. She stamped it down. “What do you want then?”
A smile spread over his handsome face that didn’t need an ounce of glamour to create. It seemed almost wrong that his physical body didn’t match the monster he was.
“You’re going to join your essence to mine and together we’re going to bring my plan to life.”
Her heart raced. She locked her knees so she didn’t turn tail and run. Calan might need this information in his hunt for Dahm. She’d give her ghost man anything she could to help him.
“I don’t understand.”
Raul took a step closer. She tightened her grip on the blade.
“Once you give me a piece of yourself, it’ll fix this,” he touched his head, “and join us for all time.”
She trembled, hating the sign of weakness but couldn’t stop it. What he described sounded too similar to what Calan had done for her.
“Like hell. The only thing I’ll ever give you is death.”
“It’s getting harder to resist, isn’t it?”
Obviously he wasn’t going to fall into a verbal confrontation. It didn’t surprise her. For as evil as she knew he was, the man couldn’t be riled. She’d tried, hoping to trick him into letting his guard down. It made her wonder what he’d done in his previous life and what had lured him into the one he now held.
“It’s nothing I can’t handle.” With Calan’s help, anyway.
“Dahm doesn’t think you’ll last the week.”
“He knows about me?”
Raul grinned. “Oh yeah, he knows about you. He’ll be coming for you soon. You are his only child.” His smile turned into a sneer. “That lived, anyway. And he’s giving you to me.”
A shudder ran through her at the thought of being naked under the killer in front of her. No, don’t think about that. Get facts. Calan will need facts. “How did you find me?”
“I’ve taken your blood. My tie to you has strengthened as you’ve grown and now that you’ve reached fairy adulthood I feel you here.” He thumped his chest. “There will never be a place you can hide from me. It’s why Dahm has given you to me and why I’ve kept the others from killing you.”
Only a couple of weeks after Calan had saved her, Raul had caught her. He’d gnawed on her ankle. She’d only escaped because of the dagger made of her blood and iron.
“You stopped the other redcaps?”
He cringed as if he didn’t like the term. She filed the information away to dissect later. “And their slaves. I’m the strongest.” He flashed her a smile that showed off his pointy teeth. “You’ve made me the most powerful. I rarely even have to kill now.”
Oh god.
He moved so fast she didn’t have time to react. He grasped the wrist of her hand holding the blade and wrapped his other around her throat.
“I wasn’t always evil, Harley. You made me remember that and my goal. For you, I only killed the ones already dying and I made sure they didn’t feel a thing.” He leaned close enough to kiss her. Hot, minty breath bathed her face. Her stomach churned. “But that can change easily.”
She pushed against his chest with her free, gloveless hand. She’d forgotten to cover Calan’s mark. Curses danced through her head. Thoughts of what she and Calan would share once she released him had messed with her head. Regret left a bitter taste in her mouth.
She did the only thing she could. She dropped her hand to her side and curled it into a fist.
“You can’t force me.” Because if he could’ve, they wouldn’t be talking. He’d be raping her. Unless she was lucky and caught him with her blade, she had no hope of fighting him off. Raul had a good hundred pounds of muscle on her.
“Come to me before the sun rises, Harley.” He slanted his mouth over hers and kissed her. She refused to open. He pulled back with a chuckle. “If you don’t, you’ll learn just how cruel my sluaghs can be.”
He slid a keycard down the front of her shirt. Gaze on hers, he backed up until he disappeared around the edge of the building.
She dug the offending hotel key from in between her breasts and ran for the SUV. A click and she locked all the doors. She dug her phone out and dialed.
“Raul’s in town.” She pressed the button to start the vehicle. It roared to life in a deep grumble. “Get to Cynthia now. Trevor was right.”
“Fuck, are you sure?” Ian’s panicked voice made her anxiety and anger worse.
“I just had a nice little chat with him. I’m sure. Now go. I’m going to free Calan.”
More curses filled the line. “Be safe, Sis.”
“You too, Ian.” After what she’d just learned, she didn’t know if she ever would be, but her brother didn’t need that knowledge too. He’d suffered long enough because of her. It was about time he found some happiness, even if she never would. Because unless Raul died, she was a danger to everyone, including Calan.
Chapter Eight
A shiver of awareness danced down Calan’s spine with the approach of his visitor. Lust tightened his body. His cock lengthened and a guttural groan rumbled his chest.
Harley.
By the gods, he wanted her. He had for years and her confirmation that she felt the same only made his needs grow. She was the right choice for him, tainted or not. He couldn’t imagine spending eternity with any other woman.
Calan stroked his cock. The rough material of his pants stimulated the sensitive flesh. The temptation to tug his trews down and pump his shaft until he exploded nearly broke his control. He’d resisted as he had since Harley had returned to him. He refused to find his pleasure without the woman who’d brought him to this state.
Her scent reached him first. He squeezed the rod under his hand and took deep, slow breaths. Soon, gods, soon. He would worship his woman tonight because tomorrow evening he’d ride and leave her behind, temporarily at least.
He dragged in more citrus-scented air, but her rapid heartbeat sped his. As he’d done before, he opened himself to her. Her fear rushed over him. He choked on the terror swamping her. Anger and anxiety added to it.
A tug on her riotous feelings and they slammed into him. He shook under the force of the push. The fear gripping her lessened under his influence. The angst which caused it didn’t. She ran down the stairs before he could ask her why.
She settled her desperate gaze on him. “Calan.”
The urge to protect her flared with his name spoken in her panicked voice. He wanted to gather her close and ease all her sorrows while snapping and snarling at whoever hurt her.
“What’s wrong?”
She slipped the torch into the hook on the wall and hurried across the room. The thick animal pelts that had served as carpets and beds for his hounds silenced the thump of her boots.
“There’s a redcap in town. He…” She shuddered. “He wants me to give a piece of myself to him. He’s threatening my family if I don’t.”
Her words sparked the anger he’d taken from Harley and awakened the wrath he kept contained except for when the Hunt seized him. His head fell back. A roar ripped from his throat. Claws burst from his fingers.
No, dammit, no. He snapped his teeth together and fought the rest of the changes the Hunt induced. He couldn’t risk frightening Harley with his Huntsman form.
She shoved his shirt away and skimmed soft, trembling hands over his heaving chest. “Oh god, Calan. Calm down. You’re hurting yourself.”
Harley pushed his shirt higher and pressed her lips to his skin. She kissed him, caressed him and her gentle touch calmed the remaining fury turning him into a beast from hell. The edges of his teeth flattened, the sharp talons receded and his body returned to his normal size.
His breath escaped in a rush. “Harley.”
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry.” More kisses, more featherlight strokes. “I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Her words infused him with soothing warmth as easily as her rage had smothered him.
“More, Harley.” The rough bite to his tone spoke of the line he walked between monster and man. He couldn’t calm her if he hovered on the edge. “Kiss me.”
He used his free hand to lift her. She linked her ankles around his waist and dug the hard edges of her boots into his ass. A hiccupped groan fell from her lips. She grabbed the short strands of his hair and used her hold to guide his head to hers for the rough, desperate kiss he craved.
Her sweet taste invaded his senses along with her fresh scent. He could get drunk on this woman. He moaned his pleasure into her mouth. The sound seemed to ignite her passion. She clung to him, kissed him harder with teeth and tongue as if she wanted to crawl inside him.
“Need you.”
The groaned words against his lips were ones he’d heard from women many times. None had left him in a state of desperation. He had to sink his dick into Harley, had to fill her with his seed, had to finish his half of the bond.
Might die if he didn’t.
He slanted his lips over hers and took her mouth with the same fervor she’d shown him. Gods, she tasted of heaven. He nipped her lip and the pure chaos twined with her blood flooded his senses. The evidence of the battle going on in her body and soul didn’t bother him as it had the last time. It reminded him of her endurance and the strength of will she possessed. She’d lived and remained honorable for him.
The tang became a badge of honor and gave a wild flare to their kiss. Loving Harley promised uncontained passion as wicked as the chaos that had left its mark on her. She couldn’t escape her father’s taint, but he would harness the natural element and tame it, along with the woman. He’d own both. He wouldn’t stand for anything less.
He massaged her ass cheeks, enjoying the lushness of them, and teased the crack with his thumb. The thick, rough material of her jeans stopped him from exploring and learning every inch of her beautiful body. He gripped the waistband and resisted the urge to rip them off her. For all his many powers, he couldn’t create clothes nor could he give her the illusion of them. The wardrobe that supplied him with appropriate attire for the era had been a gift from the last Seelie and only worked for him.
The effort it took to tear his mouth from Harley’s surprised him. He could’ve kissed her all night and not tired of her tempting lips. “Release me.”
“Yes, yes.” A hard kiss punctuated each word.
She unhooked her legs and slid down his chest in a full-body caress. Plump breasts, her firm stomach and the heat of her arousal skimmed a path to his aching cock. She ran her fingertips over the length and turned away. Unwilling to lose her touch so soon even though it was necessary, he grasped her wrist. He couldn’t form the emotions barraging him into words. The heated stare, all he could manage.
A small smile spread over her swollen lips. She tugged her hand free and hurried to the bed where the key lay on his pillow. The sway of her ass tore a groan from his throat. Hand on the skeleton key, she glanced over her shoulder and peered at him from behind the strands of her hair. Her gaze dropped to his groin. She licked her lips.
“Hurry, woman, I want you.”
“And I need you.” A grin on her face, she picked up the key and sashayed back to his side. She dropped to her knees. “But I need to deal with Raul first.”
“The redcap?” A red haze slipped over his vision. “You know his name?”
She paused with her hand on the manacles binding his ankles and flicked her gaze to his. “He’s the one who’s hunted me for years.”
She danced her fingertips up his leg. At the crease where thigh met groin, she stroked from top to bottom, reaching between his legs to complete the explorative path. She leaned closer and her breasts pillowed against him. Head tipped back, the full force of her siren eyes pierced him.
“He almost got me a couple of times. If it wasn’t for the knowledge you pushed into my mind, I would’ve died at his hands.” She lowered her gaze to focus on his rigid cock hidden behind his pants. A slow swipe of her tongue accompanied the hungry, low groan she made. “I’m going to thank you properly for saving my life and giving me a reason to fight.”
She closed her mouth around the length of his dick and nibbled. A string of curses he’d learned from her spilled out of his mouth. She clamped a little harder, just to the point where he contemplated tugging her off him but she eased the pressure and rested her cheek over him.
“I’ll make sure you never regret it, Calan.” Again she lifted her gaze. “I promise you, but I can’t worship you now.”
He panted but managed a nod, the surge of irrational jealousy snuffed out with her words and touch. The weight of her vow wrapped around him. He held it close.
Eyes locked to his, she turned the key. A shock wave resounded in the room. The walls shook and energy rushed into him. Without thought, he grabbed Harley’s shoulder and shared the unrestrained power and its accompanying ecstasy with her. Her cry mirrored his. The rush eased, so did the sound of her pleasure. For the first time in a millennium, he shifted his legs from the widened stance he’d assumed because of the chains.
She wrapped trembling arms around his legs. “What was that?”
The huskiness to her words brought a smile to his lips. He sifted his fingers through the silken strands of her hair. “What has been denied to me. Power. My power.” He tipped up her chin. “Finish it.”
She licked her lips and the first hint of wariness bled into her eyes. “Promise me you’ll protect my brother, Ian. No matter what. He’s human, innocent in all this.”
He caressed the edge of her mouth with his thumb. “That requires no promise. I will.”
She closed her eyes on a long sigh. “Good.”
“Harley?” He waited until she met his gaze. “Why ask such a thing of me?”
She stood, stretching on the tips of her toes, and fitted the key into the remaining lock. She turned her head to face him. The full, bouncy curls framing her face swayed, tickling his chin. For a long moment, she didn’t say anything. Finally, she pressed her lips to the spot just below his ear. Her heated breath sent shivers racing down his spine. “In case I’m wrong and releasing you will damn me.”
