Binding Ties (16 page)

Lyka struggled to withstand the sudden rush. She imagined herself like a tree, letting floodwaters rush by her. She stayed planted firmly where she was, feeling little splashes of his emotions as they passed.

Anger was on the surface—anger caused by a soul-deep fear of loss. He'd grieved for so many people he'd loved. No one was safe from the Synestryn. Neither was she. It was the worry that plagued him most, wearing
away at his sense of calm until he was constantly fighting the urge to chain her up in a cell below Dabyr.

Below that anger was a sense of gratitude and hope. She was the focus of it, shining so bright in his thoughts that she couldn't even stand to stare at herself through his eyes. He was pinning a lot on her—on them as a team, a powerful fighting force. She knew that if she looked at that line of thought too closely, she'd freak out, developing some odd kind of stage fright that would lock her up cold.

She passed by that quickly, moving deeper. With every layer she passed, she felt more at home, as if this were a space carved out just for her.

She was warm here. Safe. Spying inside his head wasn't at all like she would have expected. Instead, she found herself lingering, practically basking inside his emotions.

Something large loomed up ahead. It was darker than everything around it, pulsing with a kind of frenetic power that dwarfed all else. As she neared, it seemed to grow in anticipation, like it had been waiting for her arrival for a long, long time.

“You're not ready for that,” she heard Joseph say. The words sounded strange. Distant. Her body was so far away from her now that she barely even felt like it belonged to her anymore.

Her curiosity grew. He wouldn't try to keep her out unless he had something to hide. Whatever it was, she was going to figure it out and expose his dark secrets before they could hurt her.

He must have sensed her resolve, because she felt a growing pressure shoving her away from that pulsing, powerful secret.

She tried to tell him to back off and let her pass, but
she couldn't figure out how to speak though a mouth that was light years away. Instead she settled for showing him that she wasn't going to be deterred.

Lyka shoved forward, ignoring the resistance clinging to her, trying to hold her at bay. She pushed past the pulsing edge of the dark fog and stepped inside. It all hit her at once.

Lust. Desire. Need.

She was surrounded by it, consumed by it. This was the part of him that craved her. It wanted to possess her body and stake a claim so deep, no other man would ever be able to rid her of his mark. This part of him wanted to restrain her—not for her safety, but for her pleasure. And his. This part was pure animal instinct and raging hunger.

The fog seeped into her, becoming a part of her. It made her want, too. Made her need.

Through the faint thread that connected her to her body, she heard herself moan, felt herself shiver.

“You weren't supposed to see that,” he said.

But she had. And now it was part of her, too.

She tried to back out of the dark fog, but it didn't want to let her go. It swirled around her, caressing her and whispering for her to stay. Give in. Let go.

Lyka wanted to listen. It felt so good to be here. But there was something important she was supposed to do. Something vital.

“Let me go,” she begged. Even to her, the plea sounded halfhearted.

The fog tightened around her, hugging her, holding her. There was a sense of possession sliding through each pulsating swirl of power. It was careful not to hurt her, but she could sense its intent to never let her go.

With each sinuous stroke of the fog across her
consciousness, the need pouring out of Joseph seemed to strengthen. She could feel his hands on her body somewhere in the distance. His fingers were on her skin, hot and strong.

She wanted to feel that touch up close—not separated and distant like she was from her body now.

Again she fought against the all-consuming need that clung to her. As much as she wanted to stay and bask in the dark power that surrounded her, she wanted to be back in her body more, feeling Joseph's touch.

By the time she clawed her way back out of his mind, she was shaking with fatigue. When she opened her eyes, she saw him hovering over her, his eyes nearly black with hunger. He'd stopped the truck and all but crawled into her seat. He had both of her wrists held in one of his big hands. His other hand had slipped beneath the collar of her shirt to splay across her chest, pinning her in the seat.

Hot waves of power tumbled out of him, sinking into her flesh wherever he touched. He was trembling with barely held control. There was a deep flush across his neck, disappearing down beneath his shirt. Thick veins throbbed under his skin, pulsing fast.

“You weren't supposed to see that,” he told her.

The low, sexy sound of his voice stroked across her senses. The curve of his lips caught her attention and held on tight. Had her hands been free, she would have reached up and traced that line with her fingertip.

But her hands weren't free, and he showed no sign of letting her go anytime soon. Oddly, that gave her a feeling of safety so intense, she wasn't in any hurry for him to let go.

“I thought you were keeping secrets.”

His gaze dipped to her mouth. “I was. But for good reason.”

“What reason is that?”

“I really didn't want you to know just how much I'm dying to fuck you, kitten. At least not yet.”

His rough words should have offended her, but instead they made her toes curl in her shoes. “So there was a time you wanted me to know?”

“Yes.”

“When?”

“When I'm buried balls-deep inside that sweet pussy of yours.
That's
the appropriate time for you to know exactly how much I need you.”

She had no idea what to say to that, but knowing what he wanted from her—hearing his thoughts spoken aloud—made her own sexual hunger rise, answering the challenge.

Lyka couldn't let this happen. She couldn't give in like this.

She knew that Theronai couples frequently engaged in sex. Most of them considered the bond a form of marriage—one far more permanent and binding than any piece of paper issued by some governing body. But she hadn't been raised as one of them. She didn't have to follow the path they did. She could still be connected to Joseph and mate with a Slayer male.

Couldn't she?

“If you think I'd ever let another man touch you, you're insane,” he said.

“Get out of my head. I didn't invite you to listen to my private thoughts.”

“And I didn't invite you to drop in on my deepest fantasies.”

He had a point. “I shouldn't have done that.”

“No, you shouldn't have. But you did. And now that you've opened Pandora's box, there's no closing it.
You've seen how I feel about you. Do you really think that I'd let you go in search of another man, another mate?”

“I really never considered that you had a right to
let
me do anything.”

His grip on her wrists tightened. She thought about trying to break his hold, but she doubted she was strong enough, even on her best day. And today was definitely not her best day. She was weak, shaky, unsteady, both mentally and physically.

He closed his eyes, pulled in a deep breath. Let it out again. She watched as he reined himself in, shoving down his frustration and lust an inch at a time until it was all tucked neatly away, out of sight.

But she knew it was still there. She'd been inside his thoughts—felt his emotions too keenly to ever pretend they weren't real.

No man had ever wanted her the way Joseph did. It was as thrilling as it was terrifying.

“You're too weak,” he said as he let her go and moved back into his own seat. He started the truck and pulled back onto the gravel road. “It's my duty to see to your care, and right now, you wouldn't be able to defend yourself if we were attacked.”

“I'm fine,” she lied. All that brain hopping she'd done had worn her down even worse than before.

“You can't lie to me about this. I know I'm right. You need me to revive your strength.” Even though they were out too far in the countryside for streetlights, her vision was good enough that she could make out fine details in his skin. Freckles, a light dusting of hair, scars faint with age.

He really was sexy as hell—built just the way she liked her men. Tall, strong, sturdy enough to take
whatever she might throw at him. Joseph wasn't the kind of man who was easily broken, not even once her two brothers got their hands on him for staking a claim on her without council permission.

“How do you do that?” she asked. “Because I'd really like to have the strength to keep moving tonight.”

“I can pull power from the earth and feed it to you.”

“How does that work?”

“I'm not entirely sure. I've never done it before, but my instincts are strong, and I've seen bonded pairs do it over and over.”

“So, we never need to rest?” she asked.

“Not never. What I'll do for you is only temporary—just enough to get you on your feet in an emergency. Think of it like an energy drink.”

“How long will it last?”

“I don't know. We're going to have to figure it out together.”

“Pull over. We'll do it here.” She was worried she'd piss him off and he'd refuse to work his magic on her. The longer she kept talking, the more likely it was she'd say something that would set him off. She simply couldn't take the chance that he'd change his mind.

“No. I'm not risking an experiment with something I've never tried before out in the open like this. We'll do it at a Gerai house, so that if it goes badly, at least we'll have shelter for the night.”

Lyka knew about Gerai houses—safe places stocked with food and supplies, magically warded to increase their security against attack—but she'd never been to one before. “You're going to trust me with the secret location of one of your safe houses?”

His shoulders seemed to droop in frustration. “You still don't get it, do you?”

“Get what?”

“There are no secrets between us anymore. You saw my last one. Soon you'll let me see all of yours, too.”

She didn't scoff, but nearly pulled a muscle restraining herself.

“I'm serious,” he said.

“I know that you want us to share a brain, but I've told you it's not going to happen.”

“Too late, kitten. It already has.”

“What's that supposed to mean?” she asked, dread rising like a flash flood.

He turned onto another gravel road. Moonlight spilled over his face, showing her just how grim his expression had become. “You were in my head a minute ago.”

“So?”

“It works both ways. While you were in my mind, I read your thoughts.”

Uh-oh.
He couldn't know. She kept all her secrets carefully locked away behind doors so hidden, even she had trouble finding them.

But she'd been drawn to the thing he'd tried to hide from her. Maybe when she wasn't looking, he'd been drawn to the same thing in her mind. She hoped that she would have known that he was poking around, but maybe she wouldn't. Maybe she was too new at this conjoined brain garbage to even sense his intent.

He could know. All of it. Everything.

Fear trickled through her like ice water. Her muscles stiffened against it, making it hard to breathe.

One of her hands strayed to the door handle while the other got ready to unbuckle her seat belt so she could make a quick getaway.

“What thoughts did you read?” she asked, trying to
sound nonchalant. Instead, there was a slight waver in her voice she was certain he'd heard.

He didn't look her way. He stared straight ahead, his big hands tight on the steering wheel. “I know what you're hiding.”

“I'm not hiding anything,” she lied.

“Yes, you are, and it's time we deal with it,” he said as he turned down yet another deserted country road—the kind where no one would ever find her body. “What
it
do you mean?”

He glanced her way, his face drawn tight with intense emotion she couldn't decipher. “You killed one of my men, didn't you?”

J
oseph felt Lyka's panic an instant too late to predict her actions.

She sprang from the moving truck and tucked into an acrobatic roll as she hit the ground. He skidded to a sloppy stop on the gravel road and slammed the truck in park.

By the time he was out of the truck and headed in her direction, she was already on her feet, running into a nearby tree line.

Joseph couldn't leave her alone out here, unprotected. She was weak from her efforts to heal him. He'd sensed her fatigue clouding the minute connection between them. She was practically weaponless, with only those short daggers and a puny knife to hold demons at bay. And even if all of that hadn't been true, he would have been forced to pursue her because of his vow to protect her.

If she'd already become comfortable in her power, she could have pulled strength from him to speed her flight. But she wasn't comfortable yet. She probably didn't even realize that she could use him in that way.

He'd never been more grateful for ignorance in his life.

Joseph pulled specks of energy into himself, gathering them from the chilly night air. He was unable to access the huge reservoir of magic he housed, but he could make instant use of what was available to him in the environment. As he drew power into him, some of it overflowed his need and became a part of him. It wasn't fun or easy to add onto the bulging stores of energy inside him, but it was effective.

His pace quickened until he was easily gaining on her. Branches batted at his face as he passed, but she seemed to have no such trouble. She dodged and ducked, weaving through the forest with such ease, he wouldn't have been surprised to learn that she'd planted every tree and rock herself.

He finally caught up to her on the far side of a creek. She'd leapt across it, and the slick leaves littering the ground slid beneath her foot. Her arms whirled as she scrambled to find a handhold to keep her upright, but there was nothing low enough for her to grab.

She started to fall. Joseph caught her up and swept her to the top of the steep bank. She spun around, striking out at him with her bare hands. Panic still ruled her mind and controlled her actions, so he grabbed her wrists and pinned them behind her before she could draw blood—and the demons that would smell it.

The last thing they needed was another pack of sgath closing in on them.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” he told her, though his words came out through clenched teeth, making them harder to believe.

“I won't let you hurt me.” She snarled, baring her teeth at him as she tried to get away.

He bore her to the ground, pinning her arms with his hands and her body with his. She squirmed against his hips and thighs, lighting a fire of sexual need in his groin.

He'd spent the last few miles trying to shove all of his lust back in its box, and here she was, inadvertently destroying his efforts. Only a few minutes ago, he'd been faced with every one of the fantasies he'd had for this woman. Dark and nasty, sweet and loving . . . they were all on display, reminding him of exactly how much time he'd spent fighting his baser urges.

He'd wanted Lyka for too long to deny how he felt. There was no stopping the immediate response of his body. Despite her anger and her struggles to free herself, she felt good under him—really good when she squirmed and rubbed against him.

“Stop fighting me and listen.”

“Never.” She fought harder, nearly breaking his fingers in an effort to free her wrists.

He had to fuel his strength to keep her in check. He was no lightweight, but her Slayer blood made her both strong and ferocious.

It was one of the things he loved most about her.

He tried to keep his voice calm, but he was quickly running out of what little patience he had. “Stop or I'll knock you out and carry you back to the truck.”

“I won't let you hit me. I'll rip you apart first.”

“I don't have to hit you. I'll shove my way into your head and just turn out the lights. You don't know enough magic to stop me.”

She stilled. The flush of color their chase had given her evaporated as she went pale. “You're bluffing.”

“Keep being a pain in the ass and you'll find out I'm not.”

Panic was still hovering inside her, looking for the
slightest excuse to come out and play. He knew she was terrified, but he had no idea why. “Why did you run off like that?”

“I don't want to die until I find my brother.”

“Who says you're going to die?”

“I killed one of your men. That's not the kind of thing you can let go unpunished. Just give me a stay of execution until Eric and the young are home safe. Then I'll turn myself in willingly.” Her chin lifted with an air of defiance but trembled with unshed tears.

That was why she was upset? She thought he was going to execute her?

“Lyka, even if you deserved to die, I couldn't be the one to do it. My vow to you prevents me from ever hurting you.”

Some of the tension drained from her body. “So it won't happen now? You'll let me keep searching?”

He loosened his hold on her arms and stroked the inside of her wrists with his thumbs. He wasn't foolish enough to let her go, but her need for comfort and reassurance drove him to act. “Did you kill my man in self-defense?”

“No.”

“Did you kill him in anger?”

“No. Even if I wanted to, Andreas forbade us from attacking your people.”

“Had his lifemark fallen bare? Did you see that his soul had died?”

Her gaze moved past him to the bare branches behind his head. “No.”

“Then why did you kill him?”

“He asked me to. He only had two leaves left. He was in horrible pain. He begged me to end his suffering.”

Joseph understood the urge to let go. Stop fighting.
End the pain. Rest. There had been times when he'd let idle thoughts of ending his life pass through his mind. He'd always shut them down before they could take root and grow, but not all of the Theronai were as disciplined.

“Who was he?” asked Joseph.

She shook her head. “I don't know his name. I didn't let him tell me. I didn't want to know.”

“How did you do it?”

“I can't tell you that. We Slayers are forbidden from talking about it.”

“Let me touch your memories of the event. I need to see his face. I need to know who he was and that he met with a clean end.”

“I'm not letting you in my brain again. You'll have to take my word for it. I gave him an easy death.”

“How?”

She shook her head. “In the way all of your men meet their end when you send them to us.”

Whenever one of the Theronai males' souls died, they were delivered to the Slayers for execution. It was a secretive affair, steeped in millennia of tradition. When he'd been young, Joseph had wondered how the Slayers managed the task, but now that he was grown, he refused to let himself think about it.

As leader of the Theronai, he'd sent too many men to their deaths. Lingering over the details of how they died was a good way for him to drive himself mad. They were dead and unable to hurt anyone else. That was all that mattered.

“I felt your guilt, your disgust. You were the one who killed him, not one of the Slayer warriors. Why is that?”

She looked away from him again.

“What are you hiding?”

“Let me up.”

She thrust her hips against his in an effort to get free, but all it did was remind him that he had a soft, beautiful woman—his woman—beneath him.

He hadn't yet staked his claim in a physical way. He'd told himself there was plenty of time for that, that if he gave her time, she'd come to know him, maybe even grow to like him. After they worked together for a while, she'd learn to trust him. Maybe even with her body. He couldn't help but hope it would happen. After all, she was the only woman he'd allow himself to be with for the rest of his long, long life, and the idea of never having sex again seemed inconceivable. Especially when he would be working side by side with the woman of his dreams.

But now, with her sleek body stretched out under his, all he could think about was how fast he could get inside her. How soon he could strip her bare and kiss what lay beneath those stretchy clothes that hugged her curves.

Maybe if he gave her time to reveal her secrets, it would begin forging a link of trust between them. The man she'd killed was already dead. Nothing more could happen to him. What harm was there in Joseph giving her the time she needed to tell him what he wanted to know?

He released her wrists but didn't move his weight off her. Instead he slid his finger across her forehead in a light touch. Her skin was as warm and soft as sunlight. “You were sure I was going to kill you and all you could think about was living long enough to find your brother?”

“I can't let him die. He and Andreas are the only reason I'm alive. They protected me the whole time I was growing up. They helped me hide what I was so I wouldn't be cast out. I owe them everything.”

He admired her sense of loyalty even as he cursed it. He knew there would be no stopping her, but simply
coming along with her to help her find Eric wasn't enough—not when there was more he could do.

More he could give her.

This was his chance to form a bond with her—one that would start them on their journey together. Without knowing it, she was offering him the key to her trust, and he'd be a fool not to reach out and grab it.

“Then I owe them a debt, too. They kept you alive and well so I had time to find you, and now you've stopped the decay of my soul.”

“But your tree is still bare. Aren't you supposed to get new leaves, like the other bonded males?”

He'd tried not to worry about that, but it had been in the back of his mind, festering. His soul was still in jeopardy until he had a fresh batch of leaves. “Not yet,” he hedged. “But the more important issue is Eric. You want to find him. I want to help you.”

“Then let me up. We need to get moving.”

He'd wanted to wait until they were within a short sprint of a Gerai house, but his instincts were telling him that now was the time to act. Every minute he waited, she laid another brick in the wall between them. She hadn't wanted this bond, and if she didn't come to accept it, his lifemark was never again going to be healthy.

“We will,” he said. “After.”

“After what?”

He didn't answer her with words. Instead, he dug his fingers into the damp soil and pulled energy from the ground beneath them. As was always the case when he tapped into this kind of power, he was stunned by the sheer volume that surged under his fingertips. All he needed was a tiny trickle, but there was a river seething beneath them, eager to find a home inside him.

He resisted the urge to open himself up completely—
not while he was attached to Lyka as he was. There was too much risk involved in trying to access that kind of power. All he allowed in was a single tendril of current.

He spanned her neck with his hand, making sure both parts of the luceria connected. He directed the flow of energy from the ground, through his body and into hers.

She arched beneath him, letting out a low moan of pleasure. “Oh, my.”

He imagined she'd look just like that if he ever had the good fortune to make her come. The flush in her cheeks, the way her pupils flared and lengthened, giving her a decidedly feline appearance. Her lips parted and her breath came out in short bursts.

In that moment, he knew he was going to make her his in every way possible. He was going to strip her naked, kiss and pet every inch of her. He was going to slide his cock into her as deep as a man could go and stay there until the sun burned out. It was going to take at least that long to get his fill of her. And then, when he'd wrung as many orgasms from her as she could stand, he'd let go and find his own release inside her quivering body.

He was fertile now. Tynan's serum had cured all of the male Theronai of their sterility. Joseph and Lyka could have a child—something he'd never before even dared to consider when it was beyond reach. A child would bind them together and serve as a reminder of the permanence of their connection. Surely she wouldn't be able to deny him access to her trust, her secrets, if his seed was growing in her womb. He would be part of her, and their love for their child would give them common ground.

“What the hell are you doing to me?” she asked, panting.

“Does it hurt?”

She moaned again, and there was no mistaking the sound. It was one of overwhelming pleasure. She more than liked him reviving her strength like this. She loved it.

“More.” The single word was almost a plea, and Joseph wasn't sure whether he liked the idea that he could make her beg or hated that she would ever need to.

“If you want more, you have to open up. Relax. Let me in, kitten.” He sent her a mental image of what he wanted. He didn't know if it would make it through the tiny conduit connecting them, but he had to make the effort.

Her body went lax beneath his. She pulled in a long breath and let it out like she was making a concerted effort to relax.

Joseph felt something between them shift. Stretch. Grow.

“That's it, Lyka. Just like that.”

A shiver coursed through her body and into his.

He needed to give her more. Make her feel good. Only he would ever do this to her—fill her with power, give her the ability to wield magic. She was his in a way she'd never be with any other man, as long as he lived.

He would make sure of it—give her so much pleasure she'd never have reason to even look at another man.

Joseph pulled more power from the earth and sent it flying through their newly expanded conduit. The walls of it trembled and strained to contain what he forced on them, but they held strong.

Lyka gasped and clung to him. “Too much.”