Dark Hunter (6 page)

Chapter Six

Mari’s head spun as the pure sexual heat of Navar’s kiss lit her up like a Christmas tree. Pleasure shot up her spine to the base of her brain, electric sparks firing off all her nerve endings at once. Her mind turned off, subjugated by the primal desire driving her body. She rubbed up against him. His arousal, hard against her stomach, made her growl. Too many clothes separated them. She needed skin on skin, to climb up his glorious body and impale herself on his hard cock. She’d never wanted anything as bad as she did Navar at that moment.

Navar shifted, cool air flooding the area where he’d
been. She cried out in protest, only to be cut short as he swept her legs up with one arm and cradled her close to his chest with his other. With determined strides, he moved through the hallway before dropping her onto her large bed. She bounced once on a gasp before Navar’s body came down on top of her, effectively pinning her to the mattress.

Not that she cared as long as they got skin-to-skin and soon.

With an impatient snarl, she fisted her hands in the material of his shirt at his back and tore it in half. With a deep chuckle, he rose to his knees above her to remove the ripped cloth from his arms. Mari made a sound of appreciation, her gaze caressing the expanse of his golden flesh stretched taut over slabs of muscle. His dark nipples pebbled as she watched, and his flat stomach rippled with defined abs. Her eyes wandered down to the dip of his belly button where a strip of dark hair trailed to the waistband of his pants and the impressive bulge beneath his zipper.

One dark eyebrow rose in challenge as he eyed her form-fitting T-shirt. With a wicked grin, she hooked her thumbs under the edge of the cotton and arched her back before lifting the shirt up and off. Her bra quickly followed, leaving her bare to his inspection. A shiver of expectation traveled up her spine, hardening her nipples. Gods, if he didn’t touch her soon, she’d go mad!

On cue one large, warm hand reached down to cup her breast, his thumb flicking the sensitive peak and sending a current of pleasure streaking down her body to pool between her legs. She arched into his touch, needing more contact, yet he denied her, his fingers trailing down her torso to the waistband of her jeans. Moving back, he grabbed her legs and pulled her to the end of the bed before divesting her of both shoes and jeans with ease.

She sat up quickly, giving him no time to react. Her hands were a blur of movement as she removed the offending pants. His eager cock, free of the material binding it, sprang up in an impressive arc, the flared head weeping a clear bead of moisture. She gripped the base of his cock with one hand and flicked out the tip of her tongue to capture it. He hissed a curse as she continued to tease him with delicate nibbles and swipes until his fingers speared into her hair and his hips jerked forward demanding more. Happy to oblige, she sucked him deeper into her mouth, drawing hard on his massive length while her tongue stroked against the sensitive underside.

He gasped as her fingers found his sac, lightly kneading, as she began sliding up and then down with a slow rhythm guaranteed to drive him crazy.

“Enough or this will end before it begins,” he ground out before dragging her higher on the bed. Instinctively she wrapped her legs around his lean hips, her core rubbing against his thick length shooting sparks of sweet bliss to her nipples and down to her clenching womb. His breath grew harsh as it caressed her cheek.

“Give me all you got, Navar. I need to feel you deep inside me now. Don’t make me wait.”

His response came on a growl as he guided himself home with a mighty thrust. She threw her head back with a whimper and closed her eyes against the overwhelming pleasure of being filled so completely by him.

“Open your eyes,
akasha.
I want you to watch as we come together as one.”

Her lids lifted, her gaze caught in the dark stormy blue-gr
ay of his stare. Her incisors lengthened, aching with the need to sink them into his flesh, a compulsion she barely controlled. She saw a flash of his sharp white fangs as he postponed into her with firm strokes, his muscular butt tightening as he thrust into her.

Not enough. She needed more of him, deeper. Her orgasm balanced on a fine edge, so close yet not nearly there. Her body quivered with the primal need roaring through her blood, knowing what she needed, yet too fearful to demand the claiming to bring them completely
together. Instead, she concentrated on what she could have. “Harder. Please, I need more…deeper,” she pleaded as her head thrashed from side to side.

He promptly complied with a harsh growl, grinding his hips against hers as they both strained toward climax. “Be my consort,
akasha.
Let me feed from your vein as you feed from mine.”

So he knew?

Her heart stuttered at the sudden revelation. He knew,

She stilled in his arms, her gaze narrowed on him as her passion burned down to embers. “How long?”
she demanded, her voice a raspy whisper.

“From the moment I first laid eyes on you, I knew you were the other half of my soul.”

“And you didn’t say anything?”

“I thought I had the luxury of time on my side and could ease you into the idea of binding yourself to me.” A note of bitterness flavored his words.

“Yes.”

He frowned, cocking his head at an angle as if deciphering some intricate puzzle. “Yes?”

“Absolutely yes, yes, yes, a thousand times yes!” She laughed, holding him tighter to her. “I wondered how I would tell you.”

“So you knew also?”

“Not until the first night you came back into my life,” she admitted.

“Gods, so much precious time wasted. But no more,” he vowed as he started moving within her once again.

She met him thrust for thrust, her passion roaring to life with every slow circle of his hips, sparking across her skin and setting her body on fire from the inside out. Pressure built low in her belly, coiling tight as he stroked against the sensitive bundle of nerves. So close, almost, one more thrust and…She reared back, spine arching as her orgasm boiled to the surface. With a whimpering cry she struck, whipping forward to sink her fangs deep into his shoulder. The sweet, heady flavor of his blood filled her mouth, and she swallowed with deep pulls. His blood hit her bloodstream and detonated. She dimly felt the sharp sting of Navar’s bite at her throat before pleasure blinded her to anything but the explosion deep within her body.

On a scream of her second release, she fell deep into Navar’s memories.

Tall fronds and grass lined a swiftly moving river rushing through a pass of sheer rock walls bleached by sun and wind. They reached high against a cloudless cobalt blue sky. She felt wind in her hair as her arms and legs pumped harder, fear and dread pressing heavily on her chest.

No, not her chest…

Navar.

She felt his fear and determination, experienced the same heavy urgency to reach the village of domed huts made from reeds and mud, his family, friends. Everything he called home, now gone. A sharp stab of grief nearly immobilized him as he stumbled to a halt. The sound of screams pierced the air as smoke billowed in thick, black plumes.

Too late. He could not salvage what had been set into motion. Rage burned through his body, drowning out the grief as he railed at his gods, gripping his bronze dagger in his fist. Eyes burning with unshed tears, he watched helplessly as the place of his birth and his people succumbed to the flames. His legs gave out and he fell hard to his knees upon the rocky ground.

“I can give you vengeance.” A soft voice sounded behind him.

He snarled, turning quickly with dagger ready only to stop in confusion. A woman stood within the shadows of the thick foliage. Wrapped in linens of vivid red and indigo, nothing of her form could be seen. Only her eyes, a striking verdant green, could be seen of her face. Her voice, cultured and precise, spoke of royal blood.

“How can you, a noble woman, give me the vengeance I demand?” he sneered. “Leave here if you value your life.”

“Do not be so blind, young Navar.” At his surprised gasp, she pressed on, “Yes, I know your name. Do not dismiss what I offer you so readily.”

Intrigued despite his better judgment, he lowered his dagger. “What can you offer?”

“Life without end and vengeance against those who harm… A just cause, would you agree?”

“Immortality belongs to the gods. I am but mortal,” he scoffed.

“As close to immortal as a man can come. You can be killed if you lose your head or silver finds your heart. The light of day will not be your ally, making you weak and vulnerable to your enemies. The moon will be your sun, the night yours to command. I offer you a way to achieve the vengeance you seek.”

“If I accept, what price do you wish for such a gift?”

“Ah, very shrewd. You are all that I hoped you would be.” The woman chuckled, eyes sparking with approval. “I have need of your intellect as well as your inherent strength, both physical and moral. You will be trained and educated as a protector of all breeds the humans hunt, and when the time is right, you shall become one of us. You will take a very serious vow, one you cannot take back. If for any reason you do not answer the call for aid, you will be hunted down and put to death. The vow is one of blood so we shall know if you do not keep your word. Do you agree to this, young Navar?”

The woman wavered, poised for a brief moment before scattering into fragments as if
blown like leaves by a great wind. Image after image solidified before blending into another with blinding speed. The overwhelming sense of ages passing threatened to crush her under the strain of too many centuries for her to comprehend. One stark fact remained—most of the memories dealt with battles fought and won at far too high a cost. She felt his deep sense of loss as his comrades, companions, and friends fell to the violent savagery of human slayers. The deep ache of isolation, the cost of lives he cared about was too great a burden for any heart to bear.

Salvation came from an unlikely source as the moving snatches of his life came to an abrupt stop…on her!

Surrounded by slayers he fought to get to Mari, but there were too many of them, overpowering even his great strength. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of silver reflected off an upraised sword and knew a moment of profound regret. He would not be able to protect her as he’d sworn to do.

The sword’s downward arc ceased, hanging midway as strong hands tugged him free and arranged another body in his place. A chill coursed down his spine as his gaze landed on the replica of himself. The complete void of sound and the frozen scene before him
unnerved him. It seemed as if time itself stopped. He turned, ready to defend himself against the new threat. Even without his weapon, he would not waste his only chance to protect his woman.

“Be at ease, vampire. We do not seek to harm.”

He jerked his head toward a voice filled with such innocence that his breath caught in his throat. A small being approached him, delicately boned and inhumanly beautiful. The fact that the pale-haired female held no weapons herself, yet was accompanied by tall warriors who bristled with them, gave him pause.

“I thank you for your timely intervention.”

“There is little time to dally. We are in dire need of your expertise.”

“I cannot leave my woman in the hands of slayers,
lady.” He declined, mindful to show respect to the sidhe, for he’d heard tales of their viciousness.

“She will be unharmed, I assure you.
Enforcers are but a few paces away and will see her safely under their care. Now, I call on your blood vow to come to our aid, or do you wish to be hunted and put to death?”

He bristled at the
insult. His honor above reproach, the slight fueled his anger. “My vows hold true. I have never once turned from them. Well, before the Tribunal brought for then forcers to aid the Breeds.”

“Then you shall not turn away our request.”

He ground his teeth in futile frustration. The wily sidhe had maneuvered him into corner with no way out other than breaking his vows. His tone harsh, rough as ground glass, he spoke the words, which damned his heart’s desire. “I shall help as required, but know this… I will not stay and make my home with your kind. My heart is bound here with this woman and the world she lives in. Are we clear?”

“As clear as a pool of still water, warrior. Come, take my hand and follow,” the woman bade, her arm outstretched in an invitation he grudgingly took. He turned to look at Mari, frozen in place, the look of horror etched in every beloved line on her delicate face. “I shall return to you, and we will never be parted again. My vows shall never sway me from your side again, this I pledge.”

His words whispered in the stillness added weight to the oath.

The world misted white as the scene changed suddenly a face
came into view, a cold breathtaking beauty. Eyes the color of diamonds and just as icy focused on her. The pupils, small pinpricks of black onyx, held disdain. Golden blonde hair was swept away from her perfectly formed face, and there was a sneer on her full, pink lips.

“So you think to leave us?”

“Yes, my queen.” Navar’s words were wooden, carrying not a trace of emotion.