Demon Retribution (Shadow Quest Book 3) (21 page)

He smirked. “Now that that’s settled, we
should get some sleep, don’t you think?”

She snorted and rolled away from him,
determined not to let him know just how much he affected her.
Without warning, his arm came around her, and he pulled her across
the mattress so that her back nestled against his front. His breath
along her neck sent delicious goose bumps over her skin. She
contained a sigh of contentment as her body melted.

She rarely slept like this with anyone. It
was a vulnerable position to be in. But with Cale, it was a
non-issue. In fact, it felt pretty normal, as far a sleeping with a
demon went, and soon she slipped into a peaceful slumber.

With his arm folded around her, Cale openly
stared at Kyra’s sleeping form. The dying moonlight feathered over
her cheek. Her hair fell back, revealing a pointed ear and slender
neck. He beat back the urge to wake her with his tongue.

How could he sleep when the edge of her
desire was still sharp in his nose? Stubbornly, he ignored the fact
that it was his fault he was lying next to her, hard as stone and
unfulfilled. He should not have teased her like that.

More importantly, he shouldn’t have stayed.
He should have taken her body and then left. She had certainly
wanted him to. If she hadn’t been so exhausted, she probably would
have jumped him before the lights went out. And he would have let
her. Hell, he would have laid himself out like a feast, had she
wanted.

He recalled their earlier kiss. No, kiss
wasn’t the right term for it. Mind-blow, maybe. He’d never needed
to fuck somebody so badly in his life. Nothing had ever felt so
essential. He feared he was losing his mind to the near constant
lust bubbling inside him and it continued to make him reckless. He
couldn’t believe he’d been willing to ignore Sebastian’s
transmission. What was wrong with him? Why did he allow her to
cloud his judgment so thoroughly?

Luckily, at the pivotal moment, that
familiar burning had coursed through him, bringing with it clarity.
In a way, he was coming to rely on it, but it piqued his curiosity.
What was it about her that caused it? For that matter, why did he
crave her with such intensity, in spite of the consequence?

While training, she often closed her eyes
and bit her lip in concentration. The sight was like a jolt to his
groin. He must have run through five hundred scenarios of him
taking her by surprise. On the ground, against the tree, sopping
wet in the lake with her hair wrapped around his fist.

He groaned softly as his cock jerked.

For some reason, he flashed back to a
conversation he’d had with Sebastian, before his brother had known
Anya was his mate. Cale had advised him, in so many words, to just
screw her and get her out of his head. It had made perfect sense at
the time. It made sense now. Kyra should be no different.

His decision made, he lowered his mouth to
her ear and took her earlobe in between his teeth. She waved him
away with a sleepy hand. He let his palm trail to her stomach,
moving it in a direction sure to catch her attention.

Her body went stiff just as he reached under
her waistband. She sucked in a soft breath and turned her head to
look up at him. He felt his expression was too harsh, but couldn’t
find the power to soften it.

“
I’m going to take you
now,” he said in a dark voice.

Her mouth dropped open and she blinked
rapidly, no doubt still waking up. Slipping his hand under her
panties, he found her growing damp. She gasped at his touch, her
eyes going wide as their color began to change, growing warm. He
almost growled when she closed them and tilted her head back. As he
teased her sex, she let out a soft moan, and his growl turned into
a groan.

Gods, he wanted to taste her, but more, he
needed to lose himself deep in her tender flesh. He slipped a
finger inside, reveling in the resulting sound that whispered from
low in her throat. Her body shifted, giving him better access, and
his mind roared with triumph.

Her hand came down to cover his, stunning
him as she took control and showed him just how she liked it.

Fuck, that’s
sexy
.

His own breathing became unusually difficult
to control. She looked at him then, and her eyes burned like the
sun. His jaw clenched, and he had to strain not to take her soft
parted lips. He wanted to watch her come. He could tell she was
close. Her breathing was rapidly growing clipped and harsh, and her
hips moved with his fingers.

Damn but he wanted his cock thrusting inside
her, but this was the hottest thing he had ever seen. Her irises
blazed as her body spasmed. She threw her head back with a
moan.

To his surprise, his veins began to burn. He
hadn’t even kissed her, but the sensation was a shadow to the
clamant need overtaking him. He tossed the covers away and made
quick work of their clothes, registering that she giggled at his
urgency.

“
You think I’m
funny?”

She clamped her mouth shut, but her eyes
danced with humor. He stood and walked to the end of the bed, not
breaking eye contact. Propped on her elbows, her gaze followed him.
With his palm wrapped around one of her slender ankles, he pulled.
She squeaked as her back met the mattress and her body slid toward
him. Again she giggled, and he couldn’t help but smile in return.
It was a lovely sound.

She went quiet, however, when he positioned
himself between her legs. Those blazing eyes stared up at him full
of renewed desire. Slowly, he entered her, groaning as her warm
sheath took him in. She gasped, and as he pushed in, they both
closed their eyes, loosing themselves to the pleasure.

Soon he fell into a steady rhythm, enjoying
the vision of her writhing on the mattress. He increased his pace
and lowered over her, placing a knee on the bed for support while
he lifted one her thighs over his.

A part of him realized she was tempering her
moans, and he growled, “I want to hear you.”

Between breaths she said, “No, don’t wake
Zo.”

“
Screw that.” He pounded
her hard, slapping his flesh against hers, yet she managed to
contain herself, though just barely.

She narrowed her eyes at him, and he gave
her a wicked grin. He didn’t give a damn if Zoey heard them, but
this would be a fun game.

Gripping her hips, he increased his tempo.
He could see her throat working to muffle the sweet sounds that
escaped her. Still too quiet for his liking. He palmed her ass with
one hand and then dipped his head to tongue the flesh of her
nipple.

She moaned his name and it sounded like a
plea as her nails raked through his hair. That simple touch,
coupled with her soft cries, undid him. He stilled as his seed
burst out of him in a hot release, and she let out one final soft
moan.

Collapsing on top of her, he struggled to
catch his breath. The fire in his veins became an inferno, and he
pressed his forehead against her chest so she wouldn’t see his
pain. Still cradling him between her legs, she ran her hands across
his back and neck. That helped a little. He concentrated on her
touch until the feeling ebbed. Finally he rolled over, half off the
bed.

“
Well, that was a
surprise,” she said with a smile.

“
Next time I will have your
screams in my ear,” he heard himself say.

She laughed. “I have no doubt.”

“
That was intense,” he
muttered, amazed at the truth of his words.

“
You're not just whistling
Dixie.”

“
What?”

“
I agree.”

He shook his head and heaved off the bed,
slipping into his pants. At the same time, she reached for the
blanket and wrapped it around herself. He found his shirt and put
that on as well.

“
You’re outta here,” she
said. It wasn’t a question.

He stopped to look at her. Her face was
composed, but he thought there was a bit of a mocking smirk behind
her eyes. “I haven’t done a perimeter check in a while,” he offered
by way of explanation. Plus, he wasn’t kidding when he said the sex
was intense. Nearly too intense. There was still a faint burn
running through him and he needed to run it off.

“
Player,” she
mumbled.

There was that word again. He’d forgotten to
look it up. “We’ll be leaving Earth soon, so make sure you pack
anything you want to take and say goodbye to Zoey.”

Her face fell, and he regretted his comment
immediately.

Escaping into the hallway, he shut the door
before heading downstairs. He really did need to do a perimeter
check, but first he stopped in the small room where Kyra kept a
functioning computer connected to the Internet. These humans made
it so easy to learn everything there is to know about them.

Switching it on, he waited for it to boot,
then typed the word “player” into the Google database. A list of
options came up. Most of them were sports or video game
related.

Was she saying he liked to play games?

Well, he had just lost the noise game. He
frowned, realizing now that he had told her there would be a next
time and realizing that she wasn’t out of his system as he
expected.

He clicked a promising link and read the
definition that came up.

Player:

1. A male who is skilled at manipulating
others, and seducing women by pretending to care about them, when
in reality he is only interested in sex.

2. guy who:

a. doesn't understand the meaning of
relationship.

b. is very good at making girls think he is
into them. (also very proficient at breaking said girl’s
hearts).

c. often "dates" several girls at once.

d. is an asshole!

Example: don't hate the player, hate the
game.

He sat back in the chair.

Only interested in sex sounded about right,
but he wasn’t sure about the other stuff. Shamelessly, he conceded
that the last one wasn’t too far off the mark either.

Well, whatever she thought of him, it didn’t
matter. Didn’t matter at all. Resigned, he shut off the computer,
and then headed out for a run.

Kyra stepped into the kitchen fully dressed
and still a little damp from her shower. She headed straight for
the coffee pot.

Liquid fuel? Yes, please.

The sun was just rising over the mountains,
flooding the room with a warm, soft light. Cale sat at the table,
speaking low into his communicator, she assumed to Sebastian. He
didn’t acknowledge her.

Zoey planted herself on the couch in the
living room, feeding her sudden addiction to the news. Kyra hoped
everything worked out for her and forcefully closed the dam on a
sudden wave of guilt.

There is nothing more I
can do
.

Lifting the cup, she took the first hot sip
of the day, melting as the flavor tickled her taste buds and dialed
a wake-up call straight to her brain.

Cale finished his conversation with a brisk,
“I’ll signal you when we’ve left,” and finally glanced her way. An
iced vanilla latte would have been warmer than his gaze. “We leave
tonight,” he muttered.

“
So soon?” she asked
softly. Her eyes shifted to Zoey in the other room.

“
Aidan has picked up
signatures of Kayadon ships around Earth, which isn’t surprising,
but he’s mapped out a window of pickup that will provide little
risk for everyone. We’ll need to get to my shuttle, here on Earth,
and use the last of its fuel to get us in orbit and as close
to
Marada
as
possible. They can’t risk a landing.”

“
Oh.” She took another sip
of coffee, more for something to do rather than a need for the
caffeine. “How is this plan less risky?”

“
The Kayadon ships seem to
be orbiting Earth, concealing their crafts behind the moon.
Obviously, they don’t want their presence known to the people of
this planet. Tonight the moon will be opposite us. With any luck,
we’ll avoid detection altogether.”

“
Ships you say? As in more
than one?”

“
Two, according to
Aidan.”

“
And who is
Aidan?”

“
Our pilot. He’s a
dragonshifter.”

“
Ah.” She didn’t recognize
the name. He must not be connected with the royal family of Legura.
There were many dragon clans, but she wasn’t as familiar with all
of them. “I’ll get a map so you can show me exactly where you think
your shuttle is.”

“
No need,” he declared. “I
printed directions already.” He lifted up a sheet of paper that had
been lying in front of him on the table.