Destiny United (33 page)

Suddenly he stood up straight, grabbed her under the
knees and raised her hips for deeper access. His thrusts were ruthless now as
he slammed into her over and over. Their bodies slapped together, luscious and
wet. Her cries grew louder, more desperate, as the pleasure mounted. She was on
fire. She ached for release. Just…a little…more…

He stopped. She whimpered. Wordlessly he flipped her
over, positioning her on her hands and knees in the middle of the bed. He
didn’t touch her at first. She was cold and bare without him. Impatient, she
growled, but then his hands were on her. Light fingers traced a path down her
spine. She shivered. Then he plunged into her, steadying her with hands
gripping her hips.

He remained still for a moment, filling her with his
length until she wiggled against him, urging him on. He wrapped her long hair
around his fist and gently tugged her head back. She followed his lead rising
up to her knees to meet his mouth in a firm kiss. He held her at his mercy,
proving he would take her when he wanted and no sooner. Surrender. Trust. He
wanted it all.

Finally he released her, placing her hands back on the
bed. He slammed into her sheath so hard she fell forward onto her elbows. But
it felt good.

God it feels so good!
He
did it again, this time grunting with the force of it. She rocked forward but
stayed on her elbows. She’d never felt so exposed. So erotic, so raw. She was
trusting her body, her soul, her very life to Marcelo. And he was demanding no
less.

Pressure built within her, muscled turning to jelly,
pleasure singing through her veins. She couldn’t take anymore. She was going to
shatter into a million pieces.

“Marcelo,” she pleaded, needing him to slow down. She was
so overwhelmed her heart and soul were about to be ripped wide open. She
couldn’t handle it.

“It’s all right,
querida
,”
he said softly. “I’m here. Let go.”

He flipped her on her back and covered her body with his.
She was pleased to have his warm body in her arms again.

“Come, Aila,” he commanded, pushing as deep as he could
go. “Come now.”

Her breath stopped, her heart pounded in her ears. She
was on the edge and it was killing her. But something was missing.

“Wait,” she breathed. “I want you to take all of me. I
want to give you all of me.”

He froze in place and looked down at her with such
tenderness and love, it made her eyes well up.

“Drink,” she ordered, turning her head to the side,
baring her throat to him.

“It is not necessary. I would still feel complete without
it.”

She smiled, her vision growing misty from unshed tears.
“Please. It’s my gift to you.”

He kissed her cheeks, then her eyelids.
“I love you.
Te adoro, mi vida
.
How I love you.”

He surged into her at the same time as piercing her
flesh. She gasped in shock but as he dragged the first mouthful of her essence
into him, her whole body tingled with pleasure. Her eyes rolled back as she
arched against him. Her blood readily left her, entering her mate, become part
of him. His. As he was hers. Forever.

She screamed as she floated into bliss, her body pulsing
with untamed energy. Alive but in heaven. Something out of this world. Marcelo
followed, feasting on her blood, his hips still pounding into her even after
his release.

They lay like that for a few minutes, panting and
sweating, Marcelo still inside her, almost crushing her with his weight.
Finally he rolled off and sprawled across the bed, chest heaving, heart
pounding.

“Holy fuck,” Aila said, breaking the powerful silence.

Marcelo chuckled. “I’ll say.” He pulled her into his
arms. “But there was nothing holy about it.” He kissed the top of her head and
ran his fingers up and down her bare arm. Goose bumps covered her body. Would she
ever be immune to this man?

“So, my god-kissed mate, what do we do now?” he asked.

“Well, before I start working with the fae, I have a
little errand.” She looked up into his puzzled eyes. “Ever been to Las Vegas?”

“Yes. Why?”

“I owe a dragon a favor.”

He sighed. “Don’t we all.”

She cuddled closer, tucking her head into the crook of
his arm. “I’ve got a lot of responsibilities now.” One hand stroked his naked
chest. “Are you sure you want to stick around?” A teasing smirk tugged at her
lips. “I think I could handle it by myself.”

His muscles tensed. “Try it and I’ll tie you to the bed.”

She laughed until he flipped her beneath him and kissed
her breath away.

Crouched on the ground Natalia
crept silently through the leaves, her sharp gaze focused on her target. The
black wolf blended into the shadows of the thick trees shrouded by the cloudy
midnight sky. Natalia had tracked it by scent. The distinct odor of smoky pine
invaded her nostrils.
Gods I hate these creatures.

As if it could read her mind the wolf turned on her and
snarled, its teeth gleaming in the darkness. The growl would have sent the
toughest human screaming through the forest. But nothing scared her. Especially
not some barely out of the cave Cro-Magnon that sprouted fur and fangs once in
a while.

She tightened her muscles ready to spring at the beast. A
husky male voice sounded from behind her.

“Don’t even think about it, vampire.”

Though it disturbed her that she hadn’t noticed his
presence, she kept still, a vision of confidence. Three men stepped out of the
trees, each with an arrow trained on her.
Well, if it
isn’t Robin Hood and his merry men
.

“Put your weapons on the ground,” the werewolf ordered.
“Kick them toward me.”

She made no move to obey. “Bow and arrow? How nostalgic.”

“It’s effective. Want a demonstration?”

She guessed the question was rhetorical so she gave it no
response.

“Didn’t think so. Weapons. All of them. I know you have
at least a dozen on you. You reek of metal and rust.” His lips curled in
amusement. “Who do you think you are,
The Terminator?”

Two of the werewolves chuckled. The blonde was eerily
silent, but his gaze never left her face. A flash of gold on his coat caught
her eye. A badge. Rangers? Werewolves were working at Yellowstone as rangers?

The werewolf interrupted her thoughts. “Don’t make the
mistake of testing us, vampire. My patience is dwindling.” He said the word
“vampire” with a sneer that would have offended her if she had cared what
anyone thought of her.

She reached down to her calf to grab the first knife,
holstered under her fitted leather pants. The werewolf’s voice stopped her.

“
Slowly
,” he commanded.

She nodded, showing full cooperation. When she had the
knife in her grasp, the familiar feel of cold metal on her skin, she flung it
at the werewolf to her left, lodging it deep into his throat. Men really should
stop underestimating her.

Natalia leapt into the air avoiding the first of the
arrows released. Upon landing she lunged for the nearest archer reloading his
bow. She kicked him in the chest, commandeering his arrow. With an easy toss it
landed in the black wolf as it sprung toward her. A savage yelp echoed in the
forest. She smiled inside.

Her feet were swept out from under her but she landed
deftly then jumped back up. She ducked under the first flying fist. A werewolf
could usually beat her in an arm wrestling match but they had nothing on her
speed. Grabbing his arm when he swung at her again she used his momentum to
send him stumbling across the terrain. With him off balance it was easy to snap
his neck. His body slumped in a heap on the ground.

She spun to face the last werewolf. An arrow sliced
through the air a fraction of a second before she could react. Pain erupted in
her chest, burning agony overwhelmed her senses. It took some effort to
maintain her usual calm. She looked down.
Nothing more
disturbing than seeing a pointy weapon lodged in your chest
. Especially
knowing it would hurt like a bitch when she pulled it out.

“I really liked this shirt,” she told her assailant.

The silent blonde stood perfectly still, mimicking her
earlier vision of confidence. Only it looked better on him.

Finding a werewolf attractive?
That’s new.

She lifted an arm to pull the arrow out, gritting her
teeth at the expected pain. Her limbs felt heavy. Her knees wobbled and her
mind thickened with fog.

Poison arrow.

Shit.

She collapsed on the ground, her captor’s heavy boots her
last vision before she faded.

Natalia woke in a hazy stupor.
She kept her eyes closed, waiting for the memories to surface.
Ah, that’s right. Werewolf ambush
.
And she’d
walked right into it. She assessed her environment. It was still night, of that
she was thankful, since vampires were allergic to the sun. She inhaled the cool
autumn air. Pine trees, fresh water, local game, werewolf. She wasn’t far from
where she’d been ambushed.

And she was bound.

She opened her eyes. A campfire crackled several feet
away. On the other side the blonde werewolf who’d shot her sat on a log using a
rock to sharpen something. An arrow head.

“Where are the rest of your merry men?” she asked.

He kept his gaze fixed on his work. “Just me, for now.”

“Lucky me.” She experimented with her binds. If the
werewolf had any experience with vampires he would know there wasn’t much that
could hold them. She struggled with all her might to break through them, but to
no avail.

So it isn’t ordinary rope.
Most likely it had wolfsbane threaded through it, a common herb used to weaken
vampires. He’d probably purchased the damn thing from a witch. Always causing
trouble they were, blessing some, cursing others. Natalia knew all about witch
blessings.

The mystery man had done a bang-up job with the knots as
well. Her arms were twisted behind her, tied at each wrist then secured around
the tree. Her legs were bound together at the ankles with the end of the rope
resting beside the werewolf.

So she was dealing with a professional. A pity. It would
hold things up.

 “I don’t suppose you can loosen these?” she asked drily.
First step in any escape plan was to ask to be released. It almost always
didn’t work.

He looked at her, his expression bemused. “Not until I
know you won’t be a problem.”

“Define problem.”

“In a word? You.”

A werewolf with a sense of humor? That was new.

“So, you’re a bounty hunter?” she guessed. “Which unlucky
bastard do you work for?”

He picked up another arrow and began sharpening it.

“What’s my bounty up to now?” Last she’d heard it was ten
thousand. Of course, that was a few decades ago.

“A hundred grand,” he answered.

“Not bad.” She was flattered.

He stopped his task and studied her with narrowed eyes.
“Why do they want you?” She couldn’t tell if he was impressed, disgusted, or
merely curious.

“I kill werewolves,” she told him without hesitation.

He didn’t flinch, or growl, or show any sign of anger.
Strange. They were always angry about that.

“And why do you do that?” he asked.

“Because I like to.” It was true. But she told him so
because she wanted to see his reaction. “And I’ll kill you too.”

His eyebrows darted up. “Interesting thing for someone in
your position to say.”

Her position. Feeling the ache in her shoulders she
looked down at her binds. “A minor inconvenience.”

A dark, husky chuckle came from across the fire.
Did he just laugh at me?
She’d been sneered at
plenty, but genuine laughter was a first.

“So you’re a vigilante?” he asked.

Sort of
. “Yes.”

“How’s that working out for you?”

So he was curious about her too? Or maybe he was
attempting to distract her from her escape. Silly doggie. Didn’t he know she
was a weapon of perfect focus?

“Before now,” she answered, “beautifully.” Well, that may
not have been the best word. Mostly it was bloody, nasty business – with no
workman’s comp – but surely he knew that.

“What’s your name?” he asked.

Enough
. First lesson in
escaping captivity, once the questions started to get personal, it was time to
go. She tuned the werewolf out, concentrating only on her environment. She
studied every sound, identified every scent. From the tree roots jutting from
the ground, to the closest body of water, to low hanging branches, and even the
smallest rocks on the ground. When she broke free of the binds – and she
would
break free – she would use anything she could to
escape. One never knew when a sharp rock may be the difference between life and
death.

“Will you make me torture you for answers?” the werewolf
asked after she’d been silent for a few minutes.

So it’s going to be like that.
She sighed. “No. You’ve most likely taken my wallet. I won’t withhold information
you already have.” She wanted to gag at the repetition of it all.
Who are you? What are you doing here? Why did you kill my
brother? Blah, blah, blah.
“I was merely concentrating on my escape
plan. My name is Natalie.” Well, according to her driver’s license.

Her captor rose gracefully from the log. If she had any
doubt he was a werewolf before, she had none now. He was huge, as all
werewolves were, at least six and a half feet tall with broad shoulders and
thick muscles that made the standard ranger uniform a little snug. But it was
his eyes that caught her attention. One was brown, the other baby blue. The
effect was unnerving. She tried not to stare.