Enemy Mine (Mending The Veil) (3 page)

“No! Don’t stop!” Rissa’s desperate plea matched the need in her gaze. “Help me!” She pushed him deeper by tightening her legs around his waist. He felt himself slide back into the barrier that was her virginity. Travis gritted his teeth as he valiantly tried to clear his mind. This wasn’t a good idea. It was wrong!

Right or wrong, Rissa wasn’t about to let him pull out and stop. Her nails dug into his shoulders as she leaned forward to capture his lips in a hungry kiss that made all thoughts of stopping fly right out of his head. His hands tightened on her waist before he pulled her down at the same time as he thrust his hips up into her. The move sank him deep within her, past the small barrier. Her moan against his lips was quickly replaced by a relieved sigh as she pulled back to look down at him in surprise.

“Easy.” Travis held back from moving as his aching body was demanding. Instead, he took in the flushed beauty of the woman’s soft face. Her cheeks were rosy and her eyes were luminous green, the color of new life. She took his breath with her innocent smile, a sea-nymph within his arms. Her berry-red lips, full and swollen from his ardent kisses, parted in an invitation for him to taste the hidden sweetness within.

Rissa’s long legs tightened around his hips, moving him impossibly deeper within her tight body. Travis’s eyes clenched tightly shut as his body urged him to thrust deep and fast within her, pushing toward the ultimate pleasure. There was only one thing he wanted to be sure of before he reached that goal.

This was her first time with a man. He was determined to teach her how good it could be. In a small, dark corner of his mind he wondered at how he could give a damn about her pleasure when the woman within his arms was his greatest enemy.

It had to be a spell she’d placed upon him.

Even as he drew her back at the repulsive thought, pleasure so intense filled him at the friction of moving within her body. She must have felt his slight withdrawal for she gasped, her fingers clenching in his hair as her mouth came down on his. The kiss was soft and gentle, at direct odds with every compulsion in his being at that moment. She was his enemy, yet all he wanted to do at that moment was stay within her body, within her arms.

Chapter Four

Rissa couldn’t believe how sweet it felt to have his fullness within her where before there had only ever been emptiness. He filled her body almost to the point of tearing, but that didn’t compare to how his essence filled her soul. She rejoiced with bliss as she felt him touch deep within her woman’s heart as well as her body. This man, this stranger was a part of her now. Whether he would ever truly know how much he was completing her, didn’t matter. She’d found her soul-mate.

She sent a silent cry of thanks to the Goddess for placing him in her path before it was too late. His hands held her steady in the water as he pulled back. She wanted to beg him not to leave her, but her worries were for naught as he thrust back inside her. The sensation was immensely pleasurable and the throbbing need within her womb only intensified as he repeated the slick move. She held onto his shoulders desperately riding the sweet sensations as he moved her against his thrusting body.

Holt buried his face against her breast and shoulder as he increased the speed and depth of their joining. It became almost impossible for her to catch her breath as wave after wave of intense feelings swept over her.

“Come with me, Rissa.” His deep growl was low and primitive. The needs lacing his demand sent a shiver down her back and made her bite deeply into her lower lip to hold back a tortured cry.

“How...” She wanted to cry in frustration as that pinnacle of light she was so close to touching somehow eluded her.

“Easy.” He reached up to grip her shoulder with one hand and pulled her back a bit. “Look at me.” She did as he requested and was instantly lost in the dark chocolate of his eyes. “Hold on to me.” Her hands clutched his strong shoulders as she squirmed for him to continue moving within her.

Rissa gasped as his hand dropped down between them. He softly traced her torso and belly until his long fingers sank into the dark curls at the apex of her thighs. He touched her where they were joined, his thumb pressing against her nubbin with a touch that had her bucking against him in wild abandonment.

“That’s it.” He coaxed gently as he pulled out to slam back into her. The quick assault on her senses sent her over the edge of a release that had her toes curling, her legs imprisoning him within her body as her nails dug deep within his flexing shoulders. He leaned forward at that moment, his hot mouth latching onto her breast. Rissa thought she was surely dying within his arms and at the moment she didn’t care.

He jerked within her, his hard member throbbing as he uttered a harsh groan of pleasure against the tight bud of her breast. He staggered in the water, and she could only clasp onto his shoulders to keep from losing her hold on him. His arms came up around her back as he held her close to him. Their hearts pounded as one, their lungs gasping for air, as they held each other grounded.

Rissa was the first to gain her wits back as she became aware of her surroundings. Midnight was not only upon them, it had arrived while they loved waist deep in the river. They were connected now. She knew the import of letting a man take her for the first time beneath the Goddess’ Midsummer moon. According to the Litha ritual, they were tied securely by moon magic. She was his, bonded in heart, body, and soul with the Goddess as a witness and all of nature rejoicing at their communion.

Above them an owl soared and screeched in celebration. Deep within the woods the wolves lifted their heads and bayed at the moon, welcoming him to their ranks. Night birds sang out as insects buzzed all around them, yet didn’t bite or land on them out of reverence. Rissa squeezed his shoulders once, pulled back to look into his eyes, and tried to memorize his rugged features as he blinked back at her.

“What’s with all the noise? Where did the animals come from?” He looked around them, fear etched in his face as he held her even closer in an act of protection. Rissa smiled as she placed a tender kiss on his bare shoulder.

“They mean us no harm. We have her blessing, Travis.” She whispered softly against his ear, feeling a shiver travel through him and into her where they were still tightly joined.

“Her?” Aghast, he pulled her back by the shoulders to look at her with suspicion burning in his darkened eyes “What blessing?”

“The Goddess has bestowed her blessing upon our union this night. We are in her favor.” Her heart sank as she saw the shock and then anger clear all trace of soft emotion from his tight features. His dark eyes flashed blood-red in the light of the full moon, causing alarms to go off in her head. She’d forgotten for a split moment in time that this was no ordinary man. This was a predator, a beast in man’s skin, her enemy. He was a Guardian of the Light. His sole purpose was to destroy all of her kind and leave the world without magic. Little did he know the world
was
magic. It could not be destroyed with the simple extermination of a race of people. A deep sadness had her biting her lip to keep from crying out with her pain. No love between them could survive if he kept his hatred of her within his breast.

***

Travis stared at the woman before him with a feeling of savage hatred. She’d placed a spell on him. There was no other explanation for losing his head the way he had.

Disgust welled up within him as he grabbed her waist and broke their connection of the flesh. Tossing her backward into the water, he watched her go beneath the surface to come up spluttering. She wiped a hand over her face to push the wet tendrils of her hair out of her eyes before she stood looking at him. There was an absence of anger in her glistening green gaze. He held his breath as he saw hurt, plain and simple, in her soft look. She blinked back tears as she turned and dove out into the water.

Travis bit back a curse as the loud squawking of the animals around them suddenly stopped at once. The quiet was more alarming than the loud howls of the wolves had been. He placed his hands on his waist as he turned to scan the water for her. Inside, he was feeling a myriad of emotions, most he didn’t understand, so he held onto his anger and his hatred of what she’d made him do.

Several minutes passed with not a ripple in the water. Anxiety began to burn in his chest as he carefully watched for her to surface. Anxiety turned quickly to alarm as she didn’t come up for air.
Where the hell was she?

Travis swore loudly as he dove beneath the dark water, searching for any sign of her. His eyes burned and his lungs felt about to explode, forcing him to swim to the surface for air. He gasped air and dove once more, swimming to the middle of the river. A weed bed tangled around him, forcing him to free himself from the grasping growth before he could once more kick for the surface. He came up gasping and coughing to exasperate the water from his burning lungs.

He didn’t believe his eyes at first, but there on the bank she stood silently watching him. Clutched in her arms was his clothing, and he blinked back at her in disbelief. She was already dressed in the long skirt and peasant blouse. Her hair was still dark and wet, pulled back in a long braid that lay over her shoulder.

“What the hell are you doing?” He demanded before he could think better of it.

“I should have thought it was obvious, Mr. Holt. I’m going to wash your clothing. After all, you shouldn’t want to put them back on when you’re clean and they stink of sweat.” As she spoke, he watched her bend down at the edge of the water. An old washboard appeared in her hands as if she’d created it from thin air.

“What the hell?” His hands clenched as he felt his entire body burned with the need to wring her beautiful neck. She was an abomination, a mistake of nature that must be eliminated. He fought his impulse and stood still in the water as her head rose, green eyes studied his face with an intensity that made him uneasy.

“Don’t be embarrassed, we all sweat, Travis.” She grinned up at him. Her elfin face glowed enchantingly in the light of the moon. Travis couldn’t have been more surprised or alarmed by her teasing look as she began to scrub his shirt with soap. He could only watch her as she wrung the wet material and turned to drape it over the same bush as his towel.

“You don’t have to do that.” Reluctant relief flooded him as he swam closer, watching as she picked up his briefs to place them over the washboard next.

“You forgot the soap.” She reached over to pick it up and lobbed it at him. He caught it automatically.

“Thank you.” His manners saved him, barely. He watched as she finally stood with his shorts in her hand. She collected his other clothing from the bush and turned back to him.

“Take your time washing up. I’ll hang these on my clothes line. In this heat, it won’t take long for them to dry. Come up when you’re through.” She stopped to look back at him at the top of the hill. “Don’t wander from the path, Mr. Holt. I wouldn’t want you to get lost in these woods. They say magical beings come looking for souls and hearts to steal on Midsummer’s Night.” There was a mysterious twinkle in her glowing green eyes as she grinned and disappeared with his clothing.

Travis swore sharply. He knew what Midsummer’s Night represented for the Witch. The summer solstice was not only the longest day of the year, but also one of the Witches’ quarter festivals, known by many names. Litha was the name recognized by the vast majority, as far as he knew. The secret rituals of their craft were well guarded, but many a Witch had succumbed to the extremely painful and effective inquisitions carried out by his order. Litha meant, “Moon” in the old tongue, according to most of the captives locked away at the Guardian’s main headquarters. A moonlight ritual involving fire and water, Litha was a festival of bonfires and dancing with the focus on new love and marriages. A notion that made him feel decidedly uncomfortable after her statements earlier about them acquiring the Goddess’ approval. What had he done, now?

Sexual encounters with the enemy weren’t unheard of, but they weren’t allowed unless the Guardian was sanctioned to use physical persuasion to gain control over the target. He had his commander’s authorization, but never would he have expected to use it. Rather than find himself balls deep in the enemy, he would have preferred facing an old hag with sharp teeth and a taste of his blood.

Dealing swiftly with one such as this was a constant battle of wits. Her teasing charm was a contradiction to everything he was taught about her kind. Witches didn’t have a sense of humor, or feelings for that matter. They existed to only plague mankind with spells and potions meant to cause harm. Her beauty was a mask to hide her evil, yet one look at her had reawakened a need within him that he was having a bitch of a time ignoring.

He began to scrub himself with the soap, sighing as the scent of roses surrounded him, easing the tension in his back and shoulders. He dove under water several times to rinse himself before he left the cold water to dry his body with the towel. He wasn’t sure what her game was, but he wouldn’t fall into her trap again, so long as he didn’t listen to the traitor already hardening beneath the towel.

Travis found his clothes hanging on a line behind the quaint little cabin. There were no windows on the backside of the log structure, but an attached shed holding chopped wood took up three-quarters of the back of the building. A tree stump with an ax leaning against it caught his eye, and he wondered who had split the wood. She was no woodsman, but he took note of the weapon. It could come in handy at some point in his dealings with the shifty creature.

He lifted his head. He could smell smoke from a fire and a delicious scent wafting from inside. Reaching up to feel his shorts, he was surprised to find them dry. Travis took one quick look around to assure he was still alone, and then he pulled on his clothes. The worn leather wallet and knife slid easily into the deep pockets of his shorts. His talisman was the last thing he put on, hiding it beneath his shirt once more. Perhaps, if he’d been wearing it in the water, he never would have succumbed to her soft touch and tempting body. His cock hardened at the mere thought of her body’s tight grip, and he wanted to run as far and as fast as he could from the Witch waiting for him to join her.