Fated (17 page)

“Yes. I’d thought to get my sotie in place and with child before Franco becomes too tempted. I’d hate to have to kill one of our best fighters on the eve of another war with the vampires.”

Kalin shrugged. “I say we take him out now.”

His father sighed. “Kalin, you need to understand strategy. Right now, we need Franco and his force to battle the Realm. Starting our own internal war would lead to disaster for us. And your future mating is imperative.”

“Do you understand why?” Kalin tossed the tin back inside and shut the thick oak cupboard. “What is so special about this human girl?” He wondered what the oracles had revealed.

Loran speared him with a sharp gaze. “No. I’d thought you’d have an idea, considering the psychic skills of your mother.”

Kalin lifted an eyebrow, lying easily. “I have no idea. Maybe your sotie didn’t pass on enough of the psychic ability to me.” Knowledge was power, and he intended to gather the most. “Well, father, I’ll let you rest. See you in the morning.” He turned, wondering if tonight would be the night he finally broke into Janie’s dreams. He had a feeling that his biggest adversary, whoever that presence was, would be waiting for him there.

Kalin’s fangs elongated, his heart sped up, and he smiled.

C
ara woke up well rested and stretched, thankful to be alive. Talen and Jordan had taken care of the Kurjan soldiers while Lorcan had escaped. She shuddered in the warm bed at the thought. Katie had only been knocked out and had returned to consciousness on the ride home after one of Jordan’s men had retrieved them, and Bigsby’s body had been buried by the same man later that night. While she and Katie had gone to bed, the men had moved on to an additional research facility they’d discovered from files taken in the earlier raid. Talen had warned her that several guards were positioned around the ranch, and she was to stay put.

The sound of the shower made her jump from the bed. Talen was back. He had informed her the night before that they’d discuss her activities when he returned and she’d had a good night’s sleep.

With a grimace, she threw on her clothes and all but ran out of the room and to the quiet kitchen. It was empty. It was too early to be out of bed. She looked at a full basket of apples on the counter and her stomach swayed. She wasn’t hungry.

“Hello, mate. Running, are we?” His voice was a deep growl.

Startled, she flipped around with her back to the granite
counter, knocking over the basket of apples. “Talen, you scared the heck out of me,” she hissed on a breath.

“I believe I told you to stop and return to the ranch last night.” His silky voice awoke the butterflies in her stomach as he advanced into the kitchen to halt a few feet from her.

She took a good look at the man before her. The extremely pissed off, pure dominant form of a male. “Um,” she started as the tension began to surround her, fill her. “We had to go after Bigsby, you know that.” Then, as she realized her vulnerability in answering to a man, especially this man, she lifted her chin.

Dark golden eyes narrowed in a strong face. The wet hair curling at his nape did nothing to soften him. He raised an eyebrow at her slight show of defiance, and his muscles rippled much like a Doberman controlling itself before receiving the attack command. “After Bigsby? Knowing full well the Kurjans waited for you?” The very air vibrated around him as he moved, his voice dangerously soft.

He stalked another step closer.

She suppressed a shiver at the tension. At the danger swirling around her. She noticed belatedly that her thong was getting wet. Danger shouldn’t turn her on, she mused, as her wide pupils tracked the threat before her. This shouldn’t turn her on.

He’d dressed in all black, a tight T-shirt emphasizing the sheer strength and muscle of his torso. As did his crossed arms with steel biceps. A muscle ticked in his inflexible jaw as he checked her over, head to toe, much like a predator examining prey, ensuring himself of her safety.

Man, he looked pissed, and a shiver ran down her back. Her panties got even wetter. She tried to cover the telltale shiver, but his amused smile showed he saw. Not just the shiver, but his effect on her. And that ticked her off. She welcomed the arrival of her temper as a relief from this other, desperate feeling. In fact she clung to it.

Her chin lifted higher, and she met his steely stare head on. “Yeah. It was the right thing to do. And you know it.” Her cheeks flushed as she spoke in the face of danger. But her eyes remained steady on his, even as her body tensed to flee.

He stilled. Completely. His eyes changed into something predatory, something intense. He cocked his head to one side and his voice, when he spoke, was dark, silky, and dangerous.

“You want a taming, little one?” He moved a step closer, a bare foot of tension-filled air remaining between them.

Unwelcomed heat rushed through her body and nearly doubled her over. Temper and desire warred throughout. He wasn’t playing games. She didn’t need to read him to know he meant his words. Her eyes darted around the large kitchen, searching for escape from the intimidating alpha male before her. There was none.

She had no words to combat this effect on her senses—to combat him. Defiance was her only defense, so she tilted her lips in a small smile that was part sweet and pure sass.

“So be it,” he growled in immediate reaction. One long step closed the distance between them before he ducked and tossed her over a broad male shoulder. The jarring impact took her breath as he spun around and headed down the hall. Her breath came back in a rush as she struggled over his shoulder, her clenched hands beating on the wide expanse of his hard back.

“Knock it off.” A large male hand smacked her rear. Hard.

Her cry of outrage and increase in struggles had no effect on him. He stalked through the bedroom door and banged it closed with one thick boot. He easily controlled her struggling body, swinging her around to cradle in his arms. “A taming it is.” His eyes showed no mercy as one hand ripped off her jeans and thong before flipping her to the bed onto her hands and knees.

The sheer strength of his movements made her catch her breath as she found herself facing the headboard, fully exposed
to this being stronger than any human man. She tried to move forward as a strong arm banded around her waist. His hand slid up her torso to wrap around the front of her neck. Desire controlled her as he pulled her to her knees, his fierce erection digging into her back, her ability to breathe commanded by one broad hand.

She gasped as his other hand swiped the soft top and bra over her head. Her bare back met his thick T-shirt. The brand on her hip started to burn. She stifled a moan of desire and tried to bring common sense back into the situation.

“Talen, please,” she breathed as his left hand tangled in her hair and pulled to the side. He dipped his head to run a sharp fang from her exposed ear to the hollow of her vulnerable neck.

“No, baby,” his coarse voice was pure sin in her ear as he held her where he wanted her. “I’ll tell you when to beg.” He bit down.

The bite sent a direct line from her neck to her core. An oncoming orgasm hinted through her. Desperate, reduced to feelings, she pushed against the hardness behind her, searching for release. “No,” the fierceness of the voice in her ear made her pause. “I control that, too. You’ll come when I say.” He pushed her forward again onto her hands and knees.

Startled, out of her element with her body vibrating for release, she stayed put as his belt rasped when pulled through his pants. The harsh sound filtered around the silent room, and she stifled a moan as it hit the floor. A rustle of clothing and his shirt followed the belt. Then, the rasp of a zipper made her shudder before he kicked his jeans out of the way. He spoke, his voice low and harsh. “And, I’ve had enough of you denying your natural abilities. They’re likely to save your stubborn ass if you’d let them.”

She jolted when two large hands grasped her hips. One hand caressed around to her rear and then farther down along her crease. She gasped as finally, he touched her where she needed it the most. “Ah, fuck,” his voice was harsh in the
darkness. He cupped her with one large hand. She thought she would faint as he inserted one finger in her, then two. “God, you’re tight,” he leaned over her back—his fingers working inside her—and gently kissed the bite mark on her neck.

She whimpered as she started to move in time with his fingers, his heat surrounding her. “You need to come for me, baby,” he rasped in her ear, his fingers working inside her as his palm shifted and ground against the hidden bundle of nerves. “Now.” The orgasm hit with a ferocity that stole her breath as waves of pleasure coursed through her.

His expert fingers drew out the orgasm until finally, she shuddered and fell forward onto bent arms. Her body began to relax until he rolled her onto her back. Then she got a good look at the fully aroused male before her.

She began to edge backward toward the headboard. He snaked out a hand and grabbed her ankle, pulling her back into place. “Oh God,” she moaned, her eyes trapped by the dark promise in his golden eyes.

“Too late to pray, sweetheart.” His voice was amused, aroused, as he put one hand on either side of her body and moved up until they were nose to nose, skin to skin. His erection, long and hard, pulsed against her stomach. Then he didn’t move. Just lay against her, muscles bunched and tense, watching the play of moonlight against her pale skin. “God, you’re beautiful,” he murmured as he levered himself up on one elbow and devoured her face with his gaze.

Blue eyes, filled with confusion and awareness, opened at his words. Talen smiled. Truth be told, he didn’t mind seeing either. He liked her off balance. And he demanded control. She was smart to be aware of him. Especially if it made her think twice next time before throwing herself into danger.

He traced the contours of her face, gentling her, watching as desire replaced awareness in her eyes. The confusion remained as the intensity of the night was out of her experience. Frankly, it was out of his, as well. He had never wanted
to possess a woman like this. She was his and had been from the second her helpless government handed him her picture.

A possessive intensity rocked out of him into her. He made sure of it. They were connected, and it was damn well time she realized that. In response, adrenaline jumped her into flight mode, and her eyes filled with the need for escape.

“You’ve nowhere to flee,” he murmured against her lips, reading her correctly, his large body all but surrounding her much smaller one. “Mine,” he growled as he took her mouth with possession, demanding surrender as his tongue swept inside and dueled with hers.

He knotted one hand in her hair to angle her head more to his liking. He fought a groan as her sweet body arched up into the hard planes of his. He could even feel the heat from the brand at her hip. It shot straight to his heart.

Almost panting, he broke their kiss, staring in male satisfaction at her bemused gaze and swollen lips. He had wanted this since the first time he saw her pretty blue eyes challenging him.

The arrogance on his face brought Cara back to reality, or partially back, anyway. Her shields were useless against him. Damn it. She was out of her element, desperately turned on, and her heart was vulnerable. And vulnerable in a way she arrogantly thought she’d be able to avoid. The last frightened her, and fear slid into anger. She moved against him, tried to keep her eyes from falling back in her head, and rebelled. “So”—her voice aimed for sarcastic but the breathiness probably ruined it—”am I tamed yet?”

His short bark of laughter was unexpected, and she widened her eyes at the sound. Dominance chased the arrogance off his face. Her womb clenched as the hand in her hair tightened and pulled, exposing her jugular to him. She tried to toss her head to dislodge his hand and succeeded in drawing tears to her eyes as her hair was pulled by her own action. Her head remained where he wanted it.

“No. But you will be.” It was a vow. He leaned down with
quiet purpose and enveloped her throbbing jugular with his lips, his tongue rough against the pounding vein, his fangs a mere hint of his power. She stilled at the implication and edged closer to another orgasm.

He stayed motionless a moment, letting her feel his strength and her vulnerability. He held her life in his hands. Or rather, his mouth. She tested the strength of his shoulders with a shove. He was rock hard and immovable.

He lifted his head and pinned her wide-eyed gaze with golden heat.

“Put your hands above your head.” It was a command. She searched his eyes for softness or quarter. She found none. With a soft sigh, she stretched her arms above her head. He flashed his teeth at her obedience and started to penetrate her.

She struggled against the feelings rushing through her. The physical response to him, she welcomed—she clung to it. If he stopped, she’d freaking kill him. But the emotional demands of her own heart, of his, she couldn’t block anymore. And he knew it. He allowed no compromise as he nipped her on the neck and slowly, firmly began filling her even more. “Relax,” he purred in her ear, and amazingly enough, she did. He kept up his steady pace, and soon enough, he was completely inside her. She felt stuffed to the point of pain and took a deep breath to relax her body. Then he moved.

“Oh God,” she moaned as he caressed nerves she didn’t know she had. He partially withdrew, then pushed back in to the hilt, his desires commingling with hers. She sobbed at the exquisite pleasure. She had had no idea.

He began to drive in and out of her, keeping it slow and gentle until suddenly, filled beyond passion, she reared up and bit him above his heart. She felt the change within him before he did.

He roughly grabbed her thighs and pushed her knees to her chest as he pounded in and out, pushing her up the bed as
he did so. Cara dug her nails into his back as he rode her, another orgasm threatening.

She looked up into his eyes and was nearly conquered with the intensity reflected in their metallic depths. He was primal, his focus on making her his. It was too much. She shut her eyes with a moan as he increased the strength of his thrusts past what she’d have thought possible, his hands on her thighs keeping her open, exposed for him.