Lexia (The Deadwood Hunter Series) (21 page)

Lexia felt possessed, overtaken with need she pushed him, pinning him to the floor with a wicked smile. Riding him hard, digging her nails into his flesh she dragged them across his chest and he growled, eyes flashing savagely wild as his claws dug into her bottom. She twisted her hips riding him faster, tipping her head back and feeling the rush of sensual pleasure streaming through her veins.

Lincoln tried to pull her back beneath him but Lexia resisted, he felt the rush of power flow through her veins and watched as she smiled wickedly at him, her eyes turning to gold. His panther rose to the surface of his mind, his claws breaking through his skin and a growl rumbled up in his chest. She arched her back further and he felt her clench around him as she came.

Lexia collapsed forward and he flipped her over, claiming her mouth as she moaned, clenching her loins tight around him and that was his undoing. His eyes stared into hers, flashing brightly as he cried out. Clutching her to him, he sank his now-sharp panther teeth into the curve of her neck, marking her, claiming her as
his.

Chapter 23

When Lexia woke later she found herself in bed, Lincoln wrapped around her sleeping. She felt so relaxed and happy. Her neck throbbed slightly reminding her of the moment he’d lost control and marked her
. Goddam possessive cat!
she thought, smiling.

But what did it all mean? He said he wouldn’t let her go if they did this but Lexia struggled to let go of the past and a fresh churning of anxiety started in her stomach.

Looking at him now so young and innocent whilst asleep, his soft brown hair had fallen across his forehead, skin smooth and relaxed like nothing in the world was wrong.
Oh god what are you doing with this man, Lexia! He’s 23! Why would he ever want you?

“Stop thinking, Lex,” he murmured, eyes still closed.

Lexia sighed, how she wished she could turn off her brain. If she wasn’t having nightmares about her dad, she was daydreaming about Lincoln, and not to mention feeling overwhelmed with being a Hunter! She needed to escape from his arms; she couldn’t lie here anymore with these thoughts swirling around her head.

“Where do ya think you’re going?” he chuckled, locking his arms around her.

“Lincoln... I need space to think.” He opened his eyes now and looked into hers. Lexia looked away.

“Lex, look at me.” When she didn’t, he growled low until she obeyed.

“What’s on your mind? You can talk to me.”

She looked into his golden-brown eyes, into the human eyes of a man who had come for her when there was no one left. He’d shown her how to hunt, how to kill, but he’d also brought her laughter and joy again. He made her forget the death and the people hunting her and made her just relish in the fact that she was alive and happy. If she was honest, she was terrified that one day he wouldn’t be there to keep the darkness away but no matter how happy she felt, she just couldn’t forget that he’d set out to kill her.

“A lot have things have happened lately, Linc. Some things I don’t ever think I’ll get over. I sometimes wish they’d just killed me, too, so I wouldn’t have to deal with the pain of losing him. The darkness, Lincoln... it...it follows me and I am so scared of letting it consume me but when I’m with you, the pain, the darkness is bearable but there is always that voice in my head reminding me of what you are, that you’re my enemy and that you set out to kill me.” Her voice trailed off into a haunted whisper. She felt like the world had stopped, staring into his unreadable eyes waiting for his answer.

“Lex, I will never forgive myself for doing that to you and I will always be here to keep the darkness away. You’ve lost so much but you’ve come back stronger. Have faith in yourself and have faith that you alone can fight the Hunter within you.”

Lexia let out a breath she didn’t realize she’d been holding, but still she felt confused, the little voice in her head still nagged with questions.

“But why? You set out to kill me and now this... What’s changed? What makes me so different?”

“Lex, you’re over thinking things,” he laughed. “Okay, yes I set out to kill you the first time I saw you. You were ripping vampires apart with your bare hands.”

“What! You were there that night?”

“My panther was drawn to something that night and before I’d even realized I was in town, I heard your cries but then I saw your eyes and... you’ve got to remember, Hunters are the enemy. When I was a kid we had to hide who we were. We were told to fear the Hunters, how they killed our kind without a second thought, but for me it’s personal.”

“What do you mean?”

“When I was six my parents left me with my grandparents. They were going out into the mountains to run, be panthers, but they never returned. They were killed by a group of Hunters and when I saw your eyes turn gold all I saw was the race that had killed my mom and dad, that had taken away my childhood.”

Lexia sucked in a breath as she looked into Lincoln’s sad, haunted eyes. Her kind had killed his parents; how could he ever love her?

“Lexia, I never told you this because I knew you’d do this.”

“What? What am I doing?”

“You’re blaming yourself for something you had no control over just because you share some of their DNA. Yes, the Hunters killed them and I had set out to kill you; I’ve spent my whole life wanting revenge for their deaths. But I never could, I had so many opportunities to but I couldn’t. I told myself I was just getting to know your weaknesses but I just wanted to know you, everything about you fascinates me.”

“But you attacked me, kidnapped me?”

“Okay, I kidnapped you, yes; can’t you just forget about that? It’s hard to explain... I was so conflicted and I suppose I thought if I took you, you’d show me your true side.”

“So you hoped I’d turn into a monster and make things easy for you?”

“Maybe.”

“Don’t think that smile’s going to let you off the hook!”

“Lexia, I never could have killed you. You’re not just a Hunter... you’re human, you feel. You were mine from the moment I watched you first kill...so beautiful.”

“I’m yours?”

“Mine.”

“Possessive, aren’t you!” Lexia smiled.

“Very,” he drawled, pulling her down. He pinned her under him. “That’s better,” he laughed.

“Lincoln!” But she couldn’t keep the smile from her face.

Fire flared throughout her body as she felt the hard end of him brush against her. He kissed her hungrily until she gasped for air. He explored her body lazily this time, loving her with slow torturous strokes. She felt every inch of his thick hard cock as it rubbed against her swollen flesh. The pressure built slowly, somehow deeper, and when he finally pushed her over the edge, deep waves of pleasure rolled over her until she couldn’t think.

She fell to sleep feeling sated; every muscle heavy and weak with Lincoln wrapping his limbs around her, protecting her.

Lexia woke later knowing she was alone, rolling over she noticed a note on Lincoln’s pillow.

Lexia, I’ve gone to take care of our friends, I hope you don’t wake. I’ll be home soon, sleep my Wildcat, sleep, L x

Lexia smiled at the note; the heavy weight on her heart lifted. She rolled over breathing in his smell, remembering their wild lovemaking; pleasure swirled deep down and she shivered. She had never been with anyone who made her feel so much; his every touch drove her to madness and the orgasms were the best she’d ever had. His body was—Lexia snapped upright as all her senses went on high alert; something was wrong.

Lexia jumped out of bed pulling on whatever clothes laid about the floor before climbing down the ladder. She couldn’t hear a sound in the house but still she moved with caution, picking up her knife and a longer one of Lincoln’s as she passed by, and crept out into the dark night.

Standing on the veranda she calmed her mind letting power wash over her. A brisk breeze played with her hair whipping it into her face and she breathily thought she should have tied it up.

The sky was clear tonight, a full moon hung high above her surrounded by twinkling stars. On any other night Lexia would have stopped to appreciate the beauty but right now she could sense danger in the forest.

She climbed high into the tree that Lincoln’s home sat in and looked out over the forest. She saw four Hunters walking quietly through the trees. They hadn’t reached the wall of vegetation that hid the house, maybe they would just walk by and never realize it was here, but she couldn’t take that risk; she wouldn’t let Lincoln lose his home.

Decision made, Lexia climbed along a thick branch and dropped onto another tree but she slipped upon landing, the rough bark scraping her skin. Her arms clung tightly to the branch and she managed to pull herself up.
This would be far easier if I were a cat!

She had to get out of the clearing at the opposite end to the Hunters so that they wouldn’t see the entrance to Lincoln’s home but the Hunters were right in front of the gap she’d normally slip through. So Lexia climbed from tree to tree until she could drop down safely without been seen. “Shit,” she mumbled as a branch sliced into her arm, the feeling of warm blood spreading over her skin.

The cut would heal as quick as it was opened though, and Lexia set off running silently away from the Hunters until she had looped behind them. Lexia took a deep breath, making a silent prayer, hoping she could fight four Hunters alone. “Oh, Hunters.”

All four turned at once, their gold eyes eerily bright in the darkness and then they raced toward her at impossible speeds. Lexia’s heart jumped in her chest and then she was running in the direction she hoped Lincoln would be. She shot through the trees, adrenaline pumped in her veins, and then she jumped high, catching a low branch and swung herself up into a tree with cat-like grace.

They were close behind her but Lexia was hidden from view before the Hunters came crashing past her hiding spot. Lexia knew it wouldn’t be that easy and as they slowly retraced their steps, she gripped the long knife in her hand. Pointing it down she prepared to drop on top of the Hunter as he walked underneath her.

He crashed to the ground with a thump as Lexia brought the blade down through his back, piecing his heart. The others circled around her, wary, as she sprang to her feet and retrieved her other smaller knife holding it in her left hand. No one blinked as they waited for the other to make a move.

The Hunter in front of her lunged forward first but she didn’t take the bait having already sensed another closing the gap behind her.

Instead she flung the knife in her left hand at the Hunter to her front and whirled to avoid the blow from behind. As she spun around Lexia brought up her blade and with a single swipe that reverberated up her arm she sent it through the Hunter’s neck, bringing it out the other side. His eyes held hers in surprise before the head rolled and fell to the ground.

The two remaining Hunters now rushed at her with incredible speed, one still had her knife lodged in his chest; she’d missed his heart but it slowed him down. She dodged his blow and slammed her elbow into his face but she didn’t move quick enough to miss the uninjured Hunter.

Lexia caught the glint of his knife at the last second; moving just enough to miss her vital organs, the knife sliced through her flesh. She screamed at the excruciating pain in her side. Gasping she doubled over, blood trickling down her front. The Hunter didn’t stop, light exploded in her eyes as he hit her head and she fell down on her knees before him.

Had Lexia been fully human the blow would have killed her but she had Hunter blood in her veins, so she fought the nausea as she crumpled to the floor and rolled away, jumping to her feet. She gripped her blade tight, slouching slightly on her injured left side as both of them circled her again. Lexia didn’t wait for them to make a move; instead she swung around slamming her foot into the injured Hunter to her left whilst pulling the knife out of her side and throwing it at the Hunter on her right. She gasped, stumbling forwards as pain shot from the knife wound in her side but Lexia gritted her teeth and quickly recovered, blocking a punch and returning one of her own. The jolt of pain as the blow reverberated up her arm caused her to falter and the Hunter on her right kicked her.

Fighting past the pain she swiped out with her blade aiming for his neck, but she moved too slowly and the blade sliced across his chest instead, leaving behind a slash of crin. He grunted and stumbled giving her time to bring the knife back and thrust it upwards through his heart.

The last Hunter was already aiming his fist as her blade sank into the chest of the Hunter. As she pulled the blade out trying to bring it up to protect herself, his fist moved towards her face. She felt the blade slice into his skin as his fist connected. Pain burst inside her skull and she saw stars before things started to go hazy. She heard his strangled cry of pain as the blade carried on through his flesh and then she hit the ground, the world going black. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she thought she heard the roar of a cat and a strangled whisper left her lips, “
Lincoln?”

Lincoln was jogging back to his home, his mind on getting back to the beautiful woman he’d left naked in his bed. He hadn’t wanted to leave her but the bodies of the two hunters they’d killed earlier needed to be hidden. He had carried them both far up into Black Hill ranges and buried them were they would never be found again.
It won’t do us any good if they find more bodies in these woods.

He was so distracted by the erotic images playing through his head that he nearly missed Lexia’s scent. Backtracking, he picked up her trail that headed away from the house. “What are you up to?”

Running at a steady pace he followed her trail letting his animal come to the surface. This was the panther’s territory; it knew every rut, stone, and branch. He scented the air and anger boiled in his blood as he picked up the scent of three, no four Hunters.

Lincoln ran flat out squashing the fear for her safety before it took hold of him. She would be fine, she was half-Hunter after all. But when he picked up the scent of her blood, he saw red; a violent rage rushed through the beast and it split through his skin, going wild with bloodlust.