Obsessed (69 page)

“Ibundanti!” Release me, she demanded in his language.

Jarik’s smile broadened and he gave a soft and sexy laugh. “Ah, you do speak Dwarven.”

“I speak many languages,” Natalie replied in his tongue as she struggled harder. “And you’d better be guarding your balls because I’m going to ram them up your throat if you don’t let me go.”

“Fae blood burns hot, indeed.” Jarik’s eyelids lowered and his expression became unreadable. “But you know the rules, wench. Once you land in my realm, wingless child of Fae, here you remain forever.”

Natalie thrust her knee up, aiming for Jarik’s blue balls, but he blocked her with a simple movement of his powerful leg. Okay, so it hadn’t been such a bright idea to tell him she was going to go for his nuts.

“You arrogant, pompous, son-of-a-bitch,” she said through gritted teeth. “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, but you damn well better let me go. I haven’t survived New York City all my life to bow down to some blue underground freak.”

The asshole actually grinned.

Nat’s next rant died in her throat as Jarik roughly cupped the back of her head. He brought her face to his, stopping so that his lips hovered just over hers. “Fucking you, lovely, shall be a treat indeed.”

“You will be dead before your breath fouls her lips, Jarik,” Evvan’s voice bellowed from behind them.

Evvan!
Relief flooded Natalie and she again struggled to free herself, but the Dwarf kept an iron grip on her.

Jarik slowly raised his head and gave Evvan a smile that was both feral and amused. “Did you lose something, Devline scum?”

“My woman.” Evvan’s words rumbled out in a fierce growl. “And if you wish to survive this meeting, you shall release her at once.”

With a smirk, Jarik eased his fingers through Nat’s hair, but didn’t let her go. “You allow all of your females to have the run of D’euan Deep without accompaniment?”

The way Evvan said
my woman
had sent a strange, yet wild thrill through Natalie. But Jarik’s insinuation that Evvan had multiple females burned in her chest. Did the arrogant shit really have several girlfriends?

Or wives?

That thought really pissed her off. Something deep and intense stirred her being. Electricity snapped and crackled through every cell in her body.

“Back off, you blue bastard,” Natalie said in a voice so resonant that she didn’t even recognize it as her own. Wishing that she was strong enough to send the dwarf flying, she shoved at him again.

Surprise flashed across Jarik’s handsome face as his grip on her failed.

He stumbled back, the momentum so powerful he might have been shoved across the room by twenty men. Only when his head struck the chamber wall with a loud thunk did he stop.

Natalie’s jaw dropped. What the hell?

Evvan appeared at her side in a protective stance, wielding his sword.

Across the room, Jarik raised his hand to the back of his head. When he brought it back down, his palm was coated with thick blue fluid.

His blood. Chills skittered over Nat’s skin. “He’s bleeding.”

“Your powers are certainly stronger than I expected.” Jarik gave a wry grin and pushed himself away from the wall. “I shouldn’t have underestimated you.”

“I made the same mistake,” Evvan muttered, and sheathed his sword. “Else you would never have gotten your hands on the wench.”

“Huh?” Nat’s confused gaze cut from the Elf to the Dwarf and back to the Elf. “I couldn’t have done that.”

Natalie tensed as Jarik strode up to them, but Evvan appeared relaxed. Friendly even—well for him, anyway.

“She does not know her powers?” Jarik frowned as he studied Natalie. “Most dangerous.”

“Quite.” Evvan sighed. “She is unaware of her heritage as well.”

“Excuse me.” Nat glared from one to the other. “Stop talking like a couple of rejects from
Lord of the Rings
. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Rejects?” Jarik gave Evvan a puzzled look. “Lord of the Rings?”

Evvan shrugged. “The maid is a bit odd.”

“What?” Bracing her hands on her hips, Nat scowled at Evvan. “Who’s a bit odd?”

“Why don’t we share this one?” Jarik moved closer to Nat. “We can fuck her together,” he added as he slid his palm over her ass.

“Hey!” Natalie yelped and stumbled back.

Evvan growled and narrowed his gaze at Jarik. “This woman I will never share with another man.”

“I’ve had it with this macho bullshit.” Nat clenched her fists at her sides and turned toward the entrance. “I’m outta here.”

A muscle in Evvan’s cheek quirked as he watched his l’tiani march past him and out into the tunnel to where L’th’amir waited. He knew the Elvin horse would protect her, and did not fear for her safety.

“A beautiful but odd creature.” Jarik laughed and shook his head. “I wish you luck, brother.”

“I fear I shall need more than luck.” Evvan gave a quick nod to the Dwarven King. “And do well to remember this creature belongs to me.”

“I would have enjoyed such a treat.” Jarik’s features were almost wistful as his gaze lingered on the exit through which Natalie had vanished. He returned to his usual authoritative demeanor as his attention returned to Evvan. “What brings you to my realm, brother?”

“Voral has returned from exile. He has taken on dragon form and is stalking this Fae creature.” Evvan’s muscles tensed. “We were forced to seek refuge in D’euan Deep where the bastard cannot penetrate the spellwork at the gates, and the magics are too powerful for him to follow.”

“My scouts informed me of a lycidian in Merth Darkling, a beast like no other.” Jarik rubbed his chin in concentration and then gave Evvan a sly look. “The maid would be safe here.”

The scowl that crossed Evvan’s features was immediate. “I trust no one save the Fae to ensure her safety, including you. Especially you.”

Jarik grinned. “To be sure. Too many dangers exist in the Deep.”

“Once she is safely in Astral,” Evvan said, “I will hunt down the bastard Sorcerer and dispose of him.”

“And I will ensure that you have safe passage to Fae from D’euan Deep.” With a smile Jarik clapped Evvan on the shoulder. “Best make sure the wench does not wander into my realm again.”

“Most assuredly she will not.” Evvan turned and strode out the chamber door.

When he had first sensed the Dwarves, he had feared for Natalie stumbling into a pack of Dwarven miscreants who would have defiled her if given the opportunity. Once he realized Jarik’s men had taken her, he had been somewhat relieved—until he saw his woman in the King’s arms.

And then he had wanted to kill the man, no matter that Jarik was Evvan’s brother-at-arms as well as the Dwarven King. Jarik’s death would have meant certain war between the Devline and the Dwarves of D’euan Deep, whose treaty was tenuous at best.

As Evvan strode back to his mate, he rounded the corner and reached his l’tiani. She was glaring as she waited beside L’th’amir who blocked the tunnel. Natalie folded her arms across her chest and raised her chin. “Stupid horse,” she muttered, her green eyes flashing at Evvan. “Won’t let me by.”

“Never put yourself in such danger again.” He kept his expression stern as L’th’amir now moved toward a tunnel exit. “There are far greater risks to you than you realize. Greater, even, than you’ve faced thus far.”

Natalie looked as though she wanted to yell at him, but instead she said, “If Dwarves are so bad, tell me why you were chummy with that blue Conan the Barbarian.”

Evvan raised a brow at the unusual words, but chose instead to answer her question. “Good and evil exists within all peoples, no matter their heritage or race. If you had been taken by a pack of Dwarven criminals, who frequently roam the Deep, likely you would not have survived. After they raped and maimed you, they would have thrown you from some precipice and had done with their games.”

“Oh.” She visibly swallowed as she avoided his eyes and instead looked into the passageway ahead. “Kind of like walking alone in the Bronx at two a.m. Not a real hot idea.”

After leaving the blue Dwarven hottie, it seemed that they traveled for hours, and maybe they did, but Natalie soon lost track of time. The passageways grew bigger and high enough that she and Evvan were able to ride double on L’th’amir. Whenever it would get too dark to see, Evvan would do that body glowing thing that was kind of freaky, but definitely cool.

Natalie became entranced by the underground world they traveled—the ancient stone and glittering rock formations. It smelled old, like the back corners of the New York Public Library—of dust from eons ago, and a smell kind of like the ink used to print newspapers.

Evvan held her protectively against him as they rode, the heat of his arm burning through her thin blouse. Her body flamed for him, needed him, like no man she’d ever touched. What difference did it make that she’d known him for only hours? It felt like she’d met him ages ago.

They talked as they rode—well, Natalie did. She tended to chatter lots when she was in strange situations, which had basically been non-stop since walking into that dang virtual cave. Evvan did ask her questions about her life in New York, her adoptive parents, and other things that were more odd—like had she ever talked to someone who suddenly seemed to lose focus in the conversation and walk away?

Well, didn’t everyone have that happen to them?

Natalie in turn asked him about his life, and learned what it meant that he was an Enforcer for the Devline Elves. His answers were short, and she really had to dig to get the scoop on his life, but the more they talked, the more he opened up to her.

Although he did ask if she ever stopped talking.

From what she managed to get out of him, she found herself curious about Evvan’s home. His love for his family, his people, and his home was apparent, although he never said it in so many words. It was more the pride in his tone and the way he spoke of them.

Natalie couldn’t help but wonder how these people managed without microwaves, television, and the Internet. How did people communicate without e-mail? Smoke signals or the Pony Express?

As if she could ever handle living in such a primitive world.
Yeah, right.

Every step the Elvin horse took as they traveled was torture to Nat’s libido. Despite the fact the ride was smooth, with each movement L’th’amir made, Evvan’s cock rubbed against Natalie’s backside, its rock hardness almost bruising her soft flesh. She yearned for him to move his hands to her breasts, to cup them, to caress them, to suckle them. But he remained virtually immobile, as if he was restraining himself.

She had the impression that he was alert, on guard at all times. Like he expected someone or something to come after them.

Nat’s eyelids drooped as the endless ride progressed, but she came fully awake the moment L’th’amir entered a fabulous cavern. It very nearly stole her breath. She leaned forward in the saddle, her eyes wide and trying to absorb the intense beauty around her.

The cavern was relatively small, but astounding. Crystals glittered like millions of emeralds, as though lit from within by the same freaky glow that had come from Evvan when he used his body to light the tunnels, only this light was green instead of gold. The air felt damp and humid, and held the tang of sulfur.

“Get out of here,” Natalie murmured. “This place is gorgeous.”

“Why do you want to leave if you find it attractive?” Evvan asked as he brought L’th’amir to a stop at the center of the chamber.

Nat looked over her shoulder and almost melted at the way he was looking at her. “It’s just an expression—slang.”

“Ah.” Evvan dismounted, the sound of his boots echoing throughout the chamber. He held his hands up to her.

After a second’s hesitation, she leaned toward him, allowing him to lift her off L’th’amir’s back and settle her on her feet. His palms felt hot around her waist, and for a moment she could only look up at him.

“Come,” he said, his tone telling her that he expected no argument. And somehow, she wasn’t inclined to give him one. His expression remained dark and intense as he took her hand and led her to the corner of the chamber. Natalie couldn’t help but wonder at this fierce man who could be so dangerous one moment, yet gentle in another.

She’d chattered a lot on the ride, here, but for some reason she now had no inclination to talk. But then again, Evvan was rubbing his callused thumb over the back of her hand in such slow, sensual strokes that made it hard for her to even think, much less form a coherent sentence.

He drew her away from L’th’amir, leaving the horse behind as they walked around an enormous green column of faceted crystals and started down a path that led deeper underground, into an even more beautiful world of emerald crystals. It was like being in the center of a geode.

“Oh, my god.” She glanced up at him from under her lashes. “This is so intense. What is this place? Where are you taking me?”

Evvan’s dark gaze met hers. “You require a bath, sustenance, and rest.”

Natalie opened her mouth to reply, but at that moment he brought her to a stop before a tranquil pool of water. It appeared so serene, that it might have been a mirror. The surface glittered, reflecting emerald sparkles from the surrounding and overhead crystals. Steam rose in wispy trails above the pool and the air felt warm and moist. In dark corners of the pool, small swirls broke out and Natalie realized it was not so calm as it appeared on the surface.

Kind of like the predator beside her.

“Remove your clothing,” he said in a rumble.

“Beg your pardon?” She cut her gaze to Evvan. “I don’t take orders from anyone.”

“Now.” He folded his arms across his bare chest and scowled. “Or I shall throw you in.”

Natalie bit at the inside of her lip. The pool did look awfully tempting. After that ride, she really needed to cool her lust. Her body might want to climb this man, er, Elf, but she didn’t have sex with just anyone.

Although she couldn’t call Evvan just anyone.

Evvan’s muscles flexed as he watched his l’tiani remove her tunic. Her eyes, green as the D’euan Forest, taunted him as she slowly unbuttoned the tunic down toward her navel, as though daring him to help her take it off. He clenched his fists at his sides, forcing himself to keep from indulging in that most distinct pleasure. By the goddess, he should just rip her clothes from her body and be done with it.