Rise of the Gryphon (9 page)

His lungs tightened, holding his next breath while he waited to see what she’d do.

In the past few weeks, she’d become more trusting of his advances, more open to the first stages of passion, but her instigating this much touching was unexpected.

Her fingers slid around front to where she ran her hands over his stomach.

That brought her chest to his back.

Her breasts nudged him.

Blood surged in his groin.

His heart beat out of control. He’d known this moment when she’d be ready for intimacy was coming, but damn, he hadn’t wanted it out here in the woods.

What had brought out her amorous side tonight? Seeing Storm so close to being killed? He’d envisioned her naked in front of a roaring fire or spread across his bed or under a rush of water in his shower.

She hugged him.

Her fingers inched up to hook his shoulders.

Sweat beaded on his forehead. He had to be careful with his next move. Someone had hurt her physically in the past, to the point that she avoided intimacy. She was afraid of losing control of her beast and killing him. He’d intended to spend hours when the time was right, taking it slow, halting the minute she showed any sign of panic.

But not here.

With natural and unnatural creatures roaming this mountain, this was the last place he would lower his guard to put all his attention on her.

On the other hand, if he stopped her now, she’d feel rejected.

She kissed his back and moved her fingers down to toy with his nipples. Erotic chills skittered across his skin. He shook with the effort of holding back, caught
in indecision. His heart thudded each beat, a fist pounding his chest. If he got any harder he’d burst out of his jeans.

Easing away from the truck, he lifted his arms and turned slowly until he had her wrapped up against him.

She laughed and the sound floated around him, warming his heart when she hugged him back.

This was the woman he wanted with all his being.

When she lifted her head, her eyes were hidden behind the dark sunglasses. She could take those off with so little moonlight filtering down through the trees above them. But he didn’t need to see her eyes to know she was happy. Pleasure flowed from her, wafting across his empathic senses.

Then her desire rushed around him, flooding his senses as if released from a gate.

Hell, yes, he wanted this. Wanted her.

She licked his chest and he shuddered.

Protecting the hellion came first, but that didn’t mean they couldn’t indulge in a few minutes of play. He’d scent anyone long before they got close.

Slowly, carefully as always, he lowered his head and kissed her. His lips melded with hers. His kisses had been the one pleasure she’d taken to enthusiastically from the start, even when they’d first met as adversaries. Holding her head, he turned her gently for better access, deepening the kiss little by little.

Energy surged through his veins. His jaguar growled for more. To mark her as his.

To mate.

But Evalle’s skin was hot, so hot it felt combustible, and that had
him
thinking about combusting.

Evalle’s passion ignited suddenly.

She grabbed his hair, yanking him closer and kissing him as though fire roared through her blood. She ground her hips against him, rubbing the rigid erection already aching inside his pants.

He clenched his jaw and groaned at the throbbing.

That was his Evalle, never halfway in on anything. She finally trusted him enough to let go and explore what had sizzled between them for weeks. Felt like eons.

He loved her mouth, gorged himself on her.

Don’t rush her.

Just one more step forward for now. Holding her head with one hand, he moved his other to tug the bottom of her T-shirt free and slide his hand up silky skin. She shivered as he caressed his way up to . . . her sweet breast. No bra. Mercy.

His thumb brushed across the beaded tip and she sucked in a harsh breath. “Oh, yesss.”

Damn right. He kissed her with raw passion, no holding back. A kiss that told her everything he wanted to do to her, and more. Her tongue danced with his in a sensual tangle. His fingers played with one breast then the other until she was shaking with need.

Hell,
he
was shaking with need.

An earthy moan escaped her. Another sound like that and he’d drop to his knees and give her everything she wanted. She hissed and arched her hips forward, and every muscle in his body clenched when she brushed his erection
with bold intention. She bit his lip gently, then licked it, soothing any pain. Heat built low and pooled in his balls.

She was so potent that touching her was killing brain cells by the second.

He had to slow down or he’d rip her clothes off right here and now. Just as he lifted his head to catch a breath and suggest they make plans to go horizontal in a comfortable spot at home, she unsnapped his jeans and shoved her hand inside to grasp him.

“Holy shit!” He couldn’t breathe.

Wicked intentions bubbled in her laugh.

She stroked up and down.

He shuddered, fighting against the climax threatening to explode through him, and grabbed her wrist.
Hold it, Houston. We’ve got a problem.

Pulling her hand up, he understood the meaning of agony when her fingers released him.

Lust clouded his mind.

He had to think. Hard to do when not a drop of blood stayed in his brain with a party going on in his crotch.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded.

At least she hadn’t sounded hurt, like he expected. He grabbed her by the shoulders and gently, but firmly, pushed her arm’s length away. “Hold on a minute.”

“I
had
a good grip. You’re the one who made me let go.” She reached toward his still unzipped pants again, a smug smile curling her lips.

He tightened his grip and shook her. “Whoa.”

Damn, he couldn’t believe he was stopping her, but Evalle wouldn’t be this aggressive.

Not the first time.

She shoved away from him. “Make up your mind if you want it or not. I don’t have all night.”

Who was this woman, and how did she get inside Evalle’s body? That damned bone had to be influencing her. He’d know whether or not he was talking to
his
Evalle if he could see her eyes. “Take your glasses off.”

“What kind of bullshit is that? You wanting to screw a beast? I’ll have to shift for the full effect.”

Warning signals blared in his head. There were so many things wrong with that statement that he didn’t know where to start counting.

First, Evalle had cursed. She never cursed. Brina, the Belador warrior queen, forbade it. More than that, she’d described exactly how this felt, as if this was just screwing. More than that, to even suggest she’d shift into her beast form was insane.

He repeated slowly, “Please take your glasses off.”

She snatched off her glasses. Green eyes glowed in her face, standard for an Alterant, but a fog dimmed her glowing eyes, as if she had glazed vision.

Just as he’d thought. That bone. He had to figure out . . .

She slapped the glasses against her leg. “Now, you want to get back to it, or do I have to go find someone more willing?”

The streak of jealousy that shot through him drove a feral growl from the depths of his chest.

Evalle blinked, face rigid with anger, then she stepped back and stomped her boots, releasing hidden blades.

Oh, boy. Here came the warrior.

He had to get himself under control first, which was no small effort with his body begging for release and her standing there offering him what he’d dreamed about every night he
had
slept recently. He held up a hand, asking her silently to give him a minute, then scrubbed his hands over his face.
Think.

That wasn’t Evalle talking.

In
his
fantasy she wanted sex any time of day.

She kept slapping her sunglasses impatiently against her thigh, drawing his eyes down her arm.

How was he going to get that damned bone off her arm? He didn’t know, but in the meantime he had to help her gain control. Taking another breath to bring a calm he didn’t feel to his words, he told her, “The armband is influencing you, Evalle.”

She glared at him and huffed out a chesty breath of aggravation. “If you don’t want me, just say so. Don’t give me lame excuses.”

As if. “Oh, I want you, sweetheart, but not like this.”

Seeing a glimmer of the woman he knew, whose eyes softened when he called her sweetheart, gave him a boost of encouragement, but this wasn’t settled yet. “I want you so much I ache, but I want you when
you’re
the only one making the decisions.”

Her eyes turned stony with threat. “I
am
making the decisions. If we’re done here, I’m heading out to find someone who’ll satisfy me. Stay out of my way or I’ll hurt you.”

Definitely not Evalle talking.

Storm kept a lid on his rage this time, but she
would
act on her words—over his dead body—if he didn’t get her out of this situation for now.

He could end up bloody trying to get her to listen, but he had to help her get a rein on her emotions. “You don’t have to look for someone else.” He used his most accommodating voice, then added in a husky tone, “I’ll take care of you.”

She grinned at him as if he’d just agreed to be her full-time man toy.

Talk about missed opportunities.

Could he temporarily block the bone’s influence long enough to get through to the real Evalle? Maybe,
if
she gave him the time he needed for the spell to work. But if she figured out what he was doing too soon, she might go from being aroused to furious. That could end with her shifting into her beast and killing him, because he would cut his arms off before he harmed her.

Smiling to keep up the charade, he said, “Ready for something special?”

Her eyes glowed brighter, almost as bright as the dazzling smile she gave him. “Absolutely. Bring it.”

“Then close your eyes and cover your ears with your hands.”

That earned him a confused frown. “Why?”

“Closing off your senses heightens your sensitivity to touch.” True, but he was playing on her sexual naïveté. She might be able to kill a demon six different ways, but she’d had very little experience with men.

“Oh. Okay.” Hooking her glasses in the opening of
her shirt, she slapped her hands over her ears and closed her eyes.

As if the real Evalle would go along with anything that easily?

Keeping his voice soft, he immediately started chanting words he’d learned among the Ashaninka tribe where he’d grown up, and moved in a slow circle around her.

By the time he reached her front again, her smile had deteriorated into a flat line of discontent. A crease formed at the bridge of her nose with her concentration.

His words were getting past her hands. She was hearing him.

Her eyes flew open, glaring with promise of retaliation. She dropped her hands and balled them into fists. “You lied to me.”

He kept chanting, his voice growing stronger.

It wasn’t working.

Storm could feel the bone’s power fighting him, trying to push him away. Moving back a step out of her reach, he shouted native words in his chant, telling the bone, “You can’t have her. She’s
mine
.”

She took a step toward him, fists cocked. “Stop it. I told you to
never
use your majik on me.”

True. He’d just broken his word, but he’d do far worse to guard her from harm. His chants were loud now, harsh, biting sounds he forced power into, rushing the spell.

“Damn you!” She dove at him, hands stretched out toward his neck.

Just as he raised his arms to deflect her hands, Evalle’s face changed in midflight from fury to confusion. He caught her when she fell against him, limp from the sudden loss of the unknown power. Chugging in deep breaths, he lifted her up and hugged her close, whispering words to soothe her.

She panted and trembled as if she’d run to the top of Mount Everest.

Their hearts beat in a staccato, so fast he couldn’t tell his from hers. She got her footing and tightened her grip on his arms, then pushed up to bear her own weight. He let her ease back, but he held on, watching a mix of emotions flash through her eyes until one came through clearly. Humiliation.

Damn that witch to an eternal hell.

He couldn’t let go of Evalle yet, not with her looking at him as though she’d degraded herself.

She drew in a deep breath and said, “That was—”

“Not you, sweetheart. It’s that freakin’ bone. It started to influence you as soon as it wrapped around your arm back at the Beast Club.”

Evalle looked down at her wrist then back at him. “What’s it doing?”

“Imogenia said unless you intended to use it for dark arts it
only
enhances your desire. I’m guessing it amplifies or boosts your intention to get what you want. I think when you want something, the bone drives more power into that want until it overrides everything else, demanding you fulfill the urge or desire above all.”

Nodding her head, she looked away, eyes glancing
here and there. “I can’t tell when anything changes. I need to figure out when the Volonte’s power is taking over.”

He thought on that and recalled how her skin had turned to fire as he held her. “Try to notice when your skin heats up. I could feel it getting hotter as that armband influenced you.”

She lifted her gaze back to his with a wry smile tilting her lips. “Sure that wasn’t
your
influence?”

Glad to hear the amusement in her voice after what she’d just gone through, he leaned close, inhaling her delicious scent. “You’ll know when it’s me, and I’ll make you hot in a far better way.”

She shivered, and he knew damn well she wasn’t cold.