What the Heart Haunts (4 page)

“So...the choices are knee banging, muscle
straining sex, or romantic but slightly overrated sex?”

“Yeah, but when you put the first one like
that, it still sounds better. But the muscle straining will be in
both.” She winked at him. “Your call. After all, it is your
forever, I’m already fucked.”

Khost shook his head, grinning. “Not by
me.”

The wind sighed over his back, cool and
comfortable. The edge of a wild night haunting the back of his
mind. He didn’t want to be cooped up in a cage on a night like
tonight. He wanted to run. To huff and pant as he fled through the
forests. He tilted his head towards the woods that ran alongside
the highway. The tall, dark pines looming over her truck, their
scraggily tips straining for the sky.

His lips skimmed her ear as he breathed,
“Run.”

The moment the word had left his lips, Nalla
planted both hands against his chest and shoved him away. He
staggered, startled, only to lift his head and see her bolting into
the forest, a white grin flashing over her shoulder as she looked
back at him. “Chase me, then.”

Then she was gone, disappearing into the
shadows as if she were a part of them. Khost didn’t bother giving
her a head start. He ran after her. The midnight air crisp as he
inhaled the sharp stench of pines, the upturned dirt kicked up from
her running feet. It took him a second to orient himself, catch her
scent and give a true chase, but the moment he picked up her
trail...he knew he could find her. No matter where she hid.

Branches snagged at his jacket as he shoved
his way through the forest, blundering through like an oversized
dog, rather than a Hound of the Hunt. But this was freedom. Bliss.
And in so many ways, chasing Nalla was like roaming through the
skies, the wild bays sounding all around him. He tilted back his
head and let out a joyous yip. Nalla answered.

Nalla appeared out of nowhere, darting out
from behind an old oak tree, then she disappeared again, running
full tilt. Her laughter floated back to him and Khost felt the last
of his reserves fade out into the wind behind him.
This
was
worth every moment of forever. It was worth pain and sadness, all
to feel joy.

Khost lunged at her, catching Nalla around
her waist and flinging her back to the ground. Leaves fluttered out
from under her body as she crashed into the soft dirt. Khost landed
on top of her, hands smacking the ground on either side of her head
as he kept himself from collapsing completely on her. “Caught
ya.”

Nalla laced a hand in his hair and pulled his
head down. “Here’s your prize, then.”

She closed the distance between them. Her
lips soft, yielding under his. The gentle press of velvet against
his mouth, heated, lingering. Her tongue trailed over the seam
between his lips, only to be followed by the quick nip of her teeth
over his bottom lip. “Open for me, Khost.”

She only had to tell him once. Khost let her
in, his tongue rising to meet with hers, diving deep into her
mouth, tasting her once again. Her legs opened and his hips fell to
rest between her thighs, at the same time her tongue made small,
darting thrusts into his mouth. He groaned, shifting above her
until the hot length of his erection, still clad in his jeans,
pressed against the core of her. He mimicked their kiss with his
hips, a horrible, shaking need taking hold of him. He’d never...had
this before.

Somewhere, once maybe, he might have. Like a
distant memory, instinct called to him, but he couldn’t pull up the
details. Deep down in his soul though, he knew this was right. It
felt
right. Khost pulled back, staring down at her. Her hair
looked silver in the moonlight filtering down from the trees,
spread out over the ground. A twig had tangled in the long lengths
and he reached up to tug it loose and toss it aside.

Nalla nipped under his jaw, then along the
stretch of his neck. “Any time now, big guy.”

A laugh rumbled up the length of his body, an
odd sound, so reminiscent of a growl that he found himself smiling
down at her. “Shush you. I’m just...savoring this. I’ve
never...”

“No shit. It’s a perk of being one of Herne’s
Hounds. Celibacy. It’s a bitch.” She nipped his lower lip. “But
look, if you’ve made up your mind, one hundred percent, I’ll
happily show you the ropes.”

He arched an eyebrow. “A hundred and ten
percent.”

“Good.” She looped a leg around his hips and
twisted, flipping them until Khost slammed back into the dirt,
Nalla straddled on top of him. “Cause I hate a bad tease.”

Nalla slid her hands up under his shirt and
Khost arched into her touch, letting her draw the fabric up his
belly. She paused to trace circles around his nipples.

“Ab-crunch time,” she said. “Sit up.”

“Not exactly an easy thing to do with you
sitting on me.”

But he complied, slipping out of his jacket,
only to help her strip away his shirt too. He tossed it aside,
rattling a nearby bush. One handed, Nalla pressed him back down. He
loved the intensity blazing out of her eyes as she stared down at
him, slowly dropping her head until she could lay a kiss against
his sternum. Then one against each nipple. Her tongue tasted each
delicate nub, followed by the quick scrape of her teeth. Khost
closed his eyes on a harsh gasp.

The call of the wild thrummed through him,
hot in his veins, desperately needing the cool night air, but it
suddenly felt balmy. Heated. She nipped over his jaw and then she
was gone. Standing over him. She kicked off each boot, the heavy
thumps sounding from somewhere next to him. In one smooth motion,
Nalla stripped off her shirt and let it fall. The black lace of her
bra stood out against the pale cream of her skin. Khost’s throat
went dry at the sight of her, his cock heavy with need. His skin
suddenly too tight.

She reached a hand behind her and he heard
the clasps sliding loose, right before the fabric began to slip.
His heart hammered in his chest. Oh, sweet Herne, he thought as she
stripped the lace away and held it out to him, dangling it over his
chest. A shoulder strap teased over one nipple, then lower, a faint
breath against his stomach, before she flicked it aside and sent it
tumbling into the shadows.

Her pale breasts bobbed in the moonlight.
Then her hands went to the clasp at her jeans and Khost was damn
sure his breath shorted out. A ragged gasp shook him and Nalla
tilted her head. “I don’t think you have much teasing left in
you.”

She flicked a glance at his crotch and he
followed her gaze. A groan roused from his lips at the sight of his
own discomfort. At this rate he was going to split a damned seam.
He reached for the zipper and Nalla tsked softly. “No, no.
Remember, I’m showing you the ropes, tonight. I figure, if you’re
screwing your life up for forever, you might as well do it
right.”

Her voice was soft, taking the sting out of
her words. One look back up at her bright eyes and he knew she
didn’t really believe he was making a mistake. He knew she didn’t
quite grasp the why, but she accepted his choice. Understood it
better than anyone else ever would.

The soft whir of her zipper opening filled
the night and Khost instantly riveted his gaze back on her. She
slipped her hands under the hem of her pants, the black fabric of
her underwear, and in one smooth movement drew all that fabric down
her hips. She shimmied out of them and tossed them aside, rising to
stand again, this time completely nude.

She hid nothing from him. Not the small
mounds of her breasts with the golden necklace dangling between
them, not the smooth expanse of her belly, or the thatch of curls
above her thighs... The scent of her lust hit him. Ripe, luscious.
Nalla knelt beside him, her features suddenly soft as she laid a
kiss along the strip of hair that led from his belly button to his
groin.

She laid her cheek against the muscles of his
stomach, looking up at him, eyes suddenly solemn. “He’ll come for
you. You know that, right? The moment you find your first release,
he’ll come for you.”

“And?”

“And know that he can’t hurt you here.”

Her hand found the button of his jeans and
flicked it open, the soft press of the zipper being tugged down and
Khost hissed, bucking up into her touch. She moved, dragging jeans
and boxers off of him. Pausing only long enough to yank off his
shoes, she stripped him of everything but his socks and then
climbed back up his body, straddling his thighs, just short of his
erection. She ran one finger down the rigid length drawing a raw
groan from him.

“How long were you a Hound?”

“A hundred and forty eight years.” He
squeezed his eyes shut. A hundred and forty eight years and he’d
never felt anything like this. Seen similar sights on his nightly
runs. People rutting in their beds, like the animals out in the
barns and fields. He hadn’t thought anything of it, how it might
feel to hold someone close, to
care
about someone.

Not until she’d kissed him.

“I thought it was just the way the world
procreated. The same way a body needs to eat, they got the urge to
mate so they could have kids.” A wry smile touched his lips and he
opened his eyes to gaze back up at her. He didn’t feel at all
foolish saying that to her, because once, she’d probably
understood. The softness in her eyes told him he was right. “I
never thought it could feel like this.”

“Better,” she whispered. “This is just the
beginning.”

She tapped his cock gently again, one finger
swirling over the tip in a stroke that made his back bow and a
shout spring from him. Nalla moved above him, one hand wrapping
around the hard, aching length of him and Khost shuddered, his gaze
glued to her every motion. He saw the glisten of moisture between
her legs, just before the head of his cock touched the slick
opening. He shivered.

“For the record,” Nalla murmured, “I’m only
doing this without protection because thankfully, you’re as
infertile as I am. Another perk of once belonging to Herne.”

Then she eased down on him, all that wet,
warm heat enveloping him. So tight. Sweet Herne, he’d never thought
this
was possible. Surely a body, a person couldn’t take
this much feeling at once. His hands found her hips even as Nalla
settled him completely inside her. The sight of her stretched
around him, thighs straddling him, her breasts dangling above him
like some offering to the gods and it was all too much.

His hips twitched but she held still, her
head tilted back to the sky. Her breath slow and even. She slipped
a hand between her thighs, right above the point where their bodies
joined and Khost watched in shaking awe as her fingers delved
through the wet folds of skin, finding a small, round bump. Her
body jerked as she skimmed two fingers over it, the muscles around
his cock wrapping tighter.

“Nalla...” Her name was nothing more than a
whisper as he reached for her hand, swiping it away to stroke that
sensitive area. She cried out, her back arching, hips moving to
meet his touch and Khost gave an answering yelp as pleasure blazed
through him, when everything inside her body reacted, moving
against his. Shit. He was never going to stop.

His hand moved in impatient circles, stroking
her as he drove her on. Guiding her thrusts by the pressure of his
fingertips against that small delicate button. When this was done,
he was going to make damn sure he learned every spot on her body
that made her move like this, feel like this.

Pleasure built, low and heavy inside him, his
balls tightened and Khost felt himself slipping away. Growing
desperate, his hips twitching, thrusting, each stroke more crazed
than the last. His fingers swept over her, faster and faster, all
rhythm gone now as he just struggled to keep touching her, keep her
moving.

Then her muscles tensed around him, gripping
harder around his cock and Khost watched as Nalla froze above him,
her lips parted in a round ‘o’ right before she tossed back her
head and cried out. One hand wrapped around his wrist, she pressed
him harder against her as another shudder rocked through another
body and his name whispered out past her lips on a harsh
breath.

“
Khost.”

That was it. The edge. Khost thrust deep
inside her, losing all control as he thrashed in the leaves across
the forest floor. His shout echoing hers and he heard a distant
bird take wing, startled. Khost sagged into the ground, his hands
falling to rest on Nalla’s thighs before he felt her move, easing
off of him. His cock flopped against his thighs, wet and spent, and
then Nalla was there, stretched out on the ground next to him. She
laid her head against his shoulder.

“I never thought—” he started but she touched
his lips. Her finger still wet with her juices.

“Shh. Can you feel that?”

Her hand fell away and he tasted her. Sweet
against his tongue. He felt a lot of things right now, none of them
his brain was up for processing.

“He’s coming.”

And the moment the words had left her lips,
Khost could feel the thunder building in the air. The temperature
dropped, the world around him seemed to shiver, even the earth
suddenly seemed to shrink out from under him. Khost sat up,
startled. He started to shake his head, to scramble away when he
turned to see Nalla lying on the ground, wearily staring up at
him.

“I told you he’d come.”

“I know, but I thought...” He glanced down,
still naked. Nalla gave a bark of laughter.

“Dressing won’t make him any easier to face.
Trust me. I know.”

There was a flash of pain in her eyes that
someday, Khost knew he was going to ask her about. But for now, he
sank back down onto the forest floor beside her and took Nalla’s
hand in his. “Will you stay?”

“Of course.” She reached up to touch the
necklace hanging around her neck. “I have something of his anyway.
Might as well give it back. Now that I’m no longer alone.”