“Oh?”
Lindsay reached for his hand and linked her fingers with his.
Siobhán returned and leaned a hip in to the edge of the table. She was flushed and bright eyed, almost glowing. He’d never seen her look so…happy. “I ran tests using the various samples that were sent to me over the last few days. Lycan blood, for the most part, has no effect.”
“For the most part?”
“There was one sample that was anomalous. When I tested it, it caused a violent reaction. The virus became unstable very quickly. Had I been testing with a live subject, the subject would have expired.”
“What sample was this?”
“The Alpha’s.”
Lindsay’s hand tightened on his. “Elijah’s? Why?”
“I’ll have to run more tests to be certain, but I believe it’s because the virus was created with his blood or blood similar to it. I’m trying to ascertain whether Elijah has a unique genetic anomaly or if it’s common to Alphas in particular.” Siobhán crossed her arms. “Unfortunately, I can’t get a hold of Reese to get more samples.”
Adrian thought back to the last time he’d heard from Reese, the Sentinel in charge of the Alphas. The dominant lycans had been segregated from the others to prevent revolt, and they were used for assignments requiring the utmost stealth, ones in which a lone hunter was the best offense. “I haven’t spoken to him in about three months, but he checks in regularly and reports no trouble.”
“Do you scan the reports personally?”
“No, I delegate to my second.”
“So it was Phineas’s job, then Jason’s, and now Damien handles it?”
“Correct.”
She nodded. “I would suggest you speak with Reese directly, Captain. One donor wouldn’t be enough for the size of the outbreak we’re dealing with unless they synthesized the identified protein. They’d need a lot of Alpha blood to pull that off. I’m talking about countless pints of blood and a considerable length of research and development time.”
“I don’t understand,” Lindsay said. “If there are genetic markers that identify Alphas, why was Elijah placed under observation first? There shouldn’t have been any question as to what he was, if a simple blood test could prove it.”
“This is all news to me,” Adrian said quietly, while inside his thoughts were raging. How could something so vital and elementary have escaped their notice for so long? He was afraid it was impossible, which led to even darker thoughts. Lindsay had been abducted from Angels’ Point by someone with wings and
delivered to Syre, who’d Changed her. From that incident, he’d known it was possible that one of his Sentinels had become a saboteur, but this…
This
spoke of a conspiracy of breadth and far-reaching consequence. “Have you ever been to Alaska,
neshama
?”
“No.”
“Well, we’ll be changing that tomorrow.”
“Captain?”
He looked at Siobhán. “Yes?”
“There’s something else.” She took a deep breath. “I’ve fallen in love with a vampire.”
As the hotel room door shut behind them, Vash tossed her bag on the bed and shot a worried glance at Elijah’s leg. “How are you healing?”
“I’m fine.” He offered her an easy, heartbreaking smile. “Good as new.”
She nodded, but worry knotted her stomach. Like most lycans, he hated flying, and his discomfort had rubbed her raw over the short flight to West Virginia. She’d barely paid attention to the town of Huntington as she drove through it on the way to their lodging. Her thoughts were firmly on the events of the day and how dependent her equanimity had become on Elijah’s well-being. Once she’d made up her mind to keep him, everything had changed. She now had something to lose, something she couldn’t bear to lose. What was building between them was too new, too rare, too precious with all its myriad possibilities. The challenges, the joys—
“Vashti.” He came to her, sliding his hands into her
hair and cupping her head. “It was a broken leg. It happens.”
She caught him by the belt loops and yanked him closer. “I saw you get pulled into that room and the door shut…I panicked. I’ve never felt anything like that in my life. The sheer terror. I had to fight my way to get to you and every second felt like an hour. And when I got there and saw the gun in her hand, everything froze…I could barely think—”
“Shh…” He pressed his lips to her forehead. “It’s okay.”
“No. No, damn it, it’s not okay. I don’t want to feel like this. It’s too much.”
“Yes, it is. Scary as hell.”
“You don’t sound scared,” she accused. “You don’t act like it.”
“I fight to keep a lid on it.” His voice was low and soothing. “I knew what you are…who you are…when I took you on. If I tie you down to keep you safe, I’ll lose you. And since I can’t lose you, I’m working on dealing with it.”
That his words so closely mirrored hers was soothing, but it wasn’t an answer. It didn’t fix what was aching inside her chest. “I’m not as strong as you. I don’t want to let you out of my sight.”
He nuzzled against her and she leaned into him, her knees weakening with his tenderness. “Because you’ve already let someone out of your sight once and you lost him. I can imagine it’s tough to take that leap again.”
“This wasn’t supposed to happen. I’m not supposed
to feel this way again. I had my shot. I had Char. It’s not supposed to happen a second time.”
Pulling back, Elijah watched her with those verdant hunter’s eyes. Cool and assessing. “What’s not supposed to happen?”
“You. This. Us.” She squeezed her eyes shut to block out the way he was looking at her. Butterflies were having a field day in her stomach. The anxiety was killing her. “Shit. Why can’t the sex be enough? Why did all this other stuff have to get in the way?”
He tilted her head back and sealed his mouth over hers. The first lick of his tongue drove her mad, goaded her to push up onto her tiptoes and capture him with soft suction. His groan rippled through her, inciting the fiercest hunger. Her desire was always smoldering, ready to combust with the slightest provocation.
Vash took his mouth with savage greed, her tongue stroking deep. Her hands shoved up beneath his shirt, seeking and finding his warm, rough satin skin. Her fingers dug into the muscles bracketing his spine, pulling him hard against her so that nothing came between them but their clothes.
His rumbling laugh vibrated against her tender breasts. “You’re definitely trying to screw me to death.”
“I want you,” she muttered, while kissing along his jaw and throat.
“Good.”
She shoved his shirt up and buried her face in the light dusting of hair on his chest, breathing in the hardworking scent of his skin. Her tongue found the flat
disk of a nipple and teased it, worrying it with fluttering strokes.
“Fuck, that feels good,” he said hoarsely, lifting his arms to pull his shirt off.
Dropping to her knees, she yanked open his fly with frantic fingers.
“Hey.” He tossed his shirt aside. “What’s the rush?”
She tugged at his jeans, but he stopped her, catching her by the chin and tilting her face up.
“Vashti.” His eyes were dark with concern. “Talk to me.”
“Don’t wanna talk. I want you.”
He joined her on the floor, kneeling and brushing her hair back from her face. “We’re going to face a lot of tough situations together. It’s the nature of who we are.”
“Easy for you to say.” She smacked his hand away. “The chances of my dying are slim to none. You’re dying right now. Every minute.”
“Ah.” Elijah sank back onto his heels, completely oblivious to the stunningly sensual sight he presented—bare-chested with his button fly parted just enough to expose the thin, silky line of hair that led to delicious places below. So vital and virile. A potent force of nature. And yet his days on this earth were finite. “I get it.”
“I don’t think you do. How can you?”
Setting his hands on his knees, he exhaled in a rush. “Mated lycans live longer.”
“What? What did you say?”
“You heard me. And you love me. Enough that it’s
driving you crazier than you already were to begin with.”
She stared at him. Then she pushed to her feet, pulling herself together with as much dignity as she could muster. They weren’t going to talk about this. Ever. It was bad enough without saying the words. “Go take that shower you wanted.”
Catching her wrist when she moved to pass him, he stood. “I’m glad.”
“Don’t get excited. This place may not have hot water.”
“I’m glad you love me,” he qualified.
“Did I say that? I don’t think I said that.”
“Okay, then.” His thumb brushed over the madly throbbing pulse in her wrist. “I won’t say it either. Doesn’t make it less true.”
The sharpening pain in her chest had her stumbling to the bed. She sat gracelessly, her gaze on the blank television screen.
“Go shower,” she said again.
“Join me?”
She shook her head, wondering how she would survive going through this twice. Suffering through the debilitating, devastating pain twice. And she was stunned that she could even equate the two men she loved together—one who was with her for eons alongside one she’d known only a matter of days. How could she feel this way so swiftly? Worse, there was no doubt her affection for Elijah would grow as time passed, becoming even more necessary until she wouldn’t be able to breathe without him.
He lifted her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles, then let her go. A moment later, she heard the shower come on in the bathroom. And a moment after that, she heard him singing.
The pain in her chest turned into a sweet yearning. He had a beautiful tenor, showcased by the choice of song, which she didn’t recognize. But he could’ve sung horribly off-key, for all she cared. It wasn’t his talent that seduced her, but the intimacy of sharing this downtime with him. The gift of seeing him open and unguarded.
Mated. Vash shook her head. That word didn’t mean the same thing to a lycan as it did to a vampire. When Charron died, she’d gone on. Inarguably altered by the loss, yes, but capable of moving forward all the same. When Elijah mated, he would live until he died of old age or his mate died, whichever came first. He couldn’t survive either circumstance.
She was still contemplating that when he emerged from the bathroom, naked and dripping wet. He shook out his hair, spraying her and the rest of the room with droplets of water.
“Hey,” she protested. “Watch it, puppy.”
He glanced at her as he went to the dresser and checked his cell phone. “You’re doing enough watching for the both of us, cougar. You’re ogling, really. My ass is burning.”
“It’s a very nice ass.” She was startled by the throatiness of her voice. Due to his effect on her, of course. The one she’d been experiencing since she first saw him naked and bleeding in a Utah cave, his luscious body still vibrating with the threat of imminent violence.
She wasn’t going to think about the end. She was going to focus on the here and now, taking everything she could from him, giving everything she had. If his life was going to pass with the swiftness of a dream, she was going to make sure they blazed as bright as the sun so that when the time came, she’d burn out with him.
She unzipped her vest and said with unmistakable possession, “Mine.”
He faced her, his eyes dropping to her exposed breasts. A rumbling purr escaped him. “Mine.”
She beckoned him with a crook of her finger. He came to a stop in front of her, standing between her parted knees, his glistening cock directly at eye level. When he reached for her shoulders to push her back onto the bed, she linked her hands with his and held him back, her tongue darting out to lick the length of his rigid erection.
“God…” His head fell back. “I dreamed about your mouth on me that first night in Bryce Canyon.”
Determined to erase the memory of the last time she’d gone down on him, Vash released his hands and stroked him with her fists. His rough sound of pleasure was as beautiful to her ears as his singing. When his fingers tangled in her hair and began directing her, she gave herself over to him, allowing him to set the pace and depth, enjoying the confidence with which he took what he needed from her. It hadn’t been that way with Char, who’d been reverent with her. Elijah was a much earthier creature. He was both a lycan, with a beast’s base needs, and a man who understood his woman’s need to cede control at times.
She tightened the ring of her lips and deepened the suction, dizzy with desire and love. The taste of him, so clean and rich and purely male, went to her head. Her sex softened and grew slick, greedy for him. Mouthing the plush head, she moaned when a hard shudder tore through him.
He gasped, his thighs trembling. “You suck me so good…You’re so fucking hot…”
Lifting her head, she released him from her lips and pushed the rigid length between her cleavage. She pressed her arms tightly together, hugging his throbbing erection with the breasts he loved so much.
“Vashti.” The look in his eyes was her reward, the need he revealed so stark and intimate. “You shred me.”
“Yours,” she said softly, licking her lips as he gripped her shoulders to keep her still. He began to thrust slowly, gently, his rhythm not quite even.
“Beautiful,” he said hoarsely. “You’re so damn beautiful.”
Bending his knees, he quickened his pace, his breath sawing from his lungs. His eyes grew bright and feverish, his skin flushed and misted with sweat.
She felt the tension grip him, watched the tight lacing of muscle on his abdomen flex and contract with every pump of his hips. He was close; she could feel it…
“Enough.” He withdrew and flipped her in one economical movement, bending her over the bed and shoving her pants down. With a loose fist in her hair, he pushed into her, gliding through tender, swollen tissues in a smooth, deep slide.
Her eyes closed on a whimper of delight. She lost herself in the lazy haze of pleasure, the simple beauty of Elijah’s thorough, unhurried tempo. Slow and easy. Rolling his hips with a skill and control that stole her breath. Knowing just how to take her, how deep to thrust, how far to withdraw, how much pressure to exert when he ground himself into her. Her eyes stung with the purity of the connection, both raw and tender. Impossibly intimate.