Hunted by Darkness (Darkness #4) (24 page)

His erection was heavy against her back. All she wanted was for him to push into her, to claim her.

She cried out as her climax punched through her, the first wave of release sliding out to all her nerve endings. Before she could draw in a breath, he pulled back, thrust into her.

She arched against the counter, melding back into him as he pushed harder, faster, drawing out her orgasm with a sweet intensity she could hardly stand.

He growled against her neck, murmuring words she could barely understand as his finger continued tormenting her.

It was almost too much. She gripped the countertop, her fingers flexing against it until it cracked under the pressure. She was vaguely aware that she’d already broken most of the cabinets in his kitchen, but couldn’t find it in her to care.

He certainly didn’t seem to.

“Nyx.” Her name on his lips completely shredded her. The way he said it was a mix of hunger and devotion.

When his teeth scored her neck, she jerked against him in surprise. He’d told her that he had to mark her though, she should have expected the teeth.

The brief bite quickly gave way to pleasure until it turned into a buzzing sensation against her neck. She wasn’t sure what she’d expected, but this euphoric feeling of completely belonging to another being made everything inside her settle.

Closing her eyes, she lost herself to him as he let out one last growl, completely emptying himself inside her. She wasn’t sure how much time passed, how long they lay slumped over the counter.

The male was still half-hard inside her and growing when she found the energy to push up. “Uh, uh. Second round’s upstairs,” she murmured, finally taking in the destroyed kitchen.

Groaning, Bo pulled out of her. Before she could blink, everything was back in its proper place.

She turned into him, wrapped her arms around his neck. “I like that position.”

The grin he gave her was trademark, wicked Bo. “Me too.” His gaze drifted down to her neck, his expression going almost unreadable.

“What?” She lifted a hand to where he’d bit her. She couldn’t even feel it anymore.

“I…wasn’t sure if I did it right. I just went with my instincts.” Reaching behind her, he snagged a stainless steel toaster and held it up.

Nyx’s eyes widened as she saw the little swirling design of symbols exactly like the ones on his chest when he’d been in his other form. It was a small, circular tattoo on the back of her shoulder. “It’s beautiful,” she breathed, running her fingers over it.

“It’s…a symbol of my lineage. You’re sure—”

“I love it.” She held onto his cheeks, made him look down at her. The worry she saw there made her want to hunt down his father and end the guy. Because she knew that’s where Bo’s fear came from. He was afraid she’d care that she was tattooed with his family mark. “I don’t care who your father is. This symbolizes you, us.”

Relief bled into his amber gaze. “I don’t know what I did to deserve you.”

“Right back at you.” A healthy dose of guilt invaded her veins, dimming some of her pleasure. “And I really am sorry about—”

He shook his head, his expression fierce. “From this point forward, only trust between us. No matter what. I’ll have your back—”

“And I’ll have yours.” A sense of peace and belonging flooded her as he pulled her into his arms.

This was definitely the male for her. She was never letting him go.

* * *

“It’s finally quiet,” Liberty murmured, a smile teasing her lips as a movie played on the huge television in Bo’s game room.

The sight made everything in Rory go still. He’d been worried the sounds of sex might upset her so he’d been trying to distract her with mindless entertainment. “Yeah. Probably not going to be eating in the kitchen anytime soon.”

She snickered and looked between him and Ian, who was on the shorter couch across from them. His brother was stretched out, seemingly relaxed but Rory knew better. His brother had been tense ever since they’d come to this realm. He hadn’t come out and said it, but Ian seemed to be worried about Rory. He knew it was because of his interest in Liberty, but he wasn’t sure why that would be a problem with his brother.

“How is it that you guys just found out you have a brother and sister anyway?” she asked, reaching for a bowl of M&Ms on the wood and glass table.

Rory cleared his throat, not wanting to talk about his father at all. Especially considering Liberty had suffered at the hands of half-demons.

“Our father got around,” Ian said dismissively.

“Oh.” She turned back to the screen, munching on her snack and thankfully, relaxed.

She’d woken up last night because of a nightmare and had reached for him, burying her face in his fur. He’d been in his wolf form, something he was pretty sure seemed to comfort her. He doubted she’d be okay with him sleeping in her bed otherwise.

After a few minutes Ian stood, stretching. “I’m gonna call Cynara, see if she’s still out at Bo’s place. It’s pretty early. You guys want to come with?”

It was slight, but Liberty stiffened. “I’m okay here, but you should go,” she said to Rory.

He shook his head. “I’m good.”

Ian just nodded and left, but Liberty was still watching him, her expression unreadable.

“What?” he asked.

“You don’t have to babysit me.”

He just snorted, kicked his feet up on the table. “I know,” he said, snagging the bowl from her.

She blinked in surprise, then grinned as she reached for it. “Hey, get your own bowl.”

“Pretty sure I just did.” But he set the bowl between them, tried not to notice when she scooted a little bit closer to him.

Her scent drove his wolf side crazy. When she tentatively reached for the bowl, something flickered across her face. Fear. It was so fleeting, but it punched into him as if someone had physically hit him.

“I’d never hurt you,” he blurted before he could stop himself. He’d wanted to keep things casual tonight. Especially after her nightmare last night.

“I know,” she said after a long moment. “My heart knows, anyway. I…I didn’t get to eat whenever I wanted. Back in that place. When I’m around you, I feel caught between the girl I was before and who I am now. And I’m not really sure why I’m so comfortable with you. It’s scary all by itself. For so long I was afraid every second of every day. I was even afraid to go to sleep because I never knew when he’d be back. I just
knew
that he would return. It didn’t matter how many times I escaped. He always brought me back.” The words poured out of her in a rush. “The really bad part is, I was actually afraid something would happen to him because…” She swallowed hard, but kept his gaze.

Rory didn’t move, didn’t say a word. He was afraid if he did that she’d stop talking. So he just sat and listened, his heart pounding.

He could see a thin film of sweat on her forehead as she continued. “He didn’t share me with the others. Not that it’s much better, but…I know what happened to the other women was bad. Worse than me. If he’d died, I’d have been fair game.” She closed her eyes then, looked away.

Fuck. His wolf and demon snarled, slashed at him. He needed to destroy something, to make this better for her. Nothing could do that though. He wanted to reach out and comfort her, but didn’t want to startle her. “I buried the females, your friends, when I returned to the campsite.” He hoped that gave her a little comfort.

“They weren’t my friends.” Her voice was cold, icier than he’d ever heard it. It was as if something had shifted inside her. “But thank you.” When she looked back at him, she was paler than she’d been even a few minutes ago. “I think I’m going to head to my room.”

He stood on instinct, because she wasn’t going anywhere without him.

Her lips pulled into a thin line as she followed suit. “Don’t feel like you have to—”

“I don’t do anything I don’t want to.” His words were abrupt, but true. He was here because of her. That wasn’t going to change anytime soon. “If you don’t want me around, I’ll…give you space.” Rory had to force the words out. Because the thought of being away from her, even being separated by a door, didn’t sit well with him.

She wrapped her arms around herself, that invisible wall in place between them. “I feel safe when you’re with me. I just don’t want you to feel obligated to look out for me.” When he started to protest again she shook her head. “I’m just saying, when you change your mind, when…you want space, take it. I won’t be an obligation to anyone. Okay?”

“I’m going to say yes because I know it’s what you want to hear, but I’m not going to change my mind.” That he knew without a doubt. His wolf had completely accepted her. It was one of those rare things he’d heard about happening to his kind.

She watched him with a mix of wariness and hope. “You and your brothers are so different than the males from that…hell.”

He wasn’t going to tell her that the real Hell was a whole lot worse. “Yeah. Does it bother you, what I am?” He braced himself for her answer, knowing it was realistic for her to be disgusted by him after what she’d been through, but—

Her brow furrowed. “If you mean because you’re half-demon too, then no. Humans do messed up stuff every day. Truly evil things I can’t wrap my mind around. But they also do really amazing things as well. You guys saved me and you…killed everyone.” She swiped away a few tears as they rolled down her cheeks, looked away. “For that I’ll always be grateful.”

He wanted to brush away the wetness on her cheeks, to tell her that he didn’t want her gratitude, but he held back. He was just glad she’d opened up to him. It was a start.

He wasn’t sure what she needed to do to get on the road to recovery but he knew he needed to figure it out. Protecting her, taking care of her, had become the most important thing in his world.

So much so, he didn’t think he’d ever be going back to another realm. Not when she lived in this one. Because his wolf knew what she was to him, even if he wasn’t ready to fully accept it.

* * *

An odd sense of belonging filled Bo as he stepped into his kitchen to find Rory, Cynara and Ian standing at the center island devouring a pizza. It was close to four in the morning and there were three empty boxes on another counter. Nyx was upstairs sleeping and he’d decided to let her rest instead of waking her up for another round when he couldn’t go back to sleep.

“You guys are freaking animals,” he murmured. “Ever heard of plates?”

Cynara snorted and picked up another piece. “Grab some before it’s all gone.” He could see from her brighter-than-normal gaze that she’d definitely gone back to drinking tonight.

Despite what he’d said, he didn’t get a plate, just snagged a paper towel and a couple pieces of the meat lovers pizza. After the last few hours with Nyx he needed to refuel his energy. “You guys just get in?” he asked Ian and Cynara.

“Yeah. I might have gotten into it with a couple feline shifters at the club,” she muttered.

“Why?” he asked.

When she didn’t answer, he looked at his half-brother. Ian, who obviously knew what had happened, shoved the pizza in his mouth when Bo looked at him.

“Come on, what’s going on with you?” Normally his sister was the epitome of calm. She was definitely more level-headed than him. Always had been.

Shoving her half-eaten slice away, she sat on one of the stools. “It’s stupid. I just got a call from an old friend that my ex is mated—to another old friend.” She shrugged, the action jerky. “I hate that bastard, but… I don’t know, it just shocked me I guess.”

Rory let out a low growl. “Whoever he is, he’s not good enough for you.”

“Especially not that dick,” Bo said, since they’d never met the guy.

Ian frowned. “Should we kick his ass? I think that’s what brothers are supposed to do. And I could use a good fight.”

Cynara laughed, most of the tension seeming to ease from her shoulders. “No one is kicking anyone’s ass. I feel like I should send his mate a sympathy card,” she muttered, sarcasm lacing her words. “He freaking stole from me when we broke up,” she added.

Bo went still at the revelation. “What?”

“Yeah, I didn’t tell you back then because I knew you’d probably kill him.”

“I’m surprised
you
didn’t.” Cynara didn’t have a high tolerance for bullshit. From what Bo knew she’d caught the male cheating on her and had kicked him to the curb. Even though his true nature had been revealed she’d still mourned their breakup for months.

“I thought about it, but it would have meant hunting him down. He headed to Europe after we broke up. He didn’t take that much money and the male isn’t worth it.”

Bo had a feeling her mood had more to do with the female her ex had mated with than anything. He wouldn’t ask for the name yet though. Cynara didn’t have many people she considered friends so it would bother her that someone she considered one had mated with such a loser, someone she’d once thought she loved.

“I’m with Ian on this.” Rory picked up another slice. “We’ll pay him a little visit when the time is right.”

“I can’t tell if you’re being serious.” Cynara looked between the three of them as if they’d lost their minds.

Bo just shrugged. He’d wanted to hurt the guy years ago but hadn’t because Cynara had asked him not to. “If he’s ever in this territory, he’s fair game.”