Lexia (The Deadwood Hunter Series) (22 page)

The panther could cover the ground with incredible speed, his pads not making a sound as they skimmed the forest floor. He could see her up ahead now fighting with two Hunters. She had taken out two, their bodies lay slumped around her, but the two Hunters left were on top of her and she couldn’t hold them back. Blood stained her left side and he could see her sagging slightly in pain.

He roared, the need to protect her so strong he struggled to hold on to his humanity, the panther took complete control as its need to shed blood became overwhelmingly strong. Lexia had driven her blade through one of their chests but the other Hunter was already aiming his fist at her head. She’d noticed, turning and bringing up her knife and he watched, desperately forcing his muscles to work harder, as the fist connected her eyes widened in pain and she crumpled to the floor, her blade slicing him on her way down.

The panther landed on the Hunter in a fury of teeth and claws, savagely ripping him apart. He had no time to scream, no time to fight back; the panther had killed him in seconds.

But it wasn’t enough for the cat; he’d failed to protect her, he wanted the blood of any man that dared to touch her. Cold rage spread through his veins and he ripped apart the bodies of the Hunters around him. The impulsive need to protect was so strong that it didn’t matter that they were dead, the animal needed to feel the flow of their blood. How dare they damage what was his, they needed to pay!

Up until this moment Lincoln hadn’t realized how much he truly loved Lexia, how his heart beat only for her. He no longer lived for revenge but for her happiness, her smile; he’d protect her, he’d die for her. She was the heart and soul of both man and panther.

Only when the panther laid eyes on Lexia did his humanity surface. She lay slumped on her side, dirt and blood covered her body, her hair splayed out around her, twisted and matted. Lincoln shifted, kneeling as he brushed a leaf from her hair.

 “Lex, baby?” His voice so gentle and soft.

She didn’t move, her breaths coming too slowly, the panther thrashed at his mind desperately needing her to be okay.

“You hold on, Lexia,” he said now more firmly, an order; he could not lose her.

Standing, he bent to pick her up, his hold far gentler then anyone would’ve believed. Running through the forest he cradled her to him, wrapping her in his strength whilst being careful not to bump her wound. He slipped through the vegetation that hid his home. Her eyes fluttered open for a second but she made no sound. He stopped now swearing to himself; how was he going to get her up the tree gently?

Blood had seeped through her top onto his chest, he needed to stop the bleeding so he put her over his shoulder as gently as possible and started to climb. Letting his claws slice through his fingers he sunk them into the bark, her every whimper was like a knife to his heart. He laid her gently on the floor of the kitchen and sliced her top open as he grabbed the first aid kit, setting to work on her injuries.

Lexia felt like she was floating in a cloud of perfume, it smelled of the earth, the trees; rich and wild, it smelled like Lincoln. Now she felt his arms strong around her, cradling her against a solid wall of heat and muscle. She tried to open her eyes but they felt so heavy, blackness kept slipping over her. But she needed to wake up.
Danger, danger,
her mind kept ringing so she forced them open, everything was blurry and dark and she could now feel the dull ache in her side. She focused on Lincoln for a second before closing her eyes, another wave of darkness hitting. Opening them again she saw a tree and up in that tree was a house.
Home,
she thought. Before she was moved her vision blurred again, her head felt thick and heavy as she struggled to keep hold of consciousness. Then sharp pain exploded in her side and she heard a strangled cry of pain, she realised the sound was coming from come from her and then everything went black again.

Chapter 24

Lexia came to at dawn. She opened her eyes looking out of the windows on the main floor, gold and pink streaks filled the sky and she could hear the chatter of birds and the heavy breathing of Lincoln.

Turning her head she looked at his face inches from hers. He lay sprawled out across the floor, a streak of red covering his jaw. He looked tired, worry a mask on his face; she guessed he’d passed out on the floor whilst keeping watch. He had no clothes on, dirt stained his feet and legs. Sitting up she bit back a gasp at the pain coming from her side, a thick bandage had been wrapped around her waist.

She sat for a minute until her head stopped spinning and then stood quietly and looked down at Lincoln. He had blood spattered on his body but she couldn’t see any cuts so she guessed he’d taken care of the last Hunter. Picking up the blanket Lincoln had wrapped her in, she gently lay it over him. He stirred but then settled back to sleep. She smiled at him and crept towards the ladder. He’d saved her again, she owed him so much.

Lincoln rolled over, tucking the blanket around his shoulders. He reached out in sleep out for Lexia’s body but felt nothing but rug. He shot to his feet a second later, the blanket pooling around his feet. His eyes scanned the room and a lethal growl rolled up his throat.

A feminine chuckle. “I’m up here, Linc.”

He was up the ladder and by her side with panther speed. “Lexia, what are you doing? Go lay down!” Every word was said with the lethal edge of a predatory panther.

Turning she looked into his eyes, cupping his face with her hands. “Now less of the dominance. I’m fine, Hunter blood heals quickly.” She brushed a soft kiss over his lips before returning to cleaning the dirt and blood off her body.

He reached out pulling a leaf from her hair. “You were stabbed Lexia, let me check your wound.”

“Fine! But don’t think you can boss me around all the time and I didn’t see you all concerned when you did a number on my ankle! In fact I remember you pretending you had no idea why I was limping. Funny, hey!” She strode out of the bathroom with remarkable ease. The panther was pleased with her strength but the man needed to double check before he could breathe a sigh of relief.

“I’m sorry about that but things are different now; please let me take care of you, make up for my mistakes.”

Lincoln carefully peeled back the dressing and sucked in a breath as the stab wound came into view.

“What? It hardly hurts, it can’t be that bad?” Lexia looked down trying to get a view of what had made Lincoln so speechless.

“It’s nearly healed... Give it a few days and you’ll never have known it was there.”

“That’s great! So what’s your problem?”

“You heal as fast as me, if not faster.” His voice still held a tone of surprise, he hadn’t expected this; she was a half-blood, that should have made her weaker.

“Lincoln, isn’t that good?”

“Yeah... Just... Well, you’re a half-blood. Why are you healing at this rate; you never healed this fast when I bit your ankle?”

“I did, I just had to fake being injured and I have no idea why I heal this fast but I’m not complaining. Sooo can I go get cleaned up now?”

He wrapped the wound back up and sat there with a dumbstruck look on his face, she laughed brushing past him. He looked lost in thought but soon snapped out of it when she smiled sweetly over her shoulder, “Want to join me in the shower?”

Lexia walked into the bathroom, carefully peeling off the rest of her clothes. She left the bandage on, she’d replace it after she was clean.

Turning on the shower she stepped into the hot stream of water, sighing as it melted her sore muscles. She heard him come into the bathroom a few minutes later; she had her back to the door and one hand in her hair trying to rub in shampoo. He pulled back the screen and stepped into the tub behind her. She felt her heart kick up a gear, her tummy fluttered with anticipation. “Let me do that before you hurt yourself.”

“Thanks.” She let go of her hair, it slapped gently against her back. Lexia felt strangely shy, they might have had sex but this felt more intimate. But as his fingers started to massage through her hair and she relaxed, a groan escaped her lips.

“That nice?” His voice brushed against her neck making her shiver.

“Mmm, very.” She leaned into him, melting under his touch. When he’d finished her hair, he started down her body, rubbing her shoulders and neck, and then he reached around rubbing gently over her breasts. Lexia gasped, heat pooling in her belly as he rubbed harder, pinching her nipples. She leaned her head back feeling dizzy. Her body tingled with sensation; the hot water trickling over her skin adding to the pleasure as his hand trailed down her right side and back up over her breasts. Each time his hand slid over her skin he brushed lower towards the hot need between her thighs, the anticipation had her quivering. His finger brushed lightly over her clitoris. “Lincoln,” she groaned, and he did it again and again, torturing her with his gentle quick strokes until her whole body trembled. The clawing, aching need for release had her digging her nails into his thighs; moaning and panting she begged for release as he teased her so lightly.

“Harder.” A rough command escaped her lips as she craved more friction.

She was clawing at his sides, biting her lips as the pressure built twisting at her insides, and he slipped his fingers through her soft lips and rubbed and pressed hard over her sensitive nub. Lexia screamed as fire burnt through her veins jerking her body until it peaked and washed away leaving her muscles like jelly. Her legs gave way but Lincoln caught her, holding her tight.

When she came back down to earth she found he’d turned her around, her still sensitive breasts rubbed against his chest and then she felt his hot hard tip rubbing between her thighs. Lexia looked up through her lashes into his lust- filled eyes; she smiled sweetly at him then shimmied down his body until she was face to face with his large throbbing shaft.

Holding his eyes she slowly took his cock into her mouth. He growled, fisting his hands into her hair and she sucked hard, tasting him. She licked her lips savouring his sweet, salty taste and wrapped both hands around him, squeezing tight whilst licking her tongue over his tip.

“Mmm-tasty.” Her voice a seductive whisper.

She licked her lips and bit down on her lower lip as she started to run her hands up and down his length, licking off any moisture that collected at the end.

His scent filled the air as she stroked him to the edge, licking and sucking until he moaned and gasped; she took as much of him as possible into her mouth, he tasted rich and wild and she wanted more.

“Lexia!” he growled but she carried on squeezing a hand around his base again.

“Jesus, baby stop!” he tugged at her hair.

Looking up into his eyes she whispered, “I want to taste you.”

“Fuck!”

Lexia lowered her mouth back over him, sucking and pulling. She dug her nails into the back of his legs dragging them up over his butt, holding him against her, forcing him further into her mouth. She could feel his body shaking, he breathed jagged pants as she sucked him closer and closer.

She locked eyes with him as she slid her mouth over him and gently scraped her teeth back up his length, circling her tongue around his head and then sucked hard. He jerked and swore as he went over the edge. She held onto him, digging her nails into his hard muscular legs, tasting every last drop of his rich tangy juice. As she let him go he slid to the floor and she crawled into his lap soaking up the feel of him, his warmth and the rich, wild smell of their arousal.

She loved that she could bring this strong, overprotective man to his knees but what she loved most was that he let her. With her he was more than a panther, he was a man with a heart and soul so beautiful, she couldn’t understand what she’d done to deserve him. He understood her in a way no one ever had before.

She smiled at him, brushing his wet hair from his face. “Come on, baby. We’re wasting all the water.”

He chuckled, standing up and placing Lexia on her feet. “My Wildcat,” he whispered, kissing her softly before turning off the water and carrying her out.

“Lincoln!” she giggled “Put me down.”

“Nope, you’re going to rest! No more seducing me.”

“Ha, didn’t take much doing.”

He laughed putting her down on the bed and wrapping a towel around her. “Stay! You need a dry bandage. If you behave then I may bring you breakfast in bed.”

“Well when you put it like that,” she smiled ever so sweetly. “Whatever you say, sir!”

Chapter 25

Lexia couldn’t think of a better way to spend a day, they spent it talking and lounging around the aerie. She lay curled around his body now, her head on his chest listening to the steady rhythm of his heart. With Lincoln she didn’t have to hide, he didn’t care that she was half-Hunter. Looking at his face she smiled; whenever she looked at him a warm heavy feeling seemed to spread from her heart.
Oh god I love him, I can’t lose him!
Lexia sucked in a breath and tried to control her fear. She knew she should trust what he’d told her, that she was his and he was never letting her go but she just couldn’t stamp out the fear that always lingered in the back of her mind. Maybe losing her dad and never having a mom had taken its toll, made her irrational when it came to those she loved. A single tear rolled down her face, she looked away from him, the pain too much.

“Hey baby, what’s wrong?”

“I love you, Lincoln, but I am so scared of losing you,” she whispered.

He lifted his hand to her face gently wiping away her tear and cupping her cheek. Lexia leaned into his touch, closing her eyes she breathed in his rich, wild smell. His lips brushed lightly over hers making her shiver.

“I love you, Lex, please believe me. I know I’ve done wrong but I will spend the rest of my life making it up to you. You... Are... Mine,” he breathed into her mouth.

He wrapped his arms around her and she nuzzled her head into his neck falling into a dreamless sleep. She woke the next morning feeling the happiest she’d been in a long while.