The Lycan Hunter (The Gardinian World Series) (30 page)

Lately, Kyran’s focus shifted to the ceremony that would transfer
Jillian, his most alpha female to his mother
’
s pack. In exchange, Kyran
would receive Marcela, Ronan’s mate. As a part of the official trade
custom, Jillian and the most alpha females of the Keowee pack faced a
set of trials, which
tested
both their physical and l
eadership
capabilities.
Jillian emerged from the trails victorious, solidifying her place as the Keowee’s newest Tepinok.

Alexis had initially bristled at the idea that Kyran set women aside
as if they weren
’
t valuable assets. He explained that if he allowed them
to become regular parts of his pack – to allow them a status alongside
the males – he would also have to risk them getting killed or maimed in
dominance challenges. To him, the Harem was the best place for the
females.

She scrutinized the bedroom that Kyran insisted that she try and
make her mark on. His only request, – read: demand – was that she
not use any pastels. He hated pastels. She did, too, so the fact that he even thought she would pick those colors was laughable. But she did
add color, changing the bedspread from its former solid black to a deep
red and cream color. The stretch of red silk was amazing beneath the spread of his hair when he let it fan beneath him.

Other than the bedspread, she left the room as he had it, refusing
to add knick knacks that he said she could if she wanted. If it didn
’
t
serve a purpose, she didn
’
t want it around. Knick knacks were dust
collectors – a hidden job that she had no intention of doing.

The door opened, and Kyran walked in, pausing to take in the fact that she was reading the Doctrine of Liflasir, the Gardinian holy book.
He gave her a quick kiss and a once over, before making his way to
the shower.

The book held the story of the beginning, apparently told by one
of the first Hermods, the messengers to the gods. After the beginning,
the book was divided into to four parts, each focusing on a different house, or class of gods. The first was the world gods of the Nivarian
house and the creature gods of the Solvung house. Following that, were
the general gods of the Irse house and the Gardinian beings of the
Kingus house. Each section contained the stories of the gods, which
apparently they wrote themselves. The chapters closed with forms of worship and prayers specific to the god in question.

All in all, the book made the gods seem more human than what she
th
ought. She had taken Lykil as an exception rather than the standard,
but after reading the Doctrine in its entirety, she saw that his behavior
wasn
’
t completely uncommon. Vili, the only other god she
’
d met, was
exactly as he
’
d portrayed himself to be: arrogant, self-assured, mindful
, and wise.

She closed the book, rose from the chair, and sat the Doctrine carefully in the drawer of the bedside table on Kyran’s side. She stretched across the comforter and waited for Kyran to exit the shower. Maybe he would have something for her to do or news of when the ceremony acknowledging Jillian as the new Tepinok of the Keowee pack would take place. Anything to break the monotony of her days. Breakfast, lunch, read, nap (something she hated to do), dinner, and sleep.

Kyran had made a ridiculous effort to make sure that he didn
’
t
have sex with her, which was starting to irritate her. She might be able
to tolerate being bored if the night ended with them as nothing more
than a tangled mass of sexually-exhausted limbs. She wouldn
’
t say that
she was so horny that she was driven to take care of it herself. She
craved him, and she couldn’t get that from a solo session.

The shower cut off, and her mind envisioned how he looked as
the last of the water cascaded down his body, how his muscles shifted,
moving in concert, as he dried himself. She could almost see the special
care he took taking the water from his skin, the way he dried his
masculine frame, the way the towel wrapped around his middle length,
absorbing the water from his formidable size.

“What are you thinking about, Alexis?”

She jumped
and focused on Kyran as he stood fully c
lothe
d above her.

He would get dressed.
Jerk
.

“Nothing.”

He sniffed and smiled at her. “Doesn’t smell like nothing.”

She felt herself blush.
God, when was the last time she blushed?

He leaned down and kissed her, hard, pinning her beneath him on
the bed. She tried to shove him away. She had told him that if he had
no intention of letting his kiss follow its natural course, he should leave
her alone. Whether she was aroused or not. Her struggle to put distance
between them only made him growl against her mouth, nip softly at her lips, and dive deeper into the kiss, stoking her with a demand for
compliance that she fought not to obey, yet she did. Who was she
kidding?

Alexis was tempted to tear his jeans from his body for denying her
an unobstructed view of the rippling muscles that lined his legs. She knew she’d give him whatever he wanted, however he wanted it.

Suddenly, air was able to rush into her lungs as he vacated her mouth
and trailed down to her neck where he kissed her softly before he
stepped away from the bedside and studied her. His eyes glowed eerie
blue with silver moon centers. He
’
d told her his eyes only changed with
extreme emotion.

“Come here.”

Alexis complied, smoothing down the skirt she wore. Kyran spun
her around and pressed her against his body. His hard length was
enough to make her glad she hadn
’
t bothered wearing underwear. She
kept her hands still as his wandered over her, cupping her breasts
through the pale blue silk shirt she wore to match his eyes. She wore no bra under it, which kicked off a growl and had Kyran forcing her further back against him.

“Let me guess. No panties?”

“Why bother?”

He flicked his gaze down to her bare feet, obviously wondering why she didn’t wear the heels he’d bought her. She couldn’t walk in
them and hated to practice, feeling embarrassed by her lack of grace. It
didn
’
t help that she had seen Marcela, in all her Alpha female glory, don
a pair that forced Ronan to sequester off the game room for hours.

“Sorry,” she apologized.

He kissed her on the neck and pulled her shirt off. The material
glided over her flesh, creating ripples of desire that inched down to
the place long denied by his presence. She turned around to help him
with his shirt, but he stilled her hands.

“No.”

Agitation creased her features. “
I don’
t want whatever this is if we
aren’t having sex.”

He smiled, and within it lingered something erotically promising
. “You sure?”

Hell no, she wasn’t sure, but she answered to the contrary.

“Okay.”

He undressed so fast Alexis almost didn
’
t see it happen. Before she
could appreciate his nude form, he turned her back around, hiked up
her skirt, and plunged hard and fast into her.

Alexis
a
bsorbed
him, savoring the
strength
of his thrusts, appreciating
the way he abandoned sweetness in favor of drowning her senses in the complicated rhythm of his hands and thrusts. He allowed her no relief between the sensations.

Her nipples hardened under his touch, which alternated between
rough and gentle. Her body lulled by his thrusts that varied in depth
and intensity. She felt him swell inside of her, touching places that she
wasn
’
t sure until that moment anyone was capable of touching. Alexis
arched her back, allowing him to go deeper.

Kyran accepted. He drove into her, making her cry out. His hands
fisted her skirt and used it as leverage to drive into her, harder and faster
.
Her legs trembled, threatened to give out. Kyran denied her legs their
collapse by forcing her to the bed, keeping them joined, thrusting
greedily into her as he kept her hips arched just the way he wanted.

That edge of pain and passion fueled her. She thrust herself back
at him. The slap of their bodies together was an applause that mingled
with her cries, moans, and gasps. Finally, she could feel her coming
orgasm, her erotic summit brought closer with each demanding stroke.

Kyran
’
s body pistoned into her, acting out his erotic madness. Her cries echoed on the wall, which seemed to propel him forward, giving
him an audible recognition of his efforts. There, just at the reach of her
emotional fingertips was the peak she desired, and to her vocal dismay,
Kyran pulled free of her.

“I
’
m going to watch you come,” he said as he plunged into her
again after flipping her onto her back.

His fingers buried in her hair, their gazes locked. He dove deep into
her, absorbing all of words she could never bring herself to say. His
thrusts were more determined. They demanded. She gave. Something
told her that if she had so much as a lingering desire to deny him,
he’d take it.

Hard and fast, she took him into her, each stroke varying degrees
of depth from the shallowest to, when she was trembling with release
, the very deepest.

They were fully joined when every hard, fast, and aggressive stroke
culminated in a sensation-shattering scream. She closed her eyes, unable
to maintain eye contact anymore.

“Look at me.” He growled.

The words were a rumbling demand, but she struggled to comply,
the vulnerability of the situation keeping her eyes shut... He commanded
her again, and she cautiously obeyed, diving deep into their visual
connection. He resumed his thrusts, carrying her into another climax before she could fully descend from the first.

Time after time, she repeated the climb, but she was never allowed
to relish in the carnal joy that happened once she reached the top. She
was about to voice her frustration when Kyran moved in a way that flung them both to the top and over the seductive edge. She writhed as he pulsed in her, giving her something that their differing genetic
makeup would never allow her to give him – the family he would always
crave from her.

Alexis may have been against having children, but her heart clenched
at denying Kyran anything.

If only…

He pulled free of her and smiled at the lazy look that drifted across
her features. “Satisfied?”

She only nodded, her throat still too raw from her screams.

He stroked himself. “I’m not.”

Kyran was on her, and recovery wasn
’
t something he granted her.
He spread her wide, and she took him, welcoming him into her. She
gazed into his eyes, her breath faltering as she caught a glimpse of the
untamed predator stalking his blue depths. His punishing strokes
marked the dark corners of her soul, his savage claim to her body causing
a raw, seductive pull low in her loins. First hard and fast. This must be
rough and animalistic.

And it was.

KYRAN, LOST IN HIS THOUGHTS
about the latest developments of the Blue Ridge pack house, followed quietly behind Ronan as they
made their way to the moss-covered front entrance. As usual, the forest
was teeming with noise, the early morning hours being claimed by the
natural inhabitants of the forest.

Ronan paused, turning his attention to a seemingly innocuous scratch
on a nearby tree. It was fresh, but before Kyran could determine the
source, a series of nearby shots rang out and the forest descended into
deafening silence.

Ronan jerked back, before he shifted and growled out, “I’m hit.”

“Critical?”

“No.”

Kyran shifted and motioned for his pissed-off Rocky brother to
stay where it was safe. Ronan wouldn’t be the one to survive Death’s grip if things came to the worse, but his brother, thinking more as a Rocky than as his Tepinok, started a silent battle of wills. With mere seconds wasted, Kyran was able to convince his brother to stay near the entrance while he continued on.

He followed a hint of movement to the right of the cave
’
s entrance
, when a soft swish sounded just to his left. He frowned at the noise; it wasn’t a gunshot, but it wasn’t a natural sound either. He slowed his progress, trying to determine the sound, only to stop short as Alexis
and Marcela walked around a set of closely clustered trees. A male lay
groaning on the ground at the base of one of the trees while Alexis
trained her modified crossbow on him, her muscles tense and ready to
fire. The male was impaled enough that Kyran wondered if she had anything left to fire. There were a series of snapping branches behind him that alerted him that Ronan hadn’t done what he said.