Colonel Madison looked down the jump-seat row at his men. The engine drone of the aircraft felt like it was drilling a hole in his temple. Two more innocent humans had been found in that supernatural cesspool called New Orleans? He"d clean it out, would eviscerate any wolf dens down therea"then would come back to Denver and address the dual wolf threat that was too close to the base. There had to be more of them locally; he could feel it. They traveled in packs, clans, Trudeau"s report had said. She"d tried to blame things on so-called Vampires. Bulls.h.i.t. These were wolf killings. Vampires would be next on their target-of-value list. Right now, Vampires weren"t active, weren"t draining human beings of blood and s.n.a.t.c.hing bodies.
Pure hatred burned within him as he thought back on how the two wolves had bested them over at Ronnie"s Road Hog Tavern. And the bra.s.s had let one of those beasts in the U.S. Army? She"d scammed the bra.s.s, had lied! There was no difference between a f.u.c.king Werewolf and a Shadow Wolf, except that the former was vulnerable to silver and the latter was not! He"d seen them slip in and out of shadows using stealth, and something that agile, that strong, and that dangerous had to be eliminated. A beast like that moved humans down a notch on the food chain, which was unacceptable.
Talking about wolves that were demon-infected versus those that were not was splitting hairs; they were all rabid dogs, as far as he was concerned. He"d frag that b.i.t.c.h Trudeau as soon as look at her if he got a chancea" and there would be a chance, one night, somehow. The fact that she was allowed to even wear the same uniform and claim to be of service to his country was a slap in the face. Affirmative action had gone too far!
Worse yet, his own command had allowed her to pa.s.s off information from her animal lover as intel? As far as he was concerned, anything that wasn"t 100 percent pure human needed to be exterminateda"wiped off the face of the planet.
The thought of it made him grind his teeth with unspent rage. The huge male wolf had toyed with him and probably given three of his best men concussions. But this time they"d be ready. They could heal later; they were warriors. Right now it was time to rock and roll. The two-hour-and-thirty-six-minute flight from Denver to New Orleans was the only thing standing between him and monster killing.
Madison glimpsed out of the window, glad that it was still dark. A full moon would hang around for at least two nights, long enough for them to kick in some doors, blow up some bayou hideouts, and come out with a wolf hide.
"Juarez, you good?" Madison said, glancing at the flank man who"d taken the first blow to the head in the tavern"s parking lot.
"Never better, sir," Juarez shouted over the din of the airplane motor.
"Good man," Madison shouted back. "McPherson, Johnson, you good?"
"Roger that, sir," McPherson said with a hard nod, returning a steely, blue-eyed gaze.
"Locked and loaded, sir," Johnson said, his dark eyes set hard within the ebony frame of his face.
"Pho?"
"They never laid a hand on me, sira"but I"ve got an early Christmas present for "em," Pho said, patting his weapon.
Colonel Madison nodded toward his men and then sat back in his seat. "Hoo-rah!"
"Wait, brother!" Shogun called out to Hunter, leaving Sir Rodney and his retinue behind.
"Just howl and we will guide you to the sidhe," Sir Rodney shouted toward the retreating wolves. "You have safe haven there."
Moving quickly to catch up to Hunter, Shogun simply waved and kept running.
"Brother, we are one clan! Do not go into the shadows where I cannot follow you!" Frustration turned Shogun"s gait into a flat-out dash until he caught up with Hunter, rounded him, and stopped his retreat by body-blocking him. "Stop and talk to me!"
"There is nothing to discuss. We must find your aunt and put her out of her misery before she does more harm." Hunter sidestepped Shogun and kept walking.
Again Shogun caught up to him, but this time grabbed his arm. "No, there is more than that!"
Hunter snarled as he looked down at Shogun"s hand, but Shogun didn"t remove it from his bulging bicep.
"There is nothing more than that!"
"Now I know your wolf isn"t thinking clearly," Shogun said, slowly letting go of his hold on his brother. "There is evidence to gather."
Hunter glared at Shogun but didn"t move.
"Yes, brother," Shogun said firmly. "We must stop Lady Jung Suk, but we must find out who embodied her... this will take investigative work. We must fan out our forces, get to covensa"the only source strong enough to cast such a spell, or prove that the Unseelie acted on thisa"and then we must find the benefactor."
"We already know it was probably Vampires."
Shogun nodded. "This is truth. However, that is also how we have arrived at this political dilemma. We knew it was them, but we didn"t have evidence before we acted. This time we must arrive at the UCE with hard evidence, or there will be an open license for retaliation against us. Sir Rodney could also be sanctioned, which would give his ex-wife, Cerridwena"Queen Blatand of Hecatea"his seat." When Hunter turned to fully look at him, Shogun stepped back and relaxed. "The ruling power that comes from the bench is something I do not have to review with you, yes?"
Hunter released a quick breath of frustration. "I am aware."
"Then what happens if the Unseelie queen and the Vampires take control of the United Council of Entilies? How long do you think it will be before the other supernatural parliaments fold and brutal rule returns? Then ... what happens to our wolf Federationsa" whether they are Werewolf or Shadow Wolf, we face certain extinction, as that is the goal, and always has been for the Vampires. It doesn"t matter that the Unseelie only care about annexing power from Sir Rodney"s Seelie court. They will exterminate us, brother. Wolves will be no morea"only those who have been demon-infected and living behind the demon doors." Shogun slapped his chest hard with emotion, making his long spill of jet-black hair sway and shimmer in the moonlight. "Your kind, my kind, our clans living peacefully amid humans will be a thing of the past!"
Silence stood between them for what seemed like a long time.
"This is how I know you are distracted," Shogun said carefully. His tone was nonjudgmental and weighted with compa.s.sion. "We have come to know each other well... we have battled side by side, even though we were raised to adulthood never knowing about the other until recently. But there is a bond. You have saved my life, I have saved yours ... we are not each other"s enemy."
"You are indeed my brother," Hunter said after a moment. "Yes. What you say is true. Forgive me."
"I am going to risk my life by telling you the truth ... since the one thing that is constant with Shadow Wolves is that you are no liars." Shogun smirked and stepped back out of Hunter"s swing range and then dragged his fingers through his hair, his calm, almond-shaped eyes focused on Hunter"s stoic expression. "We Werewolves do not have that same code of honor ... we will lie, our value system is a little less rigid. But we do have our own code of honor."
Hunter nodded, his expression unreadable as he folded his arms over his chest and waited.
"You cannot think like this," Shogun said bluntly. "You will be a detriment to any investigationa"because if you find the perpetrator, you will kill it on sight. That may not be what is required."
"I have restraint," Hunter said, his canines breaking through his gums as he spoke.
"No. You don"t," Shogun said flatly. "Run your tongue over your teeth. The evidence speaks for itself."
"I do not have to justify myself to anyone!" Hunter shouted, pointing with a hard snap at Shogun.
"Then let me tell you the truth," he replied calmly, beginning to circle Hunter. "You need to go back to the North Country and rectify whatever has gone awry with your mate."
"What!"
Shogun leaned against a tree. "You heard me."
Again the two brothers stared at each other and allowed a brief silence to become the referee between them.
"It is understandable," Shogun said in a compa.s.sionate tone. "I have never said this to you, but it is time."
"Speak!" Hunter shouted, beginning to circle Shogun, who now remained still.
"I love her, too ... If you were ever to die in combat, I would go to her and stay with her until she would have me." Shogun held up his hands before his chest in a slow, calm motion when Hunter"s eyes changed. "However, as my brother, as long as you live, I would not cross that line out of pure respect for you and for her. I don"t have to explain myself... do not listen to my words, look at my deeds. You have seen me save your life and fight beside youa"I am not hoping for your sudden death and would give my life for you. Do not be a fool and allow anger or pride to throw away such a gift as Sasha."
Hunter turned away, and Shogun rounded on him. "I do not know what has happened between you. That is not my business. I can only judge by the result of your attention to this very pressing matter that it must have been profound."
When Hunter didn"t answer and looked away, Shogun stepped into his line of vision again, pressing his point.
"I know this, brothera"she loves you. The way I know is too painful for one man to disclose to another, but she is faithful. Trust me."
This time Hunter looked at his brother and onetime rival.
"Yes," Shogun said, nodding. "To even discuss this is my silver bullet," he added, covering his heart with a broad palm. "But as your brother I would be remiss if I didn"t implore you to go home for one night, fix this, and then return. I can gather leads with my men and will report all to you. We have a fallback position in the sidhe and have Sir Rodney"s forces on the ground and in the trees to provide us cover. You are no good like this to us."
"I ama""
"No good to us right now," Shogun repeated firmly. "And as your brother, being as honest as one man can be to another, if you let this break, if you throw away your gift, I have no honor ... I will go after what you have cast away without shame."
CHAPTER 8.
A lonely howl made her stand up and go to the porch rail. Crow Shadow was long gone; it wasn"t him. She"d know that forlorn call that haunted the night anywhere. It knocked the wind out of her.
Sasha touched her amulet, nervously fingering it as she stared into the night. Initially seeing nothing, she took a deep breath to steady herself, set her gaze on the horizon, and then scanned the dark tree line until she heard movement in the shed.
He loped out of the folds of darkness wearing only his jeans and amulet, his eyes capturing hers. He didn"t say a word. She gripped the railing tighter, not trusting her emotions, not trusting what would leap out of her mouth. Anger fought with worry fought with relief as she watched him stop at the foot of the stairs. His mood was impossible to judge. She just prayed he hadn"t returned to argue.
"I came to report on what I found in the bayou," Hunter said quietly.
Sasha didn"t immediately reply; she let the evasive comment stand between them for a moment before offering one of her own. "I was hoping you would let me know what was going on down there."
He didn"t blink, just stared at her with those intense amber eyes that made her want to go to him.
"I can"t do this without you," she finally said in a quiet rush.
"You know that I will always help you with your missions, Sashaa""
"No," she said, cutting him off as she moved to the top of the stairs. She shook her head, her voice becoming fragile. "That"s not what I meant. . . what I just said before wasn"t honesta"we"re dancing around the subject, but it"s there, Hunter. It hasn"t gone away. What I"m trying to tell you is that I can"t do this life without you. I just can"t. And I"ve never made that clear to you before..."
He mounted the steps and met her at the top of them. A pair of warm hands caressed her shoulders gently before she was enveloped in the heat of his sure embrace. She could feel his heart slamming against his chest as he breathed into her damp hair. Their amulets touched, radiating an additional prism of heat where they met. The familiarity, the rightness of his body against hers melted her bones into his stone-cut torso. Her palms slid up his naked back, splaying in search of more of his glorious skin.
"I cannot stand by and watch them hurt you," he murmured against her scalp. "Don"t ask me to do what is beyond my capacity . . . Sasha, when they disrespect you, it kills me. That b.a.s.t.a.r.d drew a weapon on you, and my wolf needed to butcher hima"it was only for you that I didn"t."
She hugged Hunter tighter and then pressed her lips against his amulet before she moved it to caress the place over his heart.
"I just want you to be safe," he said in a low rumble that she felt inside her womb. "It was never about me versus the human military ... I have no problems with your career or your ranka"I"m proud of that.. . I"m proud of you. But I do have a problem with the humans who would attempt to abuse you simply because they know what you are. Don"t hate me for that, Sasha."
"It"s not possible to hate you for loving me." She squeezed her eyes shut tighter and simply nodded against Hunter"s bare chest. His confession made her inwardly cringe. She"d been fighting the wrong war . .. had dug in and held her position because she"d thought it was about her role, her positiona"she"d been filtering his actions through her human cultural lens ... the one where who made more in the male-female dynamic, who had more status, and who was so-called on top mattered so very much. That was her baggage claimed from years of fighting in a male-dominated profession. But Hunter was a Shadow .. . and the man was no liar.
"Sasha, I have to know that they won"t take you away and lock you up and try to dissect you... or to steal your eggs to try to make lab experiments of what should be our children. Your commanding officer said that you were their property and I lost it. . . Can you understand what that did to me to hear something like that?"
His voice had become a plaintive rumble as his grip on her tightened. Until this moment she hadn"t realized just how worried he was for her safety in the hands of humans.
"Oh, G.o.d, Hunter . . . they won"ta""
"They will!" he shouted, breaking their embrace and holding her away from him with both hands. "Sasha, baby, our kind have lived for centuries in hiding from human invaders, and there are historical factsa"we"ve seen the beast called man." Before she could respond, he clutched her to his chest again. "Don"t you understand what drives me, what makes my wolf insane?"
His hands sought her hair as his lips pressed hard against her scalp. "If I lose you to them, I would go against every honor that I owned. The dark wolf would have me as though I"d gone through a demon door . . . and I would not rest until I destroyed the men who harmed youa"and after that, there would be no returning to myself."
"I won"t let that happen," she said, leaning up to send her promise into his mouth. "I won"t."
Only touch could convey her intentions. Words failed so miserably now. That had always been the great failing between thema"words. Knowing that, she allowed her hands to speak, reverently tracing the sinew-carved expanse of his back as her tongue swept his. Arms then encircling his neck, her fingers laced through his hair. she pressed full statements into his mind, her pelvis translating meaning into feeling. How did a woman say she was sorry when words had been her undoing?
Admitting error was simply not enough when there were so many wrongs to right. This recent struggle was just the last in a long line of incidents, and that awareness shook her to her core. Until now, until she was near ready to release all that she"d known, she couldn"t see what she"d been doing to the person who loved her most. Surrender had never been an option for her as a soldier or as a warrior .. . but Hunter had surrendered to her on sight, and unlike her, he had never been conflicted about where he stood.
That basic truth crackled in his silvery aura. The deep heat emanating from his ma.s.sive hands against her back and sliding over her backside explained it all. His words were always direct and uncomplicated, just like his touch. That had everything to do with his pure view of who she was and what she meant to him ... if she"d only been able to give him the same.
For so long she"d offered him her body but never her full mind, and absolutely none of her spirit, yet he"d gone completely bankrupt for her. She"d known that from the start. But fear of loving too hard, too fast, too recklessly had allowed her to rob him of the totality he deserved. The man who held her was the salt of the earth, and she"d held him to a standard that was beneath his dignity.
Tears stung the back of her throat as she climbed up his body and wrapped her legs around his waist. "I was so afraid to let go," she whispered in an urgent rush against his temple. "I was fighting me, not you."
He nodded and pulled back to gaze at her in the moonlight. "I know," he said quietly. "But I was willing to wait for this."
Terror became enmeshed in desire as she stared at him, looking into his soul. He held nothing back in his gaze, and she"d never been so lost to another being in her life. He"d once told her "mine" while loving her hard, and tonight he seemed determined to make good on his claim. Holding back and not giving him her all was impossible.
"You own my heart, Sasha," he admitted in a deep murmur. "What more can I give you to make you trust me?"
She slowly shook her head to try to convey there was no greater gift and nothing more that he could give. Her damp lashes brushed his nose as she tilted her head and took his mouth, and then deepened their kiss. Instantly his grip tightened on her backside and her legs clamped tighter around his waist as though they were inextricably linked, one body joined at the heart. She caught his moan and swallowed it as he began to walk, helping him to manage the screen door so that he didn"t have to put her down.
What had started as a long, sensual kiss had become a series of impa.s.sioned kisses between shortened breaths, between finding the sofa and stumbling until they came to rest in a pulsing heap. Their shadows danced across the moonlit cabin wall, moving separately from their bodies, undressing them faster than their hands could negotiate fabric and form. The skin-on-skin burn they felt before her bare b.r.e.a.s.t.s slid against his chest made them both cry out, made him yank harder on her jeans to free her.
But her giving to him in return made her slow him down, her cheek against his hot abdomen causing his hands to tremble as they sought her shoulders. He sucked in air between his teeth as she managed his b.u.t.ton and zipper and caressed his navel with her tongue. He stepped out of his jeans, and she stepped out of her fears. Desire flared in his expression as she stared up and drank it into her soul. Surrender was imminent. This time it would be hers. He had already done so; tonight was about laying down arms and becoming one. The prospect was terrifying; she would give him everything within her.
Taking her time, she allowed the texture of his skin to play against her palms as they slid up his naked thighs and over his hips to finally find anchor over the tight swell of his magnificent a.s.s. With her eyes closed she lolled her head from side to side, allowing her cheeks to graze the length of his shaft, reveling in the changes in texture from his wide base up the thick, throbbing member that was crisscrossed with a network of veins until her lips met the smooth, wet skin that made her finally stare up at him.
For a moment she watched his stomach tremble, each inhale he took through his nose a clear attempt to remain in control. But she had so much to give that her shadow mounted his as her lips parted. The combination of a shadow dance and the tight sheath of her mouth wrenched a moan from his depths.
Her spiraling tongue issued the first in a series of apologies working in concert with her hands that pulled him deeply into her mouth until she couldn"t breathe. She didn"t care. It was a matter of principle that became a matter of rhythm, inhales and exhales taken in through her nose on each withdrawal, fingers gripping the tight lobes of flesh in her palms until his taste became saltier, his breaths shorter like his strokes. That was when she abandoned his shaft to find his sac, her hands covering the slick wetness, pumping in unbroken glides, her lips gently pulling at the most fragile part of him with her tongue, only to return to give him more mouthed warmth.
A hard contraction made her grip him tightly just under the head and suck at it quickly, lapping the ooze until his voice broke her down.
"Sasha. . ."
He said her name like a plea the moment his knees buckled. Staccato breaths pelted her damp scalp as he bent trying to hold her, trying not to break her stride as his fingers sought to make contact with her skin. Her body was on fire, but tonight she was the giver. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s ached as she watched pleasure consume him, heard it embedded deep within his moans. Each earthy response bottomed out in her swollen l.a.b.i.a; every lick against his taut skin soon felt like sweet suckles teasing her engorged bud. Her tongue found the groove of his head, laving it, paying homage to it until her slit frothed and spilled, antic.i.p.ation making her tremble and open her thighs wider. That was when she realized his shadow had not abandoned her.
It didn"t matter that she was physically giving to him: his shadow had found her sweet spot, suckling her from behind. She leaned into the phantom sensation with a groan, unable to resist. The expression on his face, head back, mouth open, hands cradling her crown while his shadow continued to eat her alive, blew her mind. Even swathed in his own pleasure, giving to her turned him out. Being his witness nearly made her come.
Crazed, she needed to feel him everywhere at once. Her nipples sent shards of stinging want between her legs until she released him from her mouth and captured him between her b.r.e.a.s.t.s. The change in texture and temperature put canines in his mouth and a dip in his spine as he furiously pumped against her. Then her name devolved in fragments from Sasha, to baby, to oh. . . G.o.d.
It was too intense. The feel of his hot, wet shaft quickly rubbing her swollen b.r.e.a.s.t.s; his head thrusting against her tender lobes as her mouth eagerly sought to kiss it on each pa.s.s. Slick, salty essence flowed, making each thrust faster in the viscous fluid, driving them both to the brink while his shadow caresses made her strain against air, tears streaming down her face.
Unable to stand it, he grabbed her by her shoulders; limp, she complied with total surrender, climbing up his body as he put her down on her back hard. The joining was instant and soul shattering. He entered her like a hot knife cleaving b.u.t.ter, and cried out like a man who"d been shot. Her wail rent the living room, but he cradled her face with one hand while holding himself up with the other to look into her spirit. She nodded, tears flowing, clutching his back; his lids lowered slowly but not before she saw his eyes cross.