Hunted: A Haven Realm Novel Page 6

  “There’s no poison or anything in there,” he continued. “If I wanted to take you out, I’d use my teeth.” He winked and while his words should have scared me, his sexy gesture had my gaze dipping to his luscious lips, the dip in his throat and down to his bare chest.

  Part of me screamed to push the bowl away and climb over the table… but my gut ached and food sounded amazing. I lifted the bowl to my lips and took a sip. Savory, tangy, and appetizing. Not too hot either, so I gulped down several mouthfuls, chewing on what tasted like spinach. I wiped my mouth and glanced up at Nero, who studied me with a look of curiosity. Had he never seen anyone enjoy their food before?

  “Delicious?” he asked.

  “Divine, and the lemon is subtle but lingers on my tongue.” I swallowed another mouthful, the heat racing through me. “Maybe not as good as my recipe, but close.” I smirked, and Nero laughed, the sound joyful and loud.

  “If I had access to garlic and a chicken, you’d be on your third bowl by now.” The corner of his mouth lifted with a confident grin.

  I leaned closer. “I roast my garlic first for extra yumminess.”

  He nodded. “I like that you know your food. Too many people don’t experiment with flavors enough.”

  Finishing my dish, I pushed it away. “So how come you, an alpha, are into cooking?”

  Nero was on his feet and collected my empty bowl. “My mother brought me up on her own and when she fell ill, I had two younger, fussy brothers who refused to eat anything, so I had no choice but get creative. And it turns out, I enjoyed making meals. Now I hold regular classes with my pack.” His eyes brightened, and he revealed perfectly aligned teeth, his smile a ray of sunshine. It did something to me. It drove away my earlier worries, and for those few moments, I felt as if I were chatting with Bee.

  Nero warmed his hands near the fire, watching me, and just having his eyes lingering on me sent a tingle up my thighs. I lowered my gaze before I crawled toward him like a cat.

  “How’s Dagen doing?” he asked. “When will he wake?”

  “I’ve never healed a shifter… I mean a hunter. I’m trying what I would do to an afflicted person.”

  He spoke with his back to me. “So what were you doing in the Den? How did you get here?”

  “Funny story.” I broke into a quick rendition, including why I’d collected the wolfsbane, the priestess’ threat, and how I’d almost drowned. “It was an accident. I’d been running for my life.”

  “I’ve heard rumors your leader has ordered the slaughter of any wolves her guards cross paths with. I don’t order my pack to kill innocents.” He closed the distance between us and crashed into his seat. “Why don’t you overthrow her? Someone should challenge her and take the spot.”

  I twisted to face him. “It doesn’t work that way in Terra. She’s part royalty, so she inherited the role. The only person to take over would be another member of her family. Her younger sister maybe.” I shrugged.

  “Makes little sense to keep someone like that in power.”

  We sat there, and instead of awkwardness, a calm settled into my muscles, a newfound confidence fueling my question. “Am I your prisoner?”

  He tilted his head to the side. “Would that make you feel more comfortable?”

  I slouched in my seat. “That doesn’t even make sense.”

  “Well, by believing you’re in danger, then your focus is simple: escaping at any cost.” He ran a hand across his mouth, drawing my attention to his parted lips, making me remember their softness against my skin. “But what if you wanted to stay of your own volition?”

  I folded my arms. “Seems unlikely.”

  Nero moved toward me so fast, I stiffened. His piercing gray wolf eyes locked on to me with hunger. “Don’t you feel it?”

  Urgency poured through me, the kind that said get out of there. I slid out of my chair and backed up against a wall. A strange sensation engulfed me, trepidation blended with excitement. I couldn’t understand my emotions. I craved Nero, and that terrified me more than being stuck in the house with three wolves.

  He advanced and pinned me between him and the wall, a hand pressed above my shoulder. “Little lamb.” He trailed his fingers down my arm, and a spark of energy zapped between us.

  I shivered from his feathery touch, unable to find my voice. I ought to have pushed him away, reminded him if I wasn’t a prisoner, why didn’t they show me the way out? Except the back of my mind spawned doubts as I imagined myself with him. Was it wrong of me?

  “When I carried you into the house to keep you protected, my wolf responded to you, craved you. Even now, he’s demanding I take you, claim you for eternity.”

  “B-But I’m not a wolf.” I should have laughed at my response, yet I hung on to his words. To have someone as gorgeous and dangerous as Nero claim he wanted me did things to my libido against my rational thinking. Maybe I had to get out and date more, except what he’d said earlier about feeling a connection hammered through me. In his presence, I lost all logical thoughts, and his touches gave me physical jolts. I should have screamed and run in the opposite direction.

  “I can’t explain it, either. Everything about you draws me to you,” he whispered in my ear. “Your scent, your voice, your response to my demands all rile up my wolf.”

  A moan escaped from my throat. Confusion, heated emotions, and decisions whirled on my mind. Despite everything, being this close to Nero had the doubts cascade into the background. “I feel it too,” I mumbled. “I can’t think when I’m around you. But I can’t stay here. My home is in danger, as is my assistant at my herbal store. And wolves will kill me if I remain in the Den.”

  A low growl rumbled deep through Nero’s chest, and his hands clasped my wrists, lifting my arms above my head, tight beneath his grip. “No one will ever harm you.”

  I took shaky, shallow breaths, unable to move. Something was happening between us… something dark, terrifying, and exciting. And too fast because I never fell for anyone this quick. Thoughts fluttered out of my mind, replaced with pure adrenaline and desire. A niggling fear swirled in my chest that I’d made a mistake playing with the devil.

  “Beautiful.” He leaned closer, the hardness of his body against mine driving me wild, and he kissed me. Tingles exploded from where our lips touched, spreading through the rest of my body. The intoxicating scent of his muskiness engulfed me. His tongue pressed the seam of my mouth, and my world fell away as I parted my lips. Smoldering heat burned deep inside. A surge of power bubbled beneath the surface, ready to explode.

  I broke away for a fraction of a moment and faced the hunger in his eyes, his burning desire. Nothing made sense except the uncontrollable urge to be near Nero. “Take me,” I breathed against his mouth, answering his unspoken question.

  Chapter 6

  Desire gnawed on my libido.

  Nero licked my neck, and a mewl rolled past my throat. It was impossible to resist the hunk who had only existed in my dreams before today, but now he promised to take me, and heavens, there was no going back. I had jumped onboard and was already taking charge.

  I combed my fingers through his hair, pulling him closer. His hands wormed their way up my shirt, finding flesh. His electric touch left me tingling, begging for more. Where had this man been my whole life?

  He towered over me, wearing a devilish grin, and tugged my vest and top over my head. The coldness washed across my breasts, my skin prickling with need.

  I shivered, and he reached over, his hands scooping under my breasts, kneading them, his thumbs flicking my nipples. They tightened and hurt in the most exhilarating way. I wasn’t sure if anyone had ever exploded from being turned on too much, but I might have been the first. The apex between my legs burned like a volcano about to burst.

  “Delicious. And all mine.” His voice deepened.

  “Hmm.” I moaned.

  He kneeled in front, capturing a nipple into his mouth, and my knees wobbled. His wet tongue flicked me fast, suckling on me. M
y insides trembled with the desperation to have Nero fill me.

  “Little lamb, I will devour you and you’ll beg for more.”

  I scanned my mind for a smartass response, but instead, a gasp escaped. Great, nothing there but a horny-induced brain.

  Nero laughed, loud and thick, and the sparkle in his eyes made me believe he genuinely loved my answer. A trickle of excitement zipped down to the pits of my stomach, rocking me on the spot.

  “Is that a threat or promise?” I purred, having found my voice.

  “Ha, I adore when you let yourself go.” His fingers flipped open the buttons of my pants and dragged them and my underwear down my legs so fast, I almost lost my footing, but he held on to my hips, steadying me.

  So I stepped out of my clothes, standing naked next to a hunk also nude. I chewed on my cheek.

  “Something about you calls to my wolf,” he began. “No one’s ever done that. And I know you can sense it too.” He drew me closer, his warmth radiating across my body, his erection nestled against my stomach. “But I have one problem…” He chuckled. “Well, actually, I’ve got plenty, but right now, only one comes to mind.”

  “A-And that is?” I held on to his thick arms as if they were tree trunks. Was he pushing me away after seeing how easy I was, and now he’d mock me and leave? Or was it he only wanted one thing from me… as insane as it sounded, I’d be fine were the latter his choice. An insatiable itch gripped my libido and unless I scratched it, I’d go mad. And who would know if I caved to a god of a wolf shifter…? Only I would. I’d carry those memories with me for eternity. It might ruin me for any other man, but if I did nothing, I’d kick myself. Damn, if I told Bee, she’d never let me hear the end of it if I didn’t let Nero take me.

  I glanced up at Nero, adoring how he stared at me as if I were a slice of honeyed cake.

  “Once I fuck you, I’m not sure I could ever leave you.” He ran a hand across my chin and his thumb rested on my lower lip. “In hunter tradition, once a wolf claims someone, they’re together for life.”

  His admittance rocked through me. Sure, I was ready for a fun day of humping Nero, but now he was talking about mating. A life event. I wasn’t a shifter, so his rules wouldn’t apply to me, right?

  He cupped my face and kissed me. “Are you sure you want to do this, little lamb?” he asked.

  I licked my lips. “So this mating thing only happens when two people have…”

  “Sex. But not just any couple joining… My inner wolf needs to have made a connection.”

  As much as my logical mind tried to push forward and make sense of the situation, it was my horny-starved body that took over, thrumming with urgency. “I’m not from your world and I’m not a wolf, but it is weird that I feel as if we belong together. Like if you left me, I’d forget how to breathe. I don’t understand the mating thing or how it applies here, but for now, I want you. To have you keep your promise and forget the constant dread that has made its home in my heart. I’m tired of being scared and confused. But this”—I placed a palm to my chest and then his—“feels real.”

  He pressed my knuckles to his lips while his other hand cupped my butt. “I love hearing those words from you. I can’t walk away from this moment either.”

  “Then kiss me.” I lifted myself on tippy toes and grazed his mouth with mine. He returned the favor twofold, hungry and savage. Just this once, I yearned to follow my gut instinct, and the confirmation bellowed in my skull. “I give myself to you,” I purred.

  His kisses intensified. He pressed me up against the wall, his hands roaming across my naked body. Need was such a small word, but right now it shuddered through my body.

  Nero’s fingers slid to my waist, and he lifted me off my feet as if I weighed nothing. “Wrap those sexy legs around my neck and grab on to the rafter over your head.”

  My heart raced as he lifted me higher above him. “What?” Nervous as hell, I was so turned on at having his face cocooned between my thighs. I grasped the wooden beam running across the ceiling.

  “I’ve got you, little lamb.” He gripped my ass.

  I could barely catch my breath as I hovered so high in the room, not sure how I felt about his acrobatic act. Was this how wolves did it? But the moment, his lips clasped my clit, I convulsed.

  “Oh, h-hell, Nero.”

  He gave an approving sound and flicked his tongue. I drifted on the skies, lost and consumed by the arousal owning me. His thumb thrummed against my clit, slowly, drawing out the orgasm rushing forward. His tongue penetrated me.

  “Nero. Nero…” My entire body convulsed from pleasure. I belonged to him wholly.

  I screamed, unable to hold back the intensity, the ecstasy. And Nero wasn’t letting go but sucking every drop. My privates throbbed, and he licked my entrance, consuming me. I wriggled, every muscle aching.

  “That was incredible.” I labored the words.

  “It’s only the beginning.” With his touch sliding to my waist, he shouldered one of my legs off him, followed by the other. “Let go; I’ve got you.”

  And I did let go, as if all doubts and worries had escaped me. I slid down, our bodies rubbing against one another, and he held me until I reached him face to face. “Your taste is intoxicating.” He pulled my legs over his hips, and the tip of his hardness caressed my entrance. “I’m going to fuck you now, little lamb.”

  “Heavens, yes. Please, I can’t wait too much longer.” I didn’t care who heard my screams because I had to have Nero inside me.

  He laughed again, the sound stroking the length of my spine, leaving me wet with anticipation. I gripped his shoulders as he pushed into me. I groaned as his thickness widened me, consumed me.

  He thrust faster, and I screamed. It hurt and I loved it. I rocked my hips, but he already pulled out and back in, slow at first, as if testing me.

  His gaze never left mine, and his eyes drowned in elation.

  With each quickened slam, I gasped for air. His slaps grew faster, harder, and I mewled for more. “Yes!”

  I met each strike, needing him deeper, soaked beneath his passion. Unrelenting, he pounded into me, never easing, and I drowned beneath his desire, unsure where I started and he ended.

  “Scream for me, little lamb,” he demanded.

  And as if my body listened to his command, the sound flew past my throat, and the sensation tipped me over the edge. A second orgasm gripped me. I quivered, unable to stop, my eyes clasped tight as I let myself go, unable to believe such pleasure was even possible. I ached to remain on this high forever.

  My walls clenched, squeezing him. Our bodies grew sweaty and scorching hot. He groaned with his own pleasure, pulsing within me.

  I opened my eyes, smiling, but movement drew my attention from the hallway, and there stood Oryn in his black wolf form, staring at us, his lips curled over teeth.

  “Shit!” I said, but Nero didn’t let go.

  “Ignore him. He’s not himself at the moment.”

  So many questions swirled on my thoughts, yet with Nero still buried deep within and a wolf staring on, my emotions tangled into a knot between hiding and begging Nero for more. At the same time, a sense of heightened energy poured through my veins, buzzing through me, leaving me ready to take on the world.

  With a growl, the wolf retreated into the darkened hall and vanished.

  “What’s his problem?” I asked.

  Nero slid out of me before placing me on my feet. He planted a kiss on my head. “Oryn is facing challenges, and I’m giving him space.”

  What did that mean? But after the most incredible experience, I was more worried I’d never see Nero again once I returned home. A sting settled beneath my breastbone. I stared down and noticed a white line of energy skipping over the tips of my fingertips.

  “How are you doing that?” Nero asked, glancing down, but he tightened his arms around me, and I adored his protectiveness more than I imagined possible.

  I refocused on my hand. “I’ve always had this abilit
y to empower herbs with a touch, but the ability has never activated itself like this before.”

  “I feel different,” Nero said. “As if I could run the entire length of the forest and lift this house on my own.”

  “Me too… Well, not lifting a house or running. Never been a jogger, but I’d go three more rounds of sex.” I laughed and my cheeks burned up. Had I said that out loud?

  Nero chuckled and pushed the hair off my cheek. “I don’t know what you’ve done to me, but if this is your ability, fuck, I want more.”

  With a final kiss on my brow, he broke free and picked up my clothes, handing them to me. “The bathroom is across the hallway. Let me make you a cup of tea.”

  With the clothes bunched up in my arms, I nodded, even though Nero had already turned toward the fireplace. So I spun and hurried over the cold floorboards. A quick look showed no sign of the wolf. I sprinted into the bathroom. The room had a real toilet with plumbing. Holy moly… they liked their creature comforts. In haste, I cleaned myself, got dressed, and stopped at the door, gripping the handle.

  “Okay, what now?” I mumbled to myself, still floating on the heated excitement from having the most stupendous sex with a wolf shifter. And I wasn’t ready to walk away from him. Sure, I was still stuck in the house until I cured Dagen, and the dark wolf looked ready to bite my head off, but Nero was doing something to me and I ached for more.

  Going home was a must, yet a tightness strangled my chest at the thought of walking away from Nero. But what was I supposed to do? How would something between us work? We’d cross the border to go out on dates? He was an alpha, and who knew where his jurisdiction lay. Miles away perhaps, as he’d said Oryn controlled the territory next to Terra.

  Despite all the craziness in my head, the solution was to grill Nero, find out everything, then make a decision. Even convince him that I had to go home for herbs to heal Dagen. Maybe he ought to join me. But going back wasn’t safe for me with the priestess on the prowl, let along taking a wolf shifter into Terra. Heaviness settled in my stomach at how complicated everything was getting.