Bound By Darkness (Guardians of Eternity #8)(44)
Author: Alexandra Ivy

With swift, relentless strokes he urged her toward that perilous edge, his breath rasping through the air. Her eyes squeezed closed, her body clenched so tight around his c**k that he was certain he would combust before giving her satisfaction.

Over and over he plunged deep inside her. Then just when he was certain he was going to embarrass himself, he gave one last surge and she gave a shout of release.

He claimed her lips in a branding kiss as he pressed her shuddering body tight against him and shattered beneath the maelstrom of exploding bliss.

Holy … shit.

Still holding her in his arms, he spread tiny kisses over her face, continuing to pump into her as he sought to regain his composure.

Or his sanity.

Whichever came first.

Rocked by the tiny aftershocks of pleasure, Jaelyn had no choice but to hang on to Ariyal.

Or at least that was the excuse she used as her hands smoothed down the satin skin of his back and her face remained pressed into the curve of his neck as she wallowed in his warm, addictive scent.

Alarms buzzed in the back of her mind. Yeah, as if she needed to be reminded of the complete lunacy of giving in to her passions. But it wasn’t until the persistent ache of her fangs penetrated her fuzzy glow that she abruptly stiffened in his arms.

Not all her hungers had been satisfied.

And the violent urge to sink her fangs into his neck was all but irresistible.

With a hiss, she placed her hands against his chest, yanking her head back to meet his brooding gaze.

“Don’t,” he warned.

She scowled at his commanding tone. “Don’t what?” “Try to squirm away from me.”

“Are you always such a bossy lover?”

“Yes,” he admitted without apology. Typical. “Are you always so eager to leave your lover’s arms?”

Jaelyn shivered. Lovers.

Grimly she forced herself to ignore the possessive glow in his bronze eyes and the delicious sensation of his warm flesh still buried deep inside her.

She wouldn’t compound her stupidity by wishing that things could be different.

Even if he weren’t her current assignment, her position as a Hunter meant she couldn’t take a long-term lover. And certainly she could never have a mate….

She slammed the door before the dangerous thought could fully form. She soooo wasn’t going there.

“Vampires don’t do cuddling,” she said, coating her voice in ice. “Sorry.”

Anger tightened his exquisite features, but while he slowly pulled out of her body, his arms remained wrapped around her.

“It’s more than an allergy to cuddling,” he accused. “You treat me like I carry the plague.” A mocking smile curved his lips. “At least when I’m not making you scream in pleasure.”

She forced herself to meet his gaze, desperate to divert him.

“I had an itch and you scratched it.” She shrugged. “What do you want? A trophy?”

She’d intended her cutting words to bring an end to his questions. Didn’t men want their sexual encounters to be a no muss, no fuss deal? She was offering it to him on a platter.

But of course, Ariyal refused to behave as he should.

Aggravating ass.

“I want the truth,” he growled. “Something that seems a foreign concept to you most of the time.”

“I just told you… .”

His hands moved to grasp her face, his expression grim. “Dammit, Jaelyn, enough games.”

The scent of herbs filled the air as his power seared over her skin, but it wasn’t fear that shivered down her spine.

She pressed her hands against his chest. “This isn’t a game.”

“No, it isn’t. So stop jerking me around and give me a straight answer.” He resisted her halfhearted efforts to push him away. “Does it disgust you that I’m an evil Sylvermyst?”

Disgust?

Was the man mental?

She’d just literally begged him to take her on a dusty table in an abandoned farmhouse in the middle of freaking nowhere.

Did that seem like the actions of a woman who was disgusted by him?

She gave a sharp shake of her head, careful to keep her expression guarded.

“You aren’t evil.”

“That wasn’t what you said when I announced my intention to sacrifice the child before it could be used to resurrect the Dark Lord.”

“I have no intention of allowing you to harm the babe, but wanting to protect your people isn’t evil.” She grimaced. “Believe me, I’ve seen the difference.”

He scowled down at her. “Then why did you refuse to share your blood when I needed it?”

Dammit, was he still on that? Why wouldn’t he let it be?

“We have more important things to discuss,” she muttered.

His hands tightened on her face as she tried to glance away.

“No, I’m not going to be distracted,” he warned. “Tell me.”

They glared at one another in silence. Then with gritted teeth Jaelyn at last lifted her hands to grasp his wrists and pulled his hands away from her face.

“I was afraid what might happen,” she snapped, accepting that the stubborn Sylvermyst wouldn’t give up until he’d managed to drag the humiliating truth out of her.

Predictably the annoying man didn’t appear at all pleased with her confession.

“You didn’t trust me,” he said in flat tones.

“I didn’t trust me,” she huffed. “Satisfied?”

“No, I’m damn well not satisfied,” he snapped. “I don’t speak cryptic. What the hell are you talking about?”

She studied the perfectly chiseled lines of his face, her heart squeezing as if it had been put in a vise.

The Addonexus had done everything in their power to destroy her emotions. She was supposed to be a weapon, not a woman.

And she’d assumed they had succeeded.

Until this man.

This beautiful, powerful, truly aggravating man.

She didn’t know how or why, but he’d smashed through her defenses and threatened her in a way she didn’t fully understand but was smart enough to fear.

“I couldn’t take the risk that the blade would bind us together,” she forced herself to admit.

He glanced toward the sword that had been tossed on a wooden stool near the refrigerator.

“The blade merely absorbs your energy, it doesn’t actually steal your soul, regardless of the rumors.”

“Don’t be dense. I mean …” She battled against a wave of embarrassment. Dammit. He was making her feel like an idiot. “Bind us. Forever.”