Eternal Hunter (Night Watch #1)(47)
Author: Cynthia Eden

She didn’t blink. Just stared up at him, her gaze stark.

He fought to pull back the fury. Because she was slipping away.

Standing right in front of him, but slipping away.

No.

“I’ve killed, and if it comes to it, I’ll kill again. My job’s not easy.” Hunting freaks like Burrows sure wasn’t easy, and he had the scars to prove it. But someone had to do the dirty, bloody work. He’d been born stronger than others so hunting, yeah, he could do it. Sometimes, he needed to do it. “And yes, there’s darkness in me, but, sweetheart, that same darkness is in you.”

He’d seen it from the beginning.

Her lashes lowered.

Then, softly, she said, “I know.” She looked up at him again. “That’s what scares me.”

What?

Her hands lifted to his chest and he felt the sting of her claws press into his flesh.

“Erin, what are you—”

She rose on her toes and kissed him. Not an easy kiss. Hard and fierce, bruising in its strength.

The tiger jerked free of his leash.

They fell onto the bed. Hands ripping, fighting the clothing. Mouths taking. Hearts pounding.

He tossed her bra across the room, then caught her br**sts in his hands. The ni**les were tight and hard and when his fingers plucked them, she moaned into his mouth.

Fuck.

He pushed her onto her back and took her breast in his mouth. Jude sucked and licked and bit and had her arching off the bed toward him. The scent of her rich cream flooded his nostrils and the drumming beat of his heart just grew louder in his ears.

Her claws raked down his back.

His shirt was gone—hell knew where.

He caught the waistband of her skirt and yanked it down, jerking her panties away at the same time.

My turn.

Jude shoved her thighs apart. He eyed the ripe flesh just waiting for him. Dark pink, plump, glistening and—

He put his mouth on her. Jude swiped his tongue over the button of her need, got that taste of sweet and tangy cream and wanted more.

So he took more.

Her hips slammed up toward him as he drove his tongue inside of her. She came against his mouth, shuddering, legs trembling around him, but he didn’t stop.

No, he wasn’t even close to stopping.

More. More.

Lips and tongue took. Learned every curve. Every secret. Drank up her taste and had her twisting against him.

“Jude! Jude!”

His head lifted and his tongue snaked over his lips. Damn but she was beautiful.

Spread and open, ready for him.

She might not be his forever, but he’d take her for as long as she’d let him.

“Roll over.” Guttural.

He heard the rasp of her breath. The hitch that could have been fear or hesitation, but he also caught the surge of her arousal. The thickening of that rich scent in the air.

One thigh lifted over him and she rolled onto her stomach.

“No, like this.” He caught her waist, lifted her up onto her knees. That perfect heart-shaped ass stared him right in the face.

Damn.

Her palms pressed into the mattress and she rose up, glancing back over her shoulder. “Now.”

Yeah, oh, yeah, now.

He gripped his c**k in one hand. Pushed the head toward the gleaming entrance of her sex. Sank deep.

This time, he was the one to moan.

She gripped him, squeezing so tight he thought he’d go insane and he withdrew, only to thrust deep again.

Even as she slammed back against him.

The rhythm was wild, unsteady. Deep and hard. Sweat slickened his body and the bed sagged beneath them.

Thrust. Her ass was so soft and round.

Thrust. She gripped him so tight. Fuck!

Thrust. His. She was his.

The release barreled through him, a white-hot burst of pleasure that rocked every cell in his body.

He moved by instinct. Jude clamped his mouth over her right shoulder. That sweet, sweet curve near her neck. Pleasure spot.

And he bit.

Her sex contracted around him as she came.

The power of his release seemed to double. Emotions flooded through him. Needs. Whispers of longings he’d buried years ago.

Erin.

He held her tight, held her wrapped in his arms and rode out the fury of the climax.

She sagged against him, and he kissed her flesh.

Mate.

The word trembled through his mind. No, no, that wasn’t possible. The sex was great, but there was no way she could be a mate for him.

She turned her head, looking back over her shoulder at him, and her eyes were sleepy and satiated.

Mate.

Hell.

Talk about a case of seriously screwed up bad timing.

Fate, you bitch.

Chapter 13

“Why did you join Night Watch?” Her quiet voice pierced the silence that had hung so thickly in the room. Her hand was on his chest, right above his heart. The sheet curved around her, hiding her hips and br**sts, revealing a hint of the flesh along her side.

At her words, he tensed. He’d known he’d have to tell her. Sooner or later.

He’d just wanted the later part.

“Jude?”

He brought her hand to his lips. Kissed the palm. “Dawn’s coming. We need to catch a few hours of sleep before going back to the station.” There’d be more files to search. Witnesses to question.

Then, when the darkness fell, they’d get the wolf.

“I want to know about you.”

He turned his head, just a bit, and met her stare. He could see her so well, even in the darkness.

“There’s more to you than you let the world see.”

More than being a hunter.

A killer.

“Hate to tell you, sweetheart, but there’s not.” The words were cold and distant, but he couldn’t make himself let go of her hand.

Her eyes narrowed, but she repeated, “Why’d you join?”

Mate.

Okay, so the beast inside had recognized her. It was the way with his kind. The animals could recognize potential mates. It was a physical thing. Genetics.

Mates could produce children. Shifters couldn’t reproduce with just anyone. Their genetics were too complicated for that.

But the animals knew…they always knew.

It was survival of the fittest kicking in. The beasts inside were sure all about surviving. Propagating the species.

But just because someone was your mate didn’t mean you loved them. Or that they loved you.

His parents were proof of that.

And proof of just how screwed up and twisted the world could be.

When I tell her, she won’t let me touch her again. She’ll fear me, just like she fears that bastard out there.

Her stare was so steady. Her body so soft and warm against his.