Pleasure of a Dark Prince (Immortals After Dark #9)(8)
Author: Kresley Cole

She needed to get away from this werewolf, but she couldn’t outrun him all the way back to Val Hall. Besides, fleeing from an enemy was something Valkyrie tended never to do.

Have to shoot him between the eyes if I must. From close range. Otherwise, with his speed he could dodge the shot. And put her in agony. "MacRieve, I’m giving you one last – "

He silenced her with a sizzling kiss to her neck, his tongue flicking against her chilled skin. Shivering with pleasure and surprise, she gazed up at the tree limbs above her, biting her lip.

Yet when he pressed his erection against her, she cried, "Let me go now!"

He didn’t, so she gouged her thumb into one of his wounds. His dark claws dug into the tree, but he didn’t release her. "Woman, that bluidy hurts."

"Then stop kissing me!"

"Nothing hurts that bad." His mouth descended to her neck once more. He seemed to be not only kissing her but tasting her… gentling her.

"I can make it hurt that bad," she said inanely, striving to keep her eyes open as his tongue darted.

"I feel only one ache in my body." He drew back, and the corner of his lips curled. "And you’re soon to ease it."

So earthy and sexy. Lucia couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt this much excitement with a male…. Her thoughts trailed off.

No, I can remember the last time. Vividly. Lucia was still paying for it. She attempted to pull away, but he clutched her to him. And Freya help her, she wanted him to. No! No more pretending that she was a normal woman about to have a clandestine affair with the most sexually attractive male she’d ever seen. "Never, MacRieve."

She could be as vicious as any of her sisters. Just be cause a Valkyrie’s innate ferocity wasn’t her first impulse in a conflict didn’t mean she couldn’t draw on it when she needed to. "Kiss me again, Lykae, and I’ll make you regret it."

He kissed her again. So she kicked him between his legs, ducking from him. As he dropped to his knees, she hastened away. But she heard him grunt, "Still doona regret it."

 5

Stalking her through the bayou once more, he tracked her heady scent – with his bollocks aching from her kick and his chest wounds on fire.

"I can scent you, know you’re near." Yes, she was close. He circled in place, his eyes narrowed. "Doona run from me! You will no’ get away." And we crave the chase. Ah, gods, we crave it. "You’ve only got one arrow left."

"But I’m going to make this one count," she whispered above him.

Before he could swing his head up at the sound, she’d tackled him into a bed of moss, knees into his shoulders, her arrow pressed into his forehead.

In a slow, awed tone, he rasped, "I – like – you, lass!" So lovely, so wild. An avenging angel, with her bizarre bow seeming to glow above him.

When blood welled on his forehead and trickled down his temple, he said, "You canna release your arrow, Valkyrie. You feel something for me, too." She looked stunned, as if her hesitation baffled her. "I’ll bet when you set a course of action, you doona falter."

At that, she gritted her teeth, like she was redoubling her resolve.

"But you canna do it." The instant she relaxed the tension on her bowstring, he tossed her on her back, covering her body with his. He groaned to feel all her lush curves pressed against him. Both of them were out of breath, her br**sts rising and falling so temptingly.

She was a wee beauty, with her smooth golden skin and plump lips. Her hair had begun drying into a deep caramel color. It felt like silk and smelled like heaven. Like home. "You ken this feels right between us."

Ah, gods, it does. As if they’d done this before. As if she recognized his touch and remembered the breathless way she felt at this moment.

What was happening to her? He was right – when she set a course of action, she’d never once faltered. Yet she couldn’t shoot him!

His mouth descended on hers. Just as she was about to shove him away, he groaned, as though the mere contact of their lips brought him so much pleasure he couldn’t contain it. He deepened the kiss, pressing his firm lips harder, coaxing her with his tongue to respond.

The shock of being kissed after so long. The heat of his body over hers in the cold rain.

Lightning struck above them, and she knew it came from her. Her bow hand unclenched, her other palm clasping the back of his neck. When she parted her lips on a gasp, he stroked her mouth with his delicious tongue while she remained still, merely taking his attentions.

Breaking away, he stared down at her, giving her a look – a purely masculine expression of intent – that promised he was about to do wicked things to her. Oh, that look. Robbing her of thought…

"Your eyes are goin’ silvery," he said, his accent growing thicker. "You want me, too." Before setting in again, he commanded, "Now kiss me back."

Over her long lifetime, many men had tried to seduce her, but she’d easily disregarded them. What was so different about this Lykae? It was as if he knew exactly how to tap into her need, into the wildness inside her.

That dark part of her she feared took over and ruled her. This won’t be more than a kiss. I’d never let it be more than that….

In a rush, her body flooded with desire, her br**sts growing heavy. The wildness within me. Can’t fight it…

She was starved for this. And a bounty lay before her. Pleasure building… losing control… losing…

Lost. This felt so… right. With a moan, she surrendered.

The Instinct was screaming inside him.  – She needs you. Aches for her male.  –

At last, she offered her lips up to his, freely, letting him in. He delved with his tongue, tasting her, drinking her in. When she kissed him back with a tentative lick, he groaned against her, squeezing her tighter to him.

She’s yielding to me. Garreth wanted to growl with pleasure. I’m bringing home my woman this night. Into my bed, into my life. Finally, after so long waiting for her.

For… Lucia.

With each shy lap of her tongue, she stoked his need. When their tongues began tangling in earnest, when they began sharing breaths, she gave a surprised moan into his mouth.

Then it was as if a dam had burst, as if she, like him, had been waiting centuries for this night. She seemed to share his unimaginable need – or even suffer from it more keenly.

He kissed her deeply, squeezing the flare of her hip and raising his other hand for one of her br**sts. He hesitated just above her chest. But like a dream, she arched to his palm with a plaintive whimper, pressing her breast into his hand. Against her lips, he said, "Gods, you madden me, Lousha." He cupped her generous, soft br**sts, one, then the other, learning them.