Spellbound(29)
Author: Sylvia Day

He gentled her while soothing himself. He was as exhausted as she was by his violent need to dominate her. To rut in her until he doubted he could stand. And she’d let him.

It angered him that he hadn’t seen his need for what it was—the black magic inside him seeking an outlet in his beloved Familiar. His soul mate. The woman he loved more than he’d ever thought himself capable of loving anyone.

Now her skin tasted of that taint, her addicting vanilla essence muskier and more provocative to his senses. He was spiraling down the drain and taking her with him.

Turning his head, he teased her other nipple with light laps of his tongue. “Am I hurting you?” he asked, his voice hoarse from the many times he’d roared his pleasure while coming.

“No,” she whispered, her fingers digging into his ass with the barest force. “Don’t stop.”

His c**k slid in and out of her leisurely, concern for her comfort foremost in his mind. He’d stop if he could, but he needed the connection, needed to be certain that everything was okay between them. The smell of her skin, the softness of her body, her touch . . . nothing in his life had ever been as necessary as she was.

Shifting carefully, he began to stroke the head of his c**k over the sensitive bundle of nerves inside her. He felt the tension in her rise, listened for the catch in her breath. When she seized in orgasm, he groaned and followed her, coming along with the delicate rippling of her cunt.

He was gasping and shuddering with pleasure when he felt the warding around his loft signal the presence of magickind. He was on his feet in an instant, his c**k wet and semi-erect, his body tapping into his newly stored magical reserves to strengthen muscles weakened by hours of hard sex.

You have exceeded our expectations once again, the Council said, a multitude of voices speaking eerily as one—a hive mind of the most powerful witches and warlocks of all time. You vanquished Sirius with astonishing swiftness.

“That’s what you wanted, isn’t it?” he asked, tugging on a pair of jeans. He cast an eye toward the bed and saw that Victoria had curled onto her side in a catnap.

Your power is impressive. We would like to see a demonstration of it.

“The fact that Powell is dead is demonstration enough.” He moved toward the front door, his right arm at his side, the palm filling with a ball of roiling magic.

Do not forget that it is because of our forbearance that you are not a hunted rogue now.

“Don’t forget you’d still be chasing down Powell and likely losing Hunters if not for me. This is a symbiotic relationship, not a gift.”

Let us see how long it takes for you to vanquish Barnes, They said snidely.

“Yeah,” he agreed, reaching for the handle of his front door. “Let’s see.”

He wrenched it open and drew his arm back.

“Whoa!” Gabriel lifted both hands in surrender. “Kick back, killer.”

Max’s gaze narrowed, assessing the man he would always view as a rival. Gabriel Masters grinned, his hazel eyes lit with amusement. The dark-haired warlock was upper level, but not quite up to Max’s skill. Still, he carried enough power to have been selected as Victoria’s warlock . . . before Max had taken her as his own. “What are you doing here, Masters?”

They weren’t friends, never had been. With both of them out on a hunt more often than not, they’d rarely had the chance to cross paths.

“Aren’t you going to invite me in?” Masters asked.

Max stepped back and gestured the other man inside. Across the room, he conjured folding screens to hide the bed where his kitten slept. Still, the scent of her pheromones was heavy in the air, and Masters wasn’t immune. The warlock shifted on his feet, his shoulders rolling back.

“Mine,” Max warned in a low rumble.

“She’s the reason I’m here.” Masters faced him. “Word’s spreading fast about the vanquishing today. Jezebel says you took Powell out with a single hit.”

“So?”

“So everyone knows your Familiar helped you. I’m not the only Hunter thinking about taking on a Familiar now.”

“It has its benefits,” he conceded. “But Familiars are a helluva lot of work. If it were anyone but Victoria, I wouldn’t think it’d be worth the effort.”

“Yeah, I can smell how much work is involved.” Masters’s smile faded. “Some are asking if you’re powerful enough now to challenge the High Council.”

A chill ran down Max’s spine. The Council wouldn’t like that. They took all threats very, very seriously. If they viewed him as one, they’d take steps. And Victoria’s augmentation was what gave him an advantage.

“I wouldn’t go to the trouble if I could,” he drawled, careful to hide his disquiet. “I’ve got everything I want right here.”

“You do. Maybe others don’t.”

Max crossed his arms over his bare chest. “Don’t bring revolution into my house.”

Masters’s lips curved wryly. “Why not? You brought it into magickind to begin with.”

Eight

Victoria’s stomach knotted at the news Gabriel Masters passed on to Max. She feigned sleep, as she rarely slept deeply while napping, and decided she wouldn’t let on that she knew unless he told her directly.

She wondered if he’d anticipated this, if he’d kept her from hunting with him to avoid just this sort of thing. He wouldn’t want to upset her, even if explaining kept them from fighting about his decision to exclude her.

Max showed Gabriel out and then padded over to the bed. She heard him, smelled him, felt soothed by his presence the closer he came to her. The bed dipped as he sat beside her. His hand stroked down her side.

“Kitten,” he said quietly, bending toward her and pressing his lips to her shoulder. “I have to go.”

When he straightened, she rolled to her back and looked up at him. “Shouldn’t you get some sleep? Or will you be home soon?”

“The sooner this hunt is over with, the better.” His gray eyes softened as they looked down at her. “Then we’ll go away for a while. Someplace tropical, maybe, where you’ll be naked all day. Or snowbound, where I could spread you out in front of a fireplace.”

She caught the hand he had resting on her hip and squeezed it. “Sounds wonderful.”

“Do you want to stay here? Or should I take you back to the apartment?”

“Home.” She sighed. “I have work to do. It was insane at the hotel today.”