Hunter's Need (22 page)

Ana shrugged jerkily. “Business is slow. I’m the newest employee. It happens.”

“Yeah. It sucks, though.” Darlene shifted from one foot to the other, looking uncomfortable.

Ana could sympathize. She was feeling pretty damned uncomfortable herself. “Yes. It definitely sucks.”

“So what are you going to do?”

“I don’t know.” She pushed her hair back from her face, staring down into her bag. Her gaze landed on a book.
Unsolved—Mysteries of the Far North
. The book where she’d read about Marie’s murder. Duke’s voice whispered through her memory.

“Well, you’ll have a little bit of time to figure it out, I guess. You can file for unemployment.”

Ana glanced at Darlene. “Unemployment—oh, yes. Yes, although I’m not too sure what to do.”

“Oh, I am . . . here’s what you do . . . ”

Ana paid attention—mostly. But in the back of her mind, she was thinking. Remembering.
There’s something else you can do.

 

 

D
UKE, laden down with a recently purchased backpack, mounted the steps. Ana was home—early, again. He frowned, hoped she wasn’t having more issues with her shields. That wouldn’t be a good thing, for a number of reasons.

Numero uno being that shaky shields wreaked havoc on a psychic. He wasn’t worried about how it would affect her gifts, not anymore, and he was still pissed over how he’d hurt her when he had questioned it. But he was worried over how it would affect her. She didn’t need the stress, didn’t need the strain. Especially not when he was getting ready to dump more on her.

If she was that dead set on not taking some time off, he couldn’t force it on her. She had a life, one that would go on after this mess was dealt with, and he had no right expecting her to set it aside. Frowning, he slowed to a stop as he cleared the steps. Yeah. She had a life, one that didn’t include him, one that didn’t include the bizarre baggage that accompanied Hunters.

She’d get back to that life . . . without him.

That thought pissed him off. For reasons he really wasn’t ready to examine too closely. So instead of thinking about that, he decided to focus on the here and now. Namely, all the information he had crammed into the backpack. Copies he’d made at the library, some books he’d picked up. The books weren’t going to come in real handy for anything other than supplying names, but the names would give him a starting point when he started surfing the web for more detailed info.

And Ana was going to hit the books with him. Maybe if they were lucky, something in those books could help trigger her.

The door was unlocked and he went inside, following the sound of movement coming from her bedroom. He came to a stop in the door and stared. The normally neat space was in a state of organized chaos. He studied the large suitcase open in the middle of the bed and then looked up.

Ana was by the closet. She glanced up at him as she walked to the bed, arms full of clothes.

“Going somewhere, darlin’?”

“Yes.”

He waited for her to elaborate, but that was it. Taking a deep, controlled breath, he leaned one shoulder against the doorjamb. “Wanna tell me where? And why?”

“The Mat-Su Valley, for starters. That’s where I was the weekend before you got here. Heading back.” She dumped her armful of clothes on the bed and started folding them.

“Okay. There’s the where. Where’s the why?”

She glanced at him, her mouth flat and unsmiling. “You wanted me to do something. I’m doing it.”

“And it involves this Mat-Su Valley. Ana, I’m not quite following your thought train here. Where’s the Mat-Su Valley? Why are you going there? And why aren’t you at work?”

Her lip curled in a sneer. “The Mat-Su Valley is about an hour north of here. I’m going there because that’s where I feel like I need to go. And work—” She broke off, laughing but the sound had absolutely no humor in it.

It was heavy and weighted, and her purple eyes were sad.

“What’s wrong, Ana?”

“I got laid off. Business is slow, I’m the new employee—nobody they can’t manage without. The story of my life, pretty much.” She finished folding her clothes and then headed back to the closet.

Shoving off the door, he caught up with her before she managed to get her busy little hands on more clothes. Catching her elbow, he tugged her to a stop, made her turn around and face him.

“I’m sorry, princess.”

She cocked a brow. He could scent the anger and frustration inside her, but none of it showed on her face, none of it showed in her voice as she calmly said, “Why are you sorry? You wanted me to do more. This pretty much opens my schedule up.” She grimaced and added, “Not indefinitely—I’m going to have to look for a job at some point. I’ll get unemployment for a while, and I’ve already taken care of that. I’d rather not rely on that, but it gives me a little bit of breathing room before I have to worry.”

He brushed her hair back from her face. “There’s no reason to worry. I can help out—”

“No.” She stepped back, evading his touch. “That isn’t necessary.”

“I know it’s not necessary. But I want to.”

“Too bad. I
don’t
want you to,” she said, her voice cool. She turned back to the closet and tugged a couple of hoodies from their hangers.

Duke scowled and stepped out of her way, watching as she went back to packing. She added a couple pairs of shoes and socks and then snapped the suitcase closed. He grabbed it before she could haul it off the couch, depositing in on the floor and then once more facing her.

“How long are you going to stay pissed off at me? I already told you that I’m sorry. I was wrong. I know that.”

“I’ve already told you that I’m not mad at you,” she said calmly.

“Bullshit. You
are
mad.”

“I’m not mad at you,” she repeated.

He narrowed his eyes. Okay—she wasn’t mad at
him
. But she sure as hell was mad. “Fine. You’re not mad—at me. Who in the hell are you mad at and why in the hell are you still avoiding me if it isn’t me?”

Her eyes fell away from his. Her shoulders rose and fell on a sigh and then she met his gaze again. “I’m mad at myself, Duke. But I’m handling it.”

“Why are you mad at yourself?”

She just stared at him, her violet gaze unreadable.

“Ana . . . ” He took a step toward her.

She went to back away but stopped herself. Unable to help himself, he took another step and watched her body tense as she fought the urge to put some distance between them. Dipping his head, he rubbed his cheek against hers. “Talk to me.”

“What do you want me to say?” She turned her face away.

“Tell me why you’re mad at yourself . . . tell me why you don’t want me touching you anymore. Tell me what I can do to make it better.”

You could love me,
Ana thought desolately. His voice, dark and warm, wrapped around her, sending heat rushing through her. It warmed all the dark, cold places that had settled back within her soul over the past day. In a matter of days—hours—Duke had somehow managed to fill the emptiness inside her. Then, in a matter of seconds, with a couple of terse words, he’d hollowed her back out.

Now he was trying to do it all over again, warm her, soothe her, comfort her . . . but she couldn’t do this roller-coaster ride. It was too exhausting, too confusing, and she just didn’t want it.

She didn’t.

Good question. She tried to make herself do just that, but instead, she found herself turning her face into his neck and breathing his scent in. He was always doing that to her, and it might have made her feel self-conscious if she wasn’t getting pretty damned addicted to the way he smelled. Warm, strong, male . . . just a little wild.

She rubbed her lips against his neck and then licked them, tasting him there. Slowly, she brought up her hands and rested them on his waist. He eased her closer and she didn’t pay any attention to the voice of reason that told her to pull back. No, she didn’t want to do the roller coaster, but she couldn’t manage to pull away, either.

He threaded a hand through her hair and tugged, easing her face upward. Through lowered lashes, she stared at him. He was going to kiss her.

But as he dipped his head, she pulled back.

A muscle jerked in his jaw, but he said nothing as he let his arms fall away. With distance between them once more, that miserable knot of cold settled inside her. Now there was another voice whispering in her head, but it wasn’t the voice of reason.

He’s going to be gone soon enough. Gone, and he won’t be back. It’s entirely possible you won’t see him again
.

Possible . . . and very likely. The pain that hit her as she realized that was staggering. She had to lock her knees just to stay upright. Never see him again . . . never see Duke.

In a matter of years, her brother Brad would be done with his training at Excelsior. He’d leave, settle into whatever assignment the Council felt he was best suited for and once Brad was gone, Ana would have no ties to Excelsior, no reason to go back.

Which meant little chance of her seeing Duke anymore. He alternated between running patrol and training the newer Hunter recruits at the school, but he tended to stay in the eastern part of the country. Once he left Alaska . . .

Ana took a deep breath. When he left, it was going to hurt, no matter what. He would leave—was it going to make any difference if she held him at arm’s length now?

Hell, no. She was in love with him. She suspected she’d started the fall the very first night they’d met. His soul had called to hers and nothing had changed that.

Whether she pushed him away or not, she’d still love him.

Whether she pushed him away or not, it was still going to tear a hole inside her when he left. The only thing she could control was whether or not she’d have some good memories to ease the ache of loneliness.

Lifting her head, she stared at him and made the decision.

Damn it, I’m going to live it up while I can
. Every bit of it. She reached for the waistband of her sweater and drew it off.

Duke’s breath escaped him in a rush and his eyes went dark. “Ana, are you trying to confuse me or does it just come natural?”

She forced a smile and went to him, pressing her body to his. Just like that, the icy knot inside her dissolved, replaced by the heat of desire, the wistful ache of yearning. She pressed her lips to his chest and slipped her hands under his shirt. “I guess it’s natural.”

“Hmmm.” He cupped the back of her head and tugged on her hair.

She lifted her face to his. This time, when he lowered his head to kiss her, she pushed up on her toes and met his kiss. Met heat with heat. Yearning with yearning. They fumbled away the rest of their clothes and as their bodies pressed together, he growled in pleasure. She sighed in satisfaction.

Duke walked her backward until her legs bumped into the mattress and then he stopped, sank to his knees in front of her. His mouth burned a trail across her belly, his tongue circled her navel, and then he went lower, lower. Ana gasped as he pressed his mouth to her sex and licked her, spearing his tongue through her folds and teasing her entrance. Legs watery, she braced her hands against his shoulders and stared down at him.

He growled against her, the guttural noise vibrating against her sensitized flesh in the sweetest way. She whimpered. He trailed his fingers up the outer curve of her leg, up over her hip. “Fuck, I love the way you taste,” he gritted out, pulling back just long enough to glance up at her. The heat in his gaze warmed her clear down to the soles of her feet. Then he put his mouth on her again and used his tongue to tease her clit as he pressed two fingers against her entrance.

As he pushed inside, she whimpered, barely able to breathe. Her legs wobbled, threatened to buckle. He eased her down, skimming his lips over her flesh as she settled on her knees in front of him, straddling his lap.

“Pretty Ana,” he muttered, straightening up and staring down at her, watching as he fucked her with his fingers. “Watch . . . ”

Leaning back, she braced her elbows on the mattress and watched, wide-eyed. Watched as he stroked her, teased her, pumping his fingers in and out. Blood rushed to her cheeks and she squirmed with embarrassment, but she couldn’t look away. It was too damned erotic, watching him play with her, hearing herself moan as he worked her closer and closer to orgasm. But just before she could find it, he stopped touching her.

Moaning in disappointment, she wiggled in his lap and Duke laughed, easing her off his lap and turning her away from him. “You’re not coming without me inside you,” he said, urging her forward so that the mattress supported her upper body.

Fuck, she was already so close. Duke gritted his teeth as he pressed the head of his cock against her entrance and started to push inside. He had to force his way past muscles that were already clenching tight in anticipation. Sweat was dripping off his body by the time he had his dick completely buried inside her snug pussy. His hands flexed and power rippled through him, his grasp on control slick and shaky. Lightly, he raked his nails over her back and swore. His nails had lengthened, darkened to jet-black with just the faintest hook-like curl. He slammed his fists down onto the mattress and dug his fingers in. Material ripped—he heard the whisper of it even above her whimpering cry and his own ragged breathing.

“Killing me,” he muttered, shaking his head and trying to clear the lust-and-need-induced fog. Body trembling, he pressed his brow to her back and reached for control. He wanted to plunge deep, ride hard, until she was screaming, whimpering and as mad with desire as he was.