o f31e4a444fa175b2 (33 page)

My hands clenched on the windowsill. Wait a minute. If Sense had disappeared only two days ago, how the hell could she possibly know she was pregnant already? She’d cradled her belly—her very flat, taut belly— exactly the way a pregnant woman would—or one who’d only recently given birth.

I spun from the window and crept out of the bedroom, making my way past the sentries at the front porch and stalking across the yard. The Harpies sensed me coming, of course, and Calaeno met me just outside the door. She looked too alert to have been sleeping. Then again, I wasn’t even sure Harpies actually
had
to sleep.

The Harpy Queen’s voice sounded cooler than the night air when she spoke. “Can I help you with something, Fury?”

I pasted a saccharine smile on my lips. “I believe you can, Your Majesty.”
Nice. You actually
managed to say that with a straight face.
“I thought we might discuss the terms of the boon you promised me.”

She stiffened, yellow-green eyes glowing with sudden

wariness. “Have I not pledged my sisters to aid you in your cause?”

“You have, for which I am most grateful. But that hardly counts as a boon, considering you were planning to do that anyway once your sister was out of harm’s way.”

“What makes you think that?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” My smile grew feline as I played my hunch. “The fact that Sense voluntarily bore a child for your former clients, who then reneged on their agreement to hand the child over to you. And then, to make matters worse, they abducted Sense to impregnate hen again. This time against her will.”

Shock tinged her features, telling me I’d hit the nail right on the head. “How did you—did Sense tell you this?”

She looked even more pissed-off than my mother had when I first told. her about my deal with the devi—I mean the Harpies. “She didn’t have to. What I want to know is, why?”

Calaeno sagged, eyes closing momentarily~ When they flickered open, she seemed resigned. “I would think our reasons fairly self-evident.”

The words had hardly left her lips when realization snapped through my mind. “You want to create Harpies biologically.”

She merely nodded. Harpies were the only arcane species that did not actually procreate. They weren’t born to Harpy mothers; they were made when Furies succumbed to Rage.

“So, what? They were supposed to create one Harpy baby for you as a gesture of good faith?”

Her facial muscles tightened. “Indeed. They were to prove they actually
could
create a viable Harpy child by artificially inseminating Sense with the donor of our choice. But Sense realized something was wrong the

moment her daughter was born. The baby had her mother’s eyes, but her hair was purple.”

Purple. Only one race of arcanes numbered
that
particular shade among their possible hair colors.

“They crossed her DNA with that of a Sidhe.”

“Indeed. They tried to cover that fact up by claiming the baby died soon after her birth. Sense pretended to believe this, and they returned her to us as agreed. After she had sufficiently recovered from giving birth, I allowed her to resume her duties as liaison with the understanding that she would use the opportunity to find out where her daughter was being held. She must have given herself away, because she vanished after the very first meeting.”

“How old
is
Serise’s daughter?”

“She was born six weeks ago.”

Serise’s voice sounded from just behind her Queen. “But she looks like she was born six
months
ago.”

Calaeno cast a sharp gaze Sense’s way. A battle of wills played out, neither saying a word but communicating all the same. It showed in the set of their lips, the narrowing of their eyes, the stance of their legs. Surprisingly, the Queen was the one to back down. She motioned for Sense to join us, stepping to the side to make room.

My eyes zeroed in on Serise’s. “They let you see her?” Excitement radiated from every feature when she nodded. “They drugged me and returned me to the lab. I wounded two of my guards and nearly killed another, so they figured I might be more cooperative if they ‘let me have supervised visits with Rinda.”

Awww, how sweet. She’d named her baby after the Harpy who tried to kill me.

I crossed my arms over my chest and turned my attention back to Calaeno. “You know, a less charitable person might think you deliberately kept this information from her so you wouldn’t have to give up something of actual value to repay your debt.” Her hands clenched to each side, and she took a half step forward. “But it’s your lucky day. I am the very soul of generosity, so we’ll just assume it slipped your mind.”

She gritted her teeth, the relatively quiet sound grating on my ears worse than nails on a chalkboard. “I trust you have a boon in mind that will satisfactorily conclude our bargain?”

My smile turned more wolfish, a la Scott. “Why, now that you mention it, I believe I do. And this time, Your Majesty, we’ll seal the deal with blood so as to avoid any little misunderstandings. Here’s what I want you to do..

SCOTT AMBUSHED ME THE SECOND I CREPT
back into our darkened bedroom. “What the hell is going on between you and the Harpies?”

I jumped about a foot into the air. Once my pulse slowed to a dull roar, I focused on his shadow stalking across the room. No
How you holding up, baby?
No
Gee, I’m sorry you watched your best
friend being murdered right in front of your very gorgeous but equally helpless eyes.

My turn to play dumb. “What do you mean?”

He put up with my bullshit just as well as I put up with his. “Don’t give me that shit. You sneak out of our bed after midnight when you think I’m sound asleep”—he ignored my attempt to interrupt—”and don’t return for damned near three hours. I know you, Marissa. You’ve got something planned, something you don’t want me to know. Now out with it.”

Damn, he looked so freaking sexy with a fist clenched at each side, chest rising and falling with the intensity of his emotions, amber eyes snapping, and shaggy hair bouncing with each forceful gesture he made. “Gods, I love you.”

The widening of his eyes was my first clue I had actually said that out loud. I sure as hell hadn’t meant to, though as distractions went, that one had to rate right up there. Thoughts of the Harpies flew right out of his head.

“You—what did you say?”

I folded my arms across my chest and thinned my lips stubbornly. “Oh no you don’t. I’m done being the only one to say that.”

He stepped forward, his expression so intense I took a step backward, but his arms flashed out and stopped me. “If that’s the only thing holding you back, baby, then I’ll gladly say I love you, too?’ He shook me ever so slightly. “Now say it again!”

Lord, I couldn’t resist him when he got all forceful. “I love you.”

He pushed me back against the wall and nuzzled my forehead. “I thought I’d never hear you say that again. Thought I ruined everything with my stupidity.”

“You thought
you
ruined everything? I was the idiot who dumped you?’

“But I’m the shithead who never even told you how he felt about you. And I should have tried harder to let you know about Dre. I just love you so damned much, baby. I couldn’t stand the thought of losing you. I know Furies can take care of themselves, but you’re
my
Fury, dammit. I need you.”

My skin tingled as heat washed over me. I had to have him, now. This might be my last chance, considering what I was planning to do iii all too short a time. He opened his mouth, no doubt wanting to keep talking, but I had other things in mind. Like fisting my hands through his hair and flicking my tongue against his. He tried to resist, hands twisting to lock around my arms with painful strength. Rather than deterring -me, however, it merely made me all the hotter. One of the reasons we’d
never
had problems in the bedroom. Animal instinct drove us both more often than not.

I had just enough presence of mind left to wrap magic around us in a soundproof bubble. Arcanes liked it loud— especially Hounds and Furies. I wrapped my leg around his and jerked, knocking him off balance. We fell together, collapsing on the floor, limbs meshed together and breath panting. He grunted when we hit, tried once more to break away, but then my lips crashed down on his and he was lost.

His head nuzzled between my breasts, and he wrapped his arms around me crushingly. I gasped, thrilling in his aggression, and thrust my fingers into his hair. Something good to be said for the longer

‘do. Made it much easier to grab on to.

His teeth nibbled at the apex of skin between my bra, moist breath fanning out and raising a hundred shivers. My moan made him more frantic, and he ripped the fabric off with one hand. I barely noticed the tearing sound, not that it mattered much, since it was Kiara’s. Then his mouth found my bare breast, and I could no longer spare the energy for idle thoughts. My hands jerked in his hair when he bit down on a nipple, hard. He alternated suckles and bites, moving from one breast to the other until I had trouble breathing, much less thinking.

Once he’d had his fill, his hands wandered lower, skipping over the waistband of my jeans and caressing the juncture of my thighs. I pressed myself against his fingers, seeking the friction my body so desperately craved. He rubbed, harder and harder, a lazy grin playing about his face when I groaned in frustration. It felt good, but it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough.

After what seemed an eternity, he took pity on me and yanked the jeans all the way off—along with my panties. My whole body shuddered. Oh gods, I’d missed this rough, wild heat so damned, much.

How could I have ever given it up?

His fingers found my most sensitive spot and began stroking, moving in’ and out with expert precision. He knew my body so well, knew exactly what drove me crazy. And for now, I was more than happy to let him have his way.

Seconds later I came, breath hitching in a drawn-out sob, arms wrapping around Scott and pulling his mouth to mine for one desperate kiss. When starburst after star-burst went off behind my closed eyes, I let out a choked scream, which be muffled by claiming my lips in another fierce kiss.

When ‘the last pinprick of light faded, my eyes snapped open. He wore such a look of pleased arrogance, I took it as an immediate challenge.

“My turn,” I drawled, calling on arcane strength and whirling us both until it was
his
back pressed against the wall,
my
hands roaming along his body. His T-shirt ripped as easily as my bra. Excitement flared in his gorgeous amber eyes, and he grabbed my hair and tugged just as I had.

His flesh felt hot and hard beneath my fingers. Heavy breathing turned to quick, tiny pants as I worked my way lower. His jeans clung to his body perfectly, meaning I had to actually take the time to unfasten them before tugging them down. I just used the extra seconds to make him want me even more. His eyes closed and he yanked my hair one last time before moving his hands to steady himself against the wall.

His jeans pooled into a puddle on the floor with a loud swishing sound. I left them there, hands moving to the black silk boxers concealing my prize. Then I gave as good as I’d gotten, playing with the obvious symbol of his arousal, rubbing slowly at first, then fisting my hand around his erection and tugging, then releasing, tugging,

then releasing again. His growl had me laughing softly. But then his eyes flashed open and told me playtime was over.

He waited for me to push his boxers to the floor, then struck. He had me flat on my back against the carpet, before I could do anything but gasp in anticipation of what was to come.

I nearly screamed when he plunged inside me, the heavy friction exactly what I’d been begging for just minutes before. He pressed another wet, hot kiss against my lips, and I thrust my tongue inside his mouth, tasting the male essence that was uniquely his before mischievousness made me bite down on his lips. Hard. He growled and then shoved my shoulders back against the floor and began pounding inside me so fast and furious that conscious thought fled. All I could do was feel, and damn, did it feel good.

My hips worked in tandem with his reckless speed, and we found a frenzied, familiar rhythm that had us both panting in seconds flat. His hands kept me pinned to the floor, but that only turned me on even more.

I could tell he was holding himself back, just slightly, wanting me to find my release before giving in to his own. He’d always done that, except for the few times I’d managed to turn the tables on him and bring him to pleasure first. I wondered again how I could have ever lived without this. Without him.

And then an orgasm hit, rocking my body from head to toe, and this time I couldn’t hold back the cry.

Scott’s body moved against mine another few moments, and then he shuddered and his muffled grunt told me everything I needed to know...

We gathered our scattered clothing once the glow had faded and showered together, letting the lukewarm water sluice our sweat away, soaping each other and touching as much as possible. Each time his warm skin met mine, my ice-cold heart thawed a little bit more. It really sucked that only now, when I might have to give my life to save others, we had finally admitted we still loved each other.

And that was the awful truth I wanted to distract him from. I’d made Calaeno promise to carry the clone-children—most especially Olivia—to safety the moment we’d freed them, no matter what happened to me. I was going to take down the mortals—and arcanes—who’d abducted magical beings to use as their very own lab rats. Even if it meant sacrificing myself.

“DO YOU REALLY HAVE TO
DRINK
THE BLOOD’?”

Serise paused in the act of tipping back the small glass vial filled with my best friend’s blood, shooting me a look that could have sprayed my
own
blood on the walls had it been translated to physical strength. Or if we’d actually been
inside
walls. “Yes.” She ground the word out as if talking to a very small, very slow-witted child.

“But Furies don’t drink the blood, and our tracker spells work just fine.” Of course, our magic didn’t allow us ‘to track others using the blood of relatives. We had to have the blood of the person in question, or no dice.