The Dark-Hunters (99 page)

He didn’t want to let them go.

Since the day they’d met, they’d never been apart for more than a few hours.

Her love and friendship had seen him through so much. Over the years, she had been his strength.

She was the best part of him.

“What am I to do, Nyn?” he whispered against her cold cheek as he rocked her. “What am I to do…”

Alone, he had sat there with her, lost. Cold. Aching.

The next day, he’d buried her out by the loch where the two of them had first started their childhood meetings. He could still see her waiting for him, her face bright with expectation. He could imagine her running across the snow, gathering up a handful to make a ball so that she could sneak up on him and drop it down his tunic.

He would have chased her then, and she would have run away, laughing.

She had adored the snow so much. Had always loved to tilt her head back and let the white, pure flakes fall onto her beautiful face and into her golden fair hair.

It seemed somehow wrong that she would have died on a day like this. A day that would have filled her with such happiness.

Wincing in pain, he wished that he lived somewhere where it never snowed. Someplace warm so that he would never again have to see this and be reminded of all he’d lost.

Oh gods, how could she be gone?

Talon growled from grief. He was on his hands and knees in the freezing snow, his heart bereft of anything except painful misery.

All he could focus on was Nynia lying in the ground, holding their baby to her breast. Of the fact that he wasn’t there to protect her, to warm her. To take her by the hand and lead her wherever she was headed.

He felt a tiny hand on his shoulder.

Looking up, he saw the small face of his sister. Ceara had seen more than her fair share of tragedy.

“I’m still with you, Speirr. I won’t leave you alone.”

Talon wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her close. He held her as he wept. She was all he had left. And he would defy the gods themselves to keep her safe.

He hadn’t been able to protect Nynia, but he would protect Ceara.

No one would harm her without dealing with him …

*   *   *

Talon came awake just before sunset with a sick feeling in his stomach.

He felt so alone.

His emotions were raw and tattered. He hadn’t felt like this in centuries. Hadn’t hurt like this since the night Acheron had taught him to bury his emotions.

Tonight, he truly felt the solitude of his life. The aching burn of it sliced through his chest, and he had to struggle to breathe.

Until he caught a whiff of something strange on his skin and in his bed.

Patchouli and turpentine.

Sunshine.

His heart instantly lightened as he thought of her and the way she stumbled through her vibrant life.

Inhaling her precious scent, he rolled over and found his bed empty.

Talon frowned. “Sunshine?”

He looked around and didn’t see her anywhere.

“Would you leave me alone, you walking pair of boots!”

He cocked a brow at Sunshine’s voice on the other side of his door. Before he could get up, the door swung open to show Sunshine fussing at Beth and the alligator hissing back in protest.

The two of them struggled in the doorway.

“Let go of my easel, you refugee from a luggage factory. If you need some wood for a toothpick, there’s a bunch of it on the porch.”

The side of his mouth quirked up at the sight of them battling it out, Sunshine inside his cabin and Beth on the porch.

“Beth,” he snapped. “What are you doing?”

Beth opened her mouth, releasing the easel. Sunshine stumbled backward, into the cabin, with her easel in her hands. The gator hissed and snapped at him, swishing its tail and eyeballing Sunshine irritably.

“She says she was forcing you inside before it got dark and something decided to eat you,” he told Sunshine.

“Tell Swamp Breath I was headed this way. Why was she…” Sunshine stopped and looked at him. “Oh jeez, am I really having a conversation with a gator?”

He grinned. “It’s all right. I do it all the time.”

“Yes, but no offense, you’re kind of weird.”

If that wasn’t the pot calling the kettle black …

She shooed Beth out, slammed the door, then put her art supplies in the corner.

Talon watched her with interest, especially since the denim of her jeans cupped her rear rather nicely as she leaned over.

“How long have you been up?” he asked.

“A few hours. What about you?”

“I just woke up.”

“You always sleep this late?” she asked.

“Since I stay up all night, yeah.”

She smiled at him. “I think you’ve taken being a night owl to a whole new level.”

She moved to sit on the futon beside him and rubbed her paint-stained hands against her thighs, drawing his attention to just how perfectly shaped they were and how much he would love to run his hand up the insides of them to the center of her body …

He hardened at the thought.

“Would you like me to make you some breakfast?” she asked. “There’s not much in the kitchen that’s not guaranteed to kill or rot you, but I think I could scrounge up an egg-white omelette.”

He grimaced at the thought of what an egg-white omelette would taste like. It would probably be worse than the soy cheese.

Jeez, someone needed to introduce this woman to chocolate Reddi-wip shots. And on the heel of that thought came the question of what Sunshine would taste like covered in chocolate—he’d never gotten the chance to do that with her last night.

Oblivious to his thoughts, she continued her tirade. “Haven’t you ever heard of bran flakes? Whole wheat?”

“No, I haven’t.” He trailed his hand up her arm to her neck where he could tease the softness of her skin with his fingertips. Hmmm, how he loved to touch her flesh.

She continued to lecture him. “You know, eating the way you do, you’ll be lucky to live another thirty years. I swear there’s more nutrition in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory than anything I found in your kitchen.”

Talon just smiled.

Why was he so fascinated by her? He listened to her voice as she lectured him, and instead of being irritated, he actually enjoyed it.

It was nice to have someone concerned enough about him that they would bother telling him what to eat.

“How about I just snack on you for a bit?” he asked.

Sunshine paused mid-sentence. Before she could think to respond, he pulled her across him and claimed her lips.

She moaned at how good he felt. How wonderful he tasted. She could feel his erection under her hip.

Her body melted against his.

The next thing she knew, he had her flat on her back on the futon and was leaning down over her, unbuttoning her sweater as her breasts tightened in expectation of his touch.

“You’re very talented at distracting me,” she said.

“Am I?” he asked, kissing the valley between her breasts.

“Um-hmmm,” she breathed.

Chills shot the length of her body as he nibbled the skin just below her jaw. His hot breath scorched her while he cupped her breast with his hand and kneaded her gently with his fingers.

She ran her hands through his tousled hair, holding him close to her while his braids brushed against her skin, tickling and teasing her. Her body throbbed and burned, craving his blistering touch.

Talon closed his eyes and inhaled the sweet scent of her skin. She was so warm and soft. So womanly. He ran his hand over the bounty of her tanned skin while he teased her neck with his tongue and teeth.

Her hands slid over him.

Oh, he liked how this woman tasted. Loved how she felt under him.

He ran his hand over the black lace of her bra, cupping her gently. She hissed in pleasure, her legs sliding against his. He’d never cared for the sensation of denim on his body before, but when Sunshine was wearing it, he didn’t mind at all.

He opened the catch on the front of her bra and released her breasts to his questing hand. He ran his palm over the hard nubs, back and forth, delighting in the way they felt.

He kissed his way down to them.

Sunshine held his head to her and she arched her back. He teased one breast with his tongue, flicking and sucking it until she wanted to scream from pleasure. It was as if he knew some secret way of wringing every bit of sensual ecstasy from the lightest touch.

And as he held her, something strange happened. She flashed back to a time long ago …

She saw Talon holding her just as he was doing now.

Only it was late spring and they were lying out in the woods, beside a quiet lake. She was fearful of being caught and, at the same time, she ached with longing for him.

His eyes were a deep amber and dark with passion as he braced himself above her on one arm and unlaced the top of her gown with his free hand.

“I’ve wanted you forever, Nyn.” His whispered words tore through her as he dipped his head and sampled her freed breasts. She moaned in pleasure at the foreign sensation of a man kissing her there. She’d never allowed a man to touch her before. Never had allowed one to see her body.

Somewhat embarrassed, she still couldn’t deny him this. Not when it gave him so much pleasure.

Her mother had told her long ago about the needs and wants of men. About the way they planted themselves inside a woman and took possession of her.

From that moment, she’d known she would never want any man but Speirr to take her that way. For him, she would do anything.

He lifted the hem of her dress up to her hips, baring her lower body to his warm, hungry gaze. She shivered as he nudged her legs apart so that he could look at the most private place of her body.

Her instinct was to lock her ankles together, but she forced herself to comply. She opened herself for him and held her breath as he stared at her with so much longing that it made her ache.

He traced his hand down her stomach, and outer thigh. Then ever so slowly, he ran his hand up her inner thigh, making her burn and shiver at the same time. She closed her eyes and moaned as his questing fingers touched the throbbing virgin flesh between her legs.

Her head swam at the strange feeling of him stroking and teasing her. He spread her legs wider, then slid his fingers inside her where he delved deep, making her body quiver.

She moaned as he moved his hand and placed his body between her legs. She felt his rigid shaft throb against her inner thigh.

“Look at me, Nynia.”

She opened her eyes and looked up at him.

The love in his eyes scorched her. “It’s not too late yet. Tell me you don’t want me and I will go away without any damage being done.”

“I want you, Speirr,” she whispered. “I only want you.”

He leaned down and kissed her tenderly, then slid himself inside her.

She tensed at the pain he caused as he tore through her maidenhead and filled her to capacity. She bit her lip and held him close as he slowly rocked himself against her.

“You feel so good beneath me,” he breathed, his voice a deep half-groan. “Even better than I thought you would.”

“How many women have you had beneath you, Speirr?” She was horrified by her words, but wanted to know and was too young to realize just how foolish her question was.

He stopped moving inside her and pulled back to stare down into her eyes. “Only you, Nyn. I’m as virgin as you are. I’ve had other women offer themselves to me, but you’re the only one I dream of holding.”

Her heart soared. Smiling, she wrapped her legs around his lean, naked hips. She cupped his face in her hands and pulled him down to her until their noses touched.

“Oh, Speirr,” Sunshine whispered, holding him close.

Talon went rigid in her arms.

In the last thousand years, no one other than Ceara had ever used his real name. And only one woman had ever said his name the way Sunshine did just now.

It wasn’t just what she said, it was the cadence of her voice when she’d said it. The shiver it had sent down his spine.

“What did you call me?”

Sunshine bit her lip as she realized her slip. Oh jeez, he probably thought she was calling him by another man’s name. He would have no memory of his former life. Nor should she. She didn’t know where these flashbacks were coming from.

All she knew was that they were freaking her out.

Her grandmother was really into past-life regression and had raised her with a devout respect for reincarnation. One thing Grandma Morgan had tutored her well on was that when you’re reborn, you always forget your former life.

Why, then, did she remember him?

“I was clearing my throat,” she said, hoping he would buy it. “What did you think I called you?”

Talon relaxed. Maybe he was hearing things. Maybe it was what this woman made him feel that was dredging up his long-forgotten memories. Or maybe it was the guilt he felt for wanting her the way he did.

Only Nynia had ever made him really burn like this.

Sunshine was so different. She made him feel even when he didn’t want to. Even when he fought against it.

She buried her hands in his hair and pulled him down so that she could nibble his jaw. The feel of her hands on him, the warmth of her body under his …

He lowered himself over her, and buried his lips against her shoulder where he could taste the salt of her skin.

Talon sighed deeply. Contentedly.

Then, to his deepest aggravation, his phone rang.

Cursing, Talon answered it and found Acheron on the other end.

“I need you to guard the woman tonight. Keep her at your place.”

Talon frowned. He wondered briefly how Ash knew Sunshine was with him, but the man’s powers were nothing if not scary. “I thought you told me to stay away from her.”

“Things have changed.”

Talon bit back a moan as Sunshine nuzzled his nipple with her teeth. Keeping her here was far from a hardship. “Are you sure I’m not needed tonight?”

“Yes.” Acheron hung up.

Talon tossed the phone aside and looked at Sunshine with a devilish grin. This night just got a whole lot better.

Chapter 8