Tip of the Spear (15 page)

In
the fading glow of the setting sun, her expressions shone one minute and were
shadowed the next. She’d removed her vest and hat, her hair swinging in a long,
dark brown braid. A weapon that could be used against her, though he wouldn’t
dare suggest she cut it, for fear she might.

“Come
on, Hinto. Do it.”

He
gave a half-hearted jab at her arm to quiet her nagging. Seconds later, he landed
flat on his back.

“Too
easy. You need to
really
attack me,” she ordered, staring down at him. She
didn’t smile, but he could tell she wanted to.

Getting
to his feet, he decided to try to be more difficult. He feinted left and went
right…and landed on his back again.

“Better,
but you’re still not there.” This time she grinned.

Muttering
under his breath about annoying females, he tried to take her out at the knees.
But instead of bringing her down, she blocked his attack with a raised foot and
countered with a  high kick to his chest that knocked him back a step.

“You
see? I’m not that easy to beat. Like the other males I’ve known, you
underestimate my capabilities. So predictable.” She shook her head, as if
pitying him.

Pleased
she could hold her own, he laughed. “Honey, you are just one surprise after
another, aren’t you?”

She
looked wary. “Yes, I am.”

“Let’s
make it best out of three.”

“You
mean four.”

“And
you can count. Pretty and smart. The total package.”

Frowning,
she opened her mouth to retort and
oomphed
when he knocked her to the
ground. Letting the full fall of his weight settle onto her, he pressed his
advantage. Ripping the leather string from the bottom of her braid, he
untangled the strands, spreading a wave of coffee colored silk over the ground.

“Beautiful,
but I said that already, didn’t I?” he murmured.

“Hinto,
get off me.” Thais squirmed under him and sucked in a breath. She felt the
tell-tale hardness suggesting his desire. That he returned what she felt only
made it that much more difficult to resist him.

Hinto
didn’t help. Always finding reasons to touch her destroyed the shields she
constantly built to keep him at a distance.

“You’re
an annoying bully. You think you can tell me what to do all the time.” She
huffed, trying to press her knee between his legs. The stubborn male rebuffed
her attempts.

“Now,
now. You have to show me how you’ll take care of Gregor from the ground.
Batting those green eyes at him won’t help. If he’s anything like me, that’ll
only make him harder.” Hinto pressed into her mound, his erection more than
telling, but arousing. “And you definitely don’t want to let him feel that
silken hair.” He tangled his fingers in it and tugged. “It’ll let him control
you, like taking the reins of a vore,” he said with a smirk.

Enraged,
she bucked under him. “You’re comparing me to Beast?” The arrogant ass!

“You’re
both wild, beautiful and strong. And you both need to be ridden hard to temper your
nature to go astray,” he whispered before leaning closer to nip at her earlobe.

When
his tongue rimmed the shell of her ear before thrusting inside, she lost all
rational thought and succumbed to sensation.

“D-dammit.
Move… away…”

“No,
no, honey. Not now. Not until we sate this hunger. I can’t think around you,”
he groaned and dropped kisses down her neck. “You’re a distraction, just when I
need to be thinking clearly.”

She
found some satisfaction that she bothered him as much as he bothered her. But
she had no intention of letting him
fill her right up
. “No, I can’t. This
isn’t… I cannot have a child.”
Not yet, not until I’ve done what I came to
the Territories to do.

“Hell,
Thais. We don’t have to make babies. There are ways around that,” he murmured,
buried his nose in the crook of her shoulder and inhaled. “You always smell
like flowers. So sweet and sultry. So sexy.”

Desperate
to shift him off her, she ran her hands through his hair, thinking to pull him
away. But the minute her fingers slid through the thick black strands, she
curled her fingers to hold onto him. What had he said about not having to make
babies?

He
groaned and kissed his way up her neck to her cheek. “So what will you do to
Gregor? Will you hold him close, try to find a way to disarm him?”

His
large body hummed with desire. She could feel it.
No, no, no. This is the
real danger you have to face tonight. Think, Thais! 

“Stop.
I don’t want this. I won’t beg,” she rasped, remembering what he’d said after
their last encounter.
The next time my mouth is on that sweet little pussy
of yours, I’m not gonna shoot my seed anywhere but deep inside you. And you’ll
be begging me for it, honey. I can promise you that.

“How
about if I beg?” he said on a breath. “I want you, too damned much.” He didn’t
sound happy about it, and his attitude tempered her panic.  

“
You
beg
me
?”

He
groaned and leaned his forehead against hers for a moment, then leaned up so he
could look down at her. “Whatever you want. Just touch me.” He pulled her wrist
between them, toward the crotch of his jeans. “Please.”

She
wasn’t sure which aroused her more. Touching the heat of him or hearing him yield
to her. Strong, stubborn, arrogant Hinto imploring her to handle him.

“Fine.
But you can’t touch me. You take the pleasure, but
only
what I give you,
nothing more.” She couldn’t afford to falter again. Her body, her decisions.

He
clenched his jaw tight, searching for something in her face he didn’t find. He
swore, nodded, then unbuttoned his trousers.

High
on desire, she watched his face, caught in the blaze of desire that flashed in
his eyes when she sought the heat of him. The moment her hand closed around his
thickening girth, he closed his eyes, his face a study in pleasured agony.

She
wiped the bead of moisture from his slit and smoothed it over the wide head of
his shaft. Then using both hands, she explored him, wanting to feel every inch
of his hard, hot flesh.

“Yeah,
that’s it,” he moaned, thrusting between her fingers. “Under the head. Oh,
fuck.”

Hinto
leaned down to kiss her and began to shove in and out of her hands the way she
imagined he’d move if mating with her. To her surprise, she spread her legs
wider under him, hungry to feel… something. As much as she derived pleasure
from controlling his responses and from the sheer beauty of his need, she felt
empty. Wanting him. Inside her.
By the Goddess.
 

She
gripped him tighter, addicted to the scent and feel and taste of him as he thrust
into her mouth with his tongue and moved between her hands. With trembling fingers
she reached lower to cup his taut sac, not easy to do with his jeans in the
way.

She
managed a hand under him while the other gripped his slippery cock, sliding up
and down as he shafted faster. The musky heat, the intense energy between them,
and the sense that her world was changing right in front of her took Thais into
another place altogether. Without meaning to, by giving Hinto pleasure, she
spiked her own. The unselfish desire folded back onto itself, immersing Thais
in a swirl of lust and affection she shouldn’t possibly feel for this man. Yet
she did. And it made little sense.

His
kisses deepened, and she swallowed his groans as he stiffened above her and
shoved her shirt up, baring her abdomen.

He
broke away and swore, coming all over her belly in a steady fall of bliss.

“Yes,
yes, Thais. That’s so good, honey.” Hinto chanted her name as he spent, his
climax long and breathtaking. Finally done, he shuddered and pulled away from
her. He flopped on his back and sighed, long and loud. “How the hell do you do
that to me?”

Satisfied
that she’d made him lose all control, she tried to ignore the need between her
trembling thighs, all too conscious of his seed on her skin. Thankfully, the
binding over her breasts prevented her hard nipples from chafing against her
soft, denim shirt. Now that she knew how it felt to let go in the throes of passion,
she had no intention of losing herself again. And especially not to Hinto, not
when just his seed touching her felt like a stroke of possession.

He
was the biggest threat she’d ever faced. Not Gregor. Not Pilar. Not even Bartel.
Hinto Dakota could make her forget everything but him if she let him, and she
couldn’t afford to fail in this mission. Not when her first huge mistake had
cost so much.

Her
pride—her honor—demanded she fulfill the Queen’s task. She’d be damned if she’d
disgrace her mother’s memory with anything but success.

He
grabbed a cloth from his back pocket and cleaned them both. He tossed the
dirtied rag aside and closed his eyes. “Just a quick nap. Beast will tell me if
anyone nears,” he mumbled.

She
glanced at Hinto’s softening face as he drifted into sleep. He was a warrior
she could respect, she grudgingly admitted. What would he think of her if he
knew what she’d done so many years ago? He hadn’t deserted his father in his
time of need. She sighed and turned on her side, away from the temptation he
presented and the strange sense of belonging she was starting to feel with him.

An
Amazon had no place in the Territories and no heart for a man. Then again,
thanks to Pilar and Bartel, an Amazon had no place anywhere. With the queen
dead and their numbers so few, most would struggle for years to rebuild what
they’d lost, if they even could. They didn’t need an unworthy guardian in their
midst. Thais would do what she should have from the first. She’d obey her queen
and the last order Estefina had been fit to issue; she’d return the crown.

Hinto
mumbled and rolled against her, pulling her into him so that his front
blanketed her back. Curled into him, she could almost forget she didn’t belong
here. Almost. Still, she didn’t push him away when he laced his fingers with
hers. And she fell asleep with his name on her lips.

Chapter Eight

Butch
McKenzie considered himself an intelligent man. He’d conquered the town of
Morrow without anyone even being aware of it until his hold was complete. The
last owners of this valuable piece of property he’d staked now lay buried under
several layers of good earth, feeding the very land they’d fought to keep. Even
the UTs couldn’t find fault with that.

He
frowned, wondering if Freddy’s latest fuck up would cause problems with his own
UTO contact. Trust a Nolan to go after the wrong woman. Between the lot of them
, it was a wonder any of them could keep their dicks in their pants. The
prolific family boasted several branches of Nolans, the latest generation
having spawned nine brothers.

Most
of them worked for him. Their cousins lived in separate sections of Four
Corners, and if he wasn’t mistaken, a group of them lived up in Big Sky
Territory. Usually large, brutish, and not particularly smart, they made for
decent muscle when he needed something done. Normally.

“I
swear, boss, I didn’t know Tilda was still off limits,” Freddy whined in a
pained whisper, stroking the bandage at his throat. His brothers tensed with
unease, no doubt reading the displeasure on his face. “Thought you had that all
wrapped up.”

“Tilda’s
brother is still on the council of Four Corners’ central United Territorials
Office, you shit. What the hell did you think would happen if you assaulted
her?”

“But
I didn’t. It was Cedric. I  was just funnin’ Daisy.”

“Her
best friend. Genius.” Butch sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose to stave
off another headache.

Cedric
cleared his throat and spoke. “My mistake, boss. But we were just teasing. We
weren’t gonna do anything more than scare ‘em. Everybody knows Tilda’s a
bitch.”

“A
bitch with a brother we don’t want to piss off.” Butch didn’t have to raise his
voice. Cedric and the others shifted on nervous feet.

Gregor
chose that moment to intervene. He sat lazily by the fireplace, swinging an
expensively booted heel as he considered one of the new serving girls. If she
had a lick of sense, she’d avoid Gregor until he left town tomorrow. If not,
she’d get what she deserved.

Celia
passed by the room again, her gaze lingering on Gregor.

Not
smart at all.

Gregor’s
vanity knew no bounds, and he smirked when he caught Celia gawking at him
before she hurriedly skipped out of sight. He shot Butch a sly smile. “Come on,
Butch. You know the mess with Tilda doesn’t mean anything. I want to know more
about the woman who broke his nose.”

Excitement
stirred.
As do I.

“And
sliced Freddy’s throat,” Cedric was quick to add, flushing a mottled shade of
red. The break in his nose had also blackened his eyes, and he looked nothing
like the handsome man who’d lured so many young women to their ruin.