Chapter 15 #3
“Believe it or not, I’m not trying to frighten you…
at least not this time. I just want to prepare you for what is to come.
” He retrieved a bottle of amber liquid from his pack and took a deep swig.
Standing now, he offered it to her. “Whiskey,” he explained.
“It’s strong. It will help you sleep and dull some of your aches and pains. ”
She eyed the dark liquid with skepticism, then snatched it from him.
Kendra had never tasted whiskey before, so she assumed it would be similar in flavor to rum.
Alcohol was alcohol, right? Tipping the bottle, she took a long deep sip, then almost choked.
Her face twisted in disgust as the potent liquid seared a burning path down her throat.
“That’s nothing like rum. It’s disgusting,” she sputtered, trying not to gag.
Reyne chuckled and reached for the bottle. She swatted his outstretched appendage and took another long swig. After wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she shoved it towards him. “How do you drink that foul-tasting stuff?”
After taking another swig himself, he returned the bottle to his pack.
“Taleari whiskey is an acquired taste.” A bedroll and flimsy blanket hit the ground as he prepared their sleeping accommodations near the fire.
He stretched out on his side, head propped on his palm and elbow, his long legs slightly bent at the knee.
He patted the inflated bedroll, beckoning her to join him with a sudden wicked gleam in his steel eyes.
She eyed the single-sized bedroll with trepidation.
Kendra had never slept next to a man before, let alone her enemy—a ruthless Ramachii hunter whose sole purpose was to deliver her to his vile master.
Even worse than that, she couldn’t deny her unwanted attraction for him, which made the simple prospect of bedding down so close to him more terrifying than the events of the last couple of days combined.
She took a deep breath and prayed for courage.
When she didn’t move fast enough, Reyne expelled a sigh laced with exasperation and began to rise.
A raised hand stopped him. “Stay. I’m coming,” She grumbled, moving towards him with the enthusiasm of a convict heading toward the executioner's block. Standing next to the bedroll, she flashed him with a pleading look. “Can you at least turn over and…you know…face the other way?”
“I could.” His lazy gaze lingered on hers, seemingly amused by her obvious discomfort. “But I won’t.”
Hateful wretch.
Despite her reluctance, she dropped next to him with a dramatic huff. She faced away, focusing on the dancing flames and did her utmost best not to touch him. A light blanket fell over her, followed by a heavy arm across her waist.
A hiss escaped her at the unexpected contact.
Although there was a good inch between her ram-rod stiff back and his broad chest, she felt his heat.
His unique musky scent, mingled with sweat, washed over her as she inhaled.
She grudgingly admitted that there was something comforting about his familiar scent and the protection his solid body offered.
The fire began to dwindle, and the nocturnal creatures stirred to life creating a symphony of strange and exotic humming noises.
Between her exhaustion and the drugging effects of the whiskey, she should have been lulled to instant sleep, but she remained wide awake long after Reyne drifted into blessed oblivion.
His breathing had slowed to an even rhythm, and she could feel his warm, steady breath feathering against the top of her head. Of course he could fall sleep. It wasn't his life on the line.
Despite her justified annoyance, she curiously walked her fingers up his arm, intrigued by the feel of the dusting of crisp hair beneath her touch, but it was his bicep she sought.
She soon felt his implant—the one deadly enough to kill.
Her fingers stroked it, probed it, memorizing its unusual shape.
Crazy as she may be, she couldn’t deny her fascination with the feel of its hard outline under his skin.
A rough texture beneath her fingertips felt like a puckered scar.
Was this where the implant had been inserted?
She hadn’t noticed a visible scar before, so it must be hidden by the inky black symbols surrounding the winged Taleari hawk.
Captured by awe, her fingers continued to caress his sinewy muscle.
Reyne had left himself vulnerable to her, which gave her a heady sense of power. She could easily take his life.
“Go ahead, princess,” Reyne's soft demand caressed her ear.
She froze and squeezed her eyes shut in embarrassment.
“Dig your nails in.” His bicep flexed and bulged beneath her fingertips. “It won’t take much. All you need to do is break the skin.”
“I wasn’t trying to,” she breathed, letting her hand fall away, feeling like a complete fool for having been caught touching him with such intimacy.
A heartbeat later, her back pounded the bedroll as he flipped her, yanked her wrists above her head and straddled her, pinning her beneath him. “But you thought about it. Didn’t you?” Reyne's sharp gaze pierced the darkness to impale her to the ground.
Kendra just stared up at him with a mix of embarrassment, horror and something akin to excitement. Her pulse leapt to life, erratic.
“You can admit it, Kendra.”
She bit her lip a bit too hard, tasting the slight twang of metal. “Yes, I did. Can you blame me after everything you have done to me?”
A howl sounded in the distance.
Reyne transferred her captured wrists to one hand. She tugged against his hold, but his grip was like an iron vice.
His calloused palm caressed her cheek as his thumb sensuously stroked her bottom lip, moist now from having bitten it. “No, I wouldn’t blame you.”
Their gazes held for a long, intimate moment, then he leaned down until his lips hovered near her ear and his warm breath feathered her skin. “But I also know you are lying.”
She gasped and struggled beneath him. “I’m not lying. I just need another chance to complete the deed.”
“Is that so?” Leaning up, Reyne seized one wrist and forced her clenched fingers apart with a probing thumb and pressed a light kiss against her palm with soft, warm lips.
She tried to jerk free, but his grip only tightened, unyielding and resolute. His eyes locked onto hers, holding her captive not just physically, but with the intensity of his gaze.
He watched her as his moist tongue lapped every mound, every lifeline, every inch of her sensitive palm.
Kendra’s toes curled and a breathless whimper escaped her parted lips as she gazed up at him, transfixed by both the raw, primal gleam in his stormy eyes and the mix of sensations overwhelming her.
Teeth grazed the fleshy mound beneath her thumb, then he lightly bit down.
A jolt of pleasure rocked her core.
A beat later he returned her moistened palm to his bicep, so her palm covered his implant again.
Once the haze faded, she realized Reyne’s devious intent. She cursed him for exposing her lie in the most humiliating way possible.
“There.” Reyne released her and returned to his position behind her, keeping his arm anchored over her waist. She could feel his breath on her nape when he rasped, his voice deep and husky. “Here is your chance to finish the deed. Be swift about it.”
“You wretch.” She clenched her teeth but refused to lose her grip on his bicep. Her fingers tightened. “I despise you.”
“So, you keep saying,” Reyne reminded her with an amused chuckle. A second later, she found herself pulled tight against him, leaving no part of her body untouched by his solid length. “On the off chance you change your mind, I suggest you get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a very long day.”
Sleep? Ha! Not likely, she thought, frustrated with herself because the feel of his lips still burned her palm. How could she hate him, yet crave his touch at the same time?
That hit to the head during the crash really messed with her rational thinking.
Sometime later, the embers inside the makeshift fire pit turned to dull ash and a sorrowful howl echoed high in the treetops, followed by another similar sound from afar, possibly two mates calling to each other in the moonlit darkness.
Shivering, despite not being truly cold, Kendra buried herself as close to Reyne’s solid length as she could manage, despising herself for enjoying the penetrating heat radiating from him. Her squirming must have jarred him, for his hold tightened even more securely around her as he slept.
When sleep finally claimed her, it was with her palm still covering his implant, letting him wonder what action she might take.
When Kendra’s tentative fingers first crept up his arm, Reyne decided to see how far her morbid curiosity would go, yet it was the strength of his own reaction to her gentle touch that truly astonished him.
His arousal was instant and fierce.
Except for the fortress druid who inserted the implant into his flesh eight years ago, no one had touched his left bicep since.
Not even one of his many lovers had dared.
But Kendra was unlike most females. She was bold. Defiant. A hellcat that needed to be tamed. And Reyne knew exactly how to tame her—with his tongue, his hands, his body and his throbbing cock.
He almost whispered his dark desires into her ear, demanding her complete surrender.
Instead, Reyne had allowed her to continue her tender exploration until he could no longer bear the torment and challenged her to end his life. Part of him, the one torn with conflicting emotions, hoped she would do it.
He felt the loss of her touch the moment her tender grip released him, falling to her side.
But it was when he loomed above her, gazing into her glittering emerald eyes—eyes swirling with a mix of hate and desire—that something deep within him seemed to break free. He felt a force, primal and possessive, pounding against his ribs, demanding to be acknowledged.
And Reyne knew then, beyond any shadow of a doubt, that he was truly fucked.