Blood Law (25 page)

Primal
rutting, and not just for the sake of letting off some steam with an available
dick. No, her body craved one man. She swallowed. In this case, she supposed
she craved one wolf.

Falon
shook her head again and took a step back into the room. Rafael had turned into
a damn wolf! Right in front of her. How was she supposed to deal with that?
“Oh, hey, love your fur coat.”

It
was fantastic and crazy and . . .

When
she had seen him chained and about to die, something deep and viciously primal
in her had reared its head. She had felt it. An uncontrollable rage. The
desperate need to protect Rafe. It fired her up, nearly consuming her. Had the
same thing happened to him when he’d seen her being dragged away? Had that
brought about his change?

Falon
squared her shoulders. In some unexplainable way, she was connected to Rafael.
It had nothing to do with sex, his brother, his people, or the Slayers. It was
more organic than that. It was as simple and as complicated as destiny.

She
cursed. Destiny be damned. She was a sitting duck here.

As
she descended the staircase, her nose twitched. Sex, hot, heavy, pungent,
permeated the sultry air. Wild laughter both male and female filled the
structure. She stopped in her tracks at the edge of the great room. Her jaw
dropped; her body flamed red with shocked embarrassment. Dozens of naked
writhing bodies tangled into a wild mass of heaving, grunting debauchery.
Unable to move and just as unable to tear her gaze from the grotesquely erotic
sight, Falon gaped.

She’d
heard of orgies. Had read about them in some tattered magazines left behind in
some of her flophouse rooms. And while she wasn’t naive, she’d never really
thought that people, women especially, had sex with more than one man at a
time. Apparently she was wrong. Very wrong.

Her
body warmed, partly because of the hedonism playing out before her but mostly
because she knew she was being watched. Slowly her gaze rose and caught the
molten stare of Rafael’s. He was the only person clothed! He grinned, a wild,
mysterious grin. Falon held her breath, fighting her natural urge to go to him.
He watched amused as she mentally fought with her desire for him and her
resistance to what they both knew was their destiny. He held out his hand to
her, giving her the choice both of them knew was already made.

Falon’s
limbs loosened. She felt like melting wax. She put one foot in front of the
other, careful not to step on a writhing body part on the floor. A large hand
grasped her bare foot. She gasped. Rafael growled a warning. The hand slid back
into the naked fray, and she took another step, then another, until she had
crossed the room without further assault.

Rafael
took the final step to her.

“Welcome
to the celebration,” he said hoarsely, taking her hand into his big warm one.
His long fingers wrapped possessively around hers.

She
shivered, wondering if he would try to entice her to indulge here, with his
pack. His deep laughter rumbled from his chest into her. She looked up into his
hot gaze. “I don’t share, Falon. Ever.” His eyes reddened.

She
nodded, not wanting to think of what the consequences would be to any man who
touched her as intimately as the men on the floor touched those women. Possessive
rage swelled in her chest, making it difficult to draw a breath. She cocked her
head and shot him a possessive glare. “Nor do I.” Her words surprised her, but
more than saying them was the realization that she meant them.

He
threw his head back and laughed, the full baritone of it reverberating along
the beamed ceiling.

She
shoved him and looked down at the wildly undulating bodies. “It’s an orgy,
Rafe!” Mostly two men to one woman, but some women had three men penetrating
every orifice. Falon’s skin continued to flush as her body tightened.

Rafael
ran his fingertips down her bare arm; an army of goose bumps followed, standing
at attention. “We won the night, Falon. There is much to celebrate.” He pulled
her into his arms and twirled around with her. “Let’s go upstairs, and I’ll
show you how to really celebrate.”

She
shook her head, wanting him but more afraid of lying on the big bed with him
and knowing what that would mean. Another hook. Deeper. Harder to remove. “No,
no. Wait. I want to know where the girl is. And . . .” Her eyes widened. “What
you did back there, the wolf—and that man, Edward. Who is he? Why did he want
me?”

His
eyes glittered with excitement. A low growl rumbled from his chest. “The girl
is in a safe place until her father can claim her later tonight.” He strode
with her in his arms toward the stairway to his room. “You don’t need to
concern yourself with Edward Corbet. He and his nest of Slayers will be
handled.”

Falon
stiffened. “Corbet?” She was a Corbet. Amid all the chaos in the warehouse he
had looked at her as if he knew her. She had felt a jolt of recognition as
well. She shivered in Rafe’s arms. Dear Lord, were they related somehow? If
they were, what would Rafael do?

“In
less than three months’ time, every Corbet on this earth will be wiped from it.
Permanently.” His voice had deepened with righteous fury. And so she had her
answer. His voice lowered as he pressed her more intimately to him and said,
“About the wolf thing?” He laughed. “What can I say? I turn into a beast when I
get pissed.”

Tightening
his hold, he ran up the stairs with her as if she didn’t weigh more than an
ounce.

“I’m
hungry!” she protested grabbing at straws to slow him down. She needed to know
more about Edward Corbet.

“I’m
famished, too,” he said, squeezing her.

Falon
struggled to get out of his ironclad embrace. “Not that kind of hungry, Rafe.”
She pushed away in earnest. He kept a solid grip on her. “I’m tired. I’m
confused.” I need to know what you will do if you learn I’m the enemy. How
could that be? She didn’t have a mean bone in her body. She was not full of
hate or a killer. She relaxed some. Maybe it was just a coincidence. Corbet was
a common enough name . . . besides, if she were remotely related to a Slayer,
wouldn’t Rafael know? At least sense it? She didn’t use black magic to hide her
identity like Smythe had.

When
they entered the room, Rafael locked the door behind them and tossed her onto
the bed. “Get undressed,” he commanded as he unbuttoned his shirt.

Falon
stiffened. “I will not!”

He flung
his shirt to the floor and started to unbutton his jeans. “Yeah, you will, or
I’ll undress you myself.”

Falon
rolled over to the opposite side of the bed, then to the floor, putting the
large bed between them. “No.” Did he think she had no pride? At some point, he
was going to hand her over to his brother, for God’s sake!

He
shucked his jeans and boots. And despite her anger, confusion, and fear of the
unknown, Falon could not help but look down. Dear Lord. Damned if her body
didn’t warm. His thick arousal jutted arrogantly toward her. Parts of her
melted. Other parts heated. All of her remembered the glorious feel of his
thick heat inside of her. Her gaze swept the length of him. He was magnificent.
Every inch of him was hard and lean with an underlying power that defied
reality.

“You
can’t force me,” she said with little conviction. He could, and they both knew
it.

“I
have no intention of forcing you to do anything you don’t want to do, Falon,”
he softly said.

“Then
leave me alone.”

He
crawled on top of the bed. On all fours, he came toward her. His eyes burned
bright, penetrating to the truth she denied both of them. Corded tendons
strained beneath the thick, sculpted muscles of his neck, shoulders, and arms.
She tried to swallow, but her throat was too dry. His large penis and balls
hung heavy between his thighs, swaying with his graceful movement. He reminded
her of a great wild beast coming to claim his mate. Her body loosened. A primal
urge, so powerful Falon could barely breathe, overcame her. His eyes hypnotized
her.

“You
can’t fight it, Falon. We are mated. You bear my mark. You are mine. Mark me
before the sun rises, and I am yours.”

“Wha-what
does that mean?”

“It
means I am alpha. As my mate, I will protect you against anyone or anything
that threatens your life. I choose you to stand beside me as my equal. Your
enemies are my enemies. It is your blood I have chosen to blend with mine so
that my legacy lives on.”

What
if she were his enemy? “What about the wolf thing?”

“I am
Lycan, Falon. As are my people. I cannot change it, nor would I if I could.”

“What
exactly is a Lycan?” She was afraid she already knew the answer.

“My
ancestors were wolves. But I am human, a human who possesses the skills and
instinct of the wolf, and who shifts with the sunrise and sunset.”

“Is—are
the people downstairs like you, too?”

“Yes.”

Oh
shit. Falon closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. This was crazy weird. But then
so was her life. Was she really all that shocked? She opened her eyes. “What if
I were the enemy? Would you protect you from me?”

He
scoffed, shaking his golden head. “I would never hurt you, Falon. Have I not
proved that?”

He
had, but—“Would you protect me from your brother?” If he would not, there was
nothing more to be said or done between them.

Rafael’s
eyes flared red before returning to the deep turquoise that was unique to him.
“I will kill him if he touches you.”

Finally!
He put her before the ridiculous Blood Law! Falon caught herself from turning
into an emotional pile in front of him. Yet emotion welled up so thickly in her
chest she didn’t think she could speak without her voice revealing her relief
and happiness. She blinked back the hot sting of tears. “What changed your
mind?” she croaked.

He
smiled that mysterious smile of his. Every part of her thawed.

“Let
me show you,” he said.

Falon
swallowed hard and coughed. Her throat was so dry. Her chest was near to
bursting. She wanted to throw herself into his arms and never leave his side,
but there was more she needed from him. “Am I free to leave here?”

Rafael’s
gaze flared with angry possession. Yes, he had marked her and vowed to protect
her, but she knew by his hesitation that the answer was yes and that it would
kill him if she walked out that door. And she might die, too. But right now?

Her
trembling hand reached up to the top button of her little half shirt. She
slipped it through the eye. Then the next one. Her chest rose and fell in
stuttered breaths. Her nipples were so tight they ached.

“That’s
it. Now slide it off your shoulders,” he urged.

She
did. Her breasts plumped under his hot gaze.

“You
are extraordinary, Falon.” He reached out a fingertip and touched a turgid
nipple. When it puckered more beneath his touch, he groaned. He slipped his
other arm around her waist and pulled her hard against him. His lips devoured
her. Falon’s body turned liquid in his embrace.

“You
are so warm. So soft,” he murmured against her breast. He raised his head and
looked hotly into her eyes. “And so fierce.” He pulled her harder against his
bare chest. “You were something else tonight, Falon. Amazing.” He kissed her
hard. His lips commanded hers to accept; his tongue took her breath away.

He
yanked her jeans off in one fluid movement and pushed her onto the bed. He
crawled on top of her, his cock thick and swollen, the dewy head weeping for
entry. Her legs opened, and he entered her in one thick, deep stroke. Falon
cried out in shocked pleasure. She was so slick, so tight, she could feel the
contours of his cock inside of her. She raised her knees up so that he could
fill her completely. He was big and warm and felt excruciatingly divine.

He
thrust into her in long, slow strokes. The tension built. Falon stretched out
beneath him, pulling him deeper inside her. She felt as if she had done this a
thousand times but that it was also their first time. He was so right. He
nipped at her neck, his teeth drawing blood. He licked her skin, slowly,
savoring the taste of her. Her lust intensified.

The
overwhelming urge to do the same thing to him nearly overtook her. He growled
as if he could read her thoughts. His thrusts became more urgent. She looked up
into his eyes and caught her breath. His gaze was red and blazing. The cords in
his neck strained against his skin. His momentum increased, his thrusts so deep
and powerful she wasn’t sure if she could hold on.

His
body tightened. For a long moment, he held himself suspended above her, his
muscles straining and taut. His skin was slick with sweat as he fought
something. She realized the sun had broken the horizon and in clarity
understood.

He
was only human at night. Was he going to shift? Now? Inside of her? Dear Lord,
no!

He
squeezed his eyes shut and in a quick movement turned her over. “I have time,
Falon. A few moments,” he hoarsely said.

“Before
I leave you, though . . .” He dipped his head between her ass cheeks. She heard
him inhale. Her womb constricted, releasing more of her slick essence. His
tongue flicked out and against her swollen lips. “Oh, Rafa,” she moaned. He
growled against her slickness at her term of endearment for him. She didn’t
know where it came from, but she liked it. And would say it again, for his ears
only.