Desire Unchained (25 page)

you know that every time I come inside you, my essence permeates every part of you? Your

blood, your hair, your cells.” She shuddered, but from his words or the fact that he’d worked his

tail between her folds and was stroking slowly, he didn’t know. “And your skin, it tastes like me.

I want to taste you everywhere.”

It was his turn to shudder as he remembered the other night when he’d captured her

arousal with his finger and brought it to his mouth. She’d been decadent, smooth and rich with a

bite like Irish cream.

His blood pounded through him in an erotic surge that had him dropping to his knees. He

worshipped her flat abdomen, skimmed his tongue from her navel to the boundary marked by her

soft, caramel curls. At her breathless gasp, he looked up at her. She watched him with wide eyes,

and he realized that this was the first time his mouth had been close to this beautiful, feminine

place. Even when they’d been dating he hadn’t taken the time to love her like this.

Idiot.
So much time wasted.

“Spread your legs wider,” he commanded and, still watching him, she did.

Keeping his gaze on her, he pierced her slit with his tongue. Instantly, her eyes glazed

over and her lips parted. The erotic sight would have brought him to his knees if he hadn’t

already been on them. Desperate for more, he palmed her thighs to hold them apart as he spread

her feminine lips with his thumbs.

He captured her hot flesh with his mouth, first licking at her and then sucking in long,

gentle pulls. Her hands clutched his hair, holding him, but he wasn’t going anywhere. Not when

the sweetest nectar on earth and Sheoul was pouring down his throat, lighting him up from the

inside out.

“Shade, oh, yes …” She pumped her hips and climaxed hard, her body jerking with such

force that he had to hold her in place as he finished her off. When her muscles began to quiver as

her orgasm tapered, he pushed to his feet, lightheaded, his body aching for her.

“Do you want me to change back?” he asked as he ran his hands up and down her arms,

feeling the strong muscles beneath her silky skin.

“No,” she whispered. “This is part of who you are.”

Hell’s fires. The blast of emotion that came from her rattled his bones and melted his

organs. This was dangerous, but he couldn’t stop himself. He needed to be inside her.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, and he entered her gently, his size stretching her

as he seated himself to the root deep inside. “I’m hurting you,” he moaned. “I have to change

back.”

She grasped his face in both hands and held him with her gaze. “Stay. Please.”

He had no choice. Compelled to do her bidding, he began to thrust, slowly. Her tight heat

squeezed him with exquisite pressure, and he managed to go slow and easy for a few thrusts

before instinct took over. He pumped into her like a demon possessed, which, he supposed, he

was. She called out his name, over and over, and each time he heard his name fall from her

perfect lips, he had to bite his cheek to keep from coming.

He gave up when she rocked her head forward and bit deeply into his shoulder. His

orgasm shot up his spine with such force he felt it blow through his skull. Runa screamed with

her own release, her tight clasp milking him through another orgasm, and another, until he lost

count.

They collapsed against the wet stone. His legs were so shaky he could barely hold

himself up, and he suddenly realized it was Runa’s strength that kept him from sliding to the

ground into a mindless puddle. At some point he’d taken his true form again. Interesting that he

hadn’t felt the transformation. Weakly, he checked himself out to make sure all parts were

present and accounted for, but as he studied his hands, his heart stopped.

His fingers flickered from solid to transparent and back again. His chest began to cramp

as his heart took on a random rhythm dictated by terror.

Damn …
oh, damn.

Runa arched, bucked with such force his sex slid out of her wet depths. Though he

trembled so hard he nearly slipped on the slick stone beneath his feet, he held her through it, and

when she eased, he glanced at his hands one more time, and he knew.

The curse had activated.

Thirteen

SPECIAL_IMAGE-image004.jpg-REPLACE_ME

“That was amazing,” Runa murmured against Shade’s shoulder. Drops of water beaded

on his skin, and she lapped at them, savoring the cool splash of wetness on her dry tongue. She

tasted jungle heat, fresh earth, and powerful male.

He moaned, still leaning on her and pinning her against the wet stone. He held her tight,

closer, it seemed, than he ever had. He’d been gentle, caring, his big body shuddering against

her. He’d broken her heart a year ago, but she could feel it beginning to heal.

Naturally, Shade couldn’t allow the warm fuzzies to last. He pushed away from her, and

without looking her in the eyes, he strode into the cave. And was it her imagination, or did he

seem to be transparent in places? She’d seen him turn practically invisible in a shadow … but

this seemed different. A side effect of his shift into another species of demon?

She stepped into the waterfall to rinse—how cool was it that he had a natural shower built

into his dwelling?—and when she finished, she found him in the kitchen, his hair still wet but

dressed in his usual black leather garb.

Including gloves.

His hands shook a little, and tension surrounded him like a blanket. Was he

uncomfortable with the closeness they’d shared? Something was up, and he still wouldn’t meet

her gaze.

“Are we going somewhere?”

Ignoring her question, he tossed her a bath towel and slid a plate across his dining room

table. “Eat.”

Wrapping the towel tight around her, she stared at the ham and cheese sandwich, and

though she was starving, the sudden awkwardness between them unsettled her stomach. “I’m not

hungry.”

His gaze finally caught hers, and her breath hitched at the sight of the dark shadows in his

eyes. “Yes, you are. I can sense it.”

Damn him and his senses. He bit into his own sandwich as though ravenous.

“How come I can’t sense your hunger?” she asked.

“Dunno. Eat.”

Sighing, she sat across from him and watched him chew, watched his throat ripple as he

swallowed. That mouth had been on her, and she flushed at the image that was burned into her

brain; him, between her legs, his jaw muscles rolling as he’d feasted on her.

“What are you staring at?” he asked. “Do I have something in my teeth, or what?”

She laughed. “No, of course not. I like looking at you. I can’t help it. Is that a crime in

demonland?”

“I guess not.”

A cool draft blew through the cave, sending a chill across her wet scalp. She dragged a

hand through her tangled hair. She must look like a drowned rat. “Listen, I know this isn’t the

ideal situation for either of us, but if you’re right, and this bond is permanent—”

“It is.”

“Okay, then, it seems to me that we need to work some things out.”

He broke a Fresca off the six-pack he’d set on the table and pushed it toward her. “Like

what?”

“Like the fact that I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life in this cave. The moon cycle is

done. Can we go someplace else now?”

“No.”

“So you expect me to remain your prisoner for the rest of my life?”

Shade gripped his sandwich so hard mayo dripped from between the slices of bread. “Did

you forget about Roag? You killed his female. He’ll want revenge.”

“How do you know? You said he’s insane.”

“His insanity only makes him more dangerous. And I know because it’s what I would do

if someone killed y—” He threw his sandwich down on his plate, knocking the top off kilter. “I

don’t want to talk about this.”

She stared at him. Part of her wanted to kiss him for what he’d said—or almost

said—about what he’d do if someone killed her. But the other part wasn’t going to get

sidetracked by his all too familiar avoidance.

“Well, too bad.” She tossed down her own sandwich. “I can’t live like this, and I won’t.

Did it occur to you that I have a life? A job I’m good at? People who will miss me?”

“Actually, no. It didn’t occur to me.” He laughed bitterly. “Not once in all this time did I

think about it. Gods, I’m such an asshole.”

“I won’t argue that,” she muttered.

Angry words fell from Shade’s lips, words in a guttural language she didn’t know, but

she got the gist. He was cursing up a storm. Yet he took a break in the middle of it to fix the top

slice of bread on his sandwich, lining it up perfectly with the bottom.

“Who were you talking to on the phone?” he asked abruptly.

Whoa. That made her heart skip a beat. “You remember?”

“I might have been half-crazed with the
s’genesis
, but yeah, it’s all coming back.”

She swallowed dryly and reached for her drink. “What … what did you hear?”

“Enough to know that whoever you were talking to knows about the hospital, and that

Kynan is involved.”

She broke out in a cold sweat. She’d never been a good liar, and with the bond, Shade

would sense her emotions, might know if she was lying about something big. Maybe she could

dole out bits and pieces of truth …

“I was talking to Arik. I told you that he and Kynan know each other.”

“How?”

“What is this? An interrogation?”

“Answer the question.” When she said nothing, he leaned across the table. “The longer

you stall, the more suspicious I get, and while I can’t torture you—unless you want to be

tortured—I have no problem with stringing up Ky. Now spit it out.”

“Stop bossing me around.”

He swore, and this time she understood his raw curse all too well.

“We just did that, buddy. So maybe you could bust yourself out of this grumpy mood and

remember that none of this is my fault. And while you’re at it, maybe you could wash your

mouth out with soap.”

Both fists came down on the table with a slam loud enough to startle her, but after a

moment, he said quietly, “You’re right.”

As far as apologies went, it was as much as she’d get, and she knew it. “From the Army.”

His dark eyes narrowed. “Is he spying on us?”

“No.”

He nodded as if suddenly everything was coming together. “The job you mentioned …

you’re working for the military, aren’t you?”

Busted
. “No … I …” The lie tangled her tongue, and Shade wasn’t buying it anyway, so

she looked down and whispered, “Yes.”

“What does Kynan have to do with this?” When she said nothing, he sighed. “Help me

out here.”

Unsure where to start, and afraid to spill more than what might be strictly necessary, she

chose her words carefully. “He was a liaison between The Aegis and the Army. He fell off our

radar about the time his wife died. We haven’t heard from him since. No one in The Aegis has

been able to put us in touch with him. So I came to New York to find him.”

Obviously, Tayla had known where he was, but she’d kept it from everyone else in The

Aegis. Runa had been sent to do more than just locate him. The Army wanted him. Badly. She

didn’t know why, and it wasn’t her place to ask. When orders were issued, orders were followed.

He cut her a sharp look. “There’s more. Something you aren’t telling me.”

“No—”

“When you came to my place, it wasn’t because you were pissed at me, was it? You

wanted information about Underworld General, didn’t you?”

Runa looked away, caught her reflection in the stainless steel refrigerator door. Guilt

stared back at her. “Yes.”

“You hated me so much that you wanted to bring down me and the hospital.” The tone of

his voice became gentler. “Not that I blame you.”

How could she deny the truth? “It wasn’t just that,” she muttered, out of some twisted

need to make him feel better. “I wasn’t lying when I said I wanted to kill the warg who bit me,

and that’s why I went to your apartment.”

“What day was that?”

“Friday. A week before you landed in the dungeon with me.”

He ran his gloved hand over his face. “Shit.”

“What?”

“I’ll bet Roag was trying to nab Wraith. He was supposed to meet me at my apartment

that night, but we canceled at the last minute because I needed to come here—”

“With a female,” she finished, the bitterness in her voice surprising even her.

He averted his gaze. His shoulders slumped a little, and she actually felt sorry for him. He

might be putting up an I-don’t-give-a-shit front, but she wasn’t believing it anymore.

“Okay,” she began, her voice softer than before, “so how would Roag have known that

Wraith would be at your place?”

“Solice knew. She was a nurse at the hospital. She’s the one who, ah, tortured me in the

dungeon.”

“Oh. Well, obviously she didn’t know about the change in plans that night, and I got

taken instead of you and Wraith.”

“Fu—ah, hell’s bells.” He shook his head. “I’m so sorry, Runa.” She didn’t have time to

be stunned, or to soften up, because he immediately danced away from his apology. “Tell me

how involved you are with the military.”

As much as she hated talking about this, in a way it felt good to get this huge secret out in

the open. Maybe now Shade would understand her need to get back to the real world. “I’m a paid