Hearts of Darkness (25 page)

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Authors: Kira Brady

BOOK: Hearts of Darkness
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They collapsed. His lungs burned as if he had run a marathon. He could still feel the pull of the moon, but it was controllable, no longer the mad fury that raked him across the coals.
He had barely shut his eyes before the beast reared its head again. His lunar mistress could not be denied.
 
 
Kayla rocked her hips forward. The new strength of her healing gift filled her with a soft glow and gave her the confidence to take control. The first push of Hart inside her had broken more than a piece of skin; a mental block had fallen away too, revealing a sparkling new world when she closed her eyes. The shadows and light she had sensed before were now crystal clear. Electric currents of gold and silver flowed beneath her and Hart's translucent skin.
Hart might think his soul was doomed, but she could see it glowed softly. She wanted to reach out and stroke it.
A second, smaller light whipped around Hart's larger one. If she glanced at it out of the corners of her eye, she could almost see paws, sharp teeth, and a tail. It was playful, but hungry. How would it feel to have two souls living inside her? The Wolf's energy rose, pulled by the moon and by Kayla's own pulsing light. It sensed her, as she sensed it. It bashed itself against the cage of Hart's skin. She sent soothing waves over the Wolf with her gift, but it needed more.
She rocked her hips against his.
“Are you sure?” he asked, concerned for her well-being first. “You must be sore.”
In response, she sucked his nipple into her mouth.
“Oh, Lady,” he moaned. He kissed her brow and rolled them over so that she was on top.
She sat up, straddling his hips.
A shaft of moonlight slipped through a small window high in the wall and landed on her naked torso. In her new Other sight it looked like dust made of diamonds. It was a living force that settled on her skin and Hart's upturned face, making them both glitter with magic light.
She reached down and took Hart's hands, guiding them to cover her breasts. His face softened in wonder. She was aware of his heart beating, and she settled into a rhythm to match. The soreness between her thighs quickly melted to delicious pleasure. The sparkling lights inside their bodies brightened with each thrust. The lights rose through their skin and twisted together, wrapping around each other like thick ropes.
Their bodies grew slick. Hart moved his hands from her breasts down her hips and around to grip her ass. He kneaded her, urging her onward, and she increased the pace.
Inside Hart, the Wolf lunged toward the moonlight. Kayla wanted to reach inside his skin and soothe it. Their souls intertwined, but they did not meld. She needed more of him. More skin. More touch. More taste.
“Give me your mouth,” she said. She pressed her breasts against his chest, raising her ass into the firm grip of his capable fingers. His mouth tasted like fire beneath hers. His tongue filled her with the same motion of his cock.
Again and again he filled her, until she didn't know where he ended and she began.
The moonlight heightened their pleasure, adding its fire to their souls until they were consumed with it.
He brought her screaming over the edge, waves of pleasure cascading one after the other. He filled her with passion until she was blind with light. Every muscle exhausted. Every nerve raw.
Kayla collapsed on Hart's chest. His heart pounded in her ear. He ran a hand gently over her hair and back. It was a wonder he could still move. She couldn't.
In that other vision, the lights inside him stopped dancing and settled peacefully. The Wolf was finally sated, no longer victim to the demanding moon.
She closed her eyes and faded into oblivion.
Chapter 16
Hart slept little. The moon madness drove him into Kayla's sweet heat every hour. He needed her like he needed air to breathe. For the first time since puberty, he was able to stay human and sane on the night of the full moon. Kayla was to thank for that. She was his salvation. No matter the hour, she always welcomed him into her body. He couldn't imagine how sore she must be, especially given her inexperience, and yet she roused with a smile and open arms.
If anything her soul seemed to grow stronger with every round. Her moans and her passion peaked. Confidence and power filled her supple limbs as he positioned her, behind and beneath and every which way till Sunday.
Through the night her eyes changed. The golden flecks multiplied until they overcame the brown, a hundred different shades of gold: tawny and amber, saffron and flax.
He didn't know what it meant. He didn't deserve her, not her body, or her trust, or her brightly burning soul, but now that he had her he wasn't going to give her up. Not now. Not ever.
By the morning light he could barely walk. Kayla was refreshed, bright-eyed, and ready to go another round. He sat propped against the wall so that he had a clear view of the basement stairs beyond the iron bars, Kayla cuddled in his lap.
“I'm sorry if I hurt you last night,” he told her.
“Don't worry about it,” she said. “After the first little bit, hurt was not what I was feeling.”
His fingers followed the flush as it spread up her delicate neck and across her cheekbones. He couldn't stop touching her.
Mine
, the Wolf rumbled, but it was sated and calm knowing the man would protect what was theirs. Kayla had settled something inside him, like adjusting two puzzle pieces to make them fit. It was disconcerting, this peace that allowed both souls to coexist. No longer adversaries. Neither fighting for dominance. How long would it last? “How did you do it?”
“I don't know. I can see lights inside you, two souls intertwined, and I can add my light. It sounds silly, but—”
“It's a gift from our Lady. Thank you.” He stroked the shell of her ear, making her shiver. He wanted to nip it, to taste the delicate edge beneath his tongue, but he knew where that would lead, and he simply didn't have enough energy to do it again.
“I couldn't do it before. It's almost like something inside me got unlocked with the trauma of losing Desi.”
“You sure you're all human?”
“What else would I be?” She rubbed her cheek against his chest as if trying to rub his scent into her. An unconscious gesture, more animal than human. Her smile turned a little rueful. “I don't even know your last name.”
“Don't have one. All kids take Kivati as their last name, until puberty when they Change for the first time. Once they get their totem animal, they take their pack's last name. Like the Raven Lord. Corbette means Raven. Each time he does something impressive he gets a new name. Emory Corbette, the Raven Lord, Defender of Innocents, Upholder of Rigid Outdated Rules, General Dickhead—”
She laughed. “What would you have been called?”
“Hart Lupus of the Kivati.”
“Were your parents wolves? Is it genetic?”
“No. Animal totems are a gift from the Lady. Mom was Eagle. She knew a little about being Wolf, because my father was one. I never met the guy. He disappeared after I was born. Followed the last Wolf packs to Canada.”
“But your mom raised you.”
“Yeah, she defied Corbette's order and ran away with me.”
“You miss her.” It wasn't a question. She ran her fingertips lightly down his arms, soothing, comforting, leaving a trail of energy that tingled his skin.
He nodded and tightened his hold on the woman in his arms.
She twisted up to look him in the eye. “When I first met Rudrick, he said you killed your own mother.”
He was silent for a moment. “If she had stayed in the protection of the Kivati, she would still be alive. But she didn't. She ran. Worked odd jobs and moved from town to town, always keeping her real identity a secret. There are worse things out there preying on shape-shifters than the Drekar. Demons, water spirits, minor devils, harpies, and wraiths. Even demigods. I got home from school one day to find the apartment bathed in blood. It squished in the carpet and dripped off the countertops. She was still alive when I found her.” He cleared a catch in his throat. “She gave me the blessing of the Lady and died. I never trusted the Lady again, not after She let that happen.”
“It wasn't your fault,” Kayla said.
Hart let the edge of a smile creep out. Of course she would say that. “You forgive yourself for not saving your sister yet?”
Kayla smiled weakly and looked away. “Logically, I know it wasn't my fault, but I can't help wishing I could have done something. Like gone with her to Seattle to watch out for her. Or made her stay in Philly.”
“My mom believed the Lady chooses our path. We can rage against fate all we like, but everything happens as She wills it.”
“Do you believe that?”
He shrugged. He'd never been good with words. If only there was a dragon to slay or a magic potion to steal—that he could do. But he could hardly battle the thin ghosts of memory, and it made him feel helpless. “Doesn't seem fair that She would will my mom to die like that. Or your sister. Who knows why the gods play the games they do?”
She seemed to take comfort from him. Burrowing into his arms, her body relaxed. She trusted him.
Lady be damned. How could he possibly live up to that much responsibility? He didn't have any experience.
They were both silent for a moment, listening to the splash of rain in the puddles outside. Every once in a while a car drove past.
“What do you think Rudrick will do when he finds us still here, whole and hearty?” Kayla asked.
“I don't know. The Kivati code of honor would demand that he let us go. We passed the test and survived. But . . .”
“Would throwing me to the wolves—literally—follow the code of honor to begin with?”
“Maybe. Corbette would be the one to rule on that. Depends on his mood. He can be a mean son of a bitch. On one hand, you bargained the necklace for our lives and failed. On the other, you're human. Kivati are pledged to protect humans.”
She swallowed and shifted her weight in his lap. “It's kind of late to talk about now, but we didn't use protection.”
“I'm clean. I'm immune to human diseases.”
“What about animal diseases?”
“I'm not an animal,” he growled.
“Sorry, I'm a nurse. I have to ask.” She sat back, her shoulders tense. He waited for the other shoe to drop. “I'm not on the pill,” she said softly, “and Norgard gave me drugs to make me ovulate.”
Surprise shook him first, followed briefly by fear. He didn't have anything to offer a pup, but the thought of her holding a little girl with his violet-tinged eyes and Kayla's wide cheekbones and sparkling smile made his chest tighten with an unfamiliar heat. Hope? Pride? Longing?
His sensitive hearing picked up the sound of a car pulling to a stop outside. Doors slammed. He was torn between standing ready and appearing nonchalant. There wasn't anything he could do if they came barreling in with guns. Iron bars locked him in. It would be like shooting ducks in a pond. The best he could do was block Kayla with his body until nothing was left, or they ran out of bullets. Whichever came first.
Fucking worthless options, if you asked him.
“Company,” he said, reaching over to grab their shirts and pants from across the cell. “Cover up.”
Tension sprang through Kayla's body like a bow pulled taut. Her fear roused the Wolf. “What do you hear?” she whispered. “Has Rudrick returned? What will he do when he sees—”
“It'll be okay.” He took over buttoning her shirt from her shaking hands. “We've made it this far, right? After last night I'm ready to take on the world.”
For you
.
They dressed quickly and quietly. Booted footsteps passed overhead and spread out across the floor. He caught the timbre of raised voices. Kayla huddled close to his back, as if he could protect her from whatever was coming. The thick basement door opened. Three sets of black combat boots descended the stairs and came into view.
“We'll get through this,” he told her in a low voice.
The Aether buzzed. He felt it roll over him, like a caress. Two Thunderbirds came into view, and Hart wasn't sure whether to be relieved or worried. Lords Kai and Jace Raiden were two of the most powerful Kivati, second only to Corbette. The brothers wore long gray dusters—Kai's trimmed in black, Jace's in red—over fitted charcoal three-piece suits, and high black boots. Both had black hair, long faces, and chiseled expressions. Kai was less formal. His long untamed curls brushed the top of a gun belt strapped desperado-style across his chest. Jace was a poster boy for an elegant Kivati Lord— not a hair out of place, not a crease in his stiff and proper suit. His hand clenched in a fist, and the air molecules tightened and bumped together. A thunderbolt shimmered at the tips of his fingers, waiting only for a reason to strike.
Still, it was the third man to come down those stairs that caused the hair at the back of Hart's neck to rise: Emory Corbette, the Raven Lord. His striking violet eyes stripped away secrets and demanded obeisance. His handsome features were sharp like his animal counterpart, razor nose, fine-boned jaw, stern mouth drawn down at the corners. His ebony hair hung straight to brush his high collar. His dress was severe, yet elegant. A jet-black jacquard tie matched his jet-black, three-piece suit. A tall, black top hat perched on his head. Silver accented the black: cuff links at his wrists; a watch chain hanging from his vest pocket; shiny, silver-toed boots on his slim feet; a cane with a heavy silver handle shaped like a raven in flight. The studs in his ears were nuggets of polished coal.
His hands were graceful and unmarked by scars, but Hart could easily imagine them wrapped around his throat. Here was a man with absolute authority and absolute self-confidence in his right to rule.
Hart fought the instinct to tuck his tail between his legs and bow his head.
Alpha
, the Wolf whined. But Corbette had kicked him out; he didn't owe Corbette fealty. Braver men had fallen before the Lord's terrible power.
Corbette cocked his head to the side. He took in Hart's imprisoned state and Kayla's obvious survival. Locked in with a werewolf on the full moon. She should be a pile of bloody bones. It didn't take a Kivati's heightened senses to smell what had happened recently. Sex hung heavy in the air.
Hart tried to shut out the scent of arousal and carnality. He'd prefer not to fight with a raging hard-on.
The two Thunderbirds moved into a protective position on either side of Corbette, not that Hart could do anything with those iron bars caging him in. If he could have escaped, he would have long before now.
“How unexpected,” Corbette said. His voice was dry as autumn leaves. “I had dreamed that one day you would return to us, but on your own steam.”
Hart started to say over his dead body, but bit his tongue. Another first.
The edge of Corbette's mouth twitched.
Jace gripped one of the bars and tested it for strength. “She can't have been in there all night. She's only a human.”
“Perhaps.” Corbette stepped closer to get a better look at the ground. His eyes paused at the small streak of blood on the concrete. “Perhaps not.”
All three glanced behind Hart to where Kayla stood partially concealed.
“What is your name, child?” Corbette asked.
“Kayla Friday.”
Hart was proud that her voice didn't waver.
Corbette tilted his head again. “Friday,” he murmured. “A descendant of Cheveyo Kivati?”
“My grandfather's name was Cheveyo, but he wasn't Kivati.”
“Wasn't he?” Corbette asked lightly.
Hart growled.
Corbette raised an eyebrow and cocked his head in the other direction.
“You're wrong. I'm not Kivati,” Kayla said. “I can't change into anything. I'm human.”
“Are you?”
“Of course!”
“And yet you survived a night imprisoned with a werewolf,” Corbette pointed out. “There is more than one power of Change. Hart, chatterbox that he is, might have shared a few details of Kivati lore with you, but even he is not privy to all our secrets. He missed out on so much of his education.”
“I didn't miss nothin'.” Hart didn't need this crap.
“Didn't you?” Corbette asked. He didn't elaborate.
“Whose fault is that?” Kayla stepped in front of Hart, much to his surprise. She bristled like a wolf defending her cubs. “You threw him out. How was he supposed to learn all this lore?”

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