OwnedbytheElf (6 page)

“Why are you here?”

He pulled her head back, reveling in the small gasp that
escaped her lips. He hadn’t missed the darkness in her eyes, overshadowing the
nerves. Nerves, not fear. Nor had he missed the fact that she’d gotten turned-on
by a little rough loving up against the tree the day she’d been taken from him.

Suddenly it was important that she hadn’t been forced into
this. That she hadn’t been forced to become one of the Claimed to fulfill the
promise her queen had made to Briac. As he looked down, Bane had to admit what was
in his heart. He wanted her to have chosen to come back. He wanted her to have
chosen
to come back to him
.

She was compliant in his hold, her nearly naked body pressed
against his mail and leather. All he had to do was tear his breeches open,
sweep the flimsy fabric aside and he could be inside her in a heartbeat.

“For gods’ sake, Bane. Claim her if you’re going to or stand
aside and let someone else have her.”

Briac’s voice brought him crashing to reality. It didn’t
matter what she wanted now. She’d come to them in the white shift of a Claimed
woman, which meant she wasn’t getting away. She would be owned, body and soul,
by an elven warrior before nightfall. Shame filled him. That warrior would be him,
whether she wanted it or not.

“Please, don’t let them.” Her voice trembled as she
whispered. “I came back for you, just you.”

She wanted him.

She’d come back as a Claimed…for him. Elation exploded
through him as he dropped his head and claimed her lips. Not soft or gentle, he
took her lips like the conqueror he was, parting them with a rough sweep of his
tongue and delving between them for the honeyed sweetness he knew lay beyond.

Legs tangled in hers, he pulled her footing from under her
and rode her to the ground, careful to ensure her safety in the cradle of his
arms. He kissed her as if she were the last woman in existence, smothering her
gasp under his lips. For him, she was the last woman. She was all he wanted,
all he’d ever wanted. He just hadn’t realized that until now.

“I’m sorry, little one,” he said between kisses as he lifted
up and freed himself. As if sensing her so close, his cock sprang from its
confinement, ready and eager. “I have to do this. I’ve got to claim you. Here.
Now. So they all know you’re my woman. You’ll never be safe otherwise.”

He parted from her luscious lips long enough to look in her
eyes. The look of trust and something else, something deeper, was something
he’d never thought to see in a woman’s eyes and it nearly unmanned him. She
nodded, her teeth white as she bit into her lower lip.

“Hold on to me.”

He kissed her again, shoving the claiming shift to the side
and wrapping her pale-skinned legs around his hips. The crowd behind them
cheered as he dipped his hips and drove forward. His cock found her entrance
easily, her feminine channel yielding as he slid into her cunt, a long, slick
ride of sheer sensation until his balls slapped against her.

They both groaned, chest to chest, gazes locked. He’d sworn
to himself to make it quick, get her out of there as soon as possible and away
from lascivious gazes only interested in using their coupling to fuel their own
solo efforts. But he couldn’t. As soon as her tight sheath closed around him,
he froze in place, the feeling of coming home absolute.

“Oh fuck this. I don’t want to watch his ass flashing away
and not see any of the good stuff. Get on with the rest.”

Briac’s complaints behind them were ignored as they stared
into each other’s eyes. The attention of the crowd drifted away, a roar of
approval telling him that another of the Claimed had stepped forward to be
chosen.

Bane didn’t care. All that mattered was he had Tamryn back
in his arms, her delectable body wrapped around his while his cock found its
home in her tight sheath. A home he’d return to time and time again, until her
belly swelled with his seed and bound her tighter to him than any voyeuristic
claiming ceremony.

He knew that she’d be a good mother, fiercely protective and
loyal of her young. He’d never had that. His own mother had tried to throttle
him as soon as he was born, only the flare of his magic stopping the
black-hearted bitch before she could accomplish her goal. She’d run, leaving
him to his father and a warrior’s upbringing of hard lessons and harder blows
for the smallest infraction. He’d never had a mother’s love, but he wanted it
for his offspring…wanted a family.

Her nostrils flared slightly, eyes darkening at his slight
movement deep in her pussy. She used her nails to rake lightly along his arms,
bared by the short sleeves of his chain and mail. “I thought this was a
claiming, my
Lord…
or do I have to go parade myself half naked again to
get a good fucking?”

“Mine,” he growled, a deep sound of warning from the depths
of his soul, and started to move, pulling out of her almost all the way and
slamming back in. They both groaned. “You want a fucking, you’ll get one.”

Fuck her he did, calling magic to shield everything but the
bare minimum from anyone more interested in them than the claiming still going
on. The scent of magic and sex swirled around them as he forgot about finesse
or making it last and just took her as his heart and body demanded.

“Why did you come back? Admit it,” he panted between heavy
thrusts as she moaned and writhed beneath him. She’d put herself in danger
coming back here. Had run the risk of being claimed by another elven warrior.
If that had happened, he would have ripped the guy limb from limb in front of
her. Feral rage rose up at the thought of another man touching her.

“I wanted you.”

She shot him a defiant glare and rolled her hips against
his. His balls pulled tight and he bit back a groan. Smart-mouthed wench. He’d
teach her a better use for that sharp tongue later.

“Not good enough. Admit it…the truth.”

Each word was punctuated by another heavy thrust as he
speared her with his cock, slamming into her and fucking her so thoroughly that
she’d never look at another guy.

The first spasms of her climax rippled through her body, her
cunt clamping down on his cock with an almost punishing grip. One that tempted
him to join her as she went over the edge.

Gritting his teeth, he spread her thighs and drove deeper.
He needed to hear it, needed to hear the words.

“Oh gods, I’m coming.”

“
Admit it.
”

She gasped as her back arched, her eyes wide and unseeing.

“I love you!”

Her climax ripped through her slender body with the force of
a storm. Her body tightened around his, the feeling and her admission too much
for him. With a roar, Bane released the rigid control on his own body and
followed her into bliss.

He was out there. Somewhere, out there in the darkness of
the woods, he lay in hiding. Waiting for her to make a mistake and reveal her
position. Tamryn’s heart pounded in her chest, a rapid tattoo as her breath
rasped in her ears, the sound all but deafening her. Adrenaline and anticipation
rolled through her veins as she slid from the cover of the shadows and stepped
out onto the narrow path.

Moonlight sliced through the thinner branches to paint the
undergrowth around her in a masterpiece of silver and black. The white shift
she wore practically glowed, another advantage he had over her. In his dark
leather and mail, by the time she saw him, it would be too late.

Poised on the edge of the path, she listened for any sign he
was near, anything that would tip her off. His breathing, the slight chink of
mail, a rustle in the undergrowth, even the absence of natural sound that might
indicate he was lying in wait.

Her bare toes brushed the dry dirt and she shivered despite
the warm summer night. Which way did she go, left or right? Whichever she
chose, he would find her eventually. He always did. There was no escape. Not
for her.

Silence reigned, nothing but the whispering of the wind in
the trees reaching her ears. Heart in her throat, she took the plunge and
turned left to hurry down the path between the trees.

Her heart rate picked up. She expected him to burst from the
trees at any second and chase her down. He was near, she could feel his eyes on
her. Every deep group of shadows became suspect as she picked up the pace, her
body aching in more ways than one and ready to leap into a sprint at a second’s
notice. She held back, knowing she needed all her energy, all her speed for
when he finally caught her.

The trees around the path thinned out as it widened into a
moonlit clearing blanketed with soft grass and fragrant moss. A grin curved her
lips as she allowed triumph to fill her. In the center of the clearing lay her
goal—a blanket spread over the grass next to Bane’s pack. If she could reach
it, then she was home free. She’d have won the game.

Her steps got quicker the closer she got until she was near
an all-out run. It couldn’t be this easy, surely? Bane the Terrible, the
ultimate elven warrior, was really slipping up if he’d let her evade him this
easily.

She was almost there. The thrill of victory sang in her
veins as she reached the grass. She didn’t notice the large shadow detach
itself from the tree line until it was too late. Movement tugged at her
peripheral vision. She turned. Bane ran at her, flat-out and low.

Her gasp was more of a squeal as she ran for all she was
worth, aware of the big warrior pounding across the grass toward her. She wasn’t
going to make it. The angle he was headed meant he’d get to her before she
reached the safety of the blanket.

His low chuckle reached her ears, wrapping around her and
making her body ache with longing. She’d always found his laugh sexy. The
erotic heat that swirled through her body sapped the energy from her limbs.
That sexy bastard of an elf knew it as well, knew what he did to her.

She slowed, just a little, but it was enough. Within a
heartbeat he had her, strong arms wrapping her up as he tackled her to the
ground mere feet from the safety of the blanket.

“No escape, you’re mine.”

His familiar growl filled her ear as she was pressed into
the cool grass, a solid male body atop her. Cool mail and worn leather pressed
into her back, clearly felt through the thin shift. She might as well have been
wearing nothing.

He moved to press his hips against hers, and she gasped at
the feeling of his cock, thick and heavy, against the groove of her ass. Heat
and sheer, unadulterated need exploded through her like a shooting star. Her
pussy clenched, liquid heat slipping from her to signal her body’s readiness
for his possession.

A possession she welcomed. Needed. Wanted. And never more so
than when they played this game, reliving his claiming of her every full moon.
She arched her back and thrust her ass upward, grinding against his rock-hard
cock. She ached to be filled, to feel that thick length sliding in and out of
her tight channel.

“Tease.”

He nipped her ear, sending another bolt of pleasure through
her body to her engorged clit, and then flipped her over. Desire and dark
intent shone in his gaze as he looked down at her. Much as she wanted him,
wanted him to strip the simple shift from her body and make her his with all
the ruthlessness she adored, she couldn’t make this easy for him. Easy was
boring. She needed to raise the stakes, get him nice and fired up.

Twisting her wrist, she evaded his grasp and pulled the
dagger from its sheath at his waist. Blanking her face to hide her glee, she
pressed the razor-sharp blade against the inside of his thigh.

“Hold it right there.”

Bane froze, his big body perfectly still above her. She didn’t
blame him. All his weaponry, including the blade in her hand, was made from
dwarf steel—hard as nails and sharper than a dragon’s claw.

“Sweetheart?” His voice was calm, but she could hear the
wariness.

“Silence, dog. I’m going to show you who’s in charge now,”
she mock growled, trying to imitate his gruff tone, then planted a quick kiss
on the side of his neck.

The tension in his frame eased up a little, but not much,
given she still had a lethally sharp blade pressed very close to some very
delicate portions of his male anatomy.

“Really? And just who would that be?”

He leaned down, trying to intimidate her with his muscled
frame as he dragged his lips along her neck. She trembled, hardly able to
remember her own name, much less what she was trying to do.

“Ahhh…” She bit her lip as he waged war, playing dirty by
nuzzling the sensitive spot just under her ear, then nipping the lobe gently. “That
would be me. On your back, you filthy cur.”

His shoulders shook with suppressed amusement at her
theatrical language. Obediently he rolled, taking her with him and,
surprisingly, let her keep the knife. She’d expected him to pluck it from her
hand and take over. Instead, he moved the blade up to his throat and settled
her so she straddled his hips, big hands on hers to press her down onto the
thick evidence of his arousal.

Unable to help herself, she rolled her hips against him and
nearly undid her own campaign. Hot need spiraled through her, the need to beg
him to take her making her whimper. She loved having him over her, under her,
behind her…she didn’t care how, as long as he pounded into her until she didn’t
know where she ended and he began.

Smothering a whimper, she tried to keep up the tough
persona. She’d never tried to assert dominance over him during sex, but the
suppressed desire in his eyes said he was willing to play along. More than
willing if the thick cock pressed against her was any indication.

The edge of the knife trailed nonchalantly along the
v-shaped neck of his mail, caressing the revealed skin there. He shivered as
the blade kissed him, his eyes pools of dark fire as he looked up at her.

Oh gods, he was really turned-on.

The knowledge gave her confidence as she leaned forward,
wiggling her hips to torment him more as she gave him a good view of her tits
in the loose top of the shift. As always, she was naked beneath it. His gaze
flicked down for a second and his hands flexed on his hips. He liked to tear
the shift from her body, feasting on the twin mounds, teasing and sucking her
nipples before moving south and starting all over again.

Her breath caught as a fresh wave of heat slipped from her.

“Admit it,” she demanded, ignoring the soft caress of his
fingers at her waist. Instead, she channeled her inner bitch and hooked her
fingers into the mail at his neck, yanking him upright until they were face-to-face.
“I want to hear the words.”

He met her gaze levelly, the expression in his eyes serious.

“I love you.”

Time stopped, the world stopped turning and magic ceased to
exist as she looked into his eyes and saw love and desire there. Wonder filled
her, a silly grin hot on its heels as the knife fell from her nerveless hand.
All these months she’d wondered, suspected from the small things he did just to
please her, but he’d never said the words.

Picking up the knife, he put it back in her hand and pressed
it against his chest. The razor-sharp steel dug into his skin, creating a
triangular dip before it parted. A bead of scarlet welled and grew as round and
bulbous as the holly berries she loved during the winter. She watched as it
grew too large and rolled down the blade.

“My heart belongs to you. Has since you called me elf scum
the first time we met,” he admitted, letting go of her hand. “Your call. Cut it
out, or let it beat to love you. Claim
me,
sweetheart.”

If he’d snatched the blade from her hand and plunged it into
her rib cage, he couldn’t have struck a truer blow than he did with his words.
Emotion welled up, mingling with the desire running through her body.

“Claim you? But how?”

She looked down at her white shift with a frown. The sheer
fabric tried its best to conceal her body but failed miserably. “I don’t think
this is going to fit you.”

He smiled, wicked dimples creasing his cheeks. Then his gaze
followed hers and all amusement fled, to be replaced by heat and longing.

“Take me. Fuck me out here with the moon and stars as our
witness. Make me yours, Tamryn.”

His voice was low and husky in the darkness, a deep rumble
of sheer temptation. Wild magic gathered around them in response to his words.
Holding her gaze, he mastered it, shaping and throwing it around them in a
maelstrom of sensation.

A gasp escaped her as it lifted her shift and stroked along
her skin, tugging at her hair and whispering down along her spine. His lips
moved, shaping a single word she didn’t quite catch. She soon found out what it
was—a spell word. One moment smooth, worn leather brushed against her thighs as
she straddled his hips, and the next she felt the smooth, warm skin of his hips
and the thick, insistent press of his cock against the grove of her pussy lips.

He rocked his pelvis and ground his erection against her
clit. She moaned, eyes rolling back in her head as white-hot need coiled and
pulsed within her.

“Fuck me, Tamryn,” he whispered, sliding his hands up her
arms. “Ride me, long and hard. I want to feel you around me, over me. Know you’re
mine and I’m yours.”

She whimpered, unable to hold out any longer. Lifting up,
she dropped the knife unheeded to the ground next to them. He didn’t recover it
this time, too busy groaning as she wrapped her fingers around the thickness of
his shaft. She loved the feel of his cock in her hands. Biting her lip, she
stroked him twice, reveling in the feel of the velvet skin sliding over his
steel-like shaft.

He bit back a curse, arching back against the blanket
beneath them as his eyes rolled back in his head. Feeling a rush of feminine
triumph at the power she wielded over such a powerful man, she lifted up and
fit the thick mushroom head of his cock against the slick entrance to her cunt.

A moan of pleasure in the back of her throat, she sank down
on him. Her body stretched around his thick cock, the fit still so tight she
had to hold her breath as he breached her. Rocking herself against him, she
felt every inch of his cock as she impaled herself inch by glorious inch on his
stiffened shaft.

His fingers dug into her hips as though to hold her down on
him, but she knew better. The fine tremors that racked his body told the tale
of how much control he was exerting on himself not to snap and take over.

“Fucking
hells
!” He slammed a fist into the ground
near his shoulder, every muscle and sinew tensed as she slid down him.

She whispered sweet nothings, soft feminine murmurs as she
gave up any thought of teasing him. Instead, she lifted up and impaled herself
again. The slippery slide down his rigid cock drove any other thought out of
her head but getting more of the delicious sensation.

Breathy moans spilled from her throat as she rode him. His
hands wrapped around her waist, strong arms lifting her up so she could slide
onto him again. Only lifting her, never driving her down.

“That’s it, sweetheart, ride me,” his deep voice urged, dark
whispers that spoke to her very soul. “You’re beautiful. I love watching you
when you come.”

She just nodded, trying to concentrate as her movements grew
faster, less controlled. All that mattered was him inside her. She needed to be
filled by his cock, his arms around her. Tension coiled in her loins, her clit
throbbing every time she ground herself against him. She panted, hands braced
on his broad chest as he lifted up to meet her.

“Bane, please…” she begged, not caring at the pleading note
in her voice. She couldn’t go fast enough or hard enough. “Please, I need more.”

With a rumble of arousal, he wrapped his arms around her,
and the next second she was on her back under him.

“I’ll give you more, sweetheart. I’ll give you everything I
am…” he whispered between heavy thrusts. She mewled as pleasure built to
breaking point within her. This was what she needed. Him. Bane.

Two thrusts were all it took to have her hovering on the
edge. Time slowed as the chasm yawned beneath her, waiting for her to tip over
into ecstasy. She looked up into dark eyes and saw the answer to everything she’d
been searching for.

“Come with me,” she said, reaching up to plant a soft,
almost chaste kiss on his lips. “Come with me, forever.”

He shuddered, the first pulsing of his cock within her
setting off her release, and with a mingled roar and moan, Tamryn claimed her
elf.