Phantom Warriors: Talon (4 page)

* * * * *

Lynn’s head spun. She’d never been kissed like that in her life.

Talon’s mouth didn’t just move, it teased, tasted, coaxed, and devoured. She’d tried to retreat, but he wouldn’t alow it.

Instead, Talon chased her tongue, pursuing it as he explored the deepest recesses of her mouth. His hard shaft dug into her soft bely as he rocked his hips forward. If the
feel
was anything to go by, then the rest of Talon was as impressive as his magnificent chest.
Oh my…

The kiss became maddening. Talon’s wild flavor filed Lynn’s mouth, overpowering her senses until she craved it, craved him. The man was addictive. One hit and she was hooked. A little voice inside her head warned her not to take too much. If she did, she’d never get him out of her system. Lynn knew it was already too late.

His hands seemed to be everywhere at once, setting her body aflame with a gentle stroke here and a rough pinch there. He played her like a man familiar with a woman’s body, like a man who appreciated and adored pleasing women. A surge of jealousy struck out of the blue. At least that’s what she thought it was.

She’d never been jealous before and frankly, she didn’t like it one bit. Lynn pushed the unwarranted emotion away. As a woman of science, she wasn’t naïve enough to believe that a man like Talon hadn’t been with a stable of women. Her minor in anthropology served her wel in that regard.

She knew the score going into this…this…whatever was happening between them. She wasn’t about to turn shrew and demand he give up his potential harem for her. Lynn might want to, but she’d never do it.

Talon’s grip on her tightened and he groaned deep like a man tortured.

“I need you,” he whispered, between gentle swipes of his tongue. “Goddess knows I want you.” His hot breath brushed her cheek as he blazed a trail to her shoulder and began to nibble in earnest. “Tel me that you want me, too.” It was a plea and a confession.

Lynn’s breathing hitched. Had anyone ever needed her? She truly couldn’t recal. Did she dare admit that she wanted him, too?

Would that scare him if she did? She didn’t know. This was al foreign territory for her. Lynn wasn’t used to dealing with feelings, unless they were directed toward birds.

“Kiss me,” she said, instead of admitting something that she might later regret. She knew it was the coward’s way out, but Lynn wasn’t feeling al that brave. An unfamiliar vulnerability had crept in when she wasn’t looking and was currently doing its darnedest to derail her normaly robust confidence.

Fortunately, Talon didn’t need to be asked twice. His lips latched onto hers and puled her into a maelstrom of sensations, wiping away her concerns and insecurities with a swipe of his tongue.

Lynn’s skin felt too hot and far too tight for her body. Her fingers dug into his shoulders. It was like trying to cling to granite using thumbtacks. She wrapped a leg around his thigh and whimpered when his hard cock brushed her sex.

The last thing she wanted was to put a stop to this, but they needed to get back to her tent before this went any further. Lynn didn’t want someone to wander by and catch them mid-performance. It was one thing to act upon her racy thoughts in private, quite another to put on a show for strangers. Talon was turning her into an exhibitionist. Lynn nearly giggled as the thought crossed her mind.

Who would’ve ever thought that she, Lynn Regis, a shy, science bird geek, would be jumping a stranger in the Grand Canyon? Certainly not her friends, who liked to tease her with the name ‘Rigid Rules Regis’, back home.

She forced her lips away from Talon. It was hard, but one of them had to keep a level head. At least until they got back to her camp. “We should go. Someone might see us,” she said, gasping for breath.

* * * * *

Talon was panting, his chest rising and faling rapidly as he blinked to clear his head. He hadn’t heard a word Lynn said, his mind and vision remained too fogged with lust to concentrate.

“What?” he asked, praying she hadn’t asked him to stop.

“My tent. Let’s go back to my tent where it’s a little more private.” She licked her body lip.

Talon folowed the movement with his eyes, longing to capture the pink tip with his teeth before sucking it back inside his mouth.

He shook his head again and looked around. They were exposed to the elements. Exposed to anyone who happened to stumble by.

The idea of Lynn being seen naked by another male sent a surge of possessiveness through him. It was folowed by a wave of aggression that left him trembling. Talon knew in that instant that he’d kil any male who came near her. He grasped Lynn’s hand gently and led her into the deeper water.

“Care to race back?” he asked, his voice gruff to his own ears. “Winner takes al,” he added before she responded.

Lynn hesitated only for a moment, then smiled. “See you on the other side,” she said, then slipped into the water, swimming hard for the shore.

Talon watched her go. Her lush bottom broke the surface with every other stroke. His mouth began to water at the thought of tasting the rest of her. Already, she’d left her gentle scent upon his skin and her sweet flavor in his mouth. Talon planned to do the same and more once they reached her dweling. He smiled, then slipped in behind her, his gaze tracking her progress like the predator he was.

* * * * *

Lynn reached the shore first. She knew Talon had let her win, but she didn’t care. She puled herself out of the water and grabbed her clothes, drying off as quickly as she could before slipping inside her tent.

There wasn’t a lot of room to maneuver, but at least she’d remembered to bring a smal blowup mattress to tuck beneath her sleeping bag. Not perfect, but a whole lot better than messing around on the rocks.

She picked up her backpack and rummaged inside. There had to be a condom in there somewhere. She usualy used them to keep her memory cards dry. As soon as she found one, Lynn set the prophylactic aside and tossed the backpack through the narrow opening.

She expected to hear a thud as it landed on the rocky shore, but the sound never came. Lynn poked her head out of the tent and saw Talon holding her gear. Her journal had falen out of the bag and was in his hands. He had a strange expression upon his face as he stared at the sketch that she’d made yesterday of the giant bird.

“That’s part of my work,” she said absently as she stepped out of the tent and took the items from his loose grip.

“What is this?” he asked pointing to the drawing.

Lynn shrugged, but wasn’t sure how to answer. On the one hand, there was a very good chance the bird had been one of her condors. If that were the case, then the sketch would be no big deal. But if it turned out to be a new species, one that hadn’t been documented yet or one that science thought was extinct, then the news would make her career. Like any good scientist, Lynn wouldn’t make an announcement until she had al the facts. She decided to play it safe.

“It’s just a bird. Nothing special,” she said with a casualness she didn’t feel. Al birds were special to her. Each unique in their own way.

Talon’s expression hardened, but he didn’t reply.

Had he changed his mind about getting together? Her body protested at the thought. She knew she should say something to break the tension, but what?

Talon looked at her for a moment longer, his gaze searching her face, then he slowly smiled. “You won,” he said. “What would you like for your prize?”

Talon could smel her lie on the air. He couldn’t decide what made him angrier, the fact that she’d lied or her casual dismissal of his other form. She’d caled him nothing special.
Nothing special?

He had half a mind to tel her to kiss his tail feathers. If he weren’t so achingly hard, he’d do just that. Talon knew he was being ridiculous given Lynn’s limited knowledge of the universe, but her careless words stil stung.

He wanted her to be impressed by his other form. Show him the same interest that she had her condors. Was that too much to ask?

Lynn stepped out of the tent and held the flap open wide for him to enter. Talon hesitated, then glided into the cramped space and sat. He was far too tal to stand. Lynn folowed, zipping the entry up behind her. She turned to face him and dropped to her knees.

“Did you realy mean it?” she asked.

His brow furrowed. “What?”

“That I could have any prize I wanted?” Her gaze dropped to his lap.

Talon didn’t bother to hide his body’s response to her nearness. Despite his anger, he stil wanted her. He’d told her as much. So why hide it? “Yes,” he said, his voice growing husky.

“Anything you want.”

She shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m about to do this. I don’t normaly…I’m not normaly…”

“This is different,” he said.

“Yes, it is.” Lynn crawled forward on her hands and knees.

She paused, then her lips descended upon his colarbone.

Talon forced himself to remain stil despite the urge to pul her down, rol her beneath him, and mount her like a wild beast in rut. It was important for Lynn to know that she was the one in charge--at least for now. It would ease her adjustment later, when he staked his claim…at least he hoped that it did.

Mating was something he’d never done before. Talon had expected it to be like any other joining, but he’d been wrong. He’d known that the second he’d laid hands on Lynn’s lush curves.

Her lips were feather soft as she traced his colarbone up to his shoulder. She nipped him gently at the juncture of his neck, marking him. Talon’s body tensed. Had Lynn done that on purpose? Did she have any idea what it meant to bite him there? He didn’t know, wasn’t sure, wasn’t about to ask. Some things weren’t that important.

He took a deep breath and curled his fingers into tight fists.

The last thing he needed was for his talons to come out and scare her half to death. Lynn licked his neck and then dipped her tongue into his ear. Talon growled.

“A man only has so much control,” he said, praying she
didn’t
heed his warning. Talon had never given himself permission to let go completely. There’d always been a part of himself that he’d tucked away from the others. A part he’d specificaly saved for his future mate.

“Let’s see how long yours lasts,” she said, then reached down and grasped his hard cock. She slowly stroked to the tip, circling the thick crown, before sliding back down.

Talon sucked in air with an audible gasp. “Do that again and you’l find out.”

* * * * *

Lynn repeated the move. She knew she was playing with fire, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. She’d been so scared that Talon had changed his mind that she’d come frighteningly close to begging him to stay. When had she become so desperate? She’d never begged for anything in her life, except grant money.

Luckily, Talon hadn’t let it come to that—thank goodness.

Lynn wasn’t sure she’d have ever lived that down.

She tightened her grip and stroked his hard satiny flesh, using her palm and fingers. Talon’s shaft seemed to grow even larger.

How was that possible? If he got any bigger, the Magnum-sized condom wouldn’t fit. Lynn licked her lips and continued to tease him. She pressed a kiss to the corner of his mouth.

Talon snarled, then whipped his head around to capture her lips. He hadn’t touched her beyond that, but he held her just the same. Lynn’s pulse kicked as she sucked his tongue into her mouth.

God, he tasted like heaven. It was wrong that a man should taste so good.

He deepened the kiss and she let him. Her hand moved faster now, gripping and releasing, pumping him hard. A cry broke from his lips and Talon shoved Lynn back onto the sleeping bag.

“Enough,” he snapped. For a second, his eyes appeared to glow bright red, but the color was gone so fast that Lynn knew she’d imagined it.

“I’m not finished,” she said, ignoring the little voice that told her that she was in over her head.

“My turn.” Talon snarled and lowered his mouth to her aching breasts.

The first swipe of his tongue had Lynn’s back bowing off the mat. Rocks shifted beneath their weight as he pressed his body down upon her and latched onto her nipple. He sucked hard enough to curl Lynn’s toes. Instead of pushing him away, she grabbed his hair and puled him closer.

Talon grinned around her flesh, then proceeded to tease her into submission. His hands seemed to be everywhere at once, plucking her nipples, then pinching them to the point of pain before soothing them with his mouth. Lynn’s thighs clenched as her sex moistened. Her body tightened, ready, wanting, but he never let up.

She cried out in frustration. She wanted him inside her now, but no amount of urging got him to move. Lynn rocked her hips, brushing his shaft. Talon’s breath hissed out, but he kept on lavishing her breasts with al his attention.

Her orgasm came out of nowhere. One second she’d been balancing on the precipice, the next, she’d tumbled over the edge.

Lynn gasped and her body shuddered as the release continued to ripple through her in wave after glorious wave.

How in the world had Talon managed to do that?

Her expression must’ve have betrayed her unvoiced question because he said, “We’re only getting started.”

* * * * *