Primal Pleasure: Pendragon Gargoyles, Book 3 (14 page)

“No. His interest in me—marrying me—is only about aligning our families.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“What other reason would there be?”

He faced her. “You really don’t see it, do you?”

Suspicious, her eyes narrowed. “See what?”

“How beautiful you are.”

She snorted. “That’s the spell talking, remember?”

Was it? He wasn’t so sure anymore. The spell might fabricate the instinctive connection he felt to her, the depth of it, but anyone could see how stunning her eyes were and her smile…

“You’re staring at me.” Her cheeks flushed a pretty shade of pink.

“You’re blushing.”

“Am not.” She glanced over her shoulder before passing the car in front of them. He grinned, unsure if she was driving slower, or if he’d momentarily forgotten her driving was more terrifying than a legion of Morgana’s bloodthirsty trolls.

Definitely the latter, he decided another minute later, cursing as she pressed her foot right to the floor.

“Pull over.”

“Now?”

He nodded, struggling to keep still on the seat. “I need out of the car, Emma.” He wasn’t sure how long they’d been driving but it was enough he needed to be able to move more than a few inches in any direction.

“I think I saw a sign for a rest stop another mile or two ahead.”

Or maybe five. Or ten. That’s how long it seemed before she pulled off the main road and parked near a sheltered picnic table. She hadn’t brought the car to a complete stop before he threw open the door and climbed out.

He dragged in a deep breath, getting as much space between him and the parked car as he could.

“Cian?”

“I’ll be back in a minute.” Jumping over a ditch, he slipped into the trees. The deeper into the woods he moved, the easier it was to pretend the world around him hadn’t changed so drastically. Out here he didn’t need to worry about cars or elevators, or misunderstanding what someone was saying.

And he didn’t need to worry about the sorcerer who wanted Emma.

He slashed out at the closest tree, his claws slicing through the bark. Even the scent of the trees and surrounding wildlife wasn’t enough to mask Emma’s scent.

“Cian?”

He closed his eyes. Twigs snapped beneath her feet as she took a few tentative steps toward him.

“Are you okay?”

“You’re good at that, you know.”

“At what?”

“Sounding like you care.”

“Look, I know that you think I hate you or something—”

“I don’t know what to think. You’re so full of contradictions. One minute you’re trying to manipulate me and the next you seem worried about me when I’ve done nothing to deserve your concern. Why is that, Emma?”

A soft smile curved her lips. “I’ll let you know when I figure it out myself.”

He dropped his head, breathing in her scent. He wasn’t sure what answer he’d been expecting, but that wasn’t it. The female was leading him in circles. He had a better chance of catching and chewing on his own tail than figuring her out. And trying to understand such a confusing, spellbinding creature was slowly driving him out of his mind.

Everything inside him said she was his, and the only thing that stopped him from accepting it was the knowledge it was all based on magic. But the cat didn’t care. It grew increasingly agitated that Cian fought his instinct, and it was only a matter of time before the cat won.

“I have a new deal for you, sorceress.”

Her gaze turned wary.

“If you want me to track your sister, then you need to do something for me. You need to act like you’re my mate.”

“What?”

“Continuing to fight the spell distracts me, and if I’m distracted, then I might miss something.”

She shifted on her feet. “And you won’t be as distracted if…” She trailed off the moment his lips grazed her cheek.

“If I’m not pretending I don’t want you.”

Her eyes drifted shut. “So what is it exactly that you want from me?”

He studied her mouth, remembering the feel of it beneath his. “Nothing we haven’t already done.”

“We don’t have a lot of time.”

His nose bumped hers, and then he was a breath away from sinking into her lips. “If you want my full cooperation, you’ll make time.” He nipped her bottom lip, then pulled it slowly between his. “Do we have a deal or not?”

His gut told him she’d give in, but if he was wrong and she refused, he didn’t know how he’d make himself let go.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea.”

He was pretty sure it was the best idea he’d ever had. And when he gripped her hips and tugged her flush against him, he was convinced of it. “I’m not talking about forever.”

The cat vehemently disagreed with him.

“Just until we find my sister.”

“Mmmm,” he managed, eager to get to the part where he put his mouth all over her. Her increasing arousal was like a teasing stroke along his cock, making him achingly hard, and any second she was going to notice.

“Okay—”

He didn’t give her a chance to finish. He opened his mouth over hers, claiming as much of her as he could. They hadn’t truly finished the kiss in the elevator and he meant to make up for that starting right now.

Emma sighed, and the sound entranced him. He slid his tongue across hers, rubbing soft and slow and nearly frying his brain in the process.

Sweet Avalon
.

Sinking his hand into her hair, he tipped her face up just a little more. Another breathy little sigh passed her lips, and he groaned in response.

There was no way she could know what hearing that did to him. She might not be so quick to respond to him if she realized every sound of pleasure brought him one step closer to pushing her up against the tree.

She twined her arms around his neck, and he took instant advantage by rocking his hard length against her. Her nails dragged across his nape, and she moaned into his mouth. Any plan to savor her, to linger over her mouth before moving down her throat to her breasts and the hard nipples he could feel right through her bra, went up in flames.

Between one rough breath and the next, he walked her backward. Her mouth moved in perfect rhythm with his, like they could take each other all the way in as long as they didn’t stop.

He pushed her jacket down over her shoulders, giving him more room to tug her shirt up. His fingers skimmed across her belly, not stopping until he cupped her breast.

This time he was ready for that breathy little sound she made, and deepened the kiss. She arched into him, her lace-covered breast filling his palm to perfection. He shoved her shirt up, along with her bra, then bent to flick his tongue across the dark pink tip.

She watched him from beneath heavy lids, her eyes dark with need. The kind he was more than capable of satisfying. Dipping down, he closed his lips over her nipple, pulling her into his mouth.

Her soft cry echoed through the trees, and she ran her hand through his hair, holding him to her. With a teasing drag of his teeth, he released her, giving her only a second to catch her breath before returning to her mouth.

He didn’t even try to pretend he wasn’t half out of his mind for her. Which likely explained why he didn’t remember slipping his hand between them. He rotated his palm in lazy circles, feeling her tremble.

“Is it coming back to you now?”

“Um…” She trapped her bottom lip between her teeth.

Unsnapping the button on her pants, he eased his hand inside, sucking in a sharp breath at how hot and damp she was.

“What about now?” He ran his fingers along her slick part, circling her clit, but not touching it just yet. He wanted her a little wilder, wanted her clinging to him tighter, needing him as much as he needed her.

“I think so,” she murmured.

“You don’t sound certain.” He pushed against her snug opening. “Does this help?” He thrust a finger inside her, pumping in and out.

She tucked her face against his throat. “Yes.”

“Is that yes, you remember? Or, yes, more?”

She answered him by easing her legs a little wider, and he took the opportunity to drag the moisture up to her clit, swirling over the swollen knot.

Her breath caught, and he knew she was close to release. Too close. He softened his touch so the pad of his finger barely brushed her.

“Cian.”

“You still haven’t answered the question.” He let his hand fall back.

“I don’t know.” Frustration flashed in her eyes.

That made two of them. He should have known better than to assume he could make sense to either of them when he couldn’t think of anything but making it good for her. The more aroused she became, the more satisfied they’d both be when she found release. Watching her ride the peak, feeling her clench tight around his fingers and knowing he gave her that pleasure would be almost as good as sinking his cock inside her.

And if he was really lucky—and he planned on it—he was going to get both.

“Please.” Emma caught Cian’s hand, guiding it back between her legs. Need pulsed through her in long, scorching waves. She laced her fingers through his as they brushed her sex.

“Please, what?”

Impatient, she rolled her hips. Just another stroke of his fingers… “Touch me.”

He stared at their joined hands. “I like watching you touch yourself.” The intensity in his gaze made her even hotter, and she couldn’t help but run his fingers down her sex to her opening.

“I need to feel you inside me.” She watched his eyes darken, and then he pumped two fingers inside her. Already so aroused, the slick invasion made her feel impossibly full, and she squeezed her thighs together.

“Fuck.” He groaned against her mouth, his tongue pushing as hard and deep as his fingers. Between thrusts, he abandoned slow and soft in favor of fast and hard as he plunged his fingers inside her.

She rocked up on the balls of her feet. So, so close. His thumb brushed her clit, rubbing in harder circles.

“Oh.” She sank her teeth into her bottom lip, giving herself over to the climax that streamed through her.

Cian’s mouth slid across hers in a long, lingering sweep of lips and tongue.

I’m not talking about forever,
he’d said, but with the way he kissed, she might have agreed to it. Agreed to anything if it meant she could feel this way for the rest of her life.

Cian made a sound against her lips, low and rough and like he was feeling the same thing she was. Except, for him, it wasn’t real.

There wasn’t time to dwell on that, though, as he continued to work his fingers inside her, until she moaned long and deep, eager to feel his hard length sinking into her.

Without warning he stepped away from her, but his hands weren’t at his zipper where she wanted them.

He stared at the forest behind her. “Another car just pulled up.”

Trying not to give in to paranoia, she shrugged. “It’s a rest stop.”

“Stay here.” And then he was gone, moving so quickly and silently through the trees, she might have imagined that he’d just had her pinned to the tree trunk.

A very solid tree trunk, she realized, now that he wasn’t distracting her from the rough bark she felt right through her jacket. She fixed her pants, self-conscious now that she was alone.

Had she made a mistake agreeing to his terms? But what choice had there really been? She’d never find Elena on her own.

She’d be lying to herself if she denied sex with Cian would be any kind of hardship. And it wasn’t as if she was about to fall in love with him. In another couple of days—tops—he’d be out of her life for good. As long as she kept reminding herself of that, she’d be fine.

God, what was wrong with her? Why the hell was she even thinking about falling insanely head over heels when he didn’t even like her?

“There are only three of them.”

She jumped at the sound of Cian’s voice. She hadn’t expected him to come around the tree from the opposite direction.

“Only?” She narrowed her eyes. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Without answering, he took her hand, pulling her deeper into the forest. “They’ll be able to track us. Running isn’t an option.”

“You want to fight them?” She wasn’t sure whether to admire his bravery or punch him for being so stupid.

“There are two of us.”

Was he serious? Either the poison the arrow had been dipped in had scrambled his brain, or he’d forgotten how things had gone down at Leah’s. “I can’t.”

He glanced over her shoulder, frowning, but not slowing down. He didn’t ask for an explanation, but she knew he was waiting for one.

She let out a breath. If they were caught again, it wouldn’t matter if she continued to let him believe the worst about her. She wouldn’t get another opportunity to get away. Gareth would somehow make sure of it.

“It was the cuff, wasn’t it?” Cian stopped, his gaze scanning the trees. “Its power is still affecting your magic, isn’t it?”

Hearing the guilt in his voice, she frowned. “My problems with magic are not your fault.” Not even close.

He didn’t look convinced. “Take off your jacket.” For once she didn’t hesitate. If he needed to see how few tracings she possessed to recognize the truth, that was more than fine with her.

She slipped out of it and handed it to him.

“Now climb that tree.”

“What?”

He turned her around. “Up. We don’t have a lot of time.”

“Cian—”

“Later.”

Giving in, she used the closest branch to pull herself up, helped along by a firm push on her butt from Cian.

She paused to look down at him. “What about you?”

He dragged his shirt over his head. “I’m going to try and throw them off your scent.” He finished stripping and tossed his clothes and shoes into a far bush. “You need to get higher. Now.”

In the last glimpse she caught of him between thickening branches, he was shifting into his cat form. Giving her one last quick look, he picked up her jacket in his mouth and disappeared into the trees.

A short while later—maybe longer—she heard a wolf howl in the distance. If the wolves thought they were tracking her and Cian, would they give themselves away like that?

Either they thought they knew Cian’s location and wanted him to know they were close, or one was closing in on him and called to the others for help cornering him.