Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath, #1) (36 page)

“Don’t be
absurd, Jacob. We all want to remember.”

“I think she
was afraid. If she remembered, she wouldn’t be so angry.” His pants
quickened. “And if she wouldn’t have been so angry, she might’ve
left the Alexi.”

“Why didn’t
you leave?” The needle hardly gripped the ruined edges of his wound
as Draven threaded flesh. “Go to the police, if you knew what they
looked like?”

“I wouldn’t
have left Calla. I know she’d never come with me because she would
have never left you.”

His words
pierced Draven’s heart. It was true. Even he knew how much she
loved him.

~

Kane awoke, his
body humming as though pumped with power. His skin prickled as he
stretched out, his feet hitting the end of the bed where they’d not
touched before. With probing fingers, he examined his lean body,
grasping his chest where his lungs breathed easy as if he could
sprint a track.

I feel so
good.
Something inside of him craved a chase.
Hunt.

As he sat up
in bed, his gaze settled on Ayden, where she lay sprawled on the
chaise, sleeping peacefully. She’d changed into one of his
T-shirts, her smooth, bare legs crossed over one another. His mind
toyed with him, pondered the taste of her skin on his tongue.
Sweet.
Like caramel teasing his taste buds.

Blood rushed
to his groin as that scent—her scent—drifted to him from across the
room. Saliva pooled in his mouth, the craving to taste her suddenly
overwhelming.

Mine.

A growl
vibrated in his chest. His wet tongue ran over his teeth.

She shivered,
but curled into herself and settled once more.

Kane slipped
over the edge of the bed, his feet hitting the floor with little
sound, and prowled closer.

Her eyes
fluttered, and she tucked both arms beneath her head.

Kane’s eyes
drifted toward the tiny black panties peeking out of the shirt hem.
Thoughts of taking that black lace in his teeth and tearing them
away plundered through his mind. With hands that yearned to grab
hold of her smooth, muscled thighs, he rubbed the front of his
jeans then knelt to the floor and crawled toward her like a tiger
appraising its quarry. The nearer he grew, the more her scent
burned his tongue—a dark and wicked liquor tantalizing his taste
buds with each inhalation.

He rose up
onto his knees and snaked his arms beneath her head.
Take.

Ayden startled
awake. “Kane, what are you—”

He silenced
her words with his lips.

Ayden’s palms
shot out, flat against his chest, and she pushed him away. “I
thought you’d died. You weren’t breathing.”

A brief flash
of earlier in the evening rushed through his mind, so distant,
though. “This saddened you?”

Grief in her
expression made him want to scoop her up into his arms.

Sorrow? For
me?

When she
didn’t answer, Kane moved over her, against the push to his chest,
testing her resolve.

She seemed to
still when his face hovered at her lips. “Don’t.” Her eyes carried
a warning.

He stared at
her full, pouty lips. “Tell me you don’t want me to kiss you. And I
won’t.”

Her brows
knitted together, her body stiff beneath him, poised as if ready to
throw him across the room. Yet, she said nothing.

Gentle and
slow, he brushed his opened mouth across hers. Her breaths, so
warm, hit his face in a pant. He closed the small space and took
her fully.
So soft
, her lips against his. His body stirred
with the kiss, becoming restless, wanting more.

Ayden’s frozen
body suddenly relaxed in his grip. A quiet moan rumbled against his
mouth.

He peeled
himself away, keeping his gaze on her.

Those gray
eyes stared up at him as if fascinated. “I’ve never let anyone kiss
me,” she whispered. “Not since my change.”

A tear
streaked over her cheekbone, and Kane wiped it away with his thumb,
kissing where it’d fallen. “I won’t do it again,” he whispered back
to her.

“No. It
was…nice.”

***

The pleasant
tone of her voice sounded off to Ayden, almost desperate and fake.
In truth, though, it
had
been nice.

Kane moved to
her lips again, his kiss more intense this time, as if he hungered
for every last drop of breath from her. She welcomed it, grasping
hold of his short-cropped hair. Damn, the taste of him made her
crave more.

Taking her
from the chaise, lips still fused together, he carried her to the
bed. Her body sank into the plush cushion of the mattress and
pillows, and he straightened, removing his tattered shirt. His
scars from Evan had become nothing more than faded, skinny lines.
Hardly noticeable.

Kane climbed
over top of her, wedging his hips between her legs.

He grabbed her
arm, his gaze trailing down her forearm and stopping at the scars
she’d become so adept at keeping tucked beneath clothes. “What’s
this?”

She jerked her
arm loose. “Nevermind.” With a heave, she knocked Kane
backward.

He shot
forward, straddling her.

She pushed him
away again. “Get off of me!”

Kane re-seized
her arm and, before she could pull away, kissed his way down her
scars.

Her body
stiffened. The sight of his lips against her mutilated skin turned
her stomach, disgust and something else she couldn’t quite identify
rolling over one another.

He raised her
arms above her head, holding them captive beneath his, his gaze
riveted on her. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispered.

The disgust
twisted into anger.
Stupid theatrics.
“Get off of me.
Now.”

“No.”

“You’ve ruined
it, lycan. I would’ve fucked you—”

“I don’t want
to be fucked by you, Ayden.”

Her lips
twisted into a sneer. “Oh, right. It’s
making love
to you,
isn’t it?”

“No. It’s not
making love either.” His muscles bore down against her arms. “It’s
giving you something you clearly need.”

She glared at
him. “What would you know about what I need?”

“More than you
do, apparently.” Kane leaned over her once more. “Now shut the fuck
up.”

Fire and ice
coursed through her veins—the excitement and fury of his command.
Still, her scowl refused to leave. “This is all there is Kane. You
mean nothing to me. Don’t mistake it for something it’s not.”

“I’m a master
at that game, Ayden.”

Ayden’s
muscles tensed, ready to push him off of her—until his lips found
her neck, his teeth grazing her skin.
Exhilarating
. An image
came to mind, forcing her lids closed.

As the
fantasies in her head overpowered the anger, melding and smashing
them together into furious passion, her lips parted.

What
is—?
A sudden yearning grasped her body, for the touch of his
fingertips—a mutiny to the thoughts battling in her mind.

Stop it. Stop
it.

It didn’t
stop. That ache to be touched blossomed, spreading to every cell in
her body—undoubtedly against her will, but fantastic just the
same.

Fuck it.

Ayden raised
her head to meet his readied lips.

***

Kane dipped his
tongue to deepen the kiss. The taste of her filled his mouth.
So
sweet.
Like honey in a jar. His longing for more of her sent
tremors through every muscle in his body.

Whatever
resistance she’d had going on a second ago quickly disappeared. Her
arms slid to the small of his back and caressed his spine. All
other sound became drowned by her soft moan.

God, he
couldn’t think, his mind a black void for all but the female
beneath him.
Ayden
. His heart beat faster.

Her hand slid
down inside his boxers and grabbed hold of his erection.

He jerked in
response.
Damn
. Her touch alone nearly made him come, her
skin like satin against his stiff length.

She curled her
fingers around him and stroked, thumbing his tip and spreading the
tiny bit of fluid.

“Ayden,” he
whispered. A breath rushed out of him and he circled his hips into
her palm.

Her fist
released him, and she tugged down his jeans.

Bracing his
arms on either side of her, careful not to put his weight on her,
he kicked them away—boxers, jeans, landing in a pile on the floor.
He peeled down the collar of her shirt, soft skin glided past his
chasing mouth as he traced along her shoulders. Grasping the back
of her neck forced her to tilt her head back, and he devoured her
throat with kisses, grazed her jaw with his teeth.

A moan passed
her lips.

He tugged at
the shirt hem, pushing it up past her breasts, and pulled away her
bra, exposing firm mounds that would fit perfect in his big
hands.

“Take it off,”
Ayden rasped, pulling at the shirt, her head tipped back and eyes
closed.

“No. Leave it
on.” He spoke in a voice not his own. Deeper. More possessive.
Instead, he unhooked her bra, those voluptuous breasts springing
free from their confines.

“Touch them,”
she said on a husky breath.

Her nipples
swelled beneath his palm as he massaged her breasts. He leaned
forward and ran his tongue over them, and her nails dug into his
scalp, encouraging him. Smooth skin met his wandering fingertips
across her belly, along her thigh, until he probed the damp, black
panties. He pulled them to the side and ran his finger against her
slick cleft, fondling her sex with slow, teasing caresses.

“Yes,” she
said, grabbing the pillow behind her, knees surrendering to the
side. “Touch me.”

Her voice,
weighted with passion, worked like an aphrodisiac in his mind. He
pushed one finger into her tight sheath, the heel of his palm at
her swollen flesh.

She gasped
when he worked another finger inside and stimulated the silky inner
surface. Ayden’s hips urged upward off the bed, her hands braced on
either side of her body.

With his free
hand, he grabbed hold of his cock, stroking the two of them
simultaneously, watching her writhe.

Her hand
traveled to her breast and her fingertips fondled the nipple.

The sight of
her threatened to rob his control. Her eyes, her expression,
completely lost to ecstasy.
So damn sexy.
His body hungered
to take her.
My female.

“Kane, I need
more.”

Her words,
that drunken voice, goddamn it, they cracked him. He removed his
fingers, drenched with her and put them to his tongue. The animal
within roared as Ayden’s sweet scent scrambled his brain.

He gripped his
pulsating erection, watching her slowly glide the panties down her
thighs.

Take.

His mouth
opened as a growl brewed.

No.
He
would be gentle with her.

With his fist
around his shaft, he rubbed his crown at her smooth, wet entrance
and slowly slipped inside her, her hot flesh tight around his
sex.

He groaned.
So fucking good.

Yeah, she may
have been a strong and feisty little thing, but her body was small
compared to his. Straightening his arms out on either side of her,
he inched carefully all the way to the hilt.

The sensation
sent him light-headed.

The wolf
begged him to slam her against the headboard and take her.

He ignored the
instinct, shuddering with the effort of taking it maddeningly
slow—controlled.
Gentle.

Sweat broke
out all over his skin. Flaming heat encircled the two of them,
growing hotter by the second.

Beneath him,
her eyes, stunning gray, held a wanton shine.

Nothing had
ever felt so good before. His muscles tensed as he choked back the
ache to explode inside of her.

“Stop.”

What?

Ayden placed
her palms on his chest and shoved. “Get off.”

“I was until
you told me to stop.” He continued to rock into her.

“No, I mean,
get off of me. I can’t do this. It’s too …” She shook her hands
out.

“Too
what?”

She pushed him
back again, and Kane leaned to the side as Ayden slid from beneath
him. For a moment, he thought she’d abandoned their play until she
climbed over his legs.

“Move,” she
commanded.

He obeyed her
pointed finger, shifting across to the center of the bed with a
grin. “I get it, you want to be on top.”

“Arms up.”

Where is
she going with this?
With the many possibilities running
through his head, he stretched his arms up. Ayden locked them into
the cuffs still attached to the bed. From the nightstand, she
pulled a long silken black scarf and set it across his chest, and a
thrill buzzed through his body.

Kane chuckled.
“This is new.”

Sure, he’d
been blindfolded and fucked before, but never by an
actual
kidnapper.

Ayden climbed
across the bed and reached over the edge. Her rounded ass taunted
him as she bent further. Without a word, she reappeared and slipped
back over him.

Her dagger
gleamed in her hand as she twisted in front of him.

She tipped her
head, the look in her eyes seeming to ask the question she didn’t
utter.

Would he let
her? Interesting that she’d bother to ask, considering two days
before she’d been itching to sink a blade in him.

He stared back
at her. “Is this what you need?”

She glanced to
the side then back at him. After a long pause, she nodded.

“Then, do
it.”

A maddening
silence hung in the air as she set the knife on the bed and picked
up the black scarf, tying it tight over his eyes.

Oh, fuck.