The Lycan Hunter (The Gardinian World Series) (14 page)

“I saved you, because I need you here.”

She punched him again, this time in his kidney. “You better come
up with something better by the time you get out of here or you are going to have one hell of a problem.”

He listened to her soft footfalls leave the room before he started to
laugh. She might terrify Hunters, but without her weapons, she was
nothing more than a child throwing a tantrum. It might be what he
found so appealing about her. She didn
’
t back down when good sense should
tell her that she couldn’t win.

He finished his shower in relative peace, save the thoughts of what
could happen if he answered her apparent desire with his own.

Since he was now sharing his room with the temptation he had been
trying to get rid of just the day before, he wore some cotton pajama
pants to bed. He was lucky he even had them considering that he felt most at ease with fewer clothes on.

He stepped out of his bathroom into his mostly dark bedroom. His
desktop monitor displayed the camera feed of the male Hunter hanging
limply from the shackles in one of the dungeon rooms. He was still
unconscious from the sedative Ronan had given him.

Kyran slipped into the bed, hoping he didn
’
t wake Alexis. He rolled
onto his back and pulled at his pants. It had been so long since he had
slept in the bed with clothes on that he had forgotten how annoying it
was to have pants bunching and twisting around his legs.

Alexis laughed softly at his side. “You don
’
t sleep with clothes on,
do you?”

“Sorry, I didn
’
t mean to wake you up.” He pulled at the pants again.
“And no, I don’t.”

“I wasn
’
t asleep. I was watching you avoid having to deal with me.”
Alexis sat up against the headboard. “If you would feel better, you can
sleep naked. It won't bother me. By the way, I
’
m still waiting on an
explanation.”

Kyran sighed and sat up against the headboard. “Have you ever wanted something that you can’t and shouldn’t have?”

“Yeah, why?”

“What did you do about it?”

“Nothing yet.”

Kyran glanced over to her, both wary and anticipating the possible
implications of what she was saying.

“What would you do if you
wouldn
’
t
suffer consequences
?” he asked.

Alexis leaned over and kissed him. She kept it short, really more of a tease than a kiss, but it seared into Kyran, made him want to do all the things jumping around in his head. He reined his thoughts in, because she could very well be talking about someone else.

Kyran cleared his throat. “You would kiss him?”

She laughed and ducked her head, innocence playing across her
features. “I just did.” When she looked at him, her features were no
longer innocent. “It’s just a kiss; think nothing of it.”

“Don’t do that.”

“Do what?”

“Assume you know what I’m thinking.”

“I’m not stupid, Kyran. Nothing that happens between us would be good for you when it comes to your pack.”

“What about you?”

“It doesn’t matter. At the end of the day, my life is as good as over.
I
have no place here, and even if by some miracle you manage to end the
war, the Hunters will never take me back. I’m a traitor, plain and simple.”

“Well, you are right on one point; it wouldn’t be good in the eyes
the pack. But you’re mistaken if you think that their opinion means
everything to me.”

That wasn
’
t completely true, but he met her surprised gaze and
gave her a timid smile. She returned his smile before turning away.

“You won’t tell anyone, will you?” The question was barely a breath
hidden behind the curtain of her hair that had fallen between them.

“I won’t, because whatever
happens here
isn’t anyone else’s business.”

She relaxed a little against the pillows and pulled her knees to her
chest.

“Well, sleep like you would if I wasn’t here. Last thing you should
have to do is sacrifice your comfort in your own bed.”

Kyran laughed.
“It
’
s not about comfort, Alexis. It’s just better if w
e both aren’t nearly naked.”

“What’s the worst that could happen? Sex?” She gave him a smile
. “I won’t tell if you don't."

Kyra
n frowned. “You
deserv
e better
tha
n being my
dirty little
secret
.”

Alexis shook her head. “Tell me something. Do you want me?”

Good judgment told him to deny his attraction, but another part
of him – simplistically primal in a way that only his Tala understood –
won the debate over what was best for him. “I have since before I brought
you here.”

“That’s why you tried to get me out of here, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Do us both a favor.” She tossed away the sheet, allowing him the
erotic view of her clad only in his T-shirt. “Take what you want.”

ALEXIS WATCHED THE
shocked expression pass over Kyran
’
s face
at her offer. Nothing about the situation was shocking to her, though
. They wanted each other to the point of being distracted by it.

He had
wanted
to get rid of her and the t
emptation
that she r
epresented
so badly that he was forced to deal with the mess of having Theo in his
custody. She, on the other hand, was walking around nearly sex crazed
over a man she barely knew. To her, the best way they could both move
forward is to satisfy their mutual interests and move on.

Kyran finally managed to get past his shock enough to start shaking
his head.

“Sorry. I can’t.”

“Kyran, we can do it, get it over with, and you can move on. It
’
s a distraction between us, and it
’
s causing more problems than it solves.”

“It
’
s that simple for you? Sex is something to do and get it over
with?”

“Yeah, it serves a biological function, and if done right, it can feel
good, too. I’m not asking for a long term relationship; it
’
s just sex. So if
we want to, why not?”

“Because, Alexis, it isn
’
t a homework assignment. Sex is never that
casual for Talas. I haven’t always adhered to that, but in general, sex isn’t something I do to just get it over with.”

“You’re thinking way too hard about this, Kyran.”

“Somebody has to.”

Frustrated, Alexis rolled away from him onto her side. Why she
pursued sex with him when it was obvious that, despite his attraction
,
he wasn
’
t i
nterested
, baffled her. She hated it when Theo kept pressuring
her for sex, and here she was doing the same thing.

She rolled onto her back to find Kyran staring down at her.

“Look, Kyran, I’m sorry.”

He narrowed his eyes at her for a minute before he gave her a short
nod and climbed off the bed. She watched his smooth gait as he walked
around to her side of the bed and sat down beside her.

He didn
’
t say anything for the few minutes he sat there staring at
her. Being
assessed
made Alexis start to pull at the shirt she wore, causing
it to fall off of her shoulder. His eyes zeroed in on her exposed flesh
before he looked into her eyes.

“You’re going to get me killed, you know that?”

Alexis frowned. “How so?”

He shook his head as if to answer, then leaned in, and kissed her.

His lips were gentle, and when his tongue danced across hers, she
moaned. He buried his hands in her hair and anchored her mouth
against his. Alexis mirrored his actions, burying her fingers in his thick
onyx length. He gave a growl of approval when she gripped it firmly and pressed him against her, hardening their kiss.

Keeping their mouths fused, Kyran straddled her and let his hand
trail over her body. When he made it past the hem of the shirt and found
that she was naked underneath it, he jerked away from her.

She rushed to clarify, because last thing she needed was him thinki
ng she had set out to seduce him.

“Sorry, this is how I sleep when I’m at home. I wasn’t –”

Kyran gave her a small kiss before he pulled the shirt off of her.
Alexis shivered when he started with her neck, kissing and sucking
his way down her body. By the time he made it to her most sensitive
flesh, she was pulling at his iron grip to escape the sensual torment of
his mouth.

Alexis felt blinded by the need for her body to have what she
’
d
never experienced before. She had heard that orgasms were the best part
of sex, but she had the misfortune of never experiencing it. She would
know now, and Kyran would be the one to show her just what she had
been missing out on.

His tongue danced over her sensitive bud, making her buck against
his oral assault. Her body arched away from the bed, fingers tangling
in the sheets when his fingers touched her core.

Alexis
managed to gather enough of her wits to shrink away from him.

“Will it hurt?”

Kyran frowned at her. “What?”

“It’s...I’m a virgin. I don’t know how it’s supposed to feel.”

Kyran pulled away from her, releasing her so fast that he almost fell off the foot of the bed. “You’re a virgin?”

Her breathing was slightly erratic as she sat up and peered down at him. “So?”

“So? Are you fucking kidding me? Alexis, your first time should be
with someone you care about, someone that matters to you.”

“Kyran, it’s really not that big of a deal.”

“Yes, it is.” He ran his hands through his hair. “Dammit you deserve
better than this.”

“Than what, Kyran? I want to have sex. With you.”

He rolled his eyes at her. “Do you really? Or am I going to turn into
that one crazy experience in your life that you look back on and regret
? If it’s the latter, find someone else.”

“God, could you really be more of a girl about this? So what? I'm a virgin.”

He
pushed himself off of the bed. “Fuck you, Alexis,
because this
… ”
he motioned between them, “… isn’t happening.”

Alexis threw her head back against the pillows. “I
’
m sorry I didn
’
t
screw around more to be ready for you, Kyran.”

Kyran adjusted his pants and placed his hands on his hips.

“
You just don’
t get it do you? I’m a Tala. If you were a Tala, I
’
d feel
the same way. I would still try and make it special for you, even if I
didn’t love you. No one should get fucked for their first time. Losing your virginity should be a big deal, Alexis. It only happens once.”

Alexis frowned. The possibility of him loving her shouldn’t appeal
to her, but it did. She sat in silence for a second before she pushed her
thoughts away and tried make him understand.

“So you don’t want to do it because you think it won’t be special to me?”

“No, I
won't
do it, because I
know
it isn
’
t special to you. You want to satisfy your curiosity. I’m not something freakish you get to experiment
with. I won’t be leveled with taking your
virginit
y just so you can scratch
an itch.”

Alexis sat up and glared at him. “You arrogant asshole. I actually
like you. And before you start in with your assumptions, it
’
s for more
than your fucking body. If you don
’
t want me now that you know I'm
a virgin, then just say so. Pinning it on a superficial idea that I don
’
t even
have only pisses me off.”

She only managed to see him flinch before he knocked the air out of her as he pinned her to the bed. He kissed her long and hard before
he pulled away.

“I like you, too.” He gave her a gentle smile before he began kissing
her again.

By the time that Kyran broke the kiss, they were both breathing
heavily. He touched her face gently one final time before going back
to his side of the bed. After he climbed under the sheets, he tugged
her closer to him.

“Maybe later, Alexis.”