The Lycan Hunter (The Gardinian World Series) (15 page)

“Why?”

Kyran’s fingers lightly traced over the site of her latest wound. It barely hurt, but it was weird to have forgotten about it completely.

“It doesn’t hurt,” she said.

“I had a little divine help; otherwise, you would still be undergoing
dialysis. Goddess Ire blessed you. She is the goddess of health.”

“You talk about her as if she’s real.”

“She is. They all are.”

He kissed her head and stroked her hair, calming her mind from
hedonistic thoughts to ones filled with the need for sleep. Alexis curled
herself further into Kyran’s arms and let sleep reclaim her. She’d argue
the legitimacy of his faith another day.

Alexis woke to find the absence of the gauze over her wound and
Kyran staring down at her. The doctorly intentions he
’
d had when he
removed her gauze was absent from his heated gaze.

“Kyran.”

He jerked his attention away from her breasts and went back to
redressing her incision, though from what she saw, it didn’t need it.

“I didn’t want to wake you.” He pulled the sheet over her naked body.“How do you feel?”

“Great. I think I could run a few miles with no trouble.”

“It’s only been two days. I’d give it a few more before you do any r
unning.”

Kyran took off his gloves and cleaned up his supplies. He was still
dressed in the pajama pants, which afforded her a view of his back.

“Can you come here, Kyran?”

When he sat beside her, she pulled him down to her and kissed
him. It didn’t take long before Kyran took over, leading her when her
inexperience got the best of her. His hands guided her swiftly to a
trembling peak where need and want pooled low in her abdomen,
waiting for that culminating moment.

Foreplay hadn
’
t been high on her list of priorities when she
’
d
suggested they have sex. Until he stalled the rising wave of euphoria
threatening to claim her rational thoughts, she couldn
’
t think of a
single reason why they should skip it. Her breath caught when his lips
sealed over one of her expectant peaks and his hands gently guided
her legs apart.

The man was thorough in everything he did to her body. His hands
trailed softly over her skin as if in worship. The kisses that he placed
along her torso seared through her veins. She wanted – needed – more
, but words were lost to her once his lips sealed over her clitoris.

Kyran dined on her as if she was a feast and he was nothing more
than a ravenous wolf. His hunger evident in every scorching stroke
of his tongue, every gentle tug against her clit. She arched away from him, her body made too sensitive by his carnal kiss.

He guided her through her first orgasm, skillfully muting her cry
with a thrust of his tongue into her mouth. She could taste herself on his tongue, feel the passion in the intensity of his kiss.

With his weight hovering over her, Alexis was drowning in the
sensation of him, his hardness surrounding her, pulling her, as surely
as a whirlpool pulls a ship to the ocean’s floor. He knew when and how
to push past her virginal defenses. He entered quickly, stilling at her soft hiss of pain to let her adjust to his sweet invasion.

When she nodded that she was okay, he began a slow grind of his
hips. She shuddered in response and dug her nails into his back. He
let out a low growl and began to slowly pull himself from her body.
She arched into him, yearning to get closer to his retreating length.

Kyran slammed back into her, lacing his arms behind her and
pulling her fully from the bed. She was sitting on his lap, but the
inexperience showed on her face. He smiled up at her and moved
beneath her, lying flat on the bed.

“I want you like this.”

He pulled her forward and drilled into her, aware just how much
he could do without causing her pain. He managed to walk the line of
pleasure-pain that built on the ever increasing sense of erotic pleasure.

“Kyran, I – ”

He gripped the back of her neck and pulled her mouth down to his
.
Her hair became a curtain that eclipsed the room around them from view.

She moaned against his mouth as his pace increased, as did the
pressure low in her stomach. Kyran kept pumping into her, his rhythm
perfect and purposeful. Finally with a sudden deep thrust, Alexis
’
s
body reached a pinnacle that rendered her sight and most of her speech –
save a satisfied cry of his name – useless.

Kyran
’
s
strokes began to falter, and his grip loosened. Alexis eased
back and watched his beautiful features contort as his orgasm ran
through him, driving him deeper into her. The depth, combined with the rhythmic pulses, only served to bring her to climax again.

Alexis blinked a few times and smiled down at his sheepish grin.

“What’s that face for?”

He laughed. “That’s not how it was supposed to be.”

“I’m not complaining. Matter of fact, I think there
’
s something
wrong with my vision.”

“What do you mean?”

“You have this weird blue glow all around you.”

Kyran propped himself on his elbows and gawked at her. “You
see… what?”

“It
’
s like a halo, but it covers your entire body. Which is weird
because it doesn’t change your skin tone; it’s just a glow.”

Alexis caught the slight shake in his hands as he lifted her off of him and sat her at his side.

“Kyran, what’s wrong?”

He shook his head and rolled to his side of the bed. He sat down
on the edge and hung his head, but the tremor in his hands seemed to
migrate through his body.

She reached out and tapped his shoulder.

“Kyran, come on. Talk to me. What happened?”

KYRAN GLANCED OVER
his shoulder, and Alexis watched a terrified
look filter through his eyes. A blink and the emotion disappeared, but
it had been there. The problem was she couldn
’
t determine why he
would be scared.

Kyran slid out of the bed and pulled on his pajama pants, all the
while making a valiant effort not to avoid
meeting her questioning
stare.

“I
’
m going to go grab something to drink. Do you want anything?”

She pulled the sheet over her nakedness. “No, I’m fine.”

“Okay, I’ll be back in a little while.” He left the room in a barely concealed speed walk.

The woman in her, the one currently bound in the hormonal shackles
of estrogen, wanted to cry. For what, she wasn
’
t entirely sure. She didn
’
t
take Kyran to be like human men, who told women what they wanted
to hear just to get laid. The fact that he resembled a god in the looks
department negated his need to use manipulative charm. Besides, though
she didn’t know him that well, she didn’t take him to be that type of man, especially since he made a big deal over her virginal status.

Alexis rolled around in the bed, but she only managed to stir up the
memory that the sex-scented sheets held. Frustrated with the lingering
question about Kyran
’
s behavior, Alexis threw back the sheets, climbed
out of the bed, and tossed on the t-shirt she had been wearing. A shower
would help wash away the smell that kept conjuring memories better
off forgotten.

Her body was erotically sore as she made her way to the bathroom.
Curiosity had her spinning when she caught movement from the corner
of her eye; Kyran had entered the camera frame carrying a syringe.

An ominous feeling settled in her stomach, the sensation surging
and plummeting so fast in her gut she had to reach out to grip the desk
for stability. The only thing missing was classic horror-themed music
as the sinister feeling surged again when Kyran paused as if he was
listening for something. Still she couldn’t force her feet to move, too
drawn in by all the awful possibilities from what the screen showed her.

Theo – like all Hunters – had been trained to be aware of their
surroundings yet maintain the appearance that he was unconscious.
Alexis found herself hoping that Theo would do something to give
himself away. All Kyran would need is a subtle uptick of Theo
’
s calm
heart, a hitched breath, or a subtle muscle movement to show him that
Theo wasn
’
t asleep but pretending. Nothing happened, and Kyran
stepped forward. Her gut twisted in agony, but her feet still refused to obey her command to find help.

Kyran was obviously in doctor mode. He would naturally wonder
what happened to his patient, wonder if somehow the sedatives that
Theo had been given had been too much. He suffered from a kindness
that Hunters were trained out of from childhood. His inclination for
decency would cost him, but at least he was cognizant that something
was unusual. Maybe that would keep him safe enough that she could
warn him or send help.

Her gut tightened again, and a quick glimpse showed how close
Kyran was to his destruction. She knew she wouldn
’
t find that room in
time, so she left the room hoping to find Ronan. Hopefully, it wouldn
’
t
be too late.

She began beating on the first door she came to. It swung open
to reveal Ronan
’
s sleep tossed hair, unfocused glare, and gloriously
naked body.

“What the hell, Ky – ” His hands flew to his groin when his gaze fell on her.

“Come on. Kyran’s in trouble.”

Ronan growled at her. “What the fuck did you do?”

“
Not me; Theo
. He… Dammit stop wasting time. We have to go now.”

Ronan pushed past her, appearing to forget his nudity.

They both entered the room to find Theo lying in a crumpled heap,
sporting a nasty gash to his forehead. Kyran lay face down with blood
pooling around his torso. The severity of his wound was lethal, judging
by his blood loss.

Alexis
’
chest clenched, and her eyes stung, but she buried it behind
purpose. Grief could smother her if the worse came to pass.

She watched Ronan take hauntingly stiff steps to his brother. He
sank to his knees and began to shake. Ronan
’
s tremoring hand reached
forward and gently rolled his brother onto his back. Kyran was still
breathing, though the rise and fall of his chest was barely discernible.

The grief that played on his face mirrored the misery she never
displayed for Torin. A mournful tenor sounded over Kyran’s labored breathing. Her knees gave way as the howl echoed off the cavernous
walls. Ronan
’
s grief seemed to have the power to drive her past reason
and into the same well of depression that he was descending into. She
reached out to touch Kyran, but Ronan
’
s
half changed face
snarled at her.

The agony in his eyes yanked her away from her sorrow and back
to the call for action. If they were going to have a chance at saving him,
Kyran needed them both.

“Ronan, please, I get it. Believe me, I do, but Kyran needs you. You
have to keep it together and save him. You’re all he has.
Pleas
e, Ronan,
going rogue won’t help him.”

Ronan shook a few seconds longer before his features changed
back. He took a few deep breaths before he turned to face her.

“Thank you, but understand – ”

“I know. If he dies, we
’
re dead. Save him. Not for me, but because
you need him.”

Ronan gave his brother a quick glance and appeared to notice his
labored breathing. He went to the door and opened it using their series
of codes and scans. When the door opened, he placed his body in the doorway.

“Stand here while I get him.”

Alexis did as he said and raced to the door. Ronan carried Kyran
through the door before he gave her a pointed stare. She watched as he
exited the far hall and turned towards what she could only assume was
the surgery suite. Her gaze fell on Theo
’
s unconscious body, before
she stepped out of the doorway and allowed the doors to close.

When she was back in Kyran
’
s room, she began searching through
his stuff. There had to be someone she could call to keep Ronan from
going rogue if Kyran didn
’
t make it. Going rogue wasn
’
t something she
wanted for him, and though it would save her life if he didn
’
t, that
wasn’t her motivation. Ronan seemed like a decent enough guy, and
he obviously loved his brother. Forfeiting his life seemed like a terrible
waste of a decent man.