"You all right?" Ash asked.
No, but he wasn't about to admit that to Ash. No one would ever again know his weaknesses. What was going on was his business. Ash had already betrayed him once. He wasn't about to give him another chance to damage his life, such as it was.
And in his head, he heard the voices that had been getting louder lately. Voices that wanted him to hurt the people around him. They were so seductive and with them came a power so fierce it was hard to resist.
He felt his eyes turning red.
There was a raw, primordial power coming and it was out for blood. The only question was, whose?
Chapter 11
"Mama?"
Sam jerked awake at the sound of a very small voice that was just learning to speak. She lay in bed, wondering if she'd dreamed it.
She hadn't.
"Shh, munchkin, not so loud. We have guests." Kerryna kept talking in that sweet octave mothers reserved for their children as she walked out of hearing range.
Sam cursed under her breath. If she heard or saw one more child...
It seemed like the gods were taking pleasure in punishing her lately. And she wanted to weep as her grief choked her. Why couldn't she have raised her own children? Seen them grow and held them all the days of her life? That had been the plan. She and Ioel, growing old together...
Damn you, gods.
No. She had her sister to blame for their loss and it changed nothing. The pain was still there and it was raw and bleeding.
Suck it up, Amazon. You're a Dark-Hunter. Mother to the entire human race she protected. She saved their lives even while she'd been unable to save the lives of her own family. The irony of that had haunted her for centuries. And it was what had given her the strength to tear out her sister's throat even while the petty bitch had begged her for mercy.
Mercy, my ass...
That wasn't in her. Not anymore. It hadn't been since the day she'd crossed over and seen the real horrors life had heaped on not just her, but countless others. Images of the past burned her while she lay there and they left her aching. Wanting.
Please help me....
A light snore behind her drew her attention away from the past to realize that a heavy, muscular arm was draped protectively over her. To the fact that a warm body was pressed up against hers.
Dev.
The bear held her like she was unspeakably precious. Like her husband had once done...
Tenderness swept through her. How she'd missed waking up like this. That feel of a man's body entwined with hers. Of his prickly hairs rough against her legs. His hard cock resting against her hip. She didn't know why she liked being with Dev. He drove her straight up the walls with no stop sign in sight. He manhandled her, which she hated with a passion, and was the epitome of a male horn dog at times.
He was arrogant. Hard-headed...
And he risked his life to keep her safe. Even now he didn't have to be here and yet there he lay.
Like a teddy bear. She silently laughed at the thought. There was nothing cuddly about Dev. He was all sinewy muscle and he was huge.
Her gaze went to the bow-and-arrow tattoo on his arm. He hadn't made the sacrifice she had, but he understood the call. Sam swallowed. I don't want to be dead anymore....
She'd been alone for so long. Had hurt and sucked up her tears for centuries. Nothing had ever eased it.
Until now. For what ever reason, Dev took away the pain she felt. He somehow made things better with his screwed-up humor and peculiar outlook.
It was so wrong. She was a Dark-Hunter and he a Were-Hunter. They were supposed to be enemies.
Yet it didn't feel that way. And right now with his breath falling on her skin and his arms wrapped around her, she wanted him. She wanted to bathe in the warmth he gave her. Breathe him in until she was drunk on his scent...
Dev came awake to the sweetest kiss he'd ever been given. Tender and hot, it set fire to him as Sam draped her naked body over his. Her breasts were pressed against his chest, reminding him of why he was so glad he was a man.
She nipped his lips with her fangs before she pulled back to look down at him. Her nightgown was gone, she'd thrown it on the floor before she woke him, and her curls spilled around her creamy shoulders. Her eyes were once again dark brown. She was the Dark-Hunter and right now, he was her willing victim.
He smiled at her. "Now that's the way to wake a guy up."
She shook her head, causing those curls to bounce beautifully. "No...this is the way to wake him up."
Before he could ask her what she meant, she slid down his body and dipped her head to take him into her mouth. His mind spun as pleasure ripped through his entire being.