by Larissa Ione
“That’s not exactly a dog.” Than eyed the pup warily.
“You’re right,” Cara said. “He’s a harmless puppy. Pestilence killed his family, and he needs a new one. If he bonds to Logan, trust me, he’ll have the best lifelong protector on the planet.”
Regan glanced over at Hal, who never left Cara’s side unless she asked him to go with Ares. Velcro, the hellhound that had guarded Regan, had also been attentive and intimidating, and okay, that sounded pretty good. Call her an overprotective mom, but Regan would take a guardian for her son that would eat anyone who tried to hurt him.
God, what a freaky family she belonged to now. But it was a family, and it was hers.
“Oh, hey,” Wraith said. “How many of those do you have? My son wants a dog. Or a bear.”
The conversation turned to hellhound puppies and kids, and Regan backed herself out of it, wanting to catch Kynan before he left.
He was standing by himself next to the beer barrel, watching over everyone, but his gaze kept drifting with possessive heat to his wife, Gem, whose head was together with her twin sister, Tayla’s. When he saw Regan, he pushed off the wall he’d been lounging against and gave her a hug.
“I’ve never seen you look so good,” he said. “Horsemen agree with you.”
“Weird, right?” She stole a glance at Thanatos, which was only fair, because he stole her breath. She was so going to get laid tonight. “Ky? I want to be there to help rebuild and reunite The Aegis.”
Kynan smiled sadly. “The Aegis is gone, Regan. This has been coming since the day Tayla hooked up with the head doctor at Underworld General. What she put into motion changed the course of The Aegis, and this split has been coming for a long time.”
“So what are you saying? That we let Lance and the others just take The Aegis and run with it? That’s bullshit.” Then there was the fact that she still had a score to settle with those assholes. If Thanatos didn’t get to them first, anyway.
This time, Kynan’s grin was blinding. “It is bullshit. So I say we salvage what we can—knowledge, property, the Guardians who share our philosophy—and we build our own organization. New name, new mission statement. The Aegis is moving backward. I say we move forward.”
The very idea was terrifying. To let go of everything she’d grown up with and start over gave her chills. But what it didn’t give her was the insane desire to organize the room or eat until she was ready to pop and then throw it all up.
Wow. Okay, so that was new. And it felt freaking awesome. She waited for the urge to count or flip a light switch three times or something, but nope, nothing happened.
Her eyes stung at the realization that she hadn’t gone OCD in the face of stress. She’d passed a milestone somewhere between being kidnapped and being killed, and wasn’t it funny how the ultimate trauma made everything else seem so trivial.
Oh, she didn’t doubt her OCD would be a work-in-progress, but Thanatos and Logan had given her much needed stability, and dying had given her much needed perspective. She couldn’t control everything, and she didn’t need to. Life was messy and unpredictable, and learning to roll with the punches was part of surviving.
She nodded. “I say you’re right.” Her fingers found the handheld baby monitor she’d jammed in her pocket. “Does this new organization allow for maternity leave? Because I’m not letting my little guy out of my reach for a while.”
Ky leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “You got it, kiddo. Call me next week, and we’ll conference with Decker, Arik, Tayla, and Val. We’ll get things going.”
“Ky…?”
“Yeah?”
She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth for a second, unsure she wanted to bring this up. Finally, she blurted, “I lost my soul-sucking ability. Will you still want me if it doesn’t—”
“Hey.” He took her by the shoulders and dipped his head to give her his super-serious Kynan stare. “You were always valuable to The Aegis, special abilities or not. I didn’t realize how deep some of our members’ resentment of you went, or I’d have stepped in, and I’ll never forgive myself for not paying better attention. They were jealous, and the only way they thought they could keep you from seeming more important than they were was to tear you down. So forget them.” He winked one denim-blue eye. “They’re nursing their wounds of failure behind the walls of their castle, and you saved the fucking world.”
With a grin, Kynan took off, and the guests all began to trickle out. When only Ares, Cara, Limos, and Arik remained, they gathered for a final champagne toast.
Ares held up his glass. “To Logan Thanatos. May he grow up healthy and strong, and find a mate as perfect as ours.”
“Sap,” Than said. “But thanks, bro.”
The clink of glasses rang out, and after their first drink Cara said proudly, “Rath said his first sentence.”
Arik tugged Limos against him. “What did he say?”
Ares sighed. “What are the three words said most often in our house?”
“Not tonight, Ares?” Than offered.
“Funny,” Ares growled. “Cara never says that.”
“I might tonight,” she muttered.
Laughing, Limos clapped her hands. “I know. Hal! Bad dog.”
“Yep.” Cara grinned like the proudest mom ever. Didn’t matter that their child was an adopted Ramreel demon. She was beyond thrilled.
Limos set down her glass on the food table, and then took Arik’s and did the same. “Come on,” she said, taking his hand.
“Where are we going?”
“Home. Now that the Apocalypse is over, you’re going to knock me up.”
Arik turned eight shades of red but allowed her to drag him out of the house, and Ares and Cara followed soon afterward, taking Hal with them. They left the pup, who settled onto a blanket beneath Logan’s cradle as if he’d always belonged there.
Thanatos, however, looked distinctly uncomfortable as Regan began to undress. “I’m going to go make sure my staff doesn’t need any help to clean up—”
“Oh, no, you don’t.” She grabbed him by the arm and turned him to face her. “You’ve been avoiding me every night since Logan was born, but Eidolon gave me the green light, and you’re not pulling this crap again.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Bullshit. You help me get into bed, and then you make up some lame excuse to leave the room, and you don’t come back until I’m asleep. Why?” When he averted his gaze, she gripped his chin and forced him to look at her. “Why?”
“Dammit, Regan—”
“Why?” She was more insistent this time, and loud enough that both Logan and the pup whimpered. In a more hushed voice, she added, “Please, Than. Don’t shut down on me. What’s bothering you? Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” he said quickly. “Oh, hell, no. It’s me. I … failed you.”
“Are you kidding? You saved my life.”
“After I killed you. And now you’re stuck feeling what I feel. Azagoth took away fourteen of my most important tattoos…what you have to be going through…”
She palmed his chest, feeling his heartbeat against her palm. “What are you feeling?”
For a moment, he didn’t seem to understand the question. Finally, he said warily, “Nothing. I remember each of the scenes more vividly than I did before, but the emotional pain is as dampened as it was when I had the tattoos. Initially after Azagoth took the tats, the pain was bad, and I know it was bad for you too. I saw you crying, Regan.”
“And that’s why you’ve been so distant? You felt guilty?” At his remorseful nod, she threw herself at him, wrapping around him so tightly he sucked air. “Don’t. Don’t you ever feel guilty about that. I’m used to experiencing emotions that don’t belong to me. The same thing happens when I touch ink on parchment. It’s always that way. Intense for a few hours, and then it all filters away and all I have left are the memories.”
“But not the emotions that go with th
em?”
Looking up at him, she shook her head. “That’s normal, Thanatos. You’ve been tattooing away your grief for so long that you don’t remember what it’s like to be… human. It may take a while, but the pain always dulls. You’ll see, and I’ll be there to help you through it. We’ll help each other through it.” She traced the stern line of his jaw, taking pleasure in the way his tension gradually eased. “We both have to learn to deal with our emotions, me to control my OCD, and you to function as the person you’re fated to be. I’m happy to share your pain though, so please don’t worry about me.”
Than gave a disbelieving shake of his head. “I still don’t know how you can be okay with this.”
Rolling her eyes, she blew out a dramatic breath. “Gee, it’s such a sacrifice. Hmm … would I rather be dead, or be alive with a beautiful son, a loving family and friends, and a…well, you.”
“Yeah,” he growled. “About that.” Her heart stuttered as he dropped to one knee. “Marry me.” His deep voice held an emotional warble she felt all the way to her marrow. “I don’t have a ring, and I wasn’t prepared like I should have been, but I didn’t know how you’d react and I was a big chicken and—”
She cut him off with a finger to his lips as she dropped to her knees in front of him. “Yes. On one condition.”
“Anything,” he croaked.
Tilting her head, she dragged her finger down her throat, directly over the spot where Than had bitten her. “You give me everything. Your emotions, your temper, and your desires. Your hunger is no longer going to be a burden for you.”
“Regan …” The warning growl in his voice made her blood rush hot to erogenous zones she didn’t know she had. And when his fangs elongated, it provoked an even hotter response at her core. “Are you sure?”
The forbidden, naughty images from the vampire porn flashed through her head. “I’m sure.” Her eager fingers found the fly of his pants. “I’m so sure.”
In a blur of motion, he had her on her back on the floor, his heavy body on top of hers. He ripped off her clothes as if they were made of tissue paper, and then he was kissing his way down her body, his fangs scraping her skin, his tongue soothing the erotic scratches.
Spreading her legs, he teased his way down her pelvis, taking exquisite care when he reached the sensitive flesh in the creases of her inner thighs. He licked his way inward, holding her steady when she squirmed, both embarrassed and needy, both trying to escape his mouth and get it where she wanted. She couldn’t decide which she wanted more, but when his tongue swept right up her center, the decision was made.
Her moan joined his as he licked her again, this time more slowly, letting the flat of his tongue drag through her slit.
“I could do this for hours,” he whispered, his hot breath caressing flesh so sensitized that she bucked. How funny that they were both so new at sex, but both so eager. And God, he was so good. The vampire erotica had taught him a thing or two, for sure.
He dove into his task then, licking, sucking, kissing her private place with such care she nearly wept. Pleasure roared through her, searing and sweet, and then the room was spinning and she was crying out his name. Before she’d fully come down he was on top of her, kissing her mouth, his sex poised at her entrance.
“I love you,” he whispered against her lips. “I want you. I didn’t see you coming. You blindsided me, and I wouldn’t change a thing.” He slipped inside her with a groan, filling her. Completing her when she hadn’t known she had a piece missing.
“You’ve given me so much, Thanatos. I had to lose everything in order to see that I had it all.” She arched into his thrust, the pleasure nearly taking her breath. “I’ve never been so alive.”
“You made me realize I’m alive.” His voice was guttural, raw, so damned sexy.
“Thanatos?”
“Yeah?”
“Bite me.”
He grinned, flashing his fangs. “You got it, baby. You got anything you want.”
As his mouth settled over her throat, ecstasy peaked. It wasn’t just physical. It was mental. Emotional. It was a perfect melding of the past, present, and future.
The Apocalypse was over, and the new world, her new world, was just beginning.
When Jillian Cardiff finds a man—a naked man—lying in the snow, she knows she’s stumbled across more than just a stranger in need …
He can’t remember anything about his past—not even his name. But one thing is clear: If he stays with Jillian, death, destruction, and Apocalypse are in his future.
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Rogue Rider
One
It was cold. So fucking cold.
He opened his eyes, but he saw … nothing. Groaning, he shifted, because he seemed to be facedown. Yeah … yeah, he was. But where was he? Now all he could see was snow. No, that wasn’t true; he could see trees laden with snow. And snowbanks laden with snow. And snow laden with more fucking snow.
So he was in a forest… with snow. But where? Why?
And who the hell was he?
Reseph.
The name slurred through his ears as if uttered by a drunken man.
Reseph.
Sounded vaguely familiar, he supposed. Reseph. Okay, yeah, he could work with that. Especially since no other names popped into his head.
Weakly, he tried to push himself to his knees, but his arms felt like rubber, and he kept falling on his face. After four tries, he gave up and just lay there, panting and shivering.
Somewhere overhead, an owl hooted, and a few minutes later, a wolf howled into the growing darkness. Reseph took comfort in the sounds, because they meant he wasn’t alone. Sure, the owl might just fly over and shit on him, and the wolf might eat him, but at least he’d have company for a little while.
He didn’t know much about himself, but he knew he didn’t like to be alone.
He also did not like snow.
Gradually he became aware of a gnawing ache in his bones, accompanied by a stabbing pain in his head. Looked like he was in for a little unconsciousness. Cool. Because right now, he was both freezing and burning up, hurting and numb. It sucked.
Yep, passing out would be a good thing.
Real. Fucking. Good.
Idiot. Dumbass. Meteorological moron.
Jillian Cardiff mentally cursed the meteorologist who screwed the pooch on the timing of this blizzard. She had nothing against weather people; hell, she’d worked with them for years in the FAA. But this … this was ridiculous.
Now she was in a rush to get back to her cabin before visibility went completely to shit and her draft horse, Sam, got testy.
“Come on, boy.” She gave the big sorrel an affectionate slap on the shoulder. “The rest of the firewood can wait.”
Sam followed her, not needing to be led by the rope snapped to his halter. He knew the way home and was as eager as she was to get inside a warm, cozy building. The sled carrying half a cord of firewood dragged behind him, cutting through the two feet of snow they’d gotten a few days ago. This new storm would probably dump another couple of feet, and by the end of November they’d have more snow than they’d know what to do with in the Colorado Rockies.
The wind shrieked like a living thing, and snow blasted her face like a million tiny needles. Hefting her rifle more securely onto her shoulder, Jillian put her head down and pushed against the gale. Times like this, she really missed Florida. Not that she’d ever go back. Some things you just couldn’t forget.
Like being torn apart by demons.
She shivered, but it had nothing to do with the cold. She was not going there again. The attack was behind her, and as long as she didn’t watch TV, get on the Internet, or look at her scars, she never had to think about it.
A long, mournful howl pierced the late afternoon darkness. Had to be close if she could hear it over the wind. Sam snorted and tossed his head, and she slowed to take the lead rope and give him a pat on his big brown
nose.
“It’s okay, buddy. The wolves won’t bother us.” No, wolves generally left humans alone. If anything, cougars were the big concern. In recent weeks, two area hunters had been found torn to pieces, the carnage blamed on the big cats.
Abruptly, Sam reared up, a desperate whinny breaking from his big chest. The rope jerked out of Jillian’s hand, and she nearly lost her footing in the icy snow as she scrambled to catch it. Sam’s front hooves hit the ground and his shoulder rammed her, sending her tumbling down an incline. Her yelp cut off as she slammed into a tree trunk.
Pain spiderwebbed around the right side of her rib cage, and ouch, that was going to be tender tomorrow.
“Dammit, Sam,” she muttered as she crawled back up the snowy slope, pausing to grab the rifle that had been flung into a snowbank.
Sam was snorting, going nuts as he pawed at something in a drift. Jillian dug ice from places ice shouldn’t be as she clomped through the snow, wondering what in the world had startled him and now had him so freaked out.
“You’d better be digging up a pot of gold, you mangy—” She broke off with a startled gasp.
A man…a naked man…his body face-down and covered in a dusting of snow, lay in a messy sprawl just off the trail.
“Oh, my God.” Her hands shook as she stripped off her gloves and put her fingers to his throat. His skin was icy to the touch, which she expected, but when the steady thump of a pulse bounded against her fingertips, she nearly jumped out of her own skin. He was alive. With a strong pulse. Holy cow, how?
Okay, so … think. She had to get help, but they were in the middle of an intensifying snowstorm, and there was no way off the mountain except by snowmobile. She couldn’t risk that in the storm, and it could take hours to get to the nearest town. He could be dead by then.
Shit.
Praying this guy wasn’t a serial killer and trying not to think too hard on why he’d be in the mountains, naked, in the winter, she eased Sam up the trail so the sled was alongside the man’s body. As quickly as she could, she heaved the wood to the other side of the path and tucked the ax into the loop on Sam’s padded harness.