Hunter's Blood Special Edition (Cursed by Blood Saga) (20 page)

With one long stride, he was face to
face with her. Taking Lily’s chin in his hand, he raised her face to his and
kissed her. Running his tongue along the edge of her bottom lip, he whispered.
“Besides, why should I resist what’s mine for the taking?”

“But…” Lily shivered, but not from the
cold. Sean’s hands dropped to her waist. In one swift motion, he separated her
from her blanket and nightgown, and left her standing in front of him covered
in nothing but gooseflesh. Pulling her to him, he pressed his body against
hers, and his heat and desire flooded her, chasing away the cold along with any
lingering reluctance.

His hands skimmed her waist, cupping
each breast, grazing his thumbs across her nipples. They hardened under his
touch. Stepping back slightly, he lifted her, and Lily’s legs wrapped
themselves around his back. With a growl, he had her back against the cold
glass, his cock hard enough to cut diamonds as he entered her with one thrust.

The window rattled in its pane,
threatening to splinter as he impaled her over and over. Rough and untamed,
Sean ravaged her body, his mouth sucking and biting, reveling in the taste of
her like a man starved. His fingers bit into the soft flesh of her hips. The
glass cracked, a long, thin sliver running the length of the pane, jerking his
attention away from her for a moment. Without missing a beat, he spun them
around toward the bed.

Lily’s feet knocked over the lamp on
the nightstand, sending books and an empty tea cup crashing to the floor, but
neither of them cared. Throwing the rest of the covers back, he lowered her to
the edge of the bed. Holding her ankles locked together, he drove into her
grinding her down, his hips relentless. Lily screamed as she climaxed, but Sean
just grunted, flipping her onto her stomach. Pulling her back by her hips, he
drove into her from behind, his inner wolf snarling for him to mark her.

Baring his teeth, his lips pulled back
over his canines as they elongated both top and bottom. With a possessive howl,
he bit down on her shoulder. Lily’s back arched in pain and pleasure at the
feel of his teeth on her flesh. Her inner walls convulsed, squeezing against
Sean’s cock as she came over and over, her fingers between her own legs,
working herself even further into a frenzy. Sean’s hips reared back, thrusting
hard and fast, his balls high and hard. Throwing his head back, he yelled. He
was primal, burying his cock deep within her as he came, his hands locking her
hips to his.

He held her against him as the last
spasms rocked his body. Then together they slumped forward on the bed. Four
tiny rivulets of blood trickled from the four puncture marks on her shoulder.
Pushing himself up on his forearms, he leaned his head down and licked them
clean, healing them with his saliva.

At the raspy feel of his tongue, Lily
stiffened. “Sean? What did you do? Please tell me you didn’t just turn me! You
know how I feel about the whole ‘against my will’ thing.”

Sean chuckled, giving her shoulder
another lick. “It didn’t seem as if things were ‘against your will’ a minute
ago, but no, I didn’t turn you. I marked you. There’s a difference.” Still
buried deep inside her, he slowly rasped his tongue across the wounds once
more. Her breath hitched as heat flooded her body making her lower belly clench
in another aftershock of her climax.

“
Jesus,
will you stop with the
tongue? I need to think!” She jammed her elbow into the middle of his chest,
but all she got was quick jolt to her funny bone and his lips curving into a
smile against the nape of her neck. “What do you mean you marked me?”

Rolling her over so she could face
him, he answered, running his hand over the curve of her hip. “You’re leaving
in a matter of hours, Lily. Did you honestly think I would let you go without
marking you as mine? I know in your mind it sounds archaic and makes me
something of a Neanderthal, but it’s necessary.” Leaning down, he nipped her
bottom lip.

She pulled back, shaking her head.
“Necessary? For whom?” she asked, a little defensive.

“Necessary for you, that’s who. You’re
going back to Manhattan with a hell of a lot more knowledge about the
supernatural than you had before you left. Did you really think I would let you
go without giving you even the slightest bit of protection? Marking you lets
any Were that comes within five feet of you know you’re under my guard. Trace
amount or not, you have Were blood in your veins, and when the moon is at its
fullest, it will call to any male in your vicinity. Your scent will draw them.
They won’t be able to help themselves…” He hesitated, meeting Lily’s eyes.
“…and regrettably, neither will you.”

Pushing herself up, Lily sat on the
edge of the bed with her knees tucked under. Turning toward Sean, she smirked.
“Yeah right, nice tap dance. Now tell me the real reason why you bit me.” But
when he didn’t say a word, her mouth went slack. “Wait a minute. Are you saying
I’ve become some sort of lunar driven nymphomaniac, who sniffs around at the full
moon after anything with a pulse and a penis? A monthly Were-magnet, bitch in
heat?”

Grinning, Sean propped himself up on
one elbow. “Hey, some women would give their eyeteeth to be that irresistible!”

“Eyeteeth? Yeah, well, I prefer mine
blunt. Or is that part of the package too? No wait, don’t tell me. I grow
incisors the length of my pinky as soon as the full moon crests.”

“You haven’t become anything like
that, although, in the future it’s going to make things quite interesting for
us when we’re together. But apart, without my mark, males will positively come
sniffing around after you, or worse. Now you won’t have to worry about that. My
mark mutes your scent and says I’ve claimed you. You’ll be as safe as kittens.”

“Just when were you going to tell me
about this little character enhancement? Is there anything else I’ve inherited
from Jerard’s bite I should know about, or are you planning to surprise me
again? What about a sudden urge to bay at the moon, or an uncontrollable
craving for dog chow?”

“No, no surprises. And no
self-respecting Were would be caught dead eating dog chow, or anything else
Purina makes. But I need to tell you, Cochran will be accompanying you back to
New York. My orders.”

“Jack? You’re sending Jack with me?
What’s his deal, Sean? And don’t you dare lie to me. Is he there as pack
liaison for when I need to go back and forth to see Dr. Volkmann, or have you
planned for him shadow me?”

“Both.”

Lily stiffened, pulling away from
Sean. Getting up, she took the top sheet with her, wrapping it around her body
like a protective cover. “Like I said to your idiot Council, don’t you know me
at all? Are you out of your mind, Sean? A babysitter? Haven’t we been through
this before? Because I’m getting a dizzying sense of déjà vu.”

Sean sat up, running a hand through
his hair in frustration. “Why do you always have to go to extremes? Jack is not
a babysitter. This thing with Parr is not going away. You know that. It goes
much deeper than just what we see on the surface, and my hands are tied until I
can find out what’s behind it all.

“For Christ’s sake, Lily, there are
Weres out there who want to harm you! Edward believes his political maneuvering
would be easier if you were out of the equation, though, for the life of me, I
can’t understand why. But I will. In the meantime, cooperate for once in your
life. I for one wouldn’t put it past Parr to arrange a little accident for
you.”

“So what else is new? I think I’ve
more than proven I can take care of myself.
Christ
, Sean, some of your
people still think I’m a bounty hunter with all the supes I’ve killed, and that
includes a few vampires. Did Jack volunteer for this, or is this another one of
your mandates? He has no idea what he’s getting himself into. I work cold case
files constantly. Do you know how hard it is for a psychic to gain credibility
with the police? They trust me, and I’ve built a business on that trust.”

She frowned. “That’s if I have a
business left, I’ve been gone so long. Besides, my apartment has a strict no
pets rule,” she said petulantly, plopping back down on the bed next to Sean.
“This is completely unnecessary and utterly unfair.”

Tilting his head to one side, Sean
looked at her, his eyes serious. “Which part, my marking you or sending Jack to
watch out for you?”

Lily pursed her lips, a sarcastic
retort primed and ready, but seeing his expression, she realized what was truly
behind his question. She reached out and ran her fingers along his cheek and
their eyes met. “I just wish it was you coming with me.”

Sean chuckled, pulling her into his
arms. “Difficult, dangerous, and utterly unreasonable. And people wonder why I
love you.”

***

Neither said a word as Sean carried
Lily’s bags downstairs to the front door. With the current political climate,
Sean had no choice but to stay in Maine. There was no way around it, and
nothing left to discuss. Problem was, the issues at the Compound weren’t just
limited to Maine. Weres across the country were riveted, waiting to see if the
experiment
,
as they called it, would self-destruct.

Rissa was at the bottom of the stairs,
waiting for them by the door.

“Good news travels fast, I see,” Lily
said, as she stepped down onto the polished tile of the front foyer. Sean put
the bags down and opened the door to call for Jack. A cold gust of wind followed,
and Lily rubbed her arms against the chill, as she leaned into Rissa’s
one-armed hug.

“Care package?” she asked, indicating
the foil wrapped dish in her friend’s other hand.

“Toll house cookies for the ride.”

The corner of Lily’s mouth crooked
upward, but she cringed inwardly. Rissa’s eyes brimmed with worry, but there
was a hint of steely indictment in their depths, as well.

Or maybe it’s just my own guilty
conscience?

“Seriously, Ris, you’re the only
person I know who would get up at dawn to make homemade cookies for a trip
you’re not even taking.”

Deliberately avoiding eye contact,
Lily turned to drape her jacket over the gleaming cherry banister and lean her
backpack against the curved rails at the bottom of the stairs.

As Sean stepped outside, it was just
the two of them, and the metronomic ticking of the grandfather clock on the
landing was almost deafening in the tense quiet. Lily pressed both hands to her
stomach as guilt bit into her gut again. Closing her eyes, she slid her hands
to her hips and turned back around. “All right. Enough with the sonic boom
silent treatment,” she said, meeting Rissa’s pointed gaze. “I guess Mitch told
you what happened last night.”

Rissa exhaled as she nodded. “Yes, he
did.”

“And?”

“And? Lily, for Christ’s sake, why did
you have to go there?” Exasperation exploded into her tone, even as her face
flushed in uncharacteristic annoyance. Shaking her head, she floundered, at a
loss. “You’re not stupid Lily, but sometimes I don’t understand what goes
through your mind. Didn’t you think for one second, that confronting the
council in that way played right into Parr’s hand? And did you honestly think
any of us would allow them to hold you against your will?”

Lily opened her mouth, but then closed
it again, swallowing a sarcastic reply. Rissa wasn’t the guilty party in this,
and she shouldn’t bear the brunt of Lily’s ire. “No. I don’t. But if Mitch told
you everything, then you know the situation has moved beyond that.

Rissa threw her hands up. “But why
leave? Don’t you think it’s is a bit extreme, even for you?” She was at a loss.
“I mean, since when are you the type to cut and run?”

Lily flinched, watching the
conflicting emotions play across her friend’s face. This was exactly the reason
she wanted to leave before everyone else caught wind of her plan. However,
Rissa wasn’t the only one second-guessing her decision. Was her choice to leave
truly best for Sean, for her? Or had she just convinced herself it was?

If it was for the best, then why was
Terry’s voice loud and clear in the back of her head, repeating the same two
words over and over again?
Selfish. Cowardly
. She tried to ignore them,
but couldn’t. They mirrored her doubt, and the fear that she had let her anger
cloud her judgment. If Rissa thought she was taking the easy way out, then
others would as well, and Parr would certainly capitalize on it, regardless of
her little speech in the war room last night.

“Lily…” Rissa began, but Lily held up
her hand.

“Don’t, Ris. I understand—and I know
on the surface it seems as if I’m running, but trust me, that is not the case.
Sean and I already went ten rounds about this, and though he’s not happy about
my leaving, he understands this is how it has to be, at least for now. You know
he’d never let me go otherwise. I’ve looked at every angle, and it’s better
this way. He needs to focus, and on top of everything else going on with the
council, he doesn’t need the added worry about me, our relationship and how I
fit in, or don’t for that matter. He can’t do his job properly with me here,
and I can’t just sit around and wait. This way, it’ll take some of the pressure
off, at least politically.” She shrugged, mentally crossing her fingers that
she was right.