Obsessed (68 page)

Home to New York, where she belonged.

A thrill coursed through Natalie as Evvan pressed his hips tighter against hers and she felt the awesome size of his cock through his skintight pants. His wild musk of male and forest breezes overwhelmed her senses, mingling with the spicy scent of the horse behind her.

She opened her eyes and moved her hands over the smooth skin of his muscled chest. “I—I want you, Evvan.”

“It was meant to be.” He lowered his head to the V of her blouse and lapped at her skin, down as far as the opening would allow. “Your flavor,” he murmured, “so sweet. I must savor you again. I must devour all of you. But first I will fuck you.”

Natalie sighed, melting against Evvan, enjoying the feel of his hands and mouth caressing her body. “Yes,” she murmured. “Yes.”

Evvan made a primitive noise, a growl of satisfaction. “You are mine, l’tiani. Forever mine.”

Forever his?

“Excuse me?” Natalie dropped down, ducking out of Evvan’s caress. “I’m not yours.”

The move apparently caught him off guard, judging by the surprised look in his black eyes. “Enough, l’tiani.” His expression turned into a scowl. “You are my heartmate, and you will listen to me.”

“Get lost, dickhead.” She backed away from him, tugging her charred skirt over her naked hips. “I’m not some kind of possession. I don’t belong to you or anyone else.”

Evvan’s look darkened, but his erection beneath his pants didn’t wane. If anything, it grew bigger, though Natalie was doing her best not to notice.

“Come here at once,” the arrogant prick ordered.

“Like hell.” Natalie put both hands up, as if to ward him off when he started toward her. “I don’t take orders.”

He stopped abruptly. “What—”

“Just stay right there and don’t take another step.” Natalie glared at him. “I don’t know where you get off, but you can cut the crap right now. I’ve had enough.”

Evvan’s muscles bunched like he was struggling to keep from leaping for her throat. “Goddess bless,” he hissed through clenched teeth.

A shiver of worry coursed Nat’s spine as she turned and marched down the passageway. “Don’t bother following me,” she called over her shoulder. “I’ll just find my own way out, thank you very much.”

Evvan’s furious voice chased her along the dim passageway, “You must return at once! The…” but his words became muffled as she rounded a corner and entered a different passageway, lit by the weirdest blue lights she’d ever seen.

Yeah, right. Like I’d listen to him.
Natalie didn’t bother looking back. The big, arrogant, gorgeous jerk. As if she’d go running back to him just because he ordered her to.

Yet while she walked deeper along the glowing blue passageway, she wondered why he hadn’t followed her. It didn’t quite seem in character for him to just let her walk away like this.

“Ouch!” she muttered as sharp rocks bit into her bare feet. The odd blue lights—that kinda looked like little gargoyles—only gave off enough of a glow to keep from smacking into the dirt walls, and not enough to really see the tunnel floor.

“Stupid,” she muttered, suddenly feeling like she’d just made a huge error in judgment. What had she been thinking, to stalk off in a huff when she didn’t know where the hell she was?

Strangely enough, a sense of disappointment eased through her as she realized Evvan really wasn’t giving chase.
Jeez, what’s the matter with me, anyway?
Was that what she had truly wanted? Was that why she’d taken off like she did? So that he would chase her?

Weird, Nat. That’s just plain weird.

Hair at her nape prickled and her steps slowed. Out of habit she rubbed at the star tattoo around her belly button and the gold ring at her navel. Okay, she was an idiot. Like one of those tourists who came to the City and jogged alone in Central Park, as if nothing bad could ever happen to them.

Mentally Nat ticked off the facts currently weighing against her. She was alone, and if everything Evvan had told her was true, she was in another world. Maybe on another planet. A planet with dragons that wanted to eat her. She was barefoot in a tunnel wearing a burned skirt and no freaking underwear, and she had just let a total stranger do everything but ride her like a pony. She was deep underground, didn’t know where she was going, and Evvan had said something about being wary of Dwarves…

The urge to run swept over her fast and furious like it had back before she’d come face-to-face with a fire-breathing dragon, and before that when she’d first entered the cave at the convention. All at once she felt as though the tunnel walls were closing in on her. She had to get out of there. Now.

Nat made a quick about-face—

And slammed into a heavily-muscled body.

“Goddess, damn!” Evvan let out a roar of frustration as he tried to move, but remained frozen where he stood, his feet firmly fastened to the tunnel floor.

He should have known.

The longer Natalie remained in Dair, the more her inborn powers would emerge. Even more dangerous, his l’tiani had no idea of her own magical strength.

Come to think of it, neither did he.

That thought sat poorly with Evvan.

He smashed his fist against the invisible barrier separating him from his heartmate. The barrier that surrounded him like a transparent box.

In her fit of displeasure, the redheaded Sorceress had unleashed one of those unknown strong magical powers she didn’t recognize—the same powers he had stupidly underestimated. Aye, he had seen an example of her magic when the Sorcerer-dragon had nearly roasted them, but thanks to his own arrogance, Evvan never thought she would use it against him.

And the wench had put herself in certain danger by leaving him unable to protect her.

He sensed that Dwarves were near…and if they came upon an unescorted female…

Damnation!

Go after her, he told L’th’amir in thought. On silent hooves so that you do not startle the wench.

The Elvin stallion, fortunate to be on the other side of Natalie’s lingering barrier, whickered and tossed his head. The brave steed then bolted down the tunnel, further into D’euan Deep, and after Evvan’s heartmate.

Sweat beaded his brow as he focused on breaking through the shield spell Natalie had cast. It would be most difficult to vanquish the Fae magic, but Evvan’s own powers ran strong and deep. He refused to bow to any force, and that included another’s hold upon him, magical or otherwise.

He focused his mind, concentrating on finding a weakness in the magic that held him. With his own power, he searched the length and breadth of the spell ’til he found a fracture. Minute, to be sure, but enough to allow him to expand the flaw. Slowly, very slowly he was able to increase the width of the fracture, until the magic shattered.

With a roar, Evvan broke free. In a lightning fast movement, he ripped his sword from the sheath at his side and darted through the passageway, reaching out with his senses as he ran.

His heart thundered and blood rushed in his head.

The Dwarves were closing in on his l’tiani.

Natalie gasped as she pushed herself away from the fearsome-looking man she’d just smacked into. Was it the crazy light in the tunnel, or was he blue?

In the next second another massive hand covered her mouth from behind. A huge arm pinned her tight to a solidly muscled, naked torso. Sheer panic tore through her and she fought against the man’s hold with everything she had. Her captors smelled worse than a men’s locker room, the testosterone so strong that she thought she’d puke.

The man in front of her grumbled in a strange guttural language and her captor muttered something in assent.

Wild thoughts spun through Natalie’s head as she attempted to come up with some way to escape these men. Yet at the same time, her mind automatically began to process their bizarre language, and she knew it would be only a matter of time before she understood what they were saying.

Her captors turned and walked straight into the tunnel wall.

Natalie screamed behind the hand and her heart pounded inside her skull as she was carried through the wall. Again that sucking feeling and popping noises in her ears. Everything seemed to swirl and blur, blue light sweeping by in a kaleidoscope of sensation. And then a snap and gurgle as they stepped into another passageway.

Immediately the men began jogging, with Natalie bouncing against her captor’s chest like a shapeless rag doll. The same blue glow illuminated the tunnel, but the light was so dim she could see only a few feet in front of them. Her blouse bunched up under her breasts as they moved along, exposing her belly, the air chilling her bare flesh.

Natalie struggled against her captor’s hold, but he had her pinned, and good. The two men continued speaking to each other in their odd tongue as they fell into a rhythmic gate, treating her like she wasn’t even there. She could see the other man more clearly as they went, and he really was blue—a bright royal blue. And so was her other captor, except he was almost navy blue—well, at least what she could see of him was.

What the hell have I gotten myself into now?
she wondered as the coarse movements of her kidnappers jarred her teeth. She should have just stayed with Evvan and fucked him, and then she could have had him help her find her way back to New York.

But nooooooo. She’d had to go and throw a fit and stomp off, rather than staying and putting his big barbarian ass in its place. After she fucked him, of course.

Suuuuure she belonged to him. Ha! As if.

Although, if she was honest with herself, the thought of being possessed by such a sexy alpha bad boy had actually intrigued her. Not the idea of being possessed in a demeaning way, like a slave. But giving up control and letting him dominate her sexually…well, that thought more than captivated her libido.

Natalie groaned behind the grubby hand that still covered her mouth. She was really losing it. Here she was, being kidnapped by a couple of blue-skinned weirdoes, and all she could think about was sex with an Elf.

A freaking Elf!

After all that had happened, right up to the point of being carted through a tunnel by blue men, Natalie finally realized this truly was no game. She didn’t know how it had happened, but she no longer had any doubt…she wasn’t in New York anymore.

How did she know? Could have been any number of things, including a dragon trying to make a meal out of her and actually burning her skin, or maybe it was Evvan’s healing of her, or maybe the unusual languages, or good lord, the magic in that orgasm he’d given her. That was definitely not part of any game.

But more than all of that, was a part of her deep inside that knew. Something in her soul had truly known all along that she was on another world, but she’d chosen to ignore it.

The problem now…escape from the giant Smurfs and figure out how the hell to get back home.

The men jogged around a bend and came to an abrupt stop in a large room. She was positioned so that her back was to her captor’s chest, and her feet didn’t reach the floor.

Natalie blinked away the brightness of the chamber as she absorbed its beauty. Ornate designs in gold and silver appeared to be carved into the chamber walls, as if fashioned directly from ore within the earth. So much gold, that the room literally glowed with it.

A rough voice barked a command.

Nat’s gaze shot to the man who had spoken and her face flushed. Damn, he was good looking, no matter that his skin was New York Mets blue.

Cripes, he really was blue.

The devastatingly handsome man strode toward her from across the chamber. Well, he wasn’t as sexy as Evvan, but the blue man was pretty dang hot. He had a cocky umm…smile, and blue-black hair that hung to the center of his back.

The man wasn’t quite as tall as Evvan, but he was just as bare-chested and just as ripped—a guy back home would have to work out several hours a day to have pecs like that. His biceps flexed, and she could see the cut of his athletic thighs beneath his tight black pants. Yet no matter how mouthwatering this piece of blue male ass was, she couldn’t help but compare him to Evvan.

And Evvan won, no doubt about it.

“Echnog udibae,” the man commanded, and Nat felt the pieces of his language about to click.

Like magic.

Her captor continued to hold her tight as the man approached them. When he stood directly in front of her, the good-looking blue guy reached out and caressed the skin around her belly button with his callused finger. Natalie shivered and squirmed, sucking in her abdomen as she tried to withdraw from his touch.

He smiled, as though amused, his white teeth flashing against his blue skin. “Grondih achonate Astral.”

One of Astral’s brightest, Nat’s mind translated as her gift for languages took over.

“Richnod Jarik ena Wachonia.” The man moved his fingertip to the gold ring at her belly button. “Hishna Goan D’euan.”

I am King Jarik of the Dwarves, she interpreted. Welcome to D’euan Deep.

This impressively beautiful blue man was a flipping Dwarf? Damn, they’d never made Dwarves like this in any of the books she’d read. Snow White would have had lots more fun if the seven Dwarves had been anything like this guy.

“Ibudande,” Jarik barked to the man holding her.

Release her, she heard a second before she was dropped.

Natalie’s knees buckled as her feet hit the floor and she pitched forward. Jarik caught her in his arms, pinning her tight to his powerful chest. Her palms were trapped between them, her face tilted up…and the bastard was smiling.

A purely male smile that told her in no uncertain terms that he wanted her. And if she’d had any doubts, there was always that hell of a boner he had as he pressed her hips tight to his.

“Leave us,” Jarik said to the two men who had captured her. “The maid and I have much to discuss.”

Retreating footsteps echoed in the room and then silence. Nat pushed against Jarik’s chest with all her might, but she was hopelessly trapped in his arms. At least he didn’t stink like the other two had. This one actually smelled kind of good, like apple wine.

Although maybe if she puked on him, he’d free her.