Rapture (18 page)

Raine reached the top of the cliff at the same time as Ferox, and
threw her foot up, hooking it on the edge before rolling onto the landing. They
were both laughing as they caught their breath. She was exhausted, and her
hands were bruised and burned from hours on the rope, but she couldn’t have
been happier. She stared up at the sky above, forcing her breathing to slow.
There was a scuffling nearby, and Ferox’s face came into view just above her,
his weight on her a little as he leaned on one elbow. His hand slid under her
head, creating a pleasant cushion from the hard rock, while the other hand slid
over her arm, tickling her skin. Her stomach tightened, her heart lurching at
the feel of him.

Their lips met hard and fast, no longer hesitant, no longer
questioning. There was a mutual need between them. He took her lips, and she
took what he gave. No, she demanded it of him. He tasted sweet, his lips soft,
yet unyielding as they melded with hers. His full weight settled on her, and
his hands began roaming over her entire body, this time uninhibited. They were
everywhere at once. So were hers, feeling anything and everything she could get
them on. His hard chest and broad shoulders, then down his muscled back and
sides, then between their writhing bodies, feeling the hard bulges of his
muscles.

Then lower.

He growled as she felt the hardness between his legs, and his
quick inhale of breath as she dipped her hands into the waist of his pants and
gripped him. Just touching him there caused her core to tighten with need. He
froze and pulled his lips away from her, resting his forehead against hers. “A
little gentler, Caalia.”

“Too rough?” she asked, a little mortified.

He smiled, though a little painfully. “A little.”

Ne’er before had she felt—let alone seen—a male. Not there.
Though, at the moment, she was less concerned with seeing it as she was with
feeling him grind it against her. Between her legs, where she ached so. His
hands were beneath her skirt now, traveling up her thighs and pausing at the junction
of her legs.

“I’ve wanted to touch you here all day,” he rasped. “I’ve seen up
your tiny skirt for hours, just watching your tight ass.”

“Is that why you’ve stayed below me all day?” she breathed.

“Maybe.” The teasing glint in his eyes told the truth of it.

His head dipped to her neck as he worked his hands over her. One,
rubbing and tickling where she was wet, the other, slipping under her top,
sliding it upward. He had it off her in seconds, and whipped it away, seeming
not to care where it landed. She could have cared less herself. He looked upon
her with dumbfounded awe, his eyes hungrily raking over her bared flesh, her
breasts, and her stomach. He returned his gaze to her breasts and took a nipple
into his mouth, flicking it with his tongue. She hissed, losing all train of
thought, only recalling what she’d been in the middle of when his hips thrust
into her hand, stroking the length between his legs. She would take him into
her now, if he wanted it. Her body was ready and pleading for this powerful
male to fill her. There was no other she’d rather have than this proud warrior,
so strong and handsome. Raine opened her legs farther to him, earning her one
of those growls that sent her excitement spiking. He released her breast and
peered at her in question. Oh yes, he was thinking the same thing; he wanted to
be in her as well. She gave his shaft a long, slow stroke, stopping only to cup
his balls in her hand. He made that choking sound again as his eyes closed and
his body shuddered.

A loud
chink
sounded not far away, and Ferox scrambled off of her. She
rolled as well, following his lead. Peering over the edge of the cliff, she was
surprised to see another contestant, making quick work of the climb.

Ferox peered down at him dubiously, looking more than displeased
at the interruption. She was too. “We’d better get going.” He stood up and
picked up her shirt before handing it to her. He looked at her wantonly before
she started to slide it on. “Who knows how many final prizes there are?” he
said, almost to qualify their need to go.

She couldn’t agree more, though she did mourn the loss of his
heat, the touch of his skin. She felt flushed, and the ache between her legs
grew to an almost unbearable pain. Resigned, Raine grabbed her bag and produced
her scroll. “Right. Let’s go.”

The trek hadn’t taken long. Within a few minutes they reached
another cliff face. For a moment, she’d thought they were in for yet another
climb, but at a second glance, she decided that they probably weren’t. This
wall had a large design on it, showing a jumble of images that could only be
recognized if one likely studied it for hours.

“I don’t know,” Ferox said, staring just as intently at the
images. “There has to be something to all of those, don’t you think?”

Raine nodded and dropped to her knees, emptying the contents of
her bag. There had to be a clue. The scroll certainly hadn’t filled them in on
what to do at this point, but perhaps one of the other items could shed some
light for them. Ferox joined her, having picked up on what she was about as she
inspected the treasures. Gods knew she’d spent enough quality time with the
grapple and rope to know there was nothing on those. She hadn’t seen any images
on her scroll, nor on the torch. There was a design on the shackle, however,
and also on the key.

She glanced up at Ferox, both items in hand. “They match.”

Eyes shining with excitement, he grabbed the shackle from her hand
and stood, studying the design. She did the same, and when she thought she had
it memorized, she searched the wall, hoping beyond hope that the same image was
somewhere on there. If it wasn’t, they were in for a battle with the poor
bastard that had followed them up the wall. He’d likely be on them any minute.
Although, throwing him over the edge of the cliff did sound rather exciting.

“Start on that side,” Ferox said, pointing toward the right side
of the massive design. “I’ll start on the left, and we can work our way in.”

Raine strode toward the right side and started scanning, searching
for any similarities in the swirls and patterns. She hadn’t gotten very far in
when Ferox shouted, “I’ve got it.”

She rushed toward him, noting that he wasn’t even looking at the
rock face at all. On a smaller boulder, facing the large wall with the
intricate design, was an exact replica of the symbol on the key and shackle.
The design glowed blue, the intensity growing as she neared, and she was
surprised to see that the symbol on the treasures had begun to glow as well.
They had undoubtedly found it.

Raine touched the rock, running her fingers over the course stone,
first over the glowing design, and then, when nothing occurred from that, when
she found a spot that was completely smooth. “Hmm,” she said, inching her eyes
closer to the surface. There was a slight crack surrounding it. “Why would that
be slick?” She pressed her thumb hard against the smooth circle and the rock
parted in two. The two jagged pieces of the boulder cut like a puzzle, running
down the lines within the design.

“You smart, little….” Ferox trailed off, hearing scuffling
footsteps. They peered around the boulder, spotting another demon heading their
way. They darted behind the rock once more, carefully avoiding it seeing them.

Sharing a glance with one another, Raine stepped inside the split
boulder first, followed closely by Ferox. The sounds of grinding behind them,
and the immediate lack of light, indicated that the boulder had closed once
more. Even the glowing symbols on the key and shackle had faded slightly.

“Do you think he heard us?” she asked.

“I don’t think so. If he did, he would have run toward us.”

And with any luck, the other contestant would have a hard time
figuring out the puzzle at the rock. Raine peered around, finding that there
was really only one way to go. “We need light,” she said, peeking over her
shoulder at Ferox.

“Yeah. This is even too dark for me.” He laughed. “Hold on. Let’s
see if we can light one of these torches.” Letting the fading glow guide him,
he found some small stones along the passageway. He slammed one against the rocky
wall, producing a tiny spark. “This should work. If I can get enough spark, I
can light it.”

Raine watched in fascination as the vampire continued to pound the
rock against the wall. She held the torch at the ready, just below where the
sparks flew. “Will it work if you just grind the rock against it?”

He looked dubious, at least from what she could see in the limited
lighting, but did as she said. He drew the rock against the wall, grinding it
hard and sending a shower of sparks in all directions. She placed the torch
just under them, catching the tinder that was housed inside ablaze.

Ferox’s face glowed in the firelight, and she couldn’t miss the
expression of his astonishment. “How do you do it?”

“That was pure luck,” she replied honestly. “But normally, it’s
because I am Valkyrie. We are clever and strong.”

“No doubt.” He laughed, though more to himself.

“We should go.” Raine gestured him ahead and handed him the torch.
“You should lead. I’ll listen for our little friend in case he starts to catch up.”
With as close as the demon was to them, she realized that he could catch up at
any minute, and with as narrow as the passageway was, there was no telling how
a battle would go down if they were caught unaware.

Her concern vanished moments later as the pathway opened up into a
huge space, the ceiling dozens of feet high. To the right was another pathway;
to the left and up was an opening, lit with brilliant orangey-red light.

“Which way?” she asked, eyeing both options.

“Let’s stick to the right,” Ferox said, heading straight for the
lower passageway. “We’ve got a fifty-fifty shot either way.”

“Should we split up?”

He turned and faced her as they entered the mouth of the corridor.
“We have a better chance at finding the treasure together, and there’s no
telling what lay ahead.”

She nodded in agreement and took ahold of the torch. “My turn to
lead.” She set off down the passageway, glancing over her shoulder to make sure
her vampire followed. He did, closely, and in her brief peek backward at him,
she noted that he’d stared at her ass. She faced forward, putting a little
extra sway in her step and was rewarded with a low-rumbling growl that echoed
off the walls. She snickered to herself and continued her trek through the
darkness, guided only by torchlight. And soon, she no longer needed to look
back to know that Ferox followed her. Occasionally, she’d feel one of his hands
brush against her, or squeeze her buttocks. She didn’t mind though. In fact,
she enjoyed it immensely.

 
“Another fork,” she sighed,
slowing her step as the two options came into view.

“Stick to the right?”

“Sounds as good of a plan as any.” She shrugged. They took the
right passageway, which split into three more seconds later.

Ferox laughed to himself. “Have you ever been in a maze?”

“No,” she replied. “I don’t even know what that is.”

“It’s like a big puzzle. You have to find your way to the end, and
there’s usually a lot of backtracking. Usually there’s only one right way to
go, and all the others end up being dead-ends.”

Raine turned toward him, the torch between them. Puzzles. She was
great with puzzles. “You should go on. You can navigate this much faster than I
can, and there is no reason we should both put our victories in jeopardy.”

Ferox exhaled loudly before nodding. He hastily retrieved his
torch from his bag and touched it to hers, his own springing to life. His free
hand cupped her chin as he stepped toward her. “I’ll come for you if I find the
treasure.”

“And if I find it first?” she asked, her nerves sending tingling
sparks throughout her body at his touch.

“Then call for me. If I can hear you, I’ll come.” He pressed his
lips to hers and set off, leaving her alone with only the sounds of his
footsteps.

Chapter Fifteen

Millburn
,
New Jersey

Present
Day

“You’re
looking pretty good,” Raider said, nodding as he finished inspecting Ferox’s
legs. “I’d say you’re healed well enough to put pressure on your legs for more
than a few minutes at the time.”

That
was good, he thought, since he’d been secretly practicing walking around the
confines of his room for days, even doing squats and shifting back and forth
hastily as he would in a fight.

“Any
luck with the memory?” Demetrius asked.