Sin of Fury (22 page)

Her shoulders shrugged wanly, a
haunted look entering her eyes. “No,” she said quietly before
scooting to the edge of the bed and standing. A knock at the door
had her jumping, and she turned to look at him. “I’ll —”

“
Sit down,” he growled,
rising from the chair. “I’ll get the door.”
In case it’s Auro
.

Jamie shrugged, going to the
bathroom.

He could feel his canines lengthening
as possessiveness flashed through him. The door knob was cold under
his hand as he twisted it open, nails sharpening. The change within
him went unnoticed until the man wheeling a cart looked at him and
gasped. The aroma of food floated into the room.

Talon stared at him, moving from the
door slowly. Jamie was in the bathroom, and it would take barely a
second to kill —

“
Ms. Saxton ordered
chicken, crackers, a pitcher of root beer and tea, and
—”

His shoulders relaxed their guarded
stance and he gestured for the man to put the cart in the corner of
the room, realizing that the small man wasn’t a threat. Talon could
sense no weaponry or malice coming from the man.

He heard the water in the bathroom
turn on and shoved the man out. “Thanks.”

“
Jamie?” he asked, calling
through the bathroom door. The rushing water turned off quickly and
the door was opened within a second. He looked down at her, taking
in her messy hair and clouded eyes. “Foods here,” he said softly
before turning on his heel.

“
Oh... Talon, I got that
for you,” she said, coming up behind him. Bed springs creaked as
she sat down on the bed, and he turned around to see her sitting
with her legs crossed, a smile on her face.

He frowned, ignoring his growling
stomach. The chicken was calling for him, he wasn’t going to lie.
“You need to eat,” he said, grabbed the crackers off of the steal
cart. He handed them to her, ignoring how much he liked the act of
giving her food.

Talon growled when her head shook.
“No. See, I’m not hungry.” A teasing light entered her eyes. “But
you, on the other hand, are starving. Listen to the talking tummy,”
she said, laughing.

He stared at her. Not once, in all of
their short time together, had he heard her laugh. It was a sound
of pure joy, and lit her face. It made her seem like more of an
angel than anything else could have. Talon felt his knees go weak
and turned from her, sneaking a cracker. The woman could do bad,
horrible things to him.

“
I saw that,” she chirped
from behind him. He felt her stand and her hand brushed against his
as she came around to the cart. She pulled back the lid that
covered the chicken, but it wasn’t the food that he was staring at
— no, it was the beautiful woman that stood before him.

Something rose in his chest, then.
Sadness, maybe. Or acceptance. Jamie had killed someone because of
him — how was it not bothering her? The shadows were clear in her
pale eyes, but it wasn’t because of Lyne, or at least not fully.
She was careful to keep her distance from him, and she hadn’t liked
talking about Lyne.

Talon didn’t know what to think, so he
pushed the thoughts away for later and focused on her. Might as
well enjoy the time with her that he had; he planned on leaving
early in the morning.

“
You saw nothing,” he said
gruffly, eyes flickering to the steaming chicken leg that was
just
screaming
at
him to be eaten. He crossed his arms over his chest, forcing his
ravenous stomach to stay quiet.

“
C’mon,” she coaxed,
grabbing the pitcher and waving it in his face. Fizzy bubbles
sprang to the top as the liquid moved and splashed enthrallingly.
He grabbed the thing from her and set it down, then grabbed her
hand and held it still. The need that overcame him at the small
touch surprised him, but he didn’t fight it. It was nearing night
time, the sun dropping.

The day had been long and they were
both tired.

“
What if I’m not hungry for
food?” he asked, stepping closer to her. He watched as awareness
flared in her eyes, the pale blue orbs latching onto his. Her hair
fell behind her shoulder as her head tilted back. Their eyes met
and held.

Everything seemed to slow. Her dark
hair was illuminated by the light that came from the window, the
glowing light that surrounded her making her seem almost ethereal.
He remembered what she had looked like with her shirt off, pale
breasts arching under his mouth. A ragged groan tore from his chest
before he leaned down and captured her lips with his.

The danger surrounding them was
nonexistent, the reasons of why they shouldn’t do this ignored. Her
lips were warm and willing beneath his. Delicate, greedy arms
twined around his neck, causing him to growl. He picked her up and
her legs wrapped around his waist tightly. Talon pushed her down on
the bed, covering her completely. It was just as it had been at
Auro’s house, but this time he had no intentions on stopping. Lust
swirled within him as her body began to undulate against his, her
hips cradling his. A shudder of pleasure coursed through him as her
small hands began to caress his back.

He pushed his tongue into
her mouth, tangling it with hers. She made a soft sound and began
kissing him as if she had been waiting for it her whole life. By
the way it felt so right, he could only guess that she
had
been waiting for
him.

Talon’s hands began working on her
jacket, stripping it from her shoulders. Her shirt was off just as
quickly, and she was left in her bra, sweats, and panties — they
were off in less than a second. He growled, pulling back from their
kiss to stare down at her. Her skin was so pale it was glowing. Her
breasts were high and full, peaked with a pink nipple that he
wanted in his mouth. The swell of her breasts were graceful, just
waiting to be bit and nipped at. He wrapped his hands around her
waist, drawing her flush against him. Her skin was soft, and his
eyes closed as he relished the feel of her. Jamie’s back arched
gentle against his, a soft plead for him to continue. He looked
down into her face, looking at the spread of her hair as it flowed
over the pillow and under her shoulders. Her eyes glowed
with...need, desperate and hot. All for him.

He gave a soft growl before ducking
his head and nuzzling her breast. Her hands threaded in his hair,
pulling him tighter against her. Jamie sighed softly, back arching
to guide him to her breast. He chuckled before running his tongue
along the side of her breast, just barely grazing her
nipple.

A high, keening moan came from her. He
felt his body harden as he came back and took her into his mouth,
large hands working at her sweats. As he pushed them down slowly,
letting his calloused hands chafe against her soft skin, she
shuddered and tightened her hands in his hair.

He wanted her. So badly. It was a
raging need inside of him, and he wanted to tear her clothes off
and have her right then. But she deserved to be cherished. As his
lips moved against her nipple, he knew that he could get the
greatest amount of pleasure just from kissing her, touching her,
having her say his name over and over again — just as she was now.
He smiled against her breast before bathing her with his tongue and
taking the hem of her panties, pulling down.

Her hips lifted to help him. Moans, so
desperate and sweet, came from her throat. Just listening to her
had him almost coming. Talon groaned as her naked thighs pushed
against his hips, urging his shirt up. He sat back, tagging his
shirt over his head and throwing it on the ground.

Fire curled in her gut as
she stared at him. He was so dangerous, so dark — so
completely
hers
.
Jamie whimpered, reaching for him. Her nails brushed lightly along
his chest, the small touch sending tingles up her arms. She swore,
nothing had ever been as good as touching him. Excitement coursed
through her as he came back down to her, but she pushed at his
chest and got on her knees.

The pants needed to get off. Jamie
worked his zipper, pushing them down. He wore no boxers, but she
had known that. She met his eyes, watching as they darkened, became
even more heated than before. Possessiveness entered them. Jamie
revealed in the sensation of his eyes on her, of his hands reaching
for her, both naked. His fingers pleasured her, feathered over her
most delicate and womanly places. When she finally found release,
he moved up her body once again and paused.

Something changed, then. Something
monumental and dangerous, but...it felt completely right. His large
hand caressed her cheek, and his eyes bore into hers. They were so
dark, like coals on fire. Jamie felt her eyes water as he spread
her legs, pushing a knee between her thighs.

Shudders wracked her body
as he took a deep breath, slowly bringing his lips to hers. The
moment they kissed, he pushed into her. Fire consumed her, like
waves of heat and love and
rightness
. Everything was perfect
—

“
Talon
.”

Later, Jamie wouldn’t know how to be
able to describe the emotions that she felt. He was so soft and
gentle, like she was the only one for him, like this was the last
time they were going to have each other this way. There was no
danger, no fear, no pain. It was everything she could have ever
hoped for, and more. She could feel him inside of her, pleasuring
her. Tears fell down her cheeks when she finally cried out his
name, both of them hitting their climax at the same time, ecstasy
making her blind to anything but him.

She felt his ragged breaths at her
ear, mirroring her own. Her body went limp, lax as he turned her to
her side and came behind her, arms wrapping around her from behind.
She could feel him at her hip, hard and ready for more. His hand,
so large and gentle, came around to wipe her cheeks. Jamie blinked
slowly, wrapping her hand around his wrist so she could keep it to
her face.

Jamie fell asleep cradled in his
arms.

Talon didn’t sleep — he didn’t think
he could have, even if he tried. Her body was so warm against his,
welcoming his touch. He started to smile, couldn’t have stopped if
he’d wanted to. Nothing could ever amount to this, he thought as
her even breath fell on his hand.

Not even the pain he would feel when
he left her.

The thought dropped his smile. Slowly
and carefully, he turned her onto her back. Her skin was raised by
the cold, and her hand reached for him automatically as he pulled
away slightly. A frown covered her innocent face and he returned
reluctantly. He knew that he should leave, that he should start
forgetting about her as soon as possible.

But then he thought of having to go
through a day without her, her smile and her caring eyes, and knew
that it was going to be close to impossible. Nothing would be the
same — hell, without her, he wouldn’t be anything. He would end up
killing himself in a fight with Auro to avenge all the pain that he
had endured because of them, and what would she do?

Mourn him? Weep for him?
Sob with those too-beautiful-to-cry eyes of hers? The thought left
him numb. He wouldn’t be able to leave her — but he had too. He had
to keep her safe, and if making her forget him and never seeing her
again was the way to do it, then so be it. She had a life, she had
family — she had something more than a fucked-up man who wanted
nothing from her but the affection she gave him. Hell, who was he
kidding? Two days ago, he would have said, “fuck love, and fuck
you.” But now, after knowing her, after her
risking her life for him
... He
clenched his jaw. If they could only have had more time together,
he would have been able to give himself to her. However damaged he
was, he would have done anything to be worthy of being with
her.

Jamie let out a whimper,
and he jerked his eyes to her before loosening his hold. Talon had
to physically and mentally force himself to hold her more gently
while everything inside of him screamed to stay with her and take
care of her, to
keep her with
him
.

He told himself that it was a
hero-worship that had him so attached to her, but he knew it was a
lie. She was no more of a hero than he was a saint. But then, how
did he know what he was if —

Flash
.

— “
Talon, take them to the
cell” — “This is my favorite blade...He’ll become yours, too” —
Flash of steel in a darkly lit room — Tortured screams coming from
a man — A sick, pleased smile —

— “”
My lord, the traitor
is waiting” — Hall lit with dim candle light — Statues of men —
“Please, spare me!” — Slice of steel against flesh —

“
I love you” — A soft
smile, adoring eyes — “Forever and always” — The wail of a baby —
“Let us get our young” — Soft touches, secretive smiles —
Happiness

“
You have wronged us,
Talon” — Crimson eyes flash — “Take him from his palace of
aptitude” — Streak of red — Dark abyss —

Talon jerked, jarring Jamie. He
breathed heavily, his tormented mind reeling.

He remembered

Everything.