The Claimed (32 page)

“Swept me off my feet takes on a whole new meaning with you,” she said, a radiant smile brightening her face.

“I hope all things will have new meaning now that we will be bound.” He released the last of the control over his power and Victoria moaned as it caressed her with its vitality. The silver-gray of her eyes bled away as the neon-green of her Hunter vigor came alive.

“And I hope that in time they will all be good things,” she replied, laying her hand directly over his heart.

“They will,
warmi
,” he said and covered her hand with
his. At that spot, their energies coalesced into a tight orb, pulsing with power and need.

“Bind with me,” Christopher urged, and a millisecond later her release pummeled him with its strength, nearly driving him to his knees from the force of it.

“Sweet goddess,” he cried out, and wrapped his arms around her, needing to center himself. At that contact, he experienced the jolt as his power flowed into her. Victoria shivered in his arms and cried out his name. She grabbed hold of his shoulders and gazed up at him, wonder in her eyes.

“This feels so right,” she said.

“Because it is. We weren’t ready before, but now…”

She nodded to confirm it and in a blur of light and swirling eddies of energy, they were naked and standing beside each other once more. But this was about uniting more than just their bodies. It was about completion. It was about the spiritual and life-giving joining of their Equinoxes.

He raised his hand and at its center, a gleaming orb of silver-blue light formed. He ran that hand over her breasts, loving the way her nipples puckered into hard nubs of need. He continued the downward trek, over all that lean muscle he had first admired just over a week ago. Her midsection quivered with anticipation as he moved ever lower.

She parted her legs, giving him access to that most private place. When he brought that orb of power close to her center, she drew in a ragged breath and shook, clearly fighting back her release.

“Do not fight it,” he urged, dipping his head to brush a kiss along her cheek and then across the side of her mouth.

Victoria’s body was almost not her own, the circuits and vessels of her Hunter core vibrating with the gift of his power. But she wanted to honor him as well.

Moving her head, she brought her lips to his and kissed him. Danced her tongue all along the edges of his lips and then into his mouth. But she didn’t linger long there, trailing her tongue down the strong line of his neck.

As he moved his hand between her legs, running that orb of power along her cleft, she grabbed hold of his shoulders as her head whirled. At that contact of her hands it was like completing a connection to a battery. Power slammed into both of them again and left them shaking and breathing hard as if they had just finished running a race.

Maybe they had, she thought. A race against all that would have kept them from this moment. From this bonding.

Against her belly jutted the long, thick length of his erection. She reached down with one hand and stroked him. The groan that followed pulsed through her body and made her insides clench with need.

She stepped back and the edge of his mattress bumped the backs of her thighs. Sitting down, she spread her legs and invited him to her center, unable to wait a moment longer. Certain that he was the one.

Christopher locked his gaze with hers as the tip of his erection probed at the damp heat of her lips. Her hand, competent and gentle, led him to her center, and in that instant, he knew there was no turning back.

He surged forward, love removing all doubt and hesitation.

When he was buried deep within her, she wrapped her
legs around him and brought her hands up to his shoulders. Once more the sweep of power traveled through him and into her. As he stroked, driving them to a release, the energy likewise flourished, making them stronger.

Their aura deepened, coloring everything around them in the cool shades of the ocean that was their affinity. Filled with swimming particles of energy like the life forces of the sea and cosmos that fed them.

So powerful was the sharing of their energy that a buzz filled his head and ears, growing so strong that it almost deafened him.

But as he met Victoria’s gaze, she was with him, her eyes a glittering teal blue. Her smile gleaming like the sun that they treasured. He knew then that he was not alone and would never be alone again.

It came with that revelation. Shining and bright as a supernova, the wave of energy crashed through him and into her, pulling the seed of his release deep into her womb.

Victoria closed her eyes against the brightness of their combined power, but there was no escaping it. The force of it touched every cell of her body and as Christopher came, his vitality joined with hers.

She called out his name and arched her back, deepening his joining. Welcoming him and all that was his into her body and soul. Knowing that as she did so, her life would never be the same and that together they would bring forth new life.

A new clan of Hunters to lead their people to future peace and prosperity. A new life to complement the union of their souls and bodies. To share in the love they had for each other.

As they sank down together onto the surface of the bed, she embraced Christopher and held him close. He eased his arms around her and tucked her tight to him.

“I love you,” he whispered, but then repeated it more loudly and with greater joy. “I love you.”

She kissed the side of his face. “And I love you, Christopher. It won’t be easy—”

“But we’ll handle it together,” he finished for her, and within her came the calm of his energy, confirming he had no doubt or hesitation about what they had just done.

“Together,” she affirmed, and allowed herself to savor this special time before reality intruded.

A meager hint of morning sun streaked in through a crack in the wall, rousing Ryan as his body responded to the caress of his affinity.

The chill at his core spoke to the extent of his injuries. Luckily the blasts that had struck him had only grazed him, but it had been enough to unbalance the vessel that held his Hunter life force and pull him to unconsciousness. Even now the weakness remained, but that single welcome beam of sunlight gradually restored him.

“Move him away from the light,” Alexander commanded, and Ryan nearly whimpered as they dragged him away. He fought to return to the sun, but realized he was bound to a chair with energy bands much like those he had used on Maya.

“He needs to recharge,” he heard her say, and tried to raise his head to look in the direction of her voice, but his head just flopped up and down feebly. He was too weak for even that simple motion. Too debilitated to offer up his thanks at Maya’s unexpected concern.

“If he is too weak, we will not be able to question him,” Maya continued harshly, more in keeping with her true form.

“You are always so wise,” Alexander replied, and Ryan found himself being yanked back into those welcoming rays, but with a bone-jarring thump as they unceremoniously dropped the chair on the hard cement floor.

He groaned then, every part of his body still in pain.

His misery earned only a satisfied chuckle from Alexander. Ryan didn’t even try to look at his former Añaru, instead raising his head to allow the sun to bathe his face. It was early morning sun, just freed from the horizon. The weak beams stroked his face, but quickly shifted down his body as the sun climbed in the sky.

Was the battle still going on? he wondered as some measure of strength returned. But as he glanced around, he took note of the eight or so Hunters guarding the perimeter of the large room. Maya and Alexander huddled together not far from him. Maya was wrapped in what looked like the sheet from her bed.

Clearly they had left the compound in haste, which brought Ryan hope that Christopher and their cadre had prevailed.

“Seems like you lost, Alexander,” he said, just to confirm.

Alexander stalked over and struck him hard across the face, snapping his head back and cutting open the inside of his mouth.

“Insolent dog. You and Christopher will soon beg for my forgiveness.”

Ryan smiled with the knowledge that Christopher was obviously still alive, but that earned him another powerful
backhanded slap from Alexander. He savored the metallic taste of blood since it spoke of life, although he had no doubt Alexander would make him pay dearly for his existence.

“What do you want?” he asked, aware that Alexander was keeping him alive only because he needed something.

“Maya tells me that you have found the source of that incredible Quinchu power,” Alexander replied, his hands clasped before him as he stood in front of Ryan.

“If Maya says so it must be true. Maya is so reliable, after all,” he replied, glaring at her as she walked to Alexander’s side. Surprisingly there was entreaty in her gaze, possibly because she was as aware as he of how little Alexander liked being challenged.

Alexander approached him once again and Ryan braced for another blow. Instead Alexander crooked a finger in the direction of one of his men along the wall. The imposing man walked forward and saluted Alexander. He was much larger than either Alexander or him and Ryan had no doubt he could inflict serious physical injury.

Alexander seemed to have something else in mind. He raised his hands and as he had done the night before, he erected a shielding force around those closest to them. Unlike that containment barrier, however, this one was merely intended to protect them from the prying gaze of humans which meant they must be close to a public area. If he could somehow break free, he might be able to hide amongst the humans until he could restore his power and return to the compound.

Alexander laughed as if reading his mind. “There will
be no escape for you, Ryan. The only question will be how much pain you wish to suffer before you die.”

Because he prayed his death would be quick and Christopher’s father was not known for his patience, he goaded his former Añaru. “The only real question is how long before you die, Alexander. I can sense how weak and puny you are.”

It was likely why the shield was so small and limited in scope and why Alexander had to call his man over to use his energy for whatever torture he had planned.

A bright flush of color erupted across Alexander’s face. Along his neck a blotch appeared as his fury rattled his control.
The first hints of the pox
, Ryan thought. Alexander truly was weak.

“Scott, why don’t you show Ryan why I called you over,” Alexander said in a deadly calm tone, giving no hint of the rage churning inside him, although it was impossible not to feel it or see the shimmer of the shield around them as he struggled to maintain it.

But Ryan’s attention was drawn to the man called Scott who stepped before him. The man raised one hand, and with sickening fear Ryan watched as that hand transformed into a sharp blade of glowing energy.

Scott was a Zero Point Reaver, a unique breed of Shadow who could tap into another’s core to cause not just immediate death, but incredible pain and disruption by contorting the empty spaces in their life forces to block their normal pathways. Sucking in a breath, Ryan prepared himself for the blow, aware that it would not be a fatal strike. It would be one meant to deliver the greatest agony without killing him.

He was not mistaken.

Scott touched that knife-edge energy to Ryan’s midsection and he jumped as if a burning brand had seared his skin.

“Ryan, please tell them about Bruno. Tell Alexander where he can find him,” Maya pleaded, and Ryan didn’t know whether to believe the concern he heard in her voice.

Somehow he managed to focus on her to distract himself from the pain. “Feeling guilty, Maya? Or are you worried that you chose the losing side?”

Scott inched the blade into his abdomen and red-hot hurt ignited in his gut, nearly blinding him. His breath heaved in and out of his chest as he battled the pain, trying to retreat all his energy in his core in order to preserve his life force. He numbed the non-essential parts of himself, but as Scott sensed what he was doing, he laughed.

The Reaver assassin leaned down until his nose bumped Ryan’s forehead and said, “Do you not believe that better men than you have tried and failed?”

That he was a skilled Zero Point Reaver was evident as he drove his energy ever deeper and, with a tug, yanked Ryan’s power back into his gut and proceeded to twist the pathways into a knot of agony.

Mind-numbing pain shattered Ryan’s command and he screamed aloud, unable to contain himself.

“Scott,” Alexander said, and the pain withdrew as the Reaver yanked out his blade.

“Little girl,” the assassin said with disdain as he took a step away and awaited Alexander’s further instructions.

Ryan lolled weakly in the chair. The only things keeping him upright were the energy bonds tying him down. Lingering distress remained in his abdomen, reaching all the way back to his spine. Sweat bathed his body, and in
the absence of sunlight, it created a sickening chill across his skin that matched that at his disrupted center.

He wasn’t sure he would survive another attack from Scott.

Alexander smiled, aware of that as well as he laid his hand on Ryan’s thigh and gauged his life force. He rubbed his hand there and murmured, “It would be so sad to lose you, Ryan. You have such beauty in you. Such honor and loyalty.”