Binding Ties (23 page)

A
t the end of a hike that lasted several hours, the trail finally came out on a rural blacktop road a few miles from where Joseph's truck was parked. On the road there were some muddy tracks that cut off abruptly, as if the all-terrain vehicle that had made them had been loaded onto a trailer.

“This is it,” said Lyka. “This is as far as the trail goes.”

“You can't smell them anymore?”

Her shoulders slumped as she shook her head. “I can smell diesel exhaust, but that's not going to get me far. I can't separate one vehicle out from another. Whatever they did with Eric and the young here, they were no longer leaving behind a scent trail. No blood, no dead skin, no hair . . . nothing.”

“They could have been loaded into the back of a truck.”

She paced the area, her hair glowing in the last light of day. Night would be on them soon, and when it came, he needed to have her safely behind protected walls, or at least in his truck, where he could see danger coming for her.

Frustration and a steadily growing sense of failure and fear were tumbling out of her. The pathway between them was wider now, leaving room for him to better sense her emotions. And as much as he loved knowing how she felt, he hated that she suffered and there was little he could do to stop it.

This wasn't a problem he could kill for her. This was a battle of stamina and keeping her hopes up high enough that she could continue searching for her family.

Joseph went to her and took her hand in his. “This isn't our last hope.”

“No?” she asked. “Then tell me what our next move is, because I've only got one more idea, and you're not going to like it.”

“Tell me what you're thinking,” he said.

“Do you remember how I told you that I always seem to know what people want?”

“Yes.”

“I think it works with other creatures, too. Not just people.”

He blinked at her. “What makes you say that?”

“I knew about the woman Ronan is looking for—about how he'll stop at nothing to find her.”

“Okay, but Ronan isn't a demon.”

“No, but when that sgath attacked me, I knew it wanted my blood. I knew it wanted to eat me.”

“Honey, I hate to break it to you, but sgath feel that way about all Sentinels and blooded humans.”

“I realize that, but I
knew
it. Felt it. The way I do with people. I'd never been touched by a demon before, so I was a little shocked when it hit me.”

“Okay, let's just say that it does work. How does that help us?”

“If we can find one that wants to capture more
Slayers, then maybe we can follow it home or find some way to interrogate it.”

Joseph's instant reaction was a swift, harsh denial, but he held that in and gave himself a minute to calm down before he spoke. “Let's pretend that your idea will work. How are we going to capture a demon without killing it?”

“Leave that part to me,” said Lyka. “I'm the one who can physically touch their skin without being poisoned. I'll figure out something.”

“You're right,” he said. “I don't like it. In fact, I hate it. I don't want you getting close enough to a demon to see it, much less touch it.”

“We can't just sit around waiting. If you've got a better idea, I'm all ears.”

“I'm sure I'll come up with something,” he said.

“Fine. You hop right on that, brainiac. In the meantime, we should head back to the truck. It's getting dark fast.”

Joseph went through about twenty different scenarios to trap a demon—and not just any one, but the right one. Each scenario that ran through his mind ended in utter disaster. If he had more time and some welding equipment, he might have a shot, but without those, he was screwed.

“The frustration I feel sliding off you is not exactly instilling a lot of confidence in me,” she said. “And we're almost back at the truck.”

“I'm still thinking.”

They rounded the bend, back to where he'd parked the truck, a little ways down from where they'd left her car. Lyka was half a step ahead of him and came to a complete stop, sucking in a shocked breath.

An instant later, he saw what she had: the vehicles
had been totaled. The tires were shredded, the axles bent so that the wheels sat at an awkward angle. Both hoods were ripped open, and the guts of the engines were spilling out onto the pavement. Their spare clothes were now tattered strips of cloth and leather.

“New plan,” said Lyka.

“What's that?” he asked.

“We're screwed.”

J
ustice watched the bloodsucker's face fall with disappointment. In fact, if she wasn't mistaken, he was actually hurt by her offering.

For some reason, that upset her.

What a ridiculous reaction. The man had all but killed her, and she cared about hurting his feelings? Since when?

“I'm on a schedule here,” she said, “so can you please just take this to Joseph, whoever he is, and I'll be on my way.”

“How do you know Joseph?”

“They told me.”

“Who is they?”

She rolled her eyes. “I don't know. All I know is they won't leave me the hell alone until you take the damn monster and give it to Joseph. Can you do that or not?”

“I can.” He peered into the trunk to see the unconscious . . . thing she'd captured.

“How did you manage this?” he asked.

“I hit it with my car, fought it into submission, tied it up with rope and shoved it in the trunk.”

“By yourself?”

She widened her eyes and looked around. “Do you see anyone else?”

His gorgeous face paled even more than it had before. She could tell by the compulsion the fates had given her that the dude wasn't a fan of the sun, but she'd never seen anyone go this white. “You touched this creature? Is that where you got those scratches?”

He started coming after her again, and she stepped around the car to put some nice, sturdy metal between herself and him. “Don't come any closer.”

“This demon is poisonous. My intent was only to help. I didn't mean to scare you.”

“You didn't,” she lied. “And I'm fine.” Or she would be once she got back behind the wheel and down the road again, away from him.

“How were you injured?”

“The thing's fingernails. I knocked the sword out of its hands with the car, but it still put up a hell of a fight.”

“And you won,” he said, stating the obvious. “How did you win?”

She patted her ribs and the semiautomatic pistol she kept strapped there, hidden under her jacket. “I shot it.”

Ronan eased closer to the creature, gliding over the dirt floor with the grace of an Olympic ice skater. “It's still alive.”

“I wasn't supposed to kill it.”

“Why not?”

“Hell if I know. Are you going to take it to Joseph, or do I have to do the job myself?”

“What does Joseph want with the demon?”

“I've never met the man. For all I know, he's going to cut it open and study its parts. I really don't care. The only thing that matters is getting it to him. Will you help?”

She was starting to get frantic now. The fates were nipping at her heels, urging her to hurry. If she didn't, she might well become incapacitated with pain right here, completely helpless to stop Ronan from sucking out all her blood.

He stared at her for a few uncomfortable seconds. That familiar pressure was closing in on her, bringing with it a mountain of fear.

“If it's that important to you, I'll call him.”

“Now,” she urged, hoping she didn't sound like too much of a bitch. She really needed the vampire to play nice.

“If it pleases you, yes.” He pulled out his phone and dialed. An angry male voice answered.

“I know I didn't answer earlier,” said Ronan. “I was otherwise occupied.”

The man on the line, presumably Joseph, went off for a full minute while Ronan winced and held the phone away from his ear. “I understand. It won't happen again. The reason I called was because I have something I think might interest you. Do you have need of a live Synestryn demon, by chance?”

*   *   *

“As a matter of fact, we do,” said Joseph into his phone. How the hell had Ronan known? Freaky Sanguinar trick, no doubt.

“Where are you?” asked Ronan.

“Standing outside of what used to be my truck.”

“Used to be?”

“Yes. I'm afraid you're going to have to come to us with your present.”

There was a slight pause before Ronan answered. “We can do that.”

“We?”

“Long story. It's getting dark out. Where will you shelter?”

“I'm in Slayer territory. There are no Gerai houses near enough to make it on foot. We'll have to find a defensible position and sit tight until someone can pick us up.”

“I know a place,” said Lyka.

“Where is it?” Joseph asked her.

“Less than a mile on foot.”

“Come to Andreas's settlement. Call when you get here, and we'll meet you at the road.”

“I'm hours away from there. Are you sure you'll be safe that long?” asked Ronan.

“We'll have to be. I doubt anyone is closer than a few hours out. We're stretched thin with so many pregnant women stuck at Dabyr.”

“Stay safe. We'll hurry.” Ronan hung up.

Joseph looked at Lyka, who was biting her plump bottom lip in anxiety. Before he could think better of his actions, he pulled her into his arms and kissed away the dent she'd left behind.

As always, she went straight to his head, making his blood sing in his veins. He didn't understand how she had the power to rock his world so hard, but he was starting to like that she could.

“Where to?” he asked, eager to get her out of the open, where they could be attacked from all sides.

She was a little breathless from their kiss, her cheeks flushed, but that worry he'd felt coming out of her had abated.

She gave him a devilish grin. “How do you feel about heights?”

A demon's howl, answered by one of its kin, echoed through the woods.

“It doesn't matter,” said Joseph. “We need shelter. Fast.”

“Follow me.” She took off at a jog, making a beeline through the trees.

Joseph stayed close, sword in hand. He tried to push power through their link to help fuel her body, but it wasn't working. Something was blocking him, so he sought out what it was.

She was exhausted, worried, a little afraid. She was concentrating on leading him through the woods in the quickest, safest manner while simultaneously extending her senses so she would be able to detect a demon before it pounced.

There was no room in her thoughts for some new way to use his power. She was already handling as much as she could.

Joseph sent her as much reassurance as he could muster, but it wasn't much.

Her long legs ate up the distance, moving effortlessly over rocks, logs and fallen branches, despite her bare feet. She was naked except for his borrowed shirt, and her curvy bottom kept peeking out to tease him.

His balls tingled and grew heavy. His cock started to swell and throb.

He knew he shouldn't be thinking about such things at a time like this, but he couldn't help it. He remembered all too well how perfectly her ass fit his hands, how smooth and soft her skin was there. And the shadowy perfection hidden between her thighs . . .

His foot caught on a tree root hidden under the leaves and he fell flat on his face. His sword landed a couple of feet away, protruding from a fallen tree.

Lyka skidded to a stop and turned around to help him.

He pushed himself back to his feet before she reached his side and made his humiliation complete by offering him a hand up. It was bad enough that he'd been clumsy; she had to come to his rescue, too.

“Think about my ass later, Theronai,” she said. “We have ground to cover.”

She'd heard his thoughts? He couldn't help but smile at that. They were making progress, which meant that somewhere deep down, she was starting to trust him, even if only a little.

“Don't get your hopes up,” she said. “Your thoughts about my ass were just really loud.”

She spun on her heel to take off again when Joseph saw the glow of green eyes in the woods on the other side of her.

He instinctively amplified his vision to see what was hiding, and drew power to his eyes to turn night into day.

A sgath was there, lurking in the darkness.

It leapt toward her.

L
yka felt Joseph's burst of panic and knew instantly she was in the way. She wasn't sure how she knew that, but she followed her instincts and dove to the side, away from his swinging blade.

Moonlight bounced off steel and muscles gleaming with sweat. Shirtless Joseph was a wonder to behold, complete with the kind of potent strength that made a woman's knees turn to liquid, along with the rest of her.

The new leaves on his lifemark were shiny, though she had no idea how that was possible. They trembled with the force of his blow as he jumped into the air, meeting the charging sgath head-on.

His sword sliced one leg off the demon. It howled in pain and skidded to a clumsy stop, where it began licking the blood flowing from its wound.

Joseph didn't pause for a second. He walked right up to the thing, half-naked and deadly, and finished off the demon in one hard stroke. Its head flew into the woods, coming to rest at the base of an old oak tree.

Two more demons charged in, and he dispatched them with the same brutal efficiency.

Lyka hadn't even made it to her feet yet before the whole thing was over.

She'd seen a lot of men fight, but none had the same kind of controlled grace that he did. Slayers were much more emotional when they fought—filled with a feral kind of berserker rage—but Joseph's mind had been completely calm the whole time. At least it had been once he knew she was out of harm's way.

He was fast, powerful and nearly silent in his attacks. Hell, the man wasn't even breathing hard.

He offered her his hand and pulled her to her feet.

“That was beautiful,” she told him.

He lifted a dark eyebrow. “Beautiful?”

Embarrassment washed over her. She shouldn't have said such a thing. Men didn't want to be beautiful. They wanted to be handsome, masculine.

Joseph was all of that, too, but she was always stunned by the way he fought, as if he had all the time in the world.

It was so freaking hot, she just wanted to run her hands over him and feel that strength firsthand.

“Are you okay?” he asked. “I'm getting a weird vibe from you.”

“Then stop poking your nose in where it's not welcome. We're almost there.”

He cleaned his sword and motioned for her to lead on.

At least now she had her back to him, so he couldn't see her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She had no idea what was wrong with her or why seeing him fight had suddenly rattled her so deeply, but it definitely needed to be fixed. Fast.

Lyka led him the rest of the way to their temporary hiding spot. She hadn't been in this tree house since she
was a child, but it had been kept in good repair, used by Slayer young who, like her, had needed some time alone away from the settlement.

The climb was longer than she'd remembered, and her muscles were burning by the time she'd made it all the way to the top of the rope ladder.

Joseph crawled up through the trapdoor of the tree house right behind her. He pulled the ladder up so demons couldn't make use of it, and shut the wooden door in the floor.

They were alone now, relatively safe, and it struck her that if she had to be holed up with someone, she was glad it was Joseph. He was easy to be around and such an intense distraction, she was able to let go of her worries, if only for a few seconds at a time.

Shadows draped across his face as he settled back against some cushions that had been left here recently. He was such a powerfully built man, with the kind of broad shoulders that looked like they could carry the problems of the world. Smooth, tan skin stretched over his muscles, delighting her with the kind of masculine contours that made a woman remember just how differently men and women were built. And why.

It was hard not to think about how well they fit together and whether she'd ever again allow herself the pleasure of his body.

A breeze slid through the gaps in the wooden shell, stirring dust through the space. She could smell the scent of teens and the hormone overload they left behind. Beyond that was the darker, more mature scent of Joseph's skin, luring her to reach out and touch, taste.

“Hell of a climb,” he said.

She spread out a couple of cushions to pad the wooden floor and stretched out on them. It eased her
sore muscles, but did nothing for the deeper, hungrier ache growing in her abdomen. “The tree wasn't this tall when I was a kid. Guess they had to get a longer ladder.”

“I'm not complaining. Demons with enough claws might be able to make the climb, but we'll definitely know they're coming from all the heavy breathing.”

It was dark inside the space, lit only by the glow of the rising moon.

That's when it struck her. The moon was full. That's why she'd gone all mushy watching Joseph fight. That's why she wanted him. This was the time of the month that Slayers became fertile and hormones ran rampant.

Hers were about to get out of control. It was probably already too late, but once the moonlight hit her skin, she would be lost in need, desperate for sex from a man who lit her up.

She'd never been with a man at this time of month before—at least not with one she wanted. Many of the Slayer males would lock themselves away until the full moon passed, rather than take a chance that they might ravish some unwilling female. And the women . . . they would band together, the older ones helping keep the younger ones in check until the need had passed.

It was definitely an interesting time around the settlement, and not one she missed.

But here she was, back home, trapped with a man that called to her senses, with a rising moon and little time to find some control.

“What's going on, Lyka? I can feel you freaking out.”

“Just stay away. Don't touch me.” She wanted him to touch her so badly, she nearly grabbed his hands and put them on her. And he was going to know it, too, if she didn't find some way to keep her mental shields nice and high.

“What did I do?” he asked.

She closed her eyes to block out the concern on his handsome face, but it didn't work. She could still see him, all gleaming in the moonlight, his muscles the color of burnished bronze. Those broad shoulders of his would look so good between her thighs, and what his mouth could do to her while he was there . . . pure heaven.

“Talk to me, Lyka, or I'm going to shove my way in your head. I feel you throwing barriers up. You're not going to like what I have to do to tear them down.”

She didn't know if she was strong enough to keep him out or not, but what she was going through was private, for Slayers only to know.

He pushed against her mind, trying to find some way in. The pressure made her head throb, and she knew she had to give him something or he was going to learn everything.

“Tell me what's going on,” he insisted.

She hugged her knees and rocked. “Full moon.”

Cool air blew past her. The fact that she wasn't wearing panties—that they'd been shredded when she'd shifted—made it all that much harder to forget that her pink parts were steadily warming.

“So?”

“Promise you won't fuck me.”

His tone was the same as if she'd asked him to cut off his own dick. “Hell, no.”

“I'm not ready to have young.”

“Okay. Good to know. But I'm still not following why you're suddenly freaking out about this now.”

She opened her eyes and knew what he saw. Her pupils had lengthened as the animal in her prowled around, demanding that she take action and claim her mate.

No, not her mate. He hadn't been approved by the council. She might have tied herself to him for life, but that didn't mean her people would approve.

“Promise me you won't touch me, no matter what I do. Even if I beg.”

He shook his head. “I won't make that promise. I will always give you what you need, Lyka. There's no shame in needing me to touch you, comfort you.”

He didn't understand, but how could he? He wasn't a Slayer. He'd never felt the consuming desire to give in to the needs of the flesh. To release the beast and let go.

Moonlight shone through the narrow window, growing closer to the corner where she now cowered. “Just give me some space. Please.”

He moved closer, intoxicating her with his scent, making her want with such desperate force, she was certain it would tear her apart. It was beyond arousal, beyond desire, causing her physical pain. The need had never been like this before, clenching her womb like a vise.

She curled up on her side in the hopes of making it stop, but all it did was remind her that she was naked beneath Joseph's shirt.

Her mental walls began to crumble. She did her best to reinforce them, but she wasn't experienced enough in such things to be sure her patches would hold.

“Trust me,” he told her as he stroked across her mind, coaxing her to give him the knowledge he wanted. “Tell me how to ease your pain.”

She hated it that he knew she suffered, that she was weak. She hated it even more that he was more than capable of taking away the pain. All she had to do was spill her people's secrets to an outsider.

“We're bound now, Lyka,” he said as he pulled her into his arms. “Family. I'm no outsider.”

He was so warm, so strong and solid. Just touching his skin seemed to ease some of the tightness in her chest.

“Get out of my head,” she said, though her words lacked any real fire. How could she be angry with a man who was trying to offer her comfort?

“Is it some kind of sickness?” he asked.

“Call it temporary insanity.”

“It looks more painful than that. How long does it last?”

“Until the moon is no longer full.”
Or until the fire is quenched.

“Ronan will be here soon. I'm sure he'll be able to ease you.”

“No!” she shouted. Everything inside her rose in denial at the idea of another man touching her. Just the thought of the Sanguinar's hands on her was enough to make her want to vomit.

“Wow. Okay. Violent reaction noted. I'll make sure Ronan keeps his hands off you.”

She relaxed a little in Joseph's embrace. His fingers stroked up and down her arms and across her back, soothing her enough to ward off the worst of the pain.

“But we have to do something, Lyka. You're in no condition to fight like this. And the chances of us being attacked out here aren't exactly slim. You have to be able to run away, at the very least.”

She couldn't even think about that right now. Standing was inconceivable. Fighting was as likely as her flapping her arms to fly to the moon and giving it a good gut punch for making her miserable.

“I'm sorry, honey,” he said, “but we really don't have a lot of options. You're going to have to trust me to help you.”

“You don't even know what to do,” she said between clenched teeth.

“Maybe not, but your brother will. I'm calling him.”

Oh, hell.
The only thing worse than suffering through a violent storm of sexual need without relief was letting her big brother know it was happening. “He's going to be dealing with his own issues right now. It's a Slayer thing.”

“Good. Then he'll be able to tell me what to do.”

Another wave of pain ripped through her, making every muscle in her body clench. She heard Joseph dial his phone, but there was nothing she could do to stop him. She couldn't even find enough air to beg him not to make the call.

Dark spots rippled in her eyes, adding more proof to the pile that she was in no condition to fight.

“It's Joseph,” she heard him say. “Lyka's in pain. Some Slayer thing, she says. What do I do to help her?”

Andrea's voice came through the line, angry and indecipherable.

“I can't lock her in a room. We're not at Dabyr. We're out looking for Eric.”

Joseph stroked her back as her muscles squeezed down to fit someone with a much smaller frame than hers. She tried to pant through it, but it didn't do squat to help.

“It's a long story,” said Joseph. “All I need to know is what to do for her. She's suffering. As her mate, it's my duty to make it stop.”

Joseph paused while Andreas went on a furious rant.

“You knew this could happen when you sent her to me,” said Joseph. “You knew she was a Theronai and didn't tell me. I'm the one who should be pissed that you hid what she was from me. She and I could have started bonding weeks ago.”

Andreas's rant continued, but he was losing steam fast, likely dealing with his own need.

“No, it's permanent. No way out.”

After a few seconds, the tone of Andreas's voice changed to one of weary acceptance.

Joseph's hand involuntarily tightened at the back of her neck. “Seriously? That will fix her?”

“Yes.” The word came through loud and clear, and, instantly, Lyka knew her brother had ratted her out.