Damned and Defiant (20 page)

“Bill! How the hell did you get here?” Dante asked.

Bill smiled. “Told you the elders would find a way.” He held up the leather pouch around his neck. “Made my own fancy stone for altered-world travel. Can’t say I was crazy about the trip. The doorway is still open. Best we be getting back.”

Haley laughed nervously. “I’m ready. Hurry, Dante.” She climbed onto D.A. and glanced back at Zorian. “Follow us.”

Dante got onto D.A., but the horse backed away from the bottom of the steps. “He’s not going to jump willingly into the black void.”

Bill walked up to the horse and placed his hand on the horse’s head. “I suspected as much.” He mumbled a few words that Dante couldn’t decipher and pressed the leather pouch to the horse’s head. “You’ll do just fine,” Bill whispered calmly to the horse as he patted D.A.’s shoulder.

A violent tremor rumbled through what was left of Anartia. Cracks split the steps and the bottom ones dropped into the void. A glowing blue light surrounded the temple. “Oh my God. Dante look.”

“Jesus.”

“Hurry. Follow me,” Bill said in a powerful voice.

“Where?” Dante asked, trying to keep panic out of his voice.

“Same way I came.” Bill shifted into the owl, dove into the void and vanished.

Dante took a breath and gripped the reins. “Hang on,” Dante said as he urged D.A. forward.

“No kidding,” Haley’s arms hugged his waist.

The horse hesitated a second. Glancing over his shoulder, Dante saw Zorian smack D.A. on his hindquarters. The horse lurched forward and fell into the void. Haley screamed.

* * * * *

At some point during the journey through the portal and void, Haley fell off D.A.

Then
splash,
she was underwater and choking, gasping for air but only sucking in water. White dots swirled in her vision as her chest burned. Arms flailed and legs kicked frantically trying to find the surface. She was drowning, dying unless she could get air. Her chest felt as if it would explode. The image of a balloon filling with water and bursting drifted into her mind. Was this what her lungs were doing? Any moment her lungs would burst too? Where was she? Prygos? Not the desert. Not Earth.

Then a strong hand grabbed her upper arm and dragged her up and onto solid ground, a beach. Coughing, the water came up, the air rushed in. Air, sweet, warm air.

“You’re okay, Haley. You’re safe. Slow, deep breaths.” She recognized Dante’s deep, sexy voice and her pulse skipped a few beats. She also relaxed because she knew she was safe.

“Where are we?”

“Home.”

“Home? Where? We landed in a lake. There’s no lake of this size in the Sedona desert.” She looked out at a lake that looked more like an ocean. She couldn’t see the other side, but she did recognize the familiar red rock formations on the horizon. “This is weird.”

“During the collapse of Anartia, the sea of Anartia entered the Earth’s dimension.”

Haley sat up. Her chest still hurt a bit but she was breathing okay. “The whole sea reformed here?”

“At least part of it.” Dante stood and looked around. “D.A. is over there munching on some grass.” He pointed toward a clump of trees.

Haley stared out at the lake. “A new lake in the middle of the desert. Scientists will be going crazy trying to figure this one out.”

“Lake Anartia,” Dante named it.

“What about the rest of Anartia? Do you think the other Drones made it?”

Dante bent down a picked up a fist-sized piece of white marble. “I doubt it.” He showed her the marble, several other pieces were scattered along the shoreline. “Not if these stones were part of the temple.” He knelt beside her, brushed back her wet hair and kissed her cheek, then moved to her mouth.

So relieved that they were alive, her body responded to his touch, and she reached for him. Her hands slid around his wet shirt and pulled him closer. They tumbled down onto the wet sand in an embrace. The kiss was fierce, passionate and sensual. And her body ignited instantly.

Was this a mortal or immortal response? Had she changed? Dante always excited her but as immortals, their sex was savage and ravenous. She felt that way now. What if she remained immortal and he a mortal? What kind of life would they have?

She pulled back from the kiss and gazed into his eyes. His look of love made her stomach drop and her insides feel warm. God, she loved him. “Am I mortal again? I still feel that crazed sexual rush like I did when I we were immortal. Maybe I didn’t change.”

His smile was wicked and sexy. And her stomach dipped again. Her body wanted him badly. “Didn’t I turn you on when you were mortal?” he asked as his fingers circled her breasts, finally moving up to the nipples that were already taut and sensitive from the cool water. He pinched them through the T-shirt one at a time and erotic sensations shot through her body. She arched her back and moaned.

“Yes, you did.” God, she wanted to feel his hot skin next to her bare skin. Wet clothes were too confining. The image of Dante as a coyote and her as a snow leopard came to mind, wild and savage. Quickly she shoved the images out of her mind. If she still was immortal, she didn’t want to change now.

Leaning toward her, Dante positioned himself alongside her length while his mouth came down on her lips. He eased her shirt up, exposing her breasts then his hot mouth came down on her nipple. She groaned as he sucked and tugged each raw tip in turn.

He moved over on top of her. The weight of his body felt so good as he eased between her thighs. His aroused cock pressed against her pussy, and she raised her hips to rub her clit on his hard shaft. Even the thick, wet jeans didn’t diminish the throbbing sensations.

He yanked off her T-shirt, tossing it to the side, then clamped his mouth over one nipple. He caressed the other with his palm, rubbing the stiffened nipple. The sensitive nerves jolted her body, and she arched her back, asking for more. “That’s so good. Dante. Get naked for me.” The air was cooling as the afternoon sun dipped low in the sky, giving the clouds a pink tint. A twinge of doubt crossed her mind as she considered what would happen for them tomorrow and the next day.

As if he sensed her hesitation, he grasped her face, searching her eyes. “You okay?”

She nodded. She wasn’t sure how to explain her concerns.

He smiled slightly. “No worries. We’re safe. D.A. is fine.”

And Siren was fine too. He lifted her chin. “Tell me. What is it?” He wasn’t smiling anymore.

“Now that you’re mortal, you won’t need a horse whisperer.” She swallowed, trying to loosen the tightness in her throat. “I’ll be going back to my apartment.”

He looked crushed. “Why? I want you to stay on the ranch with me.” He pulled her across his lap cradling her in his arms. “I finally have everything I’ve always wanted. A ranch, a home, horses and a woman I desperately love. Haley, I love you. Marry me.”

She started laughing and crying at the same time. Her chest was so full of emotion, if she tried speaking louder, she’d explode in tears. “But what if I’m immortal? Won’t it be dangerous to make love?”

“Do you love me?” he asked firmly.

“Yes.”

“Do you want to marry me?”

“Yes.” Her hands dug into his arms. She wanted him so badly. Could they do this?

“Then we’ll work it out.” He ripped his T-shirt over his head and flung it on the ground. “We’ll find out right now if you’re immortal. If I begin to feel my energy drain, I’ll stop you.”

“What if I can’t—”

Dante pressed his fingers to her mouth. “I’ll know. Don’t’ worry. Love me, now,” he growled out the demand as he pressed her down into the soft sand and the ache and needs of her body surged out of control. Her hands shook as they glided over the hard, damp muscles of his chest and abdomen, feeling his heated skin. She noticed the lust in his eyes.

Gazing down at her breasts, flushed and swollen with desire, he cupped them and squeezed gently. She leaned into his hands, urging him on. “Harder,” she begged.

He groaned and complied. “Yes.” He squeezed harder until she nearly cried out, then he wrapped his arms around her body and crushed her breasts against his chest. He kissed her hard and deep and held her tighter as if he couldn’t get close enough. But it wasn’t close enough. She had to see him completely naked and feel him thrusting inside her.

Shifting away from him, she began tugging on his pants, trying to undo the button and zipper. Smiling he stood, kicked off his boots, which was a difficult task considering they were soaked. Then he tugged and yanked on the tight jeans until he kicked them to the side. He was naked and his cock stood erect and thick against his belly.

Taking her hands, he helped her to stand. “Now you.” It took both of them to remove her boots and jeans. Wet clothes came off torturously slow.

The water from Lake Anartia lapped at their feet. The salty scent drifted on the desert breeze. Dante drew her close, kissing her. His cock nudged her pussy, spreading her slick folds. Closing her eyes, Haley opened her legs and pressed against his rigid erection. His hands grabbed her ass and lifted her so she was on her toes. “I want inside of you but I want to taste you first.” He knelt down and opened her labia with his fingers, exposing her raw and swollen clit. When his tongue first brushed over the sensitive bud, she moaned, her body on the edge of exploding.

“Mmmm. Sweet,” he said, his lips and tongue still pressed into her flesh. His finger slipped inside her channel, pistoning in and out with hard thrusts as he continued to lap at her clit.

“Slow down, no, don’t. It’s too good.” She gripped his shoulders to keep her knees from collapsing.

Slowly he moved inside her. The pressure heightened her pleasure as she neared her climax. His tongue teased and pressed, then flicked her swollen clit.

Then fear speared through her body. If she was immortal an orgasm could kill Dante. “Oh my God. Dante you have to stop.”

“No, come for me. I’ll make love to you after.”

“No, really stop. It’s dangerous.” She tried to shove him away.

He held her arms down and returned to licking her pussy. “I’ll stop if I feel a drain.”

“If you’re wrong, and I climax…”

“Try to shift into your snow leopard form.” He tugged on her clit with his lips and pressed deeper with his finger, hooking it and hitting her sweet spot. Her hips rose off the ground.

“Now?” she moaned, “while you’re doing this?

“Yes. If you can’t shift, then you’re mortal and we can get back to what we were doing.” He continued working her pussy. She was so close to coming, her groin was coiling to her peak.

She hesitated. “I don’t know if I can.”

“Try. Imagine yourself at the leopard. That’s how you did it before,” Dante countered.

“I was angry when I shifted before.” She tried anyway. Closing her eyes, she forced the image of the snow leopard. After several moments, she opened her eyes and she was still in human form.

“See?” He grasped her clit between his teeth and rubbed the sensitive skin with the tip of his tongue.

“Relax,” Dante said. “I’m fine. I told you. I was a Drone for one hundred and fifty years. I know the routine.”

She sighed and pushed him back again.

“Now what?”

“Not yet.” Digging into her jeans, she retrieved a worn, but intact foil packet. She held up the condom and grinned.

Dante rolled his eyes. “Always prepared.”

“Love me, now.” She stretched back and opened her legs for him.

His hand slid to her pussy and he spread her juices to increase the sensitivity and slipping a finger inside. “Mmmm. So wet and open. I want inside that beautiful body,” he murmured.

“Then what happens?”

“Mmmm. I take you home and we do it again.”

She grinned. “Home? Yes.” She anxiously watched as he rolled the condom on his hard shaft. God, she wanted to feel his thickness inside. “Take me, fill me.” She rocked her hips when his finger thrust into her pussy. She gasped.

He pulled Haley onto his lap. “Straddle me. Ride me hard.”

“Yes.” She knelt on either side of his hips, and watched as he positioned his cock at her slick entrance. Lowering her body, she impaled herself onto his hard shaft and a wave of intense sensations rolled through her. She gasped and heard Dante suck in a breath and curse.

“Damnation, you feel good.” Gripping her ass, he urged her to rock her hips. “Ride me, ride me hard.”

She rose up until the head of his cock was at her entrance, then slammed back down, tightening her inner muscles on the way down. He groaned and matched her rhythm as best as he could with her sitting on top on him. Cradling her in his arms, he picked her up and switched positions so he was on top. He raised her legs to his shoulders and sank his cock deep.

She cried out and writhed beneath him. The rhythm of his cock pumping in and out, rasping over her swollen clit brought her closer to her climax. She raised her hips and the movement of his hard body couldn’t have been more perfect. Murmuring something unintelligible, she dug her nails into his arms.

The climax slammed into her. Crying out, she thrashed on the ground as the surge of sensations ripped through her. Dante held her arms down which seemed to heighten the pleasure. Gazing at him through her haze of pleasure, she noticed he didn’t seem fazed or drained at all. A flood of emotions poured out with her release and tears spilled onto her cheeks.