Moon Borne (Halcyon Romance Series Book 1) (31 page)

As for her gift, the threat from Hippolyta, and his sister, they’d figure the details out later.

At last, he would claim his mate.

As he licked the seam of her lips, her mouth obediently parted. He kissed her until her lips were swollen and the tension eased from her body. His fingers traced her silken skin from the side of her cheek, past the hollow of her neck and down to the supple flesh of her breasts. His tongue teased one lovely, pebbled peak until she moaned low in her throat. Trailing his lips lower, he made sure to shut out the scent of her virgin blood. This was not the time to succumb to his frenzy.

He wiped away the smear on her thighs, lifted her gently, and tossed the soiled sheet onto the floor. Drawing upon the talent from Ares, he concentrated intense eroticism into his fingertips. The heat of his touch would magnify her thirst, vanquish any pain.

He would prove to her how a mated female found unrivaled pleasure at the hands of her bonded male. The combination of his talent and their bond would be enough to keep Kyme by his side, right?

Can I tame her with my touch?
His fingers trembled as he stroked her velvety nub. Instantly, she cried out.

He buried his grin in her hair and cradled her in his arms as the tremors cascaded through her body. While she clung to him, he brushed his fingers along her cheek in soothing strokes.

Twisting around, she grabbed his head and demanded his kiss. “More.” Oh aye, his eager Amazon.

Gently, he slipped a finger inside her. So wet and hot for him. Her barrier was gone.
Because of me.
His shaft throbbed as it reminded him of where it had recently been and most desired to return.

Kyme is mine.

His heart raced as his lips sought to dominate her.
Mine.

Hope surged in his chest and his heart swelled, consuming his fears, his doubts. Kyme had chosen him. Perhaps a future together did exist.

He eased a second finger inside her and growled as she clenched him. Aye, she was ready. Arsenius knelt between her legs and gripped her hips. He would claim her with leisure, relishing every second, every sweet inch.

Positioning his cock at her entrance, he worked his charmed fingers at her bud again and pressed just the tip of himself inside her.

They both moaned as he thrust in another inch.

He paused, gathered his restraint, and retreated.

With each thrust, he went a little deeper, stretched her a little wider, before he slid all the way out. Every time he penetrated her, she let out a delicious little whimper. With purpose, he prolonged her sweet torture.

Kyme would learn that she belonged to him.

***

As Arsenius paused inside her, Kyme almost convulsed around him.

“Nay. Not yet,
Amazone
. Not until I’m completely inside you.” Shivers rippled under her skin at his stern demand, an order for her submission.

Here was the master. Had she at last become his slave?

To demonstrate his point, he clasped her hand and placed it where their bodies connected. Much of his large length had yet to possess her. “Not until you take all of me.” He pulled out of her, leaving her feverish in his wake.

She thrashed against the sheets, clutching at them with her fingertips.

As Arsenius pushed into her again, moisture pooled between Kyme’s thighs and she clenched his length, determined to hold on to him this time. Yet he was in control, and he drew back, teasing her. She raised her head, but the scowl vanished from her face. Her lips fell open and lust blasted through her. The juncture between her thighs grew even wetter as Arsenius angled her hips with such expertise.

From his position, he viewed everything. Her sex was open wide for his adoration, her body his to command. With one stroke, he was able to ignite her in ecstasy. She was at his utter mercy, and never had surrender been so sweet.

Arsenius clasped his hand under her bottom, lifting her hips and spreading her thighs even wider. “That’s it, open for me, Kyme.” His voice was rough, deep, and all that betrayed how far from control he truly was.

“Almost…all the way.” His labored breathing sped to match hers.

At last, he seated fully inside her. His thickness filled her, his dark spicy scent soothed her, and the weight of him held her captive. Blinding light exploded behind her eyes. As her sheath convulsed around him, the pleasure intensified. Every time she clenched around him, rapture filled her.

His muscles grew rigid and he leaned forward, groaning into her neck as he found his release. Sheltered beneath his large body, his hot breath caressed her skin.

By the gods, nothing had ever felt so right in her entire life.

Until he whispered into her neck, “I love you.”

No.
Her heart thrashed inside her chest. This wasn’t part of her scheme. She might account for those words spoken in bliss if he were any other man.

Not Arsenius. He would never mistakenly speak them.

Placing her hands flat against his chest, she shoved, the urge to flee suffocating her.

He growled as she squirmed. “We’re not finished.”

She froze. “We’re not?”

“Nay,
Amazone
, I’ve only…just begun,” he grunted in her ear, drew out, and thrust back inside her. She moaned while he repeated the action. Over and over, he pumped into her body.

Her anxiety concerning his confession evaporated, leaving nothing except his hard, strong body on top of her, pounding inside her.

His glorious weight enveloped, protected, possessed. Arsenius placed his hands on either side of her head and claimed her lips. His tongue plunged into her mouth in the same frantic rhythm as his body.

Kyme trailed her hands down the fluid muscles of his back to dig her nails into his firm, smooth buttocks. She wrapped her legs around him, his thrusts growing even more demanding. Despite the intimacy of their positions, no degree of closeness sated her hunger. She clung to him as though the moment she let go the world would cease.

This night, this moment, was perfection. She prayed their connection would never end, and her heart wept because now it would.

When the sun rose, her world would grow dark.

Because he’d uttered those words, she had lost him.

Chapter 29

The dawn’s first rays spread across her face.
It is time.
After Arsenius had made love to her for hours, he’d collapsed beside her, drifting off into a most peaceful slumber. She’d lain awake; the horror of what she must do next drove the ability to sleep from her.

He’d lied.

Arsenius had felt this affection for her the entire time they’d been together.

He’d lied to keep her near him.

While the Moon and stars had retreated across the sky, she’d attempted to convince her body to rise. She wished she could ignore who and what she was, to live in this moment.

No.
Not after he’d declared he loved her. Those words changed everything.

Kyme refused to hurt him. He’d been wounded so much, in so many ways in his past. She would not cause him more pain. What they had would never last. She had a family, obligations, and responsibilities to return to.

He’d never permit her.

If she didn’t return to the Amazons, her absence would be proclaimed treason. Her godmother would hunt her down. Would command her to kill him.

Never.

Her gaze drifted to his left bicep. No mark. She stamped down the twinge of regret that she wasn’t his mate.

A bond was irreversible. His love was not.

He would find someone else. Love someone else. A woman who loved him in return.

She winced as the image of Arsenius with another tore her open with more precision than a blade. Drawing in a ragged breath, she eased out of the bed.

I must do this.
It was the hardest choice she’d ever had to make. Her heart longed to stay in this bed, to sail each day with Arsenius, to spend each night in his arms. To complete their mission. She shook her head. Not at the expense of
his
heart.

She would never love him. Eventually, that would hurt him more.

Inducing him to make love to her had been a mistake. Though their intimacy would make everything worse for him, she did not wish it undone. In his arms, she’d sampled Elysium.

None of the consequences, not even her gift, mattered, other than the hurt she’d caused him. Freeing him was the only way to heal her transgression against his heart.

As she dressed, she studied him. The sun’s rays played across his tawny skin. Gods, he was magnificent. She dug her nails into her palms to stop from embracing him one last time. If she did, she’d lose the strength to leave him.

Arsenius.
The man whom weeks ago she’d hated. She’d once presumed he despised her as well, but no, he’d never regarded her that way. He’d always been kind, too kind. He’d always known what she was to him.
Here I am, just learning what he is to me.
She flinched. She had to go, before her heart performed the impossible and fell in love too.

As she finished dressing, she paused, unsure whether to write a note. He must be certain she’d departed of her free will. Kyme removed her ring of Artemis. He’d recognize it as hers.

Sighing, she set the ring on the bed beside him, where she’d been lying not so long ago.
Stop.
She set her shoulders to fortify her decision.
He deserves someone who can return his love, someone he can share his life with. Someone…else.

Her resolve strengthened, Kyme snuck out of the cabin and crossed to the far side of Halcyon. On their brief tour, Spyros had mentioned another point of entry, one leading into the forest. He’d given them the passwords,
asphodelus
,
eros
,
aionios
—daffodil, love, eternal—and the freedom to come and go as they chose.

He’d mentioned a small village that lay about two days away. She wasn’t a fool. Arsenius would follow her. The forest was her secret weapon. She’d learned how to track, and to cover her trail, before she’d cut her teeth. Losing him in the woods was child’s play.

Besides, Arsenius was a proud man. He wouldn’t forever chase after a woman who didn’t want him. He’d cease his hunt. Eventually.

She would stop in the village for supplies before returning to her people. Their main summer camp was out of the question. Leading him to her people would be a death sentence for him. At all costs, she must prevent Hippolyta from encountering Arsenius. Her godmother was ruthless, and never more so than when it came to Kyme.

Should Hippolyta detect Arsenius’s affection, she’d command Kyme to execute him. Despite the warm air around her, she shivered.

One of the more remote Amazon hunting grounds was her destination. If need be, she’d use force to make him retreat. If it came to that, she would be the one doing the hunting.

She had to protect Arsenius any way she could.

Right now, that meant never, ever seeing him again.

Kyme trekked through the forest, cast false trails, waded through streams to mask her scent, and chose paths difficult for a man his size to follow.

One way or another, Arsenius, I will lose you.

***

Arsenius stretched out his arms and sighed deeply. He’d never been more content. Or more sated, though he hardened at the memory of being inside Kyme. What he craved was another sweet taste of…

He grasped to draw her against him, but his hands closed around her pillow. Craning his neck, he scanned the room.
Mayhap she’s gone to tend to her needs.

His heart sank deep into his gut. He planted his face in her pillow, capturing her scent. Cold. Hours cold. No.
No.

He growled against the conclusion forming in his mind. Spying the glint of amber on the bed, he roared. Frustration and fury battled for dominance inside him. Her ring. She’d deserted him. Why?

Damn, he’d told her he loved her.
Gods, Arsenius, you are such a fool.

He’d tried to cover his admission afterward, determining he’d make love to her until she forgot. Well, obviously his plan had failed.

Distract her with carnal pleasures.
He grimaced at his arrogant stupidity, at how he should have known Kyme would not be so easily persuaded.

I should let her go.

No.
Every instinct in his body howled in protest. She was frightened, that was all. Her lifestyle had been ingrained in her for so long, yet he’d taken her safe world and turned everything upside down. He needed to reassure her he wouldn’t make her renounce her family, her life.

Neither would he accept never being with her again.

If he had her for those two months every year during Amazon breeding season, it’d be enough. Wouldn’t it?

When he located her, he was going to reason with her. He hoped. The beast within roared, demanding to bury himself inside her again, but doing so wouldn’t win her back.

He threw on his clothes, stuffed the ring into the pocket of his breeches, and headed out the door. A few steps into the woods, he scented which way she’d gone.
Amazone, you’ll need more than a bloody forest to lose me.