Talons (28 page)

“
As much as I want to, I
must refuse,” he said and smiled as she pouted. He swung her up in
his strong arms and carried her inside, kicking the door
shut.

Eli carried her to her bed and
deposited her upon the coverlet, looking down into her expectant
features flushed with inebriation fondly. “You will thank me for it
tomorrow.”

“
I can always make a booty
call in my dreams if I want!” she grumbled after him as she saw his
back leaving her room, twisting out of her jacket and finding
herself tied up in it.

“
And I can always lock you
out,” he said over his shoulder with a smug look before he
left.

Vivvie fell asleep, basking in her
buzz. Sooner or later she found herself at Eli’s door in her dream.
The knob to his suite wouldn’t turn. She stood outside his door in
confusion, trying the door again and finding it locked.

Told you I could lock you
out! Go to bed Miss Kitty, we have things to do
tomorrow.

No fair! You can come into
my mind anytime you want, and you can lock me out of your
dreams?

Eli laughed at that, a rich sound in
her ears, making her long for him in a way that had nothing to do
with the catnip whiskey. The desire to be held was there, as well
as the comfort knowing Ty was abandoning her at first
light.

It’s good to be the
Chief!

She had no choice but to leave,
wandering out of his hallway to find the elevator. Thinking of
running up top made her bristle with excitement. She entered the
elevators with a smile.

~~~~

She woke with a pounding headache and
her mouth was dry. Dragging herself from the bed proved a feat.
Staggering to the bathroom, she groaned in dismay to see her muddy
bedraggled appearance.

It rained in the night and she was
puddle jumping up top. She was disgusted she took the physical
evidence back with her when she saw the mud covering her from head
to toe. It was all too real when she saw the blood under her
nails.

Late night munchies were satisfied with
a chubby rabbit she found on her way back inside. The dead rabbit
lay half-eaten on her table. Vivvie vowed to never drink again as
she stood under the shower head, feeling like her eyes would pop
out of her skull. She stood under the warm spray until her vision
cleared, feeling as though she wanted to die.

As soon as she toweled off she heard
footsteps at her door, smelling Eli there before he knocked. She
pulled on her robe and opened the door. Her foul mood got worse to
see his smug, grinning countenance there, his blue eyes glowing to
see her so sick.

He held up a bowl of what appeared to
be breakfast as he entered, and a plastic bottle she knew was her
downfall the night before. She was disgusted at her behavior the
night before and just wanted to bury herself in her
room.

Eli smiled approvingly as he saw the
half-eaten rabbit on her table. “It looks like you already had
breakfast. Here, drink this. It’s the only thing that will help
with your hangover, unfortunately. Tylenol doesn’t work with us,
sweetheart.”

“
Thanks, remind me to never
indulge again,” Vivvie moaned as she untwisted the bottle and drank
the bitter liquid, feeling nauseated just smelling it. “How did you
lock me out in my dream last night?” she wanted to know as she
drank the catnip whiskey.

“
It’s my gift, the ability
to control all of your powers,” he said with a shrug. “My ancestor
was the first chief who ate the panther’s heart during the ceremony
that made us. Since that organ controls all the others; it’s that
way with the gift. That is why Ty can’t see my future, and Jericho
can’t sense what I don’t wish for him to feel, and you can’t make
booty calls in your dreams, unless I allow it.”

Vivvie scowled at his words. “What else
can you do?”

Eli smiled as he regarded her. “Besides
controlling and leading all the others, I also run a corporation
that makes these energy drinks, like the one you have now. It’s
very profitable. I need only go into the office a few days a
week.”

“
You own your own company?”
Vivvie asked in surprise. He looked at her and raised an
eyebrow.

“
You don’t know everything
about me, Vivvie,” he said in amusement. “I’m also an amateur
diver, no easy feat for one like us. We do like water, but tend to
feel claustrophobic submerged. It’s one of the things on my bucket
list to become an accomplished deep sea diver.”

“
What else is on your bucket
list?” she asked, fascinated and feeling much improved the longer
she sipped the drink.

“
Many things,” he mused with
a smile. “We tend to get bored very easily. I have many hobbies I
enjoy. Diving is just one of them.”

“
How many souls have you
lost?” she found herself asking, knowing it was a sensitive subject
with all of these creatures.

“
I have only three left to
me,” Eli said with a sad smile. “I lost six in battle before we
came here.”

“
What was it like then?”
Vivvie wanted to know, sitting at the table, dying to learn
everything about the enigmatic Eli.

“
It was a brutal time,” he
admitted honestly. “As Jericho told you, we descend from the
original nine leaders of an ancient tribe of Indians. The shaman of
the tribe was full of his own power. He thought if he gave my
grandfather the power of the panther, he would receive great esteem
with the tribe.”

“
Jericho said the shaman was
tricked by a demon?”

“
Yes, while he conjured the
spirit world, he inadvertently attracted a demon wanting to be
unleashed into ours,” Eli explained with a grim look. “The shaman
was too full of himself to see the danger. He offered my
grandfather the spirit of the panther in a ceremony the night
before they went to battle the Creek nation. My grandfather got the
heart. Jericho’s got the brain. Ty and Tania’s got the stomach,
Gideon’s the liver, and so on.”

“
What happened to the
shaman?”

“
He realized he had given
great power to my grandfather and the power the demon promised
would be denied him,” Eli said sadly. “The tribe grew into the
thousands by the time I was born. I was destined to lead them, but
the shaman betrayed my father and his before him. He told of our
secrets to the other tribes. The other tribes turned upon us. They
came in the night while we slept. They killed the children first,
over and over until they died. Then they turned upon the women and
did the same. The men were more difficult to kill and the battles
then were fierce. By the time it was all over, only the five of us
were locked in a pen awaiting death. Tania killed our captors in
their sleep and we were able to sneak away. That is where we came
from.”

“
But you don’t look like a
full blooded Indian, and either does Jericho,” Vivvie pointed
out.

Eli smiled wolfishly, his blue eyes
twinkling. “My grandfather took a liking to a colonial girl captive
and had my father. Jericho is also a product of one of those
unions.”

“
So you get your powers from
your ancestors? Does Ryken have Jericho’s gift? Do your children
have yours?” Vivvie asked, truly fascinated by it all.

“
Every inherited trait skips
generations, Vivvie,” Eli said patiently. “It’s the same with
humans. Ryken gets his ability to hide his scent from his mother
and his size and looks he gets from Jericho. Beyond that, he is not
strong enough to lead. None of my children are like me.”

“
I don’t understand,” she
asked, seeing the sadness in his eyes. “How is it none of your
offspring have this genetic power you have?”

“
It’s not from lack of
trying!” Eli said with a wicked chuckle that made her long to smack
him. “It would be desirable to have one to lead the tribe one day.
Only one able to harness all the others’ power would succeed to
rule them all. It’s why I’m not after Ryken myself.”

“
So if something were to
happen to you, there would be no one to control the others?” Vivvie
asked in sudden incite.

“
Yes, sadly, I’m the only
one, and that is why I’m Chief, and doomed to be the Chief until I
pass this gift onto an heir of my own ability. Ryken plays like a
child if he thinks he will control the beasts that follow him now.
Our kind only follows those stronger than themselves. They will
turn upon him one day. As surely as those here would turn on me if
I didn’t have ultimate control over them.”

Vivvie saw the vulnerability in Eli’s
expression then, seeing the enormous responsibility. As much as she
wanted to dislike him, she couldn’t help but admire his devotion to
his people.

“
Is that on your bucket list
too?” she asked with a sad smile, “to pass your power to
another?”

Eli allowed his eyes to linger at her
neckline of her robe before his eyes met hers. “It’s at the very
top of my list. I can’t live forever to lead them, Vivvie. When I’m
gone, there must be another with my ability in place to take over
or there would be chaos that would ultimately draw human
notice.”

“
Does everyone have the same
gifts?”

“
No, they all vary,” Eli
replied. “Some don’t have any special ability at all beyond
shifting into their forms, while others have combinations. Mara’s
mother had a litter from both Jericho and Gideon. Mara has all
Jericho’s senses, but she also desires constant strife like Gideon
does. He is our resident warlord, if you haven’t noticed. Only
battle really excites him. He is very good at making
war.”

“
Tania is like
me?”

“
Yes, Ty’s sister passed you
her gift through Ryken, who is also her grandson,” Eli said softly.
“Trust me. Had Ryken known what your gift would be, none of us
would be safe from him. You’re quite an asset, Vivvie. No other has
received Tania’s gift in the centuries we have lived
here.”

“
I don’t feel special right
now,” she complained, still feeling sick. “I feel
awful!”

“
I know what will make you
feel better,” he said as he rose and held out his hand. She eyed
him suspiciously.

“
Guaranteed to make you feel
more yourself,” he promised with a mischievous gleam in his eyes.
“It’s an old Indian trick.”

“
I’m warning you, I’m in no
mood to be tormented today, Eli!”

“
In a few minutes you will,”
he promised.

Vivvie followed him to the living room
and he directed her to lie down on the couch facedown. She
protested as he pulled her robe down, exposing her naked
back.

“
I mean it!”

“
Just trust me, Vivvie,” he
said as he pushed her flat, eyes glowing. “You will love
this.”

Vivvie purred despite herself as Eli’s
strong fingers massaged her back, making her want to rear up into
his accomplished hands from the pleasure the touching produced. Not
only was her body soothed, but a strange lethargy stole over
her.

Vivvie hardly noticed when the robe was
removed and his hands stroked even lower. She came up off the couch
when his hands cupped and stroked her buttocks, ashamed at the
moans that escaped her. His hands worked magic as they rubbed the
backs of her thighs and her calves, even her feet.

When he rolled her over, his eyes were
blazing. She came into his arms with a soft cry, her lips meeting
his hungrily. Eli slid onto the couch with her, his mouth slanting
across hers feverishly.

Whatever hesitation she felt before was
gone as she pulled Eli closer, her hands knotting in his inky dark
hair. The feel of him against her was driving her crazy. The need
for him took over any conscious thought.

“
Are you sure, Vivvie?” Eli
asked as his lips lifted from hers. Desire was evident in his
glowing eyes.

“
I want this,” she said as
she drew him back to her lips. “We both know it’s going to
happen.”

Eli got up and practically dragged her
to her room, ripping off his shirt and pants, his eyes never
leaving hers. When he was as naked as she, he pushed her down on
the bed roughly, following her down.

Vivvie lost control from the sensations
going through her as Eli’s hands and lips brought her to madness.
She held him tightly as he eased over her, staring deep into her
eyes. A cry escaped her as he joined with her, his lean hips
driving her deep into the mattress. A low fierce growl escaped him
as he bore her down furiously, all gentleness gone.

Sobs of incoherent pleasure soon turned
to throaty moans and more growls as he moved hungrily inside her,
his head thrown back in carnal delight, his eye teeth growing
elongated in his lust. Vivvie gripped him tightly, biting into his
shoulder as her body demanded release. It was nothing like her time
with Ty.

It was a fierce and uncontrolled
mating. Eli soon rolled her on top of him, and sucked at her
breasts voraciously while she moved upon him, riding him hungrily.
His hands dug into her hips, bringing her down hard upon his full
rigid length.

Cries escaped her lips as she came,
orgasms slamming against her with such force, she shook wildly with
it. His mouth took hers, blocking off more of the sounds. He arched
upward, bringing her to him with such force her eyes flew wide.
Green eyes clashed with blue as he shuddered and joined her, his
ragged breathing filling her ears as he exploded, his semen like a
fiery pool inside of her.