The Willow (10 page)

After I blocked a kick, the answer hit me. I pushed him away, grabbed my sword and quickly slashed my arm. The pain blasted right through me as the warm rush of blood trickled down my arm. Zade’s gaze immediately went black and in that hesitation I swung.

Kyden was right. This did feel natural. If the sword had been sharp, his head would have toppled off nicely. Since it wasn’t it just left a pretty deep cut, which instantly healed.

“Very innovative.” Zade smiled.

He appeared almost shocked by my move. Leaving me to draw the conclusion that no one had done that before. Made perfect sense to me.

“Well done, daughter,” Drake praised.

When I met his gaze, he was beaming with pride at my accomplishment. As much as I was proud of myself, I was still attempting to catch my breath. That was one hell of a fight.

Movement caught my eye. Kyden stepped forward and gave me a tight nod, an expression of pure determination on his face.

The look racked me with confusion. Pride, yes I expected to see that. Determination left me dumbfounded.

There was only seconds to consider that before Talon’s voice drew me back to the present. “Use this well, Nexi,” he said, then handed me a sword.

My
sword.

When I took it from his hands, it was surprisingly light considering how long it was. The handle, a black leather grip with brass wire wrapped around it and the blade a deep shiny silver. I spun the sword in my hands.
Guardian
was engraved in gold on one side of the blade and
Nexi
was engraved on the other.

“Welcome our new Guardian of the Otherworld!” Talon shouted, which sent the crowd to erupt in loud shouts of praise and acknowledgment.

Suddenly, Finn’s laughter broke through. He gave me a hard slap on the back. “I thought Zade was going to make a meal out of you.”

With his hit came a sharp pain in my forearm. When I glanced toward it, blood was dripping all over the floor. The cut was much deeper than I thought, split right open with the muscle exposed.

“Let me take care of that wound you gave yourself,” Zia chastised. “What a silly thing to do.”

Just as I glanced at her, she took my hand and squeezed it lightly. Instantly, pain blasted through me sending screams of rage from my throat. Cuts obviously hurt more to heal than bruises because this was brutal.

Thankfully, within seconds, the pain vanished. My breath hissed through my teeth and my vision came back to me. Amazingly, my arm had completely healed. Turning it from side to side, there wasn’t a mark on it. “That’s so cool.”

Zia nodded. “Comes in handy from time to time.”

“I bet it does.” My gaze travelled across the faces in the room, but the one I was looking for was gone.

Why I wanted Kyden to stay and congratulate me was beyond me, but I did. Seeing that he’d left had the similar effect as a blow to the gut.

* * * *

The garden did exactly what I thought it was going to—soothed me. Inhaling deeply, delighted by hundreds of rich scents, I walked along the path and let my hands graze along the tops of the bushes. The flowers were in full bloom and everything here looked wonderfully alive.

Just as I approached the pond, a rock skipped behind me. I glanced over my shoulder to see Kyden striding down the path toward me.

In a few strides, he reached me and grabbed my arm. “Let go, Kyden,” I snarled, trying to break free.

“No. I will not.” His grip tightened as he tore me away from the garden.

“Where are we going?”
Damn, he’s strong.

He didn’t answer, just dragged me along until we reached my residence. He threw the door open, tossed me in and slammed it behind him.

“This shutting me out…” He began to walk toward me. “Is going to stop now.” He accentuated each word insuring I took him seriously.

And I did.

“I—I—” Stammering seemed like an appropriate response.

“I have given you no reason not to trust me. And yet, here you are full of doubt.” The determination witnessed earlier had now grown. “You’re right. I didn’t give a shit about those other women. They meant nothing to me. But you—this—” He pointed between us. “Is different. Trust me on that.” He stopped directly in front of me. “I will do what I have to for you to believe me.” He grabbed me hard around my waist and kissed me violently.

Oh shit!
I wasn’t prepared for this. How was I going to stop him when he was kissing me like this? It took every ounce of my strength to push him away.

It never stopped him. “You can fight me all you like, Nexi, but this will be done.” He lunged forward and brought his body tight with mine. He began to step forward, forcing me back.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I demanded.

“Taking you to the bedroom.”

My brows rose. “For what?”

“You are so set on not hearing me. I can see it. I could tell you a thousand times that I care for you, that my affection does not lie in your body alone, but I doubt you’d believe me. So, I am left with no other choice than to show you.” He took my mouth roughly. “And believe me this, I’m going to show you,” he growled against my lips.

My legs hit the bed. “Wait! What?”

He reached up, unclipping my kilt and let it fall to the floor. “I am going to touch you until all you know is the way I feel along your body.” He ran his hands along my back, sending little trickles of desire warming my skin. With a quick flick, he unhooked my bra and pulled the straps gingerly down my arms. “Until your breath has deepened in pleasure.” He ran his hands along the curve of my hips, slid his fingers beneath the rim of my shorts. “Until you are screaming out in approval.” He knelt down, slowly easing my shorts off my body and lifted each foot delicately until I was completely naked. He inhaled deeply and stood, meeting my gaze again. “Then, and only then, I’m going to leave you when I’ll want nothing more than to take you fiercely. Surely then you will not doubt my intentions.”

My body betrayed me. As much as I knew that I should say no to him, it appeared I had already agreed.

He stepped back to get a good look. I should have felt exposed, felt shy. I didn’t. Not when he was looking at me the way he was now. His gaze simmered as he memorized every inch of my skin, lingering on all my female bits and pieces. By the time he raised his gaze to mine, my breath was coming out in short gasps full of expectation.

“I—”

He stopped me with a raised hand. “Nexi.” He tossed me back on the bed. “Stop talking.” Then, he took my mouth with such passion it would have stopped my heart if I had one.

Leaving me breathless, he tore his lips from my mine to devour an eager nipple. His skill was beyond comprehension. Within seconds, he had my body arching toward him, imploring for more. While his mouth played, his fingers teased the other nipple until both breasts were sensitive to the touch.

Jesus, my body burned, clenched—throbbed for more. Without thought, I reacted. Squirming forward toward his thigh, I raised my hips and began to rub myself along his bare leg. He growled in response and rose above me, watching as my body reeled in pleasure. With each circle of my hips, his smoldering gaze burned deeper. The pressure began to build. Intensively, I ground harder, struggled for breath as my climax quickly approached.

Just as the sensation peaked, he withdrew his leg and I almost wept, angry for his withdrawal. “I would let you finish,” he said in the huskiest of tones. “But I think I’d rather enjoy doing it myself.” He lowered himself very close to my body showing his intention.

It was like a cold bucket of water. “Wait.” I’d never done this before. It felt wrong—dirty.

He looked up between my legs. “Problem?”

“Er—you really don’t have to do that?”

He arched a brow. “Don’t I?” Then, he licked in one long deep stroke. He raised his head grinning. “Don’t I?”

I shuddered. “I changed my mind. You do.”

He chuckled deep and lowered his head again. I closed my eyes, leaned my head back as he lavished my body with his damp tongue. At first, his touch was light. He was teasing, dancing around the area that craved his attention and I was left trembling, shivering in anticipation.

When I didn’t just tremble—I outright quaked—he lightly blew across my skin, sending a blast of cold air streaming against my fiery, swollen flesh. I screamed out at the gloriousness of it. And it was just the invitation he needed. He dove toward my throbbing center, pushing firmly against my thighs to widen my legs for his enthusiastic mouth as he bit, sucked, licked and swirled around my nub with a need to satisfy me.

Sweet glorious Jesus
. He was satisfying me. Little flames of pleasure whipped like wildfire through my body. When he lowered his hand to join in the fun, it unraveled me completely.

“Oh God! Don’t stop that!” I shouted.

There was no thoughts anymore—only the thrill of him satisfying my body. I clamped down on his wrist, urging him on. He was being gentle but it wasn’t gentle loving I wanted. He slapped my hand away and worked harder.

I couldn’t focus. Pleasure began to sweep my mind. Something was building—something too strong. It was overtaking me. My body tightened. Moans poured from my mouth that was probably heard a mile away. I didn’t care. Kyden deserved to hear my pleasure.

Suddenly, it became too much. My thighs clamped against his head as I fought against it, screaming against the powerful force. I pushed against his shoulders. “Stop! It’s too much.”

He ignored my pleas and pinned me with one arm while he continued to ravage my body. Realizing my closeness, he increased his force. I was left panting, screaming louder than I’d ever screamed before. His mouth worked harder. His fingers deepened as he forced me to ride out one of the most intense feelings I’d ever experienced in my life.

When I plummeted back to reality, I could hardly catch my breath. “Holy shit, that was unbelievable.” My words were slow and sedated. I wasn’t even sure if my arms and legs were still attached to my body.

“No. That was beautiful,” he corrected, hovering over me. Trembling, fighting against himself—it was an obvious struggle.

I reached up and cupped his face. “You didn’t need to do this. I believe you.” This was an effective way to show me, but the truth was, it didn’t matter. I cared for him and having experienced this with him, there was no way in hell I’d be without him now.

“Yes. I do.” His voice strained. “Then, you will have no reason to doubt me again.”

I nuzzled deeper into the pillow as I woke from a deep sleep with a smile still on my face from last night. Though tense and rigid, Kyden kept true to his word and left me virginity still intact. When he came back, he was relaxed—didn’t take a genius to figure out the reason for that. He crawled into bed and within minutes, his breath had deepened with sleep.

I hadn’t heard him get up. I jumped out of bed and headed toward the delicious aroma. As I stepped through, Kyden stood at the stove, his back to me.

“Smells good!” I said.

He spun around with a spatula in hand. “Glad you think so.” Never had he looked as sexy then he did right now with that little smudge of pancake batter dusting his cheek. “Hungry?” he asked.

Hungry for what, that was the question? “Mmm hmm.” I responded, which sent his gaze flaring. That little purr in my voice was undeniable. He heard it loud and clear.

He nodded toward the food. “Dig in.”

Guess he was making the decision for me. Taking his advice, I grabbed a couple pancakes and smothered them in maple syrup. Not the fake crap, either, the real tree stuff.
Yum!

Into my second helping, there was a knock at the door. Before I could even stand, it opened. “Nexi?” Drake called out.

“In here,” I answered.

We’d spent nearly every dinner together since I arrived in the Otherword and each time I told him he could just walk in, but he was adamantly against the idea. Obviously, they don’t do that in the Otherworld. Well, in my Earthworld, family didn’t wait at the door like a stranger. I was glad to see he was coming around.

“Are you hungry?” I asked, cutting into my pancake.

“I…” Drake’s words abruptly died off.

When I glanced up at him, he was staring angrily at Kyden. My confusion grew as each second passed. What the hell was he so angry about? Then it hit me. I am his daughter, there was a man in my kitchen and it was obvious we had just woken. Kyden—as my father knew was infamous for lovin’ and leavin’ women.

Drake sat directly in front of him and leaned in. “Training is going well, I see.”

“Going real good!” Kyden purred the latter and lifted his pancake to his mouth. His fierce gaze never left Drake’s as he chewed.

Awkwardly, I sat there, having no idea what to do. The two of them looked to be on the verge of pounding the hell out of one another.

Ten minutes passed and nothing had changed. My neck was sore from glancing between them. We were in a serious testosterone-staring contest. It wouldn’t have surprised me in the least if they pulled their balls out and decided the winner that way.

Thankfully, Kyden stood as he said, “I better go change.”

A sigh of relief escape me, but quickly turned to a gasp as he yanked me from my chair to kiss me passionately. The kiss lasted way, way, too long.

“Sorry to leave you to the mess,” he said, lowering me back to my feet. His words were meant for me, but his gaze was fixed elsewhere.

When I followed his gaze, I stepped back, a little afraid. It was quite clear whom I get my temper from because Drake looked ready to blow his lid.

“I will join you,” Drake snarled. “Wait for me in the hall.” His chair flew back, slamming into the wall as he stood.

“Er…Drake.” I couldn’t call him Dad. It wasn’t because we just met. It was that he looked only a few years older than I did—the word Dad seemed inappropriate.

They both ignored me completely.

Anger roared through me. First, he wasn’t looking at me either. Second, his chair had put a humongous dent in my wall—pissed took on a completely new meaning. “Look at that.” I pointed to the wall. “You dented it.” Neither of them looked at me or the wall. I huffed and stomped my foot. “You two are being complete idiots.”

“Go,” Drake growled at Kyden.

Kyden gave his devilish grin and left. Then, Drake turned on me. “You do know of his reputation?”

Ohhh, yes, he was pissed. “I’ve heard of it yes.” For Christ’s sakes I was an adult, what business was this of his?

“You have discussed this with him?”

Now, I got annoyed. For one thing, it was too early in our relationship to take fatherly advice from him. Secondly, if I can go and kill vampires I think I can handle my own love life. “Listen, does Kyden have a reputation? Yes. Do I know of it? Yes. Would I ever let him mistreat me? No. Do I care for him? Yes. Does he care for me? He appears to. Do I trust him? Completely.” I sighed deeply. “Does that cover it?”

“Yes, that covers your end of it.” Then, he spun on his heels and stormed out.

The second the door slammed behind him all hell broke loose—yelling, loud thumps, deep grunts. I ran toward the door, and just as I reached for the handle, it got quiet.

Opening the door just a crack I peeked out, but they were gone. Sighing deeply, I closed the door behind me. Not much I could do about it anyway. Even if they were fighting, I’d never jump in the middle of them. I ain’t stupid.

Just as I finished getting ready the door jiggled.

Scooting back out to the living room, I met them just as they walked in, looking happy as can be. The only evidence of their fight was the blood on Drake’s chest.

“Everything okay?” I asked hesitantly.

Kyden nodded and pulled me out into the hall. “We’ve been called before the council,” he said. “They’re sending us out.”

“You will make sure she stays safe?” Drake asked Kyden, stepping forward to kiss my forehead.

“I will,” Kyden answered.

Confusion rendered me speechless. What was this, Stepford Wives?

We started down the hall, Drake going in the opposite direction. When I heard his footsteps soften, I took a quick glance over my shoulder. He was gone. I jerked my head back to Kyden. “What the hell was that all about?”

“My intentions.”

“You cannot be serious?”

He nodded firmly. “Very serious.”

As if I needed Drake to insure Kyden was an appropriate suitor, or to kick the shit out of him if he wasn’t.

“He obviously approved of you.” Considering he wasn’t dead.

He smacked my ass with his devilish grin. “Of course, he did.”

When we arrived at the Council’s Hall it sure looked different. Both times I’d been here it was completely empty. Tonight though, four large throne chairs were in the middle of the room where the Council was seated. They looked important sitting in those chairs—intimidating for sure.

As we approached, Talon said, “There’s been a report of a killing in New York City. You’ll find the body next to 444, 48th Street.”

“Do you know any details?” Kyden asked.

“Not much. All Detective Graycyn said is it appears to be vampire related.”

I interrupted after hearing that. “Detective? As in the Police?”

“Yes,” Talon answered. “We have supes infiltrated within the human governments and police departments.”

“So, the cops get called first?”

Talon sighed deeply.

I got annoyed. This was the second time I’d asked him a question and received that response. “Okay, listen here, you,” I pointed at Talon. “I know this is all beneath you since you’re the big old Master of Guardians, but I don’t know anything about this. Remember, I’m new here. If you don’t want to answer my questions, fine. I’ll ask Kyden later, but just say so. Stop all this huffing and puffing at me. It’s very annoying.”

The room got very quiet.

Shaking with laughter, Zia held a hand tight over her mouth. Brax and Zade looked to be in a similar state.

Talon stood and came toward me, eyeing me curiously. “I see why you like her so much, son.”

Kyden gaze was clearly amused by my earlier statement. Oh yeah, he enjoyed that I just back-talked his dad.

Talon appeared to enjoy it as well. “I apologize. I have been very rude. I do forget that you are new here and need these questions answered. Please tell me you will forgive me?”

He was mocking me. I wasn’t going to dignify that with an answer. “Back to my question, the cops get called first?”

Talon chuckled at my obvious dodge. “Yes, normally humans report the murders, but when it’s discovered the killings have been committed by a supe, we are notified immediately.”

“How do they get the police to leave? I mean, don’t they investigate the crime themselves?”

“Remember, we have vampires. They can just glamour—” he hesitated, then asked, “Do you know what glamour means?”

“Erase their memories?”

“Something like that.” He chuckled again, then said, “The vampires will use their glamour to get the human police to leave and that is when we come in. Does that answer your question adequately?”

“Sure does. Now was that so hard?”

“Not hard at all,” Talon responded as he took my hand and kissed it.

The deepening of his voice raised my brows a little and when his lips touched my skin, I couldn’t help but blush.

Kyden snatched my hand away from Talon. “Alright. Enough of that.”

I probably would have kept on blushing if Haven’s voice hadn’t distracted me. “Are you two done or what?”

I spun around and was pleased to note that she was smiling brightly at the sight of Kyden holding my hand. She gave me a little wink. Obviously, she was satisfied of his feelings toward me since she appeared overjoyed seeing us together.
Phew!

“You’re coming with us?” I asked her.

She nodded. “I’m part of your team now. Isn’t that exciting?”

“You’re not fighting are you?”

She giggled. “Fighting? Are you out of your mind? Of course not. I’m going to recreate the scene for you.”

“Recreate the what, now?”

Zia cut in. “Don’t try and understand it. You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”

“You’ll get no arguments from me.” I shrugged. “Probably couldn’t understand it even if you explained it.”

She grinned. “Probably not.”

“Come to us when the matter is dealt with,” Talon said, and after a quick wink my way, he headed back to his chair. Just as we turned away, Talon called out. “Nexi,”

I spun back around to face him. “Do us proud tonight.”