Through the Veil (32 page)

Children were.

ELEVEN

Lee stood in the middle of a slaughter. At least it looked that way to her. The atmosphere was bleak, and those around her moved with a grim focus as they gathered their dead. Already the smoke from the mass funeral pyre had painted the air with its heavy, acrid taint, and the fires wouldn’t stop burning anytime soon.

But from what she could tell, these people were considering the past night a cautious victory. The families and elders, along with a heavy escort, were already far away. Word had come in that reinforcements were close, closer than Kalen had anticipated.

Despite the loss of life, the general consensus was guardedly optimistic.

But Lee had lost count of the bodies she had seen. She had helped move more than fifty before she stopped counting. In a numb, trance-like state, she had moved bodies until she simply couldn’t lift any more. It had been near dawn when she started, and twilight had fallen long before she stopped.

Lee had given up long before most of the others. She had stopped frequently to empty her stomach, and though she had pretty much purged herself, she still had to fight the dry heaves. Morne had told her to leave the care of the dead to others, but Lee hadn’t walked away until Kalen came and forcibly carried her away.

Guilt was eating her alive.

Kalen was so certain that she was important to this fight, and Lee had believed him. Arrogant, much? One person couldn’t hope to make the kind of difference these people needed. Not unless it came with divine intervention. Because she couldn’t figure out what it was she was supposed to do, thousands had died.

More were going to die unless she could figure out what in the hell it was. Those dark, depressing thoughts chased her through the night as she tried to make herself rest. It was an exercise in futility, she decided, after nightmares woke her for the third time. Climbing from her mat on the ground, Lee stared up at the sky. It was clouded and a dark gray that was only a few shades lighter now at dawn than it had been at midnight.

She took a deep breath and instantly regretted it. The air stank of smoke, burning flesh and putrid death. Her gut threatened to revolt, and in self-defense, she turned away from the camp and headed into the forest. Several of the men guarding the line called to her and one actually blocked her path. “We haven’t completely secured the forest, Lelia.”

Lee squinted at him in the dim morning light, trying to recall his name. Reshen. Reesen. Something like that. “I can take care of myself,” she said and went around him. He caught her arm as she passed by, and she stopped in her tracks and looked down at his hand. Then she lifted her eyes and stared at him.

His hand fell away and Lee turned her head to hide her smirk. She was still trying to come to grips with the memories in her head. They still felt foreign, but every time somebody demonstrated that deferential courtesy, it drove them home just a little more. The cynical bitch apparently wasn’t some figment of her imagination. The years she had spent sliding in and out of this world had established her reputation as one seriously
kick-ass
bitch.

Too bad she didn’t feel up to the title.

As she pushed through the undergrowth, she breathed in slowly and let the scents of trees and earth fill her head. The nausea churning in her gut eased a little and some of the tension seeped out of her body. It was still riding on her, and she would have severed an arm just for an hour in her whirlpool tub back home.

The communal bathing areas had been transformed into a medical shelter for the injured, so Lee had been forced to clean up using a jury-rigged portable shower. The lukewarm water did nothing to ease the knots in her muscles even if it did clean away the grime and gore.

“You finally took that bath.”

Lee looked over her shoulder, watching as Kalen separated himself from the fog. Little wisps of it wrapped around his legs as he headed toward her—the effect was both seductive and eerie. Which, she figured, described Kalen Brenner pretty damn well. He was mouthwateringly gorgeous, all that power and raw sensuality all but oozing from his pores. He was also death incarnate, and he wasn’t at all satisfied to stay back from the front line when the demons and Sirvani pushed through.

He had sliced, hacked and punched his way through the demons that had tried to surround the leader. The weapons he used seemed to come to his hands of their own volition, and he used them with startling ease. Damned seductive and damned eerie.

His hair was pulled back from his face, fastened in a tail at the nape of his neck. The dirt smudges were gone from his face, and his bloodied clothes had been replaced. “You, too.”

Kalen glanced down at his fresh clothes. “Morne all but threw me in the river. Then he told me to check on you.” He looked around them and then looked at her. “It isn’t safe out here alone, Lee. We haven’t secured the forest yet. They aren’t done, Lee.”

Something hot and ugly moved through her. She smiled and whispered, “Good. Where can I find them?”

At that, Kalen cocked a brow at her. “Hungry for blood, are you?”

“Aren’t you?”

A smile tipped up the corners of his lips. “Oh, always.” The smile faded and his eyes softened as he studied her face. “You handled yourself well out there.”

With a snort, Lee muttered, “I don’t know about that. How much good did I do you?” The dead were going to haunt her. Lee didn’t know if she’d ever close her eyes without seeing them again.

Warm hands cupped her face. Lifting her lashes, she looked up at Kalen, and the understanding she saw there undermined all her efforts not to think too much. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to find someplace dark and quiet and safe so she could hide. She couldn’t do any of those things, though.

So instead, she pushed up on her toes and pressed her lips to the hard, firm line of Kalen’s mouth. He was unresponsive for a moment and then his hands skimmed down, closing loosely over her waist. When she licked his lips, his hands tightened convulsively.

He smelled so damned good. Clean, sexy, male, and something dark and mysterious. It was addictive. When his lips parted, she pushed her tongue into his mouth. They groaned simultaneously and, greedy, Lee pressed her body completely against his.

“This isn’t a good idea,” Kalen growled against her lips.

She pulled back just a little and smiled. “I think it’s a wonderful idea.” She tugged at his shirt. He held still. For a minute there, she thought he might pull away. But then like a spring uncoiling, he leaped into action. The world spun around as he lifted her, turning so that he could press her back up against a tree. He slid a hand down the front of the sleeveless matte black protective gear he wore, and the cavinir parted in its wake, revealing deeply tanned, hard flesh. The muscles in his belly jumped as she touched him. He caught her hands and lifted them high over her head, pressing her wrists against the rough bark for a moment, his gaze holding hers. When he slid his hands back down her arms, Lee held the position. There was a branch just above her hands and she curled her fingers around it.

Kalen unfastened her shirt and it parted. Under it, she wore a skintight tunic of midnight black. It served as both undershirt and bra, pressing her breasts flat against her chest. Kalen’s dark head dipped, and Lee realized that as sturdy as the black chemise thing seemed, it was proving to be little barrier to Kalen. She could feel the heat of his mouth through the layers, and her nipples stiffened. Through the clothing, he licked, nuzzled and bit until she was moaning and rocking against him.

His hands moved to her waist and made short work of the form-fitting black pants. Her boots fell to the forest floor with a dull thud, and she opened her eyes, watching as he smoothed his palms down the outside of her legs, taking the pants with him. When they pooled around her ankles, he stripped them completely away and threw them aside.

His gaze lowered, focusing on the core of her body. He leaned forward and pressed his mouth against the blond curls covering her sex. Lee moaned and arched against his mouth. Her heart pounded, her breathing kicked up, and the roaring in her ears drowned out the memories of people screaming as they died. Under his touch, the stain of death fell away, replaced by the pleasure of life.

Hard, calloused hands cupped her hips, holding her steady as he caressed her. His tongue circled over the bud of her clit, quick and teasing. She panted and rocked against him. She lowered her hands, clutching at the black silk of his hair, trying to pull him closer. But he stopped. He lifted his head, looked up at her and then flicked a glance over her head.

Lee groaned, but reached back for the branch, locking her fingers around it. He smiled and lowered his mouth back to her sex, rewarding her by pushing his tongue inside. It was heat. It was bliss. It was heaven. He teased, taunted, pushed her ever closer to climax, and, mindless, Lee lowered her hands again, this time clenching her fingers around his shoulders. “Kalen—please . . .”

But he stopped. Again. Looked up at her. Looked up at the branch. She tried to pull him back to her, but he wouldn’t budge. With a cry, she resumed her former position, arms stretched high overhead, naked from the waist down, feeling totally exposed and so damned hungry, she thought she just might die if he didn’t let her come.

His mouth came back to her and he circled his tongue over her clit. One hand stroked down the outside of her thigh and caught her behind the knee. He pushed it high, leaving her exposed and open as he pushed his tongue inside her. Lee bit her lip to keep from screaming.

Closer and closer he took her, and Lee squeezed the branch so hard the bark cut into her palms. Terrified he’d stop again, she didn’t dare move, but when her climax hit, her body bucked and shuddered. She let go then, reaching for his shoulders in an effort to brace herself. She sagged back against the tree and sobbed under her breath as the orgasm rippled through her body, each spasm stronger than the last.

Her breath lodged in her throat and her vision narrowed down and she could see nothing but his face. That harsh, compelling face. His eyes gleamed like molten silver as he stood up, pressing his body to hers. Layers of cloth still separated them, but she could feel him through it. His cock pressed into her belly and, hungrily, she rocked forward. Desperate to have him inside her, she reached for the waistband of his pants, and this time, he let her touch him.

She tore them open, her hands clumsy. He was naked under the pants. She made a little humming sound of approval as she closed one hand around him. His cock was hard and thick, his skin as soft as satin, his erection hard as steel. She dragged one hand up and down his length. From under her lashes, she watched as a clear bead of fluid welled from the tip. She caught it on her thumb, lifted it to her mouth and licked it away.

Kalen groaned. With one arm, he lifted her. His free hand fisted in her hair and tipped her face to his. He covered her mouth with his and muttered against her lips, “Wrap your legs around me.”

Mindless, she did as he ordered, and she whimpered as the action pressed them together, heat against heat. He shifted position, dipped his knees, and then he pushed inside her.

She arched against him, clenching around him. As one, they cried out. “I need you,” he whispered. He bent his head and pressed a kiss to the curve where neck and shoulder joined. “Every day you weren’t with me made me die a little inside.”

Her heart melted. Winding her arms around his neck, she pulled him closer and murmured, “I’m here now.”

“Just tell me you’ll stay. Stay here. Stay safe.”

Safe . . . Damn it, what a fairy tale. He was asking her for a promise that they both knew she couldn’t possibly make, not when the road before them was still so damned uncertain. “I’m here now,” she whispered. Lee brushed her lips against his. “I’m safe now . . . here with you. Make love to me.”

His hands stroked down her sides, cupped her ass and pulled her tight against him. “I want you safe,” he muttered, his voice harsh, guttural. “Look at me, Lee.”

Her lids were so damned heavy, it was an effort just to open her eyes, but she couldn’t resist that harsh, guttural command. Tipping her head back, she stared at him. “Kalen . . .”

Her lashes started to flutter back down over her eyes, and Kalen growled. “Look at me,” he repeated, his voice still harsh and demanding. “Watch me . . .”

A slow, seductive smile curved her lips. “I’m looking. I am watching you, Kalen. You’re all I see—even when I thought you were just a figment of my imagination.”

Hunger twined with the gut-deep need for her, a need that went beyond love, beyond lust, beyond anything and everything he’d ever known. Kalen straightened away from the tree and pivoted. “I want a bed in which to lay you,” he whispered. “A real bed with pillows and silk sheets.”

She smiled at him. “I don’t need a bed. Just make love to me.”

No. She might not need one, but he wanted to give her one. Wanted something soft and beautiful for her, something like what she’d given up to come to him. Instead, he carried her to the riverfront. Huge rocks jutted out over it, and he found one that was smooth and flat. It was too early in the morning for the dim light from the sun to have warmed the rock, and when he laid her back against it, she shivered from the chill. She gasped, arching into him, and Kalen rolled so that she straddled him.