Текст книги "The Fallen King"

Автор книги: T. A. Grey

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Текущая страница: 5 (всего у книги 17 страниц)

To prove her point she grabbed the hem of her shirt and whipped it over her head. It had to be the emotions riding her that made her wad the shirt into a ball and throw it at him. It didn’t come near hitting him but he didn’t seem to care. His eyes were locked on her chest. She had a moment of panic before anger overtook that too.

She propped her hands on her hips. Maybe she wouldn’t have been so cocky if she didn’t have a bra on, but right now she felt like she could command an army. “Are you gonna stand there and watch me bathe too?”

Something changed in the air. Energy crackled. His eyes turned hungry. That’s the only way she could describe it. His gaze darkened, eyes smoldered and devoured her body as if seeing her as anything other than “the witch” for the first time. He had the look of a man that wanted to eat her up. She could almost feel his gaze caressing her breasts. Her breasts pulled tight at the predatory look—the look of assessing a female.

Her breath caught. “Alrik?” she said hesitantly. Something about his stiff stance, the way his eyes glowed brighter, made him look as if he was fighting some inner war with himself.

His eyes flicked up to hers. His voice sounded thick, heavy, and slow. “Yes.”

Breathing became difficult, as if all the oxygen around them had disappeared. “Yes what?”

He blinked. “Yes, I’ll watch.”

She swallowed over the knot in her throat. Oh.

Abbigail had never purposely taunted a man for any reason. Even with her previous boyfriends and other short-lived flings during college, she’d never teased a man on purpose. She’d never had any reason to. Yet, she wanted to with him. Partly because he pissed her off, she wanted to unsettle him and watch him suffer. Another part, a much bigger part that she didn’t quite understand, wanted to see if she affected him, and to see if her body could sway the tall dark demon whom she couldn’t help but find physically appealing. A feminine charge spiked through her blood making her flushed, her movements slow.

She reached behind her back and unsnapped her bra. The white material floated to the ground. Their eyes locked together in a fiery battle and then she tugged down her jeans.

She heard his deep growl as she shoved her underwear down her legs.

* * *

Alrik couldn’t move. He was rooted in place not by a spell but by a human woman. Abbigail. Surely, life couldn’t be so cruel as to send a woman like her to him. She was seductively formed, small waisted with hips made for a man to hold on to while he thrust inside of her, and breasts that made his palms itch to hold.

She turned her back to him and waded into the water like a brave enchantress. The sight of her shapely backside and the sexy dip of her lower back nearly sent him after her. Her legs were strong, with just enough muscle that they rippled as she stepped into the lapping water.

Was she testing him? Trying to taunt him with something he couldn’t have or wouldn’t take?

Wait. He’d take it. Yes, he’d take it and so much more if she offered her young lithe body to him. After all the horrible deeds he’d committed in the past, using her body would hardly fare against them. He’d taken several steps towards her retreating back before he stopped himself.

No, he couldn’t touch her. They both needed to stay focused. He’d had and lost his love.

He could not turn so easily to another woman with Arianna’s death still lingering on his hands.

But it’s been a year since she died, a voice in his head taunted.

Abbigail ducked into the water and came up with a splash that glistened from her hair and bare shoulders. His mouth watered at the sight of naked skin, and his cock throbbed and hardened to a painful point.

Breathing hard, he stepped away from her, away from the temptation. She wouldn’t welcome him. He could make her but the thought of that didn’t sit well in his gut. If he touched her, something terrible might happen—he might begin to care. No, he couldn’t risk it. He couldn’t risk gaining any feelings towards her lest he be unable to go through with his plans. He needed her to die to save him. He finally had a chance to become the man he’d once been and he wouldn’t lose that chance no matter what.

He’d already lost one woman he cared about, he wouldn’t put himself in the same situation twice. No matter how the light glinted off her body. She cupped handfuls of water and scrubbed her face. She turned just enough so that he caught a glimpse of the side of her breast. He groaned low in his throat. He ached to know how she’d feel in his hand—heavy and full or light and firm? His cock became a heavy, throbbing mass.

He couldn’t do this. Not for him and not for Arianna.

Alrik made one of the hardest decisions of his life then and turned around. Back at the camp, he sat next to the fire. Air filled his head making him feel light and dizzy.

The human Abbigail was proving to be trouble. How could he ever look at her again and not see her naked in his eyes? He must harden his mind to her and hurry her spell casting lessons. The sooner she became strong enough to defeat his mother, the quicker he could be rid of her and live some semblance of his old life. He craved that relationship with his brother that they’d once had. Now that his mother’s cursed potions weren’t in his body and overriding his thoughts, he felt for the first time in a long time some of his own emotions. Not everything had come back with the curse still overriding him, but now he could feel something. These feelings seemed foreign to him, like someone else’s emotions, but they were his. And what he wanted more than anything was to be back at his brother’s side. He’d do anything to have that, even if that meant using and sacrificing Abbigail in the process.

A far off cry caught his ears. Alrik turned his head to the sky and his body tensed. Far off in the distance, coming from the south at a quick pace flew a flock of birds. Not just any birds but kolans, a large black bird known for eating anything found dead along the way. That wasn’t what sent Alrik to his feet and running down the path to Abbigail.

A dark foggy cloud surrounded the black-winged creatures and in that fog flew evil. The birds moved at incredible speed and as they neared a roar became louder and louder. The sounds reminded him of battle, where men yelled and screamed only the sounds of the birds was much higher.

“Abbigail!” Alrik roared.

She came up from the water and hearing the bird’s cries, turned to see the dark mass charging at them from high in the sky. She turned quickly and started for him. Smart witch. He thanked the seer once again that his savior was a smart witch.

She met him at the beach just as he reached it. Without hesitating, he grabbed her clothes in one arm then latched onto her hand with the other. He dragged her to the rocky slope that led down to their hidden cove.

The roar became deafening. He didn’t know what magic was at play, but he had an idea and it wasn’t good. The bright sky darkened to a murky grey. He had a moment’s hesitation that he hadn’t put out the fire at the camp, but as he looked up at the sky with the dark birds nearly upon them he knew he was out of time.

Swirling black masses formed around the birds. The trees shook and whipped with fierce winds. The bird’s beady eyes narrowed on them, their yellow, beaked mouths open. More cries screeched through the air.

Alrik pulled Abbigail to the bottom of the slope just as the birds ducked low and flew over them. Adrenaline rushed through his blood making him faster and stronger.

Turning quickly, he snatched Abbigail into his arms and pushed her into the rocks to shield her. Sharp bites pecked at his body. Blood beaded on his neck and back where their bites tore through his clothes and skin. A crack of thunder sounded overhead. A bright bolt of lightning flashed in the forest.

“What’s going on?” Abbigail asked. She sounded scared and unsure but he had no time to explain right now.

“In the cave,” he shouted over the deafening roar. She nodded and then they both ducked down into the cold water and swam under the slope. They reemerged in the hollowed out cave and ducked into the dark cave. He didn’t stop moving until he had her safe behind him at the very end of the tunnel.

“What are those birds? Where did they come from?”

Alrik ignored her. He focused his attention on the sounds coming from above them. The birds shrilled endlessly as thunder boomed again. A loud crack of lightning tore through the sky and then rain rushed down in a fierce torrential downpour. The water seeped through the earth and sprinkled over them.

“Alrik?”

The sounds of the bird’s angry wings flapping and their cries slowly faded as they soared past.

“They’re moving away.” Still, the thunder boomed and roared up above. Trickles of rainwater spilled down the cavern walls in rivulets moving faster. His eyes narrowed on it and then the entrance of the cave. He started for it to investigate when a hand on his arm stopped him.

He turned to her and there she stood, arms wrapped around her naked waist, wet hair plastered to her wet face, and shivering in the cold. She nodded to the clothes in his hand and he jerked his arm out to her. With a bright blush, she took her sodden clothes and started pulling on the wet material. His body warmed at the sight her nakedness. Bare breasts, jiggling as she bent over to pull on her wet pants could be in his hand if only he stuck out his arm. The wet material of her clothes only clung to her body in ways that the haute demons would deem inappropriate and lascivious. Though, he’d have to admit he rather liked the sight on Abbigail.

“Stay here,” he ordered, his voice husky

“What’s going on?”

He ignored the question. He wasn’t convinced yet what had happened. Creeping to the end of the cavern, he watched the ankle-deep water lap at the cave entrance. He stood there with rainwater spilling down over him and watched the water as it grew steadily deeper and deeper around his legs. It reached his knees in a matter of seconds.

“We must get out of here.”

Abbigail ran up to him and gasped at the sight. “What kind storm is this?”

“Not normal.” His mind worked to search for an answer and only one kept coming to mind. “The queen has very strong magic,” he said softly.

“She’s doing this?”

He nodded slowly. “She sent the birds to find us and when they did they called back to her and she let loose a storm.”

Abbigail shivered and rubbed her hands up and down her arms to warm herself. “Does that mean she’s close?”

“No, it just means she’s looking for me.”

A whip of lightning sounded above striking the ground. The earth shook and rumbled from the attack. The rain came down faster, pelting the ground like wet darts above their heads.

“We must leave this place now.” Alrik grabbed Abbigail’s small hand in his brute, dark one then they dove into the water and swam out of the cove. Water pelted the lake’s surface up above like a rain of bullets. Abbigail tried to swim to the surface but he halted her and pulled her close. She wrapped an arm around his back and looked up at the surface just as wary of the darkness above as he was.

He caught her gaze. Even in the dark water, he saw her brilliant gaze. She looked scared. She was completely dependent on him. She didn’t have the skill yet to bypass his mother’s magic. Nodding towards the surface, she jerked her chin in acknowledgement then they kicked their feet and swam for it. They broke through and sucked in ragged breaths.

Sharp drops of rain pelleted them. The rain fell so hard and fast the forest looked like a murky environment in the distance. Wind whipped at them hard. Alrik acted quickly and jerked Abbigail into his arms, wrapping both of them around her waist as the harsh gales pushed them sharply to the side. His side hit the rocky coast near the cove and he had only a moment to register the pain in his side before they were once against jerked the other way.

The wind whipped them down under the water. It sucked them in like a giant creature’s mouth taking a bite out of them. He kicked them back to the surface and worked his legs hard in the heavy water for what he hoped was the beach’s surface. He couldn’t see a thing, only the dark grey of falling rain. What he thought looked like the green of the forest looked too far away. It should be closer. Had the wind drifted them out to sea?

An even stronger gust swept across them as if trying to tear them apart. Abbigail screamed, the sound barely audible over the roar of the storm, and latched her arms around his neck. His grip on her waist slipped, her arms slipped and with a shout she went flying from his arms.

He swam hard through the water, following the white streak of her shirt. She appeared then disappeared again and again as water sucked her up and down. His arms burned but he dove towards her. Fear caught him. He couldn’t lose her now, not when he’d come so far.

“Abbigail!” he shouted over the storm.

He barely heard his own words over the whooshing windstorm. He heard her shout, the sound so faint in the noise around him. He went with his instincts and swam hard towards where he guessed she’d gone. White flashes struck the sky. Dark clouds thundered up above with menace.

He swam some thirty feet before he felt a lump at his knees. Ducking under the water, he opened his eyes and found her drifting, eyes closed beneath the water. He screamed, swallowing a gulp of water and rushed to the surface to take in a much needed breath of air before diving down to snag her limp body about the waist.

Together, he took them to the surface. His body worked harder than he ever had before by swimming against the violent current of the storm and towards what he hoped was the shore. When the water grew shallower around them, he could have cheered. With a final burst of energy, he sprinted until he finally stood at the shore. He lifted her small body into his arms and raced from the storm, his booted feet slipping in the wet slop.

Still, the rain gushed over them, drowning his vision, and making it hard to see. He found a canopy under some trees and laid her under it. The trees barely managed to keep the vicious rain at bay. He breathed into her mouth again and again.

“Abbigail! Wake up!” He pressed a hand to her chest and felt the subtle rise and fall. She wasn’t dead. Relief swamped him and he sagged over her, burying his face in her sweet-smelling hair.

KEER POW!

Lightning struck too close to be comfortable. The ground shuddered beneath him and heat seared him to the bone. He didn’t hesitate another moment. With gentleness he didn’t know he had, he cradled Abbigail in his arms and ran out of the storm, hoping it wouldn’t follow.

Chapter Eight

Abbigail pushed herself up with a groan. Her whole body felt stiff as if she’d had a vicious workout. The muscles in her arms, back, and legs throbbed with a fiery burn. It took some effort but she forced herself to stand. Her knees wobbled and she gasped as blood rushed to her feet creating a burning pinprick sensation that poked her from the inside out. Her hand shot out to steady herself but didn’t grasp onto anything. She teetered to the right, and then straightened up by locking her knees to stop from falling.

She then realized she wasn’t in their little cave hideout beneath the beach. Not even close. She was in a building of some kind. It looked similar to the temple she’d hidden in from Alrik, or at least she was assuming it was temple of some kind since she wasn’t exactly adverse in demonic architecture. Colored stones in dark greys and shiny black covered the room’s walls and floor creating a medieval, yet beautiful look. A doorway paved out of the same stone, stood at opposite stone wall. Bright light poured in. She could see trees waving in the wind some distance away. She blinked against the brightness as her eyes adjusted to the light.

Where was Alrik? What happened? She thought back and fought to remember. She remembered the birds. Birds have never scared her before, but those did. And then, the storm. That storm...

It was as if it was after them, trying to kill him. She’d never felt anything so ominous before. The storm seemed to have one goal in mind: to swipe them down into that lake and make sure they didn’t return for air.

She didn’t want to think about how powerful his mother must be if she could send a storm that powerful after them, and he’d said she wasn’t even close to them. She could perform that kind of magic from great distances?

 Abbigail shivered as dread filled her. No way could she kill a person, even if she wanted to. No way she could go up against someone that powerful and win. Hell, she was a medical examiner not a combat-trained witch. Alrik showed greater magical powers than she did. Right, but according to some seer, he couldn’t kill his own mother because of the curse. Again, she wanted to know more about this curse. What kind of woman would curse her own son and to what purpose? Just why.

Abbigail walked out into the light. The day was surprisingly cold. Wind blew making her shiver. Abby hugged herself against the biting chill. Her clothes were dry now but she still wore the jeans and t-shirt she’d changed into after the police came to her house. She didn’t want to think about how long she’d been wearing these clothes. Nope, she wasn’t going there.

She took in the scenery outside. If the rift was one thing—beautiful was it. The landscape rolled up and down in hills some ways in the distance. The ground was covered in vibrant green grass, golden flowers, or maybe they were weeds to the demons, that were short or sometimes as tall as her waist. Trees were taller here; trunks thicker and older looking as if they’d never been cut down, never had to grow a new one. Everything looked so similar to a forest she might have visited in a park before, but it was the small details that made the difference.

Something made her pause her surveying, some niggling feeling at the back of her head. Slowly, Abby turned then stilled. Even her breath stopped.

Alrik sat on his knees, ankles behind him with his back facing her. His shirt lay on the ground beside him. His dark, black skin showed almost shining in the reflection of the light. His back was a piece of art. If someone had asked her what the perfect man’s body would look like, she would have fumbled for an answer before. Well, now she had an answer. It’d look like Alrik.

Smooth sinew rose over strong shoulders and down a tapered, thick waist. A strong enough waist she could wrap her legs around, squeeze, and it wouldn’t break him. Her chest grew hot and breasts pulled tight and heavy as she pictured doing just that.

His arms, which hung loosely in his lap, were nothing to sniff at. Even relaxed, his shoulders rounded out hard then cut in over solid triceps and bulking forearm muscles. He looked smooth and completely hairless. His dark ebony skin was like looking into a sky without any stars.

She’d taken a spinning class at her local gym a few years back with her friend Jenna, not that Jenna needed the workout, she practically had a six-pack from just walking which wasn’t fair. But even at the gym she’d hadn’t seen a man like this. She’d seen strong men, men who worked to get cut and hard, but nothing about Alrik’s body shouted “muscles obtained by gym-membership.” He wasn’t bulky; he was thick, strong, and cut. She flushed all over. Need gripped her and chose that moment to remind her how long it’d been since she touched a man. She hadn’t been physically intimate with anyone since college. Yeah, that would be two years ago now. Yikes.

“Are you done staring at me?”

Alrik’s deep voice jolted her. Abby’s face burned red and she started to run back into the little stone house but that’d be cowardly. Instead, she stood her ground, blush and all. However, she still hoped he wouldn’t turn around and see that blush. What did it mean that she found him so deliciously attractive? It couldn’t be good, not at all. Every instinct she had told her as much.

“I just woke up.” Crap, that didn’t answer his question. She searched for something else to say, but no words came. She was at a loss all because of some bare skin. Bare, strong skin.

Alrik planted his hands on the ground in front of him and then stood with a fluid motion. He turned to her, his dark gaze instantly locking on hers. Her stomach did a little fluttery flop. She swore if she’d met him under nearly any other circumstance she’d be happy, maybe even flirty. She didn’t normally chase after men but in this case he’d be worth it. If only circumstances were different.

He moved towards her and didn’t stop. Abby’s mouth dried up at the sight of all that skin. A slow, heavy thump started in heart. Each step he took her heart banged. An awareness came over her.

His chest was just as delicious as the backside, maybe more so. Smooth and hard. Would he be as soft to touch as he looked? His chest had two defined pectorals that trailed down to rows of ribbed, packed muscles that disappeared beneath his pants. For the second time, something wild, strange, and raw crackled between them. A dark colored tattoo covered his right side, but the paint was so dark against his skin she couldn’t tell what it was.

Her gaze flew back to his and her breath caught in her throat. She couldn’t have moved if she tried. A dark heat glinted in his eyes. She had to see what he was going to do, and even though she hoped he wouldn’t, a part of her wished like hell that he’d touch her. She had to know what he’d do because what she felt she saw mirrored in his dark eyes.

He stopped before her, his heat warming her from the chill. They were so close to touching and yet so far. He seemed completely unfazed by the chill in the air. His hands came up and cupped her cheeks. A stuttering breath escaped her. Warmth permeated off his body. He had such strong hands, the kind meant to cup and cradle a woman. Something about the mixture of heat and hands brought a shiver between her legs. The look in his eyes spoke of only one thing—hunger. Her body answered the hunger with a growing need of her own centered deep within her body. Her skin tightened, entire body poised waiting for him to kiss her.

Only, he turned her head left then right, his eyes not low-lidded as she expected hers were, but hard and searching now. Something had changed in a flash. After that, he picked up each of her arms and checked them too. When he reached for her shirt, she was so surprised by the action she didn’t get to protest before he jerked it up.

She jerked to pull away and that only made her sides flare sharply. Instant blazing pain seared up her side and along her back as her muscles pulled. She winced and caught his hands to halt them.

A finger traced along her side softly. Still, it wasn’t soft enough and she hissed before latching onto his wrist. His eyes flicked up to hers. She swore she spotted a hint of lingering heat there, or maybe it what she wished she saw.

“You’ve sustained some serious bruising.”

Abby looked down and gasped. Serious bruising was no joke. Her entire left side was black and a dark ugly blue. She twisted around and saw the bruising covered a decent portion of her back too.

“How did I get this?”

“From the storm. The waves swept you up into the rocks near the cove. It wasn’t gentle.”

“I don’t really remember that to be honest.”

Alrik nodded, the action sending locks of dark hair over his shoulder. “Not surprising, you hit it so hard you went out like a light. I brought us here.”

Abby swung her head around. This didn’t look like the little beach coast with forest directly behind it like she’d grown accustomed to. “Where are we?”

He looked out behind him, a hard look on his face. “South.”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up. The way he said it put her on edge. “Is that all? I get the feeling there’s more to it than that.” Which probably didn’t bode well for her. Nothing seemed to lately.

“I haven’t traveled this way in many years. Used to be that a band of rogues formed a settlement south of here.”

“Rogue demons. Is that what you are?”

His body stiffened, muscles hardening as he turned back to level a lethal glare on her. She might have been nervous at the deadly look but it lost some of its power considering he’d never hurt her. He needed her too badly.

“I was banished, but I’m still a king. Not a rogue.”

“What makes the rogues so different?” She didn’t mention it but his hand still lingered on her bruised skin, the touch light. She liked him standing this close. He blocked out the cold wind, and, honestly, he made her warm all over.

“They didn’t enjoy life at court so they left. Let’s just leave it at that.”

“Okay.” Something about the warmth of his body, his soft touch on her skin had her eyes drifting back down to his mouth.

“You shouldn’t look at me like that, Abbigail.” An ache traced in his voice.

“Like what?” she asked, her voice breathy. Her whole body started a slow burn deep and low inside her working its way out. How did he make her feel so much with the barest of touches? His head dipped in low. Her eyes darted to his firm, shapely lips and wondered what they’d feel like against hers, what he would kiss like. Wild, hard, and a bit crazy like him?

“Like you want something I can’t give you.”

“Why not?” She blushed at her knee-jerk response but held firm to it. She wanted to know, needed to know. This was more than curiosity. Something else had taken hold of her and guided her words and actions now from some need that he’d brought forth.

He leaned in closer. His hand flattened against her cool skin in a possessive caress that sent her gaze low and hooded. His lips closed in, then stopped a scant inch away. Heat bloomed in her chest and between her legs. She panted against his lips. It took every bit of strength inside her not to reach up and curl her fingers around his shoulders

When he spoke she felt his warm breath on her lips. “Because the last woman I kissed ended up dead.”

Abby jerked away from his touch. Her shirt fell back into place. “What?” Just like that the heat was doused into nothing.

He stepped away and shrugged, a strange glint shining in his eyes. “Don’t worry about it. It’s none of your business.”

Her heart beat wildly. “Oh, I think this is all my business. I’m here with you all alone in this god-forsaken place and you’re so closed mouth about everything I just want to rip my hair out. You can’t leave me hanging with that. How did she die? What happened?”

Who was she? She didn’t voice that question. It seemed too personal and a spark of anger flashed inside her at the thought of this woman. Jealousy? No, no way.

She saw him transform between her very eyes. He stood tall once again, unbreakable and strong. His gaze sheltered his thoughts; his face had shifted into a blank, unreadable mask. “I left some food in your shelter. Eat it then we’ll get to work.”

Abby paced an agitated circle. “You seriously can’t think to keep me out of the loop on this. What’s with you and talking about death and murder like it’s second nature to you?”

“Because it is.”

Abby stopped dead. Something in his voice, in the harsh look of his eyes made her feel something she never would have thought she would for Alrik. She pitied him. He looked tortured, if only for a second before the look faded away to resolute anger. A strange realization came over her. He didn’t like who he was. He didn’t like this person the curse had created. This was a person who’d relish a bloody fight or seek out anger instead of compromise. He hated himself.

“Alrik...”

“Eat, witch.” He strode away and slipped his shirt back on. He didn’t stop walking.

“So we’re back to that now are we,” Abby muttered.

One step forward, three steps back. Whatever, she could use some time to collect her thoughts. One second she’s devouring him with her eyes, the next she’s practically begging him to kiss her, and then he’s giving her ominous warnings.

Abby found some cooked meat sitting on a big plant leaf in the stone house. She ate it with relish and by the time she came back out Alrik had returned looking tightly in control of himself. She sighed and scrubbed her hands down her jeans.

“What’s on the agenda for today?”

“We’ll work the same spell again and this time practice on just me. After you get me to move, we’re heading south.”

Her eyebrow rose. “South where the dangerous rogues are? Why are we going there?”

“I need supplies. I might be able to get some there.” He walked some twenty paces away from her then stopped and faced her. “My mother will also be south.”

Abby wracked her mind for times and dates. Her mother must have heard about what had happened to her by now and would be worried sick. She’d been gone, what, three days now? God, she wasn’t even sure.

“Just how long will it take to reach your mother?”

“I don’t know.”

Abby rolled her eyes, her patience waning. “Well, try to guess, please.”

He was silent for several moments, his gaze calculating. “It may take three weeks, maybe longer.”

She choked. “Three weeks or more. I can’t be gone that long!”

His dark eyes narrowed. “If your magic was at the level it needs to be at then we could head there now. As it stands, you are not nearly strong enough to fight my mother. She’ll kill you in an instant.”

“Isn’t that nice...”

“Do not take this lightly, Abbigail. The queen has strong magical blood in her veins. She’s spent years using it, harnessing it behind closed doors. I can only guess at how powerful she’s really become.”

“I wasn’t being...oh, whatever. Let’s just do this.”

Alrik nodded and crossed his strong arms across his chest. What a shame he’d put his shirt back on, but it was for the best. She couldn’t do with getting distracted by a pretty body.

Abby called upon her magic. It filled her body making her skin warm and her eyes burn with glowing light. She focused with her mind on Alrik. She envisioned throwing him far back. But she didn’t let her magic couple with the vision. She worked up to that. This was practice to get her focused.