Dark Alpha's Embrace Page 8

  But it was her long legs that he couldn’t get enough of. Powerful muscles were evidence of the many hours of training. The slender limbs made his mouth water. He stroked first one leg then the other, learning she had a spot just behind her knees that was ticklish.

  Kyran saved his two favorite places for last. He deepened the kiss, settling between her legs. With great effort, he ended the kiss and rose up on his elbows to look down at River.

  She’d been beautiful with her glasses and bun.

  She’d been enthralling while she fought the Dark with her hair down and fire in her eyes.

  But now … she was enchanting. With her lips swollen, her chest heaving, and her eyes heavy-lidded, Kyran had never seen anything more precious or stunning in his long life.

  He softly caressed his fingers along her cheek. It boggled his mind that she was with him, that she wanted him. No Light Fae would look twice at him because he was Dark, and he had no interest in any Dark female after he became a Reaper.

  It had been many centuries since he last had a woman, and he didn’t want to do anything wrong. He wanted everything to be perfect.

  His eyes closed when River’s hand lay alongside his jaw. The emotions swirling chaotically within left him laid bare—and he hated it. After his family’s betrayal, he swore he’d never open himself up in such a way again.

  “What is it?” River whispered.

  Kyran opened his eyes and looked down at her. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  In response, she took his hand and brought it between their bodies. She then pushed one of his fingers inside her. “Do you feel that? Yes, Kyran, I want you. You,” she repeated.

  He pushed his finger in further, feeling her heat, her wetness. Kyran pulled his finger out and circled her clitoris. A smile pulled at his lips when her eyes rolled back in her head and she moaned loudly.

  Alternating between pushing his finger inside her and stroking her swollen clit, he teased her mercilessly. Her legs fell open, allowing him to see her dark curls and her glorious sex.

  Her back arched when he added a second finger to the first. Kyran’s gaze was drawn to her breasts. They were large and full. Her hardened nipples were a dark pink and begging to be sucked.

  Kyran leaned down and wrapped his mouth around one stiff peak.

  River gasped at the pleasure that spiked through her. Every inch of her had been touched by Kyran. His skilled hands brought her unimaginable rapture.

  She couldn’t catch her breath, the ecstasy was so overwhelming. River wanted to learn his body as he’d learned hers, but he hadn’t given her a chance. Her body was an instrument, and he the master.

  “Louder,” he said.

  Louder? What was he talking about? She wasn’t making any noise. River forgot his words as his lips found her other nipple and began to suck.

  Her hands clung to him, trying to hold on as she fell through a void of bliss that had her spinning out of control. The only thing keeping her grounded was Kyran.

  The orgasm came upon her unexpectedly. It slammed into her with the force of a tidal wave. Her breath locked in her lungs as the climax swept over her, lifting her up and carrying her to untold heights.

  It seemed like an eternity later before she felt herself back in her own body. She opened her eyes to find Kyran above her.

  His red eyes were dark with desire. “I need you.”

  Her chest clenched. How long had she dreamed of someone saying those exact words to her? River reached between them and grasped his cock.

  He was incredibly hard. If only she had time to explore his body. But that would come next time. For now, she was content to hold him for a moment before she guided his arousal to her entrance.

  She watched in amazement as his eyes closed and pleasure filled his face as the head of his cock entered her. Then he pushed inside her.

  The feel of him slowly stretching her, filling her made her heart skip a beat. When he buried deep, he opened his eyes. Their gazes met, and something profound passed between them.

  River couldn’t name it, nor did she try. She was living in the moment—something she’d never done before.

  Kyran was a Dark Fae, but that’s not what she saw when she looked at him. She saw a man who was devoted to his friends and his cause. She saw a man who was haunted by his past.

  She saw a man who made her think of the future.

  Their gazes held as he began to thrust his hips in a slow, steady rhythm. His thrusts were long and deep. Sweat soon glistened their skin so their bodies slid sensuously against each other.

  The tempo soon increased so that she once more clung to him. Their harsh breaths filled the air with their moans. River was drowning in a sea of red, but she wasn’t afraid. She was in Kyran’s arms, and she knew he would protect her.

  She gasped when one of his hands took a handful of her hair and tugged. He was straining as he attempted to hold back. But she was having none of it.

  “If you want me, take me,” she dared him.

  As if the leash had come off, he growled and began to pound her body with his. He tugged her hair harder, but still she held his gaze.

  “Together,” Kyran bit out.

  River smiled in response. As if it had been waiting for just such a command, her body stiffened as the orgasm exploded.

  Kyran buried himself deep inside her, their gazes holding as the climax swept through both of them.

  Chapter Twelve

  River was afraid to move, afraid to even breathe. Because it might very well disrupt the perfect rapture she’d found in Kyran’s arms.

  As she rested on his chest with his arms wrapped securely around her, River almost pinched herself to make sure it was all real. But as she listened to his heartbeat, there was no denying the man—the Fae—who lay beneath her.

  Had Aunt Maureen told her she would have sex with a Dark Fae and want it, River would’ve laughed at her. All those Dark she trained to kill to protect herself. She’d nearly killed Kyran that first night.

  Well, that was a lie. She knew what she needed to do, but she’d been unable to do it. Even then, before she knew who Kyran was, she recognized something different about him. As if somewhere deep inside her she acknowledged he would help.

  River drew in a deep breath. After all the generations of her family hunted and killed by the Dark, Kyran was going to stop it. He hadn’t just learned who was killing her family, but he was willing to end it.

  Why? No one, not even Fae, did things for others without wanting something in return. Was Kyran different? There were the occasional people out there who did things for others out of the goodness of their hearts, but she wasn’t sure Kyran was one of them.

  She thought back to their conversation about the Dark family who hunted hers. There had been something in his voice when he spoke of them. Almost as if he had a grudge against them himself.

  Was that why he offered to help her? Because it would benefit him as well? What if it did? Why should she care? As long as she stopped being hunted, that was all that mattered.

  “Does your mind ever stop?”

  She couldn’t help but grin. “When I sleep.”

  “I somehow doubt that.”

  River was suddenly rolled onto her back with Kyran leaning over her. His red gaze searched hers. She smoothed his long black and silver hair back from his face. “There’s a fire between us.”

  “Aye. I felt it from the beginning.”

  Her hands lowered down his muscular arms then back up again to roam over his thick shoulders and hard sinew of his chest. “I’d ask something of you.”

  “Name it.”

  No hesitation, no reluctance. Was Kyran truly real or a figment of her imagination?

  A slight frown marred his forehead. “River?”

  “Tell me the truth. Always. No matter how much it might hurt me, I have to have honesty.”

  He gave a nod. “I give you my vow. And expect the same from you.”

  “I promise.” She l
icked her lips. “I … I’ve steered clear of relationships for years, and I’ve never had one with a Fae. How does this work?”

  Kyran rolled onto his back, his gaze on the ceiling of the cavern. “I don’t know.”

  River remained where she was. She glanced around the chamber to see a few candles in various places hanging in midair. The dim lights created a sensual atmosphere.

  And it also allowed her to feel hidden.

  Because at that moment she felt more exposed than ever before.

  “Let’s not think too hard on what this is right now,” Kyran said as he turned his head to her. “We have Bran to find and the Dark to stop from hunting you. After all of that is settled, perhaps we’ll have an answer for this.”

  River nodded in agreement. “I like that.”

  “We should probably go find the others.”

  “Yeah. I need to continue translating the books.”

  Kyran rose to his feet and faced her. River drank in the sight of all his glory. He stood tall and proud and gorgeous. Every muscle was defined and sculpted from his shoulders that tapered to his narrow waist and hips to his legs. His long hair was mussed, but there was a small smile pulling at his lips.

  He held out his hand for her. River accepted it, and by the time she stood beside him, her clothes were in place. She looked down at his chest, saddened to see his superb body once more hidden behind the clothes.

  “You can’t know how you’ve touched me,” he whispered. The intensity of his gaze told her how much those words cost him.

  River brought his hand up to her mouth and kissed it. “I think I do.”

  “No Fae knows I’m a Reaper. All they see when I’m around is a Dark Fae. And I can’t stand to be around the Dark.”

  She covered his hand with her other one. “Because they’re evil?”

  “Yes. And because I was once like them.”

  “There’s more to this story, isn’t there?”

  He glanced away. “All I wanted to do was please my father. He had high expectations for me, and he made them clear from a young age. I did everything he asked without question. I climbed the social ranks of the Dark quickly, and was sought after by many Dark families as a husband to their daughters.”

  River saw the strain on Kyran’s face as he spoke. He didn’t like to talk of his family or his past, that much was clear.

  “I had no time for my sister or the rest of the family. I was too busy doing everything my father planned. He gave me assignments almost daily, and expected them carried out immediately. I got such a task one night. I was to find and kill the Dark blackmailing my family.”

  He paused, and she moved closer to him. Kyran now stared at a spot on the ground, a muscle ticking in his jaw. “It’s all right. You don’t need to finish.”

  Kyran squeezed her hand tighter and slid his gaze to hers. “I found the Dark easily enough despite the hooded cape he wore. I snuck up on him. I was furious that anyone would dare to blackmail my family. I didn’t even bother to confront him. I simply plunged the dagger in the Dark’s back. He collapsed to the ground, and the hood fell away to reveal my sister.”

  River could only stare in mute silence at Kyran. Pain filled his eyes and regret rolled off him in thick waves.

  “Before she died, she told me she was going to the Light. She hated being Dark. I held her until her life drained away, her eyes saying all that her lips never could. Then I carried her home. My family refused to allow her inside the house.”

  “That’s horrible,” River murmured.

  As if he didn’t hear her, Kyran continued. “I burned her body alone. As I watched the flames devour her, I thought of all the times she asked to speak with me, and I didn’t make time for her. I thought of how I readily did whatever my father wanted without asking questions. I thought about all the Fae I’d killed and began to wonder what they really did to deserve it.”

  Kyran pulled his hand away and turned his back to her. His shoulders sagged and his head dropped to his chest. “I killed my sister. The weight of that will never lessen. Her death made me reevaluate my existence.

  “Nothing I’d done had been what I wanted. Not only was I uninterested in continuing my father’s plan for me to climb the social hierarchy of the Dark, but I didn’t like who I was. I couldn’t look at myself in the mirror. And the hate for my family consumed me. I vowed then that I’d bring down Dark Fae like my father.”

  River fisted her hands to keep from touching Kyran. He obviously wanted distance since he turned away from her. But she wanted to be near him, to help him bear some of the weight he carried with him.

  Kyran blew out a breath. “I began with those closest to my father. I looked into their dealings and associates. It didn’t take me long to discover their treachery against their own kin. And I killed them. One by one. I should’ve been more observant, however. My aunt had been watching me. She alerted my father, who then went to Taraeth.”

  The king of the Dark. River shivered at the thought of him.

  “Taraeth sent his best weapon—Balladyn. I didn’t know I was being trailed until I walked into the ambush and felt the blade in my back. Balladyn didn’t confront me. He simply killed me. As I’d done my sister.”

  River could no longer stand it. She closed the distance between them and wrapped her arms around Kyran from behind as she lay her head on his back. “I’m so sorry you endured all of that.”

  He covered one of her hands with his. “Dark Fae are evil. They do evil things to each other, but there is an unspoken rule that you never harm family.”

  She held him tighter, wishing she could take away his pain with a hug. “Families hurt each other all the time.”

  “They don’t kill their daughters because they don’t like their choices.”

  “Unfortunately, some do. I hate that you had to suffer such things, but look at the man you are now. You wouldn’t be here doing the things for the Reapers without it.”

  He turned and wound his arms around her. “You really feel that way?”

  “We said honesty, and that’s what I’m giving you.”

  “Do you still want me?”

  River rose up on her toes and placed her lips on his for a hard kiss. “Now more than ever. You were faced with difficult choices and made the right ones.”

  “It doesn’t absolve me for my sins.”

  “You must learn to forgive yourself.”

  He kissed her deeply, fiercely. It was a lengthy, carnal kiss that made her wish they had more time alone, because she wasn’t ready for any of this to end.

  When he tried to end the kiss, River refused to let him. He spun her, pushing her back against a wall of granite. His thick arousal pressed into her stomach.

  “I burn for you,” he rasped between fiery kisses.

  She moaned in response. His words sent chills racing over her skin.

  There was a soft gasp behind them before Jordyn said, “Oh. Sorry.”

  Kyran ended the kisses and rested his forehead against hers as Jordyn’s footsteps hurried away. They looked at each other and began to smile, which soon turned into laughter.

  River couldn’t remember the last time she had laughed in such a fashion. There hadn’t been anything in her life to cause such a reaction. It certainly wasn’t something she expected being with the Reapers or Kyran since he was such a somber Fae. And now she knew why.

  His smile faded. “My eyes will always be red. My hair will always have silver.”

  Not to be outdone, River lifted her chin. “My eyes will always be blue. My hair will always be brown. Neither of us look like a Light Fae. And I’m okay with that.”

  He stepped aside, his smile back in place. They walked from his chamber together. River glanced at him often. To her surprise, his smile didn’t waiver. It was one of those half-smiles, the kind that people didn’t even know they wore.

  And she loved it.

  She’d given him that. River was proud of herself. Kyran deserved to smile. They all did.
>
  When they walked into the library, River looked at each of the Reapers, wondering about their stories. Her gaze landed on Fintan, and she imagined his story was even worse than Kyran’s—if that were possible.

  But no one was looking at her. They all stared at Kyran. River moved to her chair and sat. She went to the first book in the thirty and drew it into her lap while covertly observing Kyran.

  He had an easygoing attitude now. One that hadn’t been there before, and by the way the others were acting, one they’d never seen.

  Kyran looked up and met her gaze. “Ready?”

  “Ready,” she said and settled back in her chair.

  River was ready—for whatever came her way, regardless if it was Dark Fae, Bran, or anything else. She had strength she hadn’t had before.

  Because of Kyran.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Bran was impatient. He should’ve killed Cael already. But it was enough that he slayed Baylon’s woman. Bran smiled, thinking about how Baylon’s bellow echoed around the flat that day.

  How shaken Talin, Kyran, and Fintan had looked. The murderous expression on Eoghan’s face. The best part had been Cael. He’d been shocked and enraged.

  Those images were what kept Bran focused. Thousands of half-Fae had already been killed—and he was just getting started.

  Searlas strode toward him, his boot heels resonating throughout the empty room. It hadn’t taken much for Bran to convince the occupants of the manor to leave—and never return.

  He stared out the window toward the North Sea and watched a storm rolling inland. By the way Searlas strode with heavy footfalls, Bran’s good mood would soon disappear.

  As his lieutenant approached, Bran turned to face him. The occupants hadn’t just left the house, they also took all the furniture.

  With a snap of his fingers, the study was filled with furniture, down to pictures on the walls and a roaring fire in the hearth.

  Bran walked to the sofa before the fire and sat. A moment later, Searlas halted next to the hearth. “Spit it out,” Bran demanded.