Page 2 of Love in the Forest
Slowly, she let go of her magical vampire shroud, something only the most powerful vampires could create.
And there she was, the brown eyes he knew so well, whether she’d been on the top or on the bottom. She had wavy dark hair with streaks of gold highlighting that she’d gotten during heraltertransformation and which was now decorated with pine needles.
She wore her hair long. He remembered how he’d wrapped a portion of it around his arm as he took her from behind.
He’d made love to her for hours, one of the best nights of his Five Bridges,altered, life. He’d wanted more.
He slid into her mind.You never returned my calls.
A stricken look entered her eyes.What was the point, wolf?
Right.They were enemies, except they weren’t. Things were changing in Five Bridges.
Their world was a cordoned off province in Phoenix that locked in five differentalterspecies behind miles of barbed wire and a mountain of cement. They lived in a prison of sorts, though humans came and went night and day, and kept their economy going. Five Bridges was its own governing entity, a nation unto itself, and separate from U.S. control…except they were never allowed to leave their world.
The Border Patrol of each territory helped keep the peace. He was an officer. Abby was a businesswoman, counselor and rescuer.
Abby.
“If I get off you, will you stay and talk? Or will I need to chase you again?”
“We can talk, but I’m keeping the chalice.”
He had no intention of letting her leave Savage with the silver filigreed cup. He needed it bad and hoped she’d listen to reason.
Slowly, he rose up careful not to injure her in any way. He was a big man. She might be tall, but he probably outweighed her three-to-one.
She stood up as well and brushed pine needles off her clothes then plucked them out of her hair. She wore a black satchel over her shoulder and chest. He saw the bulge of the chalice at her hip.
Seeing the shift of his gaze, she covered it protectively with her hand.
He remembered the cord which he was pretty sure was a witch’s creation. He decided to address it first. “We’re attached in some way, Abby. You know that, right?”
Her dark eyes widened. “It’s real then? I thought I could feel it, but I wasn’t sure. What is it?”
“What do you mean, what is it? You created it. You and one of your witch friends.”
She shook her head slowly. “This has to be a Savage Territory thing. I didn’t do this, wolf.”
“Stop calling me that.”
“Fine, but you did this, Braden. Not me. You created this bond. I never even knew it existed until tonight. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s some kind of mating bond you fabricated.”
He didn’t believe her. “And when did I supposedly do this to you?”
She rolled her eyes. “Think about it. It was that night, the night we were together.” He watched a blush climb her cheeks as she drew a deep breath. “You were behind me and you were holding onto my hair then you clamped your teeth down on the back of my neck.” Her free hand rose and rubbed the same spot.
He watched a full body shiver pass through her.
Right, the blush wasn’t embarrassment at all.
His nostrils flared. He could smell her arousal. Between her lush, erotic female scent and a reminder of that particular aspect of their lovemaking, he was drawn back to the memory as well. He took a moment to search the event carefully. Though he’d been lost in a profound euphoria, he could recall thinking he wanted to stay with her forever. Ecstasy had arrived on a wave so powerful, her own as well, that he’d known nothing but intense pleasure as though every cell of his body had experienced the orgasm.
“Well?”
The sharpness of her voice brought him back to the present.
He blinked a couple of times. “Give me a sec.” He examined the cord again and sure enough, she was right. This was definitely all wolf. He could also tell it was only a partial-bond, something that could be broken, though he wasn’t sure exactly how. He’d need some advice.
