She took a few more steps and then paused as the sound of a waterfall filled her ears. It was there, through the mist that rolled along the ground and crept up
into the clouds.
Kira followed the sound, a melody of promise, and a few moments later the mist dissolved, leaving paradise in its wake.
A jungle paradise. A paradise unlike any other she’d ever seen in a magazine or ever dreamed of. She was light in both heart and soul and a smile broke wide open as she gazed around.
The water fell from nearly one hundred feet above her head, the rushing stream making its way lazily down the rock face, until it slipped into pool at the bottom. On either side was a thick stand of foliage—vine-heavy trees sprinkled with flowers in all the colors of light and beauty. Pinks, purples, reds, yellows, and oranges. Among them small birds as exotic as the petals flitted among them.
Overhead the sun shone fully—long fingers of warmth rolling over her already heated skin. A bird sang, lost somewhere deep within the jungle. Its song was haunting and awoke such longing in her that tears sprang from the corners of her eyes.
Then she saw him and her heart stopped. The air in her lungs froze even as a soft sigh escaped her lips.
He was here. With her.
Logan turned to her, his body half-hidden by the shadows that played off the trees, and behind him, the depths of the pool held jewel tones that shimmered as the water fell into it. He was like a treasure, one meant only for her, kept hidden in this waking dreamland.
For a second pain shifted inside—she knew this wasn’t real. Logan was gone from her, taken by the sadistic creatures who now hunted her—and yet as his dark eyes burned into her own she knew magick existed in this place. And maybe …
Her shoulder burned hot for a second, there where he’d marked her as his weeks earlier, and her hand rose until she was able to caress the skin there. To feel where his mouth had been and to somehow acknowledge this was real.
“This is no fantasy,” he said, his voice low and throaty.
Logan. She whispered his name like a secret, unable to make her vocal cords work.
His dark hair hung in damp waves, touching the tops of his shoulders. Water sluiced over his skin, the glittering remnants rolling over powerful shoulders and finding their way down rock-hard abs until they disappeared into the water that lapped at his waist. Her mouth was dry. Her body tight.
His hand rose and he beckoned her forward. “Come.”
Kira took a hesitant step. And then another.
And then she rushed forward, plunging into the water until his arms wrapped around her. Until she felt his heat against her own, his hardness against her softness.
Such overwhelming need rose in her that she struggled to swallow. This man—this hellhound—meant everything to her. He’d pulled her from the gray realm when there was no hope. He’d given her that—hope, a future, and a family.
His hands were in her hair and he forced her to look up at him, into eyes that she could easily lose herself in.
“You’re safe,” he whispered.
She nodded. “Yes.”
And then his mouth was on hers, his lips strong and warm as one hand held her firmly in place and the other wove its way down until he cupped her butt and pulled her into his groin. Logan’s erection pushed against her softness and she gasped as images of his naked body riffled through her mind. As his tongue teased and caressed, as his teeth nipped at her lips.
Kira’s hands slid up his narrow waist, past his chest, until she cupped his jaw. They kissed as if they were starving, and the need was so great she couldn’t hide the groan in her throat. His teeth nipped a path below her ear and she shuddered when he suckled at the base of her throat, there where her pulse beat so rapidly she’d surely fall to her knees if not for him holding her.
“Logan, is this real?” Her whispered words ended abruptly as his hand moved from her butt and sank between her legs, where he rubbed suggestively against the denim. The friction was incredible and she sank against him, every cell tingling as he whispered hoarsely.
“It’s more real than you can imagine. We are mated, little Dove, and our connection transcends time and place. Even Lilith’s grasp cannot hold me.”
“But how?” She barely got the words out before his teeth pulled on the end of her T-shirt and it ripped down the center, a nice clean splice that left her small breasts exposed. Her nipples pebbled, hardened with desire and heat and cold. They swelled beneath his gaze and when he lowered his head, when his hot mouth encircled one engorged peak, something broke inside her—a wet crush of desire that left her shaking.
She came instantly and held him there—her body thrusting against his tongue, against the hand that still caressed between her legs. And when the burning began, deep inside, she whimpered, her mind going crazy, her body on fire.
Logan suckled hard, his lips and tongue caressing her breasts as his large hands roved over her flesh, removing the ruined T-shirt and tossing it onto the grass beside the pool. Above them the water continued to fall, and he pulled her with him toward the waterfall. Her jeans and boots disappeared as well but Kira had no clue when or how. She didn’t care.
He lifted her into his arms and settled her onto a slippery rock that jutted out enough to make room for a body—hers. She was level with him now and she gazed at him hungrily. The warm mist of water fell to her right and showered them both in a spray of silken heat. She watched rivulets roll down his face and couldn’t take her eyes from the intensity of his gaze.
Her hellhound was on edge. She saw the shimmer that rolled beneath his flesh and when she would have leaned forward—her eyes caught some fresh welts along the tops of his shoulders—he growled and slid his hands over her breasts, and didn’t stop until he held each knee.