CHAPTER NINE
Ravyn woke up with his vision hazy and the scent of Susan heavy in the air. It was a delicate, warm smell. Unique and inviting. He felt like total shit and yet something about her scent soothed him.
It also set him on fire.
His right shoulder was so sore that he could barely move it. Not that he could anyway, since Susan was lying on it, facing away from him, sound asleep. At first he couldn't figure out where he was or why on earth she was on top of him. Then suddenly, the earlier events of the night came rushing back.
He'd been hit with a trank outside of the Happy Hunting Ground. Images of their flight and return to the Serengeti shuffled around him as he remembered bits and pieces of being sick... of Susan helping him.
She'd held him while the whole world had fallen apart.
Amazed by that, he rose up to look down at her and brushed a strand of blond hair off her silken cheek. She had the prettiest skin. Fair and unblemished, it was softer than silk. He laid his fingers over her cheekbone and marveled at the texture that was so different from his.
There was something lovely about her. Something that called out to the animal in him and lured it forward. He'd never felt such a pull toward anyone before. Not even Isabeau, and she had been his chosen mate.
He dipped his head down so that he could inhale the scent of her hair. The soft strands tickled his cheek even as the warmth of her body calmed him. He laid his other arm over her and held her close in the darkness. Like a lover. This moment awoke a long forgotten dream inside him. A dream of family. Of love. Of having someone he could love, who would love him, too.
God, it'd been way too long since he'd just held someone...
"If you don't stop groping on me, Puss in Boots, I don't care if you are out of it, I'm going to hurt you."
He laughed in spite of himself.
Susan opened those striking blue eyes to stare up at him.
"I'm over it," he said softly to her.
Still she looked suspicious. "Uh-huh, that's what you said last time, right before you made a head dive for my boobs."
"No, I didn't... did I?" He frowned as he tried to remember, but the last few hours were all hazy and vague. And he certainly didn't recall that happening, but then given how much she appealed to him, he couldn't deny it, either. If he had a chance and a reason to get away with such a thing, he'd have probably taken it.
She narrowed her eyes on him. "You really are back, aren't you?"
He put the heel of his hand to his right eye in an effort to ease some of the pain that felt like it was cleaving his skull in two. "Yeah, and with a vicious headache."
Susan rolled over to look up into those midnight eyes. Okay, it was only one eye since he still had the other covered with his hand, but it was nice to see clarity there again. "Welcome back."
"Thanks." His gaze dropped to her lips that teased him with an invitation he was finding hard to ignore. "For everything."
"It's okay."
She licked her lips, moistening them with her tongue... it was his undoing. Unable to stand it, he lowered his head, half expecting her to pull back or push him away.
She didn't.
Instead, she moved forward in his arms to take his kiss. The instant their lips touched, Ravyn closed his eyes, letting the warmth of her wash over him. She wrapped her arms around him, causing him to tremble at the tenderness she offered. She was exceptional. His heart racing, he deepened the kiss, exploring her mouth.
Susan couldn't breathe... literally. Her allergies kicked in, but not even they were enough to make her let go as she tasted heaven. Every part of her fired at the touch of his lips. He cupped her face as his delicious weight pinned her to the mattress. She found herself actually resenting their clothing, even though she knew getting physical with him would be a mistake. Dark-Hunters couldn't have dates and girlfriends, and she had no interest in being someone's one-night stand.
They had nowhere to go except separate ways. Too bad her emotions weren't more rational because right now all they wanted was to keep him in her arms and to explore every inch of that wicked body with her tongue. But she couldn't.
Ravyn fisted his hand in her silken hair as images of her naked body writhing underneath him tormented him with desire. He nipped her lips as he felt her heart racing along with his. It took every piece of will he possessed not to lift her shirt and cup her breast in his hands. But she was a Squire, and they were off limits to Dark-Hunters. Even so, she appealed to him on a level he couldn't even begin to fathom.
If he could, he'd stay here with her for the rest of the night, but they had way too much to deal with at present. And the last thing he wanted was to be involved with another woman who could betray him. He pulled away, then groaned.
Susan put her hand on his sore arm as if she knew exactly what hurt. "You need to rest."
He shook his head. "We've got too much to do."
"Believe me, I know. But you're still hurt."
He snorted at that. "Trust me, this is nothing. I'll definitely live."
She shook her head at him as she sat up to face him. "Fine then. While you've been down and unconscious, I've been doing a lot of thinking. The Daimons are after all of you so that they can have a full run at Seattle, right?"
Ravyn remained lying back on the mattress. "That's what we think."
"Well, according to the handbook Leo gave me"-she picked up a huge leather-bound tome and held it against her chest- "whenever one Dark-Hunter goes down, another one is sent in to replace them, especially in an urban setting... such as say, oh, Seattle." She toyed with the edge of the book as she gave him a stern frown. "So what are the Daimons really hoping for? I mean if they kill you and more are sent in, why bother... right?"
She definitely had a point. "I don't know. It doesn't make sense, but you can't deny that they're doing it. Maybe they hope to pick us off one by one until the last Dark-Hunter falls." Even as he said it, he knew better than that. There were too many Dark-Hunters. It would take years, if not centuries, to get them all.
But then something weird had been happening these last couple of years. A lot of Dark-Hunters had gone free and an even larger number of them had died. Especially recently.
"Or maybe this is an experiment," Susan said. "Think about it for a minute. If they can get away with wiping out all of you here, then they could converge on other cities. Make a studied attack. Claim each city one by one. Right?"
"At this point, I would go with just about any theory. I've honestly never seen anything like this. I mean, there have always been a few stupid humans here and there who've been willing to help them. But never on this scale."
"Which brings up the question of why they're helping them? What are the Daimons promising them for their service?"