The Bloodgate Warrior Read online

  But that wasn’t what I wanted at all.

  Delay. Drive him insane. He’ll break soon enough.

  I turned my face aside and pressed soft, light kisses against his thigh. Deliberately, I trailed my hair across his groin. I loved my long hair, even though taking care of it was a pain in the ass. All the brushing and conditioning it required was suddenly worth it so I could wrap my hair around his cock and make him beg for mercy.

  No begging yet.

  So it was obviously time to take him into my mouth. First I played, flicking my tongue on his tip, trailing my lips in soft butterfly kisses down the shaft. Other than the faint trembling in his thighs, he didn’t move a muscle.

  Meanwhile, I was going up in smoke. All that broad expanse of muscle and strength spread out before me like a feast made me pant. He had the ability to flatten me with a flick of his wrist. Thrust into me so hard I’d swear he was tearing me apart. Slam me up against a wall. Yet all he did was lie there.

  Hell, he didn’t even groan with appreciation.

  So I took him into my mouth. I tightened my lips as much as possible, held him hard and deep and tight. His back arched, tremors shaking that big frame, yet he didn’t make a peep. He didn’t grab my head, fist his hands in my hair and thrust deep.

  Like I wanted.

  Now I was really starting to get pissed off—at myself. I shouldn’t have started this game because now I didn’t want to finish it. I’d backed myself into a corner, waging a sexual battle that I no longer even wanted to win. Frustration grated my nerves, twisting my stomach into knots, until I finally released him.

  Determined to find a way to drive him over the edge, I sank my teeth into his thigh.

  His breath exhaled sharply and his hands fisted at his sides, the first hint that he was starting to fight himself. Encouraged, I bit him again, trailing my teeth down his thigh to his knee. The harder I sank my teeth into him, the more his breathing rasped in his throat, and the more I had to fight myself.

  I didn’t want to hurt him, not really, but I kept remembering how hard he’d bitten me in the dream. He’d broken the skin beneath the strange tattoo, so he’d drawn blood. Thinking of the mark sent the quetzal in my skin humming. Feathers rustled and stirred, making my skin crawl.

  Pulling back to sit on my heels, I glared down at him. “Is that thing you put in my shoulder alive?”

  “Not exactly.” I was pleased to note how low and rough his voice had gone. “It doesn’t need air or food, but it’s alive with magic. Don’t be surprised if it changes location as your need demands.”

  I craned my head around suspiciously to see if the tattoo had moved. “What the hell does that mean?”

  “It’s a manifestation of my magic in you. If you have great need of me or my magic, the quetzal will respond. Right now, you’re not very happy with me, so it digs claws into me, demanding my attention. Yet I must resist.”

  Narrowing my gaze, I tried to calm my breathing and my body down, but the latter refused to cooperate. I scrambled up and took him inside me, pushing too hard, too quickly, but I couldn’t wait any longer. He finally growled, low and deep in his throat, but he still didn’t do anything.

  “I need your hands.” I panted, barely biting back, please. There was no need to plead, because he immediately gripped my hips. The heat from his palms seared me, but he kept the punishing strength of his fingers under control.

  “Where do you want them?”

  “Everywhere.”

  He slid his palms up my waist, around to my back, up my shoulders, but it wasn’t enough.

  “Harder. More.”

  Again, he complied immediately, digging his fingers into me. As soon as he cupped my breasts and squeezed, I exploded. Crying out, I ground against him, filled up with all that magnificent length, but it wasn’t the same.

  Nor did he find release.

  Groaning, I drooped against his chest. His arms came around me comfortingly, which again wasn’t right. Not that it was bad, not at all, just…

  “Are you still afraid of me?”

  “I’m not afraid.” Not really. “Why didn’t you come too? Am I not…”

  He cut me off with a harsh growl. “I swore to allow you to do exactly as you willed so you could take me without fear. If I must bind my desire with all my magic so that you may overcome this fear, so be it. You are my greatest dream in the flesh, Cassandra Gonzales. Why would you find yourself lacking?”

  What a way to say a dream come true. My throat tightened with emotion—tenderness, need, an overwhelming sense of rightness and belonging. This man knew me like no one alive, even though I’d seriously doubted his existence.

  If he knows me so well, then the only person I’m lying to is me.

  I pushed up on my elbow so I could see his face. “It wasn’t the same as our dreams. Not as good.”

  “No.” He stroked my cheek in a feather light touch, but his face remained neutral and non-accusatory. “But it was still sweet indeed.”

  “I don’t want sweet. I want good, damned good, the kind that makes me scream. The real you.”

  “I’m here. I’m real.”

  “I know.” I rubbed his lips with my thumb. So soft, hiding the hardness of his teeth. I shivered, a soft sound escaping my mouth that made him growl deep in his throat. One little defenseless sound from me earned more of a reaction from him than all my oral torment. “I want all of you.”

  “You don’t know what you ask, Cassie.” His arms tightened about me—protectively, not aggressively—as though he needed to protect me even from himself. “I am a creature of magic, blood and yes, violence. The dreams we shared are only the beginning of my true self revealed to you.”

  “Then show me some more.”

  Chapter Seven

  Once I gave him the go-ahead, I figured he’d roll me beneath him and give me what-for. Yet he shocked me by keeping our positions exactly the same. In fact, he didn’t even change the pressure of his hands. All he did was look up at me, his eyes growing more shadowed and heavy by the moment, and my unease—and arousal—grew.

  I tried to pretend like I wasn’t freaked out by his silence. “Are you sure you can be all He-Man aggressive warrior on the bottom?”

  He smiled a slow, knowing curve of his lips. “Do you think I need to be on top to take you the way you want?”

  “How do I want you to take me?”

  His nostrils flared like he’d just scented a tasty bite of prey. Instead of answering, he asked me another question. “Have you figured out what was missing yet?”

  I swallowed, fighting to keep my gaze level with his. I didn’t want to think about it too hard.

  “Why wasn’t it as good as in the dream, Cassie?”

  I’d never heard him say my name like that. Not gentle with affection or teasing, but hard with warning and heavy with promise. He didn’t change the weight of his hands on my thighs, yet I felt the impending threat. By his tone and his words, he was building up to a full-fledged attack.

  Which my body absolutely loved. My breasts were tight and hard, my nipples swollen even without the teasing of his fingers. Between my thighs, I was melting. He was still inside me, thick and full, and it was almost enough to make me come again.

  “You want to be afraid.” His voice rolled like approaching thunder, sending chills racing up and down my arms. “Your pulse pounding in your throat, the hair on the nape of your neck standing on end, your breathing coming fast and hard as though you’ve been running. Running from me. You know I’ll run you down, don’t you, Cassie? You’ll never be able to escape me once I begin the hunt.”

  My heart lodged somewhere in my throat and I couldn’t answer. My eyes were wide, aching, locked to his face.

  “How hard do you want me to take you?”

  I shivered, which moved his cock inside me. Once I moved, I couldn’t stop. I needed that gliding friction. Adrenaline shot my desire higher by the second. His palms clamped down on my hips, holding me still, refusing to
let me move, and my need rocketed higher.

  “Answer me. Before we begin, I need to know how far you’re willing to go.”

  I swallowed hard before I could speak. “As hard as you want.”

  “Understand me, Cassie.” He squeezed my hips hard enough I moaned, ensuring I kept my gaze on his face. “I will take any refusal seriously. If you even think about me stopping, I will cease immediately. No play, no teasing. If you wish me to stop, I absolutely will without question. You won’t have to find the words, I’ll know.”

  I gave him a jerky nod. My fingers clutched at his pectorals, shaking and cold with delicious fear.

  “Do you feel how much you want me now?” He reached up a hand and laid his fingers on my breast. So hard and tender, my nipple felt like it was going to shatter even with such a light touch. “How quickly are you going to explode again, Cassie?”

  It was all I could do not to come again just thinking about it. He had my entire body humming on the edge with his words alone.

  His fingers tightened slowly, pinching my nipple in a vise. He gave me plenty of time to jerk away and stop him, but I didn’t. Because it felt like he’d hooked up my breast to a powerful generator. Fire flowed from my throbbing breast down to my clit and back up as though he’d laid down electrical wires.

  I gulped for air, my fingers digging into his chest for leverage. I tried to lift my hips to gain a little relief, but he was more than strong enough to hold me in place with his other hand. He was thick and hard and impossibly long inside me, a rock-hard reminder of his size and strength. With his fingers clamped on my breast, he charged me up to full capacity and I couldn’t stop the redline surge.

  Pleasure overloaded my nerves. My body jolted with ten thousand bolts of electricity, jerking against his grip, thrashing, lost to the wave of pleasure that picked me up and slammed me back to earth.

  When I managed to crack my eyes open again, I was so disoriented it took me a moment to realize I was on my stomach. Panic rolled over me. Where is he? Behind me?

  Instinctively, I tried to rear up and scramble away, but I couldn’t move anything but my hands. As soon as he knew I was aware, he dropped even more of his weight on me. Heat covered me head to toe. His knees were planted on either side of my thighs, keeping me trapped beneath him. His chest pressed against my back. I couldn’t even lift my head because he was so big, his chest and shoulders blocked my head.

  He let out a wicked laugh and rocked his hips against me, drilling me into the mattress. He wasn’t inside me, not yet, but the thought made me fist my hands in the sheet and hold on for dear life.

  “Are you sure this is what you want?”

  I couldn’t nod. I tried to suck in a breath, but he was too heavy. Gasping, I managed a moan of acknowledgement that made him chuckle.

  “Very well. I’m going to lift up in a moment. You are welcome to try and get away. In fact, I hope you try very hard indeed. Try to flee me, Cassie. Fight me, claw me, bite me, bloody me. I won’t let you get away.”

  My heart thudded in my ears. Suddenly his weight was gone and I could breathe. Yet I held myself still, straining my senses to hear or feel where he went without moving. My skin prickled with goose bumps, shockingly cold after the heat of his body. Gathering my strength, I shot upward, scrambling against the mattress.

  He slammed into me before I got farther than my hands and knees. I let out a high scream, more of a squeak than anything. He held me pinned beneath him again, but this time one of his thighs had settled between mine. He didn’t hold me down this time, but used his knee and hands to force my legs farther apart. His breathing rasped hot against my ear like some wild beast tracking me in the jungle.

  You want to be afraid of me.

  I couldn’t deny his words, not when it felt like the top of my head was going to crawl off and panic ramped my heart rate. Yet I also couldn’t deny that I wanted him inside me, pinning me not with his strength but with his cock. I pushed back up to my hands and knees, arching my back against him. His erection was there, heavy and hard, digging into my buttocks and back as I moved beneath him, but he didn’t try to slide home. No, that would be too easy.

  He wanted the fight and ultimately, the victory, as much as I wanted to lose.

  I threw my elbow back into his ribs with all my strength. He grunted with the blow but didn’t back away an inch. Levering upward, I pushed and bucked, trying to escape the cage of his body. He wrapped his forearm around my throat to keep me close, so I turned my head and sank my teeth into the bulge of his biceps against my cheek. He growled against my ear, which only made me bite him harder. He squeezed me tighter, his breath coming faster, hotter against my ear.

  He thrust into me so hard I would have released him so I could scream, but he kept me pinned too tightly. Most people would have instinctively jerked away from my teeth, but he pressed harder against my mouth, inviting the pain.

  The memory of his bite on my shoulder made the quetzal tattoo writhe in my skin. He swelled within me, too big, and I tried to find some relief, something to ease the straining pressure building inside me. I threw my arm back around his head and clawed at his neck and shoulder.

  His powerful body flexed against me, pushing deeper, harder, until I thought he would crack me open. Gripping my breast in one hand, he sat back on his heels, drawing me with him.

  I dangled in his arms, impaled, helpless, and came so hard that spots danced before my eyes.

  He tightened his grip on my breast, sending another spasm through me. “How good is it now, Cassie?”

  Every muscle from head to toe throbbed with pleasure. I hooked my arm around his neck, not to fight now, but holding on for dear life. How could he possibly still be hard and thick inside me?

  He bit my neck, a sharp bite that jolted me. “Answer me.”

  I sucked in enough air to retort, “Damned good!”

  “Then this will be even better.”

  He pushed my upper body back down to the bed, pinning me with his forearm across my shoulders, his fingers locked on my nape. I couldn’t move anything but my hands. I tore at the sheets, arched my back to buck free, but I couldn’t budge him. His body caged me. With my ass up in the air, I was completely, utterly vulnerable.

  “You can’t get away from me. You can’t fight. You can’t flee.” He laughed, low and rough and just mean enough to make me whimper. “You can’t stop me. Nothing you do can make me withdraw, except one word. Call me noyollotl, and I’m finished. Do you understand?”

  His fingers were too tight on my head for me to nod, so I plead in my mind. Yes. Técun, please, yes.

  “Good.” He exhaled a long, heavy breath against my ear. “You’re mine to take as long and hard as I want. As many times as I want. And oh, noyollotl, how I want you.”

  I expected him to piston into me hard and fast as he’d threatened, but he didn’t thrust so much as flex every inch of that incredibly muscled body against me. After he’d given me so much pleasure without his own release, I couldn’t believe how slowly and deliciously he rubbed against me. He let out a low, rumbling sound that vibrated his chest against my back, another unexpected but powerful caress.

  The quetzal mark fluttered beneath my skin, as though it stretched out its wings and wallowed in Técun—his scent, his body, his magic. The air hummed around us, sweet with the rich scent of his hair and the fresh, green smell of the jungle. With every breath and touch, he sank deeper into me, sliding through my pores, rushing through my veins.

  My tension dissolved, muscles languid and limbs heavy. For the first time in my life, I simply existed without thought or will. I gave myself up to Técun completely. At this point, I’d trust him to breathe for me if it were possible. He’d already given me so much pleasure tonight that even if I didn’t come again I wouldn’t be able to complain. He filled every secret corner and cranny of my mind, heart, and body.

  No fear or lingering doubt clouded my mind. How could I be afraid when he shone so brightly in my heart?
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  A tremor shook his great body. He must have been waiting for that ultimate surrender, because now, the dam broke. He reared back, hauling himself out of me inch by inch, only to slam back inside, crushing me with his weight and force. I let out a deep, ragged sound, not a scream or a moan, but something feral and helpless.

  A sound that he evidently liked very much indeed, because he hammered home again, dragging that cry from me over and over. Each thrust shoved me farther across the bed, slipping on the luxuriously soft sheets. Closing my eyes, I drank him in, through his heated skin, his musky scent, the heavy thud of his flesh upon mine. Pressure rose within me. My skin felt too tight, my body too small to contain it.

  His mouth locked on the quetzal in my shoulder and I detonated. My heart stopped, my stomach pitched, just like I was tumbling crazily through the air, helpless to catch myself. Every muscle clenched, aching with strain.

  He shuddered on top of me, his release only buoying mine ever higher. He must have pulled me into a dream again, because we were floating. Together we soared, his mighty wings pumping the air. We rolled and thrashed in the sky, wallowing in each other, falling, surely, but I didn’t know any fear.

  Not while he held me.

  Slowly, I returned to awareness. He enfolded me in his embrace, his hair falling across my cheek. If the fire alarm shrilled in the middle of the night, I didn’t think I’d be able to move a single muscle to get up and flee the hotel.

  He murmured against my ear. “Noyollotl?”

  I cracked an eye open but didn’t try to turn around.

  “I shall still be here when you open your eyes on the morrow.”

  Smiling, I snuggled back deeper against his chest and wrapped my arms around his, holding him close. As I drifted off to sleep I had the strange sensation that feathers tickled my arm.

  Chapter Eight

  1581 by Leonor de Alvarado y Xiotenega Tecubalsi

  Translated by Carla Guzmán Gonzales, 1970

  It’s done to the best of my ability.