The Darkest Whisper

could he, as their leader, now give himself fully to Gwen?

So, rather than answer her, he pushed to his feet, said, “I’ve neglected my duties to watch over you and now have a lot to do,” and left her. If he hoped to keep her, he had a lot of shit to figure out first.

CHAPTER 20

And I wanted to be a soldier? Gwen wondered for the thousandth time after another grueling session. She was panting, sweaty and bruised as she flopped atop Sabin’s bed.

The last few days, Sabin had divided his time between his duties—whatever those were—and her training. She’d just spent the past few hours getting the crap beaten out of her. Again. He gave no quarter, showed no mercy. It sucked!

“You’re stronger, aren’t you?” he said, as if he could read her thoughts.

“Yes.” And she was.

“I won’t apologize. You know you can take a punch now.”

“And dish out my own,” she said smugly, recalling how she’d sent the muscled warrior flying into the trees, gasping for breath, only an hour ago. She also knew when to duck and when to attack.

“You just have to learn how to summon your Harpy faster. Good things happen when you do.” He sat at the edge of the bed, cupped a hand around the base of her neck and drew her toward him. “Now drink.”

As she sank her teeth into his artery, her cheeks heated at the reminder of the way she’d taken him in the forest. Then her eyelids drifted shut and she simply enjoyed the taste of this man.

He lifted her to his lap without breaking contact, and she immediately spread her legs, welcoming him against her body. He rubbed his erection between her thighs. She moaned at the bliss, the decadence. But when she tangled her fingers in his hair, withdrawing her teeth to lick and nip at him, he flung her back on the mattress, stood to shaky legs and strode toward the door.

“Time for round two,” he said. “I’ll meet you outside.” He disappeared around the corner.

“You’re really starting to piss me off,” she called.

No reply.

She almost screeched in frustration. Twice before, he’d done this to her. Trained with her, brought her to his room to heal her injuries with that delicious blood, got her hot and ready, and then abandoned her for his “duties” or more training. Why? Since their little chat, he hadn’t made love to her again. Again, why?

They’d declared their feelings for each other. Hadn’t they? She knew she wanted him, however she could get him, for however long she could have him. No use denying that anymore. If they didn’t last, at least she’d tried. And of course, it would be his fault so she’d have no regrets.

The thought of blaming him for any future discord caused her frustration to fade; she grinned. And the thought of a future with him had her sighing dreamily as she curled into a pillow. He was the kind of man every Harpy craved. Powerful, a little wild, a lot wicked. He could kill an enemy without guilt. He wasn’t afraid of hard work. He could be ruthless, without mercy, yet he was tender with her.

The only question was, would he put Gwen before his war?

Wait. Two questions: Did she want him to?

With another sigh, she rose and headed back outside. The sun was high and warm as she searched for Sabin. The moment she saw him, she experienced a wave of pride. Mine. He was hunched over two daggers, sharpening them to razor points.

No reason to practice with fakes, he’d told her. Tomorrow, they planned to work with guns. Golden light caressed his bare chest, deepening his tan. Sweat beaded over his muscles, making them gleam—and her mouth water. The puncture wounds were already healing on his neck; she wished they’d remain forever, her brand on him.

I’ve had all that strength over me, inside me.

She wanted it again. Soon. The nights were the most difficult of all. He wouldn’t enter the bedroom until close to morning—it didn’t take his demon to make her wonder where he’d been, what he’d been doing—and then he would crawl in beside her, though he refused to touch her. She would feel his heat, hear his soft inhalations, and she would ache all over. Then she would fall asleep before she could do anything about it.

Tonight, if he continued to resist her, she would take matters into her own hands. Literally. He’d tangled with her Harpy once and survived; he could damn well do it again.

“Damn it,” Ashlyn, wife to the keeper of Violence, said. It was surprising, hearing the gentle woman curse. “Not again!”

As usual, Ashlyn and Danika sat on the sidelines to cheer for her. They also liked to boo when Sabin knocked her down. Though she hadn’t spent a lot of time with them, she already adored them. They were open and honest, kind and witty, and had somehow, despite everything, managed to make a relationship work with a Lord of the Underworld. Gwen planned to get the lowdown from them as to how they’d achieved such a feat, but hadn’t yet had the time.

Currently, they were a bit distracted, playing some kind of game with Anya, Bianka and Kaia—who also liked to witness her sessions. Ashlyn and Danika had welcomed her sisters with open arms, claiming the fortress needed a little more estrogen to balance out the testosterone.

“It’s my turn to roll,” Bianka said in a mock growl. “So you can back off my dice or have your fingers removed. Your choice.”

Maddox was inside, or he would have challenged her sister, Gwen knew. Game or not, he didn’t like anyone threatening his woman.

The warrior called Kane stood off to the side, watching the women with a half smile on his face, his hazel eyes bright. He was out in the open, not leaning against a tree, not shaded by branches. And yet, even as Gwen watched, a twig snapped from the far black oak and hurtled straight into him, slapping him across the face.

He and a few of the others had apparently stayed behind to read scrolls Cronus, the god king, had given them—was that one of Sabin’s duties? — while the rest of the men had traipsed off to Chicago on a mission to “kick Hunter ass.” Odd that she missed them.

“—concentrating?” A hard weight slammed into her stomach, shoving her to her ass.

Sabin was on top of her a second later, glaring, the daggers just above her shoulders. “We’ve talked about allowing your mind to wander.”

As her lungs were in the process of seizing, it took her a moment to form a reply. “We hadn’t…started yet.”

Do you really think you’re…strong enough for this?

Doubt’s voice drifted through her head, but the demon had sounded reluctant, afraid even to make itself known. It really was terrified of her, as Sabin had said. A sense of power accompanied the knowledge.

“I’m sorry for using the demon against you, but I want to train you against it, as well. And do you think a Hunter is going to ask your permission to begin and then wait until you nod?”

Good point. Perhaps it was time for her to make a point of her own. “First, your demon is like a tame little house cat now. Second…” Since her arms were free, she fisted her hands and slammed both into his temples. He grunted in surprise, cradling his head as he fell backward. She didn’t waste any time. She kicked him in the chest so hard his ribs cracked.

The Harpy laughed. More!

For once, hearing that voice didn’t terrify her, and she blinked in surprise. Was she…could she be… embracing her darker side?

“Go, Gwennie!” Kaia called.

“Kick him while he’s down!” Bianka shouted.

He was still clutching the daggers as he blinked, trying to clear his vision. Gwen jumped to her feet, wings springing free in her back. Thankfully they were so small, they didn’t rip her shirt away. Moving faster than anyone could possibly see, she raced behind him and wrapped her fingers around his wrists.

There wasn’t time for him to resist.

Before he realized where she was and what she was doing, she had the sharp tips of the knives resting on