Gabriel knew Cruz thought him weakening, thought him an old man. He was, the healing sapped his strength with every passing moment. His steps slowed more and more, his arms grew heavy, his feet leaden. But he was not so weak he couldn’t take out this pup.
Gabriel jabbed at Cruz, moving past him with purpose, falling to one knee with a cry of agony that rippled on the night air. Cruz saw his opening, exposed his vulnerable heart as he swung his arm wide to take off Gabriel’s head. Time seemed to slow.
The wind moved at a snail’s pace against his face, shaking off droplets of perspiration as he twisted from the fall.
His own growl sounded heavy in his ears, deeper than his own voice. It grew in intensity, becoming wild as he drove his hands up Cruz’s chest. He felt the flesh give way, the sudden cessation of movement. Bone crunched, crumbling beneath his claws as he dug deep inside to the rapid beating heart. He sliced it, feeling repelled, sickened at killing one of his own, knowing there was no other choice and hating the need to kill or be killed.
Blood rained, hot and slick, streaming down with the force of a river unleashed.
Gabriel pulled back, looking away from the dead eyes of his enemy. Without support, the body dropped to the ground with a heavy thud.
Gabriel stood over him, a knot in his gut. The fool had needed killing, deserved it with years of menace, but he despised being forced to do the deed. Cruz was a vengeful bastard--one of them would have died eventually, and Gabriel preferred it be Cruz to himself.
Jessica was safe from him now. It would have to satisfy his guilt for this night.
There had never really been any other choice but the path he’d chosen.
Two pack members came and hauled the body off before the next challenger came into the clearing.
Gabriel sighed and wiped the blood from his hands on the grass.
He stretched his kinked muscles before facing his newest attacker. The night promised to be long, and by the line forming, he had little confidence that he would win.
Chapter Seven
Someone was at the tent opening. The soft sound of a zipper sliding slithered through the tent, evoking terror as if a snake glided toward her. Fear flashed through her, pumping her adrenaline until she verged the line of panic. Her breath came harsh against the gag, puffing her cheeks, flaring her nostrils. Her heart thrashed, threatening to beat through her ribs. She tried to get a hold of herself, to think clearly so she could escape, so she’d have some chance rather than none. She’d been here so long, and instead of time dulling her apprehension, it had only increased with each agonizing minute.
The tent flap opened. She jerked against her tethers, desperate to free her hands before they could come inside and kill her....
It was Gabriel.
She knew him the instant he entered, though his head was bowed and his hair fell down, obscuring his face in thick wet locks. She wanted to scream in relief, rail against him for giving her such a fright ... and throw her body against his until the tremors racking her ceased. The dizzying race of her blood abated to a dull roar.
The door flapped down behind him. He stood up once he passed the shallow entrance, standing straight and jerking his head back to toss the cloying strands away from his face and eyes. He froze as though pinned when he saw her. He looked at her. She looked at him.
He was naked.
The information filtered through the chaos of her thoughts to that one coherent whole. She didn’t know why he was--didn’t care. The relief alone of seeing him was enough to make her feel giddy. That he was naked changed everything, heightened senses that had been blunted previously by unease.
She was scared, yes, but it didn’t stop her brain from functioning, stop her eyes from taking in every glorious inch. She wanted to tell him to get her the fuck out of there, but she hadn’t moved past her initial shock at seeing him nude. It was her first time seeing him with nothing to bar her view. The adrenaline pumping through her system, the fear of before, it rushed in her head, made her careless, intoxicated. He’
d looked good before. He was devastating now. So much skin, so bronze and beautiful. Muscles, everywhere, gleaming with droplets of water running in beads down his skin like liquid gold.
She wanted to feel him against her. Cold shock chilled her, made her shudder with appalling weakness. She’d never felt so needy in all her life. She should’ve been outraged, horrified at the turn of her thoughts, but all she wanted to do was feel his heat inside her, until it thawed every pore and banished the chill seeping from her marrow.
She wanted to look down, see all of him, but she couldn’t. She wasn’t ready, knew she should die on the spot for daring to think of sex at a time like this. She tore her gaze away from his belly up to his face. Hair clung damply to his neck and cheekbones. What captured her attention was the expression on his face--drawn, hard, his jaw clenched until the muscles stood out. Black stubble shadowed his face, lending him a rough, untamed look she hadn’t seen before.
But his eyes ... they were hunted, wild and fierce. His black eyebrows were drawn down to two hard, straight lines. He looked ... haunted.
Fear shot through her once again, more potent now than ever before. What gave him that look? What had he done? What had they done to him? It terrified her to even think of it. The charming rogue of before looked vanished, wiped away and replaced by a savage stranger with hungry eyes that saw too much.
He dropped suddenly to his knees before her, kneeling at her feet as he untied her ankles. The binding came free and she rotated the joint, drawing her legs up as he moved forward between her legs.
Her breathing grew harsher the closer he came. Heat radiated off of him, until it felt like he touched her, pressed intimately against her skin. She flinched as he drew closer ... could practically feel the head of his cock looming close to her sex. A spasm seized her cleft, drenching her with sudden, liquid lust. God, she wanted it so badly. She was tired of fighting, tired of running. Her clit throbbed with aching need so fierce, she thought she would die from it.
He stopped a moment, his nostrils flaring as his breath quickened, as though he could smell her arousal. He held her gaze steadily heart stopping seconds. She saw war in his eyes, a battle that waged for control. His face went tight with need, his jaw tense. His lids lowered, heavy with carnal appetite. Lust glittered in his eyes, quickly masked as he dropped his gaze.
She’d seen it, knew that he sought to hide his need, but he couldn’t hide the potency of his desire from her. Danger had heightened her senses, until she could feel the hunger emanating from him, practically hear the blood rush to engorge his length.
He said nothing as he leaned close and reached around her head. She felt like she would melt into the pole at that heated flesh so close to her own. Her skin tingled, her nipples tightened, like buds seeking the warmth of his skin. He removed the gag before moving to her hands, acting as though nothing had changed, that he couldn’t sense the begging of her body.
“Oh god, Gabriel,” she whispered, trying to find the strength of her voice. Her lips felt numb, her throat and mouth dry. His arms slid against her arms, raising the hair with delicious goosebumps on her skin. She shivered at the sensation. “I thought you’d never come.”
“I made a promise, petite,” he murmured, his fingers brushing against her as they worked on the binding.
Jessica worked her jaw muscles, stretching them. The rope on her hands came loose and her arms fell forward, her shoulder joints pinching with a dull ache. The pain didn’t matter. She had to touch him herself, know that he was real, whole and unharmed. She wrapped her arms around him, hugging him fiercely. “I thought you were dead.”
He went rigid all over, stopped breathing. “Don’ touch me,” he said, his voice hoarse and rough, as though he were in agony. They’d hurt him somehow. The knowledge spread an ache through her chest.
He sat back on his heels, hooking his hands under her arms, trying to push her away.
She tightened around him, refusing to let go. “No,” she said, kissing the side of his neck, breathing against
