Desert Heat Excerpt

He could smell her vague scent on the air. Twice he'd corrected himself using that alone, since she hadn't left much of a physical trail to follow. Her spicy, womanly fragrance had gotten stronger through the day, especially once he'd scented, then seen, her blood on the rocks. The deep metallic tang pulled him along as if by a string.

As the hours rolled by, her choices of terrain became so familiar, he found himself anticipating her.

An evil wind whipped up from the west as the sun set, lowering his vision and whisking her trail away. He watched helplessly as the tracks he'd been following were erased forever, blowing her scent from his nostrils.

A growl rose in his throat. The Trilec piece of him drove him on.

Marking the place where he stood with two rocks, he began a slow sweep of the surrounding area. Exhaustion tugged at him, but he shoved it away. He'd find her or die trying. Going back to the prince without her in tow would mean the end of everything he'd ever wanted. Failure wasn't an option.

That being said, there were other reasons, personal reasons, he wanted to find this woman. He knew a lot about her, even though he'd never seen her. Her intelligence showed in every choice she'd made on the path. She had strength and stamina that rivaled his own, although over the last few kilometers, he'd sensed something wrong. She wasn't limping exactly, it was just a subtle change in her stride, as if she was injured in some way. Perhaps she'd been hurt more than he'd thought when he'd found her blood. But even injured, she still whispered over terrain without leaving a scratch, ghosting along with nerve and cunning.

With every passing hour, his respect for her had grown and he wondered again how he could turn her over to the prince only to die. It nagged at him with every step, but the thought of losing everything he'd spent his life working to gain, for a woman he'd never met, spurred him forward.

He had to admit that if he hadn't been able to track her with his Trilec powers, she would have escaped him completely.

He stumbled back onto her scent as he approached a jumble of rocks. She'd been here. He could almost feel the shadow of her. He'd been tracking her quickly since he began hunting alone and as she'd slowed down, he sped up.

He stopped when he saw the cave entrance. Silently, he worked his way to the opening. The ground trembled, just a small shift, making him pause. Had he really felt it move or was he imagining things? Desert birds chirped in the distance, signaling everything was okay. He held still, scenting the air and waiting for it to happen again. After a few minutes, he shook his head and turned back to the cavern.

It could be a trap, but the cave lured him, a siren's song he couldn't resist. Trap or not, he crawled through the low entrance. Pausing, he inhaled the scent of her, which now surrounded him completely. The more her essence filled his lungs, the harder his cock became. This woman called to the beast in him on a visceral level and as dangerous as that thought was, he wanted her. Now.

He paused, lying still while his eyes adjusted to the dim light. A sound echoed in the small space. The low moan ran along his skin like a caress. He knew it wasn't from pain.

"Oh." The sound bumped off the walls and his body.

Working his way forward once more, he saw her.

A single candle splashed weak light against the craggy rock walls, catching the sweat on her naked body as she arched her hips from the floor. She was tall, but thin, covered in lean muscle which corded as she bowed upward. Her hips rocked against the hand between her legs. Faster, harder, until she rolled to her stomach to get more leverage, moaning the word, "please" with agony and desperation.

The growing desire inside him exploded, forcing a groan from his lips.

She turned so slowly to look at him he suspected she'd already known he'd arrived, but she didn't stop the buck of her hips against her hand.

Her haunted gaze tracked him as he crawled across the room. The cave danced in shadows, the low ceilings making the small space appear even smaller. He didn't bother to stand, knowing the ceiling wouldn't allow his height.

The scent of her was overwhelming, filling his lungs and hazing his mind. The musk of pure woman swirled with a spicy aroma that enticed him to taste. He had to put his mouth on her as soon as possible.

Instead, he ran one finger down her sweat-soaked back, watching the track he left along her skin.

She cried out, her hips never ceasing the ride against her hand. Rolling her face into the blanket, she didn't look at him when she said, "Help me. Please."

Without understanding how he could be so sure, he knew she hadn't wanted to ask. Something had been wrong with her for miles as he tracked her, something that was causing her to turn to a stranger to relieve the pressure of her desire. The heat Dante had bragged about was on her and it now impacted him as well.

Sympathy and protectiveness washed through him. He flattened his hand on her back and smoothed across her buttocks, then down her long legs as far as he could reach. "Widen your legs, Shadowbloom," he murmured, liking the jump of surprise on her face when he named her flower.

She complied and he ran his hand back up the inside of her thigh. Her face hid again in the thin blanket, partially muffling her moan of need. "Hurts," he thought she whispered.

It wasn't time to give her slow loving. She needed relief and she needed it fast.

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