She got inside and turned, only to find him coming at her with a concerned look in his eyes. She slammed the door.
“Stay away from me!”
“Jill? What is wrong?”
She saw the lock and twisted it. A second later, he tried to open the door. She backed away, breathing hard from her wild sprint up the stairs and down the hallway.
“Jill?” He softened his tone. “I apologize if kissing you upset you, but I needed to show Winalin that I wasn’t interested in her.”
She hugged her body, flinching over how oversensitive her breasts felt under the shirt. Her nipples were hard, her skin too hot. She backed up more and spun, heading toward the bathroom. A cold shower might dilute whatever weird thing he’d done to her.
“Jill?” He knocked on the door. “Talk to me.”
“Fuck off, Wings. Keep your freaky mouth and whatever the hell kind of drug you secrete away from me,” she yelled over her shoulder.
She entered the bathroom and locked the other door that entered his bedroom. It was imperative that she cool down before she ended up throwing herself at the big bastard and begging him to fuck her. It was a real possibility.
She turned on the shower, stomped over to the sink, and twisted the tap. The water was cold when she cupped her hands and leaned in, drinking some of it, hoping to erase the sweet taste of his kiss. It must be some natural sex chemical GarLycans secrete to make defenseless women horny as hell.
The door she’d just locked came crashing open. She jerked upward and spun, gaping at Aveoth. He stopped at the doorway from his bedroom into the bathroom. “What in the hell is wrong with you? Did you say drugs?”
She shoved back against the sink and watched as his nostrils flared. A look of surprise widened his eyes and his gaze lowered to her thighs. “Shit.”
“What did you do to me?”
His gaze lifted, holding hers. “It wasn’t intentional. I swear on my honor.”
“Bullshit!” She wasn’t buying it. Sweat beaded on her skin, the heat coming back. She’d heard about hot flashes but these seemed worse. Her clit throbbed painfully again and her breasts actually hurt.
The color of Aveoth’s eyes swirled to mostly silver. “I swear I didn’t do this on purpose.”
“What did you dose me with?” She leaned heavily against the counter and clutched it to keep upright. Her knees didn’t want to support her weight and her legs shook. “Make it stop!”
“Damn it.” He gripped the doorframe and it creaked, the wood sounding as if were being crushed. “I’m different from other GarLycans. This has never happened before. Well, not like this. I’m so sorry, Jill. You must believe me.”
“Give me something to counteract whatever the hell this is!” She spun, bending over the sink since her legs trembled harder. The need was turning into pure agony. “I’m not having your bat babies, goddamn you.”
“Listen to me. I told you there’s this thing that happens to Gargoyles every thirty years. It’s called the ravage. It’s not my time, but I think you somehow triggered my hormones and you…you must have swallowed some when we kissed.”
She squeezed her eyes closed, leaning more on the counter. “You’re blaming this on me? Really? Are you kidding me?”
“No! Of course not. I’m shocked by this. The ravage is complicated.”
“So you’re in heat like that stray cat I fed. Goddamn you, Wings.”
“I’m not the one in heat, but I think I’ve put you into it. It wasn’t intentional, Jill. I swear on my life. As I said, I’m different. I really wanted you, and for whatever reason, my hormones levels must have increased since I met you. I somehow transferred them to you by kiss. I didn’t even know this could happen.”
She groaned and started to crumple. Aveoth was there instantly and picked her up. She would have fought, but she’d have only ended up on the floor if he hadn’t gotten to her. He spun, carrying her through the broken door and to his bed. He took a seat on the large mattress, cradling her in his arms.
“I really didn’t know this was possible. I swear. Let me help you.”
“Right. By putting a youngling in my womb? Fuck off.” She tried to climb off his lap and he turned, helping her. She rolled onto his bed and curled into a ball on her side. She was burning up, aching, and could feel wetness between her thighs. It was more than that. She was soaked.
“Am I bleeding?”
“No.” His voice deepened. “It’s not your period causing that. It’s lust.”
“Get away from me.”
“That’s not going to help, Jill.”
“Put me in the shower. Cold water will.”
“It won’t.”
The bed moved, and she turned her head, peeking at him. Aveoth started to get naked by shoving his pants down.
“Don’t you dare.”
“I’m going to help you.”
“By fucking me? Pass!”
“No, sweetheart. I’m just going to get you through this. It’s my fault. I apologize.”
She tried to roll away when he put his knee on the bed and it dipped. He was faster, and grabbed her. She gasped as he flipped her onto her back and began to strip her. It was tempting to fight, but getting rid of his T-shirt seemed to help the aches a bit. She stared at him as he lay on his stomach, pushed her legs apart with his strong hands, and slid down the bed. Her eyes widened when she realized what he was about to do, and her mouth opened.
He moved fast, and suddenly his head dipped between her thighs. Hot breath fanned her pussy, and then his mouth opened up and his tongue was on her clit.
She threw her head back and clawed at the bedding as he licked her. Pleasure hit so hard, she saw spots, and then a climax ripped through her. She cried out, her body jerking.
Aveoth snarled and burrowed his face closer, his tongue merciless on her clit. She bucked but couldn’t get away as another wave of ecstasy rolled through her.
Jill lost the ability to think. It was just pleasure, her heart pounding so hard she felt as if it might beat right out of her chest, and yet another climax hit. He was going to kill her with his tongue. There was no slow descent after she came. Just need and bursts of extreme rapture.
She moaned, cried out, and climaxed again.
Chapter Nine
Aveoth had jacked off in the shower. He entered his bedroom and stared at Jill sleeping in his bed. Guilt, disbelief, and shock still echoed through him. His ravage was years away but his body had betrayed him and Jill. She’d never forgive him.
His dick stiffened and he glared down at it. “I deserve sainthood.” He’d only used his mouth on Jill until she’d passed out from exhaustion. There was no way he’d take advantage of her in that condition. He strode over to the nightstand and removed his personal phone before he returned to the bathroom. He called Kelzeb.
His friend answered on the second ring. “Is something wrong?”
“Where are you?”
“Between meetings. I’m walking.” Kelzeb paused. “No one is near me. What is wrong? You sound pissed.”
“I kissed Jill.”
“That’s progress.”
“And it sent her into heat as if I’d withdrawn my hormone fluid from the back of my very neck while suffering the ravage.”
His friend inhaled sharply. “What?”
“You heard me.”
“That’s not possible. It’s not the right time for you.”
“I also didn’t use a needle to withdraw the fluid buildup that I don’t even have.” He closed his eyes and reached behind his neck, feeling for a lump. There wasn’t one. “There’s no sign of the ravage but that’s what happened.”
“I’m coming to you.”
“No. I couldn’t stand you being near her right now. I’m feeling overprotective and aggressive as hell.”
“Is she okay?”
“She’s passed out in my bed.”
“Did you mate her?”
“Hell no. I kept my dick away from her.”
“You just let her suffer through it?” Kelzeb sounded shocked.
“No. I got her through it with oral sex. She’s never going to forgive me. Her reaction…shit. I can’t even blame her for thinking I did this with purpose. She accused me of drugging her like humans do in clubs. What do they call it? Date-rape drugging?”
“You’re going to have to tell her the truth about you when she wakes.”
“I can’t. Not yet. She was already mistrustful but now she’s going to hate me. I can’t share my deepest secret with her, Kelzeb. What if she betrays me?”
“There’s never been anything like you that we know of. And this hasn’t happened to you before. Why now?”
“Maybe it’s because I’d decided to mate her? I don’t know.” His shoulders slumped.
“Look, I’m going to put it out there. You either need to tell her you’re a bit different so she has a chance to understand what happened, or she probably will think you’re a dishonorable asshole who’d unleash a chemical bomb on her sex drive. You said it. You want her to be your mate. This isn’t something you’ll be able to hide from her if your body reacts to her this way. It’s likely to happen again.”
“Fuck.” He wanted to punch something.
“Whatever you do, the rumors are growing stronger amongst the clan. Everyone seems to know about you having a human living in your quarters. Hawk came to me.”
Aveoth got a handle on his emotions. “What did he say?”
“The Gargoyle Council held a secret meeting today. I sure as hell wasn’t informed. He saw them grouped together heading toward their chambers. He wanted you to know.”
“Do you think we can trust Hawk?”
“I do. Hawk loves Chaz and Fray. He had to have heard the rumors that circulated about Abotorus. Can you see him complying if an order came down to eradicate GarLycans in our clan?”
The answer was simple. “Fuck no. He’d have fought alongside his sons to the death.”
“Exactly. He would kill anyone to protect them,” Kelzeb said.
“You’re right. Hawk would never side with the pure-bloods, since most of them agreed with Abotorus that GarLycans have weaknesses they can’t abide.”
“I’m wondering what those ancient fucks are plotting.”
“A flat-out attack would be stupid but I wouldn’t put anything past the council. Quietly alert GarLycans to be vigilant.”
“Already done.”
“You should have called me right away, Kelzeb.”
“I said I would only interrupt your time with Jill if there was something I couldn’t handle.” Humor bled into Kelzeb’s voice. “As much as I hate the council for the way they fuck with us, they are just a pain in our asses. I’m certain they’ve never inspired loyalty to anyone except other full-bloods, considering the way they make no secret about looking down on GarLycans. Their numbers are far fewer than ours these days.”
“I never want it to come to GarLycans fighting Gargoyles in our clan. It would be all kinds of fucked up. Father against son. Never,” Aveoth swore. “I’ll talk to Kado.”
Kelzeb snorted. “He won’t listen. That’s the cold bastard who swore years of service from his own son just to score points with Abotorus. He made Creed a servant to our old lord. I’ve always wondered why he chose Creed and not one of the first three sons.”
“I pondered that myself, and spoke to Nebulas after we discovered the assignments the council had given Creed. Fucking bastards had him out in the dead zone, patrolling far beyond what was considered sane.”
“I remember. What did Kado’s eldest son say? Did he defend his father?”
Aveoth remembered his anger. “No. Nebulas was furious at his father over his brother’s mistreatment. Creed’s wasn’t a planned birth. Kado’s mate went into heat and she got pregnant.”
“Lycans don’t accidently get pregnant.”
Aveoth sighed. “My guess is she wanted another child but Kado didn’t. She probably didn’t care about his wishes. Would you want to take orders from him? I can’t blame her. He gave his son’s life to Abotorus as punishment to his mate and to the son he never wanted.”
“Prick.”
“My opinion of Kado has never been high. Nebulas said he was aware his father had been angry over the matter, but he didn’t know his brother was still paying the price. I promised him that I’d never allow the council to assign Creed duties again. That’s why I had you send him to be a Lycan pack guardian. It keeps him far from his father’s reach.”
Kelzeb grunted. “I wish we could send Kado away. But we’ll deal with whatever the council’s planning.”
“I’ll set up a meeting with him.”
“At least we know that coward won’t challenge you.”
“True.” Aveoth thought about his current problem. “My main issue right now is Jill and what I’m going to do when she wakes.”
“Tell her as much of the truth as you can. Hopefully it will be enough if you don’t want to share your history just yet.”
“I’ll contact Kado now.”
“Don’t meet with him without me there.”
“Of course not. I’m thinking this evening. Are you free?”
“I’ll make sure of it. Good luck with Jill.”
“Thanks. I’m going to need it.” Aveoth disconnected the call and crept back into his bedroom. Jill still slept. He left his bedroom and began to prepare food for her. She’d be hungry. He just hoped she’d give him a chance to explain.
* * * * *
Jill sat up in bed, gripping the thick bedspread covering her body. A light had been left on. It wasn’t the room Aveoth had given her but instead his bedroom. Memories returned and heat warmed her cheeks. He’d gone down on her, gotten her off several times, until she’d passed out from exhaustion.
She glanced around, seeing that she was alone. Her gaze went to where the opening should be to the ledge, but he’d sealed it off. “Of course he did,” she muttered. “So I can’t escape.”
She pushed back the bedspread and stared at her naked body. A quick assessment told her she’d been washed. Nothing hurt but she felt her throat, not feeling any bite marks. Wings had drugged her though. His kiss had turned her on so strongly that she hadn’t even put up a fight.
She stood and let her hand wander down to the V of her thighs. It didn’t hurt there, either, so she was pretty sure he hadn’t done more than use his mouth.
Anger filled her. It had been unfair, what he’d done to her. He talked about honor, but a nice whatever-the-hell he was wouldn’t have dosed her.
The bathroom door lock was still broken but she entered it and stared at her reflection. She again scanned her body, twisting and turning to see if he’d bitten her. There were no marks or bruises. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and entered her bedroom. A clean shirt had been left on top of the bed. She hesitated but then put it on. It beat walking around naked. The thing had to be Aveoth’s, of course, and it hung to her thighs.
She opened the hallway door and the scent of food hit. Her stomach growled. Part of her wanted to barricade herself inside the bedroom but she was too angry. Hiding wasn’t who she was. Her life had always been hard, and she faced things straight on. Including freaky men with wings. Her and Aveoth were going to talk.
She stormed barefoot toward the kitchen and found him sitting with his back to her at the counter.
“I hope you slept well.”
His deep voice startled her, since he didn’t move on the barstool. He had probably heard or smelled her coming. She crossed her arms over her chest as she came to a halt. “So much for your talk of honor and all that bullshit. You drugged me.”
“It wasn’t intentional.”
“Bullshit.” She wasn’t buying it.
He slowly turned on the stool and stood. His features surprised her. He looked tired, and his normally stimulating eyes were just blue now, no sign of silver. “That has never happened before, Jill. I wasn’t even aware I had the ability to put you into
heat with just a kiss. I’m a lot of things, but I’m not a liar.”
“I’m not a cat. I don’t go into heat.”
“I’m mostly Gargoyle, and under certain circumstances we can trigger heat with humans, Lycans, and even other Gargoyles. This truly wasn’t planned. Will you please at least listen to me?”
“Do I have a choice? You have me trapped here.”
“Are you hungry?”
“As if I’d trust you to prepare me anything. You drugged me once. You could do it again.”
He sat back down. “Every thirty years, a Gargoyle experiences the ravage. We usually get a day or two warning before it hits. Our emotions are unstable and a lump forms at the back of our necks. It’s a chemical buildup of sexual hormones. We find a woman to agree to share our ravage with us.”
“I didn’t agree to that shit.”
He nodded. “I’m aware. May I continue?”
She kept silent, staring at him.
“We use a syringe to remove some of that chemical, or hormone, whatever you want to call it, and put it in a glass. The woman will drink it. It affects her quickly, just the way my kiss did to you yesterday. You may feel the back of my neck. There’s no lump. My emotion levels haven’t spiked. I’m not in the ravage, nor is it due, but for whatever reason my body somehow produced that chemical inside my mouth when I kissed you. I swear to you that I don’t know why or even how it happened. This was a first.”
“I still call bullshit.”
His eyes swirled silver but they calmed quickly, returning to a bright blue. “I understand your mistrust but I’m telling you the truth. Don’t you think I would have fully bedded you if this had been planned? You certainly would have let me fuck you.” His voice deepened. “Instead, I tended to you orally and suffered the most painful hard-on of my life. I tended to my own needs afterward in the shower.”
She still didn’t trust him. “Maybe you did things to me after I blacked out.”