Night Embrace

  He was like a wild, hungry beast as he buried his face between her legs and took her into his mouth. Sunshine cried out in pleasure. She leaned back against the counter for support. His tongue swirled, then he gently sucked and nibbled. She buried her hands in his soft hair, her body burning at his touch. Her nipples were so tight they hurt. "Oh yes, Talon, yes," she breathed, pressing him closer to her.

  Talon growled deep and low in his throat as he tasted her. Her feminine scent invaded his head as her graceful hand tugged at his hair. He ran his tongue over the hard edge of her cleft, sampling and tasting the woman before him. It had been so long since anyone or anything had given him this much pleasure. But please him she did.

  Her passion, her creativity, her quirkiness. All of it was a magnet that drew him against his will. He licked and teased her. Tasted her. Let her murmurs of pleasure become his and when she came, calling out his name, he swore that he saw stars from it.

  Sunshine's breath came in short, sharp gasps as she looked down to see Talon rising up from the floor. He towered over her, his eyes dark, his face still hungry.

  "What is it about you that I can't resist?" he asked. "Every time I get near you, all I can think of is tasting you."

  He led her hand to his groin where she felt him hard and throbbing for her.

  "I don't know," she said, her voice ragged as she dipped her hand below his waistband and trailed her fingers through his short, crisp hairs until she could wrap her fingers around his swollen manhood. He drew his breath in sharply.

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  "But I feel the same for you," she said, sinking her hand lower, seeking out his soft sac.

  He closed his eyes, his jaw flexing, as she caressed him. She knew she gave him pleasure and yet he acted as if her touch pained him. She felt strangely vulnerable as she stood there with her lower body exposed while she wore her sweater and bra. Talon was still fully clothed.

  It was erotic and disconcerting. As if sensing her thoughts, Talon removed the rest of her clothes. She was completely naked now. He was not. He ran his hands over her, masterfully, tenderly. "Tell me your fantasies, Sunshine. Tell me what you dream about late at night when you're lying in bed alone."

  She'd never in her life shared such an intimacy and yet before she realized what she was doing, she found herself confiding in him. "I dream of a handsome stranger approaching me."

  He circled behind her. "And?"

  "It's dark and hot. I imagine him standing behind me and pulling me against him. Feeling him take me from behind while I can't see him at all, I can only feel him."

  Talon moved away from her and turned out the light. Sunshine shivered in the darkness. "Talon?"

  "Shh." His deep, accented voice seemed to engulf her.

  Then she felt his hands on her. Completely blind, she was all sensation as he pulled her back to his front and she realized he'd removed his jacket and shirt. He ran his hands over her breasts, cupping them while he nibbled the back of her neck.

  She'd had this fantasy for years, but never before had it been real. Never had she seen her dream man's face. Tonight, she envisioned Talon. She imagined what his hand Dark Hunter Series (04) - Night Embrace - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 154 of 460

  looked like as he resumed stroking her between her legs.

  She heard him unzip his pants. The heat of his body warmed hers as he whispered to her in a language she didn't understand. It deepened his voice, made it even more enticing. Erotic.

  Then, he was inside her, hot and hard. She moaned, arching her back, as he sank himself deep into her over and over again. He buried his hands in her hair while nibbling her shoulders. Her neck. His touch was hot, scorching.

  He bent her forward. Sunshine gasped as he penetrated her even deeper than before.

  He thrust himself against her, pounding pleasure into her body with such intensity that she found herself moaning and gasping in time to his movements.

  Talon clenched his teeth as he felt her body clutching his. She was so wet and hot, so silky. It was crazy but when he was inside her, he could almost feel his missing soul.

  "Come for me, Sunshine," he whispered in Gaelic, then he remembered that she couldn't understand him so he offered her the translation.

  "Talon." Her voice was a mixture of pain and pleasure. Of hot, demanding need. She was on the edge of climax. Seeking to help her reach it, he reached his hand down to her cleft and stroked her in time to his thrusts.

  She screamed out almost immediately as she came in his arms. Talon quickly joined her in that place of divine pleasure. They were both sweaty and panting as he pulled her naked body back against his. He laughed in her ear, grateful that for once he didn't have to hide his fangs when he smiled.

  In the dark, she couldn't see him. But he could see her plainly. Her long, black braids were hanging down, trapped between her back and his chest. The scent of them hung Dark Hunter Series (04) - Night Embrace - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 155 of 460

  thick in the air and she was wet and hot against him. He carried her to a chair and sat down with her in his lap. They were both still panting and weak.

  She leaned back against him, then reached her arm up around his neck to hold him close. He ran his mouth and tongue over her cheek, nibbling her gently. Sunshine had never before been like this with a man. Sure, she'd had sex and her ex-husband had been a horny toad, but she'd never wanted anyone the way she wanted Talon.

  His body was so warm and hard beneath her, so innately masculine, that she had no desire to ever move again from his lap. She sighed contentedly.

  "Talon, do you do this with every woman you meet?"

  "No," he whispered in her ear. "I don't, and I've never brought a woman out to my cabin before. You're definitely a special case."

  "You sure?"

  "Positive. What about you? Do you go home with every guy you meet?"

  She leaned back, wishing she could see his face. "No. I promise you, you're a special case too." He kissed her gently. They sat like that for a long time, just holding each other, lost in the quiet stillness of the dawn.

  Sunshine wasn't sure what she felt for Talon. There was a part of her that wanted to hold on to him like this forever and another part of her that told her she was an idiot for thinking any such thing about a guy she had just met.

  Yeah, he looked great in leather pants and could rock every piece of her body, but at the end of the day would he bother hanging around, or would he be just like every other guy she'd known? Selfish. Possessive. Judgmental.

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  She didn't know for sure. She wasn't sure if she wanted to wait around and find out.

  Sunshine yawned. It had been a long night, emotionally and physically draining. Now all she wanted to do was cuddle up to that warm masculine body and sleep.

  Talon felt suddenly awkward. Bringing her here had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now that he thought about actually going to bed with her to sleep It was an

  intimacy that he hadn't experienced since the death of his wife. There were plenty of times he'd had sex with women and afterward they had both drifted off to sleep for a little while, but this was entirely different.

  They would actually spend the day together. Sleeping. Their bodies touching She

  yawned again. "I'll be right back."

  Turning on the light for her, Talon didn't say anything as she grabbed a T-shirt from her bag and headed to his bathroom. While she was gone, he listened to her in the other room. He could hear the water running as she washed her face and brushed her teeth.

  This felt so strange. Memories drifted through his head. Memories of a life he'd purposely forgotten. Memories of a man he'd buried. He remembered countless nights when he had climbed into bed to wait for his wife as she readied herself for sleep.

  Nights when he had watched her brush her hair until it gleamed in the firelight and th
en braided it before she joined him.

  Nights of listening to her hum while she sewed before the fire He gazed over to his

  dresser where Sunshine had placed a small cosmetics bag, a pink hairbrush, and a small bottle that probably contained her patchouli oil. He stared at the dainty items that looked so out of place among his belongings. Items that were feminine and foreign, and that wrung his gut.

  How he'd missed sharing his life with someone. Having someone to care for, someone Dark Hunter Series (04) - Night Embrace - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 157 of 460

  who cared for him. It was something he hadn't thought about in a long, long time.

  Something he hadn't dared think about. Now that he thought about it, he had to admit life as a Dark-Hunter did have moments of profound loneliness. Sunshine came out with her black hair still braided and her legs peeking out from the hem of the shirt. The smile on her face tugged at his warrior's heart.

  Centuries ago, he'd looked forward to battle, knowing that if he survived, he would return to the warm embrace of loving arms. The comfort of a friend. As a Dark-Hunter the best he could hope for after battle was curling up to the computer or phone and sharing the fight with someone who lived hundreds, if not thousands, of miles away.

  That had never bothered him before. Tonight for some reason, it did. "You okay?" she asked. He nodded.

  Sunshine wasn't so sure of his answer. There was a haunted look to his face. "Have you changed your mind about me staying over?"

  "No," he said quickly. "It's just been a long night."

  She nodded. "Tell me about it."

  She climbed into his bed and pulled the black comforter over her body, then turned out the lamp by the bed. Talon turned to look at her. She lay on her side, facing the wall.

  Her head looked small against his king-sized pillow and she looked so tiny and womanly against the blackness of his bed.

  Most of all, she looked delectable. He lay down beside her. Before he could stop himself, he pulled her into his arms, spooning up behind her. "Mmm," she breathed sleepily. "I really like it when you do that."

  Pain ripped through him as he closed his eyes and inhaled her unique scent. She felt so incredibly good in his arms. Nae! his mind roared. He couldn't do it. He couldn't let Dark Hunter Series (04) - Night Embrace - Sherrilyn Kenyon Page 158 of 460

  himself care for her that way. There could never be anything between them. Tomorrow he would have to let her go back to her life while he returned to his.

  That was the way of things. Kissing her gently on the back of her head, he sighed and forced himself to sleep. He could never have her; she could never be more than a passing whim for him. Never.

  Sunshine lay there for quite some time listening to Talon breathe. There were no words to convey exactly what she felt lying beside this man. It was as if they fit. As if they were meant to be together. Why was that?

  She wasn't sure how long she lay there before sleep overtook her, but when she finally slept, she found herself having the strangest dream

  She saw Talon as a young man,

  probably no older than twenty. His long golden-blond hair was braided down his back while the two shorter, thinner braids dangled from his left temple. His youthful face was covered in a thick dark blond beard, but still she recognized him.

  Recognized him as a young man who meant the entire world to her. He held himself above her, his hard, masculine body naked and pressed against her own as he slid himself in and out of her with such tenderness that it made her heart soar and ache at the same time.

  "Oh, precious Nyn," he breathed in her ear. He drove himself deep and hard into her, punctuating each word he spoke. "How can I leave you?"

  She cupped his face in her hands and kissed him, then forced him back so that she could look into his amber eyes as he made love to her. "You've no choice, Speirr.

  You've fought too hard and suffered too much to be heir not to do this. This will ensure that the clan will take you as their king when your uncle dies."

  She saw the anguish in his eyes and felt his body grow rigid around hers. "I know."

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  They loved each other so much. They always had. Ever since the day when she was six and he eight, and he had nobly saved her from a flogging by a rooster. He had been the hero of her heart. They'd grown up apart and yet never parted.

  Even as children, they had known their friendship would be stopped or ridiculed, and Speirr had suffered enough ridicule to last ten thousand lifetimes. She would never hurt him more. So they had never told anyone of the times when they would sneak away from their famines and duties to be together.

  For years their meetings had been innocent. Meeting to play a game or to fish.

  Sometimes to swim, or to share the heartbreaks they felt. It had only been during this last year that they had dared touch each other's bodies. She was the daughter of a fishmonger--the lowest of the low. Even so, Speirr had never treated her as the others did. He never mentioned that she smelled of fish oil or wore clothes that were threadbare and patched.

  He'd respected her and treasured her friendship as much as she treasured his. She had given him her virginity gladly, knowing there could never be anything between them.

  Knowing the day would come when he would have to marry another.

  And though it broke her heart, she knew she had no choice except to let him go now.

  He needed to marry another to erase the taint his mother had left with him. To prove to everyone that he was noble in blood as well as in spirit.

  "You will make a fine husband, Speirr. She is lucky to have you."

  "Don't," he said, holding her tighter. "I don't want to think of anyone else while I'm with you. Just hold me, Nyn. Let me pretend for one moment that I'm not my mother's son.

  Let me pretend that there's only you and I in the world and no one and nothing to ever separate us."

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  She clenched her eyes shut as pain assailed her. How she wished it were true. He pulled back to look down at her. He cupped her face tenderly. "You are the only warmth in my heart. The only sunshine my winter has ever known."

  Oh, how she loved him like this. When he, the fierce, bold warrior-prince, dared to be the bard who lived in his heart. Only she knew this side of him. Only she had ever known he had the talent of a poet. To the rest of the world he must always be fierce and strong. A fighter of unquestionable prowess and skill. But it was his poet's heart she loved best.

  "And you are my fire," she breathed. "And if you don't go off and meet with your uncle now, he'll extinguish you."

  He cursed as he pulled away from her. She watched him dress and helped lace him back into his armor. He was a prince. Not just in title, but in bearing and form. There had never been a more noble man. After she was dressed, he pulled her into his arms and gave her one last scorching kiss. "Meet me tonight?"

  She looked away. "If you wish it, Speirr. I will do anything you ask, but I don't think it will be fair to your new wife to meet you on your wedding night."

  He flinched as if she'd slapped him. "You're right, Nyn. Most of all, it wouldn't be fair to you."

  Sunshine moaned as she felt herself leaving Nynia and moving toward Speirr. They were still by the loch, only now it was him she felt. His emotions. It was through his eyes she saw them. Speirr was heartbroken as he watched Nynia step out of his embrace.

  The pain inside him was so intense that he feared it would cripple him. He reached his hand out for her, knowing she was gone.

  Lost. Lost to him forever.

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  Just as his mother had been. Just as his sisters and father were. Gods, it was so unfair.

  But then, life was never fair. Especially not to a man who had duties and responsibilities. A man who had to force respect for himself and his
sister at the point of his sword.

  His life had never been his own. Turning away from her, he mounted his horse and rode to meet his aunt and uncle so that they could finalize the marriage between their clan and the Gaulish-Celt tribe that bordered them to the north.

  This marriage would finally silence the tongues of the gossips and doomsayers who wanted someone else to be named heir. Sunshine thrashed in her sleep as her dream shifted. She saw Talon later that day, standing between a beautiful woman in her early thirties and a man only a few years older. The woman had the same blond hair and blue eyes as Talon while the man was black haired and black eyed.

  They stood in the middle of an old wood hall. The room was crowded with people who were strangers to the three of them. Everyone was dressed in fine plaids and wore gold jewelry. Speirr's uncle was dressed in black leather armor and his aunt in gold armor with a long, plaid skirt.

  To the people gathered there, Talon looked strong and proud. Fierce and princely. The Gauls' whispered voices echoed in the room as they retold stories of his prowess in battle, told each other that he was the Morrigan's favored warrior.

  It was said the goddess herself walked beside him in battle and dared anyone to mar his beauty or dull his sword. What no one knew was that Speirr was ready to bolt as he waited to meet his bride. "I swear, lad, you're as skittish as a colt," his aunt whispered with a laugh.

  "You were too, Ora," his uncle teased her. "I remember your father threatened to tie you to his side if you didn't stop fidgeting while our parents bound us together."

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  "Aye, but I was much younger than he is."

  His aunt placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. Speirr took a deep breath as a young woman was brought forward to stand before him. "My daughter Deirdre," King Llewd said.

  She was beautiful. That was Speirr's first thought. With hair as golden fair as any he'd ever seen and blue eyes that were kind and gentle. But she was no match for his Nynia.

  No other woman could ever come close to her. Speirr stepped back instinctively.

  His uncle pushed him forward. Deirdre smiled invitingly. Her eyes warm and accepting.

  He stepped back again.

  This time, his aunt nudged him toward his bride. "What have you to say to her, lad?"