Her teeth worried at her lower lip as he moved. The broad head of his arousal brushed against the entrance to her body, slick and ready for him. With a moan that was echoed a second later by hers, he sank into her welcoming warmth.
Sleep receded in comfortable waves and, for the first time in years, Andy woke feeling refreshed. Grunting in complaint as the chill dampness of the morning air whispered across her exposed cheeks, she snuggled back against the warm, male chest behind her. Waking up next to someone was a novel feeling, something new, but she liked it.
She hadn’t woken up next to anyone for a long time. Sure, she’d had lovers…she wasn’t an innocent, no matter how people decided to interpret her looks… There was no way she’d have trusted any of them enough to sleep next to them though. She knew better than to put herself in such a vulnerable position.
Some people said hav**g s*x was the most vulnerable position a woman could be in. That allowing such intimate access to her body left her open to all kinds of emotional and physical violence. Andy disagreed. If someone was going to hurt you then they were going to do it anyway. Or at the least, try.
Awake, you could fight back. You could see the situation developing and manage it to the best of your ability. Anyone that couldn’t see a violent situation brewing these days quite honestly didn’t deserve to live. It was survival of the fittest. Asleep a person, male or female, was truly defenseless.
A solitary bird chirped the dawn chorus with entirely too much enthusiasm. Andy yawned and opened her eyes. The campsite was a mess. Clothes and boots lay in a tangled mess, thrown willy-nilly in their passion last night. The only things laid out neatly within easy reach of the sleeping bag were their weapons.
She wriggled again, trying to get more comfortable. It was a roomy single but with Masons large frame crammed into it as well, it was a little snug. The smell of warm bodies, sleep and sex wafted up as she wriggled.
She felt deliciously sore in places she had begun to think didn’t exist anymore. Hell, a nun would have seen more action than she had the last couple of years. He’d woken her a couple of times in the night and their coupling had gone from tender and touching to fast and frenzied, as though they couldn’t get enough of each other.
Ordinarily that sort of link would have scared the crap out of her, but with Mason it felt right. Amused, she snorted a little. Who would have thought it…the big, bad Reaper feeling safe and protected in the arms of a human?
Behind her Mason stirred, and his strong arm looped crosswise over her body to pull her closer into him. He sighed and buried his face against the nape of her neck, as if she were a human-sized teddy bear.
She nuzzled her cheek against his hand on her shoulder. What was it about him? As soon as she’d seen him in the bar the other day something had pricked her interest. Both her feminine and her non-human instincts had stood up and taken notice. At first she’d thought the latter was because he was due to make a decision that might bring him under her blades but no, a look at his lifeline had revealed a dull, flat line.
She turned her head to study him. He was older than she was. Physically at least. Inside Andy felt ancient. If she didn’t know better, she’d believe the claim her grandmother had always made.
“You’re an old soul, Andrea, my love. You’ve been here before.”
The first part might have been true but not the latter. She didn’t have a soul, ancient or otherwise, just a dead lifeline. She snorted in wry amusement. Dead lifeline for a Reaper. Fitting.
Mid-thirties, she decided, still studying Mason. His muscled frame bore no puppy fat and the lines on his face were telling. Even before the war he’d had a hard life. His skin bore the scars of violence…both new and old…one gunshot wound looked like it had been treated surgically, which put it pre-war.
Yes, his lifeline was different. Now she had the chance and the leisure to study it properly she realized it was the grey of humanity but flatter than normal. Most lifelines pulsated with life, the potential of a thousand decisions taking them closer or further away from the touch of the Reaper. His didn’t move, no pulse of life even though her other senses, and her experiences last night, told her he was very much alive.
How odd, she thought to herself. Just what are you, Mason?
Mason woke as a cold draft chased down his spine. Pulling the sleeping bag tighter around his bare torso he tried to recapture sleep. Then it occurred to him that he didn’t sleep nak*d and didn’t own a sleeping bag.
Movement nearby had his eyes snapping open. For a second he was treated to an extremely nice view of Andy’s backside before she pulled her jeans up over her hips. Everything slammed back in a second…going after her, her wounded arm, and everything else. No wonder he was tired, the woman was insatiable.
“Nice view to wake to.” His voice was rough and raspy with sleep. Propping himself on one elbow Mason cleared his throat and waited for her answer.
She was gorgeous, all slender curves and satin skin. His c*ck stirred as he thought of what they’d done. By rights he should be exhausted, but he wanted her again already.
A frown settled onto his brow at her quick movements. This was no leisurely dressing, she was moving with economy and purpose, as though she needed to be somewhere quick. That or she wanted to be away from somewhere quickly. Or someone…
“Going someplace?”
His voice was light-hearted, but concealed the doubt that seethed in his gut. She regretted last night…that was it, and she was trying to get away from him as fast as she could.
“Your soul is dark Mason, black and steeped in blood. I can’t be around you. Not anymore. ” Julietta’s words, never far away, escaped from the locked box he kept them in and swam up to haunt him. Once the first part of the memory was free, the rest wriggled loose and filled his mind.
“Babe, you know I’ve only been protecting us. That girl wasn’t human…she was going to kill us,” he argued, shock filled his chest. He needed Julie. She was the only thing that made sense in a world gone mad.
She shook her head, her palm soft against his cheek as she looked into his eyes. Looked down into his very soul. “It’s not that Mason. It’s not even recent. Your soul…it’s dark, black. I’ve never seen anything like it. You have blood and lives on your hands. I’m sorry, I can’t be around someone like that. It’s not good for my karma. ”
Mason’s heart stilled as lead lined his gut. Perhaps his soul was too corrupt for any woman to want him for more than a night and a quick fuck. His heart ached. He didn’t want that, didn’t want to be a throwaway lover. He knew he wasn’t a good prospect for any woman, but for Andy, he wanted to be.
“Huh? What?”
The exasperated look she shot him as she shrugged on her jacket and reached for her curved blades reassured him. It wasn’t the hunted look of a woman trying to get away but the look of someone with a task on their mind.
“Yeah, time to get up. Early bird catches the worm and all that.”
She slammed home the buckles of the sheath and tested how easily the wicked-looking blades pulled free. Nodding in satisfaction she looked at him and smiled. His breath caught in his throat. The expression transformed her from pretty to breathtaking.
Their gazes locked. She knew what he was going to ask, and he knew she knew it. Before he could open his mouth though, she spoke.
“I…help people. It’s part of what I am,” she explained, as though the words were dragged from her. “Like I helped you yesterday.”
“You save people from Werewolves?”
Her dark hair danced on her shoulders as she shook her head. “Not just wolves. Any predator, paranormal or human. Far too many of them out there.”
“How can you tell someone needs help?”
Mason was relentless in his questioning but he had to know. They were his people in the town and damned if he was going to put them…or her in danger.
“I just can.”
She leaned forwards and brushed a lingering kiss against his lips. Carnal thoughts ambushed Mason as the urge to drag her back down onto the sleeping bag almost over-whelmed him. Possessiveness filled him. Somehow, in the last two days, she’d wormed her way past his guard and under his skin. This was his woman, damn it, and no one was stealing her away, not as long as he had breath in his body.
It took them less than five minutes to pack the campsite up. Whilst she packed the sleeping back, Mason dealt with everything else. A few minutes later he did the top of the pack and looked around. All that remained of their cozy little camp was the remains of the fire. Slinging the backpack over one shoulder he kicked the ashes over to make sure it was out.
He stamped again, trying to shake the ash, which clung in a black tidemark on the battered leather. There was no sense in making tracking them any easier. Leaning down he grabbed his rifle, and smiled at Andy.
“Ready?”
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
Chapter Six
Thoughts swirled around his head as they walked in silence. Whilst they were alone, them being together seemed right, normal. Now, faced with their return to the town, he could reflect on the strangeness of it all and on the strange puzzle she presented. Trouble was, even after the long walk that got him back in sight of the town walls, he was no closer to solving it than he had been when they started.
“Wait. There’s something wrong.”
Instantly Mason slowed his pace and slid her a sideways glance. Everything looked fine. The walls were quiet. Automatically he glanced at the town walls as he approached, looking for damage or smoke that would indicate the town had been over-run whilst he was gone. Nothing was out of place.
“You sure?” Everything looked fine but, after yesterday, he wasn’t going to argue. She had a serious set of non-human skills on her, and he’d be nuts to ignore that.
She stood motionless, her eyes not on the walls ahead, but out of focus, as though she could see something he couldn’t. “Something bad has happened. I’m going to scout around. Be careful.”
Before he could say another word she stepped backwards, and pulled a Houdini on him. Mason looked at the space she’d been just a moment before for a long moment.
“Great. Chicks that disappear. What next?”
With nothing better to do and not wanting to stand around like a lemon with a thumb up his ass, Mason turned towards the town and resettled Andy’s backpack over his shoulder. Disappearing act or not, he knew she was coming back. If only to collect her belongings.
“Morning, Joe,” he nodded to the guard on the outer redoubt as he passed. A man of few words, Joe nodded back and let him pass. Mason didn’t think anything of the long, sweeping glance as he walked by. All his people knew that anyone coming in was suspect. For all they knew he could have run into a Vampire or worse whilst out there and been changed into something else.
There wasn’t a guard on the main gate. Damn it! How many times had he told them to get cover when they had to take a leak? Irritation flashed white hot in Mason’s chest as he stormed down the main street. All he wanted was to make sure they were safe, and they disregarded the most basic safety principles. It was enough to make a guy lose it…