Keri Arthur - Circle of Desire

He placed her on it gently then stepped back, his gaze rolling languidly down the length of her body. It was a heated caress that sent a shiver of expectation through every part of her. Her nipples hardened, and the pooling heat between her legs became an ache that was almost unbearable. His gaze completed its erotic journey then met hers again, almost drowning her in longing.

"Beautiful," he murmured, lying down beside her.

From that moment on there was little room for talking.

As he'd promised, their lovemaking this time was a luscious and thorough exploration. Thought became desire, desire became need, and her whole world became this man who swore he couldn't love her.

His touch pushed her into a place where only sensation existed. The air was hot and thick and almost impossible to breathe. Every inch of her quivered beneath the relentless assault of his fingers and tongue. When he finally raised himself above her, she was slick with sweat, burning with pleasure, unable to think, unable to do anything more than feel.

For several seconds he held still, his arms trembling with the effort as their gazes met. Something twisted deep inside her. Ethan might not be able to love her, but he wasn't exactly immune to her, either. There was caring in his eyes.

Slowly, deliberately, he entered her, sliding so very deep, filling her with his rigid heat. The sheer bliss of it had her moaning. He held still again, his lips claiming hers, his kiss passionate and tender.

She wrapped her legs around him and pushed him deeper still. He began to rock, gently at first, touching places that had never been touched before. She could only groan in pleasure as his body drove into hers and the sweet pressure began to build.

He kissed her neck, her shoulders, her breasts, his movements becoming more urgent. The pressure built, curling through her body, until it became a tidal wave that would not be denied. She grabbed his shoulders, her fingers trembling, her nails digging into his flesh.

"Oh… God." Her voice was little more than a fractured whisper. "Please…"

He answered her plea, his thrusts powerful and demanding. Her climax came in a rush that stole her breath, stole all thought, and swept her into a world of sheer, unadulterated bliss. A heartbeat later he went rigid against her, the power of his release tearing her name from his throat. He held her for one last thrust, then his lips sought hers, his kiss a lingering taste of heat.

Then he rolled to one side and gathered her into his arms, holding her close as they drifted off to sleep.

It was only later she realized they hadn't used a condom.

Kat wandered into the next cabin as Ethan took a shower.

The front door was open, and the smell of rain and pine hung heavily in the air. Gwen was visible through the doorway, a steaming mug of coffee held between her knotted hands. She made herself a cup then joined her grandmother on the porch.

The sky was still heavy with the remnants of the night's storm, and the chill of winter was in the air. Days like today were best spent huddled in front of a warm fire, chocolate and a good book in hand, not out hunting the dead. Not that they had any choice — not when time was running out for those kids and maybe even themselves.

She ignored the premonition of rising danger and raised her cup to the sky. "If the colour of those clouds is anything to go by, it's going to be a bitch of a day."

"At least zombies don't like the cold any more than we do. It slows them down."

Which could be a good thing if there was a houseful of them to contend with. "You think that's where Janie and Kathy are?"

"Too easy. But the zombies have to be guarding something, so it's definitely worth a look."

She sipped her coffee for a moment, watching a small brown bird flit from tree to tree. "Has Seline come through with anything?"

Gwen nodded. "She's been able to confirm a lot of what we already know, and has found some additional information. This thing is an extremely ancient spirit and apparently very hard to kill."

"Great," Kat said sourly.

Gwen's gaze became speculative as she continued, "In many respects, it is similar to a vampire, only it feeds on souls rather than blood. It does have one interesting restriction — it can only feed while at the height of passion. But the same sort of weapons that kill a vampire can kill the Mara."

"I attacked it with a stake last night, and it didn't seem to do much."

"Was it in human or spirit form?"

"Spirit."

Gwen nodded. "Apparently it can only be killed in human form. Attacking it at any other time will do little more than wound it."

No wonder it was so hard to kill. "So why is it taking these kids?"

"That's the frightening bit. Apparently, when the Mara is coming near the end of its life cycle — " "How can it be a spirit and have a life cycle?"

"All things, living or dead, die eventually, whether willingly or forced. Life never-ending is not all it's cracked up to be."

Kat raised her eyebrows. "Oh yeah? Says who?"

"Says Michael, who's the oldest vampire in the Circle.

According to Seline, he was pretty close to either ending it all or stepping across the line when he met Nikki."

Kat nodded. She'd only met Michael once, but she had been more than a little overwhelmed by not only his good looks and charm, but by the dark aura of destruction that had seemed to shadow him.

"Anyway," Gwen continued, "when a Mara is near the end of its cycle, it breeds. To do this, it needs to perform a magic ritual. From here on, it's purely guesswork, but we think eating the souls the youngsters is just a side benefit, and that it's the emotions of the young that is a vital part of the ritual. That would probably explain why it's not killing these kids anywhere close to its own young. All magic is dangerous, and it doesn't want to endanger its own offspring."

A chill raced across her skin and she shivered. Facing one Mara was bad enough. Facing a host of them, whether youngsters or not, was not something she wanted to contemplate.

"Then it'll be dark emotions they feed on," she said.

"Like horror. Terror."

"And that's probably why it's keeping these kids for a week or so before it kills them. Gives plenty of time for fear to build."

"Or plenty of time for the youngsters to siphon off those emotions before the Mara ships the kids out to perform the ritual."

Gwen nodded. "Seline hasn't discovered what form the Mara's youngsters take."

"My guess is we'll discover that soon enough ourselves."

"You're probably right." Gwen drank her coffee for a few minutes then said, "So, what's troubling you, kitty-kat?"

She smiled. She never could keep anything from her grandmother for very long — not even the faintest of worries. "You remember me saying that both of us were more than able to contain our hormones long enough to take care of protection? Well, last night we forgot."

Gwen sighed. "That's always the worry with werewolves.

That aura of theirs can be overwhelming sometimes." She paused, then added with a fond smile, "That's how your uncle came into being, you know."

Kat's smile widened. She hadn't known that, though it certainly explained why he was the only wolf shifter in a family of ravens.

"Does Ethan know?" Gwen asked.

She shook her head. "We used one this morning, and I cleaned up afterwards. I doubt he even thought about it."

"Are you going to mention it?"

She hesitated. "I don't know. He was so damn vehement about never having kids."

"Yet he's obviously very close to this niece of his." Gwen regarded her thoughtfully. "There's a story in all that, I wager."

"If there is, it's not one he's telling me." Not yet, anyway.