Claimed by Sin: an Urban Fantasy Novel (The Gatekeeper Chronicles Book 3) Read online

  “Malina?”

  Shit! Garuda stood at the edge of the spring, his eyes a reflection of the shifting, glowing pool. He was looking at me, really looking at me, as if…oh god. Heat crawled up my neck.

  I cleared my throat, trying for nonchalant even though I was throbbing in all the right places. “Do you want to come in?” Shit, why had I said that with such invitation in my tone?

  “Yes.” His voice was rough. “Do you want me to?”

  This was my chance. Say no, and end this here. I wanted him. Ajitah’s heartbroken face flashed through my mind, and guilt clawed at my belly. If he found out Garuda and I had taken things to the next level… My body throbbed in defiance, and my heart pounded in dispute, dispelling the guilt. I’d denied myself long enough, lied to myself long enough. Our lives were set on a path of constant danger, a path where tomorrow may never come, and a tomorrow without Garuda was inconceivable. If we did this, there was no taking it back. Not with Garuda. The warning was there, in his eyes, in the way he held himself back, ready to bow out if I turned him down. My belly quivered, and the pulse at my groin jumped in rebellion. If tomorrow never came, I’d have no regrets.

  “Yes. I want you to.”

  Never taking his gaze off me, he began to strip. His shirt first, exposing his powerful shoulders, taut pecs, and rippling abs, then his jeans, leaving his powerful thighs bare. My hungry gaze zeroed in on the huge bulge in his boxers. His fingers played with the waistband, and my breath grew short. He lowered it down slowly, inch by inch, until his erection was exposed, rock-hard and fucking gorgeous. I licked my lips. He was impossibly huge, and my core pulsed at the challenge. There was something undeniably vulnerable about being naked, but not for Garuda. He was more powerful unclothed than I could ever have imagined.

  He stepped into the pool, and I couldn’t breathe. The ambient light from the spring highlighted every hard plane and dip of his delectable body as he cut through the water toward me. He was a lion stalking prey more than willing to be devoured. I pressed against the rock face to stop myself from lunging for him. And then he was right there for the taking, sinking down so his head was level with mine. His eyes were all pupil, and my reflection stared back at me, mouth slightly parted, eyes at half-mast. Steam evaporated and condensed on his skin, leaving droplets of moisture clinging to his thick, dark lashes and upper lip. I reached up and cupped his jaw. His pulse jumped beneath my fingers as I ran the pad of my thumb across his full bottom lip. I slowly slid my hand down to his chest. He was trembling…no, he was vibrating. I locked eyes with him again, and there it was—the truth. He was reining it in.

  A thrill shot through me. He was death and danger, yet here he was, standing before me holding back his very nature. I pushed off the ledge and pressed my naked body against his—my lithe frame flush against his thick, taut one. The full, hot, hard length of him pressed up against my abdomen.

  He closed his eyes, groaning low in the back of his throat. “You feel fucking amazing.” His voice rasped against my skin.

  My throat was too tight with desire to speak. I nuzzled the hollow of his neck, flicking out a tongue to taste the salt on his skin. His shoulder muscles bunched, abs contracting, cock jumping against my belly. He gripped my waist, fingers digging in ever so slightly, but not nearly enough. Still holding back…

  I leaned back slightly to look into his face.

  The shadows in his eyes melted to be replaced by a wicked gleam. “You’re giving me your fuck-me eyes.” He grabbed my wet hair and wound it around his hand before pulling my head back to look deep into my eyes. “What about Ajitah?”

  “These fuck-me eyes are for you.”

  A growl tore from his throat, and then he kissed me—teeth and tongue and the rough rock wall at my back as he pressed me into it. His hands were brands of fire, searing my skin with delicious heat while the cool rock face dug into my back. I wanted to melt into him, breathe him in. He pulled back, adjusting himself so the length of him rubbed against my crotch, and then he cupped my arse, his grip brutal as he ground into me.

  I needed my knickers off. Fucking hell. I needed. I wriggled against him, my hand slipping down to try to tear them off. He broke the kiss and slid down to my breasts, drawing each nipple into his mouth before sucking and grazing them with his teeth. The pulse in my groin jumped. I was ravenous for him. He raised his head and met my gaze with his electric one before sliding under the water until… Fucking hell. His mouth, his glorious, clever…Oh…

  Tingling, prickling heat turned into ripples of pleasure mounting into waves until I was drowning in a tsunami. My body was no longer my own, bucking and writhing as his mouth continued to draw pleasure from me, playing me like an intricate instrument. He came up for air and claimed my gasping mouth before spinning me around and pushing me up against the rock once more.

  His lips grazed the delicate shell of my ear. “You taste fucking awesome.”

  He was huge, pressing against me from behind. Could I take him? My chest tightened in panic. But then his fingers found my clit and the delicious pressure began to build once more. I gripped the rock face and pushed back against him, wet and ready. His chest rumbled and then he was entering me, stretching and filling me inch by delicious inch. The cavern was filled with my short, sharp gasps, and his low, bestial grunts. His fingers flexed against my hipbones in a rhythmic ripple, his hips rolling as he eased himself in, and then he grazed the spot, tearing a low keening from my throat, but there was more, still more.

  I needed… needed… “Garuda, fuck, Garuda.”

  He stilled inside me, flexing that massive muscle. His breath ragged. “I’m going to fuck you now, Malina.” His voice was guttural and deeper than I’d ever heard it—a primal thing with no control.

  My body trembled in anticipation. He began to stroke my clit again, slowly and rhythmically building a new wave alongside the first. And then he began to move—slow, gently rolling movements that quickly accelerated into something frantic and rutting. I was powerless, immobile, as he fucked me. Blood pounded in my ears, cocooning me in a bubble of sound and sensation: grunts and gasps, the slap-slap of flesh on flesh, the rasp of his cock against my G-spot, the water lapping at my sides like a multitude of eager tongues, and the cold, rough rock rubbing against my sensitized nipples. It was an overload of pleasure bordering on pain. I was powerless to do anything but ride the never-ending rollercoaster. I wanted him to stop, but I didn’t. Each thrust was too much, yet never enough, taking me closer to the precipice. He fisted my hair and tugged, forcing me to arch my back. His mouth found the juncture of my neck, sucking and biting, and then he claimed my mouth, fucking it with his tongue, mimicking the plunge of his cock. He tore his lips from mine.

  “Fuck!”

  His hips went wild, blood thundered in my ears and tingled in my toes, and then I was falling off the edge, shattering into a million pieces.

  We lay on the rock floor by the pool, watching the swirl of light on the cavern ceiling. “Regrets?” Garuda asked, his voice a hesitant murmur.

  I let out an indelicate snort and raised up on one elbow to look down on him. There was the slightest of frowns, a thoughtful pucker to his lips.

  Did he think I’d want to take it back? “Yeah, I have one regret.”

  He closed his eyes. “Tell me.”

  “That we can’t do it again, right now.”

  The frown vanished to be replaced by a wickedly sensual smile. “I’m sure we could squeeze in another session.”

  I caught my bottom lip between my teeth, sorely tempted. My body still tingled, warm and throbbing from the second session. But duty called. And it wouldn’t be long before the weird fruit we’d eaten wore off and I’d need sustenance again.

  “Gah! We should get going. Find the graveyard, get the bones, and make our way back to the palace.”

  He sighed and sat up. “Yeah, you’re right.” He reached for his shirt. “I would have totally turned you down for round three anyway.”

&nbs
p; I smacked his arm, and he caught me around the waist, pulling me in for one last lingering kiss. He tasted sharp and sweet, and my core tightened. Maybe we did have time for a quickie?

  He broke the kiss and stared deep into my eyes. “When we get back, when this is all over, we won’t be leaving the bedroom for a week.”

  “Yes, please.”

  We dressed quickly. The spring had soothed the ache of the tree’s attack, but our sexy session had given me new aches to nurse. Pleasant aches to go with the memory of what we’d done.

  I strapped on Vindra. “You recovered a lot quicker than I thought you would.”

  Garuda glanced at the spring. “I think this is more than just a regular spring.”

  “A healing spring?”

  “I think it must be.”

  We headed toward the exit, navigating the dark tunnels, fingers grazing rock to find our way. The darkness turned gray as we got closer to the exit, and the tunnel widened enough for us to walk side by side. Garuda laced his fingers through mine, and my tummy fluttered in silly, schoolgirl-crush mode. This was new for me—the whole giddy thing. I breathed out slowly. Focus on the mission, Malina.

  Garuda faltered, and then came to a standstill. His grip on my hand tightened.

  “What is—” It hit me a moment later. A strange thrum in the air. An eerie vibration like the buzz before the enforcement copters hit the air above, or the tension that precedes the crackle of lightning and boom of thunder.

  “Stay here.” Garuda dropped my hand and moved forward without me.

  “Like hell.” I followed. Whatever was coming, we’d face it together.

  The cave opening loomed, the sky tinged with red, orange, and purple. The sun was coming up, and what we could see of the horizon was clear. But the feeling…the buzzing in my head, the vibration in my teeth, was still there.

  “I don’t like this,” Garuda said.

  Heat flooded my veins, and my fingers prickled and stung—a warning? “Something’s coming.”

  A swirl of smoke and fire burst into the cave. Garuda pushed me back, shielding me with his body. Fuck this. If it was fire our attacker wanted, then fire it would get. Slipping under Garuda’s extended arm, I held up my palms toward the strange energy. The prickle in my fingers exploded into an inferno. White flame surged out of my hands and slammed into the whirling mass, but instead of slowing it down, it seemed to fuel it. The mass expanded, and the cave reverberated with the sound of laughter.

  “Malina, get back!” Garuda grabbed me around the waist and hauled me against his chest just as the mass whooshed toward us, filling my vision with fire.

  10

  “Wake up. Wake up, for goodness’ sake!”

  The voice was unfamiliar, male, and hoarse. I rolled onto my back and opened my eyes. Thick bars stared back at me. Great. Another fucking cage.

  “Malina, are you okay?” Garuda helped me up into a sitting position.

  “Yeah, I just…” I rubbed the back of my neck. “I feel kinda weak.”

  “They were feeding off you,” the unfamiliar voice said.

  I scanned our prison—a cage inside a huge tent—and found the scrawny figure of a bearded, scraggily-looking man wrapped in rags sitting in the far corner of our cage.

  “They like creatures like us,” the stranger said, picking at his raw cuticles. “Creatures they can siphon off.”

  I shifted into a crouch. “What are they?”

  “Djinn,” Garuda replied. “Jeremiah here filled me in.”

  Wait, what? I stared from the scruffy dude to Garuda. “Jeremiah? As in our missing witch?”

  Jeremiah nodded eagerly. “I knew they’d send someone after me. I knew they’d figure it out.”

  He thought we’d come to save him. I locked eyes with Garuda, and he shook his head imperceptibly. Don’t shatter the poor guy’s illusion, it said. Who was I to kill the hope that had kept him going all this time?

  I focused on the witch. “How long have you been here, Jeremiah?”

  He blinked at me owlishly. “Days…months. Years? I’m not sure. It feels like forever.”

  I sighed. “Okay. Well, first things first. We need to bust the heck out of this cage.”

  Jeremiah shook his head sadly. “The bars are impregnable. Made of the strongest material. One that our reality couldn’t even comprehend. So you see, you came all this way simply to be trapped here with me. I’m sorry…so sorry…”

  “Uh-huh.” I retrieved my trusty laser pen and set to work on the bars.

  “I tried to open a doorway, but the cage is warded, so I tried to cut my way out using magic, but the bars are impervious to magic, so I found a rock and—”

  The first bar came free, and I laid it on the ground with a soft chink.

  Jeremiah gasped. “How? What magic do you possess?”

  I held up the laser pen. “Not magic. Technology.”

  “A magnificent invention indeed.” He grinned, showcasing teeth caked with plaque, and then scrambled forward on all fours. “You must be quick. Barok will be doing his rounds in a few minutes. If he finds your technology, then we are doomed.”

  I set to work on the rest of the bars. “So tell me about these djinn. I assume they’re not the sit-in-a-lamp-and-grant-wishes type.”

  Jeremiah let out what sounded like something between a chuckle and a snort. A snortle?

  It was Garuda who replied. “Creatures made from smokeless fire. Intelligent, dangerous, and hungry for power in any form. With your connection to the seal, you’re an all-you-can-eat buffet to these guys. Jeremiah here is still connected to the skein, so that’s what they’ve been siphoning.”

  “And you?”

  “My power isn’t limitless. They drain me for long enough, without giving me the chance to recharge, and I’ll die.”

  Fuck that shit. “No one is dying on my watch.” Yeah, it sounded like a corny line from a bad action movie, but I bloody meant it. The last bar slipped from my fingers and fell to the ground with a loud clang. I froze, eyes going to the tent flaps. A long minute passed, but no one came. “Okay, time to get the fuck out of here.”

  I ducked out first, Garuda hot on my tail. Jeremiah skittered forward and slid out behind us. He stood on shaky legs and swayed.

  Garuda made a grab for him. “You okay?”

  “Thank you. I’m fine. It feels good to be upright.” He blinked rapidly.

  He was probably having a head rush, complete with little black dots swimming before his eyes. Poor guy. Who knew how long he’d been locked up? He looked as if a brisk wind could knock him sideways.

  Shit.

  He wasn’t going to be able to keep up with us. I looked to Garuda and saw the same conclusion reflected on his face. But there was no way I was leaving him behind. I’d never be able to live with myself if I did.

  As if reading my thoughts, Garuda, the genius, presented us with a solution. He crouched, indicating Jeremiah should climb onto his back. Jeremiah opened his mouth but then snapped it closed. He nodded and clambered on.

  I walked over to the tent flap and peered out. We were in a huge camp. Fires burned brightly and large humanoid figures with green, blue or red skin, sat in clusters, smoking, drinking, and playing games. Every movement was a blur, a shift of mist and smoke that made my eyes cross and water. There was no way we were getting out this way unseen.

  A quick scan of the tent showed no other exit. Fine, we’d have to make our own. Using the laser pen, I made a hole at the back of the tent and peered out. A small campfire and one sleeping djinn lay out back. Beyond that, barely a ten-meter sprint away, was the blessed cover of twisted, dark trees thick with strange crimson foliage. I stepped to the side to allow Garuda a peek. He looked and nodded.

  “We need to move fast. Barok will be on his way any moment,” Jeremiah said from his position clinging to Garuda’s back.

  Garuda gripped my wrist. “We make a run for it. If I don’t make it, you keep going. You get to the trees, and you keep heading
west. Promise me.”

  Like heck I was making that promise. Instead, I kissed him on the mouth, hard and determined, sliced the tent open, and carefully slipped out. Garuda followed. We stood frozen, backs to the canvas, eyes on the sleeping djinn lying between us and our salvation. I held up my hand, made a fist, and then took off. Light on my feet, I made it past the djinn and was halfway to the tree line when a bellow behind me had me skidding to a halt. The djinn was awake and right on Garuda’s tail.

  “Run!” Jeremiah cried.

  I ran, hitting the tree line a moment later, Garuda’s heavy footfalls crushing the bracken at my back. Jeremiah screamed. My heart jumped into my mouth. Garuda was down, the djinn looming over him. It raised its arm, which shifted and morphed into a battle-axe.

  I skidded, swerved, and barreled toward them.

  “No.” Garuda shook his head.

  The djinn looked up, its craggy face breaking into a malicious grin. It wanted to suck on my power, huh? Well, fuck that. Less than two meters away, I grabbed Vindra from her sheath and launched into the air, bringing the blade down in an arc. Suck on this, bitch. I drove her into the djinn’s neck all the way up to the hilt. Its eyes bugged, mouth turning down, and then it dropped.

  Garuda scrambled up, Jeremiah still clinging to his back, and we ran.

  The forest wasn’t large—a thick strip of coverage—and the trees began to thin out pretty quickly. The prickle across my skin told me water was nearby. A moment later, the gush and bubble of a river hit the air.

  “Keep going, we need to cross,” Jeremiah instructed. “It’s not deep.”

  The water came up to my thighs, seeping into my clothes and licking at my skin, recharging my naga half. I made it to the far bank first, swishing through the high grasses and four-foot blooms.

  “You can stop. Slow down,” Jeremiah said.

  I came to a halt, barely winded. The adrenaline of the chase plus the mini dip seemed to have recharged me. Either that or I’d inadvertently drawn a boost from the seal, which meant it would be demanding something back soon. Shit. I needed to eat.