Primal Pleasure: Pendragon Gargoyles, Book 3 Page 7

  He gave her a knowing smirk, as if he could tell she’d just been thinking about his chest.

  How in the hell had he found her? She’d been careful not to stay in any one place for more than a day or two, or tell anyone where she was going next, and neither she or Elena ever told anyone about Leah.

  He cocked his head, lifting a hand to probe the place she’d nailed him. “Still attached.”

  “Unfortunately,” she murmured, forcing her attention back to her cards.

  And to think she’d been worried she’d struck him too hard that night in his bathroom. She might have been crazy enough to think she’d felt some kind of connection to him, but his anger following the best sex of her life had helped her come to her senses. She’d never blindsided anyone the way she had Cian when she’d lain in wait for him with the heavy toilet tank cover, and the guilt afterward had nearly paralyzed her.

  Remembering the fury in his eyes, though, had gotten her ass moving in the end. Too bad it hadn’t been enough to erase the memory of being with him altogether.

  It feels like I’ve been waiting forever to find you.

  She’d believed him. As crazy and naïve as it was, in the moment, she had felt the same, and the only person she was furious with—other than herself—over the whole mess was Elena. And when she caught up with her twin…

  “Ma’am?”

  She scanned the last cards played from beneath lowered lashes and motioned for another card of her own, then stayed at nineteen. She counted the seconds until the hand ended and she could get away from the table.

  Cian motioned for another card. “Hit me.” He leaned forward, his attention on Emma. “Oh wait, you already did that.”

  She smiled sweetly. “And enjoyed every second.”

  He scowled, and she basked in the minor victory as his total hit twenty-two and she beat both him and the house.

  Gathering up her chips, she slid away from the table, knowing the thirty-second head start Cian gave her meant nothing. He hadn’t tracked her to this point to let her walk away.

  The gargoyle proved her instincts were dead on when he tipped the dealer and trailed after her. She headed toward the slot machines, glancing over her shoulder to find his purposeful strides bordered on stalking. He weaved around tables and people the way an animal leaped over obstacles in the woods.

  They both knew it was just a matter of time before he made his move. That didn’t stop her from zigzagging between rows of blinking slot machines. So intent on getting some distance between them, she stopped paying attention to her surroundings and lost track of where she was in the casino.

  Chancing a quick glance behind her, she slowly came to a stop. He wasn’t behind her, so she waited a beat, anticipating him rounding the corner any second.

  He didn’t.

  Could she have actually lost him? She started to dismiss the possibility before remembering he’d probably never stepped foot in a casino before today. He could have learned the rules of modern blackjack from watching television or online, which meant the casino’s design and intentional lack of easy-to-recognize landmarks could have disorientated him.

  Hope flared in her chest, and she whirled around intent on grabbing Leah and getting the hell out of there. She dug in her bag for her cell phone, keeping an eye out for Cian.

  Ducking into a small alcove between two rows of slots, her fingers fumbled over the keys while texting Leah to meet her outside. She slipped her phone back in her bag and froze as she caught a glimpse of Cian searching for her. She held her breath, letting it out slowly when he moved on without spotting her.

  Heading in the opposite direction, Emma collided with a twenty-something woman on crutches.

  Crap. “Sorry about that.”

  “No problem.” The woman smiled, and Emma paused, momentarily distracted by her smile.

  With long, wavy black hair, a flawless complexion and a full pouty mouth, the woman was gorgeous, plain and simple. Probably a model or a showgirl. “I should have been paying more attention.” Not an easy feat with a vengeful gargoyle hot on her trail.

  “I just broke my foot a week ago and still feel a little like Godzilla lumbering around whenever I get in tight spaces.” She held out her hand for the crutch Emma had knocked into a planter.

  Careful not to shove it at the woman, she forced a smile. “You might want to steer clear of the buffet then. The starving masses don’t think twice about crowding people when food is involved.”

  She laughed, started past Emma, then stopped. “I don’t suppose you might know where the bathroom is, would you?”

  “No, sorry.” She glanced around for Cian.

  “I’m the one who’s sorry. You look like you’re in a hurry and here I am babbling. I have a bad habit of doing that when I’m nervous. This is my first trip to Las Vegas and my boyfriend has disappeared, and I had one too many cocktails, hence my search for the bathroom…and I’m doing it again, aren’t I? Sorry.”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Okay.” She smiled again, but it didn’t light up her face like before, and Emma swore she looked a little worried.

  There wasn’t time to play Good Samaritan, and yet the way the other woman worried her necklace, the same way Leah did whenever she was pretending she wasn’t overwhelmed by something, made Emma cave. “You know, I’ve been looking for the bathroom myself. Maybe between the two of us, we can find it.” Sooner rather than later, preferably.

  The other woman’s smile brightened. “Great. Two sets of eyes are better than one, right?” She fell into step with Emma, not complaining that Emma was probably walking too quickly for someone still getting used to crutches.

  Feeling a little guilty over that, she tried to slow it down just a bit.

  The woman glanced behind them, following Emma’s gaze. “Is something wrong?”

  “Nothing an overdose of catnip won’t fix.”

  “I’d help you out but I traded my last bag for a mimosa earlier.”

  Emma grinned, a little relieved when she spotted a sign for the washrooms. Leaving the cover of the slot machines instantly made her feel vulnerable, and she wanted to get to Leah now.

  “Good luck finding your boyfriend.”

  “Thanks, I think I’ll need it.” She motioned at the floor with one of her crutches. “There’s a token by your foot. Could be lucky.”

  Emma bent and picked it up without thinking, belatedly bracing herself for the memories that would come with it.

  Nothing.

  “It’s never been played before,” she mused aloud.

  The woman cocked her head. “How do you know that?”

  “Just a feeling.” She shoved the token in her pocket, nodding as the other woman smiled and disappeared into the washrooms.

  Eager to get moving, Emma turned around—and ran smack into Cian.

  His hand curled around her elbow, and her skin grew hot beneath his touch. “Emma.”

  The sound of her name on his lips, heavy with longing, tugged at her. She didn’t fight him when he drew her closer. Her forehead brushed his cheek, rough with a day’s growth of stubble, as his palm settled at the small of her back.

  His lips grazed her ear. “You shouldn’t have run.”

  “You shouldn’t have come after me.”

  His hand trailed up her spine, his fingers brushing her nape, making it so much harder to sound indifferent. Apparently the pep talks she’d given herself about her conflicting emotions for Cian hadn’t been half as effective as she’d thought. Not with him standing so close and smelling so good and making it impossible to forget that she knew what his naked body felt like pressed up against hers.

  Growling low and sexy, he dropped his head until his lips skimmed her cheek. “If you get any more aroused, I will take you right here without a second thought. I need to be inside you that much.”

  As far as threats went, it was damn effective. Her panties grew damp instantly.

  “Fuck,” he breathed, his mouth hot
on her skin.

  Her eyes slid shut and she ceased to think about anything but how incredible his lips felt burning a path straight to her mouth.

  Behind them someone squealed and the sound of a slot machine emptying broke them apart.

  His gaze darkened. “You and I need to talk.”

  “Well, since you said please,” she drawled.

  He sidestepped when she made a move to go around him. “Now.”

  “Do you know what’s missing here, gargoyle?”

  He cocked his head, his eyes much too intense for the lazy once-over he gave her. “You’re not wearing any undergarments?”

  She might have smiled if he didn’t sound both hopeful and annoyed. Mostly annoyed.

  Deciding to use their proximity to make her point, she looped one arm around his neck. His spine straightened, right up until she ran her fingers through the ends of his hair, and his eyes slid shut.

  “Feel that,” she murmured, forcing herself to ignore how good he felt so she wouldn’t lose her only advantage. “That happens to be my bare wrist on your skin, the one no longer hindered by your little handcuff.”

  His eyes snapped open, and she dropped her arm.

  “I see that we’re on the same page now, so how about you stop ordering me around?”

  “You would reveal yourself to the humans here?”

  Not a chance, but she’d always been good when it came to bluffing. It was one of the few things she was better at than Elena. “What makes you think I can’t make them forget anything they shouldn’t see?”

  He wasn’t buying it. She could read it plain as day on his face, and yet he didn’t call her on it. Instead his brows drew together, like he was puzzling something out that didn’t add up.

  “You intrigue me, sorceress.”

  “And is that why you’re here? Because I intrigue you? Because I was under the impression it probably had something to do with the colossal goose egg I must have given you. Among other things.”

  She waited for him to scowl or say something to piss her off. He wasn’t so damn sexy when he was being an asshole. Mostly.

  His lips twitched. “You would deliberately provoke me?”

  She arched a brow. “You say that like I’m supposed to be afraid of the big bad kitty.” Okay that might be pushing it, but as far as Cian was concerned, she was powerful enough to curse him. Any sorceress with that kind of strength wouldn’t be easily bullied, not even by a gargoyle using his size and proximity to intimidate her.

  Elena would be proud of her.

  “You and I can talk privately or we can involve your lovely companion. I believe her name is Leah.”

  “You leave her the hell out of this.”

  “So the sorceress has claws too.”

  “And I swear to the gods you’ll feel every one of them if you so much as lay a whisker on her.”

  “There you go with those threats again.”

  “Threats?” She smirked, feeling the power build in her palm.

  Cian hissed and jumped away from her. He glanced down before shooting her an accusing look. “You burned a hole in my pants.”

  Shrugging, she took advantage of the space to backtrack toward the slot machines. “It barely had a chance to smolder.” She scanned the vicinity, looking for a way to ditch him.

  Her phone beeped and she dug it out, accessing the text message from Leah.

  Already next door. Will catch up with u later.

  Now why didn’t it surprise her that Leah had already grown bored? At least Cian couldn’t use her—

  He snatched the phone out of her hand.

  “Give that back.”

  “No.” He pocketed her phone, thankfully without looking at the screen.

  Arrogant pain in the ass. She didn’t say it out loud, though, aware he watched her closely. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of knowing how easily he riled her up.

  She glanced at the closest slot machine, doing her best to pretend he wasn’t standing less than a foot away. Turning her back to him at least proved she wasn’t concerned with an attack from behind. What didn’t work was keeping her breaths even when he crowded against her, casually setting a hand on her hip.

  “You’re boring me, gargoyle.”

  He nuzzled her neck. “Is that all I’m doing?”

  “Now that you mention it, I’m feeling a little nauseous.”

  His hand tracked across her abdomen, sliding inside her jacket to graze her exposed midriff. “Want me to kiss it better?”

  The image of him on his knees in front of her, pressing slow, open-mouthed kisses to her stomach, was going to stay with her for a good long time.

  She shrugged him off and dug the token out of her pocket. It seemed like a smarter move than tipping her head to give him access to her neck.

  Dropping the token into the machine, she pulled down the bar, wondering what the hell she was supposed to do now. Magic was definitely out. It was a wonder she hadn’t set him on fire a moment ago. Best not push her luck.

  So intent on figuring a way out of her mess without being seduced by the gargoyle again, she was slow to notice the same images line up, one after the other, in front of her.

  She wasn’t sure which of them was more stunned when lights flashed and an alarm sounded.

  Cian released her, and the second the confetti started raining down on them—it would be her luck to win something cool when she wouldn’t be around to claim it—she bolted.

  Realizing someone had won a grand prize of some kind, people immediately moved closer to see. Emma plowed right through them, not even looking to see how close Cian was.

  By the time she hit the lobby, drawing way too much attention to herself in the process, she risked a glance. He wasn’t behind her.

  She didn’t have time to take comfort in that, but breathed a little easier when she made it outside without him catching up to her. Her lead was marginal at best though.

  Darting across the street, and nearly getting mowed down by a tour bus in the process, she ducked around a corner. A group of tourists emerged from one of the souvenir shops that were a dime a dozen on the Strip, and she sprinted right past them, slowing only when she turned another corner.

  Chest heaving, she leaned against the wall to catch her breath. She reached into her bag for her phone, then remembered Cian had confiscated it.

  Damn it, how long could this go on? Would he spend the next decade—or worse, the next century—tracking her? She shuddered at the thought. She just couldn’t decide if it was the bad kind or the really naughty kind.

  Footsteps pounded the pavement.

  Cian.

  There really wouldn’t be any outrunning him, would there? It was a small miracle she’d pulled it off the first time. Magic it was then.

  Drawing a steadying breath, she pushed away from the wall and waited for him.

  Two men rounded the corner, surprising her. She stepped to the side, waiting for them to pass her.

  They didn’t.

  She glimpsed a Fae glyph branded on the shorter guy’s neck. Shit. Avalon help Elena if she’d just dragged Emma into yet another mess.

  She cocked her head, waiting.

  “You need to come with us,” the taller of the two ordered, and the faint tang of a smoldering fire hit her nose.

  Dragon.

  Yeah, her sister was so dead.

  Chapter Six

  He was going to kill her. Slowly. Painfully. It was the least the sorceress deserved for the stunt she’d pulled back in the casino.

  Cian shook what he hoped was the last of the paper out of his hair. He wouldn’t be a bit surprised to start coughing it up given how much of the stuff had been dumped on him. His head was still ringing from the alarms, and even escaping outside hadn’t helped.

  After nearly tearing through his skin to break free, the cat still rode dangerously close to the surface. It had taken everything inside him to hold on to his human form when the damn sky had started falling.

&n
bsp; And to top it all off, he felt like an ass for being taken by surprise by little flakes of colored paper.

  Catching the barest hint of his mate’s scent, he crossed the street. He could deny his connection to her all he wanted, but it didn’t stop him from responding like she was his. With nothing but time over the last four weeks to feed his fury over what she’d done, he hadn’t be prepared for how quickly his anger had faded.

  Relief had hit first that she hadn’t been harmed by another without him there to protect her, followed by a need so sharp and deep it nearly cleaved him in two.

  And the way she responded to him…

  He’d begun to wonder if what happened between them before her escape had been an act on her part. The way she had all but melted in his arms inside the casino suggested that wasn’t the case.

  Either she’d been caught up in her own spell or she was truly attracted to him. The latter gave him a small slice of satisfaction, even as it undermined his determination to break the hold she had on him.

  Up ahead, two men hurried down a side street, one of their scents distinctly dragon and blending with Emma’s.

  It couldn’t be a coincidence they were headed in the same direction, not when he had a feeling trouble routinely followed the sorceress.

  Cian’s heart picked up speed even as he forced himself to slow down to avoid their notice.

  Emma was close.

  The pair disappeared around the corner ahead, and Cian increased his pace. Instead of following the men, he leaped onto the blue truck parked in front of the building on the corner, then higher onto the slanted roof.

  Staying low, he made his way to the edge that looked down on the space between buildings where Emma stood watching the two men.

  “You need to come with us.”

  Definitely trouble. And if either of them took another step closer, he’d enjoy tearing their throats out.

  Emma shook her head. “Sorry, but I was raised not to go anywhere with strangers.”

  The men exchanged glances, as if silently deciding who would make the first move.

  A tease of power curled across the back of his neck, similar to what he’d felt in the casino right before she nearly unmanned him. From his position on the roof, he could see Emma’s palm behind her back and the flicker of a flame.