Page 26 of A Hunter Found
His hand stilled in Sophia’s hair. “She was rather famous – or perhaps infamous is a better word, depending on who you ask – her being the first female to ever apply and make it through the Hunter training.”
Sophia’s eyes popped wide. “I didn’t know that.”
“Mmhm,” was said with a little nod. “According to Morgan, she was five when she saw her first Hunter. She was so impressed with the respect shown to the man by nobility and commoner alike, that she walked right up to him and informed him she was going to become a Hunter as well. The man laughed at her and told her that girls were far too gentle and sweet to ever be a Hunter, so she bit him, right on the thigh. Drew blood even though she only had baby fangs at the time,” he finished with a chuckle.
Sophia’s laugh was music to his ears as she proclaimed, “Good for her.”
“That Hunter returned often to see her, later gifted her with her first blade when she was fifteen and told her that if she still wanted to be a Hunter when she’d reached her majority, he’d introduce her to the Society. While she was staying at my father’s, she gifted me that same blade,” he told her. “I still have it.”
“So when you were old enough, you decided to follow in her footsteps,” Sophia said with a nod of understanding and a happy sigh.
Kane’s lips twisted into a wry grin. “It was a bit more complicated than that. Big Jim, in all his wisdom, decided that since there wasn’t enough of his territory to split between his brood, that we should fight for the privilege.”
Sophia sucked in a sharp breath. “That’s barbaric.”
“No. That’s the Born, and I wouldn’t be at all surprised to learn that another had planted the idea in his head,” Kane told her.
“In hindsight,” he continued thoughtfully, “I don’t think he would have allowed it to come to a fight to the death. Despite him being Born, the great James Theodore Fletcher loves his children, but at the time, all I could think was that no territory was worth that.”
“You left.”
Kane nodded. “I did, and set out to find Morgan. But, as for your earlier question, I didn’t want to lead my own team. I wanted to work with her and she happily accepted me. The rest, as they say, is history.”
“Did your relationship with your father survive the split?”
Ah, his dragon was perceptive. Lifting a shoulder in a shrug, he hedged, “We’ve mended a few fences just recently,” before he changed the subject by tumbling her onto her back. “Enough about the past. Let’s talk about the future, or at least our next ten to fifteen minutes,” he playfully growled with a suggestive leer that would leave Sophia in no doubt what he was referring to.
Her brow raised sharply as she grinned. “Only ten or fifteen minutes? You can do better than that,” and she shoved him to his back and climbed on top of him.
Kane’s surprise at the sudden move morphed into delight, especially when he saw her eyes flicker with the green and gold of her dragon in a spark of competition. Sophia wasn’t human, he wouldn’t need to be as careful with her as he’d been forced to be with previous lovers. He could let himself go. The realization was thrilling and they happily wrestled for a few moments, their laughter and grunts of exertion filling the room as they both attempted to claim the top spot.
It was as Sophia once more regained her seat above him that she breathlessly told him, “I want you to drink from me.”
Kane stilled, his smile frozen on his face as his eyes widened. Never would he have thought she’d make such a generous offer. His gaze flicked to the pulsebeat at her throat and he licked his suddenly dry lips. It had been ages since he’d taken nourishment directly from the vein. Bagged blood was safer, easier, and while the taste wasn’t the best, it did its job. Her suggestion, however, as surprising as it had been, made him react like a starving man being offered a steak dinner. His mouth was practically watering at the thought and his fangs had already elongated in anticipation.
Leaning forward, she tipped her head enticingly to the side and stroked her fingers down her throat in a teasing invitation. “I can feel your hunger, Kane.”
His hand lifted to her nape without him realizing he had even moved. “I don’t want to hurt you,” he whispered.
She leaned even closer, the hardened peaks of her nipples rubbing against his chest. His erection throbbed, and he was in danger of coming just thinking about drinking from her.
Sophia’s fingers stroked his jaw through his beard. “Please, Kane. I want this. I want you.”
He slid his nose along her neck, breathing her in, his tongue flicking out to taste her and he heard her breath hitch, felt her hot, wet core settle firmly against the ridge of his erection and he swallowed hard. “I’ll be as gentle as I can,” he promised before he sunk his teeth into her throat.
Kane’s eyes widened at the taste of her, so hot, so sweet, before his eyelids closed in rapture. He’d never tasted anything so divine in his life. His grip on her neck tightened, his hips bucked upward, and Sophia’s moan of pleasure was music to his ears.
He didn’t remember entering her, but her wet heat was suddenly gloving him in a tight fist and her nails were digging into his shoulders. Was he hurting her? The thought had him pulling free from her throat in a worried rush so that he could see her face. What he witnessed was not pain, not fear, but the most beautiful sight he’d ever seen. Sophia’s eyes were closed, her cheeks flushed and her mouth slightly open. Her tongue flicked out to lick her lips as the first throbs of orgasm overtook her and had her calling his name. Her inner muscles pulsed around him, milking him, and with the sight of his mark of possession on her flesh, Kane hugged Sophia closer and roared out his own release.
She was his. He never wanted to let go.
Chapter Nineteen
“Tell me about you,” Kane said, suddenly seeming wide awake while Sophia felt like she could happily sleep for a week she was so relaxed.
“Tell me everything. What’s your favorite condiment? What toothpaste do you prefer? Everything.”
Stifling a yawn behind her hand, she thought about his request. The nice thing about Kane was, he already knew she was a dragon, was fully aware of the supernatural world so she didn’t have to pretend or think about the answer for overly long. Shecouldtell him everything. That freedom was rather lovely.
