Page 16 of Unforeseen Mate

He lowered his mouth to hers, capturing her lips with his as he plundered her mouth and felt the quickening of her desire join with his. She moaned as she stepped into him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She was more frightened than he’d first thought but seemed to take comfort in his presence, even if it was only in the dream world.

Scooping her up in his arms, he carried her to the bed, his mouth never leaving hers. He kissed her hungrily as he laid her on the soft bed.She struggled for a moment, but he began to fondle her and rekindle the passion they always shared. Slipping his hand between her legs, he found the evidence of herneed—heavy and silky, gathered at the opening to her core. He wedged himself between her legs, forcing them apart.

Hayden played with her swollen nub as he sucked, licked, and nipped at her pebbled nipples. With one hand he engaged the breast that his mouth had not, and with the other he trailed his finger from her clit to her slit before penetrating her core with two fingers, mimicking what he would shortly do with his cock. As he moved his lower hand away, he settled himself between her thighs, his cock bobbing and straining as it sought the entrance to her sheath.

He trailed kisses up her throat as his hands slipped beneath her, steadying her for their joining. With a single mighty thrust, he drove himself up into her fully. He began to move within her, and her inner walls began to shake and quiver. Her breath quickened and the noises she made became whimpers of need as she whispered his name. He could feel her orgasm approaching quickly and reveled in her response.

Her body stiffened in anticipation, and he could feel her pussy soften as he stroked within her. Her breathing was heavy, bordering almost on panting. Hayden felt the moment she tumbled into the abyss of ecstasy as her orgasm racked her body and caused her to convulse with its power.

“I have missed you, my mate,” he whispered, thrusting his tongue within her mouth in the same way his cock moved inside her.

He continued to pound into her, intent on reveling in all she had to offer. Fallon clutched his biceps as he relentlessly fucked her, driving her back to the edge. His determined and controlled thrusting became more powerful, his cock beginning to swell and the tingle at the base of his spine spurring him into an even more frenzied pace.

Fallon reached up to rake her nails down his back. As her body approached the precipice of another climax, she felt himgive a hard, ferocious thrust deep inside her, emptying himself into her as she called out his name. Her pussy spasmed and clamped down hard, her legs trembling as she writhed in his hold, savoring every bit of pleasure they gave to one another.

He nuzzled and comforted her as he rolled to his back, dragging her up next to him.

The need to mark her with his claiming bite was becoming more difficult to control even in his dreams, but had he given in, Apophis would have noticed—making saving Fallon far more difficult.

There was no way for Colby or Deke to know—although Deke might suspect—that Hayden would not be returning his mate to Mystic River. He would take her where he knew she would be safe: the Hollow.

CHAPTER 7

HAYDEN

Windsong Manor

Mystic River, Alaska

The following morning, Hayden awoke just before dawn. The blue hour, some called it—the time right after sunset and right before sunrise when the sun was at a significant depth below the horizon. The sky took on the most amazing shade of mostly blue tones which differed from the color of the Earth’s sky on a clear day.

Like most hellhounds, Hayden appreciated the different colors that occurred on Earth. Vibrant hues of every color imaginable in an endless kaleidoscope that those who dwelled above the Hollow never even noticed, much less appreciated.

He thought about remaining for breakfast but wasn’t in the mood for a lecture on dealing with humans in an appropriate manner from Colby or Deke. No. Better to just fade into the realm between worlds and travel to where he could catch a flight to the coast of England. It seemed he had a date with destiny and an over-posturing dragon-shifter. He could make better time if he made the journey via the narrow band between the worlds, known as the In-Between, but the hellhounds had found over the millennia that doing so too frequently could begin to damagetheir DNA and made it harder to go above ground to Earth. It was just better to make short hops and then take a more mundane method of travel.

Making his departure via the shimmer was another matter altogether. He could shimmer from the manor house down to the dock, take a boat and head south to the airport at Kodiak. From there he would fly to Anchorage and from Anchorage to Cardiff. The airport at Exeter would be closer to Lundy Island, but Cardiff was less obvious. From there, Hayden could hire a boat and sail close to Lundy before shimmering to the island itself and saving Fallon.

As he shimmered into the Hollow, he could hear Colby and Deke calling his name as they looked for him. Colby was swearing, and Deke was laughing. Typical. Colby disliked not having outright control or at least his finger on the pulse of all that was happening. Deke was more inclined to let those he trusted do it their own way, only stepping in if needed.

The realm between the two worlds was quiet and seemed to be filled with a perpetual fog except in those pockets the hellhounds had carved out for themselves. Those were more like caves, although over the years the hellhounds had made them more comfortable—tweaking the temperature, bringing in furniture and appliances they could adapt to run on the electrical currents that ran throughout the Hollow.

Shimmering back into being, Hayden stepped onto Colby’s personal speedboat, thinking that it was far more likely to have clothing aboard. He was bigger and bulkier than the lynx-shifter, but a pair of sweats should get him from the dock in Kodiak to a shop where he could buy clothing, a travel bag, and some personal items. Once he had what he needed, Hayden purchased several prepaid cell phones and then made his way to the airport and booked his flight to Wales.

As the flight was more than twenty-four hours long, Hayden booked a first-class ticket. He also purchased a small laptop and downloaded a free reading app and several books that piqued his interest. He boarded his flight and settled in for his trip. He researched Lundy Island, Abraham Strode, and the fortress in which the dragon-shifter had lived for as long as anyone could remember. He was a man of mystery and inspired both fear and respect. Hayden felt neither. He wasn’t a fan of dragons in general and even less when they interfered with humans.

There had been some interest by the National Trust in listing Strode’s Manor House, but he had declined their offer, even though accepting it would have meant a substantial decrease in his taxes. That alone was interesting, but not pertinent to what Hayden needed to know. The good news was that the Trust had detailed sketches of what they had seen with their own eyes. Based upon the centuries-old blueprints, as well as those of newer additions and the eyewitness accounts of what was there, the Trust seemed to think that there were hidden corridors as well as entrances and exits into the manor house. It was a common enough feature for homes of that era.

Studying the sketches, Hayden determined the most likely place for Strode to hold Fallon would be in one of the guest suites on the upper floor—something with an attached bath. Nora had been adamant and had seen proof that Fallon had been moved from Strode’s dungeon, which he was sure would make his job easier.

Hayden allowed himself to fall asleep and rest, with plans of how to get to Fallon and escape swirling in his brain. As requested, the flight attendant woke him for both dinner and breakfast. After dinner he’d gone back to sleep—the seats in first-class were surprisingly comfortable. He stayed awake after breakfast and watched the horizon as the plane circled the airport at Cardiff and touched down.

After passing through customs, Hayden was only slightly surprised to see a man in a suit and tie with a chauffeur’s cap waiting for him, holding a sign with his name on it.

“Good afternoon, Mr. North. I’m Ivor. Mr. Reynolds asked that I pick you up and take you wherever you need to go,” the man said, reaching for Hayden’s bag.

Hayden grinned, relinquishing his hold on his carry-on. “Of course he did.” Hayden fell in behind the driver and was suitably impressed with the vintage Rolls Royce he was ushered into. “I need to rent a boat—something fast, sleek, and seaworthy.”

Iver’s eyes in the rear-view mirror met Hayden’s. “He thought you might want a boat, so he purchased one and has it waiting for you at the marina. It is fully stocked with food and water. Mr. Reynolds was also under the impression that you might want to stop at a lady’s clothing boutique.”

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