Hunted (A Cyn & Raphael Novella) by D.B. Reynolds Read Free Book Online Page B

for him, had been ready from the moment he’d rolled her beneath him. She hungered for him always, for his touch, his heat, the spark of silver in his eyes, the deep growl of his voice.
    She’d been a fool to think she could ever leave him.
    “I love you,” she whispered, as he plunged between her legs, harder and faster until they tumbled over the edge of ecstasy together, their passion a searing heat that entwined their fates forever.
    And God help any creature who thought he could tear them apart.
    “I am yours,” Raphael rasped against her ear. “Always, lubimaya . Always.”

 
    Chapter Six
    Raphael tugged Cyn closer, enjoying the heat of her body, the soft press of her breast against his side as they made their way to Lucas’s homestead. Blackness stretched all around them, their vehicle the only one seemingly for miles.
    “Raphael?”
    “ Cyn .”
    She laughed, and it made him smile. “What is it, lubimaya ?”
    “Kathryn said she and Lucas aren’t mated.”
    “No, not yet.”
    “Do you know why?”
    “As I understand it, Kathryn is what you would call commitment phobic. Lucas is giving her time to adjust.”
    “I was commitment phobic. You didn’t give me any time to adjust.”
    “True. But then I am not Lucas.”
    “You’re certainly not,” she said, burrowing closer and giving him a hard hug. “But you said they aren’t mated yet ?” she clarified, emphasizing the yet .
    “I believe Lucas will push for it sooner, rather than later. The situation we discussed will bring danger to all of us,” he said, his mood turning deadly serious. “There will be no more margin for adjustments, not for anyone. Lines will be drawn, sides will be chosen.”
    “Will it come to that?”
    “Almost certainly.”
    “No hope for a peaceful resolution?”
    “There is always hope, my Cyn , no matter how small. But hope doesn’t win wars. Preparation does.”
    They rode in silence, wrapped in the comfort of each other’s presence, in the knowledge that whatever the future brought, they would meet it together. The empty countryside flashed by the darkened windows, until the SUV slowed and made a turn seemingly out into the wilderness itself.
    “Where the hell are we going?” Cyn muttered, as dirt kicked up by the SUV’s big tires billowed around the windows in pale clouds. “I’m telling you right now that if this involves sitting on a log and watching a fire burn, I’m waiting in the truck.”
    Raphael kissed her temple. “No campfires. We’re nearly there. Look ahead.”
    Cyn sat up enough that she could see out the front window, and he nearly laughed at the look at her face.
    “What the fuck?” she demanded. “A log might be better than that … shack.” She studied it more closely. “Oh my God, is that an outhouse?”
    “I don’t think it’s functioning,” he teased. “This, my Cyn , is the homestead, the original domicile on this parcel of land, and the one that permitted Lucas to claim the entire acreage as his own.”
    “The homestead,” she repeated flatly. “ What’s next, bonnets and long dresses?”
    Raphael grinned. “No bonnets for you. And no long dresses either, not the kind you mean anyway. I like your legs too much.”
    “Aw, you say the sweetest things. But really, when you say homestead, you mean like from the Homestead Act? Because it certainly looks ancient enough.”
    Raphael nodded. “It is. That shack, as you call it, was considered an improvement at the time.”
    In fact, Raphael mused thoughtfully, once upon a time, the house had been the only structure for miles around, and what now served only as camouflage had been the sole truth of it—an old, poorly built house suitable for tear down and nothing else. But Lucas had long ago upgraded the structure, so that while it still looked old and rundown, it was anything but.
    “It has been improved since then, however,” he assured her somewhat absently. “Jared,” he said, turning his attention to his