Malakai by Michele Hauf Read Free Book Online Page A

you more comfortable?" he
asked, toying with the ribbon at the vee in her dress neckline.
    "By all means, do as you please." Because to
argue with her conscience wouldn't serve her the pleasures he was
intent on giving.
    The man landed on his knees before her. His
big gray eyes stared up at her, pleadingly, and Rissa nodded.
    Curling her tongue out to dash across her
lips, she cooed as his wide, warm hands glided up her thigh,
slipping the silk hem higher. His tongue followed the slow path,
then redirected downward, and ventured past her knee and toward her
calf. There it tickled as his hot tongue limned her flesh.
    Suddenly she was airborne and she landed on
the bed. Kai crawled over her, tugging down her sleeves and
suckling at her breasts. He was hungry, intent on taking what he
wanted.
    But he stopped abruptly, and punched the bed
near her head. "Damn it! You're going to kill me."
    Rissa's mouth fell open. How could he know?
Did he know about her curse?
    "I can't fall in love with you," he said
tightly. "I won't."
    She didn't know what to say. Did he think
love was something he needed to worry about? Because if so, wow.
And yet… Ah, hell, if he fell in love with her she could never
forgive herself.
    Because truly, she knew she was killing
him.
    But she couldn't deny herself his flesh and
his kisses and his hot, hard cock. She needed it. Her vampiric
nature demanded she fulfill those wicked desires.
    "I need you to know something," he said,
gasping as if from exertion. It was the first time she'd noticed
signs of him weakening because of being with her. "I need you,
Rissa. I want you. I think of you all the time. You've gotten into
my head and my body, and you're there when I'm working on the
sword, and when I'm sleeping or eating. But there's the curse."
    She swallowed, not prepared to confess her
curse right now. How had he guessed?
    "I was cursed at birth," he said. He bowed
his forehead to her breast. A too-quick kiss left her wanting. "A
faery helped my mother conceive because she was wolf and my father
vampire."
    Rissa knew werewolves could not conceive a
vampire's child. And woe to any who agreed to a boon with a
faery.
    "The boon was never paid, for complicated
reasons that arose during the birth. So the faery instead cursed me
and my twin sister. If we ever fell in love with a faery we'd have
to ransom our heart." She felt him swallow against her breast.
"Literally."
    "Oh, Kai." She spread her fingers through his
hair and hugged him closer. He did not know about her curse. Whew . And yet, he lived under an equally devastating
curse.
    Love her? No, she wouldn't allow that to
happen.
    And yet, she could not stop herself from
pulling him on top of her. It was unthinkable not to. Spreading her
legs, Rissa welcomed her werewolf warrior into her body and he
closed his eyes and began to thrust inside her. It was a means to
avoiding the conversation they should have had. The one that would
involve her confession—a difficult tale.
    Instead, to save his life, she'd have to
leave him, and never look back.
    Abandoning Kai would bring her death, unless
she could find another lover. But she didn't want another
lover.
    Truly, he had broken her.
    ***
    Rissa nuzzled her nose against the pillow,
smiling at Kai's manly scent. He wasn't in bed, and now she picked
up the aroma of eggs and toast. Pulling on a robe, she wandered
into the kitchen, feeling the giddy energy sex with Kai had
restored to her being. As he stood plating food at the counter, she
stretched her arms about his torso and snuggled her face into his
hair. He growled and tilted his head back to nuzzle against
hers.
    She'd planned to leave, but she couldn't
leave her own home. So she must make him leave. And he would want
to. She'd become his muse. Nothing could keep him from his art.
    "I made you breakfast," he said. "I already
ate. Didn't want to head home until you were awake. I have a new
idea for some final touches to the sword."
    "Go," she said, knowing the