Primal Quest Read online

  Caidi watched as he prowled with a fluid grace that should have been impossible in a man as large and muscular as he was. He went to the bench and picked up the towel, looking underneath it. He picked up the dress and the slippers sitting beneath the bench. He took them into the closet and put them on the shelf without any hesitation or a word of question to her. Caidi frowned at his broad back.

  “I was wondering why we are using the larger housing building. From what I have seen, even with your men there would be room in the smaller building.” Caidi’s eyes never left him as he turned back toward her. She was unsure of that determined look in his eyes.

  “There are more men coming. There will be over three hundred men when they all get here. There is no way that the small complex would comfortably hold us,” Raven said as he walked back toward her.

  “I need my clothing.” Caidi gave him a level look. While she couldn’t deny that she wanted him, she wanted to get all of her questions out of the way before they came together. The questions, the anger would undoubtedly be pushed to the side by the fever of desire when they got close to each other.

  A low, predatory laugh rumbled from his throat at her declaration. “I don’t plan to sit and talk to you when I get you out of there. That dress is undoubtedly beautiful on you, but you are already naked and we have been apart for too long. We will be making love, bonding as mates should, not talking.”

  “We need to talk,” Caidi said with a glare at him. “I need to know what is happening, what you are doing and how my people are dealing with the change.”

  “We could have talked that first night about how Shadatai life is different if you had stayed with me as I waited for those drugs to clear from my system. You would know what I am doing if you had obeyed my note, and I am sure that you have a fairly good idea from the few women you have talked to since your arrival as to exactly how your women have handled the change.” Raven strode over to stand at the edge of the tub.

  “So I have to wait because I didn’t obey you? It is a punishment?” Caidi growled.

  He needed to hold her, to feel her body pressed against his again. “Now, I’m not inclined to talk first. I have wanted you in my arms, over my knee and in various other positions since you left my room that night.”

  “By the Goddess’ tears, even if I had been unaware of the fact that a Shadatai mate would bring a host of problems that I had never had to worry about before meeting him, I would still have left the tavern that night.” Caidi couldn’t believe he was so angry about her leaving. It had had to be done.

  “Why couldn’t you stay, reha?” Raven raised his brows, silently demanding an answer.

  Caidi blinked, sidetracked for a moment. He’d called her “flower”. “As you know, I didn’t go there looking for a man to bring home with me. I didn’t think that there would be such a man on the whole planet and knew that even if I found my mate, he would probably already have a home, a pack. I knew that he wouldn’t want mine or the care of a large, primarily female pack.” Even he should see that it wasn’t as simple as wanting to stay. She had had other things to consider.

  “But you didn’t meet one of those men. You met me.”

  “Even if you had been merely a Zarain man, the situation was out of control, so different from what I had expected. I needed time to think, to prepare both myself and my people and it didn’t help that you pulled that trick of putting your thoughts into my head.” Caidi glared, fighting her own desire to be near him.

  “You left, but I made sure that you would return. I knew that you were friends with that Feiral woman and would come to help her if she didn’t return. We are going to have to talk about some of your wildly wrong conclusions later.” Raven shook the toweling sheet out as he spread his arms. “Out. You have delayed long enough.”

  Raven held the towel in front of him. There was hard determination in those silver eyes which burned with hot, sexual intent. Caidi gulped, knew that there was no real choice. He could and would come in after her. She slowly moved across the tub and stood. That man could make her more nervous with a mere hot, determined look than a hundred armed rogues trying to take the Taivain had ever managed. In fact, she would rather face those avaricious rogues than him. He represented a far greater threat than any of the numerous bandits or rogues ever had. He was a permanent part of her life.

  Caidi stepped out of the tub and was enfolded within the towel as his arms came around her. He held her tightly against him, his hands splayed on her back and buttocks. Caidi allowed her head to rest against his chest and surrendered to the inevitable. She inhaled deeply of his musky, masculine scent.

  Sheer tension and worry had kept her from going to him. Now, all that mattered was that he was here, she was here, and she wanted him. The last had never been in question. Even when her mind had tried to reject him, to find a way out of being tied to him, she had always wanted him, needed him. The connection would always be there.

  Raven rubbed the towel over her skin in sensual, caressing strokes. Each slow glide of the soft towel caused her skin to tingle. When she was dry, he threw the cloth toward the closet. Without a moment’s pause, he swung her into his arms and carried her toward the bed.

  Chapter Seven

  “You should never have left me.” Raven kissed her with an unrestrained ferocity as he lowered her onto the mattress.

  With a muffled exclamation of frustration, he broke the kiss. He wanted to feel her body against all of him and his clothing was in the way. He stepped back and stripped out of his clothing in quick, efficient movements.

  “Had to.” Caidi reached for him. The bed was soft, the covers silky and cool against her skin. The small distance between them was too far. She wanted to feel his heat, the hard muscles of his body and his weight against her. “I had to think of some way to prepare my pack for you. I knew that you wouldn’t just go away. I knew that you would find me. A sudden change, with no warning, would have been too much for anyone to deal with.”

  “They have done fairly well.” Raven climbed into bed beside her. He ran his hand over her breasts and stomach in a blatantly possessive move. It had been too long since he had tasted her, touched her. He pressed his hard cock against her hip, letting her feel how much he wanted her.

  “I told them as soon as I came home about everything that had happened, how all of the plans had somehow gone so horribly wrong. They know as much about the Shadatai as I do which isn’t much, a few legends and stories. We all knew that it was probably inevitable that you would find me, find the Taivain regardless of what I did to prevent it.” Caidi slid her hand over his arm. She had been so busy, so worried that she hadn’t realized just how much she had missed his touch.

  It was the warmth of his skin that focused her attention fully on him. She turned to him and leaned close to run her lips over his in a tantalizingly light caress. Inhaling his unique male scent, she stiffened as realization sizzled through her. She wanted him so much. After one night with him—and only part of a night at that—she had missed the feelings of satisfaction, the contentment, the safety and security she found in his arms. She had found her mate.

  His lips closed over hers, deepening the light kiss as his arms came around her to pull her to him. Raven pulled her over on top of him, settling her astride his stomach and enjoying the stunned look she gave him.

  “Mine,” Raven growled as his hands cupped the full globes of her buttocks, squeezing and kneading.

  His hands glided up her back as Caidi moved her legs to more comfortably straddle his hips. He rolled with her, suddenly looming over her. His hands ran over her breasts, brushing lingeringly over the dark crests with his large, calloused fingers. Her nipples were hard reddened points jutting up as if begging for his attention. The memory of her taste, the weight of her breasts had haunted him during their separation. He was eager to lick and touch every inch of her.

  She could feel his hard shaft pressing eagerly against her. She wanted him, had wanted him since he had entere
d the room, but she had been too nervous, too angry to admit it even to herself. That was fading now as his scent surrounded her and her desire rose. She rocked and felt his cock part the swollen lips of her pussy. Her hands ran over his golden skin, sliding into his dark hair and pulling him close to her. He was so hard, so warm. She wanted him so much.

  Raven pulled away from her. His lips left hers and traveled down her neck, nipping lightly at the slender column before they continued lower. He savored the taste, the tempting sweet scent of her. Those nibbling, nipping lips moved over her chest to one of the mounds of her breasts. He took one of the pebbled, dark crests into his mouth, sucking at the distended nipple before releasing it and moving on to the neglected, lush globe of eager, sensitive flesh.

  Caidi moaned and sank her nails into his shoulders as his hands roamed over her body with sure knowledge. One hand raised her leg higher on his hip, stroking over her outer thigh while his other hand dipped between her thighs and found her clit, stroking over her sensitive flesh. She arched her hips, rolling them, wanting more from him than that light, teasing touch.

  “Do you want me?” Raven pulled his lips away from her breasts, his lips making a moist, sucking sound as they left the rounded mound, as if he were reluctant to release the lush flesh. He loved her taste, the way she went up in flames whenever he touched her. Never had he imagined a woman who would respond so wildly to his touch.

  “Yes, I want you.” Caidi pulled at his shoulders to bring his lips back to her. She needed him inside her, his cock filling her, driving her to the heights of ecstasy.

  “Umm, I want to see for myself.” Raven inhaled the intoxicating scent of her arousal and nuzzled the flat plane of her stomach before placing a kiss over her navel, his tongue slipping into the slight depression and causing her to shiver. Her skin was soft, silky.

  “Uh, I…” Caidi tensed.

  She grabbed his hair when she deciphered what he intended as he slid lower down her body. His wide shoulders stretched her legs wide, his breath ruffling the blonde hair there as he parted her with his fingers and his lips settled onto the pink flesh between her thighs. A bolt of searing fire streaked through her as his tongue touched her clitoris. Caidi’s eyes slammed closed and her body arched at the pure pleasure. That was too good. She lifted her hips up to meet that stroking tongue.

  He lapped at her with lingering strokes. She tasted delicious, sweet with a hint of salt and musk. He wasn’t going to rush this. His tongue stroked over her swollen, hard clit again and again. He took the hard nubbin in his mouth and sucked on it. Her hips writhed and bucked against him. She was tense and near climax, but he had no intention of bringing her to ecstasy just yet. When his fingers slid into the waiting channel below, he found her pussy flooded.

  “You do want me.” Raven lifted his head and looked into her smoldering silver eyes. “You taste so good, better than I imagined as I waited. It took you so long to come home to me. It was the longest wait of my life. I knew that you would come here if you didn’t get caught by my men.”

  “Raven, I want you now. Please, come to me, be with me. I’ve missed you.” Caidi pulled at his hair, trying to urge him to stop playing, to fill her.

  “Promise to obey the Shadatai rules, Caidi,” Raven demanded.

  His lips and tongue teased her, lifting her to a peak, but never letting her go over the edge. She arched into him, needing more, wanting him to fill her, wanting the release she knew would come with just a little more pressure.

  “Please, Raven.” Caidi writhed against him, her body aching with the need for more.

  “Promise to obey them.”

  It was too much. She couldn’t stand any more. “I promise. Anything, just, please, come to me now…”

  He lifted his head and smiled at her, a predatory, hungry smile as he moved up over her body, his hips settling into the cradle of her thighs. With a decisive surge, his hard shaft entered her. Caidi wrapped her legs around his waist. Her back arched and her legs tightened. She arched, trying to take more of his long, thick cock within her aching pussy.

  Raven closed his eyes, savoring the feel of her warm, tight channel eagerly clutching him. He fought for control over both his desire and the primitive beast within him. He wanted to thrust into her hard and fast. He had to be assured that she found her peak first. Each breath he took was labored. He could smell her heat, her passion, knew her for his mate and that only increased his need.

  He withdrew and drove into her as she surged up to meet his thrust. She was as caught in the grip of the mating heat as he was. She moaned, nipping at his chest with her sharp teeth in urgent demand, running her hands along his body, raking her nails down his back as he drove into her. Her eyes locked with his. In them, he saw the same wild, hot need that burned him. Her fingers laced into his hair and pulled his head down to hers for a feverish kiss as she sought release from the tension within her.

  Caidi couldn’t think. She arched against him, holding him to her as he ground his pelvis into hers, sending her into release. Driving her hips into his, she twisted beneath him, crying out with her orgasm. His head went to her shoulder as he continued to drive within her. He bit, his teeth sinking deep as he thrust into her, spilling his seed deep within her womb.

  Even as his cock jerked within her, Caidi was thrown into another blinding climax. Overwhelmed with the flood of sensations and intense satisfaction washing over her at first psychically and then physically, her heels dug into the bed and her hips lifted against his as her body shook with the force of the release ricocheting through her.

  Moments later, Raven lapped at her shoulder, his tongue stroking over the two marks tenderly. He gazed at the two marks and masculine, territorial triumph screamed through him. She bore his mark. He slowly withdrew from her and lay beside her. He held her against his body in a possessive embrace that allowed her to draw only a small distance away from him. He didn’t want to let her go just yet. He watched and waited. Caidi was still a little dazed by that last climax and it took her a moment to realize what that tiny drop of blood on his lip meant.

  “You bit me!” Caidi’s eyes widened in alarm. Her hand went reflexively to her shoulder, covering the small wound.

  “How did you think that I was going to change you to a Shadatai Zarain, love?” Raven nuzzled her ear, nibbling on the lobe in a lazy, contented manner. “You were only a Zarain. Aside from my desire for you to be as I am, it is instinct to preserve the bloodline, to change my mate.”

  “I didn’t think that you meant change me. I thought that you meant that since I was mated to you that I would just be considered Shadatai now. I never thought that you would change me. I am already Zarain.” Caidi glared at him, but the expression was wasted because he was nibbling at her neck, tasting her as if she were a delicacy that he would soon be sampling again. She doubted that it would have had much effect anyway. The man was far too accustomed to having everything his way.

  Raven chuckled, amazed at her conclusions. “I told you that you would soon be Shadatai. Just as if you were a human woman, I had to draw your blood with the teeth of my second form to start the change. Admittedly, there are advantages to having a mate who is already Zarain. I won’t have to teach you to change forms, to hunt, or have lengthy discussions about pack rule.”

  “Will it take a week as the change from human to Zarain does?” Caidi grimaced and leaned away from him. She wanted to see his face when he answered.

  “Less than a week, taneen,” Raven whispered as he leaned forward and brushed his lips against hers.

  “You could have warned me that you were going to do that.” Caidi frowned. The feelings swirling within her, the possessiveness and the need to be near him, scared her and magnified her irritation over his behavior.

  “You would have been distracted and I wanted your complete attention.” Raven rolled over onto his back, taking her with him as he did so. She was half sprawled across his body as he lay on his back, an arrogant smile on his face as he watched
the emotions fly across her face. “You would have led me on a long chase had I not had those Feiral women to bargain with.”

  “Bargain, hah!” Caidi sputtered as she adjusted to both the new position and the sudden change in topic. “If that was your idea of a bargain, then I would absolutely hate to find out what you call an ultimatum. In my experience, what you wrote in that note was a flat demand for surrender, not an offer to talk terms.”

  “There were no terms to offer. You knew when you left the inn that night that there was only one option. You have admitted more than once that you knew I would find you, that it was merely a matter of time before I assumed my rightful place.” Raven scraped his teeth over her shoulder.

  “Did you expect to catch me?” Caidi sighed, feeling her unease begin to fade into contentment.

  “You did surprise me. I hadn’t planned on you finding the trap on Falash if you had heard the stories that I planted on Mijohin and actually tried to go to Askara.” He ran his tongue over the long column of her throat, causing a shiver to course down her spine.

  “You expected me to be easily caught by your little traps. I was more than a little insulted by that.” Caidi frowned at him. She drew slightly away from his distracting touch and propped her chin on her arm. She looked at him with slightly troubled eyes. “I didn’t expect to be underestimated when you knew what we had done at the inn.”

  “You impressed several of my friends as well as me. You made a real impression on Jarlek. That is the Feiral who is bonded to your friend Chey. He was both angered and impressed by your tactics and your ability to carry them out successfully.” Raven ran his hands over the globes of her buttocks.

  “I wasn’t going for impressing them as much as making them aware of the danger they faced.” Anger from the memory of that night ignited within her.

  “He said that he understood why you were so angry with Chey and he knew that if he had been in your position, he would have felt the same way.” Raven brushed his hand down the line of her spine. “He was informed immediately after we secured the fortress that there was no need for him to guard his mate from you.”