Hunger Untamed (Feral Warriors #5)(60)

He was her strength, her rock.

"They're lighting the festival lights," he murmured, back at the window. "They think you're on your way to beating this thing."

"Brielle's no fool, Kougar. She knows we're far from safe. But an Ilina celebration empowers us, don't forget. Beautiful lights, music, dancing. All feed the Ilina, body and soul, and we're likely to need all the strength we can come by. Brielle was looking for an excuse, and my renewed memories serve her purpose. We have the possibility of victory locked inside my head. And that's worth a celebration, a badly needed lift of spirits."

He turned to her, his gaze pensive. Thoughtful. Slowly, his pale gaze moved down her body, a physical caress. "Will you dance?" In those eyes, she saw a memory of another time and the echoes of that pleasure.

"Perhaps. Once I find the Crystal of Rayas."

"Once we find it."

"I thought you might enjoy watching the celebration."

"I go where you go." He closed the distance between them slowly, moving with the silent grace of the cat he was inside, and came to tower over her, a solid wall of muscle and willful male. He closed his hand around the back of her neck. "Who knows when you might feel in need of strengthening." Though he said the words without inflection, a gleam shone in his eyes.

A smile lifted the corner of her mouth. "You think you have what it takes to pleasure me, Feral?"

The gleam brightened, crinkling the corners of his eyes. "I do." The hand at her neck slid into her hair as his other arm snaked around her back, hauling her against him. He covered her mouth in a hot, luxurious kiss, a tangle of tongues that ended far too soon. But the passion of those few brief moments did, indeed, energize her.

He pulled back, but didn't release her, watching her with a look that questioned, demanding acknowledgment of his skill, if not outright praise.

She smiled at him with a quick roll of the eyes. "You do, Feral. You absolutely do have what it takes."

He watched her with keen eyes, his hand moving to her face, his thumb stroking her lower lip as if he'd forgotten what her smile looked like.

Goddess, how I need this man. "My life would have been so much easier these past centuries if you'd been part of it." She hadn't meant to verbalize the thought, but the growl in Kougar's throat was all agreement.

"You should have told me." The words were more growl than voice, but his thumb continued to play with her lower lip with exquisite tenderness.

"I know. A hundred times I nearly sought you out, once I was myself again. I missed you terribly."

How would she live without him if he died? Even if he lived, she had no doubts that their responsibilities and their lives would pull them in opposite directions even if they wanted to stay together. And Kougar had said he didn't. He'd said that he wanted nothing to do with her when this was done. Whether that was merely anger speaking or the truth of his heart, she couldn't be sure. At that moment, she'd felt the same.

Now, she felt nothing but empty at the thought of them going their separate ways. And yet, at its heart, their relationship had never changed. Kougar was still as closed and contained as he'd ever been. If they tried again, he'd still wind up shutting her out of his world as he always had.

As her mind traveled that dismal path, another memory popped out of the fog, whole and bright.

"The Crystal of Rayas," she murmured.

Kougar raised a brow.

Ariana pulled out of his arms. "Come. I've just remembered where it is. Or another place where it was." She started to turn, to lead the way, then found herself turning back and reaching for his hand.

Their gazes met, his eyes so hard to read, but his hand went around hers firmly, filling her with a sense of rightness as together they walked through the wide doorway and back into the Grand Corridor.

Melisande floated toward them, her body mist, her expression at once demanding and vulnerable with hope. Ariana started to pull her hand from Kougar's, knowing how much Melisande hated to see her with the Feral; but he held fast, refusing to let her go.

Melisande didn't seem to notice either way. She barely seemed to notice Kougar at all, forgetting even to scowl at him.

"Did you really do it, Ariana? Did you learn how to beat that ass**le? Hookeye?"

Ariana hesitated, unable to lie to her second, yet hating to dash her friend's hope.

Melisande read the truth in that hesitation. And more. Her expression turned grim. "The situation's that bad, is it?"

Ariana opened her mouth, then closed it again, unable to deny it. "I don't know, Mel. He's attacking me again. We had to leave before I'd finished receiving the memories. And, no, I haven't learned what I need. Yet. But that doesn't mean I won't. I have thousands of memories I didn't have before, but they're still a jumble." She glanced at Melisande's feet. "How long did it take you to get free of that chunk of temple floor?"

Her friend's brows drew together, her expression almost bemused. "About an hour. I tried to turn to mist and couldn't, not with my feet bound. Lyon suggested we wait. If the magic didn't wear off in a couple of hours, he'd call the Shaman. But the magic dissolved on its own, suddenly. One moment my feet were bound in stone, the next, the chunks fell away, littering the chaise and the patio, nearly knocking over one of the pitchers of lemonade. Olivia grabbed it just in time."