Carnal (Her Dark Desires #1) (14 page)

My
brows knitted together. “I’m a succubus, so it’s bound to happen at some point
in the future.”

“It
doesn’t have to be now.”

Pause.
“Where is this coming from?”

“Do
you want to go somewhere?” he said suddenly.

I
blinked. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you need.”

He
exited the highway. We drove out into the countryside by a lake, surrounded by
trees. Fireflies twinkled in the night, their dim yellow glow reflecting off
the water and making it sparkle.

Hector
pulled off in a secluded spot surrounded by trees, out on a little bluff
overlooking the water. “This is beautiful,” I said, eyeing the scenery.

“It’s
not much during the day,” Hector said, “but it transforms at night.”

Parking,
we got out, and he grabbed a blanket from the backseat.

I
eyed it with a smile. “Came prepared, huh?”

“I
always carry it with me when I do observations, because I always stop here to
think and be alone. Fame can get old after a while.”

That
surprised me. “It’s beautiful. This must be where you bring all your hot
dates,” I joked.

“Actually,
you’re the only woman I’ve ever brought here with me.”

Oh
. I flushed as
he spread out the blanket, and we laid down, staring at the stars. Between the
symphony of crickets, the fireflies, the murmur of the lake, and the gentle
breeze, it was the calmest I’d felt in ages.

“This
is nice,” I whispered.

He
didn’t say anything, running his fingers along my arm.

I
rolled onto my side, turning toward him. “What are you thinking about?”

Several
long seconds passed before he spoke. “I can’t get the image of him pinning you
to the wall and feeling you up out of my mind.”

I
bit my lip, my heart suddenly pounding with nerves and desire. “But you’re not
mine. And I’m not yours.” My heart broke saying it. I hadn’t realized how
deeply I’d grown to care for him until I said those words out loud. The last
time I’d fallen for a man this quickly, it had ended in heartbreak. I’d warded
off relationships since, not just because they were forbidden, but because I
couldn’t go through that again.

Hector
pressed his lips together, as if debating something, then took my hand and
brought it to his lips. I shivered at the tender kiss he placed there. “Would
you like to be mine?” he said softly.

I
held my breath, my eyes meeting his.

They
were serious.

“I
can’t,” I breathed.

He
stroked my cheek with his other hand. “Why not?”

“Because,”
I said, swallowing hard and trying to keep my wits about me, “this is
forbidden.”

“That
just makes it more fun,” he said with a wicked grin.

I
laughed, but there wasn’t much emotion behind it. “What happened to keeping things
professional?”

“I
will, when we’re around other people.” His fingertips grazed my collarbone,
then dipped to the slope of my breasts, and I sighed as that tingling warmth
increased. “But there’s something about you, Sally, that’s irresistible. I told
you I wanted you, not just your body, but your heart and mind. I want
you
.”

I
sat there, unable to move. What if he was playing me, as my ex had? He had
seemed so kind at first too. “Do you really mean that?”

Hector
stared at me without blinking, then drew a pocketknife from his pants pocket.
“I’ll swear a blood oath to you.”

My
jaw dropped. “You can’t make a blood oath to me! You don’t know me.”

“Some
part of me does,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me to him. “And don’t say
you don’t feel it too, because I know you do. You recognized me on the
elevator, as I did you.”

I
stared up at him. His mouth was so close, his breath caressed my lips. I looked
away, unable to say anything.

He
nuzzled my neck with his mouth, sending shivers across my skin and stoking the
desire growing within me. “Please, Sally,” he breathed huskily. “Let me bind
myself to you.”

The
word was out of my mouth before I’d fully thought it through. “Okay.” Truth is,
some part of me
wanted
to belong to someone like that, to have a
connection with them that was deeper than blood.

Hector
didn’t hesitate. Flipping the blade open, he sliced his palm and grabbed my
hand. Looking me in the eyes, he said, “I, Hector Aurelius, swear to be true to
you always, on pain of death.” As he spoke, our hands began to glow, binding
his promise to me.

The
magic in our hands faded, leaving behind faint red lines where the spell had
bound us together. Blood oaths were the strongest type of binds. Once made,
they could not be revoked.

Hector
traced the outline of my jaw. “Now do you believe my intentions to be true?”

“I...”
I didn’t know what to say. Emotions I hadn’t allowed myself to feel in ages
flowed through me, rendering me speechless.

So
when words failed, I did the only other thing I could do to respond.

I
kissed him.

He
sucked in a breath, savoring the kiss, then slowly kissed me back with
increasing fervor. Our kisses grew deeper as our tongues flicked out to touch.

My
nipples hardened, but it wasn’t from the chill in the air. I pressed myself
against him, feeling the bulge around his crotch grow thicker.

“God,
I want you,” he growled, reaching down and stroking my damp clit. “Please let
me show you how much I desire you, Sally.”

I
moaned, rubbing against his hand. “Yes,” I breathed.

He
pulled back to stare into my eyes. “You truly want me to?”

Without
removing my eyes from his, I sat up and pulled off my dress. It cleared my
head, leaving me naked from the torso up, save for my heels and panty hose.

His
hungry gaze took me in. “You’re amazing,” he said, reaching up to play with my
nipples. I threw my head back, breathing harder as he squeezed my breasts, then
kissed me there, finishing what his hands had started. His hands slid round my
back and then tenderly, as if I might break, he lowered me to the blanket, so I
was lying on my back.

He
leaned next to my ear. “Close your eyes,” he whispered.

I
did as he said, my breath coming faster now in anticipation of what was to
come.

His
breath tickled my ear, then my jaw. Then his mouth met mine in a slow, sensual
kiss, right about the same time he began peeling my panty hose off.

Chapter 10

I
COULDN’T REMEMBER THE last time I hadn’t felt self-conscious about my body. No
asshole clients were calling my boobs small or my ass too big. Hector didn’t
seem to mind, anyway.

His
hands reached up and cupped my breasts, squeezing them. “You’re so beautiful,”
he whispered. “Do you even realize how incredibly enticing you are?”

My
heart fluttered, making me feel more breathless than I already did.

He
stopped for a moment, studying my face. “You don’t get told that that often, do
you?” His hand reached up to brush a strand of hair from my cheek.

I
pressed my lips together. “Not in so many words.”

Determination,
along with a lust so strong it made my knees shake, came over him. “I’m going
to show you how gorgeous you are, one slow lick at a time.”

My
breath caught as he tenderly kissed my jaw. “This tightens when you’re riled up,”
he said, and I could tell he was smiling. “You’re so adorable when you’re
angry.”

He
lowered to my breasts, rolling his tongue around each nipple until they were
hard as rocks. “And these are greedy for attention. Every time you came into my
office without a bra, I wanted to strip you naked and make love to you on the
rug.”

I
arched my back as his hands and mouth trailed lower. He reached around and
cupped my butt, lifting my hips. “Your thighs are so smooth. Like silk.” He
kissed the inside of my leg, his stubble brushing my clit, and I gasped.

His
breath blew out over my sex, tingling. “Would you like me to kiss you here..?”

Oh,
I wanted him, too, but something nagged me. I pressed my lips together, trying
to think of how to say this. “You’re… not just going through the motions,
right? Like what I heard on the tapes?”

His
face grew dead-serious. Sitting up, he grabbed my hand and firmly planted it on
his crotch. It was rock-hard. “I’m not playing, Sally.”

“Oh,”
I whispered, squeezing him slightly. God, he was big. I wondered what he would feel
like, if I could hold all of him…

I
wetted my lips, my flittering heartbeat making me breathless. “Well, in that
case, yes, I want you to kiss me.”

Hector
got a wicked glint to his eyes. His mouth quirked up slightly at the corner.
“Beg for it.”

It
wasn’t said sharply, though I wasn’t sure I’d have minded if it was. His demand
was hot as hell.

“Yes,”
I begged. “Please, kiss me.”

Hector
lowered himself. It began with a lick, a slow, long movement that set my nerve
endings on fire. I moaned his name, my back arching as his tongue dove deeper
into my folds, searching out that sweet spot aching to be released.

“Your
cream is as sweet as I thought it would be,” he said. “Would you like to have a
taste?”

I
nodded, my mind too fried to form a coherent sentence.

Hector
raised himself up and crawled over me, slowly lowering his mouth over mine. He
ran his tongue along my own, tangling with it as he kissed me deeply, slowly. I
could taste myself on him, and it only made me ache all the more for him.

When
Hector at last came up, he nibbled my bottom lip between his teeth. “How did
you think you tasted?”

I
stared at him, then licked my still moist lips. “Like candy.”

“My
thoughts exactly. I need more.”

He
trailed a line of kisses from the hollow of my throat down to my stomach, at
last landing back at my throbbing clit. He gently pinched the swollen nub, and
I cried out as he massaged it with his thumb and forefinger.

“This
little girl is begging for attention,” he said, before he began to lick me.

I
yelled, digging my nails into the blanket as sharp bolts of pleasure coursed
through me. “Yes,” I breathed. “Harder.”

He
chuckled, a deep, throaty sound that was purely masculine. “You really are a
greedy girl, aren’t you, Sally?”

He
sucked me harder and began dipping his fingers in and out of my wetness, going
deeper and deeper, striking my core harder with every stroke.

At
last his tongue took his fingers’ place as he buried himself between my legs.

I
was losing my mind. Never had I felt anything like this before. I was coming
apart at the seams, the world around me blurring into a vortex of emotions and
my most carnal, primitive feelings.

“More,”
I moaned.

He
obliged, kneading my clit with his fingers as his tongued stroked me over and
over and over again.

I
could feel it coming on, a rush of feelings bubbling up from my core.

“Yes!”

I
grasped his head as he brought me to climax, screaming as a surge of energy
poured from him into me. I lay in a pile of mush after that, panting hard and
dizzy. “Wow,” I breathed.

Hector
chuckled and lay beside me, still teasing one of my erect nipples. “Thank you,”
he said, kissing my forehead and resting his head there. “Do you feel better?”

“Oh,
hell yes.”

He
smiled. “Good. I couldn’t stand seeing you so scared.”

My
heart melted. Had he really brought me out here more for my benefit than his?

This
moment couldn’t be more perfect. Monique would be green with envy if she knew
where I was and what I’d been doing.

I
frowned. There was no way this could last. Hector was right. Eventually, we’d
both have to go our separate ways once I left, and then there were our, er,
“occupations” to consider. A relationship couldn’t handle that kind of
emotional strain.

“What’s
wrong?” he murmured. “You’re tense.”

I
frowned. “It’s just, well…” I sighed hard, exasperated. “Do you ever regret
becoming an incubus?”

He
shrugged. “Sometimes. I’ve adjusted to this way of life.”

Well,
at least one of us has.

“When
were you changed?” I asked.

His
expression grew wistful, as if he were glimpsing the past. “In 1800, I had just
turned twenty-one when my mother proclaimed I should seriously consider taking
a wife, which was the last thing I wanted at the time. Mostly, I wanted to go
study and travel and see the world, but she insisted I take over the family
banking business so I could continue making us more money. My family was very
wealthy, and many girls attended the marriage prospect ball my mother arranged,
hoping to catch my eye. But there was only one girl I wanted - Sylvia.”