Dark Ghost (28 page)

He laughed. Out loud. He actually threw his head back and laughed. The sound was amazing. Beautiful. He was beautiful when he laughed. She’d never heard him laugh wholeheartedly and the sound was pure music. His eyes lit up and his face had gone softer.

“What?” She tried to inject temper into the demand, but watching him laugh was mesmerizing and she failed completely.

“The women in my world do not do what their men tell them. Not one that I can see, unless it has something to do with safety. I would say they obey because they choose to obey and know their men take their safety seriously. They aren’t stupid. They want to be safe from the dangers in our world.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you implying I’m stupid?”

His fingers tightened on the nape of her neck. “Teagan. Seriously. You have every reason to be upset and hurt by what I did, but do not look for other reasons. We need to deal with this issue.”

Her head really was going to explode. She didn’t care if his fingers massaging the tension from her neck felt great, or that he was the hottest man on the planet. Or that his voice slipped inside her every single time and turned her insides to a melted puddle of scorching hot need.

“You do realize,” she bit out between her teeth, warning him. Because
seriously
, he needed to be warned. “Standing this close to me, when I detonate and go up in a fiery flaming bomb, you are going to get caught in the blast. For your own safety, Andre, just step back and let this happen.”

He leaned into her, one hand still at the nape of her neck, the other on her belly, fingers spread wide pushing her slightly so that she was up against the wall. His head descended and she quickly turned her face away from his, knowing if he kissed her, she might just give in, and she wasn’t going to. Not over this. It was too important.

Kiss me, Teagan.
His mouth followed hers.

She clamped her lips together and shook her head. His hand went from her belly to her jaw, controlling her head.

His mouth rubbed gently over hers, his tongue tracing her lower lip and then the seam of her mouth.

Teagan shook her head, glaring at him. With her lips clamped shut, she still told him off.
Your listening skills need serious work.

Sivamet, kiss me.
 

His tongue lapped at her lips. His mouth brushed across hers, sending little darts of fire straight to her bloodstream where they rushed like a fireball to her sex. She thought to resist. She really, really did. But maybe she needed to be kissed. She needed something. She was so scared of what she was that she wanted comfort.

She opened her mouth and was instantly lost in him. His kisses left her breathless. On fire. But more, they swept her away to another realm altogether where she couldn’t think. Only feel.

The moment she began to return his kiss, Andre yanked her to him, his arms strong, powerful even. He deepened the kiss, devouring her. She met his hunger with her own.

Arms around my neck, sivamet.
 

There was that beautiful voice. Velvet. Silk. A new rasp that sent tingles down her spine and liquid fire spilling from her sex. His mouth never left hers, and it felt like he poured himself into her, down her throat. All of him. Who he was. What he was. How he felt. How much he felt.

It was intense. So intense her eyes burned with tears for both of them. She slid her hands up his chest to his shoulders and then circled his neck with her arms. The moment she did, he lifted her. Easily. So easily. Instead of making her feel vulnerable, she felt safe. Cherished. Cared for.

He kept kissing her, even when she had to breathe, and then he simply breathed for her. His bare chest pressed against her bare front. Her shirt was gone as easily as it had come. Like magic. She didn’t know if she had done it or if he had, but it didn’t matter. All that mattered to her was his fiery mouth and his hands cupping her bare bottom.

Hurry, Andre. I can’t wait.
 

Her breathy admission was the truth. Her body was already coiled too tight. The tension built fast, just from his kisses. Just from her nipples sliding over his chest. From the way his fingers sank into the firm muscle of her buttocks. Her blood was too hot in her veins. She could hear his heart beating, accelerating like her own. She needed him inside her.

My impatient woman. Are you ready for me?
 

Yes. Hurry.
 

Wrap your legs around me. Open for me.
 

She hadn’t done that. She’d pushed on the strong column of his thigh with her feet, not thinking. Not knowing and she should have. She did what he said instantly, wrapping her legs around him. Instantly she felt his perfect, beautiful crest pressing tight at the entrance to her sex.

So hot. So perfect. Every time. No matter how he took her, she felt the fire raging through her and she let herself burn. She welcomed it. There was no fear this time because she was already so far gone with fear, she couldn’t process it. She strained toward him, needing to impale herself on him. Connect them.

Andre.
Frustrated, she caught his hair in one fist, her fingers sliding through the silk in a little caress. She moved against him.
You aren’t listening again.

I am listening.
Still, he held her there, that hot spike pressing into her, but not giving her what she needed.

His mouth left hers and he kissed his way to her neck. Her throat. That was beautiful, too, but it only made her hotter.

What are you waiting for?
she demanded.

You, päläfertiilam, I am waiting for you.
 

Teagan froze. There it was. She was in his mind. She knew what he needed – her acceptance of him – of his world. She was naked. In his arms. Burning from his kisses. Her body out of control, hips writhing and him pressing into her entrance, just enough that she felt his scorching heat, that burning stretch that felt so good and made her desperate for more.

She bit down on his shoulder, closing her eyes. It was done. There was no taking it back. Would she be able to live without him? Did she even want to? But was she the type of woman who could be dictated to? No way. And he was using sex to get his way – that was her prerogative, wasn’t it?

Andre pressed her down slowly, another inch of him filling her, stretching those tight muscles until she moaned his name against his shoulder.

Tet vigyázam avio päläfertiilam.
 

He whispered the words in that voice. The one she couldn’t resist. With that accent. She closed her eyes and nuzzled his chest.

I don’t know what that means.
 

Look at me. I want to see your eyes.
 

She took a breath, knowing she’d need one, and raised her eyes to his. Oh God. She was in
so
much trouble. There was love there. Real love. Intense love. The kind of love there was no way to resist. She melted inside.

“It means I love you, my lifemate. It means I will cherish you for all time, for eternity. It means you will be safe in my care,” he whispered, holding her gaze captive. “It means I am going to make a mess of things and you will take me to task and forgive me. It means all that, Teagan. Forgive me. Be mine. Give yourself to me and allow me the privilege of cherishing you for all time.”

Teagan knew it wasn’t the sex. It was the sincerity in his voice. The love in his eyes. Mostly it was the intensity of his emotion in his mind. She was everything to him. His entire world. His entire focus. He was telling the absolute truth – there would be no other woman for him. She might not understand it, but there was no other woman in the entire world, and there hadn’t been all those long centuries. How in the world could she turn her back on him? And the truth was – she didn’t want to.

“I love you, too, Andre,” she conceded, looking him straight in the eyes.

His eyes went so dark blue and liquid she wanted to melt right into him. He kissed her. Hard. Rough. Hungry. His hands went to her hips and slammed her down hard over his cock, surging up at the same time. He tipped her back against the wall and drove into her hard.

It was wild and out of control. It was perfect. Beautiful. She bit her lip.
Harder. More. Give me more.

He took them to the ground, only of course, because it was Andre, there was a blanket beneath her body. Still, the hard ground had no give and with her legs wrapped around his hips he could drive into her with hard, satisfying strokes that jolted her body and sent flames crashing through them both.

She reached for him, feeling the fire stealing over him. Threatening to consume him – consume them both. She moved to meet him. Moved to increase the wonderful friction, her body grasping and pulling to keep him in her. His stretching her, filling her, invading her, trying to go as deep as he could get. She felt the flames rising in him. The tidal wave threatening to engulf him. She actually felt it start in his toes and work up the strong columns of his legs.

Let go,
he demanded.

Teagan looked up at him, at his face. He was watching her, his gaze devouring her. Hungry for something.
With you,
she told him.

He shook his head.
I need to watch you. I love the way you look when I give this to you. For me, sivamet. Give this to me now.

He thrust hard. Once. Twice. A third time. He was so close. She felt the fire in his sac, boiling, roaring. Still he waited. Her own body was just as close. She just had to let go and let it take her. Give that to him. Staring into his eyes, she did. She gave him what he wanted.

Her orgasm roared through her, taking her over fast, rushing down her thighs and up to her breasts, into her stomach and sending strong quakes through her feminine channel. Her tight muscles constricted around Andre’s shaft, clamping down, gripping hard. All the while he watched her face.

Beautiful,
he breathed into her mind.
The most beautiful thing I have ever seen.

He surged into her, strong. Hard. Deep. Over and over, powering through her tight muscles, prolonging her orgasm, until she took him with her. He groaned softly in her ear, with one last thrust burying himself all the way, as deeply as possible. He lay over her, their hearts pounding, both trying to catch their breath.

Andre lay on top of her, his body nearly crushing hers, making it difficult for her to breathe. He was holding her tight, his arms around her, his face buried in her neck, still deep inside of her. It was the first time he’d ever done that – not lightened his weight – and she slipped her arms around him, holding him to her, feeling completely surrounded – and taken – by him.

His hands slid up her body to her hair, fingers sinking into the braids. He lifted his head and only then did his body weight change. She sucked in a breath, but something in his eyes kept her from complaining. He looked at her as if he’d nearly lost his world and she’d given it back to him.

She was terrified to face the change in her, and she was still angry with him that he’d made such a momentous decision without even consulting her, but she honestly didn’t know if she really could have left him. The lifemate bond aside, because she didn’t fully understand that, she knew she was in love with Andre.

It was all the little things he did that made her feel special and beautiful. She couldn’t work up the energy to tell him she was still angry with him so instead, she took the opportunity to run her hands slowly down his back to feel the delicious muscles there. She let peace steal over her, the warmth of his body and the solid feel of him surrounding her gave her that.

Teagan had never felt at home anywhere other than with her grandmother and sisters. She just didn’t fit. She liked people, but she never felt comfortable enough with them to share her body or soul. She was always on the fringe. She had friends, but even they didn’t really know her, not even the ones she’d grown up with.

Andre was in her mind. With her almost all the time. He knew her. The way she thought. What she thought. How she thought. He just knew. He
got
her.

“I will work very hard to fix this between us,” Andre said softly. He brushed kisses along her throat and up her chin to the corner of her mouth.

“And we’ll talk before making decisions. When we make them, we make them together,” Teagan prompted.

He kissed her. Her stomach did a roller-coaster number on her and she felt her inner muscles tighten around him. Her heart melted. She found her arms circled his neck all on their own so she could bury her fingers in his hair.

When he lifted his head and looked down at her, she blinked up at him several times, feeling a little dazed and even mellower. She narrowed her eyes at him. “You’re doing it again,” she accused. Both hands went to his shoulders and she shoved at him.

“What am I doing?”

“Don’t look innocent. You know very well what you’re doing. You didn’t answer me. I said
we’d
make decisions.”

He rubbed his chin along her jaw.
“Sivamet.”

“Oh no, you are not going to
sivamet
me in that voice or kiss me senseless. Get up, Andre. We’re going to sort this out right now, and I need clothes and you off of me to do that.”

“I kiss you senseless?” He smiled at her.

“You know very well you do, which is why you take every opportunity to kiss me when you want your way.”

“I was not doing that, but it seems a good idea.”

There was amusement back in his voice. She liked that too much. She pushed at him again and this time he slid out of her and instantly she regretted insisting. He was up in one fluid motion, reaching down for her. He waved his hand and she was clean, refreshed and fully clothed in the softest jeans she’d ever had, faded and vintage blue. She loved them. Her top was a soft, fitted sweater in a cream color.

Okay, that was just plain cool. She wasn’t a morning person. Without her preferred black tea she just wasn’t moving. Being able to do this would save time and effort. She ran her hands down her thighs, feeling the material. Andre wore similar jeans and a shirt that stretched tightly across all the amazing muscles he had.