Authors: Calista Fox
The heat flowing through her veins and the swelling of her
heart made her say, “Then take me to bed.”
* * * * *
Darien’s groin tightened at the prospect, yet he hesitated.
“I just told you to marry someone else.”
“Yes, but you didn’t really mean it.” A coy smile played on
her lips. “I may lack romantic experience, but I can see through a ploy such as
that. And while, yes, it might better my situation in some aspects, it wouldn’t
in others. It would be false. You have to know that. And Michael deserves more
than a tiny piece of my heart that now only feels friendship toward him.”
“Love can grow from that.”
She shook her head and let out a soft laugh. “Stop talking
about this. You’d be an ogre if you knew I was with Michael, and I wouldn’t
wish that on Sheena, Jocelyn and Morgan. Or your horse.”
His tense jaw loosened. “You have a point. They might resort
to mutiny.”
“Never. They’re loyal to you. Devoted enough to help a human
you care about.”
“I do care about you,” he said in a fierce tone. “That’s why
I have to stay away from you. If the fire wraith returns and monitors the
situation, he needs to believe you no longer mean anything to me. He’ll leave
you alone.”
She snuggled close to him. “And yet, here you are…”
“Well, there’s always the chance I can talk you into
returning to the castle with me until we’ve resolved this issue.”
Yes, in the back of his mind, that was still his deepest
want and desire—along with making her immortal. And it was true he could force
her hand. He had the authority to demand she stay at the castle while his army
hunted for the rogue demons, not merely request she go with him. But he was
smart enough to know she’d be miserable away from her home for an extended
period of time.
Not to mention the slayers and villagers would be in an
absolute uproar over him whisking her off again.
“I can follow your strategy for now,” she said, her breath
warm against his neck. “I’ll continue to let the slayers escort me into the
village when I go and I’ll keep to the cottage otherwise until the trouble
passes.”
Her agreement with his precautionary measures put him
slightly at ease. But it still irritated him that he had no control over her
full protection. Not unless he ordered her to follow his command, that was.
While a heavy hand might keep her from getting killed, she’d be miserable
anyway. So he had to find a compromise. Strike a balance.
“You won’t be left to fend for yourself, I assure you,” he
said. “But after tonight, I’ll need to continue to keep an ample distance. I
have to make it appear as though I’ve tired of you. The fire wraith will find
another tactic to engage me, which won’t involve you.”
She was quiet a moment, then asked, “But it’s just a guise,
right?”
He grinned, despite the piercing sensation in his heart over
her hint of doubt. “You already know the answer to that. You called my bluff,
after all.”
Her sigh of relief blew against his skin, making it tingle.
“So it would be hell for you if I were to marry Michael?”
“I don’t have to agonize over that anymore, now do I?”
She snickered. “
You
knew the answer to that before
you even made the proposition.”
“It’s not an unreasonable scenario.”
“Not a month ago, no,” she said. “But now… Yes. It is.”
His hands gently clasped her face, the gesture urging her to
glance up at him. “I’ve done a lot of things wrong by my own conscience. My
misguided intentions have benefited the demon world, but I didn’t stay true to
my own convictions. I can’t help but think that this situation that has come
about with you is my punishment.”
“Careful,” she said as a tinge of light flickered in her
eyes—one he’d never seen before. “You’re about to call
me
punishment.”
A low growl slipped from his mouth. “You find the strangest
times to tease me.”
“I can’t help it. Aside from me, you’ve got to be the most tormented
person I’ve ever known.”
He stood suddenly, with her in his arms. “Luckily, there are
ways to ease some of that torment.”
She smiled, her lips curling against his neck in an enticing
way. “Now you’re talking sensibly.”
It wasn’t difficult navigating her small house to find the
master bedroom. Though the double mattress with the aged frame gave him pause.
“You sleep here?” he asked, his territorial instincts
kicking in—specifically, his desire to make her life more comfortable. Lavish,
even. He could still picture her vividly in his large bed, nestled under covers
that didn’t look so worn and tattered. She deserved more than the modest
environment she refused to leave.
With a sigh, she said, “It’s not a master suite in the
castle, no. But try not to knock my home. I like it here, remember?”
“I like the cottage too,” he assured her. “You could benefit
from some improvements though.”
“Don’t go trying to marry me off again so I’ll have a man to
fix the place up. Everything in here is sufficient.”
He did not intend to insult her, but it was hard to quell
the urge to send his own interior decorator to the cottage to spruce it up. Not
for his personal pleasure, since this would be his one and only visit. But for
hers.
“Are you wondering if you’ll fit in my bed?” She broke into
his thoughts. They still stood in the middle of the room.
“It’s obviously not long enough for my height.”
“Let’s give it a try anyway.”
Her lips grazed his throat and his libido sprang back into
action. He set her on the mattress and she immediately reached for the hem of
his black sweater and stripped off the garment. Her fingers traced the grooves
of his abdomen. She let out a long breath.
“I’ve missed your body.”
He groaned as she leaned toward him and placed kisses on his
stomach. His fingers threaded through her hair.
She said, “You realize I could never be with another man.
Ever. How could one possibly compare to a king? And no mortal is built so
spectacularly.”
“I don’t want you to be with anyone else,” he told her in a
low voice. “Nor do I want you to be alone.” A double-edged sword that cut deep.
“I have some good memories of us together to keep me
company.”
Deftly working the fastenings on his leather pants, she
peeled the material apart at the crotch and shoved it down his hips and legs.
He toed off his riding boots and then rid himself of the rest of his clothing.
Her fingers encircled his erect shaft and her head dipped to
take him into her mouth.
Darien’s previous musings as to whether she was his
punishment for causing so much death and destruction returned to him. Surely no
demon should experience the sort of pleasure she gave him. A beautiful human
who made love to him with her mouth and set his pulse racing and his heart
soaring… It was unthinkable. And yet, she aroused him instantly and seemed to
enjoy stimulating him in this way.
The penalty against him would come when he left her once
more. This time for good.
He didn’t want to think of that at the moment. Instead, he
swept her hair from her face and watched her tongue trail from base to tip,
then swirl around the head, tasting him. His cock throbbed at her erotic touch
and her natural instinct. She drew him into her mouth again, taking him deeper
this time. His entire body ached for her.
Holding her hair back with one hand, he used the other to
guide her palm to his balls. She gently cupped them, pushing him even further
into risky territory. He tensed at the intimate gesture as excitement shot
through him.
Jade had him worked up in a heartbeat and kept him in a
frenzied state. She sucked him hard and a tremor ran through his legs.
“That’s it, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Just like that.”
She continued with the thrilling pace and the massaging of
his sac, pushing him to the edge. His hips moved with her rhythm and adrenaline
coursed through his veins. She pulled him into her wet depths as far as she
could, eliciting a sharp grunt from him.
“Jade.” He felt it only fair to warn her how close he was to
exploding in her mouth.
Her ministrations continued, making him a little lightheaded
and a lot turned-on. She worked him a few minutes more and then the tremors in
his legs crept up his body. His cock pulsed with a wicked beat and then surged
as he came, calling out her name.
She didn’t shift away. He rode out the orgasm while still in
her mouth. His heavy breaths were the only sound in the room, save for the
snapping of the blazing fire. The heat it provided, in addition to the inferno
she easily created within him, had beads of perspiration popping up along his
hairline.
When she finally released him, he chuckled, although it was
a rough sound because he still hadn’t gotten his breath back. “You’re entitled
to the Cheshire Cat grin.”
Her brows dipped.
“Not familiar with
Alice in Wonderland
?”
“No.”
“It’s a fairy tale,” he told her. “You should probably read
it. You might identify with Alice.”
“My life is hardly a fairy tale.”
“It’s not that kind of fairy tale.”
“Oh. I’ll ask Lisette about it.”
His fingers brushed her temple. “Still counting the beads
she gave you?”
She smiled. “We’re good.”
Darien instantly had her out of her clothes. Then he
stretched out on her bed, not quite fitting, as he’d suspected. He pulled her
down on top of him, then grabbed a fistful of blanket and sheet and tugged,
dragging the linen from the other side of the bed to them, so it covered her.
He kissed her as his hands roamed her body. Her skin against
his felt incredible and he knew he’d be hard for her within seconds, demon
recovery time being what it was, and also the fact she so easily excited him.
Breaking their kiss, she straddled his hips and sat up. His
hands moved to her breasts, palming them as he caressed the mounds, then teased
the already puckered nipples.
He groaned. “You in the firelight… You’re so much more
gorgeous and sensuous in person than I can conjure in my mind.”
She stared down at him. “You fantasize about me?”
“All the time.” Not an admission that helped their plight,
he realized. But an honest one.
“I try not to,” she said in an honest voice. “I keep telling
myself there’s no point to it. But then you magically appear in my mind,
despite my best efforts. Unfortunately, it’s never the same as that first
time—since you’re not wittingly participating. It’s just me…”
He guided her forward, until her forearms rested on his wide
chest. His hands slid down her back. “I have to stay out of your head, we both
know that. That doesn’t stop me from thinking about making love to you.
Sometimes it seems so real. As though I can almost hear your moans and feel
your body against mine.”
She gnawed her lip. “We’ve really dug a hole for ourselves.”
“Yes. But I wouldn’t change anything—pass up the time we’ve
had together.”
“Neither would I.”
Jade stared into his eyes, her blue gaze glowing in the
flickering light.
She added, “No matter how doomed we were from the start, I
wouldn’t take any of it back. I know now what I really want, and even though I
can’t have it, I understand that the reason I never gave Michael any
encouragement over the past eight years is because I innately knew amiable
companionship was all we’d share. Even if we’d married and had children, we
wouldn’t have experienced this kind of passion.”
“I’m sorry you continually suffer because of me.”
She smiled sweetly. “Who says I’m suffering right now?”
He snorted. “You don’t always have to let me off the hook.”
“I don’t,” she was quick to say. “I’ve demanded explanations
from you. But you’ve also freely given ones I have no authority to ask for. I
appreciate that.”
He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. “I appreciate
that you listen. And try to understand, although you can’t possibly reconcile
in your mind the things I’ve done.”
With a nod, she said, “I have to remain true to my species.
You have the same responsibility. But Darien, one thing I’ve always been taught
is that humans have killed other humans for centuries. Demons have killed
demons. How hypocritical would we all be if we said we fiercely protect our own
kind and never turn on them?”
His eyes closed briefly. “Don’t try to justify or mollify my
actions, Jade.”
She was quiet for several moments, then added, “I’ll never
be able to condone them. But I can’t condemn you either. Not knowing how close
my race once came to pushing a button that would reduce this planet to an even
weaker state than it’s currently in. At least we have fresh air to breathe,
rather than inhaling toxins from nuclear bombs that would likely kill survivors
within years, if not sooner.”
“You’re well educated in human conflicts. Is that how you
can stand to be around me?”
The expression on her face revealed shock that he’d made
such a statement. Eventually, however, it morphed into something much less
intense. Grinning at him—and taking him by surprise—she said, “Perhaps. In
addition to the fact you’re so damn hunky. So irresistible.”
He kissed her again. The sensations she evoked with just a
kiss seared his insides. When he dragged his mouth from hers, it skimmed over
her jaw and down her throat. His hands gripped her waist and he urged her
upward. Her dewy folds slid along his stomach, ratcheting his desire for her.
His tongue flicked over her nipple before he sucked the taut peak into his
mouth.
She gasped. Her fingers plowed through his hair. Her other
forearm rested on the pillow alongside his head. His teeth gently scraped her
tight bud. His tongue soothed it. All the while, she squirmed against him, her
moist labia rubbing along his skin.