Destiny Divided (23 page)

They were only a few feet away
, but they might as well have been in another world, because when James growled, low and threatening, behind her, she knew she would never reach them.

H
is hand locked around her ankle and dragged her backward across the floor. He yanked her arms behind her back where a cold, hard metal locked them in place.

Handcuffed? Wait. W
hat?

“You
had another pair,” she said accusingly.

“Yes.” He
pressed his knee into the small of her back, holding her still while she kicked and squirmed.

It wasn’t a smart move
, she realized too late. Her skirt had ridden up and, with the handcuffs on, she was at his mercy.

He chuckled then smacked each globe of her ass, hard
. “I think I like you this way.”

“Cheater,” she spat.

“Rule number one. Always be prepared to fight dirty.”

She sighed in defeat and laid her cheek on the cold ground
. “Okay, fine. You win. Now let me go.”

“Three days,
” he whispered harshly at her ear. “I was stuck in that goddamn cave. Three days with nothing to do but plot my revenge.”

Shive
rs traveled down her spine and her insides twisted in knots. Just what did he have in mind? He gripped her upper arm and hoisted her to stand.

“What are you doing?”
she asked, trying to keep the panic from her voice. But, truthfully, her voice wasn’t the only thing trembling.

He grinned like a feral wolf.
“It’s called payback, love.” Then he slung her over his shoulder and she bounced, upside down, as he ascended the stairs.

Her
stairs. In
her
goddamn castle. She fought him every step of the way, stunned she couldn’t break through the handcuffs. When she bit into his back, she felt the sting of his palm connect sharply with her ass.

“Stop that,
” he ordered. “The handcuffs are reinforced with magic. They won’t break. Now stop squirming. You don’t want to endure any more of my wrath than necessary, I assure you.” He repositioned her writhing body with a rough jostle. “Now, where’s your bedroom?”

“Why would I tell you?”

He fro
ze mid-stride. “Because one way or another I am going to have you tonight. We can do it right here in the hallway but I would have thought you’d want some privacy.”

There was no teasing in
his voice. She directed him to her room with a resigned sigh. When he threw her on the bed, she attempted to kick him, but he shoved his hips between her legs and pinned her to the mattress. Part of her wanted to beg him to ravish her greedily and the other part wanted to drop kick him off the balcony.

With her arms locked behind her
, and his body covering the rest of her, she was good and caught.

“Do you still deny you have feelings for me,
cariad
?” he asked in a husky voice she could barely resist. He pushed the hair from her face looking down at her with such tenderness, it made her heart ache.

What the hell?
She almost preferred him handcuffing her and slapping her ass.

“That’s al
right,” he said. “I plan to
make
you remember your feelings.”

She almost whimpered.
Fuck. Get a grip! She was the goddamn queen of the –

Mmmmm.
He coaxed her lips open with his tongue. She let him in and their tongued dueled as his hips rocked against hers. When he pulled away, it left her gasping for air.

He stared down at her,
his eyes half-hooded and wanting. When he looked at her like this, she felt an overwhelming sensation that James really knew her. He knew her and yet he came for her anyway.

The corner of his mouth curled then h
e yanked up her shirt and clawed her bra in half. Her breasts tumbled out. He gaped at them until her nipples hardened under his heated gaze.

H
e placed slow, gentle kisses from her chin, down her neck then nibbled just above her collarbone.

A fever burned
, starting in her stomach then moving down between her legs.

He shifted his hips an
d his erection rubbed against her clit. She gasped and thrust toward him, willing him to grind against her just a little harder, but he stilled.

“More
” she pleaded.

“Not yet.” His kisses
moved up the side of her neck. “I want to play first.”

The
cool air of her bedroom felt icy against her sensitive nipples. They tingled in anticipation when he gazed at them. She squirmed, willing him to take one between his lips.

As if he knew what she w
as thinking, he lifted his head and grinned. “Is there something you want,
cariad
?”

“Touch them,” she breathed.

“For good behavior,” he teased. His mouth slid to one breast, lapped at her nipple softly then stopped.

She arched her back but stifled a moan.

“Do you want more?”

She wanted to smack him. “Yes.”

With a greedy glitter in his eye, he moved to the other breast then slid his tongue around her nipple before suckling it gently between his lips. Heat flooded between her legs and she ground against his hips. A moan escaped her and his eyes flared with desire.

He sucked harder and the moan turned into a cry
, but when he placed a rough palm between her legs, sparks shot up her spine.

Kissing as we went, he moved to her ear.
“Do you love me,
cariad
?”

“No,” she blurted then kicked herself. Her mind was too hazy to remember what she was supposed to say. And he was too…fucking distracting.

One finger delicately outlined her breast. “But you want to be with me,” he commanded rather than asked. He pinched her nipple then caressed the pain away.

“Yes.”

He smiled and grabbed her breast, letting it fill his hand.

“James,” she bre
athed. “No more questions. Just touch me. Please.”

“O
ne more question.” He lowered his mouth to her breast at the same time as he slid his hand down between her legs. But he barely touched her. Instead he drew circles lazily with a finger over her panties – teasing, tormenting.

God, she wanted to
kill him. First screw him then kill him.

“Do you want to come home with me?”
he finally asked, his voice dripping with buttery seduction.

“Yes. Anything.
Just…please.” She bucked her hips against his, yearning for contact.

A sinful smile broke acr
oss his face. “That’s my girl.”

Wait. What did she
just agree to?

Before she could ask for
clarification about that last pesky little question, he flipped her over and dragged her to the edge of the bed.

“Ah, Sage,” he said standing behind her, “you make
it too easy with these skirts.”

Her skirt went up and her fishnets went
down. She was still helpless with her hands cuffed behind her back, but she knew from experience, he was good at giving her what she needed.

He fingered the edge of her black lace panties. “These please me,
cariad
.” He dipped two fingers under her panties and between her folds.

She gasped.
Pleasure rocked through her body until she thought she might come apart.

Her underwear disappeared and h
e thrust into her wetness. She hadn’t even heard him unzip his pants. All it took was a few drives of his cock into her g-spot and she went over the edge. Stars studded her vision as she cried out.

Moments later, panting and coming down from the high, she heard James chuckling.

“My little sorceress is lusty,” he whispered then bit her earlobe sharply.

She yelped
and the small pain sent a new wave of arousal through her. With one hand placed on the small of her back, pinning her in place, he moved in and out of her.

The bed bange
d against the wall and with every sharp thrust, their skin slapped together lusciously. Their sex was loud and violent, just as she’d expected.

Her moans and cries gre
w louder. James flipped her over seamlessly and continued pumping into her with enough force to make her teeth clatter. This was no gentle lovemaking. This was passionate, vengeance sex.

He brought two palms down onto the bed on either side of her head and looked into her eye
s. She closed them to shield herself.

“Open your eyes,
” he ordered. “Look at me.”

She did.

“That’s it,” he encouraged, his voice turned velvety. “Keep your eyes on me.”

His normally perfect features were shimmering with sweat. Combined with his ragged overgrown be
ard, he looked sexier than ever.

He leaned forward and grabbed
her face possessively with one hand. “You are mine, Sage. Do you understand me?
Mine!
”

B
utterflies danced through her body.

“Now come with me,
cariad
.”

James roared out loud, taking his release at the s
ame time as Sage screamed into his chest for hers.

H
e plopped down on top of her, catching his breath. They lay like that for a moment – sweaty, panting, riding out the wave of pleasure. He pushed up on his arms, rose above her then planted wet kisses all over her face.

When he unlocked the handcuffs, s
he stretched her sore arms and got up from the bed. She pulled down her shirt then bent over to fix the rest of her clothing.

“Just what
do you think you’re doing?” he asked.

She blinked at him
. “Getting dressed.”

A slow, wicked smile curled
his lips. “Uh-uh. You’re not done.” He locked his arm around her waist and he dragged her across the bed until she was underneath him again then ripped through her shirt. Her breasts were exposed before she could utter a protest.

“No, James,” she said desperately, trying to push him off. “I can’t take anymore.”

He took both her wrists in one hand and set his face inches from hers. “Three days,
cariad
,” he said, reminding her of the cave. “You
will
take more.”

In seconds, he had her
completely naked.

She opened her mouth to protest
, but James took a firm hold of her thighs, pressed them open and stared. Her body lit on fire, tingling with lust. He ogled her while licking his lips. She knew where he was going with that tongue. She would have begged for it if she wasn’t spent already.

L
ight burst into her palm and he grabbed her wrist again and squeezed.

“Don’t make me put the ha
ndcuffs back on,” he warned.

“N
o more,” she whispered weakly.

He put up a finger to shush her. “Sometimes,
cariad
, I know what you need better than you do.”

She let out a soft whimper when his thumb rolled over a nipple at the same time as one on her clit. Thi
s was going to be a long night.

James woke
in a haze of ecstasy. He rolled over, patting the bed for a lumpy figure that resembled his mate. He’d half expected her to run away again, but she was there, nestled into the covers, her chestnut hair spilling onto her pillow. He fingered through her hair, enjoying the steady beat of her heart and the rise and fall of her chest.

The peaceful slumber was a contrast to their fiery duel the ni
ght before. But she’d been perfect, laid out before him like an offering he didn’t deserve. Open and trusting. And she gave as good as she got. Once he’d freed her from the handcuffs and took her over the edge more times than he could count, she’d had her own revenge.

He chuckled
, remembering the sharp pain of her little teeth on his flesh. The little brat. Just thinking about it had him hard again.

Filled with the sudden urge to hold her,
to run his fingers over her delicate skin, he reached out and pulled her naked body into his.

Mine
,
his heart told him
.
The thought had surprised him last night. He’d never felt possessive of a single person before. But now, as he held her tight against his bare chest, their legs intertwined, and her scent marking his body, he’d never been so sure of anything in his entire life.

Sage was his. Forever.

Her eyes fluttered open and she shifted her body to see him.

“You have no idea how heavenly this is for me,” he told he
r, burying his nose in her hair and dropping a leg possessively on top of hers. He trailed a hand lightly up her bare thigh to cup her backside in his palm.

She blinked
. “We need to talk.”

“Talking is n
ot what I had in mind.” His hand moved from her cheek inward heading between –

“James,” she pleaded softly.

His heart skipped a beat. It would be hard to refuse her from now on.

“Please.”

The somber edge to her voice worried him. “What is it, beautiful?”

She sat up and covered herself with the sheet.
“I may have promised something last night that I can’t follow up on.”

He frowned
.
Don’t say it, Sage. Don’t you dare say it.

“I
can’t leave with you.” She rose quickly from the bed while he was too distracted to stop her.

He studied her face as she grabbed clothing off the floor. She looked
genuinely sorry, but he knew enough not to let her fool him. She was an expert liar and manipulator. Blood rushed to his head as his ire grew.

He burst off of the bed.
“Damn it, Sage! We had a deal!” His bellow echoed across the room.

She slipped
on another black skirt, a longer one than last night, which pleased him. He was the only vampire that needed to see those luscious curves. The lacy red top she pulled over her head, he was less happy about.

“I know. And I’m
sorry.” She turned to face him. “But are you really that surprised?”

He should’ve kept her handcuffed and left with her last night. It was too late now. He pulled his clothing on, still dirty from the last few days of travel then paced the confines of her room at a speed that literally wore down her carpet.

He’d
worked too hard to let her go without a fight.
Maybe she’d hate him for a while, but it was time for her to learn who was boss. With a deep breath, he paused in front of her.

“You’re leaving this place
with me today, Sage.” he told her grimly. “I’m not losing you again.”

S
he rolled her eyes despite his firm tone. Obviously, she hadn’t understood him last night when he’d said she was
his.

“Where
, James?” She folded her arms over her chest. “Caerwyn? Do you really think they’ll accept me? Two-thirds of me they hate.”

Fuck
. She was right. He couldn’t take her home – not to his homeland. But maybe Caerwyn wasn’t his home anymore. Maybe Sage was.

“We don’t need Caerwyn,” he finally told her. “We can go back to Massachusetts. I’ll teach. You can do whatever you want. I won’t meddle, I swear to it.
But I won’t stay here.”

Cold determination flared in her eyes. “Then leave,” she
said flippantly. “But I have to stay.”

“Why?
”

She gave him a level glare
. “Because it’s my destiny.”

She had to be bloody joking.
He waited for her to laugh, or flash a teasing smile, but neither came.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” he snapped
. “You make your own destiny.”

“I
want
to stay.”

“You
want
to stay? Why would anybody want to stay here? It’s the foulest place I’ve ever been. Might as well be dead and in hell, for all its worth.”

Her face flushed.
“See, that’s just your problem, James. You’re too fucking good for anyone! And you’ll never love anyone but your own damn self!”

It felt like she’d slid a knife in his heart. Anger grew. He
stalked toward her, but she didn’t back down. “Who do you think you are telling me who I will or won’t love?” The mirror on the wall shook at his bellow. “Do you honestly think I can stay here? With the Dark King who turned me into this!” His fangs lengthened. “Think that will work out, do you? You selfish, inconsiderate –”

“Pious, son-of-a –”

“You belong here with him!”

“So do you!”

Before he realized what he was doing, his hand wrapped around her throat and he pushed her against the wall. “Take it back.”

“No!”

He gave her a little shake. “Take it back!”

“
Fuck you! And fuck all your uptight, self-righteous motherfucking sorcerers!”

He moved his hands to her
shoulders and shook her harder.

Sh
e screamed, “Stop it! He’s gone. He’s dead. Stop!”

He froze with
his hand back on her throat. “Who’s gone?”

She shoved her hair back from her red, sweaty face. “Cadmael. He’s dead.”

“How?”

“Me. I killed him.”

Emerald, doe-eyes stared up at him from under thick lashes, her fangs bit into her lip where a drop of blood pooled. Her pulse fluttered under his hand – the hand now wrapped around her tiny throat.

What the fuck was he doing?

He yanked his hand away as if he were touching a hot stove. “Fuck.”

Pacing irritably in front of her, h
e ran a hand over the back of his neck. He’d never been so furious in all his life. She was turning him inside out. Everything he thought he knew about the world was turned upside down because of her.

He
never
lost his temper like that. The only excuse he had was temporary insanity brought about by severe emotional turmoil.

Hurt. He’d never truly known the emotion. Physical pain, yes, but never the kind of pain that goes with giving a woman your heart then watching her squeeze every last drop of blood from it. For some reason, it was that kind of pain that made him want to murder somebody far more tha
n a broken bone or torn flesh.

But looking down at the small brunette he’d just claimed as his, he knew he’d give her his he
art again the moment she asked.

Trembling
, he held his hand out toward her. She flinched back.

“No, I –” He broke off with a choking sound as a lump of emotion lodged in his throat. After a long sigh
, he said, “I’m not going to hurt you.”

She eyed him warily.

“Come here,
anwylyd
. Please.”

S
he slid her hand in his. He didn’t move for a moment, just concentrated on the feeling of her soft skin against his. He’d choked her, shaken her, screamed at her, insulted her, yet she came to him, willingly, taking one small step toward reparation. Her faith humbled him.
He didn’t deserve her.

He swallowed hard then pulled her into
his chest, holding her so tight against him he hoped she could breathe because there wasn’t a force in this world that could make him let her go right now. His eyes watered and a sob escaped his throat.

She held him just as eagerly. Her arms wrapped around his torso, squeezing hard while her fingers
dug into the skin on his back.

He kissed the top of her head over and over.
“I’m sorry, love.” His breath hitched. “I’m so sorry.”

His shirt was wet with her tears. In a small voice
, she asked, “Why do I feel like I’d be lost forever without you?”

He cupped her face, holding her head against his chest, wanting every last one of her tears to dry on his shirt. “Hell if I know,
cariad
.” He stared out the window at the desolate Underworld forest. “Hell if I know.”