Midnight Enchantment (12 page)

Under the spray, she closed her eyes and tried to mimic the act of dissolving. Surrendering herself to the moisture around her, joining with it, flowing as one.
Water coursing through the earth…surrounding…flowing…joining with the moisture of the lakes, streams, the salty tang of the ocean…

She opened her eyes. Imagining it wasn’t doing it.

Once she’d finished her shower, the ache in her muscles and the fatigue she felt were worse than ever. Cranky and losing hope, she stumbled out of the bathroom with her damp hair loose around her shoulders and wearing a pair of soft jogging pants and a T-shirt. The cottage smelled of eggs and sausage.

“Hungry?” Niall asked, standing in the kitchen holding a pan of something in his hand.

She waved him off and collapsed onto the couch. “I’m a vegetarian.”

“
Vegetarian
, not vegan. You eat eggs and dairy products, right?”

“Yes, but not sausage.”

“This is veggie sausage. I got it for you.”

“Still, I’m not—”

“You need to eat, Elizabeth. I’m not going to let you skip meals.”

“It’s my body and I’ll skip meals if I want to.” She winced at the whiny quality in her voice. “Leave me be, I’m dying over here.”

“The iron sickness is exactly why you need these calories. You need strength or you’ll fade too fast.” Yeah, and that would limit the time he had to get the info he needed. He fixed up a plate and brought it to her on the couch. “Now eat.”

She stared at him for a moment, the mingled food scents making her stomach growl. Finally she grabbed the plate and
fork from him and started eating. “Is there coffee?” she asked hopefully.

He brought over cups for both of them, then sat down across from her.

Remembering what she’d be doing ordinarily tonight, she stared at the food on her plate. “What about my people?”

“Like I said, don’t worry about them. I’ve got them covered.” He sipped his coffee. “I’m not a monster, Elizabeth.”

She snorted into her coffee cup. “That’s in the eye of the beholder.”

“Baby, most of Piefferburg thinks
you’re
the monster. You’re not going to be getting a medal of valor anytime soon, that’s for sure. In fact, once this is all over and your name becomes known to the rest of the fae, you better start thinking about hiding.”

She kept her head down and concentrated on her veggie sausage. “I do what I have to do.”

“And you’ll pay the price. I hope it’s worth it.”

She set the empty plate onto the table between them and looked up into his eyes. Holding his gaze she answered, “It is.”

He shook his head, scooped up the plate and both their coffee cups, brought them into the kitchen, and started washing up. “So, what fun games should we play today?” His voice came out light and teasing.

Elizabeth wanted to punch him.

Curling her feet beneath her on the couch she said, “I’m sure there’s more illusion on the way.”

“You can count on that,” he tossed carelessly over his shoulder.

“I should hate you for what you’re doing to me.”

He wiped his hand on a kitchen towel and walked into the living room. “Does that mean you don’t?”

She stood with the intention of returning to the bedroom, just to get away from him. She swayed on her feet, feeling weak, and caught herself right before she collapsed. “I wish I could hate you, Niall, but we both think we’re doing the right thing, don’t we? You’re protecting your people and I’m…well, I have my reasons for doing this, too.”

“Another time, another place. I think we could have really clicked, you and me.”

“Do you mean we could have been friends?”

“Friends, sure.” He gave her a slow smile.

She snorted. “Yeah, more than friends for a night or two, right? You don’t seem like the type to stay with one woman.”

He gave a loose shrug. “Depends on the woman.”

She considered him for a long moment, not knowing what to think about that statement. She lacked experience, was very young for a fae, and had spent her entire life in the Boundary Lands. He was at least three hundred and seventy years old, probably older, and lived in the Unseelie court. “You were never joined?”

He shook his head.

“Serious girlfriends?”

“Several.”

She laughed. “
Several
, huh? Over centuries of time? I’m impressed.”

He tipped his head to the side. “Was that sarcasm?” He shook his head. “Never mind, what about you? Is there some big, strong nature fae out there missing you? Should I be watching my back for a gallant rescue attempt?”

She gave him a withering look. “You know there isn’t.”

He shrugged. “I did what research I could on you and your family, but there wasn’t much to find. The wildlings are like that. More power to the Summer Queen. She did a great job selecting you.”

“What did you find out about me?”

“That you are a rare asrai, found as a child by a riverbank in the Boundary Lands, biological parents unknown. There was no other record of any other asrai in Piefferburg at all, so you’re kind of a mystery. There was even less known about your adoptive parents.”

She relaxed. That was good. Maybe she could keep her mother’s sprae dependency a secret and no one would ever discover her reason for hiding the pieces.

“You’re an attractive woman. I’d be surprised if there wasn’t some strapping Scottish tree fae or something out there ready to storm this place to rescue you.”

“Well, prepare to be astonished. I do my own rescuing.”

Niall gave her one of his signature grins that was half made of cocky and half of charming. When he did that she
was never sure if she wanted to slap him or kiss him. “And a fine job you’re doing, too.”

She gritted her teeth, fisted her hands, and pushed past him. “You’re a bastard, do you know that?”

“So I’ve been told.” He grabbed her by the upper arm and drew her gently back toward him. “Bastard, the devil incarnate. Pick a descriptor.”

She whirled. “You may have this cottage magicked to hell and back so I can’t escape and this damned charmed iron cuff might be around my ankle, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to win. You’re not—”

He yanked her up against his chest. “Yeah, yeah, I know. You’ll die before you’ll give up the location, blah, blah.”

Rage rocketed through her. “
Blah, blah?
Are you serious? Did you really just say
blah, blah
to me?”

Holding her close against his chest, he smoothed a loose hank of her hair behind her ear. “I would rather pretend none of this lies between us for a while. I don’t want to think about those fucking pieces or that you’re my prisoner. Not right now. I really don’t want to think about you dying, okay? Can we pretend, just for a few minutes?”

She relaxed against him, confused at the gentle tone of his voice. “Pretend? That would be nice, but impossible. The stakes are too high.”

“Too bad.” He was staring at her lips. “That’s really too bad, Elizabeth.”

She tried not to melt against him, but it was an effort. This man had such a powerful effect on her libido, but she didn’t want him to know it. It gave him power over her, and he already had too much. She stood stiffly in his arms, as if suffering his touch, but all the while she stared at the pulse jumping in his neck, wondering at the way it sped up every time he touched her, and tried not to inhale the intoxicating scent of his skin.

The whole situation was horrifying. She was about to die a virgin, something she really didn’t want to do, yet the only man around—and the only man who made her hormones leap—was the man responsible for her circumstances.

She wished they could pretend. Just long enough for her to experience what it was to be touched by a man. She didn’t
really have that much longer to find out what sex was like, and the only man around willing to give her the experience was this one.

With a heavy sigh of surrender, she gave into the idea, dissolving as if into water. Her body went warm and soft against his.

Absurdly, Niall’s body went stiff, almost as if her subtle reaction had put him on edge. “Elizabeth, no matter how much I may want you, I will never take advantage—”

“Blah, blah.”
She went up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his.

NIALL went stock-still for a moment, then slipped his hand to her nape, hungrily slanting his mouth across hers, and gave her the second kiss she’d ever had.

His lips slid over hers slowly, raising goose bumps all over her body. She relaxed, curving to fit him perfectly. Then he crushed his mouth to hers and coaxed her lips apart. His tongue slid within and it collided, stroking, with her tongue, sending shivers of need up her spine. His mouth was hot and he tasted like coffee.

She wasn’t sure what to do with her hands. Sliding them up his arms, she finally curled the fingers of one hand into the hair at the nape of his neck. The other she pressed tight against the back of his shoulder.

The man kissed the way she imagined it would feel to make love. Exploring her mouth, yet stopping sometimes to carefully brush his lips across hers, as if memorizing the feel and taste of her. The masterful strokes of his tongue served to stoke the fire that was already burning hot and high within her. Any doubt that may have lingered about sleeping with him dissolved like sugar stirred into water.

He dragged her lower lip through his teeth gently once
more, and then slid his tongue back into her mouth to leisurely brush up against hers. Her nipples tightened and her body primed itself for him, making intimate areas tingle. Reaching up, he cupped her breast, rubbing his thumb back and forth over her erect nipple through the fabric of her T-shirt and bra. His cock pressed against her, showing her how much he wanted her.

If this was just a kiss, what was the rest of it like?

He rocked her back and broke the kiss, staring hard at her. “What are you doing, Elizabeth?”

“Trying to get you to take advantage of me.”

He released her and stepped backward. “If you don’t stop, I
will
take advantage. I want you, Elizabeth. I want to touch your sweet body. I want to watch you come. I’ll love doing all that, but then I’ll feel like shit afterward.”

Fine, he wanted to play hardball?

She grabbed the hem of her T-shirt and pulled it over her head, leaving her in just her bra. Then she reached around and unclasped that bit of silk, letting it drop onto the floor. “I don’t really care how you’ll feel afterward, Niall.”

Niall took exactly one heartbeat to pounce on her. He dragged her up against his chest, walked her back to the thick carpet in front of the fireplace, and lowered her onto it. His gaze roaming her bare breasts, he pulled his sweater over his head and came down over her.

Her fingers roved his skin, feeling the bunch of his muscles as he moved, enjoying the warmth of his strong arms and back. He dropped his head to her breast and covered one of her nipples with his mouth. She let out a surprised gasp of pleasure as his skillful lips closed around the hard little peak and he sucked it against his hot tongue. Her fingers tightened in his hair as he licked one nipple to a hard point and then moved to the next, pleasure shivering through her body.

So this was what sex was like. People were right to make such a big deal out of it.

Lost in a haze of sensation, she watched his head move lower as he kissed her abdomen and dropped to her belly button. His fingers caught in the waistband of her jogging pants and yanked them down. He made a hungry sound in the back of his throat when he found she wore no underwear. He skimmed her pants down her legs.

After he’d tossed her jogging pants to the side, Niall hovered over her, gaze caught with hers, as his hand glided up her inner thigh, gently urging her to part her legs.

She moved restlessly on the carpet, beginning to lose the ability for rational thought. Her body felt on fire from his touch, and she wanted more. The first stroke of his hand on her sex made her jump and moan at the same time. His fingers whispered over her delicate flesh, finding her clit and petting it until her back arched and her toes curled. Then he slipped a finger inside her, and she moaned his name.

He halted his movements, looking up at her in surprise. “Elizabeth, are you a virgin?”

She opened her eyes to find him staring down at her. “Yes. Is that a problem?”

“No. It’s just a surprise.” He rocked a finger in and out of her. “You’re really tight, but I don’t feel your hymen.”

She licked her lips, trying not to moan like a sex-crazed idiot. It was hard to think with him doing that to her. “I ride horses,” she managed to push out. “Kelpies. I drive an ATV. I run. I’m very active. My hymen probably broke long ago. I am in my midtwenties, after all.”

He brushed her clit with his thumb. “Have you ever come?”

“Of course.” She blushed, then qualified, “By myself.”

He threw his head back and groaned. “
Danu
, I would love to watch you do that sometime.”

She blushed even harder.

“But not right now,” he continued, his voice a low, dark rasp against her skin. “Right now
I
want to make you come.”