Risk (A Mageri World Novel) (23 page)

“Did you get them dry-cleaned?”

“No, silly.” He flipped them over and pointed his finger. “I finished the puzzle.”

She turned the fabric and looked closer. “Oh, so that’s what that one was,” she murmured. Ella worried her lip for a moment and then met his gaze. “Is that what this is about? You want my light?”

Bloody hell
, Simon thought.
That came out all wrong
. He did a facepalm, unable to believe he’d presented her with the pants at such an ill-timed moment.

Ella pulled his hand away. “I was joking when I made the bet, but you’re right. I shouldn’t make empty promises. I won’t obey your every command, but I’ll give you one request.”

He arched an eyebrow. “Then I’ll pocket that favor and ask another time.”

Ella tossed the pants behind her and studied him. “You could have asked for my light.”

Simon fell onto his side. “I can’t do the asking. That’s for you to offer, not for me to take because of some silly bet. If a juicer ever stole your light, it would still be pure. It’s not the same as binding. The transference of light between two people is better than any sex you could ever experience. It’s something… otherworldly. Their light becomes a part of you for a short while, and yours a part of them. It wears off, but I’ve always wondered if any residual part of it sticks.”

“Share light with me,” she whispered, holding up her left hand.

His cock ached with need, and it had nothing to do with the beautiful, half-naked woman lying in front of him. Although the visual wasn’t helping matters.

Flustered, he pounded at his pillow. “Don’t offer me something like that because you think you owe me. In many respects, you’re still a virgin, and you shouldn’t give away your light to just any fool.”

She touched his bicep. “You’re not a fool. I’m not offering because I owe you or even out of pity.”

“Pity!” he exclaimed, quickly silenced when she shushed him with her finger.

“Let me finish. You have puppy dog eyes and a way of looking at a woman like it’s going to hurt your feelings if she doesn’t bend to your wishes. But maybe I see something more than all the other women do when I look at you.” Her finger traced along his jaw. “I see you—the real you—beneath all the leather and the jokes. Beneath the sexy winks and confident words. Maybe it’s because I’ve been inside your head, but you’re the only man I can think of that I want to share this with. You’re the only one I trust. Please… replace some of this darkness in my head with good memories. Show me desire, because I didn’t think that was something I’d ever feel until I met you. I’ve never felt that way about anyone before—I was too young.”

Her hand stroked his arm, traveling down to his wrist. She turned his hand and twined her fingers with his. When some of her light danced on his palm—teasing him with a taste—his energy spiked with need.

Ella pressed her lips to his neck and whispered, “I need you.”

That was all it took to break his resolve.

W
hen sexually aroused
, Ella had often felt fear and anger—emotions she hadn’t had time to process. But the possibility of sharing light with Simon evoked none of those negative reactions. He was right; she was a virgin in that regard. No bad memories were tied to her light. When it trickled from her fingertips and a spark flickered in his irises, Ella experienced an inexplicable yearning that didn’t originate in the core of her womanhood but rather the core of her light. She didn’t know such desire was possible.

She entered his mind through their connection, and when he closed his eyes, images flooded her mind. He was thinking about her fighting the Mage in the park—all her moves remembered in slow motion. Flashes of memories mingled with the fighting, such as the first time he saw her blue eyes, heard the sound of her laugh, and when he laid eyes on her tattoos.

His mind was a garden of memories flowering with images of her.

Ella’s lips brushed against his, and she thought about how formidable he’d looked wielding that sword—the way he’d blocked every move as if he’d known it was coming.

Simon moaned. She not only felt the vibration against his lips, but the textured sound filled her head.

I’ve never gone this deep
, she heard him thinking, uncertain if he’d meant for her to hear it.

Simon’s walls were crumbling as her energy poured into his body. Ella hadn’t yet drawn his light in because she didn’t know how this worked, so she gave up control and let Simon take over.

Simon rolled on top of her, clasping her right hand so they were now connected with both palms. His brown hair tickled her face. He was too tall for her to feel if he was hard, but he made no attempt to press that fact upon her.

Too invasive
, she heard him say.
She’s not ready. Too good. She’s too good
.

Was he aware that she could hear everything unfiltered?

He opened his sweet brown eyes and looked down at her with hesitation. “If you could only know what I feel. Your mind, your emotions—
everything
.” His brows furrowed. “Are you scared?”

“No.”

“Then what is that I’m feeling?”

She kissed his chin. “Butterflies. You’re a smart man, Simon Hunt. You haven’t figured out that whenever I’m near you, I get a funny feeling in my stomach?”

He playfully rubbed his nose against hers. “I thought it was just my lack of deodorant.”

“This is what I want.”

Simon gazed down at her like a predator, his mouth moving slowly… seductively. “Are you sure?”

She’d never been more certain about anything, and if he even dared get off the bed, she was going to pin him down.

Ella nodded, and at that very moment, an indescribable energy poured into her hands and flowed through her like a river of emotions. It tasted like Simon—every last drop of it. His light mixed with hers, and suddenly the attraction she felt for Simon magnified with every pulse of light. She heard him groan and could still feel the press of his body against hers, but she was somewhere else now. Ella closed her eyes, able to hear, see, and feel everything he felt for her. His light grew heavy with desire, saturating her in places she didn’t think possible.

Simon pressed his lips to hers, and they fell into a slow, insatiable kiss.

She felt her panties sliding off and his tongue traveling up her thigh, but he was still kissing her on the mouth. Every idea that entered his mind became more than thought, but an action she could feel as if it were happening—blurring the line between reality and fantasy.

Is it always like this?
she thought.

Love, if it was always like this, I’d never have sex again
, he replied, his voice caressing her from within.

Ella surrendered to his touch. He cupped her bare breast, and she arched, her sensitive nipple hardening against the friction of his palm.

Except… they were still touching palms and this was all happening inside her head. Every thought elicited a response from him through his light—simultaneously giving and taking in a rhythmic exchange.

When his mouth eased between her legs and he lapped at her core, she cried out.

What surprised her was how Simon took care to kiss every petal, every butterfly, and every inch of her body that had never known such tenderness from a man. She could even feel the cold metal of his tongue ring against her breast when he drew her nipple into his mouth. Ella opened her eyes and looked up at Simon in disbelief.

“It’s so real,” she panted.

The light between their palms grew hotter when she slowly removed his long underwear, stroking the backs of his legs with her hands as she knelt before him. He threw back his head, releasing a needful sound when her tongue dared to sample the tip of his erection. The next thing she knew, they were in the shower. He was behind her, soaping up her entire body. Ella could even see through
his
eyes—the pleasure he felt as he watched the white suds run down the dark tattoo on the curve of her spine. When she placed her hands on the wall and bent over, pleasure licked through him.

He placed the tip of his shaft to her entrance and let it glide back and forth. Ella spread her legs, beckoning him with her body to go all the way.

He turned her over, and they were in bed again. Was it real? Was it just in her head? She could still smell the soap on his skin.

Simon gave her a roguish grin, and their light pulsed—a steady beat that made her tremble beneath him.

“I could make this last forever,” he said, resting his head on her shoulder.

Ella placed her lips to his ear, kissing on the fleshy tip. “I want you. Don’t make me wait.”

She grabbed his firm ass and pulled his hips against hers. He slowly entered her, and she felt it from his perspective. The soft feel of her breasts against his hard chest, how wet she was—and then she was beneath him, tangled in his masculine scent and the predatory look in his eyes.

His pumps became harder, and she thought she would shatter when a million images flashed in her mind of sexual positions, screams, kisses, foreplay, and even thoughts of her fighting.

Something’s happening
, she thought.

His voice filled her mind.
I’m going to come, and so are you
.

The thought filled her with intoxicating ripples of energy. The waves lapped upon her shore harder and harder until her body exploded with pleasure.

They both shouted, voices filling her head. The heat culminating between them was so intense that she nearly passed out. She not only felt her release but she felt his, followed by an overwhelming sense of exhaustion.

It was hard to breathe. She gasped, burning hotter as the light between them dissipated.

When she opened her eyes, Simon was still lying on top of her, his sweaty forehead pressed against hers, their hands clasped together. She still had on her bra, and she could feel his long johns were still in place. His heart hammered against her chest as if it were knocking and trying to get in.

Ella broke contact and reached up, threading back his damp hair.

Simon rolled to her right, wiping his red face.

“It felt so real,” she said.

He rested his hot palm against her hip and studied her closely. “Are you all right? Maybe we shouldn’t have done that.”

“Are you serious?”

Simon laughed. “Not really. It just seemed like the right thing to say.”

“Why can’t it feel like that for real?”

He swept a strand of her hair over her shoulder. “Someday it will. Your body remembers too many things that trigger those memories, but light sharing is different. Your mind has a way of dodging wrong turns before it gets there.”

The strangest part was that Ella felt totally sated, and she glanced down at Simon’s underwear with embarrassment, searching for a wet spot.

He lifted her chin, a smirk on his face. “It doesn’t work like that. It’s all in your mind, and that’s what makes it even better than the physical act. You can only do this with another Mage, but do me a favor and don’t go around binding with just anyone. Some people have polluted minds.”

“I don’t want to do that with anyone else.”

As if his cheeks weren’t red enough already, she would have sworn they got a little bit redder.

“Don’t get attached,” he said, lowering his gaze.

“Do you do that with a lot of women?”

He reached behind him for the cinnamon stick and gave it a quick suck. “I used to more often a long time ago. Then I stopped when I found out that some of them were spies, snooping around inside my head for information. I indulge every now and again, but not for long. Just a taste.”

“Was that just a taste?”

He curved his arm behind her and pulled her against him, their lips touching.
That was a four-course meal
, he thought in reply, his left hand stroking her palm.

“I’m not like the other women,” she said aloud.

Simon eased back so they were looking at each other. “How do you mean?”

“I’m not going to put on my clothes and tell you I had a good time before going home. But I’m also not going to get up and start cooking you breakfast before planning how my wardrobe is going to sneak into your drawers.”

Simon sat up and ruffled his hair. “Brilliant.”

If Ella were any other woman, she might have been put off by his reaction. Instead, she sat up next to him and snapped the waistband of his underwear. “Don’t worry, I’m not getting attached.”

His jaw set. “And what the bloody hell does that mean?”

Ella had been in Simon’s mind and knew parts of him that no one else did. He would come around in his own time, but men like him enjoyed the chase.

She pulled a pillow over her lap to cover it. “I’m not here to intrude on your life.”

“I just cut a man’s head off for you. It’s a little late for that.”

“Is that all?” she asked, a smile hovering on her lips.

Simon jumped out of bed and paced. “Is that all?
Is that all?
The Mageri could press charges against me. I might never see a dime from your Ice Queen, who will probably spend the rest of her days making my life miserable. I’ve run out of favors to ask my friends because of you, and I don’t even want to delve into the tongue action I was getting earlier this evening. You’re stubborn, willful, damaged, and a handful.”

Ella twirled a lock of her hair between her fingers. “Like you. Maybe we’re doppelgangers.”

He continued talking, waving his hands. “I can’t do this. I’m not that guy.”

“What guy?”

He headed to the window and raised it all the way up, pointing outside. “That guy. The one who sits in the car outside a woman’s window, wondering if he should knock and go up. The guy who stands outside with a boom box over his head.”

Ella smiled. “I never saw that movie.”

“The guy who whispers sweet nothings until his balls begin to shrivel up, leaving nothing left but a shell of a man.”

“Your friends didn’t seem like the walking dead to me.”

Simon narrowed his gaze and stalked toward the bed. “Women are too clever for their own good. They make you do things like a blundering idiot, all for love.”

“Name one thing.”

He began ticking items off on his fingers. “Holding sparkly clutches while they shop, driving to the store at godforsaken hours to buy ice cream, doing what we’re told like an obedient dog.”

Ella laughed. “Like what?”

Simon imitated a woman’s voice. She couldn’t hear it, but it was all in his body language. “Take out the trash. Don’t you love me? Why don’t we talk about our feelings anymore? Were you just looking at that woman’s arse? What’s wrong with my bum? You never look at it anymore. Wake up and go buy me some ice cream.”

Ella fell onto her back laughing. Tears streamed down the side of her face, and her stomach muscles began to ache.

Simon ripped the pillow away from her lap and fell over her. “Do you think this is funny?” He said something else, but she missed it.

“I think you watch too much TV.”

He brushed his finger across her cheek and dried her tears, even though he was pretending to be angry with her. “What makes you the expert?”

“My parents weren’t like that. And if your friends are buying ice cream at midnight, did you ever wonder if it’s because they want to?”

“I’m not buying anyone ice cream.”

Ella reached around his neck to pull him closer, kissing his soft lips and feeling the prickle of whiskers around his chin and upper lip. Her right palm was against his chest, and she flicked his nipple ring with her finger.

Simon broke the kiss. “We have to face the Council tomorrow.”

“I know.”

“You can’t go back to her. You’ll never grow as a Mage under her care. She’s mentally unstable.”

“I figured that out when I saw all the snow globes.”

Simon laughed, and she immediately grasped his hand so that she could hear his mirth. The sound warmed her.

When it died down, he gave her a pensive stare. “What exactly do you want from me?”

Ella reached up and stroked the back of his neck until he shivered. “Honesty. Let’s just see what happens.”

“Is this a love story? Because I don’t do love stories.”

She nibbled on his lower lip, and he reciprocated with a kiss. “You’re the strategist, Simon Hunt. Figure it out.”