Tempted (21 page)

Go. Now. Leave.

With a muffled grunt, she rolled to her other side. He tensed, afraid he’d awakened her, but when he looked closer he realized her eyes were still shut and her chest rose and fell in rhythmic succession. And that’s when he noticed her breasts pushing against the strained cotton. That warmth turned to a white-hot burn that pooled in his groin. Hard.

Don’t just go. Run.

He hesitated. What if her nightmares came back? If he was all the way upstairs, he’d never hear her scream. She didn’t have the nightmares when he was close, so maybe if he just slinked down in the corner…

It wasn’t an excuse to get close to her, he told himself. He reached for an extra blanket from the floor, but as he drew near, her sweet feminine scent enveloped him and cut through what was left of his gray matter.

The corner would be uncomfortable. And the bed he’d made for her was easily big enough for two. He’d slept on it next to her last night and nothing had happened. And gods knew he was more tired tonight than he had been then. If he was going to leave her in the morning to hike around and find holy ground, he needed at least a few hours of rest.

Careful, so as not to wake her, he eased in beside her, tucked his arm behind his head, and lay down on his back. She lay facing him but—thankfully—was still asleep.

He released a breath. Closed his eyes. And fell instantly asleep.

***

The light rain hit Apophis’s cheek with a sting he felt deep in the fleshy tissue of his skin.

Not
his
skin by birth, but his now by possession. He lifted the young Argonaut hand attached to this new body and ran it across his smooth, unwrinkled cheek. Power coursed through his veins. He was strong, not just mentally anymore but physically. And he was no longer confined to that bloody prison. He couldn’t wait to test out this new body in every way possible.

The portal popped and sizzled as it closed. Crossing the frozen ground, he tried to remember what those useless Argoleans had called him. Grant? Grim? No, Gryphon. Yes, that was it. The Argonaut Gryphon. Playing the character wouldn’t be so important now, but shortly it would be. And this was the perfect time and place to experiment with his newfound persona.

Northern British Columbia. A frozen wasteland as far as he was concerned, but a means to an end. He narrowed his—Gryphon’s—eyes and peered through the trees toward the main house some three hundred yards across the clearing. Night fell fast this far north, but the hour was late. Atalanta would already have dismissed her warriors to their barracks. The archdaemon resided with her in the house, but before turning in for the night he’d make a sweep through the outer buildings and check in with security.

Oh, Apophis wasn’t a fool. He’d done his research, especially since siding with Atalanta. The archdaemon was the one he needed. It would know what she had planned.

He hovered in the shadows. Waited. Watched. Planned. Did Atalanta think she could outmaneuver him? Outthink him? She did not have a clue about what lingered deep inside him. From the edge of his vision he watched lights dim in the last bunkhouse, then the archdaemon close and lock the door behind him before turning for the field that led back to the main house.

Apophis’s muscles vibrated. Magick gathered in the depths of his new hands. The power burst from his fingers and struck with deadly precision, taking the daemon down with one blow to the back of the neck that paralyzed his limbs within seconds. He was on the daemon before it could gasp, grasping its jacket and dragging the body into the trees so the security detail roaming these woods wouldn’t be any the wiser.

He dropped the daemon at the base of a great pine tree, knelt down so he was face-to-face with the monster. “Your mistress took something that belongs to me. I want it back.”

Recognition swept over the archdaemon’s features and his eyes widened in horror. “You…you’re not…a guardi—”

“No,” he whispered, leaning even closer until the glow from his eyes turned the daemon’s face, the ground, even the base of the tree just to his left, a blinding shade of blue. “I am your worst nightmare. And I can make you feel pain like you’ve never known. Tell me where the princess is and I will let you live.”

The daemon trembled with such force, Apophis knew it realized death was but a breath away. “I…she…”

“Your fate will be a thousand times worse with me than your mistress, I guarantee it. The princess. Now. I grow tired of this conversation.” He held up his hand for effect and watched the daemon’s eyes grow even wider as it stared at the power pulsing inside his newfound skin, the blue glow backlighting the bones and veins and tendons within.

The daemon swallowed hard. “In the human realm. An island. She sent them to…Pandora.”

“Who else is with her?”

“An Argonaut. At-Atalanta’s son.”

Apophis’s brow lifted. Now this was an interesting bit of news. The conniving, vengeful goddess had a son who was an Argonaut. He wanted to know just how that had transpired, but a stronger curiosity left him wondering if the princess knew what evil lurked alone with her on that island.

The ramifications of what Atalanta might very well have done slammed into him. He needed the princess alive, with her virginity intact, if he had any hope of gathering the strength he needed to open the portal and draw his army of witches through with him.

“Pandora, you said?” He glared down at the shaking daemon. “How did she send them?”

“Th-through a portal.”

Of course she had. One of the many benefits to being of the god class. You could poof people and things around the earth wherever and whenever you needed. Including yourself. But lucky him, even though he wasn’t one of them—yet—he had the Orb of Krónos. And that was almost as good. Soon, it would be better.

“Thank you, daemon.” He pushed to stand.

“Wait. My arms. My legs.”

The left side of Apophis’s—Gryphon’s—mouth turned up. “You won’t be needing them where you’re going.”

True horror erupted over the daemons features. “But you said—”

“Never trust a warlock.” He blasted the daemon with one shot of energy, which severed its spinal cord. The daemon gasped; blood vessels burst in its eyes and skin. Its airway constricted until it choked to death on its own fear.

From across the barren field, a roar sounded in the main house, so strong it shook the forest where Apophis stood staring down at the lifeless daemon. Atalanta had just discovered her archdaemon was no more. He smiled as he reached inside his coat for the Orb resting against his chest from a chain around his neck.

“I’m coming for you, Princess,” he whispered as he placed his index fingers over the sign of the Titans branded into the center of the disk. The portal opened before him. “And this time, you will be mine forever.”

Chapter 16

His skin was on fire.

Demetrius groaned at the flames rushing across his abdomen and hips. Something burned hot against his chest, but it didn’t hurt. In fact, it felt good. Way too good. And that—oh, shit—that feathery sensation against his throat was pure heaven.

Electricity zinged along his nerve endings. Blood heated his groin, tightened his balls. The whispery-soft caress moved up to the base of his ear, then over his earlobe. Warm air blew across his neck to send shivers up and down his spine.

His whole body tensed, arched. Something silky brushed against his chest, his abs, the pressure point between his leg and torso. And his cock grew impossibly hard, just that fast.

“I’ve always wondered…”

Dimly he heard the sexy female voice, followed by what could have been a gasp or a sigh, he wasn’t sure which. Either way, though, he knew that voice. It was the same one he’d been fantasizing about for years. The same one he’d been trying to keep his distance from the last few days.

Soft, sweet lips pressed against his belly button, his lower abs, the tendons in his groin, wiping away all thought. He groaned all over again, even as his hips lifted as if they had a mind of their own. But the dream, fantasy,
whatever
it was, didn’t cooperate, because no matter which way he twisted he couldn’t seem to get what he wanted.

“
Skata.
” His cock absolutely throbbed. He wanted those lips
there
. Wanted her. Finally. Even if she was just a dream.

Quiet laughter rose up from his toes. Followed by pressure around the base of his cock as delicate fingers encircled his shaft. But what caught his attention wasn’t the wicked touch. It was the fact the sound hadn’t come from him. And it definitely wasn’t in his mind. Where it was supposed to be.

He froze. His heart rate shot up. And very slowly he peeled his eyelids open to look down his body. His very
naked
body. Except—holy Hades—how the hell was he supposed to focus on anything when that small hand was stroking the length of his erection from base to tip, squeezing the head until he moaned, then repeating the caress all over again?

Ah, gods.

In the dim light he watched Isadora’s mouth curl in a tempting smile. She leaned over his hips and pressed her lips against his groin again. Her hot little tongue snaked out just before she sucked the tender flesh. Heat erupted everywhere, spiraled in, and gathered beneath her hand, still squeezing, stroking, sliding up and down until he thought he’d die.

“I want to kiss you here, like you did to me. Is that okay?”

Okay? She wanted to know if that was
okay
? It was better than okay. It was exactly what he wanted. Everything he’d dreamed of. Paradise and Heaven and the Elysian fields all rolled into one.

He couldn’t tear his eyes away from what she was doing. Had no idea what the hell had happened and why she was doing it, but he definitely didn’t want her to stop. “
Kardia…
”

Carefully her lips found the base of his cock. His whole body tensed. Anticipation thrummed through his veins. She slid her hand higher, making room for her mouth. He groaned again as she kissed her way up his length, and arched his back.

“I’ll take that as a yes,” she whispered.

Her sweet little tongue flicked out to taste the tip. Pleasure arced through his pelvis, radiated outward from that one spot until it was all he could focus on. His whole body tightened as she ran her tongue along the flared underside. Then she lifted her desire-filled eyes to his and sank down until he filled her mouth.

“Ah…
fuck
.” His head fell back as he gave in to the sensations. She explored slowly, with her tongue, her lips, licking him gently, then sucking, shallow at first then deeper as she grew more confident. He lifted his hips instinctively, lowered them, showing her what he liked. She caught on fast, her sucking picking up strength and speed until he thought he was going to black out. But it wasn’t until she scraped her nails over his balls that he realized how gone he really was.

He needed to touch her. Wanted to drag her up his chest and dive into her hot, wet mouth. Wanted to feel her whole body tense in release as she came around him.

Frantic, he reached for her, only to realize his arms were pinned up near his ears and that he couldn’t move them.

Hold on, wait. That wasn’t right. That was—

She took him all the way back in her throat, cutting off his thoughts. He groaned as his climax steamed closer.

Yes, yes,
yes
. His cock grew impossibly hard in her mouth.

Just before he erupted, she let go. The pressure eased from his cock and balls. Her lips slid over his abdomen, his chest, then to his throat, where she nipped and kissed and drove him wild all over again with her warm breath and succulent lips.

“I want you, Demetrius.” She kissed his ear, his cheek, worked her way across to his mouth, just like he wanted. Then her lips were on his, parting his, drawing him into her wet heat, blocking out everything but the need to feel her. Everywhere.

She eased back, smiled. Her eyes were a warm chocolate that glistened in the flickering light. He swallowed hard against a rush of emotions that pummeled his chest from every direction. “Wh-where did you learn to do that?”

“I read. A lot.”

She
read
? Bloody hell, just what kind of books was she reading up in her castle suite?

Her hard little nipples brushed his chest. The downy hair between her thighs tickled his abdomen. As her hands came up to frame his face and she leaned down to kiss him again, he realized she was naked. Naked and straddling him right this second.

“
Kardia
…Let my arms go.”

“I can’t,” she whispered between kisses.

“Why not?”

“Because every time you get me worked up like this, you pull back. I don’t want you to pull back this time. I just want you.”

He tried to clear the sex fuzz from his mind. Clenching his hands, he discovered they worked but his arms were definitely pinned back, and even though he was ten times stronger than her he couldn’t free them. While she moved to kiss his jaw and neck, he glanced from side to side, then spotted the spell book from Jason’s trunk on the floor beside their makeshift bed.

The little vixen had cast an immobility spell on him. His eyes shot back to her blond head, moving down his chest, back up to nip his ear. He should be pissed. He should be irate. But as her lips found his again and her hand slid down his torso to grip his shaft, he couldn’t help but think that was the most erotic thing he’d ever known. His entire body trembled with renewed lust.

“Ah, gods,” he whispered as he turned himself over to her touch. She stroked him, kissed him, drove him absolutely wild with her fingers and mouth and the heat of her compact little body. “I’m so going to hell.”

“At least I won’t be alone then.”

He knew her words were meant as a joke, but they hit. Hard. Smack in the center of the chest. And when nothing else broke through his raging need, that did.

His conscience pushed in, dragged reality on its heels. Yeah, he wanted her to the infinite power, but this…this was wrong. This couldn’t happen. This was exactly what he’d been trying to avoid for too damn long.

“Isadora. Wait.”

“No more waiting. I’ve been doing that my whole life.” She eased back. Her inner thighs brushed the outside of both of his. Her fingers found his cock again and she drew her hand up slowly, the sensation so intense it messed with his resolve. “I’m tired of waiting, Demetrius.”

“You don’t know what’s at stake here. You don’t know—”

“Yes, I do,” she whispered. “I know exactly what’s at stake. Everything.”

He sucked in a breath as she settled over him, brought the tip of his erection so close it brushed her folds. “Let me…”
Oh, fuck
, she was so wet. Wet and hot and
his
. He swallowed hard. “Let me pleasure you.”

“I intend to.”

Panic rushed in as she ran his shaft over her clit, sighed in pleasure, and did it again. If she kept that up, he wasn’t going to be able to stop himself. “Let me use my mouth.”

She stilled over him, and her rich brown eyes lifted to rest on his face. In that one look he saw she wasn’t quite as confident as she seemed. “Don’t you want to make love with me?”

Something in his chest cracked open. The sound of her voice, the look in her eyes, the feel of her body ready to take him in…he wasn’t sure what caused it. But it cracked open wide, right there for her. “Yes,” he whispered. “Gods, yes.”

“Okay, then,” she said in a decisive voice as she moved back into place.

“Wait.” She was rushing things. She wasn’t ready. If she was bound and determined to do this, he wanted to make sure she enjoyed it. And he needed to cool himself down about ten thousand degrees before that happened so he’d stay in complete control. “Slow down. Let my arms go. Give me a minute to—” The head of his cock found her opening, and she sank down, just until he was buried inside her one reaching inch.

She gasped and froze. He groaned, closed his eyes, and clenched his jaw to the point of pain to keep from thrusting up into her scorching heat. She was so tight he was afraid he’d come right there and then if he did. “
Kardia…
”

She braced her hands against his chest. Her fingernails dug into his skin. And when she didn’t move a single muscle, only breathed deeply above him as if she were in pain, he finally realized she wasn’t nearly as close to going over the edge as he was.

His eyes popped open. He focused on her face, scrunched up tight. Then remembered that she was the heir to the throne. And female. And as such, by law, untouched. In every sense of the word. “Isadora—”

“You’re bigger than I thought,” she gasped. “Just…just give me a minute.”

“Let my hands go.”

“I…can’t,” she managed. “I’m…having a little trouble remembering the words of the spell right now.”

He glanced at the book, just out of his reach. Knew he wouldn’t be able to reach it without hurting her more. “Then give me your fingers.”

“My—?”

“Your fingers. Put them in my mouth.”

She looked at him as if he were insane, but listened and eased her weight onto her left hand. Slowly she brought her right hand to his mouth. He sucked her index and middle finger, got them good and wet, then pushed them from his mouth and said, “Touch yourself.”

She hesitated; a flush rose up in her cheeks. And he couldn’t help thinking how sexy she was right this minute. His command embarrassed her, but she wasn’t embarrassed over the fact she’d tied him up, seduced the hell out of him, and now held him on the brink of sexual frustration. Nodding encouragement, he watched with rapt attention as she carefully lowered her hand, found her clit, and rubbed a slow, easy circle around the hard little nub.

“Oh…” Her body relaxed one muscle at a time. Her eyes slid closed. Her perfect face transformed from taut and scared to flushed with desire all over again. And as she worked her fingers over herself and he felt her growing wetter with each brush and stroke, he lifted his hips, a fraction at a time, deeper with every thrust, until finally he was seated fully inside her and her hips rested against his.

She opened her mesmerizing eyes, seemed startled at what he’d done. “That didn’t hurt.”

Not for her. But he had a feeling for him the pain was just beginning. “Let my hands go.”

She glanced at his arms pinned back behind his head and bit her lip in indecision. “Let’s wait on that.”

Her mouth closed over his and her tongue slid out to tangle with his. She moved her hips slightly and gasped into his mouth and he realized,
bloody
hell
, she wasn’t gonna let him go.