by Riley Storm
She steadfastly refused to accept that her body was producing it anew because she was alone with a very naked, and very hot male her body was telling her to throw herself at.
It wasn’t the first time Rachel had experienced such a reaction just after a brush with death, though it was definitely the strongest. She managed to ignore most of it, concentrating on the here and now, telling herself that she didn’t need sex to confirm she was alive.
Khove poured them both a finger of something amber and smooth, and tossed his back in one go. Then he poured another and took his glass, disappearing into the bathroom. Shortly after, she heard water running.
For a split second, she contemplated going after him. Stripping down, joining him in the shower. He could probably use her help to get himself clean. Those cuts had to hurt, and she could help bathe him without irritating them more than necessary.
Stop it. You aren’t going to sleep with him.
Her brain rebelled, flashing images of how hot and tense things had gotten the last time they were in the same room. And Khove had been clothed then. She hadn’t seen just how nice he looked naked.
The water shut off before her willpower to resist gave out, though it was close, and shortly afterward, Khove came out, towel wrapped around his waist, empty glass in one hand.
“Okay,” he said, acting like everything was normal. “You have questions. Ask.”
“Faeries attacked us,” she said. “How did we walk through air? What the hell am I involved in?”
“It’s not that difficult,” he said, holding back a smile at her glare. “The biggest thing you need to do is accept and understand that magic is real. Once you can get past that barrier, everything else will sort of fall into place.”
“You once told me it was,” she said. “But I didn’t really believe you.”
“I know. It’s one of those things that has to be seen to be believed, right? I mean, not until you walk through a rift and are instantly transported forty miles, do you really believe in it.” Khove spoke quietly, intensely. The earlier joking was gone. It was like he recognized that convincing her wasn’t going to be easy.
“So, Fae. Faeries.”
“They are summoned from another plane to ours,” Khove said. “Our target is a magic user of extreme power. It’s why we’re really only tasked with finding him. We’re unlikely to be able to defeat him on our own. Though I intend to try,” he added.
“Okay, so this Korred, a former Ursa family member, he commands all of those creatures?” she asked, trying to get a handle on it all. Her mind was having a hard time, however, and it was starting to reject what she’d seen, calling herself crazy. Insane.
“Yes,” Khove said quietly. “We don’t understand how it’s possible. He shouldn’t have that knowledge, it’s been lost for centuries. Somehow, he does. It suggests some unpleasant conclusions, but for now we need to focus on stopping him once and for all.”
Rachel sat back into the couch, staring straight ahead, finishing her drink. “And the portal we went through?” she asked quietly, shuddering at the memory.
It was eerie. One moment they’d been on the deserted country road, surrounded by snow. The next, they’d been in the roaring warmth of the Manor itself. One step. Her stomach roiled uncertainly at the thought. She’d not felt anything in that one step either, which was perhaps the worst of all. There was no sensation telling her she was walking through somewhere.
“I need to know if you can handle all this,” Khove said, pushing gently against her swirling thoughts. “If you can’t, then we’ll wipe your memory and send you back to the precinct.”
“No!” she hissed furiously. “I will adapt. I am not going to bail out on you, or the people of Plymouth Falls. We need to bring this bad guy to justice before anyone else gets hurt. If that means I need to readjust my perception of reality, then so be it. I will handle that, and together we will stop Korred.”
Khove grinned. “I hoped you would say that,” he said softly, taking her drink and filling it generously. “Cheers.”
She touched glasses and downed some more of the amber alcohol, feeling it slowly burn down her throat. It wasn’t her preferred drink, but right now, the sensation helped ground her, assuring Rachel she was still in her own world.
“Thanks for having my back out there,” she said quietly. “You fought like a maniac. I’m sorry I ever doubted you.”
Khove scoffed. “You had every right to after that first night.”
He tried to act like her words were unnecessary, but whatever Khove did have in the way of facial control, his poker face didn’t make its way to his eyes. They glittered with relief.
“Maybe,” she agreed getting up to stretch her legs, the adrenaline making it hard to sit still. “But you’ve more than proven yourself since, and I want you to know I trust you now. Not just because of the trust you’ve put in me with your secret, but with the actions.”
She stopped, staring ahead at the wall, looking into a particular painting of some building she didn’t recognize. “I can see now that you would make an excellent partner, Khove. In many ways.”
He didn’t respond.
Rachel turned to find him on his feet, less than six inches behind her, head tilted down, gray eyes wide. Unguarded.
“Khove,” she said unsteadily, words failing. “I…”
He bent forward to kiss her, and she didn’t resist, arching her back and lifting her face to meet his lips.
Between them, the towel came undone all on its own and slipped to the ground, completely unnoticed by either of them.
26
Logic and reason abandoned her as Rachel gave in to temptation.
Grabbing frantically at his head, pulling him in tight, she barely noticed when he lifted her clear of the ground. Like a play toy in his arms, she gasped when he shoved her up against the wall, dislodging the painting she’d been studying a moment ago.
His mouth found her neck, causing Rachel to cry out as he bit down, rolling skin between his teeth. Electricity shot down her right side, shivers following while she moaned in pleasure at the arousing mixture of pain. Beneath the clothing, her nipples hardened, every movement drawing sparks.
“I don’t know if this is a smart idea,” she gasped, legs wrapped around his naked waist, forced to speak between hungry, frantic lockings of their lips.
“Me neither,” he admitted, sounding short of breath. “Should we stop?”
“Absolutely.” She kept kissing him, digging fingers deep into his shoulder, drawing a groan. “I barely know you.”
“I know. We just met. This is crazy, right?” Khove said, one hand sliding up her shirt.
Nodding, she clumsily stripped the shirt off, no easy feat while she hung on to his neck with one hand. They worked together to free her. She regretted not wearing a regular bra, but a sports bra was the best thing while on duty.
“Don’t you dare rip it,” she admonished as he gripped the front in one hand.
Khove paused, the most innocent, stunned look on his face. That was exactly what he’d been about to do.
“Okay fine,” he said, setting her down and pulling it over her head before she could sputter another word. “How’s that?”
Rachel nodded, the motion jerky. “Better. Much better.”
He kissed his way rapidly down her neck and along the exposed skin of her chest, before his tongue flicked out and around one hardened nub, then the other, pulling her nipples gently to their most erect. Each warm, wet caress triggered a fresh pulse from between her legs. Rachel was very sensitive, and loved having her breasts played with.
Khove picked up on this quite immediately. If her physical reaction didn’t give it away, the soft moans and whimpers she couldn’t hold back would have clued him in. Her fingers dug deep lines into his back, feeling the muscle of his taut frame.
While he bent to give her attention, Rachel remembered that Khove was already naked. How something like that slipped her mind she wasn’t sure bu
t—
“Mmm,” she moaned, holding on as a stronger tremor rocked her body as Khove very gently used his teeth. She loved that sensation.
Despite his nakedness, however, Khove’s sheer height meant he had to bend far over to be able to reach her chest, and even her questing fingertips couldn’t quite reach far enough.
“Not fair,” she growled, not impressed at being denied her ability to play.
“What?” Khove looked up.
Rachel smiled, grabbed his head in both hands and turned, pushing Khove back up against the wall. Resting one forearm on his chest to keep him there, she stared up at his face, watching every tic and twitch while dragging her fingers slowly up the inside of his left leg until…
Khove hissed as her fingers wrapped around his shaft, feeling the pulse of blood within.
“You’re so hard,” she whispered, shocked at the firmness she was feeling.
“You seem to have that effect on me,” Khove replied in a strangled voice, unable to focus much outside of her long, slow strokes.
“Are you complaining?” she admonished sweetly, slipping her palm down the underside so she could cup his sack.
“No, not at all,” he replied. “Not as long as you don’t stop.”
Grinning at the tension in his features, Rachel leaned in and kissed his chest, careful to avoid the welts where he’d been cut—damn his fast healing!
“Are you sure?”
Khove kept nodding. “Very. Positive.”
“What if I want to use my mouth?” she asked, looking up at him through her eyelids while she batted them.
“I guess that would be okay,” he agreed, voice tight and fraught with hopeful anticipation of just such a thing.
“Good.”
Crouching down, she grabbed him firmly in one hand, running her tongue around the tip, coating it with as much saliva as she could. The entire time she stared up into his face, watching for his reaction. This was what she loved. Seeing the pleasure on his face. It was so empowering, and beyond arousing. Some days, she thought she could get off just by pleasuring someone else.
Khove groaned as she opened her mouth wide, taking in the tip. Gray eyes rolled back into their sockets and his head thudded heavily against the wall. Rachel continued to work. He was long and thick, and she wouldn’t be able to take him all. Not in her mouth at least, but she intended to work him as best as she could.
It didn’t take long for a combination of her hands, mouth and tongue to bring Khove to a tense, quivering state, hovering on the edge.
That was when the dynamic changed. As quickly as her power was there, it disappeared. Khove took charge. Rachel wasn’t entirely sure when she’d relinquished control, but she did, giving in to him entirely.
“Stand up,” he growled, and she did, leaning back as he kissed her thoroughly, uncaring of where her mouth had just been.
That freedom, and his obvious desire for her, powered another round of heat between her legs. Still covered by her jeans, she hadn’t had a chance to do much about it, but Khove now stripped her down in quick, easy movements, leaving her as naked as he had been for some time.
“Gorgeous,” he muttered, before lifting her into his arms and carrying her to the bedroom.
Rachel yelped as he tossed her onto the bed almost unceremoniously, grabbing her upraised legs and then gently spreading them as he sank to the mattress. Whereas she’d used her fingers on the inside of his legs, Khove used his mouth.
By the time he finally reached her peak, Rachel was a quivering mass of muscle, desperate for his touch. She thrust her hips at his face, begged, grabbed at his head, all in vain as Khove kissed and licked everywhere except that one specific spot she wanted him to. It was agony.
Until—at last—he gave in. His mouth covered her, tongue flicking out in long, smooth, slow strokes. Rachel shuddered, caught off guard by just how close she was to exploding in his mouth.
“Don’t you stop,” she whispered, beginning to shake as muscles tightened.
Khove didn’t. He kept going, not changing pace or pressure in the slightest. The rhythm gently worked its magic, building up between her legs.
Then he slipped a finger inside, pushing past her wet opening and curling it upward.
Rachel broke. She cried out and thrashed violently as ecstasy flooded her system in a wave unlike anything else she’d ever experienced before. The brush with death, the breaking down of walls, and most of all, his attention to her wants and needs culminated in a climax that filled her entire body at the same time. It didn’t explode out from between her legs, but instead wrapped her in a cocoon and pummeled her with sensations she couldn’t begin to catalogue.
Through it all, Khove held on, providing the sole anchor back to reality. Battered by the tide, she held on weakly, trusting in his strength and their budding relationship to bring her back from the edge.
When reality finally did snap back into place, the only sounds she could hear were her fading cries and the near-desperate clamor for air from her lungs.
Khove started to slide his tongue against her anew, but Rachel stopped him. Grabbing his hand, she tugged with what miniscule motes of energy she had remaining until he got the hint and joined her, molding his body to hers.
“Too sensitive,” she managed to utter. “Want you inside me.”
Growling in delight, Khove used his strength to arrange her so that he approached her from behind. Rachel twisted her body, locking eyes as he gently pushed inside her for the first time. The sudden spreading left her gasping, eyes rolled back into their sockets. A loud moan filled the room, and only belatedly did she realize it was her own.
This was what she’d been craving. The joining of their bodies, a near complete opening of boundaries and personal space, merging until there was little else. There was no trepidation about it, no doubt or second thoughts, which was odd. Things with Khove just worked naturally, on a level of instinctive understanding that well defied her expectations.
Grunting with effort, Khove thrust deep inside her, his thick steel-strong grip holding her hips firmly in place. She alternated between losing herself in the ecstasy he was inflicting upon her, and focusing on his face, watching every twitch, every open-mouthed groan.
“You feel so good,” she moaned, loving the way his eyes lit up with feral delight at hearing her words. It was an empowering feeling, to know that simply speaking could elicit such an increase in his experience. “Khove, you fuck me so good.”
His growl filled the room and she cried out as he forced himself in hard, shaking her body when his hips collided with hers. That continued on and Rachel gripped his wrist hard for dear life as he gave it to her hard and fast.
Eventually, she pushed him back, forced to take a breather, his strokes nearly driving the air from her lungs. How she wasn’t hurting from having him so deep was beyond her, and Rachel wasn’t about to waste that.
Pushing Khove onto his back, she took control again, straddling him, making him watch as she reached between her legs and grasped his hard shaft, directing it toward her opening while she pushed back upon him.
Khove groaned as his hard cock once more slipped inside her, but this time, she was in control. Rachel’s hips rocked back and forth, and she lost herself in the moment, every nerve on fire. Running her hands up her sides, she grabbed her own breasts, very conscious of the flames burning ever brighter in Khove’s eyes as she did.
Something slipped between them, and Rachel cried out as his thumb started making small circles around her clit, even as she bounced up and down slowly, feeling every inch of him push back in as she came down low.
The two sensations mixed and grew brighter inside her. Rachel wasn’t going to be able to hold on for much longer. Khove’s long hand reached out and he rested it at the base of her neck, fingers out to the side. He didn’t truly squeeze, but even the suggestion of it drew an unexpectedly hot response.
She grabbed his wrist and used that for leverage, at one point sucking on
his fingertips, watching his face, drawing arousal from his reactions.
“Don’t stop,” she whispered when he slowed his thumb between her legs. “I’m close.”
And she was. Her insides tightened around him, and she saw his own face twitch. Arching her back, she rode him harder, faster, calling out for him to climax as well.
It started as a tremor in his hands, followed by a swelling of his cock inside her so powerfully she could feel it. Khove groaned loudly, and suddenly, his hips bucked and thrust with unexpected ferocity and speed.
Rachel was caught completely unprepared and she went from being at the edge, to plummeting over it in a nanosecond. Her body convulsed and she curled up on top of him while Khove’s hips lifted into the air as he filled her with molten warmth. She nearly fell off as her body control deserted her, but strong hands kept her in place.
Completely spent, she collapsed on top of his chest, breathing hard, after-tremors wracking her entire body. Beneath her Khove lay still, the only signal he was still alive the powerful rise and fall of his chest. Every so often, he’d groan and his still-hard cock would pump inside her again, but otherwise he wasn’t present.
“What just happened?” she asked once she had air to spare. “That was more intense than anything I’ve experienced before.”
“Don’t know. Don’t care. Too busy enjoying it,” Khove muttered.
She frowned, poking his side gently. “Are you going to fall asleep on me?”
“Think of it as a compliment,” he rumbled. “You gave it to me so good, I’ve got nothing left.”
Rachel pushed herself up back into a sitting position. Khove’s eyes opened and he locked onto her.
“Why are you smiling?” he asked suspiciously.
Rachel shrugged, gently moving her hips back and forth. “Are you telling me,” she said in as sultry a voice as she could manage, caressing her breasts and gently pinching her nipples. “That you don’t want to go again?”
Khove’s answering growl filled the room.
27
He walked the hallways of the Manor, wishing for the nth time that he was the type able to sleep in.