The Last Unforgiven - Freed (Demons, #5)

by Simcoe, Marina

  “The only things he’d be missing by checking out early are the useless medications and hospital meals he doesn’t need,” Andras said casually, taking a peek through the glass of the door into the hallway.

  I stared at him, in disbelief. “Andras, Raim has organ damage.”

  “Which had been repaired. And for which we are all very grateful to the medical team,” he said slowly, as if I was the one with comprehension issues here. “Now that the only thing left is recovery, the best thing anyone can do for an Incubus is to create an unlimited supply of positive emotions for him to take, so he can recuperate faster. Something tells me that Raim would prefer those to be your emotions rather than those of the hospital staff.”

  “Is that all you need?” I turned to Raim. “Me taking care of you while you recover?”

  “I would want nothing more.”

  Chapter 29

  INSTEAD OF TO THE HOUSE in Switzerland, Raim asked to be teleported to his castle on Sirena Scalo off the coast of Italy, into the very same room that he said was now mine but I had started to think of as ours.

  “May I offer you anything to drink?” Raim asked Marcus and the Incubi in the formal manner of a host after I helped him settle in bed.

  His voice, polite but remote, caught my attention. It cut me deeply that after everything we all had been through today, he would still feel the need to impose such distance.

  “Maybe some other time,” Andras replied.

  Despite working together seamlessly as a team, the demons didn’t express much affection towards each other. But the soft note in Andras’s voice right now gave me hope that the relationships between Raim and the rest of the demons could grow stronger with time. Maybe they could even become good friends one day.

  Vadim placed his hand on Raim’s shoulder briefly. “Get well soon. We’ll drop by when you’re feeling better.”

  “We’ll have a drink on that terrace downstairs.” Ivarr gestured with his thumb over his shoulder, in the direction of the small drawing room with a walk-out. “The view there must be great at sunset.”

  Sytrius stepped closer, his expression pensive. “Thank you, Raim.”

  Raim remained silent, moving his eyes from one demon to another. The atmosphere in the room seemed to grow heavy with emotion, although no further word was spoken and no gesture made.

  Finally, Raim nodded in acknowledgement, his gaze sliding down to the bed cover for a moment, and I noticed his chest was rising and falling a little faster than normal.

  “Demons . . .” I shook my head, rolling my eyes. “You have been filling up with human emotions for centuries. There is absolutely no shame in displaying some of them, too, you know.” I gave them each a firm hug. “It was a pleasure to storm that place with you today.”

  “I’ll take them to Vegas, now.” Marcus gave me a one-armed hug. “Then I’ll have to get home, Dee. Angela will be worried sick by now. I called and talked to her briefly, but she won’t rest until she sees me again.”

  Other than having his arm in a sling, Marcus seemed fine. Still, my heart squeezed with guilt and concern.

  “Take care of yourself. Okay?” I hugged him back. “And please, tell Angela I’m so sorry for putting you in the line of fire.”

  “It wasn’t your fault. You did what we all needed you to do—you broke that urn.” He grinned. “When Raim is feeling better, come over for a visit.”

  “We will.” I smiled back. “We’ll come see your show, one day.”

  “You absolutely should. I’ll bring you over to our house for dinner, too. Angela is an amazing cook.”

  “I’d love that.” I glanced at Raim in the bed, thinking back to the family barbeque. Although no one would call Raim a sociable person, and he was obviously out of place on that ranch in Arizona, still, that trip showed me he didn’t hate being around people. He might have even enjoyed it. “I’m sure Raim would like that, too.”

  My mind drifted to the two little boys he had tossed into the air. Their mothers might disagree with me, but I honestly believed Raim had done it to please the children. He might just need a little more practice around kids . . . and people, in general.

  After everyone left, I took a quick shower and changed into my nightshirt.

  When I came out of the bathroom, Raim was sitting in bed, propped by the pillows and visibly exhausted.

  “Can I get you something, honey?” I sat on the side of the bed, patting his hand on top of the covers. “Water? A glass of wine? Some chocolate, maybe?”

  He slowly shook his head, rolling it against the headboard. “I need some real food.”

  ‘Real food’ meant something entirely different for an Incubus than it did for humans.

  “If you’re talking about what I think you are, darling,” I shook my head, “you will need to get a lot better before any ‘real food’ will be possible again. Rest, please.”

  He gazed at me with a wicked glint in his eyes. “Rest drains me of energy.”

  “But what if you physically can’t do anything else but rest?”

  “Who said I can’t?” He turned his hand under mine, stroking the inside of my wrist with the tips of his fingers.

  “Raim.” I stared at him in disbelief. “In your condition, with your injuries—”

  Circling my wrist with his fingers, he yanked me close, catching my bottom lip between his teeth in a nibble before kissing me. With a gasp, I gave in for just a moment, savouring his familiar taste, the warmth of his body, and the pure joy of being with him again.

  Raim slid his hand up my arm to my neck, burying his fingers in my still damp hair. His lips caressing and firm, his tongue coaxing, demanding, he kissed me with increasing passion, sparking heat deep inside me. I reached for him . . . then blinked, coming back to my senses.

  Calling on whatever self-control I still had, I leaned away.

  His gaze wouldn’t let me move too far, though. Edged red with my desire for him, his eyes were firmly on me, holding me in place.

  “You . . .” I said breathlessly. “You’re not well, honey.”

  “Proper nutrition aids healing.” His voice, low and husky, gave a special meaning to his otherwise innocuous words. “Will you feed me, Dee?”

  “I’m not sure it’ll work, sweetheart.” I stroked his hand with mine. “You can’t even move without grimacing from pain.”

  “Can you move for me then?” He arched an eyebrow in invitation.

  “I could try . . .” I shifted under his heated gaze, feeling warmth spreading through my lower belly. “Tell me what you want me to do?”

  “Take off your top,” he ordered, softly but firmly.

  I hesitated. He, literally, just went through a several-hour surgery that day.

  “Or I will rip it off you with my teeth,” he threatened, devouring me with his hungry stare.

  “And you would probably pop some of your brand-new stitches in the process, then,” I muttered under my breath, gathering the hem of my nightshirt in my hands. “Stay where you are, I’ll do it myself.”

  Oh, I wanted him so much. I needed to get lost in his scent, his touch, and his body, badly. Being near him didn’t seem to be enough. I ached to be even closer. After the harrowing day we’d had, I also needed the reassurance that all was back to normal, that we were alive and well. Knowing he loved me filled me with giddy happiness. I wished to hug him, kiss him, fuck the living hell out of him . . .

  Except that every move obviously still caused him a lot of pain.

  “You take the pain away,” he said softly, as if he had heard my thoughts, not just saw my emotions. “Come, Dee.” He slid his hand under my shirt, circling my waist with his arm to draw me closer. “I need this.” He kissed my lips—eager and ravenous—like a starving man devouring his first meal in ages. “I need you.” He moved his caressing lips down my neck then to my chest in the opening of my shirt.

  Leaning closer, he must have flexed his sore muscles too much, stifling a groan.

  “Hold on,
sweetheart,” I gently touched his shoulders, prompting him to lay back into the pillows I had piled up against the headboard. “Stay still, please. Let me do all the moving, this time.”

  Taking my shirt off, I rose on my knees on the mattress in front of him, completely naked. He slid his gaze down my body, igniting ripples of pleasure in its wake.

  “Caress your breasts for me, Dee,” he told me, his fingers twitching at his sides.

  Lifting my hands, I squeezed my breasts together, pushing them into what I thought would be a visually appealing cleavage.

  “Not like that.” He rolled his head side to side on the headboard. “Stroke them the way you like it.”

  “The way I like?”

  “I’ll tell you how,” he said confidently. “Brush your palms up.”

  I did what he said.

  “Make sure you stroke the tips. Exactly like that. Very good.”

  His praise had the same effect as my touch, sending heat in a rush down my body.

  “Now take each of your nipples between your finger and your thumb. Squeeze just a little harder. There you go, my love. Just like that . . .” he murmured, my growing lust flashing red in his gaze.

  Following his instructions, I marvelled how quickly he had learned so much about my body.

  The thought melted away fast, though, in the raging heat of desire Raim orchestrated in me without a single touch of his own.

  “I need more,” he groaned. “Come here, Dee. I need all of you, not just your emotions.”

  I obeyed his call.

  A knee on each side of his waist, I leaned over him. Propped on my hands and knees, I made sure to keep all my weight off his injured body. Hands cupping my backside, he urged me to move up until my naked breasts were swaying close to his face.

  “Down,” he commanded, and I bent my elbows to lower my chest. He captured a nipple in his mouth, sucking greedily until I could no longer hold back my moans.

  Letting go of my hard and swollen nipple, he immediately caught the other one between his lips, his tongue swirling around it.

  Unable to stand the sweet ache between my thighs, I shifted my weight to one arm, sliding my hand between my legs. He batted it away, his thumb replacing my own fingers where I needed it so badly.

  Rocking my hips against his hand, I whimpered with the need that was building up inside me. His hard-on slapped my ass, tenting the sheet behind me.

  “Fuck me, Dee,” he rasped out a plea. “Fuck me. I need to be inside you.”

  Ripping the sheet away, I slid back until his erection—hot and impossibly hard—was between my legs. Jerking my head up, I blew away the few strands of my hair that had fallen over my face. His intense gaze, glowing bright red, captured mine and wouldn’t let go.

  Shifting my hips side to side, I moved back slightly, impaling myself on his hard length, deliciously slow.

  “Yesss,” he hissed, closing his eyes for an instant and throwing his head back.

  I could almost feel the waves of my energy rolling through his body, as if we truly had become one at that moment.

  His pain was mine, and so was his pleasure.

  “My Dee.” He opened his eyes, looking at me with genuine wonder. “Delicious, inside and out,” he murmured, trailing his hands up and down my back, my hips, my thighs, as if wanting to touch as much of me as possible.

  Lowering my head, I kissed the corner of his mouth, slowly rocking my hips. Warm, thick pleasure was spreading through me with every slide along his shaft.

  “I love your taste,” he panted, tensing under me, his eyes, flaming red, eerie and intensely beautiful at the same time. “I love you, Dee. And it feels incredible.”

  My heart swelled with so many feelings I had for him. Love, admiration, tenderness. So much of it, I thought it would burst.

  “I love you, too, Raim,” I thrust harder, needing to feel his release as much as I yearned for my own.

  His fingers dug into my hips as the orgasm shot through my body, rocking me with ecstasy. A moment later, I heard his strangled groan as he pumped his climax into me, too.

  “Come here.” He wrapped his arms around me, nuzzling my face.

  Limp and suddenly boneless, I slid to his side, curling against his large body.

  “How are you feeling?” I panted, catching my breath.

  “Thank you.” He raked his fingers through my hair, sweeping it off my face. “Much better already.”

  “Really?” I giggled into his shoulder as happiness curled warm around my heart. “Who knew I’d be this good at taking care of the sick.”

  “You are perfect at it.” He kissed my forehead. “As long as the sick is me, of course.”

  “Mmhm,” I hummed, tilting my head back to catch his next kiss on my lips. “If sex is all it takes, I’ll make you healthy in no time . . .” I stifled a yawn. “As soon as I get some sleep, that is.”

  “Tired?”

  “Deadly.”

  “It takes a lot of energy to feed an Incubus.”

  “But what a delightful job that is.” I closed my eyes, luxuriating in his closeness. “Stay here while I sleep. Please.”

  “I’m not going anywhere, my love. For as long as you’ll have me.”

  “Always, Raim. I’ll have you for always.”

  Epilogue

  TWO YEARS LATER.

  “You look gorgeous!” Kitty straightened the train of my dress, stepping back to admire her work in the large free-standing mirror.

  The two of us were in Raim’s and my bedroom in the castle on Sirena Scalo. She adjusted the wrap across her chest that held her three-month-old daughter, Leslie. “Honestly, like a real goddess or something.”

  I smiled at her delight, staring at my reflection. “Thank you.”

  The mermaid-cut dress was of a fairly traditional style and fabric for a wedding gown. The colour was unusual, though, blood-red.

  It had taken Raim nearly two years to convince me to have this wedding. I had reservations about being a bride again. Just thinking about going down the aisle for the second time when the first one didn’t turn out that well made me afraid. Raim meant the world to me, and I didn’t want to jeopardize our relationship by turning it into a marriage or by changing anything at all about it.

  Whatever doubts I had, however, had nothing to do with my commitment to him or his to me. I wanted my forever with him and no one else.

  I was wearing a cornflower-blue garter around my thigh under the dress for ‘something blue’ and I had my teardrop pendant around my neck for ‘something old’. My dress was non-traditional red—to make this day completely ours and as different as possible from my first wedding.

  A string of giggles reached my ear, followed by the sound of light footsteps as someone ran along the hallway outside the doors.

  “Nixie!” I heard the worried voice of Alyssa, Sytrius’s wife.

  Then the blond, curly head of their son poked into the room. “I want to see Dee.”

  “Well hello, Phoenix.” I smiled and waved at the little boy.

  “You’re very pretty today.” He stared at me with his huge, blue eyes, looking more like a cherub than a cambion.

  “Thank you.” I made a curtsy.

  “I brought you a flower.” The boy ran to me, a white lily clutched in his little hand.

  “May I ask where you got that from, young man?” Kitty propped her hands onto her hips, eyeing him suspiciously.

  “He plucked it from his dad’s boutonniere.” Alyssa rushed in, looking somewhat winded. “So sorry, Dee. I’ll get him right out of here . . . Oh, my goodness.” She pressed her hand to her chest. “You look stunning!”

  “Thank you.”

  “Raim is one lucky demon.” Alyssa came closer to give me a hug. “Congratulations, sweetie. I’m so very happy for you. For both of you.” She leaned back, gazing up at my face. “Never, in a million years would I have thought I’d be congratulating a woman on tying her life with Raim’s one day. But you are so good together, a
nd he needs you so much.”

  “I need him, too. Just as much.” I smiled.

  Raim would always be Raim. He still had difficulty expressing his emotions freely—definitely not in public. But we had been spending a considerable amount of time in the company of other Incubi and their partners. Any trace of animosity towards him by them had long gone. We felt included, welcomed, and accepted, making me grateful for having them all in our lives.

  “You are making each other happy, everyone can see that.” Alyssa squeezed me in another hug. “I have absolutely no doubt you’ll have a long and happy life with him—”

  Phoenix ran around his mother at that moment then bee-lined for the nearest wall.

  “Oh no,” Alyssa gasped, letting go of me and rushing after him. “You come back here. Phoenix!”

  With another string of loud giggles, the boy slid through the wall, without skipping a step.

  “And, he did it again . . .” Alyssa groaned in frustration, coming to a halt, her hands on the wall right above the spot where her son had just disappeared into.

  “There is a guest bathroom behind that wall,” I offered, trying to be helpful.

  “No.” Alyssa shook her head. “I’d never be able to catch him now that he is obviously in the mood for a race. Sytrius!” She yelled down the hallway. “Go find your son, please!” She faced me briefly. “Sorry, Dee. I promise to get him where he is supposed to be by the time the ceremony starts.” With these words, she hurried out of the room.

  “Should we ask Raim to look for the castle blueprints? He may have some.” I asked Kitty, more concerned about the boy’s safety than the ceremony.

  “Nah.” She waved me off. Living in the same neighbourhood as Alyssa and Sytrius, Kitty was closer with their family than I was, and more familiar with their son’s abilities. “There are enough Incubi around to chase one little boy through some walls. They’ll catch him.”

  “What if he runs through one of the outside walls?” A wave of horror flushed me with cold. “There are cliffs, with sharp rocks and ocean surf all around.”