“How do you know that?” Torr took the small pot of antiseptic cream from her and applied it to the shallow cut on her cheek.
She tapped her temple. “A gift from Brenya.”
“So if we find the source of the Masons’ building material, we can wait for one to come for more stone, then follow it back to wherever they’re building the portal.”
“That could work, but I don’t think that’s why Brenya put the map to the lake in my head.”
“Then why?”
“The stones the Masons are using are drawn to each other. If we get one, it can lead us to the others.”
“Like a kind of compass.”
“Exactly.”
She held her hand out to take the cream from him again, but he kept it. She had a dozen small cuts, most of which she wasn’t going to be able to easily reach.
“I’ll do it,” he said. “Turn around.”
She looked confused for a second, like she couldn’t believe he’d help her, but then did as he asked.
The backs of her arms and shoulders had taken the worst damage from the Warden’s filament. While none of the cuts were deep, he was sure they had to sting.
Grace gave no sign that he was causing her any kind of pain. In fact, she kept talking like nothing had happened. “There’s no way to know how long the Masons have been at work or how much more time we have. One of us needs to find them and check on their progress before it’s too late and we have an army to fight. And you know that someone can’t be me. I don’t see in the dark like you do, and we can’t risk carrying a light source.”
He didn’t want to leave her. He didn’t know this world or what dangers might lurk in the night. She was too precious to risk, and while he couldn’t tell her why, he also couldn’t pretend she didn’t matter.
“We’ll go to the lake together tomorrow,” he said, hoping the finality of his tone would end the conversation.
She was quiet for a minute as he finished cleaning and treating her cuts. Her breathing became slow and deep, as if she was trying to deal with the pain.
Torr wished that the healing disks worked both ways, but his research into the devices had proved otherwise. They were meant to transfer health from one person to another, not the other way around—a one-way street.
When he was done, she let out a long breath. “I’m slowing you down.”
Torr closed the jar of cream and tucked it back in her bag. “I never would have been able to find the location of the lake without your help.”
“But you can now. I told you where it is. You should go.”
“No. I’ll be too distracted, wondering if you’re safe. You’ve gotten me this far. Morning will be soon enough.”
“And if it’s not? If they finish the portal and open it before you reach it?”
“Then I’ll kill whatever comes through. I’ve been beating back evil invasions since I was old enough to hold a sword. I’ve got this.” He hoped.
She stared at her lap. Her whole body seemed to deflate, and even without a luceria connecting them he could feel her sadness and frustration. “Brenya should have picked someone else to guide you. I have no idea why she chose me, a weak human.”
“She must have thought you were the best choice.”
“Or maybe my brain is just so simple in comparison that it was easy to shove information into it.”
“I promise you that human minds are anything but simple. But even if that were true, Brenya is powerful enough not to let a little thing like that get in her way. She chose you because she thought you were their best hope. She knew you were brave and that you’d give your last drop of blood to save them.”
“Of course I would. Those women and children are important. Earth’s survival depends on them.”
“And their survival depends on you. Not exactly a task Brenya would have given to some weak human.”
“Desperate times . . .”
He took her by the shoulders, resisting the urge to shake some sense into her. “Stop it. I know plenty of humans. Some of them are weak—they break vows, they give up when things get hard, they toss each other aside like bags of garbage and spend their lives as victims, waiting for someone to save them from their own laziness and poor decisions. I know you, Grace. You’re not like them. You’re special.”
“You’ve only known me for a few days.”
He bit his tongue against the urge to correct her. “In those few days you’ve proven yourself over and over. Now stop bashing yourself and have a little faith in you the way Brenya and I do.”
She stared at him, her gaze direct. He could see the exact moment her mind changed, and it was a beautiful thing to behold. She shed her insecurity like an old skin and let a bright new confidence shine through. “You’re right. Brenya wouldn’t have risked everything she’s worked for all these years on someone she thought would fail.”
“Now you’re catching on.”
“I won’t let her down, Torr. Or you.”
“Honey, you couldn’t let me down if you tried.” I love you.
He didn’t dare say the words, but he let them swell in his heart, hoping that some of his intense feelings would spill through the disks that connected them.
Her eyes fluttered shut, and the sweetest smile warmed her expression. When she looked at him again, her eyes were brighter and filled with newfound hope.
He had to kiss her. There was no more holding back. No more resisting her pull on him. She was the woman of his dreams, everything he’d ever wanted. He didn’t care if she wasn’t a Theronai. He didn’t care if he couldn’t have her forever. She was here now, and he was going to love her for as long as he could, even if it was only for one night.
One night with Grace was more than he’d ever hoped to have. A lifetime with any other woman couldn’t compare.
There was little light left outside, but plenty for him to see by. The deep orange glow cast russet shadows across her body, highlighting the delicate lines of her frame.
He traced that line between light and shadow with his finger, following it up her arm, along her neck and across her mouth. Each inch he traveled made her brown eyes grow darker as her pupils flared in a way that had nothing to do with the dim lighting.
He cupped her face with one hand, being careful of the shallow cut on her cheek. His thumb glided across her skin, reveling in her soft warmth. There was something about the texture of her skin that was uniquely hers. Perhaps all those hours she’d spent holding his hand had somehow imprinted the feel of her skin in his mind, but he had no question that he would know the feel of her anywhere, even in utter darkness.
Her lips parted, and the slick, glossy inside of her bottom lip inflamed him. He wanted to taste that skin, to feel it glide under his tongue until he knew it as well as he did the shape of her hand in his.
There was so much of her he wanted to memorize, so many intriguing textures to experience.
Sweat broke out along his spine but did nothing to cool him down. His heart beat faster until he could feel it pounding through him in a mad rush. He felt like a young man again, giddy and eager for a first kiss.
Grace pressed her hand to his chest, right over his heart. His abdomen clenched hard. A flood of desire raced through him, so powerful it was hard to breathe through it.
Everything about her deepened his need. He wanted to control his lust and bank it until only low embers remained, but she made that impossible.
He tipped her head up and fitted his mouth against hers.
Grace melted into the kiss. Her fingers dug into his chest. A little breath of excitement eased out of her in the form of the sexiest sigh he’d ever heard.
He wasn’t exactly sure how it happened, but one second she was sitting on the cave floor, and the next she was straddling his lap. His hands were on her ass, holding her close, so chances were he’d simply picked her up and put her where he wanted her.
The hem of her tunic slid up to make room for her to spread her thighs around him.
He could feel the leather bunching under his grip and wanted nothing more than to shred it away from her body.
He’d had her naked before, but had done his best to respect her privacy and keep his eyes to himself.
This time would be different. He would look his fill. He’d linger over every sweet curve and hollow, making sure he didn’t miss an inch.
She lifted up on her knees and grabbed his head, angling it to please her. Each kiss was a sweet little gift, but not nearly as much as he wanted.
“Open for me, honey,” he said against her mouth.
Her lips parted instantly, giving him the access he needed.
The taste of her drove him wild. Made him hotter. The cave air had been cool only a moment ago, but his body was in overdrive, unable to shed heat fast enough.
As if sensing his need, Grace grabbed the bottom of his new shirt and pulled it over his head. Their mouths separated only long enough to get the job done before she came right back to him.
The feel of her supple leather tunic grated on him. He needed her flesh on his, bare and hot. Maybe he was rushing things, but he’d wanted Grace for so long he couldn’t seem to stop himself from taking what she offered.
He slid his hands under her tunic, cupping the mostly bare cheeks of her ass. The thin fabric she wore over her sex was far too rough for such delicate skin. She deserved silk. Or better yet, nothing at all.
“Need you naked,” he told her as he pulled on the leather tie that held her tunic closed.
The garment fell forward. She pulled back, holding it against her breasts. Her lips were already puffy from kissing him. A deep flush covered her face and neck. Her hair was a wild, dark mane around her head. Her eyes stayed fixed to his as she moved her hands and let the tunic fall.
Torr lost all ability to speak. Or think. The sight of Grace’s mostly naked body straddling his was more than even a strong man like him could take.
So beautiful. So tempting.
Her breasts were the perfect size for his big hands. Her nipples were tight buds that made his mouth water. The curve of her waist and the flare of her hips were enough to make him fight the need to come in his jeans.
“More naked,” he managed to rasp out between labored breaths.
Grace rose to her feet in a move so fluid it made him think of lazy rivers and dew dripping from blades of grass. She let the tunic fall. A swift pull on the knot at her waist and the fabric wound between her thighs unraveled around her ankles.
More of Torr’s brain cells sputtered and died as he soaked in the sight of her. He’d intended only to look, but his hands gripped her hips and tugged her closer.
The dark hair shielding her sex was visibly damp. Her sea-salt-and-woman scent went straight to his head, intoxicating him further. He knew if he touched her and found her wet for him, he would mount her and be thrusting inside her before he even had time to find out if it was what she wanted.
He prayed it was what she wanted.
Rather than let himself get carried away, he slid his shaking hands over the leather ties at her calves until he found how they were fastened. A few quick tugs of his fingers, and even those were gone, leaving her completely naked.
Torr got to his feet in an uncharacteristically clumsy move. He needed to put a few feet between them before he dove in headfirst and took what he wanted from her. His sweet Grace was too precious to treat like some kind of whore.
His cock swelled and throbbed, beating in insistent demand. He ignored it and simply looked his fill.
“I want to see you,” she whispered. “Before all the light is gone.”
“If I take off my jeans, there won’t be anything to slow me down.”
She took a tentative step forward. Her voice was a sultry temptation. “I don’t want slow. I want you.”
He couldn’t let her change her mind. She could have whatever she wanted—whatever got her off so long as she didn’t change her mind.
Torr stripped off his boots, unbuckled his sword and shucked his jeans in record time. He stood before her naked and blatantly aroused. She was only a few steps away. Even as low as the last light of the setting suns was, there was no way she couldn’t see what she did to him.
Her chest stopped moving for too long. He was so attuned to her that he hadn’t even realized he’d been keeping tabs on her breathing. It must have been habit from all that time he’d spent at her bedside, hoping she would recover from healing his paralysis.
“Breathe, Grace. Or I’ll do it for you.” He’d done it before, filling her lungs with air to keep her alive. He’d do it again in a heartbeat if she needed it.
Her breasts lifted with a deep breath, giving him an awkward mix of relief and arousal. His erection twitched, lunging toward her like it had a mind of its own.
“You’re beautiful,” she told him, awe plain in her voice.
She took a step forward. Then another. She was within his reach now, but he kept his hands at his sides.
Her fingers traced the branches of his lifemark. A hard shiver raced through him, making every muscle clench as it passed.
“Did that hurt?” she asked, pulling her hand away.
“Only if you don’t touch me again.”
She did, only this time the caress was lighter. “It’s moving, isn’t it?”
He couldn’t answer. His throat was clogged with need so huge it nearly choked him.
He wanted her to be his partner. Forever. He wanted her to take her place at his side and draw strength from him. In this moment, he would have made a deal with the Solarc if it meant she could be his other half.
Grace pressed her cheek to his chest. “I swear I can hear it move. Is that even possible?”
He didn’t know. Couldn’t think. Her head was over his heart, and there was nothing he could do but wrap his arms around her and hold her there, wishing it could be the place she laid her head each night.
This woman was meant to be his, and it was a cruel twist of fate that he couldn’t keep her—at least not as long as he wanted.
Before bleak thoughts could slip in and ruin what they had here and now, Torr lifted her chin and kissed her. He put the full force of his will into it, holding nothing back. He let her feel his need. Didn’t even try to hide it. He knew that feelings this strong would blast their way through the disk she wore and give her a tiny fraction of his need.
By the time he lifted his mouth from hers, she was gasping for air, clinging to him. “I feel like I’ve done this before,” she said, “but I know if I had, I would have remembered it.”
He didn’t want to talk about memories or the past. He wanted to grab on to the present and wring from it every drop of pleasure he could. For both of them.
Her nipples grazed his chest. He bent her back over his arm just enough that he could reach them with his mouth. The high cry of surprise she gave him was the sweetest kind of music. If he got his way, he was going to be hearing a lot more of that before he let her rest.
She gripped his hair in both fists and held on tight. He felt the moment her legs weakened, but he simply accepted more of her weight, thrilled to his core that she would trust him not to let her fall.
He suckled her, making note of what made her thighs clench, what made her let out those musical sighs. It was only when his own legs got a little shaky with lust that he decided to move the fun to the ground.
He arranged their discarded clothes into as smooth a pallet as possible and eased Grace onto it. “I don’t want to hurt your back again.”
She looped her arms around his neck. “I don’t think I’d notice this time.”
When she pulled him down to kiss her again, he had no choice but to go where she led. If he ran the show, he’d already be inside her.
His cock grazed her stomach. He felt the hot, slick wetness welling from him as he rubbed against her. The movement was involuntary. His poor lust-hazed mind couldn’t seem to slow down and ease off the throttle. He’d wanted this—her—for too long.
All those months of being trapped inside his wasted body had left him little to do but fantasize. She’d come to him every day to feed him, bathe him and generally keep his ass alive. She was so sweet, so wounded. He knew she’d been abused. The marks were all over her when he found her. Still, as scared as she was, she still came to him, trying to repay him for something that needed no thanks.
Because of the demon that had poisoned him, he’d been too weak to hurt her. He knew that was what gave her the courage to show up every day, but he still cherished his time with her. And as time passed, he stopped seeing her as the sweet girl he’d rescued and started seeing her as a kind and loving woman—one with a body that made him lie awake at night, sweating and dreaming of what he’d do to her if he ever had the chance.
That chance was now, but all of those fantasies were jumbled up, too tangled for him to pull out a single one to make it come true.
He traced the line of her arm, lingering as his path led him down her ribs. She shivered at his touch, which only made him want to touch her more—something he hadn’t thought possible. The lower his fingers ran, the more powerful her reaction became. She arched toward him, breathing faster, growing warmer.
Her hands splayed against his back, her fingers digging into his skin like she couldn’t get enough of him. The idea went to his head, giving him a feeling of power that not even the magic flowing through his veins could match.
She broke the kiss. Her mouth moved across his jaw, down his neck. She placed hot, open-mouthed kisses along his skin, biting and nibbling just enough to leave a pleasurable sting in her wake. When she reached his luceria, she slowed. Her tongue delved beneath the magical band, touching flesh that was more often covered than not. He was ultrasensitive here, and each flickering swipe of her tongue made him burn hotter.
Willing Sacrifice Page 20