He was in love with her, too.
Dusty smoothed a tendril of sweat-soaked hair from her brow, then proceeded to place kisses all over her face while he ran his hands up and down her skin, memorizing the feel of her body joined with his. His world simply did not exist without her in it. And he never wanted to be without her again.
“Marry me?” he asked between kisses.
She sat up quickly, her blue eyes wide circles in her face. “Dusty? What?”
He grimaced. Although every word he spoke was true, he cursed himself for blurting out his raw feelings and screwing everything up. But he knew this was right, that she was the woman he’d been waiting for. “Shit. I—I… Lemme try this again. Skylar, I just can’t imagine a life without you in every minute of it. I love you. Marry me, please, and I will take care of you forever.”
She was quiet. Too quiet as she stared down at him, gnawing on her lower lip. Shit. He should have waited. She was going to say no. He should have done it right with a ring and flowers and a candlelight dinner and all that shit that he knew he was supposed to do. All the things Skylar deserved. But he just couldn’t have waited. His heart wouldn’t let him. It didn’t matter that she didn’t know who she was, he knew they belonged together. He’d never felt this way about anyone before.
“Dusty—”
“Skylar—”
They spoke at the same time and then grew quiet as they looked at each other. He silently willed her to make his life complete by just uttering a simple “yes”, but instead of speaking, she lowered herself back over him and kissed him sweet and passionately. Not quite the exact answer he was looking for, but at least she didn’t say “no” and throw him out of bed. Even if his ears wanted something else, the rest of his body responded to her kiss all the same. His cock, still tucked inside her warmth, began to thicken and harden again.
Skylar sighed into his mouth and tilted her hips, then her whole body tightened and she let out a quiet whimper. Her cunt rippled around him, pulling him in as she began to slide up and down on his length. But he knew it was hurting her, could feel it in the tension of her body.
Lacing his fingers into her hair, he pulled her lips from his. “Whoa, sweetheart. As much as I’m always game for another round, I definitely don’t want you in any pain. I want you to enjoy this as much as I do. Lemme take care of you.”
Without giving her a chance to protest he sat up, biting back a groan as her sheath pulsated around his cock. Ever so slowly he lifted her off him, cringing at the ruby red blood smeared on her thighs and on his cock.
Dusty gathered her into his arms. Even if she never agreed to marry him, he knew she loved him and that was more important than anything. He already knew he would love her for the rest of his life whether she married him or not. She wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned her head on his shoulder as he walked deep within the cave where the air was warmer and heated water flowed into a pool. He slowly stepped into the warm spring and sat down with her on his lap, content to just hold her close if only to memorize how it felt to truly love and be loved.
Her eyes filled with awe as she looked around the dimly lit paradise. “Wow…this place is amazing. It’s so beautiful. An oasis of serenity…I don’t ever want to leave.”
“Well, you never have to leave if you don’t want to.” He kissed her temple. “Now, I promised to take care of you. So, just sit back and enjoy the water.”
He slid out from underneath her and she reclined back in the water and closed her eyes. He’d never felt so much love as at that moment with her and he wanted to keep her with him so he’d never feel anything but her love. She offered herself so freely; he knew she was meant for only him. As he washed his hands over her body under the water, he moved so that he was kneeling below her, reaching all the way down to her dainty little toes.
As his gaze trailed back up her body, he began to smile, but as he saw her face, his smile faded. She was looking at him, her eyes full of love and mystery and a gnawing uncertainty he wished he could wipe away as easily as he had washed away the signs of their earlier lovemaking.
“Dusty, I’m scared.” She swallowed. “But no matter what happens, know that I do love you. Tonight…I’ll never forget it. I’ll never forget you. No matter what the future has in store for me.”
“Are you still worried that you’re gonna wake up and I’ll be gone or something?”
“Yes…no…I don’t know. This is crazy. Too good to be true. I—”
“What is your heart saying?” Dusty interrupted, because while he was feeling the same way, he knew they were both where they should be. “I know mine is saying that I’ve finally met the woman I will cherish for the rest of my life. Maybe, it’s crazy, but I trust it because I know it’s right. This is right. And yeah, my brain kinda agrees with you that we should be a little scared. But if there was no fear of the unknown, would this even be real? Look, nothing’s ever sunshine and roses all the time, but we’ll get through it together. All of it. For our entire lives. Because with each other’s help, we will make the unknown become known. And facing it together is ten times easier than having to face it all alone. I’m up for the challenge and my heart is telling me, you are too.”
Her gaze never wavered from his. “Yes.”
“Yes, what?”
She stood up and water sluiced down her heavenly body. Either he’d said something incredibly wrong and she was standing up to leave, or he had said something incredibly right and she actually wanted to be closer to him. His fears were allayed when she reached him and knelt down, knee-to-knee, thigh-to-thigh, sex-to-sex.
Her lips brushed his jaw as she spoke. “Yes to everything, Dusty. Because the moment you stole into my life, I knew I’d never be alone again. Does that make any sense? My life changed when you stepped into it. You keep the fear at bay with the strength of your words.” She lifted her head and met his eyes. “I don’t know what tomorrow will bring, but I do know I want to discover it with you…I love you and just want to be with you.”
Dusty choked past the tightness in his throat. “You will be.” He knew there was plenty more he should say, but for some reason, the words completely escaped him. And hell, hadn’t she said everything he was feeling in his heart?
Their lips met hungrily, feasting on the promises they’d just made to one another. His hands swept down her body, grabbing her by the ass and lifting her. He’d thought to take her back to the bed where she’d be more comfortable, but she surprised him by locking her ankles behind his back and taking his cock all the way inside her. Pure bliss. He was surrounded by so much heat—the water, his Skylar—he relinquished himself to the burn.
When they came, they came together, falling into each other over and over again, a seemingly unending cycle of pleasure and love.
Sometime later, Dusty lifted the sleeping woman into his arms and returned to the bed where they’d fallen in love. He pushed the pillow barrier against the wall as he laid her down. Such beauty and passion within her small frame. As long as she was right there beside him when he woke up, everything would be okay. He lay down, kissed her hair and fell asleep with her tucked against his chest, right next to his heart.
* * * * *
The sound of air whizzing just in front of his nose awakened Dusty in time to see and feel the full force of a fist landing squarely in his eye. How the hell had he slept through the man’s approach? He managed to block the next punch while blitzing out of bed, then tried to deliver a bash of equal vigor as his mind fully awakened.
“God damn it, Dusty! You could have gotten all of us killed! When did your Shadow Walker training ever include disobeying the orders of your leader?” Stephan shouted as the two men pummeled each other like the worst of enemies.
“Fuck you, Stephan!” Dusty took a hard punch to the gut after delivering a perfect left hook to Stephan’s eye. Hopefully, it would match the black eye Dusty felt developing on his own face.
Launching himself at Stephan, they began to wre
stle on the ground. With such matching strengths, neither got in more than a few punches. Although Dusty’s landed harder than what he received from Stephan.
“Stop hurting him or I’ll kill you, Stephan!”
Both men abruptly stopped wrestling and looked up at the naked woman before them. Skylar must have grabbed the iron poker from a pile of old demon torture instruments near the opening of the cave. She scowled at Stephan, ready to slam the poker down on his head.
Stephan expertly rolled away as Dusty jumped up and wrapped himself around Skylar, snatching the poker from her hands and tossing it to the side. “No, sweetheart. It’s okay. It’s okay.”
Stephan replied before Skylar could even open her mouth. “No, it’s not okay, Dusty. Now you’ve really got a helluva lot of talking to do.”
“Dusty, don’t let him near me. I swear I’ll kill him,” Skylar snarled vengefully.
Dusty held her even tighter. This was not the morning after he had envisioned. “Shhh…Skylar. You’re safe with me. You know that. I won’t let him anywhere near you. It’s okay. I promise.” He pulled a blanket from the bed to wrap her in it. Surrounding her with his protective embrace, he defiantly returned his attention to Stephan. “Damn you. Get your ass over there and sit the fuck down before I really let you have it.” He pointed toward the bench. “You have no idea what this woman has been through. Before you go berserk, listen to the whole story first.”
Stephan didn’t show any signs of calming. Shaking his head, his eyes shone of fury, but he sat down on the bench as though he didn’t quite know what else to do. His eye was already starting to turn red from Dusty’s punch. This spar had escalated into an all-out brawl…something that had never happened between them before. And Dusty hoped would never happen again.
He managed to unclench his fists, although he had trouble unclenching his jaw, but at least Stephan was willing to listen. “She doesn’t know who she is. Craze erased her memories and gave her some of Mariah’s. Fiero was kind enough to straighten her out enough to realize that she is not Mariah. But Craze set her up to believe that you—yes, you, Mr. Wonderful—was abusing her. So shut the fuck up before you even tell me what it means to disobey you. Dammit, Stephan. Where is your brain?” Dusty kissed Skylar’s hair and whispered into her ear. “I’ll kick his ass again if he comes over here. Don’t worry. I might even let you help if you want to.”
Stephan glared. “So, who else knows about this other than me? You think you can just take the lead? There’s a reason The Order put me in charge here. What the fuck are you doing, man? We’re supposed to be on the same team.” His knuckles went from red to white as he gripped the edge of the bench. Dusty had never seen Stephan this pissed off before. Then again, no one had ever dared disobey him quite like this.
“I did what I knew in my heart to be the right thing to do. You can’t fault me for that. The operation was flawless. Marlin stayed behind to make sure Twyla made it out of Craze’s house okay. He clicked-in to let me know everything was fine.”
“Great. You, Marlin, Fiero and Twyla?” Stephan shook his head. He looked like he wanted to launch off the bench, even though he still gripped it tightly. Holding onto it was probably the only thing keeping him still. “Dammit. I should have known. And now you’ve really gone and screwed things up even more. Here, no less. You know the rules regarding safe havens but apparently, you can’t keep your head out of your ass long enough to see just how vulnerable this makes us.”
“Oh, don’t you even start in on vulnerability, Mr. Double Standard. You can’t sit there and tell me that bringing Mariah into the compound wasn’t the same as bringing Skylar here. You’re full of shit, Stephan. I don’t care what you say. This woman is not my weakness. If anything, she brings out my strength and I would sooner quit being a Shadow Walker than let her go. I need her more than I need you.”
Dusty ran his hand over Skylar’s blanket-covered back as he nudged her toward the bed. This was the first time he’d ever threatened dissension and while it should have surprised him, it didn’t. He meant every word. He grabbed his jeans from the floor and slid them on while he waited for the St. Stephan volcano to erupt.
But the illustrious leader remained silent.
The calm before the storm, Dusty supposed. He stood there, watching Stephan stew. The gears were grinding. Dusty knew that if he didn’t pay now, he’d surely pay later. But which would it be?
“You need her more than me, huh? I wouldn’t go there if I were you, Dusty.” Stephan stood up, facing Dusty down with each approaching step. Then Stephan clicked-in. You think about what you’re saying. I need Shadow Walkers who don’t shirk their duties when a piece of ass walks by. Maybe after the lust clears we’ll both see where your loyalties lie. I need your help against Craze, but if you choose to cavort with his leftovers, I’ll find my way without you.
It was an involuntary action. Dusty could not have stopped even if he’d been cognizant of it. His left arm wound up, and as he unleashed his fist toward Stephan’s jaw, Skylar hollered, “Stop it! Both of you!”
But it was too late, Stephan had already gone into Shadow Walker defensive mode and jerked to the side away from the punch, while countering with another left hook aimed at Dusty’s jaw.
Evenly matched, they both missed. Skylar darted from the bed and Dusty backed away toward her. Get the fuck away from us, man. Before this gets even further out of hand.
Shit, I’m sorry. You just keep her away from Mariah. Stephan let out a pained breath as he stormed out of the cave. Dusty’s mind was a jumble of emotions. And it somehow tore its way down into his heart as well. He almost wanted to cry. He knew he’d done what was best, but in the process, he had also betrayed his best friend…a man who had pulled the alcohol out of Dusty’s hand when all he’d wanted to do was waste himself into oblivion…a man who had taken many a knife, bullet and numerous other demon-inflicted wounds in order to save Dusty from being killed or maimed. But through all of those betraying thoughts, the woman Dusty had risked everything for was right here with him and his heart kept assuring him he’d done the right thing. Now, if he could just numb his heart and mind for a moment, give himself time to clear his head and figure out what his next move should be.
He wrapped his arms around Skylar. “Everything’s gonna be okay. I promise.”
She reached up and put a gentle hand on his cheek just below his eye. He forced back a wince so she wouldn’t see his pain. “It’s no big deal.” Hell, who was he kidding? Everything hurt. He kissed her fingertips.
“Oh, no you don’t. You sit down right here. I need to make sure you’re okay.” Skylar pushed him down onto the bench.
“I’m fine, Skylar. I mean, yeah, it hurts, but it’s nothing that won’t go away by tomorrow.” He hoped she wouldn’t realize just how much Stephan had wounded him.
She inspected a scratch on his chest. “I think Stephan hurt you more than you realize.” Skylar skimmed her hands lightly over his body, examining every wound. She was incredible. Did she know how to read minds or was his pain so obvious? His training included hiding emotions. The woman must truly be his soulmate if she could figure him out that easily.
She stood back up and brushed a kiss over his lips. “Let’s go to the hot springs. This time I’ll take care of you.” Shrugging her shoulders, she let the blanket fall to the floor.
Behind them, at the entrance to the cave, Dusty heard two footsteps. Shit. Hadn’t Stephan said more than enough? “Fuck you. I’d sooner brawl some more over her than let you tell me what to do.”
Skylar looked up and her face went pale. Dusty turned, ready to fight Stephan some more, but instead, there was a different man standing there. One with brown eyes locked on Skylar and a look of distressed surprise on his face.
“I didn’t come to brawl. But if Skylar’s the prize, I might have to give it a go.”
“Who the fuck are you?” Dusty turned to completely face the man who had somehow found the hidden entrance to the cave. Sizing him
up, Dusty knew he could take the fellow if it did come to blows. The man was much smaller in mass. Maybe he was some kind of thief or prowler. Except the man knew Skylar’s name. What else did he know? Had Craze sent him to take her back?
The man’s gaze never left her. “I’m Skylar’s fiancé.”
* * * * *
“Adrian?”
Skylar stood frozen, locked in Adrian’s somber gaze, unable to move, unable to breathe as the memories of her life slammed back into her consciousness with the rapidity of machine gun fire. Summers at the Cape. Getting her tonsils out when she was eight. Learning to drive a stick shift. Her parents’ funeral.
She wasn’t even aware that she had fallen to her knees as the second wave of memories hit her with more extreme force. Following Adrian around like a puppy dog when she was ten. Their first kiss when she was home on break from college. Late night phone calls when she should have been studying.
The night he’d asked her to marry him.
Oh, Jesus, what had she done? How could she have forgotten him? Adrian was her best friend, had always been there for her. Almost every good memory tied back to him.
As if from a great distance, she heard Dusty’s voice. “Skylar, come on, don’t do this to me again. Come on baby, are you okay? You gotta come out of this.” He cradled her against his chest, then stood up, carrying her. Try as she might, she couldn’t speak or move, as though with the return of her memories, she’d lost control of everything else. He lowered her to the soft comfort of the bed, sitting himself next to her before taking her hand, lovingly stroking her fingers like he’d done last night in this very spot.
“What the hell did you do to her?” Adrian this time, animosity and worry evident in his sharply spoken words. If only she could open her eyes, let them know she was okay…except she was far from being okay. The vicious pounding in her head, the stabbing pain in her heart…
“Get the fuck outta here, man. I don’t know who you think you are to her, but just get away from us.” Skylar could barely recognize Dusty’s voice. The anger, the pain. The fear for her.
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