Master of Passion

by Angela Knight

  The unicorn whirled and galloped away, magic streaming in its ghostly wake.

  “Oh, wow…”

  “It’s not all death and screaming,” Opal said softly. “There’s wonder here, too.”

  He turned to look down into her face, so lovely in the moonlight. Her mouth looked full, delectably soft. Hunger shafted through him. “Speaking of wonder…” Adam brushed a fingertip across the swell of her chest plate. “Why don’t we get rid of all this metal? I feel the need for skin.”

  “Lazy millennial.” But there was teasing in her tone. “Sometimes it’s better to do things the old-fashioned way.”

  He lifted a brow. “Is it, now?”

  She grinned and grabbed the back of his neck, hauled his head down. “Oh, yeah,” she breathed against his mouth, and took his lips in a hot, hungry kiss. Their tongues swirled and dueled as they tasted each other. Opal danced her fingers over his cuirass, which split wide at her magical touch, scale armor rolling up his arms to vanish into the plate shell.

  They undressed each other slowly, Opal sending each piece home as it was shed. Finally only her boots remained. Adam knelt with one of her hands braced on his shoulder while he removed her right boot.

  The left one came off a lot faster because he’d seen the image in her head. “Now there,” he said out loud, “is a damned good idea.” He tossed the boot aside, grabbed her hips, and pulled her against his mouth. His tongue darted out to lap.

  Then he froze, as the sensation lanced through the Truebond, igniting his brain with the echo of her pleasure. His eyes widened. “Oh.” His voice sounded muffled against her pussy.

  She laughed. “Nice, huh?”

  Damn, I want more of that. Both hands slid up to grab her thighs and lift her right off her feet. Opal yelped, laughing, and grabbed at his shoulders, as he sat her astride his shoulders. She felt impossibly light to him, as if she weighed no more than a rag doll. This has possibilities.

  But he was even more interested in her pussy. He gave her another long, experimental lick. The lush delight jolted through him again as she opened herself completely, pouring the sensation into the Truebond until they might as well be his own.

  I always wondered how that felt.

  And I always wondered how a blow job feels, she purred.

  Me first. He lifted her a little higher and held her there as she wrapped one arm around his head and her legs around his shoulders. Burying his face against her sex again, he lifted her until he could get to her clit and began to suckle. It wasn’t a position he could have held yesterday, but now that he could flip SUVs…

  Yum. He licked, nibbled, sucked. Deliciously erotic sensations rolled through them both until he could feel his cock jerking with every caress he gave her. It almost felt as if he was giving himself a blow job.

  With a giant mouth, which was just disturbing.

  He was reminded otherwise by the scent of her, the taste, that delicious Maja blood scent from some scrape she had somewhere. He loved it, just as he loved the feel of her satin ass in his hands, the way her fists buried in his hair. It felt like silk to her, cool and slick.

  His canines made his gums sting, and he had to pull his head back as his fangs extended. He leaned in again, angling his head carefully so as not to scratch her most delicate flesh with those teeth. His tongue thrust, sliding back and forth between her plump lips. Lapping. Each lick fed the pleasure that echoed back and forth from her mind to his to hers again. Each building on the other until…

  The explosion hit far too fast for him to do anything to stop it.

  He damn near dropped her as she writhed in his grip, her body whipping. He jerked her against him, and they went down in a gasping tangle of legs and arms, climax surging through them.

  When the reverberations finally faded, he managed to free an arm and reached down, grimaced at what he found. A jet of come splashed diagonally across his belly. “Goddamnit.”

  Opal grinned down at his disgruntled face. “Don’t you worry. I’ll make sure you’ll rise to the occasion.” She waggled her fingers in a mock spell.

  Adam snorted. “If I wasn’t worried before, I am now.”

  Opal disentangled herself and scrambled to her feet, then reached down for his hand. He gave it to her, and she hauled him effortlessly upright. She barely noticed his weight any more than he noticed hers. His brows shot up. “You really are strong.”

  “Better keep that in mind, Sir Fangsalot.” With a throaty laugh, she whirled and ran, leaped skyward, and dove cleanly into the pool.

  Watching her bare, gorgeous body cut the water, he felt his cock harden all over again. Adam started to race after her… only to do the exact same thing he’d done on the practice field. Leaping a lot further than he intended, he plunged into the lake like a brick. He damned near sucked down a lungful of water before he managed to hold his breath and stroke for the surface.

  You okay?

  Shaking his head, he looked up to see her levitating into the air, water streaming from her deliciously nude body into the lake ten feet beneath her toes. “I’m fine.”

  Realizing he really was all right -- except possibly for a bruised ego -- she grinned at him. “We really have to work on your reflexes.”

  “I’ll show you reflexes.” Adam rolled to his feet and stalked toward her. And saw how he looked to her, naked, muscle rolling, his gaze hot and intent. Cock leading the way. He blinked and almost lost step.

  She really liked the view.

  There’s a lot to like, Opal thought, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to make it easy. She let go with her power, dropping like a rock into the lake. Though she vanished completely from view, Adam could feel where she was in the Truebond, breath held as she kicked smoothly beneath the water, swimming away.

  He waded in and dove in after her. Submerged, he didn’t have to worry so much about losing control, and he was able to pour on the speed in hard strokes that sent him streaking under the surface like a torpedo. Exhilaration tugged his closed mouth into a grin. God, being a vampire was fun.

  Adam caught up as she kicked just ahead, closed a hand around her ankle and hauled her backward until he could wrap his arms around her.

  They bobbed back to the surface, kissing lazily, hands stroking, rediscovering each sensitive nerve, enjoying the surging erotic echoes as they touched.

  Adam caressed her breast with one hand, thumbing the tender nipple, shuddering in delight at the exotic sensation. Her body was so much more sensitive there than his.

  There, maybe. Opal reached down, wrapping long fingers around his cock. Staring into his eyes, she tightened her grip and tugged. But then there’s here.

  Adam and Opal began to rise through the water together, magic streaming around them in breathtaking sensual currents, bringing every inch of their skin to quivering sensitivity. They reached the surface -- and kept going, floating upward like a pair of soap bubbles surrounded by a river of sparks.

  Adam managed to tear his eyes from Opal’s gray gaze long enough to look around. They hovered above the lake, water streaming down their entwined bodies, magic a snow globe swirl around them. The sky burned with a trillion stars overhead, and the earth glowed with fairy light luminescence.

  Something with dragonfly wings flashed up to him and hovered, spilling sparks. For a moment, Adam thought it was an insect -- until he saw the tiny, pale face and enormous eyes. “Jesus!” he breathed.

  The Demi-Sidhe laughed, the sound high-pitched and lovely before she zipped around them and darted away. “Beats the fuck out of Afghanistan,” Adam muttered.

  Soft hands caught him by the beard and pulled his head around. Velvet lips closed over his, evicting every other thought from his head. Opal’s long legs wrapped around his hips, and he grabbed her round, firm little ass. As he lifted her, something that tingled gripped his cock and aimed it…

  He gasped against her mouth as she let her weight impale her on his aching erection. It was hard to thrust hanging in the air, but someh
ow the frustrating, surging effort made it even hotter. The writhe and pump were maddening, especially with her arousal goading his in the Truebond.

  The lush, rolling sensations of his cock working in the grip of her slick, tight pussy sent pleasure rolling through them both in lazy waves. They clung together, tongues licking, mouths sucking, smooth skin rubbing against hairy, hard against soft. Pleasure stacking on pleasure. Hard cock grinding in tight pussy.

  Every sensation felt impossibly intense, strengthened still more by the feedback loop of the Truebond. Until Opal tilted into orgasm. Her furious climax dragged Adam over with her, feedback shooting the mutual ecstasy even higher, higher. Everything whirled around them in dizzy circles… only jolt to a sudden stop.

  Startled, Adam tightened his grip on Opal’s slim body. Looking downward, she realized they were now only inches above the surface of the lake. Opal chuckled in his ear. “Oops. I got a little carried away and dropped us.”

  He laughed, clinging to her as they began to drift sideways in the grip of her magic until solid ground lay beneath them.

  They touched down on a silk pallet piled with pillows Opal had conjured. With a sigh, Adam gathered her tighter against him, enjoying the feeling of her slick, wet flesh against his as their pounding heartbeats began to slow.

  She made a soft little hum of contentment and snuggled against him. Five minutes later, her breathing slowed and evened into sleep. He cuddled her close, smiling in lazy pleasure as he watched glowing critters fly past overhead, accompanied by the twitter of nocturnal Mageverse birds. His vampire night vision was so acute, it might as well have been daylight.

  Even so, it took him a while to notice the shadow of the man, standing silhouetted against the bioluminescent flowers.

  “Hello, Adam,” the figure said in a rich, low voice.

  He stiffened, recognizing the deep timbre from Opal’s memory. Even as he made the identification, the shadow form began to glow with a soft luminescence, and there was no doubt. He swallowed as his heart began to pound. “Hello, Joaquin.” Reaching down, he quickly flipped the left half of the comforter over their nudity.

  Opal jolted awake as his reaction shot through the Truebond. She jerked into a sitting position, staring at the softly glowing figure. “Joaquin?” Joy flashed through her, followed a heartbeat later by confusion and guilt. “Are you real?”

  Pain stabbed Adam with an icy dagger thrust.

  Her eyes widened and flashed back to his, the guilt intensifying. I’m sorry! But… he’s… I…

  “Peace, Adam,” Joaquin said, lifting both hands, a sad smile playing around his mouth. “I’m her past. You’re her future. And I am so very glad she found you.” His voice dropped to a tortured whisper. “I feared for her.”

  “I can’t believe you’re here!” Opal gestured in a hasty sweep. Magic rolled over her and Adam, leaving them both dressed in jeans, boots, and long-sleeved shirts, the coarse denim more the Old West version than that of the twenty-first century. She scrambled to her feet.

  Adam rose more slowly, longing to reach for her, but afraid she would pull away. Opal shot him a look and grabbed his hand, squeezing it with her own clammy one. I love you.

  Not as much as you love him. The words sounded more resigned than bitter.

  “Give it time,” Joaquin said, as if they’d spoken out loud. “You suit her, Adam Parker. And you need each other.” He moved closer in a floating, unearthly glide that made a chill roll over Adam’s skin. “Opal, you’ve spent too long tormenting yourself when you did absolutely everything you could.”

  He started to reach for her, then hesitated and drew back. “You fought for me, Opal. Fought so hard, you broke my heart and held me here by sheer will. But now you have someone else to fight for, and I can finally go on.” His face lit, the sadness draining into joy. “There’s so much beyond this world -- you have no idea. Now that you’re safe with him, I can discover what waits for me.”

  “Goodbye, Joaquin,” she said softly. “Thank you for the honor of your love, and the happiness you gave me for so long. My life has been so much richer for having you in it.”

  Tears stung Adam’s eyes, echoing Opal’s sadness. Yet beneath her grief, he also felt a decade’s worth of guilt and pain begin to drain away.

  “I’ve got to go. You have earned each other. Don’t forget that.” Joaquin’s Truebond-familiar grin flashed bright, then brighter and brighter until Adam had to look away.

  When he looked back, Joaquin was gone. He felt the first sob shake Opal through the Truebond. Turning, Adam gathered her against his chest as she wept in both sadness and relief.

  Oddly, the jealousy Adam had felt was gone, and he smiled into her hair. “I wish I’d known him.”

  Opal looked up at him and smiled back, ignoring the tears rolling down her face. “It’s all right. I knew him for both of us. And he’s right -- now we have each other.”

  “God,” he whispered. “I love you.” Even as the words left his mouth, he froze, knowing just how much he meant them, even though love had betrayed him so often.

  “This time you’re safe. I love you, and I’ll never betray you.” Opal’s arms tightened around him, and she opened herself, spilling her love over him like a flood of sun-warmed honey.

  It didn’t matter how long they’d known each other, or how new their love was.

  It would grow. They would grow, together. Adam smiled into her hair and tightened his own hold. And knew he’d never let go.

  Acknowledgements

  No book that’s any good is written in a vacuum. Authors depend on critique partners, editors and beta readers to help make their work as good as it can be.

  I’m fortunate to have incredible critique partners who are always willing to help me ensure I deliver a good book into my readers’ hands.

  Eileen Gormley helped me with Finvarra’s Irish-accented dialogue so he didn’t sound like an escapee from a Lucky Charms commercial. Mindi Stewart and LaVerne Thompson offered great suggestions about what worked and what didn’t in the story.

  Then there’s the amazing Joey W. Hill. Joey gave me truly invaluable feedback about plot elements, logic issues, and emotional beats that helped me make the book much better. Her thorough, in-depth critiques have helped me learn how to make my books more intensely emotional and romantic. She’s saved me from embarrassing myself more times than I can count.

  Last but certainly not least, there’s my endlessly patient editor, Margaret Riley, who is always willing to offer encouragement and advice and help me find my way out of whatever corners I’ve written myself into.

  All these women are wonderful friends, and I count myself lucky to have them. Look up their work -- they’re terrific!

  Angela Knight

  New York Times best-selling author Angela Knight’s first book was written in pencil and illustrated in crayon; she was nine years old at the time. A few years later, she read The Wolf and the Dove and fell in love with romance. In addition to her fiction work, Angela’s publishing career includes a stint as a comic book writer and ten years as a newspaper reporter. Several of her stories have won South Carolina Press Association awards. Angela lives in South Carolina with her husband, Michael, a detective with the Spartanburg PD.

  Angela at Changeling: changelingpress.com/angela-knight-a-26