by Jaci Burton
She turned her head, her eyes open and focused on his face.
“Do you like that?”
“Yes.”
“There?”
“Oh, yes.”
He’d never been this intimate with a woman before-never looked into her eyes as he brought her to the edge, or asked her how something felt. Hell, if he were honest with himself, he’d never cared before. Yeah, he got a woman there-he at least gave it that much effort-but before it had been about the pure physical satisfaction of sex.
Now he wanted Angie to feel this-really feel this. To know that it was him giving her this pleasure. And the selfish part of him wanted it to be better for her than it had ever been with any other man.
The room was filled with the sounds and scent of her, the heady aroma of her desire, the feel of her undulating beneath his questing hand and fingers. It was a unique experience, and he was drunk with the pleasure of it. All he wanted to do was touch her, taste her, and make her fully his.
But first, he wanted to make her come.
He slid his thumb over the swollen nub at her center, using soft, coaxing movements to draw her closer to the edge. When she tensed, then cried out, he held her, watching her face as she climaxed.
“Ryder.” His name left her lips in a long, slow shudder. She kept her eyes open, her gaze directed at him. She gave it all to him and he’d never seen anything more beautiful than his woman coming apart for him.
He’d never felt closer to a woman before. But he wanted even more. When her trembling died down, he drew her panties off, then spread her legs, mesmerized by her utter softness, the way she glistened as she opened up to him. He drew her tank top up, dragging it over her ribs, then her breasts, revealing a matching black lacy bra. He unhooked the clasp in the center and freed her breasts.
“You’re staring.”
He slid his gaze to her face, then quirked his lips. “Yeah. You’re beautiful.”
A pink blush stained her cheeks and chest. “Thank you. So are you.” She held out her arms to him, but he took her wrists and placed them at her sides.
“Let me.”
She let out a soft, rippling sigh.
Resuming his visual feast, he focused on the plump peaches of her breasts, centered by ripe, pink nipples. They were hard, tight points peaking upward toward his waiting mouth.
Did she have any idea what just the sight of her did to him? He was tied up in knots, aching to be a part of her.
“Ryder.”
“Yeah.”
“What are you waiting for?”
“I’m just lookin’ at you, babe.”
“I can see that. You know, one of the things I love most about you is your intensity, the way you throw yourself into everything you do with full force.”
He shook his head. “Not this time.” Dammit, couldn’t she see how much he was trying to hold back for her?
“Just love me.”
He sat back on his heels, cocked his head to the side, and said, “I do love you.”
He’d never seen a more serene smile. Her eyes glistened with tears. She tilted up, reached for his face, and pulled him down on top of her. “I love you, too. Now make love to me. Hard. Passionately. Be yourself and give me all of you.”
“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t have to be told twice.
Suddenly his clothes were a hindrance. He had to pull away from her long enough to get rid of them, while she removed her tank top and bra. When they were both naked, skin to skin, he slid on top of her, savoring the feel of the length of his body along hers. But he couldn’t appreciate it for long, because the driving need to be inside her had taken over, and with one push he seated himself fully, feeling her pulse and tighten around him.
He shuddered in his next breath as he drove in harder, deeper, wanting to push himself fully inside her. She surrounded him with wet heat, her hands moving skillfully over his back with soft, gentle movements.
She was killing him from the inside out, looking up at him with liquid pools of green and gold eyes, completely open to him. He dug his fingers into her hair and pulled her face to his, kissing her as deeply as he moved within her.
It was like a fierce battle, an internal war waged with the dark side of him and this newly found emotional side that was new and raw. One he hadn’t yet come to grips with. Part of him wanted to hold back, to do what he normally did and just go for the physical. The other side of him dove into Angie with everything he had, merging with the old Ryder. It only served to intensify his passion.
He was losing his mind, his grip on sanity, and at the core of everything he used to be and all he was about to become was Angelique. She drove him, writhing underneath him, both sweet and yet demanding him to give her all that he had.
And he was scared to death he was going to hurt her.
“Don’t stop,” she breathed against his mouth, taking his bottom lip between her teeth and tugging even as she raised her hips to take more of him. “Please, don’t stop.”
She knew. Somehow, she sensed his hesitation, this conflict of darkness and light within him, and she realized he wanted to back away from the animal need spiraling up and threatening to rear its ugly head and tear her apart.
But he couldn’t stop it now. She’d given him the green light and he was going to go for it. He grabbed hold of her hair with one hand, jerking her head back so the creamy column of her throat was open to him. He licked his way along her neck, feeling her shudder underneath him, feeling her walls clench around his cock, which only served to drive him even more into the darkness.
He slid the other hand underneath her, gripping her buttocks and drawing her closer so he could rock inside her, against her. She splintered, crying out as she climaxed, her body trembling, racking with spasms both inside and out.
Now he couldn’t hold back. He dug his fingers into her and buried his face in her neck as he came apart, pouring himself into her, growling out her name against her skin.
Sweating, it seemed hours before oblivion became reality again, though he was sure it was only a few minutes. Angelique lay limp underneath him, her own breathing erratic.
He lifted his head to scan her face. She looked at him and her lips curled.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah.” She swept his hair off his forehead.
He rolled to the side and pulled her with him so they faced each other. “You do strange things to me.”
“Strange good or strange bad?”
“A little of both, I think. I don’t know what I’m doing when I’m in bed with you.”
She arched a brow. “Seemed to me you knew exactly what you were doing.”
He laughed. “Not what I meant. I just. . lose it with you.”
Her soft little hum made his dick quiver. “That’s not a bad thing. I like you losing it. I like losing it with you. I’ve never abandoned myself so freely with anyone before you.”
“Good to know.”
She pressed her lips to his. “It’s not a crime to lose control, Ryder.”
“I’m just not used to it.”
“I understand. You still worry about who you are, what you might do.”
He didn’t answer. But she was right.
“You’ll never hurt me. I’ve known that for as long as I’ve known you.”
“How did you know that?”
She shrugged. “Instinct. A woman knows who to be wary of.”
“Didn’t work so well for your mother.” He bit back an oath as soon as he’d said it, wishing he wasn’t such an insensitive bastard. Then again, he was who he was and Angie would have to learn to deal with that if she was going to be with him.
“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m an ass.”
A shadow crossed her face, and she nodded. “Yes, you are. But you always say what’s on your mind, and I love that about you. Don’t worry about hurting my feelings. I want to know what you’re thinking.” She smiled again. “Besides, I’m not my mother. And you
’re not a demon in disguise.”
If only he could be sure of that. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve carried plenty of demons inside me over the years.”
She laid her palm on his cheek. “It’s not the same thing. I know you, inside and out. I know what you’re capable of. Yes, you have violence in your past, and it’s part of who you are. But you’ll never hurt me. Not the way your father hurt your mother, the way he hurt you.”
He took her palm and kissed it. “I love you.”
She breathed deeply, then her face went serious. “Then take me to my sister.”
“I can’t. It’s not safe for you.”
“So everyone keeps telling me.” She pushed away from him and sat up. “Don’t you understand that I can help her? I can find her. I can find the black diamond. I might be the only one who can. I’ll bet you and I are the only ones.”
Curious, Ryder propped himself up on one elbow. “Why do you say that?”
“Can’t you sense it?”
“Sense what?”
“The black diamond. It’s like we’re a part of it.”
He’d been so busy dealing with Angie, he wasn’t sensing anything. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”
She crossed her legs and faced him, taking his hands in hers. “Tap into your feelings. You touched the black diamond back at the caves in Australia, just like I did. It somehow. . links us to it. I know it does. We have a connection with it. As soon as it came back to life, I felt it.”
“Sorry, darlin’, but I’ve got nothing.”
“You’re not trying hard enough. Think about the black diamond. Visualize it. I know you can feel it, just like I can.”
She pulled at his hands until he sat up and faced her. “Okay, I’ll give it a try.”
“Focus on how it felt when you touched it back at the caves. Remember how alive it was?”
He did remember that. “It glowed. Almost like it had a living pulse inside it.”
Her eyes lit up. “Yes! That’s it exactly. And now the diamond is alive again. And it’s calling to us.”
Ryder thought about the diamond, tried to visualize its whereabouts, tried to connect with it, and came up empty. He shook his head. “Sorry, babe, I’ve got nothing but a void here.”
“Dammit. I can feel it. Why can’t you?”
He knew why. “You’re half demon, Angie. You’re connected to the Sons of Darkness, and so is the black diamond. That’s why you’re getting signals from it.”
She blinked, then nodded. “That would make sense.”
He studied her expression, looking for signs of upset. But she only seemed to be analyzing. “Are you okay?”
“Yes. I’m fine. I’m just trying to figure this out. So maybe I am of use to the Sons of Darkness after all.”
“Which is what I’ve been trying to tell you. That’s why you couldn’t go on the expedition to find your sister. The Sons of Darkness want you back.”
“Which is why we should go there. It’ll give them something to concentrate on other than the hunters. They’ll want me, they want to keep Isabelle, they want to protect the black diamond. Trying to get to me, keep her, and protect the diamond forces them to divvy up their concentration so they can’t focus on one thing alone.”
What she said made sense. It was logical. And it was damn hard to argue with logic.
“Besides, I can find Izzy.”
“How?”
“I have a connection to my sister, one I’ve never felt as strongly as I did when I was stuck in that room. It was like the instant she put her hands on the black diamond, I knew it.”
He saw the stress in her face, the worry.
“She’s gone dark, Ryder.” She laid her hand on her stomach. “It sickens me to feel the evil swirling around inside her. I have to help her.”
“Damn,” Ryder said, lowering his head.
“It’s not your fault. I knew this would happen. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have run with the black diamond back in Australia. I screwed it up from the very beginning. I thought I was protecting her, and all I did was put her in a position to be taken, and the diamond along with her.”
“It’s no one’s fault,” Ryder said. “Placing blame isn’t going to get her back. And nothing is set in stone. You’ve taught me that. Everything can be changed.”
She smiled at him. “True enough.”
“So first we have to find her and the black diamond, and ensure its destruction.”
“I can find Izzy. I’m. . hooked into her right now, experiencing these weird sensations attributed to her. But I know it’s her, and I know I can find her.”
Ryder knew he was going to get his ass skewered over this, but sometimes the right decision wasn’t always. . the right choice.
“Get dressed. Let’s move.”
She leaped across the bed and threw her arms around his neck, planting a long kiss on his lips. When she pulled back, she said, “Thank you for believing in me.”
She had believed in him when he hadn’t believed in himself. He owed her. “You’ve got ten minutes.”
She leaped off the bed and threw open the door, her feet pounding down the hall. “I’ll be ready.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
They had set up inside the church, the safest place until they figured out where they were going, since Lou ascertained there would be no way the demons would step inside the sanctity of the church itself. For some reason, either the grounds weren’t considered holy or the demons had managed to make that area their own, but the church itself? There were several ancient holy artifacts in there, so the demons weren’t going to go inside. They’d never last long enough to launch a decent attack inside.
After Michael explained the situation, an appalled Father Vintaldi told the hunters the entire grounds were theirs. They could dig everything up except the cemetery if they wanted to, he’d told them.
Dalton felt bad for the old priest. Father Vintaldi said he felt responsible for the demons taking Angelique. Like he should have known they were there, that the demons would take her.
Dalton knew the feeling. He of all people should have seen this coming, should have kept closer watch over Isabelle, especially. That had been his duty. He’d been responsible for her, and he’d failed.
He knew what had gone wrong. He’d let his attraction to Isabelle mesmerize him. He’d forgotten what he was supposed to do. He’d lost sight of the objective and he’d let emotion cloud his judgment. And because of that, the Sons of Darkness had taken her.
He should have stayed behind with Isabelle at the chapel that day. The Realm staff weren’t hunters. There was no way they could have determined what was going on with Isabelle. They didn’t know her history. If he’d been in the chapel with her, he’d have known. Instead, he’d let guilt send him away from her when he should have been at her side guarding her.
He knew all about the lure of temptation, how easy it was to slip into darkness. They seduced her while she was weak and helpless, and she’d fallen.
He could have stopped her. He had the strength and power to do it.
There were things he knew, something he was, that even Lou didn’t know. There were some things he couldn’t talk about with anyone. That’s just the way it was and always had been, and he’d lived with his secrets for a long time. But it didn’t mean he couldn’t have used his knowledge to prevent the train wreck that had occurred.
He hadn’t used his head, because he’d been blinded by his dick. And guilt.
Really stupid move. No wonder he’d stayed celibate for so damn long. It had kept his focus on demon hunting, where it should have been. At least until he’d met Isabelle. Then he’d let his libido run wild.
That wasn’t going to happen again.
He was going to get her back. The Sons of Darkness weren’t going to have her, weren’t going to be allowed to assimilate her into their den of shadows and evil. Isabelle had too much light inside her.
She belongs with you.
He shook off the thought as soon as it entered his mind.
She didn’t belong with him. No one belonged with him. That was the mistake he’d made, and he wouldn’t make it again. He’d do whatever it took to right that error.
The sooner the better.
They were set up in a small room off the main chapel. Lou had his laptop open and was scanning the area for hot spots, places where demons could pop up from underground.