Great Hexpectations, A Paranormal Romance / Urban Fantasy (Dulcie O'Neil Series #3)

by H. P. Mallory

  “It was really something,” I said, forgetting what I was talking about.

  And at that moment, I realized what I intended to do. My needs and wants were clearer to me than they had ever been. I approached Knight, never taking my eyes from his.

  “You kept up okay,” he said in a throaty voice, which got huskier the closer I came.

  I didn’t respond but stepped up to him and looped my arms around his neck. The surprise in his face was priceless.

  “Knight, I’m not drunk or on Mandrake.”

  He chuckled deeply. “No, you aren’t.”

  “I want you to kiss me.”

  Before the last word was out of my mouth, Knight’s mouth was on mine. And his kiss was demanding, hungry, needy. I ran my hands through his hair as his tongue entered my mouth, eagerly meeting my own. I’m not sure how long we kissed, how long my hands caressed his silky hair or how long our tongues mated, but when he pulled away from me, we were both panting.

  “That was unexpected,” he said.

  There was something inside me that wasn’t satiated, something that was raring to go, and something that wouldn’t be denied. “That isn’t all I want.”

  More surprise in Knight’s eyes. “What do you want, Dulcie?” he asked and his voice sounded raspy, gravelly.

  I inhaled, asking myself the same question even though I didn’t need to. I knew what I wanted, what I’d wanted since the moment I met Knight. I knew what my body was demanding, what I needed. Him.

  “Tell me what you want,” he repeated with urgency in his tone.

  “I want you,” I said in a small voice, glancing up at him. The lust swimming in his eyes made me feel weak and wobbly in my knees, like I was going to keel over right there.

  “Where?” he insisted, grabbing hold of my wrists as he pinned me against his chest. “Where do you want me?”

  I swallowed hard, never breaking eye contact. “Inside me.”

  And those must have been the magic words because Knight said nothing more but lifted me up and took a few steps before pushing me up against a large boulder. Then his lips were on mine again and his kiss was even deeper, more passionate.

  He ground his hips against me and I could feel the obvious stirring of his excitement from between his legs.

  “Are you okay with this, Dulce?” he whispered as he trailed a line of kisses down my neck. “Because if you aren’t okay with it, we need to stop now.” He kissed me again and then pulled away, glancing down at me.

  “No, don’t stop,” I whispered and arched my back when I felt his hands plying my breasts above my shirt.

  “Tell me you’re okay with this.”

  He stared at me with the look of ravenous hunger in his eyes and his face was flushed. “I want this, Knight, I want you. I’m more than okay with it.”

  He smiled and then his lips were on mine again while his hands explored my breasts, my hair, my face, before pulling me into him.

  “You don’t know how many times I’ve thought about this, about you saying those words to me,” he said, losing his voice as he buried his face in my cleavage.

  I didn’t say anything but allowed him to loop his hands underneath my shirt and pull it up and over my shoulders, revealing my breasts as they strained against my bra which suddenly felt entirely too confining. Knight dropped my shirt on the ground and focused on my breasts, his cheeks flushed. His gaze found mine as he reached around and undid my bra, pulling the straps slowly down my arms as if he wanted to torture me. I felt the sting of the air on my nipples and didn’t have to glance down to know they were standing at attention.

  “Beautiful,” Knight said as his gaze settled on my breasts. He plied them with his hands before bending down and taking one nipple captive in his mouth, his tongue teasing. I ran my hands through his hair and dropped my head back, closing my eyes as I enjoyed the flush of excitement and anticipation building up within me.

  A moan escaped my mouth and I felt Knight break away from me. I opened my eyes and faced him in confusion.

  He was breathing hard, his chest rising and falling with the exertion. “Dulcie,” he started and then his voice seemed to trail into the distance.

  “What?”

  “This isn’t just sex for me.”

  “It isn’t just sex for…”

  “No,” he interrupted me. “You don’t understand. I, hmm…” He glanced down at the ground as if he was trying to find the right words.

  “Knight, just tell me.”

  He looked up at me again and his eyes were glowing.

  “Your eyes,” I started.

  “This may not seem like the best time to get into this but before anything more happens, we should…we need to.”

  I swallowed, not really sure where this was going but very curious all the same. “Go on.”

  Knight looked down at my breasts again and outlined my still alert nipples with the pad of his index finger. Then, before I could take another breath, he hoisted me into his arms and carried me to his bike, where he settled me on the seat.

  “To understand everything, I need to explain about my species,” he said and his voice was deep, heavy. He continued to run his fingers in large circles around each of my breasts, toying with my nipples as he did so.

  “Okay.”

  “The Loki, as you know, is a creature forged from the fire of Hades. Hades is the King of the Dark World.”

  “The Dark World?” I repeated, suddenly at a loss.

  Knight nodded. “During the creation of the Netherworld, there were various rulers—Hades was the God of the Dark World which lies deep in the center of the Netherworld and is responsible for all creatures that possess incredible strength, power and speed.”

  I was glad Knight was explaining everything to me because I’d never been to the Netherworld and all of this was completely foreign to me.

  “So, have you seen the Dark World?”

  He nodded and a chuckle escaped his lips. “Yes, you could say that. I spent my entire youth and early adulthood there, training.”

  “Training for what?”

  “The Loki is a soldier, created in Hades’ own image—large, powerful, fast and strong.”

  “Sounds like you in a nutshell.”

  He nodded. “We are the warriors of the Netherworld, Dulcie. Our mission is to protect and enforce Netherworld law.”

  I nodded. “Hence your position with the ANC?”

  “Yes,” he started and looked as if he wanted to say more but didn’t. “Technically, all Loki were to remain in the Netherworld and that’s why you never came across one of my species before.”

  “But you aren’t in the Netherworld,” I started.

  He shook his head. “That’s a story for another time,” he said quickly.

  “Okay.”

  “So going back to the creation of the Loki warriors,” he started and seemed to lose his train of thought while he watched his fingers circle my breasts. “You are so beautiful,” he said, glancing down at me.

  I smiled. “The creation of the Loki warriors?” I prodded.

  He chuckled and nodded, picking up where he left off. “As the warrior class, reproduction is a vital and complicated subject for us.” His voice trailed off and he dropped his attention to his feet and took a deep breath. “Sex with me won’t be what you’re used to.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I will want to claim you.”

  “What?” I started. “I don’t even know what that means.”

  “It means that…” he dropped his attention to my breasts again and stopped touching them. His eyes found mine and he continued. “My eyes glow, Dulcie, because my body has identified you as my mate.”

  “What?” It was all I could think to say.

  “I was surprised when it happened as well.” He took a deep breath. “I always knew I was attracted to you, well, really, that you drove me to complete insanity.” He chuckled and I just raised an unimpressed brow as he continued. “But it goes much deepe
r than that. It’s not a conscious decision. I’m wired to reproduce with a woman who can tolerate my seed, Dulcie. She must be physically strong enough.”

  “Um, no offense but I’m not interested in having kids anytime soon.” Truth be told, I wasn’t convinced I ever wanted kids. It seemed like I’d missed the line where God was handing out maternal instinct.

  He chuckled again and shook his head. “Neither am I.”

  “So why are you telling me this?”

  “So you’ll understand my biology, my genetic makeup, why I am the way I am.”

  Loki Biology 101 aside, this whole sex conversation was sort of tripping me up. “Okay, going back to this sex thing, you can’t tell me you haven’t had sex with other women before?”

  He shook his head. “Of course I’ve had sex with other women, but not at the same level that you and I would.”

  “Why? How does that work?”

  He exhaled deeply. “With other women, I’m basically infertile. I can only procreate with the…right woman.”

  I shook my head, trying to come to terms with what he was saying. “So if you and I have sex…”

  “We could protect against you getting pregnant.”

  “We could?” I demanded. “Because, like I said, I’m not ready for Loki juniors anytime soon.”

  He laughed. “And I said the same, Dulcie. Yes, human contraception works on me too.”

  This was the strangest conversation I’d had in a long time but luckily for me, I was still on the pill. Why, you might ask considering my sex life had been non-existent for the past couple of years? Because I liked having short periods. And maybe I was hopeful that my sex life would someday pick up…

  But back to the fact that Knight wasn’t farming for a wife and children…“Amen to that,” I said with a smile.

  Three

  Granted, I was interested in knowing Knight’s history—why he was the way he was and why his eyes glowed but his timing sort of sucked, for lack of a better word. I mean, I guess he had to tell me about the whole sexual bit before we got too hot and heavy and he “claimed” me without me being aware of it. And, depending on what that claiming thing meant, maybe it would have seriously freaked me out? Especially if I hadn’t been prepared for it. As it was now, I was still sort of freaked out but more in an anxious and excited sort of way. I had the feeling that sex with Knight would be like nothing I’d ever experienced before.

  “So going back to the part about you wanting to ‘claim’ me, as you called it, what the hell does that mean?” I asked, trying not to lose myself in the fact that his fingers were caressing each of my breasts. “I mean the last thing I need to deal with is you turning all caveman on me.”

  He nodded and cocked his head to the side as if to say he was contemplating my words. It wasn’t exactly the response I’d been hoping for. I’d hoped for something more along the lines of: no jealousy, no possessiveness and definitely no loincloths or clubs.

  “I might be a bit possessive and possibly jealous,” he admitted.

  “Might be?”

  He shrugged. “It’s never happened to me before. This would be a first. Who knows, maybe I’ll be just as awesome as I always am.” Then he laughed.

  I shook my head before my thoughts returned to this newest bombshell he’d dropped into my lap. Why could nothing in my life be simple? “So how do you know all this if you’ve never experienced it?”

  “I’ve talked to Loki men who have.”

  He trailed his index finger over my nipple and down the side of my breast, continuing his descent to my stomach until he reached the waist of my leather pants. Staring at me, and never taking his eyes from mine, he undid my button and unzipped my fly. I stilled his hand before he could undress me any further.

  “So we’re in unchartered territory here?” I asked in a small voice—a voice that was currently choking on the frog lodged in my throat.

  “Looks that way, yes,” he answered and moved his eyes down the line of my body to where my red lace panties peeked out from underneath my pants. “Damn,” he said, shaking his head, outlining the lace as he did so. “Could you be any sexier?”

  I didn’t know how to answer that question so said nothing; although I must admit I definitely enjoyed the fact that Knight appeared to be so into me. I mean, come on, how could I not? But, really, my focus needed to be on this subject of “claiming” me as he termed it. I needed to understand what that meant in order to make a decision as to whether or not I was okay with it. “So if we do this, what are you going to want from me?”

  “A relationship.” Knight’s answer was immediate. He didn’t even have to think about it.

  At his words, something inside me cracked and I felt warmth spreading through me. It was like Knight had just slammed a sledgehammer into the bulwark of my emotional defenses, attempting to break down the wall I’d been working so hard to erect over the past few years. But while I could definitely feel the beginnings of panic welling up from within me, there was also a feeling of pleasure, of gratitude to Knight. I didn’t want to continue living the way I had been. I wanted to experience love again. But, aside from those rosy feelings, I also didn’t want to go into anything blindly and I needed to understand what I could be getting myself into.

  “I don’t want a jealous, overbearing and possessive man on my hands.”

  He nodded. “Fair enough.”

  “If that happens, can you control it?”

  “I’d like to think so.” Then he paused for a few seconds, studying me. “Sounds like you’re okay with the relationship part?”

  I shrugged. I guess I was okay with the relationship part. I mean, it hadn’t freaked me out…that much. And I did still have that warm and fuzzy feeling…I nodded even though I was surprised by my own admission. “Yeah, I, uh, I think I could handle that.”

  Knight smiled broadly. “Wow, listen to you…willing to get back up on that steed again?”

  I started to nod but then something occurred to me. Something that probably wasn’t going to be the greatest subject to broach, but one I wanted to, no needed to, all the same. “Knight, if your body considers me to be your…mate…what if things don’t work out between us?” Just call me the cynic, I guess.

  He frowned. “Why wouldn’t things work out between us?”

  I shrugged. “I’m playing the part of devil’s advocate. What if we dated and just decided we weren’t well matched?” I paused for a few seconds. “I guess what I’m asking is…is there a way out of this mate business should we need one?”

  He studied my face for a few seconds, his expression not giving away his thoughts. “Yes, there is.”

  I smiled and felt a little uncomfortable, like maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned the negative. But then I chided myself—I was not the type of person who went into anything blindly. I needed to know where my escape routes were should I ever need them. And, apparently, in matters of the heart, I was no different.

  “It’s okay, Dulce,” Knight said with a smile.

  “Okay?”

  “It’s just who you are.” I realized he was talking about the fact that I was considering this subject from all possible angles. “And because you weigh the pros with the cons, you’re great at your job as a Regulator.” His smiled broadened. “And it’s also one of the reasons I like you so much.”

  Maybe it was the way he said it, maybe it was the words themselves, but his comment flipped a switch in me—it flipped me into the position of extremely turned on. I didn’t respond but clutched the back of his neck and forced my mouth on his, wanting nothing more than to feel his tongue lapping at mine.

  A few minutes later, he pulled away and merely gazed down at me as he ran his fingers through my hair, pushing an errant tendril back behind my ear. “Does this mean you’ve made a decision?” he asked.

  I thought about it. The pros: I liked Knight…a lot. I wanted him and I always had. And somewhere inside me I knew we’d be good together. I trusted him. The cons: Maybe he’
d be jealous and possessive but, then again, maybe he wouldn’t.

  The pros definitely outweighed the cons.

  I nodded as I glanced up at him. “Yes, I’ve made my decision.”

  Knight’s hands continued palpating my breasts as he spread my legs, pushing himself into the V of my thighs. “And?”

  “I want to be with you, Knight,” I said in a wispy, breathless voice.

  He didn’t say anything but his smile spoke volumes. He glanced down at his body which was still wedged between my legs and began grinding against me, teasing me mercilessly.

  “Is that all you’ve got?” I asked, feeling bliss as it spread from my core through my entire body. Holy Hades, did I want him.

  He chuckled and shook his head and, before I could take another breath, he lifted me from the Ducati and carried me a few paces before gently placing me on the ground. He took off his jacket and laid it out like it was a picnic blanket right beside me, making me laugh. I mean, why settle for an impromptu leather jacket-blanket since I was a fairy and had a little something called magic? I balled my left hand into a fist and shook it a few times until the tell-tale signs of fairy dust began slipping out from the cracks. Then I closed my eyes, imagined a large, thick blanket and released my magic, which spilled like glitter against the dirt, only to immediately create the exact blanket I’d just visualized.

  “Impressive,” Knight said with a smile.

  I didn’t respond but allowed him to lift me and place me on top of the blanket, as he pulled my pants down the swells of my thighs and let them fall around my ankles. He pushed on my shoulders as if to say he wanted me in a reclining position so I acquiesced, sitting down and stretching my legs out before me. He never took his eyes from mine as he leaned over me, his fingers finding my panties again. He started rubbing me up and down above the lace. I arched back and closed my eyes, wanting nothing more than to focus on the strength of his fingers as they massaged me. He slipped my panties to the side and then his finger was on me, rubbing me back and forth as I bucked beneath him.

  “There now,” he said with a raspy voice.

  “Give me more,” I whispered.

  He chuckled. “What was that, Dulce, I couldn’t quite hear you?”