The Darkest King

by Gena Showalter

  Mmm, yes. So good. He needed more, wanted everything. Can’t get enough. He licked a fiery path to her breasts and sucked on a beaded nipple. Her kiss-dampened areola darkened like his favorite sweet treat.

  He inserted another finger, then another, her sizzling core stretching to accommodate the larger digits. He thrust them in, pulled them out. In, out. In, out.

  “Tell Dr. Willy your most secret fantasies.” His every panting breath scraped his chest raw, his voice gravelly.

  “Should have...read my...diary.” Lost in pleasure, she babbled, “My panties. Take them off. Please!”

  “Not yet, sundae.” The second he got them off, he’d be balls-deep inside her.

  As she gyrated and tugged on his hair, a passion-fever flushed her glittery skin. Enchanted, he worked his way down. After hooking one of her legs over his shoulder to keep her open and vulnerable, he dabbled at her navel while teasing her clit, circling it with his thumb, slowly closing in...

  Again, she thrashed against him. The sight of her. The sweetness. The heat and wetness. The sounds she made in the throes. Want more. Desire clawed at him, but only when she shouted incoherently, nearly out of her mind with pleasure, did he kiss his way down her belly, nuzzle her inner thigh and lick the outer edge of her panties, edging her closer and closer to an orgasm. So close, almost there...

  Finally he nudged her panties aside to tongue her clitoris, tasting her feminine honey. His eyes rolled back. Like a drug.

  With the next lick, she stiffened and came with a scream. “Yes! Yes!”

  Her body had been made for sex. For him. Her rough cries thrilled him; her taste intoxicated him. Still want more.

  He returned his fingers to her sheath and flicked his tongue against her clit. Shit! The orgasm had made her sweeter.

  Want this every day. Every night.

  “You made me come. You made me come and it was so much better than I hoped,” she rasped, eyes gleaming with awe. “Do it again!”

  Yes. William sucked on her clit, frenzied, fingering her harder, faster, quickly propelling her over the edge a second time. Her inner walls contracted with more force, he marveled. I did this. Me.

  As she came down from her high, her shivers subsided and she sagged against the mattress, but the pulse at the base of her neck continued to thump. He wanted to roar with triumph. Finally, she stretched with languid satisfaction and heaved a heavy breath.

  He watched it all, enthralled, his shaft throbbing. Beads of pre-come moistened the slit as he jolted to his knees.

  “That was amazing,” she breathed. “I want to spend the next thousand hours dissecting every sensation.”

  His every inhalation scraped his chest raw, his breaths like daggers. “Oh, we will discuss this.” He would hear all the ways he’d pleased her. She would admit he’d claimed her—owned her. “But first...”

  Sunny met his gaze, a slow smile lifting the corners of her mouth. “But first, it’s your turn.”

  20

  “Desire can be powerful, but fickle, especially after a man nuts up.”

  Amazing what a sense of safety can do.

  Remove a possible horn amputation from the equation and boom, Sunny had no resistance to William. He’d given her the most sublime pleasure of her life, and she luxuriated, her body boneless, her mind at total peace.

  Was this truly her life now? Beds scattered with rose petals. A once-fake boyfriend with the potential to become the real thing, who had a wicked tongue and an earth-shattering touch. Bliss. Connection, companionship, communion. Excitement.

  Give this up? Never!

  The fact that she’d orgasmed with another person, experiencing rapture like she’d never known, all without the relentless drive of mating season...it was huge! Now? I’m addicted.

  The man had remade her. From unicorn-shifter to sex goddess. Hadn’t known what I’d been missing.

  But with pleasure came complications. Never had she felt more vulnerable. Never had she felt such tenderness for a man. Or anyone! Instinct demanded she walk—run—from William before she got hurt.

  Understandable. From birth till this moment, she’d only ever been able to rely on herself. As their connection strengthened, and it would if they kept doing this, William would gain power over her. The power to build her up or tear her down. If ever he turned to another...

  He won’t! While he’d had his fingers buried inside her, he’d pushed her to admit she cared about him. Something completely out of character that made her think he’d come to care for her. Her heart raced at the possibility.

  Had he? She gazed up at his beautiful face, not daring to hope. His flushed skin glistened with sweat, his lips red and puffy from their kisses. But his eyes...they were heavy lidded, his irises shockingly ferocious. In their depths, she saw staggering need, heat, hunger and aggression. Obsession.

  Awe. As if she’d given him something no one else ever had. But what?

  Never had a male looked at her in such a way—never had her life been so full of promise. Maybe he does care for me.

  With a voice as shiver-inducing as his expression, he asked, “Did I put my sundae in a coma of bliss? Or are we role-playing Sleeping Beauty?”

  Freesia! How could anyone be so deliciously playful and menacing at the same time?

  And he wasn’t even done. “Do you need another kiss right here?” He pressed the pad of his thumb against her sensitive clit, making her hips jerk.

  Though she’d climaxed mere seconds ago—twice!—arousal surged anew, her body preparing for another sexual onslaught.

  “Who says I’m Sleeping Beauty in this fantasy?” Using a combat move she’d learned when training to take down poachers, Sunny wrapped her legs around William’s waist, hooked her ankles and cupped the back of his neck, then heaved his body under her own.

  As he bounced on the mattress, rose petals clung to his skin and he laughed. But his amusement didn’t last long, his hunger too great.

  With a keening moan, she straddled him. Cool air kissed her aching nipples, delicious warmth pooling between her legs.

  When he bent his knees, his body cradling hers, she rubbed her soaking wet panties over his shaft and traced a finger around both of his nipples. Small, brown and rock hard. Lightning forked over his skin, crackling just below the surface.

  A true bounty of masculine delights lay beneath her, his massive shaft pulsing between them. Where to begin? What to do?

  Why not live a fantasy and do something she’d always wanted to try?

  “Settle in, get comfortable,” she told him, nipping his chin. “I have plans for you.”

  He reached up to cup her jawline. “You give good plan, do you?”

  “The best...probably. We’ll find out together.”

  Muscles flexed in his abdomen. “You’ve never done this before?”

  “Never trusted anyone enough.” How would her inexperience with this act compare to the experts he usually bedded? Dread attempted a coup, but she cut it off at the knees.

  Intrigue consumed his expression. Voice like gravel once again, he said, “Fair warning, beauty. This will be the equivalent of taking your driver’s test in a Mack truck. But I want you to love it, so I’ll pretend to be a gentleman for once in my life and do a courtesy pull-out.” At a lower volume, he added, “Hopefully I survive.”

  What the hellebore! First, the new endearment got a five-star review. Second... “You’ll take away my reward for a job well done?” She pouted.

  He performed one of those patented “you just turned my world upside down” blinks, and she knew she’d delighted him. “You talked me into it.” He interlocked his hands behind his head, all you may service me, wench. “I swear I’ll give you every drop of your reward. Because I’m a giver.”

  He was the living embodiment of carnality. Aching for him, she kissed, licked and nipped her way
down his torso, while her hands explored the many planes and ridges of his body. The farther south she traveled, the more he growled. One of his hands ventured into her hair, fisting the strands; the other gripped the headboard behind him.

  When Sunny reached the object of her desire, she licked her lips. The man was hung. Mack truck? Try Mack plane.

  While his ego didn’t need a boost, she couldn’t not praise the beast before her. “If ever you want to send me an unsolicited dickpic, I won’t mind,” she admitted, earning a chuckle. “And, yes, I can say dickpix. My magic filter considers it nonsense.”

  His chuckle morphed into a groan as she wrapped her fingers around the base of his erection. Hot as fire, hard as steel, soft as silk.

  “You will tease me no longer,” he told her quietly, fiercely. “Need this. Need you.”

  He must be coming to care for me.

  Sunny bent her head, breath puffing over his crown. As he issued a hoarse bellow, she sucked his length deep. So deep her gag reflex kicked in. Did she stop? No way! She did it again, and again. Because she couldn’t fit the whole thing in her mouth, she had to use her hand, too, stroking and sucking, sucking and stroking, tasting the intoxicating evidence of his desire.

  A string of dark curses left him. Then he snarled, “You want my pleasure to explode from me, don’t you, beauty?”

  “Not yet!” Not ready for this to end. She slowed her pace and eased her suction. Up, down. Up, down.

  “Sundae.” His harsh tone rendered her nickname an F-bomb. “Faster! Harder! I’ll give you my come.”

  Uuuuuup. Dooooown. Never want this to end. Once again she slowed, easing her grip. Once again he cursed.

  I did this. Me. Revved him up and made him crazed. Feminine power went straight to her head, making her crazed, until she felt like she hadn’t had an orgasm mere minutes ago. She ached. She craved. With her free hand, she cupped his testicles; another, darker curse left him. This time, he released her hair, jolted upright and gripped one of her ankles.

  “My beauty likes to tease? Very well.” A few tugs, and he maneuvered her lower half alongside his upper half, then pushed her panties aside and slowly, languidly feasted on her needy core.

  Sage! Freesia! Pleasure shot through her, an exquisite torment. He leisurely flicked his tongue against her clitoris, and she moaned. Her heart raced, and her blood burned.

  Hoping he would increase his pace if she did the same, she sucked his erection faster and harder, just as he’d requested. Anything for another climax!

  Faster.

  Harder.

  He did! He matched her pace. Pressure built, her nerve endings buzzing, her skin stretching taut. When he slid one, two fingers inside her and scissored them—

  Oh. Oh! Any moment, she would—

  A third orgasm ripped through her, and Sunny screamed around William’s shaft. As her inner walls clenched, he hurled over the edge as well, lifting his pelvis. His muscles tensed, his orgasm jetting down her throat, one hot lash after another.

  She happily swallowed every drop.

  Heart still racing, she sagged into the mattress, more trembly than before. More satisfied and vulnerable, too. Maybe...maybe this had been a mistake?

  Thankfully, William had enough strength to pick her up and snuggle her into his side. They lay like that for several minutes, their breaths calming.

  “You loved it,” he said with a toothy grin.

  Mistake or not, she couldn’t resist this playful side of him. “I did. Learning to drive a Mack truck is fun.” Shockingly enough, this part—being sated, holding on to each other, sharing breaths, communing—was even more so. Which made it more frightening the vulnerabilities.

  For the first time, she’d truly trusted a man with her body and let go, experiencing every nuance of sensation. What if she trusted him with her future, as well?

  Maybe, maybe not. This was new to both of them. His first relationship, and her first orgasm with another. Could they sustain this long-term?

  Wanting to cling but knowing she’d shouldn’t—for him, for her—Sunny climbed out of bed the moment she regained a modicum of strength. She had a job to do, after all. Now, more than ever, she wanted, needed, to break his curse. And she would. Nothing and no one would stop her.

  21

  “I don’t hang around the bank after I make a deposit. Why hang around a woman afterward?”

  Willian stiffened and barked, “Where the hell do you think you’re going?”

  “To the desk.” Lest his masculine beauty draw her back to bed, Sunny kept her back to him as she bent down to pick up the clothes she’d dropped during his shower. “It’s time to work on your book.”

  “No way. We’re not done afterglowing.” He flashed behind her and clasped her by the waist, then flashed her back to bed.

  He manhandled her both gently and nongently, fitting her body against his as the medallion bounced between them.

  She tried to don a stern expression but failed, a smile blooming. So, she tried for a stern tone. “What makes you think I’m interested in afterglowing?” Nope. Another failure.

  I would commit a thousand crimes to afterglow with this male. She’d never gotten to do it before.

  “For starters, I’m kind of a genius.”

  “Kind of?” She quirked a brow. “That’s like me being almost pregnant.”

  He linked their fingers. Handholding—another first! With his free hand, he traced the medallion. “My superpower is looking at a woman, any woman, and knowing what she wants and needs.”

  “Let me guess. The answer is always a heaping helping of the Panty Melter.” Sunny lightly pinched his nipple, ensuring she had his full attention. “Is that what I need right now? More of you?” Or all of you.

  Whoa. All? As in everything...forever? She gulped. Would William ever give his all to a woman?

  Before, she would have said no way, no way. Now? Maybe. Something significant had changed between them. There was an ease to their interactions now, a deeper intimacy and a hotter sizzle.

  “My sundae already had what she wanted. A tongue-lashing.” He ran her earlobe between his teeth. “It’s my turn to—”

  “No way! You had your turn, just like me.”

  “And I want information,” he continued. “Why do you wear this medallion, but not the other?”

  A topic guaranteed to ruin the mood. Any detail she provided could inadvertently reveal details she wasn’t ready for him to know. “This one was given—” No, wrong word choice. “It came from my mother.” Better. “The other did not.”

  He studied the medallion a little longer before moving on and cupping her breast. “What do you do for fun? Besides hunt and kill evil beings, I mean.”

  A breathy moan escaped. “I plan new ways to hunt and kill evil beings. Sometimes I’ll have Sable at my side. She—” Sage! Well, the unicorn was out of the bag now. Might as well tell William the rest. “When Lucifer destroyed my village, there were six survivors. We split up, thinking we’d have an easier time blending with other species. If we need another unicorn for any reason, we send a magical SOS. Something I did before the conference. Sable responded and accompanied me. She was supposed to be in the hotel room, awaiting us. Either she spotted a poacher and ran, or she got nabbed. I’m telling myself she’s just on the run.”

  He thought for a moment. “I think you’re right. When my men killed the poachers and collectors, they set any captives free, but not before taking pictures. I went over every image and there wasn’t a unicorn.”

  “Well, we still have the remaining five percent.”

  “Nope. They couldn’t find half of five percent because the poachers and collectors were already dead. The remaining two and a half percent have since been beheaded. I’m texted updates.”

  Wait a sec. Every immortal who’d ever hunted her was now dead and gone? Just
like that? She’d been on the run for centuries, and William had taken care of the problem in a matter of days?

  Sunny marveled. This man... Even more powerful than I realized. “Did you release the other cryptanalysts?”

  “I did. Early this morning, just as promised.”

  Her heart soared. “What else would you like to know, baby?” If they were going to stay together—how long, how long?—she needed to trust him with more than her body. “Oh, and in case you didn’t know, this is a tit-for-tat situation. Whatever you ask me, I get to ask you.”

  “Fair enough.” His warm breath fanned her hair, tickling her scalp. “Tell me everything. No detail is too small.”

  The fact that he wished to know everything about her was the cherry on top of her sundae. They’d started something true and meaningful, hadn’t they?

  “What do you know about unicorn society?” she asked.

  “Not much.” He walked his fingers along the ridges of her spine, sending ripples of white-hot pleasure along her nerve endings. “I know you do better with a pack.”

  “That’s true.” Oh, how she missed her pack. Although, lying in the comfort of William’s arm, she felt as if she belonged for the first time in...ever. A heady feeling. One she never wanted to lose. “Herds are like cities—there are a lot of them. Packs are like neighborhoods within those cities. The more members, the stronger their magic. Kings are like presidents, and princes like governors. Every year, herds came together for the Festival of Exchange. Females who reached the age of consent were traded to prevent interherd breeding. I was the daughter of the king’s best warlord, so on the day of my birth, I was betrothed to the three-year-old Prince Blaze. I was sixteen when we wed. I don’t know why, but I expected Blaze to stop using our pack as his personal harem. He didn’t.”

  The more she spoke, the tenser William became, and she didn’t have to wonder why. He’d once used the world as his personal harem and helped wreck countless marriages. But he and Blaze had differences, too. William’s temper was far more violent, yet his nature was so much kinder. He didn’t lie. He did make her laugh, something Blaze had never done.