Falling Blind: The Sentinel Wars

by Shannon K. Butcher

  One of her shoes tumbled down the steps. The other hit the bedroom door as she kicked it off. By the time she reached the bed, her jeans were open and on their way down her thighs.

  Cain grabbed her waist from behind. His hands were hot on her skin, his fingers clenching as he pulled her back against his body. The hard ridge of his erection pulsed against her bare skin, making her groan with need. He pinned her in place with an arm across her hips while his hand slid over her belly, her ribs, and finally he cupped her breast. She looked down, enthralled by the sight of his huge hand covering her. As she watched, he slid his fingers over her skin until just the bare tips were stroking and plucking at her nipple.

  A jolt of pleasure arced from his fingers to her center. She felt a rush of heat between her thighs, felt herself grow wet.

  Cain’s chest vibrated with a low growl of approval. His cock jerked toward her, throbbing in time with his heart.

  Her thighs were trapped together by her jeans. Cain slipped a single finger along her slick folds, barely brushing her clit as he gently pinched her nipple.

  A wash of tingling electric sensations shot through her, bouncing around along her insides until she was sure she had to be glowing from within. Her head was too heavy to support. She let it fall back against his shoulder, simply enjoying the way he learned her body.

  His lips found her throat. He kissed her, his mouth hot and open, his tongue swirling over her skin in a way that made her shiver in reaction.

  Rory wanted to touch him, too, so she reached back and gripped his head in her hands. It wasn’t enough. She needed to kiss him, too, and watch his face so she could learn how to please him the way he pleased her.

  She found the strength to turn in his grasp, nearly falling over as her jeans tripped her up. The bed was right behind her now, so she sat down to get rid of the offending garment, only to be completely waylaid by the sight of his glorious cock thrusting out at her.

  Her mouth watered. She reached for him, gripping him in both hands. Hot, velvet skin sucked her in, tempting her beyond reason. His scent curled around her, making her dizzy. She closed her eyes and took the tip of his erection in her mouth.

  His body clenched and he let out a hiss of pleasure. His taste went to her head. She needed more—all he had to give.

  Cain’s fingers cradled her head. Rory felt his self-control tremble through him, saw his abdomen clench as his fingers tightened against her scalp. He was close to losing control. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but the idea gave her a heady rush of power, and a naughty little jolt of satisfaction.

  She wanted to make him go wild—to drive him out of his mind with pleasure. Before she could, her mind blazed with a vivid image of her laid out on the bed, her body completely open as he worked the tip of his thick cock inside of her. The sight was so erotic, so compelling, she trembled with need.

  Cain had done that to her. She felt his presence hovering in her mind, gauging her pleasure, feeding her his. She wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but there was no room in her head to study the technique right now. Thought was beyond her. Only feelings were strong enough to make it through the lust-filled maze of her mind.

  He lifted her away from his body and laid her back on the bed. His dark green gaze dared her to fight him—to stop him from taking what he wanted.

  He pulled her jeans off her legs, and gripped her ankles in his hands as he came over her. His wide body blocked out the sight of everything else. He’d shed his robe, leaving himself gloriously naked. She drank in the sight of smooth skin layered over dense muscles. The tree along his chest swayed, its branches now fuzzy and green with new leaves. The roots of the tree spread down toward his groin and over his left hip.

  Before their time was over, she was going to trace every one of those roots and branches with her tongue.

  Cain kissed her calf, the inside of her knee, spreading her legs wide as he eased his body between them. The hot trail left by his tongue cooled as he worked his way toward her pussy. Every inch of her skin tingled in anticipation as his mouth settled over her, kissing her.

  She arched off the bed, making a desperate, mewling sound she never would have thought herself capable of making. It vibrated with pleasure and need, stringing her tighter as Cain simply did as he pleased. He made her feel what he wanted her to feel, sucking and licking until she was no longer in control of her own reactions.

  A tiny spark of heat leapt from his tongue, and Rory’s whole world went up in a blinding flash of light and sensation. The climax exploded from her core, shoving the air from her lungs and all rational thought from her mind. She was suspended in a wave of pleasure, held in place by Cain’s strong hands.

  As the cataclysm eased, as she struggled to catch her breath, Cain began working a single finger into her body. As sensitive as she was, as slick as she was, the penetration was nearly too much to stand. She tilted his head up to get his attention so she could tell him to slow down, but the look on his face made the words dry up and blow away.

  His skin was dark with lust. Sweat lined his brow. His mouth was wet. Determination ruled his features.

  “Too much,” she managed to get out between gasps for air.

  “If you can’t take my fingers, you’ll never be able to take my cock. You do want that, don’t you?”

  Oh, yeah. She’d never wanted anything more in her life. Thankfully, she didn’t have to say the words. He seemed to understand her silence.

  Cain gave her a dark grin. “Good. Now lie back and relax.”

  Relaxing was out of the question, but his finger moved inside of her, sliding deeper, and she no longer needed a breather. A trickle of desire flowed into her, sharpening her own until it clawed at her for more.

  He’d done that to her—fed her some of his lust—and she was right back to where she’d been a few minutes ago, clamoring with the need to come.

  Rory watched as his dark head lowered once more and his mouth worked magic between her thighs. As he eased a second finger inside of her, the stinging stretch pulled her tighter. All it took was one gentle suckling kiss against her clit and she flew to pieces.

  The force of her orgasm left her blind, but she couldn’t find the space to care. Tears slid along her temples, and her voice shimmered in a breathy scream she couldn’t keep contained. As each searing wave slammed into her, Cain pushed her higher, using his lips and tongue and fingers to draw out her pleasure until she was boneless and limp.

  His satisfaction pulsed through their link. Even as wrung out as she was, his own sharp need still had the power to make her need more, demand more.

  Her pussy was still fluttering from her orgasm when she felt the blunt tip of his cock press against her opening.

  She opened her eyes, and saw his body blocking out all else. There was the faintest hint of apology in his eyes—something she didn’t understand. Instinctively, she went searching for the explanation.

  As she glided through their link, she hit a wall of lust so hot and jagged, she was sure it would tear her apart. Instantly, the edges blunted, as he shielded her from his raging need, but it was too late for that. His need was hers now, and her body responded with an answering rush of arousal.

  New, prickling sensations spread out over her skin as her body stretched to accept him. It was too much, and yet not enough. She wasn’t sure she’d ever get enough of a man like him.

  Before that thought could douse her enjoyment, she shoved it away and pulled him closer.

  The damp heat of his skin against hers sang through her. The feel of his muscles shifting, vibrating as he restrained himself, struck some kind of chord deep inside. As much as he wanted her—as much as he was dying to bury himself within her body—he still held back, moving slow and careful so he wouldn’t hurt her.

  As wet as she was, she didn’t think that was going to happen. Her body was clamoring to be filled, eager to feel every inch of him buried within her. Nothing he’d done had caused her pain. Her only discomfort came from feelin
g how desperately he fought himself.

  Rory wanted him to enjoy this as much as she did.

  With that thought in mind, she yanked a surge of strength into herself and pulled his hips toward her. His erection thrust deep. The intense stretch, along with his shocked growl of pleasure, was enough to toss her into a sudden, choppy climax. She bounced around, trapped inside pure sensation as her body fragmented.

  When she finally settled enough to make sense of the world, she found that Cain had gathered her wrists in his hand and pinned them above her head. He balanced over her, his muscles bulging as he held himself up.

  His jaw was clenched tight. The cords in his neck stood out. He didn’t move.

  She felt his heartbeat inside her—the throbbing, thick heat of his cock wedged deep within. Her body was a jumbled mess of feelings and emotions too intense and heavy for her to examine. There was a faint wisp of anger flickering out of him, but she couldn’t tell if it was aimed at her for taking what she wanted, or at himself for letting her.

  “Are you hurt?” he asked, the gravelly sound of his voice vibrating her nipples deliciously.

  “I don’t get off on pain.”

  “Good. Because I could never hurt you—not even if you begged for it.”

  “Are you going to make me beg now?”

  “No. Whatever you want, it’s yours.”

  “I want you to stop holding back. I’m not fragile. I won’t break. I want the real you—all of you.”

  Something in his expression shifted, going darker. The tension she’d seen in him before seemed to drain away. A small, wicked smile tugged at his mouth. “Then open up, Rory. I’m going to give you everything.”

  She wasn’t sure what he’d meant until she felt the luceria vibrate around her throat. An instant later, a flood of images and sensations flowed into her, rocking her down to her soul. She saw the two of them together, naked and locked together in positions she hadn’t even imagined. She felt his heated lust lash across her like plumes of fire, leaving every inch of her skin glowing and flushed. His fantasies and hopes and dreams all funneled into her, filling her with the need to see each one of them come true.

  She wasn’t just with him, she existed inside of him, their two minds woven together in a way she could hardly believe possible, even as she felt it.

  And then he started to move. His cock slid out of her, leaving a hollow ache behind. She opened her mouth to scream at him to come back, but there was no need. He was already surging forward again, giving her exactly what she needed, as if he’d felt her need as keenly as she had his.

  Maybe he had. She wasn’t sure. She didn’t care. The physical sensations, piled onto the things he did to her mind, were almost too much to stand. She no longer had any control over her actions. Her hands went where they wanted. Her mouth sought out his, desperate for his taste. Her hips arched up to accept him into her body, over and over again.

  This was more than sex. It was the fusion of two people, two souls. More meaningful than the physical pleasure it brought, she felt the experience change her—altering her on a fundamental level in a way she’d never be able to undo.

  But with ecstasy like this, she couldn’t bring herself to care.

  Cain drove her higher, both with his touch as well as with his thoughts. He hid nothing from her, forcing her to feel everything he did, down to the coiling buildup of his impending orgasm. Rory’s body responded in kind, answering to his call, bulging with her own growing pressure.

  His mouth ate at hers, drinking in her breathless cries. She would have been embarrassed by how loud she was being had she not felt how much it turned Cain on. He liked her loss of control, the proof of her enjoyment. But it wasn’t enough. He wanted all of her. Forever.

  And right now, tied to him like this, glowing with so much glorious sensation she could barely contain it, she wanted that, too. Reality didn’t matter in this space. No bad things could reach her here. She knew there was some reason why forever should bother her, but she couldn’t remember what it was. If he wanted this forever, she was more than happy to give it to him.

  His presence in her mind seemed to swell and brighten. She felt a change come over him—a kind of feral intensity that hadn’t been there before. His gliding pace began to speed, drawing her attention back to her body.

  Pleasure rained over her, pulsed through her. Cain surrounded her with his heat and strength, driving her higher with every slick thrust. Words spilled from his mouth into hers. She couldn’t understand them. She didn’t even care that she couldn’t. The pressure inside of her was too much now. She was never going to survive its release.

  He gathered her close, curled around her body and sent a tingling surge of sensation tumbling out of his skin. Wherever they touched, her nerve endings came alive, sending crazy, rioting signals up her spine.

  It was too much. She couldn’t hold it all. A hard, ferocious climax ripped out of her in a soundless scream. Cain’s cock plunged deep and he came, rocking in shallow, urgent thrusts as his semen filled her. Each pulse of heat spilling into her drove her higher until she could no longer breathe.

  Rory let go of everything. It was the only way to survive the intensity of this storm. She let it buffet her about, accepting what came, too weak to fight anything he made her feel.

  Slowly, her abdomen relaxed enough for her to find a shallow breath. The blotchy spots in her eyes shrank, allowing her to see Cain.

  He was draped over her, limp and spent. He covered her completely, like a living blanket, but so much hotter. Sweat shone on his body, making his golden skin glow.

  She kissed his shoulder, licking the salt from his skin. His scent, his taste, they were part of her now—the knowledge buried so deep she was sure she would never forget.

  They were still joined—their bodies, their minds. Even now, exhausted and spent, Cain was still with her, giving her what she’d asked of him. Gentle, softer images of them together overcame the more fiery, passionate ones. She saw them holding each other, laughing.

  He’d already shown her what a bonded pair of Theronai could do—how they could fight and hold back the demons. But now he showed her a different side. Years spent growing closer. Multiple lifetimes to joke and play. Yes, their lives were dangerous, but that wasn’t all they had. There was a closeness there that Rory had never considered—a familiarity forged from centuries of partnership.

  As she let him feed these images into her, a deep yearning began to take shape. She wanted this. She wanted this closeness, this unity. Which only made reality that much harder to face.

  People around her died. Cain would, too, unless she beat him to it. Knowing that others could have what he’d just showed her only made real life that much more stark and bleak by comparison.

  The longer she stayed with him, the easier it was going to be to forget the way things really were—the promise she’d made after Nana had bled out. Rory’s life was not destined to be like the pretty fairy tales he showed her. No matter how much either of them might wish otherwise.

  Her life was already shaped by her actions, by who and what she was. She had no intention of abandoning Cain to die, but he had to find someone else—someone brave enough to take risks and earn the happily ever after he’d shown her. She wasn’t strong enough to play such a high-stakes game of chance.

  Cain rolled aside, frustration making his movements jerky. “You’re going to run away now, aren’t you?”

  “I’m just going to the bathroom.”

  “To hide from me.”

  He wasn’t supposed to know that part. It made her feel like a coward, which she hated.

  She got up and grabbed the bathrobe from where he’d dropped it on the floor. “I need a little space, Cain. That was too . . . intense.”

  “You loved it. You can’t lie to me. I was there, inside you.”

  “Believe me. I remember.”

  He sat up as she slipped the robe over her body. Everything about him was so appealing. His size, his lo
oks. His soul. She wanted to wrap herself up in him and hold him close—let him keep all of life’s bullshit away.

  But that wasn’t the way things worked. She was a big girl who knew the score. She couldn’t afford for sex to be anything more than just that.

  A mocking, snarky laugh welled up from her gut, but she clamped her lips shut to hold it in. That had been a hell of a lot more than sex.

  A fact that Rory was now going to ignore.

  * * *

  Cain thought he’d almost had her. He’d let her have all of him, as she’d asked, holding back nothing. He’d bared himself to her, body and soul.

  And she’d walked away.

  He hadn’t thought that anything could have hurt as much as losing Sibyl, but he’d been wrong. Rory’s rejection was just as bad—reminding him of all the reasons why he’d been a fool for letting her get that close.

  The damage was done now. He couldn’t turn back time. He refused to make her forget. She’d made up her mind, and he was going to have to find a way to accept it.

  The only thing he could think to do now was find the demon that Ronan had subdued and kill it so that there was no chance of it ever controlling her actions again.

  At least that was something real and solid—a purpose he could focus on so that he didn’t have to think about what had just happened.

  The shower turned on behind the closed door. She was in there right now, washing away all traces of him from her skin. The notion bothered him more than it should have. Or maybe it was his own need to cling to the scent she’d left on him that made him feel that way. Their partnership was far too lopsided. She had all the control, all the power. All he could do was flounder in the aftermath of her choices.

  He couldn’t change her vow. He refused to force her to stay with him. Ronan’s chat with her had informed her that she didn’t even need to be close to him for him to survive. If she walked away, no guilt necessary.

  Fuck that.

  Cain was no doormat. He was tired of watching the people he cared about walk away. He was a fighter by nature, and if his survival meant he had to fight a little dirty, then so be it. Rory held his future in her hands, and he’d be damned if he’d let her crush it.