The Seduced

by Cheyenne McCray

  A sexy smile curved the corners of her mouth as she reached down to grab her dress from where it bunched at her waist. She tugged it over her breasts and over her head in a lithe movement.

  He could not take his eyes from her full breasts. She was right—he apparently was a ‘breast man,’ and hers were perfection. Her nipples were taut, and when she reached up and pinched them between her fingers, he groaned.

  Tiernan pushed himself to his knees and grabbed her by her hips. “This time we do it my way,” he said in a husky voice. “And right now I must taste you.” The moment he buried his face against her mound, Tiernan thought she gave the sweetest cry he had ever heard.

  Copper never remembered feeling anything like this in any of her sexual experiences. His tongue—goddess, his tongue did wonderful things to her. Incredible. He repeated the same motions and he gave low growling sounds as if he were staking his territory.

  He paused to look up. “I do not think I have tasted anything so fine as you.”

  “Then don’t stop.” She slipped her fingers into his still damp hair and pressed his head tight to her tingling flesh. “Dammit, don’t stop!”

  He thrust three fingers into her channel. When he nipped her clit, her climax nearly made her drop to her knees. Her legs wobbled and she had to fist her hands tighter in his hair.

  Only his firm grip on her hips kept her from falling as her orgasm melted every bone in her body until she felt like a rag doll. He didn’t stop until she begged him to. She was barely aware of golden bubbles of light floating around them.

  He got to his feet and caught her as she collapsed against his chest. His skin felt hard and warm beneath her cheek and it took a moment to gather herself.

  When she finally raised her head, he immediately took her mouth, kissing her hard. The tingle in her belly magnified, giving her renewed strength. She felt as if she could actually stand on her own two feet.

  Copper drew away from him and skimmed her fingers down his chest to his erection. To her satisfaction it was as hard as it had been the first time he’d taken her. She grabbed the waist of his leather pants and tugged them farther down so that his pants rode low on his hips. “I need you out of these.”

  He cupped her cheek and rubbed his thumb along her jawline. “You are beautiful.”

  “The pants.” She gave another tug so that they were around his ass. “Don’t try to distract me.”

  Tiernan backed away and shucked off his boots as she watched. Perfect physique, broad shoulders and chest, and hair to his shoulders. Trim hips and an ass she just wanted to bite.

  Not to mention he had just filled her so well she didn’t think she’d ever be satisfied with another man. His thigh muscles worked as he kicked off his pants.

  She sighed. “Damn, but a guy like you could ruin a girl for other men.”

  His look was heated as he stepped away from his clothing and brought her up against him. The feel of his flesh against hers, his chest to her breasts, his thickness to her belly, his thighs against hers—she thought she’d melt all over again. He kissed her hard before she slipped out of his grasp and slid to her knees.

  Tiernan had never met a woman like Copper. He had never wanted a woman as much as he wanted her.

  The moment she wrapped her fingers around his thick length, he groaned. When she slipped him deep into her mouth he was certain he had never felt anything so exquisite in his life.

  “Little fire.” He fisted his hands tighter in her hair. “I am certain I could be inside you all night long.”

  Copper responded by meeting his gaze with hers and flicking her tongue around his length in a slow, sensual movement. Her eyes sparkled with a hint of mischief as she let him slip from her mouth and blew softly on the head.

  She was going to kill him.

  Tiernan gritted his teeth. The oncoming orgasm was traveling through him like a storm.

  The storm broke loose. Lightning flashed in his mind and he groaned his release.

  But if she did not stop what she was doing, he was going to collapse into a heap—rather undignified for a warrior.

  She gave him a knowing grin before rising. “That good, huh?”

  Just kissing her slammed him with more need and desire than he thought could ever be quenched. How could he feel this way with one woman, a woman he had just met?

  But it already felt as though she were a part of him.

  Copper woke the next morning with her face against Tiernan’s chest, her head tucked under his chin. They were still naked and she reveled in the feel of his bare flesh against hers. His thigh was slung over her hip and, if she wasn’t mistaken, he had a full-on morning erection.

  She was so sore and it felt so damn good. The man’s stamina was incredible—they’d had sex three more times after that first amazing moment.

  A smile crept over her face. Maybe it was because he wasn’t human. He was a man, but he was a Fae warrior and that obviously gave him more sexual endurance than any man she’d ever met.

  Copper inhaled his delicious scent. It could be due to the fact she hadn’t had sex for over a year, but she had a feeling it was everything about him that made her want him so badly.

  What had been really strange was that every time they reached orgasm, it seemed as if some kind of wild magic rocked her world.

  Sex magic?

  Sex magic could be incredibly powerful, she’d been told. She’d read that in Mrs. Illes’s Grimoire, too.

  Still cuddled in his arms, Copper skimmed one of her hands along his muscled chest to his taut abdomen, all the way down. Yes, what she felt with him was magic—golden bubbles and all.

  He gave a soft groan and his eyes blinked awake.

  “Good morning,” she said with a smile.

  He tucked hair behind her ear with a gentle feathery stroke. “It is indeed.”

  “Guess we’d better get up,” she said.

  “Must we?” he asked in a teasing tone and Copper gave him another sound kiss.

  Her belly rumbled and she laughed. “See? All this sex has made me hungry. We didn’t even stop to eat last night.”

  “Truth be, a D’Danann warrior cannot go long without food,” he said.

  Man, did she ever love his sexy Irish brogue. He helped her climb out of the shelter into the early morning sunlight.

  After they both washed up using the chilly water in the lower basin, they slipped into their clothing. Fortunately Copper had thought to tuck them into the shelter before they slept or surely the Brownies or Pixies would have stolen them overnight.

  To Copper’s pleasure, the Faeries had left another large breakfast that would tide them over for the afternoon, too.

  She nearly moaned with pleasure as she took a bite of an apple tart. Great sex equaled great appetite.

  Tiernan stuffed a piece of the root bread that tasted like pumpkin into his mouth, and gave an equally blissful roll of his eyes.

  Riona fluttered around the rock outcropping and landed on the shelf beside the food. Her long hair covered her breasts, but the rest of her was completely bare as usual.

  “What’s the special occasion?” Copper asked, gesturing to all the food.

  The Faerie queen gave a mischievous smile. “The performance last night. I do not think we have seen anything like it in millennia.”

  A hot flush crept up Copper’s neck to her face and she heard Tiernan choke on his bread.

  “I can’t believe you watched.” Copper set her tart down and braced her hands on her hips. “Can’t we have a little freaking privacy?”

  Riona laughed. “I do believe that yesterday the Fae enjoyed more pleasures than they have since we have been trapped here.”

  The heat in Copper’s cheeks grew as she glared at the Faerie. Before Copper could say anything else, Riona flitted away, leaving behind a small cloud of Faerie dust

  Tiernan snorted back what sounded like laughter and Copper elbowed him. “Just eat, you big lug.”

  After they finished eating, Co
pper did her morning workout, Tiernan watched with an expression that said he was either amused or impressed. He leaned against the apple tree while she did her pull-ups using one branch of the apple tree.

  “Is this what you have done while you have been in this place?” he asked.

  Copper tried not to look at him because he was just too distracting with all that gorgeous hair and those muscles. “I had to stay in shape somehow.”

  She didn’t even pant, she was in such good shape. She had to keep adding reps just to benefit from the exercises, and always tried to change her routine a bit.

  When she finished her pull-ups, she landed lightly on the grass. “Let me guess. All you warriors are built that way and you don’t even have to work at it.”

  He shrugged the shoulder that wasn’t against the tree. “We train and spar regularly on the training grounds. The peasants and the lords and ladies of the court do not perform the same activities as the warriors and do not have the same physiques. Very few of us who are of the court are also D’Danann Enforcers.”

  “Peasants?” Copper picked up a big rock and started doing arm curls with it. Her biceps were well sculpted for a woman, without being overly muscular. She frowned at his comment. “You actually call people peasants?”

  “Of course.” Tiernan pushed away from the tree as Copper switched hands and started working out her other bicep. “That is the way of this Otherworld.”

  “So you’re a lord, are you?” Copper grunted from the strain of working her muscles. “How did you become one?”

  Tiernan folded his arms across his chest and widened his stance as he looked thoughtfully ahead. He was so damn yummy in all that black leather. She especially liked that he wore a sleeveless shirt so that she could see his biceps flex with his movements.

  “I was born into the House of Cathal,” Tiernan said. “My father has been lord of the house for centuries, and once I am wedded, it will be my responsibility to carry on the family name.”

  Copper switched arms and started working her other bicep again. Intrigued by the differences in their worlds, she said, “Tell me more about the part of Otherworld where you live.”

  Tiernan started out by telling her about the D’Danann warriors and how they were a neutral race like the Drow, only the D’Danann were neutral-good, while the Drow tended to be neutral-evil.

  Copper frowned at that piece of information and paused in her exercise. “The Drow, evil?”

  “Not exactly,” Tiernan said. “They side with whomever, whatever they can benefit from the most.”

  Copper started working out her left arm again. “Neutral-good, neutral-evil—what does that mean?”

  “As far as the D’Danann are concerned,” he told her, “the Chieftains will only allow our warriors to assist other races if they believe it is the natural order of things.”

  He went on, “In the case of the Fomorii in San Francisco, the Chieftains agreed that the D’Danann Enforcers could assist the witches who fight the demons and the Balorites.”

  “So the Drow tend to assist the side that is evil?” Copper twisted her lips. “I can’t imagine Garran and his bunch doing that.”

  “Possibly,” was all Tiernan said in response.

  When she asked more about his homeland, he explained how the Dryads had allowed many of the D’Danann to live in the trees, creating huge homes within the enormous tree trunks. The peasants tended to live in huts while the members of the court lived in mansions on the forest ground.

  When she asked about the village, he smiled and told her about the vendors, the stores, the pub, and the Pleasure Houses.

  At that Copper paused in her biceps exercises. Still holding the rock, she tipped her head to the side. “Um, Pleasure Houses?”

  He gave another casual shrug. “It is a place where D’Danann warriors and members of the court can enjoy pleasures of the flesh.”

  Copper cleared her throat, not sure how she felt about that. “So you’ve been there a few times.”

  “Many.” He looked so casual, yet a frown furrowed his brow as he added, “My betrothed preferred that I relieve my needs at the Pleasure House rather than with her.”

  Copper’s whole body began to tingle and she felt lightheaded. Had she heard him right? “Your betrothed?”

  Seemingly oblivious to the anger flooding her, Tiernan continued, “Airell and I were to be wed today.” He sighed. “However, I postponed the date as a difficult situation has arisen, and I must come up with a solution.” He glanced around the meadow. “It is not something I can speak freely about here.”

  Copper was on fire. Fury surged through her so hot and molten that she almost couldn’t see straight. “So you went to bed with me even though you’re supposed to marry another woman,” she stated.

  The bastard actually looked puzzled. “I—”

  “Don’t even speak to me.” Her arms trembled and she clutched the rock tighter. Goddess, how she wanted to deck him.

  With all her might, Copper flung the large rock at the shimmering barrier of their prison.

  The rock exploded and pieces rained down around them.

  After one glance at the look of surprise on his features, she turned her back to him, fisted her hands at her sides, and marched away, trying not to cry from anger. Her piss-off meter had just gone off the charts. If she’d had her wand, Tiernan would be across the meadow, smack up against the bubble’s wall.

  A thought intruded on her anger. Where was her wand, anyway? She hadn’t seen it since she’d washed Tiernan’s hair last night.

  She almost screamed at that thought. The intimacy, the things they had shared. The sex they’d had.

  And the bastard was going to marry some woman in a few weeks.

  Tremendous satisfaction filled her as she heard Zephyr’s buzz and Tiernan’s howl of pain. Her familiar had hopefully stung him in the ass.

  She hoped it was multiple times and that he couldn’t sit for a week.

  That night Tiernan slept out on the grass. Every now and then she heard him give a shout, and she was certain it was the Brownies nipping at him. She hoped the Pixies had attacked his hair, too.

  The son of a bitch.

  He’d tried to talk with her all day long yesterday, but she’d merely given him the finger—a lot of good that did.

  By his bewildered looks, he didn’t even know the meaning of the offensive gesture. Still she avoided him, the best she could in the freaking confined space.

  Copper rolled onto her back and stared up at the rock ceiling of her shelter. It was early morning and she was fighting not to relive the memories of their union.

  She let out a shuddering sigh. Was that all it had been to him? A warrior just having a good time? Of course, she’d more than encouraged him.

  She knew she meant nothing to him—they hardly knew one another. They’d only met the day before she’d teased him—and wanted him.

  He hadn’t made the advances. He’d warned her, and she’d ignored him.

  Still, that didn’t make it right.

  Her gut twisted and she forced those thoughts away. Instead, she recalled her conversation with Riona yesterday and grimaced.

  When she had gone to search for her wand by the stream, while ignoring Tiernan, Riona came up to flutter beside Copper.

  “What are you looking for?” the Faerie queen had asked.

  “My wand.” Copper had sat back on her haunches and gazed around the meadow. “I left it here yesterday.”

  “Good luck,” Riona had said as she flew back to the clump of flowers and bushes that shaded the mound where the Faeries were currently living. “Garran would like to get you below ground again.”

  Copper groaned at the thought of what the Faerie queen had insinuated. Garran had her wand.

  “Great. Just freaking great,” she muttered, as she stared at one particularly jagged rock in the ceiling of her shelter.

  A shadow briefly blotted out the morning sunlight and immediately she saw that it was Tiern
an. She all but growled.

  He lowered himself so that he was settled with his back against one end of the shelter entrance. He stretched his long legs, crossed them at the ankles, and blocked the doorway. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at her with an unreadable expression.

  Copper gritted her teeth as she pushed herself to a sitting position. “I thought I made it clear that I don’t want to talk to you.”

  He studied her for a long moment, his blue gaze captivating hers.

  Damn those sexy eyes.

  Finally, he said, “I had no intention of hurting or upsetting you.”

  “I’m not hurt.” She raised her chin a notch. “I’m pissed.” Okay, so she was hurt, she just wasn’t going to let him know that.

  “You did not allow me to finish, and you have refused to listen to me.” Tiernan shifted and crossed his ankles the other way. “We will remain here until I have had my say.”

  Copper sat cross-legged. “Get it over with.”

  “Yes, I am betrothed to a woman of the D’Danann court.” He held up his hand to shush her when she opened her mouth to let him have it again.

  She bit down on her tongue just in time for him to say, “However, I learned that Airell is carrying another man’s child.”

  Copper’s jaw dropped. “Some other guy knocked her up?”

  Tiernan gave her a puzzled look, but continued, “When I first told you of Airell, I did not wish to explain such a matter before the Fae. I do not want her humiliated.”

  He leaned his head back against the rock wall behind him and stared at the rocky ceiling. “I must find a way to keep her from being marked and cast out of the Fae realm, and a way to keep her lover from being sent to serve the most evil of bastards.”

  Despite herself, Copper was beginning to soften toward him. “You would do that?”

  Tiernan sighed so deeply that his shoulders rose and fell with the inhale and exhale. “I do not wish to be wedded to a woman heavy with her lover’s child. But neither will I allow the alternative to happen.”

  He still had a faraway look to his gaze. “Somehow I must come up with a solution that will please the court, make Airell and Urien happy, and release me of my vow.”