He broke free from her lips and cradled her head in his hands. “Once we begin this, I won’t be able to stop. I want you Cariad, and I will have you now.”
She nodded and melted at the same time. His accent grew thicker, and the addition of a pet name amped up the heat buzzing under her skin.
He switched off the water, climbed out, and grabbed a towel. When she went for her own he stopped her and began to vigorously towel off her wet skin before gently drying her hair. “Did I do that right?” he asked, but she didn’t even have words to offer. No one ever took care of her. Ever. Him washing her hair, caring for her, drying her off….she felt more confident in her decision every passing second. When she could finally speak around the lump in her throat she asked, “Can you take me to bed please?”
Not a full second passed before he picked her up and carried her to the bed, setting her down gently on the soft down coverlet. She stared up at him, naked in the warm glow of the fire behind him. “You are beautiful.”
“I could say the same about you, Cariad. Truly lovely.”
She reached out for him and he pressed his weight down on top of her, she marveled in the sensation. “What is it you called me? You did it in the shower, too.”
“Cariad? It’s like beloved or sweetheart.”
As if she didn’t like him enough already, he had to throw that into the mix. The corner of his delicious lip curled up as if he knew darn well what he was doing to her from the inside out. “Carry on.”
He laughed and dropped his face to nuzzle her neck, leaving trails of sensation from his stubble behind as he continued between her breasts and then down to her belly. Fear began to crawl up her throat as he continued his path and kissed both of her hip bones before stopping to glance up at her. In her mind there was a battle. Half screamed for him to keep going, the other half was mortified with him so close to not very well maintained nether region.
When she didn’t offer protest or encouragement he continued and didn’t give a second of quarter. He parted her with his tongue, drew her clit between his lips, and sucked hard. The sensation assaulted her, almost pulling her from her own skin. He released his lips and delved into every part of her. The wet heat of his tongue leaving trails of pleasure with each pass. After a lifetime passed floating on waves of pleasure she found her fingers twisted in his hair urging him to an end she couldn’t see but knew was there. A precipice only he could take her to. And then after mere seconds, he did. She shattered with his mouth pressed against her wet flesh. The world went hazy as she bathed in sensation, and then returned to herself awash with sleepy abandon. But he wasn’t finished. He crawled back up and pressed his dick into her wet core sliding along the wet folds before notching himself at her entrance. “Do you want me to do this?”
She managed a breathless yes and he slid slowly inside. The pleasure she amassed before switched to a pressure pain jerking her from the haze.
“It’s okay, Love. It will only hurt for a minute.”
“Says the man who doesn’t have to endure any sort of pain when he loses his virginity.”
He chuckled, ducked his head, and dragged one of her earlobes between his teeth. The pleasure and pain combined in a luscious way before he released her again. “Pain and pleasure can live in the same place. It just needs to find a balance.”
He continued pressing forward, the tightness growing until he stopped and waited. She realized he was fully seated inside her, a virgin no longer.
“Are you ok?” he asked, his voice tight.
“Mmhmm. Please continue.”
He pulled out a little and then surged forward again. It still hurt but not as much as the first entrance. He continued in the same pattern, pulling out and then pushing back in each time growing more and more breathless with each pass. It felt nice to her but nothing like how he made her feel before. Was this all there was to sex? Pleasure for the man?
He stopped. “You aren’t into this?” He pulled out and she reached for him, drawing him back. “No, it feels good. Just not the same as before.”
He furrowed his brow and then nodded. “I know what you need.”
She certainly hoped he did because she was at a loss.
He pressed into her once more and she flinched at the slight pain. “Come here, Love.”
Sliding his hand between their bodies while balancing his weight on the opposite arm he found her center. Expertly, she noted, he pressed two fingers against her clit and that monstrous consuming sensation returned. She clung to him now, each press of him inside her arching her closer to that breaking point again. She wanted to watch each movement but the sensation beating in her from every inch of him and holding her head up was too much. She dropped her head back to the bed, closed her eyes, and fell into the moment. The coarse hair on his legs rubbing on her thighs, each small noise he made in the back of his throat, and the expert swirl of his fingers on her flesh all created a symphony of pleasure she could never have imagined. That precipice loomed close again and she dragged her hips off the bed into him in an attempt to reach it faster.
“Like that, Love,” he whispered and those words zipped through her propelling her over in a rush. He moved faster and let out a groan against her collarbone as he surged into her a few more times, riding out the wave with her. Then he stopped and the silence in the room fell around them like flower petals thrown from a roof. Only their mingled breathing broke the quiet. Things began to slowly leak into her consciousness. She was chilled but sweaty, the pillow had ended up partially under her hair putting a crick in her neck.
With a heavy breath he rolled to lay beside her and pulled her in close. She’d never cuddled before. As her breathing returned to normal she found comfort in his arms wrapped around her body. With sleep just beyond reach he asked her a question, “Why did I have to shift before you could shift tonight?”
The subject change jerked her awake and she considered not answering, or even lying. But it occurred to her this man had been inside her body, a lie would feel like a betrayal. “I can’t stand before a human, or the like, in my other form or things would get ugly.”
“What exactly does that mean?”
“It means, I propose a riddle, I’m compelled to do it. I can’t stop it, and if they don’t answer it, or if they try to run, I eat them.”
He lifted his head and looked at her straight on. “Did you say eat them?”
She nodded, scared to see the fear in his eyes but it didn’t come. He lay back down and snuggled next to her. “Well…we all have our issues.”
Chapter 16
Arwan blinked awake to the sound of shuffling feet. And then realizing it had been ten hours since their last encounter. Bianca was more persistent than he originally expected.
She sat in a chair next to the bed. “Isn’t this cozy?”
Katherine jerked awake in his arms and scrambled to pull the covers over herself. Arwan didn’t bother, and allowed the women her perusal since she seemed to be doing so without his permission. Gwyn also felt the need to take a look.
“You couldn’t even let us get out of the country?” Katherine asked, addressing Bianca.
Bianca chuckled. “Of course not, I’m here, you’re here…we’re all here. Might as well do this now.”
Katherine jerked the sheets over Arwan and he chuckled at the woman’s modesty for him. Or maybe she was jealous. He liked both.
“What are we doing here, Bianca?” Katherine asked as she sat up and adjusted the bedding to make sure as much of her was covered as possible. “We both know I’m not going to fight you, and you won’t fight me. Do this, and you lose every bit of good will you acquired during my vacation.”
Bianca snorted and crossed her arms under her breasts. “Vacation? You call taking care of a wounded animal a vacation?”
“I spent time in Cardiff before Baldir…persuaded me to help take care of his friend. Arwan was there for Baldir during Hel’s capture of him. If he speaks for him, that is enough for me.”
Katherine snapped her fingers between them and Bianca glanced back at her. “So…what are you doing here? If you’re trying to intimidate me into letting you kill him then you’re going to be disappointed.”
Arwan pulled her in close and Bianca narrowed her eyes. “Can’t you see he’s using you? You’re the big bad…the only big bad. Obviously having you around is his best bet at safety from any angle.”
Katherine jerked in his arms and anger surged through him replacing the calm. “You will not go around putting doubts in her mind. She knows how I feel and while hell, she can keep me safe, that is not why she’s mine. I want her. She wants me, there is nothing more simple.”
Gwyn folded himself onto the end of the bed and crossed his legs underneath him. Bianca seemed oblivious, but Arwan and Katherine stared at him pointedly. “Comfy?” she asked.
“Very, thank you.”
Arwan almost laughed. He’d seen the man for mere moments before the fight in the underworld. The memory of running with the wild hunt poked in his mind. A piece of a puzzle he hadn’t remembered. He was there, but then he wasn’t and before it ended he was gnawed on. His family and friends were also attacked by those beasts, even though they ran together in the beginning. It wasn’t only Hel suffering under the attack. Something else pushed forward in his mind. Bloody footprints on black stone. He remembered the red sheen stick to the black and he hadn’t realized what it meant.
He surged toward Gwyn and grabbed his hand. The King remained still and simply stared at Arwan who fell back into the memory. The ravaged flesh knitting together in slow motion. An eyeball rolling through trails of blood. Fear took over and he surged away from Gwyn. Katherine caught him in her arms. “What is it?”
“Hel’s alive,” he whispered.
Bianca jumped up. “Bullshit. I watched her die.”
“I second that,” Victor chimed in from leaning against the doorframe.
Gwyn crawled up the bed until he lay almost on top of Arwan. “What did you see?” He touched his face and Arwan returned to the memory, and then he saw it. A gray fabric sewn into her gown at the hem, trailing blood behind the footprints.
“The skin,” Arwan whispered.
Gwyn jerked back. “Impossible.”
Katherine nudged Gwyn back and wrapped her arms around Arwan. The action brought comfort, her warm arms taking away the stinging cold of the stone floor he lay on as he bled out.
“I saw it.”
Gwyn unfolded himself from the bed. His eyes glazed with anger. He kept eye contact with Arwan as he pulled his phone from his pocket and flipped it open. He lifted it to his ear and waited. A string of some sort of language left his lips. Then he paused and hung up the phone. “He may be right.”
Bianca’s face went from annoyed to livid in a heartbeat. “Get dressed. You’re coming with us.”
“I don’t want to go to Fairy. They follow me around there.” Katherine stated. “Besides, I don’t trust you won’t hurt Arwan once you have him on your own territory.” She jerked her head at Gwyn. “And that one is only ever out for himself and Fairy. I don’t trust him either.”
Gwyn stared down at her. “You shouldn’t fear them. They sense your nature and pay respect.”
“I don’t need respect. And way to avoid my point.”
He shrugged and they all stood around the bed. Katherine shooed them toward the door. “Just because you guys are used to audiences when you get dressed doesn’t mean we all are. Go outside and wait and then we can talk with clothes on.”
They filed out and Gwyn winked at them before closing the door. Arwan fell into Katherine’s arms and pulled her back into the covers.
“They are waiting.”
He nuzzled her neck trailing kisses around it like choker. “Let them wait,” he murmured between kisses.
She pressed his chest and he relented. “Fine, I guess since we aren’t dying today, we can wait to figure this out.”
The memory coming back to him had thrown him significantly. Touching Katherine counter-balanced that lost sensation. It helped ground him in the same way books usually did.
Katherine scooted off the bed and dove for her bag. “Always remember Gwyn is not your friend. He may seem like the cool guy but he only cares for Fairy, Bianca, and Victor. His virtues stop there.”
Arwan nodded his acknowledgment of her warning and watched mournfully as she covered her bare skin. Inches and inches he wanted under his hands and his tongue.
“Don’t look at me like that,” she said. “Besides, Fairy, while being very weird, has a magnificent library. I think you’ll like that, at least.”
He rose and pulled on his own clothes. “Yeah, I’ll have time to enjoy that while I’m waiting for Bianca to garrote me or something.”
She laughed and Bianca yelled through the door. “I’d kill you with a knife. Garroting isn’t my style.”
Katherine rolled her eyes and gathered her hair up in a bun. He had to stop dressing just to watch. Every time she did that his dick got so hard it was uncomfortable. He shook it off and finished dressing, passing behind her to brush his teeth. She joined him a moment later and they brushed together. It was strangely normal. Both of them cleaning their teeth bumping elbows and hips in the process.
Bianca ruined the moment by pounding on the door to hurry them along. Once he rinsed his mouth, he turned to Katherine. “Is she always like that?”
“Yes. Always.”
“It’s going to be a long day.”
He grabbed their bags and headed toward the door, opening it for Katherine.
She stepped out and Gwyn wrapped his arm around her shoulders leading her down the stairs. Arwan stood face to face with Bianca, who refused to move. “What?” he asked.
“If you hurt her I will kill you. If you make her cry, I will kill you. If you even give her a paper cut…”
“Let me guess, you’ll kill me.”
She patted his chest. “Glad we’re on the same page. Since I can’t kill you now I supposed I should welcome you to this fucked up family.”
She turned and descended the stairs.
Arwan halted a moment, considering, before following. “Thanks?”
Chapter 17
Walking through a mirror portal did not feel like Katherine imagined. Her body spasmed and jerked apart like a puzzle box slammed on the ground. Everyone else appeared to be used to it, but she fell to her knees as vertigo took her hard. Arwan knelt beside her, sweeping escaped tendrils of her hair out of her eyes. “It will pass in a moment.”
A trumpet sounded from somewhere and the nausea began to fade. Arwan helped her to her feet and led her after Gwyn and the others. She took a deep breath and joined Cloris and Hades on a low couch near a balcony. Despite the week’s events, Katherine was happy to see them again. She missed Cloris’ precise and quiet nature. Her blonde hair sat entwined in an intricate knot at the back of her head, and she wore a black sheath dress and stilettos, as usual. On the rare occasion she’d wear another color, but Katherine couldn’t remember ever seeing her in jeans. Probably just as well, the Horseman of Death couldn’t afford to appear compromising.
“Sit,” Gwyn instructed. Arwan took a place down from Hades and Cloris. Katherine took a peek at Hades as she shifted around to catch a read on him, but as usual looking at him made her chest ache. He also wore an inscrutable expression. Being the former ruler of the Underworld required a perfect mask.
Katherine cleared her throat and everyone glanced her way. “I feel like I need to clear the air. For the record, I didn’t pick Arwan over you guys. I simply had to protect him. Your collective opinion of the hellhounds is whatever you want it to be, but they had no choice. Like man
y creatures they were beholden to Hel’s rule. Arwan wasn’t there when Tyr was killed and he certainly didn’t attack Bianca. He also helped Baldir when he was held prisoner. These hounds you’re hunting aren’t only Hel’s minions, they are people, too.”
Arwan clasped Katherine’s hand in his and it drew the attention of everyone, but thankfully, no one commented on it.
Katherine surveyed her circle of friends, people she’d spent two millennia with and they were stared back with a mix of pity and regret in their eyes. Anger began to spike through her in time with her heartbeat until she couldn’t take it anymore. “Stop looking at me like that. I’m not some gullible girl that ditches her friends for the first man that looks her way, I may have been innocent in some ways, but I’ve never been a stranger to male attention. I’ve just never wanted any of them until Arwan.”
Cloris shifted and glanced at Hades. Something passed between them that Katherine didn’t quite catch. They were adept at silent communication though having been stuck at the hip for two thousand years.
Cloris spoke first. “Katherine, we aren’t blaming you for anything. You have nothing to apologize for. Right now, we need a plan to get rid of that blasted woman who won’t seem to die.”
A vein in Hades’ head popped out as he ground his teeth. Katherine couldn’t recall having ever seeing him so angry. From an inscrutable location, a trumpet sounded again, and Gwyn jumped to his feet.
“What is that?” Katherine asked trying to locate the source.
On a Black Horse: An Apocalyptic Paranormal Romance (Revelations Book 3) Page 9