by Mason, a. c.
A sharp piece of glass embedded in a deep gouge in his shoulder needed removing. Deimos lifted his dagger, handle first for her.
She shook her head no.
“Yes.” Covering her hand with his, he placed the handle in her palm, closed her fingers over it.
Who was she? Never having feared blood or pain before, her hands shook as she pressed the blade into his raw wound. The sound of the sharp edge grinding against the glass caused her bottom lip to tremble.
Deimos gritted his teeth as the piece loosened and she pulled it out.
“Well done.” He stroked her cheek.
Warmed by his gesture, she smiled. His approval mattered to her. Why? She wanted him to be pleased with her. An eager pup? Not her. But she was.
Finished cleaning the wound, she moved on to his muscular chest and back. At the sight of his exposed flesh, she did her best to avoid his stare as it burned over her. He made no attempt at suppressing the physical pleasure he took from her touch. The rise and fall of his pecs accelerated, and he groaned when her slippery fingers made contact with his abs.
“Auria,” he breathed out with hunger.
This shouldn’t happen. She should put a stop to this. Heat mixed in her body at the thought of his impending adoration of her body.
“Please.” In her current emotional state, she couldn’t resist him. Her strength seemed a distant memory, and all she wanted to do was collapse in Etienne’s arms and have him make it all better.
At this very moment, the offer came from Deimos, and despite her heart’s protest, she stared into his devoted eyes.
Deimos’s large hand pulled her small form to his, pressing her rounded belly against his hard body. “Listen to me. There is much we can enjoy physically without risk to your state.” He gently touched her tummy.
The feel of his warm fingers through the fabric of her thin cotton nightgown taunted her.
“After, there will be time to explore our physical compatibility more fully.” His hand moved slowly over her stomach as he skimmed her cheek with his nose. “You are so beautiful.” The heat of his lips warmed along her jaw line, and then came the slippery feel of his tongue.
“Ah,” escaped her parted lips, and she forced her eyelids closed as she held onto him for support. Sharing this with him would be like any other time she’d taken a man she didn’t care for back to her bed. She needed to lose herself in the feel of this moment. Deimos would have what he wanted, and she would have a father for her young.
Swiftly, he disrobed her, cradling her warm flesh against his.
Her composure wavered as he lifted her from the floor and gently laid her on the bed. The heat of his mouth roamed her neck and moved along her throat.
Stop. Tears betrayed her, slipping out from her shut lids as the feel of his hungry tongue reached her breast. His teeth grazed her nipple.
Her heart pounded erratically, her mind spun, and she gasped for each breath. Images of Etienne’s smile invaded her thoughts. No. The heat of his touch loomed on her skin. A wretched pain assaulted her. The agony of what she was about to submit to stabbed her heart. This act would devastate her and the man she couldn’t stop wanting. She winced in pain, unable to catch her breath.
Deimos pulled back. “Auria.”
Deep sobbing entrenched itself without warning. Arms coiled around her torso against the splitting pain, she wailed uncontrollably, tossing from side to side.
He stroked her hair, whispering words of comfort, but she found none. Then she had no more tears, and exhausted, her body at last shut down.
****
Auria woke to an empty bed. Hours had passed since Deimos had been beside her, and Leona sat off in the corner, asleep. The house seemed empty and the orange glow of late afternoon bathed the rooms. Most of them slept during the day and woke after sunset.
Her massive body didn’t feel stealthy as she dressed. Ensuring Leona didn’t notice, she exited the chamber.
How she loved being alone. Could she cope with children who would need her constantly as they did now, draining her body?
As she stepped out, the unusually warm air created a flush on her skin. Most of the surrounding farms had harvested their hay, and large round bales adorned the fields. Her favorite spot called to her a few yards away, beneath the large maple tree with its bright red and orange leaves.
Walking toward it, barefoot on the cool grass, the breeze relieved her overheated body.
****
Grant watched from a few yards away as Auria distanced herself from the house and the safety of the others. Her curls blew wildly in the warm breeze. The orange light of the setting sun warmed her ginger skin and a petite pink sundress hugged her rounded belly. He smiled, but the expression faded as he caught the scent of another male lingering on her skin.
The thick liquid in his veins rushed to his cells, his chest flared out and the demon surfaced.
No. Not now. He couldn’t lose control when the object of his desire stood within his grasp. He’d risked great casualties on his side of the conflict to lure her protector Deimos away from her. There would be time to make Deimos feel his displeasure at his audacity.
He could pick off his once lioness, now reduced to a lamb. Baaah. A wicked grin curved his lips upwards. Now her complete surrender would be one he could relish, made even sweeter by her ignorance of his true self. The change accruing inside him from being this close to her caused his anger to subside. Her presence alone soothed the rage he bore at all times. The bond between them he could not take lightly.
He closed his eyes and calmed the turmoil in his psyche, an ability he learnt from her. The evolution of their species grew inside her, his offspring. Aequitas, now more than half angel and demon.
Time to resurrect Etienne.
****
Auria sensed a telepathic tingle. The touch came from a shadowed figure leaning on the tree in the woods to her left. Intrigued, she moved forward, trying to see who stood veiled in the dark.
She looked back at the house, a hand over her tummy. Should she advance? A warrior once, now her first concern was the safety of the two lives growing inside her. She didn’t sense danger.
Whoever lurked in the bushes ahead had a very calm mind. Her eyes failed her, forcing her to move into the forest to investigate a frame that seemed like a man’s. Was she still asleep?
“Auria,” echoed in the air, the voice Etienne’s. A shiver raced through her body, stopping her.
She stumbled, and the urge to run tensed her muscles. Part of her couldn’t face him, and yet she stayed.
As the figure stepped in a clearing, the light beaming between branches illuminated his face.
Etienne.
“No.” Fingers pressed to her lips, heart fluttering, she collapsed to her knees.
Swiftly, his arms wrapped around her from behind, his hard body pressed against her.
“Shh,” Etienne’s smooth lips uttered against her ear.
Eyes closed, she melted at his touch. This felt real. Warm lips brushed her cheek tenderly.
His hands coiled beneath hers and lifted her into his arms, cradling her against his chest.
“This cannot be.” If this were a dream, her soul wished she’d never wake from it.
“Shh. It is. But together we aren’t safe here. Say you’ll come with me!”
Her body shuddered from the feel of his mental touch as he eased into her mind.
Peering from beneath her eyelids at him in the flesh, she gasped. This couldn’t be. No. No.
“Auria, after what we shared, and what came from that night, you should have known death wouldn’t keep me from you.” His words carried such pain that tears came to her eyes.
“But...I...” She wanted to tell him everything she’d hidden from him, but how could she trust his devotion if he didn’t know the monster she truly was?
“I know, my sweet, about your part in my father and mother’s death.” His mind voice remained steady.
“And you st
ill came.”
“You are my wife and carry our sons. I will never turn my back on what that means to me. But we must go.”
Etienne stared into her eyes, holding her captive in the sorrow she found there, his grip tightened.
As she wrapped her arms around him, she buried her face in his chest. “Take me.” It didn’t matter where. He would keep her and the babies safe no matter what the personal cost.
Chapter 15Auria’s body revolted from the motion of transport through time and space. Relief came as the vibrating ended. Etienne held onto her tight, and she feared pulling her face from his chest.
The scent of him rose into her with each breath she took. He walked, then stopped and set her down on a soft surface. The strength of his caress withdrew from her body, but the tips of his fingers rested beneath her chin, lifting her face and forcing her to meet his stare.
“It’s tortured me to stay away.” His fingers eased from her skin, though his gaze lingered.
He turned away from her.
Unsure of him and herself, she glanced at the space, bare except for a bed and nightstand.
How long had he suffered in this dark dank place? The smell of sun heated dirt loomed in the hot air of the small clay-walled room which reminded her of the living quarters in the palace of her youth before she’d become a servant of the kings bed.
“How can you be unsure of me?” His head whipped back at her. “If anyone should have reason to question, it is me. The scent of Deimos soils you.”
Lowering her head, she dragged her bare feet along the smooth cool mattress to her belly.
No words in her defense came forth. He was right.
“Silence is not what I expected from you.” Etienne turned toward her.
Unable to look up to him, she stared at the shiny beige fabric beneath her.
At the edge of her vision, he knelt beside the bed, head hung low.
“There is nothing to be said of it. You have access to my thoughts if you want to know. You have only to search through my mind.” Incapable of discussing the details of the past few weeks or the most recent changes, she offered the compromise.
He cupped her face. The backside of his hand trailed along the edge of her jaw line to her chin where he coiled his fingers underneath and turned her face to his. “Auria, despite all. I know you chose him, where I was pushed on you by external forces.”
The sadness in his eyes hurt her, and she couldn’t disagree with his words, but everything had changed. “And?” She pulled her face from his fingers.
“So don’t act as though I can’t wonder where your heart is. Our bond goes beyond what we can explain or fight.” He covered her hand, then locked his fingers over hers.
But for the warm sensation moving through her thoughts, she would not have been aware of his invasion. The palm of his other hand supported her back as he eased her onto the bed and helped her lie on her side, facing him. She closed her eyes and watched as he played her memories at an increasing speed. A few curls fell upon her face, and he brushed them away.
Much had changed inside the man she now looked at. A pain emanated from his heart like a beacon whispering her name, pleading with her to heal it. As her life flashed on a soundless reel in their minds, affection stirred for him, compelling her to touch his cheek.
“Etienne,” she whispered, piercing the stillness.
His hand slid behind her head, pulled her to meet his approaching mouth. The heat his lips created forced her to pull back.
“What?” Twisting away angrily, he arose and paced.
Silent once again, she lay there with nothing to offer to explain her retreat. The flare of anger vibrated outward from him. Jealousy.
“You cannot deny me.” The rage within him saturated the small space.
“No more than I can deny myself.”
“Then?” Etienne stopped and stared at her.
“Hold me.”
His gaze remained fixed on hers, eyes narrowed as he examined her.
The sound of his footsteps echoed behind her as he moved away. Out the small window on the wall before her, the light diminished as day came to an end. Fabric rustled, followed by the depression of the bed as he climbed in.
She closed her eyes at the feel of his arms slithering around her form. Bare skin pressed to her as his large hand rubbed over her rounded belly and was met by a kick from the inside from the smaller of the two.
“He’s a fighter like his mom,” he said next to her ear.
His lips glided down to her neck, where he began planting soft kisses. The heat of his mouth and breath felt painfully hot. Then he moved a hand to her hip, lazily made his way over her thigh and slid the hand between. Her body searched out his touch, pressing to meet the pleasure he offered.
****
Sweet. The odd mix of desire and confusion swirling inside his beauty intoxicated his senses.
More delicious than he ever could have imagined. He relished every moment of this.
His fingers found the bottom edge of her pink sundress and peeled it up, exposing her skin.
The tip of his erection pressed to her flesh caused her breath to speed up. Soon, he’d erase all trace of anyone’s touch but his own. Slipping an arm under her, he lifted her from the bed and removed the thin cotton dress. Her bare back made contact with his chest. Cocooning her form with his, he trailed his lips along her shoulder, kissed past her collarbone to her full breast.
Moans echoed in the darkness, forcing a chill through him and stopping his advance. He let out a shaky breath and licked lips coated with the taste of her. Her hard nipple waited beneath his mouth, so he lowered his head, covered her areola, then pressed his tongue back and forth against her bud.
A subtle shudder escaped her.
He lifted, gazed into her eyes, then lowered to her ear. “Ask me to make love to you.”
When he met her gaze once more, the lovely vulnerability he sought awaited.
“Etienne.”
He pressed two fingers to her lips. Anger summoned the demon within, but he would not lose control now. Too much was at stake. A long slow cleansing breath subdued the evil. “Ask.”
His fingers withdrew.
“But...”
“Ask.” He shook his head.
“Will you make love to me?”
She bowed to his will. The words themselves seemed to crash into his flesh, lighting in him a fire of excitement.
“If you tell me this is what you want.”
“But—”
He would not be moved. “Tell me.”
“Why?”
“I want to feel it in your voice as I sense it inside you.”
Her eyes closed as she took a deep breath, and her fear and trembling only fed his hunger.
She didn’t want to confess to him what her heart and soul wanted, needed. She met his stare. “I want you to make love to me.”
“Again.” He grinned.
“I want you—”
“Go on?”
She smiled up at him with a genuine affection as she cradled his face. Stabbed in the heart by her warmth, the impact of her gesture forced a shaky breath to escape his lips.
“Are you okay?” The sincerity of her alarm only furthered the pain. She stroked his hair.
“We are together now.” Then her lips met his.
Lost in the agony of her sympathetic gesture, he molded his mouth to hers. Nothing but the warm feel of her flesh existed in that instant, his control fled.
He worked down from her lips, along her jaw to her throat, then grazed her jugular with his teeth and licked it.
Low moans filled the air around him. Her heart pumped fast and breath accelerated. In the dark of night, her skin glistened.
“You’re perfect,” he confessed, breathing heavy.
Spooned behind her, he pressed his erection between her outer lips. How he wanted to possess her.
Her petite frame trembled, causing her breasts to jiggle. The pretty little lamb was w
orth her weight in gold.
He slid the head of his cock forward, pushing it to her clit then back to her slippery opening.
Not to thrust into her took every ounce of restraint left in him.
Auria rocked her body back into him and her fingers held the arm he wrapped around her from beneath. Once more, he glided the tip of his cock to her nub, then back and forth.
She cried out in delight.
Grant guided the head back to her wet inner lips and entered her. The room seemed to close in on him, fear that he might ruin the moment tensed his shoulders as he grabbed her hip and pulled her down the length of him.
****
His growl penetrated her soul, and she gasped. Holding her in place with his grip, he slid away then thrust into her. The heat of his breath blew on her skin and sent a shiver down her pine.
“You have no idea how badly I’ve wanted this.” Hot lips teased her ear as he spoke. His searing wet tongue assaulted her neck as he quickened the pace. A swell of tears welled in her eyes. The first drop slid down her cheek, followed by an avalanche.
He rose and cupped her chin, pulling her face to his. Scared by his penetrating stare, she closed her eyes. Silky lips kissed a trail from her drenched cheeks to her mouth. The taste of salt coated his mouth. He offered fast sharp thrusts into her as his teeth bit into her lips. Hunger tainted the air she breathed. His pleasure came from her pain, her vulnerability and desire to please him.
As he slipped a finger between her legs and rubbed her clit, she moaned.
The enjoyment of the power he held oozed from his heart, which could not veil from her the truth. He pumped into her faster while his fingers circled her nub.
The heat from his wrist swirled in the air above her lips. “Drink.”
Though her heart broke, her body would not revolt from his touch. Her teeth lunged forward into his skin, piercing it. Hot blood gushed onto her tongue, whispering secrets to her as it moved down her throat into her being.
Mouth muffled by his forearm, she cried out as she reached orgasm, blood still spilling onto her lips and tongue. The sound of his harsh groan against her neck hurt as his cock jerked inside her.
He planted a gentle kiss on her cheek as he withdrew from her, and then leaned away.