Harper took a long breath. Under the scents of salt water and seaweed were the smells of tropical flowers, sunscreen, and the food coming from the villa. Hooking her arms around his neck, she looked around as they bobbed in the sea, water rippling around them. Waves tumbled into rocks, tossing up foamy sprays of water. There was a dock nearby where jet skis and powerboats idled. Beyond the green mountains, in the far distance, were other small islands.
“Well, does it have your stamp of approval?”
“It does.” Even though the heat of the sun pricked her skin and felt oppressive on her chest, she absolutely loved the place. “But if you’re hoping I’ll agree to stay here for the rest of the pregnancy, you’re out of your demonic mind. I don’t hide.”
“It wouldn’t be hiding.” He kissed her shoulder, fingering her bikini strap. “Stress is not good for you or the baby.”
“Oh, don’t play the baby card with me, Thorne.”
“This – quiet, peace, safety – is what you need right now.”
“And staying here for a few weeks would be awesome. But I would lose my mind sitting around here for the rest of the pregnancy with nothing to do.”
“There’s plenty to do and see here. Rivers. Creeks. Jungle. Mountains. Waterfalls. Ancient ruins. You could not be bored.” He paused at the cry of a pelican that flew overhead. “Your friends and family can visit you. I’ll be here.”
“Not all the time.”
“I can be, if that’s what you want.”
She almost snorted, but then she realized… “You’re serious.”
He sighed at her astonishment. “Harper, when are you going to realize that you’re my priority? You come first to me. If you want me to take the next twelve weeks off work to be with you every moment of this pregnancy, that’s what I’ll do.” His demon would love that anyway.
Touched, she swallowed hard. “I wouldn’t ask you to do that.”
“Being with you twenty-four seven would be no hardship.” Beneath the water, he traced her hipbone, knowing her little raven tattoo was right there. Being that ravens were cunning, strategic tricksters, she felt she could relate to them. Knox suspected they also made her think of her family. “I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you’re happy and safe.”
“And I love you for that, but I still can’t stay holed up here.” She smiled, adding, “We can, however, relax here for a little while. That sounds like an awesome plan to me. Besides, we have a nursery to design and baby… stuff to order.”
“Stuff?”
She shrugged. “I’ve never cared for a baby. I don’t know a great deal about what that entails, what we’ll need, or how much of it we’ll need. What I currently know is courtesy of the Internet.”
“We’ll be fine. If we weren’t delaying the announcement of the pregnancy, we could have hired people to prepare the nursery for us.”
She welcomed the ocean breeze as it tugged at her hair, which hung in wet ropes down her back. “No, I’d rather be part of designing and readying it anyway.”
“All right, that’s what you’ll do.” He dipped his hand inside her bikini bottoms, cupping her ass. “So, you’re happy to stay here for a little while. How about a month?”
She frowned. “A week.”
“That’s too short.”
“All right, two weeks.”
“Still too short. Three weeks. And if you do get bored, we’ll leave earlier.”
“Fine, three weeks.”
“Good girl.” Of course, he’d do his best to convince her to stay longer. It was that fact alone that stopped his demon from sulking.
“Don’t think I don’t know you’ll try and talk into me stay – jellyfish!” She pretty much tried to climb up his body, not appreciating his chuckles at all.
“There are no jellyfish.”
“I saw one!” But the bastard didn’t stop chuckling. Instead, he pulled her deeper into the sea. They stayed there for a little while, just talking and enjoying the uninterrupted time. “You know, I could really do with an ice cream right now.”
“Ice cream? I think I can make that happen.” He scooped her up, shocking a little squeal out of her, and traced their footprints in the hot sand as he headed to the villa. Once on the deck, he gently put her on her feet. “Shower first.”
“Good idea.” Although she hadn’t lain on the beach, the sand had somehow found its way inside her bikini and was chafing her skin. Inside the villa, he took her straight to the bathroom attached to their bedroom. Without removing their swimsuits, he backed her into the walk-in shower and then turned on the spray.
Harper hissed through her teeth. The hot water stung her skin, which was sensitive from the sun, but the discomfort quickly faded. And then Knox was kissing her. His mouth was hot and greedy and it totally swept her away.
“So many times a day, I look at this mouth and think about what it feels like wrapped around my cock. Heaven. Fucking heaven.” Knox tugged down her bikini strap, letting it sweep over her shoulder. He licked over the cluster of freckles there, then bit hard. “Mine.” He stripped off their swimsuits and squirted soap onto his hands. As she shampooed her hair, he soaped her down; tracing her, shaping her, teasing her, until the smell of salt was gone and there was only coconut soap and Harper’s honeyed scent.
She gave as good as she got – her touch sexual as she ran her hands all over him, lathering him with gel. Finally, he pulled her fully under the spray, rinsing off shampoo, soap, and sand. As the water poured down on them, he kissed her again, licking and biting. “I fucking love your mouth.” He bit the fleshy part of her lower lip. “And I love fucking it.”
She narrowed her eyes, and he knew why. The idea of kneeling on the tiled floor didn’t hold a lot of appeal. Still, he knew she’d do it if he asked. It was a total fucking turn-on to know that she’d do whatever he asked – she wouldn’t do it easily or meekly, which made it hotter, but she’d do it. He knew exactly what he wanted right then, but it wasn’t his cock in her mouth.
It happened so quickly that Harper found herself blinking rapidly. One minute she’d been pliant against him; the next thing, her back was against the tiled wall and one psychic hand was pinning both of hers above her head. “What are you doing?”
Knox fisted his cock. “Watching.”
Harper gasped as an ice-cold psychic finger slipped inside her. It didn’t matter that she’d been ready for the heat that flared, it still zapped every one of her senses as her pussy began to blaze. “I’m already wet.”
“I know that. But I want you even more wet. And I want to stand here and watch while I play with you until you’re so wet you’re dripping. You want me to have that, don’t you? You want to give me what I want.”
Her mouth quirked. “It’s in my best interests.”
He smiled. “It is.” He cupped her breasts, molding them. They’d grown bigger, fuller. As he used a psychic finger to fuck her pussy, he tugged, twisted, and plucked at her nipples. He swooped down and sucked the unpierced one into his mouth, flicking it with his tongue. She moaned his name – a feminine demand. “What do you want, Harper?”
Her chin lifted. “I’m not going to beg.”
“You don’t need to beg,” he said softly. “I’ll give you whatever you want” – he tugged on her piercing – “but you have to tell me what it is.”
“You.”
He sucked at her pulse. “You have me.”
“In me,” she ground out.
“I am in you.” He gave her a particularly hard thrust with his psychic finger.
Her demon hissed, irritated by his teasing. “Your cock,” Harper clipped. “I want your cock in me!”
Keeping her hands pinned above her head with one psychic hand, Knox hooked her legs over the crooks of his elbows. “Then you’ll have it.” He thrust into her, and her scorching hot pussy clamped and rippled around him. She was coming, he realized. And the “oh shit” look in her eyes meant that she was expecting punishment for not having permission. �
�It’s okay, you can come.”
It was a really good thing he thought so, because there wasn’t a chance Harper could have held back that orgasm. The moment his long, thick cock had stretched and filled her oversensitive walls in one smooth possessive stroke, sheer bliss had washed over her. She slumped against the wall, eyes falling closed, as her strength seemed to drain out of her.
“Look at me,” he rumbled.
She opened her eyes to find him staring at her with that very familiar savage possessiveness. Her pussy clenched, and he gritted his teeth. Knox slowly pulled back. Frowning, she tried curling her legs around him to keep him with her, but he held them tight.
“Don’t worry, baby, I’m not going anywhere,” he said softly, silkily. “I’m nowhere near finished with you.” Jaw clenched, Knox mercilessly slammed into her over and over, knowing she could take it. He’d angled her hips so that his cock brushed her clit with every brutal thrust, and he knew from many, many past experiences that her body wouldn’t hold out long against that. Already her pussy was becoming tighter and hotter.
Possessiveness spurred him on, kept him driving deep and hard. His demon wanted to crawl inside her until she’d never be free of him. “It won’t matter how many times I have you,” Knox growled, “I’ll always want more of this pussy. My pussy.”
She flexed her hand, wanting to be free to touch him, to scratch him, to pull at his hair. “Let me go.” He shook his head, and her demon reached for the surface and glared at him. “Release me,” it ordered. But he didn’t, and Harper resurfaced with a snarl. The air chilled a little as his eyes bled to black, and the hairs on her nape stood on end as she looked at his demon. “Let me go.”
“No,” it told her in that disembodied voice. “You’ll take what you’re given.” It mercilessly powered into her at a frenzied pace. Where Knox always clung to his control, the demon didn’t. Each slam of his cock was rough and territorial. Knox resurfaced, and the pace and force of the thrusts eased just a little. But then the demon was back, and once again it was feverishly slamming into her. They repeatedly switched, each tormenting her with their own personal brand of fucking.
“Not gonna last,” she warned then.
With a growl, Knox leapt to the surface. “You’ll last because I want you to last.” He thrust harder, literally driving his point home. Violet eyes glared at him, calling him a bastard. “You like it when I don’t give you what you want. You like it when I just take what I want. Like you’re my little toy.”
Fuck if he wasn’t right, the asshole. It probably made her a little weird, but Harper had made her peace with that. She was about to demand that he just made her come for God’s sake, but then she felt it starting to happen again out-of-fucking-nowhere. And since she hadn’t waited for permission, there was a good chance she’d pay for that. “Don’t stop.” He was sadistic enough to do it, but his eyes softened.
“I won’t stop, baby.” Knox fucked her harder, faster, driving as deep as he could go. “Make me come, Harper.” Her pussy clamped down on him as her eyes went blind and she choked out his name, and Knox came so fucking hard it almost blew the head off his cock – it went on and on and on, so intense that it should have hurt.
Shuddering, he slumped against her, breathing hard. “Let’s get you cleaned up so I can get you that ice cream you want.”
“I’m down with that,” she slurred.
Floating on her post-orgasm cloud, Harper was barely aware of him turning off the shower, grabbing towels, and carrying her into the bedroom. It wasn’t until he set her on her feet and began drying her off that she partially snapped out of her buzz. She tried to take over. “I can do it.”
“I know you can do it.” But he kept on patting her dry, and she made no more protests.
“You know, you really should —” Harper froze as a mind slid against hers. Unfamiliar. Small. Young. She gasped in wonder, gripping his arms. “Knox… I just felt the baby’s mind. It was the tiniest touch, but it was there.”
He stroked his hand over the small bump as he reached out with his mind, searching for another. And there it was. He gently “touched” it, felt an answering flutter.
“Did you feel it?”
He nodded, chest squeezing. “It has a vibe of… contentment.” Knox rested his forehead against hers. “I watched the scan and I’ve felt the baby move countless times, but touching the baby’s mind, feeling it respond… that’s something else altogether.”
She smiled knowingly. “And your protective levels just went up another notch, huh.”
“They did.” Knox curled his arms around her. “I’ll do everything I can to make sure that the baby stays content. I’m wondering if maybe all those endorphins rushing through you have mellowed it out. If so, it might be a sound idea to just spend the next twelve weeks fucking the hell out of you.”
“You’ll do that anyway.” Her stomach clenched as he gave her that lopsided smile that did interesting things to her body.
“You’re right. I will.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
At the knock on the door, Knox called, “Come in.” He looked up from the multiple computer monitors on his desk as Keenan strolled into his home office.
The incubus flicked a brief admiring glance at the three abstract art canvases of mechanical clockwork on the gray wall. “How was your vacation?”
“Good. Harper needed it.” She’d also enjoyed it enough to stay the full three weeks and had agreed to return there at some point. First, she naturally wanted to be sure that everything was ready for the baby.
Keenan nodded. “I just caught her on her way upstairs. She seemed happy, relaxed. Looks like the break did her good.” His brows lowered. “She was eating a raw carrot.”
Knox rubbed his nape. “Yeah, she’s had a few cravings lately. Mostly ice cream and raw carrots. I’m just hoping she won’t start wanting to eat them both at once.”
The sentinel shuddered at the idea. “Her stomach is more rounded. Amazing what a difference three weeks can make.”
“Rodgers warned us that things would move pretty fast after she reached week eighteen.” She was now twenty-one weeks pregnant and there was no way to hide it.
“She let me feel the baby kick.” Keenan grinned. “That kid’s feisty.”
Knox smiled in agreement. “Just like its mother.”
Keenan chuckled. “Yep. I’ll bet you’ll panic if it’s a girl.”
“Probably.” Knox placed his hands on the desk. “Moving onto the reason I called you here… what did you find out about Jonas’ girlfriend?”
“Her name is Kayce Willard. She’s from his lair, she lives with her roommate, she works as a model. And she’s missing.”
“Missing?”
“She hasn’t been seen by anyone since the night after the boardroom meeting.”
Knox swore.
“It could be that someone told her you suspect that she may have done some dirty magickal work for Jonas so she’s lying low for a while. Who could blame her? But it could also be that someone… disposed of her. I have members of the Force searching for her as we speak.”
Knox nodded in approval. “Anything else I should know?”
“Everything’s been pretty quiet. No disturbances within the lair. The studio hasn’t had any problems. McCauley has met with his grandparents three times since you left. He was his usual cold self, but they apparently didn’t seem put off by it. They also haven’t pressured Linda and Wyatt to give him up. In fact, according to Wyatt, they’ve been very cooperative and civil.”
“Good. Keep me updated on the Kayce Willard situation.”
“Will do.” With that, Keenan left.
Knox made a few calls and answered a few emails, catching up on some of the work he’d missed. Guessing that Harper was in the nursery, he rounded the U-shaped executive desk and left the office to seek her out. Hearing a noise downstairs, he followed it to the kitchen. But it wasn’t Harper he found sitting on a breakfast stool, drinking one of her s
trawberry smoothies while candy wrappers and empty chip packets littered the breakfast bar.
Knox sighed. “Lou, what are you doing here?”
The devil shrugged. “I was thirsty and a little peckish. Yes, I remember we had a chat about you not liking me just showing up, eating your food and stuff. Well, you chatted, looking at me with cruel intent. I think it was cruel intent. Could have been a promise of death. Maybe both. Although I would consider both at one time to be an excessive reaction.” He peeked around Knox’s body. “Where’s your mate?”
“I was about to go find her and – Wait, are you stoned?”
“No, of course not. Really. You can trust me. Drug users always tell the truth.”
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