“Thank you,” he whispered.
“They are back but I make no promises on whether everything is the same size as it was before.”
She smiled wickedly as another wave of lustful longing washed over him.
“I see that familiar glint in your eyes, Damien. I want you to fuck me again. You’ve been a very considerate lover but please, I want you inside of me now. We’ve been separated for so long. I need you right this moment.”
Once again, she reached for his glorious cock. She touched the smooth, velvety length of his erection, earning another startled groan from Damien.
“You are playing with fire there, Anya,” he murmured.
She locked gazes with him. “I love playing with fire. You should know that by now, Damien.”
Silence settled between them for a brief moment. He knew it was true, she’d always pushed the limits to see how far she could go before the flames licked her and left an impression.
Fortunately, she’d been born with a gift that made her immune to the frailty that Ebony suffered around fire. It was a secret that only Damien and her family knew and she kept it that way, knowing that anyone who knew about it would devise a way to circumvent it.
She moved away from him and settled herself against the pillows. Smiling wickedly, she pulled her legs up so her feet were flat on the mattress and caught him hungrily studying her every move.
“Do I have to send you an engraved invitation?” she asked, slightly irritated that he hadn’t already taken advantage of the situation.
He shook his head and scrambled onto the bed after her. They were going to do it the old-fashioned way but she wanted him close and she wanted to feel as if he could protect her with the warmth of his body. He positioned himself at her entrance, and balancing his weight on one arm, he penetrated her digitally.
“So wet and ready,” he murmured huskily. “I love the way you respond to me.”
She closed her eyes, feeling him nudge her entrance with his cock. He thrust into her, filling her deep.
Pausing, he looked down into her eyes and smiled. The look of adoration in his eyes made her heart flood with emotion that would have rocked her being had she not already been flat on her back.
She wrapped her arms around him and pulled him as close as he could get without crushing her. Their kissing intensified as he continued thrusting inside of her. Their combined passion danced around the room, lighting them in a rosy glow.
As he drove her toward the pinnacle of release she roved her hands up and down his back, and she wouldn’t be surprised if he was left with scratch marks come the morning as she wasn’t going to run tonight. She was going to stay with him until dawn, and maybe even after that.
She’d planned to love him and leave him—but now after what had been divulged between them, she couldn’t imagine life without him. She could no longer stick to her convictions surrounding him. He sounded like just as much of a victim of his grandfather as Ebony had been.
“Oh Damien,” she said breathlessly. “Yes, Damien, yes!” she sighed as a shuddering climax stormed through her.
He continued pumping along her channel until he too found release and spurted his seed into her womb. Exhausted, he collapsed beside her and pulled her against him. With his arm skimming along her back, she cuddled close to his side and turned her attention to brushing her right hand along his sparsely haired chest.
She loved how he had muscles in all of the right places. He always seemed so virile despite sitting behind a desk every day, and he obviously still maintained his workout regimes.
Silently, Anya and Damien once again basked in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Yawning, she looked to the scar that had caught her attention earlier. The light in the room had dimmed to such an extent that it would be hard to see each other soon. Rather than flipping a switch to bask the room with their artificial lights, she instead looked around at the many candles in the room, and with one snap of her fingers they were all lit.
“Nice trick,” he murmured.
Romantic candlelight danced around them, adding to the already intense feeling in the room.
“You have to finish your story about this scar, Damien. I won’t be satisfied until you do.”
He rolled his eyes at her. “Honey, if you’re still not satisfied we can always go for round three.”
“Later.” She laughed, kissing his chest. “Why don’t you just put it all out there for me? I might be able to understand why you became the man you did after hearing more about your childhood.”
He stared at her intensely. “If I tell you the stories from my long-ago past, you’d better tell me more about how life was like for you when you were a kid.”
“I had a most idyllic childhood. It was perfect actually. I can honestly say that my mother gave it all to me, the white picket fence, the days spent by the ocean, time spent in her garden. I had friends my own age. I had two cousins who loved me like a sibling. You’ll have to meet Dallas and Adrian. They are both magically talented as their mother was a powerful witch.
“I really miss Aunt Bryony. She was so loving to us all. Then there is Uncle Ashley, well, he’s not as loving. He’s quite stern and has been too hard on poor Dallas since her mother’s death. She thinks he hates her. I think he can’t bear to be around her because she reminds him too much of his beloved Bryony. Either way, I’m sometimes ashamed knowing I’m related to such a cold man. He shut down emotionally after his wife’s death. My cousins and I had many adventures even in the small maritime village we’d settled in…everything was perfect and my mother had a hand in making sure it would be.
“She didn’t want me near anything that might destroy my innocence. That’s why she made my dad promise he wouldn’t whisk us away to the stars until I turned sixteen. I still recall how sad Dallas was when I went away, she was reduced to tears, and Dallas doesn’t cry easily. Mother wanted to take her along with us but that beastly father of hers wouldn’t let her go. He kept insisting she was safer on Earth—like there is a safer place than with my mother of all the nerve! After, Uncle Ashley said that I was determined to hate him, even though Mom told me I shouldn’t feel that way about him. I missed Dallas a lot when I was traipsing around the stars and having my space-faring education.”
“Sounds as if she is more like a sister to you than a cousin.”
“She is. I have always been like her protector despite the fact that she’s the older one. We were so close when we were young. Adrian is nothing like his father, he actually has a heart!” She smiled widely, her eyes lighting up with the love she felt for her family.
He envied her in that moment. She had a family devoid of the evil that existed on his father’s side. She had a family that had always loved her and would do anything for her.
He could only count on the Forsythes to be there for him the way that Dallas and Adrian would be there for Anya. His mother’s family would be there for him, yes, but they didn’t share the close familial bond that Anya had with her two cousins.
They spent a few more minutes in quiet reflection, her mind filled with images from her childhood.
The maritime village they’d settled in had been near a spaceship port and though their village was as sleepy as you could get with technology not a hop, skip and a jump away, it had kept her father sane, as he’d worked in the big city fixing up spaceships and keeping in touch with some of his old cronies.
They brought him news from worlds away and many a night before bed, he’d sit and tell them about his mates’ many run-ins with alien species and alien laws.
During the day while he was at work, her mother would teach her normal studies like history, languages and maths in the morning and during the afternoon, she’d devote it entirely to developing her magical craft.
She had taught Adrian and Dallas a good deal about the craft as well. Without her mother they never would have been able to pursue their magical education as her uncle was unwilling to allow Dallas to leave their home province
.
He was scared to death that slavers would come after Dallas and get her. After her aunt had passed away, her uncle hadn’t been able to run the family business alone and her father had taken a more active role in running it.
“What are you thinking about now?” she whispered.
The scent of lavender drifted through the air from the open window. When the colonists had first arrived they had brought as much as they could from Earth to make Vanguard as Earth-like as possible.
Lavender was an integral part of the magical community as it was used for many things ranging from perfumes and soaps to potions and healing salves. Many witches still practiced the old nightly ritual of blessing a bunch of lavender and placing it under their pillow to keep night demons away from their dreams.
The house was lovingly surrounded by lavender, hollyhocks, foxglove and hydrangea.
She had grown up with the scent of lavender in the forefront of her mind as it had been her aunt’s favorite flower.
“I’m thinking about my grandfather.” Damien’s soft voice brought her out of her dreamy reverie. “I don’t think he had a happy day in his life, that’s probably why he turned out so bloody rotten. On the day that he did this to me,” he gestured to his scar, “he thought he’d introduce me to the finer points of magical combat. He’d been equipped with his wand while I was unarmed. He told me that every warlock had to learn how to fight with his bare hands just in case the enemy had taken away their magical trinkets like wands, staffs and swords. He wanted me to defend myself against him while he used a conducting weapon to enhance his magic.”
“I guess that’s what the black tourmaline amulet is,” she muttered, sighing.
Ever since she’d touched that stone she hadn’t wanted any part of it. Now she often wondered where he’d stashed it after she’d gone and left it with him on their wedding night.
“Yes, I suppose. I was just a kid, I was no match for a fully grown warlock armed with a wand,” he muttered. He continued stroking a path between her shoulders and down to her ass. “When my grandfather hit me with the curse that gave me this scar, I thought I was dying. I was riddled with the most indescribable kind of pain.” He sighed and continued, “My father must have heard the explosion or my mother did for I heard them screaming my name and then saw them rushing toward me.
“Never again did I see such a murderous glint fill my father’s eyes. He had bright-green eyes like the color of grass during a rainy season and they were imbued with his anger and his power. He looked like an avenging angel. Had I ever doubted my parents’ love, I never did after that fateful day.”
“I take it he didn’t kill his father. You said your grandfather lived ’til you were a teenager.”
“No, he didn’t kill him though Dexter walked away with more scars than I had and we never saw him again. My mother was so shaken she would not let me out of her sight for a week. My father packed us up and we left with no delay. The only thing I recall is my grandmother standing at the end of the lane sobbing her eyes out. I don’t think she was as evil hearted as my grandfather. I just can’t understand why she never accepted my father’s invitation to come with us.”
“As hard as it to imagine, maybe she actually loved the monster. I don’t know how else to explain it, unless he had her indebted to him in some way. Anyway, let’s think of happier times and of the people who never let us down.”
Pain shot through her heart. She had to stop thinking about how Damien had let her down. If only he’d been open with her from the start—she could have found a way to get over his family relations had he been honest with her. Even now, she knew she couldn’t give him up so she had to find a way to get past what he’d done to her. If she didn’t, it would curse their love—and she couldn’t give them that dire of a fate.
“Needless to say, the only side of the family we bothered with after that day was my mother’s. She hired me two warlock bodyguards and they never left my side until I was old enough to defend myself. After that day she was more determined than ever to ruin the Ashers and all that they stood for.”
He kissed the top of her head and groaned when his stomach rumbled. “Looks as if that heavy lunch you served me earlier has wasted away. I’ll go downstairs and make us some poached eggs or something. I’m not as talented as the cook but I’ll try to whip up something palatable.”
His idea of palatable probably consisted of burnt toast or something equally gruesome. She didn’t think he could manage a poached egg but hey, he could surprise her. She giggled.
“I’ll wait here for you and maybe take a nap while you’re gone. I haven’t gotten much sleep in the last few months.”
“I wonder why.” He gave her a lopsided grin and slipped out of bed. Walking naked across the floor, he opened the wardrobe and reached in for his dressing gown and slippers. “Don’t go anywhere, I’ll be back shortly. I haven’t finished ravishing you yet.”
She stuck her tongue out at him, climbed under the covers and drifted off to sleep.
Chapter Four
Anya woke with a start. The sound of the bedroom door creaking open put her on alert. She raised her hand in the air and activated her magic. She threw an energy ball and hit Damien straight in the chest. The tray he carried clattered to the floor and teapot, cups and plates smashed into a million pieces.
Grogginess faded as she realized her mistake. She jumped out of bed and rushed over to him.
“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she cried, kneeling down.
Damien looked struck dumb. He sat propped up against the open door. His eyes were wide open and unblinking.
“Say something, say anything, Damien!” She cupped his face between her hands.
“It’s a damn good thing I love you, Anya.” He finally blinked and the sheer confounded look on his face made her giggle. He locked gazes with her, and a smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. “I shouldn’t get after you for it—after all I am the one to blame for it.”
“Goodness, look at you, you’re covered in egg.”
“It gives a whole new meaning to having egg on one’s face, doesn’t it?” he asked ruefully, looking down at the mess he was covered in.
“I think you need a shower, and I’ll slip downstairs and make something for us that would probably taste a whole lot better than what you made up.” She stared in distaste at the charred toast and the overcooked eggs.
She loved him for trying but it was obvious that he’d never spent a day of his life in the kitchen. His was a privileged upbringing; hers wasn’t needy but she’d had a much more sensible upbringing than what Damien had been granted.
He reached out and gripped her hand. “I would like it much better if you were to shower with me.”
She smirked. “Why don’t we share a shower later, you get that stuff off yourself first and then we’ll see how appealing you are to me.” She winked at him and gingerly stepped past him so she was out in the hallway.
She used her powers to collect the mess that was on the floor and deposited it back on the tray. Reaching down, she picked up the tray and looked at him in concern. “Do you need me to help you up?”
He looked incredulous. She had probably just hurt his manhood. “I can handle myself, thanks.” He looked disgusted with himself.
“I appreciate your effort, Damien. I really do, and I won’t hit you with an energy ball the next time I’m startled awake—or at least I’ll try not to.”
She turned to walk down the hallway to the staircase and stopped cold when confronted with the patiently waiting form of Mr. Reeves.
“I heard quite the commotion, mistress. I thought it best to come and see if all was right with yours and the master’s world.”
She looked in consternation at him. Now she recalled why she’d struggled with having a staff like the one that was invested at Silver Gables. They were always in your business no matter what.
“My husband was hungry. He decided he was a culinary expert and made us this delightful treat.�
�� She grimaced as she stared down at the mess that was heaped on the tray.
Reeves gave her an understanding smile. “The staff hasn’t yet retired for the evening. The cook was very shocked to see the master down in her domain. She decided to make herself scarce so he would think he was the only one around.”
Anya bit her lip. “Please give my apologies to the cook and tell her I will endeavor to keep my husband away from her domain in the future. He’s obviously not suited for it. If she could find it in her heart to make us something to eat…”
“I’m way ahead of you, mistress. She’s getting a nice little spread ready for you as we speak. She’ll send it up when you ring for it.”
“I never thought to look—I never imagined this house would be outfitted with such an antiquated system.”
“That system isn’t antiquated anymore on Vanguard Prime. Many of the old ways that have gone out of fashion on Earth were resurrected when the colonists came here and decided to mold this world to a gentler time in Earth’s ancient past.”
Dryness prickled in her throat. “Yes, they did resurrect some good things—and some bad things—slavery being one of their worst resurrections.”
“Begging your pardon, my lady.” He tugged at his collar. “I spoke out of turn.”
“I welcome you to speak freely, Reeves. Not everyone suffered as my family did during the Bloodbayne Terror.”
“My family was untouched. My mother had no abilities that anyone wanted, and my father was back on Earth when all of the troubles occurred.”
She understood Reeves’ point of view but she felt uncomfortable talking about it.
“I’ll tell Damien that food is on the way, and I should probably help him get cleaned up. He was absolutely covered in tea and egg, and I never thought the tea must have been burning hot. I should go and check him to make sure he is unharmed. Please give my thanks to the cook.”
She handed him the tray, nodded curtly at him, and turned back toward the master suite.
Her heart thundered in her chest and reverberated in her ears. She clenched her hands at her side, and remembered the saying that she and Dallas shared.
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