by Calista Fox
He glanced down at her and she stared deep into his eyes, wishing she had the magic words to take away the haunted expression plaguing him. “Darien, I’m okay with being human and facing an hourglass with the sand running out. When my time is up, it’ll probably be a lot more peaceful for me. I’m also happy with my position in this community. I can live with the destiny designed for me.”
His brow furrowed. “Anyone can do that, Jade. But to change it… That takes courage and imagination.”
She leaned toward him and whispered against his lips, “You exhaust me the way your mind is constantly churning.”
He let out a low groan. “I’d like to exhaust you with my body.”
Moving into his lap, she wrapped her arms around his neck and said, “You didn’t just come here to bring me reading material, did you? Or to spew some sort of valiant and selfless crap about wanting me to build a life with another man.”
“I do want you to be happy.”
The heat flowing through her veins and the swelling of her heart made her say, “Then take me to bed.”
* * * * *
Darien’s groin tightened at the prospect, yet he hesitated. “I just told you to marry someone else.”
“Yes, but you didn’t really mean it.” A coy smile played on her lips. “I may lack romantic experience, but I can see through a ploy such as that. And while, yes, it might better my situation in some aspects, it wouldn’t in others. It would be false. You have to know that. And Michael deserves more than a tiny piece of my heart that now only feels friendship toward him.”
“Love can grow from that.”
She shook her head and let out a soft laugh. “Stop talking about this. You’d be an ogre if you knew I was with Michael, and I wouldn’t wish that on Sheena, Jocelyn and Morgan. Or your horse.”
His tense jaw loosened. “You have a point. They might resort to mutiny.”
“Never. They’re loyal to you. Devoted enough to help a human you care about.”
“I do care about you,” he said in a fierce tone. “That’s why I have to stay away from you. If the fire wraith returns and monitors the situation, he needs to believe you no longer mean anything to me. He’ll leave you alone.”
She snuggled close to him. “And yet, here you are…”
“Well, there’s always the chance I can talk you into returning to the castle with me until we’ve resolved this issue.”
Yes, in the back of his mind, that was still his deepest want and desire—along with making her immortal. And it was true he could force her hand. He had the authority to demand she stay at the castle while his army hunted for the rogue demons, not merely request she go with him. But he was smart enough to know she’d be miserable away from her home for an extended period of time.
Not to mention the slayers and villagers would be in an absolute uproar over him whisking her off again.
“I can follow your strategy for now,” she said, her breath warm against his neck. “I’ll continue to let the slayers escort me into the village when I go and I’ll keep to the cottage otherwise until the trouble passes.”
Her agreement with his precautionary measures put him slightly at ease. But it still irritated him that he had no control over her full protection. Not unless he ordered her to follow his command, that was. While a heavy hand might keep her from getting killed, she’d be miserable anyway. So he had to find a compromise. Strike a balance.
“You won’t be left to fend for yourself, I assure you,” he said. “But after tonight, I’ll need to continue to keep an ample distance. I have to make it appear as though I’ve tired of you. The fire wraith will find another tactic to engage me, which won’t involve you.”
She was quiet a moment, then asked, “But it’s just a guise, right?”
He grinned, despite the piercing sensation in his heart over her hint of doubt. “You already know the answer to that. You called my bluff, after all.”
Her sigh of relief blew against his skin, making it tingle. “So it would be hell for you if I were to marry Michael?”
“I don’t have to agonize over that anymore, now do I?”
She snickered. “You knew the answer to that before you even made the proposition.”
“It’s not an unreasonable scenario.”
“Not a month ago, no,” she said. “But now… Yes. It is.”
His hands gently clasped her face, the gesture urging her to glance up at him. “I’ve done a lot of things wrong by my own conscience. My misguided intentions have benefited the demon world, but I didn’t stay true to my own convictions. I can’t help but think that this situation that has come about with you is my punishment.”
“Careful,” she said as a tinge of light flickered in her eyes—one he’d never seen before. “You’re about to call me punishment.”
A low growl slipped from his mouth. “You find the strangest times to tease me.”
“I can’t help it. Aside from me, you’ve got to be the most tormented person I’ve ever known.”
He stood suddenly, with her in his arms. “Luckily, there are ways to ease some of that torment.”
She smiled, her lips curling against his neck in an enticing way. “Now you’re talking sensibly.”
It wasn’t difficult navigating her small house to find the master bedroom. Though the double mattress with the aged frame gave him pause.
“You sleep here?” he asked, his territorial instincts kicking in—specifically, his desire to make her life more comfortable. Lavish, even. He could still picture her vividly in his large bed, nestled under covers that didn’t look so worn and tattered. She deserved more than the modest environment she refused to leave.
With a sigh, she said, “It’s not a master suite in the castle, no. But try not to knock my home. I like it here, remember?”
“I like the cottage too,” he assured her. “You could benefit from some improvements though.”
“Don’t go trying to marry me off again so I’ll have a man to fix the place up. Everything in here is sufficient.”
He did not intend to insult her, but it was hard to quell the urge to send his own interior decorator to the cottage to spruce it up. Not for his personal pleasure, since this would be his one and only visit. But for hers.
“Are you wondering if you’ll fit in my bed?” She broke into his thoughts. They still stood in the middle of the room.
“It’s obviously not long enough for my height.”
“Let’s give it a try anyway.”
Her lips grazed his throat and his libido sprang back into action. He set her on the mattress and she immediately reached for the hem of his black sweater and stripped off the garment. Her fingers traced the grooves of his abdomen. She let out a long breath.
“I’ve missed your body.”
He groaned as she leaned toward him and placed kisses on his stomach. His fingers threaded through her hair.
She said, “You realize I could never be with another man. Ever. How could one possibly compare to a king? And no mortal is built so spectacularly.”
“I don’t want you to be with anyone else,” he told her in a low voice. “Nor do I want you to be alone.” A double-edged sword that cut deep.
“I have some good memories of us together to keep me company.”
Deftly working the fastenings on his leather pants, she peeled the material apart at the crotch and shoved it down his hips and legs. He toed off his riding boots and then rid himself of the rest of his clothing.
Her fingers encircled his erect shaft and her head dipped to take him into her mouth.
Darien’s previous musings as to whether she was his punishment for causing so much death and destruction returned to him. Surely no demon should experience the sort of pleasure she gave him. A beautiful human who made love to him with her mouth and set his pulse racing and his heart soaring… It was unthinkable. And yet, she aroused him instantly and seemed to enjoy stimulating him in this way.
The penalty against him would
come when he left her once more. This time for good.
He didn’t want to think of that at the moment. Instead, he swept her hair from her face and watched her tongue trail from base to tip, then swirl around the head, tasting him. His cock throbbed at her erotic touch and her natural instinct. She drew him into her mouth again, taking him deeper this time. His entire body ached for her.
Holding her hair back with one hand, he used the other to guide her palm to his balls. She gently cupped them, pushing him even further into risky territory. He tensed at the intimate gesture as excitement shot through him.
Jade had him worked up in a heartbeat and kept him in a frenzied state. She sucked him hard and a tremor ran through his legs.
“That’s it, sweetheart,” he murmured. “Just like that.”
She continued with the thrilling pace and the massaging of his sac, pushing him to the edge. His hips moved with her rhythm and adrenaline coursed through his veins. She pulled him into her wet depths as far as she could, eliciting a sharp grunt from him.
“Jade.” He felt it only fair to warn her how close he was to exploding in her mouth.
Her ministrations continued, making him a little lightheaded and a lot turned-on. She worked him a few minutes more and then the tremors in his legs crept up his body. His cock pulsed with a wicked beat and then surged as he came, calling out her name.
She didn’t shift away. He rode out the orgasm while still in her mouth. His heavy breaths were the only sound in the room, save for the snapping of the blazing fire. The heat it provided, in addition to the inferno she easily created within him, had beads of perspiration popping up along his hairline.
When she finally released him, he chuckled, although it was a rough sound because he still hadn’t gotten his breath back. “You’re entitled to the Cheshire Cat grin.”
Her brows dipped.
“Not familiar with Alice in Wonderland?”
“No.”
“It’s a fairy tale,” he told her. “You should probably read it. You might identify with Alice.”
“My life is hardly a fairy tale.”
“It’s not that kind of fairy tale.”
“Oh. I’ll ask Lisette about it.”
His fingers brushed her temple. “Still counting the beads she gave you?”
She smiled. “We’re good.”
Darien instantly had her out of her clothes. Then he stretched out on her bed, not quite fitting, as he’d suspected. He pulled her down on top of him, then grabbed a fistful of blanket and sheet and tugged, dragging the linen from the other side of the bed to them, so it covered her.
He kissed her as his hands roamed her body. Her skin against his felt incredible and he knew he’d be hard for her within seconds, demon recovery time being what it was, and also the fact she so easily excited him.
Breaking their kiss, she straddled his hips and sat up. His hands moved to her breasts, palming them as he caressed the mounds, then teased the already puckered nipples.
He groaned. “You in the firelight… You’re so much more gorgeous and sensuous in person than I can conjure in my mind.”
She stared down at him. “You fantasize about me?”
“All the time.” Not an admission that helped their plight, he realized. But an honest one.
“I try not to,” she said in an honest voice. “I keep telling myself there’s no point to it. But then you magically appear in my mind, despite my best efforts. Unfortunately, it’s never the same as that first time—since you’re not wittingly participating. It’s just me…”
He guided her forward, until her forearms rested on his wide chest. His hands slid down her back. “I have to stay out of your head, we both know that. That doesn’t stop me from thinking about making love to you. Sometimes it seems so real. As though I can almost hear your moans and feel your body against mine.”
She gnawed her lip. “We’ve really dug a hole for ourselves.”
“Yes. But I wouldn’t change anything—pass up the time we’ve had together.”
“Neither would I.”
Jade stared into his eyes, her blue gaze glowing in the flickering light.
She added, “No matter how doomed we were from the start, I wouldn’t take any of it back. I know now what I really want, and even though I can’t have it, I understand that the reason I never gave Michael any encouragement over the past eight years is because I innately knew amiable companionship was all we’d share. Even if we’d married and had children, we wouldn’t have experienced this kind of passion.”
“I’m sorry you continually suffer because of me.”
She smiled sweetly. “Who says I’m suffering right now?”
He snorted. “You don’t always have to let me off the hook.”
“I don’t,” she was quick to say. “I’ve demanded explanations from you. But you’ve also freely given ones I have no authority to ask for. I appreciate that.”
He pulled her closer to him and kissed her. “I appreciate that you listen. And try to understand, although you can’t possibly reconcile in your mind the things I’ve done.”
With a nod, she said, “I have to remain true to my species. You have the same responsibility. But Darien, one thing I’ve always been taught is that humans have killed other humans for centuries. Demons have killed demons. How hypocritical would we all be if we said we fiercely protect our own kind and never turn on them?”
His eyes closed briefly. “Don’t try to justify or mollify my actions, Jade.”
She was quiet for several moments, then added, “I’ll never be able to condone them. But I can’t condemn you either. Not knowing how close my race once came to pushing a button that would reduce this planet to an even weaker state than it’s currently in. At least we have fresh air to breathe, rather than inhaling toxins from nuclear bombs that would likely kill survivors within years, if not sooner.”
“You’re well educated in human conflicts. Is that how you can stand to be around me?”
The expression on her face revealed shock that he’d made such a statement. Eventually, however, it morphed into something much less intense. Grinning at him—and taking him by surprise—she said, “Perhaps. In addition to the fact you’re so damn hunky. So irresistible.”
He kissed her again. The sensations she evoked with just a kiss seared his insides. When he dragged his mouth from hers, it skimmed over her jaw and down her throat. His hands gripped her waist and he urged her upward. Her dewy folds slid along his stomach, ratcheting his desire for her. His tongue flicked over her nipple before he sucked the taut peak into his mouth.
She gasped. Her fingers plowed through his hair. Her other forearm rested on the pillow alongside his head. His teeth gently scraped her tight bud. His tongue soothed it. All the while, she squirmed against him, her moist labia rubbing along his skin.
Gliding his hand over her backside, he stroked the cleft of her ass, then pushed two fingers deep into her pussy.
“Oh God,” she said on a spiked breath.
His other hand slipped between her parted legs and he vigorously worked the knot of nerves as his fingers pumped in and out of her, while his tongue and mouth toyed with her nipple.
A throaty moan fell from her lips. Her back arched and he used the extra leverage as she lifted off his lap to stroke her faster.
“Darien. Oh the things you do to me.” Her inner walls squeezed his fingers and a tremor rippled through her.
“I want you to come,” he said against her breast.
“So close,” she whispered. “So very, very close.”
He rubbed her clit as his fingers pushed deeper. Her flesh was slick and her body responsive. Her breathy pants drove him wild. He wanted to bring her the same satisfaction he’d derived from her intimate touch earlier. More than that, he had the burning desire to make her feel good.
She shuddered and, moments later, muttered, “Yes. Oh God, yes!”
Her pussy contracted around his fingers as her body shook. Fire roared
through him at her quick and vehement reaction to him. Every fiber of his being screamed to bury his now-hard cock in her dripping cunt, but he wasn’t done with her.
When she seemed a bit steadier following her orgasm, she kissed him. “You know exactly how to touch me.”
“Just getting started.”
She smiled once more. “Okay.”
His hands moved to her waist and he coaxed her upward until his head was between her legs. She gripped the ledge of the headboard as his tongue whisked over her swollen pussy lips. She was wet and it made him want her even more.
“Darien,” she whispered as he tongued her clit. “You are so amazing.”
Her hips lowered and he suckled the bud between her legs as he slipped a finger into her pussy again. She moaned provocatively, spurring him on. He loved how uninhibited she was with him. How easily she let loose of their differences and simply gave herself over to everything he did to her and every desire that gripped her.
His mouth remained on her as he finger-fucked her, desperately craving to get her off.
“I love your hands and mouth on my body,” she said on a raspy breath.
He wanted her to come with his mouth on her pussy. His tongue flicked over her clit, then he tugged gently on her labia with his lips. Her hips bucked and he gave her more of what she silently asked for.
Her breaths became shallow. Her body tensed. He sensed the change in her, the cresting of sensations that caused him to work harder to push her into the sort of sexual bliss that would make her cry out his name and come against his mouth. Seconds later, she did just that.
The heady rush he received from pleasuring her would have been enough to sate him for the rest of the evening, since he really didn’t have much time to linger in her cottage. The slayers circled the inner perimeter of the village and one would ride by Jade’s house soon. It wouldn’t bode well for Darien to have anyone spot his horse outside, least of all a slayer.
Yet he couldn’t bring himself to leave before he’d had Jade one last time.
With his guidance, she shifted again and his cock pressed to her opening, barely penetrating. He held her steady for a moment as her palms splayed over his chest. Then he loosened his grip on her and her hips lowered. He sank into her heat and wetness and let out a low groan.