He grimaced and she smiled, knowing she’d embarrassed him by calling him beautiful. Men were such funny creatures. You could talk about the size of their cocks all day and night, but mention a pretty feature and they went pink with discomfort.
“I thought all little girls dreamed of having a white knight,” he grunted, clearly trying to cover his uneasiness. “You know—all blond curls and baby blue eyes.”
Her full, kissable, fuck-me lips lifted in a tempting smile, and he was more tempted than he could’ve ever thought possible. He wanted to slip between their fleshy, slick surface—cock, tongue, anything—and just spill into her through that little sexy, fuckable hole. Her tongue flicked out to lick the pouting fullness of the lower one, and he actually felt the tip of his dick release a hot burst of fluid, moistening the head. He felt that burst of pre-cum like a bullet traveling the huge length of his shaft, sizzling within his flesh, then erupting from the slit in search of her moist mouth.
Oh…fuck… yesssssss.
In a second he was going to be on his knees, rubbing that burst of pre-cum into her tongue, watching her swallow that first bit of his taste, and then he was going to fuck her mouth, forcing his cock between those juicy lips until he was flooding the back of her throat and she was taking every inch of him. Every single burning, throbbing, aching inch.
She was going to eat his cock and he’d love every single second of it.
He was so unbelievably hot, burning alive as he lifted his thumb to the corner of her mouth, testing the resilience of her flesh, running the calloused pad across the lush expanse of pink. Again, he felt the animal shift, rearranging itself within his skin, and he knew with the inherent knowledge of his power that the beithíoch would always be there. He’d no longer be able to force him to the background, leashing him in, pretending that he wasn’t an integral part of him. The animal had tasted freedom and feasted on the most amazing, incredible, mind-shattering woman Kieran had ever known—the fuck of his life—and it was now here to stay. He’d have to adjust, to learn to live with it and accept, because he wanted…needed…had to have Té by his side forever.
Her eyes glazed with passion as she licked the tip of his thumb with her pink tongue, bringing a rough, rumbling growl from between his lips that neither recognized as human. But she didn’t even blink. If anything, her eyes went darker, as if she not only accepted that feral, primitive part of his soul, but wanted it.
Maybe even loved it.
The hunger knotted within his cock like a fist of pain and lust and something else—something so dark and needy he had no word for it—and it was all he could do not to throw her to the ground, lift that rosy little ass up in the air, and fuck her so hard she shattered around him. Hard and hungry, with sweat and growls and the heavy, pounding, hammering rhythm of a lust that he’d never be able to satisfy. Every time he looked at her, he only wanted her more.
Her teeth nipped his still stroking thumb, the only sound—the rough, uneven cadence of their breathing—and he nearly buckled, ready to fuck her ‘til it hurt them both.
Saephus, didn’t she know how much danger she was courting? Why didn’t she turn away in fear and run from the risk, instead of teasing it…tempting it with that little fuckable mouth and the promise of heaven he’d find in her tender, lush, so sweet little cunt. The hottest, most delicious, tightest little pussy he’d ever had. The one he’d claimed as his and no other’s the moment his fangs had sunk into her shoulder, marking her—her hot, sweet blood flowing into his belly like the richest, most decadent of sins.
“Faith, lass, I’m no white knight. I’m the devil and you’re playing with fire again.”
She lifted her brows. “Mmm…maybe that’s because I like the heat.”
“And I’m afraid I’ll burn you so badly, you’ll run. I dinna have my control with you. No’ a single bloody shred of it. All I have is hunger and need and things you wouldna even understand.” His hand gripped her jaw, pulling her closer. “There’s so much going on inside o’ me, Té. So much coming to life, and it’s all centered on you, as if my heart no longer fucking beats for me, but for the both of us—for no more than the promise of seeing you and hearing you…and touching you. Of fucking you, Té. I canna—willna—get enough of sinking into you…ever. And instead o’ getting easier, I want you more each time, as if each taste only makes me hunger to take you that much more, when I already want you so badly I ache in my bones from it. I crave you, Té, like I’m starving for just a sip of you.”
She stared straight at him, not backing down an inch. “You know the thing about fairy tales, Kieran? Not all little girls dream of the white knight. Not all of them want safe, boring ol’ Prince Charming and his life of tedious luxury.”
A small, wry smile twisted his lips. “And what did you dream of, lil’ Té?”
“I always wanted the Black Knight,” she whispered, weaving a warm, intimate spell around them with her words. “The bad boy. When I lay in bed at night and touched myself between my legs, running my fingers through the warm folds of my sex, I dreamed of the one with danger in his eyes—the one with the real power to show me what could be between a man and a woman. The one who would know what to do with me once he got me within his castle chamber, or his carriage, or wherever the hell else he decided I needed to be fucked. That’s what I thought about while my fingers stroked my cunt and I came all over my teenage nightgowns.”
Her words, spoken so low and throaty, sent a sledgehammer of desire right through the core of his cock. It tightened his lungs, squeezed at his heart, hammering away at his promise not to take her again—too soon—even though he knew damn well that he would.
“Remember when I said I hadna wanted another woman since I met you?”
She sat back on her heels, her heart beating triple time within her chest. “Yeah?”
“I lied.” In one deft movement, he rolled her beneath him, pinning her with his hard, solid weight. “I’ve no’ wanted one since before I met you—because my heart already knew you were out there. The first time I saw that little picture of you in Evan’s wallet, it was like a bolt of lightning shot straight through me. I almost fucking changed then and there, even though I didna really understand any of it at the time. But my beast recognized you, my power recognized you—and my soul recognized you.”
“Soul mates?” she questioned in a breathless rush. “I never knew you were such a romantic.”
“Yeah, well, the thought that you were mine was immediately followed by one that said you were mine to fuck—so I’m no’ sure you should hold out much hope on the whole romance bit,” he chuckled around a crooked smile.
“Oh, I don’t know. You claim I’m your soul mate, you vow to kill to protect me, are stupidly willing to risk your life to do just that, and promise to always be faithful. I’d say that’s pretty damn romantic, big guy.”
His eyes narrowed down at her. “Yeah well, just dinna go telling anybody.”
She nodded, studying him with those deep, dark eyes that he felt he could lose himself in…forever. “If you’re serious, then I should probably warn you that if you were really mine, I’d most likely kill you if you ever cheated. Maim you at the least.”
With tender strokes, he brushed her hair back from the smooth perfection of her brow. “Yeah, well, I’d kill myself, but it’s no’ something you’ll ever have to worry about. And it doesna get more serious than this.”
Té squeezed her eyes shut against the heady temptation of his emotion-filled gaze. “Yeah, yeah, I know—because you promised to be faithful, huh?”
Her voice was almost solemn—all traces of teasing vanishing as quickly as they’d appeared—and his dark head shook in exasperation. “It doesna get hard for anyone but you, lass. No’ anymore. And it never will again. And someday you’re going to believe that.”
“Someday?” she questioned, arching one brow in prefect imitation of his own arrogant expression.
His wicked lips twisted into a sexy, knowing smile. “Aye,
after we’ve spent the next—”
“Don’t say it,” she whispered, squeezing her eyes shut once more, all traces of amusement vanished from her glowing face.
“Té,” he rasped, running his lips across her cheekbone, stroking the delectable little beauty mark with the soft pad of his tongue. She trembled in his arms, but she didn’t give in.
“Not like this, Kieran.” Her eyes opened, blinking slowly up at him, shadowed with mystery. “You can’t just dictate to me what our future is going to be. It doesn’t work like that.”
He stared down at her with nothing short of pure, unadulterated resolve. “That’s how it works in mine.”
Her mouth thinned with anger, hands pushing against his warm, solid chest until he finally loosened his grip, allowing her to scoot out of his reach. She sat on the edge of the bed, looking back at him over the delicate, golden line of her shoulder, her eyes huge in her pretty face. “Not in mine.”
Kieran climbed out of the bed with rough, anger-tinged movements, the air around her swirling with tints of warm, red-splashed energy. “You’ll do as I say, damn it,” he vowed, stepping into his jeans. “You’re my mate, and that bloody well means we make it permanent.”
Her head cocked to the side, expression suddenly more inquisitive than irritated. “Meaning?”
The sharp nod of his head said he already believed the matter to be settled. “Meaning we get bonded.”
Té licked her lips. “You mean like Lach and Evan?”
“Aye,” he murmured, narrowing his gaze…not liking her tone.
“No.”
“What do you mean, no?”
She shrugged her shoulders in a calm gesture of control, as if she weren’t nearly dying inside, her heart wanting to give in, though her will refused. “I mean it just like it sounded. No.”
She watched as every muscle in his long, dark body hardened with tension, his disbelief and pain obvious in the way he held himself, all tight lines and rigid dignity. “You can fight it all you like,” he vowed in a low, hard voice, “but nothing’ll ever change the fact that you’re mine, Té. What we have, it’s no’ going to disappear just because you think you can make it go away—ignore it or deny it or whatever the hell you think it is you’re doing.”
She held his glittering stare, and tried to convey with her eyes what she could not tell him with words. “Maybe I’m waiting for a better reason to bond myself to a man for all eternity than him simply saying ‘it’s going to happen’? Maybe I’m waiting for something more, Kieran.”
His eyes flashed, mouth a hard line of frustration as he stared at her from across the darkening room, the growing shadows between them seeming to signify this rift they couldn’t work their way across—not without one of them giving what they expected the other to give first. Neither willing to risk it—to make that first terrifying leap into the unknown, opening their heart and soul to the other.
Gritting his teeth, Kieran’s black gaze drilled into her, as if he could use his power to make her submit, though he knew far too well her heart was something he could never control. No—the prize he wanted was one all his powerful Magick could never provide. It was something that would have to be given freely.
But that didn’t mean the man in him was any less desperate to have it. “Damn it, Té, you will bloody well bond with me. Fight all you like, sweetheart, but that’s my fucking bite in your shoulder and my cum in your sweet little cunt. And before this goddamn nightmare is over, you’re going to admit you belong to me…forever.”
She watched him from her position on the edge of the bed, letting his angry determination wash over her, fueling her own purpose and will. “We’ll see about that, babe. But something tells me I don’t take orders as easily as you’d like.”
* * * * *
That fact was proven not thirty minutes later, as Kieran tried to convince her that leaving her in his father’s cozy library for the night was the right thing to do.
“Damn it, dinna be doing this again, Té. I canna hunt when I’m worried you’ll no’ be staying where I’ve put you.”
“And what makes you think I’ll stay just because you’ve pointed your finger and told me to?”
“If you run, I’ll track you down and bring you right back where you belong. I dinna care if I have to kill a fucking path to get to you—you are no’ ever…ever…getting away from me, woman. Make sure you understand that before you do something stupid.”
“As stupid as you trying to track down Maldari on your own?”
Black eyes narrowed with outraged pride. “I told you I can handle the little bastard Gan Bhrí. Do you really doubt me?”
Té paced before him, hands planted angrily on her slim hips. “I think you underestimate him, yes, and what he’s capable of. You’re so angry, you’ll walk right into one of his traps just to get your hands on him. And he doesn’t fight with honor, Kieran.”
It was galling to know that she thought Maldari could pose any kind of threat to him. Hell, he could crush the little weasel with his bare hands, and here she thought he should be worried. “He dies for what he’s done, Té. No one hurts you and lives to remember it.”
“Then you should let me help. If we’re really a couple, if you really believe all that you’ve claimed, then we’re partners. We do this together.”
“No way in hell,” he grunted, shaking his dark head. “I willna let you witness his death.”
And she knew that what he really meant was that he wouldn’t let her see him kill. Everything hinged on his fear of her turning away from him—his belief that she would eventually think him a monster.
“And if you die instead?”
“Do you have so little faith in me?” he rasped.
“Don’t worry, Kieran. I give as much trust as I get.” And with those whispered words, she closed the library door in his face, the significant click of the lock feeling like a sharp slap across his burning face.
He stood there in the empty hallway, staring stupidly at the scuffed toes of his boots, knowing what he should do but too bloody afraid to do it.
There was still that little bit of himself that remained disgustingly afraid. Afraid of how she really felt. Terrified of what she’d say in return if he opened his veins and spilled the truth of his heart. He’d given her so much of himself…but withheld that one part that he knew she needed.
Knew—because he needed the same damn thing from her.
They were like two opposing warriors at a stalemate, evenly matched, neither willing to take that final, terrifying step that would lead to either mutual surrender or destruction.
He reached out to open the door, just as his father rounded the end of the hall. “The Council is waiting, Kieran.”
With a deep, fortifying breath, he released the handle, promising himself he would do it tomorrow. Yeah, tomorrow, when she woke in his arms, the sun streaming across the beautiful features of her face, shining through the silken locks of her hair—then he would tell her.
Then he’d give her the words he already knew were true—had known for some time now, if he were completely honest with himself.
And in doing so, he would be offering her the trust—the faith—she so very much wanted him to give.
Yes, he sighed to himself. Tomorrow.
* * * * *
“She refused.”
“She what?” Reggie shouted, nearly falling out of his chair around the great table in Iain’s study.
“She bloody refused,” Kieran muttered, hating that he was being forced to discuss such an intimate topic, even if it was with his family.
Seamus looked as if he’d faint. His hand clutched at his strong chest as he sagged against the cushioned back of his chair. “She canna do that,” he stammered, clearly scandalized by the thought.
“Yeah?” Kieran snorted, his pride stinging as fiercely as he’d known it would when he had to present the unbelievable news to the Council. “Well, you try telling that to her.”
“But…in a
ll my years…I’ve never heard of such a thing. It just isna done!” Seamus ended on an outraged roar.
Kieran opened his mouth, but his father cut him off, holding a hand across his son’s chest to signal it was now his turn to take control of the situation. “Seamus, I’ll remind you that the boy’s heart is involved here, and your archaic attitude is no’ helping anyone. We canna simply make the lass accept a bonding that she feels we are all trying to force her into—”
“Force?” Seamus thundered, clearly livid. “Is that what you call our sacred traditions? Force!”
“That’s how the lass sees it,” Iain insisted, nodding his white head. “You know how those Americans are. No respect for tradition, although in this case I’m afraid I must agree. If I were in her shoes, I wouldna want to be pledging myself to a man who hadna once told me what was in that black heart of his, either.”
His uncles looked equally taken aback. “Is this true, Kieran?” Donald demanded, deep voice rough with disbelief. “Have you no’ told her how it is between a Magick and his mate?”
Kieran stepped forward to stand beside his father. “Thanks for nothing,” he muttered beneath his breath, and to his irritation his father only smiled. Wily old bastard, he thought, sensing the trap his Da had so cleverly set before him. Saephus, when was he going to learn never to underestimate the man? It was…embarrassing.
“No’ exactly,” he said in a firm voice, addressing the Council, though now that it was here, out in the open, he suddenly couldn’t understand why he’d been so bloody afraid to just say it. The gods knew it was true. Knew that he loved her with everything that he was—everything he would ever be. Forever.
And suddenly he didn’t want to live a moment longer without telling her so. Without opening his heart and letting her completely in, right where she belonged. Where he knew she would always be.
A Bite of Magick Page 22