Rush of Pleasure

by Rhyannon Byrd

  “Well, I happen to like crazy.” He rolled her to her back, coming up on his side beside her, and gave her a deep, melting kiss. Then he pulled his head back and smiled. “And right now, I want to get your crazy little ass in the shower with me.”

  Willow lifted a self-conscious hand to her hair and winced. “I must look awful.”

  “You look beautiful,” he rumbled, his lips curving in a smile that was slow and wicked. “But I have a whole lot of sexual fantasies saved up about you, and having my way with you in a shower is high on the list.”

  Willow told him to lead the way, and ten minutes later, she finally understood what was so wonderful about showering with a lover. There was something deliciously erotic about standing together in the warm water, their hands stroking and slipping all over each other’s bodies.

  “So what now?” she asked, enjoying the feel of Noah’s hands lathering soap over her shoulders and arms. “Your mission to save the world has been completed. Are you going to leap tall buildings in a single bound?”

  He stared down at her through dark lashes that were beaded with water, his mouth kicked up at one corner in a sexy grin. “I think I’m more of the Batman type.”

  “Hmm. Dark. Broody. I can see your point.” She went up on tiptoe and pressed her mouth to his, kissing him slowly, deeply, loving the way he kissed her back. Loving this slippery, steamy, provocative intimacy that had wrapped around them. She never wanted it to end.

  So stop stressing. Just enjoy it…

  Breathless from the kiss, she rested her flushed cheek against his chest and tried to follow the good advice. But failed. “Seriously,” she rasped, “what’s next, Noah?”

  “I don’t know,” he admitted with a shrug.

  She pulled back a little and locked her gaze with his. “Well, I’ve been thinking.”

  He lifted a worried-looking brow. “And?”

  “I could try something. A spell. One that would pull Sienna to me, and hopefully anyone who’s with her. Then your friends and I could kill Calder and get it over with. Heck, I bet even Damon would help.”

  “You don’t have that kind of power,” he argued. “If you did, you’d have used it when you were searching for Sienna.”

  “You’re right. At the moment, I don’t have that kind of power. But I know how to get it. Spells like that fall under the darker side of witchcraft, which I’ve always steered clear of. But I’d be willing to learn, if it means keeping you safe. All it would take is a little research and a few phone calls.”

  “No way in hell,” he growled. “You’re not doing it.”

  Willow frowned. “Why not?”

  “Because I don’t want you messing with that crap. It’s dangerous. And if it worked, that bastard Calder would find some way to hurt you.” His words punched with brutal force, betraying his emotions. Fear. Anger. Panic. “Damn it, Will. That’s got to be one of the dumbest ideas I’ve ever heard.”

  “Then I guess I’m just too stupid now to know a good idea from a bad one,” she said softly, unable to get angry when she could sense how worried he was.

  “You’re not stupid. I wish,” he muttered, a pained expression on his rugged face. “You’re too bloody smart for your own good. Not to mention stubborn and brave. It all makes for a pain-in-the-ass combination.”

  “Come on, admit it. You like me plucky. A doormat of a woman would bore you to tears.” Cocking her head a little, she watched him from beneath her lashes. “And speaking of women, I hear you have a hell of a reputation when it comes to the ladies.”

  “Jesus,” he growled. “Don’t listen to the shit that Kellan talks.”

  Willow arched one brow. “You’re denying it?”

  “Like I said, I’ve dated,” he admitted, an endearing flush of color darkening his cheekbones, as if he was embarrassed. “But never anything serious.”

  “No one ever tempted you to settle down?”

  “They might have tried, but it was a waste of time.” One of his hands slipped beneath her hair, curving around the back of her neck, the other settling against the side of her face. “I’ve always been too hung up on you.”

  Just like that, he floored her.

  “It’s true,” he told her, reading the shock in her eyes. “Sex has been fun, but it was never anything like this. Like what we have.”

  “But I don’t even know what I’m doing,” she whispered, making his chest rumble with a gritty laugh. “I couldn’t have been that good.”

  “If you were any better,” he rasped, “it would have killed me.”

  Despite the sexy grin on his lips, she could see the shadow of sadness in his eyes. “Why do I get the feeling that this breathtaking confession isn’t leading to something good, Noah?”

  “Because what I want doesn’t matter.” He pulled back from her, hands fisting at his sides, and his voice dropped. “Until I deal with Calder, I can’t ask you to be a part of my life.”

  “Then let me try the spell,” she pleaded, placing her hands on his chest.

  He shook his head, his expression grim. “I’m not letting you get involved in this, Will. I don’t want you anywhere near that bastard.”

  “Then what’s your plan?” she demanded, her voice shaking with frustration. “Are you going to lock me up? Hide me away somewhere?”

  “I’m going to get you someplace safe,” he growled, “and then I’m tracking down Calder and putting an end to this once and for all.”

  Willow started to tell him that it would be a cold day in hell before she let him run off and face that monster on his own, then changed her mind. Instead, she reached down and took him into her hand.

  “What the hell, Will?” He made a rough sound in his throat as she stroked him, his cock responding with a hard pulse. “You gonna try to control me with sex?”

  A grin touched her mouth. “Maybe that’s exactly what I’m going to try.” She ran her thumb over the heavy, swollen head, where a pearly drop of moisture had gathered, enjoying the ragged sound of his groan. “Will it work?”

  He grabbed her, lifting her off her feet and quickly pressing her against the wall of the shower, his expression dark and intense, as if he was thinking hard about what he wanted to say. And then he told her to put her legs around his waist, and he worked himself inside her with a thick, breathtaking lunge.

  “I’ve told you why I left that night. But do you know why I’ve stayed away all these years?” he asked, keeping his hips pressed hard against hers, pinning her to the wall.

  She shook her head, her throat burning with emotion as she waited for him to tell her.

  He kept his eyes locked on hers. “Because I knew I couldn’t stay close to you and not fall harder than I already was. I wouldn’t have been able to stop myself from falling completely in love with you. Wouldn’t have been able to keep my hands off you. And that scared the living hell out of me.”

  She opened her mouth, but he placed his fingers over her lips.

  “Just listen to me,” he told her. “As pissed as I was at Harris that night, his words were true. I didn’t have any business messing around with you.”

  Pushing his hand away, she said, “Why? And before you give me that crap about you being dangerous, you know I don’t believe it, Noah. I didn’t care about your bloodline.”

  “It wasn’t just that. You were too young.”

  “I was old enough to know what I wanted.”

  His quiet laugh was wry, tinged with pain. “Not the way I would have given it to you.”

  She couldn’t help but challenge him. “If it was anything like what you gave me tonight,” she said huskily, “I would have been in heaven.”

  Tiny lines fanned out from the corners of his eyes as he narrowed his gaze on her, and then he quietly said, “I want you to tell me why you were still a virgin.” His chest brushed against her sensitive breasts as he pulled in a deep breath. “Did something happen? Did someone try to hurt you?”

  “Noah, it’s not something I want to talk abo
ut.”

  “Please.” He pressed his forehead to hers. “Please, tell me something, Will. Anything. The not knowing is driving me crazy. Haven’t you wanted sex?”

  “I’ve wanted sex,” she admitted in a low voice, running her hands over his slippery shoulders, the hot water beating down hard on his back. “I’m a flesh-and-blood woman, and I have needs like everyone else. But…you’re the only man I’ve ever trusted enough to have it with. Who’s made me willing to take the risk.”

  “I don’t understand,” he grated, lifting his head. “Why’s it a risk?”

  “Please, just drop it.” She tried giving him a teasing grin. “You know, I might be new to this whole sex thing, but shouldn’t you be…moving?”

  The look on his face said he knew exactly what she was doing, but he let her get away with it. “I’ll get to the moving part,” he told her. “But you’re new to this, and you feel swollen inside. So I’m giving you time to get used to me.” He started to kiss her again, then pulled back his head, his pale gaze glittering and sharp. “You know, you could have come after me, Will.”

  “After what Harris told me?” She gave a soft snort. “I don’t think so.”

  “What did he tell you?” His blue eyes were piercing, demanding an answer.

  She let her head fall back against the wall and answered his question. “He said you told him that I was too inexperienced for you to waste your time on a repeat.”

  A scowl settled between his dark brows. “I never said that.”

  “It doesn’t matter anymore if you did.” She tried to move her hips, wanting him to get on with it, needing that violent rush of pleasure to burn away the pain of this conversation, but he kept her pinned against the wall.

  “I’m telling you the truth, Will.” He reached up and shoved his hair off his brow, his mouth compressed into a hard line. “Harris must have been trying to protect you.”

  Willow lifted her hand and touched his face with her fingertips. “But I don’t need to be protected from you. Do I, Noah?”

  He flinched, his gaze flicking over the scar Calder had left on his arm. “Will, I’ll fight this thing till the bitter end, but there’s no guarantee that I’ll win.”

  “Noah, there’s never a guarantee. All we can do is enjoy what time we have with each other, for as long as we can,” she said in a low voice, putting her face close to his, her hands tangled in his hair. Then she kissed him, pouring everything she felt into the touch of her lips against his, lost in the warm silk of his mouth, and he finally lost control, thrusting into her with deep, hammering drives.

  “Come,” he rasped as he reached between their bodies, stroking her clit with the callused pad of his thumb, and she climaxed within seconds, as if her responses were his to command. The orgasm was lush and tight, bringing tears to her eyes. Emotion washed over her, blissful and surreal, like a dream that she didn’t want to end. But his arms were solid and strong, keeping her tight against him, his grip one of greed and possession. It eased her to know that he wanted this as badly as she did. That he needed it.

  He kept thrusting, her body accepting him more easily now, and with his mouth at her ear, he told her how she felt to him, the wicked words making her shiver with excitement. She loved the feel of his powerful body pressed tight against hers. Loved the flexing of those strong, rippling muscles as he moved against her…inside her.

  She cried out as the second climax tore through her, and it was like having pleasure shot through every cell, her body writhing, pulsing with heat. He rode her through it, his hips moving faster, slamming him into her, and she loved it. Loved the feel of his raw power. Of his primal aggression. And when his head fell back, his masculine throat corded with strain, she loved that she was the one who’d made him shudder and gasp as he exploded inside her. That she was the one who pulled that guttural shout from his chest. The one who held him as he collapsed in her arms.

  They stayed braced like that against the wall, locked into that tight, clutching embrace, until the water finally turned cold. Then Noah wrapped her in a towel and carried her back out to the bed, holding her against his body while he used his fingers to carefully work out the tangles in her curls. Willow thought she might have started to doze, her hand resting against his leather charm, when someone knocked on the door, and they both stiffened with surprise.

  “Do you think that’s Damon?” she asked, pushing up on an elbow.

  He shook his head and climbed off the bed. “The demon knows better than to bother us,” he said in a low voice, pulling on his jeans. Willow slipped out of the bed and threw her clothes on as he went to the door, a low curse on his lips as he looked through the peephole. “Who is it?” she asked around the knot of dread in her throat.

  He sent her a worried look over his shoulder. “It’s your sister.”

  She gasped, and Sienna’s voice came through the door. “Please let me in, Willow. I need…I need to talk to you.”

  “Open the door,” she told him, praying she wasn’t making a mistake.

  Noah’s gaze was dark with suspicion as he allowed Sienna to enter the room. She moved in a stiff, shuffling gait, a dark blanket wrapped tight around her shoulders.

  Closing the door, Noah asked, “How did you get here?”

  “Portal,” she gasped, nearly stumbling.

  Willow put her arm around Sienna’s waist, planning to help her to the sofa, when her sister’s body simply crumpled to the floor. Going to her knees beside her, Willow cried, “Si? What’s wro—”

  “There’s blood on the floor,” Noah rasped, cutting her off. Willow lifted her head, seeing the smears of blood on the Spanish tiles, the air becoming thick with the scent of it.

  “Get that damn blanket off her,” he barked, kneeling down on Sienna’s other side.

  Sienna seemed to have lost consciousness, her eyes closed as they unwrapped the blanket from her frail body. Willow had to choke back a scream when she saw the blood that covered Sienna’s torn gown. “Do you think Calder did this?” she asked Noah, who grabbed one of the towels they’d tossed on the foot of the bed and pressed it against Sienna’s shredded stomach.

  “It looks like the bastard clawed her,” he growled, checking the wounds on Sienna’s thigh.

  Sienna gave a low groan, and he said, “I think she’s coming to.”

  “Si, sweetheart,” Willow crooned, keeping her voice soft. “Can you hear me, honey? Can you open your eyes?”

  Sienna lifted her lashes, revealing a pain-filled gaze. “Willow, I’m so sorry,” she gasped, trying to reach for her. “Was just…trying to do the right thing for my family.” She fell back, her face convulsing with pain, while tears leaked from the corners of her eyes. “I needed Calder to go—”

  “Shh,” she whispered. “It’s okay. I know why you made the deal. You don’t have to explain.”

  Sienna clutched Willow’s hand. “Once I had Mike back, I knew he’d find a way to get Angie for me. Even if we had to sneak into heaven and steal her away, I knew he’d find a way. Then I’d have them back.”

  “Oh, Si.”

  “But I was wrong,” she moaned, squeezing her eyes shut. “God, I was so stupid. Mike wouldn’t even recognize me now. He’d be so ashamed. He probably hates me.”

  “Don’t,” she rasped, brushing the pale strands of hair back from Sienna’s brow. “Don’t talk like that. Mike has always loved you.”

  “I just wanted him back,” Sienna sobbed, a fresh wash of blood seeping through the towel Noah was holding against her stomach as she was gripped in a violent coughing fit. “I just…”

  “Si, you need to calm down,” Willow said, keeping her voice firm. “Everything’s going to be okay. We’re going to get you to a hospital.”

  “No time.” Sienna’s eyes popped open, wide with panic. “I have to tell you now, before it’s too late.”

  Willow shook her head. “No more confessions, Si. I love you. Jessie and Harris love you. This is going to be okay.”

  Sienna so
unded frantic, her cold fingers clenching around Willow’s hand so tightly it hurt. “Shut up, Willow, and listen to me. There’s…there’s a dark spell that I’ve learned.”

  “From who?”

  Sienna shuddered. “You don’t want to know. Just listen. I need to tell you how to find Calder. The spell will help.”

  Another knock came at the door, and Willow looked up, her worried gaze locking with Noah’s. After instructing her to keep pressure on the wound, he moved to his feet. She started to tell him to be careful, but he held his finger in front of his lips, signaling her to be quiet.

  Noah’s steps were silent as he padded to the door and peered through the peephole again, then she heard his low gasp. “What the hell?” he growled. “It’s Jackson!”

  “Noah!” Sienna called out, trying to warn him. But she was too late. He’d already ripped open the door…and Anthony Calder walked into the room.

  Willow knew it was the Casus inside Jackson Winston’s body the instant she saw his eyes. They were cold and cruel as they glanced down at Sienna’s bleeding body, then settled slowly on Willow’s face. “Noah,” she whispered, “it’s him. It’s Calder.”

  She saw the horrible truth register on his face as Calder turned toward him, and then the Casus lifted his palm toward Noah, and Noah’s body flew across the room, slamming against the far wall. He struggled to move, but his arms and legs were locked in place, as if some invisible force was holding him there.

  “How are you doing that?” Willow cried, surging to her feet.

  The Casus smiled. “Why don’t you ask your sister?”

  “He forced me to show him my spells,” Sienna whispered, blood bubbling on her lips as she struggled to say the words. “He has enough power inside him to fuel the spell, because he’s immortal. It’s my fault. I’m so…sorry.”

  Noah shouted Willow’s name, his deep voice vibrating with fury. “Get the fuck out of here! Now!”

  A fresh wave of terror gripped her when she realized she couldn’t move her arms or legs. It wasn’t that she wanted to run. She wasn’t leaving Noah alone with this monster. But she’d left the Marker on the bedside table, and she needed it to kill this son of a bitch.