by Anna Hackett
She wanted more. More of Soren.
Apeliotus released her and was gone. She was left hanging in the water.
There was a wild explosion of bubbles around her.
Suddenly she was yanked upward.
Skye flew through the water, broke the surface. Air hit her face. She had a dizzying aerial view of the lake before she coughed, water spilling from her lungs. She clamped her eyes closed and focused on trying to get air into her chest.
She was crushed against a hard male chest and seconds later she was being laid out on the terrace. She looked up at the cloudy sky. The clouds weren’t quite so dark or dense as before.
Hands scraped her hair back off her face. “Skye? Skye?” Soren’s handsome face leaned over her. “Tell me you’re okay. Per favore.”
She tried to talk and ended up in a coughing fit. Gentle, gentle hands helped her sit up.
“I’m okay,” she managed.
“Madre di Dio.” Soren released a long breath, his gray eyes boring into her, taking in every inch of her face. “Come on.” He scooped her up into his arms.
Too tired to do anything else, she slid an arm across his shoulders and leaned her head against his neck.
He took her into a bedroom decorated in shades of dark blue. A huge wooden bed dominated the space. His room, she realized.
He carried her through to the adjoining bathroom and her jaw dropped. The space was enormous and covered in creamy travertine tiles. One wall was covered in mirror that reflected back how small she looked nestled in his arms.
A large claw-footed tub sat against the back wall. He set her down, urged her to sit on the edge of the tub while he sat on a stool. He flicked on the water. “We need to get you warm.” Soon steam was rising and he sprinkled some fragrant oil into the water.
Then he turned, reached behind her and slid down the zipper of her dress. Inch by slow inch. Her breath caught in her chest.
His gaze moved to her face as his hand gripped the neckline. Slowly he pushed the dress until it slipped, baring one shoulder.
When his hand went to the other strap, she grabbed his wrist.
His fingers brushed her collarbone. “I won’t hurt you. I want to take care of you.”
She trembled and a curl of heat snuck through her belly. Now or never, Skye.
“They sent me here to seduce you.” The words blurted out of her. “Aurae are supposed to soothe the vices of a WindKeeper. And sex is usually the quickest way.”
His eyes narrowed and she held her breath. Ready for his anger.
Instead, he smiled. “You haven’t done a very good job of seduction.”
Her nose wrinkled. “I know. Because I don’t like sex.”
“Somehow I don’t think you’ve experienced making love.”
She stared at his face and swallowed. Instead of her seducing him, he was seducing her. “I didn’t want to…be intimate with you under false pretenses.”
“No pretenses now, Skye. Just you and me.”
She released his hand.
Soren pushed the dress down. It pooled at her waist, leaving her breasts bare. She’d taken her wet underwear off earlier after the storm. The air made her nipples tighten. Through the swirling steam, she saw their reflection in the mirror and it stirred her desire.
Then he pulled her to stand and the dress fell to her ankles, baring her completely to him. He glanced down, his gaze tracing her limbs, before he looked back at her face. “Let’s get you warmed up.”
He lifted her again and set her in the tub. Skye blinked. That wasn’t what she expected at all. He urged her to sit down and she sank into the warm water. Sighed.
“I’m sorry he took you.”
She splashed some water on her chest and face. “It’s not your fault.”
“It is. You warned me.”
“You’ve lost your memory, Soren.”
“Well, it’s time I remembered.”
“Give yourself a break.”
He took a cloth from a drawer in the vanity and dipped it into the water. Then he brought it to her back. She enjoyed the rhythmic strokes on her skin. Wished it was his bare hand against her.
“Do you give yourself a break?” he asked.
She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’m starting to. Therapy’s helped me accept that my past isn’t my fault. I want to move forward.” She studied the strong lines of his face. Far, far too handsome for any man. “I want more.”
Something dangerous flashed in his eyes. “Let’s dry you off.”
He took her hand and helped her step out of the bath. She should have felt embarrassed, shameless. She’d never stood naked in front of a man, never wanted to before.
Soren grabbed a thick cream towel off the rack. He held it up. “May I?”
She nodded. When he kneeled at her feet and started drying her ankles, she just couldn’t breathe. He stole her breath, her inhibitions, her fears.
He moved upward, caressing her calves, her thighs. A quick brush of the towel between her legs and her belly jumped, fire igniting deep inside her. He continued upward, sweeping one part of the towel over her belly and the other up her back. He ran it along her spine.
Then he covered her breasts. As he rubbed, her knees trembled. The fabric was rough against her sensitized nipples. He smoothed the towel over her shoulders, so close she could feel the heat of him, and was nearly swamped by his amazing scent.
“Can I touch you?” he asked.
Quiet words. Words she couldn’t resist or refuse. “Please.”
The towel dropped, landing at her feet. Then his big, warm hands cupped her breasts.
She moaned. His touch was electric. He followed her curves, plumping them up, his thumbs brushing her nipples over and over.
“So pretty,” he murmured. “I want to kiss these pretty nipples. Is that okay?”
She nodded. Unable to find her voice.
He bent his head and sucked the peak into his mouth.
Hot. Scalding. “Soren!”
“Good?”
She nodded again rapidly.
He switched to the other breast, sucking on her, scraping her gently with his teeth. At the same time, he pressed one open palm to her belly. His finger delved into her navel and then moved lower. He traced over her hip bone. Lower.
“Skye?”
“Yes. Please.”
He ran his fingers through the blonde curls at the juncture of her thighs. One finger slid over her, where she was damp and tingling. He flicked at her clit and she jerked. She was melting, dissolving. Soon she would be nothing but a puddle of need.
“Skye? Do you want more?”
Her hands gripped his shoulders, to anchor herself, to give her something to hold her up and keep her from flying apart. “Yes.”
Soren slid one thick finger inside her. She didn’t have time for memories, there was only the exquisite sensations, the here and now.
He thrust into her, out, in. An irresistible sensation. Then he pulled his hand away. “You are so beautiful, bella. So sweet.”
He tipped her face until she looked him in the eye.
“I want to taste you now,” he murmured.
She nodded. He turned her around and she gasped, everything in her clenching tight. She couldn’t speak, all she could do was spread her legs a little wider. She wanted this, all this man could give her. More of these delicious, amazing feelings.
“Put your hands on the edge of the tub. And hold on.”
She hesitated. Ghosts lurked but they warred with the new, intoxicating sensations rampaging inside her.
“You have to say yes, cara, or I won’t do it.” Soren ran a hand along her spine, making her arch into him. “You have to say yes, or I won’t put my mouth between your legs and give you pleasure. I’ll only do what you want me to do.”
She shuddered. This was her chance. To take what she wanted.
She leaned forward and gripped the cool ceramic, then glanced back over her shoulder. “Yes.”
Intensity was stamped on his face. He dropped to his knees, his hands circling her calves, then sliding up her thighs. He palmed her buttocks then cupped her hips.
She waited, on edge. She felt his warm breath on her most private parts and she shivered.
And then he put his mouth on her.
Oh, God. She jerked, her hands clenching on the bath’s edge. So good. So incredibly good.
He wasn’t rough. His tongue delved and flicked. He sucked on her clit, driving her to the edge of sanity. He knew exactly what to do to push her to the brink.
It felt like seconds but it also felt like forever. Mind-blowing feelings coalesced inside her, until they reached a hot, hard point in desperate need of release.
***
Soren reveled in the sweet taste of Skye. He loved her urgent, restless movements. Her breathy little cries.
Inside, his desire was a hot, raging thing. His cock was so hard it hurt.
But it was pain of the best kind.
He kept working her. Another hot flick on her swollen clit and she shattered.
Skye threw her head back, screaming his name and losing herself to the pleasure. He held her through her release, not wanting to let her go. Dio, she was gorgeous. Watching her find pleasure was perfect.
It was then he realized that all he felt was desire. No clamoring greed begging for everything and anything. Just an honest, natural desire for a woman he found beautiful, sweet and strong.
In this moment, all he wanted was more of her.
He turned her around, enjoying the feel of his hands sliding over her naked skin. “You enjoyed that.”
A pretty flush filled her cheeks. She nodded.
He kissed her. Knew she would taste herself on his lips. She leaned into him, her mouth lifting off his long enough for her to say his name. Her hands slid into his hair.
She wanted more. And it was so tempting.
He wanted to lay her out on the hard tiles and pound himself into her. Set her on the edge of the vanity and thrust into her hard. Or maybe take her while she was on her hands and knees, cover her with his body and drive inside her warmth.
Dio. His cock pulsed and he worried that one touch would have him spilling on the floor.
Soren forced himself to pull back. He didn’t know the details of her past yet, but she’d been hurt and he wouldn’t rush her.
“Wait here.” He hurried out and was back in a minute with a silky pink robe. He tugged it around her and she slipped her arms inside.
Frustration flashed across her face. “Why won’t you—”
“Shh.” He pressed a finger to her lips. “There’s plenty of time.”
He hoped that wasn’t a lie. He hoped that he could defeat Apeliotus and the greed. He had to, because if he wanted more time with this woman, he needed to ensure her safety.
“It’s time you tell me more about Apeliotus.” Soren took a deep breath. “And about my brothers.”
Chapter Five
“Your brothers are desperate to help you.” Skye watched Soren pace the length of his bedroom. She settled in on his large bed, still tingling from what he’d done to her in the bathroom.
For the first time ever, she wanted to be lying naked on these silky sheets, with him doing more to her.
But he was right, they needed to find a way to stop Apeliotus and let the WindKeepers send the Tempest Winds back to their prison.
“What about my brothers’ vices?” Soren asked.
“They’ve already succeeded in beating their vices and banishing their Tempest Winds.”
He spun. “How?”
“They found their Aurae.”
A frown knitted his brow. “The seasonal breezes.”
She nodded. “Dante found Samia in Rome. Well, actually she was an assassin sent to kill him. But she helped him instead. Antonio discovered one of his art historians, Sophia, is an Aurae descendent. And Luca and my sister, Rayne…well, they collided in Venice. She’d been sent by our mother, the head of the Aurae, to monitor him. We were worried with such a volatile vice like anger that he would succumb.”
Soren turned away to the window. “Instead, it’s me who’s on the verge.”
Skye stood and went to him, swamped by a desperate need to help him. “Our records say the WindKeeper who hunts his Tempest Wind the longest is always in the most danger of falling prey to his vice.” She pressed a hand to his back. “There’s no point in blaming yourself. Turn your energy to defeating the Southeast Wind.”
Soren turned, his eyes burning. “Aurae calm the WindKeepers.”
She nodded.
He reached out, fingering her still-drying hair. “I haven’t seen you use your breeze, or sensed your power.”
Her gaze dropped to the carpet. Her greatest shame. “I lost my ability…a long time ago.”
“You came here, into my villa, to give yourself to me.”
She snapped her head up to look at him. “I came here to help but I told you, I came here for myself first.”
He brushed a thumb over her lips. “Good.”
One tiny brush and the fight drained out of her. “I know what it is to be trapped, suffering.” She remembered a dark, dark room and the creak of the door. “I know how terrible it is when a monster lurks in the darkness waiting to pounce.”
A strong hand cupped her jaw. “Who hurt you?”
A part of her didn’t want to tell him. Even after years of therapy that had helped her heal so much, it still made her feel horrible to talk about it. She knew it wasn’t her fault but sometimes she just wished she didn’t have the baggage.
She looked into eyes that reflected nothing but patience. “My father died when I was little. A few years later, my mother met a man.” Skye didn’t say his name. She never said his name. “Everything was good at first. My mother was happy and he gave Rayne and me gifts.” Feeling chilled, she rubbed her hands up and down her arms. “When I turned twelve, he started coming to my room.” Her stomach turned over. “He raped me.”
She watched Soren’s hands clench.
“I’m sorry, Skye. If I could go back and protect you—”
She slid her hands over his. “I don’t want to look back. I came here to move forward. I am so tired of being trapped by my past. I want to move on. I want more.”
Soren gave a hollow laugh. “More isn’t always the answer.”
Stupid, Skye. “You’re right, I’m sorry—”
He cupped her face. “It’s okay. I understand wanting to move on, to have something different than you have now. I think you’re courageous.”
A hiccupping laugh. “Hardly. I’m always afraid.”
“Are you afraid of me?”
“Terrified.” She circled his wrists, holding his warm palms to her face. “But not because I think you’ll hurt me. Because of how you make me feel inside.”
He brushed his lips over hers. “How do you feel?”
“Tingling, shaky, nervous, excited, energized.”
Another kiss, so gentle but electrifying at the same time. Skye felt everything inside her go weak.
His lips traveled along her cheek, up to her temple. Her eyes fluttered closed and his mouth pressed gently to one eyelid. “Want do you want, Skye?”
Everything. Here she was with a man consumed by greed and he was the one being patient and caring. She was the one consumed with the need for more.
But she wanted it for both of them. “I want you to make love to me.”
***
In Skye’s face, Soren saw desire, determination. “You have to be sure—”
She gripped his arms. “I’ve never been surer of anything. We’re both lost, Soren, let’s find each other.”
In that moment, he realized he’d give this woman anything she wanted. He’d take his wind to the ends of the earth to make her happy.
He scooped her up, enjoying her excited gasp. He carried her to the bed and set her down in the center. It gave him a gut-deep thrill to see her nestled in his sheets.
Spinning away, he moved around the room, lighting the few candles he had. Then he flicked off the lights. The candles filled the space with a warm, gentle glow. Then he moved back to her, watching her watch him.
He stopped beside the bed and unbuttoned his shirt. Her blue gaze was glued to each inch of chest he bared. When he dropped his shirt on the floor, she reared up on her knees and reached for him.
Small hands skimmed over his chest. He closed his eyes and enjoyed her caress. She was a little hesitant but she touched him everywhere.
“Take off the rest.” Her voice lowered. “I want to see all of you.”
His eyes snapped open. Saw her parted lips and the rapid rise and fall of her chest. Again, he could deny her nothing. He unbuckled his belt, flicked open his trousers and kicked them off.
She sucked in a breath, her eyes widening. Then she reached for him, her hand hesitating a mere whisper away from his hard cock. He forced himself not to move, not to grab her.
Tentative fingers circled him. Unable to stop himself, he flexed his hips. She smoothed her hands over him and he swallowed a groan.
“So hard but smooth. It’s bigger than—” her hands stilled.
Oh, no. He wasn’t going to let anything, or anyone, intrude. He circled her hands. “Just you and me, Skye. Look at me.”
Such big eyes in a porcelain face.
“That’s it.” Slowly he moved her hand on him. “Just you and me.”
“You and me.” Her hand moved quicker. Her fingers brushing over the mushroom head of his cock.
Soren jerked. Dio, he hoped he didn’t embarrass himself. Distraction. Now. “Can I touch you, cara?”
She nodded, her blonde hair falling over her silk-covered shoulders. He reached for the belt of her robe, loosened it. Just a glimpse of her flat belly, smooth, smooth skin, and the patch of gold hair between her legs had his cock jerking in her grasp.
He reached out, nudged the fabric aside and watched it bare one slim shoulder. He let his fingers trace her collarbone, cup her breast. “Beautiful.”