Nightmare in Steam (Alliance of Silver and Steam Book 1)

by Lexi Ostrow

  “Oh, Lucius.” She wanted to drop pretense and run to him, to wrap her arms around his neck and pull his head down to kiss her senseless. When her eyes pulled back up to look at his face the sparkle was gone from his eyes, replaced by a heat and a hunger that sent wetness between her legs. She wanted him, now more than ever, and she didn’t know if she could wait to speak with him to do so.

  He moved first, his legs making long strides to close the gap between them. His hand reached out and tugged her by the wrist into him even as his other arm reached to wrap around her body. He kissed the top of her head and rested his chin there. She could feel his heart pounding in his chest and the way his cock was beginning to swell beneath his pants. “Love, I can’t tell you how happy I am you are here.” His voice was low, almost as if he was embarrassed to tell her.

  She kissed his pectoral muscle and trailed her hands down his back. “Lucius, I don’t think I want to talk right now.” She pressed her body into him and gave a small roll of her hips. His growl made her body tense and turn to liquid all at the same time.

  “Then we won’t talk as soon as you answer one question for me. Are you all right?” He tipped her chin back, forcing her to look him in the eyes. She tried to turn away, but his fingers held her face firm. “No, love, you answer this or there will be nothing more.”

  “I’ll live, Lucius. I told you that prior. My stomach is sensitive, yes. My heart feels like it’s been torn out of my body and the rest of my body is burning for you. So stop asking questions, demon.” She punctuated her sentence by trailing her hands down his chest and sliding one under his waistband while the other worked with the leather belt and metal buckle. She felt his hips buck as her hand slid over his cock, hot and steely under her grasp. She stroked him, even as she worked with the other hand to take the belt off and shove his trousers down. She gasped slightly as a pain shot through her stomach from the motion. Lucius growled and she stroked his cock faster. “Do not stop this, Lucius.”

  She sank to her knees, felt the hard ground under the lush carpet and shifted her weight slightly. Her right hand slipped from his cock and massaged his balls. A drop of liquid glistened at the end of his erection and she wasted no time suckling the tip of him into her mouth. She groaned at the salty taste of him and he growled. Her tongue swirled a circle over his erection’s head as her mouth slid down, inch by inch. He stretched her mouth the same as way as he stretched her body and she hummed against his cock in her mouth. Desire pooled between her legs and when his hand rolled her nipple through her dress she cursed the corset. She had not dressed alone due to her injury and if she couldn’t feel the heat of his hands on her flesh soon, she was going to kill the physician that helped her when she returned.

  He fumbled to shove her dress down and she felt the corset release its grip on her torso, but she did nothing to stop her strokes on his cock. Over and over she slid her mouth down it, sucked the tip, nipped at it and rolled it around in her mouth like a sucking sweet. She ran her tongue up the bulging vein that ran from the tip of his cock to the base. Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked him harder. She wasn’t certain whose moans were louder, hers or his. She felt his hands tug into her hair as she sucked him. He didn’t force her head about, simply held onto her hair and thrust his cock into her mouth, sending it even deeper than she was able to on her own. She arched her body into his hands as his cock hit the back of her throat and she felt his thrusts hike in speed. Everything was a whirl of thrusts and moans as his hips circled hard and fast into her mouth and her hands stroked his balls in the same rhythm.

  She felt him explode into her mouth before she realized he’d grunted her name. His hips still pumped into her mouth and she didn’t stop licking and sucking. The salty taste fueled her desire for him to seat himself inside her body. Her hips bucked slightly, desire overruling her sense of judgment and she felt the pain from her injury, but didn’t give in to it. Lucius’ thrusts slowed and she pulled him from her mouth with a pop and swirled her tongue around the head of him, licking up the last bead of his release that lingered. His cock was thick, red and pulsing. She moaned again, needing to find her own release.

  His hands gently pulled her up and his mouth covered hers. His kiss was deep and hot, filled with promises so erotic she was ready to burst then and there. He pulled back and pushed the strands of hair that had fallen from the bun back behind her ears. “Love, I don’t want to hurt you.” He swept her up in his arms, her dress swishing behind him. He laid her gently down on the table and went to work removing her dress. He placed a kiss on her shoulder and she shuddered.

  “Lucius, please.”

  He didn’t respond as he slid the plain tan dress from her body. “I don’t like these as much as the fancy ones you were wearing. Not as much for me to bury my head in.” He winked, but his voice was heavy with lust and didn’t have the same playful tone she’d come to recognize in him. He pulled the dress past her knees and it fell to the floor and her corset shortly followed suit. He placed a kiss to the angry red skin around the stitches and she flinched. Not from pain, but because she hadn’t wanted him to see it. “I’m sorry, Eliza, I’ll be careful. I promise I’ll never hurt you again.”

  True to his words his hands gently splayed open her legs. One finger brushed the wet curls between her legs and she threw her head back on the table and groaned. When his hands wrapped around her and tugged her so that her legs dangled off the table, she almost didn’t notice the stab of pain she felt. He nudged at her entrance with his cock and she pushed off the table a little further, eager to have him inside of her.

  “Oh, Lucius, yes.” He slid in and out of her so slowly it was maddening. She wanted hard and fast. But she knew she wouldn’t get that from him, not right now. His body stood between her legs against the table and the erotic image filled her mind and she bit her lower lip. Colors began to dance across her vision as his thrusts went deeper. Their breathing was loud, the sound of their bodies hitting together a rumble against the table. Her body thrashed as his finger swept over her clit. She arched off the table again and hooked her legs around his waist. He gasped that time and if she hadn’t been so overwhelmed with need she might have laughed at the startled look in his eyes as she tried to take over. Her backside rocked against the table and he slipped a hand under her, lifting her body and stopping the way she was bashing into the table.

  His cock slid deeper in and she tried to angle her hips up, allowing him to go deeper still. When he thrust in next, it felt as if he was seated to the hilt and she sighed at the thought of his entire thick cock pounding in and out of her body. She couldn’t focus on anything, couldn’t even open her eyes as his body moved in and out of hers and his finger circled her clit over and over again.

  She squeezed her eyes shut tight and she felt Lucius’ second release come and fill her. Desperate to reach her own she tugged his head down to her and ran her tongue up the side of his neck to his lips and slipped it into his mouth when he opened on a groan. He kissed her hard and fast even as his release took him and continued to go slower than she would like. She almost wasn’t ready as the wave of pleasure crashed over her body. Her hips jerked and her core milked his cock as he continued to slide in and out, wringing every last moment of pleasure from them both.

  When he finally stopped, she unwound her legs, took her heels from off his arse and breathed hard. But he didn’t move. She could feel him, still twitching inside her body and the sensation was delicious. She never wanted him to move, never wanted to not feel this connected to him ever. He leaned down and placed a kiss to her breast and she shuddered, squeezing his cock with her muscles again.

  “Love, I hadn’t intended to destroy their oak table.”

  She flushed and shifted her body ever so slightly, groaning as the action took him deeper. “Oh goodness, Lucius.” Her body was a mass of nerves and he ran his hands down her torso, his fingers sending sparks where they touched. Her body quivered around him and she closed her eyes, suddenly embarrassed by
how much she wanted him.

  “Never close your eyes again like that. I want to see the desire in them every single time.”

  The way he spoke, it was if he knew there was going to be more times to come. Her head swam with possibilities even as his fingers pinched her clit. She gasped and twitched and her eyes opened to see him grinning down at her.

  “Dinner is going to have to wait, love. I’m not done with you.” He picked her up and her legs instinctually wrapped around his waist and she bit her lip to stop from crying out with pleasure each time he took a step. He laid her down on the couch and covered her body with his and showered her just how much he wasn’t done with her, for the course of the next hour.

  Chapter 19

  Lucius’ hand gently stroked through Eliza’s hair. Her breathing was slow and she was quite content in her place curled up against his chest. They’d made a mess of the couch, having strewn the cushions about, but neither of them seemed to care. She certainly knew she didn’t. Her stomach pulsed a little, but the feeling of absolute fulfillment that buzzed through her outweighed the discomfort. Sooner or later they were going to have to rise, clean up the mess and have the right and proper talk she’d come here to have. The smell of the meal had long since vanished in the air and her stomach’s low growl took her out of the moment. When Lucius laughed her head bounced on his chest.

  “Sorry, love.” He continued to stoke her hair and she forced herself to rise up off his chest and sit upright to speak to him.

  “Lucius, we need to talk.”

  “No, love, we do not. We’ve had an amazing night. Let me make an amazing meal and then we will go to the guild together, hand in hand. If you would allow it.” He took her hand and placed a soft kiss on the back of it.

  Kindness, gentle kisses, consideration. All things she would have said were impossible for a demon. And yet, Greyston was in the world, as was Lucius. How many more like these men could there be? She hoped for many as to show they weren’t all evil, but her concern rested with one this eve, and only one.

  “You cannot turn yourself in, Lucius. I spoke with the Guildmaster. I know what they have planned for you.” She sounded panicked, and she was.

  “Really then, tell me, what is in my cards, Eliza?”

  He sounded jovial and his tone irritated her. “Can you not take this seriously, Lucius? This is not some con to be won or gambling cheat to pull off. I thought you cared for life?” Her own tone was haughty and she pulled away from him completely.

  His eyes darkened, the light and laughter clearly extinguished. “I take you seriously. I take us seriously. Your life is serious. I am hundreds of years old and I have not been the sort of creature you would want. Yet you do and for that I am serious about protecting you. Turning myself in protects you from lying to your family, from running in the dark with a creature they want to destroy.”

  Her throat went dry. His words touched her soul and infuriated her all at once. “Life isn’t something to throw away, Lucius. Not a week ago you were talking about your own skin and your own importance. I refuse to let you throw your life away for mine. I’m not asking you too. In fact, I’m asking you to run. Just run.”

  He ran a hand down her face and she cursed inwardly as she felt herself melt against his touch. “Eliza Kempe Dorley, would you have me be an honest man so that I might one day seek to make amends and court you?”

  The question came from nowhere. She felt herself momentarily stop breathing. What did she want from him? A week ago it would have been to see him killed. A few hours ago to see him safe; but now? She realized it with a sudden clarity that she couldn’t ignore. She did want him to court her, but she didn’t care what sort of man or demon he was when he did it. What mattered was who he was when he was with her. “Yes.”

  A grin spread across his face and the twinkle returned to his black eyes. “Then tell me what awaits me when I turn myself in to your Alliance. There will be no more talk of it, Eliza. It is still a man’s world and you are going to have to accept my nobleness because I find no shame in it and there is nothing that can be done to stop my actions now. I have already asked that Felicia and Greyston tell your Guildmaster I will be arriving in the morning, of my own volition.”

  She was surprised to find his words didn’t anger her this time. Perhaps it was his grand and silly declaration, but how could she stop him if he wanted to be someone the Alliance didn’t want to put down on sight. “Very well, Lucius. Do not think it will be easy on you. There will be a trial. You will be put before a jury of men and women who would no doubt love to put a bullet in your head for just breathing. But being as you are my mate, the trial will be peaceful should you cooperate. Should you not, well there are cells beneath the street level in the guild and they are not peaceful, Lucius.”

  He kissed the top of her head, an action she found she rather liked the more he did it. “Then we have nothing to fear, love. I am going into this ready and willing.”

  She heard the words, but there was no means to process them properly. “And what of Seraphina?” She was skeptical of his ability to answer her question.

  “I was wrong to protect her. Your people need to realize Greyston isn’t an anomaly. In fact, many lesser demons love humans for what you give them. Food, booze, women. I am a killer, Eliza. I have always been one and will remain so. But not all are like my kind and if Seraphina needs to be destroyed to prove that to your Alliance then so be it.”

  Stunned wasn’t the word for her reaction to him. He was ready to give it all away for a chance to prove to her he loved her. Tears sprung in her eyes and she sniffed them back, not wanting to ruin the majesty of the moment. She forced herself to breathe, to remember there was more than just herself and Lucius in this moment.

  “Eliza, love, are you all right? Is it your wound?”

  “I am fine, Lucius. Merely trying to comprehend the change in you, in my mate.” She put a finger to his lips and laughed. “And do not tell me it is love, Lucius. Love is a wonderful concept and a truly wonderful feeling, but this change starts within you. For that I am without words. I am so sorry you felt you had to change for me. I am sorry I was so narrow minded, but by your own admission, you were exactly what the Alliance needed to keep off the streets.” She hung her head, ashamed to throw such a statement back in his face.

  “I was, Eliza. I was a cad and I enjoyed every second of it. But no longer. Plus there is something to be said for the energy a truly vile person gives off.” He smiled at her and she laughed. Deep down he might be changing, but he was still the same charming man she’d met so many months ago in a bar in her dreams.

  “Let’s not dwell on anything. If we do, I am going to start to mourn the morning and while your cooperation is wonderful, it will not mean your freedom by any stretch. So let’s fix this room before Felicia and Greyston know what we have done and eat that dinner you were making.”

  Lucius chuckled as he rose and she raised a brow at him. “What is so funny?’ She couldn’t help but admire the firmness of his bottom as he bent to grab a cushion.

  “Greyston is an Incubus Demon. He can smell sex days after it’s been had.” She paled and he laughed again as he tossed a cushion her way. “Don’t worry. Felicia will get a very good morning out of this. She’ll probably thank you for fucking me out in the open…three times.”

  That time her face turned bright red and she cried out a little. “Oh heavens! Lucius!” She launched at him and flinched at the small pain and punched his arm as hard as she could muster. “That is for not taking me to a bedroom. Oh no, on their table! Lucius.” She groaned and he laughed.

  They finished rearranging the couch and moved into the dining area. She couldn’t look at the table the same as she waited for Lucius to bring out the meal. They ate and they talked and when the sun rose he placed his hand in hers.

  “It’s time for you to call your Alliance now, Eliza, the dawn has already touched the sky. Do not give me such a look, your face is likely to freeze in that pos
ition.” He popped her on the nose and smiled at her.

  She sighed and went into the other room to call for the carriage. Twenty minutes that felt all too short passed before they arrived and took Lucius away in cuffs in one carriage and her in another, once again all by herself.

  ***

  The wooden bench pressed into his arse and he did his best to shuffle side to side. The metal from the handcuffs bit into his wrists from the movement and he cringed. Physical pain was still a bitch to bear for him. He looked across the small room and his eyes landed on Eliza. A bitch to bear, but one far worth it if it gets you your mate. She sat across the way from him, guarded by two hunters whom he’d learned were Philippe and Kellan. A panel of Alliance leaders including Greyston, the Master of the Alliance, two other Alliance leaders and a royal sat directly to his left. None save for Greyston looked upon him with any concern or compassion. Had he known Greyston had a seat on a panel he would have demanded his friend not be put in such a position. But what better way to test loyalty than to damn a friend?

  He wanted to force himself to not watch Eliza, but it was impossible. She was stoic and quiet. In all the time he’d known her she had been shy, but never quiet. She’d told him her mind more than once and she couldn’t run the inventions without telling men when and where to shut it and shove off. But here, she was a different woman. She was cold and untouchable. He knew why though, any sort of emotional interest on her part might condemn him. The grey haired Alliance Master who also ran the guild, Master Agardawes, cleared his throat and looked down at him. The old man’s eyes were teaming with intelligence and Lucius had a feeling he missed nothing that went on in his guild. His grey hair was cut short and the beard and mustache trimmed neatly.

  “Demon, we will begin this trial now.” He wanted to remind the man that he had a name, but the look in Greyston’s eyes squelched the need. To the rest of the room the man continued to speak. “This demon is to be given no extra consideration for his unfortunate pairing as our own Eliza Dorley’s mate.” That however was more than he could handle.