The Darkest Torment

by Gena Showalter

  Thomas got to work, digging his fingers into the sore muscles in her back. She hadn’t lied to Baden. Vigorous activities had left her sore. Besides, hanging out with immortals could be stressful.

  His scrutiny of her face intensified with every new touch. Judging her expressions?

  “Harder,” she said, and Thomas complied, drawing a moan from her. Her attention remained fixed on Baden, whose features were stark with desire, blistering sensuality and simmering jealousy.

  He had a hard-on the size of a battering ram, and he wasn’t even trying to hide it. His muscles were clearly knotted; he needed a massage of his own.

  Must get my hands on him. Soon...

  One minute bled into another. His tension skyrocketed to new high after new high, making the air ever thicker. She thought she would have to swim to reach him.

  Drowning...

  She imagined the hands on her belonged to Baden...stroking her skin...and it wasn’t long before she was so desperately aroused she was mewling.

  “Leave us,” Baden barked. “Now. For your own safety, never return.”

  Thomas didn’t bother gathering his supplies. He darted to the door. The exit sealed shut with a soft snick.

  Katarina didn’t wait for an order—Baden wasn’t in charge today—but stood to shaky legs. “I’m going to assume your rudeness stems from your own soreness and that you need a turn on the table. Come.”

  “No. You come.” He crooked his finger at her, and she knew what he had planned. A repeat of what they’d done before. At least to kick things off. And she was tempted, so very very tempted.

  Having his gloved fingers inside her had been good, but she wanted great.

  Eye on the prize. Give me skin-to-skin or give me nothing.

  “No, pekný. I’m staying right here. But you...you’re taking off your clothes and climbing onto the table. The sooner you do, the sooner I get my hands on you.”

  His pupils flared with a new infusion of lust. “You’re going to touch me?”

  “Oh, yes. The pain might very well be temporary. A sensitivity you developed as a spirit unable to make contact with another. If so, we’ll desensitize you. You can already withstand more than before, yes?”

  “Yes.” The longing he projected...but still he hesitated. “I’ve wanted this, imagined it. I shouldn’t risk harming you with my strength. I shouldn’t relax my guard, allowing myself to be vulnerable...”

  “But...”

  “But I will trust myself to be gentle. And I will trust you not to betray me. Because I need you more than I’ve ever needed anything. Even a second life.”

  As his words rocked her, he stood. The sheer sensuality of the movement made her ache a thousand times worse. A flash-fever in her veins.

  He pulled his shirt over his head, revealing a wide chest packed with muscle and sinew, bronzed skin she would forever drool over, and the butterfly tattoo she hoped to trace with her tongue.

  One day I’m going to devour this man.

  He tugged off the gloves, the black lines on his arms a bleak reminder of the violent life he’d lived—a life she wanted to soothe. She’d noticed those lines deepened in color every time he returned from one of Hades’s tasks, knew they represented a death he’d dished.

  Once upon a time, a thought like that would have freaked her out. She and Baden were too different. Now? Bring on the new story, the new ending, because she was thoroughly enjoying this new beginning. His kindness and concern had built a bridge across the vast gulf dividing them.

  He shed his boots, his pants, then his boxer briefs, finally leaving him completely bare, and oh, he was the exquisite one. He was absolute perfection. A thousand other words described him, but none actually did him justice.

  His shaft...she almost couldn’t believe she’d had her hand wrapped around it. It was big. Too big...but the ride to the finish line would be fun.

  “You’re staring, krásavica.” His fingers enfolded the wide base and stroked up. “Do you like this? Want it?”

  Eye on the prize. Well, the other prize. “I do. So let’s do what’s necessary to ensure I get it.”

  He approached her, stopping when they were a whisper away. His delicious scent teased her: lick me, bite me, never stop. His heat taunted her: I have what you so desperately crave.

  A single deep breath would rub her nipples against his chest, creating a crucial friction...and her resistance would crumble.

  Biting her lower lip, she motioned to the table. He climbed on top and stretched out on his back, facing her.

  Naughty boy. “Want to watch me, do you?”

  “Always,” he rasped, unabashed.

  She selected a bottle of vanilla-scented oil and moistened her hands. Pressing her hip against the side of the table, she held her fingers just over his chest without actually touching him, letting his anticipation build until he vibrated.

  Now. She traced a fingertip lightly down his sternum, and he inhaled sharply.

  “Painful?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  Expected. For now. “Tell me if it worsens.” She traced her fingertip along the same path, again and again, always gentle, the oil leaving a glistening trail.

  After a while, the furrow faded from his brow. His frown eased.

  “Just as bad as before?” she asked, turning her attention to his butterfly tattoo.

  This time, he hesitated. “Yes?”

  A question. Definite progress.

  The new ground she conquered caused his furrowed brow and frown to return with a vengeance. Thankfully, prolonged contact eased him, just as before. By the time she’d covered his entire chest, he’d stopped stiffening altogether and arched into every caress.

  Keep it short and sweet! Always end on a positive note.

  Though she trembled, thinking she might die of want, she concluded the session while both of them were eager for more. He protested. He protested loudly. Only her promise to start again first thing in the morning pacified him.

  But the night proved torturous. A night they spent in different bedrooms. If they were together...

  At dawn, she lumbered to the bathroom and took a shower. The water only reminded her of the heat and softness of Baden’s skin. Need to get my hands on him again.

  She pulled on the cashmere robe. A naked Baden waited for her outside the door. He was hard, and he was fierce. Silent, he drew her to the table, stretched atop it, and waited.

  Game, set, match.

  “You’re ready?” Her trembles returned as she moistened her hands with the vanilla-scented oil.

  “Beyond.”

  With the first stroke, he groaned a sound of ragged desperation. With the second, he stiffened. With the third, he...relaxed?

  She worked her way down, drawing closer and closer to his shaft, the object of her captivation.

  Was he truly ready for more?

  Shouldn’t rush, just because I’m starved for him. She changed paths, heading up, up; she circled one of his nipples, then the other. He cursed, even as the little brown buds tightened for her.

  “Think they can tolerate the feel of my mouth?” Wisps of desire infused her voice. There was no hiding her need. Right now this man owned her.

  “Think I don’t care if they can or not. I want your mouth.” Agony and pleasure pulsed from him, a potent black magic that intoxicated her. “Give it to me. Please.”

  The ache between her legs...too much! But she lowered her head, anyway and flicked her tongue over his nipples. When his moans became harsh demands, she began to suck.

  “Katarina.” He reached for his erection, as if to stroke it.

  “No.” She grabbed his wrist, stopping him. “That’s mine. I won’t share.”

  His gaze implored her. “Then do something wit
h it. No walking away this time.”

  She would do something, yes...but not just yet. If she did too much too fast, his agony might completely overshadow his pleasure.

  “No walking away,” she agreed.

  He gripped the edge of the table, his knuckles white as she slid her fingers down, down the ropes of his stomach. Her mouth followed. She dabbled at his navel, tracing her tongue around the edges before caressing and kissing his thigh, teasing him.

  When he jerked his leg away from her, she paused, concerned. “Do you need a break?”

  “No!” A bead of sweat trickled down his temple, catching in his hair. “Keep going. Please.”

  Distract. “What did you think of me,” she said and licked his hip bone, “the day we met. I know I looked hideous. I remember your disgust.”

  “The disgust wasn’t directed at you but me. I wanted you with a desire I didn’t yet understand. I never intended to take you with me, but I couldn’t leave you behind. I wasn’t strong enough.”

  The admission did funny things to her insides. “I thought you were there to rescue me, and for once I didn’t care about being a damsel in distress. Now I know you did rescue me...and that you’re one of the best things to ever happen to me.”

  Pride glinted in his copper eyes. Pride and pleasure. “I’ll protect you,” he said, the words heavy, as if weighted with a vow. “I’ll always protect you.”

  “And I’ll protect you.”

  But he wasn’t done. “You can rely on me, Rina. I’ll take care of you.”

  As lovely as the sentiment was, she didn’t want to rely on him. It would create an imbalance in an already imbalanced relationship. When one person always gave and the other always took, the scales never evened out.

  Now wasn’t the time to tackle such a serious issue, however. “How does your body feel?”

  “Ready. I want you. I need you. Take me in your mouth or take me in your body. Just take me.”

  Ecstasy...agony of her own...both unfurled deep, deep inside her. Perhaps she and Baden weren’t so imbalanced, after all. The powerful warrior was willing to beg for her. “Are you in pain?”

  “Yes, but it’s different now. Better and worse at the same time.” He bolted to his feet. “I will have you,” he all but growled. He hooked his fingers on the lapels of her robe and gave a little push.

  The material floated to the floor, leaving her naked. His gaze stroked over her from head to toe, both reverent and ablaze with lust, making her shiver, the intensity of his need feeding her own.

  “Yes, you will have me.” She brushed her fingertips over his nipples, an urge to bite and scratch him—to leave no part of his body unmarked by her passion—assailing her. Astonishing her. She’d never before experienced such animalistic urges, but damn if she didn’t like them. “How do you want me?”

  “In every way.” He gripped her by the waist, carried her to the bed and tossed her atop the mattress. As she bounced, he placed his knees on the edge and crawled toward her. “Spread your legs.”

  She smiled at him, slow and seductive. “Are you saying it’s on till dawn, pekný?”

  “I’m saying I’m finally taking what’s mine.”

  20

  “The only reason a woman should kick her man out of bed is to make love to him on the floor.”

  —Amun, keeper of Secrets

  BADEN ROSE TO his knees. Katarina was, without a doubt, the most erotic female in creation. With her naked body angled toward him, she leaned back on her elbows, thrusting up her breasts and drawing his attention to the dusky crests in the center.

  Destruction purred his approval, issuing no demands. He wanted what Baden wanted. Perhaps even needed it.

  Unable to resist her magnetic allure, he traced his gaze down the flat plane of her stomach to the tiny thatch of dark curls already wet with arousal. As commanded, she parted her mile-long legs and bent them at the knees, placing her feet outside his thighs, offering a full-frontal view of his new paradise.

  “Do you like this? Want it?” The husky quality of her voice as she parroted his words back to him...she knew the power she wielded over him and reveled in it.

  He couldn’t fault her. His shaft, already throbbing with want, wept at the tip. “Like is too mild a word.” He trembled. He ached. And he no longer cared about the pain of skin-to-skin contact. The pain of not having his hands on this woman had already proven far worse. He’d tossed and turned last night, a man haunted.

  “I have to taste you.” He sounded drugged, his words slightly slurred.

  “You already have,” she teased. But she wasn’t as calm as she appeared. Her nails dug into the mattress. “Or have you forgotten?”

  As if he could ever forget. “This time, I want to tap straight from the source. Let me.”

  Her eyelids lowered to half mast, too heavy to hold up. “Drink from me, then.”

  He slowly threaded his fingers around her ankles to tug her toward him. She was his to devour. Their gazes held as he placed her feet on his shoulders, leaving her completely open to him.

  He leaned in, anticipation burning him alive. Waiting...waiting until...she gasped his name, a benediction, and writhed her hips. Then he did it. Stroked his tongue over the heart of her pleasure. She cried out, her passion too great for her small body to contain. I did this, caused this.

  Pride coursed through him, even as the sweet, sweet taste of her threatened to unman him. She was like candy, a nectar he would crave all the days of his life. An aphrodisiac. A torch to his discipline.

  Destruction demanded more, and Baden was all too happy to obey. He dove in for another taste but ended up staying for the entire meal. He licked, sucked and nibbled, and even thrust his tongue deep inside her, mimicking sex. She writhed her hips faster, harder, grinding against his face, chasing his mouth whenever he lifted his head.

  “Baden...I want...I need...”

  “I know.” Yesterday and today she’d reduced him to a quivering mass of sensation. A live wire in need of contact. An outlet for the desire burning him from the inside out. It was only fair he should now return the favor.

  As he sucked on her sweet little bundle of nerves, her thighs pressed against his temples. Goose bumps broke out over her luscious skin, and he knew she was close to climaxing. He eased the pressure and began to lap at her, easing her back from the ledge.

  Not going to let her fall. Not yet, not yet.

  “Kretén,” she snarled, beating the mattress. Candlelight set her features aglow.

  “Curse me all you like, krásavica. It won’t do you any good. But don’t worry. I’ll let you have an orgasm...eventually.”

  She shivered. She cursed him again. “Such a cruel man. I may have to punish you.”

  “No, darling. You may have to beg me.” He wanted her badly, wanted her more than he’d wanted anything or anyone, ever. And he wanted everything from her—including her total surrender. He stood and stroked his shaft from base to tip, knowing she liked when he did it. Her eyes gave her away. “You want this? Then ask me nicely.”

  The soft warmth of her chuckle proved as potent as a caress. “If you aren’t careful,” she said, pinching her nipples and arching her hips, “I’ll make you watch me take my own pleasure—then I’ll make you watch me leave you hard and aching.”

  He laughed, low and husky, surprised to find humor in an act that had only driven him mad since his return to life. “Walking away will never be an option for you, krásavica. Let me show you why.” He slid a finger deep inside her, for the first time feeling her inner walls clench around him without any kind of barrier. The heat...the wet...the softness...better than he’d imagined. “You need me inside you.”

  “And you need to be inside me.”

  More than anything. He fed her a second finger, thrilled as she stretched to ac
commodate him.

  Moaning, she arched to follow his in-and-out glide. Though every cell in his body screamed with urgency, he set an easy pace.

  “You were made for this,” he praised. Made for me.

  His sense of possession amplified—mine, mine, all mine. Will never share.

  Will never let go.

  He would keep her, now and forever, he decided. She would be more than a war prize. She would be the prize. Having endured a life of war and loss, a death that had brought him centuries of helplessness and captivity, a resurrection that had done the same, he deserved to have a woman—this woman—in his bed every night and in his arms every morning.

  She was worth any hardship.

  “Need more of you inside me,” she gasped. “All of you. Please. I’m asking...begging so nicely.”

  She’s killing me...but what a magnificent way to go. He worked in another finger, this time preparing her for his width.

  “Wait.” Gasping, she tried to shy away from his invasion. “Wait. Baden! Hold still for a second. That’s not exactly pleasant.”

  He did as requested, but it cost him threads of his sanity.

  Give me everything! Destruction demanded. Now. Now!

  Won’t hurt her. If we scare her, we’ll never have this again.

  A crackling pause. Ease her, Destruction commanded next.

  She breathed in and out, her walls remaining locked tight around his fingers, refusing to give. He bent and once again flicked his tongue against her tiny bundle of nerves. Another gasp left her, this one more about pleasure than pain.

  “Better?”

  “Yes, yes, so much better,” she purred.

  He sucked, hard.

  “Yes! I’m close...so close...”

  He sucked harder, bringing her to a swift and brutal climax. One he didn’t allow her to enjoy for long. As she screamed, he withdrew his fingers—the scream became a whimper.

  “Baden,” she panted, so wonderfully wet she would soak him. “Please.”

  “You miss me already?” He craved the words almost as much as he craved her little body.