by Ryvr Jones
“Fine. Your little demon. About whom you don’t care at all.” The bastard winked.
“Fuck you.” Rhys flipped him the bird.
The fucker laughed. “C’mon, man. It’s not me you want to fuck, and we both know it.” Sadness flickered briefly in Caeron’s face, and Rhys regretted giving him this particular opening.
Rhys wouldn’t acknowledge it, though. “Watch your mouth, or I’ll loosen your teeth for you. I wouldn’t think twice about it, and we both know it.” Caeron raised his hands in surrender, and Rhys banged his head in the wall. “It doesn’t even matter if I care. She walked away, and I don’t think she’s coming back.”
Caeron sobered. “So what? You can still fight the darkness for her.” His face turned grim. “If it gets out, everything is going to hell. Including Tamerah.” Caeron stood. “I’m going to do some research. We still don’t know squat about those freaking rotten souls.”
“I’ll kick your ass later for prying,” Rhys promised as Caeron walked away.
His steps didn’t faltered. “Looking forward to it.”
As Tamerah disappeared in the shadows, Seersha’s chest tightened with apprehension. Fuck. She shouldn’t be feeling anything.
I was lost from the beginning.
After the Sheramath had created Tamerah, Seersha had used an ancient spell to distill Tamerah’s entire being into incorporeal spirit. The resulting sphere had been stored inside Seersha’s soul since then, waiting for the moment when she’d need to bring Tamerah back to corporeal form.
To carry Tamerah around had made her feel less alone. Having that spot of light attached to her own soul—which was almost as bleak and scarred as Rhys’s was—had been like carrying a beacon in her pocket. Like having hope.
It had been so hard to finally release her, to leave her in the cemetery. But Seersha didn’t have a choice. Rhys’s soul was dying, and he needed Tamerah’s help.
Now there was a hole where the luminous spot had been, bringing Seersha’s loneliness to stark relief. She could understand why Rhys felt so strongly about Tamerah, in such a short time.
She’d been so taken with Tamerah’s light, she’d allowed a lot of the things she experienced to filter to her. Everyday things, and the few good things that entered her life now and then. It had been a way to allow Tamerah to live, since what the spell had done to her was akin to dying.
As much as she could, Seersha had tried to shield Tamerah from her own sadness and the gruesome parts of her job. To distract them both when things got too hard, Seersha used to tell her stories about Rhys. The happy ones, about his loyalty and his battle prowess and his sense of humor.
She knew Brianna’s memories would eventually give Tamerah the painful ones.
Seersha had done her best to spare Tamerah the pain, for as long as she could.
Well, fuck. This must be what it feels like to have a daughter. Or a sister.
Still sitting in the damn sidewalk, Seersha turned her eyes to the black sky. She couldn’t let feelings complicate matters further. She’d already messed up enough by giving Tamerah a piece of her own soul.
Chapter Eleven
Sitting on a trunk in Caeron’s dark, empty attic, Rhys hid in the shadows as much as he could, while keeping his eyes on the front of the house. Nobody could enter the house without Caeron’s permission, but he wanted to know if somebody decided to wait outside for them.
Rhys had thought he’d felt empty before. He’d been mistaken.
He was brooding and he knew it. It didn’t matter, though. Caeron was still doing research, poring over the Internet and old books. At the moment, Rhys’s only mission was to keep the darkness under control.
Until somebody died in Farahnir. But it was such a small village, his services weren’t needed often. Thank the powers for small mercies.
Not that he had much besides small mercies to be thankful for. He was so tired of fighting the darkness, all he could think about was to give up. To say fuck it all and hide in a hole until everything came to an end.
“Like that was ever an option,” he muttered.
No. He’d have to fight to the bitter end. As much as he wanted to hide and forget, trouble would always find him.
And the memories will never go away.
The shadows in the corner rippled, undulating like black smoke. What the hell? The house was warded and he didn’t sense a presence, but there was definitely something in the shadows. Rhys stood, getting ready to fight.
In the next second, Tarani was there, crouching in the dark. Shit. He was hallucinating. He blinked, but the vision remained.
The hallucination stood and stepped closer, her silver gaze focused on him. She stopped within arm’s reach and shoved her hands in her pockets. Rhys closed his eyes, willing the illusion to go away. He couldn’t lose what little sanity he had left.
Then he felt it. The spot of light he’d missed so much during the few hours Tarani had been away. His eyes snapped open, but before he could say anything, she spoke.
“I came to get the blood.”
Another piece of his soul died. “You won’t stay.”
Tarani bowed her head. “I can’t.” Her hair covered her face, her sadness a tangible thing. “Seersha says I have a choice. And I don’t know yet what that choice is going to be.”
“Seersha?” He spat the name like a curse, bile rising to his throat.
Squaring her shoulders and lifting her chin, Tarani gazed up at him. Her expression hardened. “She said I can decide what I’m going to do, despite the plans your beloved Sheramath had for me.”
“Seersha is manipulating you.” Rhys racked his brain for a way to show how dangerous she was. “She screwed me, and everybody I know who has ever dealt with her. You can’t trust her.”
“I don’t.” She let out an impatient huff. “But she’s the only one who told me I can decide about my life.” Tarani gave him a pointed look.
Rhys scrubbed his forehead. He was so tired. “You are really crazy if you think Seersha doesn’t have some twisted endgame here. You don’t know her.”
“And neither do you!” Tarani shook her head and lowered her voice. “There’s…something about her. I don’t know what it is, but I’ll find out. In the meantime, I’ll learn what I can from her, and I’ll think about what I want to do.”
Defeated, Rhys sat in the trunk. “I’ve known Seersha for centuries. Why don’t you trust me, Tarani?”
She stepped between his legs and looked into his eyes. “I do, Rhys.” She sighed, running her fingers over his temple, to his jaw. “But I can’t go through life—whatever that may come to be—without being able to trust my instincts. I need to discover who I am. I need to know what’s me and what…” Her voice cracked. “…what was given to me.”
Rhys encircled her waist, tugging her closer. He rested his cheek against her and closed his eyes, inhaling her scent. He’d missed it so much. “Yeah. Sometimes I don’t know how much of me is left and how much is darkness.”
“You’ll let me go, then?” Tarani put her hands around his neck, caressing his nape. “You’ll stop fighting with me?”
He tightened his embrace. How could he do this? How could he tell her to go, when all his being was screaming for her to stay with him? “I don’t want to fight. But I don’t know if I can let you go,” he confessed, turning his head up. “I won’t make you stay, but I don’t know how to let you go.”
She rested her forehead against his, her hands sliding to his shoulders. “I don’t want to cause you pain, but I need to find myself.” Her breath danced over his lips, and it took all his self-control to stay still.
Closing her eyes, she nuzzled him, rubbing his nose with her own. He closed his eyes as well and prayed for control, as her soft skin glided over his face. She went from one side to the other, torturing him with the whisper of her lips glancing his mouth, denying him the kiss he wanted with every fiber of his being.
Tarani dipped her head and buried her nose in his neck, taki
ng a deep breath. “You smell like freedom,” she murmured. Rhys tilted his head back, unable to deny her. Her tongue traced his throat and he shuddered. He was getting hard, staying still was killing him, but he didn’t want to scare her away.
“Don’t do this to me, Tarani,” he grunted, digging his fingers in her back. Instead of stopping, she pushed him further back and straddled him, kneeling on the trunk. Even through their clothes, her heat was scalding, and Rhys fought the urge to grind against her. As soon as she realizes what she’s doing, she’s going to walk away.
Tarani nuzzled his neck again, then tugged his shirt to the side and bit the point where his shoulder met his neck. Hard. He groaned, almost losing it in his pants like a teenager.
It was more than he could take. He fisted the hair at the back of her head and tugged lightly, forcing her to meet his eyes. She gasped, her pupils dilated, her cheeks flushed. Shit.
“You need to stop,” he growled, feeling like he’d swallowed crushed glass. “If you keep this up, in a second I won’t be able to stop.”
She stared at him for a few moments before grabbing his hair with both hands, using enough force to make it sting. “I promised I wouldn’t lie to you, so here’s the truth. I want you.” She bit her lip. “At least, I think it’s me who wants you. Can you be with me and forget her for a while?”
Her confession exploded inside him with the force of a hurricane. She wanted him. At the same time, there was so much vulnerability in her voice, in her eyes, it hurt him.
“I don’t want anybody else, Tarani.” He brushed her lips with a tender kiss. “I know this whole thing is a mess, but I want you.”
As if his words unleashed something inside her, she attacked. Still gripping his hair, she kissed him with hunger, pulling his lower lip gently between her teeth before licking it. He returned the bite and thrust his tongue between her lips, conquering her mouth, devouring her.
He shoved his hands beneath her clothes, touching the smooth and warm skin of her back. Yes. Encouraged by the moans she fed into his mouth, he ran his fingers up and down, mapping her spine, luxuriating in the silky feel of her.
“Too many clothes,” she rasped and started to shrug off her coat.
“Wait.” He stood and she wrapped her legs around him, her arms clinging to his shoulders. He gripped her ass and she moaned. “Caeron. A room.” It was difficult to form sentences with Tarani nibbling and licking his neck. He started to walk, carrying her. “He gave me one.”
Rhys needed all his concentration to go down the short flight of stairs and open the correct door without falling or dropping her. Tarani didn’t make it easy, either. She kept her mouth roaming over everything she could get.
Luckily, Caeron had given him the room right at the end of the stairs. In case you need a little privacy, the bastard had said, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. Rhys would have to thank him later.
He closed the door behind them with a kick, and walked to the bed. He turned the side bed lamp on and sat down, before his legs gave out. Tarani kept her legs around him, but leaned back and took her coat off. In an instant, she was back, eating his mouth, clinging to his hair.
“You still have my shirt on,” he said, surprised and stupidly happy about it.
“Not for long.” She took it off and let it fall to the floor. He pulled her undershirt over her head and almost swallowed his tongue. Her breasts were even more beautiful up close. He covered them with his hands, feeling her pale nipples harden against his palms.
Rhys squeezed the mounds gently and she moaned, gripping his shoulders, her head thrown back in sensual abandon. The sight sent fire through his limbs, warming his skin and making his heart beat faster. His breathing became shallow, his head swimming in want.
He licked her throat, savoring the spicy and sweet taste of her skin, then went south, creating a trail to her left breast while he kept massaging the other. After nipping the soft slope, he laved her entire breast in increasingly smaller circles until he had her stiff peak under his tongue.
Tarani’s moans grew louder when he started to suck. His brain turned to mush, his blood rushing in his ears as warmth pooled in his lower belly. She ground against his erection, making his cock so hard it hurt.
She leaned back, and he had a moment of panic before she said in a husky tone, “Want to touch you.” Without waiting for permission, she ripped his shirt open, sending buttons flying everywhere. “Sorry,” she mumbled and latched on to his neck again, biting and licking. Her hands caressed his chest, his ribs, his stomach, leaving goosebumps behind.
Rhys groaned and grabbed her ass, pulling her closer and thrusting up, seeking more contact, but she pushed him back and got up on her feet. “Lay down.”
Speechless, he shrugged his shirt off and obeyed. This aggressive, bossy side of Tarani was such a turn on, his eyes nearly crossed. When he was on his back, his shoulders resting against the headboard, she crawled over the bed, her breasts bouncing with each movement. All he wanted was to get his hands on them again, but she had other ideas.
She knelt between his legs and traced his stomach with a finger. “You’re beautiful,” she murmured. There was awe in her voice, and a blush crept over his cheeks. He couldn’t believe how pleased he was that Tarani liked his body.
Her gaze focused on the bulge behind his zipper. He forgot how to breathe, waiting for her next move. She looked up at him, her hand hovering over his fly. “May I?”
As if he’d deny her anything at this point. Rhys would’ve laughed if he hadn’t been so wound up with need. A nod was all he managed. She caressed his length slowly, ripping a strangled groan from him before she opened his pants, curiosity shining in her gaze.
His dick sprung free from its prison and Tarani’s eyes widened. “Oh.”
Oh? He’d heard all kinds of reactions from the people he took to his bed, but this was a first.
“Something wrong?” he choked out.
“No.” Her voice was low and she was flushed, her eyes glued to his erection. “I’ve never seen anything like that before.” She tilted her head. “At least, I don’t think I have.”
His chuckle morphed into a long, shuddering moan when she wrapped her fingers around his cock. His entire body burned, wanted, needed. She squeezed his dick and moved her hand slowly up and down, as if trying to learn his shape. He bit his lip until he tasted blood, trying to back off from the orgasm boiling in his balls.
He didn’t even remember the last time he’d been aroused at all before finding Tarani, and he was ready to shoot his load after two seconds of being jerked off by her. Jesus. Get your shit together, buddy. She deserves better.
Rhys closed his eyes and started to count from one thousand to one, trying to distract himself.
Her breath glided over his length. Oh shit. His cock jerked, and he heard her sharp intake of breath. A second later, she swiped the head with her tongue. His eyes rolled back behind his closed eyelids. 989, 988, Holy mother of fuck 984—
As she enveloped him with her warm, wet mouth, he fisted the sheets to keep himself from gripping her head and shoving his dick down her throat. Then she suckled him, and he forgot what numbers even were.
“Tarani,” he moaned. Words. He needed words. “Come here.”
He tugged her up until she was laying over him and closed his mouth on hers, giving her a thorough tongue-fucking while her breasts, deliciously soft and warm, were pressed to his chest, awakening his skin. She tilted his head to the side to bite his earlobe, grinding her sex against his naked cock. His hips shot up, following the rhythm she set. He was dry humping and he didn’t even care. She fucked his ear with her tongue, going back to bite him once more.
“Still too many clothes,” she whispered in his ear. Her hand snaked between them, gripping his dick and squeezing. “I think I want you to fuck me.”
Jesus Christ. He jerked back, seeking her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Yes, I think I am.” Her gaze didn’t waver.
Rhys couldn’t help it. A laugh rumbled through him and burst free. He flipped their positions and hovered over her. “I should’ve known you were going to say that.” He kissed her nose.
Her tongue darted out and licked his jaw, followed by a soft bite.
“You’re a little biter, aren’t you?” He groaned.
“I enjoy biting you, yes.” She bit him again. “And licking you.” She ran her tongue down his neck, making him shudder. “And feeling your skin under my fingers.” She moved her hands up and down his back, alternating light caresses with hard touches, turning him into a tangled mess of need.
Rhys lowered his head, inhaling her scent, the smell of fresh rain he loved so much. “I like all of that.” He sank his teeth lightly on her throat and she cried out. He did it again, then soothed the bite with his tongue. “You taste good. Like spices and cream.”
He went lower and got reacquainted with her lovely breasts. He couldn’t decide if he liked more to knead them, filling his hand with her pliant flesh or to lick and suck on them, making her nipples get harder and harder. He alternated both moves, and judging by Tarani’s low cries and moans, she approved of his strategy.
After long minutes, he knelt on the bed. Gods, she’s gorgeous. Her hair was a mess, flying out over the pillow in every direction. Her silver eyes gazed up to him, and what lurked there shook him to the depths of his soul. Trust.
He swallowed. “Do you know what’s going to happen, Tarani?” He had no idea what experience—or lack thereof—she had.
She licked her lips. “You’re going to fuck me.” No hesitation in her voice. Gods.
“Do you know what that means?” He cleared his throat. “Have you done this before?” It killed him to ask, but he had to know.
“No, I don’t think I have. But I know what it is. Sex, I mean.” She started to unbutton her pants.
I’m going to be her first. He had the opportunity of making her first time a good, memorable one. The rush of pleasure and possessiveness that ran through his body made him lightheaded. He took a deep breath and covered her hand with his, stilling her movements. “I’ll take care of it.”