In a low, tight voice I said, “I believe the blue weyr may, and I emphasize may, have hired a warlock to carry out inappropriate, if not illegal, acts of violence against me. I believe there’s a very good chance that the mist that attacked me in the park is a byproduct of this magic, and I’m relatively certain my death is the intended goal.” I cleared my throat once, twice. “I am beginning to believe that either Bahlin or Clay cut the hair off my head while I slept in order to give it to their hired magi. This may well have been done to create questionable circumstances for the killer who was, at the time the roses arrived, unknown. Clay had no idea it was another Council member he was framing. Further, I believe it’s highly possible this warlock has engaged either one or more of the blue weyr, or some other creature with claws, to attempt to behead the girls being killed, marking each mistaken woman a traitor, leaving a gold coin as a sort of calling card for the weyr. And I think it may have all been done with Bahlin’s knowledge and involvement.” I felt cold to the core, anger warring with despair at naming Bahlin a suspect. But too many pieces of evidence fell into place when I took my emotions out of the picture. So lost in thought was I that I didn’t hear Hellion approach from behind. When he touched my hip, my ass clenched and I jerked to one side. “Sorry,” I mumbled, but I didn’t move closer to him.
“Maddy, I’ve been afraid for you to get there in your mind, but I think it’s better that you see the potential for what it is. I’ll not tell you you’re right or wrong because I don’t believe I’ve the proper perspective on this to be impartial. I will tell you that I’ll set a curse on both this house and anyone in it who shares any information gained while we stay. That way you may be free with your thoughts as they come to you, and maybe we’ll be able to make some headway tonight. Anyone maliciously gossiping will have his tongue shrivel in his head until I deem the punishment sufficient.”
“That should make the culprits easy to identify.” I turned back toward Hellion and stared up at him, one side of his face bathed in firelight while the other was cast in dark shadows. The irony that his light and dark halves were presented so literally tonight was not lost on me. Unaware of my internal observations, he continued to stare back at me.
“Would you like—” he began.
“Would you take me—” I started.
We both stopped and stared at each other. I stepped forward and took one of his huge hands in mine. “I’ll go first?”
He shrugged. “Whatever suits you, Maddy.”
I closed my eyes and stepped out on destiny’s narrow ledge of faith. “Take me to bed, Hellion.”
“If you’re tired. That’s what I was going to—”
“Take. Me. To. Bed.” I opened my eyes and quirked a brow at his mental lethargy. “I need a night of forgetting how screwed up my life is getting. Give me one night of nothing but great memories.” Lifting his longest finger to my lips, I sucked the tip into my mouth and swirled my tongue around the whorls of the finger pad. I pulled back and was secretly thrilled that he unconsciously followed my mouth with that finger. “Now, please,” I breathed. “I know you can’t be that obtuse.”
Hellion nodded and yanked me roughly to him. I crashed into his body with enough momentum to force him to take a step back to maintain his balance. I slowly tipped my head back and our eyes met, and I gasped at the heat reflected in his ebony gaze.
“Don’t worry tha’ I don’t understand, Maddy,” he growled at me, his Irish brogue deepening. “Yeh just be sure yehr aware that yehr playing with fire, síorghrá.” His hands low on my back heated and seared me through the silk, forcing me to involuntarily arch forward onto his thigh.
I ground my mound into the hard muscles of his upper leg in a parody of the sex act. I leaned forward and hooked that leg behind him, sliding it slowly up and down, the scent of my arousal marking him and hanging in the air between us.
He grasped the back of my neck and drew me up on my tiptoes as he pulled me toward his lips. I went like a flame drawn to air. His erection twitched behind the heavy fabric of his trousers, and I smiled into his lips, running my fingernails down his chest and causing him to shiver under my touch. This was definitely touching with intent. He dropped both hands to my hips before stooping lower, crossing his arms under my ass, and lifting me so I was actually slightly taller than him.
I braced one hand on his shoulder and, with the other hand woven through his hair, I took control of the kiss. Our tongues dueled with each other, but I always seemed to have the upper hand, beating him to the next move by a millisecond, so it was I who licked the roof of his mouth first, it was I who nipped his lower lip, and it was I who sucked on his tongue as if it were his cock. In response to my aggressive onslaught, Hellion moaned into my mouth, and I had to force my breathing to slow down.
Hellion slid me down the front of his body, breaking the kiss as I neared the floor. He was panting like a buck in full rut. I ran my palms down his chest, across his stomach and to his belt where I curled my fingers over the waistband of his pants. I was able to hide the shocked pleasure of finding he was going commando again tonight. Sexy. I tugged him forward as I backed up, making my way—I hoped—toward the door Darius had exited earlier.
“Where’s the bedroom?” I asked in a throaty voice more suited to hot phone sex than paranormal detective work.
“Pick one. The master’s always off limits to guests, so we can go there or we can use one of the closer rooms.” I grinned up at him, and he forced a small, answering smile on lips flushed with kisses.
“Let me guess—you own this place too?”
“Guilty. But can we discuss my real estate holdings later? Hell, I’ll give you my whole fucking portfolio if you’ll just take your dress off.” His eyes were slightly wild. He bent over and pulled me forward slowly so that his lips latched onto the silk of my dress, and the nipple beneath, in a rush of moist heat.
I stumbled, and only his hand at the small of my back kept me from landing on my ass. I stopped walking and closed my eyes, letting my head fall backward and reveling in the skill of the man’s mouth, even through layers of cloth. I threaded my fingers gently through his hair so I cupped his skull, my fingers stroking and massaging the small ridges and knots of bone beneath skin. I held him close to my breast, my chest rising and falling rapidly enough that he had to make an effort to keep up with the movement of my nipple, which was, at this point, fully distended and as hard as a dried pea. “I have two,” I gasped. “Two…”
“So you do,” he whispered before moving to my other breast, snaking his free hand up under my dress so he could grasp my bare cheek. Tracing the crevice of my ass with one finger and running up and down the split, he encouraged me to move my legs farther apart and allow him to reach my center. Hellion bit my through the cloth of dress and bra and I squeaked, jerking forward as he speared me with his thumb. He massaged me, nestling his free fingers into my crevice so he could massage me deeper internally. “Maddy,” he whispered, his breath blowing cool across my damp nipple and causing it to pebble impossibly harder.
“Hellion, you’d better get me to that bedroom now because I don’t want to have sex on a hard floor when there’s a perfectly good bed nearby,” I choked out, caught between laughter and begging.
He released me completely and I whimpered involuntarily. Standing and twisting in one swift motion, Hellion materialized with me in his arms in a lavish master suite.
“Remind me to be more specific next time,” I gasped, still somewhat unnerved when I wasn’t given warning that we were going to dematerialize so quickly. “I meant walk, not pull a wandering Houdini!”
Hellion said nothing, just unbuckled his belt then unsnapped the top button of his pants and slid the zipper down. I could clearly make out the head of his penis under the fabric of his pants. As if in slow motion, I reached out and traced the crown and he held his breath, trembling with need. I glanced up through my lashes and quickly looked back down. His eyes were closed and his head tilted to one side
, as if he were listening for my movements. I dropped my hand and turned so my back was to him, reaching across my waist to untie the knotted waist of the wrap dress. I felt the air move as he stepped close to me, his hands coming around and taking over the untying of the sash. Before I could get to the hip button that held the dress in place, he grasped the two pieces and pulled, popping the button off. The button arced through the air and clattered to the floor. Hellion ran his hands up under the shoulders of the dress and gently lifted the material off my skin.
I turned out of the dress so I stood facing him in only my bra and panties. Both of us were breathing hard, unable to tear our eyes from each other. Passion wove us together tighter than daylight is to dusk as we moved with each other in the ageless ritual of mating.
Hellion stepped in to me and, starting at the backs of my upper thighs, ran his rough palms up my back until his nimble fingers reached my bra clasp. He undid the hooks and let my breasts spring free. Unfettered by the confines of damp fabric, my nipples felt even more sensitive in the open air. He bent low and paid equal attention to each nipple. At turns gentle and then almost bruising, he brought me nearer to begging for simple penetration than I’d ever been.
Pulling out of his mouth, I went to my knees in front of him and pulled his pants down his legs. He stared down at me from his towering height, watching me carefully, as if afraid to hope for what he wanted most from me in that moment. I leaned forward and ran my hands between his spread legs, cupping his ass, and I drew him forward. His erection was intimidating as it bobbed and twitched with excitement, a bead of moisture running down the underside of the head. I snaked my tongue out and licked the tip quickly and he hissed, involuntarily arching forward to place himself closer to my mouth. I took advantage of the movement and grasped the broad head between my lips and sucked him in, working as much of his length into my mouth as I could. His width made it a poor effort, but it was effort all the same. I worked my way back to the tip, then back down several times before he roughly hauled me to my feet and kissed me using every mad skill he possessed, kicking off his pants as he shredded my underwear with his bare hands.
“Hey—” I started to protest, but I was silenced as he spun me around and bent me over the edge of the bed. He held me down by the shoulder, kicking my feet apart, and I felt him position himself at my entrance.
“Do you object?” he ground out in between hard breaths.
“No,” I moaned into the duvet, insanely turned on by the submissive role he’d put me in.
Without apology, Hellion slammed home in one hard thrust, and I screamed in shock and pleasure and pain. I hadn’t been entirely ready for such a brutal invasion, but it didn’t matter: he was there now. He set a bruising pace, fucking me so hard he had to release my shoulder and hold on to my hips lest he force me across the bed. I clawed at the duvet, cursing Hellion with one breath and begging for more with the next. The sound of our skin slapping together was loud and rhythmic, erotic and unapologetic. Slicked with sweat, we were sliding all over each other as we fought to get closer, fuck each other harder, and find just that right spot. Hellion lifted my hips up fractionally, and suddenly he was hitting my sweet spot with every push and pull. I nearly wept with gratitude, so intense was the feeling, and I screamed at him, “Harder, damn it!”
I’ll never know how he managed it without causing himself permanent damage, but he managed “harder” and my orgasm crashed over both of us without any warning. I stiffened up and grunted, unable to speak or scream, my body shaking so hard Hellion had to fight twice as hard to maintain his grip. He pounded me six, seven, eight more times and he came with a guttural shout, unintelligible words and sounds coming from him as he pushed into me. My orgasm faded and I went completely limp. Hellion followed my state of relaxation within the next minute, and we slid to the floor bonelessly where we lay immobile.
I probably would have stayed that way indefinitely if Darius hadn’t moved.
Chapter Eighteen
I opened my mouth to scream, and the vampire shook his head so quickly he was little more than a blur of motion. He stopped and held a finger up to his lips, then dropped it and put his hands together in pleading supplication.
“Out. Now,” I mouthed at him. Hellion was lying on the floor still panting, his eyes closed, one knee cocked up and a hand splayed loosely over his belly. I forgot my own nakedness for just a moment as I stared at him. I was around him enough that I often forgot just how beautiful he really was. Thinking of the vampire, I rolled my head back his way and found him watching me with something akin to longing. I loosely flicked a hand toward the curtains, and he slid behind them without seeming to even disturb the air.
I rolled my head back to find Hellion watching me, a wary look on his face.
“What?” I asked, uncomfortable with the level of scrutiny he was laying on me. Had he seen me waving at Darius?
“Are you angry?”
“What? Angry? No. Why would I be angry?” I was at a total loss.
“I was, ah… How can I be concerned with delicacy now?” He flopped a long arm over his eyes, and his mouth thinned into a thin line, his jaw flexed, and I heard his teeth grind together, all actions combining to very effectively convey his annoyance. But with whom?
“Hellion? Just tell me why I would be angry.”
His voice exploded out of him in a rush. “Because, Maddy! I was rough bordering on violent just now. That’s the second time I’ve acted such with you. You asked me for memories, and these aren’t the ones I’d leave you with in relation to our first real night together!” He raised his other arm and dropped both hands to his face, scrubbing vigorously. “I’m a fool.” He worked his loose body to sitting, and his head hung dejectedly.
Inexplicably touched, I reached over and laid a hand tenderly on his bare thigh. “Hellion?” No response. “Baby?”
His head whipped down and he looked at me, confusion reigning. Ah, there he is.
He turned his whole body toward me, brows drawn together and his body softened from loving. “Aye?” he answered quietly.
“Look.” I didn’t want to have this conversation with Darius in the room, but I couldn’t see a way around it. “I…”
“You needn’t make excuses for my behavior, Madeleine,” Hellion said, forcing his still-loose muscles to support his large frame as he stood. “I apologize for—”
“For what, exactly?” I demanded, reaching out from my prone position on the floor and grabbing his ankle. I wasn’t sure how else to keep him from leaving the room. “For giving me exactly what I wanted, maybe even what I needed tonight? Why in the world are you apologizing for that?” I held out a hand, and he reacted automatically, helping me first to sit and then to stand. “I needed to forget, Hellion. I needed to leave old memories and new torments behind. What you gave me tonight did exactly that.”
“Didn’t I hurt you?” he asked, reaching down and placing his hand on top of the reddened mark of a large handprint on my hip. It would, undoubtedly, be blue come morning.
I reached for his wrist and pressed it into the young bruise. “Maybe a little.” He tried to gently pull away but I pressed myself into his hand. “The point is, you didn’t hurt me any more, or any less, than I wanted you to.” I blushed a little at this intimate revelation.
“You’re joking.”
“Not so much. I’m, um, finding I like it a little energetic at times.” I swear I heard a snort from behind the curtain. “The point is, you asked me if you should stop. I said no, knowing full well you intended on being rough. With foreplay like that, it wasn’t going to be classical music and tender glances, now was it?” I teased. “More like Nine Inch Nails and serious—”
“Fucking,” he finished for me, and a huge grin split his face.
“Yeah, that.” I turned away to hide my blush, and he caught my chin in his hand, turning me back to face him. I glared, uncomfortable with this level of intense scrutiny. Couldn’t he just back the hell off and let me be a
little embarrassed? I’d tried to assuage his guilt. Couldn’t he respect mine? “What?” I snapped, whipping my head out of his grasp.
“Don’t be ashamed of what you like, anamchara. Not now, not ever. Not when it comes to me. I want your honesty, all of it. But for now, come hide your face,” he said, taking my hand and pulling me in close so I could press my forehead to his chest.
I rested there for a few minutes, allowing him to soothe me by running his hands up and down my bare back, completely forgetting that Darius was waiting to exit the room until I saw a pale hand wave at me from near the window.
“Shit!” I exclaimed, jumping back from Hellion’s arms.
“What?” He looked around to see what had scared me.
“Uh, I need to clean up. Now. Would you go start the shower for me?” I asked, using his body as a shield while I crawled under the covers on the bed.
“Sure.” He looked at me curiously but didn’t say anything else. He bent to kiss me and padded out of the room, the twin globes of his ass rolling as he swaggered into the bathroom, confidence restored.
I winced, feeling the first pangs of discomfort as the endorphins officially left. “Get. Out.” Fury rang true in my voice, even though it was low to prevent Hellion’s overhearing me.
Darius stepped out from behind the curtain and strode to the bed, each step measured and graceful.
“What are you doing here?” I hissed. “I meant it: get out.” I pulled the covers up higher and glared at him. Unfortunately it’s hard to look mean when you’re rumpled and smelling of sex…that was witnessed. Oh crap. I covered my face in my hands just as the sound of the shower started, and cool hands grasped my wrists.
“I stepped in moments before you two appeared. The lovely lady who agreed to spend the evening with me entered a doorway down this hall, and I was to meet her there.” He pulled a hand down his face. “I clearly ended up in the wrong room.” Darius lifted his chin a bit and looked at me very seriously. “I meant it earlier, Maddy. If it doesn’t work out—”
Wrath: The Niteclif Evolutions, Book 2 Page 21