by Megan Starks
The mark on his chest bound him to do the things she commanded. She’d seen it firsthand. Was she forcing him somehow? What if he was doing this for her benefit, without enjoying it himself?
“Are you doing this because I’m telling you to?”
His hands stilled, and he met her gaze.
“No. God, no.” He bent and kissed the jut of her hip. His lips rasped against her skin. “It does feel good when I do things you want,” he admitted. “The mark sends little bursts of pleasure through me when I make you happy. But that’s not why—trust me, Gigi, I want this. I know I shouldn’t, but I need you.”
Why shouldn’t he want this with her? Because of his contract? If so, then why did he want it? Because he was a guy and she was offering? Because he liked her? Because he belonged to her?
She couldn’t answer any of those questions with certainty. Despite her attempts over the last few months, she didn’t really know him at all.
“Why?” she asked. “Why shouldn’t you want me? Tell me.”
She hadn’t meant it to be so forceful, but regardless a flit of magic danced from her tongue, and she could feel the command binding him—compelling him to answer, whether he wanted to or not.
His face burned with shame, and he looked away from her. “Gigi, I’m just a soul-bound guard. And a disgraced one at that. I can be with you, but I can’t have you. I could never be your consort.”
Consorts and soul-bound guards? “Those things don’t exist in the real world,” she told him. “I don’t know what to think when you say stuff like that. And honestly, I don’t care right now.”
She pulled him to her and melded their mouths in a searing kiss. He shook when he drew back, licking the center of his bottom lip.
“It’s just you and me here,” she promised. “And I want you, Shade.”
The mark on his chest blazed bright red, and a husky groan tore from his throat. He looked at her with such need, such longing, it burned in her belly. And she knew then—felt with more clarity than she’d felt in a long time—that he would give her anything she asked. He was ready to give her his body, ready to give her all of himself.
After all, he’d already given her his heart and soul.
“I used to dream about this, the nights I feared my mind would break.” Shade’s voice rasped out between lingering kisses as he worked his way down Gisele’s body. His fingers hooked beneath the hem of her boy-shorts. “I pictured you—” A shaky inhale. “A thousand different ways. How you might have grown up. If you dyed your hair. Kept it blond. Wore it long or short.”
With a few rough tugs, he had the lacey boy-shorts free. Chucked them aside. He stared down at her, eyes flooded black and gleaming. Reverently, he ran two fingers between her folds, tracing the length of her soft, slick skin.
“Anything I imagined, all of it, pales compared to this—to you just as you are.” The muscles in his shoulders corded as he bent to press his mouth to her clit. But he stopped, hovering scant inches above, panting breaths warming her sensitized skin.
“Shade.” Had that broken-sounding plea come from her?
His impenetrable gaze flicked to her face. “Do you want me to taste you?”
She nodded, heart caught in her throat.
“Say it.”
“Yes.”
He licked her then, and she nearly arched off the bed. Holding her hips down, he set to work, sucking and tonguing lovingly. Driving her mad.
Gisele tossed her head.
“Wait,” she moaned. “Take your pants off.”
She thought he would argue, but he peeled out of them without a word, his erection bobbing against the fan-cooled air, hot and thick and straining.
“Wow,” she breathed. Because Devil damn her if he didn’t look good enough to eat.
The tips of Shade’s ears turned red enough to match other, blood-filled parts of his body. Gisele snickered, prompting him to nip the inside of her wrist. She savored the mouth-watering glimpse of his lean body until he slid down the length of the bed to lie flat on his belly. Then she surveyed the sprawl of his hard-muscled back with satisfaction, wishing she could smack the soft, taut globes of his ass. Wrapping an arm beneath her leg, he reached the other up to tangle his fingers with hers.
Their palms clasped together.
And his mouth found her most intimate place again. Relentlessly, he used his lips and tongue and even his teeth against her, used the undulating wet heat of his kiss to trap her—to claim her as his—even as she squirmed and whimpered.
It was too much. But it was also not enough.
Then, just as she thought she would unravel, his fingers joined in, working devilishly against her. Ratcheting her need higher. Caressing, before pressing slowly, before thrusting in and out.
“Yes, that,” she moaned, and he kept doing it only faster.
“I lost you,” he breathed. “For years. Are you really here with me, right now?”
Gisele tensed. “Of course, I am. Why would you ask me that?”
“Never thought I could have this for real. Shouldn’t think—” Instead of finishing, he plunged his tongue deep inside of her, sliding his slick, calloused fingers to circle her clit. The feeling that had built, coiling, low in her body threatened to burst spectacularly, but it didn’t, making her writhe on the bed.
A frustrated groan rustled from her chest.
“Take me. I want to feel you. Hold you tight inside of me.” Gisele clutched at Shade’s dark hair, tried to force his head back.
“Not yet.”
His stubbornness to drive her over the edge was a torture she couldn’t bear.
“Now.”
With a final kiss, Shade rose onto his knees. Watching her intently, he licked his glistening lips. She crawled onto her knees as well, skimmed her palms up the grooves of his abs, felt them tense to her touch. Then she curled her fingers once more against the nape of his neck.
And pulled his mouth crashing to hers. Their teeth clinked. He grunted but she swallowed the sound.
“Lay down,” she panted when they broke away.
Shade grinned, roguish as he dropped back onto his elbows. His thigh muscles clenched as she drank down the sight of him.
Tone gone rough, he said, “Don’t hold back.”
“Maybe you should for just a bit,” she teased him.
He answered, “I’ll do anything you ask of me,” and that worried her, because she believed him.
Shade took up her hand. Held it to steady her balance as she straddled him, then seated his cock inside of her.
They both groaned as she sank down. Swallowed him inch by inch.
“C’mere,” he said, pulling her forward so that her breasts rubbed just below his chest. With his hands on her hips, he guided her forward and back, grinding against her clit until she began to cry out.
Then he rocked his hips, gliding in and out of her. Slowly, so slowly. But so damn good. Patient and measured at first, then needier and less in control, with him sweating and swearing to God. He moaned Gisele’s name. Cupped a hand over the back of her neck, possessive. The orgasm built inside of her again, tingling and tightening, and all too much.
“Shade.” Making love like this was going to roll her under.
She clung to him, dug her fingers into the mark on his chest. He crushed a hand over hers, pressing her palm flat to the brand. It burned red hot against her skin.
“More,” she begged. “Faster.”
Gripping her thighs, Shade lifted Gisele up as he pumped into her—fast and hard, just as she’d asked. “Like that?”
Her teeth rattled. “Uh huh.”
Her breasts jiggled. And the sounds that were coming out of her started to take on a keening property.
“Don’t hold back from me,” he repeated. “I want to see you let go.”
“I’m not.” But she was. There was a part of her that was still afraid he might shatter her trust.
Without warning, he rose up on his knees. He pulled out of her
and spun her around, and then in a single, hard thrust was back inside of her, seated deep. Her back pressed to his sweaty chest. His thighs spread hers until she begged him to move again.
Hand tangled in her hair, Shade angled her head and stole her breath in a forceful kiss. Obliging, he pounded in and out of her. She tried to nod but couldn’t.
Dropping her hair, he hooked his arm across her front, holding her tight—almost unbearably so—as he fondled her breasts. His other hand dipped between her thighs to strum her swollen clit.
“Let go. Let me catch you,” he growled into her ear, and at last she broke, screaming.
After what felt like ages of floating then falling, Gisele sagged in Shade’s arms, utterly spent as he kissed behind her ear and down the line of her neck. Her throat was raw. Her hands ached from clenching her fists.
“Tell me what you want next,” Shade rasped, and Gisele couldn’t hold back the laugh.
But when he laid her onto the bed and began licking and nipping the length of her spine—and she spotted the glistening erection he still sported—she realized he wasn’t joking.
Gently, she stroked a hand over his damp, baby-soft skin. He groaned, cock throbbing, and satisfaction soared in her chest. But as he wiped sweat from one temple, his brows drew into a dark slash. He swallowed and, that fast, the grimace was gone.
“Hey.” Rolling over, she pulled him to lie on top of her. “What were you thinking? I want you to come with me this time.”
Why would he deny himself like that? Didn’t her headstrong dragon know she wanted all of him?
He ducked his head to hide a lopsided grin. “I think I can manage that.”
His teeth scraped his bottom lip as he rocked into the cradle of her thighs.
She sighed. “Better.”
Shade watched her with more concentration than any man had before. The longer he pumped, the more his muscles tensed and, trembling, stood in stark relief. Black eyes turned to moonlight, bright with wonder, before rounding in gradual alarm.
Gisele traced his cheek and tried not to laugh. “You don’t have to wait for me this time.”
Nostrils flaring, he immediately cut her a steely look. “I’ll always wait for you.” But a helpless sound broke from his lips, almost as quickly, as they shaped an ‘O’ of surprise. He pleaded, “Gigi, I can’t—oh, God.”
“Give it to me,” she said, greedy, longing without remorse for all of him. For every last bit.
Nodding, he caught her lips.
And mid-kiss—as they clung to each other, exhausted and aching and gasping for breath—that’s exactly what he did. He came undone against her, with her in every way possible, and she followed him, would follow him anywhere, right then.
Including, right over the edge.
21
For the first time, Gisele found herself wanting to dream of Shade. She didn’t know if the dreams were real, forgotten memories, or fake ones, but she wanted to see him. She wanted to know more of what he’d been like, her royal guard, her dragon knight, her soul-bound. He’d been all of those things to her and more before she’d lost him.
But now…
Her life had veered so far off course, she’d forgotten it. Everything she’d ever known had been taken from her. She’d grown up to be a different girl, one who knew nothing of his world.
Could she really have him?
“Stop getting distracted, darling.”
She whirled at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, peering wide-eyed as the darkness and mist gave way to a cavernous, plush bedroom. The lights were dim, and she could make out writhing forms in the distance, scattered about the room. Demons. Men and women. Clusters of moaning, undulating orgies.
She stumbled back and almost pitched on her ass.
For a moment, all eyes turned to her, some black orbs that seemed to suck in the surrounding darkness, some aglow, orange like smoldering coals or blue like wisps of a winter fire. Some creatures were horned, some winged, while others arched sharply-spined backs or flexed stomachs covered in scales that glittered and gleamed, black and gold and chartreuse, despite the low lighting.
A high mattress pressed into the small of her back. She’d bumped into a large canopy bed of twisted wrought iron that marked the center of the room. It loomed high and ominous above her, with thick, closed drapes. Lavish pillows and red satin sheets littered the floor, strewn in all directions as if they’d been ripped in a fury—or a mad passion—from the bed.
A faint noise drew her attention, and she turned, cold dread flooding her chest as she parted the drapes and peered onto the mattress.
Shade was there, flushed and trembling, spread-eagled on the bed. He twisted against the leather straps that circled his wrists and ankles. A brown leather gag had been wedged between his lips, trussed in place, and he moaned another sound, one that could’ve been her muffled name.
Bite marks and branching red burns marred his body. Had she done this? Was this what being soul-bound did to him?
A hand brushed her shoulder, and she jumped and jerked to the side, heart racing, muscles coiling, body ready to fight. But it was only a woman that stood next to her, tall and lithe with high, sharp cheekbones, sultry eyes, and long, fire-kissed hair. A red velvet ball gown hugged every taut curve, its mermaid skirt flaring wide. She tossed her head back and laughed, the sound washing down Gisele’s body like chilled champagne. The woman was sex incarnate.
Two curved horns adorned the sides of her head. An emerald gem gleamed at her throat. And she hadn’t aged a day from Gisele’s childhood memories.
She didn’t know how she could recognize her, Felicitisia—her aunt and a succubus, the fake priestess—but she was sure it was her…or as sure as she could be about anything, anymore.
Her aunt stared down at the bed, watching Shade writhe with lust.
“Why do you delay, darling? You can have him whenever you want. For a while longer.”
She didn’t like the way her aunt gazed at Shade—or the ‘for a while longer.’ Fear gripped Gisele’s heart, followed by a fierce compulsion to protect what was hers. Her favorite red-handled Smith & Wesson—the one she’d lost to the police evidence locker—was in her hand, despite the fact that she’d been weaponless moments before. She didn’t bother questioning where it’d materialized from, only cocked a round in the chamber and aimed it at the woman’s temple.
Felicitisia’s red-painted lips parted in a breathy, delighted gasp, but she didn’t move, didn’t even flinch.
“Well played, darling. But I grow tired of waiting. Bring me the Mardoll, and claim what is rightfully yours.”
She leaned in close, caressing Gisele’s hand as she repositioned the gun to press against the side of her niece’s neck. A wave of pleasure rocked through Gisele’s body, and she shuddered, unable to resist it.
The words that came next were hot against her ear, forcing her eyes to slide shut.
“Or your brothers will find you.”
Gisele pulled the trigger, and the room exploded in a deafening bang.
She opened her eyes to darkness.
The ground did that thing where it felt like it was falling out from under her, only this time it was the bed, plummeting from under her back. She bolted upright, then fell back, dizzied.
Shade caught her. He rose to cradle her against his bare chest, the sheets slipping to pool around his waist.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked, eyes heavy with sleep.
“Nightmare,” she gasped.
“You’re safe,” he reassured her. “Vyx is gone.”
“It wasn’t like that. It was more disturbing than scary.” She rested against him, unable to shake the sense of dread she’d felt in the dream. “You haven’t been having any strange dreams lately…have you?”
He didn’t answer, and she tensed.
“I’m here. We’re fine,” he murmured as if he’d known what she’d dreamed. He pulled her closer, holding her to him like she might slip away. His strong hands stroked
across her back, soothing and warm.
After a moment, he said, “Everyone has strange dreams sometimes,” but she recognized it as a deflection. He couldn’t lie to her outright anymore, but that didn’t mean he was always willing to be open with her.
“Were you there?” she asked, but he refused to answer. The silence between them grew thick and heavy until she gave up, letting it drop. Ultimately, it wasn’t worth forcing the issue. Besides, it was a crazy thing to have asked. She probably sounded deranged. “Distract me from it then,” she implored. “Tell me something, anything. Anything you can.”
He kissed the curve of her shoulder, but his lips were hesitant, lingering against her skin.
He was quiet for a long while, the only sound between them the noise of their soft breaths. Then he said, “I shouldn’t have been able to tell you that last night, about being your soul-bound.”
Hers. He was her soul-bound.
Hearing him say it flooded her with a sense of satisfaction, of rightness—and guilt. It should feel wrong, the thought of owning someone.
But he was still speaking.
“I was never able to before, and believe me, I tried, Gigi. Something’s different. Maybe…maybe something’s changed with my contract. Maybe you can override its conditions. Or maybe I can only tell you when it’s something you’re already aware of. You must have known it, felt it, finally?”
He sounded so hopeful that she didn’t want to burst his bubble. Had she felt it before he’d told her? She wasn’t sure. “What does it mean that we’re soul-bound? Our souls are tied together?”
He laughed, amused, and threaded his fingers through the ends of her hair. “No, that’s not—being soul-bound is a one-way street. I’m sworn to you, not the other way around.”
Yes, hers. He belonged to her.
Mine.
The image of him bitten and burned, aroused and scared and struggling against his bonds, returned to her unbidden, and she shuddered, hugging him tight. She had no right to feel possessive. If anything, she was a danger to him.
“I swear, I’ll find a way to release you,” she promised. She would free him from being soul-bound, from his contract—from whatever was happening to him. She’d protect him from the fate he’d suffered in her dream. She’d save him, even if that meant saving him from herself.