At Death’s Door

by Kenyon, Sherrilyn

  She wasn’t sure she could get past this.

  “Akri! Is merpeople on the Simi’s menu?”

  Acheron’s eyes widened. “I’ll be back.” He vanished as Nibo laughed.

  “What was that about?”

  “I think his demon daughter is about to have a go at your Mr. Dupree.”

  Valynda frowned. “Pardon?”

  Nibo sat up on the bed. “Simi likes seafood. No doubt she considers the Myrcian a delicacy.”

  “Oh dear Lord,” she gasped as she realized the Charonte might actually try to eat their resident mermaid. “That could be bad.” Cameron would be beside herself if her husband got eaten by a demon. No doubt she’d take it quite personally.

  “Indeed. I’m just glad loas aren’t part of her culinary cravings.” He took her hands into his and kissed her left palm and then her right. “But I pray that I’m still on your menu.”

  He was. God help her, against everything else. And that made her ache inside as those words warmed her instantly. Especially when he nudged her closer. Her breathing turned ragged as she pulled the scarf from his hair and freed his lush, wonderful curls. Damn him for them. They’d always made him so boyish and charming. So irresistible.

  She could be on the brink of murdering him and one glimpse of those curls loose about his handsome features would undo her most violent fury where he was concerned. And he knew it, too.

  Cupping her hand to his lips, he stared up at her with those delicious eyes that did the most wicked things to her. His whiskers tickled her palm while his tongue teased her flesh.

  “You’re such a trollop.”

  He grinned at her teasing insult and nipped her thumb. “I am that. Reprobate, through and through. It’s what you love most about me.”

  “Nay. It most certainly isn’t.” She tugged playfully at his curls. “Are you sure you’re all right? You looked like you were about to die again, a moment ago.”

  “Were you worried?”

  “Petrified.”

  He pulled her down to sit in his lap so that he could kiss her. “And so, you’re scolding me?”

  “Someone needs to.”

  He opened his mouth to continue their argument.

  “Shh,” she said, placing a finger to his perfect lips. “Don’t say anything else.” Her gaze raked his sexy body with a hungry frown. “Otherwise my common sense might overtake me again and I’ll change my mind.”

  Nibo arched a brow at that. And his breathing intensified as she reached out and ran her hand over his chest, across his own taut nipple, dragging her nails ever so gently over his tunic. Damn … that couldn’t be any more erotic had she been touching his bare flesh, and it made him so hard he swore he could drive nails with his cock.

  A thousand chills erupted through him as his body burned from the inside out.

  She moved her hand from his lips so that she could loosen the collar of his shirt to expose his chest to her warm hand. He sucked his breath in sharply as he watched her dip her head so that she could draw his nipple into her mouth and suckle him ever so tenderly.

  He moaned from the pleasure her lips and tongue gave him. God, it’d been so long since she touched him with this amount of care and tenderness.

  And it made him weak for her, especially when she leaned him back on the bed so that she could slowly, torturously trail her hand down between their bodies and dip it beneath the waistband of his breeches until she cupped him in her hand.

  Dizzy and on fire, he was past the point of any kind of rational thought. The only thing in the world to him was this woman and the need he had to sate the deep hunger that had gnawed at him incessantly since the moment he’d seen her defying him on that dark beach the night they’d first met.

  No matter how many times he had her, it wasn’t enough. Forget his rum, Vala was what made his head spin and lifted his spirits to the highest level.

  Cupping her face in his hands, he met her lips with the whole of his passion. She moaned into his mouth as she continued to stroke his swollen cock with her hand.

  With a need born of desperation, he used his powers to melt their clothes from them. He wanted nothing between them, and he was too impatient to waste time peeling her layers of aggravating fabrics from a body he’d been deprived of for far too long.

  Valynda shivered as the cold air rushed against her suddenly bare body. She feared she might faint as her head swam from the taste of him and the blood rush, from the silken feel of his rigidness under her fingers. There was nothing she loved more than when she had him like this and knew how much power she wielded over him. This was the only time she didn’t doubt his loyalty or love for her. When she knew that he’d do anything she asked.

  Nibo, who was so powerful and who yielded to no one, whose will was absolute, loved her. At least for this one moment. Here, like this, he was hers and hers alone. She shared him with no one.

  She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his lips to hers for another long, deep, and satisfying kiss.

  Nibo didn’t disappoint her as he plundered her mouth like a pirate. She sighed in contentment, and ran her hands down his lean, hard back. Oh, how incredible the man felt.

  He tasted even better.

  Leaving her mouth, he trailed a scorching kiss to her neck, where he suckled and teased her flesh with his tongue and teeth. Valynda arched her back, writhing in pleasure as his hands skimmed over her body. Down her arms, over her waist so that he cupped her hips in his hands.

  As he moved toward her breasts, she stopped him. He looked up with a frown.

  “Not this day, my sweet, precious loa. You are my cheval.” She rolled him onto his back and straddled his waist.

  Nibo stared up in awe of her as he felt her hairs gently teasing his belly.

  Her smile grew wider. She dipped her head toward his and instead of giving him the kiss he expected, she lowered her mouth to his throat. Nibo groaned at the heat of her mouth as she seared him. Her tongue darted over the whiskers of his neck, teasing and tormenting him with wave after wave of pleasure.

  She leaned forward so that her breasts were flattened against his chest.

  “Sweet Vala,” he breathed, running his hands over the smooth, pale skin of her back.

  And then she moved her mouth lower. Slowly, thoroughly, she covered his chest and arms with her scorching kisses. Her breasts pounded against him, flaying his chest with pleasure, as her hands explored every inch of his skin.

  He couldn’t remember a woman ever being quite so bold. One who seemed to derive her own pleasure from giving it to him. It was incredible.

  Valynda savored the sounds of Xuri’s pleasure filling her ears. Wanting to hear him screaming in ecstasy, she dipped her mouth to the flesh of his hipbone.

  He sucked his breath in sharply between his teeth as he quivered beneath her. She laughed deep as she continued her relentless exploration of him.

  Nibo buried his hand in her thick, dark hair as he fought the urge to roll her over and take control. He would have his chance to fill her shortly. For the moment, he would content himself with letting her have her way.

  But it was hard. And getting harder by the minute. It wasn’t in his nature to be passive.

  However, when she moved her hand again to cup and stroke him, and then lowered her head to take him fully into her mouth, he was grateful beyond belief for his patience.

  Nibo growled out loud as he sank his hand in her hair and trembled from the weight of pleasure that invaded every part of him. More than that, he shook all over as her tongue toyed with his body.

  His breathing ragged, he let her lick and tease until he couldn’t stand it anymore.

  Valynda looked up as Nibo shifted his body.

  He flashed a charming smile as he stretched out beside her with his head toward her feet. Then he positioned his hips even with her head.

  “Don’t stop,” he said, his eyes warm and wicked.

  Before she could respond, he nudged her thighs apart and buried hi
s lips against the center part of her body.

  She closed her eyes and moaned at the feel of his tongue delving deep inside her.

  Oh, it was incredulous. She’d forgotten just how talented he was in this department. Though how … she couldn’t imagine. After all, this was what he was famed for. Needing to feel more of his touch, she opened her legs wider.

  She bit her lip in ecstasy, then returned to the tender ministrations she had been giving him.

  Nibo’s head spun as he again felt her mouth and tongue close around him. He cupped her hips to him as he ran his tongue over her and felt her quiver in his arms.

  She was delightful. But then, she’d always been that way. Even before he’d ever touched her, he’d sensed how passionate she was. It’d shown in everything about her. No woman possessed her amount of spirit without it.

  Valynda moved to playfully nip at his hipbone. The heat of his mouth seared her as he teased and suckled. And even more incredible was the feel of his fingers plunging inside her. In and out and around. Her body quivered and jerked as her head reeled from the sensations.

  She closed her eyes. It was too much for her. And just as she was sure she would die from it, her body exploded.

  Grateful, Valynda threw her head back and screamed in release as the world spiraled and careened.

  And still his tongue tormented her.

  “Xuri,” she sighed.

  He laughed almost evilly as he kissed her thigh. “I’m not through with you yet.” That was a tone of warning and yet somehow it remained playful.

  He rose up between her legs and positioned his body over her. Valynda reached up and buried her hands in those irresistible curls as he used his knees to spread her legs wider.

  He brought his lips down upon hers, then plunged himself deep inside.

  She groaned out loud and dug her nails into his back.

  He leaned back ever so slightly and reached his hand down between their bodies until he found her nub so that he could heighten the pleasure even more.

  Instinctively, she rubbed herself against him, impaling herself even more deeply than before.

  “Aye, ma petite.” He closed his eyes to savor the warm, tight heat of her body around his. “That’s it.”

  His breathing ragged, he let her take control of the moment as she milked his body with hers. Never had he felt the like. He was more than happy to be her cheval and to let her ride him for as long as she wanted.

  Opening his eyes, he saw the look of wonder on her face. Aye, she liked being in charge.

  Ever one to please her, he rolled over without withdrawing from her.

  Valynda groaned as she found herself on top of him. She stared in awe of him and the sensation of his body inside hers and between her legs.

  His eyes dark and gentle, he reached up and cupped her breasts in his hands. She covered his hands with her own, then lifted her body up, drawing herself down his cock.

  “Aye,” he breathed. “That’s it. Faster.”

  And then his hand returned to cup her between her legs as she rode him hard and fast.

  And this time when she came, he joined her.

  Sated and exhausted, Valynda stretched out on his chest and simply enjoyed feeling his arms around her as his breath stirred her hair.

  Nibo leaned his head back, shaken by what had occurred between them. Aye, she was indeed his precious firebrand, and he would never grow tired of her passion.

  Never would he be sated.

  If anything, he wanted her more than he ever had before. His Vala truly had no equal.

  And that had always been their problem.

  Valynda lifted her head to look down at him. “Is something wrong?” She drew her brows together into a deep V.

  “Nay.” He ran his hands over her back, savoring the softness of that beautiful skin he’d missed so much while she’d been cursed. It wasn’t really a lie.

  In truth, things had never been more right.

  And likewise, they’d never been more wrong.

  Because now that she was intact again, they could both be punished in ways that had made all the others seem like mild bruises.

  How could he save her? Why did relationships have to be so damn complicated?

  Vala scowled as she gingerly touched his crook. For the first time ever, he didn’t flinch or react. He actually allowed her to take it into her hand and toy with it while it lay in the shape of a small necklace in the hollow of his throat. His only reaction was to watch her with a hooded, peaceful smile as he tangled his fingers in her hair. “Why is this so important?”

  “How do you mean?”

  “The Malachai wanted me to steal it from you.”

  He went cold at those words and she saw the heat in his eyes as they widened. Still, he didn’t pull away, but he was tense now, and on alert. His suspicion permeated the air around them both. “Pardon?”

  “You heard me. I want to know why it’s so important to him.”

  “And I want to know if you’re still planning to steal it.”

  She leaned down to press her nose against his. “I should.”

  He arched a brow at that.

  Valynda pressed her hand flat to his neck, cradled it, and smiled, then kissed him. “Relax, my precious. Had I planned to take it, I would have done so and not said anything about it.”

  Nibo relaxed and snorted. Saddest part? She was the one person in the universe who could have done so and gotten away with it. “Why didn’t you?”

  Valynda sighed as she nipped his lips with her teeth. “Honestly? I had planned to. The thought was right there when I saw it.” She traced the outline of the staff. “But as much as I’d like to think otherwise, I’m not that big a wanker. I could never cause you pain, Xuri. No matter what the Malachai or anyone else promised me. You mean more to me than that.” Tears filled her eyes. “You mean more to me than my own body, and I hate you for that most of all.”

  Cupping her hand in his, he led it to his lips so that he could kiss her fingers, then nibble her knuckles. “The reason why everyone is after me crook, love, it can bring back the dead.”

  She was glad she was sitting down. “It does what?”

  “Brings back the dead.”

  That went over her like an icy wave as she glared at him. “You could have brought me back?”

  He followed her as she pulled away from. “Nay, Vala, it’s not what you’re thinking. Don’t be mad at me.” Nibo gently grabbed her arms to keep her by his side. “Your body was gone, mon ange. Its powers wouldn’t have worked in your case. Believe me. I wouldn’t have hesitated to use it for you if I could have. It’s why they made sure you had no body left.”

  Those words chased themselves around her head as she realized exactly the sinister game they’d played with him. The bastards had cruelly marked them both. “Sorry.”

  With a pained expression, he brushed the hair back from her forehead. “You’ve got to stop looking for my betrayal at every turn. Trust me, I know it’s hard. I’m the one what got binged by me own brother the minute I turned my back on the feckless bastard. But we’re not all here to hurt you, and God knows I would never. Having tasted such unwarranted cruelty, I’m the last one who would do that to anyone, especially you.”

  She leaned against him and nodded.

  Nibo closed his eyes as he felt her shivering in his arms. He knew how bad it felt to have the betrayal she’d known. That piece of the heart that never fully healed because it wanted to keep its soul from ever being hurt so badly again. There was nothing worse than to let another person in and to know that they were so cold and unfeeling as to come after you when you’d done nothing to them to cause their betrayal. When you’d loved them and cherished them, and they’d repaid your love with selfish cruelty and calamity.

  Especially when they were your family. He’d experienced it with Qeenan and she’d been betrayed by her parents. As bad as it was when friends turned against you, blood should be thicker than that. Family ties should mean m
ore.

  They should never be broken.

  Once severed, it was so much harder to ever put faith in anything or anyone again. He knew that better than anyone. Because when those were the ones who’d come for your throat, you had no belief in anyone else ever again. How could you?

  Trust was hard. Treachery seemed to be too easy for most. How could he make her understand that he was different?

  “I will never hurt you, Vala.” He just wished that she could believe that. But words were so easy to speak.

  And so few people actually followed through on such promises.

  He knew that, too. Half his job as a psychopomp was escorting those who’d been killed by those who were supposed to love and protect them forever.

  And in the back of his mind, he carried his own doubt. Especially given that she’d just admitted to him that she’d been harboring traitorous thoughts against him. It made it so much harder now to believe in her. Would she be like Qeenan and club him when he turned his back?

  Damn. Now that she’d stirred his fears, he wasn’t sure if or when he’d ever be able to lay them aside again. Too much betrayal lay in his own past. Too much hurt.

  Too much hate.

  It was why he lived the way he did. Superficially. Let no one in. Keep everything at a distance. It was easy not to care when you didn’t.

  Damn him and damn his heart that was far too entangled with her now for his liking.

  Her eyes were dark and shiny as she looked up and met his gaze. “How well do you know Thorn?”

  That hit him like a fist to his gut. Why was she asking that? Was he planning treachery, too? Or was it something even more sinister?

  His stomach cramped at an even worse thought. “Beg pardon?”

  “I need to know if I can trust him.”

  Still not placated by that, he frowned at her. “Vala … word of advice, never talk to a man about another one when you’re naked in his arms. We don’t like that.”

  She playfully tugged at his curls. “Stop! I’m not interested in him and you know it. I just want to know if he’ll do what he said.”