We summon those who will turn this battle for the dark.
Come to us, brothers and sisters, from far away.
Join us and bring us victory this day."
Black fire with ice-gray sparks twisted wickedly around the circle of warlocks. So high that fingers of flame scraped the low ballroom ceiling. Smells of sulfur and smoke intertwined with incense, the fog of it nearly enough to make Junga sneeze.
Heat from the black flames licked her body even from where she had positioned herself across the room. Desire ripped through her, sharp and sudden, and she nearly screeched her arousal.
The dark sorcery twined through the room in sensuous tendrils, caressing, stimulating, exciting. Junga imagined herself shifting into a human, taking the priest down, and having him in the middle of that circle of erotic black fire.
“Dark forces of this world, unite and come forth,
Dark forces of the universe, join from east, west, south, and north.
We call the darkest of sorcery that serves us all.
We cherish the darkness, honor our call.
We are Balor’s warlocks, come to make our mark.
We are Balor’s warlocks, come to serve the dark.”
The warlocks swayed as they repeated his words. Their chant grew stronger with every word.
Resting on her haunches, Junga tried to calm the lust churning through her body. She watched the warlock priest through the fire, following his every movement.
“Balor,” the priest said, his voice growing deeper, louder, thunderous, “we call upon what is known and true. Aid us in this time of new beginnings for all dark forces to serve you.”
Dark fog slithered around the warlocks’ ankles and their black robes billowed at the hems. Heated wind fanned Junga’s nose, hotter this time.
The priest began his own transformation. His presence became greater.
Larger.
Darker.
Terrible.
As if a dark entity had taken control of Darkwolf’s body. His voice deepened, throbbing with power. No longer did the Balorite priest stand in the center of that circle. It was something other. Something insidious…something evil.
Junga swallowed. Fomorii lived their lives pursuing what they believed to be the natural order of things. They were more intelligent, stronger, meant to be a dominant species.
Humans, other beings, were intended to be food. They were meant to be conquered.
But this...this was evil. And the Fomorii had never considered themselves evil.
A trickle of fear coursed along Junga’s spine, and she held back a whimper. She could smell fear from all other beings in the room. Fomorii, witches, and humans alike.
“The true embodiment of the dark are the Fomorii we seek,” the voice thundered.
Junga wanted to shake her head no. They weren’t evil. They weren’t.
The entity continued,
“Bring forth the demons and join them to our cause.
Bring forth the beasts of fangs and claws.
As many of these beings loyal to the dark as we speak,
That you would give us, that which we seek.”
A small shudder seemed to rock the room. Images outside the circle flickered, growing dim, then brighter, then dim again. Junga saw the queen and her guard, saw them grow almost solid enough to touch.
But then the images waned... until they vanished and the circle of fire died.
The summoning had failed.
Like her father, she had failed.
A sick feeling washed through Junga’s belly at the thought of the evil that had been present in the room. At the thought that she served a being that was truly evil.
Did it matter?
Somehow, deep in the pit of her Fomorii heart, it did.
20
Silver snuggled into her warm protective cocoon. A sense of serenity filled her, a sense of being protected and cared for.
Gradually, slight aches and pains made themselves known, but she couldn’t find a reason to mind them, she felt so good, so much at peace.
She opened her eyes. Blinked. Saw warm sunshine spilling through her bedroom window. By the position of the light streaming through, it was late morning.
Silver’s body jerked at the sudden memory of the summoning of the D’Danann a few hours earlier this morning, and her eyes widened. She tried to sit up but found herself trapped.
By the heady, spicy, masculine scent, and by the hard male body pressed to hers, she knew it was Hawk who held her so tight. He had one leg draped over her hip, his arm around her waist, her head tucked under his chin, and his blatant erection against her backside. He gave a low murmur, and she knew he still must be sleeping, probably just beginning to wake.
Her thoughts whirled through everything that had happened with the summoning, and her body tensed even more. The last thing she remembered from the beach was the world spinning. And then everything went black.
Silver did remember slipping in and out of consciousness as Cassia cared for her, using Silver’s well-stocked remedies and healing stones. One thought puzzled her, though— Cassia had seemed somehow different. Not the shy, stumbling witch she had known. Rather the apprentice had been in control, commanding even. Perhaps she was showing her true colors. That she was, as Hawk had said, other.
Cassia had been like Silver’s younger sister. All stumbles and mishaps, but good-hearted and good-natured.
Silver closed her eyes against the pain. If only Copper were still here. How she missed her sister. What made it worse was not knowing what had happened to her, where she was, or even if she was still alive.
Lips touched her hair in a soft kiss, and she tried to relax, letting sad and confused thoughts go for the present.
“Good morning.” Hawk stroked hair from her face and pressed another kiss to her jawline. “How do you feel?”
Silver worked her way over to her-other side, and he relaxed his grip long enough to allow her to face him. “Considering the last few days of hell. I’m doing all right.”
She trailed the back of her hand over his stubbled jaw. He looked so handsome, his dark hair mussed, his amber eyes so intent on her. She loved his scent. So utterly masculine and smelling of the wind and forest breezes. Perhaps he had been flying earlier, bringing a part of his journey back with him.
Hawk caught her hand in his and held it to his chest. “I was so afraid for you. I shouldn’t have allowed you to go last night. I shouldn’t have allowed you to perform the ritual.”
Silver resisted rolling her eyes. Perhaps she should be angry at his arrogance, but the concern in his gaze let her know how much he had been afraid for her.
She moved her hand so that she was cupping his cheek. “As if you could have stopped me.”
He gave an arrogant shrug. “Of course I could have.”
This time Silver did roll her eyes. “Big oaf.”
When her gaze met his again, she read something she wasn’t sure how to interpret. Lust, definitely. But also caring, and perhaps a wisp of regret?
“What’s wrong?” she asked, brushing a strand hair from his face.
He looked at her for a moment, his amber eyes studying her as if imprinting her upon his memory. “I must return to Otherworld.”
She returned his stare, wanting to cry out at the thought of the loss of his nearness. She’d known all along he’d have to return to his home. Why would it matter to her when he left?
Yet somehow it did.
“The Chieftains have called me to answer for coming to your world without their leave.” Hawk twisted a lock of her hair around his finger. “If I don’t return by Samhain, they will not allow me to go back to Otherworld, not even for my daughter.”
Silver cupped the side of his face and forced a smile. “Then we’ll just enjoy what time we have left together.”
Hawk’s fingers threaded through her hair. “Every minute I am with you, I enjoy.”
A part of Silver wanted to cry out at the thought of hi
m leaving. But his daughter was the most important thing in the equation.
When the time came, she would accept whatever happened. For now, she chose not to think about him leaving.
In this moment, she needed something powerful and deep, a release from everything they’d been through. She needed to feel all of him, to have him around her, inside of her. To feel his sweat- slicked flesh sliding against hers. To feel his hands on her body, his mouth everywhere.
She reached up and brushed her lips across his, and a low groan rose up from his chest.
He kissed her back as if she were fragile and might break if he pushed her too hard, too fast. His kiss was a brush against her lips. A nibble. A taste.
Silver urged him on, wanting more of this man who had captivated her so completely in just a matter of a few days. She lightly bit his lip, and this time he growled.
The moment his lips parted, she slipped her tongue inside his mouth and tasted him, enjoying his flavor. And if she wasn’t mistaken, he’d been into Cassia’s chocolate chip cookies again.
Silver didn’t want his kiss to be gentle. She wanted him hard and deep in every way. With a moan of complete desire, she moved her hand from his cheek, into his hair, and drew him tighter to her. Her own kiss became wild and wanton.
Hawk lost his restraint and kissed her in an almost punishing way, just as she wanted him to. Their moans of want and need became louder, more aroused. Silver’s head grew light and she felt as if she were being transported to a higher plane of existence.
She tore her mouth from his and began exploring the rough line of his jaw, enjoying the feel of his morning beard against her lips. “I want you, Hawk.”
His groan was louder this time and he pressed his stone-hard length tighter to her belly. “You are too weak,” he said in his deeply sexy brogue.
Silver placed her palms against his chest and he didn’t resist as she pushed him onto his back. “I’ll let you know when I’m too weak.”
She climbed on top of him, straddling him so that she was pressed against him. He wore a black robe that he’d apparently borrowed from her shop—the tag peeked out from beneath one sleeve. He wore the pentagram that matched hers, and she lightly ran her finger over it.
“Thank you for wearing this.” She met his intense amber eyes. “It means a lot to me.”
“It makes me feel more a part of you,” he said, then looked surprised those words had come out of his mouth.
Silver still wore her white ceremonial robe, which barely remained closed with the loose tie around her waist. And then she realized she was wearing Hawk’s soft leather tunic beneath it. He must have put it on her when she passed out last night.
The ties of the tunic were undone and the opening gaped, revealing her own pentagram, and surely giving him a view of her cleavage. He ran his callused hands up and down her bared thighs, nearing her where she ached the most, then retreating to her knees.
With a shiver of desire, Silver leaned forward and pressed her lips to his. They kissed again, long and deep, and she felt as if she would never get enough. His kisses, his mere presence, made her feel alive, complete, and filled with a spiritual energy that amazed her.
She released a sigh and raised herself up so that she was looking down at him. She tossed aside the sheet that had been covering their legs.
“I want you, Hawk,” she stated, even more emphatically than before.
He shook his head, but lust warred with concern in his eyes. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
Silver brought her hands to the tie at her waist and unraveled it. He watched, mesmerized, as she parted the robe and let it drop from her arms. She pulled the shirt over her head and flung it away, revealing herself completely to him.
The warmth of his gaze, the hunger in his eyes, sent a thrill through her.
He palmed her breasts almost reverently, kneading them in his large hands. Silver sighed and tipped her head back. Hawk started in a hoarse voice, “We shouldn’t—”
Silver cut him off with, “We are.” She lowered her head again and this time whispered in his ear. “We are going to go to amazing places, and we’re going to do it now.”
He paused, a serious look crossing his strong features. “You could become pregnant.”
Silver shook her head and smiled. “Remember, I’m a witch. I have a magic shield within, that I use to protect myself.”
Need built within Hawk. He slid his hand into Silver’s hair and brought her mouth to his. He slipped his tongue deep inside her warmth, tasting her sweetness and wanting to devour all of her.
Part of his mind raged with the thought that it was too soon, that she had endured too much. But a greater part of him wanted to listen to her demands and take her now.
Only he intended to draw it out, make her wait, drive her crazy with need until she screamed for him to complete her.
Gods, how he wanted this woman, this witch. He had to have her. They had to have each other.
Silver’s hair caressed his face, his chest, as their kiss grew stronger, more intense, nearly sending him over the edge.
Gods be damned, he wasn’t waiting any longer.
She broke away, placing her hands on his chest. She tipped her head back, her eyes closed. He let his gaze drift over her firm, but supple flesh.
He caught her by the waist and flipped her over onto her back and straddled her. Silver let out a yelp of surprise and a laugh that filled his soul with a sense of rightness. Her eyes sparkled and he again saw the blue aura around her.
“Stop taking so long.” She tugged at the black robe’s belt, which had been knotted so tight she had to fumble with it to finally free him. “That’s more like it,” she murmured as she pushed his robe over his shoulders.
He flung it the rest of the way off and moved between her thighs.
Silver caught her breath at the feel of Hawk’s firm length pressed against her. Rather than driving into her core, he braced his arms to either side of her head and just looked into her eyes.
“You are the most beautiful creature I have ever seen.” He studied her intently, as if he couldn’t get enough of her.
Silver had never had a man look at her the way Hawk did at that moment. It sent a tremendous whirl of energy through her belly and her breasts. She knew she couldn’t wait much longer to have him.
She raised her hands and linked her fingers behind his neck. “Come to me.”
Hawk lowered his head, scraping her cheek with his stubble. He bit her earlobe, causing her to cry out and her eyes to water.
He let out a growl that rippled through her. “You’d better be sure you want me.”
His words nearly made her unravel. “Yes. Now.”
He gave a low laugh, and she knew she was in trouble. He was going to draw it out, make her wait.
She’d see about that. She eased her hand between their bodies and slipped her fingers around him, feeling the softness of her skin against the hardness of his erection. She slid her hand over his length. Teasing him, tempting him.
Hawk groaned. “Not yet.” He moved his lips to her collarbone and nipped at the soft skin. “I’m making you wait until I’ve tasted every inch of you.”
When his mouth latched onto one of her nipples, Silver’s groan had to be louder than Hawk’s had been.
He chuckled and moved to her other, sucking it hard. Silver buried her hands in his hair.
“That’s it.” He sucked her nipple hard enough to make her cry out again.
Silver’s head swam with the sensations swirling through her. He moved his mouth lower, nipping at her belly, then thrusting his tongue into her navel, sending swirls of erotic sensations through her.
Hawk moaned his desire as he tasted the salt of her skin, smelled the perfume of ocean breezes and moonlight on her that was as much an aphrodisiac as the sweet scent of her.
He had no intention of relieving the ache he knew was building within Silver. Not yet. He was going to make her wait and wait until she was clo
se to exploding with desire.
He traced the inside of her thigh, and Silver’s grip on his hair only made him hotter. He liked the feel of her hands in his hair, the knowledge that he was driving her out of her mind.
“Please.” Silver trembled as he moved lower and she had to release her hold on his hair. “I can’t take this, Hawk.”
He gave a soft chuckle as he licked the inside of her knee and created a damp path along her calf. “I haven’t even begun,” he murmured, and laughed again when she slapped the mattress to either side of her in frustration.
“Paybacks are a bitch, you know.” Silver thrashed as he licked the arch of her foot, then began sucking each one of her toes. Slowly. One at a time.
She was tempted to kick him.
Hawk was so hard he could barely think and he had a difficult time remembering this was all about Silver’s pleasure, not his own, Gods, how he wanted to drive into her. But it gave him supreme satisfaction to know he was affecting Silver to the point she was nearly out of control with need for him.
Silver had never in her life experienced such sensations as she was feeling with Hawk. And oh my goddess, when he sucked her toes, it was like her whole body became one shivering mass of nerves.
She had never realized how many erogenous zones there were on the human body, and Hawk was finding every last one of them. She writhed and begged, but he refused to listen to her.
He finally worked his way up the side of her other inner thigh and she gripped the sheet to either side of her. She held her breath and then Hawk delved into her wetness without hesitation.
Silver nearly came with the intensity of his mouth on her. She cried out at the same time a rumbling rose up within his chest.
He clenched her thighs with his massive hands, then slipped his palms beneath her ass, raising her up so that he could better pleasure her. His stubble scraped the insides of her thighs. He thrust two fingers in and out of her channel at the same time he licked her.
Heat whooshed over her as she came hard. Her body bucked against his face as her world seemed to explode with the force of her climax. Vaguely she realized she was sobbing and crying out as orgasm after orgasm wracked her body.
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