by Gaja J. Kos
“I need you, Cian,” I whispered, my voice hoarse from the growing demand of my flesh. “I want you inside me.”
The words barely left my lips before he thrust me onto the mattress. A growl reverberated in his chest as he tore off my pants, leaving nothing but the thin slip of my black panties between us. His breath caressed my thighs, his mouth moving ever higher until I felt the warmth of his tongue trail the very edge of the fabric, reaching for my most intimate core.
He laughed then, a low, male sound, overflowing with a lethal combination of satisfaction and need, and ripped the panties apart as if they were nothing. The two strips fell to the sides, leaving me exposed and oh so willing before him.
The laugh turned into a growl then, and he buried his head between my thighs, his tongue pushing past the sensitive folds to lick at my accumulating desire. Fingers dug into my hips, letting me know that what little control he had left was on the verge of snapping.
As was mine.
I arched my back and spread my legs wider. He responded to my silent offering, the steady thrusts and long, hard flicks of his tongue pushing me closer and closer to the edge.
“Feck, you’re wet,” he rumbled into my skin, then looked up, his sensual mouth glistening with the evidence of my arousal. But it was his eyes that stole my breath. They were magnetic, raw desire swirling in the entrancing purple hue. “I want to make you come, Liva. I want to taste you as you come.”
Not trusting my words, I moaned my agreement, and he delved into my depths, his thumb working at my clit while his tongue explored every wet, aching inch of me. My breaths grew heavy, the tightness of my growing orgasm spreading through my body, making me quiver and cry out for the sweet embrace of release.
And when that one last lick brought me over the edge, my cry morphed into a scream. Cian’s name exploded from my lips, and he groaned, drinking in all that I gave so willingly.
He rose above me as I writhed from the aftershocks. The muscles in his arms bunched from holding his powerful frame, and I couldn’t resist running my fingernails down his impressive torso, teasingly coming to a stop right on the sculptured line of his waist. As I admired his body, his eyes traveled down the length of mine until, finally, our gazes met, the seconds seeming to stretch into infinity.
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re a demon.” His voice broke the spell only to wrap me in another. One I wanted to succumb to with everything that I had. Everything that I was. “I don’t give a fuck about your heritage, Liva. I never should have. Not from the moment I laid eyes on you in that fecking dress and high heels in your shop. Because I knew. I knew then as clearly as I know now… You’re mine.”
Chapter 20
Everything inside me unraveled at his words. My nails dug into his shoulders, and I brought him down, needing to feel the taste of his lips on mine. Cian claimed my mouth, hands roaming over my body, cupping my curves and pressing me to him until there wasn’t a single sliver of space left between us. His hunger was explosive, a force that couldn’t be stopped. Couldn’t be contained.
As I writhed under the sweet strain of my own desire, he pushed himself off me, exposing my heated body to the cool caresses of the ever-fresh air that circulated through the room. He gave me a lopsided smile and knelt on the mattress, thrusting a hand in his dark purple hair. I sucked in a breath at the sight of him, at the hard, thick length of his erection, the very tip glistening in invitation.
A part of me almost couldn’t believe this was happening. That this impressive, handsome-beyond-reason male wanted me. Reacted to me in such a way.
Instinctively, I traced a finger down the velvet skin.
“Liva,” he warned.
But I only shot him a mischievous grin and wrapped my fingers around his heated shaft.
He groaned, thrusting into my touch, all the while his purple gaze was on mine, the silken strands of his hair brushing against his cheekbones with every move he made.
He wasn’t only handsome. He was breathtaking. Powerful. Unique.
Mine.
I guided him between my thighs, then relinquished the grasp I had on him to let him take control instead. Although his eyes shone with wild desire, I could see the acknowledgment lying beneath, the gratitude for what I was offering to him of my own free will.
And truth was, I wanted to be claimed.
Despite the layers and layers of old wounds he carried, despite the distance he had tried to put between us, as well as his aversion to my race, embedded in the pain of his parents’ deaths, I had witnessed the respect Cian felt for me. He had tried to conceal it, but it was there, etched in the way he looked at me, and, in the end, confirmed in the trust he had shown.
He wasn’t a male who believed in macho bullshit, regardless of the sometimes rigid ways of the Fae. Between us, there were no differences. We were equal.
But right now, all I wanted was to be pliant in the arms of all that lethal strength he possessed.
I wanted him to take me, to rule me.
His gaze raked over my naked body, taking in every curve, every swell, every inch of my exposed, flushed skin. My nipples were tight with arousal, and I was wet, so wet from wanting him that I didn’t know if I could last a second longer without his presence inside me.
It was more than just the need for sex. It was an urge to merge our spirits.
Power rippled from him in waves, mixed with the potent fragrance of our desire. With a low growl, he pressed against my entrance, the hard length of him teasing the swollen folds until I cried his name, begging him to release me.
And he did.
He thrusted, long and hard, filling me to the point where I didn’t think I could accept more. Then, with eyes of an electric purple, he eased back, but only to push even deeper. I moaned and writhed as he fell into a steady rhythm, the muscles of his flat abdomen flexing as he buried himself inside me time and time again. I dragged my fingers down his chest, gold-painted nails biting into his skin, conveying what words were unable to.
We were two halves of a whole that had come together, moving in perfect, wild unison. A windstorm of desire, so strong and overpowering, that we could shatter the world if we so chose.
In the magnetic haze of pleasure that all but swept me away, my hands found their grip on the iron muscles of his defined arms. I stabilized myself, wanting to turn each one of his thrusts into an explosion of ecstasy as he filled me so thoroughly, so deeply, that I couldn’t tell where one ended and the other began.
Everything around me flaked away then, my reality narrowing down to the movements of our bodies, to the sweat and heat that rolled off us, and the male possessiveness I saw staring at me from those purple depths, telling me I was cherished. Loved.
That I belonged here, captured beneath his body.
My every nerve came to life as he thrusted, again and again, keeping me on the precipice of all-consuming pleasure. Thick and hard, he throbbed inside me, his uneven breaths matching mine as we crumbled under the accumulating ache of our hunger.
He grew even larger inside me. His masculine body covered mine as he dipped down to trace my pulse with his tongue, then shot back up, the rhythm now frantic. Heat erupted in my core, my muscles constricting around him, wanting us to come as one.
“Look at me,” he rasped as I closed my eyes, my composure hanging by a thread. “I want you to look at me, Liva.”
The instant our gazes met, he shoved his hips forward, the room suddenly filled with our cries as neither could hold on any longer. The sweet pain of release washed over me, my body convulsing around his as we both succumbed to the depths of maddening pleasure.
I didn’t know how long we remained senseless and roaring, caught in the orgasm that refused to subside. But, eventually, he shivered, then lowered himself on top of me, our sweat and warmth mixing into an embrace that lay upon us like a blanket. Even as we both panted, his lips found mine, and we drowned in each other’s taste, our tongues exploring one another as if it were the first time.
A husky moan vibrated in my throat at the elation, at the rightness of what we were, the sentiment echoed in Cian’s low growl. I felt him grow hard inside me once more, the sudden rush of desire deepening his kisses but not shattering their gentle intimacy. He rotated his hips, slowly, languidly teasing my entrance as he braced himself on his arms and flashed me a crooked smile.
“I’m not done thanking you yet, little demon.”
Chapter 21
A pulse from the ward surrounding the outer perimeter of my lair woke me up. I was lying cocooned in Cian’s arms, the steady rise and fall of his chest telling me the Fae was still fast asleep. Heat burned inside me at the thought of him trusting me enough to let his guard down—to relax so completely by my side. I pressed my body into his, seeking the comfort of his warmth, and was more than a little tempted to just ignore whoever it was requesting entrance.
But there were only a handful of people who knew about this place. And even fewer who knew that I might have sought refuge here.
I let out a quiet sigh and, reluctantly, eased out of Cian’s embrace, mindful not to wake the sleeping beauty. A soft smile cupped my lips at the sight of his legs tangled in my sheets, at how the strands of his dark purple hair fell across his face, making him so gods-damned handsome that I almost crawled back into bed with him.
With soft steps, I padded across the plush carpet. I stopped by the wardrobe to wrap my naked body in a golden silk robe, then walked past two layers of wards to the entrance.
Once I reached the door, I could feel her standing on the other side. The barrier of energy revealed everything from her identity to the state of mind she was in, predicting the amount of danger I’d find myself in if I were to dispel the magic. There wasn’t anything malevolent in the nature of her visit per se, but there were whispers of some ulterior motive lurking in the threads of power. Only it wasn’t one of her own making.
“Lena,” I drawled as the barrier—physical as well as metaphysical—moved to the side. “What brings you to my lair?”
The serious expression on her face brightened at my tone. “Well, someone seems to be in a good mood.” Her gaze took in my bare feet, the silk robe hugging my body, and her lips formed a wide O. “Did you and your Fae…? You did, didn’t you?”
Lena leaned against the doorframe, and—when I instinctively positioned myself in front of her—narrowed her eyes at me. I tried to act casual, but I was so out of my element that there was no way I could brush off my movements as anything but what they really were. Protection.
Naturally, Lena had to pry.
“He’s here now? You brought the Fae to your place of power?” She let out a low whistle. “You really are serious about him, Liv… I would never bring anyone to my chambers.”
“Of course you wouldn’t.” I laughed, dispelling the odd tension that had taken over me.
Though the thought was somewhat disturbing from a sibling point of view, there was also no point in denying that my little sister had always been the wild one among us three. Honestly, I didn’t think Lana and I could trump her long line of lovers even if we pooled all of ours together.
Demons tended to seek out their mates, someone who was compatible in energy and soul, someone with whom to spend the ages of our existence with. Once the bond was in place, it linked both individuals regardless whether the other was our kin or not. After all, love didn’t discriminate. But Lena refused to bind herself to anyone but, well, herself—hence the variety of people she’d been with. Even casual sex, if you had it enough times with the same individual, could stir the ancient magic within us.
However, there were those rare times when a person’s energy was so right, a single intimate encounter was enough.
Something I very much suspected happened with Cian.
Only it had started to unfold long before we even kissed.
Those were the warnings I’d ignored—that small voice inside me that had advised caution. Because although demons could walk away from their prospective mates until the ritual was completed—something we hadn’t yet done—the process wasn’t always pleasant.
Luckily, I had zero intention of leaving Cian. And I had a suspicion that that had been the case all along. My cheeks burned at the thought.
“I like my life the way it is.” Lena shrugged, the small smile she gave me now mirrored on my face as well.
“I know you do,” I said lightly, but meant every word.
I had no idea if it was the place we were in, my recent use of demonic powers, or simply seeing her more often in the past couple of days than I had in an entire year, but I felt a connection with Lena I thought I’d lost a long time ago. Something far stronger than what the occasional talk over coffee offered. Damn. I knew I’d missed her, even admitted as much to myself, but this was more than that. It was a longing to have her back in my life—if she would take me.
Yet despite how the idea of sharing more than just a superficial relationship warmed me, I couldn’t ignore the fact that Lena had been sent here to deal with something. Something that had to do with me.
I released a soft sigh. “Did our mum send you?”
Almost immediately, the light winked out of Lena’s green eyes, and she dipped her chin in confirmation. “You know how she is—she would never pass up an opportunity to get her claws on some additional power.”
“And what does the Bitch Queen want now?”
“The Fae hallow you stole.”
“No.”
The word exploded from my lips, far harsher than Lena deserved. She was just the messenger after all. But dealing with my mother, even if only through words of another, left me testy. That bitch would never get her hands on the Stone. Not only did the damn thing not belong to her, but she sure as fuck didn’t need to amplify her strength. She already was one of the major players in the Shadow World. I wouldn’t be the one to hand her the coveted crown.
“No.”
Lena lifted her hands in a gesture of innocence, but I felt the power coiling within her, prepared in case I decided to strike. Though it broke my heart that she even considered the possibility that I would attack her, I also felt just how protective my magic got.
And the sensation was strong enough to make even a powerful demon weary.
“Hey, don’t shoot the messenger,” she said, keeping her voice calm, but not quite masking the hurt underneath. “I don’t want the bloody hallow.”
“I know, I know.” I rubbed at my temples as I reeled my power back in. “I’m sorry. It’s not your fault.”
Lena’s blue-green eyes met mine. “So I should tell her she can shove it?”
“What? No!” I couldn’t help the laugh that spilled from my lips. “I don’t need her coming after my ass for being disrespectful.”
Gods, it was insane. All of this was insane.
I had worked so hard to keep away from the Shadow World, only to be sucked into the war of a race I didn’t even belong to—and consequently landed on my mother’s radar because of it.
“Thank you,” I said to Lena after I sorted through the avalanche of thoughts and my perhaps slightly hysterical laughter died down. “For trying to cheer me up.”
“What are little sisters for, eh?”
“Besides giving me the needed equipment to commit a felony, you mean?”
“There’s that, yes,” she crooned, the corners of her mouth curving up once more. “Don’t worry, I won’t barge in on your Fae to collect it right now. Besides, that way you owe me a coffee.”
The smile on my face faltered. “I owe you more coffees than you could drink. Especially since you’ll be delivering Mum the bad news…”
“Yeah, well, all in a day’s work.” She reached out, her fingers wrapping around mine. “Mother won’t come here. She wouldn’t humiliate herself by being left standing before your door. Or failing to break through your wards. But be careful, Liv. You know how she gets when she sets her sights on something…”
I gave her a squeeze. �
�Thanks, Lena. For everything.”
Her lips stretched into a grin, and I knew what was coming even before the words left her mouth.
And she was absolutely right.
I had every intention to go back to my Fae. And enjoy every damned second of it.
Chapter 22
I couldn’t sleep after Lena’s visit, so I pulled on a pair of old jeans that luckily still fit me like a glove, threw on a white tee, then scribbled down a quick note to Cian in case he woke up before I returned.
Since my apartment was off-limits for obvious reasons, the umbilical cord spewed me out in a place I knew would be safe—and have a whole lot of food on hand.
“Motherfucker!” A voice growled as I reformed in a tastefully decorated living room.
“Hello to you, too, Nenad,” I purred.
The were in question glared at me.
I shrugged. “I did offer to ward the place for you.”
“Yeah, like that would keep you out,” he snarled back, but his words lacked any true malice.
He thrust a hand into his shaggy golden hair, still tousled from sleep, my gaze following the movement, then sweeping across his lean, pajama-clad body. Though I kept my personal connection with Nenad well hidden, I still couldn’t help but to check if he was okay. His green eyes watched me as a strand of power wrapped around him, seeking any traces of recent injuries that might have been hidden from sight.
He rolled his eyes. “I could’ve told you I was fine, you know.”
“Just wanted to make sure. You are my favorite werewolf, after all.”
A smile cupped his handsome, rugged face. “That’s just because I always get you the best deals.” He hesitated. “I guess this means that you were behind the attack last night…? Why didn’t you tell me? Did you think I wouldn’t give you the info if I knew all the gory details?”
I groaned and threw myself on his brown leather sofa. “Plausible deniability.”
