Grace Unchained - Phoenix Throne Book Five

by Heather Walker

  He took over where she left off. He slipped his maddening fingertips between her legs. He dragged his touch up her thighs to the blistering fissure buried there. He touched her wetness. She couldn’t hold back the ragged moans that escaped her lips.

  He stirred her creamy juices for a moment. Then he broke off kissing her to stick his fingers in his mouth. She stared at him in shock. What did he want to do that for?

  To her amazement, that simple gesture shot through him hotter than ever. He pushed his hand between their bodies and buried his fingers into her saturated tissues from the front. He rubbed her aching slit in circles until she moaned.

  “Sweet, sweet lassie,” he purred into her mouth. “That is so sweet.”

  She couldn’t stop staring at him. His mouth kept kissing her while he murmured these things into her face. The words meant nothing. His voice told her exactly how he felt and what he wanted.

  He gripped her around the back with one muscled arm. He controlled her movements with his arm while he fingered her burning gash to distraction. Her juices coated his fingers.

  He flicked her swollen nub. Then he crept lower to the place where her raw opening yawned to swallow him. He worked his fingers inside her in steady pulses. She yelped out loud at the intrusion, but when he started a slow, maddening rhythm, she sank onto his hand in rapture.

  She rode his fingers down to the knuckle, and her spongy tissues surrounded him in a tight fist. She arched back, and her hips kicked hard to take him to her limit. She gasped for breath. Nothing could compare to this.

  Jamie bent his head and grabbed her breast in his mouth. She rocked against him, and the devilish waves of mounting pleasure swept over her. She howled in tormented ecstasy.

  His teeth ripped her nipple when he let her go. He gazed up at her enraptured face. She didn’t see him. She knew only the delicious sensation of his fingers nudging her to the Heavens.

  He crushed her ribs in his arm. Quicker than she could react, he lifted her up and sat her down on his shaft. His fingers guided it home, and his thickness filled her to breaking point.

  She screamed in delirious ecstasy. The next thing she knew, that scream got bigger and bigger until she couldn’t contain it any longer. It exploded out of her and catapulted her over the precipice of the most cataclysmic orgasm she’d ever experienced. She rocketed into space, but he wasn’t finished with her.

  He sat her down on it until it slotted in to the hilt. It cracked her in half and touched every secret pleasure spot along her channel. Every stroke of his piston sent her reeling into another overwhelming climax. She wanted it to stop, but she never wanted it to stop. She wanted to keep rocking against him forever.

  The screams broke out of her ragged throat. She screamed as never before. Every torrential destroying climax brought fresh screams from her. She couldn’t stop it. She couldn’t contain him, but she wanted more, and more, and more. She wanted so much more.

  He strapped both arms around her waist. He picked her up and put her down for each shattering thrust. He tried to kiss her, but her lips wouldn’t respond. He sucked her nipple between his teeth, and that brought a fresh wave of endless rapture breaking over her head.

  She couldn’t hold herself up anymore. She flopped over him, but he kept pumping up into her. He sat partway up to hug her against him. His rocking pulses shot lightning bolts through her insides.

  All at once, he flipped her over on her side. She hit the bed. He rolled up on top of her leg and worked his shaft into her from the side. She couldn’t tear her eyes away from his face. He entranced her. He owned her. She wanted nothing but to let him possess her forever.

  The next thing she knew, he pulled away. He slipped out of her, but he didn’t leave her alone. He picked her up and pulled her up on top of him one more time. This time, he put her down on top of him with her legs to one side.

  She lay across his chest on her side. He took hold of her shoulders in one arm and hooked his other arm under her legs. He lifted her up and entered her from below. He moved her up and down while his slippery shaft slotted into her as never before.

  She couldn’t do this anymore. She went limp in his arms. She barely had the strength to turn her head to kiss him. She searched his eyes and read her own downfall written there. The other four women in their party all succumbed to these powerful, magnetic men. She was no different.

  He stared back into her soul. He kissed her in luscious kisses while he drilled to her hidden center. He touched her in ways she could never imagine. He awoke that part of her she never released to the light of day.

  She wept and whimpered against his mouth. The earth-shaking climaxes shook her to her foundation again and again, but he never stopped. He saw it all. He saw her broken into pieces and put her back together as a different person. He opened her up, and when he saw her deepest vulnerability, he accepted it and sheltered it and protected it with his big powerful presence.

  From out of the far distance, she heard a strange sound she didn’t recognize. She listened hard until she figured out it was him. A quick, hard noise came out of his mouth between kisses. Every stroke of his piston brought a tortured cry from deep in his throat. He spasmed, and his stomach contracted. The faster he stroked, the more it hurt him.

  She put her arms around his neck. She would take care of him the way he took care of her. When he exploded into something utterly new, she would be there to welcome him. She would hold him and embrace him and make it all right.

  Chapter 20

  Jamie woke up with Grace’s hair in his face. He drew a deep breath. Bottomless contentment filled every pore of his being. She was here. She was in his arms. Her essence clung to his skin. Tension and worry dwelt somewhere far away where he didn’t have to give them a second thought.

  She stirred in his arms. She hid her face in his chest from the light pouring through the open door. He hugged her and pressed his lips to her scalp. He could never get enough of her. One night of bliss could never be enough.

  After a few minutes, she fell back on the pillow next to him. She kept her eyes closed, even when he kissed her. Her immaculate sweetness filled him to bursting. “You’re awake.”

  “I am?” she asked.

  He snorted with laughter. “We ha’e another day tae face out there.”

  She threw her arm over her eyes. “Don’t remind me.”

  “Ye’ll no stay in ’ere fore’er. Ye mun’ get out o’ bed sometime.”

  “No, I don’t.” She dove down under his arm again. “I don’t have to do anything.”

  He laughed at her, but he didn’t try to disengage her. She infected him with her softness. He never wanted to get out of bed, either. He didn’t want to deal with giants and killing and curses. He had enough of that for one lifetime. He wanted to take her somewhere none of that existed.

  All of a sudden, she broke free. She stretched out her alabaster body next to him, and she opened her eyes. “Tell me more about your brothers.”

  “What do ye want tae ken?” he asked. “Ye ken all awready.”

  “Not enough,” she replied. “Tell me more about them. What are they like—really like? Christie says they’re all really great guys—like you.”

  “Christie says!” he exclaimed. “That shows ye how much Christie kens aboot it.”

  “He says he knows all of you except Angus.”

  Jamie looked up at the ceiling. “Aye. I suppose he does.”

  “So tell me about them.”

  “Weel, there’s Angus. He’s the oldest, and he’s King. He was allus the boss. He doesnae think so, but it’s true. He’s allus in charge, Angus is, and it’s a good thing, too, fer he allus does it right. No matter what he does, he does it right.”

  “Sounds like he’ll make a good King.”

  “Oh, he will,” Jamie replied. “He’s the best King any mon could hope fer, e’en better than Rob. Rob’s a stout mon his own self, but he’s no the same as Angus. Rob’s allus his own mon. He doesnae toe the line the
way Angus does. He’s Angus’s second. If anything happens tae Angus, Rob’ll be King. He’ll be a good one, too, but he can ne’er be Angus. That’s all there is tae that.”

  “What about Callum?”

  “Callum? He’s the stoutest o’ ’em all, is Callum,” Jamie replied. “Ye can throw a ragin’ north wind at Callum, and he’ll make it turn aside. Nothin’ can move him. He’s a brick, and that’s a fact.”

  “You really love ’em, don’t you?” she asked.

  “Love ’em?” he returned. “Love ’em doesnae begin tae cover it. They’re me gods. They allus ha’e been. Their feet dinnae touch the ground. It’s allus been that way. I grew up believin’ I could ne’er be good enough tae stand in the same room wi’ ’em. Now I’m fightin’ wi’ ’em and rulin’ wi’ ’em. It’s a dream come true.”

  “Do you feel the same way about Fergus?” she asked. “He’s not much older than you, is he?”

  “Fergus? Weel, Fergus is a different kettle o’ fish.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “He’s just different. That’s all,” he replied. “He allus was different—allus. He’s Faery. O’ course, none o’ us kenned it back then. We all o’ us kenned he was different, but we didnae ken how. He ne’er said a word tae anyone aboot it. He kept silent all those years, but he couldnae hide it completely. Things happened tae him. He saw things and did things. He kept up this other life on the side, and none o’ us could share it wi’ him. Not that we wanted tae, mind. He just allus lived somewhere below the surface. I ne’er stopped lovin’ him and wantin’ tae be like him, but he allus had this other side tae him that no one could understand—at least, he used tae.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s lost it now. He cinnae see anything anymore. ’Azel robbed him o’ his sight. He’s just like the rest o’ us now.”

  Grace gasped. “Why did she do that?”

  “She did it tae save his life. His sight got too strong. It would ha’e killed him if she let it continue. He was in agony, and he begged her tae do it and put him out o’ his misery. We all stood there and watched her do it, too.”

  Grace lay still and watched the memory play across his face.

  He coughed. “Anyway, that’s me brother Fergus. Now ye ken all.”

  “I can’t wait to meet them!” she exclaimed.

  He turned over to face her. “Listen tae me, lassie. I want ye tae do summat fer me.”

  “Name it,” she shot back. “I’ll do anything for you.”

  “I want ye tae go back to yer own place. I want ye tae go back there and stay there.”

  She jumped a foot off the bed. “What? No! I’m not going back! What’s the matter with you? How can you ask that?”

  He held up his hand. “Now just listen tae me fer a moment….”

  “I’m not listening to anything!” she snapped. “I’m not going back. How can you even ask that?”

  “If you’d listen tae me, ye’d understand,” he replied. “I’m telling ye….”

  “Save it,” she fired back. “We just spent the night together in this God-forsaken dump, and now you want to send me back? You prick! I’m gonna make you pay for that.”

  She delivered a resounding punch to his shoulder. His temper started to flare, but he sat on it hard. “Will ye put a sock in it fer two seconds and listen tae me? Ye just said ye’d do anything fer me, now stuff yer knickers in it and listen. I’m tellin’ ye this thing’s not o’er yet, and the worst is yet tae come.”

  “Then that’s all the more reason for me to stay here and help you,” she told him. “Do you really think you can win this without my help? Do you think you’re such a stud you can defeat these things on your own? You tried that yesterday, and look how it worked out for you.”

  He bit back a smile. “I’m no stud, lassie, if ye dinnae think I am.”

  “I don’t think you’re a stud. I think you’re a blamed fool who doesn’t know when to ask for help. I’m not going back, so don’t even bother to ask that.”

  He sighed and sank back on the bed. He turned his eyes away from her. He stared up at the ceiling, but he didn’t study the old timbers and the thatch black with mold. He saw something different hovering before his eyes.

  The words drifted out of his soul. “It allus gets worst at the end. It keeps buildin’ and buildin’ until it takes o’er the whole world. It allus gets tae the point no army on Earth could defeat it. Nothin’ can defeat it but the witch that created it. The giants keep getting’ stronger. They keep attackin’ in greater and greater numbers. It was allus the way. It happened in e’ery battle we fought. Nothin’ could defeat it but the spell itself, and we dinnae ha’e that now. It’ll destroy e’erything in sight, and I dinnae want ye anywhere around when that happens.”

  “So you want to face it on your own, when you know you can’t win? Where does that leave me?” Her voice cracked at the end.

  He rolled over and put his arms around her. He couldn’t stand to see her upset. He pressed his mouth against her ear. If only he could whisper the words into her brain, he could make her understand. “I ainly want tae see ye safe. I want tae see ye in a place they cinnae harm ye. I cinnae do this if I ken ye’re in danger. I dinnae care aboot meself…”

  “Well, I do,” she cried. “So you want me to go back there so I’ll be safe while you face unbeatable odds on your own? What’s gonna happen to me when you get killed? Huh? What do you think is gonna happen to me? I already lost Mike. Now you want me to lose you, too? That’s just great.”

  Her broken cries stabbed him in the chest. His ribs tightened until he couldn’t breathe. “Dinnae do this tae me, lassie. I mun’ ken ye’re safe somewhere. That’s all I care aboot.”

  “Well, all I care about is you,” she shot back. “All I care about is being with you. If you’re gonna face this, I want to be with you. I want to help you and do what I can to make sure you win. I don’t want to be anywhere else.”

  His throat constricted. “Please, lassie. Withoot the witch we dinnae stand a chance. At least ye’ll be awright.”

  “I wanted to go back to Urlu with you,” she choked. “I wanted to be with my friends and your brothers. I wanted to complete the circle with you.”

  “Me, too,” he whispered. “I didnae want naught else.”

  “Then let me come with you,” she begged. “Let me stand with you. Let whatever happens to you, happen to me. That’s how we’ll complete the circle.”

  He clamped his eyes tight close. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t listen to her beg like that. He couldn’t stand to hear the pain in her voice. He would break down any second now, and he couldn’t do that.

  She broke free of his arms and sat up on the bed. The blissful glow of last night still clung to her skin. “Why don’t you fly home and get your brothers the way you did before? You could bring the whole Urlu army to destroy the giants.”

  “I cinnae leave the place unguarded,” he replied. “The giants could come back at any second, and I’d no be ’ere tae defend the villagers. Besides, e’en if the whole Urlu army destroyed the giants this time, they’d ainly come back stronger. Ainly the witch herself can truly defeat them so they’ll no come back.”

  She shook her head and turned away. “You’re just making a bunch of lame excuses. You keep saying the fight is suicide, but you’re taking every opportunity to make sure you face it alone. That’s a recipe for disaster. I just can’t figure out why you’re doing it. You know your brothers would stand by you in a heartbeat. I’m sure Angus would send as many Urlus as you need to defend this place if he knew his Clan was in danger.”

  Jamie closed his eyes. He couldn’t look at her like this. What had he gotten himself into, getting together with a woman like this? She would always stand up to him. She would never let him get away with anything. He had to deal with this force of nature along with everything else around him.

  When he didn’t answer, she stood up and started putting her clothes on. She gathered her hair
in a bunch and tied it up. “If you want me to go back, I will. I don’t want to, but I’ll do it your way if that’s what you really want.”

  He couldn’t watch her get dressed. He couldn’t watch her erect that wall between them, the wall cutting her heart off from his. He kept his eyes closed and fought to get the words out. “That’s what I want.”

  Why did he say that? He didn’t really want it. He didn’t want to watch her walk out of his life, maybe forever. He couldn’t imagine any fate worse than that. Why couldn’t he admit she was right? If he had to face certain death, why couldn’t he do it with her?

  Her heels clipped on the floor. She headed for the door and stopped. “I’m ready to go. Are you coming?”

  He made this bed. Now he had to lie in it. Taking great care not to look at her, he swung out of bed. He pulled his shirt over his head and buckled on his kilt. He refused to look up until he faced her fully dressed. He didn’t trust himself to take her hand or go near her.

  She kept her distance. She looked him in the eye when he came to the door, but she showed no emotion. She walked outside, and he followed her through the village. No sound came from Ganny’s cottage.

  They headed up the dell to the ford. She studied the woods until she found the spot she wanted. “Okay. This is it. I guess I’ll be seeing you around.”

  He nodded. He couldn’t form the words to say good-bye to her. What was he doing, sending her away like this?

  She searched his face with that same impassive expression on her face. He said he wanted this. She accepted that—or maybe she didn’t. Still, he made her do this. She didn’t want to. His heart ached to call her back, to beg her to stay and help him, but he couldn’t. He needed her safe. That’s all that mattered now.

  To his surprise, she didn’t walk away. She eased closer to him. Her fingers appeared in his hand, and she pulled his arm around her back. She kissed him under the ear, but she didn’t pull away. She nuzzled her precious face into his neck, and he almost burst into tears.