His mouth went dry.
She dropped the lighter on the floor and reached out, running her smooth hands down his chest.
Every muscle in his body tensed. “Do you know what you’re doing?”
Her hand continued downward until she clutched his hard length.
He shuddered. “Fuck.”
With careful movements, she leaned forward and whispered in his ear. “Do I have to beg for it?”
When her teeth nipped his lower earlobe, he lost all control.
Grabbing her, he spun her down onto the bed. Their lips locked as his hands grabbed her hips and pressed her against his length. To his absolute approval, her legs wrapped around his back, drawing him closer. She ground against him.
He wanted to make this good for her, to make it last, but it’d been too long. Touching himself was nothing like being inside her, and he wanted her so damned bad.
When he broke their kiss and tore off her tanktop, she threw her neck back, surrendering herself to him. He caught her breasts, cradling them in his hands. Glorying in the feel of them.
They were large. And her nipples were perfect and hard.
Using his thumbs, he stroked them, drawing a gasp from her lips. He continued to torture her hard nubs, drinking in the sight of her arousal. She threw her head back and offered her throat to him.
When he leaned down and sucked on one of her nipples, she wrapped her hands in his hair and groaned. He flicked his tongue, licked, and sucked harder, loving how she ground against his length with each movement. When he moved to her other breast, he swore she was already on the edge.
But he wouldn’t take her so fast.
Pulling off her shorts and underwear, he tossed them on the ground. When he returned, he moved slowly down her body, kissing every inch of her belly, until he was kneeling on the ground before her spread legs.
God, she was beautiful. Vulnerable. Open before him.
Reaching out, he stroked her wet folds. He loved the way her muscles tightened.
When he found her clit, she cried out, begging for release. He would make this good for her, so good that she could never be without his bed again.
Using one finger, he slid inside her tightness before he leaned forward and licked her.
Her legs curled around his shoulders. He continued to lick her as his finger slid in and out, drawing her orgasm closer. When he added a second finger, she twisted on the bed above him, crying out his name in glorious desperation.
She’s ready.
Standing, he slid his boxers off. Her gaze went to his erection, and he was pleased by the hunger in her eyes. He gripped her hips and eased into her.
She moaned, and her hands grasped the sheets above her head. Inch by inch he took her, loving the way her body held him tight. Just the thought of her, wet and aching for him, made him want to spill his seed right then.
He had to go slow, to wait for her to catch up. He thought of the stock market, thought of baseball. Anything else but the beautiful angel lying beneath him.
As he eased in and out of her, building a rhythm, he ordered himself not to come. He refused to explode before she did.
When he reached between them and began to rub her clit with each thrust of his body, her inner muscles suddenly squeezed him cruelly and she exploded over the edge. His thoughts of stocks and sports spun away, and he cried out as his seed filled her.
His orgasm was hard and long. He didn’t want to stop thrusting into her. He didn’t ever want to leave her again.
When he collapsed on top of her, the room was filled with their heavy breathing. She held him close, and he knew he was a fool to think he could ever be without her in his bed.
But he wondered if she felt the same.
She’d come to him for a reason, and not his brothers, and deep inside he knew it. She wanted to share his bed, but she wasn’t ready for more.
I hope I’m wrong, but I doubt it.
Surcy pushed his shoulder, and he rolled to the side of her. His hands reached out for her, but she was already crawling from the bed. He dropped his hands and watched, not blinking, as she dressed rapidly.
Before she turned back to him, he steeled his heart, knowing what was to come.
“Uh, thanks, Daniel.”
Thanks? Fuck that hurt.
“Any time.”
She hurried from his room as if hell hounds were nipping at her feet. But at the door lingered for one second, in her eyes he saw something. Words that she wanted to say. Her mouth opened. His chest tightened. And then, she turned and slipped out of the room.
He lay on the bed for a long time, enjoying the scent of her. In his mind he imagined everything that had taken place, over and over again, as he tried to memorize every moment of it.
Surcy didn’t love him yet. She’d just wanted to sleep with him.
He wished that was enough for him, but it wasn’t.
His chest ached, but he told himself that he just needed to be more patient. She would come around. Yet, as he rolled to his side, the pain in his chest remained sharp and cruel as if to whisper, and what if she never comes around?
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Caine stood outside the tall stone fence that surrounded the demon’s home. On the street, every light had gone out, stolen by his darkness spreading along the ground like a dark fog. Floating above the fence, he flinched as he slid through their protective barrier. It served to keep him and his angels from teleporting in, but nothing could stop him from simply floating through it.
As he ventured above the overgrowth of a badly tamed garden, he sensed the druid’s magic weaved through it all. Vines attempted to rise up and attach to him, but they moved right through him instead.
With each day that passes, my powers grow stronger.
When he neared the house, he saw a shape upon the balcony of one of the rooms. Instantly he knew it was the angel. His soldier. His property.
As he grew closer, he saw the troubled expression on her face. Such a beautiful face.
When the light in her room went out, she turned and looked back at it, frowning. Does she remember this is a sign of my coming? Does she know the fate that is about to befall her?
She wrapped the blanket around her shoulders more tightly and went back to staring out at the gardens. For some reason, it pleased him that she wouldn’t expect his visit.
Remaining hidden, he moved to stand beside her. She shivered, and he leaned closer, letting his dark magic curl around her. Her breath came out in a puff.
She stiffened, but if she knew he was there, she didn’t react.
And then he made himself visible.
He noticed the instant she saw the dark cloud of smoke that surrounded her. She spun, but it was too late. He grasped her by the throat and knocked her back against the wall.
“Caine!”
She was trying to yell, but his magic caught the sound and turned it into a whisper.
“So, my little spy, what do you have to tell me?”
Her eyes widened. “I won’t tell you anything!”
He smiled. This is fun. “That’s just the thing. As my angel, you don’t have choice.”
Diving into her mind, he loved knowing that no one else could hear her pained scream. He rifled through her thoughts and memories over her time with the demons. Most of it was useless, facts he either knew or assumed, but one thing stood out to him.
What is that necklace?
So that’s how they were finding the gods. It was cloaked in an ancient magic. No one who could abuse the power could see it. If it weren’t for his spy, its existence may have remained hidden from him forever.
Pulling out of her mind, she sagged in his arms.
He dragged her to the bed, but kept his hand closed around her throat.
“You won’t—get away with this,” she panted.
Again he smiled, even knowing that she couldn’t see his face. “That’s the thing. I already have.”
He stripped her mind of the m
emories that contained his visit, then forced her into sleep.
When he stepped back from her, he stared. Such a good little angel.
Now he knew their weakness. He just had to get the necklace. They would be alive and they would no longer be a problem to him.
But such ancient magic is usually connected to its host in a dangerous way. Caine wondered what taking the necklace would do to the young druid.
As he left her bedroom, satisfaction surged through him. The war had barely begun, and already he had won.
Chapter Thirty
Summer jerked out of the vision, her heart racing. She sprung from her bed and stumbled into the beads that hung in the doorway between her bedroom and her shop.
What the hell was that?
A dark creature. A woman at his mercy. And the way he invaded her mind...
She smacked into the side of a wall and tumbled to the ground, still disoriented. She lay there, stunned, aching in places she shouldn't. Her hip had hit the wall a little too hard and her knees were banged up, but her tears had nothing to do with her physical pain.
That creature... Caine. From Daniel's memories, she knew him, had heard the name before. She knew the woman was the angel Surcy.
She didn’t want to care about what happened to the demon and his lover. Each time she helped him, she knew that he didn’t return her affections. He wanted no one but the angel.
And yet, she’d hoped by helping him it left the slightest possibility that one day he could look at her with half the love he looked at the angel-woman with.
She wiped the tears from her eyes.
That creature had been terrifying, its powers the stuff of nightmares. The idea of it continuing to torture the angel filled her with a fear that chilled her blood.
A smart woman would keep the vision to herself. She would avoid Daniel and the angel. Getting any more involved with a being that powerful was a bad idea.
And yet, she felt the desire to call Daniel and warn him.
What should I do? Risk my life for a man who doesn’t love me?
Or tell no one? She remained on the floor for a long time after the vision, inhaling the sweet smell of her incense and asking herself whether she could really stand by and do nothing.
Because if I stay quiet, I’m damning them all.
As the sun rose, she knew what she had to do. She prayed she wouldn't live to regret it.
The End of Book One.
Rebel Lies
Mates of the Realms: Immortals
Book Two
Chapter One
Many years ago...
Mark was just a boy when he came upon the forbidden waters in the sanctuary. The small pond, surrounded by a garden imbued with druid magic, was only for the Immortals to bathe within. Every druid knew that, from the time they could walk. And yet, he was drawn to this place. He always had been.
Mark stared into the simple pool, transfixed. When he set his staff down in the greenery, the plants rose from where they lay, curling around him like favorite pets. They tangled in greeting with the plants that grew upon his brown robe. Mark smiled and stroked the green leaves, reassuring them.
I’m not here to cause trouble.
The elders were busy, and for the first time since he could remember, no one was in this sacred place. I can finally get close enough to investigate.
He had no intention of touching the waters. Touching them meant death to any but the Immortals. He only wanted to look, to see why they called to him.
He told his father once that magic pulled him to it, that he had dreams of the water calling his name.
His father had placed a strong hand on his shoulder. “Druids are rare and precious things. There are few of us left. You are the only child to be born from your generation, and you will one day be responsible for protecting this sacred place and for leading your people.”
“But the waters—“
“Are not calling to you.” His father’s words left no room for arguments. “We druids do not interfere with the destiny of the world. We are here only to keep this place safe.”
“But why? You said the Immortals are long gone, and that Caine will rule forever. So if this place has no destiny, and we have no role to play in all of it, why does this place still exist? Why do we protect it?”
His father smiled, one of his rare smiles, and rubbed his son’s head. “My son, always so full of questions and curiosity. You make your father very proud.”
He smiled up at the man he worshipped with everything in him. The man who was all the family he had after his mother’s death. “And the answers to my questions?”
The old druid knelt down. “We keep this place sacred because it’s our role. It has always been our role. The long dead Immortals change none of that. We are one of only a handful of beings that remember a time before him—a time before he wiped the world of its memories. And so, we must remain here, and remember, but we take no action. Do you understand?”
He didn’t understand. What did it all matter if they kept this place safe for nothing? If they used their powers for nothing? What was the point in weaving their magic into sacred lands that Caine and his followers could never reach, if they had no one to protect?
But his father rose, and walked away, leaving him with troubling thoughts. He knew as a druid his job was to obey, and yet, even then, the waters called to him. They whispered of a destiny not yet fulfilled. And yet, he didn’t understand.
So now, with the elders finally busy, he knelt before the waters, hoping the sacred liquid would finally answer his questions. His fingers ached to touch the waters, to skim his fingertips across the top. Instead, he curled his fingers into his palm and stretched his senses out, feeling the power humming from his staff beside him, warming him.
He stared and stared. And yet, nothing happened. Nothing changed.
I guess my dreams of Immortals and destiny are nothing but that... dreams.
Grasping the handle on his staff, he rose. But to his horror, the top of his staff brushed the waters.
Heart beating fast, he looked between where the liquid slid down the dark wood of his most sacred item. Would the waters destroy it?
Beneath him, the pool began to bubble.
He took a step back, watching with wide eyes as the bubbles rose sharply, and then collapsed, leaving the water absolutely still.
A woman’s face appeared in the pool. Her hair was golden, and it flowed down her bare shoulders. Her eyes were strange... so powerful that they seemed to call to him.
“I am Atropos, the Fate of the past. And you, young druid, are going to change the world.”
He couldn’t speak, nor could he move. He simply stood, rooted in place, staring down at the face of a powerful being.
“Your role will not be easy, little one. In fact, we place a great deal on your shoulders. But believe me, it’s necessary. You’re the only one who can do it.”
“What?” he whispered, the word slipping past his lips.
“You will take our gift, and you will learn how to use it. And when the time is right, you shall find the Immortals and overthrow Caine.”
He inched closer to her. For some reason, he wasn’t afraid. Her words rang true down to his very soul. This is what the water had wanted from him all along. This is what his dreams had meant.
Her beautiful face curled into the saddest smile. “I’m sorry for the heartbreak this will cause. I’m sorry for how you will suffer. But Lachey, my sister, told me, long before her disappearance, that you will be rewarded in the end with the most precious thing in this world: love.”
Mark stared, unsure what to say.
“I’m sorry,” she whispered.
The waters rose up like a hand and grasped him, dragging him down. He was trapped beneath the water, struggling for his life. For the first time, he knew real terror as bubbles of air left his mouth.
But there, before him, a necklace lifted up from the waters. It glowed softly, with an ancient magic. And t
he stone in the center glistened. It moved to encircle his neck, dropping onto him with a weight that surprised him.
He expected to escape the waters then, but he remained. Struggling, drowning, in fear for his life, until everything went black.
When he awoke, his people stood around him, the boy soaking wet beside a pool destined for Immortals. The pool would have killed any other creature, yet he was alive.
He tried to tell them, to show them, but none of them could see the necklace. He spoke of the Fate and his role in the future. He tried to convince them of what he knew.
The people drew away from him in fear, but he couldn’t stop sharing the message from the Fate. Days passed. Weeks passed.
At last, he was brought before the elders, before his father, to learn his fate.
They’d determined that he’d lost his mind. That he’d never fallen into the sacred waters. That he had no necklace, and no destiny.
And that he also no longer had a place amongst them.
When his father took Mark’s staff, Mark didn’t know what to expect. A staff was like a druid’s soul, carved for them at their birth. It grew as they grew, and it became more powerful as they did.
So as he stared at his father with the innocent eyes of a child, he didn’t know what to expect. When his father cracked his staff over his leg, the sound echoed through his very soul. He screamed and collapsed onto his knees, clawing at his chest until blood ran down his flesh.
When he lay upon the ground, scared in a way that no one could ever understand, the elders lifted him, while his father explained his exile. They carried him out of the sacred sanctuary, beyond the barrier that safeguarded their protected lands, and they dumped him beside a road.
None of them looked back as he called their names and wept.
Instead, he was a child alone in a world he didn’t understand, with the weight of the world around his neck.
Right then, he didn’t think about how he would find the Immortals or how he would defeat Caine. He only cried and begged for his father. Because even with such responsibility, he was just a boy.
Mates of the Realms: The Complete Collection: A Paranormal Reverse Harem Box Set Page 45
