Ravaged: An Eternal Guardians Novella (1001 Dark Nights)

by Elisabeth Naughton

  * * *

  Ari didn’t say anything. Just stared at her from across the room with blank, unreadable eyes.

  Urgency pushed Daphne’s feet forward, her stomach swirling with both dread and fear. Not fear that he would hurt her, she knew he’d never do that, but fear that she’d lose him if she didn’t tell him everything fast.

  “I was close to being inducted into the Order. I thought that’s what I wanted. When Zeus gave me this mission, I couldn’t say no. If I didn’t do it, they would have kicked me out, and you know I have no family left. So I said yes, and I came here looking for you, and I pretended that I was running from a god, when the truth was, I was doing what he and Athena told me to do. But I quickly realized that you aren’t at all what they said you are.”

  She knew she was rambling but she didn’t care. All that mattered was making sure he understood the truth. “I didn’t seduce you. I realized early on that I wasn’t any good at seduction. I mean, I was trained in it. All Sirens are. But I guess none of it really stuck because when I tried to use it, you totally walked away. The only time you even seemed interested in me was when I was being my normal, rambling self, which, by the way, the Sirens do not like. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times Sappheire’s told me to shut the hell up. And I’d already decided that I wasn’t going to do what Zeus and Athena sent me to do, but then I saw the map in your office and I learned what they’d done, and you were so nice and you comforted me, and...and I knew even more that you weren’t the psycho they said you were.”

  She swallowed hard and met his eyes. They were guarded now, his gaze narrowed. And she still couldn’t read what he was thinking. But those mismatched eyes of his were locked on her, and she took that as a good sign.

  “I didn’t sleep with you because I was trying to seduce you,” she went on. “I slept with you because I wanted to. Because I’m attracted to you. Because you’re the sexiest male I’ve ever laid eyes on. I mean, let’s get real.” She held out her hand toward his chiseled abs and muscular arms. “You’re like...carved from marble. My knees went weak the first time I saw you in the gym downstairs, and that was when I thought you were a lunatic and when you didn’t even want to have anything to do with me. I slept with you because you excite me. Because I’m crazy about you. Because...”

  Heat burned her cheeks when she realized how insanely she was rambling now. But she forced herself to go on. “Because I...because I care about you.”

  No, she didn’t just care. She loved him. The truth burned through her chest, stole her breath, and knocked her back a step. She’d heard that nymphs fell fast and hard when they met that perfect someone—her mother had once told her she’d fallen in love with Daphne’s father in a matter of days—but Daphne had never experienced love before so she didn’t know what to expect. Now, though, she did. Now, when her head grew light and her legs trembled, she knew exactly what it was from.

  The room spun around her. Backing up, she reached out to steady herself but knew it was already too late.

  Strong arms closed around her and pulled her against a hard chest before she hit the floor. Blinking several times, she gazed up into Ari’s handsome face as that whoosh of emotion sped all through her chest again.

  She really did love him. So much she no longer saw the scars on his jaw and neck, no longer saw the menace she’d first noticed in his mismatched eyes. She just saw a hero. Her hero. The only true hero she’d ever known.

  She also saw someone who wasn’t drawing her into him and professing his feelings right back.

  He shook his head. “You’re crazier than I am, you know that?”

  Crazy. He’d said crazy, not beautiful, not amazing, not alluring, not dreamy. Just crazy.

  Heat rose in her neck and enflamed her cheeks. A hard knot rolled through her stomach with the realization that she’d just made a giant fool of herself.

  Pushing against his arms, she found her feet and stepped back, just enough so she could catch her breath. Just enough so she didn’t humiliate herself even more.

  Pull it together, Daphne. So he doesn’t love you. Big deal. You still believe in him. You can still help him.

  “So what if I am? Crazy, at least, is real. I could be all seductive and mysterious if I wanted, but I don’t want to be. Just like I don’t want to be a Siren. I never really wanted to be a Siren in the first place, but you can’t say no to the gods, at least I didn’t think I could. Now I’d tell them all to fuck off.”

  An amused expression crossed his features. One that only kicked her embarrassment up even higher. “And why are you smirking at me? Is what I’m saying funny? None of this is funny. I’m trying to tell you the truth. I’m trying to tell you—”

  “Daphne.” He grasped her by the shoulders and pulled her into him. “Stop talking, okay? I believe you. Any time you ramble I know there’s no way you’re lying.”

  Butterflies took flight in her stomach. “You do?”

  He nodded, lifted one hand to her cheek, and brushed the hair away from her face. “And you are seductive and mysterious, and yes, even crazy. I’ve lived with crazy long enough to spot it.” He slid his fingers into her hair and cupped the back of her head, pulling her toward him. “Which is probably why I can’t get enough of you. Even when I know I’m the last person who should ever touch you.”

  “Oh...”

  His lips brushed hers, and she groaned, immediately opening to his kiss. The taste of him rocketed through her body, bringing hope back to life. Tipping his head the other direction, he kissed her sweetly, slowly, with so much passion her head grew light. And, wanting only this, wanting only him, she dug her fingers into his biceps and just held on.

  He broke the kiss. Rested his forehead against hers. Breathed deep as his thumb grazed her cheek. “All these years... All this time, and you’re the first person who ever saw past the monster.” He lifted his head and looked into her eyes. “Why did you even try?”

  Tears filled her eyes. Tears filled with joy and love. “I didn’t have to try. I just had to open my eyes. And when I did, I knew with you is the only place I ever want to be.”

  He groaned and kissed her again, his tongue sliding along hers, his mouth absolutely devouring her. She moaned, lifted to her toes, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders, giving him anything he wanted.

  His hand slid from her hair, down her back and over the swell of her backside. He stepped into her, forcing her backward. Cool air tickled the fine hairs along her spine as he continued to kiss her, to drive her wild with his tongue, and she knew he was grasping her shirt, that he was pulling it up, that in seconds she would be completely naked. And she wanted that. Wanted more. Excitement pulsed through her. Excitement and heat and a desire that would never get old.

  He broke the kiss long enough to tug the long-sleeved T-shirt she’d snagged from his closet up and over her head. The garment landed somewhere on the floor behind him. She didn’t look to see where. Was too lost in the fiery heat in his eyes to care.

  “This,” he whispered as he slid his knuckles down her breast and around one straining nipple, “is all I want.” He lowered to his knees in front of her. “Don’t move.”

  Her stomach quivered as she looked down at him, and she remembered when he’d pinned her hands to the ground in front of the fireplace in his room and told her the very same thing. “Or what?”

  He looked up at her, and mischief flashed in his mismatched eyes as he pressed his fingers against the inside of her right knee, forcing her to step open. “Or I’ll tie you up and make sure you don’t move.”

  A wicked thrill rushed through her just as he exhaled a breath of hot air over her mound. Her eyes slid closed, and she rocked forward, seeking his touch. She’d never been into the whole bondage thing, but with him she knew she could be. With him she had a feeling she’d be into everything.

  His tongue parted her folds, slid along her center and flicked her already sensitive clit. Daphne groaned and pushed her hips against his mout
h, wanting more. He did it again, this time flicking faster, circling the sensitive nub, then drawing it into his mouth to suckle.

  Heaven. His mouth was pure heaven. His hands sliding over her skin absolute paradise. When he suckled her again, she groaned and dropped her hand on the back of his head, pulling him into her. Pleasure arced through her body. Before it could consume her, though, his fingers closed around her wrist. He pulled her hand away then twisted it around her lower back and pinned it to her body.

  His threat echoed in her mind, and that naughty thrill whipped through her once more. But then he flicked his tongue against her again and it faded. She rocked her hips again and again, losing herself in the ecstasy. Her orgasm barreled close. She slid her other hand into his hair and pulled him in again. Pleasure rippled along her nerve endings and shot down her spine.

  He jerked away before it could consume her and quickly rose to his feet. “I warned you, little nymph.”

  Daphne gasped, stumbled. Reached out for him. But Ari ducked down, and before she realized what was happening, he wrapped his arms around her legs and threw her over his shoulder. A grunt passed her lips. She pushed a hand against his back, opened her mouth to tell him this wasn’t what she wanted—that she wanted his mouth, his hands, him—but the words never made it out. A whoosh of air brushed her spine, and the grunt turned to a screech. Then her back hit the couch cushions, and she stared up at his handsome, naughty, playful face.

  Desire burned in his eyes. A desire that heated her blood and supercharged her need. “You like being in control, don’t you?”

  He smirked, a sexy, one-sided grin that made him look downright delectable. Straddling her hips, he pressed one knee into the cushions, leaned over her, and reached for the lamp on the end table beside the couch.

  Unsure what he was doing, Daphne twisted against the cushions and looked over her head. He grasped the lamp at the base, pulled until the cord snapped free of the lamp and the light went out, then tugged the end out of the wall socket.

  Daphne’s gaze shifted back to him. Firelight danced over his features, making his skin look darker and his eyes even wilder. “You just ruined that lamp.”

  “I know.” Grasping her hands at the wrists, he tugged them over her head so they hit the arm of the couch, then wrapped the lamp cord around her wrists and secured the cord to the leg of the table. “Does that hurt?”

  Unrestrained lust consumed her when she realized what he’d just done. And though a little voice in the back of her head screamed giving up control was so not a Siren thing to do, she ignored it. Because she wasn’t a Siren. And because she was so wet from just the thought of him having his way with her, she could barely think. “No.”

  “Good.” His eyes sparked with heat. “Now, you can’t move.”

  Oh yes...

  Her gaze slid down his chiseled abs, directly in her line of site, then over the waistband of his sweats, sitting dangerously low, the V at his hips making her mouth absolutely water. “What do you plan to do with me?”

  He leaned down toward her mouth but stopped a millimeter from kissing her. “Everything.”

  She lifted, aching for his kiss, but he drew away. His hand lightly skimmed her belly and moved across her mound. She whimpered. Then his talented fingers finally slid along her heat and pressed deep inside, and she groaned.

  Her eyes slid closed. Energy raced along every nerve ending. She arched her back, tightened around his fingers, twisted against the cord pinning her hands over her head. Sweat gathered along her spine. Her orgasm rushed right back to the surface. Pleasure overwhelmed her. But before it could crest and drag her under, he pulled away once more.

  “Oh gods.” Fabric rustled somewhere close. Daphne pulled against her restraints. Frustrated. Hot. Aching. “Come back. I need—”

  His lips captured hers. His chest grazed her sensitive nipples. His tongue dipped inside her mouth until she was breathless and right back on the edge. “You need me.”

  “Yes. Gods, yes.” She tore her eyes open, stared up at him through hazy vision. His face was flushed with arousal, his muscles straining beneath his skin. Capturing her leg, he hooked it over his hip, then raked his lust-filled gaze down her naked body until he was staring at her sex.

  Her body quivered at the heat she saw in his eyes. She bit her lip as his hand closed around his thick cock. He leaned forward, and unable to look away, she lifted her head and watched as he rocked his hips forward, as the blunt tip of his cock slid through her wetness and over her clit, as he groaned at the sight.

  Fire rushed down Daphne’s spine. She dropped her head back and moaned. He slid his cock through her wetness again, then circled her clit until she saw stars. Until she was rocking against him, growing hotter with every stroke. Until she was so close her body trembled.

  “Not yet, little nymph.” He pressed his lips against hers and then was gone. His cock slid down and pressed against her opening. “With me.”

  She cried out at the delicious fit. Lifted to hold him in. Groaned when he slid out then speared inside once more. He braced one knee on the couch between her legs for leverage. Drove deep again. Every thrust was heaven. Each slap of skin divine. Leaning close, he kissed her again, taking control of her mouth the same way he controlled her body.

  His hand skimmed her ribs. He pinched her nipple between his thumb and index finger. Rested his forehead against hers as he drove her closer to the edge of oblivion. “Gods, I love being inside you. Could stay like this forever.”

  Daphne moaned at the thought, lifted her mouth back to his and kissed him crazy, wild for more. He skimmed his other hand up her body and grasped her wrists in his long fingers, squeezing to hold her arms still. His lips released hers. Sweat dripped from him onto her as their bodies picked up speed. And it was good—so good—but she wanted more. Wanted all of him.

  “Surrender to me,” he growled.

  She wanted to—gods, she wanted to—but she didn’t know how to do that. She tightened around him, lifted to meet every stroke, tried to grasp his hand with her fingers pinned beneath his hold against the arm of the couch. She was close. So close. And she knew if she could just go over she could drag him with her. But—

  He pinched her nipple again. Pain ricocheted through her entire body, wiping away every other thought. She arched and cried out. But before the sound was even out of her mouth, the pain transformed into pure, mindless pleasure.

  Daphne moaned and sagged into the cushions. Ari’s cock grew even harder as he pushed into her deeper, faster, hitting that perfect spot again and again. She let go of the tension in her muscles, gave herself over to his thrusts and wicked touch. And the moment she did, she had a split second of clarity. Of his need to overwhelm her. To consume her. To own her so she was his. Which was everything she needed too. The orgasm exploded inside her without warning, a sea of white-hot, blinding light that absolutely devoured her.

  Long moments passed, but slowly consciousness seeped back. Shaking, Daphne dragged air into her lungs. Her muscles felt like gelatin, her body a pile of bones under a heavy weight. Prying her eyelids apart, she looked up, but all she saw was skin.

  Ari lay over her, one hand still closed over her bound wrists, his slick body resting on top of hers while he fought to catch his own breath. Tingles erupted everywhere they touched, warming her skin, bringing it back to life one millimeter at a time.

  “I’ll move,” he breathed in her ear. “Just...give me a second.”

  His body was as limp as hers, and the realization made Daphne’s lips curl in a self-satisfied smile. She’d done that. She’d completely and utterly wrecked him. As thoroughly as he’d wrecked her.

  Slowly, he eased back and looked down at her. His mismatched eyes were still glazed from his own pleasure, but a look of pure contentment softened his features and smoothed the scars on the lower half of his face.

  He glanced toward the table above her head and chuckled.

  “What’s so funny?” She twisted so she could
see what had captured his attention, then gasped.

  The table lay in pieces on the floor, the lamp shattered against the hardwood.

  She whipped back to face him. “Did I do that? Oh my gods, I don’t remember that. I’m sorry.”

  His grin widened. “Why? I like a female who can relinquish control so completely and forget about everything around her.” He pressed his lips against hers and rocked his hips, proving he liked it a lot. He was already growing hard again inside her. “I like it so much, I want to make you do it again.”

  Oh... She wanted that too. Right here. Right now. Every day for the rest of her life.

  “I’m the last person who should ever touch you.”

  His words echoed in her head. Groaning, she lifted to his kiss and lost herself in him all over again. He was wrong. He was the only person who should touch her. The only one who made her feel alive.

  And somehow, she promised herself, she’d find a way to make him believe it too.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Ari lay in bed, his arm wrapped around Daphne’s back, her naked body draped over his as she trailed her fingers along his ribs. Firelight from the hearth flickered over the ceiling in his bedroom, and he watched the shadows dance and move as he played with the ends of her hair and tried to convince himself keeping her with him was not a bad idea.

  Nymphs were highly sexual creatures, free with their bodies in ways other races weren’t. He wasn’t stupid. Sex with Daphne would have been mind blowing regardless of the situation, but the fact she’d shared her feelings made it all the more sweet. Nymphs weren’t known to declare their emotions. Penelopei hadn’t once told him how she felt, and they’d been together for months. Then again, Penelopei had been manipulative and selfish, and Daphne wasn’t. Even though Daphne had trained with the Sirens, she was the most selfless person Ari had ever met.