Lover Enraptured toa-2

by Jodi Redford

  “I have the distinct impression he’d very much like to rip my throat out,” Thane said blandly.

  “Don’t take it personally. He’d like to rip everyone’s throat out.”

  “Particularly any male who dares look at you.”

  She rubbed at her temples. “Our relationship is complicated.”

  “So I gather.” Thane’s stride slowed to match hers. He continued to observe the various venders lining the street, but his distraction hinted that his mind was on other things besides T-shirts that proudly proclaimed I survived Amora Moon and all I got was this lousy shirt. “I confess to being bemused over the dynamics of your relationship. To be honest, Bill doesn’t strike me as being domesticated, much less submissive.”

  You have no damn idea. “Appearances can be misleading.”

  The corner of Thane’s mouth tilted upward. “You have a valid point there.”

  Worried he skated too close to digging beneath her cover, she attempted to steer the conversation elsewhere. Despite her efforts, he doggedly persisted in keeping Jerrick the front-and-center topic. Like she didn’t have a difficult enough time ridding her thoughts of him.

  “Bill didn’t look the least pleased about you going out with me tonight.”

  Damn it. Thane had spotted Jerrick on the balcony? She smothered a groan. Well of course he did. No doubt Thane had detected Jerrick’s death-stare missiles from a martroneter away. “He has a tendency to be pouty when he’s deprived the opportunity to serve me. Saturday is his usual night to give me a pedicure and read me poetry.” Not snorting over that absurdity was damn hard.

  “His peevishness is understandable. I almost feel guilty now for ruining his evening plans.”

  “No need. I tasked him with rearranging the pantry staples by name. Alphabetizing soothes his savage soul.” And that right there was the reason she was the reigning queen of inventive horseshit. They didn’t pass that crown to just anyone.

  They arrived at the hulking edifice of Tul’dea’s premiere hotel, The Crystal Lodge. Inside, they bypassed the establishment’s famous glass fountain and the retail promenade of ritzy shops and headed directly for the lodge’s anchor restaurant.

  As expected, the Glasstisserie was filled to capacity. Grateful for Thane’s foresight in booking an advanced reservation, Avily followed the tuxedoed attendant to a table situated in the center of the room. She allowed Thane to help her from her coat.

  Gaze sweeping her appreciatively, he held out her chair for her. “No wonder Bill was giving me the evil eye. I would have been reduced to murderous thoughts too if I’d been in his shoes.”

  Unrolling her napkin, she stifled a weary exhale. “He’ll get over it.” Everything would be right as rain with Jerrick when they went over his game plan for tomorrow. It was all he freakin’ cared about. That and getting his way. She hadn’t snapped to his wishes and heeled like an obedient pup tonight. It chapped his ass, no doubt. Well, he better get used to it. Because she was done with her own nonsense.

  The server approached, and Thane slid Avily a considering glance. “What do you say we splurge on a bottle of their finest champagne?”

  She nodded. “I think that’s an excellent plan.”

  Hell, why not? It’d be the ideal way of toasting the dismissal of Jerrick from her heart once and for all.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  Jerrick clicked on the visio and threw the remote aside before stalking into the kitchen. He rifled through the cooler. Nothing appealed to him, but he yanked out the ingredients for a sandwich anyway. No doubt his measly meal didn’t compare to the lobster and caviar Thane was impressing Avi with. The motherfucking scheming bastard.

  He returned to his station on the sofa and attacked his beef sandwich, imaging it was Thane’s jugular he was tearing into.

  A busty female on the screen leaned into her companion with a sultry smile, her fingers trailing seductively along his arm. “Does it bother you I’m a virgin?”

  He choked on his mouthful of sandwich. Squinting, he eyed the actress. “If you’re a virgin, I’m the fucking King of Helias.” Least this stupid show could have done was find an actress who vaguely resembled innocent and virginal.

  And what the hell does that look like, you idiot? You didn’t even know Avi was a virgin. The reminder setting uncomfortably on his chest, he tore another bite from his sandwich and chewed with considerably less vigor than he had a moment ago.

  The woman on the screen licked her partner’s ear. “I’m sick of waiting for him to come to his senses. If he won’t take my cherry, you’ll be more than happy to, right?”

  A dry, mangled chunk of bread lodged midway down his windpipe along with another choke. What the fuck? Feeling like he’d been dropped into an alternate universe, he reached for the remote and turned up the volume.

  “Mavi, he’s a fool to let you slip through his fingers.”

  The actress’s lips quivered. “I only wish Alerick possessed half the balls you do, Shane. You’d never let me go out to dinner with another man and sit there like a dope, eating your sandwich while the love of your life gives herself to another.”

  Jerrick watched the couple on the visio attack each other’s mouths, his stomach roiling and threatening to refuse its contents. He was watching his world unravel in a badly scripted drama.

  And he couldn’t do a fucking thing about it.

  He awoke with a jolt, his abrupt, jerking fall back to consciousness prompting a pitch of greasy queasiness in his stomach.

  Or maybe the odd, disturbing dream was responsible for the certainty he was seconds away from heaving his guts up. Running the back of his hand over his mouth, he struggled to get a grip on the residual panic refusing to dissipate along with the dream. His conscience was playing tricks on him, that’s all. Avi wasn’t planning to have sex with Thane. No way. His tension began to relinquish its tyrannical rule over his gut.

  Like a ghostly tormentor, his dream whispered through his mind with devilish clarity. If he won’t take my cherry, you’ll be more than happy to, right?

  The churning in his belly recommenced. Her virginity was a precious gift. She wouldn’t give it to some slicked-up character with a smarmy accent and overpriced shoes.

  Would she?

  His forehead sweating bullets, he stared at the blank visio screen.

  He’d fucked everything up. Big time. She’d wanted sweet words of devotion from him when she’d stood at the top of the stairs, ripping his heart out as she’d prepared to spend the night with another. And he’d given her nothing but hollow words and selfish guilt.

  He should have never let her walk away from him, even if it’d required tying her to the damn sofa. Or better yet the bed. Because bottom line, that’s where she belonged—beneath him, not Thane.

  The dazzling truth of it clanged through his conscious, stirring the primal alpha residing deep within him.

  Avi was his woman. His. No one else’s. The thought of another sinking inside her, stealing that precious gift that rightfully belonged to him, ate at his insides. Yes, it was foolhardy to court these torturous thoughts, but his mind repelled any offering of reason or sense.

  He whipped his gaze to the beckoning stairway. Thank the devil he’d overheard Thane spill the location of their dinner plans.

  Because he wasn’t waiting one more fucking second to claim his cherished prize.

  He hauled his ass down the stairs at a furious clip and dashed out into the insane rush on the sidewalks. Tuning out the barking vendors and moving press of people surrounding him, he barreled down the narrow strip of cement bordering the street. Normally it would have been a suicide mission taking that route, but with traffic at a standstill, his chances of getting flattened into an oil slick were marginally slim.

  He hoped.

  Various cat calls and shouts of “Crazy motherfucker!” pelting his ears, he kept his focus pinned on the distant purple and blue spotlights scaling the exterior of the Crystal Lodge. By the time he catapulted thro
ugh the hotel’s lobby doors, his legs shook and there was a good chance he was seconds from expiring from a heart attack.

  Lungs bellowing, he loped down the promenade and into the entrance of Glasstisserie. The attendant attempted to halt Jerrick’s progress by asking the name of his party, but he shoved past the man as if he hadn’t heard him.

  He entered the main dining hall. A few of the patrons slid him curious glances that he disregarded while he desperately searched for Avi. He spotted her cozied at a candlelit table with Thane. The nauseating intimacy of the scene sucker-punching him in the solar plexus, he lurched toward them. Avi glanced up, her eyes going wide in tandem with the reddening of her face. The hue was a perfect complement to the color of her dress.

  The fire in her eyes verified she wasn’t thrilled by his presence, and the odds of him receiving her knee in his groin were ten to one. Despite those worrisome numbers, he closed the distance between them. She glared up at him. “You have a hell of a lot of nerve stalking me here.”

  Disregarding her well-placed outrage, he pulled her to her feet. He slid his hands into her damnable loose and flirty hair and jerked her toward him, crushing her lips beneath his. He swallowed her shocked gasp and devoured her greedily. A continuous reel of her name played through his mind. She was his. Now and forever. He’d rip apart anyone who tried to take her from him.

  Beneath the shell of her confusion, he sensed the subtle hairline crack of her resistance. He drove home his advance with a coaxing glide of his tongue. She gave in for a fraction of a heartbeat before breaking away from him, her breaths reedy and her gaze suspicious. “What are you doing, Jer?”

  “Taking what’s mine.” Leaving her no time to process that bold, arrogant statement, he hoisted her into his arms, and after collecting her coat and coin purse, strode toward the exit.

  Fielding the interested stares and occasional rousing handclap from passing pedestrians, Avily squinted at Jerrick. “Now can you tell me what’s going on?”

  “I did.”

  “That wasn’t an answer, damn it.”

  “Well, sweetness, sometimes it’s not so much about saying anything. Doing is a lot more my style, and twice as effective.”

  “Am I supposed to know what that means? Because I can’t possibly without a cryptic BS decoder. And I wish like hell you’d put me down. I have two functioning legs, you know.”

  Instead of obeying her surly demand, he hitched her higher in his arms. “Thing is, I have better intentions for them than walking.”

  Oh for gods’ sake. He was really excelling at the cryptic stuff tonight. She frowned when he made a detour to the hotel registration. “Where are you going?”

  Rather than answer, he plunked her onto the check-in counter and dug his wallet from his pocket.

  The clerk transferred her bemused gaze from Avily’s overheated face to Jerrick’s strangely bland one. “Can I help you, sir?”

  “Yes, we need a room for the night.”

  Avily gaped at him while the girl typed away on her compu-tab. “Why are you getting a room? My apartment’s right down the street.” What in the bugger was wrong with him tonight? It was like he’d rattled his brain and forgotten how to act the slightest bit normal.

  “I just sprinted four goddamn blocks. If I attempt it again, I’ll keel over dead. Then what bloody good will I be deflowering you?”

  The clerk’s tapping of keys stalled before she cleared her throat and resumed typing. Too stunned by his statement to be properly embarrassed, Avily stared at Jerrick. “Uh…what?”

  “I’m not saying I’d be averse to you being on top, but I’d at least prefer being conscious for the event.”

  The clerk preempted Avily’s incredulous response with a delicate cough. “We’re booked solid.”

  Jerrick tossed down a thick wad of merca. “Look again.”

  The girl’s expression turned speculative. “We do have the bridal suite.”

  “I’ll take it.”

  “It’s five hundred a night.”

  “Bloody hell. And I’m accused of being a thief.”

  Nonplussed by his tetchy outburst, the clerk accepted the additional merca Jerrick slapped in front of her. After securing his signature on the reservation slip, she passed him the keycard. With a minimum of grumbles, he scooped Avily into his arms again and trekked to the glass elevator. Returning the conveyance’s chipper welcome with a brusque command for the sixtieth floor, he leaned his hip on the railing.

  She observed his profile, trying to make sense of the situation.

  Deflower her? What had gotten into him? All these years of throwing herself at him and now he was ready to commit the deed?

  She waited for the punch line.

  The elevator slid to a smooth stop, and the doors pinged open. He calmly carried her into the corridor and headed in the direction of the east wing. Ten doors down they came to the one marked Bridal Suite, and Jerrick swiped the card. Wedging the door open with his knee, he entered the room and hit the lights.

  Head still reeling, Avily surveyed their surroundings. The entire décor was done up in lovely shades of lavender and peach. A sitting area comprised of a loveseat and a high-backed armchair waited in front of the balcony entrance. The crown feature though was the canopy bed, king-sized and piled high with lace-trimmed pillows. She couldn’t tear her gaze from it. Jerrick, however, only had eyes for her. He finally settled her on her feet and buried his lips beneath her ear with a fiendish growl. Her coat and coin purse fell from her arms, hitting the carpeting with a dull thud.

  He nuzzled and nipped at her, sending lightning bolts of pleasure zinging through her veins. “Your scent belongs to me. No other.”

  Her scent? What the hell was he talking about? And why did he insist on bringing it up now, when she was having a hard time not melting into boneless goo in his arms?

  He slid his mouth lower, his beard scruff a tormenting rasp along her neck. His tongue swirled in the hollow of her collarbone. “Your taste belongs to me too. I’ll rip his toenails out via his nose if he ever puts his mouth on you again.”

  “Who, Thane?”

  “Any male who isn’t me.”

  Okay then. “Why are you being so growly and possessive?” Getting the words out was damn difficult, considering the delicious things he was doing with his mouth.

  “You’re mine, Avi.” His tongue dipped into the valley of her cleavage before he unzipped her dress and eased the sleeves down. “And as such, I’m laying out the terms of our relationship.”

  “Oh my gods. You did not just say that.”

  “Why is there a problem? I fully intend to listen to your terms too.”

  “How generous of you.” Her sarcastic snort gave way to a shiver when he peeled down the cup of her corselette and sucked her nipple into his mouth. Knees wobbling, she gripped his shoulders to keep from falling. He used the opportunity to sweep her up into his arms again.

  A moment later he tumbled with her onto the bed. Tugging her to him, he plundered her mouth, his tongue banishing every thought from her head. She struggled to retain some semblance of her mind, to not completely lose herself in the firestorm of his kisses, but he was battering her defenses. He dragged a hot, sliding kiss to her breasts again, and she desperately grappled with her uncooperative vocal cords. Finally she latched on to the necessary words. “I’m not a piece of property. I really wish you’d stop referring to me like I am.”

  Rather than be swayed by her avowal, he meandered down her body, taking her dress and undergarments with him. He flung them aside, leaving her only in her heels. “When I take you, I’ll belong to you too. It’s nothing to do with property.” His lips ghosted along the bend of her knee…the inside of her thigh and higher, making her quiver. “No other will be able to breach our ties. I want you to understand the full magnitude of that.” A warm breath feathered her labia. “Once I enter here, no other will.”

  “I don’t want any other.”

  Something dark and predat
ory flashed in his eyes. He licked her then, slow and deep and oh-so-mind-blowingly incredible. Grasping her hips, he hauled her closer, practically burying his face in her pussy as his tongue plowed through her wetness until it reached her clitoris. He tormented the bundle of nerves with teasing flickers, making her gasp and squirm. Done taunting her, he settled in for the kill, his mouth suctioning the throbbing nub tight to his tongue. He drew firm, pulsing her clit rhythmically, calling forth the responding beat of her orgasm. She cried out, shaking uncontrollably.

  He brought her over that dazzling peak two more times before rolling from her and stretching to his feet. Brain dead and gasping for breath, she watched him undress, entranced by the sheer masculine perfection of him. He disappeared into the bathroom and came out a moment later with two towels. One he tossed aside, the other he placed beneath her.

  To protect the bedding if I bleed. It fully hit her then. This was truly happening. He was going to make love to her.

  Only he hadn’t used the word love. There was a lot of talk of belonging and unbreachable ties, but no true declaration of his feelings.

  If this was all that she could have of him, would it be enough?

  He leaned over her, the personification of a lifetime of longing wrapped up in an achingly beautiful package. And she had her answer.

  No force on Aurion would give her the strength to walk away from this moment. Away from him. Her heart, her body, they’d always belonged to him. There was no fighting her destiny. She cupped his face, stroking the beloved planes of his cheekbones with reverence.

  He sipped at her lips, his thighs coaxing hers wider. “I want to feel you wet and clasping tight around me. I promise I’ll weave the sheath before I come.”

  It took a moment to grasp his meaning. “You can make a magical condom?” The notion almost made her giggle.

  He grinned. “One of the perks of being a Maddoc.”

  His shaft furrowed along her slit, splendidly fat and rigid, and she sighed in pleasure. Well hello there, second big perk of being a Maddoc fae.