by Sharon Kay
Her neck throbbed where he had bitten her. “You marked me.”
“I did.”
“What does that mean?”
“It’s a warning to all other males to back off.”
She pondered his words. Was she supposed to do the same to him? She definitely wasn’t interested in any other men, and she didn’t want Gunnar to even look at any other women. But something niggled at the back of her mind.
Sure, their bodies were eager to be permanently joined, though she had only known him a few days. She cared for him, but she knew there was much more that she didn’t know about him. Like when he had “encouraged” the Skell demon to divulge information earlier. She sensed a darkness in him and wished he would share it with her. She wanted to understand her demon on all levels. Wanted him to open his heart to her.
She also didn’t want to lose the sweet intimacy of the moment. “I think they’ll get the message.” She lazily kissed his chest. “I’ve been wanting to do this all night.”
He grunted his approval and stroked her ass. Her hair had freed itself from the nymphs’ handiwork, and she let its loose length slide across his skin, nuzzling her way to one of his flat nipples. She kissed it, then flicked her tongue across it. “Does that feel good?”
“Yes,” he rasped. “But keep it up and you’ll find yourself on your–”
“No.” She pushed up on her hands. “I want you like this, on your back. Let me explore you.” She traced his lips with one finger. “Let me ride you.”
A scoundrel’s grin spread across his handsome face. “Yes, my lady. You can have your wicked way with me.”
“Be a good boy or I’ll tie you up.” She leaned down to kiss his sensuous mouth, loving the feel of his soft lips and plundering tongue. She languidly moved down his throat, stopping to savor the woodsy, musky scent at the base of his neck. Her eager mouth found his chest again, licking every thick band of muscle. He tasted slightly salty, earthy, and wholly masculine.
She shifted to sit beside him on the bed, her hands caressing his huge biceps before moving down to his fingers. Bringing one hand up to her mouth, she kissed each knuckle. She licked the tip of one finger before lowering her mouth to cover it completely. He sucked in a breath, eyes locked on her mouth. She swirled and teased him like she had last night at the safe house, humming deep in her throat. His cock stood at attention, rigid and ready for her.
She released his hand and bent down to roam his abdomen with her lips, learning every hard ridge and sculpted dip. God, he’s perfect. He may as well have been carved from granite and then come alive for her benefit. Her own personal Pinocchio, she thought wickedly, but with an entirely different body part capable of growing. When she got to his hip, she nipped him as he had done to her. He groaned and thrust a hand into her hair. He trailed it down her back and slapped her when he reached her bottom, then he nudged at her hip.
“Uh-uh,” she murmured. “Not yet. Isn’t that how you put it?”
He growled again but dropped his hand. She knelt between his legs. “You’re huge.” Her hair slid off her shoulder and tumbled across his thigh.
“You’re a tease.”
“But you know I’m a sure thing.” She moved closer and licked him from root to tip, pleased to see a single drop of liquid had squeezed out. She lowered her lips and drew the shimmery bead into her mouth. His hands clenched the sheets.
She cupped and cradled his sac, enjoying the feel of his soft flesh in her hand. A soft curse left his lips.
Deciding to have mercy on him, she took as much of his length as she could. She sucked and flicked, loving his earthy taste. Knowing this battle-hardened warrior had turned to putty in her hands filled her with a heady rush. She brought him to the edge of his control and he held on, barely. Because I asked him to. Giving his balls one last massage, she moved her hand to his shaft and stroked below her mouth. She pressed her lips tighter around him as she pumped up and down, squeezing and milking her demon.
She moved to straddle him, leaning over him so that her breasts brushed his chest and his erection grazed her folds. Pressed against his warm body, she was ready for him, so wet that his hard cock slipped along her cleft. She knew he ached as much as she did when he rasped her name in frustration.
Giving into their mutual need, she lifted up enough to guide him just inside her entrance and lowered herself down. She sighed and let her head fall back as he filled her inch by delicious inch. I’ll never get enough of this. Leaning forward, she braced her hands on either side of his shoulders.
“Touch me,” she whispered and before she had even gotten the words out, his hands were on her breasts, cupping her, flicking his thumbs across her nipples.
She moaned as the sensations he created shot in a straight line to her core, and her hips rocked against him. Teasing him had been delightful erotic fun for her, and now she perched on the brink of another orgasm. His body rubbed her just where she needed it. His hands teased her breasts, caressing the sensitive undersides, and when he pinched her aching nipples, she shattered. She cried out as she ground hard against him. He gripped her hips as he pistoned beneath her, bellowing her name as his release shot hot and deep within her body. She collapsed onto his chest in a haze of sated bliss, her breathing ragged, her body surrendered.
CHAPTER 14
NICOLE WOKE UP to sunlight streaming in the window and hungry kisses along her bare bottom. She raised her head from her bent arm and looked over her shoulder. “Mmm,” she murmured drowsily as Gunnar’s mouth moved to the tops of her thighs, continuing to nibble her sensitive skin.
“Morning.” His voice rumbled against her flesh.
“You sure know how to wake a girl up.” She couldn’t hold back a sleepy giggle.
“I can’t get enough of your perfect little ass.”
“Good.” She stretched out on her belly. Dropping her head, she savored another minute of his delicious attention. She was still so blissed-out from last night that she didn’t think she could get any more relaxed.
He brushed the hair from her neck and sucked the spot where he’d bitten her. “Time for a bath.”
Nicole rolled over and blinked. Were her eyes playing tricks on her? A second tub sat next to the one she had used yesterday, and lavender scented steam wafted from the water. She thought about asking him how and when this had all happened but decided that it didn’t matter. Meeting his gorgeous blue eyes, she smiled. “You think of everything.”
“I do my best.” He scooped her up and settled her into the closest tub.
She dipped her head back until her hair was soaked, and then he proceeded to wash it. His fingers on her scalp felt divine, his warrior’s hands touching her hair gently, as if it were fine silk. “You’re good at this,” she murmured.
“I’ve taken an interest in making you feel good.” He picked up a cloth and gently washed her skin. When he was done, he instructed her to stay put and soak while he took his own bath.
She watched him unabashedly from half lidded eyes. His body was so finely sculpted and powerful that she could look at it all day. She watched his muscles ripple under his skin, remembering the taste of him on her lips. “Another time, I’ll bathe you.”
“I’ll remember that.” He climbed out of his tub and flashed a roguish grin at her.
They dressed in the clothing they had worn yesterday, which had been washed and lay neatly folded on a chair. Gunnar held her hand as they walked through the busy colony in search of Taszim.
All the nymphs were fully dressed today, though for the females, the usual clothing was nothing more than a short, clingy tunic. The males all wore tunics and pants, mostly in shades of brown. Everyone they passed greeted them warmly.
They found Taszim deep in conversation with one of his sentinels, hand on his jaw as he listened to the other man. As they approached, he smiled and gestured for them to join in his conversation. He took Nicole’s hand and kissed it. “Well, don’t you look as content as a cat relaxing in the sun, my
lovely. I trust you slept well.” He winked at her.
Nicole smiled and bit her lip, feeling heat rise in her cheeks. She looked up at Gunnar, who stroked his hand down the curve of her spine. From the way they had left Taszim and Larissa, she guessed the nymph leader’s night had been spent in a similar manner.
Taszim clapped Gunnar on the back and nodded to his man. “Tomas here was just giving the morning’s report. Things are quiet…unusually quiet.” He frowned and turned to his sentinel. “Keep me updated. I’ll be in my study.” The other nymph nodded, shaggy brown hair swinging around his head, and walked back toward the colony’s entrance.
Taszim offered Nicole his arm and she took it, then the three of them walked a short distance to a low building near the center of the colony. Taszim’s study was paneled in dark wood and contained several pieces of mahogany furniture and two overstuffed armchairs.
“So, my friends.” Taszim swept his arms wide. “What can I do for you?”
He leaned against the edge of his desk and indicated that Nicole and Gunnar should sit. Nicole settled into one of the cozy armchairs while Gunnar stood near her.
“You have something that will be of great use to us against one of our enemies,” Gunnar replied. “We have reason to suspect a Domu on Earth has organized a number of Skell demons to commit crimes for him.” Gunnar then related the details of the attacks in Chicago and the coins they had found on the two Skells. “We still don’t know what he plans to do with the blood he’s collecting, but we need to stop him before his plan can be fully realized. We need Xarrek’s ashes.”
Taszim’s brows furrowed. “For what purpose?”
Gunnar folded his arms across his chest. “Rosa said it will help defeat him. She didn’t go into specifics.”
“Rosa.” Taszim huffed out a breath. “Of course, the witch knows we have the ash. She–”
The door burst open. “My lord!” The sentinel from earlier gripped the sides of the doorway, out of breath. “Vipers, my lord Taszim! We are under attack!”
Both Gunnar and Taszim raced for the door. Gunnar looked back at Nicole. “Stay here!”
“No way.” Nicole stood. “I want to help.”
He gripped her upper arms and glared down at her, but she didn’t miss the flicker of worry that crossed the blue fire in his eyes. “You could get yourself killed.”
“If they use arrows, I can deflect them. All of them. You know I can.”
“Goddamn it, Nicole!”
“We don’t have time for this, Gunnar. There’s a reason that I’m here. Maybe this is part of it.” She marched out of the study.
He reached out to grab her arm.
“If you try to stop me, I’ll just find a way to get there. I am a Solsti. I will help.”
He growled but didn’t stop her as he jogged beside her. “Just stay back. Use the trees to protect yourself. Or stay behind the nymphs’ archers. I don’t like this, Nicole.”
“I’m not crazy about it either, but I’m not going to sit back and hide when I could be helping.”
Gunnar looked at her as if he wanted to say more, but they were almost at the edge of the trees. He hauled her close and placed a searing kiss to her lips. “Don’t you dare get hurt,” he warned, and then he charged toward the front line of nymphs.
The scene before Nicole was so different from the previous day that she barely recognized the field in front of Rivkin. Battle cries and the clang of metal rent the air. The near side of the river was filled with nymph archers launching their arrows from behind rocks, trees, and shrubs. On the far side of the river stood dozens of Vipers. Most had bows, and she assumed they were using the poison-tipped arrows. But she realized that at least half of the archers had arrows tipped with flames.
Flames.
Anger heated her blood. The vipers would burn the nymphs’ home and then, once getting them out in the open, poison them.
She gritted her teeth. That won’t happen today. I won’t let it. No way. She crept closer to a group of nymph archers that were concealed behind thick shrubs. Other nymphs engaged the Vipers in swordfights as they tried to protect the bridge. But because of the nymphs’ much smaller size, not many of them succeeded. She cringed as one nymph tumbled beneath a Viper blade, then another.
She looked for Gunnar. In the center of the chaotic field, he fought one Viper with his sword while flinging a ball of demonfire at another. His size made him an imposing figure on a normal day; now, in the midst of battle, he looked ferocious. He moved like a savage god, in control of his opponents, lethal and powerful. His strikes were calm and precise, years of experience and training having forged him into a bastion of insurmountable force. She marveled again at his hands, so tender this morning, now dispatching the evil demons with ease.
Nicole focused her energy. She directed a gust of wind at the next volley of arrows, sending them all into the river with a sharp hiss. The Vipers bellowed and reloaded, glancing around. She guessed they sensed her energy. Calling up a gale force wind on their side of the river, she sent loose twigs, rocks, and leaves into it to throw them off in any way she could.
She raised one hand to steady her power as she maintained the furious wind on the opposite side of the river. Manipulating an air current from the nymph side, she put extra force behind the nymph archers’ arrows. The arrows flew toward their targets with a velocity that stunned both sides. The Vipers fell as the nymphs whistled their approval and reloaded. Nicole helped them do it again, and again.
With a hiss and a thud, a flaming arrow sank into the trunk of a tree next to Nicole. Slivers of bark shot into the air and a tendril of smoke curled skyward from the licking fire.
“Oh, yeah?” she whispered. Extinguishing it with a forceful draft of air, she refocused on the incoming round of arrows. She blasted them end over end flying backward toward their source. A Viper howled as an arrow landed in his eye. Others slumped to the ground, their own weapons protruding from their thick necks. As the Vipers’ scaly flesh burned, a stench like burning rubber drifted across the river.
Nicole’s power surged through her blood. She felt oddly detached, as if watching herself from afar, feeling no remorse for the taking of lives. The Vipers intended to kill the nymphs—she was glad to defend them. And at the same time she felt exhilarated. She felt like she had found her true purpose. She wasn’t odd, she was rare and helpful and needed.
The Vipers’ strength waned. Gunnar had slain a dozen at least. Because of Nicole’s talent and the skill of the nymph archers, scores more lay lifeless on the ground. The handful that remained fell back into a tight group and unleashed one more round of flaming arrows, which Nicole easily sent into the water. The snake-headed beasts turned and fled.
The nymphs standing next to Nicole turned to her and let out a joyful whoop. Then they sobered and murmured, “My lady.” They all knelt before her.
Surprised and a little uncomfortable with the display of gratitude, she whispered, “Please, stand.” She looked for Gunnar and saw him still on the field, walking among the Vipers, making sure they were truly dead. “Nymphs.” Nicole looked at the grassy expanse. “Your work is not quite done.”
They stood and rushed to aid Gunnar in his grisly task. She leaned against the nearest tree, muscles wobbly. Whether it was from the extended use of her power or from the adrenaline rush of the battle, she wasn’t sure. Letting the trunk support her, she watched her big demon as he handled the aftermath of the attack. Even now, he made sure they were safe. Her heart swelled with the knowledge that he would stop at nothing to eliminate every potential threat to her.
The bright flash of his blue eyes swept the tree line, searching for her. His gaze locked with hers across the field and he charged toward her, a blur of churning muscles and raw male power. In a heartbeat, he crushed her to his warm chest, caressing her hair, murmuring sweet words. He pulled away to look into her eyes, a range of emotions flickering across his own. Admiration, possession, relief, and something more that she couldn�
�t name.
Leaning down, he covered her mouth with his, tenderly at first and then more urgently. He gripped her upper arm with one hand and wrapped her hair around his other one, kissing her senseless.
He finally let her go and looked at her. “You’re safe.”
Gasping from his kiss, she managed to speak. “I stayed behind the trees, just like you ordered me to.”
“I gave you orders because I need to protect you. But Nicole, today…” he shook his head. “You were amazing. You turned the tide of the attack.”
“I don’t need to be protected anymore?”
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily. There are many other foul creatures out there that may not be as susceptible to your skills.”
Taszim jogged off the field and bowed to her. “My lady, we are in your debt.”
Nicole smiled, unsure of what to say.
Gunnar wrapped an arm around her shoulders and spoke to Taszim. “Let’s meet in one hour. Bring any of your men that need to be there.”
“Of course.” The nymph turned to walk into the colony.
Nicole spied Larissa hurtling headlong down the path and into her husband’s arms. Their passion and devotion to one another touched her heart, and she looked away, not wanting to stare at their intimate moment. Why does this seem more private than what went on last night? She looked up into Gunnar’s piercing blue gaze as he tugged her toward the elevator basket and saw the same mix of emotions crossing his rugged features. She longed to dig deeper, but at this minute it seemed there were more important things at hand.
CHAPTER 15
