by Calista Fox
His head dipped further and his mouth covered hers. He kissed her heatedly. As though the thought of anything dire happening to her compelled him to express how deeply moved he was by her.
Jade wrapped her arms around his neck. She knew the trouble she invited into her life by giving into her desire for him, but it was too overwhelming and vital a feeling for her to walk away from.
His kisses in real life were even more engaging, more hypnotic than in the fantasy they’d shared. His tongue tangled with hers in an erotic dance. One of his arms circled her waist, hauling her up against his hunky body, sealing them together. His other hand cupped the back of her head as his tongue delved deeper.
Jade felt the effects of his passion all the way to her toes—and particularly in the most sensitive parts of her body. An ache in her pussy pulsed in time with her raging heartbeats. Her nipples tightened and her chest rose and fell quickly.
As with her pain, she acutely felt pleasure—which she wanted to give in to. To bask in. To drown in.
When they finally came up for air, she was light of head and unsteady on her feet.
Davian let out a sexy sound. “I won’t be sticking to any convictions about you with kisses like that.”
“I’d told myself long ago kisses like that didn’t exist.”
“Clearly, you were wrong.”
“Clearly.” She smiled, delirium seeping through her veins.
“I want to see you, Jade. All of you. I want you naked and wet for me.”
Excitement over his words chased away the modicum of self-consciousness that had skittered through her earlier.
Though only for a few seconds, because here she stood before a gorgeous mammoth of a man, with no flaws in sight—though she was becoming all too aware of his internal scars.
She hadn’t been bared and vulnerable in front of another person since she was eighteen. Or…never, actually. Because even with Michael, she’d been shrouded by bedcovers.
She couldn’t help but wonder about the female forms in Davian’s past. Even Sheena was picture-perfect. Did he find her alluring?
“No.”
She glared at him. “Stop reading my thoughts.”
“Easy pickings this time. I could see the doubt in your eyes.”
“Have you…” Her hand whimsically gestured toward the door. “With Sheena? Or Jocelyn?”
He chuckled, cutting the tension that had set in as they’d discussed demon-human travesties. “Absolutely not. Both are in my service and I wouldn’t take advantage of that relationship. But beyond that…I don’t find either one as appealing as I do you. Besides, Sheena sticks to her own species.”
A point that did not fall on deaf ears. “That’s a good practice, I suppose.”
He nodded, yet he didn’t relinquish his hold on her. “The road we’re traveling is significantly more complex and treacherous. But difficult to step off of.”
She knew she’d be false to insist otherwise. So she boldly said, “The slayers will come for me soon. I heard you tell Morgan to alert them you’d brought me to the castle to recuperate. We don’t have much time together.”
“And every moment wasted is one we won’t reclaim.”
“Yes. That’s become an unbearable thought for me.”
Fire lit his eyes. “For me as well.”
Jade’s need for him had turned into a living, breathing entity that burned to the depths of her soul. She wiggled out of his loose embrace and pulled her top over her head, letting the garment drop to the floor. Her previous anxiety didn’t stand a chance against Davian as he gazed at her, unrelenting need etched across his strong visage.
She slipped out of her drawstring pants and stood before him in nothing but her bra and panties. They were as simple and functional as could be, and yet his irises darkened and his breath caught. Spurred by his reaction to her, she discarded the lingerie.
“You are stunning.”
His fingertips glided across her cheek, over her jaw and neck, sweeping her collarbone and then returning to the hollow of her throat. From there, the pads of his fingers whisked along her skin as they moved downward to the valley between her breasts, now heavy with desire.
Jade reveled in the adoration in his eyes. At the moment, it didn’t register in her mind that he was a king. Or that he was immortal, obviously elite amongst his kind. What she saw was a man. One of flesh and blood and bone. One with a moral conscious. One with physical wants and yearnings that mirrored her own. One who did not judge her, find fault with her or consider her weak.
She would never live up to the high regard in which his expression suggested he held her, yet at the same time, she had no inclination to give into human insecurities. Somehow, they’d found themselves in a scenario where the outside world and the severe differences between them—the severe consequences of their powerful attraction to each other—ceased to exist. If only for an evening…
Jade reached for the fastenings on his leather pants and undid them. He toed off his boots and she finished undressing him. He was more than magnificently built. He was a gift to be treasured.
He turned the water on and then took her by the hand, leading her into the oversized walk-in shower. The metal sheet with hammered holes hanging overhead created a rainfall effect that was sensuous and inviting. The glimmer of candlelight against the glass portion of the shower wall cast shadows and light that lent a seductive mood to the private haven. Warm water sluiced down her body, and it not only felt cleansing and refreshing, but wildly titillating.
Davian threaded his fingers through her wet hair and asked, “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“Promise,” she murmured. “I pulled through quicker than I’d expected, thanks in large part to you, Morgan and Sheena.” She stepped closer to him and flattened her palms against his abdomen. “Mostly you.” Stretching on tiptoe, her lips brushed his. He bent his head and kissed her deeply, sending her pulse soaring.
When he broke their kiss, he told her, “You excite me, yet soothe my soul at the same time. I don’t deserve you, Jade Deville.”
“You saved my life. And my house. I never could have defeated that fire wraith, Davian. I’m indebted to you.”
“No. He shouldn’t be targeting you in the first place.”
“Let’s not think of that right now.” She kissed him. Then she moved away and inspected the various jars and soaps lined neatly along a built-in shelf.
Selecting a mint-colored bar, she lathered up and ran her hands over the wide chest of the brawny man who aroused her in every way imaginable simply by being himself.
“You have a body meant to be sculpted and placed in a museum,” she mused.
“We don’t have museums anymore.”
“If we did,” she amended. Giving this further thought, she shook her head and said, “No. This incredible stature is not meant to be molded and ogled in stone form.” Her soapy hands slid over the corrugated grooves of his stomach and she sighed. “It’s meant to be worshipped in person.”
“Don’t worship,” he said in a rumbling voice. “Just touch.”
She smiled at him. “I am touching.”
Her hands glided up to his broad shoulders, then down his rock-hard biceps. When he reached for her, pulling her into a strong embrace, her palms slid around to his muscular back. Her breasts nestled below the ledge of his defined pecs, and her nipples tingled as his velvety skin teased the sensitive points.
His head lowered and he whispered in her ear, “I want you in ways you might not even know of.” A prickle along her clit made her squirm in his arms. Her belly rubbed against his erection and he groaned. “Do you want me?”
“Yes.” She didn’t have to think twice about it. She might not possess his sexual prowess or know exactly the ways in which he wanted to take her, but she didn’t care. She’d easily and willingly give herself up to his every desire. But she also had cravings of her own. “Davian,” she murmured. “I want to give you pleasure.”
His
arms tightened around her. “You do, Jade. More than you can possibly know.”
“No.” She shifted in his embrace, forcing him to release her. The water washed away the suds, leaving a clean stream to cascade over his chiseled torso and legs. She sank to her knees before him, marveling at his long, thick cock.
“Jade.” His tone held a hint of urgency and a contradictory note of protest.
Her fingers skimmed over the slick flesh covering his steel rod and his hips jerked in response.
She told him, “I want you in ways I’ve never given much thought to. To touch you…taste you…” She licked her lips. “I want to know all of you.”
With that, her fingers wrapped gingerly around his base and her lips slid slowly along his heated skin until she reached the tip, where she teased the groove beneath his head with her tongue before flicking it over the slight indentation above.
He let out a primal growl. Her mouth closed over him and his fingers raked through her hair, pushing the strands away from her face.
“Jade,” he repeated, sexual tension exuding from him. “Careful.”
She didn’t want to be careful when it came to this. Instinctively, she knew when to be cautious and tentative. She also knew when to step beyond her boundaries. This was certainly one of those times.
As she took Davian deep into her mouth and he muttered something incoherent, she felt a surge of feminine power she’d never experienced before, combined with a bond that was obviously intangible by nature, but which ribboned around her heart nonetheless.
Her inner walls contracted involuntarily, seeking the fulfillment she knew only he could give her. Yet her sole attention remained on Davian—too delicious a treat to pass up.
He held her drenched strands of hair off her shoulders and the gentle flow of water from the rectangular showerhead caressed her skin, running along her neck and over her breasts. The scintillating sensations tempted her to ease a hand between her parted legs and work the knot of nerves that pulsed erratically as excitement coursed through her. But she resisted, retaining her focus on Davian.
She licked him again, and his hips jerked. She lightly massaged his balls with one hand, not sure of the appropriate pressure to apply. Apparently, she hit the right degree, because he hissed out a breath and his fingers gripped her strands of hair a bit tighter.
When she covered his head with her mouth again, he quietly demanded, “Suck me hard.”
She did. His sounds of satisfaction made her pussy throb. She worked him with her tongue and her lips, driven by how he responded to her and how intensely she enjoyed the feel of him in her mouth and the reaction she evoked.
“That’s enough.”
She would have begged to differ, but her mouth was full. The suctioning action she’d picked up rather quickly served her well, if the sudden trembling of his legs was any indication.
“I’m going to come.” He said the words in warning.
Having read a few steamy romance novels herself, from a time before hers, Jade had a very good idea of what to expect. And she didn’t back down.
“Sweetheart.” The term of endearment from this man rocked her to the core.
She sucked him harder, worked him a bit faster, until his body tensed. Her own excitement escalated as she felt him reach the pinnacle.
“Fuck…” His hips bucked and she prepared herself for his explosive release. “Jade!”
She didn’t miss a beat. Elation flooded her veins, tinged with a hint of triumph. She’d nearly brought the Demon King to his knees with her unskilled touch. As it was, he had to press a hand to the wall behind her to maintain his balance.
“Damn it, Jade,” he ground out as he rode his climax.
When the tremors in his legs lessened, she released him and stared up at him, finding the mixture of fulfillment and ecstasy on his face an exhilarating one. Though she didn’t succumb to gloating.
Shaking his head, he said, “I don’t stand a chance against you when you set your mind to something.”
“I have a lot to learn, but I’m willing to take many, many more lessons.”
He pushed away from the wall and clasped her upper arms, helping her to stand. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was some sort of ploy to bewitch me.”
Feeling particularly flirty, she gave him a sassy look. “Who says it’s not?”
“In all truth, that happened years ago.” He held her firmly again. “Now, keep in mind I don’t need much time to rebound.” He backed her against the marble. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”
Her heart rate hitched and her inner muscles contracted once more. “I know I want to feel you inside me.”
The kiss he gave her was nothing short of sizzling. Then he shut off the water and said, “Take your bath. You know where to find me.”
He stepped out of the shower, and when she followed, he handed her a fluffy white towel. She wrapped it around her while he turned the faucets back on to fill the tub.
She watched him strut naked out of the bathroom, a smile playing on her lips. Nothing felt quite so sensational as making a king come.
Aside from everything he did to her…
With a surge of energy from her newfound feminine wiles, Jade busied herself rummaging through the velvet drawstring bag someone—Jocelyn or Sheena, presumably—had left for her, along with a robe and slippers. Inside the bag, she was delighted to find human necessities, including a razor, more elegantly fashioned than the ones she picked up at the pharmacy from time to time.
Then she scanned the labels on the small glass dispensers tucked into the corner ledges of the tub, finally settling on salts that smelled like jasmine. She poured them into the water and they instantly bubbled, making her laugh. She overdid it and ended up with a mountain of suds, but as Jade slipped into the bath, she found the silky foam that coated her skin luxurious and sensual.
Resting the back of her head against a plush, folded towel, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. The relaxation that oozed through her was a welcomed relief. The tension she’d carried with her since childhood eased considerably.
Despite being in a castle full of demons—most of whom, she ventured, likely did not share the same compassion toward human life as Davian did—she felt safe under the protection of the king. And while she knew her friends in the village would be worried about her disappearance, the slayers would have reassured them she was alive and recuperating, after speaking with Morgan.
For once, she allowed herself that sense of security she’d never been able to latch onto, given her hazardous existence. In particular, she didn’t wrestle the age-old quandary of what her purpose in Ryleigh was meant to be. She let all of those thoughts fall by the wayside and, instead, wiped her hands over the towel she leaned against to rid the bubbles from her skin and reached for the book Davian had selected for her.
Chapter Nine
Davian had settled on the large sofa before the fireplace in his bedroom to read papers Morgan had brought him, mostly updates from the stewards in other regions. As the flames from the candles danced and the fire crackled, he caught the enticing hint of jasmine. A moment later, Jade’s teasing breath caressed the shell of his ear as she leaned over of the back of the couch.
“Do you have a dictionary in your study?”
“Of course.” He grinned, though she couldn’t see it from behind him. “Desperate to know what obsequious veneration and pedantic nature mean?”
“I’ve given up on those,” she said in her sultry voice. “I don’t know what a fortnight is and, apparently, Lizzy is to attend a ball in that time period.”
“Two weeks.”
“Oh. Well, then. Why didn’t she just say so?”
He chuckled. “You do understand that Lizzy Bennet would be equally stupefied by the vernacular and cultural differences of this day. For instance, what you did to me in the shower would send her running and screaming for her mother.”
“Poor Lizzy.” She softly tsked
. “To miss out on such a delicacy…”
His cock sprang to life. “There you go again, being uncouth.”
Still whispering in his ear, taunting him, she said, “I didn’t hear any complaints about my behavior when we were in the shower.”
“Nor will you if the urge for a repeat performance strikes you.”
“Mm, so tempting.”
He set aside his papers and stood. “What’s tempting is your warm breath on my neck and that alluring fragrance you’re wearing. Where did you find it?”
“You don’t use the bath salts in your vast collection?”
“No. I rarely use the tub. Jocelyn puts out the dispensers. I always assumed they were for decoration.” He rounded the sofa and pulled Jade into his arms. She wore the red robe and slippers Sheena had left her, the color a perfect complement to her creamy skin, dark hair and deep-blue eyes. “Nice to know someone enjoyed them.”
“Did I ever.” She sighed contentedly. A sound he loved hearing when it came from her.
“And what about the book?”
She shrugged. “It’s off to a very pretentious and conniving start. To be so obsessed with marrying off your daughter to a rich man no one’s even met yet. How absurd.”
“It was not uncommon back then. What do you think of Mr. Darcy?”
“I haven’t gotten to him yet. Why?” she asked. “Is he going to sweep me off my feet?”
Davian did just that, scooping her up in his arms. “Only I reserve the right.”
“That’s very territorial of you.”
“I can’t help it. And it wouldn’t hurt you to be obsequious from time to time.”
She laughed. “What does that mean?”
“Submissive,” he murmured. And felt the tremble along her spine.
