by Calista Fox
He contemplated this, and his actions of late, as the minutes ticked by. He didn’t need much sleep and couldn’t bring himself to give into slumber with his one and only chance to hold Jade in his arms.
The knock on his door came regretfully early, though it was likely close to noon at that point.
“My Lord.” It was Morgan.
Jade stirred. She’d turned on her side some time ago and Davian had spooned her, curling his body around hers in not only an intimate cocoon, but a protective one as well.
“Tell him to send the slayers away,” she said in a groggy voice. “I can make it back to the village on my own.”
“They won’t stand for that and you know it,” Davian told her. “They’re likely chomping at the bit to ensure you’re all right.”
“I’m not all right. I want you again.”
He groaned. To Morgan, he said, “She’ll be down in ten minutes.”
“My Lord.”
Davian’s lips swept over her bare shoulder. “Your request is hardly one I can deny.”
“Lucky me.”
His hand on the back of her thigh guided her legs apart. He was already hard for her, no surprise there. He entered her from behind and she sighed contentedly. One of his arms snaked around her front to cross her chest. He palmed her breast as his other hand covered her sex. His lips grazed her neck while his fingers caressed her clit and his cock pumped into her.
She fisted her pillowcase and let out a whimper of need and desire.
“You like me inside you, don’t you?”
“Impossible to think of anything more exciting. Or arousing.”
“I’m more than happy to arouse you.”
“And you’re damn good at it.”
He was turned on himself. His cock glided along her slick walls, hitting various spots that made her gasp and moan, stimulating him further.
Her sweet surrender stirred his soul and intensified his feelings for her.
He plunged a bit deeper and she responded by squeezing him fiercely, eliciting a low growl from him.
“I really should have more stamina,” he admitted, “but with you, I lose it so quickly.”
“Then we’re both about to come?”
His thrusts quickened as he continued to stroke her clit. He felt the tiny shivers that moved through her body and heard the catch of her breath, indicators that she was on the edge. Thrusting steadily, he felt the tension grip her.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Come for me.”
“Davian!” she cried.
He pumped faster and harder as she climaxed. “You’re so fucking wet.”
He erupted inside her as he whispered her name in her ear. His voice was full of yearnings he doubted Sheena would ever understand. He tried to keep the emotions between him and Jade this time. He didn’t know if he was successful, because Sheena was much too tactful to even make her presence known if she was close by, going about her daily business.
He kissed Jade’s shoulder.
As difficult as it was to do so, he told her, “Go with the slayers. Morgan and some of his men have been tracking the fire wraith. I don’t anticipate him coming back this way, but I have a patrol ready to scour the forest on my side of Ryleigh’s perimeter. The slayers will monitor the inner circle and your cottage. Don’t wander the woods alone. If you must go into the village or to the tavern, be sure Walker or Toran escorts you. Will you do this for me?”
She nodded. “I can’t hide out at home, I’ll go stir-crazy. But I won’t do anything spontaneous or reckless, either.”
He let out a long breath. “I would stay with you at the cottage, if I could. But that would undermine my authority here, create conflict within the village and…I need to be hunting the wraith myself. I can’t have him terrorizing you.”
“Or anyone else.”
“But mostly you.”
He withdrew from her and slipped from the bed. A knock on the door a moment later made him almost roll his eyes. Sheena was much too efficient. He retrieved the towel and slung it low on his hips, tucking in a corner, before opening the door.
His assistant handed over a bundle of clothes. “For Jade.” She even had tall boots and a black cape. “These are well insulated. She’ll be fine in the snow.”
“Coming down hard?”
“There’s practically a whiteout. The slayers are anxious to get her back to the village before the blizzard sets in.”
“Damn it,” he said. “The snow will make the border more difficult to patrol, with lack of visibility and freezing conditions.” Not a problem for his troops, but the slayers were mortal.
He slid a glance over his shoulder at Jade, who still huddled under the covers. Likely out of sheer embarrassment. He found that a humorous thought, given how uninhibited and vocal she’d been the night before. Or rather, it was a charming, endearing notion, following all the twists and turns she’d presented as she’d challenged him every step of the way. For a good cause.
Shifting his attention back to Sheena, he said, “Jade will be out in a couple of minutes. Take her downstairs and then send Morgan up after he’s seen her and the slayers off. They brought an additional horse?”
Sheena nodded. Then she said in such a conspiratorial voice, he was certain only he heard her, “Do you think she’s still in danger?”
“Depends on where the fire wraith is and what his true intentions are.”
“Then how can you let her leave the castle, my Lord?”
“You’re fond of her. So quickly.” He rubbed the back of his neck as the nerves knotted. “You know she can’t stay, Sheena. She’s human.”
“Are you sure?” With that, she turned on her high heels and sauntered off.
Davian stared after her, then shook his head. Sheena was still awestruck or dumbfounded that a human could self-heal at such a rapid rate. Understandable. It perplexed Davian as well.
But no creature other than a human would experience pain in the fashion she did. When a demon was wounded, the recovery might not be instantaneous, but it was certainly hasty enough—much faster than Jade’s own recuperation had been. And the actual sensations were dull, unless multiple, near lethal wounds were inflicted. Even then, one did not suffer the way she did. What Jade endured was almost unfathomable—something only a mortal felt. Well, much worse, actually.
Returning to the bed, he sat alongside her and said, “Sheena brought you clothes.”
This seemed to perk her up. She tossed off the duvet. Eyeing the stack, and the boots in his hands, she touched the royal blue sweater on top and smiled.
“More color.” She pulled the sweater from the pile and unfolded it. “How beautiful. I thought the robe she lent me was spectacular, but this is equally gorgeous. That vampire—woman—knows her fashions.”
“Black seems to be a staple for you,” he observed.
“And for you. Which,” she said as she leaned in for a kiss, “is outrageously sexy. As for me, we don’t have colorful fabric in the village. Black and varying shades of gray are mainstays. Easy dies for our resident chemist to concoct when we receive bolts of white material from villages that grow cotton. And of course, we trade for leather and buckskin.” She collected Sheena’s offerings and slid off the bed. “I just need a few minutes.”
Davian dressed and ran his hands through what was surely disheveled hair. Jade emerged a short time later. He did a double take.
“Huh,” he said as a slow burn started in his groin. “I’ve seen that outfit on Sheena before. It does not look the same.”
“No doubt she wears it much better. Everything’s a bit snug. She’s thinner than me.”
To Davian, everything appeared perfectly proportionate. The sweater pulled tight against Jade’s breasts, her defined waist and her shapely hips. The wide collar sat slightly off her shoulders, making him wonder what sort of lingerie Sheena had provided for her enticing chest. The black leggings and riding boots were a nice complement, completing the ensemble.
; She’d pulled her sleek, dark hair over one shoulder and secured it with its own strands. She wore a part along the side, and her long bangs dusted her forehead and temple above the ponytail.
“You’re gawking,” she finally said.
He grinned. “Yes, I am. And no one could possibly blame me.”
“Now that was couth.” She crossed the room to where he stood. “And civil.” Her tone was playful. Jade went up on her tiptoes, still necessary despite her three-inch heels. She nipped at his lower lip. “Unlike the things you did to me last night.”
He groaned. “And this morning?”
“Who would ever want to get out of bed?”
Admittedly, he’d been damn reluctant.
She was about to say something else, but another subtle rap on his door cut her off. And made Davian simmer with frustration.
“Yes?” he asked between clenched teeth.
“The slayers, my Lord,” Sheena reminded him. Evidently, they’d grown impatient.
“I’m coming,” Jade told the vampire. She gave Davian a kiss. “I promise to be safe.”
“I’m holding you to that.”
“And I’ll tell Sheena I’ll clean her clothes and have one of the slayers return them.”
“Don’t bother,” he said. “You won’t be able to get the scent out and it’ll be disturbing for her.”
“Good point.” Jade lingered, hesitant to go. Then she said in a soft voice, “Thank you.”
“For what?”
She gazed up at him. “For being everything I didn’t expect.”
Leaving him to ponder her words, she opened one of the double doors and followed his assistant through the study as she expressed gratitude to Sheena for her thoughtfulness. Jade glanced back once before disappearing from Davian’s sight. Well…not entirely.
He watched her from his bedroom window when she left the castle, his impeccable vision penetrating the mass of cumulus clouds and blowing snow until Jade and the slayers entered the dense thicket.
Dread consumed him. But what choice did he have in this complex scenario and his efforts to maintain peace, other than to let the two men take her away?
Chapter Eleven
Per her request, the slayers escorted Jade to Jinx’s burial site, despite the inclement weather. She’d been at the castle when the memorial service had been orchestrated. She felt horrible over having missed the event, because Jinx had been a good friend. Yet her absence had been unavoidable.
Slipping from her horse, she waded through calf-deep banks as Toran and Walker moved away, giving her privacy. She fought to keep her distress at bay as she stared at the cross protruding from a snowy mound.
Jade prayed for an even tone as she said, “I’m sorry I wasn’t here for the funeral, Jinx. I got held up.”
A wave of tormented feelings rose within her, despite her best efforts. Tears burned her eyes and her voice cracked as she said, “I always adored you. From the first time we met. You came to my fifth birthday party and told me you could read fortunes. Of course, you had to explain to me what that meant.”
She laughed quietly, painfully. “You spun a silver coin on the kitchen table and when it landed heads up, you gasped and said, ‘You’re the little girl who will always be smiling’.”
Indeed, she had been that child…until her parents had been viciously attacked. Shredded.
Fat drops slid down her cheeks. “After my parents were murdered, I begged you not to tell my fortune ever again, because that initial one didn’t come true. It didn’t last, Jinx.”
At eleven years of age, she’d wanted to scream at him for telling her a lie. Her parents had been mauled, and she’d believed she’d never smile again. How cruel had it been for Jinx to mislead her, when he’d claimed over and over that his predictions were accurate?
But, of course, she’d never truly blamed him. Yes, before that fated time of her life, she’d soaked up his optimism and it had been heart-wrenching when her personal tragedy had proven him wrong. Regardless of his otherwise successful track record, she’d turned wary, skeptical. Still, she’d cherished him and had eventually come around to bask in his warm light again.
Jinx was a man whose compassion and exuberance had won over even the most cynical and broken of hearts—hers.
Jade was not one to put her troubles on another, but she’d had a need to believe in Jinx. And, years following her parents’ deaths, he’d done his best to provide her a measure of comfort in an uncertain world.
She said, “You were very special to me, Jinx. And I will miss you every single day.”
Jade brushed away her tears. After a moment of silence, she turned and rejoined the slayers.
Later, she remained on the horse while Walker inspected her cottage to ensure it was safe inside. When he indicated all was well, she slid off the back of the stallion and followed the other slayer through the front door.
As Walker built a fire, Toran said, “The general told us his patrol discovered a small colony of demons not associated with the alliance along the Canadian border. But the fire wraith wasn’t among them.”
“Did Morgan say if they had a lead on where he might be?” she asked.
“No. But certainly not anywhere near this village. We’ve seen nothing out of the ordinary since you were attacked. I can’t imagine he’d come back after the king took him on.”
“Likely,” Walker said, “they had an assassination strategy plotted out. They’re too small a band of demons to storm the castle, but they found a way to lure King Davian from his protective walls.”
“He thought I’d been conspiring with Lisette and had developed some sort of magical powers,” Jade explained, so the slayers wouldn’t speculate over her association with the Demon King and how everything had unfolded of late. “That was the reason he and the general followed me. Turns out, it was the wraith with the powers he sensed, since the rogue demon simultaneously watched me. This turned into a ‘which came first—the chicken or the egg?’ kind of thing.”
She kept her tone aloof, detached, not wanting to give anything away, particularly that she now had a very personal relationship with Davian. Even if the one night they’d shared was an anomaly never to be repeated, she still believed they were inexplicably tied to each other.
Continuing, Jade said, “Obviously, the fire wraith found an advantage with the king taking an interest in what I might be up to.” She added, “By the way, I haven’t been practicing witchcraft with Lisette.”
“That’s good to know,” Walker told her. “This is a tenuous state of affairs. We don’t need to tip any scales with you and Lisette teaming up.”
“I understand and agree.”
Toran said, “Maybe you shouldn’t stay here, Jade. You’re too remote. And damn, this house is cold.”
“The fire exploded unexpectedly the other night and I had to put it out. I swear that wraith breathed flames down my chimney.” A couple days had passed, so the cottage was almost on par with the temperature outside. Good thing she didn’t have running water, after all. Her pipes surely would have frozen.
“Why don’t you stay with Michael?” Toran suggested.
“No, I can’t risk it.”
Not just in the event the renegade demon returned and sought her out at Michael’s house, putting him in danger, but also because of her past romance with him—and that he’d nearly kissed her. If he truly wanted a reunion, she had to head that off at the pass, not give Michael any sort of encouragement now that she knew who commanded her passion and owned the most intimate part of her.
She and Michael could never be more than friends. Of course, what had transpired between Jade and the Demon King could also go no further. Even though she’d instantly felt a void straight to her core when she’d left his castle. And lonesomeness had immediately returned to her when she’d entered the cottage. But there was no denying she did not belong on the other side of the village border. She belonged in Ryleigh. And the two worlds that lay on opposite sides of t
he river should never collide again.
“I’ll stick close by,” Toran offered, breaking into her dismal thoughts.
She said, “Not in this weather. It’s treacherous. I’ll be fine. I’ll stay inside. Try not to worry about me, I won’t go anywhere,” she vowed. There was no need to return to the tavern at present. She doubted even the diehards would venture out in this wicked snowfall. “But do me a favor, please. Let Michael and Lisette know I’m okay and that you saw me safely home.”
“They’re not the only ones worried about you,” Walker told her. “The entire community has been on edge since the general reported you’d been taken to the castle.”
“For the record, the king’s staff took excellent care of me.”
“Still,” Toran said as he unfastened the low-slung belt holding his sword to his hips before handing it over. “Keep this. I know you’re trained to use it.”
She eyed the weapon. She hadn’t had one of this caliber in the house for fifteen years. Her father had taken both his and her sword with him when he and her mother had traveled to another village for a funeral on the day they’d died. Jade had been ordered to stay with Michael’s family, but she’d snuck away and had followed her parents. And had witnessed their gruesome murders.
She shuddered and pushed the memory to the shadowy corners of her mind, with all the other unpleasant recollections.
“Thank you,” she said to Toran. “Both of you. It’s true, this is a precarious time. I’m hoping it has come to an end as far as the fire wraith is concerned.”
“We’ll remain vigilant,” Walker assured her. “And the general and a small squad will patrol their perimeter.”
She knew the slayers had had to come for her when she’d been at the castle, to confirm for themselves she was all right and to appease the villagers. But she suspected they wouldn’t have demanded to bring her back if they thought the situation was still a dicey one.
“It wouldn’t make sense for the fire wraith to come after me again,” she said, “if the king is no longer watching me. He and his bandits will have to devise some other plan to bait Dav—” Her gaze dropped. “The Demon King. Or find a way to breach the castle walls.”
