Witch Fury ew-4

by Anya Bast

  THEO AWOKE TO LIPS SKIMMING HIS ABDOMEN. IMMEDIATELY, his cock took notice of the light head hovering over his stomach and the hands pushing their way down his boxers. His shaft hardened to steel as Sarafina’s fingers touched it and he groaned.

  “Mmmm, you’re awake.” She purred. “You’ve slept ten hours and you told me to wake you after eight.” “Why didn’t you wake me at eight?” He groaned and dropped his head back against the pillows as she stroked him.

  “Two can play the overprotection game, Theo.” She nipped his stomach lightly.

  He rolled her over and had her cotton shorts shimmied down her legs in about two seconds flat. He pulled her leg to the side, exposing the vulnerable part of her upper thigh and nipped her there, savoring the tender flesh between his teeth and against his tongue.

  “Let’s see what other games we can find to play.” He lowered his mouth to her sex and latched onto her clit.

  “Theo,” she murmured, her fingers curling in his hair. “I’m not objecting.” He slid a finger deep into her sex. Her silken muscles clasped it eagerly, so he added a second and worked them in and out until she moaned his name again. “I thought you wouldn’t. Take your shirt and bra off.” She wiggled her T-shirt up and got her bra off, all the while he held her legs down and parted so she couldn’t move them, gliding his fingers in and out of her. Under his tongue, her clit had grown full and needy. If he took his index finger and caressed her there with steady pressure, she’d come for him so quickly and sweetly. But he had other plans.

  “So, you like to play games?” He purred against her inner thigh. “Let’s play, then.”

  TWENTY-SIX

  HE REACHED DOWN AND PULLED A BOTTLE FROM HIS bottom nightstand drawer. Grosset was sleeping soundly in his doggie bed in the kitchen. That was good. He had some significant plans for Grosset’s mistress and he didn’t want any canine interruptions.

  “What are you going to do with that?” Sarafina asked lazily.

  He didn’t answer, he only squirted some of the lubricant onto her lovely, aroused sex and let it drip down to the area of his immediate fascination.

  “What? Theo, I’ve never—”

  “Hush. Lie back and put your hands above your head, Sarafina. Place your wrists together. Consider yourself tied and unable to move. My words are your rope. Break it and I’ll tie you up for real. Got it?” She studied him for a moment, her lower lip caught between her teeth and insubordination on her face. He reached out and slid his finger through the lubricant, massaging it into her clit. Her eyelids dropped and her head fell back on a moan. She lifted her hands above her head the way he’d asked.

  Ah, that was better.

  Theo liked to be in control in the bedroom. He suspected Sarafina liked him to have it, too. He slicked the lubricant down to her rear and played there a bit, waking up all the nerves.

  “Theo,” she said, her voice breathless. “I’ve never done this. I’ve never had a man touch me there before.” “Virgin territory? Lucky me. Do you trust me, Sarafina?” She nodded.

  “I’m excited by this, Sarafina. I’m excited by the fact that when I touch you here, I can see your sweet sex becoming even more eager for my cock.” He used a finger of his opposite hand and speared deep inside her sex. She shivered. “You may not have ever had a man touch you here, but you’re curious, aren’t you?” “A little,” she admitted.

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  She bit her lower lip and shook her head.

  Suppressing a smile, he slid the tip of his finger inside her rear and she gasped, then moaned. “Can you feel all your muscles stretching?” “Yes, oh, God, yes.”

  He pushed in deeper, making sure there was a lot of lubricant to ease the way. Her legs widened even farther in an unconscious gesture of surrender.

  “Ah, there you go. It’s good, isn’t it?” She nodded and moved on the bed, arching her back and stabbing her breasts into the air. He added a second finger to the first and maneuvered so he could rub her clit with his thumb at the same time, knowing she needed that stimulation to add some sweet pleasure to the unfamiliar play at her rear.

  “Gods, you’re so pretty like this.” His voice was shaking and his cock was hard as a rock, watching how excited this made her, watching his fingers slide simultaneously in and out of her. He loved that this was new to her and that he was the one to introduce it to her.

  “I’m going to come, Theo,” she whispered. “Oh. .” She came, her body rocking and spasming under his hands. Before the last of her climax had run out, he lifted up, pushing his boxers down to his knees impatiently and slid root-deep inside her.

  Her silken inner muscles were still pulsing. They gripped his shaft warm and tight, milking him as he began to thrust in and out. He rode her fast and hard, his hands on either side of her head and his gaze holding hers as he moved deep within her.

  Her eyes were a little glazed and her facial muscles slack from the aftermath of her climax. She hooked her legs around his hips and met him thrust for thrust, driving him as far into the center of her as he could go.

  Gods, how happy he was to be able to touch her so deeply. As deeply into her body as she’d touched his heart. It was frightening how much he’d come to care for her, but he couldn’t deny it.

  “Sarafina,” he murmured roughly. He wanted to say so much more. But it wouldn’t be fair to either of them.

  She kissed him, reaching out and pulling his head close to hers. Their lips touched softly at first, then needier and needier, like they couldn’t get enough of each other’s taste. Their tongues meshed, hot and soft as their bodies fused, becoming one for such a short period of time.

  He wanted it to be forever.

  The thought was pure and deep, singing through his blood like a promise of something he wanted with every inch of his heart and soul, yet could never have because he knew he would destroy it, crush it.

  Obliterate it.

  He pushed the thoughts away as pleasure rose up from his balls, crashing over him like a tidal wave he couldn’t stop.

  “Sarafina.” He whispered her name as she came for the second time, “Theo” spilling from her lips simultaneously.

  Together, limbs intertwined, they dissolved into ecstasy.

  Once it had passed, he rolled to the side and pulled her close, inhaling the scent of her hair. When he was with Sarafina, he felt content. At peace. It was the only time he ever did.

  There was a part of Theo that wanted to welcome Sarafina into his life and keep her with him always. But to do that, he would have to be certain that he was making her as happy as she made him. Anything less wouldn’t be fair to her.

  And Theo had never been the one to make anyone happy.

  “Theo,” Sarafina murmured sleepily, “that was incredible. I never imagined it would be like that. It was so. .” “Intimate?”

  “Yes.”

  For being a beautiful woman with a bevy of men at her beck and call, she was surprisingly innocent. There were so many things he wanted to show her. No, so many things he wanted to share with her.

  She cuddled closer to him. “Theo, I—” She broke off the sentence and then started again. “I love you.” It came out barely a whisper.

  Theo stiffened. “Don’t do that.” He pulled away from her and rolled off the bed.

  “Don’t do what? Don’t love you?” She scooted to the edge of the mattress, holding the sheet to her bare body. “I can’t just stop, Theo. I don’t have control over it.” She paused and her voice went softer, less certain. “I just thought you should know.” Theo sat for a moment, digesting all the emotion roiling through him until it shut him down, just like it always did. Shut him down, shut him up. Numb. Cold. Under the surface his heart breathed fire, but he’d learned to keep it well sectioned off.

  He stood and walked to the bathroom. “I’m taking a shower.” “Theo?” Her voice had a note of brokenness to it — defeat.

  Theo hesitated, but kept walking. It was for the best.

&nb
sp; SARAFINA WATCHED HIS RETREATING FORM WITH anger simmering in her gut. How dare he discard her words and her feelings like that and just walk away. She understood the baggage that Theo carried was heavy and she’d known the rules of the game when she’d started playing.

  But she loved him, damn it, and she wasn’t letting him push her aside.

  Sarafina rose from the bed and stalked into the bathroom after him. He was in the shower already and steam billowed through the room. She opened the door and slammed it hard behind her, her ire fully piqued. His back was to her, his tribal tats glistening with water.

  “Theo, you’re not getting away with that. I won’t accept that bullshit from you. Are you a coward? Are you scared of me? Are you—” “You talk way too much.” He turned and drew her close, his mouth coming down on hers. He kissed her until she was warm all over and it had nothing at all to do with the temperature of the water.

  Her knees swayed when he released her. “And you know nothing about me.” He growled. “Nothing. So don’t start.” She frowned. “That’s just more bullshit, Theo. After living hip to hip with you for these many weeks, I do know you. I probably know you better than anyone in the Coven, maybe the world.” Sarafina yelped when he pushed her up against the wall of the shower. The tile was slick and smooth on her bare back.

  “You know this about me, Sarafina.” He kissed her again, his tongue snaking between her lips. He broke the kiss, breathing hard. “And this.” He went to his knees and ran his hands over her rear, pulling her toward him. His tongue snaked between her thighs and laved over her clit with a masterfulness that made her eyes roll back into her head.

  She tried to stay on task, but his hands and his tongue on her sex made all the thought that had been in her head suddenly blow away as if it had never existed. She rested her head back against the wall and moaned out his name.

  She struggled against the distraction, but damned if he wasn’t doing a really good job. “We fit well, you and I, Theo. Come on, you can’t deny it.” Her sex was becoming excited again, her clit plumping and growing more sensitive. Only he’d ever been able to do that to her — push her from one climax straight into another.

  Theo rose to his feet and lifted her, settling her thighs over his hips and sliding his cock deep within her.

  She gasped in surprise at the quick movement and the strength it took to do it, then she moaned at the sensation of having him filling her once more. The world only felt completely right when he was inside her, a part of her.

  “Yes, we do fit well together, he murmured, pinning her against the wall and thrusting deep inside her.

  “Don’t make this into something sexual.” She slurred her words as if drunk. “I didn’t mean sexually, even though. . oh!” He jabbed up inside her, increasing the pace and length of his thrusts. “Even though the sex between us is really, really, oh, good.” “Stop talking.” He nuzzled her throat and bit the tender part where her shoulder met her neck.

  “No,” she whispered. She closed her eyes for a moment. The head of his cock was brushing her G-spot in this position. “I won’t stop because—” He backed away from the wall and deposited her on the slick tile floor of the large shower and flipped her onto her stomach. He slid a hand under her abdomen and lifted her, fitting them pelvis to rear before thrusting his cock roughly back inside her sex.

  Theo liked to take her this way. Maybe because missionary was too intimate? After all, in this position he didn’t have to look into her eyes. Now it was all about the joining of their bodies — not of their hearts.

  But, unfortunately, where Theo and sex was concerned, she seemed to be powerless and soon all her rational cognition was gone in a tidal wave of primal need.

  He took her fast and hard, animal-like, there on the floor. He spread her thighs as far apart as they’d go and slammed in and out of her, rubbing her clit from the front until she couldn’t help but climax. It was almost forced out of her.

  Sarafina orgasmed around his pistoning length, long and powerfully. Theo came again, too, groaning as his cock jumped within her.

  After a moment, he pulled away from her and walked to the door of the shower. Before he left he turned toward her. “That’s all you and I share, Sarafina. Get it through your head.”

  TWENTY-SEVEN

  SARAFINA SLAMMED THE PLASTIC BOTTLE OF WINDOW cleaner down on Theo’s kitchen counter and tossed the rag she’d been using after it. She stared at the stove for a moment, almost blinded by its polish.

  Theo’s apartment was cleaner than it had probably ever been. She’d spent the whole day scrubbing, wiping, polishing, and spraying everything in sight. She’d even cleaned the upholstery on the couches. Grosset had wisely parked himself on the freshly vacuumed sofa and was staying out of her way.

  Theo was still in the apartment, of course, because he was guarding her body. Doing other things to it, too, while he repeatedly slammed her heart against the floor. He was especially good at that last part.

  So he remained in close proximity, but not too close, lest she decided to take her broom to his head. Whenever she entered a room, he left it. It had made for an interesting day, her cleaning his apartment to hell and back and chasing him from room to room.

  Now she was exhausted, but she felt better. Sarafina wasn’t totally sure why she felt compelled to clean when she was upset, but it always did the trick. Perhaps cleaning the house made her feel like she was in control. With her two hands and a little effort, she could change her environment to suit her.

  She sure as hell couldn’t control or change Theo, that was for sure.

  Sensing the man in question was standing behind her, she stiffened. He was silent as a cat, but she still knew he was there. Sarafina could feel the touch of his gaze on her as though he brushed her with his hand.

  She turned toward him. “You know, Theo, you’re all big and bad and ride a Harley and wield a sword”—she gestured widely with her arms—“and maybe all the demons quake in their demon boots when you approach, but you’re still the biggest coward I ever met.” She pushed past him into the living room, where she meant to stop, but instead she kept on going, right out the door.

  If Bai wanted to come for her, so be it.

  “Sarafina,” said Theo from the doorway. “You can’t be alone. You can’t just walk away from me.” “Ha!” she threw over her shoulder. “Watch me.” She took a page from his book and kept walking away without another word. With every single fiber of her being, she needed to be away from him right now. Sarafina would even risk Bai to get peace.

  The sound of Grosset’s jangling collar met her ears and soon he was trotting at her heels. At least she still had the love of her dog.

  She found her way to the Conservatory. At this time of the evening, the place was dark but for burning torches and accent lights decorating the pathways. There were only a few people enjoying the tranquil surroundings.

  That’s what she needed. Tranquility. Just for a few minutes. Then she would go back to the apartment and Theo’s brutal stoicism.

  Sarafina found a bench tucked between a tree and a huge flowering bush. She collapsed onto it with a heavy sigh. Grosset jumped up beside her and laid his head in her lap.

  “Sarafina?”

  She looked up to see a petite woman with a pixie cut looking at her from a nearby pathway. She had a book tucked against her body. “Hi, Annie.” “Are you all right?”

  She smiled. “I’m okay. Just looking for a little solitude this evening.” “Me, too.” Annie glanced down at her book. “This is a good place to read. How’s the birth control working out for you?” “Good.” Not that she’d be needing it anymore. “Thanks again for your help.” Annie nodded. “Hope you find a little tranquility.” She walked away.

  Yeah, so did Sarafina.

  She’d been in many relationships in her life. Since she’d been sixteen she’d gone only short times in between steady boyfriends. She was not inexperienced when it came to the opposite sex. Yet Theo stymied her. By the
way he looked at her, the way he touched her, she knew, knew he had feelings for her.

  And she had feelings for him like she’d never had in her life. What she felt for Theo blew all her other relationships out of the water.

  So this was love.

  All the country-western singers wrote songs about how much it hurt.

  Boy, they were right.

  THEO STOOD A SMALL DISTANCE AWAY FROM WHERE Sarafina sat in the Conservatory, concealed by trees and bushes. He understood she needed to be away from him, but he couldn’t let her out of his sight. . for more reasons than one.

  She had her eyes closed, her head resting on the trunk of the tree growing behind the bench she sat on. Her hands were sunk deep into Grosset’s fur, and her facial muscles appeared tight. He allowed his gaze to trace the lines of her chin and travel down the slope of her neck.

  He loved her so much.

  His hands fisted at his sides. Never in his life had he wanted a woman like he wanted her. The problem was that he wasn’t built for love. His life had twisted him in a way that made it impossible for him to hold on to anything beautiful or precious.

  In a way, he was like the Atrika, built for battle, for conflict, for revenge and killing. He was a monster, not fit to hold an angel like Sarafina in his hands. She was too precious to this world. He would only crush her.

  Why couldn’t she see that?

  Once he’d dreamed of finding a woman like her, of settling down and having children, giving those children the kind of life he’d never had — full of love and stability. Now that he’d met Sarafina he realized how impossible something like that would be for a man like him.

  Theo had always worried his father’s brutal heart beat within his chest. It did to some extent, although it was the warlocks who suffered his wrath, not a wife. One thing Theo knew was that he would never raise a hand to anyone he loved. That was one part of his father he’d been lucky enough not to inherit.