“Octavian!”
He stood at the mouth of a cliff overlooking a harsh smear of toxic green and sickly yellows. The colors vaulted up into the heavens, fading to black the higher it went. But it was the familiar silhouette that propelled her.
She ran to him. “Where are we?”
Rather than answer her, his arms went around her, pulling her into the hard curve of his chest. He pressed kisses to the top of her head, down her temples to her cheeks. Riley’s breath shortened as she fought to maintain control.
“How are you touching me?”
His bare fingers slipped beneath her chin. He raised her face to his, skimming the line of her jaw with the pad of his thumb. “How can I not?” His eyes shimmered like liquid pools of silver against his rugged face. “You’re so beautiful, Riley. I love you so much.”
Her heart stuttered in her chest as the full weight of his words floated over her, on her like glittering confetti.
“Say you love me, too,” he pleaded, framing her face in his hands. “Tell me I’m not the only one.”
The plea in his eyes had her reaching for him, circling his neck with her arms as she arched up on her toes to meet his height. “I love you,” she whispered urgently. “I love you, Octavian.”
His face transformed into a smile so beautiful, it was like a physical blow in the chest. “Don’t ever leave me.”
She shook her head. “I won’t. I promise.”
He kissed her then, softly, sweetly, gentle little peaks of his lips over hers. Riley clung to him, urging him to deepen it, to fill the harsh emptiness swallowing her up alive.
“I love you,” he said again against her mouth.
Riley started to tell him she loved him back when he was suddenly snatched out of her arms. He hit the ground at her feet and was dragged to the edge of the cliff by an invisible tether around his ankles. She screamed as he clawed at the ground, trying to stop himself from going over.
“Riley!”
Spurred into action, Riley lunged after him, grabbing his wrists just inches before he went over. But the thing holding on to him, plus his weight, had her sliding to the lip along with him.
“Don’t let go!” he pleaded.
“I won’t!” She gritted her teeth, grinding her heels into the ground. “Hang on.”
“Don’t let go,” he said again as his lower half vanished over the cliff’s edge. “You promised.”
She let out a squeak when he was jerked down another foot so all she could see was his head and the arms she held. A sob escaped her. Paralyzing terror suffocated her every breath as she struggled to pull Octavian up while attempting to keep from going with him into the bottomless pit below. The gravel beneath her heels rolled, becoming rollerblades propelling her to their end.
“I won’t let you go!” she cried, blinded by tears and the beads of sweat trickling from her brow into her eyes.
But no sooner had the words left her when his hand, slick with both their sweat, slipped from her grasp. She watched, powerless to stop it as he hit the edge of the cliff and sailed over.
Chapter 25
Riley bolted upright, her scream ringing hollow in her ears as she catapulted through the darkness.
“Riley!” Hands sheathed in soft fabric grabbed her arms. “Open your eyes, baby.”
Beams of pale gold penetrated through her lashes as she parted her eyelids. The sour tang of paste filled her mouth. Her lungs burned as every breath wheezed from its congested cavity. She blinked back the tears fusing her lashes together and brought into focus the face peering back at her, fraught with fear and concern.
“Octavian…” Uncaring of everything but seeing him again, she detangled herself from the fabric restraining her and threw herself into his chest. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry. I tried to hold on.”
His arms, encased by full sleeves, surrounded her, dragging her into his lap as she wept into his shoulder. “I’ve got you,” he murmured. “It was just a dream. You’re safe.”
Her body shuddered with the sobs that claimed her. “It was so real. I thought I lost you…”
He shushed her gently, his hand lovingly stroking her hair. “You could never lose me.” He paused only once to drag the sheets away from the bed and cocoon her in them before resuming his slow comforting.
She wiped away the tears burning a path down her cheeks with the corner of the sheet. She left her head resting on his shoulder, bathing in his warm, familiar scent as the nightmare washed away like a tide receding from the shore. He let her, keeping a firm hold on her and cradling her against his chest like a small, frightened child. His hand continued its slow, soothing motions through her hair long after she calmed down.
“Tell me what happened,” he prompted after several minutes.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just opened my eyes and I was lost in this horrible place.”
She told him about her dream, leaving nothing out. He sucked in a sharp breath when she got to the part where she’d told him she loved him. His arms tightened around her. The steady rhythm of his heart escalated against her cheek and she had to raise her head to see if he was all right.
His eyes were dark, unfathomable pits against the hard set of his face. “Did you know it was a dream?”
Mesmerized, Riley shook her head. “I thought…”
His hand ceased their idle combing of her hair and rested lightly on her cheek. The leather was cool against her flushed skin. “You thought it was real?”
She nodded. “It felt real. I had no reason to believe it wasn’t.”
His thumb moved longingly over her bottom lip as his gaze bore hungrily down into her eyes. Riley shivered, becoming slowly aware of her surroundings, of his hard thighs beneath her bottom and her chest crushed into his. It was in those moments when she realized the state of her undress beneath the sheets, except for the lacy bra and bikini bottoms. Neither of which matched nor were remotely sexy. But she hadn’t anticipated being stripped naked or that she’d be in Octavian’s arms when it happened. He, on the other hand, was nearly covered from head to toe in a black turtle neck sweater, gloves and cargo pants.
Glowing scarlet, Riley freed herself off him and sat huddled on the rumpled bed. Her gaze swept over the room — his room — relieved to find they were alone. The last thing she needed was for his entire family to have witnessed her nudity lap crawling.
“Where are my clothes?” she asked, holding the sheets tightly wrapped around her. “What happened?”
Octavian said nothing for a moment as he took her in slowly, everything from the pale sheets to her unbound hair tumbling around her shoulders. His tongue snaked out, trailed over his bottom lip in slow appreciation before his hungry appraisal continued upward to her eyes. The unhampered desire in them stole her breath away and had every inch of her tingling with awareness.
“They were wet and sticky,” he said at long last. “It was Mom’s idea to remove them off you before putting you in bed.”
Riley swallowed audibly. “And why am I in bed?” Your bed, she added silently.
Guilt stole away the hunger. He averted his eyes. “I wasn’t thinking. I touched your hand. It was just the graze of my fingers against yours and…” He sucked in a sharp breath. “You seized in my arms. Your body began to smoke and you fainted.” Which explained why he was dressed as though he was getting ready for a hike through the North Pole. “I’ve never been so scared in my life, Riley.”
“Hey.” Sheets kept around her, she edged closer to rest her hand on his arm. “Look, I’m okay.”
He rocked his head slowly from side to side, still refusing to meet her gaze. “What if that was all it took? I couldn’t stand it, Riley. I can’t bear the thought that my touch could take your life.”
Hurting for him, Riley reached for his hand. She cradled it carefully in both of hers and brought it to her chest. She pressed the palm to her heart. “It’s still beating.”
Octavian stared at the spot his hand rested, a dark con
trast against the soft pallor of her skin. Carefully, he moved his fingers, bending them and using the back of his knuckles to stroke the spot above her pounding heart, mere inches from where the delicate lace of her bra began.
“That might be the most beautiful sound in the world,” he mused.
Riley flushed. “We just have to be careful, that’s all.”
“Baby, nothing short of me not touching you anymore is going to keep this from happening again.”
Her grip on his hand tightened. She was sure he could feel the acceleration of her heart through the soft leather. “No,” she said, uncaring of the desperation creeping into her voice. “That isn’t an option.”
His smile was wry. “Do you have a better option, love?”
She dampened her lips. “I’ll cover up more and you could wear the gloves.”
His eyebrow arched over darkening eyes. “That’s fine in the winter, but what of the summer? You can’t always be covered up.”
“I will,” she said defensively.
Heavy lashes swept down as he observed where his hand lay nestled against her chest. “Is my touch really so important to you, Riley?”
“Yes!” she said without a second of hesitation.
He twisted his body around, tucking one leg beneath him as he turned so they were face to face. “Even if you can never feel my skin on yours? Or feel my kisses?”
She swallowed audibly. “That’s why I don’t want you to stop touching me. I may never feel those things, but at least I have this.”
The sheets slipped from her grasp to pool around her lap, exposing her flushed torso to him and the animal gleaming behind his eyes.
His Adam’s apple bobbed. “You’re not helping me keep my promise.”
“What promise?” she whispered, breathless as his fingers slipped downward. She felt her chest expand, arching into his touch even as her breasts tightened beneath the half cups concealing them.
His gaze lifted to her face. “The one I made begging whatever God was listening that I would never touch you again if they let you live. There were a few other things I promised, like no more drinking or cussing, but that promise was the biggest, because that was what nearly took you from me.”
Yet his fingers ghosted feather-light over the slope of her left breast to the valley in between. Her skin prickled with goose bumps and she shivered. His eyes darkened.
“I… I think…” Whatever thought she may have had scattered like dust in the wind when he deliberately passed over the hard peak pushing against the flimsy material of her bra with his knuckles. Hot bolts of electricity sizzled over her skin. Her blood hummed through her veins as though set ablaze. She gasped only to choke on her breath.
“What do you think?” he prompted lazily as he slid his fingers down her abdomen to hook the sheets draped over her lap. He tore them away, leaving her exposed before his eyes.
“I—”
“Come here, Riley.” His commanding voice broached no room for argument.
It was disturbing how fast her body moved to obey. The gleam in his eyes could only be construed as pleased, as his hands moved to guide her over his legs. Riley gasped as she was made to straddle him.
His hands roamed up her backside to her sides, keeping her upright with her knees on either side of his hips. He was eye level with her chest and she wished she'd thought to wear something a little sexier. But he didn't seem to mind in the least. His eyes were two greedy hands moving hungrily over her flushed skin. His real hands were traveling down her ribs to grip her hips. She was thrust forward.
“When I do kiss you,” he breathed, his lips inches from her right breast. “I’m going to start here.” He raised a hand and skimmed her lips with the tips of his fingers. “Then make my way down kissing every freckle on the way.” His fingers drifted down her front, stopping just above her heart. He growled deep in his throat. “God, baby, I want to connect every freckle on your body with my lips, my fingers, my eyes… my tongue.”
She'd never been so grateful to be sitting down. There was no way her legs could support her when every sensation in her knees had gone numb. Her fingers curled into his shoulders to keep from melting into a hot, gooey puddle.
“Don't tease,” she begged him. “It’s not nice.”
Eyes darker than the pits of Hell rose up through thick fans of lashes to singe her. Without a word, before she could even take a much required breath, he grabbed her hips and, none too gently, flipped her onto the bed. Her squeak of surprise faded into a whimper when he kicked off his boots and climbed over her with his thigh planted high up between her legs. Her strangled gasp melted into a throaty moan when both her wrists were captured and forced up over her head. Her body bowed beneath his, completely submitting to him.
“I haven't even begun to tease you, my little temptress. I was merely stating a fact. If I were teasing you... you can be sure you would know it.”
“Please,” she whispered, fight so hard not to push down on his thigh just to ease a fraction of the pressure building up inside her.
His eyes sparked. “Please what, Riley? I have many powers but reading minds isn't one of them.”
Liar! She wanted to call him out on the number of times he'd read her mind just by looking at her. She knew he knew what she wanted. She also knew he wanted her to put words to the torture he was subjecting her to. He wanted her to tell him things she couldn't even think without blushing furiously.
“Tell me,” he taunted cruelly. “I want to hear you say it.”
Damn you!
She closed her eyes, her body a tight wire of trembling nerves. “You’re horrible.”
“Am I?” He transferred her right wrist to be restrained by his left while his newly freed hand roamed over her writhing body.
She wanted to say yes, but all thought began to recede, leaving a blank void of snapping heat so livid, she could scarcely breathe. She knew, without a doubt, that a single ounce of friction from him would undo her beyond repair. But to voice it… no. There was no way.
He lowered his head. “I could stop…” he offered, his voice a wicked purr in her ear. His thumb streamed over the hardened peak beneath her bra.
“No!” she gasped, too far gone in the river of madness to let him stop now. “Don’t. Please. Touch me!”
His low sadistic growl burned hot against the side of her face. “Gladly.”
He gave her no time to retort, no time to think. His knee rocked against her once, sending sparks scattering through her before it shifted away, replaced by the smooth leather of his gloved fingers snaking beneath the band of her panties. The shock stole her breath in a strangled moan.
“Open your eyes, Riley,” he ordered, his finger a commanding force against the sensitive cap begging for his attention.
She couldn’t disobey even if she’d wanted to. His voice demanded nothing but absolute submission. She would have done anything he asked just so he wouldn’t stop.
Her eyes flew open, glassy with the fire burning her up inside.
His lips curled. “Good girl.”
His praise sent a warm shiver through her. “Please, Octavian.”
He didn’t prolong her agony. With three quick strokes, he had her crumbling beneath him. Her mind was spinning, her world a blur of colors as every muscle in her body became a tight bow string, pulled to its snapping point and then released. Heat exploded through her as blood roared in her ears and her heart all but stopped in her chest from the sheer force.
“Oh God!” She sobbed, delirious and unfocused as every nerve ending in her body pulsed as though electrocuted. Her heart rocketed in her chest, pounding with a violence that should have concerned her.
Propped on his elbows above her, Octavian’s features took on a smirk that bordered on demonic. “No, darling. He can't help you.” His hand slipped out of her panties and drifted idly up the quivering plain of her belly. “You're at my mercy now.”
Riley sucked in a sharp breath, her skin littered with goose bum
ps following the wake of his wandering fingers as they drifted lazily over her skin. Her eyes closed as he resumed his discovery by hooking the strap on her bra and dragging it down her arm.
“Well,” came a husky voice from across the room. “That was more than I needed to see.”
Octavian was up and swaddling her in the sheets before Riley could even think to function. She struggled upright as he turned his body, shielding her from the figure leaning casually against the doorframe.
“What the hell are you doing?” Octavian growled.
Magnus grinned at him. “Being a brother and warning you Mom’s on the way.” He jerked a shoulder. “How was I to know you were christening your bed?” But the smirk he was failing horribly to conceal told a whole other story. “Next time, hang a sock on the door, or better yet, close the door.”
Octavian's Undoing (Sons of Judgment) Page 29
