by Willa Blair
Darach’s flesh filled Abby, stretching her feminine walls until she thought they would burst. The pain had been minimal when he’d claimed her, and the slight burning sensation ebbed leaving her with an ache she needed healed.
She wrapped her legs around Darach’s hips and pulled him closer. The look of delight in his now silver gaze warmed her heart, and she wanted him to burn her with his touch.
Slowly he withdrew and then pushed forward again. This time there was no pain, only an incredible tingling deep inside her womb. Again he repeated his actions. Abby met his movements by lifting her hips. Now the tingling grew stronger. When the tip of his erection touched a spot she didn’t know she had, the spirals of desire began again—stronger than ever before.
Darach’s eyes scorched Abby with their intensity. His upper body was a taunt column of bronze strength. His corded arms rippled with muscles as he pressed harder and deeper. Abby closed her eyes against the vortex of desire pulling her closer and closer to the edge of ecstasy. Her hips became pivots as she met each of his thrusts and rotated her body against his.
A groan parted his lips and he thrust faster. Abby’s world began to melt as did her insides as he continued his torture. Finally when she thought she could stand no more he gave one hard push, and she fell into the beckoning grasp of desire’s flame.
Darach’s roar as he obtained his release was the last thing Abby heard before she too succumbed to the arms of fulfilled rapture.
****
Abby wasn’t sure what had awakened her, but it took only a moment to realize the exquisite torture was Darach’s tongue rasping against her lower spine. She tried to turn over but a hand on her buttocks held her still. As she sucked in air and then released it, Darach spread her legs apart.
Surely he wouldn’t? Abby again tried to turn on her back.
“Lie still, lass. Our first time was just a prequel for all the ways I want to make love to ye.”
“And are there many ways?” Abby’s whisper was caught against her pillow casing, but Darach heard it anyway.
“Oh aye. Many ways for many pleasure-filled hours. I have waited several lifetimes for another chance at love, and I dinnae plan to rush.”
His lips skimmed down the cleft of her butt, and Abby squirmed against the mattress trying to scratch an itch that just got worse. Darach’s feather-like touch was sending her over the edge as he brought his lips to bear on the sensitive skin of her inner thighs. The first touch of his tongue against her most feminine place sent shockwaves of eroticism straight to her womb.
She fought to turn over. She needed him inside her, but the desire pooling deep within only made her body a useless puddle of need.
Her flesh burned with his touch, she twisted this way and that trying to reach the pinnacle of fulfillment. When his mouth closed on her heated and sensitive flesh Abby felt the spirals of heat pull tighter, then expand out to draw her into the most mind-blowing organism of her life.
Before she could recover, Darach pressed his hardness against her and then slid deep inside—igniting her passion once again. She rose to her knees and felt the slap of his scrotum against her backside, she welcomed the swift slide of passion as he moved in and out building a friction that she knew would take both of them into a world of ecstasy. Abby pressed back to meet each thrust with her backside, she could feel the slightly chilled bedroom’s air caressing her nipples. The blast of heat from below collided with the sensation of having her nipples kissed, and then when she thought she could endure no more, Darach bit her buttocks and shouted his release. Abby collapsed on the bed as she fell into the mindless void of lust and love, and welcomed the press of his body as he followed her down to the mattress.
****
Blood coated the insides of her closed eyes. Abby tried to open them. To stop the vision but couldn’t. The metallic scent made her stomach churn. Someone had died. Who? She crept closer to the middle of the tin building. Chills barreled down her spine. Her hands shook, and her lips trembled. She didn’t want to know what happened. Yet she could not stop her steps from going forward. Several people were gathered around a form on the floor. The two immortals, Sean, and she also saw her own body standing stock-still. Where was Darach? Why couldn’t she see him? The closer she got to the tight circle, the more she screamed inside. Abby watched the looks of horror, sadness, and rage on the faces of her friends. She witnessed the tears running down her own. The group parted for her, and she moved through to gaze at the body lying in a pool of blood. Darach! It was Darach, and he was dead. As her vision form begin to fall, Abby’s physical form broke from the tight hold of the vision.
She felt Darach’s arms around her body, his warm breath on her face. He was alive. Yet, how long would that last? She thought after the attack in the alley that her first vision had come true, only the outcome wasn’t death. Could she be so blessed again? Not sure what to do, and knowing she couldn’t allow Darach to know what she’d seen, Abby snuggled even closer to his broad chest. She feared to close her eyes and prayed her sleep would be dreamless.
****
Darach woke to the soft press of Abby’s lips against the side of his neck—his shaft already thick with need. They’d fallen asleep facing one another, her head resting on his chest. All he could think of was no dream could equal the night he’d just spent.
“Morning, wife.”
“Morning, husband.” Abby giggled just a bit, and he wondered if she was nervous. He couldn’t fathom why since they’d made love once more after their first two bondings. His innocent bride had a vixenish side, and he loved it and her.
His arousal pressed against her hip, and he wanted to make love to her again, but Abby was certain to be tender in all the wrong places for that to happen. Later today would be better after he bathed her and rubbed her with healing oil.
The idea of stroking his hands down her body, finding all of her erogenous zones again made him ache harder. He needed to distance himself from Abby or he’d take her now against his better judgment. Darach gave his wife another kiss, and then reached over her to pick up the watch he’d taken off sometime during the night.
Impossible. He never slept until three in the afternoon. It looked like later was already here, and despite his desire to stay in bed with Abby, he needed to check on her house, and for any news of Angus.
Not to mention, now that his mind was almost off of sex, he needed to relieve himself.
“I’ll be back in a few. You rest.”
“What time is it?”
“Three o’clock, me love.”
Abby shot up so fast she almost clipped him on the chin.
“What’s your hurry? You don’t have to be anywhere, right?”
“No, but I had planned to check with Arianna, and then fix dinner for you.”
Darach pulled the sheet that had fallen down to her waist back up. The temptation of her luscious body could prove to be too much for his forbearance.
“What about this? Ye rest for now, and then we will cook an early dinner together.”
“Are you going to talk to Arianna?”
“Aye, I planned to talk to her and Sean. I also want to check in with Conner.” Darach hoped she would not want to go, but he feared she might have ideas of her own. So far she’d hadn’t heard anything about the last body, not with all the rushing around for their wedding, and he would prefer to keep it that way.
“Good, then would you ask her if she has enough food in the house? I sorta feel responsible for her.”
“I will ask her. You do ken she be a lot older than ye are and can take care of herself, don’t ye?”
Abby pinched his arm. “Of course I do. Just like I know you are several times older than me.” She abused his arm again. “Now, go get ready, old man. You might need a bit more time to shower since your bones are so ancient.”
Blue eyes shone with mischief as she waited on him to respond which he did by leaning down and running his hand over her now peaking nipples and downward to
caress the flesh between her legs. “Ancient I might be, but I still be young enough to make ye moan.”
Abby’s face took on a blush that almost matched the dark crimson striped in the robe he seldom wore.
“You are a beast, immortal.”
“Right, and dinnae ye forget it, wife.”
Darach left to the accompaniment of his pillow hitting him in the arse and Abby’s laughter.
****
Several hours later, after a long, luxurious bath, and moments of anticipation awaiting Darach’s return, Abby had given up waiting on her husband’s return. She stood in the kitchen stirring a pot of jambalaya. Six-thirty and still no immortal. The man should have taken his watch.
She refused to allow the unease of her vision to disturb her. She wanted to be upbeat when Darach returned. She just wished she knew when that would be. And while she was wishing she should wish for a way to get back to her house. Not knowing where she was in reference to her new home was more than a bit troublesome.
Abby sighed and turned down the stove burner to simmer, before popping the rolls she’d cooked earlier into a warming pan. The kitchen, for a confirmed bachelor, was well stocked. She’d also found the fixings for an instant Key lime pie that she’d thrown together and put in the fridge.
What to do with herself now? Maybe she’d watch some television. Abby decided to turn her entrée off completely and then covered it with a lid. Surely it wouldn’t be much longer until Darach returned.
The living area now offered a variety of electronics and what looked like would be a very comfortable sofa instead of the Spartan furnishing of before. She grabbed the remote control and flopped down on the forest green material.
She was right, the back and seat of the couch felt like bliss against her sore body. Making love with Darach had been the ultimate pleasure, but she wondered if she’d be able to keep up with him tonight.
The channels rolled by as she flipped through them. A documentary on the mating habits of snakes didn’t do a thing for her, a historical program on the rites of murder in the Middle Ages was also a no-no. Finally she settled on a local news channel.
“And in headline news today, we have a late breaking bulletin in about the body of Lila Carnes, only daughter of Walter Carnes, whose ancestry denotes one of NOLA’s most prestigious and oldest families.”
Abby sat forward on the couch and ignored the slight ache in her lower region.
“Ms. Carnes’s body was found the night before last tossed onto riverfront property abutting Canal Street. We are awaiting a statement from the property owner.”
The scene panned in on the property, and Abby sat up straighter on the couch as she spotted the back of her own home.
Someone had dumped a body on her land, and Darach had kept this pertinent information from her. Why?
Almost numb, she watched the image of a young girl flashed on the screen. She knew that face. She’d seen the eyes open in death. Her heart thumped overtime. The vision she’d had about the girl’s death had come true. Immediately her vision of Darach imploded into her brain.
No, she couldn’t think of that, she would not allow him to die. Somehow she would make sure he didn’t. No matter what she had to do, her vision would not come true.
Tired, and more than a bit frightened, Abby switched off the TV. She needed to think. Putting the vision aside, she thought about the newscast.
Darach had kept Lila’s death from her. She could imagine why he did, not to ruin their wedding day, but she would not, could not live in a bubble. He should have told her. Abby stood up and began to pace, her arms wrapped around her waist.
That poor, poor girl. Had Angus killed her? Just the thought made her sick at her stomach. The demon indeed lived up to his name. She knew he had to be stopped, but her heart bled at the thought Darach would be in the line of fire in order to bring him down.
She stopped her pacing and glanced toward another new item added since her first visit. The clock now showed six forty-five. Should she be worried? And why hadn’t she kept the cell phone she’d flung at Darach? Maybe he still had it.
Abby began pulling out drawers, searching on top of all the appliances, and even in the numerous closets. Finally after much frustration, she found the cell phone sitting on a battery cradle in the bedroom. She grabbed a seat on the bed and punched Darach’s icon.
“Abby?”
“And who else would it be?” She knew her tone was tart, but fear rode her hard, and the man had a lot of explaining to do.
“Be everything all right?” She ignored the warm caress his tone invoked and went for the jugular.
“Yes of course it is, except you have been gone hours, not minutes, and there was a body found in my backyard. Care to tell me about it, immortal?”
She heard his hurried explanations, she assumed to Arianna and Sean, and then while she waited for him to come back to the phone, he materialized in front of her.
“And that’s another thing. You have to stop just appearing without warning.” Abby knew she sounded like a petulant child, but dammit, he should have told her someone violated her property—again. Not just violated, but also left her a horrendous gift.
“Abby, I…” Darach sat down beside her.
“I know, you’re sorry. I understand why you didn’t want to tell me before the wedding, but why didn’t you tell me this morning?”
“And when would ye have liked for me to do that? After ye woke up so warm and sensual in my arms? Would ye have wanted me to defile our marriage bed with talk of death?”
Put that way, Abby couldn’t disagree with the man, but still…
“Fine, but do you know how hard it was to see it on the news?”
“Aye ’tis why I have been gone so long. Arianna filled me in as soon as I got there. Sean arrived shortly after, and together, he and I, Conner, and Arianna put together a press release if needed. We plan to keep your name out of this.”
“And you didn’t think I wouldn’t find out?”
“Nay, but I wanted to pick the time.” Darach’s tone was reasonable, and Abby’s temper began to cool somewhat.
She followed to where he now stood at the window. “Look, I’m sorry for jumping on you, but it was just not a good afternoon. I missed you, and then finding out about the murder. You know I can’t teleport. I have no clue where your house actually is since I’ve not traveled here by car, and I kinda felt…”
“Abandoned?”
“Yes, and believe me, I know that sounds selfish in the wake of that poor girl’s death. Do you think Angus killed her?”
Darach remained silent. He didn’t want to tell Abby the truth, but she needed to know.
“Darach?”
“Why dinnae we talk about this over dinner? Whatever ye fixed smells good.” He hoped she’d agree.
“Fine, but don’t try stonewalling me anymore. I’m your wife, I’m in the middle of this, and I’m vested in your safe-keeping.” Abby led the way to the kitchen.
He hid his grin at her words. His ever-resilient Abby bounced back from a blow with the determination of an immortal.
“I promise. Now, can we eat? I be starving.”
****
He speared a piece of pepper from his bowl and savored the spicy flavor. Abby’s skill as a cook far surpassed his own. He wondered if it would be chauvinistic to ask her to do all the cooking.
“So, now that you’ve gotten somewhat full”—Abby gestured at his second bowl of jambalaya—“do you think you could tell me about the body?”
The bite almost became lodged in his throat. So much for thinking she might forget. Once the pepper found haven in his belly, he spoke. “Aye, I will tell ye.”
“Good, then I’ll give you the dessert I was going to toss to the deer if you didn’t.”
Despite the dread of telling her Angus was behind Lila’s death, he wanted to laugh. How could she know he had a sweet tooth that would be a dentist’s delight if he were not immortal?
“Sean
found the body the other night. He said he smelled the demon signature as soon as he drew near your porch.”
Abby’s lashes flickered for a moment, before she gave him her attention once more.
“I arrived and found Sean edging around the side of your house. It was too dark to know if he was a demon or not. Although…” He held his hand up to ward off her chastisement that he could have been walking into a group of demons. “I felt sure no one had breached the guards. Sean was at the canal’s edge. The young woman had been tossed from a boat and from the first examination Sean determined she’d been dead for several hours before her body was dumped.”
He took a sip of tea to wet his throat. “The halfling tried to keep the media away, but… The one thing ye need to remember is ye are safe here. Only a select few can get inside without me allowing it. I want ye to stay here until Angus is caught.”
His wife looked like she wanted to argue but instead just nodded her head. He wanted to hold her, tell her it would be all right, but she busied herself cutting him a slice of pie. Abby didn’t cut one for herself.
“And I suppose you will be out hunting the demon without a regard to your own safety?” Her words were low, but still stung his heart.
Abby turned away as if she didn’t expect him to answer, which was a good thing. He be not sure if he could.
Darach forced himself to finish the slice of pie. Afterward he watched her load the new dishwasher and then wash her hands. Her facial expression was smooth, but he didn’t care for the frozen look in her eyes.
God’s teeth, he hated she was blaming herself when if anyone was to blame it was him. He should have already found and killed Angus.
“Come, Abby, ’tis time I make good on at least one of the promises I made ye this afternoon.”
****
Angus was happy. Not a state he was used to being. The news had finally shown a bit more of where the body was found. It was good that Abigail, on the first day of married life, would be haunted by death. It would make the murder closer, and in essence she would think of him—as would Darach.
