He gnawed at her flesh in between kisses, taking a bite of shoulder or neck here and there. Then he pressed himself against her thighs and she could feel his excitement through the brown leather pants that he wore. His scent—sweetgrass and cinnamon and deep, dark earth—tickled her nose and beckoned her deeper into his steady, strong arms. Morkain’s hand rose to her chest and settled there, tracing the curves with a light touch, his thumb barely grazing her most sensitive spot. Trembling beneath his powerful touch, she thought she was going to fall off the railing. She needed air, she needed to think, she needed another kiss…just a moment more.
“Isabel, you’re making it very difficult for me to take you for a walk. I think you should join me in the bed instead. Or we could always stay here if you rather? I don’t mind putting on a show for our kingdom,” he added, as he resumed grazing her skin with his teeth.
“Stop,” she panted, “I need to…stop,” she got out, trying to regain her senses.
He looked up at her and grinned, flashing a perfectly wicked smile. “Think, my love? Whatever for? You’re a princess, others will do that for you. All you need to do is feel pleasure in my touch for the rest of time, and look beautiful for our realm.”
She perked right up then, a jolt of ornery feminism streaking through her as reality crashed down and jerked her out of his husky, sexual powers. “Oh no, we’re nipping that in the bud right now, hot stuff. You may be handsome and damn if you can’t kiss, but where I come from women do think for themselves, and I think I want down off this damn ledge now.”
He groaned and put her down, closing his eyes. When he opened them the blue fire wasn’t nearly as smoldering as it was before. “As you wish. I didn’t mean to offend you, I only meant to honor your position here. You are the heir to the greatest throne in all the realms, and may do as you desire, of course. Think, read, cook for the entire kingdom if you want to. I was merely saying you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
That sounded a lot better the second time it came out of his mouth, but it didn’t change what came out of it the first time. She was buzzing from the fire of his touch and needed some space. The muscles in his neck were visibly straining as he got himself together. She shook her head and tried to clear the fog that had encircled her, and when she dared to look at him again, she felt in control enough to feel embarrassed about her outburst. How the hell was she going to balance this? Perhaps if her mother hadn’t tried to strike down every boy that had so much as tried to kiss her, she’d be more prepared for these two? Sighing, she realized that it wouldn’t have mattered. She could’ve slept with the entire college football team and it wouldn’t have prepared her for this.
“That walk, please? I have some questions.” She looked at him with a beg in her eyes, her hands clinging together in nervous anticipation. She was feeling overwhelmed, and didn’t know why. With Bodhe she hadn’t felt this way, but she also hadn’t known it wasn’t just a dream.
“Of course, this way.” He extended his hand and she took it after the briefest hesitation, liking the way hers felt in the safety and warmth of his. He laced their fingers together and led her down a winding staircase that was lit by candles that hung in sconces on the walls. How positively medieval, and completely lovely. She wanted to know everything there was to know about both of the realms.
When they reached an opening in the bluish stone they entered directly to a garden that was surrounded by a purple tinged, dare she think it, cobblestone wall? But no, it couldn’t be. The color was too rich and it glistened, like everything else here. It almost reminded her of amethyst, but a rough cut stone, not one that had been polished, tumbled, and perfected. She reached out to touch it and felt the heat that it radiated reach into her fingertips.
“It’s a sacred stone and this is a sacred garden. Please, be my guest,” he said, as he gave her a true, toothy grin. The first she’d seen so far that didn’t contain any of the arrogance that was Morkain.
Beautiful plants cascaded around them, not one of course could she name. She marveled at the exotic garden and walked up to a deep pond that was in the center. Dipping her fingers in the water, she smiled.
“Perfect temperature for a swim, is it not?” he asked, a dare in his voice that made her nearly laugh.
“Yes, actually, it is,” Isabel said as she stood, shaking the water off her hands, “but I’m obviously not dressed for swimming.” Of course, this dress could be off in a second and I bet that water would really feel spectacular, she thought.
He looked at her with a curious expression on his face. “This is your private garden, Beauty. You may come here and swim by yourself, or with whoever you wish. And you don’t need to worry about being dressed for swimming—it’s really rather uncustomary around the realms.”
“Really? So, if I wanted to bring someone else here, I could…and swim naked? You wouldn’t mind that?” she taunted with a smile.
His eyes grew stormy and dark at her words. “You may bring whoever you wish, of course. This is your garden. But be careful, you won’t want to see the side of me that would appear at the sight of that. I won’t tolerate another male in your arms. Not well, anyway. Curses be damned, when this is over, never ask me to be so gracious again with what is mine.” He turned away and stalked off into the shrubs as she stared at his broad back, speechless.
Was he really jealous? If he was jealous it meant that he cared, right? Isabel nibbled on her lower lip for a moment and gazed at the beautiful, amethyst stone all around her. What did each have to gain from her choosing them? She walked off in the direction Morkain had gone—down a small path surrounded by foreign ferns and flowers—and found him lying on a stone bench, one leg propped up and one on the ground. His massive arms were beneath his head and his raven hair moved softly with the breeze beneath him. The man was built like a God, truly. His eyes were closed and his strong jaw that was dusted in that five o’clock shadow was jutted proudly, even as he relaxed. Well, if that wasn’t a vision she wanted to pounce on, nothing was. She almost forgot her words and did just that instead.
“Morkain, will you answer my questions truthfully?”
“All that I can, yes. You should know by now that I can’t answer anything about the curse that you likely don’t already know, or about the other male, but anything else, ask away,” he said, eyes opening to stare at the sky.
“Why do you want me?”
He looked at her, startled, as if she’d slapped him. “How can you not answer that for yourself? Did you not feel what I did in that chamber? Beyond this damned curse, there’s the fact that I am your mate, and I have waited far too long to have the patience of a saint now that you’re here. Forgive me for that.”
She stood there with her mouth open for a moment. “Mate? Does that mean you love me or am I some pre-destined vessel that you’re supposed to jump as soon as we meet? Tell me what a ‘mate’ is in your world. I don’t understand much about the way all of this works. I’ve only just learned that there was more than the mortal realm at all.”
He studied her for a moment before answering, something in his gaze fiercely searching her own before responding. “Elves can only mate with one other in their lifetime, Isabel. Love comes eventually, but first there is a searing heat that neither can break away from. We’re not like the other races. We wait for our mate until he or she comes. I’m a couple thousand years old, so you’ll need to pardon me, please, for my lack of inhibitions concerning you. It’s a bad hand we were dealt for our beginning, but we’ll get through it, and have that famous mortal term…our happily ever after. We’re getting that, if I have to fight every being in every realm to do so. Love comes in that time thing that you like to speak of so fondly.”
Okay, so he just admitted he didn’t love her. At least he was honest about that. Heat? Oh yeah, check. Mate for eternity? Check mark being left open.
“Thank you for being honest with me,” she said sincerely. She looked around at the world and a longing in her
chest to understand her roots rose up. “Please, will you tell me about my father?”
He sighed heavily, swiping his eyes with his large fingers, and then rubbing his temples for a moment. Morkain complied as his eyes reached toward the sky again, away from hers. “Your father was a good male, one of the best this realm has ever known, with sincere intentions in all that he did. Norgelon was our fiercest warrior and the only natural son to the Queen, as you know. He was a bit indulged because of that, but it never stopped him from going to the fields to play with the children or working with the people, and he never acted as if he was above anyone. He was genuine, honest, and thought the sun rose and set in your mother’s eyes. He loved her so much that it was nearly painful to witness them together as an unmated Elf. He would have loved you with all his heart, as well.”
She felt tears settling in and smiled gently, trying to imagine what her father looked like, seeing him dressed for battle or playing with the younger Elves; playing with her mother. His sentiment matched Amele’s of the two of them, so she believed his words. She gazed at Morkain, grateful. “Where did they live? Here, or in Loveryn?”
“They lived in Loveryn, which was Keiren’s choice. She wanted to stay near her people until the time came for Queen Lorelei to step down. The plan was that they would return then, and rule Albequen together.”
Isabel stared at him. There was something troubled in his eyes, and his body seemed more tense now. His brows were creased and the frown was apparent from where she stood. If she was truly his mate, she could only imagine how difficult this all would be. And he must have been close with her father, which would also be hard on him.
He looked over at her and his eyes swept appreciatively over her skin. She felt naked beneath his gaze, as if he had disrobed her and was now inspecting every inch of her for flaws. It was very unnerving. He rose from the bench and walked over to her, tucking a stray curl behind her ear. She was a little startled when he touched her cheek with the pad of his thumb, her tongue darting out to moisten her suddenly very dry lips. His thumb went from her cheek to her ear, and traced the outer part of it.
“Your ears will be normal soon, Beauty. They will be pointed as ours are, and divine again. I don’t understand the need to put you in a lesser form, but I’m certain Keiren had her reasons.”
Whatever fragile lust she’d had swimming in her veins had turned to irritation again. “Normal? Lesser form? What is wrong with my form, exactly? And for the record, my ears are normal from my point of view!” Her face burned again. “God, immortals may be hot, but they really do not know how to make a girl swoon!”
“I didn’t mean to make you upset. You’re perfect, in any form. And swoon? What’s that?” He looked taken aback.
“It’s when a woman’s stomach gets in knots and her heart flutters at the mere words that a man utters. And neither you or Bodhe are very good at that!”
His anger flared along with his nostrils at the mention of the Sidhe’s name. “No? Well, how about this? Does this make you flutter, Isabel?” His lips came crashing down on hers and he lifted her up into his arms, pinning her to his chest. He moved to one of the walls and she felt her back pressing against it.
Flutter? Check.
His tongue moved skillfully in and out of her mouth and her hands quickly got tangled in his hair. He was powerful, dangerously skilled in the art of kisses, and gorgeous. Not that Bodhe wasn’t, but Morkain felt similar to a caged beast—one that he was going to be unleashing on her soon. Beneath the fierce movements of his touch she could feel every hard muscle that pressed against her. It would be so easy to let go right now. Say to hell with everything and just let this man tear her up. But then she thought about her mother and Amele, and she knew she had to wait.
When his tongue released her for a second she clawed at his back. Her body was burning and she would need some release soon. “Morkain, please...”
“Please what, Beauty? Please kiss you here?” His mouth trailed down her dress, biting down dangerously close to her nipples as he passed over each one.
“Please…stop.”
He looked up at her, the confused expression sincere on his face. “You don’t really want me to stop, do you? We are not supposed to stop, surely you feel that deep inside?”
He lifted her higher in his arms and began kissing down her stomach. She felt something alright, but wasn’t sure it was destiny or mates or anything other than extreme sexual desire. His muscles bulged as he pulled her up higher and harder against the wall as if she weighed nothing. His mouth was so close to where she burned the hottest, and he was positioning her thighs around his shoulders….God did she ever want the release he was promising her. But she couldn’t. Not until she knew more. Plus, she was in lesser form currently, and that gave her just enough willpower to press pause on the caged beast that made her insides all liquid and warm.
“Morkain, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t do it, Beauty. Stay with me. This is just the beginning of our eternity. Let me please you as I’m intended to!”
She moaned and was barely able to utter the words, even though she knew she had to. “I want to go home.”
CHAPTER SIX
Decisions, Decisions
“WELL, GOOD MORNING, sunshine!” Amele stood in her room, two cups of coffee in hand. “So, dish the dirt, what did you think of Mr. Lickable?”
Groaning, she sat up and squinted her eyes at her new—and way too perky in the morning—roommate.
“One thing we really need to get straight if you’re going to be living here for the next few weeks, is the fact that I am not a morning person. No matter how good the dreams.”
“Now, now. I happen to know that already. That’s why I brought you coffee, Halfling. Drink and spill it, I want all the glorious details, and I really must insist you don’t leave a thing out.” Amele set the steaming mug in her hands—a perfect blend of light and sweet—just the way she liked it, of course. Then she plopped down on the bed all dreamy eyed and wide awake, ready for a story. Isabel groaned and sipped the annoyingly perfect brew.
“Stop calling me that. You say it’s not an insult, but it feels like an insult, and I’m being insulted enough in my dreams,” she huffed, holding the coffee like a lifeline to some world that was no longer hers. You know, a normal one.
“You prefer princess to halfling? Okay, we’ll go with that.”
“No, Amele! I prefer my damn name. It’s not ‘princess,’ or ‘halfling,’ or ‘beauty,’ which is the newest one. It’s Isabel, just Isabel, or Bel…unless that’s not freaking true either? Am I even Isabel? Who the hell am I?” she asked, huffing.
Amele’s eyes raised, but she didn’t poke the bear any more. “You’re really you, Miss Isabel. Now, can you get your panties out of the wad they’re in and have some coffee with me please?” Amele handed her a cup and she felt a rush of calm at the first sip. Heaven. Coffee was heaven after last night.
Amele waited impatiently, and reminded her of a kid on Christmas morning, waiting to run down the stairs to the Christmas tree. Or Hanukah, or Kwanzaa, or whatever they celebrated there. She looked like the kid about to rip into a bunch of gifts, or maybe the kid that was about to sneak and open one early and then try to tape it back up and pretend that she hadn’t touched it. Yeah, that was the look alright. She knew, because she’d had the same one on her face when she was young. Mom had caught her, of course. The shoddy wrapping back up of the ugly lime-green sweater that she thought was the Barbie limited edition she begged for likely hadn’t helped things. She never wore that ugly sweater, and did get the Barbie doll on Christmas morning.
She took another sip of coffee and let herself wake up a little more before dealing with Amele. The cobwebs began to clear, and she was feeling less demonic by the second. Amele knew her well enough to know not to rush her before some caffeine was ingested.
“Listen, this is the most exciting thing to happen since I got here, okay? I’ve been waiting for you to grow up for so
long so that we could have this chat—well not this one, but the one where you know who you are—and then make our way through the realms like rockstars. It’s going to be so awesome, I swear. We just have to get through the next few weeks, and in order for me to help you, you’ve got to give me all the sordid details. So, give me the down and dirty, and I’ll play nice, I promise.”
“You don’t need all the details to help me, you want them for your own perverted library.”
Amele shrugged and denied nothing, still looking like the kid about to unwrap presents before their time. How old was she again? Isabel knew that there would be no getting Amele to back down if she didn’t re-tell though, so she squeezed her eyes shut a moment and then gave her all that she could remember about her dream from last night. Unlike normal dreams, these were not foggy in the slightest after waking up, even if she was. She was able to remember them more like memories of yesterday, than dreams. Was she actually sleeping at night, or was she going non-stop between her dreaming and awake time? She didn’t feel any more tired than she would if she was pulling all nighters studying, but she’d never tried to do that for a week. Her body must be resting while she dreamt, she contemplated, while taking another sip of coffee and telling Amele about Morkain and Albequen. After plenty of ooh’s and ahhh’s, and a few snickers from her, Amele leaned back against the headboard and was silent, a ridiculously mischievous grin on her face.
Immortal Dreams (Immortal Realms Book 1) Page 8
