The Wicked

by Cheyenne McCray

  When Keir drew back from the kiss he cupped her face in both of his hands. “You are so beautiful.” he murmured as he rubbed her cheek with his thumb.

  Rhiannon didn’t have the breath to say a word.

  13

  Keir stroked Rhiannon’s flushed cheek as he cupped her face. He wanted to smile at the pleasure it had given him to give her pleasure.

  He barely kept himself under control as he caressed the line of her curves from her hip to the indentation of her waist to her soft shoulder. He wanted to part her thighs and slide into her so badly he almost shook with the need for it.

  Her sated smile warmed his heart. She brought her hand to his cheek before exploring him and touching him in much the same way—only she was naked and he was fully clothed.

  She rose on one elbow so she was above him and met his lips with hers. A raging beast rose up inside him that he could barely control as she sighed into his mouth.

  Gods how he wanted to take her now.

  Her small hand slid down his chest to the waistband of the human jeans he wore and he hissed as her fingers traveled lower.

  “Mmmmmmm.” Rhiannon cupped him through his jeans and squeezed, almost taking the breath from him at the pain and pleasure of it. “Big. I like big.”

  “Rhiannon—” He groaned as she moved her hand lower.

  She kissed the curve of his neck and he inhaled her citrus and woman scent. She moved her lips to the neckline of his T-shirt and flicked her tongue on his bared skin.

  Keir shuddered at just the small contact. “You have been ill, little one.”

  Her grip on him tightened and he grimaced. “You’re not going to play the self-sacrificing warrior on me.” She scooted lower and he breathed a sigh of relief when she released him. “You get to see me, I get to see you. Fair’s fair.”

  Keir remained flat on his back but slipped his fingers into the hair at the base of her neck. Her auburn hair was silky beneath his touch and the contact made his belly tighten even more.

  “You are a demanding wench,” he said and she looked at him.

  “I’m not above another burst of spellfire, buddy,” she said, but a teasing glint sparked in her eyes.

  He winced at the thought, but when she unfastened the button of his jeans, he groaned. In short work she had him in her hand, running her fingers up and down his length.

  “Wow.” Her voice was breathless. “If all male D’Danann are this well-endowed, no wonder Silver and Copper are so happy.”

  Keir couldn’t say anything if he tried because as soon as she finished speaking she slipped her lips over him.

  Gods, her mouth felt so warm and hot that his eyes nearly rolled back in his head. No woman had ever made him feel the way Rhiannon did at this moment. As though he would combust into a raging bonfire if she continued licking and sucking him as she was.

  Her fingers moved up and down his shaft in time with her mouth as she took him deep. She made soft moaning sounds as she sucked him, as if she enjoyed giving him such pleasure.

  She let him slide from her mouth and he wondered if his disappointment showed on his face.

  “Take your clothes off.” She made the demand, clearly refusing to take no for an answer.

  Who was he to refuse anything of this beautiful witch? He eased from the bed, never taking his eyes from Rhiannon’s. Candlelight flickered over her features and glittered in her eyes. There was no mistaking the desire she had for him—nor the desire he felt for her.

  He undressed and Rhiannon licked her lips as if he were a tasty morsel. That only made him harder, made him want her more.

  When he stood naked before her, she rose from the bed and moved so close to him their bodies melded. He gave a low growl and wanted to shout, “Mine!”

  Gods, where had that come from?

  Rhiannon kissed him before moving her lips away until they reached the scar on his cheek. He held his breath as she kissed its length, one slow kiss at a time. When she reached the end of his scar, she licked a trail to his ear. She gently bit his earlobe and he shuddered with need.

  He was so close to picking her up, throwing her on the bed, parting her thighs, and taking her till she screamed. And he knew she would scream.

  But no. Instead he allowed her to explore his naked body with her mouth and hands.

  She caressed the scar on his cheek with her fingertips. “You’ll have to tell me about this.” She knelt before him. “But we’ll save that for later.”

  For that he thanked the gods. Fuck now, talk later.

  She brushed her lips up and down his erection. “How much stamina does a D’Danann warrior have?”

  He slipped his fingers into her hair. “I could take you many times over in this one night.”

  Rhiannon gave a soft laugh. “My kind of man.”

  Keir was not sure he liked that response. He did not want her to be with any other man. Not ever again.

  The thought bothered him but then vanished from his mind the moment she took him in her mouth once more.

  Keir groaned and looked down at Rhiannon as he watched his cock move in and out of her silky mouth. She looked up at him and when her gaze met his, he thought he would climax just from the look in her green eyes.

  She let him slide from her warmth and he groaned.

  “I want you to come in my mouth.” She blew softly on him. “I want to taste you.”

  Keir thought he must be dreaming. The Faeries and Pixies must have conjured some kind of spell to make such a perfect being as this witch.

  She went down on him again and his hips bucked against her face. With every touch, every lick, every suck Keir felt himself pitching forward into a realm he had never been to before. This witch wove magic around him. Her mouth was magic, her hands were magic. Even her eyes held magic in their depths.

  His entire body trembled. Such incredible pleasure built in his groin that he almost could not stand.

  Light nearly blinded him in his mind as he shouted. He came hard and he had to grip her hair to keep from dropping to his knees.

  She continued sucking and swirling her tongue along him until he forced her to stop by drawing her away.

  “Gods, Rhiannon.” He could barely get the words out as he drew her up to stand and pressed his sweat-dampened skin to her cool flesh. “Perhaps this warrior does not have the stamina it takes to please you.”

  She gave a soft laugh and brushed her lips over his. When she drew back she smiled and tugged on his hand. “I’ll bet this warrior has plenty more left in him.”

  He couldn’t have stopped her if he tried, his body was so relaxed from such a magical orgasm.

  Keir eased onto the bed with her and they tangled their legs and arms as they kissed and touched one another. Their lovemaking became fiercer with every kiss, every touch, until he thought he had entered an Otherworld where nothing existed but pleasure.

  Rhiannon wanted Keir so badly she was almost crazed with it. Nothing else existed for her at that moment but the big man who had her engulfed in his embrace, his thigh pinning hers down while his rock-hardness pressed against her belly.

  Their kisses grew more frantic and Rhiannon’s head felt as if it was floating and she was in some other realm.

  Before she knew it, he rolled her on her back so she was looking up at him. His muscular bulk pinned her down, but not so much that she was uncomfortable. Instead it was a joining of bodies that made her feel a part of him.

  Only it wasn’t enough.

  “I know you’ll feel so good inside of me.” She had a difficult time talking with him on top of her. She wriggled beneath him. “Please. I want you.”

  That now familiar rumble that thrilled her every time, rose in his chest. It was a primal sound, a possessive sound that somehow turned her on even more.

  Keir’s bad-boy expression made her hotter. He knew how she was feeling. She could tell by the look on his face. Fierce male pride that made a thrill skitter through her belly.

  “Spread your th
ighs.” His commanding voice made her obey at once.

  He settled his hips between hers. The press of him against her made her moan and arch up to him.

  He braced his arms to either side of her chest and looked down at her. In the candlelight she saw the harsh planes of his face, the wicked scar across his cheek, and the hard look of a man who got what he wanted. He had wanted her and now he had her.

  And she had him.

  A low thrill settled in her belly.

  “Who do you belong to, witch?” he demanded, shocking her with his question as he held himself poised above her.

  Rhiannon swallowed. “No one,” she whispered.

  His expression grew more fearsome. “You are mine.”

  She started to shake her head to argue. He clamped his lips to hers in a possessive kiss and pressed himself harder against her. His hair tickled her face and neck and his stubble rubbed her mouth until it felt raw.

  When he raised his head he narrowed his eyes. “Who do you belong to?”

  She shook her head but this time he captured her nipple in his mouth and bit it. Rhiannon cried out and arched her back and he moved his mouth to her other nipple. She pressed up against him. So close to being inside her, yet he was holding her back, trying to force her to say something she didn’t want to.

  Was she falling for him? If she was, when had it happened?

  The first day they met?

  That time in the basement?

  When he took care of her while she slept?

  When she woke and he’d spoken so gently to her?

  When he insisted that she remain safe?

  When he had her watched over whenever he wasn’t there to do it himself?

  Or was it because of the way he was making love to her now?

  That was it. She was living in the moment, feeling the moment. It was nothing more than that.

  He stopped sucking her nipples and raised his head again. In the candlelight perspiration glistened on his forehead. The room smelled of their sex, their sweat, the blueberry candle.

  “Who do you belong to?” he demanded again.

  “I can’t—” She gripped his biceps and looked up at him. “Don’t make me say it.”

  Keir gave her a surprisingly tender look. “You will admit it.” He placed his erection at the entrance to her channel.

  “Mine,” he said as he thrust deep inside her.

  Rhiannon cried out, almost coming off the bed. He was big, so very big. He stretched her, filled her, touched her in ways no man had ever touched her before.

  Keir continued to look at her in that way that made her feel like she was treasured, precious, and his. It should have bothered her but it didn’t, oh, goddess, right now it didn’t.

  His thrusts gradually increased in speed. Cries of pleasure escaped her with every movement he made. She wriggled under him until she was almost out of control.

  He reached between them and fingered her and the fire between them exploded. She screamed as her body trembled beneath his. Spasm after spasm rocked her and heat waves flooded her over and over again.

  Keir continued to thrust in and out of her, his look one of sheer satisfaction, as if he had just put his mark on her.

  He threw back his head and let loose a deep, rumbling shout as his hips bucked against hers. She felt his climax as if it were her own.

  With one last groan he collapsed on top of her, knocking the breath from her. Then he raised himself up just enough so that she could breathe.

  Keir stared down at her, still inside her. “Mine.”

  Rhiannon woke sometime later. The sky was just beginning to lighten.

  Her stomach rumbled, reminding her of the original reason she had climbed out of bed hours ago. To her surprise she felt no pain at all in her head and her sleep had been peaceful.

  Must have been the incredible orgasms. Was it four she’d ended up having? Five? Six?

  She sighed then tried to move, but she couldn’t even wiggle with Keir’s big body draped over hers. For a moment she thought about what Keir had said. How he had insisted she was his.

  A strange churning sensation rolled through her belly. Rhiannon tried to slide her way out of Keir’s hold, but he had her caged completely with his body, within his embrace.

  Rhiannon’s pulse ramped up and a panicky sensation made her feel as if she was locked in, with no escape. She started wriggling against Keir’s hold in earnest. She pushed at his thigh draped over her hip. His arms bound her so tightly she couldn’t even move her shoulders.

  “Keir!” The panicky sensation made her feel as if she couldn’t breathe. “Let me go!”

  “Sleep, a stór,” he murmured.

  “No, damn it.” She ground her teeth and jabbed one of her elbows into his ribs as hard as she could.

  He gave a loud grunt of surprise, loosened his hold and moved his legs. She took the opportunity to roll away and slip out of bed, even as he reached for her.

  When she got to her feet, she grabbed for the robe she’d left draped on a chair. She was trembling so hard she almost dropped the garment.

  “What is wrong?” Keir was already out of bed and at her side by the time she’d slipped the robe over her naked body.

  She didn’t say anything, just focused on tying the belt tight enough that the front wouldn’t gape and expose her.

  His touch was gentle as he caught her by her upper arm with one hand and used the fingers of his other to raise her chin. “Tell me.”

  “Nothing.” Rhiannon couldn’t stop trembling. “Everything.”

  Keir murmured soft words in Gaelic and drew her close to him. The heat of his body, the tenderness and strength of his embrace somehow eased her trembling and calmed her racing pulse.

  How she wanted to just give herself up to him. But sweet, wonderful things like this didn’t last, did they? No. And where would she be when he was gone as well? Gone back to Otherworld, lost and gone in battle, or just gone because the feelings were no longer the same?

  When she could catch her breath, she raised her head and pushed herself away from him by bracing her hands on his muscular chest. He was so warm, and he was so firm against her belly that she almost thought about tumbling back into bed with him.

  But the way he had insisted that she belonged to him—again that caged-in feeling caused her throat to close and she took another step away.

  He looked at her with a puzzled expression as she rubbed her hands up and down her arms.

  “I just need some space.” She glanced toward the bathroom. “I’m going to take a shower and then I need something to eat.”

  Keir narrowed his eyes but said nothing.

  Rhiannon practically fled to the bathroom, slammed the door behind her, and locked it. She sagged against the door, her heart racing, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath.

  For a moment she closed her eyes tight and forced herself to take deep breaths. The night with Keir had been magical. But what had she been thinking by letting it go anywhere beyond really satisfying sex?

  He had made it clear he intended her to belong to no one but him.

  Did he think the same for himself? Had he pledged himself to her at the same time?

  An ache bit at the back of her eyes and she forced herself to take deep breaths again. No good could come of this. No good for her, anyway.

  Everyone left. That was just how things were.

  When she was relatively calm, she opened her eyes and went to the bathtub. She turned on the shower and made the water as hot as she could handle it. Then she slipped out of her robe, draped it over the towel rod, and climbed into the bathtub.

  Water from the shower head beat down on her, pounding against her face, her breasts, her thighs. Every part of her body that Keir had touched tingled with awareness and she found herself longing to be in his arms again.

  She turned, tipped her head, and water drenched her hair and rolled down her backside. What an incredible lover Keir was. Fiery and passion
ate one moment, gentle and loving the next. It was as if he had a magical talent that went beyond just having sex.

  She sighed at the memory of last night. They’d been so good together.

  Yes, she was definitely in trouble.

  Rhiannon took her time in the shower, not ready to face Keir or anyone else. She used her favorite citrus-scented shampoo to wash her hair and rubbed her scalp until she felt invigorated. She used a loofah sponge to scrub herself in scented body gel. By the time she finished, she tingled all over.

  When her fingers and toes were wrinkled, and her skin was red from the heat, she shut off the water, climbed out of the tub, and dried off with one of her thick towels. The room was clouded with steam, but with a wave of her hand, a space on the mirror cleared so she could see herself.

  Her auburn hair clung to her cheeks and her neck. Her lips were still swollen from Keir’s kisses and she definitely had the look of someone who’d been completely satisfied by great sex.

  But her eyes—

  When she leaned closer, fear clawed her throat.

  Her eyes were changing, shifting from brown to blue to green to silver.

  Rhiannon stumbled back from the mirror and hit the towel rack, barely holding in a scream.

  Ceithlenn’s eyes. Looking back at her.

  Pain bolted through her head in a white-hot shard of light. She placed her palms to either side of her against the textured wall and took deep breaths, trying not to cry out. Trying not to lose control.

  It took her more than a few moments to regain her composure—at least a fraction of it. She stepped toward the mirror, and with her heart pounding, looked at her eyes.

  They were green again. Her own eyes stared back at her. Not Ceithlenn’s.

  Rhiannon braced her hands on the porcelain sink as she tried to breathe. She looked down at the trail of red rust that had stained the sink from the aging metal faucet to the drain.

  It took her a long time to get the guts to look at the mirror again, and when she did she thanked the goddess that her own eyes still stared back at her.

  For long moments she studied her pale reflection in the mirror. Could the shifting colors of her eyes—the goddess’s eyes—have been her imagination?