by Eleri Stone
“It was easy enough.”
“Raquel...” He pulled her down and gave her a sweet kiss before tucking her head against his shoulder again. She let her hand wander across his chest, down over his tightly muscled abdomen. He didn’t have an ounce of fat on him. With anyone else, that might have made her self-conscious, but the way Fen looked at her left no doubt about how he felt about her body. Already, he was hard. She wrapped her fingers around his cock and he groaned.
“Do we need to worry about priapism or is this a hound trait?”
“Ha. Ahhh. Oh gods.” His voice grew rougher. “Do that again.”
She did.
“I’m twenty-eight and you’re the first woman who’s ever touched me like this. I softened after the last time so it’s not priapism.”
She laughed. “That was ten minutes ago.”
“Fifteen. There’s nothing wrong with me that two weeks in bed with you won’t cure.”
“Only two weeks?’
He lifted his hips, pressing himself into her hand. “And every night after. Maybe some mornings...whenever you can make it home for lunch.”
She kissed her way down the ridges of his abdomen. When she sucked him into her mouth, the entire length of his body tightened.
She pulled him deeper inside then released him. “Fen?”
“Uh?”
“I love you.”
He lifted himself onto his elbows and looked at her, hair tousled, eyes bright. “I love you too, Rocky.”
She lowered her head but only managed a quick kiss before he caught her under her armpits and dragged her up his body until she straddled him. “You were too far away.”
He fisted his hand around the base of his cock until her body met his hand. He moved so she could take all of him inside. His other hand slipped down from where it had cradled her cheek. He touched her throat, her breasts, finally settling on her hip. She began to move, slowly at first and then with increasing urgency. His fingers slid over her clit and returned when she moaned. He studied her. That intensity again, as if he intended to learn every last thing about her.
“Like this?”
“Yes. Please. A little lighter...oh.”
And that big smile broke over his face again, but she only caught a glimpse of it as her eyes closed and her head tipped back, swept away by warmth and pleasure. She came apart and he held her together. He sat up and wrapped his arms around her, lifted and flipped them both so she was beneath him. His hand pressed down on her hip, holding her in place as he slid out of her, neatly returning in a smooth motion. Everything he did had that same powerful athletic grace. Even the way he made love. She was so wet and her body was still recovering. A chill swept over her skin and another aftershock tremored through her even as he pushed himself deep and came inside her.
The muscles in his arms trembled and his head bowed over hers. Everything else was rigid except for the thick pulse of his cock shuddering in release. She wrapped her legs around him to draw him close. They fell into a sweaty tangle on the bed.
She hadn’t let herself think of Fen like this. His mouth hot and searching. Hard hands on her thighs. His lean body. All of it. Hers. He was hers. Completely. Irrevocably. Bound tighter than any oath. He lifted his head to look down at her and there was a smugness to his smile that made her happy down to her toes.
“Good?”
She rested her head on his shoulder, curled into his warmth. “Perfect.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
“You did it all wrong.”
Audrey scowled and held up three fingers. “Ceremony. Reception. Sex. It’s not complicated. It’s not hard. Now wipe the goofy grin off your face and put on the damn dress.”
“Audrey.” Raquel laughed. “It’s not a big deal. We can just skip this part if it’s stressing you out.”
Audrey, cool composed, never ruffled Audrey was very definitely ruffled. While she wholeheartedly supported the idea of Raquel and Fen as a couple, she wasn’t particularly pleased about restarting the wedding at the last moment. Raquel, on the other hand, was beyond anybody’s ability to stress. She couldn’t seem to stop smiling.
“I spent a lot of time on that dress. Mom has the whole town setting everything back up and Dad got here an hour before the two of you emerged from your little sex den.” She grimaced. “Do you know how much work it is to uncancel a wedding?”
“I’m sorry,” Raquel murmured meekly but couldn’t manage the expression to go with it. Audrey glared at her and her smile widened.
She wanted to see Fen again but as soon as they’d left the house, Audrey had dragged her away while Christian took Fen in the opposite direction. Apparently, they’d been plotting this wedding ambush the whole time she and Fen had been otherwise engaged.
Clean and sated, Raquel would happily do anything her family wanted right now if it meant she got Fen alone faster. Besides, she could use some food and possibly a little rest.
So wedding it was.
Her hair and makeup was already done. Fen apparently was already dressed and back at the hall along with his stunned parents, who she had yet to meet. All that was left was the dress. Raquel stood when Audrey lovingly lifted the dress from the bed. Aside from a dicey moment when a seed pearl caught in her hair and needed to be untangled, Audrey managed to slip the gown over Raquel’s head by herself. Grace brought the shoes in and buckled them before standing back and putting an arm around her weeping mother.
“You look beautiful,” her mother said and then pointed. “That’s not the necklace we picked out is it?”
Raquel touched the silver chain at her neck. Audrey winced. “Can you take it off for the ceremony?”
It didn’t match. She could tuck the amulet inside the bodice, barely, but you’d still see the chain and she wouldn’t be able to wear the one her mother and Audrey had so painstakingly selected. But...then there was the possibility of sharing her wedding so intimately with Kamis, and that would never do.
“I have to wear it.”
Audrey nodded and stepped forward to shoo everyone toward the door. The Ragnarok clan hall was only a few blocks down the street but a sleek black limo waited in front of the house. Audrey lifted the open bottle of champagne as soon as they were settled.
“Oh,” her mother said nervously. “What if she spills?”
Audrey grinned. “It’s not for her.”
Her mother paused. “Pour me a glass too.”
Raquel laughed and adjusted her skirts to keep them out of the way. Grace sat across from her mother and the driver closed the door. It was already dark outside. It had stopped snowing, but the whole town was covered white, the trees with frost and ice, the ground with snow. Her father waited in the entryway. The Odin of their clan, he was a big man, a warrior and still very fit for his age, with a shock of white hair and piercing blue eyes. And a smile on his face as he took her arm and pulled her aside.
He kissed her mother’s brow and gave her a gentle push toward the waiting usher. “Everything is ready.” When she hesitated, he said. “It’s perfect, Joanne. You did a wonderful job.”
Audrey and Christian paired off and walked into the hall a few steps behind her. Her father patted Raquel’s hand. “She wanted everything to be perfect for you. It’s why she’s driven us all crazy these last few months, you know.”
“I know. You had excellent timing, I notice.”
“I raised you well enough to be able to figure things out on your own. A little space and you claimed your birthright and picked your own mate. If I’d known I was to have such a headstrong daughter, I never would have attempted a contract in the first place.”
“Will this cause you trouble?”
“No. The Odin here is a reasonable man. Christian too.” He raised an eyebrow as they took their place. “No last-minute swaps?”
“No.” She laughed and then took her first look at the hall, which had been transformed into something magical. Carved wooden columns stood in place of the metal supports. The cl
an members were seated at long tables to either side of the aisle. It had the look of an ancient place, golden goblets and stars in the branches of the trees that supported the roof. Even knowing that it was a glamour, the sight took her breath away. Lois and Kathy had worked together to create it—as much of a miracle as the illusion itself.
The Odin and his wife stood on a dais at the front of the hall. Christian stood a step down and to one side. Audrey was opposite. She was radiant in a simple ice-blue gown. But it was Fen who drew Raquel’s gaze and held it. He’d dressed in a tux. His hair was neatly trimmed. And despite the fact that they’d spent hours together today as a couple, it was like that first moment all over again when she realized that he wanted her, that he was only waiting for her to say yes.
He smiled and shifted his stance to face her fully.
“I never thought you’d mate a hound,” her father said. “He’s not what I would have picked for you.”
“I know. He’s mine.”
“He’ll treat you well or he’ll to answer to me.”
“You don’t have to worry, Dad.”
“Because he’s so special for a hound?”
“Because he’s Fen.”
Her father stopped before the dais, took her by the shoulders and turned her. Her breath caught with the thought that he might withhold his approval here at the end. Not that it would matter much, but she wouldn’t like to have to defy him. Instead, his own eyes perhaps a bit over bright, he kissed her brow and placed her hand into Fen’s.
Something passed between the men she couldn’t quite decipher and then Fen’s warm hand closed around hers and pulled her to his side.
“You’re beautiful, Rocky.” His smile faltered. “I don’t know if I took the time to tell you—”
“I know.” She squeezed his hand, touched the rose tucked into his lapel. “This is one hell of a first date.”
His low laugh made her belly flutter. “I still intend to woo you.”
She intended to get him naked again as soon as possible. And though she managed to keep herself from sharing that bit of information out loud, she could tell by the look in Fen’s eyes that he understood exactly what she was thinking.
Aiden looked from Fen to Raquel. “We’re ready here?”
When they agreed that they were, Aiden nodded and addressed the crowd first. She thought part of that was to explain to their poor confused guests why Fen stood beside her instead of Christian. She barely paid attention. All her focus was on Fen, his palm as sweaty as hers and trembling ever so slightly. She wasn’t nervous about marrying him, not really. After the binding this was simply icing on the cake. Cake. The thought reminded her that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast and her stomach rumbled. Fen looked at her out of the corner of his eyes. His lips curled at the ends.
When Aiden called him Douglas, she raised her eyebrows and his cheek creased in a long dimple.
Relief had her giddy and trembling. Had her voice shaking as she repeated the binding oath. So many ties held them together. Vow. Magic. Family. Clan. None of them bound her as tightly as the look in Fen’s eyes.
A cheer rose up as he tugged her forward. His hand cupped the back of her neck and he kissed her, long and deep. A reminder of what had passed, a promise of what lay ahead.
And then the real party began.
She ate until she regretted allowing Audrey to take in the dress that last time. She danced until she wished she’d listened to her mother’s advice to break in the shoes. When the party was in full swing, Fen grabbed her hand and tugged her into the shadows.
“We could make a run for the Dumpster.”
She laughed. “That’s the first place Audrey will look now.”
He groaned. “You told her?” His lips grazed her temple. “You don’t tell her all of our secrets do you?”
She snorted. “Hardly.”
His hands slid up her neck in a light caress, thumbs hooking beneath her jaw and angling her face up. “I need to get you alone, Rocky.”
She lifted onto her toes and kissed him. “The limo’s still out front. We can leave anytime you want.”
“How about now?”
Her smile widened and she grabbed his wandering hand. “Now. I think we’ve both waited long enough.”
* * * * *
Thrilling and dangerously sexy, Demon Crossings is full of paranormal fun!
Pick up your copy today!
Demon Crossings
Private investigator Grace tracks a kidnapped child to middle-of-nowhere Iowa. Encountering a strange creature she knows can’t be a local animal, she doesn’t need her psychic abilities to figure out the sleepy town is not what it seems. When she meets the intriguing Aiden, she’s plunged into a world of Norse gods and fire demons where the Wild Hunt still rides the night.
Aiden needs Grace’s help to cross the portal between worlds and rescue his daughter. Grace is unlike any woman he’s ever met. He’s drawn to her courage, distressed by her vulnerability and doubtful of her motives. But he knows that her visions are the key to defeating the enemy and bringing everyone home alive.
Grace wants a future with Aiden, even if it means she’ll never have a normal life. When a test run to the portal takes a terrifying turn, they must learn to finally trust each other or Aiden’s daughter, and their chance at love, will be lost forever...
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About the Author
Eleri Stone was born and raised in New Jersey. She graduated from the University of Iowa and still lives in the Midwest with her husband and their three children. Eleri is a lifelong fan turned writer of fantasy and paranormal romance. She enjoys kayaking, cooking and hearing from readers. Visit her at www.EleriStone.com.
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