by Anya Bast
“Or maybe instead of wanting to protect you, I just want to fuck you.” He pointed at her and raised his eyebrows. “Or maybe I’m just protecting you so I can fuck you.”
Her mouth snapped open. She blinked at him a few times before mustering the verbiage required to reply. “Well, fucking me is off the table, so you can forget about that.”
He walked toward her and she forced herself not to take a step back. “It wasn’t off the table…before.”
“Before none of it was real.”
“You didn’t know that.” He moved closer to her. “To you all of it was real.”
“Yes, well…” The only sound in the room was the crackle of the fire as she trailed off, looking for something to say. “We never actually had sex, you and me. Not even in my head.”
“No, it came just shy of that.” He smiled as he continued to walk toward her. It was the smile of a man who knew what he wanted…and who was certain he was going to get it. “But you begged me, Elizabeth. Don’t you remember?”
Her mouth went dry. “Yes, I remember.” She remembered his hands on her, the trail of his lips over her skin, the explosive way he’d pushed her into orgasm again and again. She’d tried to put the incident out of her head, keep her mind on the task at hand. She’d kept denying the truth—she wanted him.
She wanted him for real.
He came to stand a breath’s space from her, and she glued her feet in place, heart pounding. If she backed away from him, she would look afraid. In reality, she was terrified. Terrified of how badly she wanted this man and terrified about what would happen if she surrendered to her body’s desires.
Reaching out as if she was some wild animal that might bolt at any moment—she probably looked that way—he cupped her cheek in his hand. The action was surprisingly gentle and seemed at odds with his thick muscled arm and shoulder. He watched her with an intentness that made her wonder if he was attempting to read her mind.
Maybe he wasn’t as certain of a victory with her as she’d first presumed.
“I want to touch you, Elizabeth.” The words came out like warm honey, thick and sweet. His pupils had gone dark, signaling his arousal. A muscle worked in his jaw, like he was trying to hold himself back from lunging at her.
Her body quickened at the look in his eyes, responding to what Niall clearly wanted to do to her. He wanted her bare and beneath him. He wanted her legs spread and her moans echoing through the air.
He wanted so much more than he was saying with his words alone.
Her breath caught against the rising tide of desire softening her body. She had far too little experience to deal with a man like Niall Quinn. Her lack of knowledge in this area, and the needs of her very much underserved libido, made her easy prey for a man who wanted to use her for sex.
Was Niall such a man? She studied his eyes, seeing genuine hunger for her. He’d helped her when there had been no gain in it for him, saved her life, in fact. Even though she was not used to dealing with men, she trusted her intuition where Niall was concerned.
Niall wanted her for her and no other reason. Incredible, but true.
Taking a step closer to him, she pressed up against his body. His hand cupped her nape as she rose on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his. He stilled, as if stunned. Then, groaning deep in the back of his throat, he crushed her to his body and slanted his mouth over hers.
She remembered what it was like to be kissed by this man. It wasn’t anything like how she’d imagined being kissed by a man would be. Niall made love to her mouth, brushing his lips softly over hers, then nipping her lower lip and slipping his tongue deep inside to brush against hers. It made her body tighten and hum with need. It made her think of bare skin and entangled limbs, of sheets and blankets pushed carelessly aside while two bodies fused in ecstasy.
And, oh, Danu, how she wanted to do that with him.
He scooped her into his arms. She let out a surprised yelp and then laughed. “What about your back?”
“The nature fae fixed me up, but it still hurts like hell.”
“Then put me down.”
“No way. I’ve been imagining this for too long.” Grinning down at her, he carried her across the living room and into the bedroom. A fire burned in the fireplace, and snow had begun drifting softly past the large window that looked out over the Boundary Lands. Twilight painted the world in gentle grays and light blues.
Laying her down in the middle of the mattress, he crawled over her, looking down into her face. “I didn’t want to make love to you before because it wasn’t real and it didn’t feel right.” He paused, searching her eyes. “Now it’s real and now it feels right.”
“How can it feel right?” Her brow knit. “I mean, it feels right for me, too…but it shouldn’t.”
“Don’t know, don’t care. Right now I just want you.” He leaned down and kissed her thoroughly, lips and teeth meshing and nipping, tongues meeting and parting.
She pushed the hem of his sweater upward to find warm, solid flesh and ran her palms over as much of it as she could find, enjoying the bunch and pulse of his muscular torso. A bandage covered his back from where Liam had lashed him with the cat-o’-nine-tails, but it didn’t seem to slow him down any. Pulling the sweater over his head, he tossed it to the floor, and her fingers went to work on the button and zipper of his jeans while he eased her sweater over her head. Their hands knocked and competed to get each other’s clothing off, his lips kissing every revealed inch of her skin that he managed to place them on. Soon they were both bare, their skin sliding like silk against each other’s.
He found her throat and nipped, making gooseflesh rise along her body and causing her back to arch. He slid a hand from her stomach to between her thighs while his tongue trailed over her collarbone, headed south, where he took one erect, pink nipple into his mouth. His wickedly skillful fingers found her clit and stroked it until she moaned and moisture flooded her sex.
Seeking between their bodies, her hand found his cock and curled around it, pumping its rock-hard length. He shuddered with pleasure against her and groaned against her breast. She loved the feel of him against her palm, loved even more that her touch seemed to please him.
He speared a finger deep within her and worked it in and out, widening her. When she was ready, he added another. Pleasure radiated out, making her squirm and moan. The heat in her body seemed to be rising, and a haze of sexual abandon fell over her mind. She wanted to make him groan, to give him pleasure, and to take pleasure from him.
She pushed up, wanting to kiss him, touch him, but he spread her thighs and dropped his head between them instead. “There’s no rush,” he murmured. “You’re a virgin, so let me take the lead.”
Then his mouth was on her, and it was all she could do to keep her sanity. His tongue found her clit and nestled against it, while his fingers speared in and out of her just the way she hoped to feel his cock. Her hands fisted in the blankets on either side of her as pleasure rose, building and building, the way she remembered it had in the illusion—but far more intensely.
“You taste so good,” he murmured. “You make me crazy, Elizabeth.” He sucked her clit in between his lips and massaged it.
She moaned, looking down at him. The sight of his head between her thighs was almost enough to make her come, right then. He found some place deep within that felt amazing when stroked and dragged his fingers over it.
Her climax hit her hard and fast, rolling over her like a freight train. It stole her breath for a moment, her ability to think. Her body shook, shuddered, and she cried out as the pleasurable spasms rocked through her. Niall rode her through it, pushing her orgasm harder and faster, milking every last drop of ecstasy from it before it ebbed away.
“Niall,” she breathed, reaching for him. “I want to feel you. Don’t say no this time.”
He climbed up her body. “You don’t know how bad I want you, baby. I couldn’t say no if my life depended on it.” He guided the head of his co
ck to her entrance and pushed inside.
She gasped and then moaned as her muscles stretched to accommodate him. The sensation was like nothing she’d ever felt before. So foreign, yet it was so good at the same time.
He bit his lower lip and closed his eyes. “Ah, fuck, you feel good, Elizabeth. Are you okay?”
“Okay?” she moaned, her fingernails digging into his shoulders. “The only way I won’t be okay is if you stop.”
He pushed in another inch. “No chance of that.”
“Thank the Lady.”
Another inch and then another. Slowly he worked his shaft in and out of her until he’d pushed in all the way to his base. It took a while, since, although her hymen had broken long ago, her passage was very tight. She felt completely filled and possessed by him, impaled and pinned beneath him.
There was nowhere else in the world she would rather have been.
He began to move—little thrusts at first until her body had loosened enough to accommodate his sizeable girth. Then harder and faster. His mouth found hers and his tongue slipped within to mate with hers as he thrust his cock in and out of her. He possessed her mouth the way he possessed every other part of her body. Every inward stroke brushed his body against her clit. It tingled and throbbed, sending waves of pleasure through her.
He broke the kiss and murmured against her lips, “Are you okay?”
“Oh, sweet Danu! Don’t ask me that again,” she breathed. “I’m fine. And whatever you do, don’t stop.”
His strokes became long and driving. Mindless with need, she drew her hands down his back, over the bandage, and cupped his gorgeous rear. It was arousing the way the muscles flexed as he thrust inside her. The head of his cock rubbed some place deep within her that felt amazing on every inward stroke. Her pleasure built, spreading through her, making her warm, ready to explode.…
They came together, both crying out their mingled ecstasy. His cock jumped deep inside her as he came, her name spilling from his lips.
Collapsing to the bed, he pulled her damp body to his and kissed the nape of her neck. She curled into him, enjoying the sensation of his arms around her, holding her close. She smiled. “So, I guess I’m not a virgin anymore. You’ve defiled me.”
He nipped her ear. “I plan to defile you several more times before morning, too.” His hand spanned her abdomen, then slid between her thighs to work magick. “I remember how many times you came in the illusion. I wonder how many times I can make you come for real.”
“I’m up for experimentation.”
“I don’t want to drain you too much, though. You’re tired. Are you up for a night in my bed? Maybe we shouldn’t do this.”
She growled and turned on her side, pushing him onto his back. “You gave me only a taste of you and I want a full meal. I’m fine.”
He grinned, reached up, and nipped at her lips. “You are so fucking beautiful when you growl.”
Twining a hand around his limp member, she stroked him until she felt it rouse again. She raised an eyebrow. “So are you.” She glanced down. “I’d like to get my lips around this.”
He groaned and his cock jumped in her hand, growing harder. “I have no objections to that.”
“Good. I’m making up for lost time, you know.”
“Lucky me.” He slid his hand between her thighs and found her clit. Closing her eyes, she swore that if she were a cat, she’d be purring. “Does that feel good?” Niall asked in a low, sultry voice.
She nodded, her teeth sinking into her lower lip. Her body was ripening again, making itself ready for him. Her sex, while a bit sore from the brand-new activity, was also growing damp once more. Just in time, his cock was full-on rock solid now.
Lowering her head, she kissed him the way he’d kissed her before—using not just her lips, but her teeth and tongue. His breath came faster and he trapped her head, pulling her down firmly against his mouth for more. When he tried to roll her over onto her back, she slipped away from him, moving to the center of the bed on all fours. She lowered her head to the mattress, tipping her hips up to him in invitation. She knew what he saw—plump, pink, damp, and begging for him.
Behind her, Niall stared at her for a long moment, and she hid a smile, secretly loving that she had a kind of power over him. He moved to her, slipping his fingers over her folds, teasing her, then, finally, pushing them inside of her. She squirmed, moaning, and realized he had just as much power over her.
Mounting her from behind, he pushed the head of his cock inside her. Her sex having been thoroughly plundered earlier, her muscles accepted him more easily this time. His shaft slid in inch by glorious inch, his hands resting on her hips. In this position the penetration was deeper. She felt somehow even fuller than she had before. He thrust slowly in and out of her, and she closed her eyes against the delicious sensation, enjoying every single movement he made.
“Do you want to know why this is my favorite position, Elizabeth?” he asked, his voice husky with lust.
She made an inarticulate sound in reply.
He brought his hand to her abdomen and slid it south, finding her sweet spot and taking advantage of its completely vulnerable position, rubbing it back and forth with the pads of his fingers.
She shuddered, already on the cusp of a climax.
“That’s why,” he purred.
Steadily, his thrusts became harder and faster, until the sound of their bodies coming together and the mesh of their breathing were the only sounds in the room.
She climaxed hard once more, her knees going weak and the muscles of her sex pulsing and rippling around his pistoning length. He came not long after, yelling her name hoarsely, his cock once again jumping deep within her body.
He pulled her down next to him and wrapped around her protectively. As insane as it was, she felt safe in his arms. It was right to be there. Her body felt sore in places where she’d never felt sore before—but it was a small price to pay for perfection.
The blankets tangled around their legs and the fire snapping in the fireplace, she realized that for all her talk, the weakness from the iron sickness was still with her and she fell asleep.
NIALL watched Elizabeth in her bath with a heavy-lidded gaze and lust sitting hard on his body. She let him make love to her twice the night before, pushing herself far beyond what her body could handle.
Still, he wanted more of her.
Insatiable, like a starving lion taunted with only a bite of meat, he watched the soap bubbles slide over her delectable body. Her nipples peeked between them so enticingly. He wanted those nipples in his mouth, between his fingers. The water sluiced down her perfect, pale skin when she moved. He wanted to lick every inch of her.
He fisted his hands. He wanted her, but he couldn’t push her. She was so eager for the experience of sex that if he encouraged it, she would sacrifice her health to get it. This morning he’d immediately seen the toll their nocturnal activities had taken on her.
So, for the time being, he needed to put a leash on his desires.
In any case, his lacerated back ached from his exertions. The nature fae had treated him with herbs and magick, speeding his healing, but it was still sore.
She’d still been sleeping when he’d awoken and showered. While the warm water had beat down on him he’d imagined the feel of her body beneath his, the hot, silken clasp of her sex around his cock, the feel of her aroused clit against his tongue.
Gods, he was destined to have a permanent hard-on around this woman.
When she’d awoken, he’d herded her into a bath and had intended to give her some privacy. Turned out he wasn’t that strong. It was all he could do not to slide his hands into the water and make her come again. She was beautiful all the time, but when she came…sweet Danu, there was no better sight—or sound—than that.
The water drained and he held out a thick, fluffy towel for her. She wrapped herself in it and gave him a glance that was almost shy. “So, after I’m well and the game’s back on,
what then?”
He turned away from her, rubbing a hand over his chin. “Let’s not think of that right now.”
“We need to think about it, Niall. You and I are at an impasse, and this little affair can’t last forever.”
All of a sudden he wanted to put his fingers in his ears and chant “La, la, la. I can’t hear you!” like a child. He grunted and went for the door. “I’ll make coffee.”
Leaving her to get dressed, he escaped that uncomfortable conversation and banged pots and pans around, making breakfast. Sunset was just peeking on the horizon, soon to turn the world red, orange, and purple. He wasn’t hungry, but she might be. Anyway, cooking made him feel better, always had. Soon the smell of eggs rose in the kitchen.
Elizabeth wandered into the room barefoot, her damp hair hanging in tidy little skeins around her shoulders. She poured herself a cup of coffee and leaned back against the counter. “Gideon intends to get all the pieces of the bosca fadbh, Niall, and the Book of Bindings. He says he intends to use the magick to destroy the book and the pieces, themselves, but I don’t believe him.” She sipped her coffee. “There are probably lots of things the Phaendir could do to the fae with that magick, after all. Nasty things.”
He glanced at her while he scooped the food onto a plate and set it on the table for her. “I wondered why you didn’t just hand over the pieces to him. You guys want the same thing, after all.”
She looked up at him, her expression wounded. “You really thought I would willingly work with the Phaendir?”
He shrugged a shoulder. “You worked with the Summer Queen.”
She wilted. “You’re right, I did.” Shaking her head, she sat down at the table. “But just because I want my mother to live doesn’t mean I want the fae hurt. If there’s any magick in the back of that book for that particular purpose, you know the Phaendir will use it.”
“No doubt.” He sat down across from her and sipped his coffee. “I wondered who it was you were protecting by defying Gideon and now I know—it’s the fae.”
