“Both you and Tarrant have sent out queries, haven’t you?” When she nodded, he continued. “There is nothing else you can do at this moment to further our cause?” She shook her head. “So, all there is left to do is enjoy the stars and the night.”
Sarah sighed and looked up at the sky. “They are pretty. They’re so much brighter here than they are in the city. There seem to be so many more of them.”
“But the brightest one is right here in my arms.”
She stiffened and then sighed. “Our getting involved doesn’t make any sense. Not only are the Knights after us, but also, I’m human and you’re immortal. Then again, maybe you’re only looking for a fling. And that’s fine,” she added in a hurry, “but that’s not the kind of relationships I have.”
“I don’t want a fling.” His voice was a guttural growl. He wasn’t happy, and neither was the dragon inside him. “You’re important to me, Sarah.” He turned her in his arms so she was facing him.
“How is that possible? We’ve known each other such a short time. Yes, there’s no denying the sexual chemistry, but any kind of connection between us is limited.”
He hooked a lock of hair behind her ear and ran his fingers down the side of her throat. “Does that mean we ignore it?” She shuddered at his touch, and her eyes grew heavy with desire.
“Yes. No. I don’t know.”
He leaned down and licked the pulse point in her neck before lightly nipping at it.
“I can’t think when you touch me like that,” she complained.
“Then I’ll simply have to keep touching you, won’t I?” He’d said the same thing to her before, and he meant it. He put his hands on her hips and slipped them beneath the hem of the sweater she wore. She moaned, wrapped her arms around his neck, and leaned into him.
“You’re a bad influence on me.”
“Undoubtedly,” he agreed. He enjoyed the softness of her skin as his fingers inched upward. His knuckles grazed the undersides of her bare breasts. He slid them back and forth. The little sounds of pleasure and frustration she made served to fire his blood and fuel his desire.
He sucked in a breath when she suddenly reached between them and placed her hand over his erection, which was straining against the zipper of his jeans. She molded her hand against his hard length and his balls drew up tight.
“See what happens when you tease me.”
“Sarah, sweetheart, I have to tell you that if you meant to discourage me, you failed miserably.”
Her laughter spilled out around them. “Hmm, I can see that.”
“Let’s go inside.” He wanted to get her into bed, strip her naked, and love her until she fell into an exhausted sleep.
“No. Here. Now. Under the stars.”
It was chilly, especially for her. He was able to regulate his body temperature with little problem. He hesitated, and she took action. She shoved her hands under his borrowed T-shirt and pushed it up.
Seeing he wasn’t going to be able to stop her, and didn’t really want to, he released her long enough to drag off the shirt and drop it at his feet. An owl hooted in the distance and an opossum waddled along the edge of the trees. He doubted she even noticed.
He stiffened when he thought about Tarrant watching them. His brother would have known the second they stepped outside and would have automatically engaged his security cameras. Darius was as sure of that as he was of his desire for Sarah.
He gazed out over the yard and, sure enough, he found the security camera tucked up high in a tree where most humans would never see it. A red light on the camera flickered on, a sure sign of acknowledgement from his brother. Then the light went out, and Darius knew that Tarrant had switched off that particular camera.
He knew he’d get a security lecture later, but for now, he and Sarah were alone. Tarrant would continue to monitor the area. He wouldn’t be able to help himself. But he wouldn’t intrude on them.
“Is everything okay?” Sarah started to pull away, but he stopped her.
“Everything is perfect.” He slid his hands back under her sweater and found the full mounds of her breasts. They both groaned when he cupped them. “You’re perfect.”
“The things you say to me.” She ran her hands over his pectoral muscles and then down his abs. “I almost don’t believe them. I mean, I’m okay with who I am, but I’m far from perfect. I’m perfectly ordinary.”
He ran his thumbs over her distended nipples, wishing he could see them as well as touch them, but he didn’t want to remove her sweater for fear she’d take a chill.
“It’s how I see you.” He didn’t know how else to explain it to her. “Every cell in my body yearns for you.”
“Oh, Darius.” He loved the way she sighed his name. It made him feel wild and free, yet he never wanted to leave her side. She’d tamed the beast inside him.
…
Sarah knew they should go inside. That was the prudent thing to do. But being around Darius brought out a side of her that she’d never known existed. She wanted to be naked in the moonlight and make love under the stars. It was foolishly romantic and completely impulsive—two words that she would never have associated with herself.
She’d been sensible her entire life. She’d worked hard and used her intellect to get a job she loved. Where she hadn’t excelled was in the area of relationships. She’d never formed close friendships with other women and had only had two serious boyfriends—both academics like herself.
Was it any wonder she was drawn to Darius with his rugged good looks, physical strength, and animal magnetism? He was larger than life and, like a moth to a flame, she was drawn to him.
Her breasts ached for more of his touch. His skin was warm beneath her palms and getting hotter by the second. He was so big and strong and, for the moment, hers.
Maybe it wasn’t smart, but Sarah was done listening to only the intellectual side of her brain. For the first time in her life, other more primitive instincts were demanding attention, and she was more than ready to let them have their way.
She found the opening of his jeans and managed to undo the button. Darius groaned when she slid the zipper down and found his erection.
He spun her around until they were in the shadows of the porch on the far end. Her back was against the wall, but she could still see the stars and feel the night air lightly caress her skin. She should be cold, but that was impossible with the heat they were generating between them.
Darius bent to kiss her, and she met him halfway. He ate at her lips, his hunger for her evident. Their mouths came together again and again, each time more frantic than the last. Their tongues dueled and their breaths mingled.
“Have to taste you,” he muttered as he pulled away. Before she knew what he was about to do, he dropped to his knees. He had the baggy sweatpants around her ankles in the next breath. She wasn’t wearing any underwear, and the cool air slid beneath the hem of the sweater to tease her heated flesh.
His low growl reverberated through the trees, and the world around them went silent. She thought he would touch her then. Instead, he rested his head against her stomach and simply held her.
Emotion clogged her throat, and tears threatened to spill from her eyes. Darius wanted her, but he was right when he said there was more than just sex between them.
The wild passion of only moments before had morphed into something much deeper and infinitely more precious.
She threaded her fingers through his thick hair and it slid along them like silk. He stirred and slowly eased away from her. He looked up at her, and his green eyes were literally glowing. Her hands stilled. “Are you okay?”
“I’m better than okay.” He pushed the hem of the sweater up and kissed her stomach before circling her navel with his tongue. His tongue was slightly rough, which added an extra element to his caress.
She wanted his tongue on other parts of her body.
As though he understood exactly what she wanted, he leaned back slightly. “Spread your
legs.” She widened her stance but couldn’t go as far as she wanted because of the sweatpants still tangled around her ankles.
Darius gave another one of those low, rumbling growls she was coming to adore. It belatedly occurred to her that he could probably see more of her than she could of him. All his senses seemed to be enhanced.
“You can see all of me, can’t you?”
“Oh, yeah.” He ran his hands up the insides of her thighs and put his mouth on her. He teased the slick folds of her sex, using his clever tongue to drive her passion higher.
Her eyes practically rolled back in her head. She was peripherally aware of the night air brushing over her exposed skin, of the swish of the branches as they swayed in the light breeze, the starlit night around them, and the rough boards of the cabin at her back. But mostly she was aware of Darius’s hands and mouth on her body.
Blood pumped faster through her veins, and her lungs drew in more air. He swiped his tongue over her clit, eliciting a long moan of pleasure.
“Love the sounds you make,” he muttered. He stood and lifted her. She tried to wrap her legs around him, but the stupid sweatpants were hindering her. Darius gave a grumble of displeasure, and then held her in one arm as he swiped at the pants with the other. She caught a glimpse of a long, lethal claw, and the material parted.
She immediately wrapped her legs around him, ignoring the fabric still bunched around each ankle. Darius held her weight easily as she reached between them and wrapped her hand around his cock. It was hard and hot, pulsing with life. She wanted him inside her.
She angled his shaft toward her and slowly lowered herself onto him.
…
Darius gritted his teeth, waiting in agony for Sarah to complete their joining. He could still taste her on his lips, sweet and salty and warm. He loved the slight weight of her in his arms, the way her thighs clamped around him.
Then she drew him into her body, and he knew he’d found heaven. It was just as good as it had been the first time. Better, because now he knew what to expect. Her hot, moist body closed around his hard shaft, willingly taking him. He was more beast than man, but she still wanted him.
He closed his eyes and committed this moment to memory. It was stored in a special place where only memories of Sarah dwelled. If he lived another four thousand years—no, forty thousand—this night would still be as vivid as it was now.
“Sarah.” He said her name and nothing more. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed his neck and jaw.
His cock pulsed inside her, demanding he get on with the pleasurable task at hand. Holding her easily in his arms, he walked to the edge of the porch so she’d have a better view of the world. “Look, Sarah. Look at the night around us and know you’re more beautiful than all the stars.”
He was a blunt man, not a poet, but there was something about Sarah that made him want to say such things. She tightened her grip on his neck, and he felt one warm tear slide down his skin.
Keeping one hand on her ass, he caught the back of her head with the other and eased her away. Tears swam in her eyes. “Am I hurting you?” That was the last thing he wanted.
She shook her head. “No.”
“Then why are you crying?”
She shook her head again, not answering him, so Darius did the only thing he could think of. He kissed her. With their lips melded together, he shifted his hold on her so he could ease her up and down his swollen cock. Her inner muscles rippled around him every time he almost totally withdrew and again when he pushed back into her.
His movements grew jerkier and faster. She tightened her legs around him and raked her nails over his back. He growled and lowered himself to his knees with her still on his lap. Then he eased her down onto the porch and began to fuck her hard and fast.
She moaned and thrashed her head from side to side as he pushed them both higher and higher. He shoved her sweater up, exposing her full breasts to his view. He bent forward and caught one pert nipple carefully between his teeth and flicked it with his tongue.
Sarah went wild. She bucked her hips and tugged on his hair, pulling him closer. He managed to get one hand between them and brushed her clit with the pad of his thumb. She cried out, and her body clamped down hard around his cock.
His orgasm started in his balls and shot out through the top of his shaft. He barely managed to swallow back a roar. He lifted her, wrapping her close to his heart as his body shook and shuddered.
Through it all, she held on to him. Peace enveloped him, along with a certainty that Sarah was his. She belonged to him in a way that no woman ever had or ever would. What he was going to do about that remained to be seen.
She shivered and snuggled closer. He didn’t want to leave her but didn’t have much choice. She grumbled under her breath when he separated their bodies. “I didn’t get to touch you as much as I wanted.” Her sleepy complaint had his cock standing at attention even though he’d just come.
“Next time,” he promised, and that was one promise he planned to keep. The thought of her mouth on his dick was almost enough to make him come again.
He stood and hitched his jeans up and then lifted Sarah in his arms. He smiled at the remains of Tarrant’s sweatpants around each of her ankles. The oversize sweater covered her sufficiently. He’d have to come back for their coffee cups. They couldn’t afford to leave any evidence lying around, anything that could prove they’d been here.
“Why am I so tired?” she complained as he carried her through the cabin to the hidden entrance. He loved the way her cheek nestled against his chest. The way she trusted him to carry her down the narrow staircase. It was a tight fit, but he did it.
“Stress,” he told her. The door opened at the bottom before he got there, a reminder from Tarrant that he was watching and aware. Darius carried Sarah into the room they were sharing and placed her on the bed. He removed the shredded fabric from around her ankles but left the socks and sweater in place. “You worked for hours and your body is still feeling the strain from everything you’ve been through.” He brushed a finger over her cheek. She sighed and her eyelids fluttered shut.
“Sleep. I’ll watch over you.”
“Okay.” She rolled onto her side, pulled her knees up to curl into a ball, and was almost instantly asleep. Darius watched her for several minutes before finally leaving. He hurried back upstairs and collected their coffee mugs. The night was still and the wildlife the only other creatures around.
When he was back in Tarrant’s fortress, he dumped the mugs in the sink and checked on Sarah, who was sound asleep, before heading to the heavy door at the end of the hallway. It was time to have a chat about Sarah with his brother.
…
Karina Azarov reread the letter that had arrived only moments ago by special courier. That Herman Temple would have it hand-delivered by his head of security was telling.
She tossed the heavy vellum paper onto her desk and leaned back in her chair. “Did you read it?”
Matthew Riggs shook his head. “No.”
That was it. Just one word. That was one of the things she liked about Riggs. He didn’t talk any more than he had to and didn’t make excuses when things went wrong.
“What happened?” She wanted it straight and knew he’d give it to her. She listened as he told her about the librarian with the special powers, the missing book, the snafu with the security protocols, and finally about Sarah Anderson going to Darius Varkas.
Fury filled her, but she kept it under control. She was so close to her goal of avenging her family. She wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize that objective.
She stood and walked to the window, but even the spectacular garden below couldn’t hold her attention. “Herman is blaming Christian for the entire situation, starting with the disappearance of the book.” That wasn’t surprising. Herman hadn’t lived as long as he had by not knowing when to make a strategic retreat or, in this case, offer up a scapegoat for her anger.
And he was right. S
omeone would have to pay for this fiasco. They’d had a dragon in their sights and let him slip through their fingers. Her own fingers were fisted, and she forced herself to relax. Once she had herself under control again, she turned and caught Riggs staring at her legs.
Well, she did have spectacular ones, and they were showcased in her four-inch Louboutin pumps. She looked damn good and knew it. Her body was just another tool in her arsenal, one she used whenever she needed.
“Looks like I’m leaving Boston and heading back to New York with you.” She walked over to Riggs and ran her fingers down his chest, enjoying the way he swallowed heavily. “I can count on you to protect me, can’t I?”
“Absolutely.”
She patted his firm stomach. “I knew that I could.” She picked up the house phone and made arrangements to leave town. “On the way there, you can give me more details about the situation, starting with everything you know about Sarah Anderson.” She already knew all there was to know about Darius Varkas. She’d had her own people investigate him when she’d discovered Temple had his people following him.
“Yes, ma’am.” The words were polite and deferential, but the tone and the wicked gleam in his eyes were anything but. Yes, she could certainly use Matthew Riggs and planned to, in more ways than one.
“I’ll see my sister while I’m in New York.” Why her sister insisted on working instead of joining the family business was beyond her. But Valeriya was the baby in the family and they’d all indulged her, even Karina. Valeriya was weak, not strong like Karina was. Her baby sister didn’t have the stomach for catching or killing dragons.
“Let’s go.” She walked toward the exit, confident that Riggs was right behind her. He slipped around her at the last second and opened the door. She went through it and headed toward the car she knew would be waiting out front.
Chapter Twenty
Darius should have been relaxed. He should have been curled around Sarah, holding her as she slept. Instead, he was about to have a chat with his brother. These things never went well. They were both strong-willed and always certain they were right. Of course, in this instance, he was right, but Tarrant wouldn’t see it that way.
Drakon's Promise (Blood of the Drakon) Page 20
