I never looked away from his beautiful eyes as I responded. “I feel the same.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The Sun's Orbit
BACK TO PRESENT DAY
“Hey there, Darlin’,” I said into the phone. It just kind of slipped out.
“Hand Amy the phone,” he bit out. I felt the geas that had bound me slip from my wrist. It turned to dust as it hit the floor. Apparently, speaking to him had been enough to break it. The realization started a debate in my head. Perhaps I could just slip away. I was a pro at running. I quickly decided against it. In for a penny, in for a pound. And he was so close. He was the sun, and I was in his orbit now.
I handed Amy the phone and she listened for a minute before saying, “Yes, sir,” and hanging up. She turned and spoke to the nearest guard. “Rufus, Dom has asked that you escort Jillian to his office immediately.”
The guard didn’t say a word to me as the elevator sailed it’s way to the top floor of the hotel. Vaguely, I felt his power and hostility at my back, but it was an abstract sort of observation. I didn’t even get a clear look at his face. I couldn’t have picked him out of a lineup. Usually I tried to take in details, but I was too distracted just then to care.
It was one of those elevators that faced a spectacular view of the city. I tried to enjoy the beautiful skyline on the long ride to the top, grasping at anything so as not to let my nerves get the best of me.
I was led to his office right away. I was more than a little surprised that he hadn’t made me wait.
My first sight of him in seven years nearly stopped me in my tracks. He was so familiar, yet so changed. His raven hair was cropped much shorter than before, shaved very close to his head, as though he cut it often. The last time I’d seen him, it had been a black waterfall down his back. It broke my heart a little to see that he had cut it.
The first time we’d been together, I’d run reverent fingers through it. It had hung longish then, just past his jaw. “I love your hair,” I’d told him at the time, “I can’t get enough of it. If you love me, you’ll never cut it again.” I’d been joking at the time, but he’d taken me very seriously, only trimming the ends of it for the decade that we were together. I’d grown my own hair down to my knees, because he’d loved it so much. It only reached my mid-back now. I’d cut it very short in a temper, after we had ended.
His pale, mismatched eyes had changed, gotten colder and harder, but they were still just as beautiful. They seemed to be lit with some inner fire that the years hadn’t dimmed. He had always been an intense and dangerous man, but there was a harder edge to him now. I could read clearly a bitterness, and perhaps even a touch of cruelty, that the last years had given him. Or maybe it had been me.
His handsome, aristocratic face seemed harder as well, looking like it could have been carved from stone.
His jaw was clenched, a pulse beating below his right eye. The yellow one. The wolf eye. This was nothing new. I’d seen him angry plenty of times, and I knew the signs well.
I offered him a tentative smile as I walked into his office. He didn’t rise, just watched me as I entered. The door clicked shut behind me.
He’d removed his dark gray suit jacket and tie, his crisp white shirt unbuttoned enough to show his tan throat clearly. I could see the pulse beating there. His hands were clenched tightly together on top of his black desk.
“Mind if I have a seat?” I asked him, gesturing at the chair directly in front of his desk.
His nostrils flared and his eyes studied every inch of me. He didn’t answer me, so I sat. We studied each other for long moments before he broke the silence. “Is that a wig?” he asked.
I glanced around his office, asking. “Any cameras in here?”
“No.”
“Yeah, it’s a wig. You like it?”
He had been reaching for the glass of water on his desk. When I spoke, he crushed it in his hand, glass and blood flying. He shook his hand, brushing the glass away without so much as blinking. He leaned towards me, baring his teeth. “You should know better than to bait an enraged bear, Jillian.”
Even with him bitter and looking at me like he hated me, it felt too good just to look at him. I drank in the sight of him, despite my better judgement. Gods, he was beautiful. His astonishing eyes held me captive, as they always had.
He was studying the diamond collar at my throat, gimlet eyed. He had given it to me on our two year anniversary. Probably not my wisest move to wear it here. I fingered it, and his angry eyes flew to my face. “What are you doing here, Jillian?” he asked me through clenched teeth.
I gave him a sad smile. He was not even a little bit happy to see me. I should not have been so hurt by that realization. “Actually, I came to ask you a favor.”
I had handed him the upper hand on a silver platter. He seemed to relax a little, sitting back in his chair and stapling his already healed hands. “Really?” he asked, plenty of rage still in his voice. Okay, maybe he hadn’t relaxed much.
“Yes. Your people contacted me recently. They want my information for your registry. I was wondering if you could just convince them to leave me alone completely.”
His brows drew together menacingly. “Why on earth would I do that?” he asked softly.
“A few reasons, actually. I know how you always hated that I kept so many secrets. I’m willing to reveal a few of them to you, if in exchange, you can help keep me and Lynn off the radar.” It was a paltry offering, and I knew it. Also, it was a lie. I had no intention of telling him the things he really wanted to know.
“Your secrets don’t interest me anymore.”
“I thought you might say that.” I stood and removed my jacket, draping it on the back of my chair. This left my arms and shoulders bare. I walked the few steps to the front of his desk slowly, cautiously. He tensed up visibly at my movements, as though my moving closer was something he had to brace for. I held my wrists out to him. I laid them on the top of his desk, palms up. I closed my eyes, concentrating hard on just that part of my body. It took me longer to remove Lynn’s shielding than it would have my own. When I heard his sharply indrawn breath, I knew I had succeeded. I opened my eyes to see his pinned to the bruises that made ugly cuffs on my wrists. They looked much worse than they actually were against my alabaster skin. “Two of yours did this. If you help me, I can tell you who directly defied your orders.”
He was breathing hard, and I hoped this was a good sign. “Why aren’t they healed?” he breathed.
“A spell was performed to prevent me from healing.” Well, it was true. I certainly wasn’t going to tell him that I had performed the spell.
I went in for the kill. “Would you like to see the rest of what they did?” I asked softly.
Sweat had broken out on his forehead. Dominant druid males had an almost obsessively possessive nature. I’d left him in such a way that I knew he hated me. But I also knew that his hate wouldn’t cancel out his wrath for a deed that directly defied his orders. He had made it clear long ago that none of his people were ever to touch me. I knew I was kind of a bastard for manipulating that part of him, but it was the only leverage I had at my disposal. “One of them held me while the other beat me. I didn’t harm one hair on either of their heads.”
When he started to visibly shake, I knew I had gone a tad too far. His eyes went pale with the Beastcall, and his voice was huskier when he ordered, “Show me the rest of what they did.”
I shook my head. “I won’t show or tell you one more thing until you agree to help me.”
His fists were clenching and unclenching. He was trying hard to control his rage. “I’ll do what I can, but you will tell me what I want to know before you leave here.”
I inclined my head at him. “I’ll tell you all I can.”
“Show me,” he ordered.
Knowing it was a bad idea, I let my shields down completely. It took me several minutes. I looked down at my hands the whole time.. “Did they rape you?” he asked, l
ow growls escaping from his throat between each word.
I shook my head, not meeting his eyes. Submissiveness was the only thing that could hope to calm him in this state. It wasn’t something that came naturally to me, but I could fake it in emergencies.
“Who was it?” He uttered the question as though it pained him.
“I will tell you. When you’re calmer.”
He literally roared. Like a bear. I could feel the druids that burst into the door behind me.
“Leave us,” he roared at them, and they beat a hasty retreat.
I had an idea. Better than any I’d had lately. Though I was willing to acknowledge that that wasn’t saying much. “Could you heal me, Dom?” I asked him quietly. It was something I could do myself, if in a more painful manner, but I knew this would shift his attention, perhaps even enough to calm him down.
“Come here,” he commanded.
I came around his desk and gave him my hands. His touch was light, but I felt a shock go through my body, and my skin burned where he touched me. I felt the tingly, pleasant sensation of a druid’s healing move through my body. Their magic was earthy and raw, and I had always loved the feel of it. It was like cool water running through me, so different from my own magic. I shivered visibly from head to toe. Only Dom’s touch had ever given me this addictive feeling. I tried not to think about how much I’d missed it.
His powerful healing spell plowed right through the barrier I’d put on my own regeneration, which was a troubling thought, really. No druid should be able to slice through a dragon-kin’s spell like butter. Arch’s were different, though, which I had almost forgotten. And Dom in particular had always been unbelievably strong. I’d felt it even when he’d been just a teenager whom I’d had occasional, and very limited, contact with.
He let go of me quickly when he finished. I was standing so close to him, almost between his legs. Maybe this wasn’t such a great idea. Gods, I wanted him. It was like a switch that had been in the OFF position for seven long years of total abstinence. All it took was proximity to this man and suddenly it was ON, and all of my self-control was gone. I was known for my self-control. I was practically famous for it. But how much could I possibly have if I couldn’t go five minutes in this man’s presence without giving in to my hunger? The answer was obvious.
I was on him, almost against my will, a second later. I was still fighting with myself even as my body took action. I was straddling him in his chair, pulling his head back with both hands, and pressing my mouth against his roughly. He ripped off my wig, and grabbed a handful of my hair, hard. He pulled my head back slowly, looking into my eyes. His own were positively electrifying. “What. Are. You. Doing?” he growled.
“I don’t know,” I answered truthfully. I ruined it a second later when I whispered, “Please, Dom,” and moved against him.
“I hate you,” he growled at me, right before he caved.
“I know, baby. I think there’s a club you can join for that now,” I replied, trying to hide the catch in my voice.
He reached up into my micro-mini latex skirt and tore off my thong with one vicious motion. It took a few beats longer for me to release his hard length. I gripped him tightly, moaning. He was already impossibly hard and ready.
He shoved my hand away quickly, grabbing my hips and impaling me onto his length in one savage thrust. It was, perhaps, a punishment of sorts. But whatever he intended, it was exactly what my body craved. I screamed, coming instantly. He didn’t miss a heartbeat, setting a punishing pace that had me quickly building toward the pinnacle again. I put my hands on his broad, hard-muscled shoulders, stroking, and he stood, still impaling me, until I was shoved roughly against the heavy wooden blinds that covered the huge windows of his office. Only his erection held me upright as he wrenched my hands above my head, gripping my wrists tightly, then started thrusting again, hard and fast and angry. I wrapped my legs around his hips, arching into his thrusts.
I felt the blinds give behind me as something broke above our heads. Dom didn’t miss a beat. Turning, he cleared the surface of his desk in one quick swipe, the sound of breaking things surrounding us as it all hit the floor. He lowered me to the surface, and continued to thrust.
I felt another orgasm coming, and tried to slow it down, wanting to wait for him this time. He gripped my chin hard, never slowing. “Look at me,” he said. I’d been avoiding the intimacy of eye contact before that, not wanting to be reminded of all that we’d lost, but I did as he said. His hand moved from my chin to my neck, squeezing, exerting just the right amount of pressure.
His beautiful, other-worldly eyes were angry as he commanded,“Come.”
I did almost instantly. His voice was a trigger. “Domhnall,” I cried hoarsely.
“No one calls me that,” he said without stopping.
We came together with the desperation of seven hard years of separation.
We tore up his office. Papers flew, priceless sculptures were knocked over without a second thought. We split his beautiful black desk right down the middle near the finish. I knew it was in spite of himself that his hard eyes turned tender at the end. My eyes had been there the whole time, I knew. He fingered my now magenta hair, bringing a lock to his mouth. We cried each others names when we came. Tears ran down my cheeks, and I turned my face away to hide it.
I ran my hands over his shortly cropped black hair. “Oh, Dom, your hair,” I whispered to him, a break in my voice. He had been lying on top of me for a while. He stood when I spoke, wrenching out of my embrace. He started righting his clothes. I lay as I was, letting him eye me up in my sprawled, undignified position. “You told Mav that my hair changed color during sex. I never figured you to kiss and tell.” He went completely still, and I was perfectly aware of what I’d revealed.
“I didn’t reign in much of what I said or did, the first few months after you left. My uncle kept me tranq-ed at the beginning, after what I did to Declan. His killing was perfectly legal in the arena, but they were still a little alarmed about my state of mind…due to the- viciousness of it. It is a fact that we can ascend to the Arch position through right of combat. But my Uncle knows, better than most, that I could not have kept the position without support. And nothing will lose the druid people’s trust faster than a lack of control. There has already been too many civil wars. A clear head means peace. What I did to Declan was not controlled. My Uncle did his utmost to salvage my political aspirations. He wanted to prevent a repeat performance, and so kept me sedated. I can’t even say what I must have revealed, when I was so impaired.” He was much calmer now. I’m sure his release had helped. “So was this to convince me to help you?” he asked coldly. It hurt, but I knew a good opening when I heard it. I told myself it was better for both of us that he hated me. When he had loved me, and I had left, people had bled. A lot of people.
I shrugged. “Did it convince you?” I asked. I stretched slowly, arching my back. He had yanked down the front of my corset earlier, and I was well aware of the view he was getting. I cupped my breasts in my hands, caressing myself firmly in the way I knew he loved. I pinched my nipples roughly, never looking away from his hungry gaze.
His nostrils flared when he said. “I could use more convincing,” he snarled, and was on me. Well, that had backfired. We were at it again.
“So it was Mav and Michael,” he panted into my ear after we finished.
“Yes,” I answered, though he already knew the answer.
He climbed off of me and found his phone amid the mess his desk now made on the floor. He dialed a number and spoke quickly. “Cam, I want Mav and Michael in custody immediately. No, don’t tell them anything. They know what they’ve done.” He set the phone down and just stared at me for awhile. I stared back.
“So tell me who you’re hiding from,” he ordered me calmly.
“My family,” I answered.
“Why?”
“Well, primarily, because if they find us, Lynn will be executed. And me, well, I sus
pect they’ll rape me until I’m either pregnant, dead, insane, or maybe two out of the three,” I answered. It was an almost sugar-coated version of the truth.
His gaze was shuttered, but the tick had started up under his glowing yellow eye again. “Your family would do this?”
“Yes. That and worse.”
“They’re the ones you’ve been running from all this time?”
“Yes.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me this seven years ago?” A pleading note had entered his voice. I knew he was unaware of it. “There is no force stronger than the druids. I could have protected you.”
I shook my head at him sadly. “Not every race is in your registry. And they certainly don’t follow any of your laws. Our kind could raze this city to the ground. Too many of your people would have died for me to start a war just for myself.”
“What are you?”
“I can’t say.”
“You said you’d tell me any-”
“I said I’d tell you what I could. I can’t tell you this because I know you. You’ll rip the world apart looking for answers to questions too dangerous to ask. You’re kind isn’t mortal, it’s true. You’ll never die of old age. But a clean beheading will kill you. I don’t know how to kill the things that hunt us. Even a clean beheading won’t do the trick, just on it’s own.” His phone rang and he answered it, never taking his eyes off of me. “Yes, Amy,” he said into the phone. “Cancel everything scheduled tonight. Yes, everything is fine.” He hung up.
“She wasn’t too pleased to meet me. She seems possessive of you,” I said. “Are you seeing her?” I could have sworn that my mouth formed the words completely independently from my brain. I didn’t want to speak of this, didn’t want to know anything about his love life, really. I told this to myself firmly, over and over again.
He just stared at me malevolently, his jaw clenching and unclenching. “You lost the right to ask me that question a very long time ago. Don’t you think it’s a little hypocritical of you to be keeping tabs on me, all things considered?”
Breathing Fire (Heretic Daughters) Page 9
