Golden Stair

by Jennifer Blackstream

  “I’m afraid I had an ulterior motive,” Adonis admitted.

  Ivy’s heart pounded, her brain nearly exploding with the force of all the ideas that leapt into her mind at that one innocent sentence. “What?” she asked hoarsely.

  “I want you to leave the tower with me.”

  Ivy shot to her feet, spilling her precious shell onto the rug as her heart nearly leapt out of her chest. “I can’t.” The words flew from her lips without her permission, paying no mind to the thoughts she’d been having mere moments ago. She wanted to leave the tower. She wanted to see the world. She wanted to spend more time with Adonis. So why did you say that?

  Adonis stood, leveling a gaze on her so passionate that she could feel it like a physical touch.

  “You have been very distracting for me.”

  His voice had grown deeper, less playful, more…intense. It was a tone of voice that reached deep inside her and plucked her nerves like violin strings. The butterflies that had leapt to life in her stomach at the mention of going outside now flew with increasing force. Ivy put a hand over her stomach and forced a smile. “Distracting?”

  “Yes.”

  He stepped forward, the sound of his clothes rustling deafeningly loud in the silence. Ivy had the odd thought that the clothes must be awfully stiff for as little use as they got. Her fingers twitched with the hysterical urge to reach out and touch them.

  She stepped back. “I’m sorry?”

  He narrowed his eyes. “Do you know what I did today?”

  Nerves buzzing like a hive of angry bees, Ivy’s glance darted around the room. “Um, had sex with someone?”

  Adonis froze and Ivy’s eyes widened. When had her mouth decided to stop consulting her brain?

  “Does that bother you? The thought of me having sex with someone else?” He jabbed a finger in her direction, accusing somehow, as if her answer would confirm some damning evidence in a trial she wasn’t aware existed.

  Ivy’s mouth opened and shut a few times before she found her voice. “I—no! Um, no, I…” She trailed off, raising a hand to her stomach. She summoned a memory of how Adonis had kissed her, the delicious sensation he’d brought to life in her body. The concept of him doing that with other women was…unpleasant. Oh, Aphrodite, save me.

  “Ah-ha! It does bother you,” Adonis accused, his muscled legs eating up more distance between them. “That’s what I mean. It bothers you and what’s more…I think it bothers me.”

  “Having sex with other women bothers you?” Ivy bit her lip, trying to keep up with the conversation. For a wild moment, she had the thought that wearing clothes seemed to have a negative impact on Adonis’ sanity. Certainly the incubus made even less sense right now than he had on his previous visits. It probably wasn’t helping that she’d had almost zero experience with…well, conversations with people other than her mother. Sex had not been a popular topic.

  “Yes,” Adonis growled. “I hadn’t considered it much before, but, yes, I think it does. I can’t quit thinking of you, Ivy. Beautiful maiden, trapped in a tower, wanting to see the world but too scared of her mother to try. It’s just not a situation that any red-blooded male could ignore, now is it?”

  “Um…”

  “I went to see a wizard today,” Adonis added. “And a necromancer. I don’t know why, the idea just came into my head this morning and I went. Asked perfect strangers if they could help me—help me not have to need sex—and told them about a situation that was none of their business.” He crossed his arms. “I’ll bet Kirill is twitching somewhere in Dacia and he has no idea why.”

  “The vampire prince?”

  Adonis nodded. “He would cringe at some of the things I did today. Things that sounded like a perfect idea when I woke up thinking of you.”

  Ivy couldn’t help the sudden observation that Adonis was likely the type of man who often found himself acting on impulses as soon as he felt them. Not a planner, that one. His last statement finally sunk in and disappointment stabbed her in the gut.

  “You don’t want to have sex?” She spoke before thinking of how it would sound, but she didn’t even care. The conversation has already exceeded the wildest limits of propriety, no sense beating around the bush now.

  Heat flared in Adonis’ eyes and he raked his gaze down her body. Ivy’s breath halted in her chest as her blood pounded in her ears. That look… She could almost feel his hands on her body. That look promised vigor and passion, nothing gentle or timid. She wavered on her feet, torn between going back and stepping forward.

  He lolled his head, undressing her with fire lit eyes. “Oh, I want to have sex.”

  “But-but-but, you said… Didn’t you mean… You said we couldn’t, you couldn’t, I deserved…”

  Not a single coherent sentence could make it past the unforgiving blades of her chattering teeth. What woman could think with an incubus looking at her like that?

  “We can’t, it wouldn’t be right,” Adonis murmured, though his tone blatantly contradicted his words. “You’re innocent, and I’m not just talking about you being a virgin.”

  Every syllable held sighs in the dark, passion-filled moans and wet heat. Ivy’s skin burned as her imagination ran wild.

  “What are you going to do?” she forced out, trying to talk over her own wanton fantasies.

  “I’m going to take you out of this tower,” Adonis rasped. “I am going to fly you around, show you new and wonderful things, get you out into the world. You are going to meet a lovely young man, fall in love, get married, have lots of kids, and I am going to leave you alone and be happy for you because that is what you do when someone you care about is happy, even if I’m miserable, because that’s just what friends do.”

  Every word had risen in volume until he practically shouted the last bit. Ivy’s jaw was hanging open and she squeaked as Adonis stomped forward. Her body released buckets of adrenaline, singeing her veins with the force of the fight or flight instinct. She didn’t know if he was going to grab her, or kiss her, or some combination of the two, and she didn’t know what she would do if he did. She took one stumbled step back and squealed as Adonis’ hands closed around her hips.

  “I won’t hurt you,” he choked.

  She didn’t have time to answer. He swept her up into his arms and her world tilted dramatically as she scrambled to cling to his neck. The smoky scent of burning cloth tickled her nose as his wings exploded from his back amidst the blackened tatters of his tunic. The belt around his waist held what was left of the clothing and kept it from falling past his waist, and the gold clasp along with her body pressed against his held the rest in place. She barely had a second to wonder at his display of power before he stalked to the balcony.

  Adrenaline made her hypersensitive and her body sang at his touch, wet heat drenched her as his muscles flexed with every powerful stride forward. She tightened her arms around his neck, holding on for dear life. A tiny part of her mind remembered she wasn’t supposed to leave the tower and she started to open her mouth. The next thing she knew, Adonis leapt off the balcony and she was sailing into the air.

  Every nerve in her body contracted at once and for a moment Ivy couldn’t breathe. She froze, so tense that a stiff breeze might have shattered her. No thought would come to her as the ground fell away, everything she’d ever known becoming no more than a child’s toy on the ground below. Gradually, her heartbeat thudding against her chest wall faded to the forefront. Her lungs tentatively drew a breath. She dug her fingers into his neck, and ever-so-slowly, leaned over to peek at the world below.

  “Oh,” she breathed.

  The land had never looked more majestic, nor her tower so terribly small. The mountains that had looked so insurmountable rose like lumbering giants to wrap their arms around the valley and the nearby lake, holding her tiny little home in a circle of solitude.

  “Nysa?” Ivy asked, hardly daring to speak for fear of breaking the spell. From this height, she could just see over the mountains, just p
eek at the woods beyond and far off in the distance…the towering pearlescent spires of the royal castle.

  “Yes. A whole kingdom waiting to meet you.”

  Adonis’ voice had lost some of its intensity, as if leaving the tower had lifted a weight from his shoulders. Settling her body a little closer, he started to fly farther toward the glistening castle in the distance.

  Ivy tightened her arms around him. “No!”

  Tension sang back to life in his body and he stiffened against her, but his face remained calm. “Don’t be afraid,” he soothed her. “You have to believe I would never let anything happen to you.”

  “I know, I do, I just…” Her body suddenly felt lighter than air, as if the chains that she’d always felt tying her to her old life had just fallen away. She felt giddy…free. In that moment, she could have conquered the world. “I need to pack.”

  The corners of Adonis’ mouth curved up like a man raising the bed sheets to welcome his lover. It touched Ivy deep inside, strumming her passion and inspiring a wave of soft affection. His smile was naughty, open, and so familiar to her now. She couldn’t imagine never seeing it again. She put a hand on his cheek and leaned in for a kiss.

  His lips welcomed her, soft warmth sliding against hers as he tilted his body and began a slow descent. She opened her mouth, sighing as he slid his tongue past her lips to caress and dance with her own. The tingling in her body was still as exciting as it had been that first day, for that first kiss. Joy feathered over her body as she pulled back enough to speak.

  “You won’t leave me, will you?”

  Adonis winced as his body jerked when his wings caught a sudden air current. Ivy tightened her grip as her belly fluttered at the unexpected dip.

  “What do you mean?” Adonis asked cautiously.

  Shut up, you idiot, a voice in her head shrieked. You’ll scare him off!

  “If I leave my tower…where will I go?” Ivy asked, loud enough to drown her thoughts. As dizzy as she was with her adventure, she wasn’t a fool. She wasn’t going to go rushing away from the only home she’d ever known only to end up alone in a strange world.

  “I… Where do you want to go?”

  “Where do I… I don’t have anywhere else to go!” Ivy stared at him, shocked at how little foresight he’d obviously put into this. “Did you think about this at all?”

  Adonis scowled. “No. No, I didn’t, because this wasn’t supposed to happen. I wasn’t supposed to come back here, I wasn’t supposed to see you again, and I certainly wasn’t supposed to take you back to the palace with me.”

  “You want to take me back to the palace with you?” The note of hope in her voice surprised Ivy, but she didn’t bother trying to take it back. She was on the cusp of a major change, and she wasn’t just going to jump and hope she didn’t die in the fall. She wanted to know where she stood. What’s more, she wanted to know where she would stand if she left the tower. Adonis was handsome, and funny, and exciting. Ivy could admit to herself that somewhere along the way she’d fallen for him, that she wanted to stay with him. But she didn’t need experience to tell her that what she was feeling required reciprocation to work. Better to know now.

  Adonis landed on the balcony and Ivy didn’t object when he lowered her to her feet. He shoved one hand through his hair, reaching out and digging the other one around in mid-air. Ivy wrapped her arms around herself, feeling sick with anticipation and a tiny hint of dread. She tried to look anywhere but at him, but it was useless.

  “Ivy, you are driving me insane,” Adonis muttered, flicking the end of his cigarette. The tip flared bright orange and he mashed it between his lips. He sucked, cheeks hollowed as he inhaled, lips wrapped around the end of the thin paper. Ivy couldn’t drag her gaze away, a semi-hysterical part of her imagining his mouth on her body.

  “By the gods, Ivy, don’t look at me like that,” Adonis half-shouted, smoke billowing from his mouth at his outburst.

  Ivy jerked back, blinking to clear her mind of the erotic images. “What?”

  Adonis closed his eyes and shook his head. “I want to take you out of this tower,” he said finally, opening his eyes. Smoke curled around his face as he spoke, framing his chiseled features. “I want to take you places, show you new things.”

  “And then what?” Ivy pressed, her resolve returning full force. “Where will I live?”

  “I don’t know,” Adonis ground out.

  “Well that’s not good enough, is it?” Ivy snapped back. “You want me to leave my home, leave my mother. Do you really think she’s just going to shrug this off? Do you think she’ll just smile and say ‘Oh, you left the tower after I forbid it? That’s all right! You can come and go as you please, and say hi to the demon for me?’ No!” Back-stepping, she shook her head in disbelief. “I won’t give up everything on a whim. I know you like to just follow your impulses, and that might work for you, but not this time. I won’t be a wild idea that you just had to try.”

  “I would never treat you like that,” Adonis growled. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you. I’m no good for you.” He grabbed a handful of his hair, squeezing it in a fist. “I should just stay away.”

  “But you keep coming back!” Ivy shrieked. Her blood sparked in her veins, energy crackling over her skin in a painful wave. She’d been so close to freedom, so close to living her dream. Curse him for taking that away from her now!

  “I know!” he yelled back.

  “Well, why? Why do you keep coming back?”

  “I don’t know!”

  “Figure it out!” She jabbed a finger into his chest. “You come here and turn my world completely upside-down. You tell me my mother is a liar, that I’m some elemental creature rather than a witch. You tell me to stop being afraid and you fill my head with all sorts of wonderful ideas about leaving and seeing the world. You do your very best to destroy my old life, but when it all comes down to it, you have less than a plan.”

  Tears burned her eyes, but she ignored them, glaring at him through a watery haze. “You want the fun, the adventure, the sex, but you don’t want any of the responsibility or the commitment. You want me to walk away and you don’t spare even a thought of what will happen to me a week from now.” She fisted her hands at her sides, trembling with the urge to smack him for letting her get so close to something wonderful only to yank it away.

  “I was trying very hard to accept that this was my life,” she said quietly, her voice only shaking a little. “I was trying to convince myself that I didn’t have other options because it was easier. Maybe someday I would have left on my own, but I would have waited until I had a plan, until I was ready. Now thanks to you, I can’t stop thinking about leaving now. I don’t know anyone, I have no money, no means to provide for myself, and still I don’t know how I’ll bear another night here—”

  Her voice broke and she closed her eyes, letting the misery wash over her. Hot tears trickled down her cheeks and her head felt fuzzy. Her shoulders dropped and she swayed forward, sudden lethargy stealing her anger.

  Strong arms wrapped around her and she didn’t bother to fight them. She just leaned against him, taking what little he had to offer, and cried out her frustration into his chest.

  “I’m sorry, Ivy,” Adonis whispered. “I’m so sorry.”

  She curled her fingers into his tunic as anger lanced through her, but she didn’t have the will to act on her frustration. How dare he rattle her world like that and walk away. How dare he. She collapsed a little more against him, letting him hold her weight as he eased them both to the floor. Her mind spun with images of her valley as she’d viewed it from the sky, and the shining towers of the palace she’d seen off in the distance. A prince had shown her his castle and was even now holding her in his arms, but she was no closer to a fairy tale ending than she’d been when she woke up this morning. He wasn’t offering her more than a short ride on his white steed.

  They sat like that for a while, him whispering nonsense in a low, calm
ing voice and her crying into his tunic. The shadows grew longer around them, reaching for Ivy like sinister hands grasping at her, holding her to the tower. She sobbed and pressed a little harder against Adonis.

  Finally the promise of sunset was just on the horizon. There was only about another hour or so of sunlight and then her mother would return. Ivy pulled away from Adonis, her body a lead weight, heavy with tears and growing despair. “My mother will be home soon,” she said quietly, her voice rough from crying. “You need to go now. I have to… You can’t be here when she gets home.”

  Adonis rose to his feet. Ivy watched him from her spot on the floor, like a mouse hiding in a hole in the wall. Just as he got to the balcony, Adonis turned.

  “I’ll come back with a plan.”

  No, you won’t. “Okay.”

  Anguish filled Adonis’ eyes and he raised a hand as if he wanted to reach out to her. “Do you believe me?”