by Donna Grant
Eilish ran her hand along the railing as she made her way to the stairs. She was nearly to them when a rush of heat stole over her right before her magic warned her that someone was trying to break through her spells on the upper level.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” she mumbled and strode to the stairs. She rushed down them, people getting out of her way as she approached. Eilish didn’t slow until she got to the bar area. After a quick look around, she disappeared through the hidden doorway and started up the stairs.
She was halfway up when she raised her gaze and spotted Ulrik. Naked. Before she could begin to appreciate the sight of his chiseled body that fairly vibrated with barely leashed power, her gaze landed on the tattoo that covered his chest.
The dragon had its head resting on Ulrik’s shoulder, his front arms looking as if it were hugging him while its back legs appeared to dig into Ulrik’s stomach. The dragon’s wings were spread, and the long tail wrapped around Ulrik’s waist.
Her mind blanked, her heart skipped a beat, and she tripped on the stairs. Catching herself with her hands, Eilish straightened and returned her gaze to Ulrik.
He was frowning down at her. “What’s wrong?” he demanded.
As if she were going to tell him that he was the one she’d seen take her life in her dreams. It was just her luck to find someone that made her blood heat only for him to be her killer.
She took a deep breath and tried to calm her now racing heart before she continued up the stairs. “Should I be happy you couldn’t get through my spells?”
He waited until she reached him. Then he gazed at her with his golden eyes and said, “I chose no’ to breach your wards and leave you defenseless.”
“Why, thank you,” she said sarcastically. “If you wanted to talk, you could’ve come into the pub.”
She glanced at his body, noting the hard sinew, his broad shoulders, and the power that was usually deceptively hidden by his clothes. She’d known he had a nice body, but she’d never expected this. My God, he was breathtaking. Totally hot and mouthwatering.
“I want the truth,” he stated.
It was going to be a long night. Eilish sighed and disengaged the wards enough for him to follow her through the door into her flat. Once inside, she replaced the spells and closed the door then leaned back against the wall.
She bit her lip as she gazed at his impeccable ass and muscular legs. His back was superb, but then she’d always been a sucker for a man with a great back.
He turned to face her. “You’re no’ demanding to know what I’m talking about?”
“What’s the point?” she asked with a shrug. “You won’t believe anything I say.”
“Try me.”
She gave him a flat look and pushed away from the wall. “I’m not going to waste my time. You can’t trust, so you’ll never believe anyone. Especially me.”
“Try me,” he repeated.
This time she heard the urging in his voice. Almost as if he wanted her to convince him to trust her.
She stared into his gorgeous eyes for a long time while he stood still as stone. Only when she looked away did he rake a hand through his coal black hair.
Here she was being a fool again. What was it about Ulrik that kept her on this same path? She knew she should get off and forget him, just as she planned to do with Mikkel. But she knew the answer.
It was that amazing kiss.
Damn him. Damnhimdamnhimdamnhim.
She blew out a breath and put her hands on her hips. “Fine. I’ll play along even though it’s pointless. Ask what you want, but know whatever I tell you is the truth.”
“Is all of this an act so I’ll offer to help and you can betray me?”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
This was the first time in his very long life that Ulrik wanted to be wrong. Yet as he stood and watched Eilish, he wasn’t sure he could believe anything she said.
“Again with thinking I’m some spy for Mikkel,” Eilish said.
But there was no heat in her words. It was as if she expected it. Was he that predictable? Well, when it came to trusting people, he certainly was.
The Druid sighed. “I’m not a spy. I’m not trying to betray you.”
“Mikkel wants me dead.”
“You’re stronger than he is. You can best him.”
“You forget. I saw your talk with him in my antique shop. I know that he wants you to kill me. I heard you say you could kill Con, as well. You didna even hesitate when he asked.”
Eilish didn’t deny any of it. She held his gaze and said, “Have you ever wanted something so badly that you did questionable, unethical, and horrible things to others to achieve it? That’s me. I want to find my mum. Mikkel said he knew how to do that, and he’d only give me that information if I helped him. So, I became who he thought I was.”
“A killer,” Ulrik replied.
She nodded. “Yes.”
“He felt the strength of your magic.”
“Not once did he ask me if I’d ever touched dragon magic before.”
“He didna need to,” Ulrik said. “He’s encountered such magic before. Mikkel only had to give you an incentive to get you to do what he wanted.”
She walked to him, stopping a foot away. “I’m not spying for him. Nor am I setting you up for betrayal. I know you can’t believe me. And sadly, it’s your inability to trust that will cost you everything you’ve gained since your banishment.”
Ulrik was about to tell her that it was because he didn’t trust that he had gotten where he was, but she kept talking.
“Look at what you’ve achieved! You went mad. And you came back from it. You started with nothing, and have amassed an empire you care nothing about. You built it and use it simply to bring down your brethren.”
“Con,” he corrected.
Her head tilted to the side, a slight smile pulling at her lips. “You should rejoice in what you’ve done. More than that, you and the Dragon Kings have a common enemy. You should join forces. But you won’t. You’ll continue to believe you can do it all on your own. Hell, maybe you can.”
She turned to walk away, but he reached out and grabbed her wrist. Eilish looked from his hold to his face. Ulrik told himself to let her go, to forget everything about her. He didn’t need her help or the worry that she might be a spy. He was better off alone as he had been for so many centuries.
And yet, he couldn’t release her.
The desire he’d mistakenly believed he could control erupted with the force of a volcano. His shaft hardened. The Druid’s gaze lowered, her eyes rounding as his cock grew. And the longer she watched, the harder he got.
Even with her magic, she was still a mortal. He despised them.
But he didn’t hate her.
He knew he should keep fighting the attraction, but he couldn’t. Ulrik yanked her against him and slanted his mouth over hers. The taste of her made him moan. She was kissing him back, her tongue sliding against his.
At the moment, he didn’t care if she was with him or against him. All he cared about was that she wasn’t pushing him away.
He wrapped both arms around her, holding her leather-clad body tightly against him. But it wasn’t enough. He needed her bare, skin-to-skin. Ulrik tore the leather tank top down the middle and tossed it aside. Her bra was next. While he unbuttoned her pants, her nails raked down his back.
“Boots,” she said between kisses.
He leaned back to look at her with a frown.
Breathing heavily, she pointed to her feet. “My boots.”
They both bent and hastily removed the footwear, but by that time, his impatience had reached its limit. He ripped her pants and yanked them from her. After, she held his gaze and slipped her black lace panties over her hips and down her legs before kicking them away.
His eyes raked over her amazing body. Tall with mocha-colored skin begging to be touched, Eilish was stunning. Her breasts were full without being too large. She was lean and had curves in all the rig
ht places.
He went to touch her, but couldn’t decide if he wanted to caress the swell of her hips, the indent of her waist, or cup her breasts.
Then she put her hand on his chest atop his tattoo. He felt something shift within him, almost as if his tat had moved. It made his breath catch. His eyes met hers. He saw the desire in her green-gold depths.
They came together in a tangle of limbs as they touched each other, the kiss wild and feverish. A groan tore from him as her hands roved over his shoulders and down his back. Her caress was light and sensual, as if her desire seeped like magic from her fingertips into his skin everywhere she touched.
He kissed across her jaw to her neck. His hand slid into the thick strands of her deep brunette locks as her head leaned to the side before falling back.
The taste of her skin was almost as heady as her kisses. Tracing his tongue down the slim column of her throat, he bent her backward over his arm so he could reach her breasts. The globes swelled, her nipples puckered beneath his gaze. And it made his balls tighten.
“I can’t wait,” she mumbled. “I need you inside me.”
He wanted that too, but first, he planned to taste every inch of her. This wasn’t going to be a hurried session. He was going to take his time.
Ulrik flicked a tongue over a nipple then blew on the peak. Eilish moaned and rocked her hips against him. He cupped the breast and massaged it. Then he wrapped his lips around the nipple and suckled.
The harder he sucked, the faster she rocked her hips against his cock. And he was just getting started. He moved to her other breast and teased the peak by holding it lightly between his teeth and moving his tongue rapidly back and forth.
When her knees gave out, he held her up with his arms. He walked her backwards to the wall where he braced her. Then he knelt before her.
* * *
If she were going to die by Ulrik’s hand, at least she’d go out experiencing true ecstasy. Eilish knew it was folly to give her body to him, but she couldn’t seem to refuse him. Her body craved him. And that was that.
She looked down at Ulrik. My God, he was gorgeous. Sinfully so. With his gold eyes, midnight hair, and devil-may-care attitude, he appealed to her on a plane she couldn’t name or find. There was no need to try and dissuade herself either because her body had made up its mind long before he kissed her.
That had only sealed her fate.
Those gold eyes darkened with the heat of his passion. He held her gaze as he lifted one of her legs and draped it over his shoulder. Her lips parted, her breath hitching as she waited for him to lean close.
As soon as his mouth touched her sex, her eyes slid shut, and her head fell back against the wall as pleasurable warmth spread through her. It settled low in her belly, tightening with each graze and flick of his tongue.
“Doona come,” he ordered.
Was he crazy? As if she could hold that back, especially when she was so close. But she should’ve known he was going to help her do exactly that.
He pulled away, and she groaned in frustration. Her body pulsed with desire.
“Look at me.”
She wanted to refuse him, yet she found herself opening her eyes. He moved her leg off his shoulder, but he didn’t release it. Instead, he climbed to his feet.
He rested his other hand on her hip before caressing down her butt to the back of her thigh. With little effort, he lifted her, holding her legs wide as she reached for his shoulders.
“We come together,” he told her.
She nodded, lost in a sea of gold. When she felt the head of him brush against her sensitive flesh, she gasped. And he smiled triumphantly.
Eilish twined his hair around her fingers as he pushed inside her. Ever since she’d spied his impressive length as he hardened, she couldn’t wait to have him inside her. Inch by inch, he filled her, and her body stretched.
With one final thrust, he was fully seated. She waited for him to move, but he leaned in and kissed her. It wasn’t like the frantic kisses from before. This one was sensual and unhurried.
And, somehow, it affected her even more.
Firmly in his hold, she was surprised when he stepped away from the wall. Then he began to walk toward her bedroom. And with every step, he moved inside her, sending pleasure shooting through her.
By the time they reached her bed, she was eager for more. And he didn’t make her wait. He put a knee on the mattress and lowered her. She wrapped her legs around his waist once he released her.
He braced his hands on either side of her head and leaned over her before slowly pulling from her body. Then he drove back inside.
The slow, forceful thrusts tightened her desire, pushing her toward release. His command not to come repeated in her head. She tried to slow the tide, but it was gaining too much momentum.
Then he began to move faster, thrusting deep and hard. It threw her right to the edge of release, and she fought not to give in. The sight of his face tightened with desire as he pumped into her body, showed her that he too was fighting it.
She’d never gotten to the point of climax so quickly before. Yet, somehow, Ulrik knew just how to touch, just where to caress to make her yearn, to make her—burn.
“No’ yet,” he ground out.
She dug her nails into his arms as he continued to plunge into her. The sounds of their bodies joining, their flesh meeting, only added to the experience.
“I—ca … can’t. I—”
“Now,” he ordered.
With one word, pleasure exploded. Her body pulsed with such bliss that it was as if she were floating. And she felt his staff throb within her, felt his seed pour inside.
And still the climax continued.
Just when she thought she couldn’t handle any more, the orgasm began to taper off. She opened her eyes to find Ulrik still over her—and still inside her.
“Once willna be enough,” he murmured.
She knew exactly what he meant. He’d had his way with her, but she wasn’t going to let that happen again until she had a chance to tease and torment him.
Perhaps this was how he would kill her. Death by sex. It was how the Fae did it. All in all, it was a pretty good way to go. In fact, if she had to choose, she’d pick dying in Ulrik’s arms as he made love to her. It had been the best sex of her life, and she was sure he’d stolen some of her soul, just like the Fae did. Surprisingly, she didn’t mind.
She found it impossible to keep her eyes open. The past few days had taken a toll on her, but the sheer force of her climax from Ulrik had wiped it all away, leaving her drowsy.
He withdrew from her slowly. The bed dipped as he stood. She wished he’d stay. She tried to tell him that, but she was already drifting off into the arms of sleep.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Fucked. That’s what he was.
Ulrik stood in the doorway of Eilish’s bedroom, his gaze on her naked body lying with her head turned to the side and a hand by her face.
He’d watched her drift off to sleep, and for just a second, he’d almost curled up next to her. But he knew what lunacy that was. Already, he’d overstepped boundaries by making love to her. But damn, she’d been exquisite. Her body open and giving, her passion a magnificent thing to behold.
He’d thought to push her to her limits, when in fact, she was the one who drove him to his. No other had done that.
Ever.
Ulrik wasn’t sure what to make of the Druid. She was gorgeous, passionate, thrilling, and dangerous. And he loved every layer he discovered. The more he uncovered, the more he wanted to know.
He ran a hand over his chest. It had taken him a while, but he finally realized what it was he felt. Relaxed. When was the last time he’d felt even remotely rested? He honestly couldn’t remember.
That’s how he knew that it was risky to remain around Eilish. He should’ve comprehended that when he wanted to help her. No. It went even further than that. It should’ve clicked when he didn’t want to kill her.
She was a damn human. But, Heaven help him, he wanted to climb back onto the bed and make love to her again.
He turned away, raking his hand through his hair. He was so fucked.
After Nala, he’d sworn that no female would ever again get close enough to betray him. It was a vow he’d easily kept all these numerous, unending centuries. Right up until he walked into Graves and spoke with Eilish the first time.
He always had a plan, as well as numerous backup strategies for when things changed—because while most people were predictable, there were always occasions when the humans did something unusual.
Ulrik couldn’t remember a time when he looked over his plots and didn’t know what action to take. Every day, he went over the plans, changing and correcting things as needed to bring him closer to his end goal.
Why then was his mind completely blank? He didn’t know what to do or where to go. He was a vacant screen, almost as if he’d been reset somehow.
He turned and looked over his shoulder at Eilish. Was she the cause? Surely, not.
“No,” he murmured.
He wouldn’t be put in such a position again. He’d been down that road once, and he didn’t need to travel it ever again. No matter how wonderful she was in bed, no matter how much her courage and magic intrigued him, Ulrik was through with her.
His hand hovered over the silver cuff on his wrist that would take him back to the cottage. The fact that he didn’t want to leave should’ve propelled him away instantly. So why wasn’t he departing?
With every second he remained, he could feel himself spinning wildly. This wasn’t who he was. He was controlled, calm. He was focused and driven. In short, he was obsessed with his vengeance.
He looked away from the Druid and took a deep breath. Then he teleported to the cottage to shower and put on clothes. Thirty minutes later, he was at his desk with his laptop open, reading emails.
