For You, I Will

by Georgia Lyn Hunter

  He flashed across, lowered to his heels, and grabbed the rim. “Darci?”

  She didn’t respond, her gaze trained on her pink-painted toenails now submerged in water.

  Did she really think he’d let that little shit ruin what they’d both fought so hard for? For this life they now had? She was his mate. His very heartbeat and all that mattered. He existed only for her. And why he’d lost it when Finnén threatened her.

  Blaéz stroked his fingers along her bicep needing to touch her. “It’s not you, it’s me, a leannan…”

  When she remained silent, Blaéz rose and pulled off his clothes. He stepped in behind her and sat down. Fuck! He bit back a curse as he slid his legs alongside hers, the steamy water nearly blistering his balls.

  He scooped her hair away from her shoulders and pressed his lips on her nape. “I don’t care that he kissed you—I mean I do, because I’m a possessive bastard when it comes to you. You are mine! But don’t ever imagine that I would blame you for the shitstorm he masterminded.” He rested his brow on her nape, regret choking him. “I’m truly sorry for this mess I brought to you, for hurting you.”

  After a moment, a teary murmur escaped her, “It’s not your fault.”

  No, she’d never blame him for anything. Hell, she’d nearly taken off his head when he implied that he failed her. She looked over her shoulder, her sunflower-hued eyes were huge, wet and red-rimmed. It gutted him, hating that he’d unintentionally made her cry. He kissed the dampness away from her cheek. “Come here, sweetheart.”

  She twisted in his arms, and he pulled her onto his lap. She buried her face against his neck. He wrapped his arms around her, taking his own comfort from the warmth of her curvy body pressed against his. “You are right, it’s over now.”

  Darci suddenly pulled back, her gaze skimming over his chest and stopping on the slow-healing gash on his abs. “I wanted to hurt him so badly for what he did to you.”

  She reached for his wrists. At the scab forming where the cuffs had cut him deeply when he broke free, she gently touched the healing scar. “I’m so sorry you had to see that, see what he did to me.”

  She was apologizing for the lunatic kissing her? “Darci—”

  “No.” She pressed fingers to his lips, stopping him. “Let me say this, okay? When Finnén kissed me, I felt…odd. There was nothing, no connection between us. I wanted to push him away, but his face—he was you—and I thought I was over-reacting.” Her damp gaze searched his as if begging for his understanding. “Then I asked about conceding the bet to me, and when he so readily agreed, I realized the truth. You never, ever give in when it comes to wagers…”

  Blaéz lowered his brow to hers, emotions choking him. So grateful to have her back and unharmed. “No, you are wrong, a leannan.” He pulled back, so he could look into her beautiful eyes. “I never cared about winning this bet. It was tradition, I gamely played along. I’ve always wanted you. Every. Damn. Day. You were my first kiss—my first everything. I’d do anything for you.”

  Her lips trembled. He cupped her face and kissed her gently. When she finally came up for air, she whispered, “I didn’t really mean the bet anyway, I thought you’d say no…”

  “I know.” A smile tugged his mouth. “But you couldn’t resist the challenge, you relish in besting me, and I love that.” He took the loofah from her hand, scooped up some of her lilac bath gel, and stroked it over her arms and chest. As he drew the foamy sponge down her side, he frowned at the purplish bruises on her ribs. “What happened?”

  “It’s nothing.”

  He lifted his hard gaze to hers. “What. Happened?”

  She swallowed. “Finnén got mad when I called him a bastard and told him he’d never be even a smidgen of what you are. He…he hit me.”

  A deadly red haze tore through Blaéz. It took everything in him not to leap out of the tub and go after the fucker. Instead, he concentrated on placing his palm on her hurt ribs, scanned, and found no broken bones. He let his healing powers flow through and coalesces into her injury. “What else?”

  She bit her lip, but at his rigid stare, she sighed. “He had to leave for a few minutes. I think that was when The Morrigan summoned him. He said when he got back, he would make you watch what he did to me. I was so angry, I told him I’d find you, and you would kill him.” She inhaled deeply, before she continued. “That’s when he…when he smashed his foot on my ankle and shattered it so I couldn’t leave.”

  Fury blazed like an inferno. Unable to set it free, he lowered his gaze to the sponge in his hands.

  “Blaéz?” She put her hand under his chin, making him look at her. “I’m okay now, honest. Nora healed my ankle. And my ribs don’t hurt anymore…” She pressed a palm on her upper abdomen and inhaled slowly as if testing for pain. “You have to know, I’ll do anything for you. I wasn’t going to let a snake like him win. It didn’t matter if I got hurt—”

  “It fucking does to me! You are mortal, you could have died.” Anguish swept through him at the very thought. It took a moment before he could speak again. “I don’t like seeing even a mark on you. My heart cannot stand what you went through with that vindictive bastard…” He gently stroked her blemish-free skin. “I’m glad you didn’t use your dagger on him. He could have wield it against you, and that would have ended badly.”

  She grimaced. “Actually…”

  “You did?” he exploded, feeling as if she’d plunged the obsidian blade into his gut.

  She winced. “I was so angry at what he’d done. And when he tried to tear my dress off, I just reacted and summoned the dagger. But he was too close, and I couldn’t get in a good strike. I ended up stabbing him in the sternum. It’s how the punch to my ribs happened.”

  Blaéz hugged her tightly to him, so damn glad Finnén had been too steeped in his hatred of him that he hadn’t realized how easily he could have gotten his revenge had he killed Darci. Without a strong soul-joining because of her fragmented soul, Blaéz couldn’t follow her into death, and he would have lived eternity alone, tormented by his loss.

  It was his greatest fear, losing her.

  “Blaéz?” She eased back a little. Before she said anything, he shook his head, emotions deep and unending, consuming him like a wave. He needed her—needed to be inside her desperately, so the coldness swamping him would dissipate.

  Sliding his hands to her waist, he pulled her onto her knees, and the water undulated in a huge wave, splashing over the rim of the tub as she rose above him. Her face flushed from the too-damn-hot bath. He gently pressed his lips to her healed ribs then ran his tongue up her torso to the underside of her breast before swiping across her hardening nub. Her breath hitched, and she grabbed his hair as he sucked her nipple into his mouth.

  He loved when she did that. The faint, seductive scent of her arousal crowded his nose. But more, he felt her exhaustion, it settled over him like lead. Hell, she needed rest after her ordeal. Ignoring his aching cock, he moved her off him. “C’mon, let’s get out of here. You should call your brother.”

  About to protest, her eyes widened in panic. “Oh, no. Declan. He’s going to be so upset.”

  With him? Indeed. Her kin had already made that known earlier in the night. “It’ll be okay.”

  Blaéz got out, retrieved the bath towel from the rail as she stepped out of the tub. He wrapped the thick fabric around her, swept her into his arms, and strode to the bedroom.

  She looked up at him, the flush on her face from her bath receding, leaving her pale beneath her tan skin. “I lost my cell and my bag…”

  His mouth tightened, not surprised that Finnén had gotten rid of them. “I’ll get you another. Use mine.”

  He set her on the bed, but she grasped his hand before he left to fetch his phone, her eyes dark with despair. “He canceled everything, the caterers, the cake, the flowers—”

  “Don’t fret. It will all be okay,” he promised, freeing a damp curl sticking to her cheek. “I’ll take care of everything.”r />
  Damn bastard!

  Tartarus. Indeed, it was a fitting confinement for him. And Blaéz more than anyone knew the horrors that place held.

  Darci’s eyes flashed open and darted around the gloomy room, taking in the vaulted ceiling, the familiar row of windows on the far side, revealing the stark white winter’s day outside. Oh, thank God! She rubbed her thudding chest in relief. She wasn’t trapped with Finnén. It was over. And Blaéz would finally be safe from his sadistic twin.

  As her heartbeat slowed back to normal, the weight on her stomach registered, along with the warmth against her back. She glanced over her shoulder. Blaéz lay on his front and faced her, his eyes shut. Even in sleep, he’d slung one powerful arm over her waist, keeping her close to him.

  “You stare at me any longer, a leannan,” his sleep-husky voice murmured, “I’ll think you want to lose.”

  Now he would taunt her? She rolled her eyes. “Lose? We both conceded hours ago. The bet’s off.”

  He grunted, eyes still closed.

  Well, then, biting back her smile, she turned to him. She slipped her hand beneath his naked hips and wrapped her fingers around his semi-erect sex. It felt so good to touch him again.

  He stiffened. She stroked him and he grew harder. “Hmm…seems someone’s happy to greet me at least.”

  Blaéz’s heavily muscled body shook with laughter. His eyelids opened marginally, revealing blazing blue strips of hunger. “He’s always excited when you’re about.”

  In that impossibly fast way of his, he moved, his body pinning hers to the mattress as he settled his naked body between her thighs. “Last night, I didn’t make love to you because I felt your exhaustion, and you needed rest after what happened. I could wait. But now? No longer. I need to be inside you so damn bad—”

  His mouth covered hers in a deep kiss, and she slid one of her legs over his muscular one. His rock-hard erection jerked against her panty-covered cleft. Just that slight touch, and desire swelled like a geyser about to go off. A moan slipped free. Darci tightened her arms around his nape and rubbed herself against his rigid cock.

  As Blaéz grasped her underwear and tugged, through her passion-filled miasma, the sounds of noisy rapping on wood drifted to her. A low growl rumbled from deep inside his chest. He pulled his mouth from hers. “Get lost!”

  Laughter sounded. “Blaéz, you have to let her go. It’s your mate’s day for pampering,” Kira yelled through the door.

  At his disgruntled expression, and despite her aching body demanding release, Darci struggled to hold back her smile. She kissed his mouth and ran her palms over his scarred back. “It’s only one day, my love. Don’t you need today to work a miracle—I mean, get everything back on track?”

  He rolled off her and fell back on his pillow. “You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?”

  “No…” She pressed her lips together, but the smile broke free. “Okay, maybe a little.”

  “You’re going to pay.”

  “I can’t wait—”

  “Darciiiiii!” More hammering now. “C’mon, girl, get a move on! The day grows shorter. It’s already past noon.”

  “Don’t break the door,” she hollered back. “I’ll be right down.”

  “Nuh-uh! It’s the day before the wedding. There’ll be no hanky-panky or any quickies! I’m waiting right here,” Kira called out cheerfully. “Don’t trust you guys after waiting all this time.”

  Blaéz’s eyes narrowed.

  “I didn’t say a word,” she protested. Well, not to Kira anyway. “My lips were sealed.” God, she ached so badly for him. If only Kira had waited a half hour more. Darn, if only she’d gotten up a half hour earlier.

  Darci found Kira slouched on the Queen Anne chair ten minutes later, studying a painting on the opposite wall and playing with the beads at the end of her multiple skinny braids. She’d changed her hair color again.

  “Finally.” She jumped up, the beads jangling, and hooked her arm through Darci’s.

  “Purple?” she asked as they made their way to the stairs.

  “Yep.” Kira grinned, the twin dimples in her cheeks flashing as they took the stairs down. “It’s fun. Anyway, I was elected to spring you away from Blaéz. Apparently, my skin’s thicker. The others have gone downstairs. We didn’t think he’d let you out of his sight after last night—jeez! Can you imagine Finnén believing he could get away with that shit? Impersonating Blaéz? And Echo’s new ability? Wow, that was so damn cool. Pity I didn’t get to see her work it—”

  “Wait-wait—” Darci stopped dead halfway down the grand staircase, cutting off Kira’s longwinded speech. “Echo has a new ability?”

  “Yep.” She nodded in excitement, her beads clinking together again, threads of gold slipping through the braided strands and reforming in others. “She tried it last night after you were taken—” she broke off and her gaze flickered upstairs.

  Frowning, Darci looked up as Týr appeared on the landing and loped down the stairs, raking back his damp hair. The soft material of his charcoal-gray Henley stretched over his wide chest at his movements.

  “Hey, Dars, good to see you.” He slowed to a halt, his gaze sliding to Kira. Something shifted in those narrowing dark eyes.

  Kira snorted and turned away only to spin back. “You missed the only rehearsal we had last night.”

  “Was busy. You know, destroying those evil fuckers causing terror out on the streets. Meaningless shit like that.”

  Kira’s mouth tightened at the taunting words, the gold weaving through her hair changing to a fiery red. Anger. “It was one hour—one hour! Clearly, Nik and Dagan are too feeble to handle one measly hour out on the streets without his magnificent presence—”

  “Did you miss me, Fluff?” Týr arched a sardonic brow.

  She scowled. “Anything goes wrong tomorrow, it’s on your head.”

  He smirked, his gaze lingering on her hair. “Maybe I should call you…damn, what’s the name of the purple dinosaur in that kid’s TV show?”

  Barney? Darci frowned.

  Kira pivoted and grasped Darci’s hand. “C’mon, Dars, we have things to do—a bride’s last fling with strippers—it’s gonna be fun!” She practically hauled Darci off in a fast trot.

  “Strippers? Really?” Darci laughed, hurrying to keep up and eyeing her friend curiously. She’d met Kira after she moved into the castle several months ago. Echo’s bubbly, sharp-tongued friend had soon become hers, too. But for some reason, Týr always seemed to rub her the wrong way.

  “Which club are we going to?”

  “As if.” Kira snorted after they’d put some distance between themselves and Týr. “You want Blaéz to have my head? That man’s possessive to the last E in the word. We aren’t leaving the castle, I’m afraid. All indoors.”

  “Bummer.”

  Kira’s hazel eyes darted to her in surprise then she grinned at Darci’s teasing smile, the volatile red streaks in her hair fading. “Hey, I know. You can get that man of yours to do a strip show for us.”

  Darci burst out laughing. Right. She could just imagine how well that would go down. Blaéz would probably prefer a sword in the belly.

  She pushed open the door to the silent kitchen, the place fragrant with the mouth-watering aroma of freshly baked cakes and tarts. The French doors were closed for a change, keeping out the cold. Through the windows, light flakes of snow floated to the terrace. On the island counter, Hedori had laid out platters of sandwiches, tiny cupcakes and vol-au-vents.

  He looked up and his eyes brightened. “Ms. Kira? You’re all set for the afternoon in the blue guest suite, first floor.”

  “Thank you, dear Heds. And please, you’ve known me long enough, don’t call me Miss, or I will never help you cook again.”

  Darci bit her lower lip, hiding her smile at the threat. It would never work. Hedori probably functioned with a prayer in mind when Kira did help him.

  “Of course, Kira. As you wish.”

  Wow. The man had
a soft spot for her then. He glanced at Darci, his orange-green eyes twinkling. “The decorating team is all set for tonight,” he told her. “I’ve explained to them exactly what Blaéz wanted done. Come tomorrow, you’ll have your dream.”

  Darci stared at him, her brow furrowed in confusion.

  “Blaéz spoke to me in the early parts of the morning,” Hedori explained, putting another tray on the counter. “He gave me your bridal magazines and notes. We’ll make this event amazing.”

  Oh. That meant they weren’t able to save anything. She refused to let despair take over. All that mattered was she had Blaéz.

  “By the way,” Hedori said, “Fantasy Cakes were gracious enough about the cancellation and are back on board. From what I could pick up while there, they were already working on the cake.” His eyes gleamed in amusement.

  A smile started. Well, one out of everything else lost wasn’t so bad. Her eyes misted in gratitude. “Thank you so much. I’m really sorry everything’s been dumped on you last minute.”

  “It’s no problem at all. I’m rather excited to do this—”

  At the animated chatter of voices drawing closer, he glanced at the door near the pantry leading to his quarters. At the indecision on his face, Darci felt his need to help—to protect Jenna. Then his torn expression quieted. “Excuse me, Darci. There’s much to be done.” He walked out of the kitchen.

  Darci’s heart went out to him. He’d found his mate, yet he could do nothing about it.

  “Happy bridal shower day!” the girls chorused in unison, streaming in from Hedori’s quarters, Jenna trailing behind them. She’d tied her auburn hair back with a black ribbon, revealing her thin and far too sallow face. Her gray eyes were shadowed.

  “It’s so wonderful that you want to take your vows in our way, too,” she said quietly.

  Darci realized then how badly Jenna probably needed normalcy in her life. Her chest ached, remembering what she’d been through for so many years trapped with an evil rogue angel who’d killed her mate before taking her captive.