Sure, they had plenty of problems stacked up against them like a tall, impenetrable brick wall, but nothing remained to keep them from giving in to their passion for each other.
“I want you, Darrak,” she whispered against his lips.
His eyes blazed with need. “You know how much I love you.”
“Show me. Make love to me.”
It was all the encouragement he needed. He gathered her into his arms and turned her around to press her down against the mattress. She worked to remove his T-shirt and jeans, running her hands over his hot, bare skin.
He kicked off his shoes and unbuttoned her blouse, sliding her pants down her legs. His mouth moved over her curves as he went, filling his hands with her breasts so he could slide his tongue over them, making her arch her back and gasp with pleasure.
She wouldn’t think about their problems. She wouldn’t think about anything but this moment. She’d do like Darrak always suggested and live in the now. The future was not invited.
“I love you,” he whispered again after he’d explored her body inch by inch.
“Darrak, I—” But anything she would have said next was swept away by the feeling of him filling her in one deep thrust. It swept away her thoughts, her words, her entire universe.
Eden clung to him as he moved inside of her and she captured his handsome face between her hands, staring deeply into his ice blue eyes — such a cool color to be filled with so much heat. He felt so good, smelled so good, tasted so good.
Darrak made her feel better than anyone ever had in her entire life.
People like Ben, like Leena, like her mother, thought what they had between them was wrong. That it was impossible for her to care this deeply for a demon and for that demon to care about her in return.
But Darrak wasn’t exactly a demon anymore, was he? He was special. He was unique.
He was hers.
She arched against him as it felt as if she exploded into a million pieces of pleasure and couldn’t help but cry out against his lips. A moment later, her name left his lips in a harsh, raspy groan as he experienced his own shattering moment of completion.
They lay naked on her bed, side by side, the covers tossed off and the shadows of the dark room playing across their bodies. Darrak held her hand tightly in his, their fingers entwined, and stared into her eyes as she relearned how to breathe.
“Yes,” she whispered, trailing her fingertips down his bare chest. “That was very good.”
He pulled her closer, his lips tracing the contour of her jaw. “No spell.”
“Gone for good.”
Darrak slid his hand over her hip, then around to her back where he played up the length of her spine. She nestled closer to his warmth, which had thankfully returned now that everything was back in proper alignment.
“I think I could get used to this,” she said.
“You, me, a messy bed.”
“To hell with everything else.”
A smile played at his lips. “I have a feeling you’d need food. Eventually, anyway. We could always send out for chocolate donuts.”
“You know the way to a girl’s heart.”
He slowly trailed his fingers over her face, then down her throat, collarbone, and breasts. He swirled his thumb around her nipple, which made it extremely difficult to think properly.
She wanted him again. And again.
“Darrak, please…”
“Please what?” He was grinning now.
She eyed him and couldn’t help but smile as well. “Don’t be so smug, demon.”
“Smug? Moi?” He leaned forward and kissed her shoulder, but his fingers didn’t stop playing with her sensitive flesh until he replaced them with his tongue. Her mind went white. “You want me, Eden?”
“No, you absolutely disgust me.” She grinned and captured his mouth, kissing him deeply. “Yes, I want you.”
“And you need me?”
“Oh, yes.”
He leaned closer to whisper in her ear. “And you love me?”
She took his face between her hands and stared deeply into his eyes. “Of course I do.”
He pulled back, locking gazes with her. A frown creased his brow. “I’ve been thinking a lot. You know, between the bouts of agony and confusion.”
Eden raised an eyebrow. “Should I be scared?”
“Possibly.”
“What have you been thinking about?”
“Stanley.”
“You’ve been thinking about Stanley? Before, during, or after we had sex?”
He laughed. “Not now, trust me. No, I’ve been thinking about him and his decisions lately. Especially when it comes to Nancy. He and I had a little talk about his proposal to her.”
“Oh yeah?”
“Stanley was a selfish loser, never thought much about anyone but himself and his next conquest.”
“I remember. But what’s your point?”
“I was like Stanley, sort of. Way better looking, of course.” He flashed her a wry grin. “Less balding, anyway.”
“No argument here.”
“But when it comes to faulty starts, him and me — we’re a lot alike. Until we met a couple of very special women. Stanley met Nancy… and I met you.”
Darrak looked so serious right now it almost made her laugh. By the looks of things, his brush with mortality had given him much to think about. “You did. So what’s your point?”
He met her gaze and held it. “Eden, this is going to sound crazy, but it feels right. Especially now. I… I just…”
She stroked the messy dark hair off his forehead. What was this all about? “Just say it. It’s okay.”
Darrak sat up completely and brought Eden up next to him, clasping her hands in his. His eyes were so full of sincerity she had a moment of fear about what exactly he wanted to tell her, what confession he suddenly wanted to make.
“What, Darrak? Talk to me.”
He searched her face. “Eden… marry me.”
She blinked. “What?”
He squeezed her hands tighter. “We’ve been through so much together and… I know it’s a human concept that doesn’t normally apply to demons, well, like
She gaped at him for a long moment before she tried to speak, but nothing came out. Her mouth had dried up like a box of sand.
What was he doing? Just what exactly had she clicked into place when she’d been shifting his dark and light jigsaw pieces apart before?
“Darrak… I–I don’t know what to say. I’m surprised you’d ask me… this. It’s just, I…”
A shadow of doubt entered his expression. “It was stupid, wasn’t it?”
“No.” She gripped his hands. This was so unbelievably sweet and unexpected and… she didn’t know how to deal with this. A wistful sensation passed through her wishing things could be different than they were. Wishing they were remotely normal and could discuss things like this seriously. “Not stupid. Just not — Darrak, I… it’s just not something we should even be thinking about right now. There’s too much to deal with. I mean, at the very least
