The Darkest Kiss

Mine.

Up and down she continued to move. Her tongue swirled all the while, stroking everything it touched. She cupped the heavy weight of his testicles. He arched into her movements, going deeper, his every muscle clenched tight. She could feel the passion-hum in his blood. Wanted more. Had to have more.

'Changed my mind. Anya, stop. Stop!'

Merciless, she continued her upward glide, flicking her tongue over the swollen head. Sucking. Scraping with her teeth. She treated his cock exactly as she treated her favorite lollipops. Only she liked the taste of him more. Such desire…oh, his desire.

He was hard for her, and only her.

'I'm going to—Anya!' He roared her name as the climax ripped through him, shooting hot seed into her mouth.

She swallowed every drop and even licked the last little bit away, instinctively knowing that would please him. As she sat up, he continued to spasm in pleasure, even though he was spent. His eyes were closed, his mouth open in wonderment. I did this, she thought with pride. Never had she felt more powerful and never had she seen a more erotic sight.

Her own need reaching a new level, she straddled him. She was so wet her panties were soaked.

His eyelids slowly opened and he peered up at her, his expression sated. 'Anya. You did not have to do that.'

'I wanted to,' she said. 'And I want you. Don't ever doubt that again.'

Tenderness glowed on his face. 'What are you keeping from me, then? Why can I not strip you?'

That tenderness…Vulnerability claimed her, for no one other than her mother and her father had ever looked at her like that. As if she were precious. As if she were a treasure. Anya's heart lurched in her chest.

Lucien reached up and caressed her cheek. A shiver traveled through her.

'Why, Anya? I've tried to resist you since the moment I first smelled your strawberry scent,' he said. 'As you can feel, that has not worked out for me.'

Even now, his shaft was growing, thickening with renewed desire. Her eyes widened, and she tried so very hard not to soften even more toward him. If what he said was true, he'd wanted her from the very beginning and had been fighting it. Every unkind word and action had been a means of keeping her at a distance.

He'd hinted at such a thing before. Now, with him underneath her…

She was suddenly conflicted and didn't know what to do with him. Shit. This really complicated things because the basis for her—forced, damn it—dislike and anger had been obliterated.

Still, he wouldn't stop trying to kill her. He couldn't. Unless he chose her over 'all the things he held dear.' How selfish of her to have asked that of him, when she had nothing to give in return.

'Anya.'

'What?' She blinked, returning her focus to Lucien.

His lips twitched. 'Concentrate.'

'Oh, sorry. Did you say something?'

He arched his hips up, rubbing his erection against her clitoris. 'I asked why you want to keep your clothes on. Are you scarred?'

Shiver bumps dotted her skin. 'No.' Not physically, at least.

'It will not bother me if you are. I swear. I will kiss them better,' he said huskily.

Her stomach quivered. What a delicious man. She braced her palms flat on his chest, felt the wild drum of his heartbeat through his tattered shirt. She was going to tell him, she decided. After everything they'd been through, he deserved to know.

'I'm cursed,' she finally admitted. If he reacted poorly, she might be able to loathe him in truth. Her obsession might wane.

His brow furrowed. 'You, too, are possessed by a demon?'

'No. Mine's just a run-of-the-mill curse.'

'Ah, yes. Reyes mentioned a curse, but could not figure out what it was.'

'That's because only a select few know and they are currently in hiding to avoid being locked up by Cronus. Well, and the one who did it knows, but that frigid bitch is behind bars.'

'Who cursed you and why?' There was anger in his tone, as if he meant to kill whoever it was. 'Reyes said it might have been Themis.'

Her stomach did that quiver thing again. 'It was. My mother and Tartarus, Themis's husband, got it on and nine months later—hello, baby Anya. Themis didn't know until she saw me, for I am the female version of my dad, you could say.'

'I remember Tartarus,' Lucien said. 'I used to bring him prisoners. He was an honorable man, even handsome, but I did not want to strip him.'

'Lucien just made a funny.' She grinned. She couldn't help herself. 'When Themis realized what had happened, she kind of freaked out. I didn't understand the full consequences of her curse until days later when the numbness wore off. Gods, I wanted to cut off her head.'

Lust flashed in Lucien's eyes, brief, gone in an instant, but undeniable. 'I do not know why it turns me on to hear you talk like that.'

She thought she knew why. He was Death. He saw weakness and human infirmity on a daily basis. She was a woman who gave as good as she got. She was strong. Determined. And that had to be a welcome change. At least, she hoped so—because that's who and what she was, and she wanted so badly for him to like her.

'Tell me about the curse.' His gaze lowered to the waist of her pants and his fingers soon followed, tracing a line over the upper hem.

Sweet heaven. Here goes. 'If ever I allow a man to penetrate me, I'll be tied to him forever. No other man will appeal to me.'

Lucien's brow once again furrowed. 'That—'

'Is terrible, to think of losing my free will to a man.' Except with Lucien, the thought did not carry such a stigma. 'I will never be able to leave him, no matter what he does to me. If he falls in love with another, all I can do is watch him, longing for him to no avail.'

The more she spoke, the more he radiated sympathy. 'For a long time, my will was bound to Death's. What he wanted to do, I did, unable to stop him.'

'So you know how bad it can be, yes?'

'Yes. Which is why I would never force my will upon yours. Not in something like this.' He licked his lips, leaving a glistening sheen she wanted to taste. 'So you have never…'

'No,' she gritted out with a single shake of her head.

He was still and silent for a long while, just looking at her. She didn't know what was rolling through his mind. His expression was once more blank, unreadable.

Finally he said, 'I judged you harshly and for that, I am sorrier than I can ever say. Anya…' Whatever he meant to add, he must have changed his mind. There was a pause, then, 'Have you ever climaxed?' The words were croaked.

What reaction she'd expected from him, she didn't know. She only knew that wasn't it. An apology? Amazing. 'Only by myself,' she admitted without shame. 'I'm not sure if fingers count as penetration, so I've never allowed a man below the waist.'

'Do you trust me not to penetrate you?'

'I—maybe.' Silly girl. Shouldn't trust him even a little.

An intense fire suddenly banked the contours of Lucien's features. 'Take off your clothes for me, Anya. I won't penetrate you in any way, I swear it. But I do want to touch you. Everywhere. I have to touch you.'

He disappeared before she could reply. Losing her anchor, she crashed facefirst into the mattress with a yelp. She rolled to her back, scowling. That bas—

He reappeared on top of her. And he was naked.

She sucked in a breath, waiting for him to try to shove inside her as Aias had done. There was a storm of panic, but a moment passed and he did nothing. Gradually, the storm receded and she relaxed. As she did, she realized the feel of his weight was divine, the touch of his bare skin pure temptation.