Dark Desire After Dark

37

We got up here just in time. Storms are blowing to the south…' He trailed off when he found Holly reclining in the tub, wearing nothing but her pearls.

She crooked her finger at him. 'It's big enough for two in here.' Steam was rising all around her and firelight flickered over her skin—just as he'd imagined earlier.

'You don't have to ask me twice.' He dropped the firewood he'd been carrying and stripped off his clothes.

'Is that enough wood to keep us warm tonight?'

Easing into the water behind her, he drew her up between his legs, until the smooth curves of her ass cradled his stiffened shaft. 'I'll keep you warm. Don't you worry about that,' he said, brushing his lips against her neck until she shivered.

He leisurely skimmed a hand down her body to her sex, slowly stroking for long, long moments. When he slipped his finger inside her, he found her already nice and slick. With a moan, her legs fell open against his.

With his other hand, he pinched her nipples, one then the other, rolling them between his thumb and forefinger. Her arms fell back, her fingers lacing together behind his neck.

When he pressed the heel of his palm against her clitoris, she started rocking on the finger inside her, so he gave her another.

She arched her back, her pert ass flexing against his cock. His hissed in a breath as the swollen crown rubbed over her curves. He could draw his fingers away and be inside her so easily, impaling her on his length. And he knew she would happily accept him….

As if she read his mind, she murmured, 'Cadeon, I want you to take my virginity.'

This was straight out of his fantasies—where it should remain. But how many more times could he resist before he lost control? 'I can't. I never want to hurt you.' He didn't only mean physically. Cade might not have had a way out of lying to her, but he had a choice about this.

Gently nudging his hand away, she rolled over between his legs, her slick breasts rubbing over his chest. 'Is that the only reason?'

'You're not on the pill, and you're the Vessel…'

'It's not the right time of the month for me to conceive. But even if I did, it wouldn't be the end of the world.'

'It might just be if I'm the father. Remember the ultimate evil part?'

'You're not evil.'

She wouldn't feel that way for long. 'Holly, you have no idea.' He set her away, then got out of the tub, snatching a towel from a nearby chair.

'You can't convince me of that so don't even try. It's because of the pregnancy thing, isn't it? I know this is a lot to think about. But I wouldn't hold you responsible—'

His shoulders shot back, and he narrowed his eyes. 'You think I can't take care of my female and my kid?'

As soon as he'd said those words he stilled—just as he had on the bridge talking to Tera. The sheer obviousness of it. Why did something feel as if it had just shifted into place?

'Of course, you can. I was just—'

'That has nothing to do with it. You haven't even seen me at my worst. Holly, I could kill you.'

'No, Cadeon'—she reached from the tub, and plucked up a large splinter of wood—'you can't.' She dragged it over her forearm.

'Holly! What are you…' He trailed off when the cut began healing instantly.

'You can't hurt me. I'm an immortal now.'

'But the change—I thought you didn't want this.'

She rose and sauntered up to him, water drops trickling over her sleek body. 'I want to stay like this.' Her eyes were silvery. He couldn't look away, couldn't pull back, even when she reached under the towel and started stroking his cock.

'What changed your mind?' Say I did. Say it was me!

'You. I want to be with you, completely. I want to make love with you.'

Everything he'd dreamed of hearing from her. And still he forced himself to say, 'It won't happen, Holly.'

She'd tried reasoning with Cadeon, but he'd held firm. It was time to play dirty. 'You win.' She ran her fist up and down his length, stripping his towel. 'Then let's just release some steam.'

She kissed down his chest and torso, nuzzling the trail of hair below his navel before kneeling in front of him on the fur hearthrug. Hands flat against his chest, she took his shaft between her lips, licking the broad head.

'Ah, Holly, that's it…' Threading his fingers in her hair, he guided her head. 'Gods, it's so good when you do that…'

Soon he was subtly thrusting as he did when on the verge. His body tensed, his erection pulsing.

Her hands eased down to his ankles. Grasping them tight, she wrenched upward with all her might.

Caught off guard, he dropped flat on his back. 'Holly!' he roared. 'What the fuck—'

But she was already straddling him.

He tossed her to her back on the fur. 'Is that how we're to play this?' he grated. He didn't recognize his own voice.

When he pinned her arms over her head, his cock slipped against her damp sex, making him shudder with want. She rolled her hips at the same time, almost dooming them both—because for one perfect moment, the crown had nudged right at her entrance.

His gaze trailed from her face to her breasts, rising and falling with her hectic breaths. With a groan, he dropped his head to suckle her.

As his tongue swirled around one of her nipples, he couldn't stop himself from rocking his cock against her folds again, hunting her wetness for that connection again.

She was looking for it, too, undulating her hips. 'Cadeon…please.' She didn't know how to ask for what she needed.

'Does it ache inside?'

'Yes!'

He drew his hips back to slip up and down…again that tightness began to glove him, giving him a maddening glimpse of what it could be like. 'You need my shaft in you?' Why was he teasing her like this? When he had no intention of taking her fully? 'But are you wet enough to take it?'

'I am…' she moaned.

At her ear, he whispered, 'You want me to mount your little sheath? Ride you till you clench for my seed?'

At that, her head thrashed, her hair tossing on the fur. 'Cadeon, why?'

He didn't know why he was goading her, pushing her. He needed something from her. As he suckled her breast, he tried to read his own instinct. An ache, a need for more than just plunging inside her.

No! The only thing he needed was the will to stop this.

But why? He couldn't permanently hurt her. She was an immortal. Wanted to be one because he was.

'Please…'

Holly, wet for him, begging him to take her…he tried to recall all the reasons this was a bad idea. But he'd wanted her for so long.

'Let my hands go,' she murmured. 'I'll be good.'

He released her, his own hands trailing beneath her to cup her ass. 'Ah, gods!' he bit out, when he prodded right at her soft core again. The scent of his female's need, those beseeching moans…they were triggers he couldn't fight. He was turning. 'I'm going to…lose control.'

Suddenly he wanted to bite her, to pump his seed inside her body, marking her as his own.

No! I can't have what I want… He began to draw away from her—