“Even now, you love her when there is no hope left.”
With his back facing her, looking over the land below, he replied, “In that, my queen of darkness, we are both damned.”
CHAPTER SIX
Marcus.
Lying flat on her belly, Ella stretched her hand over the cool mattress, searching for the warmth her husband provided. Lifting her head from the pillow, she blinked her eyes to peer around the semi-darkness of her bedroom. Propping herself up on her elbows, she didn’t remember getting undressed or climbing into bed. Last night, she had been overwhelmed with the desire for revenge and thoughts of murder. Scrunching her eyes closed, she flicked back over the scenes between the Morrigan and Dagda she had witnessed. She heard Ariana’s name mentioned and saw the weary look of loss the old warrior displayed. This Dagda cursed Ariana’s children, but felt remorse.
A callused hand closed around and cupped her breast. Wet kisses rained down on her bare shoulder, sending shivers down her spine to her toes. A fresh citrus scent invaded as a broad chest rubbed over her back and a strong hairy leg clamped over her thighs, claiming her. Ella wriggled back into Marcus and his cock nudged between her legs. As he rocked his hips back and forth, his erection stroked along her sex. The ever-present need Marcus had for her overwhelmed and exhilarated her. The same urgent need swam inside her too. Her core clenched in anticipation and it pulsed as he pushed her thighs apart with his leg. In one swift motion, he sank his shaft deep inside, filling her. He groaned and held her tight. She wriggled and relaxed her muscles, adjusting to his possession.
Marcus wrapped his arm around her waist and rocked back and forth, stoking the fire deep within her as he nuzzled her neck. A delightful creeping of pleasure rose and he bit down on her shoulder. Ella gasped at the sudden pain, but pivoted back to allow him room to thrust farther. The riot of pulsing waves brought her closer and closer to orgasm, Marcus’s sensual assault relentless until he brought her to climax. He kissed, nipped, and sucked her tender flesh at the curve of her neck until she moaned out loud. He worked her body into a sensual puddle of desperate want and need. Every nerve ending twitched with yearning for more as he tweaked the hard nipple of her right breast. He touched her everywhere, and stirred her body in the most erotic way. Ella bent her head back, resting on his shoulder as he deepened their joining. A fan of delicious ripples ruptured from her belly, and she cried out.
“That’s it, baby. Let go.”
Ella couldn’t hold on any longer and she let the rolling orgasm sweep her away with euphoria. The orgasm clawed through her bloodstream and set off tiny fireworks, ripping her into a million pieces. Marcus pummeled her body as her muscles clenched and milked his cock. Exhausted, she collapsed flat on the mattress, and he growled his release at her back, thrusting one last time, before he sagged over her. Loving the closeness and feel of him, she sighed when he slid to his side and broke the connection.
He drew her against his chest, spooning her, and swept the strands of hair that covered her face away. “Your sweet naked body is such a temptation. I can’t get enough. I want you all over again.”
Marcus planted a kiss on her neck and her stomach tightened at his whispered words. The intensity with which he loved her aroused her every time, but they needed to get up. Nate would wake soon, and she wanted to hear how the interviews went last night. Ella glanced at the clock on the bedside, which flashed five o’clock, and twisted around, placing her hand on his cheek.
“What time did you get in last night?”
He gave a lazy smile. “I arrived home this morning around two thirty to find Sleeping Beauty snoring on the couch.” He dropped a light kiss on her lips.
“I don’t snore.”
“Sweetheart—you’re adorable, but you snore loud enough to wake the dead.”
Ella chuckled and smacked him. This rare and relaxed side to Marcus she loved the most. Clutching his chest, he feigned being hurt, but it drew attention to his shiny chiseled abs, moist from his recent work-out on her body, which left her drooling. Running her finger over his tattoos, outlining the black scrolls and frog skeleton, highlighted the risk-taking warrior she adored. Dark, intense eyes narrowed as they met hers. She knew that look. She needed to move or be swept under by his tantalizing hands that stroked her hip.
“Something weird happened last night when I fell asleep…”
Marcus laughed. “Falling asleep with Nate around is weird.”
“I’m serious.”
“So am I, sweetheart.”
“Well, he’s sleeping longer through the night now.”
“I know. Anyway, what were you saying?”
She sighed. “When I opened my eyes, I was another woman. I saw things through her eyes. I felt her emotions pulsing inside me. Rage and love. The power inside her was like nothing I have ever seen or witnessed. She talked to a man called Dagda, who once loved Ariana. But she didn’t return his love. He was the one who cursed her descendants—us. Dagda’s a god, Marcus—a king among gods. Anyway, he lost the throne as a result, but he said he wanted to undo the curse. This woman didn’t want that, and he called her the Morrigan, his queen
