Banshee Seduction (Montgomery's Sin Book 1) (24 page)

His intensity washed over her, chasing away the chill. Heat flooded her system, and she reached out for him, almost laughing as he lay half on, half off her small sofa, his huge frame obscuring the shaft of moonlight and throwing his features into darkness.

The delicate touch of his lips to the tip of her nose enslaved her; the soft brush of his breath against her cheek as he spoke filled her heart until she could barely breathe past the passion he’d induced.

He nuzzled her ear. “Perhaps we should move to the bed.”

Her smile widened as she smoothed his thick hair from his forehead, stroked her fingers around his ear, and then cupped the back of his neck to draw him in for a gentle kiss. As their lips parted, a thought stole past her languor. “The bed is still broken.”

Cool air rushed in as he lifted his body from hers. “Wait there.”

The man was gone in a moment, and she propped herself up on her elbows so she could scan the empty room while she wondered what was expected of her. She glanced down at herself; the silver moon cast its soft fingers of light over her. Shocked at the wanton display she made stretched out on her sofa, she stared at her wide-open legs. Her panties lay torn and abandoned, flicked onto the floor, she assumed, as she’d writhed beneath his ministrations.

Florid embarrassment filled her cheeks, and she suspected they probably glowed in the dark as she struggled upright, tugging her skirt down while she listened to the sounds coming from her bedroom. Grateful for the lack of neighbors, she wondered what on earth Matt was up to as she heard the loud scraping of furniture being moved, followed by a hefty whooomff.

Self-doubt trembled over her skin. The man was a sexual god, and she had no idea what she should do next. Her knees trembled as another loud bang erupted from her bedroom.

The wet between her thighs decided her, and she made a move toward the bathroom, only to be halted by the appearance of a giant, naked, and obviously very interested male. A shaft of moonlight cut across to highlight his lower regions. The rampant fire in her cheeks burst into an inferno.

He’d stolen her voice and the accompanying voices of her banshee choir. She raised a hand and pointed at the bathroom door in lieu of speaking. The loud thrum of her pulse escalated in response to the sexy smile that spread over his face. The shadows emphasized the deep lines forming on either side of his mouth.

“I…”

He used his thumb to indicate the door behind him. “Adventurous of you. I’m sure we can try the shower another time, but I think you’ll find it more comfortable in here.”

She twined her fingers together at her waist, aware of how nervous it made her appear. He’d deliberately misunderstood her and tried to smooth the way, but still she hesitated. He stepped forward, and she drew in a breath, letting it out in a hot rush of words. “I thought I should…maybe…clean up.”

His smile widened as he came closer and raised his hand to touch her cheek. A master of seduction, he placed his warm lips against her temple in a soothing touch. He’d burned her flesh; now he was about to incinerate her heart. She wasn’t sure she was ready for the next step.

“There’s no need.” He trailed a line of kisses across to her ear, eliciting a fine tremble to run down her neck and warm her chest. “Sex is a messy business, Ginny.” Her eyelids fluttered closed, and she raised her hands to rest them against his wide chest. The strong beat of his heart kicked under her palm. “It’s wet…” He dipped his tongue into the shell of her ear and made her squirm. “…slippery…” He sucked her soft lobe into his mouth and crumbled her resolve. “…and if you do it right…” He nipped her flesh and made her knees weaken. “…it’s dirty…”

She drew in a breath to reply and let it out again in a panicked rush as he scooped her into his arms.

As he strode through the bedroom doorway and then stopped, she glanced around and almost laughed. For an unruly beast, better placed on the gridiron, he certainly seemed to have a romantic streak. Soft golden light nudged the darkness back. There was no need to ask how he’d lit the three candles she kept grouped on her bedside table. Tapers were never going to be an issue with a dragon shifter in the room. As the flames flickered, the subtle scent of vanilla wafted on the heavy night air.

Surprise coaxed a restrained laugh from her as she looked at the up-ended bedstead propped against the side wall. The mattress was neatly laid in the middle of the wooden floor, the covers turned down in invitation.

Mouth suddenly dry, the smile fell from her lips as doubt shivered through her. “Matt, I…”

With a suddenness that belied his size, he whipped around. Her head gave a solid thwack against the half-open door, and sparks—nothing to do with romance—shot through her skull.

“Aaargh!”

“Oh shit, shit. I’m sorry. Ginny. I’m sorry.”

With less gentility than an ape, he dumped her on the bed, leaped on top of her, and cradled her throbbing head between his enormous hands.

“You moron. What were you thinking?” The shrillness of her voice almost made her own ears bleed, and she tried to reel it in.

He placed a desperate kiss on her temple, where she knew a lump had already formed as a swathe of bright lights lit up the back of her eyelids.

“I’m sorry. I was going to close the door.” His warm lips kissed the middle of her forehead, the bridge of her nose. Then he buried his face in her neck and snorted with laughter, sending ticklish shudders to chase goose bumps over her skin

She squelched the urge to laugh with him. “What for? We’re alone.” Still sharp, the banshee screech subsided considerably as he soothed her with a touch of his lips to the tip of her nose.

“In case anyone decided to zip in here. I misjudged. I’m sorry.”

She shoved at his wide shoulders to no effect.

“You’re a gorilla.”

His mouth pulled into a wide smile against hers as he settled her more comfortably, and with no effort at all, wrapped a muscular arm around her. “A dragon.”

She curled her fingers in his long blond hair and gave a punishing yank, satisfied to hear his low grunt of pain. “A clumsy dragon.”

Undeterred, he parted her lips with his own, sipped from her, and agreed with an appreciative grumbling noise, making her chest vibrate with the feel of it.

“Are you okay? Will you live, or do I need to take you to the ER?”

It occurred to her that her own snort was unladylike, but then he wasn’t the typical gentleman. “I’ll live.”

“Let me kiss it better.”

He cruised his mouth over her temple, kissed her closed eyelids one at a time, and then returned to her smiling lips. “Better?”

“Hmmm. Maybe.”

“Let me try again.”

This time his touch was featherlight, but when his lips returned to her mouth, they were firmer, more demanding, and heat spread over her chest and up her neck to take her back to the zone. The one she’d been deeply ensconced in before he’d tried to decapitate her. She tried not to laugh as the errant thought snaked through her mind.

“Ginny?”

“Yes?” She couldn’t stop the giggle, not until he raised his head and his fierce green eyes glowed, intense and serious.

“Can we please have sex now? Before I die.”

She raised her hand and tucked his hair behind his ear, just to have it drop forward again in a silken swathe of golden luxury. Her pulse bumped up its rhythm and threatened to out-boogie the singing banshees. “I don’t think anyone has ever died from not having sex, but I’m a little worried sex with you might kill me.”

His chest rumbled with silent laughter, but his mouth remained serious. “I’ll tell you what, Ginny. Any time you think you might be going to heaven, you just holler out my name, okay?”

She grinned. She might just take him up on his offer.

Tired of waiting, she yanked his hair again, and this time the beast moved obligingly as she took his lips with her own and plunged her tongue inside his mouth to sample his smoky taste, anticipating the heaven he’d promised.

“Ginny.” His gruff voice grazed her hearing.

“Hmmm?” A dozen female voices protested as he withdrew from her arms.

“I’d rather have you naked.” The jade glint of his eyes gave her a moment’s pause as it occurred to her he might just be about to devour her whole. She considered the peril of it for a split second before she sinuously raised her arms above her head and gave him her best sultry look and a quick flick of her eyebrow.

“Help yourself, beast-boy.”

If she’d had any idea he was about to scorch the clothes straight off her body, she would never have made the invitation. As cinders dropped from her, she gaped at him before smacking his shoulder. “Well, I could have achieved that, but I’m trying to cut down on burning my clothes on account of the expense.”

His warm breath swept over her, eliminating any remaining sparks of fire and sweeping away the dust.

“And also—” She really wanted to stop nagging him, but nerves were getting the better of her, and whatever was inside needed to come out. “—I really did not want to get the vacuum out at this time of night.”

“Ginny.”

The hint of laughter in his voice subdued the banshees in her head. “What?”

“Hush. It’s going to be all right.” And then he kissed her and emptied her head of all thoughts of housework.

He used his mouth, his lips, and his teeth to set her on fire. His fingers touched nerves she never knew existed, and she tried to keep up, but he weakened her and persuaded her to let him do it all to her while she lay back and took it. She wanted to be vibrant and energetic, but he melted her limbs. When he touched her thighs, her legs parted; when he stroked her swollen core, she groaned with longing, no longer embarrassed by the thick coating of juices he spread with his fingers. When he entered her, filled her in a long, deep move, she rejoiced in it and surrendered, moving with abandon to match his rhythm.

Wonder slid through her veins, heating her flesh, and when his smooth rocking tempo built to a slow crescendo, he took her to a place she had never known, far beyond Heaven and the stars and the galaxy. Far beyond life as he branded himself on her soul.

He wondered if she’d think him a pitiful freak if she knew he’d lain awake all night watching her sleep. He’d been unable to help himself. She was his mate. The keeper of his soul. Yet, she had no idea. Not yet.

He stared as the waning candlelight spread its buttery fingers across her skin to cast a golden halo around her.

With a soft expulsion of breath of the non-fiery variety, he propped himself above her so he could study her further. She’d seared him with her beauty. Not just the outward covering of deliciousness, but her inner soul. The sweetness of it held him transfixed, and in the brief moment when he was tempted to claim her without her permission, she changed him forever. For claiming in the dragon realm was not about the possession of a mate, but the joining together of two souls with utter clarity and total permission.

He slipped from her bed and blew out another breath as he headed for the bathroom.

His eyes gleamed a translucent green with shots of gold sparkling back at him from her ancient mirror. He leaned in closer, not sure for a moment if it wasn’t just the dawn light, but then he realized it was the dragon that stared back at him. Frustration vibrated through its center, and he knew if he let it, it would howl in anger because he’d deprived it of their mate. He took a calming breath.

Time enough. The woman needed space to grow to love him, but it needed to be her choice. A dragon shifter had no choice. Destiny decreed who his mate would be, and he had one chance. Only one.

His first challenge was to find his mate. The second was to fall in love. The third was to hope that his partner would fall in love too. He flicked the hair back from his face and smiled at his own reflection, noting the long fangs of the barely restrained dragon. Two out of three wasn’t bad.

The soft tap on the closed door made him tether the beast. He swung the door open and almost swallowed his tongue. The banshee looked even better in the soft gray light of morning, ruffled and sexy, as though she spent the night making love. Her normally sleek blonde hair stood up in a cobweb of spikes around her pink, flushed face.

“Are you all right? You’ve been in here forever.”

He hadn’t realized he’d stood for so long thinking of her. Come to think of it, the chill of the morning had pebbled his flesh, and as she gave him a quick sweeping glance, he knew she hadn’t missed anything. Not the effect of the cool air, nor in contrast, his heated reaction to her.

Amused by the shy flicker of her gilt-tipped eyelashes, he reached out and gave a quick yank on the front of her colorful wrap, snaking his arm around her as she stumbled into him.

“I’m fine. I was just thinking.”

“Oh.” She sucked in her bottom lip and shot flames through to the pit of his stomach. More powerful than she realized, she had utter control over him. “Perhaps I should leave you to it, then.”

“Too late.” He grinned down at her, desperate to keep things light. He dipped in to take her lush bottom lip into his own mouth and give a soft suck. He swiped his tongue across its plumpness and then retreated to study her flushed face, the vague flutter of her fingers.

“I thought you might have wanted a shower. The faucets are a bit difficult.”

His smile widened as she continued to fluster. He would never get bored with this woman, not in a million years. Unable to resist her, he hauled her up and held her easily with one arm comfortably wrapped all the way around her slight body.

Almost laughing at the ease with which he turned on the so-called difficult faucet, he lowered her to her feet. Desire slid through him as she tilted her head in another display of morning-after shyness. Instead of waiting to watch her shuck her robe, he turned and stepped boldly into the shower.

He heard the warning tone in her voice a split second before the icy stream of water on his already chilled flesh sluiced over him with enough ferocity to freeze his blood. He screamed like a girl, almost competing with the banshees in tone and volume. He leaped out of the shower, skidding across the tiled floor to land with a loud fleshy smack at her feet on his cold, naked ass. The vibrations shot through his body and stole what little he had left of his breath.