bedeviled & beyond 04 - bedeviled & belittled (4 page)

“Shit! Do you want me to kick his ass?”

Dialle’s smile made my sexual core clench. He reached toward me, caressing the teardrop-shaped daemon hickey on my neck. Sparks met the touch of his finger against my skin. A tsunami of sensual feeling roared over me, making me shudder with lust.

“I like this new, protective instinct toward me, my love.”

Forcing myself to turn away, I moved to stand in front of the single, large window behind my desk. “Don’t get too excited, bud. It’s in my nature to protect. I’d protect you if you were a stranger on the street.”

The air behind me heated and strong hands found my shoulders, sliding to my throat and down, to cup my breasts. Talented fingers tweaked my nipples, bringing them to hard points beneath my soft sweater.

His lips closed over the tender flesh of my neck and I dropped my head to the side, giving him better access. He kissed his way down to my shoulder and then across the nape of my neck to the other side. When his mouth closed over the daemon hickey, enveloping it in heat, I was gone.

Dialle sucked on the tender flesh, drawing jolts of pleasure from my sensual core with each strong pull. I cried out, leaning heavily against the warm, smooth skin of his chest. I realized he’d shed his clothes with a thought. A cool draft on my belly told me he’d shed mine too.

His talented fingers left my nipples and slid down my belly, into the moist curls at the juncture of my quivering thighs. The hand closed over my mons and two, strong fingers slid inside. I shuddered, moaning.

Bending me toward the wall, he leaned over me and whispered in my ear. “I’ll miss you, lovely halfling.” I felt the thick, hard head of his erection against my throbbing entrance and, when he drove deep, I moaned, teetering on the bright edge of my release.

Dialle groaned as my body clasped him and began a leisurely, sensual assault. His hard flesh slid slowly in and out of my body, stopping each time just before the fat head of his shaft left my clutching warmth.

As my orgasm built low in my belly, I widened my stance and bent lower, resting my forehead against the cool glass of the window. I lifted my ass higher to give him better access. His lips found the sensitive skin of my back, feathering a warm trail up my spine as his hard length branded me from the inside.

His strokes were long and slow, building release like a smoldering fire, rather than a raging inferno. But the result was no less combustible for the tenderness of his assault. My body burned for him. The air around us flamed and roiled from our mating. My sexual core was painful with yearning. I felt his every kiss, his every touch, like a lick of fire against my skin.

He reached around my body and laid a strong finger against my clitoris. Without moving the finger, he sent a jolt of power into the tender bud of flesh and my world exploded. Sensation roared through me. My muscles stiffened against the onslaught and stars burst before my eyes. Pleasure rolled over me and my knees buckled. If it weren’t for Dialle’s iron grip around my waist I would have hit the floor.

Somewhere at the edge of my awareness I realized Dialle’s flesh jerked within me. His arms were iron bands around my body as he succumbed to his own violent release. As he spent himself in hot jets that burned deep into my core, his lips formed my name like a tender caress.

I’ll return to you as soon as I can, Astra.

And then he was just...gone.

Still panting, I straightened away from the wall as the televisual sounded a beep to warn me of an incoming transmission. I turned around just as my sister’s face swam on line. She didn’t say a word, just lifted an eyebrow. “A bit underdressed for the office aren’t you, Astra?”

I looked down and shrieked. Dialle had forgotten to think my clothes back onto me before he left. “End visual!”

A wry smile touched my sister’s lips as her face disappeared from the screen. Taking a deep breath, I looked around for my clothes. Nothing. He’d blipped them into the great unknown. Damn! I hated when he did that!

All I had was my long, leather trench coat and an old pair of boots. I headed toward them. “What’s up, Darma?”

“I wondered if you’d heard from Dialle. I guess that question has been answered.”

I frowned toward the back of the televisual, just barely resisting the urge to stick my tongue out at it. “Why do you ask?”

“He took Torre with him off plane. To some insurrection or something. I-I’m worried, Astra.”

My sister had never been in love before. She’s always been the efficient, practical, dependable sort...with the sour temperament that goes along with all that selflessness like crackers with chili. But recently she’d discovered love with Dialle’s brother, Torre. It had been a true wonder to watch happen. And, mostly, I was happy that she’d managed to find some poor shlug to drag around by the ear. But she didn’t really know the rules of dating, so I’d sort of become her dating confident.

A very uncomfortable position to be in. Believe me. You’ve heard the term, “kill the messenger” right? You should have been there the night I told her she couldn’t be at Dialle’s crowning ceremony.

Pulling the cool leather over my shoulders, I shivered from the memory.

But, true warrior that I am, I took a deep breath and gave her the bad news. “They’ll likely be gone for a while.”

Rigid, angry silence emerged from the televisual. I was really glad I couldn’t see her face at that moment. It would probably turn me to stone.

“Darma?”

“I’m going to find him.”

I dropped my butt into a chair and grabbed a boot, shaking my head. “You can’t. Don’t even think about it, Darma.”

“Why not? Who’s going to stop me?” She was quickly approaching a level of shrieking that could be used as a weapon all by itself. I grimaced and tugged on the second boot.

“Nobody’s going to stop you, Darma. I just meant that Torre wouldn’t want you there...”

A gasp sounded from the blackened communication screen. I hurried on before she exploded the televisual. “Because you’d be in danger. He would want you to stay here and be safe.”

“I don’t care what he wants. I’m terrified for him. I want to go and protect him!”

Shaking my head, I dropped my butt into my office chair. “He’s not a helpless little babe, Darma.” Though, with Darma around he was darn close to it. Despite the fact that it had been several months since she’d discovered her own powers, she still scowled at the use of magic, and poor Torre, in a confused effort to please his lady love, refused to use his powers when she was around, making him pretty much a walking target around the big, bad, nasties. “And he’s got Dialle and an entire army behind him.” I reminded her.

I was pretty much winging the army part. I didn’t really know how many of his soldiers Dialle had taken with him. I mean...it’s not like we’d had an in-depth conversation before he’d left. My body tingled anew and my cheeks pinked in memory of his last few minutes in my office. But he wasn’t stupid, so I had to assume he’d taken backup. Going into one of the dark planes without some serious muscle behind you would be moronic.

Dialle was a seriously hot Royal Devil. He was sex and yumminess personified. But he was not a pretty package with an empty head. He was shrewd and cynical, like a good ruler should be, and he would approach the current situation, his first real test as king, with the utmost care and consideration.

I reached over and flipped the visual back on. My sister’s overly pale face shimmered onto the screen. Her pretty blue eyes looked haunted and I noticed they had small purplish arcs under them. She was really worried. “Look Darma, Dialle’s a warrior and he’s very smart. He wouldn’t go into this situation without a significant army behind him and he’ll protect his brother with his life. You don’t need to worry about him. Really.” I tried a smile and it seemed to help. She sighed and nodded her head.

“Okay.”

I took a deep breath, feeling as if I’d done something good.

It didn’t last long.

“But if anything happens to him I’m holding you personally responsible, Astra. And I’m going to come over there and kick your naked ass!”

Her storm cloud of a face disappeared from the screen and I flopped back in my chair, all good feelings gone. “Amazing.” Not for the first time I wondered what poor, sweet, Torre saw in the dragon queen.

The outside office door opened and I realized Emo was back. I stood up, intending to go get a report from him, and then remembered I was dressed like a midnight snack. I wondered if I should risk space shifting to my vehicle but quickly decided against it. I wasn’t all that good at space shifting. Once I’d ended up half inside a supra-demon. Shuddering at the memory, I clutched my leather coat close and headed for the door, chin held high.

I kicked demon ass for a living. I made bad guys quake in their cloven hooves. I was badass personified. I am halfling, hear me roar! Yeah. I could do this. I could face a sweet, sexy partner and get a simple report from him. So what if I was dressed like a street flasher?

Still, my hands shook slightly as I pulled open my office door.

CHAPTER THREE

UnSettled

A friend for life is truly rare, his loyalty a treat.

A friend in love can strip you bare, and knock you off your feet.

I could hear him moving around the office, shuffling papers and sliding drawers open and closed. He would be filing his report from the latest job and organizing his desk. For the last couple of months, since the strain had begun to really show between us, Emo had become scrupulously tidy and almost obsessively organized. I had assumed, at first, that he was just trying to keep tension to a minimum between us by working extra hard to be a good partner, but it had reached the point, lately, where I had to wonder if he weren’t compensating for something.

I emerged from the hallway and saw him. He was standing in front of the window, staring down at the street, a mini televisual, his report I was sure, in one hand. “Hey, partner.”

Emo jumped slightly and turned. His handsome, golden face was covered in a fine sheen of sweat and his black eyes swirled with agitation. When he looked at me his lips tightened and then tipped upward in a tortured smile. “Hey, boss.”

“How’d it go?”

He shrugged. I noticed then that he was holding himself very stiffly and worried that he’d been injured. Hurrying forward I reached out and touched the soft knit of his black, torso-snugging sweater.

I gasped as I touched him and he jumped away, scowling. My fingers tingled and felt as if I’d burned them. An impossible amount of heat radiated off his body.

I could feel it from nearly a foot away. “Are you all right?”

Emo laughed. It was a bitter sound. A spot of color caught my eye and I looked down, a pretty, pastel swatch of fabric stuck out of his pocket. I reached for it, pulling it from his jeans. It was a small, lacy scrap of silk. Ladies panties.

Lifting an eyebrow in question, I grinned. “Souvenir?”

Emo’s body softened slightly as some of the tension slid away. He moved around me, taking great care not to touch me as he passed. “Collateral from the assignment. The Troll Queen was trying to fit them on her head and when I told her to give them back she threw them at me. I’m afraid they stuck to my sweater and I didn’t notice until I was back in the Black Knight and heading back here.” He paced slowly back and forth in front his desk, casting me a quick glance and a grin. For just a split second he looked like the old Emo. My friend.

“They look like they’re about your size, Astra...” He cut himself off and flushed visibly, gulping. “You can have them if you want.” He headed toward the office door.

“Wait!” I walked over and stood in front of him, lifting a hand to touch his forehead. He was burning up. “Emo, you’re sick. You need to get to an unplanned injury unit right away.”

He grabbed my wrist and pulled it away. He held on, not releasing me as I watched his eyes darken further and swirls of red and bright yellow enter them. His square, slightly bristled jaw clenched. “Please, don’t touch me.” He ground the words out, visibly trembling.

“Emo, what’s wrong?”

Almost as if he were struggling against some invisible power, he lowered his head and closed his eyes, inhaling deeply and slowly, scenting me.

Reacting to his nearness and the possessive quality of his behavior, a knot of need tightened in my lower belly. I panicked and tried to yank my wrist from his grip. “No. Emo, the Settling!” My temperature spiked to match his and my senses expanded.

“Exactly.” He murmured. His yummy scent, familiar yet different, with a slight tang that I recognized with a guilty start as lust, rose around me, exploding my senses and closing off all rational thought.

He lifted my arm above our heads and stepped close, dropping his head to scent my neck. I gasped as our bodies met, heat merged with heat, and I felt the hard ridge of his shaft against my belly.

“Emo!”

His lips found my throat. I moaned.

My daemon hickey sparked and spat, sending warnings into the musk saturated air around us.

Emo lifted a finger and covered my hickey, silencing it. His tongue swept the sensitized skin of my throat. My nipples hardened into desperate peaks beneath my leather coat.

His hands slid under my coat...hot skin and cool air slipped across my body...

His eyes shot toward my face. “You’re naked!”

I opened my mouth to explain but no words formed in my mind.

Groaning, Emo yanked me up against his body, grinding himself into me. His lips ravaged mine. His hot, sweet tongue plundered my mouth, tangling hungrily with mine until I could barely breathe, hardly think. Everything was sensation. Heat. Musk. The brush of hungry skin against starving flesh.

Somewhere in the center of my lust-drenched brain reason called to me. I squelched it ruthlessly, allowing my Settling to pull me, limp and compliant, into disgrace and debauchery. My body wrapped around his, my leg twined around the backs of his hard, muscular thighs, and my mouth consumed his.

I was lost.

Gone.