Clutch of the Demon (28 page)

Aodhan said nothing and she swallowed hard.
 

"I-If you'll have me," she finished awkwardly.
 

"Khan isn't lovable," Aodhan informed her.
 

"Yeah, he's an ass but he walks the straight and narrow and I admire that."

"That doesn't mean you love him."

She put her hands on her hips. "Why are we talking about Khan?"

"Because you said you love him."

"I meant..." She waved her hands wildly, "you know!"

Aodhan started forward and she braced herself. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her up into a deep kiss that unraveled her. Tears burned her eyes. She could feel his love rushing through her. It burned away the terror that had dogged her since she was eight years old. Aodhan's hands moved over her and she felt his hands hook into the waistband of her pants and drag them and her panties away. She kicked them off and wrapped her legs around him a moment before he pinned her beneath him on the bed.
 

 
"Aodhan," she gasped a moment before he slid two fingers inside of her. "We have to do the bond!"

Aodhan let out a hiss when he found her wet and ready for him. His hand went to his pants and he stroked her juices over his cock and moved over her. He kissed her with excruciating focus and she felt her heartbeat escalate. Emotions welled up in her: joy, possessiveness, and lust.
 

Aodhan slid into her and all thoughts of talking disappeared. After she had her man, then they'd do the bond. She was suddenly ravenous. She craved him with a hunger so sharp, she felt as if she might die if they didn't brand one another. Her hands slid into his hair and gripped hard. Aodhan groaned and cupped her bottom to tilt her up to take all of him. Her thighs rubbed against the rough material of his jeans.
 

"You with me?" he growled.
 

"Yes," she gasped as he slid out and with one thrust, sheathed himself to the hilt.
 

"You love me?"
 

"Yes!"

"You'll be mine for eternity, Cara, I'll accept nothing less."

He raised himself to look down the length of their bodies so he could watch himself claim her. When his eyes came back to hers, they seared through her soul. She was desperate for him. Her hands moved restlessly over him, stroking and then clawing through his shirt, which he hadn't removed.

"Need you," she panted.
 

A feral grin curved his mouth before he braced his fists on either side of her and sped up his thrusts. Her body burst with sensation and her heart overflowed with love, need and ecstasy. When she climaxed, her nails raked him so hard that she tore his shirt. Aodhan loved it. That spurred him to his own climax and he spilled inside of her with a roar she was sure echoed to the dungeon.
 

He wrapped her up against him and turned onto his back with her splayed over him. He nuzzled her neck and drew in the scent of her hair as she panted. Although her body still quivered with aftershocks and she was deeply sated, her mind refocused.
 

"Need to do Immortal Bond," she mumbled.
 

"It's done."

It took her a few seconds to register what he said. She braced her hands on his chest and looked down at him.
 

"What's done?"

Aodhan's hands clamped over her sides and stroked. "Khan grabbed you from behind and shocked you with electricity. Luc wouldn't leave you so Khan carved him out while you were unconscious." When she just stared at him he added, "I'm glad you woke wanting the Immortal Bond. I was planning on chaining you in the dungeon until you agreed."

She tried to slide off of him, but he clamped his hands on her thighs, keeping her in place.
 

"I don't feel any different. Are you sure?" she demanded.
 

"You don't feel it?"
 

"Feel what?"

His face was relaxed and content as he looked her over. "Our hearts are beating in sync. When I woke, I could feel every emotion you were feeling. We needed to seal the bond with our bodies, but I felt how terrified you were. You didn't know Sky was alive, so I let you talk it out. Hearing you say you want the bond, want me, was a relief. I could feel you meant it." When she just stared at him, he continued, "I'm sure if you focus on me, you can feel what I'm feeling."

She was too rattled to see if this was true. "I thought I'd feel way different."

"How do you feel?"

She considered and then shrugged. "Good."

"Me too."

He sat up and slid her down his thighs until he was inside of her again. She fisted her hands in his ruined shirt.
 

"I wanted to possess you from the moment you walked into my cave." He tightened his hold on her ass and shifted her effortlessly. "I wanted to take you the moment I woke as a man. Now, I have you."

He lifted her so only the tip of him was encased in her folds and then slowly slid her down again to take all of him.
 

"I can sense you're confused, happy and you want to fuck me into oblivion," Aodhan said with a wicked smile. "And I think you should."

"Is he really gone?" she whispered.
 

He cupped one side of her face and kissed her long and hard. "I'm the only one inside of you, Cara. From now on, it'll only be me."

Chapter Nineteen

Cara sat on an ancient rocking chair on the porch of Linnea and Granddad's tiny cottage. They lived on the opposite side of the mountain in a small cottage surrounded by fields of flowers. Cara could hear Dawn and Sky talking to Granddad, an old man who was missing two of his front teeth, had scraggly white hair and a heart made of gold. He cried when they arrived. He bowed to Khan and Aodhan who were uncomfortable with the gesture and the hero worship in his eyes. Granddad turned to Cara, took her hands in his and kissed them both reverently.

"Linnea told me you're bonded to one of the Ancients and you hunt demons," Granddad said.
 

Out of the corner of her eye, Cara saw Khan glare at Linnea who ignored him.
 

"That's true," Cara said.

"The world owes you a debt that no one can repay," Granddad said and his eyes filled with tears. "My mother was ripped apart by demons. The coven came, but it was too late."

Cara squeezed his withered, swollen hands. "I'm sorry."

"Life goes on, doesn't it?" Granddad said philosophically and turned his attention to Sky who held up a purple cookie covered in frosting and sprinkles. "That for me, lass?"

"It's a magic, happy cookie!" Sky declared.
 

Granddad released Cara and bit into the cookie with what teeth he had left. Seeing his face transform from excitement to contented joy was a wonderful thing to witness. Granddad leaned down to look into Sky's eyes.
 

"You're a special little thing," he said and ate the rest of the cookie.

"I made it for my new Granddad!" Sky said and wrapped her arms around his neck. "If I have an Irish Granddad then I can have an accent too!"

It was safe to say that Granddad completely adored Sky and it didn't take him long to figure out that Dawn was also special. Linnea and Granddad flew around the house, showing pictures of their ancestors while feeding everyone. Khan stood off to the side, watching everything but not participating unless he was asked a direct question. Most of the time, his eyes were on the windows as if he expected an attack at any moment. Aodhan stood near Cara at all times and she was comforted by his nearness.
 

It had been two weeks since the Immortal Bond and their connection was so intense that she felt like a lovesick teenager. Aodhan didn't mind it in the least and took advantage of her every time she sought him out. She wasn't sure if the bond would become more or less intense as time passed. They craved one another and were only completely relaxed in one another's presence. She didn't mind the constant draw to Aodhan and he didn't either. He told her that he would have asked her to do the bond, regardless if they needed it or not. He wanted her bound to him in every way possible and he was so attuned to her, he could sense her moods regardless of distance.
 

It took her a while before she felt comfortable enough to venture out of the castle. Sky retained no memory of the incident and Dawn reassured Cara hourly that it hadn't been her trying to choke her to death. But, they weren't memories you could wipe away. Cara had nightmares nearly every night, but they were just that- nightmares. Luc wasn't able to dream walk to reach her anymore and that fact slowly seeped through her, forcing her to believe that she was truly out of his reach and belonged to Aodhan alone.

She saw an orange flash out of the corner of her eye and felt Vanity's presence. After Cara saw Sky and Dawn in the flesh, her second stop was to summon Vanity to a window so she could thank her. Vanity hadn't wasted the opportunity. She looked Aodhan straight in the eye and asked him for protection against Luc. Aodhan agreed. Khan didn't. He didn't trust Vanity, but he couldn't deny that Vanity was in part responsible for Aodhan being free. Vanity was wise and stayed out of sight unless Cara called on her. Strangely, Cara felt better knowing that Vanity patrolled the grounds in her Manolo Blahnik's and bright cocktail dresses.
 

Cara rocked on the chair and closed her eyes as she listened to Linnea laugh along with Dawn. Linnea had taken the news of dragons, demons and witches remarkably well and despite not quite understanding what an Immortal Bond was, Linnea was ecstatic that they were now 'married.' Cara suspected Aodhan overheard Linnea's squeals because the next morning she woke to find a ring on her finger. The stone was the same color as Aodhan's eyes and encircled with diamonds. Cara didn't bother telling Linnea that she was 'something
other
.' She figured time would tell.
 

The coven visited the castle and thanked Cara for her help. It was clear from the hostility blazing from Gael's eyes when she caught sight of the ring that she thought Aodhan was making a huge mistake by trusting her. Cara was hard pressed to stop Aodhan from banishing her on the spot. Cara pulled Aodhan aside before he lost it because anyone who refused to divulge the Ancient's secrets while under torture was someone you should keep around. Cara hoped Gael would come to realize she wasn't like Luc since Gael's attitude towards her would eventually affect the whole coven. Cara had faith in Gael.
 

Cara sensed Aodhan's approach a moment before he stopped beside the rocking chair. She leaned against his hip and his hand sank into her hair, cradling her against him. She loved the way he touched her.
 

"What are you worried about?" he asked.
 

She grimaced. Sometimes the Immortal Bond was a pain in the ass. "It's not a big deal."

"Tell me."

She'd learned quickly that Aodhan wanted to know every nuance of what she was thinking or feeling. She didn't blame him since she got hourly reports on his emotions through the bond. At first it had been disconcerting to be talking to Linnea or Sky and feel frustrated or annoyed for no reason. It took her a while to learn how to sort Aodhan's emotions from her own, but she was getting better at it.
 

"I hate waiting," she said, eyes searching the landscape for an enemy who wasn't there.
 

"Luc's retreated. That's what he does best. He'll resurface. He always does," Aodhan said.
 

"He's going to raise hell to keep the attention away from himself," she muttered.
 

"Probably," Aodhan agreed. "He doesn't have a backup plan now and he can't create another spawn with you alive. He's trapped in his own hell with two Ancients just waiting for an opening."

"Is Khan gonna live with us?" she asked.
 

It was a question Linnea asked several times. Linnea
really
didn't like Khan. He refused to let her into his wing of the castle to clean and it was still a mystery what he ate since he wasn't eating anything Linnea prepared. Unfortunately, Linnea took both of these things personally.

"He'll leave soon. He has other things to take care of," Aodhan said.

"Is it safe for Linnea and Granddad out here?"
 

"Vanity will let us know," Aodhan said and Cara smiled, pleased that he trusted the demon as much as she did. "We'll probably be leaving soon as well."

She nodded. "Suspicious news reports in Egypt. Damn demons."
 

She remembered the fear on the demon's faces when they saw Aodhan and Khan. The fact that there were now two Ancients and that one of them had taken Cara into an Immortal Bond would pass through the demon legions like wildfire. Luc would have to rule with an iron fist to make sure the demons stayed on course and didn't jump ship.

"What is it?" Aodhan asked, feeling her excitement.
 

"I like that you scare the demons shitless. It makes me happy," she said truthfully.
 

Aodhan chuckled. "They're beginning to look at you that way as well."

"I'm going to get him," she said quietly, mind inevitably returning to Luc. "One day, I'm going to send him back to hell so he can't hurt anyone ever again."

"Yes, you will."

A comfortable silence fell and she pushed on their bond and received a hail of emotions she was beginning to grow accustomed to. Aodhan's love washed over her first and it made her body tingle. His possessiveness came next and then a tangled mix of joy, protectiveness and motivated anger.
 

"What do you think Morgana did to the other Ancients?" Cara asked quietly and felt a lick of cold rage waft from Aodhan.
 

"Whatever it is, it isn't good."

Imagining other Ancients imprisoned for centuries like Aodhan pissed her off and she squeezed his hip so he'd look down at her.
 

"We'll set them free. We'll get your brothers back," she said earnestly.