Darkness Taunts (23 page)

“Turn around,” he ordered.

I didn’t move.

“You’re better than this,” he said.

“You’ve made your point loud and clear about where I stand with you, Lucas.” I took a deep breath. “Just leave me alone. I swear I’ll let you know if the demons come.”

“They are not why I’m here. I want to know what point you were trying to make out there.”

“Wasn’t it rather obvious?” I asked.

“I find it hard to believe you’ve suddenly grown a jealous streak,” he said, anger heavy in his voice. “Not after all the effort you’ve gone through to prove you want nothing to do with me.”

“Yeah, well,” I said bitterly. “That makes two of us.”

“You can’t be serious.”

The incredulity in his tone made me think he really believed I’d gone over and kissed him for some nefarious purpose. I rubbed my chilled arms. “Believe what you want. It was stupid of me to think you would have understood.”

“Turn around,” he demanded.

My hurt was wearing off and my anger was building. I glanced over my shoulder at him. “Go back to your vampire bitch and leave me the fuck alone.”

He grabbed me by the waist and hauled me over to the counter. My butt hit the surface, but not as hard as I’d expected for the speed we’d moved. He gripped my head on either side and forced me to look up at him.

“I don’t have your ability to separate truth from lies by words alone,” he said. “But you’re young enough you shouldn’t have mastered the art of lying with your eyes yet. Now I’m going to ask you several questions and you’re going to answer them for me.”

I tried to jerk my head away, but he held it still. “Do not resist.”

The intensity in his golden gaze was beginning to scare me. I became like a deer staring into the headlights of an oncoming car, unable to move.

“Why did you kiss me while I was talking to Lian?” he asked.

I pressed my lips together.

“Don’t shut me out, Melena. There are a lot of ways I can make you talk.”

My hands gripped my purse—the gun was still inside. He saw the movement and took it from me too fast for me to stop him. It went sailing across the counter.

“Dammit, I wouldn’t hurt you. That’s not what I meant.” He pried my legs open and stepped between them. “There are other ways that can be just as effective.”

I tried to scoot away, but he gripped my head again. “Now tell me why you kissed me.”

When I still wouldn’t answer, he cupped the back of my neck with one hand and lowered the other hand to my leg. His fingertips traced the skin of my left thigh until they reached my skirt. He pushed the cloth up until it rode above my underwear. I shuddered as his hand dipped underneath and caressed the lower portion of my stomach where I’d been waxed. He wasn’t playing fair, but I should have expected that.

“I was jealous,” I admitted.

His hand stilled as he studied my eyes. “Of Lian?” he asked.

“Yes, she was touching you and you kissed her hand.”

He leaned closer. “How did that make you feel?”

“Angry,” I said. “I wanted to kill her.”

“So you walked up and kissed me?”

My eyes dipped down, but he forced my head up. “No, look at me.”

When I didn’t speak right away his hand delved deeper. His fingers touched my sensitive folds and I jumped. Despite my anger, his close proximity made me wet. I hated that he could do that. The second he got too close my body always betrayed me.

“Kristen and Aniya wouldn’t let me go until I promised not to attack her,” I rushed out, breathing a sigh of relief when his hand moved away. “They worried what would happen if I did. So I thought if I kissed you that would make my point instead—except it didn’t work out the way I expected.”

He stared into my eyes in a way that made me think he was trying to penetrate my soul. It only heightened my humiliation. That he could see what a fool I’d been.

“I rejected you in front of her and everyone,” he said, releasing his hold on my neck. “Because I thought you’d meant to cause me embarrassment.”

“Apparently.” I looked away.

He leaned forward and touched his forehead to mine. His eyes flashed with some unnamed emotion before he closed them. “My apologies. If I’d realized the truth, I wouldn’t have done that to you.”

The sincerity in his voice caught me off guard. Lucas was never sorry for anything he did. He killed people with a smile on his face and a swagger in his step. Every act he committed was done without ever looking back to see the damage it caused. Hearing him apologize to me—a woman he’d always scorned—had to mean something.

When his lips met mine, I didn’t fight it. When his hands pulled my thighs apart, I didn’t fight that either. My arms wrapped around his neck and I sank into a kiss that sent a scorching fire through my veins. Our combined emotions rode over me in a tidal wave so strong I almost couldn’t breathe through them. Lust and need. Everything we’d held back for longer than I cared to consider.

Rough hands slid my skirt up to my hips. A finger curled into the edge of my underwear and ripped it off. A palm pressed into my most sensitive parts, rubbing up and down until I was scooting to the edge of the counter in an effort to get more. It wasn’t enough.

“Please, Lucas,” I moaned.

He kissed me again, rougher than before. I gave as good as I got, sliding my tongue against his in a game of give and take. His hands didn’t stop moving either. Fingers pushed inside me, thrusting as far as they could go before pulling back. When they drove forward again I nearly jumped out of my skin. Over and over he worked me until I was panting and nearly out of my mind. I clutched his jacket.

“Get this off now,” I demanded.

He obliged, taking his shirt off as well. I drank in the sight of his golden chest and watched as his muscles rippled with every movement. My gaze dipped down as he undid his belt and unfastened his pants. I wanted to watch him open them up, but he leaned his head forward and kissed me again. The sound of a wrapper tearing reached my ears. I tried to pull away to see what he was doing, but he angled his head and kept his lips locked on mine.

Moments later I felt a hard pressure at my entrance. He widened my legs more before pushing farther. I stiffened. Even with him only a fraction of the way inside, he overwhelmed me. My body could only stretch so far. I’d known he was larger than normal, but I’d never considered he was too big to fit.

“Lucas, I don’t think…”

“Shh, relax,” he said in a soothing voice.

I took a deep breath and forced my muscles to loosen. He pushed forward a couple of more inches, but the pressure was too much. I tried to back away, but he gripped my hips and held me still. Slowly he pulled back until only the head remained inside. His lips touched mine, helping to distract me from my discomfort. Long minutes passed where we did nothing more than kiss with a passion I’d only dreamed about. Tingles raced where our bodies were still linked. More wetness pooled below until the ache went away.

I didn’t fight it the next time he pressed forward. My body widened to accept him, though the pressure still felt enormous. Inch by inch he filled me until we were fully joined. He wrapped his arms around me and held us locked together in the way men and women had been doing since the beginning of time. Neither of us moved.

Vulnerability assailed me with the realization I’d finally given in to him. I had the man I’d always considered an enemy inside of me right now. It scared the crap out of me, but it also gave me a sense of power I’d never known before. Lucas didn’t know the meaning of gentle and yet he was taking extreme care not to hurt me. Somehow, I’d gained the ability to tame the lion.

My body relaxed as I grew accustomed to his size. I wiggled a little, letting him know he could move again. He didn’t need any further encouragement. Slowly at first, he thrust in and out, but when he heard no protest from me he picked up the speed. I knew he could have torn me apart if he wasn’t careful, but he kept his movements smooth and precise. Nothing had ever felt better. My head tilted back and I angled my hips toward him to get more.

He kissed my exposed neck, nipping lightly, before lifting me off the counter. I wrapped my legs around him and went along for the ride. The friction built higher and higher as the power of his movements grew. I reveled in the feel of his strength as I gripped his back. Our breathing grew heavy as intense pleasure rode us to a new high.

Our eyes met just as I reached my peak. Seeing his passion-filled gaze sent me over the edge. Knowing I’d done that to him brought me incredible satisfaction. I screamed as my orgasm hit, tightening my muscles around him. He pumped harder, his movements growing jerky. When he let out his own shout, I knew I’d driven him over the edge as well.

It took a few minutes to regain my senses, but when I did I realized we were no longer alone. I unburied my head from Lucas’ shoulder to find the bathroom door wide open. Micah, Aeson, and Aniya stood in the corridor looking anywhere but at us. Their innocent faces didn’t fool me. I knew they’d been out there all along. Lian stood just within the room with an outraged expression on her face. She was the more recent arrival.

I’d only lost focus on my surroundings during my orgasm, but otherwise I’d been tracking supernatural movements the whole time. After having the ability for so long it had become second nature no matter what I was doing.

The vampire woman looked about ready to spit nails. I smiled at her, reached up to Lucas’ neck, and pulled him down for a kiss. This time he didn’t hesitate to make it a good one. By the time we finished he was growing hard inside me once again. Our gazes met and I saw the message in his as he glanced toward her and back at me. Oh, sure, now he was encouraging me.

I turned to look at Lian. “Who’s got his attention now, bitch?”

If steam could have come out of her ears, it probably would have. In the blink of an eye she raced straight for me. I’ll never know what she planned to do since Lucas caught her by the neck. She struggled to free herself, but his hand didn’t budge.

“You will never threaten Melena again,” he growled out. “She is and always will be under my protection. Come near her again and I’ll rip your limbs off one by one before taking your head. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she squeaked out.

“Micah, get in here and take this piece of garbage away,” he shouted.

By this point, I was starting to get embarrassed. The arm Lucas wasn’t using to grip Lian’s neck was still holding me to him. Not to mention we were still very connected elsewhere. I’d never been caught in a compromising position like this.

Micah came in with a swagger and a grin.  “Sorry, she got past me,” he said, shrugging. “She’s a fast little thing.”

I gave him the “I know you’re lying” look, but he didn’t appear repentant. He simply grabbed Lian by the hair and dragged her out kicking and screaming.

“Theirn is going to hear about this,” she threatened as her feet disappeared past the doorway.

“Is that supposed to concern me?” Micah replied. “Because I’m fairly certain he’s not going to be happy with you once he finds out you threatened Lucas’ woman.”

Whatever Lian might have said after that was cut off by Aniya pulling the bathroom door shut. She’d had a gleam in her eye when she did it. I’d be in for a grilling by my friend later when she could catch me alone.

Lucas set me on the counter without breaking our connection. “I don’t think anyone is going to doubt my preferences now,” he said.

I blushed. I’d known he’d dropped the silencing spell as soon as we’d started having sex, but had been too caught up to care. “I think everyone out there with enhanced hearing would have heard us going at it.”

His cock twitched inside of me. “Good. Maybe we should give them more entertainment.”

My body grew warm at the idea. I’d never fully come down from the aftereffects of our last time. When Lucas caught me in another kiss I welcomed it, only to jerk away. My eyes turned frantic since he didn’t have the spell up.

“Lucas, if I had a glass right now, I’d be dropping it.”

He pulled away as fast as he could without hurting me and yanked a condom off that I’d suspected had to be there. No time to ask him about the necessity of it now, but I sure as hell would be later. It went flying into the garbage can even as he closed up his pants and redid his belt. I stood up, wavering for a moment due to newfound soreness, but managed to get my dress straightened out. My underwear was a lost cause. I yanked them off a stall door where they’d gone flying and tossed them in the garbage can.

The process of us getting ready took no more than ten seconds since Lucas didn’t bother with putting his shirt or jacket back on. He grabbed me by the arm and we went flying out the door. Micah met us in the hall with an urgent look on his face. Lucas had already warned him through their mental connection.

The demons hadn’t reached the restaurant yet, but they would soon. I could sense them fighting with the guards outside. At least our side was hanging in there and one demon was already down. Being in my head right now was a lot like watching an aerial dog fight on a radar screen.

A dozen demon hosts had shown up so far, assuming none were outside my range, and only four sups were fighting them. I gave Lucas the numbers as soon as he put a silencing spell up. We needed to get out there now.

“You’re staying here,” he ordered. We were walking toward the entrance.

“Forget it,” I said. “I can help.”

“No,” Micah said, stopping at the door. “He’s right. We need you to keep an eye on things inside. It’s your job to protect everyone in here.”

I ground my jaw. Sure, give me the job that sounds important, but keeps me away from the main battle. They wouldn’t help the guys outside until I agreed, either. I could see it in their eyes. “Fine, but try to leave a few alive if you can.”

The two men nodded and raced outside. I turned around and saw all the guests looking at me. Kristen met me as I moved to the middle of the room and gave me a questioning look. “They’re here,” I whispered. “We need to start salting down the place.”