Echoes of Magic (17 page)

As much as he wanted her, hungered for her,
he couldn’t allow her to do this. He closed the distance between
them and cupped her face.

“
You have no idea how much
I want you.”

Instantly, her finger covered his lips.
“Don’t tell me you don’t want me because of the curse. Tomorrow may
be all we have. I’m not going to live with regret.”

“
And the heartache?” he
asked after he moved her hand. “You’ve already lost one man and a
child. You told me how that devastated you.”

“
It’s nothing compared to
what I feel when I’m with you. For the first time in my entire
life, I feel alive. You’ve done that for me.”

Only a village idiot would
turn away from someone like her. “Are you sure?”

She smiled, her face glowing with happiness.
“I’ve never been surer of anything.”

It was all Grayson needed to hear. He pulled
her against him and slanted his mouth over hers. He wanted more
than just a quick taste this time. This time, he wanted it all.

He sunk his hands into the silky strands of
her hair as he slipped his tongue past her lips. The first touch of
their tongues was like lightning through his body. His rod strained
for release, eager to feel her hot, wet sex.

His hands roamed over her back, cupping her
bottom to bring her against his aching cock. She moaned, sending
him over the edge. The need was too great. He wanted to go slow
with her, to bring her to orgasm before he took her, but he
couldn’t wait. He had to have her.

He broke the kiss to jerk off his tunic. Her
soft hands joined his as they removed his boots and wrenched his
breeches down. A giggle escaped her as he jumped on one leg to keep
from falling, and soon both erupted in laughter.

Grayson gave a final kick to his breeches
that sent them flying across them chamber. He pulled her against
him, skin on skin, as their smiles faded to be replaced by desire
once more.

“
By the saints,
Drina.”

“
I know,” she whispered as
she rose up on her toes to kiss him.

Adrianna sighed in contentment when he
yanked her against his hard chest. She couldn’t get enough of his
hard muscles bunching and shifting beneath her hands. She didn’t
realize he had moved them to the bed until he smiled down at her
and tossed her onto the bed.

A small gasp tore from her throat but died
quickly when she got to look her leisure at Grayson. He was a
superb specimen with just the right combination of strength and
power to make Adrianna weak in the knees.

He grinned and lifted one black brow. “Find
something you like?”

“
Most
definitely.”

She lay back as he crawled over her, his
long black hair falling over his shoulder. Her heart thudded in her
chest as excitement coursed through her veins. This was one
decision she wasn’t going to regret.

All thought fled as he captured her mouth,
devouring her in his desire. Adrianna gripped his arms as he
shifted and cupped her breasts. She moaned, arching her back. He
tweaked her nipple before thumbing the tiny nub into a hard
peak.

Her need coiled within her, growing with
each touch. His mouth left hers to trail down her neck and between
her breasts. He settled his body between her legs and cupped her
breasts. Hunger burned in his silver depths as he leaned down and
flicked his tongue over one nipple. Adrianna gasped, silently
begging for more.

His mouth closed over one nipple while his
hot tongue laved the tiny bud. Desire spiked through her to settle
in her sex. She ground her hips against him, seeking release from
the building pressure.

Only he gave her none as he
shifted to her other nipple. Adrianna cried out from the exquisite
torture. And then his tongue left a hot trail down her stomach to
lick her naval before nipping at her hipbones.

She watched him, wondering what he would do
to her next. When his fingers slipped through her damp curls to
caress her sensitive sex, she moaned and raised her hips to his
hand.

Then his mouth was on her.

Adrianna cried out, the pleasure too
intense. The orgasm built rapidly, and then...she shattered.

Grayson continued to lick her as Adrianna’s
body convulsed with her climax. Her soft cries only spurred him on
to give her more pleasure. When he could stand it no more, he
raised over her, his cock sliding against her slick sex. She sighed
and reached for him to guide him into her sheath.

He closed his eyes as he entered her. She
was hot, wet and incredibly tight. When he was buried to the root,
he looked down at her. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever
seen. And for tonight, she was his.

She shifted beneath him, wringing a moan
from him. And then he began to move, thrusting into her with a
mounting tempo that had a fine sheen of sweat covering both of
them. His orgasm could be held off no longer. He threw back his
head and gave in to his release, spilling his seed.

He pulled out of her and
fell to the side. Then he brought her against him so that her head
rested on his chest. He stared at the canopy, amazed to find it had
been the best coupling he’d ever experienced.

“
Thank you,” Adrianna said
and turned his head to kiss him.

He grinned. “I’m the one who should be
thanking you. What a gift you gave me.”

“
I shouldn’t have denied us
this long.”

“
Are you having
regrets?”

She shook her head. “Never. This
felt...right, Grayson. I don’t know how to explain it, other than
once you touched me, I knew this was meant to be.”

“
I should have pulled out
of you.”

She rose up on her elbow
and shook her head at him. “Stop. Please. If there’s a child, I’ll
thank you and God for the bairn and raise it as best I can. We
cannot deny our fate, regardless of how much we try.”

Her words made him realize that he needed to
take precautions. He couldn’t leave her without something. If he
wasn’t there to take care of her and their babe, then he knew
someone who would.

“
If something happens to
me, go to Wolfglynn. Drogan and Serena will see to you and the
babe.”

Adrianna sighed and lowered herself once
more on his chest. “Grayson, everything will be fine. Besides, I
can take care of myself.”

“
I’ve no doubt, but I
thought you might like to be around two more of your kind if there
is a child. Serena’s babe is just over a year old now.”

Her hand stroked in chest in leisurely
circles. “It is something to consider.”

“
I need to know that if
something happens, you’ll be all right. There are the gypsies as
well.”

“
Nay. Though the life was
fine for me, I would want to raise my child in a home, not a cart.
Besides, you’re assuming you got me with child already. You don’t
know that for sure.”

She might not be carrying his child now, but
after one taste of her, he had to have more. If he couldn’t keep
his hands off her, he would have to control himself and make sure
he didn’t spill his seed inside her.

Because his hunger hadn’t lessened, if he
didn’t do something, she would most certainly end up with
child.

Their child.

A strange sensation filled Grayson. The
thought of seeing Drina’s belly swell with their child made him
long for a family for the first time in his life.

Chapter Twenty

Grayson woke a few hours later, amazed he
had slept without even a hint of his normal nightmares. Adrianna
slumbered on his chest, her soft body snuggled against his.
Instantly, his cock roared to life, and all thought of sleep
vanished.

He gently rolled Adrianna to her back and
smiled as her head turned away from him, her lips parted. She was
so stunningly beautiful he could look at her all day and never
tire. With a small movement of his hand, he tugged the blanket
down. A pink nipple, already hard, peeked out from beneath the
covers. Soon, the other nipple was bared. Unable to stop the surge
of lust that rose up in him, Grayson pulled the blanket off
her.

She sighed and tried to turn on her side,
but he held her still. His hands moved up and down her legs,
spreading them wider so he could feast his gaze on her sex hidden
by her golden curls. He parted her curls and caressed her sex
before sliding a finger into her heat. A smile pulled at his lips
when she moaned in her sleep.

His finger pushed farther into her, stroking
her slowly until her hips began to move. Only then did he allow his
thumb to find her pearl and began to move over it back and forth.
Her chest began to rise and fall quickly, her fingers digging into
the mattress. A breathy moan passed through her lips, sending a
shot of desire straight to his rod. The overwhelming hunger to
slide into her wet heat was too much. He had wanted to wake her
slowly, but the lust wouldn’t be held back.

Grayson added a second finger to the first
as he continued to stroke her. He leaned forward and clamped his
lips over a pert nipple and suckled it deep into his mouth.
Adrianna gasped, her arms coming around his neck. Her body
stiffened, letting him know she was close to peaking.

He lightly grazed her nipple with his teeth
before he rose over her. Her eyes were open, showing him the raw
desire that matched his own.

No words were needed.

He flipped her onto her
stomach and raised her to her hands and knees. His hands fondled
her luscious bottom before he filled her.

Long waves of her golden hair cascaded over
her to puddle on the bed. She looked over her shoulder at him,
sending him a sexy smile.

It snapped his control.

Grayson gripped her hips
and plunged into her. She was slick, and her deep, satisfied moan
made his balls tighten. He began to move with short, slow thrusts,
her groans turning to soft cries of pleasure.

Adrianna closed her eyes as the delicious
yearning only increased with each stroke of Grayson’s rod. His
teasing of her body only made her want him more and, after waking
to find him caressing her, her need was growing with each beat of
her heart.

She began to move her hips against him,
forcing him deeper until he increased his rhythm. His long, fast
thrusts left her mindless with desire. Suddenly, his arms wrapped
around her waist, holding her still as he pumped into her with a
ferocity that could have frightened her if he hadn’t excited
her.

“
Drina,” he
moaned.

That was all it took to make her peak. She
screamed, fingers fisting into the blanket as waves upon waves of
bliss rolled over her. Yet, Grayson continued to thrust, prolonging
her orgasm until she was so weak she could barely hold herself
up.

His teeth nipped her
shoulder in a love bite a heartbeat before he withdrew from her,
and he threw back his head as he pulled out of her. As Adrianna
felt his seed spill onto her back, she couldn’t help but regret
that he hadn’t stayed inside her. She didn’t want to be left with a
baby alone, but the thought of having Grayson’s child filled her
with a warmth she couldn’t explain.

She smiled at Grayson after he wiped her
clean. Adrianna lifted the blanket and waited for him to join her
once more. They lay on their sides facing each other.

“
I have to admit I’ve never
been woken so wonderfully before.”

He chuckled. “I couldn’t
help myself. I woke and felt your body against me, and mine
demanded another taste of you.”

“
You can have as much as
you want.”

Though she wouldn’t tell him, Adrianna had
plans of her own when it came to Grayson. He’d stroked and caressed
her body to his contentment. It was her turn. She wanted to know
every inch of his luscious body.

“
I can?” he asked with a
wicked grin.

Unable to help herself, she
caressed his jaw littered with a day’s growth of whiskers. She
wasn’t sure if it was Grayson’s need to discover what happened to
his mother or the loneliness she saw in his silver eyes that
shattered her heart the most.

“
We are a pair, aren’t we?”
she asked softly. “You’re searching for answers and ready to face
death while I’m getting through life one day at a time. Neither of
us is truly living.”

He met her gaze, unblinking for several
moments before he sighed. “You’ve the right of it.”

She thanked the saints for Grayson as he
leaned toward her and cupped her head as he gave her a gentle kiss
before he pulled her into his arms.

Ever since she’d found
Grayson, her life had been anything but normal. And she loved it.
She refused to think about what the morrow meant and how close
Nigel was to finding them. Grayson was a superb warrior, and she
was going to make sure he won.

* * * * *

Grayson cracked open his
eyes to find he’d slept without one nightmare. He glanced down at
Adrianna to see her still sleeping. He thought of the day ahead and
briefly wondered about putting their journey off for a day or so.
They could spend the time in the inn making love all
day.

But as wonderful as that sounded, Grayson
knew Nigel wouldn’t wait. Nigel was coming for him, and Grayson
wanted to be prepared.

Grayson moved a lock of hair from Adrianna’s
face and smiled. Not only had she given him the peace he had long
sought, but she drove him wild with need. No woman had ever done
either to him. He had made love to many women, but all of them he
could leave behind without a second thought.