Her Demon Prince (Forbidden Fantasy) (20 page)

Hers.

His other hand,
the one that was still blood covered, shook and his face shifted from side to
side, his mouth grimacing as he groaned with pain.

Phoebe leaned over
him. "Agrat, please wake up."

She caught the
gleam of his eyes under heavy hoods. His filth-covered hand began opening and
closing before it clenched into a fist.

Glancing to her
side, she saw the dagger she had placed on the table start to spin. Was he
trying to call it to him? What if he were having a nightmare? Fear rippled down
her spine. Agrat would never hurt her intentionally, she knew this, but he was
poisoned with demon filth and she wasn't going to take any chances. She grabbed
the dagger, ran with it into the kitchen, filled a bowl with the angel healing
water and threw the dagger into it. The blood and grime on the dagger, bubbled
and popped, the sound of it making her stomach turn.

She ran back to
Agrat and sat near his face. "Agrat, can you hear me? You're safe with me.
You don't need your dagger." Rinsing the cloth in the basin, she wrapped
it around his fisted hand, soaking it in the healing water. A sulfurous scent
reached her nostrils but it wasn't as strong as before. His clenched hand relaxed
and she breathed a deep sigh of relief as she washed his palm.

His whole body
slumped on the
fold-out
chair and he quieted, no
longer expelling deep groans of agony.

She washed down
his legs, working on his massive thighs, relieved that they were uninjured. A
fluttering sensation in her heart drew her attention to the fact that she was
nervous that he wouldn't recover.

Looking over
him, she saw that the long stripe on his torso had sealed over and his stomach
wound was starting to knit. She took in a deep breath, relieved that the angel
water was working. The black and purple bruises on his body healed in front of
her eyes. She put her hand in the bowl and sprinkled water on the stomach
injury, praying it would be as effective there.

He turned his face,
opened his eyes, stared at her vacantly and began murmuring words in an
unintelligible language, his brow creasing as his body jerked in pain.

Phoebe shook her
head, her heart hammering in her chest at his distress. "I'm sorry, Agrat.
I wish you'd wake up and speak to me in English."

The tip of his
tongue touched the top of his lips. "Water," he said, his voice deep,
raw and rasping.

Phoebe grabbed
the glass on the nearby table, cupped his head so she could raise him and put
the glass to his lips, pouring a little of the healing water into his mouth.
"Drink this."

He opened his
mouth further and drank the liquid down as if a ravenous thirst burned his
throat, so she tilted the glass and he gulped it so that the water ran down his
chin. She left the water on his skin, watching it as it sparkled and sank into
his body. "Try and open your eyes. Agrat, look at me. I need you to wake
up. You're safe with me."

He blinked and
focused on her, his expression confused. "Phoebe?"

"I'm
here." Waves of relief flowed over her. She put down the glass and threw
her arms around him and kissed him. His lips felt warm under hers and tasted
sweet and he smelled of herbs and sunshine where she'd bathed him. "Thank
God, you're awake. You were groaning. I was so worried about you."

"Hell had
me."

"No, you're
safe."

"I could
feel demon arms clawing, pulling me down."

"Nightmares.
You're with me. You've been badly injured. Poisoned."

He lifted his
head, looked down at the stomach wound and moaned deep in his throat.
"Snarcus's blade." The jagged edges remained discolored but were no
longer black, though the injury was still malodorous despite the angel water.

"Snarcus?"
The word had a guttural sound to it and her whole body shook with alarm, though
she wasn't sure why.

"Demon,"
he said. "Blade deadly. Venomous."

"Ugh!"

"Killed
him," Agrat explained.

"Good. You
were covered in demon blood splatter. Daniel said it's toxic. Gives you
nightmares. I've been cleaning it off you. I still have to do your back."

"Hurts,"
he said, his voice so quiet she could barely hear it. Frustration showed in his
face.

She suspected it
would be galling for a man who'd never relied on anyone before to be having a
sponge bath. But she wanted to be there for him, in his weakness and his
strength. She'd never felt love like this. Ever.

For a warrior
who'd made light of the wounds he'd had in the past, she knew this must be
tough. "Daniel said you have to drink to flush the demon poison out of
you. It's dangerous to your mind and your body. I'm going to refresh your
glass." She snatched it up, along with the washcloth and bowl.

She felt his
gaze follow her across the room as she went to the kitchen, as if he couldn't
take his eyes off her, so she turned around, unable to resist giving him a
reassuring smile. She'd never seen him so vulnerable and she liked it that he
needed her for a change. When she came back with the water bowl full, she sat
close to his face, placed the bowl on the side table and held out the water
glass. "Can you manage this?"

He took it from her
and drank.

"Let me
finish bathing you. I want to get this filth off you. You were calling for your
dagger and I could see it spinning on the side table. I was worried."

"I'd never
hurt you."

"Not on
purpose."

He gripped her
hand. "Not even in my nightmares. I could hear you calling me back from
hell. Your voice was like a clear chime, guiding me. Whatever happens, your
life comes before mine. Remember that."

"I love
you. I couldn't bear to lose you." Her whole body started to tremble and
she put her hands to her face.

Putting his hand
over the knife wound on his stomach, he made to get off the
fold-out
chair, clearly disturbed by her distress.

"Stop.
Don't move. I'll be okay. It's just the shock."

He reached out
his arms. "Hold me," he said hoarsely.

She flung
herself into his arms and sobbed, great heaving cries until she couldn't cry
anymore. All the while, he stroked her hair and made soothing sounds. She had
the sense that although he was poisoned and battered, at this moment he still
had the strength to comfort her. That he would always be there for her.

He took her face
between his hands and kissed her face. "I am difficult to kill."

"So you
keep saying, but you went close to the line this time."

"I will
always find my way back to you, just as you will always call for me. That is
our destiny," he said, his voice soothing.

Gingerly, she
touched along the faded slice wound and her fingers hovered over his stomach
where the demon knife had dug deep. Her stomach clenched and throat tightened
as another wave of emotion threatened to sweep her away. She took in a deep,
shuddering breath and told herself to get it together. Crying never helped
anything. She raised herself to a sitting position and wiped her tears with the
back of her hand. "You and Daniel took on an army."

For
her.

Her gaze swept
over him and she realized there was blood splatter on his other arm so she
reached over, picked up the washcloth, dipped it in the bowl and began to wipe
him clean, watching as the bruises vanished when the healing water touched his
skin.

The sparkle came
back into his eyes. "We have a son, Phoebe. He is a strong warrior and he
saved my life."

"I'm still
coming to terms with that. He's far older than I am. He's nice. He's nearly as
old as you are, but he speaks like a teenager."

Agrat frowned as
his eyes took on a look of concentration. "He sounds like the television
programs the cop watches. I have to focus and translate when he speaks."

The corners of
her lips turned up. "True! How funny. I wonder if he watches them here?"
Her gaze locked on the television on the far side of the room. She wiped his
arm down again. His shoulders and arms were magnificent, bulky and rock hard
and she enjoyed working on him, especially since he was lucid. She thought of
what it was like to be underneath him, her fingers clinging to him when he took
her. There was a need for him in her that would never go away as if he'd become
part of her.

"Raise your
arm," she said.

Agrat flexed his
fingers as she washed under his arm, squirming slightly as she tended to him.
The stern lines of his face relaxed.

"Am I
tickling you?" she asked.

"Tickling?
I am not familiar with this sensation. No one has touched me there
before."

She thought of
how her parents had adored and tickled her as a child. She held her tongue.

Agrat put his
arm down once she'd finished washing him and frowned. "Lightning betrayed
me. He left me at the mercy of the demon horde."

"Didn't you
say Lightning was mercurial?" she asked.

"I had to
take the risk. I needed the power."

"Envy snatched
me while you were charging. You say my presence helps you absorb power, so I
wonder if that was why it didn't go so well."

"The first
time I recharged with Lightning was easier. You speak with wisdom."

She felt herself
smile at his compliment, her mood lightened. "I'm a fast learner. I also
stabbed Envy with your dagger. Unfortunately that didn't stop him delivering me
to Galaden, but it slowed him down."

"Galaden
must die." He tried to sit and grimaced.

"Wait a
minute. You're as weak as a kitten." She glanced at his stomach wound but
it had knitted over.

A growl left his
throat and his eyes flashed.

She stood and
walked around to face him. She extended both hands. "Let me pull you
up."

"I do not
like this."

"You mean
relying on me? Get used to it."

"You are my
princess. You are to rely on me," he said.

"It goes
both ways in modern times. Besides, I want to wash your back. You'll enjoy
that, knowing you."

He grinned and
linked his hands with hers.

She anchored her
foot on the chair and pulled him into a sitting position. Once he was seated,
she walked around him, brushing her fingers lightly over his shoulders,
savoring the sensation that he was hers. Dipping the cloth into the bowel, she
washed over the rippling muscles of his back, marveling at how huge and strong
he was. Agrat had miraculous healing powers and the water added to the process.
He wouldn’t stay weak for long, so she relished this quiet moment.

She bent, pulled
his long hair aside and kissed his neck. "I'm so relieved that you're
safe."

He shifted and
raised his shoulder. "Tickling again," he murmured. "Is this
what a woman in love does?"

"You better
believe it." He smelled sweet and aromatic from the angel water. "I
haven't washed between your legs. Would you like to do it or do you prefer me
to do it for you?" When she walked to the front of him, she saw his eyes
were glowing a warm brown.

"You do
it," he said, leaning back and opening his massive thighs. "I am
'weak'."

"Agrat!"
she warned, when he reached over and cupped her breast. She knelt in front of
him and looked him straight in the eye. "You must stay relaxed."

"You are
kneeling between my legs."

"You cannot
strain your stomach muscles in case your wound starts bleeding."

His response was
to lean back and support himself with his arms, open his legs further and close
his eyes while a small smile tilted his sensual mouth.

"You must
be tired after what you've been through," she said, dipping the cloth in
the basin and wringing it out.

"Tiredness
is not in my mind."

Phoebe carefully
washed his inner thighs then lifted his sack, cupped it in her hand like a
treasure and sponged it thinking of the delight he had given her in the
bedroom. The large head of his penis stirred as if it were searching for her
hand. "I can see that."

His hand moved
lazily to cup her breast.

"Stop,
Agrat. You're injured."

"Not where
you're touching."

She looked at
his manhood with longing. When she took hold of his penis, she still marveled
over the length and width of it. She wiped a rivulet of water from his abdomen,
right down at the junction of the dark nest of hair. She trickled water over it
with the cloth, guiding its flow along the hard shaft. His manhood twitched
with each gentle stroke of her cloth.

She picked up
her bowl, walked to the kitchen and washed the cloth and basin. When she
returned to the lounge area she found Agrat lying on his back with a massive
erection waiting for her.

She thought of
him opening her as he slid his length into her body. Already, there was
moisture between her thighs and her nipples were tight under her tee shirt.