Pride of the Lion: Hades' Carnival, Book 3 (10 page)

“Shouldn’t we be going? I mean, Hades and his minions are probably here in the hotel. I don’t want to be a TSTL heroine.”

He frowned, trying to understand what she was saying. “TSTL?”

“Too stupid to live.” She gave an exasperated sigh. “You know, the heroine in a novel who takes the time to make love to a total stranger even though the devil himself could come through the door at any moment.”

Totally chagrined, he leaned back. The worst part was she was absolutely right. They needed to get out of here as swiftly as possible. “I could make it quick.” He couldn’t quite squelch the hopefulness in his voice.

Araminta burst out laughing. “You are totally incorrigible.”

“Two minutes,” he promised. He was so ready to come it wouldn’t take any longer than that. “I’ll take much longer next time.” His voice became a low growl. “I promise.”

He reached between her spread thighs and lightly brushed her clit. She almost shot off the bed.

“You’re close too. I can make you come.” He pulled back and buried his face between her thighs, not wanting to give her time to think, to object.

His roughened tongue found the sweet bundle of nerves at the apex of her sex and curled around it. This time, when she tugged on his hair it was to pull him closer. He wanted to roar with pleasure but settled on teasing the sensitive nub with his tongue, licking it, flicking it.

She rolled her hips toward him and tightened her thighs around his head. “Leander.” His name on her lips almost made him come right there and then. He knelt on the bottom of the mattress and lifted Araminta, sliding into her in one quick stroke.

Her pussy clamped around his cock and she screamed. Her vaginal muscles rippled around his shaft and hot, silky cream bathed him as she orgasmed. Leander gritted his teeth, pulled back until only the head of his cock was barely inside her and drove inward again. She felt better than anything he’d ever experienced.

He wanted it to last forever but knew he was done for. Two more strokes and he came.

His orgasm started low in his balls, shot up through his shaft and out through the tip. He bit his bottom lip to keep from roaring with pleasure. That would probably wake everyone on the hotel floor and bring someone, probably hotel security, knocking on the door.

He didn’t know how long the pleasure lasted before he collapsed on top of her. He’d never felt so content in his life. He nuzzled Araminta’s neck, smelling himself on her. Possessiveness rose within him like a great, roaring beast and he knew in his soul there was no way he’d ever be able to let her go.

Araminta lay there, totally stunned and too spent to move. Leander hadn’t been kidding when he’d promised her it would only take two minutes for them both to come. Normally she was lucky to have an orgasm after a lot of foreplay, and then it wasn’t always a guarantee. Two minutes was a personal record.

She shivered as she remembered the sensation of his tongue lapping at her clit. It was rougher than a regular tongue, like very fine sandpaper. It didn’t hurt, but it was certainly stimulating.

Her orgasm had hit so quickly she hadn’t had time to worry about whether or not they would even fit together. Leander was rather large, in all ways, and though intellectually she knew her body would stretch to take him, in reality she hadn’t been at all that certain his cock would fit inside her. But he’d slid into her like he was made especially for her. He’d filled her completely, stretching and dominating her in one stroke, her body teetering on the edge of pain. But she’d adjusted quickly and her twinge of fear and discomfort had quickly turned to pleasure.

His heart pounded against her chest and his breath fanned hotly over her neck. It was pleasant to lie here, spasms of pleasure spilling through her, their bodies still joined. But it was also stupid. They needed to get packed and get out of here.

A slow trickle of liquid rolled down between her butt cheeks and another worry shot through her. He hadn’t used a condom, and she hadn’t thought to ask him, her common sense lost in a fog of sexual excitement.

She’d just had unprotected sex with a complete stranger. An immortal warrior, if she believed him. Could this night get any more bizarre?

Yes, it could.

If he was telling the truth, Hades and his minions could find them at any minute. She shoved on Leander’s shoulders. “Get off me.”

He raised his head and his sleepy smile turned to a frown. “What’s wrong? Did I hurt you?” He gently eased himself off her. Without him covering her, she was totally naked and felt exposed and vulnerable.

She jumped out of bed and raced toward the bathroom. Before she could make it to safety, he was on her. He caught her shoulders and whirled her around. His eyes were filled with concern. “Araminta, did I hurt you?”

She shook her head, not wanting to discuss what had just happened. He’d rocked her world, shaken it to the very foundations. It wasn’t fair, really. He was only here for a day, and only if they both survived the next twenty-three or so hours. She had no idea what time it was.

“TSTL remember? I don’t want to be caught naked if anyone comes after you.”

He frowned and slowly released her. In the blink of an eye, he went from naked to wearing leather pants and boots. She knew she should be freaking out, but she simply didn’t have the energy. What was one more totally impossible thing after the night she’d had? And the night wasn’t even over yet.

“That’s a cool trick. But you’ll need a shirt too.” No way was he going through the lobby with his chest bare. They’d probably think he was one of the cover models from the convention, and perversely, she didn’t want any other women ogling him.

“I have to get dressed.” She backed away from him and hit the edge of the doorframe before slipping into the bathroom. She shut the door and fumbled for the light. It was too bright after the darkness of the bedroom and it took a moment for her eyes to adjust.

The woman in the mirror was tousled, her hair falling in tangled waves over her shoulders. Her eyes were glazed, her lips moist. She looked totally debauched.

It was the wetness between her thighs that got her moving again. As much as she wanted a shower, there was no time. She made do with a sink of water and a washcloth. When she was clean, she grabbed her brush and dragged it through her hair. It didn’t take her long to braid the thick mass and toss her toiletries into their case.

No way was she going back into the bedroom naked. She grabbed a bath towel and wrapped it around her body. One last look around the bathroom assured her she wasn’t leaving anything behind. She opened the door to find Leander pacing in the small expanse of the room.

He stopped the second she walked in and stalked toward her. Araminta held her ground even though her instinct was to back away. There was something animalistic in the way he looked at her and in the silent, almost prowling way he moved. Which made sense considering his claims.

He cupped her face, leaned down and kissed her. Her fingers tightened around her toiletries bag and the material crinkled. His tongue stroked her lips and slipped inside but was gone before she could forget herself and do something stupid, like drag him back to bed.

“I will keep you safe.” His promise warmed her, but she also knew it was unrealistic.

“You’re not responsible for me.” If what he was saying was real, they were in for the fight of their lives. She pulled away from him and hurried to her suitcase. She tucked her toiletries bag inside and pulled out underwear, a pair of jeans and a long-sleeved cotton top. It was May and the nights were still very cool.

He clamped his hand down on her shoulder and whirled her around. Fury radiated from every line of his massive body. His lips were parted on a silent snarl, exposing rather large white teeth. “You think I cannot protect you?”

God save her from a man’s ego. “I’m not your responsibility. You have to watch out for yourself.”

“I will do both.” He drew himself up to his full height as he made his proclamation.

“Sure.” In her experience, people looked after themselves when the going got rough. Leander was a stranger. Why should he care what happened to her?

She darted around him and dropped her clothes on the bed. She grabbed her panties and tugged them on, being careful to keep the towel wrapped around her. Jeans and socks were next. She kept her back turned as she slipped on her bra and top. Tossing the towel aside, she turned and faced him.

He was standing with his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face. Araminta did her best to ignore him and gathered the few remaining objects scattered around the room. She zipped her suitcase closed and set her tote bag and purse beside it. Her load was much lighter going home because all her promotional items and extra books were gone.

She’d have to contact Luna once the next twenty-four hours were over. At this point, Araminta wasn’t sure if Luna was a part of this madness or not. Her memory was a little iffy on what exactly had happened.

She could always plead a personal emergency as the reason for slipping out early from the conference. Having someone break into her home certainly qualified.

She grabbed her sweater from the chair where she’d tossed it earlier and slipped it on but didn’t bother to button it. She pulled the straps of her purse and tote bag over her shoulder and grabbed her suitcase. “I’m ready. I have to stop at the front desk long enough to hand in my keycard.” Thankfully, the room was paid for so it would only take her a second.

His frown deepened. “We should just leave.”

She shook her head. “I have to return the keycard.”

He looked as though he wanted to say more but kept his mouth shut. A muscle twitched in his jaw and she thought she might have heard his teeth grinding. She headed to the door but he was there before she could open it.

“Stay behind me,” he ordered.

“Conjure up a shirt, or something,” she shot back.

He narrowed his eyes, but a second later he was wearing a leather vest. It wasn’t a shirt or coat, but it was something. She bit her lip and decided it was better not to say anything. He didn’t look very happy with her at the moment.

He opened the door and glanced both ways. “Stay here until the elevator door opens.” He stalked down the hallway and hit the elevator button. When the bell chimed a few seconds later, he motioned to her. Araminta hurried down the hallway with her bags bouncing off her hip, dragging her suitcase behind her.

Leander didn’t like this, not one bit. His first instinct was to hustle Araminta out of here as fast as possible. But he was learning a thing or two about her and knew she was stubborn. He was also discovering he knew more about this world than he imagined. All kinds of information was stored in his brain from how to work the television in her room to what an elevator was.

He tried to appear confident, like he knew what he was doing, but this world was foreign to him in almost every way. He’d thought about using the stairs, not wanting to be trapped inside a small moving box. But he wasn’t sure Araminta could make it down the stairs with all her belongings, and he couldn’t help her carry them, needing to be ready to fight if any demons appeared.

He sniffed and nearly groaned as a whiff of her soap reached him. It was mixed with the sweet scent of her cream and his more musky, masculine smell. She might have washed, but she hadn’t done a thorough job of it. Deep within him, his lion gave a rumble of contentment.

Leander studied her as the elevator took them down to the lobby level. For a woman who’d had so much thrown at her tonight, she appeared calm and composed, not at all like the woman who’d dug her nails into his shoulders and clamped her thighs around his head to keep him from moving from her sweet pussy.

His cock flexed in agreement and he willed the unruly part of him to behave. She was right about one thing. They should have already left this place. It was dangerous for them to be here. By having sex with her to sate his physical needs, he’d put her in peril. It had been selfish of him, but he didn’t know if he could have done things any differently. The need to claim her had overridden all fear.

“Give me your key.” He held out his hand in expectation, but he should have known it wouldn’t be quite that easy.

“Why?” She held the small white card closer to her chest.

He sighed in mounting frustration. The next twenty-two hours or so were going to be extremely long if she fought him on everything. Still, he liked her independence and her spunk. He just hoped they didn’t get her killed.

“I don’t want you exposed to danger. You’ll wait in the elevator with the door open until I come back for you.”

She swallowed hard, her slender throat rippling. He wanted to stoke his lips over her pounding pulse, to soothe her fears, but knew he couldn’t. The threat was real. The faster she accepted that fact the better it would be for both of them.

She reluctantly handed him the plastic rectangle that opened the door to her room. The bell chimed and the doors silently slid open. Leander placed himself in front of her as the doors parted. Every muscle in his body tensed, and within him the lion paced and growled.

He took a deep breath while his gaze tracked all around the large area. He didn’t smell or see any demons. The coast was clear.