ValiasVillain (11 page)

A long sigh escaped her as she forced herself up from the
chaise. She yelped at the sight that greeted her.

Anger distorted Rydin’s handsome face as he once again
slapped a pair of cuffs on her.

“Rydin! What the hell?”

“I warned you I knew where you lived.”

Oh crap, did he still want to snap her neck? “But I did what
you asked.”

He growled and flashed them off her balcony.

They landed in a mostly barren but cozy house. She caught a
glimpse of black tile countertops in the kitchen with a shiny black and
smoky-gray glass tile backsplash. A curved staircase, set with a handrail that
looked as if made from debarked tree trunks, led to a second story. It reminded
her of a bungalow she’d stayed in on a Mexican island once, only without all
the bold, colorful accents.

What did you do to me?” he asked, sounding furious.

“Do? Nothing. Are you high?”

“You left me with a…hole. You will stay until you fix it.”

“A hole? What the fuck’s that mean?”

His brows drew together. “I don’t know, but you will fix
it.”

He grabbed her wrist and dragged her along behind him up the
stairs. She went wet between her legs when she saw the enormous bed. Did he
mean to have his way with her? She couldn’t deny she wanted it.

He’d only been away for a few hours and she couldn’t stop
thinking about him, couldn’t stop wanting him, couldn’t stop missing him. Valia
had never experienced such confusion, irritation, such a wide range of emotions
due to a male before. She’d never needed or wanted anyone so desperately and it
scared the crap out of her.

He cuffed her to the bed as he’d done in the demon realm.
She didn’t bother fighting him. Was that where they were now? No, couldn’t be.
She could see sunlight streaming through the open wooden shutters on the
windows and door and saw palm trees swaying in the breeze. She noticed the
sheets, they were similar to the ones he’d put on his bed in that yucky shack
except these were gold. The ones he bought to make her more comfortable even
though he’d denied that was the reason.

“Where am I?”

“My home.”

“Doesn’t look like it.”

“It’s my home on one of the Rock Islands. I bought the land
many years ago but could only come here when on assignment. It took a long time
to build.”

“Wow. You built it? By yourself?” She was impressed.

What the hell was he doing? He wanted to be rid of her, rid
of her hold on him and what did he do? He fucking brought her to his home.
Again
.

“Do you like it?” He growled at himself. Why had he asked
her if she liked it? Why did he care?

She gave him an odd look. “How the hell should I know?
Didn’t exactly get a tour.” She looked around the bedroom and then back to him.
“Pretty sparse but the bed’s awesome.”

She looked so fuckable lying in his bed but he didn’t just
want to fuck her, he wanted to devour her, drink in her very essence and keep
it locked inside him to fill the void. The void he know only she could fill.

“Uh, Rydie, what’s the deal? You can’t keep abducting me.”
She looked at her handcuffed wrist and a snorting laugh escaped her. “Well,
obviously ya can.”

He’d love to laugh with her but this was serious.

“I’m…” he started and paused, trying to think of what to
say, “not finished with you. You still owe me. Damn you.”

“Damn me?” She laughed. “You’re seriously unstable.”

“You didn’t unbind me,” he accused her.

Her gold eyes sparkled as she yelled, “I did!”

That’s what he feared most, that she truly had unbound him,
meaning these feelings were all his. He hoped she was lying to him, that way
there was a chance to undo it, to fix what ailed him, what ate at his insides.
But he knew she spoke the truth.

“Then why can’t I stop thinking about you? Why does it feel
as if a part of my gut has been gouged out? Why, even though I hate you, do I
desire to shove up your skirt and sink into you? Lose myself in you and only
you? Why do I want you to bind me again? Why Valia? What have you done to me?”

She blinked and swallowed hard but said nothing.

“Please,” he forced out through gritted teeth, his voice
strained to his own ears. “Release me from this torture or…”

“Or what?” she asked, her voice a mere whisper.

He sat on the bed beside her, head in his hands. “Or stay.
Stay and be mine.” He couldn’t believe he’d just said that and had sounded so
pathetic. It angered him but he meant it. He wanted this pain-in-the-ass female
for his own. Forever. He didn’t think he could ever get enough of her body, her
fiery spirit.

“Um, are you saying…are you… Whatcha saying?”

Her gold eyes were wide and she looked scared. Was the idea
of being his so terrible? He turned to her and caressed her cheek with the
backs of his knuckles. Soft and cuddly didn’t come naturally to him but he gave
it his best shot. “You’ve bewitched me. I thought the feelings I had for you
were because of the aura binding, that they weren’t real. But when you released
the bond, I felt…” He searched his mind for a fitting word. “Desolate. I wanted
to command you then and there to bind me again.”

Feeling ridiculous because of his declaration, he sobered,
hardened. “You will stay until I convince you to be mine. If I have to keep you
cuffed to my bed for fifty years, so be it. You will be mine.”

She stared at him with an unreadable expression for a long
time and then she laughed. Why was this female always laughing at him? It
should anger him, but her face lit up as though she was an angel glowing in the
sunshine when she laughed and the sound soothed a little of the frustration
inside him.

She sobered and said, “So bossy. Relationships aren’t really
my thing.”

Rydin’s gut clenched, she couldn’t turn him down, not after
he’d declared himself. No. He wouldn’t allow it, wouldn’t allow her to say no.
He’d meant what he’d said, he would keep her locked up in his home until he
changed her mind.

He stood abruptly and looked down at her. “You will stay. I
will change your mind.”

“Wait, I was…” Valia started, but he flashed away before she
finished. Once again, he’d left her handcuffed to a bed while he disappeared,
but she didn’t care because all she could think about was that he’d said he
wanted her to be his. Sparks of excitement and happiness had speared throughout
her body when he’d said those words. She’d heard declarations of love from
other suitors, but they’d just been crushing on her mad sex skills, it hadn’t
been sincere and she wouldn’t have been interested even if it had been.

But for Rydin to admit that she’d bewitched him, that he
wanted her to bind him again… She felt the same, as if he’d bewitched her. He
was everything she wanted in a male and she couldn’t imagine desiring another
as long as she had him.

Two hours later, Valia had to pee and she was restless.
She’d hoped Rydin wouldn’t be gone much longer. She was all for being cuffed to
his huge bed but only if he was there with her making her body sing with his.

She tensed as heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs and
exhaled in relief when his handsome face rounded the corner.

“Where ya been? A girl’s gotta pee sometimes.” Did his face
actually redden at her announcement?

He rushed over and released the cuff from the bed. “I didn’t
mean to be gone so long. Come,” he said, and reached a hand toward her.

She grinned at him, accepting his hand as he pulled her up
from the bed. “Love to but gotta pee.”

His eyes darkened with desire at her joke. Obviously he’d
also like to come.

He showed her to the facilities and reluctantly let her
close the door behind her.
Hello, I can’t flash with these damn cuffs on.
Where the hell did he think she’d go? When she finished, he was standing right
outside the door. He grabbed her hand and led her down the stairs and into the
kitchen.

Her eyes bugged at the massive spread on the counter. There
were platters of sliced kiwi and pineapple piled high with more than she could
eat in a week. There were two brown grocery bags with all types of other fruits
peeking out the tops. She grabbed a chunk of pineapple and slipped it into her
mouth, then a piece of kiwi, both perfectly ripe, a combination of tangy and
sweet.

She spied two more bags on the floor. Not groceries. She
looked at Rydin questioningly and he motioned for her to look.

She dug through the first bag. It was filled with different
shades of green bikinis and sarongs. Her throat constricted and she couldn’t
form words. Instead she peered at him with what she figured was a dumbfounded
look on her face.

“Look in the other,” he demanded.

She dug into it excitedly and let out a little squeal as she
pulled out silky green and gold lingerie.

He picked up a box, sporting a shiny gold bow, and handed it
to her. “Open it.”

She opened it and choked on a shocked laugh. Inside lay a
large, shiny machete. She took it out and tested the weight of it, noticing a
green stone set in the hilt. “I don’t get it,” she said.

“Everyone living on a tropical island needs a machete. I
know the hilt isn’t as glamorous as your dagger—”

“Love it.” She beamed at him. “But why?”

“When you said relationships aren’t your thing, I had to do
something to convince you that I am worthy of you.”

He meant it. He really did want her for himself to live here
with him. He didn’t need to do this, to buy her things. She loved all the
gifts, the ridiculous amounts of food, the emerald encrusted machete, but she
didn’t need that from him. She just needed him.
Needed him.
She’d never
needed a male for anything but semen.

“Ya know, this girl loves her some gifts but, I don’t need
that from you.” His hands clenched at his sides and a muscle ticked in his jaw.
“Lemme finish this time,” she said quickly.

“No, I don’t accept that.” He closed the distance between
them and took the machete from her hand, placing it on the counter and held her
face in his hands. “I will add on to the bungalow, build you a fancy house. If
I don’t have enough money saved, I’ll take side jobs. I need you to stay with
me, Valia. I feel empty, desolate without you. You plague my mind. I’ll buy you
whatever you want, need. I’ll steal it if I don’t have enough money. Kill for
it. Whatever, but you
will
stay with me.”

Valia’s breath caught in her throat. A declaration like that
coming from a
Ferox
demon was a thing to behold. She’d asked Araya what it
felt like to be in love but Valia thought she might just have a clue for
herself now.

She pressed a finger to his lips. “If you’d shut it and
lemme finish, you’d already know that’s what I want too. I want to be with you,
you bossy, arrogant, villainous male.” She smiled as a look of pure relief
washed over his face and couldn’t resist teasing him a little. “You’re gonna
have to quit cuffing me though, unless it’s for…fun.

“Whatever it takes, Valia. Whatever it takes to convince you
to stay and be mine.”

She stood on tiptoes, looking into his eyes and wrapped her
arms around his neck, pulling his lips to hers. “Whatcha waiting for?” She
spoke lightly against his lips. “Start with the convincing already.”

Rydin’s amber eyes blazed with desire as he swung her into
his arms and flashed them to his bedroom where they convinced each other all
night long.

* * * * *

The next morning, Rydin woke her with breakfast in bed. He
fed her kiwi and pineapple and then decorated her with pieces of fruit and ate
his breakfast from her naked body.

After a leisurely shower, she dressed in one of the bikinis
Rydin had bought for her before they went out to explore the island. They
walked hand in hand along the beach and along paths Rydin had cut through the
jungle. The small island was truly a paradise. Their paradise. It was
breathtakingly beautiful. She loved the palm trees, the blue water, the sand
beneath her bare feet and salty tang in the air.

Valia couldn’t imagine living anywhere else. Yeah, Rydin was
gonna have to build on to the bungalow a little to house her clothes and boots
but no biggie and no hurry. Here, she wouldn’t have much use for clothes anyway
as she planned to be in bikinis or naked most of the time.

She couldn’t believe she’d found a male she wanted to keep,
wanted to be monogamous with. It sounded so absurd to her but at the same time
felt too right to be wrong. She wouldn’t be going all crazy and jumping on the
marriage bandwagon like her sister, but at least now she had a better
understanding of Araya’s thought process and her feelings.

Rydin stopped as they came to a clearing with a huge hammock
hanging between two palm trees. He maneuvered himself into it and held out his
arms to her. “Come,” he said.

Valia carefully climbed onto the hammock and curled around
him. “In this thing? Dunno if that’s possible.”

He laughed, a hearty male sound that warmed her insides,
made her feel all gooey. “We’re going to find out. Soon.”

“Not now?” She pouted.

He lifted her chin and kissed her forehead. “Insatiable.”

“I thought spoiled was your fave word for me.”

“I will spoil you always.”

Valia still felt weird about the whole love thing but as she
absently stroked one of his horns she felt compelled to ask. “Have you ever
been…in love?”

Rydin sighed, his amber gaze locking with hers. “Not until
now.”

Valia’s heart skipped, felt full to bursting. Her face
heated and she thought she might be blushing. She’d never felt such happiness,
such completeness as she did in this moment. She nuzzled his neck and
whispered, “Me neither.”

Jocelyn was born in Iowa and currently resides in Texas. Her
preferred vacation locations are islands with sandy beaches, palm trees,
iguanas, and unfettered views of clear, blue-green water.

She shares her home with her very own 6'4" alpha male
and varying numbers of spoiled cats and dogs. Teaching one of her dogs to file
his own nails is one of her all-time favorite accomplishments.

Jocelyn loves to paint, loves to read, and loves to write
sizzling erotic romance about yummy demons that would make your momma blush.

Jocelyn welcomes comments from readers. You can find her
website and email addresses on her
author
bio page
at
www.ellorascave.com
.

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Araya’s
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Valia’s Villain

ISBN 9781419948275

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Valia’s Villain Copyright © 2013 Jocelyn Dex

Edited by Briana St. James

Cover design and photography by Syneca

Models: Georgio & Taylor

Electronic book publication October 2013

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