Worlds of Obsession (Celtic Otherworlds) (31 page)

“But… there is a price.  There is always a price, is there not?”

“What is it?” she asked quietly.  “Just tell me.”

“You.  In exchange for his life, I will have yours.  You will wed with me and we will be together for always, my pet.”  He smiled,
reaching out and stroking her hair as if she really was just a pet that he wanted to keep and control.  “Decide now.  I will not bother to keep him alive much longer.”

Balor was nothing if not utterly predictable. 
There was no choice.  She knew what she had to do.  “If I say yes… you will really let him go?”

“Of course.  Honor is practically my middle name, love.”

He was lying.  He had no honor.  “Okay.”  The word slipped past her lips, leaving a nauseating void in its wake.  But she had gotten away once… if Bastien was still alive, then there was hope…

Chapter 33

They brought him in chains, looking like he had j
ust been through a week-long battle.  He wore only a tattered pair of jeans, and even they were soaked with blood.  She had no idea if the blood was all his own.

“Bastien!” she cried out
, unable to stop herself.

But Balor checked her with a quick and none-too-gentle twist of her arm.

Bastien looked up at the sound of her voice, his thick hair, matted with what could only be blood, falling back from his face and revealing a look of pure joy on his bruised and battered face.  The joy was very quickly stamped out by an equally intense rage.  “Liv… are you all right?  Did they hurt you?”  With a roar he pulled against the chains and the guards that held them wrenched him back so hard that he fell to his knees with a groan.  But still his eyes would not leave her face.  Liv’s heart was breaking for him, and for what was to come.

“Tell him, Sweet”, Balor said.  “Tell him all about our happy news.  Oh wait… let me.”

Bastien’s gaze moved to Balor, his eyes flashing with such hatred that Liv thought perhaps looks really could kill.  If only they could… “Let her go”, he said in a voice that no longer sounded quite human.  “Keep me prisoner forever if you like, kill me if you must, but let the female go.”

“Oh, but it’s too late… the
female
and I have already struck a bargain.  One that will benefit us both, Demon.”

“What bargain?”  Bastien was positive that whatever it was, he wasn’t going to like it.

“She stays here with me, and you get to live… as long as you don’t interfere.”

“Never!”  Bastien roared as he lunged at Balor like a wild animal.  “You will
never
have her!”  One of the guards hit him hard in the gut and he grunted and doubled over, all the while keeping his eyes locked on Liv.  Balor laughed, and the sound sickened Bastien more than the hard blow to his stomach had. 

“But I
do
have her”, Balor taunted him gleefully, clearly enjoying his game.  “And I have something else that belongs to you.  At least I think it does, unless the female you would have for a mate has already been unfaithful.  Has she, Demon?”

“What are you talking about?”
Bastien swung his gaze to Liv as he suddenly grasped Balor’s meaning, his face paling even more.  God, could it be true? 
Was she carrying his child?
  Balor could be bluffing, but if there was even that smallest chance…  A storm of strong emotions rose up within him.  Joy, fear, love… and a bitter, seething,
killing
, rage.  His most primitive instincts were quickly taking over, screaming at him to protect what was his.  A strength he did not even know he possessed surged through his body, and even before he had fully changed form, he tore at the chains and they snapped as if they were made of wood and not iron.  With an unearthly bellow, he stood and turned on the two guards who suddenly found themselves holding the limp ends of the broken chains and looking confused, until they realized the danger they were in.  One reached out and tried to grab at him, but Bastien ripped the arm from its socket, tossing the dismembered limb aside before swinging a fist at the second guard.  The force of the impact of fist against face was enough to send the male flying towards the stone wall, ending up slumped in a heap against it.

Bastien turned
back to Balor, only to see his old friend Taren there, his sword drawn, and an almighty scowl on his face.  Taren, who had somehow earned a sentence in this realm, but who would have gone free in two more years…  “Taren, what are you doing?”  Bastien looked on in horror as Balor smiled darkly, drawing his own sword from the sheath hung over his broad back.  The crazy fuck was going to get himself killed… His eyes darted to Liv, who was watching Taren, her own face deathly pale.

Taren didn’t look away from Balor, but yelled to Bastien, “Go!  Take her and get out of here!” 

“No!”  Liv shouted, and she started towards Taren, the expression on her face saying that she knew the odds of winning a fight with Balor.  Bastien ran for Liv and scooped her up in his arms, but it was killing him to leave Taren behind to deal with Balor’s wrath all alone. 

“Go, now!  Damn you Bastien!”
  Taren’s sword clashed against Balor’s, and bright red sparks flew in all directions, falling to the ground and burning for a moment before disappearing.  “Don’t make this all for nothing!”

Bastien knew his only choice was to ru
n, or all of them would soon be dead, and Taren’s sacrifice really
would
be for nothing.  Well, all dead but Balor, because it just wasn’t that easy to kill a demi-god.  “I’ll come back for you…” he said to Taren in a harsh whisper. 
If you survive
, he added in his mind.  Then, holding Liv tightly to his chest, he ran like he had never run before.

They surged up out of the water, Liv still held tightly in Bastien’s arms.  He carried her wordlessly to the car he had left not far away, ignoring her insistence that she could walk, and saying a silent prayer of thanks that they hadn’t had to go through the time distortion, or the car would have undoubtedly been long gone.  He tucked Liv into the passenger seat and raced around to the other side, jumping in and gunning the engine.  It was likely they were going to be followed, if not immediately, then soon, and he wanted to get Liv back to headquarters where he’d have backup and be able to keep her safe. 
Fuck!
  He had nearly lost her again.  From now on, she was going to be chained to his side, and not even the greatest forces of nature would be able to tear her away from him.  That was just too fucking close.   

Now that Balor’s goons had stopped
their constant assault on his body, his wounds were healing, his strength quickly returning.  He was a male in his prime, and he had a mate to protect.  He would die before he let anyone take her again.  A fierce wave of possessiveness coursed through him, and he only just managed to force his true form back into submission.

Soon
the car was hurtling along the road, and out of the corner of his eye he could see Liv gasping at every sharp turn and grabbing onto the seat, and occasionally the dashboard. 

“It’s okay now, b
aby”, he told her.   “We’ll be safe, I promise.  I’ll keep you safe, but don’t ever fucking leave me like that again!”

“
Then don’t lock me up like a child.  Bastien!  You’re driving like a maniac!”  To his credit, he didn’t take his eyes off the road, but he still looked like he was about to kill someone, so she decided to keep quiet until they got to wherever they were going.  Then she would let him have it, both for locking her up in the first place, and for scaring her within an inch of her life when Balor brought him to her all bloody and chained.  She had never been so desperately afraid in all her life… lives?  She shook her head.  This was going to take some time to sort out…

“Taren?” she asked quietly.  “What will happen to him?”

“I don’t know, but I’m gonna make sure he gets out of there.  The Guild has lots of connections, we’ll make it happen.”

As he maneuvered the car over the twisting highland roads as if it was an extension of his
own body, Bastien felt the worst of the rage begin to drain away, making room for semi-rational thought.  He had come so close to losing Karis… Liv… again.  If it hadn’t been for Taren… Bastien silently vowed again to do everything in his power to help him.  If he had to, he would even swallow his pride and go to Scatha.  She would at least know where Taren was being held.  If he was even still alive, but odds were in his favor that he was.  Balor seldom killed anyone these days when he could spend years entertaining himself at their expense.  Torture was rumored to be his new favorite hobby. 

 
As his mind continued to clear, Bastien suddenly remembered what Balor had said, how he had implied that Liv was carrying a child.  His heart immediately flooded with happiness at the very thought, even the possibility of such a thing.  Imagine… a child of his own, after so many years of darkness and pain!  Another miracle.  A perfect little babe that he could hold in his arms, and love as fiercely as he did its mother.  And he would be the father, because of course Liv hadn’t been unfaithful…

Except… he had left for Skye, and been for several weeks at least, without actually entering into any kind of committed relationship with her.  She could have been with another male during that time, especially since she had been so angry with him for leaving her and going to Anwnn.  But no, he wasn’t going to think like that, or he would
lose control.  In all likelihood, Liv wasn’t even pregnant.  But if she was…  

He
knew he shouldn’t get his hopes up, because it wasn’t very likely.  Most couples were together for decades or even centuries before they conceived.  He had a second chance now to have a family one day, and Balor had tried to take that chance away from him.  Bastien gritted his teeth and pressed down harder on the accelerator, causing Liv to cry out and duck down her head as if she couldn’t watch.  “Bastien!  Slow down!”

He had to, because t
hey had already reached Glasgow. 

Chapter 34

He carried Liv straight up to his room, glaring at several other males
milling around downstairs who might have questioned him.  He placed her carefully on the bed, wanting so badly to kiss her, but knowing that he could never stop at just a kiss, and he had to let the other males in the house know what was going on, so that they could prepare.

“Wait here for me… promise”, he demanded.

Liv gave him a little smile.  “Don’t be too long.”

He
almost turned to leave, but there was something he had to know first.  He put his hands on Liv’s shoulders and looked down into her eyes.  He had to ask now, because he simply couldn’t wait another second to find out if
all
of his dreams were about to come true, or just the one that kept him breathing, the one that had come true the moment he stepped into the alley and saw her. 

He took a deep breath and steadied himself. 
“Liv… what Balor said… is it true?  Are you pregnant?”  His heart beat a staccato rhythm in his chest as he waited for the answer, and he wondered if he could possibly be more nervous and excited…

Until she slowly shook her head. 
“No.  At least, I don’t think so.” 

Bastien felt the sting of disappointment hit him as he
carefully schooled his expression. He didn’t want her to think he wasn’t praising every god that would listen for the fact that she had returned to him.  She was everything he needed. 
Everything
.

So he wasn’t going to be a father after all
, at least not yet.  Well, it was probably for the best, since they still had so much still to work out, but damned if he hadn’t hoped…  “Good.  That’s good”, he said firmly.  “It’s the last thing we need at the moment, right?”

She gave him a little smile.  “Yeah, the very last thing. 
I just assumed Balor was trying to upset you”, she said with a little shrug of her shoulders.  “He said he was going to…” she flushed and dropped her gaze.

Bastien’s voice was rough as he reached to lift her chin.  “He was going to what Liv?”

“He said he was going to get rid of your child, and replace it with his own.”

His fingers tightened on her face, and they began to tremble just a little.  His
eyes grew dark and savage and his nostrils flared as he drew in a harsh breath.  “When I return, you will tell me everything.  Everything that happened from the moment I left you in that room.” 

His hand fell away from her face and he stalked from the
bedroom, closing the door behind him.

Liv didn’t move from the bed, but just sat there,
her body frozen and her mind reeling.  She knew when the adrenaline started to wear off, because she began to shiver.  By the time the door opened again, she was shaking almost uncontrollably.  She heard a series of curses, and seconds later she was wrapped in strong arms, being lifted from the bed.

“
Fuck!
I’m so sorry baby, I shouldn’t have left you alone.  God, I’m so sorry…”

“I… I’m… okay.”

“No, you’re not.  You’re in shock or something.  And you’re cold.”  He set her down before him and began to strip off her clothing.  When he had her completely naked, he carried her into the bathroom and turned on the shower, setting her down under the warm spray before removing his own clothing and joining her.  Without a word, he began to tenderly wash her hair, working his fingers through the long golden strands before rinsing them clean.  Then he pulled her closer, his hands sliding down her back before circling her waist and skimming back up her front until he cupped her face in his palms, his thumbs tracing her full bottom lip.  When she looked up into his eyes, she could see all that he was.  All of the pain, all of the longing, all of the fierceness and ruthlessness, the love that now outshone everything else, and the raw, desperate desire.  Her breath hitched at that look, and his sped up, his chest rising and falling ever more swiftly as they stood there, locked together as an intense wave of desire flooded over them, wiping out all other intentions.

With a low growl of possession, Bastien crashed his lips against hers, the force of his body pressing her up against the hard tile, his weight holding there as he kissed her with an animalistic savagery that was a primitive
command to her body to obey, to submit while he claimed her, lifting her up to meet him as their damp skin slid together and his hot, hard length plunged into her core as if he had always belonged there.

Bastien held her tight against the wall, only moving back enough to
withdraw far enough to slam into her once more, as if even the smallest amount of space between their bodies was too much.  He buried his face in her neck, his mouth possessing her, then his teeth raking her, just hard enough to make her cry out. Already she could feel the pressure building, her muscles tightening helplessly around the invading presence that was melting away every fear, every thought…

And the
n she let go, but only because she had fallen over the edge…

As mind-numbing waves of pleasure coursed through her body, Liv was pulled back to the surface for just a moment when Bastien roared and stilled with his entire length deep inside her, his body tight, his teeth clenched.  And then on a tight gasp she could feel him pulsing, shuddering, pouring himself into her. 

With his breathing still ragged, Bastien reached around her to turn off the water, then he carried her from the shower, still inside her, still hard, and lay her out on the bed beneath him.  With a soft sigh, he began to move within her again, slowly and deeply, almost reverently.  He looked down into her eyes, pushing a lock of hair away from her cheek as he supported himself on his elbows.  How was he doing this to her, making her feel only him and forget everything else?  She was overwrought, still raw, still angry and confused, yet when he was inside her like this, he had complete command of her, body and soul.  She was entirely helpless to do anything but take the pleasure he was giving her.  She felt him grow larger within her, his breathing turning to shallow pants, and her body responded as if on cue, shattering around him just as his eyes drifted closed and he groaned, long and deep, his entire body shuddering with intense pleasure.  His lips sank down to find hers, kissing her deeply before collapsing to one side, his hand stroking her hip as he struggled to catch his breath.

Liv did a quick inventory of her body, finding every part relaxed and sated.  She had truly never felt such a physical manifestation of love and possession, but her mind refused to be as relaxed as the rest of her.  They still needed to talk, or all of her doubts and misgivings would be between them forever.

“
Bastien?”

“Hmmm?”  His voice was sleepy and satisfied in a way she had never heard it before.
 

“
Thank you for coming after me, but I’m still mad at you.”

“I know.”
  He turned slightly to lay on his back and stared at the ceiling with a sigh.  “I’m sorry for what my father did to you.  More than you’ll ever know.  He will pay, I will make sure of it.”

Liv sighed.  “I know you’re angry with him, and believe me, I don’t particularly like the guy myself right now, but... but I think he was truly trying to protect you Bastien.”

“Not now Liv”, Bastien snapped.  “I don’t want to talk about my father right now.”

“What your father did… that’s not why I’m mad at you, though.”

He rolled onto his back, looking up at the ceiling.  “Yeah.  I know.  But do you know what?  I felt guilty for going to Balor’s realm to look for Karis.  Doubly guilty.  Not just for leaving you waiting for me, that was bad enough.  It nearly tore my heart out.  But the guilt that nearly overwhelmed me was because I didn’t really want to go.”  He shook his head a little and turned to look at her as she propped herself on one elbow beside him on the bed.  “A big part of me wanted it to all be a lie, because all I wanted was to come back to you, and it tore me up inside.  I thought I was betraying the one I had promised my forever to, because it wasn’t her I wanted anymore… it was you.”  He took a deep breath, turning to the side to face her again.  “I guess what I’m saying is that I want you more now than I ever did the first time, Liv.  It’s a goddamn fucking miracle that you came back to me.  But if I had to do it all over again, I would choose you as you are right now.  Please don’t leave me ever again, Liv.  I will do anything in my power to make you happy, I swear to you.  I need you, more than you’ll ever know.  I would happily relive every single one of those dark, lonely days without you, if I knew that in the end I could have you with me again.  You complete me, you make me live… and I live only for you.”

The pleading hope in his eyes was almost too much to bear, and
Liv had to look away before she simply fell back into his arms and let him take her away with his kisses, his body…  She could never seem to think when he was close, only react, so she did the only prudent thing and got up and walked across the room, needing a little space to process everything that had just happened. It was all still too fresh, and she had to let her swirling emotions settle back into place.  When she turned around, Bastien was sitting at the edge of the bed watching her, and the agony she read on his face nearly brought her to her knees.  He thought that she might still leave him… that she couldn’t forgive or understand.  Yes, it still hurt, and maybe they had some things to work out, but a life without him was unimaginable to her now.  In the middle of all of the life-altering craziness that had recently found her, she had fallen hard for Bastien.  She had fallen in love with him, and even if it was true that she had loved him once before, in another lifetime, she had fallen again,
all over again
. 

He
re and now, and with all that he had become, even after the years of pain had hardened and jaded him.  He was still the one she had always loved.

She knew
now that she alone could bring a smile to his face, and the light back into his eyes, and more than anything, she wanted to make him happy. 

Flicking her eyes up to his, she met his gaze and held it for a long moment, frozen in place by the intensity of the emotion she saw there.  Slowly, she took a step towards him, then another, watching with fascination as his lips parted and his breath came faster
, just because she was coming closer.  Another two steps and she was near enough to reach out and cup his strong jaw in her hand.  His eyes squeezed shut, and he turned his cheek a little, into her palm.  She took the final step, closing all the space that had separated them, and standing between his knees where he sat at the edge of the bed.  She lowered her head to kiss him tenderly on the lips.  But instead of kissing her back, he shuddered and the very life seemed to drain away from him, and with a small shock, Liv realized that he thought she had just told him goodbye with that kiss.

“No.  Bastien, no.”  She drew his lips back to hers, and this time kis
sed him with everything she had, digging her fingers into his hair and pressing her body tight against his.  He reached for her with desperation, his hands trying to pull her closer while he took control of the kiss as if he could consume her with it and make her stay.  But instead of feeling lost or overpowered, Liv felt cherished… desired.

“Tell me…” he said against her lips before moving his mouth to kiss her cheek, her jaw, her chin.  “Tell me!”  he demanded again.

“I want to stay with you.  I want you, Bastien.”

He blew out a harsh breath as he looked at her in disbelief.  “Say it again.”

“I want you, only you.  Forever.”  She watched as the disbelief that had clouded his eyes was overcome by desire… and determination.  With a low growl, he took her mouth again, pausing for a moment to look into her eyes as his hands came up to smooth her hair back from her face twice, then three times.

“Give me your lips… and then give me your body, so th
at I can worship it with mine.  I need to be inside you again.”

She was about to be claimed
once more by the male she loved in the most primal way possible, and Liv understood that this was different than the other times they had been together, even the times just moments ago.  Then, he had been holding a part of himself back, but now she was about to have all of him.  In claiming her this time, she instinctively knew that he would hold nothing back, and already she could sense the change in him.  She had agreed to be his, and even though they had just been together twice, this time he was going to make sure she knew it.  Her toes curled in anticipation as he rose above her.  He was magnificent, a towering monument to masculine perfection, and the sight of his naked body absolutely took her breath away, though it was the look in his eyes that tugged on her heart.  His chest rose and fell with his rapid breaths, and he seemed so much larger than before, so much stronger… oh god, he was changing into his other form!  She hadn’t thought of that… but it made sense that a Fomoiri male would claim his mate in his Demon form.  Slowly, she lifted her eyes to his fiercely handsome face and higher, to where two horns had already appeared, making her startle a little.  She wasn’t used to seeing him like this, and it was more than a little intimidating. But also sexy as hell.