Chapter Eight
This was wrong on so many levels, but Kieran was past caring.
Georgia wanted him, and God knew he wanted her.
She was a fever in his blood. Watching her over dinner had been a revelation.
He’d dined at the most expensive restaurants in the world, shared meals with women of power and beauty throughout the ages, but none had he enjoyed more than the simple supper with Georgia.
Something about her quieted the dissatisfaction that continuously simmered inside him.
He’d spent a lifetime locking it down deep inside him and doing his best to ignore it.
When he was near her, it was as though it didn’t exist, replaced by something close to…
contentment. Such a simple word, but invaluable to one who’d never experienced it.
Sleeping with her would muddy the already murky waters surrounding their relationship.
She had no idea who and what he really was.
To save himself, to save his brothers, he would watch her die.
If that wasn’t enough, she was vulnerable and emotional after her brush with death and wasn’t thinking clearly.
But, even knowing that, he couldn’t bring himself to pass up this opportunity to be with her.
He was a master at compartmentalization, at separating his emotions and actions until real feelings had become nothing but a distant memory. That ability had kept him sane up until now. Maybe it would keep him alive.
She deserved a better fate. She deserved a man who’d put her ahead of anyone and anything else.
A man who loved— He broke off that train of thought.
If he wasn’t careful, he’d fall into the same delusional trap as his brothers.
He cared for Georgia, but she was human.
His true identity would have her running away and screaming in fear.
Reapers weren’t supposed to get personally involved in the lives of humans, but that ship had sailed. He couldn’t walk away even if he wanted. Not only was there too much at stake, but the lure was too great.
A tiny piece of his conscience refused to be silenced.
He pulled her to a stop beside her bed. “You’ll regret this in the morning.
” She wasn’t the type of woman who could take mutual pleasure from a partner and walk away without a backward glance.
After a near-death situation, it was natural to want to reaffirm life.
Her lips curved into a smile that somehow managed to be both sad and determined. “Probably.”
“Do you want me to leave?” It would crush something within him if she sent him away.
She’d touched his emotions, something no one else had ever been able to reach—touched the real him, the man beneath the reaper.
This had to be why his father had sent him to collect her soul.
She was the one woman in the history of mankind who had the ability to destroy him.
Her death might accomplish that.
Either way, he was well and truly fucked.
The simple dress she had on had been driving him crazy all night long.
It was held up by two slender straps and fell almost to her ankles.
The white background was ablaze with brilliant red poppies.
It suited her. From the way her full breasts swayed, she wasn’t wearing a bra beneath it.
Loose and light, it was the type of garment a woman wore relaxing at home.
When she reached up and tugged on one of the straps, he stopped her. “Let me.” Not wanting to rush things, he traced his forefinger along the edge of one strap, down the neckline and up the other. Her breathing grew faster, her chest rising and falling rapidly.
“Kieran.” The breathless way she said his name had his dick hardening to the point of pain. She had no idea of the effect she had on him. This was no practiced seduction, only pure honesty, which was its own temptation.
“You’re beautiful.” He hooked his fingers beneath both straps and lowered them. His scalp tightened, and his breath caught in his throat. Her breasts were full and firm, her nipples pink and tight with arousal. They were more spectacular than he’d imagined.
Lines furrowed her brow, and she nibbled on her bottom lip. Whatever her relationships in the past, she clearly wasn’t confident in herself as a woman. That was a crime. She was built like a goddess for the ages, full-figured, ripe for the taking.
He cupped the mounds in his hands and lightly squeezed. His hands were big, but she fit him perfectly. Making a sound of need, he went down on one knee and buried his face between them. Her fingers twined through his hair, holding him to her.
The alarm in his brain went silent. It was too late to save himself. He’d passed the point of no return. It would take an epic outside force to stop him—or one single word from her.
“Kier?” The shortened version of his name made him shudder.
Only his brothers had ever called him that, and the sound of it from her lips shook him.
This was cruelty at its best. There was no way for either of them to survive this.
Oh, he might regain his immortality, but he’d only be a shell of himself.
Since coming here, emotions he’d thought lost to him forever were bombarding him, making it impossible to think clearly and act rationally.
They were tearing him apart, and before this was over, they’d likely rend him to pieces.
He honestly didn’t understand his father’s motivation behind any of this. He’d proven he could easily strip away his sons’ abilities. In truth, he had no idea of the limits of his father’s powers. None of them did.
“Kier, are you okay?”
“I don’t deserve you.” They were the most truthful words he’d uttered in millennia, maybe in his entire existence.
Her smile bewitching him, she stroked her finger down his cheek and across his bottom lip.
He playfully nipped at it before drawing it into his mouth and sucking on it.
Her pupils dilated, her nostrils flared.
“Maybe, maybe not. That’s for you to decide, but it’s my choice to give myself to you tonight. Will you give yourself to me?”
She’d take a piece of his soul he’d never get back, but there was only one reply he could give.
“Yes.” Gripping the dress, he eased the stretchy material down her torso and over her hips.
It fell to the floor, pooling around her feet.
The sight of her lacy silk panties had his balls hardening to stone.
He pressed a kiss on the smooth skin of her stomach.
His lungs were on fire. He couldn’t suck enough air into them.
Grasping the waistband, he slowly peeled her underwear off.
She kicked them away, leaving her naked.
The large bruise on her hip was an abomination. He kissed it, wishing he could take it away. Her fingers tangled in his hair. He tilted his head back. “I’ll be careful with you.” While she had only minor scrapes, she’d been shaken up. A better man would tuck her into bed and leave her in peace.
“I know you will.” She combed her fingers through his hair. The simple gesture tightened his chest.
He got to his feet and sucked in a breath when his entire body protested. Pain wasn’t new. What was new was it lingering. In the past, it had been fleeting, here and gone in a heartbeat.
Ignoring it, he reached for the button of his jeans.
She shook her head. For one heart-stopping moment, he thought she was sending him away.
But she slipped her fingers beneath the waistband.
Her fingers grazed his bare skin, making him suck in a breath.
She slid the button free and eased down the zipper.
His erection fell into her waiting hand.
“You’re big.” She closed her hand around him and gave an experimental pump.
The sight of her gripping his dick almost made him come.
Her white skin was a sharp contrast to the darker flesh.
Her hand was delicate in size, but it was rough with calluses and marked by two scars, likely from burns.
They were a sign of her toughness, of how hard she worked.
It aroused him more than if her skin had been silky soft.
When her thumb grazed the tip, he caught her wrist and carefully pulled it away.
“Keep that up, and this will be over before it starts.” As an immortal, and a man who’d lived an eternity, control wasn’t usually an issue.
Nor was his ability to make love all night.
But everything had changed. Thanks to his father’s interference, he was more human than reaper.
Better to be careful than to risk making a muck of things.
He wanted this night to be perfect for her.
“Really?” Her blue eyes glistened with mischief. “Maybe I should see how much you can take.”
He laughed, delighted by this playful side of her. “Maybe I should see how much you can take.” He eased back far enough to toe off his boots and shuck the rest of his clothes.
“Oh, Kieran. Your poor leg.” Her cry of dismay had him looking down. The bumper of the car had clipped him at the top of his thigh, leaving a large bruise. “It’s fine.” If he’d broken a bone, it would have been a problem. In comparison, this was nothing.
“Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“Absolutely.” It would take more than a few cuts, bruises, and stiff muscles to stop him.
She’d pulled her hair back in a clip. He reached behind her and flicked it open, releasing the shoulder-length tresses. He tossed the clip onto the nightstand and combed his fingers through them. The strands were like sunlight, her eyes like a summer’s day.
The time for playing was over. Rather than trying to lift her and risk hurting one—or both—of them and killing the mood, he led her to the bed. It was only a double and not nearly large enough for him, but he’d manage.
“Do you have… You know, protection?”