Chapter 15
Chapter Fifteen
Everything around him was still when Dom awoke. Soft light filtered into the room from a nearby window. For a moment, he thought he’d only rested for a few hours. Then he realized he felt too restored for that to be the case.
“Damn it.” Stupid of him to allow a significant passage of time to slip through his fingers.
This pillow wasn’t his. Far too fluffy. This comforter with its complex geometric patterns was unnecessary in the warm temperature of the room, but also not his. He didn’t have a comforter. Or curtains. Or an area rug at any of his properties.
Two other people hovered in the vicinity, both lycans.
He tried to decode the flashbacks of what happened.
A chunk of his memory was missing—the time between fighting the monster, which turned out to be a feral dev, to waking up here.
He’d cleaved off five of the six heads of the monster.
The last head spit acid, which burned his left arm.
It shot one of its spikes into his chest.
He remembered Evie being there. She had glowed like a star come to earth. Efrem had opened the windows to let in the natural light and eliminated the monster.
Under the covers, he still wore his pants, but his shirt had been removed. The wound in his chest had healed, and someone cleaned away the blood. A pile of his weapons rested on a side table beside a lamp.
A small handwritten note by the bed next to a glass of water read: Take a shower. New clothes in the washroom. Afterward, meet me on the porch for a meal. -E
Unfamiliar warmth spread through his body. He buried his nose in the pillow next to his and inhaled her scent. For the space of an unknown time, he welcomed the luxury of being somewhere where he wasn’t alone. Someone had made him breakfast and provided him with clothes.
In the shower, he scrubbed and performed the magical ritual taught to him by his master centuries ago to purge any residual evil energy from the previous confrontation. The black tactical pants and T-shirt provided were tight, but he wasn’t fussy about clothes.
He halted at the entry to a glassed-in patio and realized one thing. He’d survived many things, but Evie Lanzo was not going to be one of them. Whatever this was, she was his future and his end.
She stood in a gauzy white dress with her golden hair unbound to her mid-back. The strands blew softly in the breeze from a fireplace fan blowing heat, and she watched ocean waves crash in the distance.
This was a million shades of bad. So bad that he ought to utter a quick thanks and retreat to his home. He should return to that bleak stone cottage where he’d be alone. Utterly alone.
The delicate line of her shoulders and curves of her body were shadowed by light filtering through the dress. It tempted him to give in to the need to touch her. The yearning scorched through him. He forced himself to stillness and kept one hand on the doorframe, waiting for her to face him.
“You’re staring,” she said before turning. A soft smile broke on her face.
He was lost.
“Are you okay? When I pulled the spike out of your chest you bled a lot. Then there was an incident with another spike through your leg.” She cringed. “I tried to move you before it got you again, but I wasn’t fast enough.”
All he could manage was a nod.
She moved so fast he wasn’t ready. What was it with her and hugging?
Her arms banded him as she held on. “I was so worried. I thought I was going to lose you. I didn’t know where to take you, but I couldn’t leave you there.”
His eyes went bleary. His body tightened. This was…too much.
With a glance up, her eyebrows pressed together. “What?”
“How did you find me?” His voice came out hoarse.
“The falcon led me to you.”
“The what?”
“You didn’t send the falcon?” She released him from the hug. “I see it almost every time before I see you.”
“A falcon. Do you see animals associated with other people?”
Her gaze drifted off, lost in thought. “Maybe. I never considered it.”
“You see spirit animals. Mine is a falcon?”
“I’m not entirely sure it’s a falcon. It’s a large bird as brutal and moody as you. Never thought of it as a spirit animal.” She released an uneasy laugh. “Is that weird to be able to see sprit animals?”
“You dream walk and see spirit animals.” His lips tipped upward. “Decently badass skills.”
“Shhh.” She put a light hand over his mouth and whispered, “I don’t want Efrem to overhear about the dream walking. That’s for us only. Okay?” She waved at a modest array of fresh foods. “Come. Join me to eat. I wasn’t sure what you like. Coffee or tea?”
“I don’t do caffeine.”
Her brows tugged together. She poured orange juice into a cup for him. “How long since you last ate?”
“I don’t remember. A day or two. Maybe more. I don’t need a lot of food.”
“Sit.” Her slide into a seat was graceful. She pushed her hair behind an ear. He stared at the long line of her neck. “It’s all vegetarian. I remembered you saying you were vegetarian. Maybe if you ate more frequently, you’d be less grumpy?”
Somehow, he managed to sip juice and nibble on some sort of biscuit. They ate in uncomfortable silence.
She smiled in a way that shot a jolt of desire straight to his dick. “There’s a lot going on in that stare. I might get the wrong idea and think you want me.”
“Me wanting you has never been in question.”
“You’re too much.” She stood and walked over to a support post. Her lean against it while staring out at the ocean was far from relaxed. “I can’t do this.”
He heard her thoughts in his head; he always seemed to hear her louder than any other: I want you so much it scares me. I don’t want to be hurt again.
He moved in front of her and dropped his forehead to press it against hers in frustration. He wanted to kiss along the line of her lips, dip his tongue in between them, and conquer her. “Will you let me kiss you like I mean it?”
“Yes.” Her voice came out strained. She stared at his lips. When he didn’t move to start the kiss, her eyes darted to his. “Are you going to kiss me?”
“I need you to be the one to start it.”
“Why?”
“I won’t take away this decision. You haven’t let anyone touch you since Willem hurt you. That’s a long, long time for you to go without being touched by someone who means it. The full moon must torture you, but you resist taking a lover even for relief.”
“How would you know?” She craned away from him to meet his gaze. “Get out of my head.”
“I’d know if you slept with someone.” He didn’t want to admit how possessive he’d become of her. Would he let her have a lover? Yes. Would he allow a lover to live after touching her?
He didn’t dwell on the answer to that.
“Should I be worried that it sounds like you watch me all the time like a stalker?”
“Watching over you is all I’m allowed.” He pressed his nose into her neck. “You like it. You dream of me coming out of the shadows and into your bed.”
“I have dreamed a lot of things about you.” She laughed softly. “What about you? Do you have someone? A lover?”
“It’s been a long time.” He couldn’t remember the last time he had sex. No one mattered to him anymore other than Evie.
“Do you dream about me?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She started to rise on her tiptoes to put her lips to his, but he put a finger on her lips to stop her.
“If I touch you like I mean it, I won’t be able to contain my power. It could consume us. I may become the only one your body will ever want.”
“You’re so arrogant, it’s a shock you ever got a woman into bed without coercing her with magic.”
Ouch. That was a little too close to the truth. “For any mage who loses himself in a woman, he will bind her to him. It’s why we’re cautious about this. I’ve never been with anyone that— I know if I touch you like I mean it, I’ll lose control.”
“What’s it like for you to lose control? Do you get violent? Could you hurt me?”
He detected caution from her. “I won’t hurt you. If you feel threatened, you will tell me.”
“Will it be good?”
“More than good. It’ll be addictive. Be warned, I won’t be able to give you all that you want in here.
” He pressed a hand against her chest. He moved his nose along the side of her face to speak against her ear.
“You need a mate, a partner. It’s what you crave in your soul. I can’t be that person for you.”
I think you can be. You’re too scared to be my person.
She was right. He was terrified.
“Right now, I need you.” Her long lashes closed over her eyes. “It’s all I’ve needed for as long as I can remember. I need you to help me find out if I can do this again. I think you need this too.”
She curved a hand around the back of his head and pulled him down to her. Finally. Her lips locked onto his. The urge to grab her and take her the way he wanted scorched him. He stood there, giving her the power to control them.
“You promised to kiss me like you mean it, Dom. Do it.”
“Are you sure you’re ready for that?” His erection pushed into her stomach.
She nodded.
He closed the space between them. Blood pounded in his chest when her lips touched his.
One peck. Two. Fucking closed-mouth kisses.
Then she opened her mouth. Her tongue tangled with his.
The world around him vanished into a thick cloud of brutal desire.
He wrapped her hair in his fist and yanked her into him.
She responded by pulling him into her, giving him permission to demolish her.
He licked the corners of her mouth and tugged at her lips.
She whimpered when he sucked her tongue into his mouth.
With a lift, he rotated to box her against the wall. Her legs spanned around his waist. His dick aligned with her core as he bent his knees, dry humping her through their clothing. He had no one to blame for this devastation but himself. He’d charged past every rule he’d laid down regarding her.
She clawed his back, her sharp nails digging into his skin while he ground against her. He loved the bite. He’d planned to pull away and stop the kiss, perhaps retreat, but her hand slipped into the waist of his pants and wrapped around his shaft.
He gasped and jerked, his dick halfway out of his pants.
He hadn’t been touched like this in so long.
This was the epitome of stupid. These feelings, even with the cilice still in place, were going to trigger the prophecy and lead to the end of the world.
He meant to mumble something about cooling down, but Evie brought his dick between her thighs to rub against her underwear.
“Evie…” That was it. All he could manage. He couldn’t think beyond that. He didn’t even know what he was asking. Maybe it was for her to take mercy on him.
“Let’s come together.” She moaned when he kissed her again. She moved her hand back to his dick to stroke him. Shivers worked their way up his spine.
He pushed aside her underwear to finger the silky, wet warmth.
So tight. No moment in his life would equal this.
He slipped one finger into her, then two.
With previous lovers, he had skipped straight to the clit to get it over with and move on to the more important part, which was his release.
With Evie, he didn’t care about himself.
He wanted her to take her pleasure. He teased her with a finger and cheated a bit, using a burst of magic to massage that secret spot deep inside. Her head rolled as her body tightened.
“Please,” she begged. “I’m close.”
“Please what?” He curled his fingers inside her.
She squeezed him tighter. “Damn you. Make me come.”
He dragged his fingers across her clit and pressed back inside her. On instinct, he nibbled on her lip and placed small bites down her neck. With each bite, her body jerked.
“You like a bit of pain, do you?” He bit harder.
She writhed, riding his fingers until her breath choked and she shook. He rubbed her clit, then bit her shoulder hard enough to draw blood, licking and soothing away the pain. With a cry, her orgasm hit long and hard.
She pushed him to release her so she could slide down his body to take his shaft deep in her mouth. Her tongue slid over him as she drew him in and out of her.
He gently lifted her chin to make eye contact and ask silently if it was okay if he released in her mouth. She reached around to grip his ass and pull him into her. A few strong tugs and he released down her throat with a guttural cry.
She swallowed. He tucked himself back in and helped her stand.
What words were there for where they went from here? He didn’t detect any fear or regret in her, which was good.
That had been…well, he couldn’t think.
With a single finger she traced the scar above his lip, the one a lucky witch inflicted with a poisoned blade. “That was a long time coming.” She chuckled at her double entendre. “I want more.”