Elspeth blinked. Then smiled even as Luc groaned and rolled away from her.

“Where are you going?” she exclaimed.

“To bury myself in a hole since I’m about to die from shame,” he grumbled, refusing to look at her.

“What shame?”

He turned his head enough to shoot her a dark glare. “We are not discussing this.”

“I don’t see what the problem is. I’m rather honored by it all.”

“Honored?” He rose to his feet, hands dropped to cover the wet stain on his pants. “You didn’t achieve pleasure. I was selfish.”

“You lost control. Which is the sexiest thing a man has ever done for or with me.” She beamed at him.

“But you didn’t achieve pleasure. I failed.”

“Only if we’re done. Are we done? Or will you join me in a shower?” She rose to her feet, noting how his gaze hotly followed the sway of her breasts.

“What if it happens again?”

“Then the third time is the charm.”

Emotions rippled across his face: shame, hope, eagerness, hesitation…

“I fear I should warn you, I might not be the most adept of lovers.”

“It’s okay if you don’t have much experience.”

Watching him meant seeing the rising tide of red in his cheeks.

“I have no experience.” He cleared his throat. “By the time I came of age, it was only my mother and me. We would never have committed that cardinal sin. And after, I only had my jailors. I would have died before I let them touch me.”

“Everyone starts out a virgin.”

“Are you?” he asked.

A soft smile graced her lips as she nodded. “Yes.” Not for lack of trying. “Which means this will be a learning adventure for us both. So long as we stay away from those heated massage oils.” That didn’t end well.

She held out her hand.

“You still want to be with me?” He sounded surprised.

She nodded. “Do you?” They’d not known each other for very long. He’d only recently escaped. His psyche was still adapting to all the changes he’d gone through. But biggest of all, she knew how he struggled with the vengeance he thought he wanted and the affection and friendship she knew he needed.

They both needed this. She had already seen that he was the only man strong enough to handle her. To not be daunted by her power. Who wouldn’t be crushed by her passion.

When he approached and ignored her hand to draw her close, she couldn’t help the happy burst within her. He’d chosen her over revenge.

Little did he know, she’d choose him over anything.

Their lips melded, a hard clash of mouths and teeth. There was nothing gentle about their kiss. Nothing elegant either.

Pure.

Unadulterated.

Passion.

She held tightly to his shoulders and lifted her legs to wrap around his waist.

Luc didn’t even grunt at the added weight. Simply took that as an invitation to cup her ass cheeks.

“Let’s have that shower,” she whispered against his neck before licking it.

Lucky for them, the basement gym in the castle—a converted dungeon that mixed medieval stone with modern convenience—had a huge bathroom. A room—probably an old cell—equipped with a tiny frosted window high on the wall, offered showerheads on a few of the surfaces. Knobs sat below each.

“Which one?” he asked.

“Turn them all on,” she replied. “Let’s steam this place up.”

She sucked at his ear as he carried her from tap to tap, yanking the knobs and turning them, dodging out of the way of the cold water that first shot out.

At the last knob he didn’t move, and he let the cold spray strike their bodies.

She gasped and tightened her grip on him.

His fingers dug deeper as the fabric to her pants became soaked.

“You set me afire,” he murmured, taking a page from her book and nuzzling her neck.

“It’s because we’re made for each other.” They were soul mates.

She’d seen it.

“I burn for you.” He shoved her back against the shower wall, the old stone blocks smoothed by time, yet chilly against her skin. Her new position freed his hands.

He threaded one through her hair, cradling her head. He tugged, and she tilted her face, exposing her neck to him.

His lips grazed the skin. He whispered, “You make me forget my promises.”

Awash in pleasure, she replied, “I would do anything for you.” Love, kill, betray. He was her dracinore. Her weakness.

Some would argue that she barely knew the man, but how could she say that? In her visions, she’d experienced a thousand different lifetimes with him. She remembered none clearly. They jumbled together in her mind, but there was one thing they all had in common.

“Luc.” She breathed his name and moaned as his lips left her neck for the bounty of her breasts. For a girl her height, she didn’t have the largest ones. Not by far. She exercised too much for that. But Luc didn’t seem to mind. He nuzzled her breasts, rubbed his bristly jawline against them as the water, now hot, sluiced over them.

When he finally stopped teasing to place his mouth over a tip, she arched and cried out.

He paused.

“Keep going.”

With a happy hum, he played again, sucking softly at first but, with encouragement, tugging hard at her nipple—the pulls tugging between her legs.

Speaking of which, her damned wet pants chafed.

“Take these off me.” She looped her fingers into the waistband, shoving at them.

It took a few fumbles before they were nude.

She took a moment to admire the long and thick jut of his cock before he clasped her tightly to him once more. Full-body contact.

Her pussy quivered. She might have come a little.

The kiss was even fiercer than before. Their tongues dueled wetly.

His hands grabbed hold of her and lifted, with no help from her. He wasn’t as gentle when her back slammed into the wall.

Damn did she like it.

She wrapped her legs around his shank and kept him close, rubbing her heated core against his lower belly. Feeling the hot throb of his dick below her butt.

“Rub it against me,” she ordered. Being a virgin didn’t mean she didn’t know what she wanted.

I’ve experienced this in my dreams.

Yet they hadn’t prepared her for the electrical charge of it.

Elspeth rarely lost control. She couldn’t. No one could handle it. She could barely handle it.

But Luc could. He wanted all of her. No pretense, and no holding back.

The tip of him rubbed against the petals of her sex. She shuddered and moaned, her fingers digging into the flesh of his shoulders. Those lovely, broad shoulders.

He slicked it back and forth, drawing shivers and groans and tightening desperation.

“Now, Luc. I need you.”

Needed him so damned much.

The head of him paused at the opening of her sex.

He held off, despite the tension thrumming in him.

“Why are you stopping?” she asked, the hot breath against his ear wringing a fine tremor in his frame.

“I’m not in control.”

“And?” She licked the outer part of his ear. “Neither am I. This will either end well or it won’t. But I’ve seen the future, and I’m wagering on explosive.” She bit the lobe, and his hips jerked.

He slid into her.

Just a bit. It stole her breath.

He’s big.

It will fit.

He pushed a little deeper, stretching her.

What if it doesn’t?

He didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He didn’t have to. She knew why he froze.

He didn’t want to hurt her.

This demon, abused and abandoned, alone for a long time, worried about her.

She cupped his face and met his gaze. “Don’t be afraid. I’m not. This is our destiny.”

She didn’t give him a soft kiss. She bit him. Grabbed that lower lip of his and nipped it hard enough to draw blood.

She sucked, and he bucked, his hips grinding forward, taking their innocence in one swift move.

A moment that surely made the world tremble. Her existence was certainly rocked.

He fit within her perfectly. Their bodies moving in synchronicity. The bond between them forming with the shedding of blood.

It further strengthened when they kissed.

And when they came, an explosion intent enough to steal her breath, she felt his aura. Hard and cold, yet it went well with her warm persona, a shield against the ugly beyond it.

When she finally caught her breath enough to realize that they were still in the shower turning into shriveled prunes, she smiled and nuzzled his skin.

And what did she have to say about this monumental moment in her life?

“That was epic.”

The entire night proved to be one enjoyable thing after another. As older virgins, they had a lot of pent-up frustration to deal with.

The man was a beast. And she was… In love.

But love didn’t mean shirking her duty to the Sept—and it wouldn’t help her avoid what was coming.

Time to get moving.

The next morning, Elspeth rose from the bed. She smiled down at Luc, who snored softly amidst the tangled sheets. She brushed back his hair and enjoyed one last touch, one last look.

She left her clothes on the floor. Left everything behind as she exited his room and padded to a guest room across from it. Far enough from him that she could shower and do her toilette duties.

She performed those tasks quickly. She’d lingered longer than she should have in bed.

At least she’d had the forethought to have her luggage delivered to his place, which meant she could put clean clothes in this room, preparation for later. Say thank you to her vision advantage. Seeing herself in a few grubby, I-slept-in-those clothes in dreams helped make sure she controlled at least something.

Exiting the bedroom, she paused for a moment, staring at the door behind which Luc still slept. Despite the night they’d spent making it clear how she felt, it occurred to her before leaving that she should write him a note.

It took but a moment to jot something and slide it under his door.

Then, off to destiny. Alone. Which was kind of scary, but she had to do this. Had to leave Luc for him to find himself. He wouldn’t understand her choice. He wasn’t supposed to. But, hopefully, he would become what he had to in time to save her because she neared that damned fork. The biggest stumble in her life’s path.

Of late, she didn’t see anything beyond it. Not a good omen.

Arriving downstairs, she caught Alfred in the kitchen tucking away his cell phone. He looked rather distressed.

Entering, she noted some delivery bags and food partially placed on plates. Here she’d thought dear Alfred did all the cooking himself. Sly man.

She wandered closed enough to snare a piece of crisp bacon and dipped it in an open pitcher of syrup.

Only as the sugar and salt hit her tongue did she ask, “Did someone accuse the butler of doing it?”

“Not quite. Rather the master. A friend of mine was calling to warn me the coppers have a warrant to search the castle.”

“What for?”

“Someone tipped them off about the bodies in the field.”

“You know about the bodies?” she asked, grabbing a croissant and shredding it to eat it.

“I was the one driving the master that night.”

“Which reminds me. We never did ask how you found us.”

“A spell by the master. I drove since it led him a fair distance.”

“You’re awfully efficient, Alfred. I’m going to enjoy having you as a butler. You just wait, next Halloween, guess what we’ll dress up as?”

Alfred didn’t look amused. It was utterly perfect.

“I have to leave,” he remarked.

“Where are you going? Need a hand?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. Groceries again. You know how heavy those are.” Alfred rubbed his lower back while Elspeth snared a danish.

“Sure thing. Let’s go now so we can return before Luc wakes up.”

Alfred led the way to a lovely town car. Slick and black, the interior very clean with a hint of perfume.

Not her perfume.

“Is this the car Luc likes using?” she asked, unable to help herself from asking the jealous query. She ran a hand over the smooth paint heading for the passenger side.

“No. This is the one I prefer. It’s got some nice features for the driver. Get in the back, and I’ll show you some of the perks.”

Intrigued, she clambered into the back seat. The perfume scent stronger than before with something else.

Something oddly familiar.

Click.

The door locked.

Whir. A sheet of glass rose forming a wall to separate the front and back. Hiss.

Gas vapors emerged from some vents while, from a speaker, she heard Alfred say, “Dumb blonde. You should have stayed in bed with your demon lover.”

No, thank you. She’d seen that future. It didn’t go well for anyone.