Chapter Eight

 

 

Davian’s muscles went rigid. Every single one of them. Sending a ripple of excitement through Jade.

He said, “There’s an old saying about flirting with disaster.”

“Or walking a fine line. Skating on thin ice.” She shrugged. “I know how to heed a warning, trust me. But this…”

Her gaze moved over him and she admired his sheer masculinity. Thoughts of making love with him in their dream, and then of him holding her so delicately she’d found a measure of tranquility in her otherwise besieged mind as she tried to heal made her nearly blind to the red flags.

She set the book aside and stood. Turning off the faucets, she said, “You’ll need the water pressure for your shower.”

Then she crossed to where he remained rooted, her gaze locked with his. The cords of his thick neck drew taut and his jaw set. Her nearness did things to him, she could tell. She evoked physical responses within him as easily as he did within her. Emotional ones, as well?

By the flare of need in his eyes, she guessed so.

“But this…what?” he queried.

Mere inches from him, she stared up at his devastatingly handsome face. He might not be a divine creation, but he was heavenly perfection.

“This attraction between us,” she said. “It’s risky, yes. But undeniable.”

Her healed palm splayed over the left portion of his pecs. His skin was hot and smooth. Touching him so intimately sent a thrill along her spine. His large hand closed around hers, holding it against his chest. Reaching for her with his other hand, he eased her toward him.

“We certainly aren’t doing ourselves any favors,” he told her.

“I can’t help it,” she whispered. “It’s more than just the fantasy we shared. It’s…everything. The way you look at me, the way you touch me. The way you try so hard not to upset my apple cart.”

He grinned. “You do know your antiquated sayings.”

“I like history. Maybe because my present is lackluster, and the future doesn’t hold much potential either.”

He pulled in a long breath, then let it out slowly. Staring deep into her eyes, he asked, “What would you change? Aside from bringing back your parents, because I can’t do that. What one thing do you wish for?”

At the mention of her family, her heart felt as though a giant fist squeezed it tight. With a slight shake of her head, Jade said, “Nothing. I don’t believe in wishes.”

“Not even on your birthday?”

“Especially then. I stopped celebrating when I was eleven, the year my parents were mur—” She groaned. “The year they died.”

Of course, the irony and hypocrisy of being so taken by someone who belonged to the demon world from which the shifters who’d slaughtered her family derived did not escape her. Nor was she inclined to taint the moment or offend the Demon King after he’d rescued her and had done so much to help her recover.

Continuing, she said, “I’ve begged Michael and Lisette to forget my birth date as well. It’s just another day, with one more year behind me. I appreciate history, yes—not necessarily my own.”

He lifted her hand, bringing it to his mouth. His lips brushed over her fingers. “Do you know one of the things I admire most about you?”

“No.” She frowned, confusion creeping in on her. “I haven’t the slightest idea what draws you to me.”

“Everything,” he said in a gentle voice, echoing her prior statement. “But beyond your beauty and your strength and even your pain, I’m somehow fixated on your candor. You never let me forget I’m a demon…or what I’ve done to the human world.”

She stepped away from him. He let her go. Her pulse accelerated as her confusion melded into a darker warning. “I’m not trying to be disrespectful, Davian. I’m merely stating facts that can’t be disputed.”

Perhaps now was the time to address the obvious.

“Shifters murdered my parents,” she said. “Demons altered the face of this planet. I don’t care that I can’t use Lisette’s blow dryer. What I care about is people. Like Michael and…Jinx.”

He nodded. “I’m not being accusatory. I’m being humble. I have many, many regrets, Jade.”

Searching his mesmerizing eyes, she found he was being earnest. “What kind of regrets?”

“I never wanted to be king. I never wanted the war. I never wanted to almost obliterate the human race.”

“But the war was executed by your command.”

“Yes. Though that doesn’t mean I was ever in agreement with the politics. Or the mass destruction.”

She covered her mouth with her hand. Shook her head. Finally, her hand fell away and she said, “The pacts you make for demon-human peace—you…” Her brow furrowed as she fought for the right words. “You don’t despise us?”

He looked taken aback. “No. Never. Similar to most wars throughout history, it was ultimately about power. The shift from human rule to demon in this case. It should never have gone as far as it did, but that happens in battle.”

A tear formed in her eye and sat precariously on the rim. “You really did feel bad about Jinx, didn’t you?”

He nodded.

She sighed. The fat drop rolled down her cheek. “I wanted to believe you cared enough to be remorseful on behalf of your alliance.”

“I did,” he said with sincerity in his voice. “I do. But, Jade. I am still king. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel anything, but it does mean…I have obligations. Responsibilities. A position of authority to uphold. All of these things might challenge my personal convictions, but the overarching issue is that I made a commitment to my species. I might not have done it wholeheartedly, but I did do it willingly.”

And here she’d thought her existence was a convoluted one. Her fingertips glided along his temple and down to his jaw. “You’ve let me be so glib about what it’s like to be a demon or a king. Why?”

His fingers twined with hers and he kissed them again. “You are anything but glib. You’re as entangled in this insidious situation as I am. I just have more control than you do. Though…no more at stake than you.”

Something inside her shifted upon hearing those words from this man. She said, “I’ve questioned my place in the village. My own authority, actually—because, obviously, I possess some. People have always looked to me for guidance in times of uncertainty or when they’re unsure of the slayers’ direction. But I’m not their leader. Nor do I want to be.”

Davian’s soft lips pressed to her forehead. Then he said, “This is an absurdly asinine and selfish thing for me to say, because I have no right where you’re concerned, but I don’t want you to be, either. The slayers are in mortal danger every day of their lives because of renegade demons like the fire wraith that attacked you. I can’t even conceive of you being in such a position on a regular basis. It’s difficult enough with this one instance.”

His head dipped further and his mouth covered hers. He kissed her heatedly. As though the thought of anything dire happening to her compelled him to express how deeply moved he was by her.

Jade wrapped her arms around his neck. She knew the trouble she invited into her life by giving into her desire for him, but it was too overwhelming and vital a feeling for her to walk away from.

His kisses in real life were even more engaging, more hypnotic than in the fantasy they’d shared. His tongue tangled with hers in an erotic dance. One of his arms circled her waist, hauling her up against his hunky body, sealing them together. His other hand cupped the back of her head as his tongue delved deeper.

Jade felt the effects of his passion all the way to her toes—and particularly in the most sensitive parts of her body. An ache in her pussy pulsed in time with her raging heartbeats. Her nipples tightened and her chest rose and fell quickly.

As with her pain, she acutely felt pleasure—which she wanted to give in to. To bask in. To drown in.

When they finally came up for air, she was light of head and unsteady on her feet.

Davian let out a sexy sound. “I won’t be sticking to any convictions about you with kisses like that.”

“I’d told myself long ago kisses like that didn’t exist.”

“Clearly, you were wrong.”

“Clearly.” She smiled, delirium seeping through her veins.

“I want to see you, Jade. All of you. I want you naked and wet for me.”

Excitement over his words chased away the modicum of self-consciousness that had skittered through her earlier.

Though only for a few seconds, because here she stood before a gorgeous mammoth of a man, with no flaws in sight—though she was becoming all too aware of his internal scars.

She hadn’t been bared and vulnerable in front of another person since she was eighteen. Or…never, actually. Because even with Michael, she’d been shrouded by bedcovers.

She couldn’t help but wonder about the female forms in Davian’s past. Even Sheena was picture-perfect. Did he find her alluring?

“No.”

She glared at him. “Stop reading my thoughts.”

“Easy pickings this time. I could see the doubt in your eyes.”

“Have you…” Her hand whimsically gestured toward the door. “With Sheena? Or Jocelyn?”

He chuckled, cutting the tension that had set in as they’d discussed demon-human travesties. “Absolutely not. Both are in my service and I wouldn’t take advantage of that relationship. But beyond that…I don’t find either one as appealing as I do you. Besides, Sheena sticks to her own species.”

A point that did not fall on deaf ears. “That’s a good practice, I suppose.”

He nodded, yet he didn’t relinquish his hold on her. “The road we’re traveling is significantly more complex and treacherous. But difficult to step off of.”

She knew she’d be false to insist otherwise. So she boldly said, “The slayers will come for me soon. I heard you tell Morgan to alert them you’d brought me to the castle to recuperate. We don’t have much time together.”

“And every moment wasted is one we won’t reclaim.”

“Yes. That’s become an unbearable thought for me.”

Fire lit his eyes. “For me as well.”

Jade’s need for him had turned into a living, breathing entity that burned to the depths of her soul. She wiggled out of his loose embrace and pulled her top over her head, letting the garment drop to the floor. Her previous anxiety didn’t stand a chance against Davian as he gazed at her, unrelenting need etched across his strong visage.

She slipped out of her drawstring pants and stood before him in nothing but her bra and panties. They were as simple and functional as could be, and yet his irises darkened and his breath caught. Spurred by his reaction to her, she discarded the lingerie.

“You are stunning.”

His fingertips glided across her cheek, over her jaw and neck, sweeping her collarbone and then returning to the hollow of her throat. From there, the pads of his fingers whisked along her skin as they moved downward to the valley between her breasts, now heavy with desire.

Jade reveled in the adoration in his eyes. At the moment, it didn’t register in her mind that he was a king. Or that he was immortal, obviously elite amongst his kind. What she saw was a man. One of flesh and blood and bone. One with a moral conscious. One with physical wants and yearnings that mirrored her own. One who did not judge her, find fault with her or consider her weak.

She would never live up to the high regard in which his expression suggested he held her, yet at the same time, she had no inclination to give into human insecurities. Somehow, they’d found themselves in a scenario where the outside world and the severe differences between them—the severe consequences of their powerful attraction to each other—ceased to exist. If only for an evening…

Jade reached for the fastenings on his leather pants and undid them. He toed off his boots and she finished undressing him. He was more than magnificently built. He was a gift to be treasured.

He turned the water on and then took her by the hand, leading her into the oversized walk-in shower. The metal sheet with hammered holes hanging overhead created a rainfall effect that was sensuous and inviting. The glimmer of candlelight against the glass portion of the shower wall cast shadows and light that lent a seductive mood to the private haven. Warm water sluiced down her body, and it not only felt cleansing and refreshing, but wildly titillating.

Davian threaded his fingers through her wet hair and asked, “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”

“Promise,” she murmured. “I pulled through quicker than I’d expected, thanks in large part to you, Morgan and Sheena.” She stepped closer to him and flattened her palms against his abdomen. “Mostly you.” Stretching on tiptoe, her lips brushed his. He bent his head and kissed her deeply, sending her pulse soaring.

When he broke their kiss, he told her, “You excite me, yet soothe my soul at the same time. I don’t deserve you, Jade Deville.”

“You saved my life. And my house. I never could have defeated that fire wraith, Davian. I’m indebted to you.”

“No. He shouldn’t be targeting you in the first place.”

“Let’s not think of that right now.” She kissed him. Then she moved away and inspected the various jars and soaps lined neatly along a built-in shelf.

Selecting a mint-colored bar, she lathered up and ran her hands over the wide chest of the brawny man who aroused her in every way imaginable simply by being himself.

“You have a body meant to be sculpted and placed in a museum,” she mused.

“We don’t have museums anymore.”

“If we did,” she amended. Giving this further thought, she shook her head and said, “No. This incredible stature is not meant to be molded and ogled in stone form.” Her soapy hands slid over the corrugated grooves of his stomach and she sighed. “It’s meant to be worshipped in person.”

“Don’t worship,” he said in a rumbling voice. “Just touch.”

She smiled at him. “I am touching.”

Her hands glided up to his broad shoulders, then down his rock-hard biceps. When he reached for her, pulling her into a strong embrace, her palms slid around to his muscular back. Her breasts nestled below the ledge of his defined pecs, and her nipples tingled as his velvety skin teased the sensitive points.

His head lowered and he whispered in her ear, “I want you in ways you might not even know of.” A prickle along her clit made her squirm in his arms. Her belly rubbed against his erection and he groaned. “Do you want me?”

“Yes.” She didn’t have to think twice about it. She might not possess his sexual prowess or know exactly the ways in which he wanted to take her, but she didn’t care. She’d easily and willingly give herself up to his every desire. But she also had cravings of her own. “Davian,” she murmured. “I want to give you pleasure.”

His arms tightened around her. “You do, Jade. More than you can possibly know.”

“No.” She shifted in his embrace, forcing him to release her. The water washed away the suds, leaving a clean stream to cascade over his chiseled torso and legs. She sank to her knees before him, marveling at his long, thick cock.

“Jade.” His tone held a hint of urgency and a contradictory note of protest.

Her fingers skimmed over the slick flesh covering his steel rod and his hips jerked in response.

She told him, “I want you in ways I’ve never given much thought to. To touch you…taste you…” She licked her lips. “I want to know all of you.”

With that, her fingers wrapped gingerly around his base and her lips slid slowly along his heated skin until she reached the tip, where she teased the groove beneath his head with her tongue before flicking it over the slight indentation above.

He let out a primal growl. Her mouth closed over him and his fingers raked through her hair, pushing the strands away from her face.

“Jade,” he repeated, sexual tension exuding from him. “Careful.”

She didn’t want to be careful when it came to this. Instinctively, she knew when to be cautious and tentative. She also knew when to step beyond her boundaries. This was certainly one of those times.

As she took Davian deep into her mouth and he muttered something incoherent, she felt a surge of feminine power she’d never experienced before, combined with a bond that was obviously intangible by nature, but which ribboned around her heart nonetheless.

Her inner walls contracted involuntarily, seeking the fulfillment she knew only he could give her. Yet her sole attention remained on Davian—too delicious a treat to pass up.

He held her drenched strands of hair off her shoulders and the gentle flow of water from the rectangular showerhead caressed her skin, running along her neck and over her breasts. The scintillating sensations tempted her to ease a hand between her parted legs and work the knot of nerves that pulsed erratically as excitement coursed through her. But she resisted, retaining her focus on Davian.

She licked him again, and his hips jerked. She lightly massaged his balls with one hand, not sure of the appropriate pressure to apply. Apparently, she hit the right degree, because he hissed out a breath and his fingers gripped her strands of hair a bit tighter.

When she covered his head with her mouth again, he quietly demanded, “Suck me hard.”

She did. His sounds of satisfaction made her pussy throb. She worked him with her tongue and her lips, driven by how he responded to her and how intensely she enjoyed the feel of him in her mouth and the reaction she evoked.

“That’s enough.”

She would have begged to differ, but her mouth was full. The suctioning action she’d picked up rather quickly served her well, if the sudden trembling of his legs was any indication.

“I’m going to come.” He said the words in warning.

Having read a few steamy romance novels herself, from a time before hers, Jade had a very good idea of what to expect. And she didn’t back down.

“Sweetheart.” The term of endearment from this man rocked her to the core.

She sucked him harder, worked him a bit faster, until his body tensed. Her own excitement escalated as she felt him reach the pinnacle.

“Fuck…” His hips bucked and she prepared herself for his explosive release. “Jade!”

She didn’t miss a beat. Elation flooded her veins, tinged with a hint of triumph. She’d nearly brought the Demon King to his knees with her unskilled touch. As it was, he had to press a hand to the wall behind her to maintain his balance.

“Damn it, Jade,” he ground out as he rode his climax.

When the tremors in his legs lessened, she released him and stared up at him, finding the mixture of fulfillment and ecstasy on his face an exhilarating one. Though she didn’t succumb to gloating.

Shaking his head, he said, “I don’t stand a chance against you when you set your mind to something.”

“I have a lot to learn, but I’m willing to take many, many more lessons.”

He pushed away from the wall and clasped her upper arms, helping her to stand. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say this was some sort of ploy to bewitch me.”

Feeling particularly flirty, she gave him a sassy look. “Who says it’s not?”

“In all truth, that happened years ago.” He held her firmly again. “Now, keep in mind I don’t need much time to rebound.” He backed her against the marble. “You sure you know what you’re doing?”

Her heart rate hitched and her inner muscles contracted once more. “I know I want to feel you inside me.”

The kiss he gave her was nothing short of sizzling. Then he shut off the water and said, “Take your bath. You know where to find me.”

He stepped out of the shower, and when she followed, he handed her a fluffy white towel. She wrapped it around her while he turned the faucets back on to fill the tub.

She watched him strut naked out of the bathroom, a smile playing on her lips. Nothing felt quite so sensational as making a king come.

Aside from everything he did to her…

With a surge of energy from her newfound feminine wiles, Jade busied herself rummaging through the velvet drawstring bag someone—Jocelyn or Sheena, presumably—had left for her, along with a robe and slippers. Inside the bag, she was delighted to find human necessities, including a razor, more elegantly fashioned than the ones she picked up at the pharmacy from time to time.

Then she scanned the labels on the small glass dispensers tucked into the corner ledges of the tub, finally settling on salts that smelled like jasmine. She poured them into the water and they instantly bubbled, making her laugh. She overdid it and ended up with a mountain of suds, but as Jade slipped into the bath, she found the silky foam that coated her skin luxurious and sensual.

Resting the back of her head against a plush, folded towel, she closed her eyes and took several deep breaths. The relaxation that oozed through her was a welcomed relief. The tension she’d carried with her since childhood eased considerably.

Despite being in a castle full of demons—most of whom, she ventured, likely did not share the same compassion toward human life as Davian did—she felt safe under the protection of the king. And while she knew her friends in the village would be worried about her disappearance, the slayers would have reassured them she was alive and recuperating, after speaking with Morgan.

For once, she allowed herself that sense of security she’d never been able to latch onto, given her hazardous existence. In particular, she didn’t wrestle the age-old quandary of what her purpose in Ryleigh was meant to be. She let all of those thoughts fall by the wayside and, instead, wiped her hands over the towel she leaned against to rid the bubbles from her skin and reached for the book Davian had selected for her.