Darkness Unleashed (19 page)

Which might explain why he was so anxious to grasp onto the fear that he couldn’t be trusted with her.

Already the thought of walking away made him want to howl in pain. How much worse would it be if they became even more intimate?

Barely aware of what he was doing, Jagr allowed his hands to caress the silky perfection of her shoulders, his thoughts occupied with a last, desperate means to cling to a thread of reason.

“Dammit, woman, you’ve been trying to get rid of me since I arrived in Hannibal,” he rasped. “Why would you suddenly want me to stay?”

She shrugged. “I’m a woman. I’m allowed to change my mind whenever I want, as many times as I want.”

“Convenient.”

“Sometimes.” With a smile, she popped the button of his jeans.

“Stop.” Jagr hissed as his hand reached to grasp her wrist. How the hell was he supposed to be reasonable when she refused to cooperate?

She didn’t struggle against his grip. Instead she leaned forward to lick a warm, wet path from his sternum to the base of his throat.

“You don’t want me?” she whispered against his skin.

Jagr swallowed his shout of pleasure, his fangs fully extended, and his last hope to cling to common sense shattered.

“I…yes.” His hands grasped her hips and pressed them against his aching erection. “I want you.”

Her lashes fluttered down until only a small, smoldering slit of emerald was visible.

“Then what’s the problem?”

There was a problem. He’d just been thinking about it. Unfortunately, it was as elusive as a mist fairy and, when she once again tugged at the button of his jeans, it disappeared altogether.

His head lowered so he could bury his face in the curve of her neck, the heated jasmine scent doing nothing to clear his desire-fogged brain.

“Damn you, Regan,” he husked, his fangs scraping against her soft skin. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”

She shivered at his soft warning, but not from fear. He could already smell the potent perfume of her arousal as she awkwardly tugged at his zipper.

Jagr was swift to help push down the unwelcome jeans, kicking them impatiently aside. Later he would no doubt regret this momentary weakness, but for now nothing mattered but the feel of her soft hands exploring the clenched muscles of his stomach.

“I’ve told you, chief, I don’t need you to protect me,” she husked, nipping at his chest. “Not even from you.”

Jagr shuddered, the pleasure of even such a light caress nearly sending him over the edge.

“Take care with those teeth, little one,” he muttered, his hands compulsively stroking over her back. “Vampires exchange blood for more than food.”

Tilting back her head, she regarded him with a hint of curiosity.

“What do you mean?”

“A vampire’s blood is the source of our power, as well as our means of claiming our true mate.” A rueful smile touched his lips. “Take my blood and I might very well be bound to you for all eternity.”

Her eyes widened, uncertainty flaring through them at his blunt confession.

“Jagr…”

“If you want to flee, now would be the time to do it.”

For a moment, he thought she would. His body tensed and his gut wrenched with a ruthless disappointment.

Why the hell hadn’t he kept his mouth shut?

A stark painful silence filled the room, and Jagr braced himself for rejection. Regan might possess more courage than any creature he’d ever known, but the one thing she truly feared was being imprisoned once again.

And in her mind, emotional attachments were just as terrifying as any chains made of silver.

Why else would she refuse to meet with Darcy?

Even as he tensed, however, Regan was giving a slight shake of her head and without warning, she bent forward to scatter kisses over his chest, pausing at each nipple to flick her tongue over the beaded tip. Jagr groaned, one hand burying in her satin hair in silent encouragement.

Later he would wonder why Regan had so abruptly gone from trying to deny the desire that constantly pulsed between them, but for now…

Gods, for now he could only enjoy.

Trailing a devastating path down the center of his stomach, she tongued his belly button, making his cock twitch with a silent plea of mercy. Jagr squeezed his eyes shut, torn between the need to flip her onto the bed and take her with a swift, glorious explosion of pleasure, and allowing Regan to continue her seductive torment.

It was at last the feel of Regan’s soft lips stroking ever lower that made the decision.

In the past, he’d always been the aggressor during a sexual encounter. His predatory nature preferred being the hunter to the prey. Besides, it made it easier to make the contact as brief and uncomplicated as possible. The last thing he wanted was a clinging woman.

He’d never realized just how erotic it could be to have a woman take charge.

Running his fingers through the strands of her hair as she kneeled before him, he forgot his earlier terror at having been lost in his bloodlust. And even his lingering suspicion of her sudden determination to seduce him.

There was only one thought on his mind.

Getting that warm, wet mouth on his aching arousal.

A pleasure easier dreamed of than achieved.

Although Regan had to be aware of the straining thrust of his erection, she refused to give into his silent urging, instead nibbling a path over his hip bone and down his inner thigh.

Muttering a desperate curse, he tugged her head up to meet his hungry gaze.

“If you intend to punish me, little one, you’re doing a fine job.”

A tiny smile curved her lips as she held his gaze, her finger tracing a teasing path up the length of his cock.

“Well, I would hate for my efforts to be wasted.”

He moaned as she reached the tip, toying with the tiny drop of moisture that had pooled there.

“You’re a cruel woman.”

“I do try,” she murmured, bending down to trace him with her tongue from top to bottom and then back again. He swallowed a shout of pleasure, his hips instinctively arching toward her tempting lips.

“Oh…damn that feels good,” he ground out, forcing his eyes open so he could witness the sight of her pleasuring him.

He nearly came at the mere sight.

Lost in a sensual haze, his gaze drifted over the strands of hair that shimmered like gold in the pale light, the perfect lines of her profile, and the expanse of ivory skin that stretched over her supple muscles.

Nothing was ever so beautiful.

His tiny Were, with the soul of a warrior and the innocence of an angel.

A warm, poignant tenderness threaded through his hunger. He had warned Regan to take care, already sensing that if she were to drink his blood the mating would be complete, but in this moment he realized that it didn’t matter.

She had already claimed him in all the ways that mattered, and whether they ever completed the bond, he would never, ever love another woman.

The thought should have terrified him.

A vampire who found and lost his mate usually ended up an empty shell.

Instead, Jagr felt nothing but a tide of all-consuming peace that chased away the lingering darkness.

The past and all he had suffered no longer mattered.

Regan was like a blast of sunlight that chased away the bitter shadows.

The realization had barely managed to form, when it was abruptly shoved to the back of his mind as his temptress circled her fingers around him and explored the straining length with exquisite care.

His hands instinctively fisted in her hair, his body coiled so tight he nearly shattered when her lips tentatively slipped over the tip of his cock and slid downward.

Paradise.

Complete, utter paradise.

A moan hummed deep in his throat, his world focused on the sensation of warm lips and rasping tongue.

With slow wet strokes, she all too swiftly had him straining toward climax. Damn. He wanted to enjoy the fierce pleasure. To spend the night pressed against the wall as Regan offered him the most intense and blissful sensations he’d ever enjoyed. But even as the sweet release beckoned, he was reaching down to grasp her arms and tug her upward.

He wanted to be buried deep inside her, to watch her beautiful face as she reached her own orgasm.

“I need to be in you, Regan,” he groaned, capturing her lips in a rough, demanding kiss before pulling back to regard her with a raw, undisguised yearning. “Now.”

“Then what are you waiting for, chief?” she husked, her smile piercing his heart with the ruthless power of a dagger.

The bed loomed behind her, but too impatient for even that small distance, Jagr slid his hands down her pretty little bottom and with one powerful motion had her lifted off her feet with her legs wrapped around his waist.

“You,” he whispered, positioning the tip of his erection at her entrance. “I’ve been waiting for you.”

Regan moaned, her body already wet and ready for his thrust.

Clutching her thighs, he captured her mouth in a devouring kiss before he plunged himself inside her, halting only when he was buried as deep as he could go.

“Jagr” she rasped, her sheath clamping around him like a warm, luscious vise.

He momentarily stilled, savoring the sense of completeness that flooded through him. This is what it meant to be with his true mate. This intense connection that went way beyond two bodies indulging in sex.

This was two souls, two hearts, two minds joined as one.

As they both absorbed the sheer pleasure of being so intimately joined, their eyes met and Jagr gently began to thrust into her heat. Her hands lifted to frame his face, claiming his lips in a branding kiss. He moaned his pleasure, his fingers tightening on her thighs.

More. He needed more.

He shifted his mouth to nip at her ear and was rewarded as her body shuddered with undisguised need.

“God, I want taste you,” he muttered as he nibbled and stroked a path down her neck, careful not to break her skin with his extended fangs. “Everywhere.”

Regan gasped as Jagr licked the underside of her breast. “That’s…that’s a good start.”

He chuckled as he thrust even deeper, his tongue finding the hardened tip of her nipple.

“What about here?”

Her legs tightened as he quickened his pace, her head falling back to reveal the smooth, tempting curve of her throat.

Oh…gods.

Every instinct urged him to pierce that ivory perfection. To sink his fangs in deep, and take in her essence as he pounded into her body. To mark her as his, and only his.

With a low growl, he wrenched his thoughts from the dangerous enticement and concentrated on surging into her damp heat. A task made considerably easier as her fingernails sank into his back and she moaned in pleasure.

“Faster.”

“Yes, my demanding Were,” he breathed as he suckled on a tender nipple.

Someday he would know the satisfaction of taking Regan’s blood as he took her body. For today this was enough.

More than enough, he acknowledged as his cock sank to the very heart of her.

Her nails dug deeper as he steadily pumped himself into her. “Christ, Jagr, I’m…”

His fingers bit deep into her skin, his need an unbearable ache. The flames were beginning to consume him and nothing had ever felt so glorious.

They surged together. Her pants filled the air, mixed with his low moans. Deeper, faster, climbing ever higher.

Then with one last thrust, he heard Regan cry out in release as he climaxed with enough force to shatter the remaining lamp and blast the marble statues in the bathroom into a fine layer of dust.

Lying in Jagr’s arms on the bed, Regan floated in a fog of pleasure.

Sweaty, shivering, sated pleasure.

Good Lord.

That had been…

Well, she didn’t actually have words to describe what had just happened between her and Jagr. Fierce, certainly. Overwhelming. Shattering.

And insanely wonderful.

With a rueful smile she glanced around the room. There was little left to destroy after their last bout of sex, but what remained was now scattered across the carpet.

“I sincerely hope that your tastes run toward Tupperware instead of Tiffany in that lair of yours, chief,” she murmured, unable to keep her fingers from tracing the scars that ran the length of his stomach. “Things could get expensive after a wild night.”

He shifted to steal a brief, heart-pounding kiss. “Since you seem to be the only trigger for my more destructive tendencies, I’ll be certain to lock away the china when you visit.”

His tone was light, but Regan tensed, unable to halt her instinctive withdrawal at his possessive tone. During the heat of the moment, she’d managed to block out his unnerving suggestion that she was his mate. Hell, at that precise moment she would have been able to block out a looming apocalypse.

Now she discovered that the thought made it difficult to breathe. As if she was being smothered.

“You’re assuming I’ll visit your lair?” she tried to tease, not entirely surprised when his eyes narrowed. He was far too capable of sensing her emotions not to catch whiff of her unease.

“I’m holding you naked in my arms after enjoying the most intense orgasm either of us has ever experienced.” He caught and held her wary gaze. “What else would I assume?”

She smiled, weakly. “Who knows what the future might hold?”

There was no return smile. In fact, his expression was downright grim.

“Who, indeed.”

“We should get dressed. I promised Styx that I would…” Pressing her hands against his chest, she struggled to push away from his hard body, only to have the massive vampire abruptly roll on top of her. “Jagr.”

His eyes shimmered with suppressed irritation in the thick shadows. “Why?”

His body pressing her intimately into the mattress did nothing to help her breathing troubles.

She didn’t want to think about mates or emotional entanglements or the fear of being expected to offer something she didn’t even know if she possessed.

She just wanted to spread her legs and allow pure, uncomplicated sensation to sweep her away.

So much easier.

Unfortunately, Jagr seemed more intent of forcing an unwelcome discussion rather than enjoying their brief time together.

“What?” she at last forced herself to demand.

“Why did you come down here tonight determined to seduce me?”

“I would think that was obvious.”

“Indulge me.”

She swallowed a resigned sigh. “I wanted you. You said you wanted me. Granted, I’ve been caged most of my life, but I was under the assumption that was an adequate reason for two people to have sex. Am I wrong?”

“Yes, I wanted you, I
still
want you, but not out of some twisted sense of sympathy.”

Sympathy? Her brows snapped together. “What the hell are you talking about?”

His jaw was tight as he glared down at her. “You didn’t want me to punish myself for hurting you, so you came down here determined to do whatever necessary to distract me.”

It took a second for his words to sink in, but when they did, her temper instantly flared.

“You think this was a pity fuck?” she gritted.

He flinched at her blunt words. “Don’t.”

“What? You’re the one who’s implying I’m willing to barter my body for a bit of comfort. Real nice.”

“Then why?”

“Does there have to be a reason?”

“No, it could be exactly as you said…” He deliberately paused, then with an exaggerated motion he rolled off her and stood beside the bed. “A mindless coupling to relieve a physical urge. Maybe I should be grateful you didn’t decide Tane would do.”

Scrambling off the mattress, Regan jerkily pulled on her clothes, covertly watching as Jagr did the same. Her stomach did a funny flop as he slid the stone-washed jeans up the powerful muscles of thighs and over his butt. Holy crap. She wanted to spend hours exploring those hard angles and planes.

No, stop that, Regan.

Jagr might be all that was yummy, but he was going to drive her to a loony bin.

Frowning, she watched as Jagr pulled on a black T-shirt that molded to his perfect chest, and bent down to tug on a pair of heavy black boots. Still ignoring her, he collected his daggers and efficiently strapped them to various parts of his body.

“Dammit, Jagr,” she growled.

He tucked a handgun in the waistband of his jeans. “I think we’ve said all that needs to be said.”

“God, you’re a pain in the ass.” Throwing her hands in the air, she stormed to stand directly before him. “Fine. I came down here because I was worried about you.”

“So it was a pity…”

She’d slammed her hand across his mouth before he could throw her words back into her face.

“I came down here because I was worried, but that’s not the reason I seduced you.”

Reaching up, he tugged her hand from his lips, his thumb absently rubbing a tender circle on her inner wrist.

“Are you going to tell me why?”

“Because I needed to be with you,” she muttered awkwardly. Christ. She didn’t do confessionals. They made her feel like a cheap extra on
As the World Turns.
“And it had to be you. Just you. Nobody else.” She shook her head as his lips parted. “Don’t freaking ask me why, because I don’t know.”

Bending his head, he stroked his lips over the pulse hammering in her inner wrist.

“If you need me, then the thought of visiting my lair shouldn’t send you into a panic.”

A renewed sense of alarm had her tugging her hand free so she could step back.

“It wouldn’t have if you hadn’t mentioned that whole mate thing.”

He searched her tight expression. “Are you afraid I intend to trap you?”

“I just…” She wrapped her arms around her waist, unable to find the words for her unease. “Are you certain?”

“Certain?”

“About me being your mate?”

“You don’t carry my mark yet, but yes, I’m certain.”

She shook her head, telling herself it was all some cosmic mistake. This large, beautiful, incredibly sexy predator deserved a mate who could offer untarnished, unconditional devotion. Not a screwed-up Were who was torn between fleeing in utter terror, and a breathless dread of never seeing him again.

“How can it even be possible? I mean, we’ve done nothing but argue since we met.”

“One of fate’s little jokes, no doubt.”

Ridiculously, she felt a prick of disappointment at his mocking tone.

“You don’t sound particularly happy.”

“Should I be?” He planted his fists on his hips, the movement stretching the shirt over his massive chest. “After centuries of being alone, I at last find the female destined to be my mate, and she has commitment issues. Forgive me for not jumping for joy.”

She tilted her chin, although her gaze kept straying down to the enticing ripple of muscle beneath that damned shirt.

Hey, she might be a demon, but she was all female.

Who wouldn’t be distracted?

“I don’t have issues, I just…”

Golden brows arched as she struggled to find the words. “Yes?”

“I’m just not ready to think about the future.”

“You’ve found Culligan. What else do you have to think about but the future?”

She latched onto the first thing that came to mind. “My sister for one thing.”

He frowned. “Darcy?”

“No, the one being held captive by Caine.” She met his exasperated gaze with a tight smile. “I think we might have a means to track her.”

Levet was not a happy gargoyle.

He’d come to Hannibal to rescue Regan from the clutches of the evil imp. He was supposed to be the hero who won the fair damsel and was celebrated among the demon-world.

Instead, he’d not only lost the girl to yet another devious vampire, but he was now stuck playing babysitter to a bad-tempered cur who couldn’t decide if he wanted to be a good or bad guy.

Where was the justice in that?

And to top it off, he was stuck in a cramped fishing cabin that was nearly hidden in a tangle of trees, waiting for Salvatore to make an appearance at dawn.

Kicking a stray rock, Levet negotiated the narrow trail that ran along the Mississippi River.

When Salvatore had commanded Duncan to meet him at a private sanctuary less than an hour north of St. Louis, Levet had held on to the hope the place would be along the lines of Hefner’s Playboy Mansion. Salvatore might be a dog, but he was King of the Dogs, and rumors were that he liked the ladies.

Stupid Were.

The splash of water wrenched Levet out of his satisfying bout of self-pity, and with a sinking heart he turned toward the river to watch as Bella’s head popped into view, the rest of her body remaining hidden in the murky waves.

“Well, well.” A smug smile touched her lovely face. “If it isn’t the stunted gargoyle.”

“Sacrebleu.”
Levet threw up his hands in resignation. “Am I to be forever tormented by you? Why will you not go away?”

The water sprite pouted. Oy. She managed to make even that a thing of beauty.

“Until the cur makes his third wish, I am free to roam as I please.”

“Then roam somewhere else, you annoying pest.”

She swam closer. “You’re only mad because I managed to lure you into a trap.”

Levet snorted, refusing to admit his pride was stung at having been so easily distracted by the tempting sprite.

“I am mad because you make my head hurt.” His eyes narrowed as he was struck by a sudden thought. “Wait. Duncan has wishes?”

“He summoned me,” she said, sounding annoyed that he would even ask such an obvious question. “That’s the deal. You summon me, you get three wishes.”

Of course Levet knew the basics of calling a water sprite. He’d accidentally done it just a few weeks ago. His interest was in whether or not Duncan was playing some devious game.

“Then why didn’t he just wish for you to make him impervious to harm?” Levet snapped.

“I’m a sprite, not a god. I can alter physical appearances, as I did with you, or conjure material possessions.” She deliberately reminded him of his brief stint as a full-sized gargoyle. One capable of plundering, pillaging, and wholesale destruction. Ah, good times. “But I can’t make someone immortal, or influence anyone other than the person making the wish.”

“So he couldn’t wish away his enemies?”

“Nope.”

“Or make Caine forget him?”

“Again, nope.”

“So what did he wish for?”

She grimaced. “The usual.”

Levet’s brief suspicion began to ease. “Riches?”

“Of course. So tedious.”

“What else?”

“His own private island.”

“Why would he want an island?”

“I believe he has some grandiose scheme to take over the renegade curs and start his own pack, once Salvatore kills Caine for him.”

His wings snapped with mocking amusement. “What a titty.”

“Titty?” Bella blinked in confusion. “Oh…do you mean boob?”

“Titty, boob, whatever,” he dismissed. “Salvatore will never allow the curs to escape to some private Garden of Eden. They’ll be lucky to keep their hides. The King of Weres might be a pureblood, but he’s as rabid as any dog. He should have been put down years ago, if you ask me.”

“I don’t tell my victims…” Bella hastily tried to cover her slip. “I mean, I don’t tell my
fortunate masters
what to wish for. I just obey.”

Levet wasn’t fooled. As a full blooded demon, he was immune to the water sprite’s curse, but most men greedy enough to accept the offer of her three wishes, soon learned the truth in the old saying, “If it sounds too good to be true…”

“So why hasn’t Duncan demanded his last wish?”

Her lips curled. “He’s a cur, not a demon.”

It took a minute, then his eyes widened. “Ah. So like a human, his last wish will condemn him to the watery depths of your nest?”

“Such a smart little gargoyle,” she murmured, swimming forward and stepping out of the river to reveal her full glory.

And what glory it was.

Levet’s tail went stiff as the moonlight lapped over the tiny, perfectly formed woman wearing nothing more than a sheer toga. The sprite might be the most dim-witted, annoying creature ever to have crossed his path, but with her white skin, slanted blue eyes, and pale green hair, she was causing all sorts of things to hum and jump and grow.

Grow really hard.

“Mon Dieu,”
he groaned in genuine pain.

Smiling, she sashayed toward him, her hands running down her generous curves. “Do you like?”

Levet muttered his favorite curses. The damned sprite had made a fool of him once. He was horny (holy bat dung, was he horny), but he wasn’t stupid.

“I am a male—I enjoy a good ogle as well as the next—but I am also a gargoyle with powers that make the demon-world shudder in fear,” he muttered. “My…man parts do not rule me.”

“A shame.” She closed the tiny space he’d managed to earn, enveloping him in the scent of spring rain. “I’ve thought about you so often during my long, lonely days beneath the water.”

“
Oui
, thoughts about putting my precious testicles into a vise.”

“Oh, no. When I thought about your testicles, they were in quite a different place.”

She deliberately licked her lips, and Levet nearly swallowed his tongue.

He wanted to be ruled by his man parts.

Actually he wanted to rule
her
with his man parts.

This whole being sensible thing sucked.

“Bah,” he managed to croak. “Do you think I have forgotten that you betrayed me at the first opportunity?”

She did another one of those charming pouts. “I will admit I was the teeniest bit annoyed that you condemned me back to my nest after I helped you rescue your friends. Can you blame me?”