Demon Slave (21 page)

The top was still tightly wound around her
chest—a problem soon remedied.

* * *

“
You make me crazed,” he
whispered as he pressed his hard erection against her.

Nadua must be a little mad herself, because
she couldn’t bring herself to stop this. Her body ached for
him.

Watching him while she bathed had been a bad
idea. She wasn’t sure if he knew it, but his muscles would flex
every-so-often and the movement had fascinated her. The combination
of being naked while he stood sentinel, and her hands roaming her
body with the sweet smelling soap, had aroused her beyond
comprehension.

She’d just been about to release the tension
when he’d broken his promise and turned on her. Embarrassment at
what he’d almost caught her doing stamped out any anger she should
have felt.

Getting out of the water was supposed to
break the spell, but his eyes grew dark, filled with such promises
of pleasure. She knew he could deliver, and her need had turned
urgent.

Nadua couldn’t explain it, but the moment
her desire hit, he’d changed. He became a predator. And now he had
her in his grips. One arm held her around the waist, caged against
his body. The other was caressing the soft flesh of her thigh that
he had pinned high against his hip. His skin was both hard and soft
at the same time. The masculine scent that was distinctly his
filled her head.

As if testing, his hand came up to grip the
edge of the cloth wrapped around her upper body. Her breath was
coming hard, her heart blasting within her. But she didn’t protest
when he gave a tug and the material came loose. His eyes dipped to
her breasts, half buried under the water. She shuddered under his
riveted scrutiny.

Her head lolled as he tenderly cupped her.
She fit perfectly in his palm. And still, he held her tight. As if
she would try to get away.

Never
.

Just when she was ready to let out a moan,
he swallowed it with a kiss. So warm and soft, his lips were
gentle, yet powerful.

She remembered there was nothing between
them now. Nothing to stop him from taking her at any moment. But he
hesitated, continuing to kiss and pet her with such light
touches.

She traced her fingers down his thick arms
and back, trying to keep steady, while memorizing the feel of his
warm flesh. The smell of a man’s desire.

Intoxicating.

Why was he not inside her already?

She began undulating her hips, briefly
wondering if tempting a demon like this was wise. After all the
stories of their terrible brutality, she shouldn’t be practically
begging him to take her. But Marik wasn’t like that. She was sure
of it.

Mostly.

In any case, she was about to find out. Lust
was rolling of him in waves, and her own desire was like a drug
causing her brain to focus only on one thing.

Satisfaction.

As she moved her hips again, a deep rumbling
emerged from within him. But instead of going wild like she
expected, he stopped, and pushed her away. Nadua’s back met the
warm ledge of the pool. For a moment, he held her in place as he
gathered his breath with his eyes closed.

“
What are you doing?” She
was still panting from his attention. The pleasure had been a shock
to her body, bringing it back to life.

At first, he said nothing. She waited,
feeling he needed a moment. The stark look he gave her made her
heart lurch.

“
I don’t want to hurt you.”
His grating voice told her he was on the verge of losing
control.

“
You won’t hurt me, Marik.”
She reached for him, but he put more distance between
them.

“
I could. I have before.”
He seemed to shake a memory away.

Have what? Hurt her? Hurt another? But if he
were anything like the demons in the stories, wouldn’t he have hurt
her from day one? And he wouldn’t stop himself now, when he so
obviously wanted to keep going.

“
I don’t believe that.” The
vision of him maddened and bloodthirsty circled her mind, but she
pushed it away. She didn’t believe he would ever harm her. There
had to be something more that the vision wasn’t showing
her.

To Nadua’s relief, he stayed where he was as
she slowly moved toward him, though he was flexing those
magnificent muscles again. As if she might scare him away, she
lightly brushed her lips against his. To her delight, his softened
and molded to hers.

She whispered, “Marik, I need you.”

With a groan, he was on her, kissing her
with renewed fervor. She found herself once again backed up to the
edge of the pool. Her legs wrapped around his waist so tightly that
he would have to peel her off him to get away. His strong hand
gripped her backside, kneading the soft flesh.

She could feel the tip of him near her
entrance and pulled him closer with her legs. A noise that sounded
partly defeated and partly triumphant reverberated through him.

He slipped into her.

Gasping, Nadua gripped his shoulders, nails
digging in hard. She wasn’t used to being filled so thoroughly and
he didn’t give her a chance to grow accustom to his size before he
started thrusting his hips.

Through gritted teeth, she said, “Marik,
wait. Give me a second. It’s been...a while.”

He stilled, growing rigid. His head shook as
if clearing it and he squeezed her ass hard, but she found she
liked it. After a moment longer, she rolled her hips, and he began
moving again.

Blissful fire crashed through her core, up
through her spine, materializing as a deep moan. Arching her back,
she rocked her hips again, straining to take more of him. Sensing
what she wanted, he gave one hard thrust and she cried out from the
pleasure.

The water around them broke into tiny waves
that licked at her breasts and arms, as Marik continued to move in
and out of her. It was surprisingly erotic.

He buried his head in the crook of her neck
and teased the sensitive flesh there with his tongue and teeth. She
shuddered. Then she felt the tiniest of bites, and an orgasm the
size of Undewla itself exploded through her every cell. Her head
fell back while the waves repeatedly assaulted her. All she could
do was cling to Marik to keep from slipping under the water from
the power of it.

Both his hands were gripping her hips,
holding her in place as his body pounded furiously. His head flew
back with a roar as his seed began to spill. The sound of their
heavy breaths bounced off the cavern walls. When he eased up, his
eyes were dazed.

They slowly cleared.

She felt something was wrong even before his
expression grew confused.

He seemed to note her nudity with surprise,
as well as their closeness. “Did we just...Shit. I didn’t hurt you,
did I?”

“
What?”

Dread blanketed his features the moment he
fixated on her neck. He lifted a hand to move her chin and hissed
in a breath. Then he let go of her and backed away so swiftly that
she dipped under the water before she was able to right
herself.

She spat out a mouthful of water and
muttered, “Well, that was romantic.”

He was already out of the pool and, for some
reason, thumping his head against the hard wall.

She watched for a moment, confused. “What is
the matter with you?”

“
I blacked out. I don’t
remember doing it. I’m...so sorry, Nadua.”

His cryptic words spiked fear in her. What
was he sorry for? It was only sex. Mind-bending sex that shattered
every erotic dream she’d ever dared to have.

“
You didn’t do anything
wrong.”

He just gave her a pitying glance. “Get out
of the water. Get dressed.”

The clipped order and the abrupt way he’d
left her—as if she’d suddenly become diseased—transformed her
chagrin into something more like fury. “What do you mean you
blacked out?”

“
I mean I don’t remember
most of what we just did. I don’t remember...biting
you.”

“
You don’t remember?” she
said in a flat tone. “It happened two seconds ago.”

It was the most amazing, overwhelming...And
his bite? My gods, he could come back and bite her again right now,
even with how pissed she was becoming.

She touched the mark on her neck and figured
it should at least feel tender, but it didn’t. Was that what this
was about?

“
It didn’t hurt, Marik. I
actually kind of liked it.”

What an understatement.

“
You shouldn’t. I didn’t
give you a choice.”

“
A choice for what? Sex? If
anything I pushed you—”

“
No!” The word echoed
loudly, causing her to jump. “I just claimed you as my
mate!”

Nadua wasn’t sure what all this mate
gibberish was about, but Marik seemed pretty broken up about it.
He’d refused to say anything more on the subject, and it was hard
not to feel hurt, or like she’d done something wrong. Initially,
she hadn’t intended for things to go that far. And obviously Marik
was unhappy that they did.

Then why didn’t you stop,
acta
.

She realized then that he had tried to stop
but she hadn’t let him.

After she had dried and dressed, she’d made
her way back to the chamber where Rex waited with a welcoming fire
and a nearly cooked carcass. When she approached, Rex regarded her
neck briefly and shot her a surprised look before masking his
features.

Marik had stayed behind, joining them later
with a neatly shaved jaw. Nadua refused to notice how handsome he
looked.

Beside the fire lay three thick and
exquisite looking blankets.

Nadua raised her brows at Rex. “Stolen?”

He winked. “Do I look like I sew?”

She should have been more curious as to whom
he was stealing from out here, but Nadua was too tired to care. She
was just grateful that there were three, and not two. Snuggling up
to Marik after what just happened didn’t sound like something she
could handle at the moment.

Maybe if he hadn’t looked thoroughly
disgusted with what they’d done.

A strange silence fell between them during
their meal, which was a little tough and overcooked. She thanked
Rex for catching it, and noticed that he kept sneaking glances at
the both of them, somewhat confused.

Join the
party
.

Fighting a bout of melancholy, and a poking
need to study the disquiet demon to her right, Nadua settled in to
her blanket. She let the flames hypnotize her, and her mind began
drift.

She wasn’t expecting another vision so soon
after the last, but then, she never did expect them. Their sudden
frequency was both unsettling and a relief.

Clouds of white faded away. Nadua stood in
the familiar coliseum. It was just as she’d left it, though the
faces in the crowd were different. Their screams assaulted her
senses. Covering her ears did nothing to drown them out.

Fresh welts covered Marik’s back and arms as
he fended off the whips. With a roar, he gripped one just as it
lashed at him. He yanked hard, causing its owner to surge forward
into the bars meant to keep him safe from the demon he was coaxing
into a rage.

As the man’s head split by the force of the
blow, Marik caught him around the neck, squeezing till his eyes
bulged, his body thrashing.

Shaken by the sight, Nadua took a step back.
But she couldn’t keep her eyes off Marik.

Baring his fangs, muscles bulging, eyes and
horns molten in color, Marik matched perfectly the image of what
she imagined a bloodthirsty demon would look like. He was
magnificent...and fearsome.

The clamor of the crowd grew deafening while
the second guard continued his beating. There was a harsh snapping
sound and the body in Marik’s possession went limp. Nadua barked
out a cheer, never knowing she could rejoice so thoroughly in the
death of another.

Marik dropped the shell of a man, tilting
his head to focus his searing gaze on the other. The man hesitated
for a second before resuming his assault.

Another entered the fray, taking up the
fallen man’s whip and together the two pushed Marik back to the
center of the arena. His anguished roar ripped through the
coliseum.

Just as before, at the height of Marik’s
arresting madness, a female was tossed at his feet. Bile rose in
Nadua’s throat. How many times had Marik endured this? She feared
the answer.

His chest rose and fell as he gazed down at
the woman huddled like frozen prey, awaiting her fate. The crowd
began to boo and hiss as Marik stood there.