Department 57: Bloody Crystal (25 page)

His admiration for Cerys’s parents went up exponentially. He didn’t know if he’d have done the same thing, but he hoped he’d have that strength. If Talents had learned anything, it was to work hard to accept the opinions of others, except, of course, when it caused others harm. If anything, that attitude would improve the way he did his job.

“So what now? When will they let you out of here?”

“One more night,” Cerys’s father said, smiling. “They said we’d heal after one full night of rest. And they want us to eat today.”

“Did they feed you in captivity?”

He grimaced. “Never quite enough. And we weren’t always together, either.” He squeezed his wife’s hand. “Sunshine bore it all so bravely. I wanted to kill them, but she never uttered a word of complaint.”

Sunshine gave a wry grin. “I thought if I had, they might have enjoyed it. I’m not so saintly. I just try not to think evil of another until I’m forced to it. The man you killed, he was evil.”

“Yes, he was.” Rhodri couldn’t resist. “Sunshine?”

The man gave a sharp laugh. “Her name’s Mfanwy, but she’s been Sunshine to me from the day we met. I’m Robert. I’ve been Moonbeam and Starshine, but I’ve gone back to my given name recently.”

True hippies, in search of love and peace, Rhodri thought. He’d met some before, but few had adhered to their early principles. He got the feeling that Robert and Sunshine were truly remarkable people, and their peace-loving ways required great strength. He’d never thought that way before. “I’ll get out of your way,” he said. “Let you visit in peace.”

“No.”

When Cerys reached for him, he felt that his world had just become complete. “
Dw i’n dy garu di.
” He hadn’t thought about it, he just said it. In the language of his youth, the language they shared.

“I love you too,” she said softly.

Chapter Nineteen

After a long visit with her parents, Cerys let Rhodri lead her away and take her to the hotel room booked for them. They had a suite high up, not the penthouse, but the floor below. She crossed the spacious living area of their suite and stared out the window of the high-rise, down onto the city, mostly below, and the wide river winding its way between the buildings. “It’s amazing. I didn’t realize America had such different architecture.”

He put his hands on her waist and drew her gently against him. “Imagined it was all boxy skyscrapers, did you? A lot of foreigners think that.”

“Foreigners? Aren’t you one?” He’d seemed so at home in Llandudno, but he fitted in here as well. She’d tried to look the wrong way when they’d crossed the road earlier, and needed him to hook her back. She couldn’t imagine him making the same mistake.

He nuzzled the top of her head. “Technically yes. But I’ve spent a fair bit of time over here, and I have an apartment here. In New York. I’ve had it a long time, so I guess it was a good investment. But it’s not secure, so we couldn’t go there before.”

“Can we now?”

“Anytime you want.” He kissed her neck. “But I thought you’d like to stay close to your parents until they’re better.”

She laughed. “It won’t be long. I can’t believe they’re planning to travel around the States in a camper van. But they won’t settle down. They’ll never have the problem of appearing older, like other vampires do.”

“Hmm.” He seemed more interesting in kissing a trail to her ear and then licking around the rim. She shuddered in response, loving the way he could arouse her so surely. “Shower or bath?”

She already guessed what that meant. “Bath.” He needed the relaxation a bath might bring him. Might.

He ordered champagne, but this was such a good hotel that they didn’t bat an eyelid at bringing up a bottle of Cristal at eleven a.m. It arrived within five minutes. Otherwise they would have been naked and in the large tub in the extravagantly apportioned bathroom. In her opinion, that was the best advantage of a suite—a large, single-purpose tub instead of a combined shower and bath.

She dragged him toward the bathroom. “How do you feel? Tired?”

“I should be, but no. Not yet. I want you so badly it’s drowning out everything else. Clothes. Off.”

They stripped, not bothering with careful, seductive undressing, just getting naked as fast as possible. He beat her by a narrow margin and, when she was done, reached for her hand. “After you, my lady.”

She stepped into the hot water, the foam crackling around her, and sank down with a sigh of happiness. He watched her, his mouth crooked in a smile before he joined her, sitting opposite her. She gave him a long study, taking in the broad shoulders, the smoothly defined muscles, the breathtakingly handsome face. Everything she’d ever dreamed of but better, because inside that ripped body was the heart of the man she loved. And he was looking at her as if he wanted to eat her up.

“Come here.” He reached out his hands to her and, when she took them, effortlessly lifted her up and onto his lap. She straddled his legs, felt his erection, hard and hot, pressing against her lower body. She moaned and bent her head. He cupped the back of her head in one large hand, threaded his fingers through her tumbled waves, and drew her down for his kiss.

Their mouths met, opened, and melded. He thrust his tongue into her mouth, and she reciprocated, tasting him, exploring his lips and teeth, tickling his fang buds. He responded by pulling her harder against him, bringing their bodies tightly together. When he moved, she felt the shift of his muscles against her skin, and when she rubbed her breasts against him, he groaned his approval into her mouth.
“You taste so good, feel even better. Lift up, cariad; let me love you.”

Without removing her mouth from his, she lifted, pressing her knees against the bottom of the bathtub. He released her waist, took hold of his cock, and held it so she could impale herself on it. He felt so delectable, so tempting. She teased herself with it, rubbing her clit backward and forward, forcing the extra feeling to blossom. Then she slid down, feeling the hard head glide against her impossibly sensitive skin until he pushed inside. Together they worked him in deeper. It was trickier underwater, but so worth it.

He broke away from her mouth, drew back. “Oh God, oh, sweetheart, so good. You feel so good.”

She gasped but kept pushing, kept driving down until he grazed the neck of her womb, taking full possession. And she loved every minute.

When she moved, he braced his body under her, watched her. “I can see your response in your eyes, sense it in your mind. I’ve never, ever been so close to anyone in my life before. This is it, Cerys, and it’s you. I’m all yours, darling.”

“And I’m yours.” She could hardly bear it, but she couldn’t stop. Her orgasm waited, just out of reach, but every stroke brought her closer, stimulated her most sensitive skin. He took one of her nipples in his mouth, sucked hard, and then nipped. “Fuck, oh fuck, Rhodri. Keep doing that.” The tingle from her breasts joined the slow burn building in the depth of her body, filling her with him, with his loving, with his presence.

His soft growl vibrated against her breasts, brought her into contact with his bristly jaw, added to the sensations coursing through her. She pushed, kept pushing, as he thrust up, hard and deep and sure.

He gazed up at her, and she watched him as he licked and sucked her breast as if it were a special treat to be consumed slowly and with relish. His eyes reflected his feelings, just as he’d said about hers a moment before. So hot.

And then everything dissolved in the white heat of her orgasm, and she clenched his cock and came and came and came. She clutched his shoulders, and he pulled her hard against him as he responded, shuddering his ecstasy deep inside her.

They sat together, gasping, while the bubbles popped and clicked around them. Rhodri was the first to speak. “Wow. Just wow. That has to be my favorite yet. Let’s do this some more. Let’s do it a lot.”

She smiled down at him and met his willing lips for a slow kiss.

A long time later, Rhodri helped her out of the bath and wrapped her in a huge, soft towel. They dried each other and dressed in the hotel bathrobes before passing through to the living room of the suite. It really was an amazing place. She didn’t want to imagine what the penthouse cost. That would have been horrendous.

She went to the large picture window and stared out over the city and the lake. Such a gorgeous view and so different from anything she’d known before.

Even an ordinary kind of room in this hotel would have been way beyond her means. She didn’t like feeling that way, so uneven, but their relationship was such that she felt secure sharing it with him.

“I can’t be a drag on you,” she said. “I need a job. I need to pay my own way.”

He put his arms around her, holding her close. “It doesn’t matter.” Then he told her what he was worth, adding, “I lost some in the recent downturn, but it wasn’t too bad.” She couldn’t believe anyone would be worth that much. When he’d said he had money of his own, she hadn’t imagined that kind of money.

Ignoring the view, she turned in the circle of his arms and faced him. “How much?” She batted her hand vaguely. “No, don’t tell me again. I might faint.” She stared up at her gorgeous man. “You’re serious?”

He gave a lopsided grin. “Afraid so. Sorry. I made some investments a long time ago, and they kind of grew. Most Talents do. It seems your parents did too.”

That saddened her. “Yes. And it all went to waste.”

“You might get compensation.”

She frowned. “How so?”

“Wilkinson’s assets, the buildings and equipment, will be sold off. The Department prefers to benefit the victims when this happens, so the proceeds will be divided up. Your parents don’t want it, so it’ll probably come to you.”

“It won’t be much.”

“Enough for a dowry.”

That made her laugh outright. “A what?”

She was glad to see he was smiling too. “A dowry. The sum a bride brings to her groom on their wedding. Used to be all the crack in the old days.”

“And what would you know about it? You were a miner.”

He sighed. “The people who considered themselves my betters told me all about it.”

“When?”

“Usually when I was—” He coughed. “Never mind.”

Her mind reverted to something else he’d said. “Are you by any chance proposing?”

He gave a wry smile. “And not doing very well at it. I thought, since we’ve started the process, it might be nice to—ah, fuck, I’m useless at this. I’ve never done it before, you see, and I didn’t have time to practice. Listen, Cerys. I love you very much, and I want to call you mine. Please say you’ll think about it at least.”

“I don’t have to think about it. I love you too. Yes, please, I’d love to marry you.” Before he could kiss her, she lifted her hand and put it over his lips. “But only if you take me into that bed and fuck me senseless.”

“How can I resist?”

Loose Id Titles by Lynne Connolly

Texas Heat

The DEPARTMENT 57 Series

Cat’s Eyes

Topaz Delirium

Liquid Crystal

Chemistry of Evil

Crystal Captive

Treasure Laid Bare

Crystal Tides

Jewel of the Dragon

Griffin’s Treasure

Bloody Crystal

Lynne Connolly

Lynne Connolly lives in England with her family and her mews, a cat called Jack. She spends her time writing and filling her collection of doll’s houses. After acceptance by her first e-publisher she hasn’t looked back. She has over 30 books out, and plans for more. She writes in the paranormal romance, contemporary romance, and historical romance genres and she likes to add a lot of steam!

Go to
http://lynneconnolly.com
to read up on the latest news about Lynne.