Fae (22 page)

“Ready.” She was excited at the idea of a fight. Eltera hadn’t been wrong when she’d chosen Fae for a warrior, it was in her blood to have a weapon in her hands. As he watched her he noticed her gaze didn’t stay at his either, and he almost called her out on her wandering eyes but decided to let the sparring session speak for itself. They stepped towards each other and immediately started circling to warm up their foot work.

“Want to start with high or low blocks?” He asked while keeping his sword up and ready to react if she struck first.

“High blocks, your reach is longer than mine and it’s good practice.” Her eyes were tracking his movements too, every muscle tick drew her eyes to it. She was as fast as he was, as strong as he was, as immortal as he was – and that meant they didn’t have to hold back. He shifted right but brought the sword down hard towards her left side. She didn’t fall for the feint and reacted by bringing her sword into the side of his and knocking it away. When she spun he kicked out to try and trip her, and she jumped his foot. He almost didn’t have his sword back in position when her blade came back at his chest. They were close together for a moment, both of their breathing still even, before they pushed off and stepped back.

Circling again, like predators. This time Fae acted first stepping to the side and then going low for a thrust that would have gone through his stomach if he hadn’t jumped back, he brought his sword up to knock hers away and returned with a slash towards her shoulder.

Blocked.

Fae’s grin wasn’t fading, and Kiernan could feel his cheeks starting to ache with how hard he was smiling.
This was fun
.

“Enjoying yourself?” He pushed his left hand through his hair to keep it off his forehead while he kept his eyes on Fae. The apartment was warm since the heat was on and he was already starting to sweat.

“Absolutely.” Her voice made it clear she was enjoying herself. Next came a side slash that he knocked away before he returned a low strike, and then he shifted it into a high strike when she blocked it. The pace of the fight increased with no more circling and pauses between.

High, low, low, side, high, leg sweep.

Block, block, block, block, block, and she saw the sweep coming.

The clanging of the swords and the swish of the metal coming apart was a sound he never thought he’d enjoy, but he was. He laughed when she moved in close and delivered a sharp elbow to his ribs on his right side, but he returned it with a hard body shot that sent her to the ground. They were both rubbing bruised areas and grinning. Kiernan held his hand up to signal that they would pause, and he rested his sword against his leg to pull his soaked shirt over his head, with a tiny section of dry cloth he wiped off his face.

The apartment was
way
too hot for this.

Chapter Sixteen

Seattle, Washington

Fae knew she should get up, but despite the fact that she had a very bruised tailbone from a rough landing, she really wasn’t minding the view. When Kiernan stretched to pull his shirt off, the muscles of his stomach rolled under his skin, the lines that marked them shifting and stretching with his movements. Then it was off and he rolled his broad shoulders to relieve the strain of the sparring session. The dark lines of the vines were a little over halfway up his bicep, and she knew he’d have to take care of those soon because they were much too close to the dark sword shape over his heart.

The mark of Gormahn.

It no longer surprised her that she cared about his safety. After all, he cared about hers. She didn’t want him to get hurt. Especially not because he was so busy keeping her safe that he wasn’t taking care of himself. Well, unless
she
was the one hurting him, then she didn’t mind at all.

Snapping herself back she met his eyes again only to find his cocky grin. He knew where her eyes had been.

Dammit
.

“Ready to keep going, or do you need a bandage for your ribs?” Fae taunted him, but he just laughed and pointed down at her.

“At least I’m still standing, Glowworm. You want to rejoin the fight, or should I just bring you a sleeping bag until morning?”

She wasn’t going to lose today. Readjusting her grip on the sword hilt she stood up and lifted her blade. She didn’t give him a chance to breathe, immediately spinning and delivering a hard strike to his right side, and sure enough it took Kiernan a half second longer than normal to get his sword up. The hit to the muscles on his sword side obviously hurt and it was slowing him down.

Time to press it.

She blocked his returned strike and spun away to attempt a blow at his back. He still blocked it. Again and again they went for any weak spot they found in the other, but each attack was stopped time and again. She was a little more agile, but he had more reach and more weight to put behind his strikes. When he delivered a two-handed downward strike at her shoulder she could feel her teeth vibrate when she blocked it.
Ouch
. An hour passed like that - strikes and blocks, kicks and punches, footwork and taunts.

After a forward block, they ended up almost nose to nose, their swords caught between them. They were both breathing heavily, and Kiernan’s brown hair was matted to his forehead and there was a flush in his cheeks, but he still grinned at her like a maniac. This close to him she could see the shadow of facial hair that had come through during the day and she wanted to touch his cheek, wanted to run her fingers through his hair like he always did, wanted to -

“Fae?” When he spoke, his voice was a low rumble in his chest between trying to catch his breath, and hearing her name out of his mouth instead of the annoying nickname he’d chosen made her heartbeat do funny things. “Think you’re done kicking my ass today?”

“I can be, as long as you’re admitting I won.” She smiled at him, catching her own breath. With a groan he stepped back and rolled his eyes, letting their swords slide apart until he could rest the tip on the floor. Fae turned around and slid her sword back into the scabbard, hopping onto the couch to return the sword to its place. Kiernan didn’t bother and leaned his blade against the wall before dropping onto the couch, still breathing hard. Fae stepped back to the floor and watched as his chest rose and fell, her eyes following the lean lines of muscle that made up his chest and stomach.

He had dropped his head back and his eyes were barely open, his long lashes fanning out over his cheek bones. Strands of his hair were still matted to his forehead, and his lips were parted just a little as his breathing started to slow.

Maybe it was the adrenaline rush from the fight, his kindness over the last three weeks, the fact that he didn’t treat her like she was fragile when they fought, or just the fact that he looked
really
incredible without a shirt on – but she took a step towards him, and then another. And then she found herself on his lap, and he snapped to attention as her knees landed on either side of him. She sat back on his thighs, and tried to catch her breath but her lungs wouldn’t work right.

His dark eyes were wide open but he hadn’t said a word, and hadn’t moved a muscle since she’d touched him. If she thought her pulse had raced while they were fighting, it was nothing compared to
this
. He had to be able to hear her heart pounding against her ribs, had to hear the way her breath hitched with the choice she’d just made. She’d already come this far so she wasn’t going to back down now. Fae leaned forward and laid her hand against his cheek, the stubble was rough against her palm and she heard him hold his breath just before her lips met his. His skin was hot from the exertion of the fight, but his lips were surprisingly soft against hers. He didn’t move to touch her, but he did lean into the kiss, and his eyes fell closed so she closed hers too.

It was sweet and chaste and gentle, and then it was over.

She sat back and the look of surprise and shock on his face made her smile. She let her hand move to his forehead and she pushed his hair back, her fingertips running through his dark hair like silk. He made a low sound in his chest as her hand found the back of his neck. She’d wanted to do that for
weeks
. Her fingers wound themselves in his hair, and the groan he released was like a big animal’s purr.

Fae couldn’t resist leaning forward to kiss him again, and
this
time there was heat. Like a spark had landed and the wood was catching, with the promise of fire on the horizon. His lips parted, head tilting back as she leaned over him to deepen the kiss. The fabric of her shirt brushed his chest but there was still an inch or so of space between them. His hands were tucked above him on the couch, and when she opened her eyes she noticed his fists were clenched into the fabric to keep them there. When Fae paused to take a breath he turned his head away and she could see the muscles in his jaw tighten as he clenched his teeth.

“You don’t have to do this, Fae. You don’t.” His voice was low and rumbling and his knuckles were turning white in his death grip on the cushions. “You can stay here as long as you want, no matter what. You don’t have to -” His dark eyes met hers and they were full of concern. He was still trying to protect her, even though she could feel hard ridge of his erection through his jeans, which made it clear what his body thought about the situation.

“I know I don’t
have
to, Kiernan.” Fae ran her hand down the front of his chest and she felt his muscles jump under her touch, then she leaned forward again and placed a light kiss against his lips. “But I’ve wanted to do this for over a week.” Her lips curved up in a playful grin as she watched relief flood his face.

“Oh thank the gods.” Kiernan sat up straighter, releasing his grip on the cushions and bringing her closer to him with a hand in the small of her back. As he pressed her into his hard chest she ran her hands down his back, feeling his muscles shift under his skin as he held her to him. He looked over her face like he wasn’t sure she was real, and then that cocky, mischievous grin split his face and his right hand came up to cup her cheek, his thumb tracing her cheekbone.

This time when their lips met there was wildfire. The kiss ripped the air from her lungs and she wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him closer. Kiernan’s hands slid from her face, over her neck and then down her back. His palms were tracing the curve of her waist and the hollow of her back as he pulled her against him. Lifting up so she was slightly above him, he let his head drop back a little and she leaned down so the kiss continued. For a moment she felt like she was in a position of power, until Kiernan hooked his hands behind her knees and tugged her against him hard. Her hips rocked against his and the low growl in his chest made her smile against his lips – she still had power. Then his hands tightened on her hips, pulling her down against him as his movements matched hers.

A liquid heat flooded her, a delicious thrumming under her skin that was better than any drug on the planet. She was incredibly grateful for the thin fabrics separating them as they rocked against each other, his hard cock rubbing against her clit in a pattern that was setting her on fire from the inside out. Fae moaned against his mouth and he returned with his own, his fingers marking her hips with the intensity of his grip. She rubbed herself against him, desperate for the orgasm coiling up her spine, and he encouraged her.

He drove himself against her, and her skin tingled, her pulse pounded, and then her whole world came apart in his arms. With a cry she shuddered, muttering something unintelligible as her body tensed against his with each wave of pleasure and static joy. Tightening her arms around his neck, she kissed him hard, and he moaned against her lips. There wasn’t a sliver of space between them when the kiss broke, and they both gasped for air.

“Wow.” Fae whispered against his mouth and he chuckled low, that cocky grin spreading across his kiss-swollen lips.

“That’s a good word for it.” He reached up behind her and undid the bun on top of her head so her auburn hair surrounded them both in a curtain. His fingers twirled it before he pushed his hands through it and growled a little as he pulled her down for another kiss.

She nipped his lower lip and he grinned against her mouth, which made her smile too. Slipping his fingertips under the bottom of her shirt he brushed the skin of her back.

“Tell me if you want me to stop.” He whispered into her ear and then kissed her neck just below it. In small movements he trailed the kisses back to her lips while his palms moved up her back inside her shirt.

“Trust me, I’m good. If I’m not you’ll know it.” She made a small sound when he laughed against her neck. With a groan he suddenly hugged her tightly against him. Fae replied with a kiss, but he took it over and sent her head spinning.

Who needed to breathe when you could do this?

She started to think of everything he’d done for her over the past few weeks, but then his hands tightened against her hips and he pulled her close again and she forgot what she was thinking. He nipped her bottom lip back and she shoved her hands into his hair to hold his face to hers, to continue the kiss that was boiling her blood again, taunting the still sparkling energy thrumming in her blood. Fae cut off the kiss suddenly and grabbed the bottom of her shirt to rip it over her head. He sat back against the couch again, leaning back from her so he could see her. The black sports bra was a stark contrast against her pale skin, and she held her arms over her head for a second as she watched him react.

His eyes were glued to her skin, tracing every revealed inch with the intensity of an academic. He slid his hands up her arms and took the green shirt from her, dropping it to the couch beside them, then he slowly moved his hands down her arms, across her shoulders and then down her sides. His touch was light, and reverent, and sent goose bumps across her skin. The fire inside her slowed to a steady burn and her rapid breathing calmed as he began kissing across her shoulders, his fingertips tracing behind her and down her spine. He rested his hands at her hips, just above where her pants began. Fae realized she was biting her lip, amazed by how he looked at her as if she was someone precious, important, and deserving.

“I’m not dreaming this, right?” he whispered it and then reached up with his thumb to pull her lower lip from between her teeth. His question made Fae blush, and he gave her a small smile. It was
a sweeter smile than his normal mischievous one and made her stomach do a flip. Kiernan’s thumb was resting against her lip and his eyes were focused at her mouth. He seemed frozen in the moment until she lightly nipped his thumb and he groaned. Then the sweet look melted away, his lips parted and formed into a grin that was clearly offering a lot more fun than they’d just had. Hopefully with a lot less clothing.

“It’s not a dream, Kiernan.” She shifted her hips, rubbing against his still hard cock, and he groaned again and she grinned. If he couldn’t read that as an open invitation, she’d ask him to get checked for a head injury that Gormahn’s power hadn’t corrected. When he didn’t move forward, her lips landed on his and whatever restraint he had been using collapsed as she pressed herself against him.

His hands moved over her skin, and she ran hers across the ridges of his stomach before trailing her nails lightly down his sides. Breaths came in gasps between their lips and the tension between them kept rising. Fae lifted herself up again and Kiernan took the opportunity to leave a trail of fire down her neck and across her collarbone.

When she ran her hands through his hair and made him look up at her, she traced her fingers across his lips and he kissed her fingertips. He tugged at her hips to return her to his lap and when she didn’t sit back down he laughed low in his chest.

Fae was enjoying having the upper hand when he grabbed her and stood up and she had to lock her legs around his waist to keep from falling. In this position Kiernan’s head was slightly above hers, and his cock was firmly pressed against her core, but his hands were trapped holding her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him again, and then she felt a wall against her back. He pressed her hard against it, grinding himself between her thighs, his teeth tracing across her shoulder as he dipped his head down.