Heart of the Serpent: Hades' Carnival, Book 5 (8 page)

With a growl, he fell on top of her. He gripped her shoulders and fucked her faster, short, hard thrusts that made her gasp. She was so hot. Her body on the edge of ecstasy.

He shoved one hand under her, angling her pelvis so her clit rubbed against him with each thrust. Her nipples grazed his chest.

Lost in the sensual pleasure of his touch, she came. He took her mouth, capturing her cry as her orgasm washed over her. He stiffened above her. His cock jerked inside her as he found release. The warm rush of his pleasure made her pussy spasm again.

Her heart pounded in her chest and she sucked in the warm night air, tasting their passion and the perfume from the surrounding flowers. Mordecai slumped over her and she wrapped her arms around him, savoring the quiet moment between them.

Eventually, the sounds of the night came back into focus. A bird flitted in the trees. A car drove down the street. A dog barked a few doors down.

Mordecai raised his head and lifted his body from hers. She didn’t have enough energy to move and lay sprawled on the bench. He chuckled and lifted her into his arms. She lolled against him and rested her head on his shoulder.

“I owe you a new bench.” His dry comment made her laugh. Sure enough, two large chunks were missing from the stone bench where he’d ripped them off.

“I don’t know about that. I kind of like the way it looks.”

He kissed her and she tasted his love, his commitment.

She patted his chest. “Everything will be okay. You’ll see.”

“I believe you.” She could see the truth in his eyes and it warmed her heart.

“I’m taking you inside to bed before the neighbors discover us.” He started walking to the back door, not bothering with their clothes. She closed her eyes, trying not to notice they were both stark naked as he walked past the solar lights and onto the porch. “Although it might be too late for that.”

“What? Who saw us?”

He opened the door and carried her up the stairs to her apartment. “I doubt they watched, but Arand and Sabrina probably heard us. Preternatural hearing and open windows,” he reminded her.

She should be appalled. Really she should. Instead, all she could do was giggle. She was still laughing when Mordecai unceremoniously dumped her on the bed.

“You think that’s funny, do you?” he asked.

She nodded and then pulled her pillow over her face to smother her uncontrollable laughter. She just felt so good. So right. Her nightmare was finally over and their future was bright.

He pulled the pillow off her face and tossed it aside. “You can’t hide from me. I’ll always find you.”

She linked her arms around his neck and smiled up at him. “I like that.”

“I think you’ll like this even more.” Fully erect once again, he slid inside her. She gasped as he filled her. That gasp turned to a moan when he kissed her. He began to thrust and he was right. She really enjoyed what they did next.

Epilogue

Jessica shivered and pulled her coat closer around her. She’d thought Mordecai was crazy when he’d handed her a parka and a pair of snow boots to put on. After all, it was summer in Louisiana. “Where are we?” There was snow and mountains as far as the eye could see. It was breathtakingly beautiful and extremely cold.

Mordecai had used his powers to transport them here in a blink of an eye. One minute she’d been standing in the middle of her living room, the next she was on a snowy ledge way up high on a mountain. The only sound was the relentless howl of the wind.

“Nepal.”

She blinked. “You’re serious.”

He grinned and it made him look younger, more carefree than he normally did. He pointed off in the distance. “Katmandu is that way.”

She was really having a hard time wrapping her head around this one, even after everything she’d seen and been through. “Are we on Mount Everest?”

He nodded. “Although it wasn’t called that when I first came here. It had no name back then.” He placed his hand against the snow-covered rock. “All I knew is that it called to me.”

This was a special place for Mordecai. The way he spoke about it with such reverence in his voice gave her heart a hitch. He was sharing this special place with her. She slipped her mitten-covered hand into his bare one. He didn’t seem to feel the cold like she did. He was wearing leather pants and boots and a long-sleeved waffle-weave shirt. She was still figuring out what she could and couldn’t do now that she was immortal. Controlling her body temperature wasn’t one of her new talents, at least not yet.

The wind whipped around them and blew snow into her eyes. She gave a startled shriek as the cold pelted her face and turned her head away from the bitter bite.

“Let’s get you inside.”

“Inside?” She scrubbed the snow off her cheeks. “The mountain?”

He guided her down a narrow pathway and stopped in front of a wall of white.

“Um, I hate to tell you this, but there’s no doorway there.”

Mordecai threw back his head and laughed. “I don’t need a doorway.” He waved his hand over the snow and it instantly disappeared, exposing a rock-hewn corridor. “Come.”

She followed, trusting him implicitly. The cold died away and she was able to remove her mittens and stuff them in her pockets. She lowered the hood of the parka and stamped her feet to remove the snow that clung to her boots.

As they walked along the corridor, torches sprang to life at regular intervals, lighting their way. It was amazing, like something out of a fantasy book. It was so quiet here. Peaceful.

“The serpent is a part of me,” he began.

“I know.” She caught his hand in hers and gave it a squeeze. “I’m rather fond of all of the parts of you.”

He kept his gaze forward and followed the path when it veered off to the right. “I am the basis for the legend of dragons.”

“Get out.” She stopped, forcing him to halt or drag her behind him.

He shrugged. “People thousands of years ago had never seen the likes of me before.”

“I got news for you, my love. People today have never seen the likes of you either,” she teased.

One corner of his mouth turned up. “You may be right.” He continued down the path and she followed once again.

“I needed a place to be by myself. To think. The others loved the camaraderie of the group, but I needed space.”

“I can understand that.” She thought about it. “I enjoy my friends, but I need solitary time as well.” She paused. “You don’t need to show me this if you don’t want to,” she added gently. “It’s okay if you want to have a special place that’s yours alone.” She understood and respected that.

He shook his head as another torch sprang to life. So much power and he wielded it without thought or effort. She might be immortal and share his life force, but she had nowhere near the power or skills Mordecai had.

“I want you to see.” He took a step away from her. “Watch and follow.”

She wasn’t sure what to expect until his body started to change. His clothing vanished and the air around him shimmered. His head elongated and grew, flattening on the top. His arms and legs grew, his body morphing until there was no sign of a human male. In his place was a huge dragon-like creature. Her serpent.

He turned and slithered down the path. She had to hurry to keep up with him. He turned left and ducked through a giant archway. She stilled as torches sprang to life, illuminating the cavernous room.

The entire space glittered and sparkled. She blinked, practically blinded by the rare gemstones that were piled and scattered on every available surface. “Wow. This is incredible.” Mordecai had stopped in the center of the room, surrounded by his treasure. She understood her dragon well. In human form, he’d started a company—Dragon’s Holdings—building massive wealth for himself and the other warriors. Oil, minerals, technologies, he had his fingers in a lot of pies. He not only needed the challenge, it was in his very nature to acquire.

The light reflected off him when he moved and Jessica caught her breath. She walked forward, hand out in front of her. “You look different than you did before.” She touched the hard scales on his side. Where they’d been a muddy green and brown before, now they sparkled like emeralds and bronze.

He tilted his head in question. “You shine. You shimmer just like the jewels around you.” She began to laugh.

Mordecai shifted back to his human form, not bothering with clothing beyond a pair of pants. He didn’t feel the cold at all. But he worried about Jessica, who was bundled in an arctic parka he’d purchased for her. They both had a lot to learn about what being immortal meant for her.

She jumped into his arms and he caught her easily. She twined her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist. “You’re so pretty now. You were fierce in your serpent form before, but now you’re gorgeous too.”

He frowned. “I’m not pretty. I’m ferocious.”

She patted his cheek. “Of course you are, baby.”

No one else in the entire world, or in any realm, would talk to him in such a way. Nor would he allow it. But when Jessica did it made his heart melt. He shook his head. “You know I’m feared the world over and in Hell itself.”

She grinned. “I know. That’s pretty cool too.”

He gave up and spun her in a circle. “The darkness from Hades’ realm dimmed the light inside me, and thus my serpent’s as well. Now that you’ve chased it away I am finally myself again.”

He kissed her then, tasting the love on her lips. Her touch satisfied him in a way that all the diamonds, sapphires, opals, emeralds and rubies of the world could not.

He eased his mouth from hers, loving the way her eyes clouded with passion and her lips were moist from his kiss. “It’s in my nature to collect,” he began. “I don’t know why, but it’s instinctual, much like a bear might hibernate in winter.”

“You’ve got a pretty awesome collection.” She twisted in his arms, taking in the entire space. “This place is incredible.”

“I’m glad you approve. But unlike the legends of dragons, this serpent doesn’t mind sharing.” He wanted her to understand that all he had was hers now as well.

“Oh, Mordecai, I know that.” She stroked her fingers over the side of his face. “After all, you made certain all the other warriors got a piece of the company you built over the decades. None of them ever have to worry again because of your generosity.”

She was everything to him. Sheer perfection. This tiny woman held his fate in her hands. There was nothing he wouldn’t do for her. “But there is one thing I will not share. In fact, I would kill anyone who dares to try to take it from me.”

She frowned and leaned back in his arms. “What is it? I have to know so I don’t accidentally take it.”

Just when he’d thought he couldn’t love her more. He sat in the center of his jewel cache high in the mountains, holding her tight in his arms. “You,” he told her. “You, Jessica Miller are my greatest treasure, and I will annihilate anyone who tries to take you from me.”

Jessica hugged him. “Never going to happen. You’re stuck with me for eternity.”

Eternity. The word had never sounded so good.

Mordecai surrounded them with his power, and in the blink of an eye they were sitting on her living room floor back in New Orleans. Jessica looked around and frowned. “Hey, if you can do that, why did I have to bundle up in a parka and stand on the side of a mountain?”

He shrugged. “I wanted to impress you.”

Laughing, she threw her arms around him. “You certainly did that.”

He leaned forward until her back rested on the floor and he loomed over her—big, naked and gorgeous. “Now you’re wearing way too many clothes.

“I’ll have to do something about that.” She pulled on the zipper and quickly shed the heavy coat. “Can you check to make sure no one called while we were away?” There’d still been no word from either Stavros or Phoenix, and he knew she was getting more worried with each passing second. He was getting concerned himself.

Hades had lost Jessica, but Mordecai knew the vengeful god wasn’t done. Not while Tilly was still out there.

Mordecai grabbed his phone off the coffee table and checked his messages. “Nothing yet,” he told her as he tossed the phone away. He grabbed one of her boots and pulled it off. He could have her naked with a wave of his hand, but he enjoyed undressing her. It was like unwrapping a present every time.

“All we know is they’re no longer in the city,” he continued. “Tomorrow, we will start searching the world for the Lady. Maybe she can help, if we can find her.”

“What are we going to do until then?” Jessica asked. She batted her eyelashes, looking as innocent as ever. But he knew better. She was a sensual woman with the heart of serpent. She was his heart.

“I’m sure I can think of something,” he told her. Then he swept her into his arms and carried her into the bedroom.

About the Author

Once upon a time, N.J. had the idea to quit her job at a bookstore, sell everything she owned and write romance novels. She gave notice at her job on a Friday morning and received a tentative acceptance for her first erotic romance novel, Annabelle Lee, on the following Sunday afternoon. Life would never be the same.

N.J. has always been a voracious reader, and now she spends her days writing novels of her own. Vampires, werewolves, dragons, time-travelers, seductive handymen and next-door neighbors with smoldering good looks—all vie for her attention. It’s a tough life, but someone’s got to live it.

N.J. enjoys hearing from readers, and she can be reached at
[email protected]
. You can also check out her website at
www.njwalters.com
.

Look for these titles by N.J. Walters

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The Way Home

The Return of Patrick O’Rourke

The Seduction of Shamus O’Rourke

A Le
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By the Book

Past Promises

Legacy

Alexandra’s Legacy

Isaiah’s Haven

Legacy Found

Quinn’s Quest

Finding Chrissten

Damek’s Redemption

Craig’s Heart

Spells, Secrets and Seduction

A Touch of Magick

Dreams of Seduction

Love in Flames

Hades’ Carnival

Night of the Tiger

Mark of the Bear

Pride of the Lion

Howl of the Wolf

Salvation Pack

Wolf at the Door

Wolf in her Bed

Wolf on the Run

Coming Soon:

Salvation Pack

Wolf from the Past

Hades’ Carnival

Flame of the Phoenix

Lure of the Jaguar