Her Druid Desire (The Amber Druid Series) (39 page)

           
Hell yes, she was. This past weekend flashed through her mind and she
remembered every moment when he had held her close, kissed her, touched her,
and made her feel so very important and loved. She wanted this man and she
wanted the rest of her life to be spent with him. It was worth it to prove to
him that she was willing to fight for their relationship.

           
Would she be happy with
just a scarce fifty or so years
with him? But why should she settle for that? He could ‘gift’ her
over,
make her one of his kind, couldn’t he? From what he’d
said the other night, as long as she admitted to him what she wanted and
accepted his gift he could change her. Was she willing to do that, to give up a
normal life for the man she loved?

           
Nadia stared into her bathroom mirror when she got home that afternoon. She
looked at the very small fine lines expanding out from the corners of her eyes.
She would age slowly and live an indeterminate amount of time, but she would
have him by her side for that period. She would be able to make up for almost
ten years of loving him blindly, and Lord did she have a lot of making up to
do.

           
Yes, determined was too sedate a word for what she felt right now.

***

           
The day had been a bitch.

           
After heading into work Drake had found out about an important meeting that had
somehow been pushed away and basically forgotten about. He had to haul ass to
make his way into Louisiana for the meeting and now it was just after seven and
he was finally pulling up at home.

           
All day long he had thought about nothing but Nadia. The phone had been in his
hand numerous times, but he had opted not to call and bug her. Although he knew
deep down that he wouldn’t be bothering her, he still hesitated. He would much
rather surprise her instead by showing up at her house later on after he got
home and had a shower.

           
The emotions that pulled at his insides when he thought about her were enough
to set off flames. He had felt many things for many women, including love for
his two wives, but after spending time with Nadia and getting to know her he
felt certain, more certain than ever before, that this was something special.

           
After changing over in 1809 and going through a period where he thought he was
the
baddest
thing on the face of the planet, Drake
had more time to learn his faults and perfect his knowledge than any other man.
He had charmed, seduced, and bedded plenty of women, but he could say in all
earnestness that he now realized what the burn of
unfulfillment
was, and it wasn’t all that bad. It only made the future consummation of their
relationship all the sweeter.

           
He wasn’t a fool. He knew she was innocent and more than likely a virgin,
although he still didn’t understand how it was possible. But he wasn’t turning
down that specific gift. The knowledge that he had been the one to basically
introduce her to certain things, and things that were yet to come, was a heady
thought. Still, it was more than just sex. It was being with her, feeling her
trust in him, feeling the way she looked at him, so earnestly, so full of
passion and promise.

           
His body responded by standing up and saluting, but he ignored it. Soon he
would be close enough to touch her, hold her, kiss her, but right now he headed
for the shower, planning to make record time before heading out to remind Nadia
that their new relationship was something he wanted to take to the next level.

***

           
The night air was warm, but the wind had picked up, bringing in a slight
breeze.

           
The breeze kicked up the edges of Nadia’s short trench coat. The cooler air
ruffled the very small amount of clothes she had on underneath. The bravado that
had been pumping her up for an hour and a half now, had suddenly disappeared,
leaving behind nothing but nerves and a weak stomach. But she would see this
through. Drake had turned out to be more gentlemanly than she knew him to be.
If she waited for him to go all the way with her, she just might be waiting
forever. She hadn’t ever thought she would be reduced to becoming the seducer,
especially since she hardly knew how to seduce in the first place.

           
She had Love to guide her. That was all she needed. She could muster through
anything with that at her back.

           
Grasping her
iphone
, she scrolled and searched for
Drake’s number.
Time to put her plan into action.

           
Seconds later his deep voice slid over the line.

           
“Hello?”

           
“Hey you, am I disturbing anything?” She hoped she sounded more put together
than she felt.

           
“Well aren’t you the little mind reader?” She could practically see the smile
that she knew was on his face. “I have been thinking about you all day long.
It’s so good to hear your voice, angel.”

           
A warm thrill shot through her as she maneuvered through the darkness and
stopped at the edge of the deck. “It’s good to hear yours too. I almost called,
but I knew your Monday’s were always hectic, so I’ve been a good, patient
woman, although it was hard as heck not to pick up the phone.”

           
He chuckled over the line, “Well, you weren’t the only one who had trouble with
trying to stay off of the phone. I thought about calling you every hour, but
stopped myself. I was going to surprise you instead.”

           
A firestorm of sensation erupted inside Nadia as she glanced through the wooden
railing on the deck, seeing the tall floor to ceiling windows that allowed her
to look into his kitchen. Seconds later she turned her eyes to his bedroom
window and the small amount of light allowed her to see him emerging from the
bathroom, with nothing on but a towel. Her stomach and nerves heaved as she
watched him walk out of his room and into the darkness of his house beyond.

           
“Just how were you going to surprise me?” Her breathless voice slid over the
line. She stopped at the steps to his deck, not taking the chance that he might
find out her hiding place before she wanted him to notice her. She couldn’t
believe she could actually sneak up on him anyway.

           
There was a faint rustling, and then, “I can’t give you all the answers,
darlin
’, just know that you are going to have a good end to
a boring Monday because you are going to see me very soon.”

           
“Really,” she murmured, sliding her keys in deep in her trench pocket and
willing her heart to stop racing, “how do you know that I’m not about to make
your night even better?” She asked him as she let herself place one foot on his
deck steps.

           
Silence greeted her question. Never before had she thought she could make Drake
speechless.

           
She went for all the marbles. “Why don’t you step out on your deck and see your
surprise for the night?” The last part of her question came out wobbly and
hesitant, but she congratulated herself for speaking the words at all,
especially since her stomach had caved to her toes, her throat was as dry as
dust, her heels were pinching her toes and the clingy silk slip she had on was
leaving most of her body under the coat, bare to the night air. Thank God there
were no mosquitoes tonight.

           
The click of a lock pierced the night. Her eyes swung to the handles, as they
turned and Drake opened the door from the inside. Nadia slid her phone into her
coat pocket and braced herself as her fingers went to the knot holding her coat
closed.

***

           
There had been many things in his life that had made his heart beat faster, but
Drake knew this experience tonight would top them all.

           
Nadia was standing on the edge of his deck, where his steps led downward
looking for the entire world like an innocent young woman heading to the
gallows. Deep within her green eyes was hardness, a certain wild light that
Drake had never seen before. Her aura was deep with want, throbbing with lights
of sexual awareness, and it called to him in the basest, most deviant way
possible. The lines of excitement were so wavy around her that they pulsated
with the beat of her heart, which was pounding harshly.

           
Drake knew this was hard for her, but that stern light in her eyes was driving
her to do this, not to mention whatever her body was making her feel. But he
also knew she felt something so utterly wordless and unexplainable that he was
seeing her do something totally out of character because of her feelings for
him.

           
Her long black hair was down and her body was covered from neck to knees in an
oversized trench coat. He was a fool to believe that she was fully clothed
underneath. She had the look of a woman out to get what she wanted, and Drake
knew that her new role of seducer was all for him.

           
Her fingers shook as she fiddled with the knot on the coat as Drake stopped
about a foot away from her. What spirit she had! Her eyes held his when she
finally let the knot fall away. Drake took a deep breath as his eyes slid
downward and the coat slipped from her shoulders. His fingers twitched as his
eyes took in enormous amounts of her translucent skin. “Ah, angel...”

           
Sexy, beautiful, stunning
, no words could express how she looked to him
in that moment. The black scrap of tight material appeared to be a slip of some
kind to Drake. Small, thin straps were on her shoulders, while the neckline was
indecently low, baring her almost to her nipples where firm flesh was raised.
The spandex material was covered in silk, but still cinched in her already tiny
waist and showcased full blown, womanly hips then the material stopped about
two inches shy of showing Drake what his mouth watered to taste again. His eyes
followed her long legs to where black, extremely high heels were on her feet.

           
Dear God, kill him now.

           
The thought had barely cleared his mind before Nadia took action. She was
pressed up against him with her hands on his chest and speaking before Drake
could slap himself awake.

           
“I hope I meet with your approval,” she purred against his skin, her moist
breath wafting against his chest, sending his cock straight up inside the
towel.

           
“
Darlin
,’ any more approval from me and you would be
flat on your back on this deck right now.”

           
The words delighted her. Drake could tell from the way she inhaled, and her blood
pulsed with renewed urgency under her skin. The abrupt change in her body
caused the same for him, teeth elongating and eyes burning.

           
Sound rumbled from her throat, similar to a purr, and Drake had to lock his
hands at his sides before he did, indeed, push her on the deck like some animal
about to rut.

           
“Outside would be different, but for our first time I believe I’m spoiled
enough to enjoy the bed…what do you think?” Her words rumbled close to his
chest, and Drake still shuddered. Damn, he would have never assumed Nadia to be
a seductress. It was a very lovely surprise.

           
“I agree with whatever you want.” Drake stopped before he incriminated himself.
He would be willing to do anything she wanted, wherever she wanted and at
whatever time. It made no difference to him.

           
“Well, first off, we are going to go inside to your bedroom and then I will get
to do all the things I have dreamed of doing to that gorgeous body of yours
that I have been putting off.” Her fingers trailed over his skin and Drake
swore he saw lightning arc from her to him, she was that hot.

           
One second later they were standing in his room. Nadia looked at him with a
smile on her face. “I totally forgot about that talent of yours, but thanks for
reminding me.” Then with a wink and a smile she grasped the edges of his towel
and yanked.

           
Drake sucked in a deep breath as the cooler, air conditioned air slid over his
skin, pricking every erogenous zone on his body. Although with the heat Nadia
was putting out it was hard to feel cold when flames were licking at him. The
space around them immediately went from intimidating and sexual, to emotions so
heavy and thick that it was hard for him to draw breath. He brought his eyes to
rest on Nadia’s, and in the semi-darkness of the room he could see the widening
of her eyes and the barest hint of tears there.

           
He could read her clearly now. She was astoundingly nervous with the getup she
had on and she was also slightly embarrassed at how easily she had been able to
bulldog her way into seducing him. Drake ignored those emotions, because he
thought she was flat out stunning and he admired gumption in a woman. What
really held his attention at the moment was the open yearning deep in her eyes.
That
was causing the tears, that deep feeling of wanting someone so bad,
had caused her to come here in that getup she had on. It had also given her the
gumption she needed to get here in the first place. The yearning for him had
finally broken her walls down. She couldn’t hide just how much she wanted him
anymore. The truth made Drake feel like an overdone Christmas tree with too
many lights. He almost grinned with the force of emotions running through him
but stopped it immediately. He didn’t want her to think that he was laughing at
her.