HeroUnleased (9 page)

“What?” He might have been playing it cool a moment ago, but
once she dangled the carrot in front of him, his hunger for knowledge blew that
façade to smithereens.

“Confidence. He strode right up to that fire without a
moment’s hesitation. Displays of courage are highly arousing.”

He uttered a shaky laugh and readjusted his grip on the
steering wheel.

“I saw that same confidence in you earlier when that fire
was burning. You knew exactly how to control that crowd. The shy man I see
before me now was not who you were then.”

“That’s different. In my job I know exactly what to do and
say. It’s different with women.”

“Yet you’re speaking to me just fine.”

“That’s because I know who your family is and that they’ll
hand me my ass on a platter if I act on any of the thoughts I’ve been having
about you.”

She laughed and relaxed back in her seat. “Then show that
side to another woman. Be the man you are inside the uniform when you’re out of
uniform. Trust me, a smart woman will be honored to be on your arm.”

“I’ll try.”

“No, Rhett. Do.”

He flashed her a rueful grin. “Right. I will.”

Satisfied that the message was received, she jerked in her
seat with a gasp. “Oh, my phone.” She withdrew her cellphone from her skirt
pocket and looked at the blank screen. “Lucian sent me a text. He’s home now.
Could you be a dear and take me to his house instead of Brett’s? Then you
wouldn’t have to wait for him to meet us there before returning to assist her.”

“Sure thing, Ms. Amaryllis.”

Lucky for her, Lucian’s car was parked in the driveway,
lending credence to her little lie. He was home all right, but she’d bet her
last stiletto he didn’t want her to know.

Reutgers moved to turn off the cruiser. “I’ll see you
inside.”

“No need for that. You can watch me until I enter. How much
trouble can I get into walking across the lawn?”

He smiled that crooked grin of his that made his eyes
sparkle. “I have a feeling trouble follows wherever you go. That’s why the
sheriff asked me to watch you.”

“Smart man. But I’ll be fine, really.” She leaned across the
seat and bussed his cheek with a quick kiss. “Thank you for the ride, and
remember, confidence, twenty-four-seven.”

“You’re welcome, Ms. Amaryllis. I hope to see you again.”

“Me too, if you’re not too busy beating away your admirers.”

“Right.” He laughed.

She hurried to the porch and offered a cheerful wave after
she opened the front door with the key Dhavin had given her. As soon as she was
inside the house, all frivolity faded and she stood in the foyer, reaching out
with her powers. The only presence she detected was of one turbulent male whose
emotions rolled from euphoric to despondent like an ocean tide during a storm.
The sound of water rushing through the pipes brought her gaze up to the ceiling
and an anticipatory grin curled her lips.

Lucian? In the shower?

“Perfect,” she purred.

Slipping off her heels, she tiptoed up the stairs and down
the hall to Lucian’s room. The door was slightly ajar. How convenient.

The uneven splish-splash of the water as it sluiced off his
body blew her focus to hell. Why was she here again? Right, question Lucian
about this Chameleon character. To think, he had issues with her
extracurricular activities. At least she wasn’t purposefully placing herself in
danger or exposing her powers. What exactly was his game, and why hadn’t she
thought of it first?

Splish. Splash. Splash-splash.

However…

A tremor shook her shoulders and her thighs became slick
even as she struggled to temper her desire. There wasn’t a living soul who knew
what the next few moments would bring, but one thing was for certain, once
Lucian stepped into this room, her life was never going to be the same. There
was so much to be said, so much to do, change was inevitable. Adrenaline pumped
through her veins, making the colors in the room appear sharper and her teeth
chatter with anticipation.

The water shut off and Amaryllis drew a deep breath to slow
the rapid beat of her hearts and block any telling emotions. So far Lucian gave
no indication he knew she was close, and she wanted to keep it that way until
the last possible moment.

Lucian strode from the bathroom, dripping wet with a towel
draped over his head. Droplets of water clung as if loath to evaporate from his
bronze skin. She couldn’t blame them.

He lifted his head and jumped with a shout when he spotted
her leaning against the dresser. He cupped the towel over his crotch, like that
did anything to hide the erection that was rapidly growing by the second. “Ah!
Amaryllis. I—what—I—”

“No.” She waggled her finger at him. “No stammering. No
stuttering. No hedging. No lies.”

He swallowed hard. “What do you want?”

A tittering laugh welled from her throat. “Oh Lucian. I want
so much. But first, you will tell me why I saw a man dressed in royal armor
play superhero not more than thirty minutes ago.”

His lips thinned and he swallowed again. “Let me get dressed
first.”

“Please don’t cover up on my account.” Her gaze lingered on
the tented part of the towel.

“Amaryllis.”

“No.” She shook her head. “No. Talk. Now.”

He chuffed out a frustrated breath and stroked his jaw.
“It’s nothing really. Kristos didn’t like how Brett’s job put her in danger. He
tried to keep her out of harm’s way and wore the armor while he was doing it. A
while ago she was trapped underground during a rescue and he saved her,
spawning the Chameleon.”

“And now you wear the mantle?”

“Not all the time. Kristos and I take turns to throw off
suspicion. And the Chameleon only appears when there is a desperate need.”

“Like earlier.” She took one small step toward him, then
another, approaching as one would an easily frightened animal. “You saved that
child, Lucian. And who knows how many more by keeping that fire from
spreading.”

“I felt that child’s pain from ten miles away. I had to do
something.”

“You’re a hero, Lucian.” She paused, mere millimeters away
from his bare chest. “If I was that boy’s mother, I would drop to my knees and
offer you anything you wanted.”

“A—” He cleared his throat. “Thank you is sufficient
enough.”

“Tell me about your last lover.”

He blinked, clearly confused by the change in subject as the
furrow in his brow deepened. “What?”

“Your last lover. Rumor has it you’ve gone a long time
without female companionship, even though you weren’t lacking for willing
participants.” She trailed her finger along the edge of her low-cut blouse. Her
nipples tightened when his gaze followed the movement. “Why?”

“Your Highness,” he began but she stopped him with a hand
across his mouth.

“No lies. Why?” She moved her palm to lay it against his
jaw.

He licked at his lips. “I’m a warrior. A battle strategist.
I don’t know how to woo a woman. And human women are so…fragile.”

“Physically or emotionally?”

A light flashed in his eyes and a tingle of awareness hummed
in the air between them. “Both.”

“I guess it’s a good thing I’m not human or fragile.”

“But you are. You’ll deny it with your last breath, but I’ve
hurt you when all I want to do is care for you.”

“You do?”

“Of course.”

He lifted his hand and barely grazed his finger along her
jaw before dropping it at his side and making a fist.

“Touch me, Lucian.”

“I can’t. I shouldn’t.”

But he wanted to. Gods did he want to. Never before had she
felt such a sense of want than she did looking up into his tortured eyes. His
craving was bittersweet, like a fine Belgian chocolate sitting on the flat of
your tongue. The flavor melting ever-so-slowly as you were forced to hold still
when all you wanted was to chomp the decadent treat to bits and gobble it
whole.

The promise of experiencing the full force of Lucian’s
passion made her stomach clench and her pussy gush. She leaned forward and
scraped her teeth over his puckered nipple then used the tip of her tongue to
follow a rivulet of water down his torso.

“I know you, Lucian. I know who you are. You don’t need to
hide from me. Never from me.” Under her lips, his stomach quivered as tiny
goose bumps erupted against her tongue.

“We shouldn’t.”

“No.” She nipped at the taut skin around his navel and sank
to her knees. “No.”

A gentle tug of her fingers brought the towel to floor,
freeing his engorged cock. She eagerly wrapped both hands around the shaft and
licked the purple head. Now was not the time to think. If she allowed a moment
of hesitation, he would run from her and the heat generating between them. A
tragedy she’d never allow.

As she took the throbbing length into her mouth, a fiery
bolt of desire raced from Lucian to explode across her senses as if she
swallowed a mouthful of Pop Rocks.

Now this trait of the Skandavian male she missed dearly. The
men of her homeland were all blessed with impressive cocks. A feature she had
been fascinated by when she watched the troops during their wrestling drills.
The heat of battle created a rush of adrenaline that resulted in erections that
tented their thin fatigues and made her mouth water at the thought of slipping
into their baths and tasting each one.

Lucian’s cock was simply beautiful. Thick and long, he
stretched her lips and pulsed against her tongue with a beat that grew more
frenzied with every suckle of her throat. He smelled like a mountain breeze and
tasted of feral need. He was wildness and restrained hunger, and she was eager
to set it free.

A primal growl ripped past his lips as her cheeks hollowed
and she stroked his tightening sac. His hands dove into her hair to hold her
still for the frantic thrust of his hips. Through the veil of her lashes she
watched the battle for dominance play across his features as his teeth clenched
and his eyes threatened to close with the bliss that wrapped her in silken
wings.

“Enough.” He fisted the strands of hair and pulled, dragging
her to a stand and claiming her lips in a bruising kiss. She shared his taste,
tangling her tongue with his and daring him to lose control.

She allowed her hunger free rein to snake around them,
driving the need higher. Lucian responded by meeting that desire with a force
of his own that stripped her of all civility. The fabric of her skirt bit into
her skin and seams popped as she crawled up his body and wrapped her legs
around his lean waist. The ridge of his cock pushed the saturated silk of her
panties against her clit, teasing her with the gentle rasp as he bucked against
her.

He walked them to the corner of the room and fell to his
knees, dropping her onto the seat of a wide armchair. Buttons flew and her
blouse was turned to rags as Lucian ripped it free. Her bra and panties
suffered a similar fate, but her skirt he left rucked up around her hips.

His hand was so tan against her pale breast. The contrast of
dark and light and the roughness of his palm on her soft skin made her sheath
clench in anticipation of exploring their other differences.

Lucian palmed her generous mounds and pressed them together.
He buried his face into her cleavage and drew a deep breath before taking both
nipples into his mouth. The sounds of his sucking mouth and the little growls
rumbling from his throat made her smile. Who knew the general was a breast man?

She cradled his head, gasping at the tug of his teeth on the
turgid tips. Her hands moved to his shoulders where her fingertips found the
raised flesh that spanned the broad width of his back. These scars he bore when
he stood by his brother. These were scars of honor and courage. The matching
slash across the tattoo on his biceps only began to speak of the suffering he
endured at the hands of her father. Tears pricked her eyes that a thoughtless
act of one man made Lucian doubt his purpose.

Cool air chilled her skin as he pulled away. Concern
deepened the line between his eyebrows and dimmed the glow in his emerald eyes.

Amaryllis clutched at his arms. “Don’t stop. I need you,
Lucian. I need you inside me.”

She spread her legs, hooking a knee over each of the chair’s
arms. The length of his cock rested on her belly, reaching almost to her navel.
She reached down and maneuvered the flared crest to the entrance of her pussy
and rolled her hips. “Take me, Lucian. Watch as your cock splits me in two.”

His gaze fell to the wet folds that bathed the head of his
cock, and they both watched as he fed the crimson stalk into her sheath. The
burn was incredible and made her pussy flood with more liquid heat to assist in
the invasion. Deeper and deeper he pushed until he was buried to the hilt. His
lips curled with a snarl as he withdrew all the way then slammed back inside
her. The pounding rhythm made her back arch and her channel clench tight around
the shuttling cock.

With a long, deep sigh, Amaryllis gave her entire body over
to Lucian’s desire. Her head rested against the back of the chair and her legs
fell wider apart. Through half-lidded, sex-drugged eyes she admired the
spectacular man before her. Sweat glistened and highlighted the dips and angles
of his body. The muscles of his stomach flexed with each hard thrust of his
hips. A tic in his jaw beat as he watched her revel in his possession. She drew
her hands up her torso and cupped her breasts. Massaging the mounds, she
flicked at the tight nipples with her fingernails.

The flaring of Lucian’s nostrils was her only warning before
he increased the force of his thrusts, making her cry out. The chair scraped
along the floor with each of his lunges until stopped by the wall. He knocked
her hands away from her breasts and claimed the mounds as his own. His rough
palms kneaded the heavy weight as his nimble fingers twisted the tips, making
her eyes roll back with the exquisite pleasure.