Passion Ignites (21 page)

If Thorn let her continue much longer, he would be past the point of no return. He fought to remain on his feet as her mouth worked its magic. When he opened his eyes and looked down, his breath was sucked from his lungs. She was exquisitely erotic, divinely carnal.

And she was his.

He pulled out of her mouth and touched her face. Her gray eyes had darkened with passion, and the sight of her orange lace bra made his balls tighten.

Thorn kicked off his boots and removed his jeans. Then he smiled in approval when Lexi grinned up at him and laid back. He unzipped and removed each of her boots. While he did, she unfastened her belt and jeans, making it easy for him to tug them off.

All that was left from seeing every bare inch of her was the lace at her breasts and between her legs. It teased him, tempted him.

Unable to keep away, he was over her again, their lips meeting in a breathless kiss, both needing the feel of the other. That should scare him—and it did. But he couldn't stay away. He was inexplicably drawn to her in a way he couldn't begin to describe or ignore. All he knew was that he had to have her.

Lexi sighed in pleasure. Thorn's hands were masterful as he caressed her as if had found a precious object. He made her feel treasured, beautiful, and cherished.

It was a first for Lexi, and it moved her deeply. Her eyes filled with tears at the heady emotion he invoked by simply touching and kissing her.

Her back arched, a startled cry falling from her lips when his fingers grazed a nipple. Her breasts swelled instantly and desire tightened between her legs.

He whispered something she couldn't make out. She wanted to ask him to repeat it, but the thought was lost when he unhooked her bra and removed it.

Lexi watched as he looked at her breasts as if he had just found a feast. When his gaze met hers, he stilled as a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye and trailed across her temple.

He caught it with a fingertip before it reached her hairline. Thorn looked from the teardrop to Lexi. No words were needed between them. She could see in his deep brown eyes that he understood.

She brought his head down for another kiss. He consumed her with that kiss, leaving no question that whatever was happening between them was meant to be—that it had always been meant to be.

Thorn had been struck by that single tear. Mostly because he realized she had felt something so profound, so intense it formed a tear. It made him wonder how he could have ever thought to let her walk out of his life.

He moaned at the taste of her sweetly seductive kiss. His hands moved between them so he could cup her breasts. Then it was her turn to groan.

Thorn ran his thumb over her nipple before circling the tiny bud. He ended the kiss and shifted down so he could wrap his lips around the turgid peak and suck.

“Thorn,” Lexi said thickly.

Her hands were in his hair, her hips rocking against him. She had no idea what a sensual picture she was and how it took everything he had not to fill her right then.

He moved to her other breast and teased that nipple until it was just as hard. Her breasts fit his palms perfectly. He massaged them, his cock jumping when he felt the wetness between her legs.

Thorn slid his hand down her stomach, over her hips to the trimmed curls. He lifted his head to look at her. Lexi's pale brown locks were scattered around her on the table, her lips were swollen, and her eyes were glazed with passion.

Nearly where he wanted her.

He held her gaze as he slowly slipped a finger inside her. Her breath caught as her fingers clutched the sides of the coffee table.

When he withdrew his finger and then leisurely circled her clit, her eyes closed as she moaned. He knelt at the edge of the table and spread her legs wide.

It was the cool air on her that made Lexi open her eyes. She raised her head to see Thorn kneeling between her legs. She wondered what he thought of her nearly bare sex, and then it didn't matter when he leaned forward and flicked his tongue over her clit.

She sighed loudly, the pleasure rolling through her body. His tongue teased and licked as he brought her closer and closer to orgasm.

Each time she thought she might reach it, he would pause and thrust a finger inside her or pinch her nipples. She didn't know how much more she could stand. Her body shook with the need to find release, a release Thorn kept just out of reach.

Lexi was delirious. Her nerves were stretched tight as her head rolled from side to side. Desire was spiraling out of control all because of Thorn. He tended to her body as if he were worshipping it, as if he had waited an eternity to pleasure her.

The orgasm took her by surprise. She opened her mouth to scream from the intensity of it, but there was no sound. She could only lay there, her body jerking from the ecstasy.

Thorn watched the pleasure wash over Lexi. It was a sight to behold, one he wanted to see every day. He rose over her and guided his cock to her entrance before sliding within her tight walls.

He held her hip with one hand, his other braced near her head as he slowly thrust in and out until he was fully sheathed. When he looked down, Lexi stared up at him as if he were a star she had plucked from the heavens. No one had ever gazed at him in such a way.

He put an arm beneath her back and stood as her legs tightened around his waist. Her gaze softened, a soft smile lifting her lips.

Thorn turned and sat on the coffee table. He cupped her face and smoothed her hair back. “You're beautiful.”

The first movement of her hips had him clutching her waist. She wound her arms around his neck and gradually moved faster.

Their eyes were locked, their bodies rocking together in a dance as old as time. As good as it felt, it wasn't enough.

He held her tight as he moved off the table and laid her on the rug. Thorn kissed her hard, letting her know how much he craved her, how desperately he needed her.

Her nails scraped lightly down his back. He pulled out of her until just the head of him remained. Then he drove deep.

It was hard enough to scoot her back. Her nails sank into his skin as a harsh breath passed from her lips. Thorn braced his hands on either side of her and began to move. His thrusts were fast, hard, and deep.

Soon her moans filled the flat. Her legs gripped him tightly, urging him faster. His hunger pulsed violently. It didn't allow him to go softly or gently.

This was him at his most primal. He was taking her wildly and violently, but there was no way to pull back. The attraction he feared had turned into unrelenting, unwavering yearning.

He now needed Lexi in a way that could never be altered. With every thrust, he was staking his claim.

It never entered his mind that she might not want him with the same desperate intensity, the same ferocious passion. All Thorn knew was that he had been an utter, complete fool not to have taken her to his bed sooner.

“Thorn,” she whispered.

He felt her clamp around his cock as another climax swept her. She looked up at him, a silent urging in her gaze.

As if he could ever deny her anything.

Thorn gave in and let the orgasm come. Their bodies pulsed together, bliss sweeping them into an abyss of light and decadence the likes of which he had never known before.

He held her, their limbs tangled as they slowly came down from such hedonism. His eyes were closed and his forehead rested on her shoulder when her hand softly grazed his cheek.

Thorn lifted his head to look at her. There were no tears now, just a smile so stunning that it crushed the last threads of reservations he had.

“Wow,” she whispered.

He smiled and pulled out of her. Then he gently lifted her in his arms. She was boneless, a contented sigh the only sound from her.

Thorn walked to the bed and laid her down. Once he climbed in beside her, Lexi rolled toward him to rest her head on his chest.

He looked at the ceiling as he held her. Good or bad, right or wrong, he had caved and let Lexi in. He didn't know what tomorrow would bring. Nor had he figured out how she'd gotten her memories returned. But what Thorn did know was that he would die before he let anything happen to her.

 

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SEVEN

“
Thorn
.”

Thorn's eyes flew open at Con's voice in his head. He glanced at Lexi to find her asleep after hours of lovemaking throughout the night. His body was curved around hers, his arm thrown over her waist.

He took his time getting out of the bed so as not to wake her. Thorn walked to the couch and put on his jeans. Then he gathered their clothes and tossed them on a chair near the bed.

Once he made sure Lexi was covered, he walked to the door and opened it. Con stood there with Guy. Thorn looked between the two and blocked their entrance with his hand on the door frame.

“You're no' going to let me in?” Con asked in an even tone.

Thorn wasn't fooled. Con might appear calm and cool to the world, but inside was a maelstrom of anger and fury that broke through occasionally.

“We can talk here,” Thorn said.

Guy jerked his chin toward the inside of the flat. “I believe he doesna wish to wake Lexi, Con.”

“I'm awake,” Lexi said in a mumble from behind him.

Thorn glanced over his shoulder and bit back a groan when the sheet fell to reveal her amazing breasts.

“I think,” Lexi added.

Thorn made sure Con couldn't see, though Guy had turned his back to the flat. “Lexi, you might want to get dressed.”

From the sounds coming behind him, Thorn knew she was gathering her clothes and walking to the bathroom with the sheet around her. Her hurried footsteps told him she sensed the situation was important.

When Thorn heard the bathroom door close, he turned on his heel and walked to the kitchen counter, leaving the door open for Con and Guy to enter.

Thorn turned on the coffeepot and crossed his arms while leaning against the counter. He had known Guy would tell Con about Lexi's memories. It didn't bode well that Con was here.

No one said a word. Guy stood near the door while Con walked the flat looking around as if he was interested. It was fake. Everything about Con was fake. The Dragon Kings accepted it because it was a mantle the King of Kings had to take with the humans.

Except that act had become Con's mask that he never removed.

Ten minutes later, Lexi walked from the bathroom freshly showered. She wore her clothes from the day before and her hair was gathered at the back of her head in a messy twist of hair and elastic that she made look good.

Her gaze went to Con first. She turned toward Thorn and spotted Guy. Her entire body went taut at seeing him. Thorn walked to her with a mug of coffee in hand.

“Morning,” he whispered and handed her the cup.

She dragged her gaze from Guy and tried to smile. It failed. “Morning.”

This was not how Thorn wanted to start the day. He wanted to wake her making love. Instead, she was on the defensive.

“Hello, Lexi,” Guy said with a smile.

She blew on her coffee. “Hi.”

“It seems, Lexi Crawford, that you're all anyone can talk about,” Con said. He had his back to them looking at a picture on Darcy's wall with his hands clasped behind his back. “No one has ever had their memories returned after they've been taken by Guy.”

“I won't apologize for something he had no right to do. They're my memories,” she said.

Thorn waited for Con's response, because though Lexi's words weren't meek, her tone hadn't been bitter or angry.

Con turned to her then. “We've existed for a long time with mortals. For a short period, they knew of us. I know you know the story, so I willna go into details.” Con walked to them and took a seat at the table. He then motioned for Lexi to do the same. “The majority of that time, humans have had no inkling we've been here. It needs to remain that way.”

Thorn took the chair that situated him between Con and Lexi. He had no idea where Con was going with his statements, but Thorn didn't have a good feeling about it.

“It's imperative that our existence stays secret,” Guy said as he took the last chair. “It's the reason I agreed to do as Thorn asked with your memories.”

Lexi looked at each one of them, a knot of uncertainty forming in her stomach. She had been woken by voices, and sat up before she thought twice about it. Now she wished she were back in bed pretending to sleep so she didn't have to face whoever this man was.

She focused on the man in the dark gray suit. He wore no tie with his crisp white dress shirt. She caught a glimpse of dragon-head cuff links at his wrist. If he hadn't been wearing a suit, she would think he was a beach bum with his shortish wavy blond hair that was longer on top.

Then again, with his piercing black eyes and controlled movements, there was no doubt he was a lethal predator. “Who are you?”

“Constantine.”

Of course. She should've known. Still, the King of Kings sitting next to her. Should she curtsy or something?

Lexi sipped on the coffee, the caffeine in her empty stomach doing nothing to calm her. “You want to know how my memories returned?”

“I do,” Con said.

Lexi set her mug on the table, but kept both her hands around it. She shrugged. “I don't know what to tell you. I was sitting at the airport bar. I remembered how my friends wanted to go to a distillery, but I hadn't been interested. I thought with it being my last hours in Scotland that I would try some whisky.”

She glanced at Thorn to see him frowning. “I told the bartender that I knew nothing about Scotch and to give me the best he had. He poured it and left the bottle, telling me to read the label for some history.

“It was as I put my wallet back in that I found the knife in my purse. I didn't understand how it got there. It wasn't the one I bought. Then, I took a drink of the whisky as I looked at the bottle. The label had two dragons on it.”