Page 22 of The Prophecy
She bucked her hips in response, and he lowered himself, filling her inch by inch until he was fully sheathed inside her.
Raven closed her eyes and allowed a wave of euphoria to wash over her. It was over; whatever else happened, Sorien could never use her now. Then Kael was moving inside her, and all thoughts of Sorien were washed away on a rising wave of pleasure. His movements held an edge of desperation that sent a thrill pulsating through her. She could sense his ragged control, the contained power of each thrust. She moaned in pleasure, and the sound released something inside him. His hands gripped her hips, his fingers biting into the soft flesh of her bottom, holding her as he increased the force of his thrusts, filling her to the core, grinding his body against her.
The whole world shrank until there was nothing but the sensation of him plunging inside her. Raven could feel something building and building, concentrating on that one spot between her thighs, but still the climax took her by surprise, exploding, a tidal wave of feeling that washed over her, pulling her under so she was drowning, fighting to keep the air in her lungs.
She threw back her head and opened her mouth to scream her release, and Kael covered her lips with his, swallowing her screams while his own body exploded deep within her. He lifted his head to stare down into her eyes. His hands came up to wrap around her throat, the pads of his thumbs caressing the fragile bones of her neck.
“Shall I kill you now, Raven? Do you still want to die?”
A bolt of shock ran through her as she remembered his promise.
“No,” she murmured. “I want to live.”
***
Kael held her limp and sated body in his arms as they cuddled together in the huge leather chair. She nuzzled his chest, her tongue stroking delicately across the flesh, licking the beads of sweat from his skin, and his grip tightened. She glanced up, her huge eyes luminous.
“Talk to me,” she murmured.
“What about?”
She shrugged. “Anything, nothing. Tell me how this happened. Why it happened.”
He thought for a moment. This was really just an episode in a story that had been going on for millennia. But he had to start somewhere. “What do you know of your mother?”
“My mother?” A frown flickered across her face. “Not much. My father didn’t like to speak of her. Why? Did you know her?”
“I knowofher.”
“Know?” Raven questioned. “You mean she’s alive.”
“Your father told you she was dead?”
“No, I just presumed it, I suppose. The only thing he ever said about her was that none of this was her fault.”
Kael snorted in disbelief. “Well, he lied. She should have had more sense than to fall in love with a vampire. All of this is her fault.” He ran a hand through his hair, then smiled ruefully. “Okay, maybe not all. Maybe none. Some of the blame has to go to your father, and your aunt, and me.”
“And some to the fire-demons.”
A shadow of a smile crossed his face. “Of course.”
“So what was she like?”
“You know she was a witch?”
Raven nodded.
“The witches have great powers,” he said. “It’s rumored that they can even control the sun and moon, and others—like you—can foretell the future. The Council has been at war with the fire-demons for over two thousand years. We’re the only thing that stops them spreading over the whole earth. Just over twenty years ago, the war was going badly for us, and Darius wanted to approach the witches for guidance. I refused him permission—witches can’t be trusted. No one really knows where their allegiances lie, if they have any. Darius went anyway.” He glanced at her and smiled. “Your father was never one to take well to authority.”
“He always said rules were for breaking.”
“Arrogant bastard. So he went, and he returned and told the Council that it had gone well; the witches were considering the request. What we didn’t know—and didn’t discover until much later, after she had returned to her sisters—was that Darius had fallen hard for your mother. Had, in fact, abducted her and seduced her.”
“Wow. He never told me that.”
“No, not one of his finest moments. He claims she loved him back, but when her sisters found her, she went with them willingly, and she hasn’t been seen since. Nine months later Regan, your aunt, reappeared with you. She handed you over to your father, then told the Council of the prophecy.”
Raven twisted a little on his lap so she could look into his face. “But she never said where my mother was, or whether she was still alive?”
