I grimaced at the ceiling in her bedroom, my hands clasped behind my head as I lay in her bed. We’d taken to keeping to ourselves. Me in the bedroom, she in the living room. I needed a clear head to think, and every time I laid eyes on her, remembrances of our lovemaking seared me. One look at her siren’s face and body and I wanted to throw everything aside and finally slake my thirst for the contrary woman who bedeviled me by simply breathing.
I glared down at my rising erection, wishing I could get through even ten minutes without wanting her.
“Bring her back,” Faustus had ordered. How could I do that when I couldn’t even function around the woman without wanting to bend her over and command her sensual obedience?
While I lay trapped by a Shadow spell in the mundane world, Jonas and Sava were running amuck doing the Light knew what. I could only pray my nephews and sister kept Tanselm safe while I was stuck here with Lexa. Stuck with a woman I wanted to love with every fiber of my being. A foolish pursuit, but one I couldn’t shake. And how stupid was that?
My frustration built. Something had to give. I wanted Lexa. I knew she desired me. Staying away from each other wasn’t working. I had felt true peace the last time we’d touched. And damn it, I wanted to feel it again.
Desperation for something more hit me hard. For three hundred years, I’d been without Lexa by my side in my life. Now I had the chance to at least get the answers to the questions that had been plaguing me for so long. Never in a million years would I have expected an encounter like the one we’d had just a few short days ago. A perfect union followed by a brief moment of utter peace. So why was I avoiding her?
I eyed the closed door between us, knowing the truth I’d been unwilling to face for so long. I’m such a fool. I flushed at my cowardice, finally realizing the course I had to take if I ever wanted to be truly whole.
I had let her go once because I was confused — and afraid. That debilitating fear had returned after making love to Lexa again. I, Arim Valens, Guardian of Storm, Tanselm’s most powerful sorcerer, allowed fear to rule me. Disgusted with myself, I cursed low and long. But my conscience refused to back down and forced me to look at myself.
Losing Lexa all those years ago had nearly destroyed me. It had taken everything I had to go on with my life, to build new safeguards around my heart and strive to be a better man. Facing Lexa now would force me to review my past actions. But I had to deal with her honestly and see where the truth would take us.
I sat up and swung my legs over the bed. Time was a commodity that worked in my favor in this plane, yet that wouldn’t last forever. Who knew when Sava might return? I had spent a week trying to make the situation between me and Lexa go away. A fool’s notion, surely. Because the tension between us existed, and the dangers outside this small bubble of Shadow waited for us still.
I stood, determined for the first time in days. I had to make the most of this opportunity. At least if I knew the truth, I could live content that I understood why Lexa had done what she had. That had bothered me more than anything, that I’d misjudged what my heart had told me. The key would be to get Lexa to tell me what I needed to know.
The time had come to start acting like a man, to take charge of this mess and make sense of an inevitable confrontation. With determined strides, I left the bedroom only to find Lexa curled up on her couch, covered in pillows that did little to conceal her curvy shape.
I stared down at her, a curious melting in the core of my heart. So beautiful, so vulnerable…
I leaned down to stroke her soft black hair, unable to help myself. The minute we touched, the soft frown on her face faded. She gave a breathy sigh that went straight to my dick, and I both cursed and thanked Sava for this golden opportunity.
My gaze fell on a piece of the Dark-hide Lexa had taken with her. It sat next to the couch on her coffee table, and I had a sudden desire to use it.
A plan formed, an outlandish idea I’d fantasized about for years. Lexa responded to me physically, so why not use that to my advantage? She’d never tell me what I wanted if I asked straight out. The Light knew I’d asked her plenty of times before, to no avail.
My cock throbbed at thoughts of dominating my little Dark Lord. Hell, I might be more like Aerolus than I thought. I gathered Lexa in my arms and sucked in a breath at the rightness of our contact. I ached to possess her, to feel her cool skin sliding against my own as I took what had once been mine.
“And soon will be again,” I murmured, kissing her forehead when Lexa frowned in sleep. She calmed instantly and snuggled closer, her breasts brushing my chest, stimulating me with each breath she took.
I hate to say it, but Sava was right. This has gone on too long. One way or the other, Lexa and I are going to find the truth. Either way, I’m finally taking what’s been denied me for so long. The pleasure in Darkness only Lexa can show me.
Chapter 14
Lexa
I rose to awareness, feeling well-rested. A warm caress over my belly woke me, and I knew instantly that Arim lay beside me. Light streaked through me, the flare of passion not as surprising as my desire to feel him inside me again, despite the tension between us.
Scared at how much of myself I’d revealed to the Killer of Shadow, I’d taken refuge in silence the past few days. While secure in my silence, a larger part of me was disappointed that Arim seemed content to accept my isolation. Loneliness, a concept I’d lived with my entire life, had never felt so encompassing as I spent day after day so close, and yet so far, from the only man I’d ever truly loved.
Oh, I’d loved Esel and Sercha, but with affection and familial joy. Arim occupied another part of my affections entirely.
“Blue, you’re finally awake.” Arim’s touch warmed my body, his hand passing under the swells of my breasts. His breath brushed the side of my neck, and I shivered with uncontrollable need. “I’ve been waiting for you.”
As if our recent discord had never happened, the connection between us intensified. I tried to move and found myself unable to do so. He’d tied both my arms above my head to the bed frame and spread and secured my ankles to the footboard.
He answered my unspoken question, “I split the length of Dark-hide.” He showed me the burns on his hands. “It hurt, but you’re worth the pain.”
I paused, startled at his affection. I’d never seen him so aware of me, or so open about his desire. “Arim?”
“We’re long past the time for talking, Blue.” He kissed me hard, plunging his tongue through my lips with a decided stamp of ownership. He caressed my breast, teasing my nipple with stabbing arousal.
Arching into his touch, I sighed in response to the strength of his need — and his Darkness — pulling me in.
