Though only for a few seconds, because here she stood before a gorgeous mammoth of a man, with no flaws in sight—though she was becoming all too aware of his internal scars.
She hadn’t been bared and vulnerable in front of another person since she was eighteen. Or…never, actually. Because even with Michael, she’d been shrouded by bedcovers.
She couldn’t help but wonder about the female forms in Davian’s past. Even Sheena was picture-perfect. Did he find her alluring?
“No.”
She glared at him. “Stop reading my thoughts.”
“Easy pickings this time. I could see the doubt in your eyes.”
“Have you…” Her hand whimsically gestured toward the door. “With Sheena? Or Jocelyn?”
He chuckled, cutting the tension that had set in as they’d discussed demon-human travesties. “Absolutely not. Both are in my service and I wouldn’t take advantage of that relationship. But beyond that…I don’t find either one as appealing as I do you. Besides, Sheena sticks to her own species.”
A point that did not fall on deaf ears. “That’s a good practice, I suppose.”
He nodded, yet he didn’t relinquish his hold on her. “The road we’re traveling is significantly more complex and treacherous. But difficult to step off of.”
She knew she’d be false to insist otherwise. So she boldly said, “The slayers will come for me soon. I heard you tell Morgan to alert them you’d brought me to the castle to recuperate. We don’t have much time together.”
“And every moment wasted is one we won’t reclaim.”
“Yes. That’s become an unbearable thought for me.”
Fire lit his eyes. “For me as well.”
Jade’s need for him had turned into a living, breathing entity that burned to the depths of her soul. She wiggled out of his loose embrace and pulled her top over her head, letting the garment drop to the floor. Her previous anxiety didn’t stand a chance against Davian as he gazed at her, unrelenting need etched across his strong visage.
She slipped out of her drawstring pants and stood before him in nothing but her bra and panties. They were as simple and functional as could be, and yet his irises darkened and his breath caught. Spurred by his reaction to her, she discarded the lingerie.
“You are stunning.”
His fingertips glided across her cheek, over her jaw and neck, sweeping her collarbone and then returning to the hollow of her throat. From there, the pads of his fingers whisked along her skin as they moved downward to the valley between her breasts, now heavy with desire.
Jade reveled in the adoration in his eyes. At the moment, it didn’t register in her mind that he was a king. Or that he was immortal, obviously elite amongst his kind. What she saw was a man. One of flesh and blood and bone. One with a moral conscious. One with physical wants and yearnings that mirrored her own. One who did not judge her, find fault with her or consider her weak.
She would never live up to the high regard in which his expression suggested he held her, yet at the same time, she had no inclination to give into human insecurities. Somehow, they’d found themselves in a scenario where the outside world and the severe differences between them—the severe consequences of their powerful attraction to each other—ceased to exist. If only for an evening…
Jade reached for the fastenings on his leather pants and undid them. He toed off his boots and she finished undressing him. He was more than magnificently built. He was a gift to be treasured.
He turned the water on and then took her by the hand, leading her into the oversized walk-in shower. The metal sheet with hammered holes hanging overhead created a rainfall effect that was sensuous and inviting. The glimmer of candlelight against the glass portion of the shower wall cast shadows and light that lent a seductive mood to the private haven. Warm water sluiced down her body, and it not only felt cleansing and refreshing, but wildly titillating.
Davian threaded his fingers through her wet hair and asked, “Are you sure you’re feeling okay?”
“Promise,” she murmured. “I pulled through quicker than I’d expected, thanks in large part to you, Morgan and Sheena.” She stepped closer to him and flattened her palms against his abdomen. “Mostly you.” Stretching on tiptoe, her lips brushed his. He bent his head and kissed her deeply, sending her pulse soaring.
When he broke their kiss, he told her, “You excite me, yet soothe my soul at the same time. I don’t deserve you, Jade Deville.”
“You saved my life. And my house. I never could have defeated that fire wraith, Davian. I’m indebted to you.”
“No. He shouldn’t be targeting you in the first place.”
“Let’s not think of that right now.” She kissed him. Then she moved away and inspected the various jars and soaps lined neatly along a built-in shelf.
Selecting a mint-colored bar, she lathered up and ran her hands over the wide chest of the brawny man who aroused her in every way imaginable simply by being himself.
“You have a body meant to be sculpted and placed in a museum,” she mused.