“I don’t have to agonize over that anymore, now do I?”
She snickered. “You knew the answer to that before you even made the proposition.”
“It’s not an unreasonable scenario.”
“Not a month ago, no,” she said. “But now… Yes. It is.”
His hands gently clasped her face, the gesture urging her to glance up at him. “I’ve done a lot of things wrong by my own conscience. My misguided intentions have benefited the demon world, but I didn’t stay true to my own convictions. I can’t help but think that this situation that has come about with you is my punishment.”
“Careful,” she said as a tinge of light flickered in her eyes—one he’d never seen before. “You’re about to call me punishment.”
A low growl slipped from his mouth. “You find the strangest times to tease me.”
“I can’t help it. Aside from me, you’ve got to be the most tormented person I’ve ever known.”
He stood suddenly, with her in his arms. “Luckily, there are ways to ease some of that torment.”
She smiled, her lips curling against his neck in an enticing way. “Now you’re talking sensibly.”
It wasn’t difficult navigating her small house to find the master bedroom. Though the double mattress with the aged frame gave him pause.
“You sleep here?” he asked, his territorial instincts kicking in—specifically, his desire to make her life more comfortable. Lavish, even. He could still picture her vividly in his large bed, nestled under covers that didn’t look so worn and tattered. She deserved more than the modest environment she refused to leave.
With a sigh, she said, “It’s not a master suite in the castle, no. But try not to knock my home. I like it here, remember?”
“I like the cottage too,” he assured her. “You could benefit from some improvements though.”
“Don’t go trying to marry me off again so I’ll have a man to fix the place up. Everything in here is sufficient.”
He did not intend to insult her, but it was hard to quell the urge to send his own interior decorator to the cottage to spruce it up. Not for his personal pleasure, since this would be his one and only visit. But for hers.
“Are you wondering if you’ll fit in my bed?” She broke into his thoughts. They still stood in the middle of the room.
“It’s obviously not long enough for my height.”
“Let’s give it a try anyway.”
Her lips grazed his throat and his libido sprang back into action. He set her on the mattress and she immediately reached for the hem of his black sweater and stripped off the garment. Her fingers traced the grooves of his abdomen. She let out a long breath.
“I’ve missed your body.”
He groaned as she leaned toward him and placed kisses on his stomach. His fingers threaded through her hair.
She said, “You realize I could never be with another man. Ever. How could one possibly compare to a king? And no mortal is built so spectacularly.”
“I don’t want you to be with anyone else,” he told her in a low voice. “Nor do I want you to be alone.” A double-edged sword that cut deep.
“I have some good memories of us together to keep me company.”
Deftly working the fastenings on his leather pants, she peeled the material apart at the crotch and shoved it down his hips and legs. He toed off his riding boots and then rid himself of the rest of his clothing.
Her fingers encircled his erect shaft and her head dipped to take him into her mouth.
Darien’s previous musings as to whether she was his punishment for causing so much death and destruction returned to him. Surely no demon should experience the sort of pleasure she gave him. A beautiful human who made love to him with her mouth and set his pulse racing and his heart soaring… It was unthinkable. And yet, she aroused him instantly and seemed to enjoy stimulating him in this way.
The penalty against him would
come when he left her once more. This time for good.