Page 38 of Lured By the Dus
Reaching down, I guided him up and into me, feeling his hardness pulse and then we were one again. But this time, I controlled the rhythm, guiding us like a song to the crescendo. Hands on his shoulders, the tips of my breasts grazing the hard pecks of his chest, I rode him, hard and fast. He held onto my hips, occasionally bringing a hand up to cup my swinging breasts until he went rigid, clasping me to his chest. He was still hard when he pulled out of me, and although my legs ached, I missed his fullness.
Shuddering, I rolled off him and lay flat on my back, chest heaving. Still, he reached for me, fingertips dancing down my arm, my leg. “Oren.” I moaned, turning my face toward his because I was both exhausted and didn’t want the night to end. I felt whole, complete, wanted. His teeth nipped at my flesh, arms slipping around my body, and he nuzzled closer, pulling me into his arms. Devils be damned, this was what I wanted. A love as true and passionate as this.
27Tanith
When I woke, I quickly closed my eyes against the daylight, my dreams blissful, my sleep deep and restful. I felt reborn, but I didn’t want to open my eyes, to face a day where Oren wasn’t my lover. While last night held no regrets for me, I still recalled his attitude against making love, and the idea that he might give me an accidental gift of eternal life. The wrongs done to him had shaped his life, forcing him to impose his restrictive attitude on me and yet … what if?
I let the idea dangle and could find no harm in it. Oren was powerful enough to control the magic of the flute but with it had come enemies. If I helped him gain revenge, what would be left to fill the empty space where his anger resided? Would he be able to fill it with love?
“I know you’re awake.” His words brushed against my skin like velvet.
My eyes flew open as I turned my head, his amber gaze so close, so heated. Despite myself, my eyes fell to the full lips I’d spent so much time kissing last night. Yet the urge to taste him again swelled within me. “Has no one loved you?”
“Not in a long time, a very long time,” he answered, his voice tinged with regret.
“Because you won’t let anyone in.” I told him, placing my hand on his heart.
“Loving me is dangerous.”
“But a life without love, so full of anger and regret and revenge, is no way to live.”
He arched an eyebrow. “Are you judging me?”
“All I’m saying is that you don’t have to push everyone away.”
His fingers tiptoed down my arm to my belly, tracing my curves as though he could memorize them by touch. “I’m not pushing you away.”
I examined his face for the truth, wanting to believe, yet wanting an excuse. “But you did, and you might if … ”
“If what?” Darkness swirled in his gaze, and his eyes held mine, daring me to speak the forbidden words.
“If you discover that I’m like you.”
He closed his eyes and turned his head, blowing out a frustrated breath. When he faced me again, that sense of remorse I’d feared made his mouth slope downward. “It’s too late for that. We’ve consummated our marriage, which leaves us eternally bound, eternally cursed.”
“Cursed?” Fear snaked through my body along with a warning. I’d known what I was walking into the moment I decided to steal from the dead. But cursed by the Devil of Dowler was almost too much to bear.
His lip curled. “Cursed, if you would call it that. Bound by desire and lust and fate until one of us dies, or is killed. Morbid, I know, but I shall always desire you, even when your heart grows cold, and that is my curse.”
I punched his arm lightly. “That’s not a curse. Those are feelings.”
“Yes, and nothing I do is ever done halfway.”
I’d noticed that about him in his intensity and fever for freeing the magic-thralls, ensuring I paid for stealing, owning the consequences of my actions, and then, last night, in making love. But cursed? No, he was just trying to frighten me. Placing my palm against his cheek, I brushed my thumb over his lips. He responded by turning his head and kissing my hand, sending tingles up my arm.
“You don’t frighten me and I don’t believe we are cursed.” I told him. “If I’ve learned anything from you, it’s that we have power over our desires. What you want comes into fruition. It’s only a matter of time, especially if your will is strong enough. You could have let the witch kill me, but you destroyed her, taking down part of the castle with her. I’ve seen you fight to free the magic-thralls, and now I see that you have been giving Lord Faren a chance to do the right thing. But when the time comes, you will force his hand, and you will not relent because your magic is strong. It surges within you, begging to be let out to cause chaos, but you are measured and calm, in control, and you will remain that way.”
“Will I? I took you against my better judgement. I healed you out of impulse, without weighing the costs. But you are right in one regard. I have stayed my hand and brought only terror to Dowler. But Lord Faren will not listen, will not relent unless true darkness comes to his household. Even if the city burns, he will not free the magic-thralls, so he has forced my hand. I will bring pain, personal pain to his household, and he will give in to my demands. But I dislike the sound of his name on your lips, nor do I want to discuss the fate of Dowler. Such darkness should be banished from our bed.”
I made a move to rise, but he held me down with a gentle pressure. Allowing him to keep me in bed, I asked. “When do we return to the city? I need to prepare.”
“Tomorrow, as soon as the sun rises. But our original plan will have to be adapted because we don’t have the time to unravel the secrets of priests and sorcerers. But later, I do not want to talk about it now.”
“What do you want to do then?” I asked.
“Spread your thighs and I will show you.”
My stomach fluttered at the idea of being taken again and so quickly. He knew what he did to me as I opened my legs and lifted my knees, showing him how wet and ready I was for him. And as he took me, again and again, turning me to different positions, I wondered if, indeed, it was a curse and not a blessing. When the time came, when the deal of our bargain had been met, would I be willing to leave all this darkness and lust behind and return to Solynn to start anew? How could I go on when this was the apex of life? I was married, taken, wanted, and this wasn’t where I belonged. But it could be.
