***
Casey threw back the covers on a long sigh and climbed out of Theron’s big bed. She couldn’t sleep. Her body was exhausted, but her mind was racing. The catnap she’d taken had only made her insomnia worse.
And that blasted tingling on her lower back just wouldn’t go away.
After a hot shower that did nothing to relax her, she dug through Theron’s dresser and found a white T-shirt that hit at her knees. The thing was huge, but she smiled as she pulled it over her head. It smelled like him and was soft against her skin, and that, at least, was comforting.
Barefoot, she headed down the long hallway, intent on investigating a little, if she was going to be stuck in his house alone. At the entry to the massive living room she paused, and when she didn’t see Cerek, she crept into the room and looked around.
The scent of thyme was strong here, and one look told her it was coming from an incense burner across the room. She moved closer to look. Yep, that’s what it was. Weird.
She turned away, studied the decor. It pleased her beyond belief that there were no feminine touches. The colors, furnishings, even art on the walls were all very masculine with sleek lines and bold patterns. No girlfriend had decorated this place for him. He’d done it himself.
She ran her hand over the top of a sofa table as she passed and remembered what he’d said to her in the woods. In my world, an ándras can tell if a gynaíka is his soul mate by sharing a bed. She chuckled at the ludicrous thought. Then sobered as her cheeks heated and warmth slid down her abdomen.
It didn’t make sense. As sick as she knew she was, she shouldn’t be contemplating sex with a guardian as strong as Theron. But she was. In fact, she’d shored up her courage and decided that was exactly what she wanted. She couldn’t stop thinking about the way he’d kissed her before Zander and Cerek had arrived. About the way he’d touched her. About what would have happened had they not been interrupted.
In serious need of a distraction, Casey headed for the kitchen and told herself she’d find something to eat. Theron was right. She needed to keep up her strength for whatever was ahead. And especially for the night she wanted to have with him when he returned. She’d worry about everything else later.
She pulled the giant refrigerator open and peered inside. Sandwich fixings, what looked like leftover pasta, some kind of meat she didn’t even want to look at, bottled water, beer and juice. No soda. A smile played across her mouth as she reached for the container of juice and remembered the meal she and Theron had shared back at her house. For the most part, things in this world seemed pretty normal to her. Everything except the no-soda thing.
She was just pouring herself a glass when she heard muffled voices outside the kitchen window. Cerek was on the porch talking to someone just out of her view. Her adrenaline pulsed as she tried to peer around Cerek’s massive body. Who else would come out here?
A moment later she got her answer when the kitchen door swung open and Theron stomped into the house.
Her heart kicked up as she lowered her toes and smiled at him. “Hi, honey. How was your day?”
One look from his sullen eyes and her smile faded. Okay, not such a good day after all.
He crossed to the refrigerator and closed the door she’d left open with a snap. “What are you doing out of bed? I told you to lie down.”
“I didn’t realize it was an order.”
“It wasn’t. It was a suggestion. A very strong one. Now go back to bed.”
Casey stared at him. That tingling came back stronger than ever. He was in a mood for some reason. She could either fight with him or try to soothe him. The latter sounded a thousand times better.
“Stop worrying, Theron. I’m fine.” She tried a smile. “I missed you.”
His eyes softened, just a touch, so she pushed up that courage again and crossed to him. She lifted his hand with the intention of kissing it, but the swollen red cuts across his knuckles stopped her. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” He quickly drew back and walked to the sink, where he turned on the water and washed his hands, cringing slightly as the soap touched his open wounds.
“That’s not nothing.”
“Let it go, Acacia,” he said, not bothering to look at her. “It’s none of your business.”
None of her business? Whoa. Wait. She loved him and wanted to help ease whatever was wrong, and it was none of her business? He’d gone to see her father and come back not only in a surly mood but with cuts across his skin, and that was none of her business?
“You’re a rotten liar, Theron.”
“Argonauts can’t lie. It’s a curse.”
Her eyes narrowed. “Then they omit extremely well. You’re the king of omissions.”
He ignored that barb and instead grabbed a towel from the drawer. “I have some things I need to do. You really should lie down and get some sleep.”
That was it. Breaking point.
“Argh!” She crossed the kitchen, grasped his arm and pulled as hard as she could until he faced her, then shoved him in the chest until his back hit the counter. “Your little secrets are really starting to piss me off. And I swear to God, if you tell me to go lie down one more time I’m going to slit my wrists! Or yours.”
His eyes widened at what she knew had to be her crazed features, but she didn’t care. She’d had enough.
“Acacia.”
She mimicked his confused expression and punched him hard in the shoulder. “Theron!” Pain zinged up her arm, but she gritted her teeth and stared back at him.
Slowly, his eyebrows drew together. “Are you…teasing me again?”
Teasing him? Oh, holy hell. He might be one of the greatest guardians ever, but the man was clueless.
She glared hard. “If I were teasing you, Theron, I’d come up with a much better way to do it. Like this.”
On impulse, she pulled the T-shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor until she was standing stark naked in front of him. Those befuddled yet sinfully sexy eyes of his widened until she was sure they might just pop out of his head. And considering how fired up she was right now, that wouldn’t be a bad thing.
“I know I’m just a job for you, but you might want to work on your hospitality skills. They basically suck. Oh, and for the record, I’m not tired at all. But thanks for the suggestion.” She turned on her heel and marched out of the room.
She might have made it all the way back to the bedroom if she hadn’t been hit by a train from behind halfway down the hall. At least, that’s how it felt. One second she was walking, the next she was being swept off the floor and slammed up against the wall.
Her breath left her on a gasp. She hadn’t even heard him move. Somehow he caught her head so her face wasn’t smashed into the plaster. And though he was gentle so she wasn’t seriously hurt, the wind was knocked out of her just the same.
“You’re not just a job to me,” he growled in her ear as he split her legs and wedged himself tight against her backside. His hot breath fanned over her neck, sending even more tingles down her back. “And I don’t tell you things, because I want to keep you safe. Not because I enjoy hiding them from you.”
Her heart rate shot up into the triple digits. Too late she realized her little outburst had been childish and that she’d pissed off a two-hundred-fifty-pound Argonaut warrior with the strength of a bulldozer. “I—”
“And stripping off your shirt was a bad idea, meli, because now I know what every inch of you looks like.” His mouth closed over her earlobe and sucked hard.
She shivered. Caught her breath. Froze when his hand streaked down her abdomen into her folds and found her wetness. Then nearly drove her to the edge.
Oh, God. This is what she’d thought it would be like with him. Fast and frantic, hard and violent. Completely and utterly bone melting.
“Theron—”
She didn’t get to finish her statement because he pulled back, flipped her to face him and claimed her mouth, taking her tongu
e and lips and devouring them until she was his.
Air brushed over her spine, and only when she hit the mattress did she realize he’d carried her all the way back to his bedroom.
“Feet on the bed,” he ordered.
Her brain was a muddled mess. She planted her heels on the mattress without question. Muffled a cry when he lowered himself to kiss her again, pushing her thighs wide in the process. His tongue snaked over hers, drew her deep and released with the erotic promise of what she knew he’d soon be doing to her body. A little voice in the back of her mind warned rough, angry, forceful sex wasn’t a good idea, but as his mouth moved south to nip and suck and lick, she had a hard time listening.
His hand found her right breast, his lips, her left. He drew her deep into his mouth and sucked hard until electricity flooded her system, raced to her core, and she arched her back, seeking release. As if he could read her thoughts, his lips blazed a trail down her abdomen, lower still. Until she felt his hand on her ankles, holding her tight in place so she couldn’t move as his head dipped low and his tongue made a long, possessive sweep down her cleft.
She shuddered. Had to bite her lip to keep from screaming when he did it again. Her hands clenched the comforter at her hips as his tongue licked and laved. But when he suckled her, it was too much. Stars exploded behind her eyes and the world shook.
He didn’t let up. He took her to the edge again and again with that talented tongue, with those teasing lips, until she was quivering beneath him.
When he finally released her and she came back to herself, that incredible mouth of his was kissing her hip, her belly button, her ribs just beneath her breasts. Softer this time. Less frantic. Like he had a thousand years to do only this and was memorizing every second.
Nearly too limp to move, she muttered, “Wh-What was that?”
He turned his cheek against her stomach. Drew in a deep breath. “I didn’t hurt you, did I?”
The change she sensed in him was so dramatic, she didn’t know what to make of it. One minute he’d been out of control, crazy for her. The next, utterly still.
That tingling returned. “Theron?”
“Yeah?”
“What’s wrong?”
Silence enveloped them. Then finally, he said, “Nothing. Everything’s good. Just the way it should be.” But he didn’t sound good. If anything, he sounded…sad.
He eased up on an elbow to look down at her. “Are you sure I didn’t hurt you?”
How could she tell him his secrets hurt her more than anything? “No. I liked the way you touched me. It felt good. Like you wanted me.”
His eyes darkened. “I do want you.”
“Then show me.”
He hesitated just long enough to make her think he’d changed his mind, but then he leaned down and kissed her, and all her doubt slipped away.
She tasted herself. And him. And a lust she’d never known, as his mouth met hers. As he nibbled on her lower lip, sucked the tender flesh between his teeth, she remembered what his lips felt like on her nipples, licking, circling, drawing them deep in his mouth. Shivers of anticipation raced down her spine, and goose bumps jumped out on her skin all over again.
Her fingers found the snap on his jeans as he slanted his mouth over hers and deepened the kiss. He was hard and hot when she dipped her hand inside, and so much bigger than she remembered.
“Take these off, Theron.”
“I don’t need to,” he said against her shoulder, pressing a kiss to her skin. His hand returned to her breast. “I get more than enough pleasure just watching you come.”
That tingling kicked up a notch. And in the silence between them, she realized what was going on. “Is this about that whole soul mate thing?”
He kissed the inside of her right breast. “No. I already know the answer.”
He did? She waited to hear the rest, but he only kept on kissing her. And when it was clear he wasn’t going to fill her in, a little of her temper returned. Fine. He could keep all of his secrets. That wasn’t what she wanted from him right now anyway.
She grasped his face and lifted so he was forced to look at her. “I want you inside me. Right now. So either lose the pants, or I’ll have to remind you about that whole slitting-your-wrists thing.”
He searched her face. “Are you sure? I don’t—”
“Theron. Either get naked now or I’ll go find Cerek to finish the job.”
His eyes flashed. “Don’t tease about that, meli. Not unless you want to see the guardian dead.”
His kiss was hard and possessive, but so good. Knowing she’d won, she grasped his shirt and broke free long enough to pull it over his head. He pushed up on his hands, never leaving her mouth, and wriggled out of his jeans.
Miles of roped muscles filled her hands. When he pulled back and moved as if he were getting off the bed, she sat up and grabbed on tight. “You’re not going anywhere now.”
He wrapped one arm around her waist and tugged her with him as he leaned toward the nightstand. “Condoms.”
“You have condoms here?”
“Of course. Our biology’s the same, remember?”
Right. She should know that. Underneath, he was mortal just like her. There were so many similarities between them. So many differences as well.
She gave her head a quick shake. “You don’t need them.”
“Yes—”
“It’s the wrong time of the month for me, Theron. And considering how fast I’m withering away, we both know I won’t get pregnant.” He stopped. Looked at her. In his eyes she saw he agreed, and that fact didn’t upset her. Oddly enough, it reinforced her decision.
She softened her voice, on this wanting to be completely honest. “I’ve had three lovers in my life. None of them was special, and I was careful with each one. With you, I don’t want to worry about any of that.”
“Meli.” His finger ran down her cheek in a move that was so tender, her heart pinched. “You honor me.”
She shrugged, fighting back the feelings he stirred in her. “I just want to be with you without any barriers. Even if it’s just for tonight. I know tomorrow things are going to change and you’re going to take me wherever it is we’re going. And from there, well, who knows? But tonight I don’t want to think about it. I just want to be selfish.”
“You’re the most unselfish person I’ve ever met.”
“No, I’m not.” A ghost of a smile curled her mouth. “I’m difficult and headstrong and a wanderer with no focus. You just don’t know me that well.”
“I know everything I need to know,” he whispered. “I know you’re perfect.”
She stared at him. And the emotions she’d been trying to hold back came raring forward. Every time she thought she had him figured out, he went and changed on her. Here she’d expected angry-warrior sex and he was switching things around, making her feel all over again, pushing her that much more over the edge in love with him.
Dammit. He really was a hero. Her very own.
“Love me, Theron,” she whispered. “Just…love me. Tonight. Right now.”
“Meli.”
Thank the heavens above, he did just what she asked. He lowered her to the mattress, kissed her gently as he eased between her thighs. Used his fingers and lips to excite her all over again. His mouth found her ear, her throat, her breast; his fingers, her slick and ready wetness. He circled and swirled her nipple with his tongue, stroked her sleek knot with his thumb. And when he slid a finger deep inside, she groaned and lifted her hips to meet him.
He worked her over, up, close to the edge and back again, searching deep for the spot that nearly made her come out of her skin. She gasped when she felt him retreat, but then was rewarded by the tip of his cock sliding along her slit, up higher to circle her clitoris until she shuddered.
“Theron…” She lifted her head, glanced down her body to where he touched her, and went white-hot at the erotic sight before her: his strong hand gripping his massive shaft as he teased
them both to new levels of sexual need, his eyes locked on the spot where their bodies were nearly joined, the veins in his neck and shoulders bulging with his restraint and his features darkening in pure lust.
All because of her.
“Theron, oh, God.” She’d never been this turned on before, and it was good, so good—the tip of his cock slipping through her folds, circling her clit over and over, sliding down and back up to torment her all over again. But it wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. Frustrated when he only continued to drive them both to the edge, she arched her back, trying to draw him where she needed him most. Then groaned long and deep when he finally nudged her entrance and plunged inside.
“Ah, gods, meli. You’re so tight, so wet. So…” His hips pulled back, then thrust again, this time harder. “Perfect.”
She should have been tense—she’d seen how huge he was that night at her house when he’d been injured and naked, lying on her grandmother’s comforter, had felt him grow in her hand when she’d stroked her fingers up and down his rigid length. And it had been a long time for her. But as she felt him press inside, one slow inch at a time, and they both groaned at the tight, slick contact, she breathed out a sigh at the rightness of the moment.
Oh, yes.
His kiss was hot. Wet. Sinful. He pushed in slowly, each move a snug glide and retreat, until finally, finally he was seated deep and they both paused to catch their breath.
This was what she wanted. Him. With her like this. Locked tight together, the outside world nothing but a memory.
His eyes found hers, and the tenderness she saw there cut all the way to her soul. She lifted a hand and ran it over his stubbled jaw. “Theron.”
He withdrew, thrust, kept his eyes fixed on hers as his strokes grew harder, deeper, longer. His jaw clenched. A vein pulsed in his neck. Sweat dripped from his temple to splash across her breasts. She kicked her head back and moaned in sheer pleasure at his thickness plowing into her again and again. And just as she felt the peak building, he rolled to his back, pulled her on top and grasped her hips, teaching her a rhythm that nearly had her seeing double.
Her climax built, fast and urgent. And with him guiding her, she had no choice but to let go and ride the wave. It crashed over her, once, twice, three times, until she was sure she couldn’t take any more. And even then it went on. Rippling through every cell in her body until all thought blew right out of her brain.
The adrenaline that had fueled her temper earlier shifted, lagged, broke. She heard him call her name, registered his length pulsing deep inside just before she collapsed onto his chest. Drawing air into her suddenly-too-small lungs, she felt his fingers digging into her hips, holding her tight to him as his body shuddered beneath her.
He was breathing hard himself and growing soft inside her. She tightened her muscles to hold him in, not ready to have him go just yet.
He groaned. “Meli, if you keep doing that, you won’t get any sleep at all tonight.”
She smiled. Released. Contracted again. His answering moan had an electrifying effect on her.
“Sleep’s overrated.”
He ran a hand down her back. “I think you did mention that. Briefly.”
God, she loved the way he touched her. She let out a contented sigh. “If that’s the way Argoleans have sex, I can see why I was your first human.”
His hand slid down her spine to cup her ass before gently rolling her over. One thrust of his hips and she knew all her tightening had done its work.
He kissed her neck. Her jaw. Her lips. “Trust me when I say that wasn’t normal, even for an Argonaut.” He slid his tongue along the seam of her lips until she opened for him, then dipped in and took his fill. “I hope you were serious about not being tired, because where you’re concerned, I can’t seem to stop myself.”
She held on tight as he thrust, retreated, thrust again with those gorgeous hips and that growing erection. And tried not to read too much into his words. “Ah, Theron. I love how fast you heal.”
He chuckled against her neck. “Like that, do you?”
“Yes.”
His smile widened. “So do I.”
She gave herself up to his kiss. And ignored the tingling around her birthmark, now growing to explosive levels.
Chapter Twenty-four