A Demon Does It Better (19 page)

“If you don’t let me go this instant, either I will make sure you do or I will call out for a Warden,” she said in a low voice. “Do you really want that happening?” Her eyes flickered toward a dark, cloaked figure nearby, who was already watching them with growing interest. Inderman’s protectors insured no one was accosted, and their methods were well-known to be painful.

Turtifo looked up and released her so quickly, she had to think fast to keep her balance. She felt Jared start to move toward her again and mentally pushed him back to the shadows.

The ogre flashed a nasty grin, revealing brown jagged teeth.

“Your day is coming, bitch doc,” he said, moving past her and deliberately pushing her to one side.

Lili covertly watched the ogre until he was out of sight. The Warden had moved on once he saw there was no trouble. “Okay,” she said softly.

Jared’s face was dark with anger. “I’ll kill him,” he muttered, reaching her side and gently touching the arm Turtifo manhandled.

“No, you won’t. You need to act as if you don’t know about this,” she told him, taking his arm and pasting a smile on her lips. The shopping bags disappeared as quickly as they had appeared. “We won’t let him ruin the evening.”

Jared remained quiet during the drive back to Lili’s house, but his temper still simmered. Watching Turtifo put his hands on her had him ready to tear the ogre apart. He knew Lili was right. The shadows couldn’t have protected him if he’d launched himself at him. Even his mother couldn’t have protected him from a death sentence for escaping the asylum and attacking a hospital aide. For all he knew, they’d probably try to accuse him of kidnapping Lili and ignoring anything she’d say.

He breathed deeply, inhaling the rich scent of her skin mixed with her perfume. It ultimately calmed him, and he hoped that once they were in the security of her house they could continue what started on the Ferris wheel. The idea of peeling her clothes off and discovering what lay beneath brought a smile to his face.

Jared took hold of Lili’s hand as she led him into the darkened house.

“Don’t disappear on me,” she whispered with a hint of longing in her voice.

“I won’t,” he vowed, reaching out to hold her hand in both of his.

Lili held a finger to her lips as they crept past the basket that held a sleeping Cleo. Along the way she pulled off her shawl and dropped it on the couch.

She slapped a privacy spell on her bedroom door once it was closed and snapped her fingers, lighting the candles around the room in a steady succession. Light scents of vanilla and cinnamon filled the air.

“I wonder if this is what they mean by sneaking your boyfriend past your parents to get up to your room,” she said softly with a laugh.

Jared looked around the room, admiring the cream-colored silk comforter accented by variously shaped pillows in teal, burgundy, and sapphire, stacked against the headboard. Instead of appearing cold and austere, her surroundings felt warm and intimate. But then, probably anything was warmer than the stone-walled cell he was housed in. A small painting of a modest hut set among olive groves, hung on one wall, and a faint glow seemed to illuminate the frame.

“My home,” Lili said softly, seeing the direction of his interest.

“Did you paint it?”

She shook her head. “A friend of mine is not only a gifted artist but can read memories. She created it just as I remembered.”

Jared moved back to her and cupped her face with his hands. “Beautiful.”

She smiled. “You’re not looking at the painting.”

“Because that’s not what I’m talking about, although it is very nice.” He mentally mapped her face, committing it all to his memory. He knew he wanted to keep this time where he could later access them when they would matter the most. “Do we really want to talk about the painting, no matter how sentimental you are about it?”

“No.” Her lips barely mouthed the word.

“So we won’t play music or watch TV?”

“Not unless you want to.” Her deep brown eyes danced with laughter.

He glanced at the windows—the teal sheers were pulled back. “You don’t worry about anyone peeking in?”

Lili shook her head. “There are wards around the property. Plus, no neighbor with windows that look this way.”

Jared fingered her neckline, the backs of his fingers savoring the soft surface of her skin.

“Why do you trust me?” His lips whispered over her temple.

Her eyelids dropped to half-mast. “I don’t know.”

“Anything else that attracts me to you other than liking to feed me?” His mouth moved down to the curve of her cheek. “Or kissing me on a Ferris wheel?” He brushed a light kiss against a corner of her lips.

She smiled. “I am a doctor, you know. I believe in doing what it takes to keep my patients in optimum health.”

“Mmm, you smell so good.” He breathed in the rich scent coming off her skin as he ran his fingertips down the arm left bare by her blouse. “Taste even better.” He nuzzled the soft area where her neck met her shoulder. “You’re wearing too many clothes.” He blew a puff of warm air on her exposed skin.

“So are you.” Lili angled her head to one side, allowing further exploration as her fingers moved toward his belt. It didn’t take her long to release the buckle and work on his fly and the button at the waistband before pulling his shirt up and over his head. For someone locked away for so many years, he was muscular, and his smooth skin was a dark bronze.

She paused for a moment, stroking her fingertips over his shoulder where she knew the brand marred his skin. Even now she sensed the sharp tingle of demon magick lurking underneath.
Masked, but still there, like the deep burn it was.
She placed the flat of her hand there, keeping her power flared over it like a healing blanket, except she felt something dark backlash against her. She swallowed the whimper that crawled up her throat.

“No.” Jared covered her hand with his and pulled it away. “If you try too long, it will only make you sick.” He kissed each fingertip.

She edged her fingers under his waistband and pushed his pants down.

“What? No using your magick to strip me of my clothes?” he teased softly as his nose nudged a stray stand of hair back.

“Oh please, that’s so last year.” She couldn’t stop smiling as she looked at the dark and dangerous demon who just made her want to beam—although tearing his clothes off wouldn’t be such a bad idea, either. She felt a raw need for Jared sinking deep inside her bones.

“Oh, Jared.” She breathed his name, drawing the scent of his skin deep into her lungs, committing it to her memory, the way she knew he did with hers as he buried his nose in her hair.

Jared was agonizingly slow as he peeled each piece of her clothing off her, dropping them by their feet.

“Beautiful,” he murmured.

“I bet you say that to all the witches.”

“Just one very special witch.” He nudged her back to the bed until they both fell onto it. “I can’t even say you’ve bespelled me.”

“It goes both ways.” She glanced down, seeing his erection nudge her hip. She was already melting inside, and he hadn’t even touched her yet the way she wanted him to touch her.

Lili pushed the pillows off the bed and wrapped her legs around his hips as he dipped his head, pulling her nipple into his mouth. His tongue wrapped around the dark, rose-colored nub, moistening the skin before he blew gently on it.

She felt the action all the way to her bones and whispered his name as she nibbled on his neck, grazing her teeth over the taut skin.

Jared shuddered, tightening his embrace. He moved up, capturing her mouth, kissing her with a hint of the ferocity of his kind. Instead of the angry sex demons were known for, she felt a sense of him holding back, as if he wanted to give her something more tempered. In the flick of a second, his kiss sizzled with heat. She met him with the same intensity.

He slid his fingers into her, finding her wet and receptive. She rotated her hips, arching up as she wrapped her fingers around his cock.

“Purr for me, witch,” he whispered with a dark edge in his voice. “Show me how much you like it.” He growled in her ear as he closed his other hand over hers, increasing the pressure. At the same time he moved his body slowly up and down over hers in the sensual dance of what he intended to do.

Lili closed her eyes, feeling his magick weave a path around her body. It prickled like tiny electric shocks darting across the surface.

“Now, Jared,” she gasped, tightening her hold on him.

Not needing any further invitation, he shifted and thrust deeply into her. Lili’s cry of satisfaction was smothered by his mouth as he kissed her with the same ferocity his body demanded of hers.

At first he feared he was hurting her, since she was tight, but she quickly assured him that wasn’t the case. Her inner muscles clenched around him.

He knew this wasn’t just sex. This was something more. A sense of belonging.

“
Mine
,” he said between tight lips.

Lili’s eyes widened at his one-word declaration that vibrated with demon power the way it hadn’t when he said the word on the Ferris wheel. While she didn’t know a lot about demons, she did know what had just happened.

Jared claimed her as his.

And all she had to do was say the same back to him.

There was no bond stronger.

She looked up at Jared, seeing the bare need in his eyes, the barely disguised raw desire. She framed his face with her hands, knowing there was gentleness inside and so much more.

“Mine.” She said the word without hesitation, without looking away from his dark gaze. “Always mine.”

That was all he needed. His rhythm increased as he brought her legs up over his hips, tipping her upward.

Jared felt his balls tighten to the point of pain before he fell over the edge, plummeting into an abyss of sensation that took his breath away. He was vaguely aware of her saying his name over and over again as her orgasm took over.

It was some time before Jared felt as if he could breathe normally again. He closed his eyes, concentrating on the scent of Lili’s skin and hair, the silk of her skin, and her husky voice bringing further images to mind. He wanted so much for her. To be with her as a whole male. Not just when the shadows could protect him. He was ready to tell her that and more, but sleep overtook him like a drug, and he felt her boneless body mold itself against him and do the same.

***

Lili was warm and content. If she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought she had turned into a cat. She lay in a haze of partial slumber, aware of the hard, warm body next to her. She sleepily ran her hand down Jared’s bare chest and below. Husky laughter rumbled under her ear as he caught her wandering hand.

“Someone’s awake,” she murmured.

“No wonder, with you teasing him like that.” He started to roll over and continue the play when they both became aware of muted sounds beyond the bedroom door.

Lili’s smile of bliss disappeared. She sat up, uttering a few choice curses. “What in Hades is going on out there?” she grumbled, staring at the door.

Jared twisted to follow her gaze, seeing bright lights gleaming under the door.

“The privacy spell mutes the sound out there,” she said, nodding at the door. “Peace and quiet no more. Tell me what’s beyond the door.” She winced as ear-piercing yowling invaded the room.

Jared covered his ears. “What is that?”

Lili looked fit to kill. “That’s it. That damned cat is going to be turned into tennis racquet strings,” she said grimly, waving her hand to retrieve their clothes.

They dressed quickly. A cacophony of sound blasted them the second they stepped out of the bedroom.

“No!” Lili stared at the dark blue glass bottles littering the carpet. “That damn cat!” She charged into the family room.

Jared almost ran into her back when she skidded to a stop.

Cleo lay in the middle of the floor, sprawled on her back, staring intently at her frothy plume of a tail as it waved back and forth. She hummed a snake charmer’s tune as the tail danced in circles before her twitching nose.

The feline twisted her head around and stared at the witch and the demon with glazed eyes.

“What do you do with a drunken kitty? What do you do with a drunken kitty? What do you do with a drunken kitty,
early
in
the
morning
?” Cleo howled loud enough to shatter glass.

“If I didn’t know better, I’d think she was drunk,” Jared choked back a laugh. He hastily erased his grin when the witch turned to spear him with a look fit to hex.

“She is,” Lili said grimly. “That furry twit was unhappy because she couldn’t go to Asmeth’s, so she managed to get hold of catnip wine. How did you get all those bottles?” she demanded of the cat. “I never keep more than one bottle in the house.
Do
you
know
what
each
bottle
costs?
” Her shriek rang through the house, rattling the paintings on the wall, and a vase on the mantel started to teeter back and forth before settling back in its original spot.