Beauty and the Beast (Demon Tales 1) (18 page)

Tentatively she rested her head on his
shoulder. He was so warm and comfortable, it wasn’t long before her
eyes sagged heavily and her arm wrapped around him. She sighed and
snuggled deeper. “I love you, Brigg,” she whispered, finally giving
in to the much-needed sleep she had fought for days.

* * * *

Brigg opened his eyes and winced. Pain shot
through his skull like a whiplash and he took a deep breath to ride
the wave until it faded. Now he was warm and comfortable, which
confused his bleary mind. Wasn’t he supposed to be doing something?
He searched his sluggish memory, and suddenly fear ripped into his
heart. He tried to sit up, only to find that there was a soft, warm
weight laid across his chest. He opened his eyes again, this time
with more care, and frowned at the dark head below his nose.

He shifted a little, and Cally lifted her
face. She looked sleepy, rumpled and so utterly sexy that Brigg
smiled and drew his arm around her.

“Hi,” he whispered. Her eyes flew wide and
she sat up. Her hair flowed around her shoulders and Brigg thought
he had never seen anyone prettier.

“Brigg! You’re awake!” Cally ran her hand
over his face, and Brigg remembered he no longer had fur.
Uncertainty rippled low in his gut. Would she still love him? Then
he nearly laughed out loud for thinking that Cally might prefer the
hairy beast. She stared down at him with a smile that could light
up the darkest night, and eyes filled with love. Brigg reached up
and cupped her soft cheek with his hairless hand.

“I’m awake, princess.” He stroked his thumb
over her bottom lip and felt an answering ache in his groin. When a
tear slid down her pale cheek, he pulled her down and kissed it
away. “I missed you, Cally,” he whispered, and heard the catch in
her breathing. She pulled back and stroked her own hand down his
face. The feeling of bare skin on bare skin was so wonderful, Brigg
closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened them, Cally was
watching him with interest.

“You are so handsome, Brigg.” She raised her
hand and touched the tip of one of his horns. The sudden, shocking,
bolt of pleasure that crackled down his spine was enough to make
Brigg suck in a breath. Cally yanked her hand away and her eyes
filled with worry. “Did I hurt you?”

Brigg could have laughed at the absurdity of
her words. Hurt? What he had felt was the exact opposite of hurt.
He shook his head. “No, honey. When you touch a demon’s horns, it’s
like stroking his cock. Believe me, the last thing it does is
hurt.”

Cally’s eyes went wide a second before she
smiled. She raised her hand again and touched the other horn—all
the while watching him. The slight, gentle touch ripped through his
body and shot a bolt of arousal to his cock. Brigg enfolded Cally
in his arms and rolled until he was on top. She yelped and stared
up at him, her pale cheeks now looking flushed. Brigg had never
seen anything more beautiful.

He suddenly remembered the young maid at
Sam’s house speaking of Cally’s horns and he lifted his gaze to
find them. What sort of half-demon was she? Lots of demons looked
human, but the horns varied massively—so it would be easy to tell.
Not that it would matter to Brigg what species Cally was, but he
was intrigued to know.

“The maid at Sam’s said that you have
horns.” Brigg looked, but he saw none.

Cally stilled and Brigg looked down to see
some of the light dim from her eyes. He frowned in question and
Cally lifted her hand to the top of her head.

“They’re gone.”

A shiver of confusion whispered down Briggs
spine and frowned deeper. “What do you mean, Cally?”

She tried to move beneath him, but Brigg
wouldn’t allow her to move from his embrace. Cally closed her eyes
and sighed. “They were removed. Filed off,” she whispered, her
voice sounding choked and weak.

“What?” He couldn’t believe it. To remove a
demon’s horn was nearly the most painful thing that could happen to
him. Brigg had once chipped a horn, and the pain of that alone was
crippling. “When? By whom?” Cally flattened her palms on his chest
to push him away. Fierce protective urges overcame him and Brigg
shook his head. “Tell me, so that I can kill them,” he snapped,
feeling his grip on his control slipping.

She raised her pained eyes, and sadness
flooded her expression. “You already did.”

Her mother?
“Your mother did this to
you?” He gasped as sympathy and anger double-tapped at his heart.
He didn’t know why he was so shocked, the woman was evil incarnate,
but still…a mother wouldn’t hurt a child willingly…surely? Without
thought he wrapped his arms tighter around her and dragged her into
his chest. Cally relaxed within his arms. Brigg kissed her head,
trying to avoid the sensitive spots where her horns should be.
Anger burned heavily in his heart, his mind—until he could taste
it. If he hadn’t allowed his brother to send her back, this
wouldn’t have happened.

“I am so sorry, Cally.” He whispered, “So
sorry.”

She wriggled back until she was looking up
at him. Brigg saw denial in her pretty dark eyes. Cally shook her
head and frowned with defiance.

“You have nothing to apologize for. My
mother was cruel. Look at what she did to you and Torc.” Her eyes
softened and she stroked at his cheek. Brigg pushed closer into her
hand, soaking up her warmth—her strength. “It wasn’t the first time
this has happened to me. They’ll grow back—and I’ll finally get to
see them.”

Brigg stilled and listened to the truth in
her words. Cally had existed in hell while her mother lived. He
couldn’t grasp the idea that she had been through such agony
before. He conjured images of a young child enduring such cruelty,
but before any rage could form into words or action, Cally reached
up and pressed her lips to his face.

“I love you, Brigg.”

Pride and lust roared through his body
simultaneously. Cally was here, with him—under him—in a bed. The
throb in his head was forgotten as his gaze focused on her lush,
pink lips.

“Kiss me, Brigg.” She whispered. He watched
the tempting words form on her mouth. Oh, how he wanted to taste
her lips. Since that moment in the library, he had thought of
little else. She had been sweet and pliant in his arms—even when he
had been a beast. The memory rippled over his spine uncomfortably.
Last time, he had kissed her roughly. Last time, he had behaved
like the beast he was. This time, he would treat her like the
princess she is.

“I love you too, Cally.” He bent his head
and found her lips with his. The first touch sent a violent surge
of heat down his spine, and rippled across his skin. She sighed
into his mouth, and Brigg couldn’t help but open his lips to taste
some more. Cally moved beneath him, she reached up and speared her
fingers through his hair and Brigg nearly roared with
satisfaction.

It was perfect. Cally was free, he no longer
was cursed—and he had found his true mate.

Brigg ran his hand down her side, the tips
of his fingers brushing past the generous swell of her breasts. Her
mouth was hot and seeking as she met his hungry kiss with equal
need. She moaned softly and Brigg slid his mouth down her jaw
towards those intriguing breasts.

“Oh, Brigg...” Cally gasped, the sound
creating an ache deep in his balls. He tucked his fingers into the
laces at the front of her dress and looked up. Cally looked down,
their eyes meeting in a heated, silent, conversation. Brigg tugged
gently at the first part of the lace and he felt her breathing
stutter.

“I want to see them, Cally. I’ve been dying
to see them since I rescued you from the Hell realm. You were lying
on my bed in my cabin, and it was all I could do not to touch
them—to stroke them—to taste them,” Cally gasped and her eyes
flared wide, but what Brigg saw was not shock or censure, he saw
heat, a deep, dark heat that spoke to his very soul.

He tugged at the laces slowly, dragging each
one free fully before moving on to the next. He didn’t know where
this patience came from. His balls burned and his cock ached with
need. But equally his heart was bursting with the need to treat
Cally with care—God knew she deserved it.

When the last lace came free, Brigg looked
down and saw the creamy swells of her breasts. Her flesh was
goose-bumped, and her breathing was ragged. He raised his hand and
brushed the backs of his fingers over the soft skin. Cally
shuddered under his touch and Brigg felt a smile tug at his mouth.
“So perfect, my beauty.” He looked up and found her dark gaze. “You
are my beauty.”

She nodded, and Brigg found her mouth in a
heated kiss. Cally sighed and opened her lips for him. He swiped
his tongue over hers, and her taste burst in his mind, sweet, sexy
and completely addictive. He stroked his hand back up her side and
tugged the dress away. His fingers stroked over her bared nipple,
and Cally gasped into his mouth.

“You should know, I’m a breast man, Cally.”
He smiled against her lips and ran his thumb over her other nipple,
slipping his hand more fully into her dress. She was warm and soft
and completely pliant under his seeking hands, and Brigg was
fighting already with the deep, insistent throb between his
legs.

“Brigg…I feel as if I’m going up in flames.
Help me out of my dress.”

No need to ask twice! Brigg pushed back and
dipped his hands into her dress, and tore at the clothing with both
hands. The material parted under his grip, and Cally yelped with
shock. Brigg laughed when he saw her wide-eyed expression. She
would soon learn that he was not a patient man.

“I’m sorry. Was this a dress you wanted to
keep?”

“No. I never want to see that dress—in fact
any dress—ever again.” She looked outraged at the thought. Brigg
grinned.

“A princess that doesn’t want to wear
dresses?”

Her gaze softened and she looked a little
unsure. “I’m sorry, Brigg. I hate dresses.”

Brigg laughed, his soul feeling freer than
ever, He leaned down and pressed a kiss to her upturned lips. “You
can wear whatever the hell you like Cally—as long as you are mine.”
He felt her physically relax underneath him. Her hands came up
around his neck, and she kissed him hungrily.

“Thank you!”

Brigg tore away the remnants of the dress,
and sat back to admire his handiwork. Cally lay beneath him, he was
sitting astride her thighs. She wore nothing now, and his eyes
feasted on her pale flesh as if he were seeing the sun for the
first time. After a long moment he lifted his gaze and found her
watching him.

“Perfect. So totally perfect,” he whispered,
before he leaned down and sucked one of her nipples into his mouth.
Cally gasped in a breath, and arched under his mouth. He brushed
over her other nipple with his other hand, and sucked again.

“Oh, God, Brigg!” Cally cried out. Another
surge of pride flooded him.

Mine…

* * * *

“Mine,” Brigg growled as he sucked at her
flesh. Cally’s eyes almost rolled to the back of her head when his
hot, hungry mouth descended upon her nipples. Who knew they would
be so sensitive? His every touch sent a strangely addictive heat to
rush over her body. She felt alive and needy all at once. The new
feelings were all-consuming and intense. She writhed beneath her
large demon, clutching him as he made her burn in places she never
knew she could feel.

“Yours,” she gasped out when he finally
released her nipple. His hot kisses trailed lower over her stomach
and down towards her core. Cally raised her head and reached for
his hair. Brigg lifted his dark, swirling gaze and smiled.

“Mine. And you will like this,I promise.” So
demanding he was, so forceful. Her demon was utterly wonderful to
behold.

Cally swallowed and nodded. Brigg placed a
wet kiss on her stomach and began licking slowly downward.. She
closed her eyes and remembered how his fingers had felt when he had
plunged them into her, and her body shivered at the memory. Brigg
placed his hands on each of her thighs and pushed her legs apart.
She was spread on her back, completely naked with her demon between
her legs. It was sinful, and it felt amazing.

Cally opened her eyes just in time to watch
Brigg open his mouth and lick out at her most intimate flesh. She
jumped and bucked, but her demon kept her still with his large
hands. It was still amazing to her that he looked so human. No hair
covered his body apart from the hair on his head. He was the most
gorgeous man to ever exist—and he was hers.

“Mine,” She whispered, reiterating his
words. Brigg looked up, their eyes met.

“Yours.” The intensely primal look in his
eyes should have scared her, it should have at least worried her,
but it didn’t. The expression sent a shock of heat to her core, and
her heart thudded in her chest.

Brigg dropped his head once more and Cally
let out a strangled cry. Her body pulsed and heated as his tongue
danced and probed her. She writhed under his attentions. Her body
felt impatient, rushing toward something that Cally couldn’t catch
up to. She felt coiled, tight and sensitive, and when Brigg sucked
in the most sensitive part of her sex, a blast of pleasure rocked
through her body.

Her back bowed and her hands fisted—one in
his hair and the other on the bed sheets. She cried out as
sensation threatened to swamp her senses. And then, just as
quickly, it was gone. She was floating on a cloud of bliss, her
body relaxing and sinking into the soft bed.

Brigg rose up above her and Cally noticed
that he was still fully clothed, she dropped her eyes and saw the
bulge at the front of his trousers, and she lifted her hand to
touch it. Brigg sucked in a deep breath and Cally recognized her
pleasure in him. She raised her eyes and found Brigg to be watching
her with primal stillness.