Dark Deceiver (13 page)

He leaned in and kissed her again, capturing her mouth, her emotions. Her very spirit. Desire exploded between them, sweeping her away. She wanted him.

Kade's hands encircled her waist, then slid over her hips and behind, to cup her buttocks. His fingers dug gently into her soft cheeks, through the silk of her panties, making her gasp with the sheer excitement of his touch. Her breath quickened until she wondered if he would steal it altogether.

Everything about him excited her. The smell of his skin. The taste of his mouth. The tenderness and fire in his eyes.
This
was what lovemaking was supposed to be. Not just a joining of bodies, but of minds, of spirits.

Of hearts.

The fingers of one of his hands slid down to the bottom edge of her panties, then beneath the edge to stroke the flesh of her bottom. She felt his finger slide slowly, shockingly, between her legs until it brushed her most private and sensitive flesh. Wondrous sensation shot through her body, weakening her knees. She grabbed for his shoulders, holding on as he pushed her panties over her hips and down her legs until she stood naked and ready before him.

Then he stripped himself of his remaining clothes, freeing his engorged flesh to her curious eyes. He was
huge.
Of course he was. Everything about him was giant-sized. She knew, from a clinical aspect, he'd fit. If she was ready for him, he'd fit. But
how?

She had no more time to worry the question. With a strength nothing short of miraculous, he swept her into his arms and ducked into the shower.

The warm spray pelted her body as he lowered her to her feet, letting her slide down his long length. The thickness of his arousal brushed her hip and abdomen, stoking her excitement. When her feet reached the floor, Kade turned her in his arms and kissed her beneath the spray, stealing all thoughts, all doubts, everything but her spiraling need for this man.

The water ran down their faces, blending with the heat of the kiss until she couldn't breathe. With a laugh, Autumn pulled away, gasping for air. Kade's answering grin was nothing short of evil as he turned her away from the water, pressed her back against him and covered her breasts with his hands.

“Let me wash you,” he said in her ear as his large hands stroked her breasts from beneath, then captured her tight nipples between strong fingers.

“Yes,” she said, though anticipation and nervousness warred within her. She'd never had a man's hands on her body like this.

He released her to pick up the bar of soap, then slid his soapy hands over her shoulders with studied care. His hands traveled across her body, sliding over her breasts, her abdomen, then turning her in his arms to soap her back. His broad, muscular chest was too much temptation and she slid her fingers through the dark, springy hair. His low sound of approval drew her gaze to his and the heat in his eyes burned through her flesh, all the way to her soul.

The moment was so right, so perfect, tears sprang to her eyes. Kade saw, his expression softening as he cupped her face, his soapy thumbs stroking her cheek. When his head bent to capture her lips, the kiss was the most tender, most precious she'd ever imagined. A kiss filled with love and caring and need.

Finally he pulled back, reslathered his hands and knelt in front of her to wash Larsen's blood off her legs. Autumn braced herself with his shoulders while his palms slid over her calves and knees, but when his hands slid higher, her fingers dug into his flesh.

His thumbs led the assault, sliding with perfect friction up her inner thighs, pressing and teasing, rising until they touched the very heart of her fire. As his thumbs played between her legs, his mouth covered her breast, sucking, making her arch against him as fire erupted in both places. She gasped as his fingers stroked her pulsing heat and dipped inside. Hot tremors wracked her body.

“Kade, I need…I need…”

As he released her, a sound of dismay escaped her throat. But he rose to stand before her, his eyes glittering with passion and tenderness.

“I want you.” His words set rhythmic spasms clutching inside her.

“Yes,” was all she said, was all she could get out, but it was enough.

Kade pulled her into his arms, pressing his hips to hers, his thick erection between them. He covered her mouth and the kiss was hard and wild, his tongue thrusting against hers, driving her beyond reason. She had no thoughts, no fears, only feeling.
Need.

His hands grasped her waist. “Wrap your legs around me,” he murmured against her mouth, then lifted her until her eyes were at a level with his.

She complied without thought, desperate for release from the terrible pressure building inside her body.

Not until she felt the brush of that hard thickness at the juncture of her thighs, did she start to tense. But he was already sliding into her, already stretching her in a way that felt heavenly and right. She closed her eyes, lost to the exploding sensations until the pinch of pain made her gasp.

She felt Kade tense and prayed he hadn't noticed she was a virgin. It would be too embarrassing and it no longer mattered. All that mattered was that they were joined.

If he'd noticed, he didn't stop, but pulled partway out of her and thrust himself inside her again, this time without hurting her. Again and again, he moved inside her, harder, faster as her own need, her own desire built in a way she'd never imagined, in a way she'd never expected. It was like energy filling her, sweeping her up in a frenzy of lust and power.

Hands locked at the back of his neck, her head thrown back, she rode the incredible storm, each thrust of Kade's hips driving her higher.

A sharp tingling began at her wrists where her arms pinned Kade's hair to his shoulders. The discomfort barely registered through the haze of passion until her wrists started to burn. She snatched them away, grabbing his biceps.

Her eyes flew open and she froze.

Kade's dark hair was standing straight up, whirling around his head, heedless of the shower spray that should be beating it down.

She stared at him, uncomprehending, her mind struggling free of the delicious sensations of the flesh. His hair looked just as Princess Ilaria's had in that painting. Tarrys's words ripped through her head.

It's what happens when an Esri uses or acquires great power.

Terror ripped through her, freezing her lungs on a gasp.

This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

But at her sound, Kade's eyes snapped open. His eyes, so blue before, now glowed like blue light bulbs.

“No.”
Fear speared through her. Her head spun as the truth assailed her.

Kade Smith wasn't Sitheen. He wasn't human.

The man who even now thrust inside her, stealing her virginity…the man who'd stolen her heart…was Esri.

S
he was a virgin!

Kaderil thrust into Autumn's tight sheath over and over, trapped in the power, as the enormity of his error crashed over him. He'd released her virgin's power, revealing himself as Esri.

“Stop!” The terror in Autumn's eyes speared through his heart, shredding the ecstasy that had enveloped him just moments before, destroying something deep inside him.

“I can't.” He held her in his arms beneath the hot spray of the shower, her legs locked around his waist, his hips rocking against hers in a hard, carnal rhythm. His muscles bulged as he struggled to stop, strove to at least slow down, but all control had been wrenched from his grasp the moment he'd spilled her virgin's blood.

Water ran in rivulets down Autumn's face, her vibrant hair a dark cloak around her shoulders, her expression desperate as she beat at his arms with her fists. He knew the look of fear, had forced it from others a million times, but seeing it on Autumn's face was more than he could bear.

“Kade,
stop!
”

“I…can't. The magic…won't let me.” His words came out low and hoarse, a strangled gasp in the throes of what had been the most wonderful event of his life and was quickly becoming the most horrible. The unnatural energy heated his blood, flowing through his body like stinging sparks of fire, making him feel stronger. Filling him with power as the tight heat of her body drove him toward ecstasy.

“Kade.”
Tears slid down her face, slaying him with her misery.

The uncontrolled passion that drove their mating was too much for her untried body. Her fear only made it worse.

“Autumn, close your eyes.”

But she continued to stare at him, terror whirling in those gray depths.

“Close your eyes!”

She turned her head, dipping her face until he couldn't tell if her eyes were closed or not.

It was all he could do to talk, all he could do to
think,
so great was his hunger for her body and the completion to come. “I don't want to hurt you, but I can't stop. The magic won't release us until the act is complete. Until I've climaxed.”

“Then do it,” she said between clenched teeth.

Her desperation twisted inside him. “Come with me.”

“No.”
Her face jerked up, her eyes flashing with hatred beneath her fear.

“Close your eyes!”

She did, her mouth tight and quivering and he gentled his voice.

“Listen to me. I'm not what you think. I don't…want to hurt you.”

“You're hurting me now!”

“I know.” Her anguish tore at his heart. “When this is over, you can hate me. You can claw my eyes out. But for right this moment,
feel me.
Your body wanted me before. Give yourself back to that need.”

Her fingernails dug into his shoulders, her head shaking in denial.

“Feel me inside you, sweet one. Open yourself…to the pleasure. You were so close.”

“I can't.”

But his words were working. Deep inside she was softening, melting, easing his way. The exquisite feel of her body's welcome nearly sent him over the edge.

“You can.”

He couldn't talk anymore. Couldn't think. His own climax was too close, too powerful. But he didn't want to go there alone.

“Come with me.” He kissed her cheek. “Fly with me, Autumn.”

“No.” The word was more moan than denial as pleasure tightened her features. He felt her climax building almost as clearly as he felt his own. Her breaths began to come in small gasps.

“I hate you for this.”

“I know. Steal the pleasure my body has to give.
Feel me.
”

With each thrust, her tight sheath became more slick. Her gasps grew, turning to small screams of delight. Her rising passion stoked his own, driving him higher and higher until the promise of completion was only a breath away.

He dipped his head, seeking her mouth, half expecting her to bite him, or at least turn away. But she met his kiss, eyes closed, with an open mouth and seeking tongue. Her arms wrapped around his neck and for one glorious moment, she was his again.

He drank of her pleasure, swallowing both their moans, as their joint passion roared toward climax. She tore her mouth from his and threw her head back, cresting that final mount with a guttural scream of pleasure that sent him tumbling after her.

As her inner muscles contracted over and over, milking him of every last drop of pleasure, power roared through him with the suddenness of a storm. The lights in the bathroom flickered and flashed, the rows of light bulbs breaking, one after another, in a cascade of tinkling explosions that cast them into the dark.

Autumn jerked and tensed in his arms. “What's happening?”

“The power we raised blew some lights.”

She pulled back, her body going stiff. He gripped her slick waist and pulled himself out of her, then set her on her feet in the tub, his body already railing against the loss. She tried to step back, out of his reach, but he held on to her, hating that she was beginning to tremble beneath his touch.

“Stay here so you don't cut your feet. I'll open the door and let in some light.” He reached for the towel he'd left hanging on the rod and pushed it toward her in the dark.

The glass crunched beneath his soles, stinging his flesh with little quickly healed cuts as he crossed the bathroom and opened the door. Light washed in from the living room. He glanced at himself in the mirror, relieved to see his eyes and hair were back to normal.

Misery crushed his chest as he turned back to Autumn.

“I'll carry you out of here.” He reached for her, avoiding her gaze, unable to bear seeing that terror in her eyes again, but she backed away.

“You're Esri.” Her words were tortured.

“Yes.” He tried to look anywhere but her face, but the white-knuckled grip on the towel she'd wrapped around herself did nothing to ease his guilt, and he finally met her gaze.

The fear was there, as he'd known it would be. But shimmering beneath the fear lurked a deep hurt that was nearly more than he could bear.

“You knew I was a virgin.”

“No. I don't possess that ability. If I'd known, I never would have touched you.” He gave a harsh, humorless laugh. “Revealing myself was not my intent.”

“But the power…you gained power. I felt it.”

“Yes.” He raked the wet hair back from his face. “I gained something. Virgin's power merely enhances a man's gifts, it doesn't add to them. And my gifts are scant. I may be physically stronger, now. Physically faster.” He snorted. “Of little use in my world.”

He looked into the pools of torment that were her eyes and needed her to believe him. “I mated with you because I wanted to. Because I've been attracted to you since I first saw you standing on the deck of your boat with the sun's fire in your hair. Not because I wanted anything from you except the sharing of pleasure.”

And her warmth.

He'd craved her sweetness, her gentle kisses. The laughter in her eyes and the joy of her smile. Her acceptance of him, the Punisher. The monster.

And her lack of fear. Above all, her lack of fear.

But he'd lost it all.

She gripped the towel tighter against her breasts, the dark red tendrils of her hair raining droplets on her arms. “You came through the gate in one of those dark cloaks.”

“Yes.”

Her brows lowered as her face contorted with confusion. “But…Jack said you're Sitheen. Why can't they see through your glamour?”

“I have no glamour.” He held up his hands. “What you see before you is all I am. I'm what the Esri call a dark blood. An Esri tainted with human blood. I don't know my heritage, so I can't tell you which of my fore-bears was human. All I know is that I am not one of you. I have lived many, many of your lifetimes.”

He held out his hand to her. “I didn't mean to hurt you.”

She snorted in disbelief, but her eyes still ached from his betrayal. “What do you want from me?”

Kaderil sighed. “In the words of you humans…hell if I know. Let me carry you out of here, then I'll find a vacuum and clean up this mess.”

Her mouth tensed. Her eyes glittered with fear and wariness, but she stepped forward and he swept her into his arms, gathering her rigid, towel-covered body against his. Her arm hooked around his neck to hold on as her other hand grasped the towel tucked at her breast. She smelled of soap and that sweet spicy scent unique to Autumn. Just holding her made the need begin to stir in him all over again.

A need that would never be fulfilled.

Kaderil walked through the glass again to deposit her on the carpet in the hall. Without a backward glance, she fled to the nearest bedroom and slammed the door, shutting him out, casting him adrift.

He stared at that closed door, feeling the world shift back to a painful and familiar axis. He was well and truly the monster, now. Kaderil the Dark, of both worlds and yet of neither. Feared and reviled by the Esri for being part human. Feared and hated by the humans for being Esri.

Of course he was. He'd never expected it to be any different. That he'd let himself get caught up in the lie was his own fault. That he'd allowed a woman's gentle smile to touch his heart, her warm hand to lead him into a dreamscape of heroics and friendship and caring, was the mistake of a fool.

There were only roles to play. Duties and missions and responsibilities.

He was the Punisher. That was his role, the only role available to him. A role that allowed him no conscience, no emotion, no remorse. A role that required him to be a man who would fulfill his duty no matter what that duty asked of him.

 

Autumn locked the bedroom door with shaking fingers, then turned and sank against the flimsy wood, gasping for breath.

He's Esri.

How could she have been so stupid? So gullible?

Her heart raced, her scalp tingled with horror as she sank to the carpeted floor. Everything she'd thought…everything she'd believed…was a lie. She'd thought she was falling in love! And he wasn't even human.

She pressed her hands to her knotted stomach, struggling to suck air into her lungs. How could she have given her heart…
her body…
to one of those creatures? He'd betrayed her in every way possible. Worse, he'd made her betray herself. Even after she knew what he was, she'd found pleasure in his arms beyond anything she'd ever imagined.

Dear God, she was such a fool.

Her head fell with a soft thud against the door. She'd thought he was Sitheen. They'd
all
thought he was Sitheen.

Her stomach clenched.

The others still did.

She had to warn them. He was after the draggon stone. He had to be. And once he got it? Like Baleris, he would try to kill the ones who couldn't be enchanted.

Heart pounding in her ears, she pushed herself to her feet and searched the room for a phone. Nothing. Her cell phone was in the purse she'd left in the living room. Mind leaping, she considered her options. The apartment was on the fifth floor, so there was no going out the window. Which meant she was going to have to go out the front door. Without Kade noticing.

Right.

At least it was a plan. Maybe not a good one, but a plan. And she needed something to wear. She reached for the nearest drawer and dug through the clothes until she found a pair of sweatpants and a flannel shirt. Underwear, she'd have to forgo. She wasn't likely to find ladies' underwear in Kade's house. But as she pulled on sweatpants that were barely big enough for her, and several inches too short, the truth hit her.

Kade was Esri.

These weren't his clothes. This wasn't his apartment. Which raised the obvious and tragic question: What had happened to the true owner?

A chill slid down her spine. She didn't want to know. While she knew full well how Esri worked, raping and murdering at will, her heart refused to accept Kade capable of such slaughter.

Her logical mind scoffed. Of course he was capable. He was Esri. Magic. Everything she thought she knew about him was a lie. Who knew how many times he'd enchanted her?

She stilled as memories washed over her—the confusion she felt around him sometimes, the way she'd jumped him, peeling her clothes off the first time she met him. Had he made her do that?

And what about a few hours ago?

The hair rose on her arms as she thought of the dream. The two Esri forcing their way into the houseboat, Kade's running in to save the day, only to tell the one called Ustanis to take the holly off her wrist.