Eliana (19 page)

She wanted to protest that he certainly didn’t seem to have any physical flaws, but he didn’t let go of her mouth. He stroked between her legs. A throbbing spike of heat radiated from deep within her body—the same thing she’d felt with Kon lying naked beside her.

And since he wasn’t here, she couldn’t blame him for causing sensations she’d never expected to feel. They were hers and hers alone. Tears leaked from her eyes.

Dane gently wiped away the wetness. “If we were elsewhere, I’d tie ropes so that every move would keep rubbing you right about…here.”

He circled her clit with his fingers. She gasped. While she wasn’t keen on being restrained, her belly throbbed at the idea of what Dane might do under different circumstances. He had a healthy and seemingly endless imagination, not to mention an extensive repertoire of sexual delights.

Her body welcomed his touch as if they’d been lovers for years. Like Kon, he was intuitive, knowing exactly where to lick and kiss to make her squirm. “I worship you so that you might better worship Kon. Understand?”

She nodded. Rather than stare at the car’s fuzzy gray ceiling, she closed her eyes and wondered what other surprises her body held in store.

“If you want to know what a good Dom does, you have to be on the receiving end a time or two.” He rubbed her lips with his thumb until they parted. “Now don’t talk, or I shall have to punish you.”

“How?”

The slap to her cheek wasn’t playful, but neither did it hold the brutality of her stepfather’s hand. It took her breath away for a few seconds, but the slight burn was exciting rather than demeaning.

“Think of this as a lesson. It’s the same one every Warden and cambion has. Don’t think. Feel. Know thyself. That includes mind as well as body.”

For a moment, she longed for Kon and the sweetness of his touch, Sensitivity and all. But then she considered what it would be like to go to him after Dane had revealed these new depths within herself. Kon had called her strong and brave; she wanted to worship him with this newfound confidence and self-assuredness.

Dane set her leg down, then twisted through the seats to reach the glove box and dug through it for a tube of lube and a vial of oil, neither of which had frozen. He coated his hands with vanilla-scented oil, then rested them on her shoulders.

“Relax. Give yourself to me.”

It took every bit of her willpower to simply lie there and do nothing while Dane caressed every inch of her skin. He seemed to know her erogenous zones by instinct. She shivered as he kissed the dip beneath her collarbone near her shoulder. Trusting someone else with her body was excruciatingly difficult, but Dane didn’t stop. Eventually, Eliana gave up. She drifted, lost in relief and comfort.

“That’s it,” Dane whispered as he massaged her belly. “The hardest lesson for a Dom to learn is that we are never, ever in control, even if our partner is completely immobilized. That look on your face now is the one I try to get from Kon every time.”

His lips found hers, and she couldn’t help but smile.

“I never, ever thought I’d be the teacher. The damn Wardens, always so afraid we’ll lose control. And I
love
teaching. I can’t wait until I show you how to hold a whip.”

She opened her mouth to reply but thought better of it. Dane worked his hand lower until his fingers once more explored the dampness between her legs.

“There is one thing I won’t do, because I’d rather see him be the first to enjoy the feeling of having your body hot and tight around his cock. But that doesn’t mean I can’t satisfy you with
this
.”

He arranged her leg so her foot was propped against the driver’s headrest. When she was completely vulnerable, he slid a finger inside, gently teasing her inner walls. A low murmur escaped from her mouth, but instead of punishing her, he inserted a second finger to join the first, stretching her enough to be comfortably tight. His thumb he left atop her clit and rubbed with maddening precision, causing her to clench her body around his fingers. He kissed the inside of her thigh, the ticklish heat of his lips adding to the myriad sensations.

He curled his fingers and pressed hard against a certain spot, which increased the deep throbbing inside her. She gasped. With a leonine grin, he undulated his fingers there, fucking her with his hand. She writhed, back and butt sticky against the leather seat. She let out an unwilling moan.

Dane stilled his hand, leaving her body throbbing and needing something she couldn’t explain.

Bastard
. “Don’t you fucking leave me like this.”

“Don’t you fucking talk that way without permission.” The words cut. He clenched one of her breasts. The sharp ache made her grit her teeth, but her body was already filled with so much desire and need, the pain just increased her arousal. Without releasing his grip, he slowly resumed the sliding and prodding within her. He increased speed and friction. Pressure built, deep and pulsating, driving her to a brink she was suddenly terrified to go over.

“Dane, I don’t think—”

It was as if he pressed a magic button. One moment she was tense, fearful, and mortified at the certainty she was going to pee and embarrass the hell out of them both; then her body suddenly went past that sensation and into something that felt
good
. Her vagina pulsed, grasping Dane’s fingers as he held them inside her. All the tension melted away in a bright rush of heat.
So this is what all the fuss in the romance books is about.

Until now she hadn’t believed she could experience anything enjoyable while having sex. Dane hadn’t used her, hurt her, or ignored the fact she had a brain as well as a body. And she could
feel
all by herself and without Kon’s interference.

Overcome by the force of her body’s reaction, she covered her face with her hands and began to sob.

Still kneeling on the floor mats, Dane embraced her so that her head rested against his shoulder. The tender gesture unhinged her all the more. Everything she’d lost—her family, her body, and her ability to love—Dane and Kon had returned.

Dane rocked her, quiet while she cried herself out. When she was done, he said, “This is the ultimate connection. Trusting your partner enough to cry or scream or do whatever’s necessary.”

“It’s not just that. It’s…” Embarrassment heated her cheeks. “I’ve never felt anything like that. Not even before…” She stroked her belly, still vibrating with the aftermath of her first orgasm.

“I’m glad I could help.”

More than physical relief left her too weak to move. “Did your demon get what it needed?”

The feral look in his eyes had disappeared, and he was back to being the good-natured man she was used to. The shaking and sweating had stopped. “It got enough. Kon’s the only one who can sate it fully, but I’ll last for a day or two. Are you all right?”

Her hip ached like the devil, but she could deal with it. “Tired, but there’s one thing I want.”

“What?”

“One more kiss.”

Grinning, he complied.

Chapter Nineteen

The three of them were alone and unbothered at a lagoon, which shifted from emerald green to azure blue depending on the light. Hummingbirds zipped back and forth to bright pink and orange flowers. Eliana lay on a towel, gloriously nude as she bathed in the sun’s warmth. Dane swam lazy circles on his back, his erection jutting upward like the mast of a ship.

And Kon wanted their attention. Dane, cruel and inventive as always, had staked a pair of upright bamboo poles in the sand a few feet apart, drilled holes near the top, and tied one of Kon’s wrists to each so his arms were raised above his head as he was forced to kneel in the sand. He’d looped rope around Kon’s knees and secured them to the bases of the poles, leaving his legs spread. A smaller shaft of bamboo rested between his teeth like a bit.

Now all Kon could do was watch and admire the two people he loved most as they ignored him completely.

At last Dane finished his swim. Sunlight sparkled on the water running in rivulets down his chest and trickling between his thighs and around his erect cock. Kon strained at his bonds in the fierce hope Dane would come to him at last, but it wasn’t to be. Dane turned his attentions to Eliana.

She rose to meet him, welcoming him by wrapping her arms around his neck. They kissed, passionate and deep. Then they turned to smile at Kon, well aware of his torment and enjoying it.

Kon ground his teeth against the bit. His cock was so hard it ached, but Dane had foreseen that inevitability and tied a loop of string at the base. Try as he might, Kon wouldn’t be able to come until Dane allowed it.

She leaned against Dane. He parted her legs to reveal the glistening pink within. Kon shook and strained, maddened by the pure sex he could see and not touch. Dane stroked her in full view, his smile that of a Cheshire cat as he dipped a finger inside her.

Dane had outdone himself this time. Whimpering, Kon hung limply from his bonds. The next time he looked up, Eliana was on her knees. Dane’s hand was on the back of her head, urging her to swallow his cock.

Kon shrieked as loud as the bit would allow. He jerked and struggled, but the bamboo restraints would not give. Dane had constructed them too well. The bonds tore into his flesh. The burn didn’t matter.

The others paid him no attention at all, and it broke his heart.

* * * *

Eliana startled awake, groggy as she gazed around. Outside, dusk had given way to night.

“You all right?” Dane asked.

The headlights from an oncoming car blinded her. She blinked. Her vision cleared in time to see the WELCOME TO COLORFUL COLORADO sign as they passed the state line. “Another dream. How the hell can he be in my head when he’s so far away?”

“I wish I knew. Want to tell me about it?”

“You and me on the shore of some lagoon while Kon watched. I wonder if he knows we…”

“He might, somehow. I can’t always tell what’s going on in that head of his. Anything else?”

She pursed her lips as she thought. Kon’s face, tight with unspoken anguish, floated in her mind. “He’s giving up.”

Dane pressed harder on the gas.

* * * *

They reached the enclave in just over an hour. Since it was late at night, the building appeared deserted. Even so, Dane took her hand and led her cautiously down the hallways. “It just
looks
empty. Trust me, midnight is prime time for, ah, extracurricular activities.”

She didn’t need him to say so. They passed one room alive with groans and thumps. Dane hastily tugged her along. She whacked him on the back with her cane. “I’m nineteen, not nine!”

Dane raised a hand to hush her. He paused in front of a door and put his ear to it. Then he slowly turned the knob and peered inside. A moment later, he gestured for her to follow.

Except for Kon, the room was empty. Kon lay curled on the bed. Wire and tubes attached him to beeping machines. His eyes were open and darting back and forth, watching something only he could see.

“Kon?” Eliana was afraid to approach him. He looked worse than Dane had, as if he’d break apart under her hands. “You weren’t kidding,” she told Dane. “So what do we do?”

“Touch him. See what you think.”

She sat gingerly on the bed. A feverish heat radiated from him. She felt a pang of sadness as she recalled the time Emilio had a bad case of strep throat and she’d stayed by his bed, telling him stories and feeding him popsicles to keep him from being too miserable. Steeling herself, she laid her palm against Kon’s forehead.

Masculine arousal and physical need struck her square in the gut. His desires reached into her mind and pulled her along as if she was dreaming.

* * * *

“Step right here!” the carnival barker called out. Exaggerated hand gestures accompanied his recitation. “Come see Kon the Con, the one and only son of a devil and a demon, so horrible few can look upon him and not be repulsed all the way to their very soul!” The barker scanned the crowd, then adopted a lewd, suggestive expression made more garish by the white makeup. “And for tonight only, one lucky woman will have the chance to touch his bare flesh and experience the full horror of this freak of freaks!”

Eliana paid her fee and followed the crowd inside the tent. A lion’s cage, complete with iron bars and gilded wooden trim, stood in the center. She strained to see the occupant but had to elbow her way to the front for a view.

The creature inside was no lion but a man in ragged clothes huddling on the hay-covered floor. Murmurs of disappointment ran through the watchers.

A second barker, this one blond and terribly familiar, called out, “Don’t be fooled by that angelic face. Beneath that fair flesh lies a monster, one capable of depravities which must be seen to be believed. Do I have a volunteer, a woman brave enough to test her mettle against this beast?” He scanned the crowd, gaze finally landing on Eliana. “You, madam. I can see in your eyes the strength and desire to persevere this night. Lucky lady, please step this way.”

He held out a hand. Eliana took it and stepped onto the platform outside the cage door.

“I give you the tools and toys needed to drive him to utter torment. Tell him what you want and he will do it.” He unlocked the door and gestured for her to enter.

Stepping within the confines of iron bars in full view of the audience gave her a sense of power she relished. The people watched, rapt, as she cracked the whip. “Rise, beast. Show everyone what you look like,” she said.

Kon slowly uncurled and rose to his full height. Strands of hay tangled in the black hair which flowed just past his shoulders. He turned his face to the crowd, though his gaze focused on something unseen. Eliana held her breath at the sight of him. His face was flawless, pale, and perfectly balanced between male and female.

Then he turned to gaze at her. The more she stared, the more his eyes filled with a sadness that reached straight through to pluck at her heart. He was feeling sorry for himself, mourning a fate he’d chosen and now could not escape. She spared no pity for his plight. Uncaring of any danger, she strode toward him and tore the ragged clothes from his skin. In moments, he was naked, the rest of his body as unblemished as his face.