His Darkest Salvation (23 page)

His hands reached up once more, but she slapped them away, reaching around for the clasp of her bra and drawing out the moment into long seconds as she carefully let the slip of black fall from her skin.

She reveled in the cool air that swept across her breasts and felt her nipples harden even more, the peaks turgid as they became engorged with a host of sensations.

His mouth was there before she had time to react, her hands fell to his thick hair as he teased and nipped at her. His tongue swept along the dark pink skin, which was now puckered, raw with desire, and a trail of fire followed in his wake.

She felt his hands creep up along her back, until she was held firm within his grasp and couldn’t have moved if she’d wanted to.

He continued to tease, his tongue caressing her nipples until she thought she’d go mad. His mouth hovered above the soft flesh, and she whimpered once more as he blew over the wet skin.

And when she thought she could take no more, when the need between her legs was painful, his hot mouth enveloped the entire peak, and he pulled hard at her.

She moaned, loudly, as hot bolts of desire shot straight to the center of her core.

“Oh God,” she whispered. “I can’t . . . I’ve never . . .” She stopped abruptly as his teeth closed along the small hard bud, and held fast in anticipation as he continued to tease her mercilessly.

She felt her heat, the wetness that seeped from deep within, and she slowly gyrated her hips as he held her there.

“You taste like candy,” he said, his voice vibrating against her skin in delicious waves that shot energy along her nerve endings.

Christ, what the man could do by only speaking.

“I like candy.” The timbre of his voice changed, and she held her breath as he pulled away from her breasts and looked up at her. “It’s been forever since I’ve had something sweet.”

Jaden stared down at him, small pants of air escaping from between her teeth as she tried to get hold of her emotions.

The sight of his dark skin against the golden hue of hers was incredibly erotic. She cocked her head to the side and let her hand run along the clan tattoos that burned beneath her flesh.

And she smiled as his eyes followed the motion, the dark depths burning with a need that matched her own as her breasts swung in front of him. But it wasn’t her nipples he was after.

He kept one hand at the small of her back, though he applied just enough pressure that she inched closer still, and when his other hand followed hers, intertwined with hers, she thought she would come apart.

His fingers caressed her clan tattoos gently, his eyes hooded and half-closed.

“They’re beautiful.” His words were simple, yet the emotion behind them was real. She could feel it.

It brought tears to her eyes. Did the man care about what they meant after all?

Did she care?

He continued to stroke them, and the tattoos pulsed beneath his touch, her eyes closing as she drifted off into a haze of sensations.

When his hand left her body abruptly, she couldn’t help herself. “Don’t . . .” she whispered but her voice died in her throat as she gazed upon a deadly, feral beast that both excited and scared the crap out of her.

Julian’s eyes had morphed into large round balls of black. All of the gold vanished, and the vicious nature of his jaguar was reflected in the depths. He snarled softly, hissing as her hands fell to the scarred flesh of his chest.

He flinched, the lines of his face shifting like shadows, and she stilled as the energy around him darkened. When he flipped her onto her stomach, she didn’t know if she was surprised or pissed, or just plain confused.

Something had just changed.

The cold earth was now at her breasts, hard against the softness of her flesh, and she began to protest but stopped abruptly when she felt his tongue at the base of her neck.

He kissed her along the ridge of her ear, and her entire body shuddered in reaction. All conscious thought fled. Any warning bells had died abruptly. His hands on her flesh calmed her beast, soothed her soul. And as much as she wished it was anyone other than Julian, she could not deny her animal. She could not deny that Julian Castille was her mate.

Everything melted away, save for his rough hands upon her flesh, and when she felt his fingers at the waistband of her jeans, she lifted her hips, smiled as he pulled them from her roughly.

She lay there beneath him, as naked as he, and groaned when his fingers sought the hot wetness between her legs.

“I see commando is your thing,” he whispered close to her ear. “I’m not surprised at the easy access.”

A twinge rippled through the haze of pleasure that she felt. There was something in his voice, but the animal inside her pushed it away, keen only on mating.

She felt his hardness at her ass, the warmth of his large frame as he slid over her. He held himself above her body with one hand, while the other continued to stroke the slick walls of her sex.

His long fingers had no problem finding the treasure he sought, and she spread her legs slightly, angling her hips up until she touched the hardness of his belly.

His breath quickened, short spurts of hot air against the back of her neck, and she groaned loudly as his long fingers plunged deep inside her aching walls.

“Christ but you’re tight.” His words were hoarse, and his teeth scraped along her shoulder as he sought the magic spot so deep inside her.

“Nico know how to do this?” he asked roughly, and the world went dark as he shifted, his thumb rubbing along her clitoris while his fingers applied just the right amount of pressure to kick-start an orgasm.

She felt the walls deep inside her body begin to convulse as a flood of cream fell from within.

“What?” she asked dazedly, not sure if he’d even spoken.

“Or this?” he said sharply, and warning bells clamoured deep within Jaden’s sex-induced fog. He pulled her ass back toward him, spreading her legs wide as the tip of his cock rested against her swollen, exposed center.

“Does Nico satisfy you?” He continued to manipulate his fingers, creating all kinds of magic.

“Nico?” she asked dazedly as she shuddered with the strength of an orgasm that filled her body with liquid heat.

“When he fucks you, does he satisfy the animal like I can?”

Jaden’s mouth fell open, her chest tightened, and she squirmed as anger rushed over her. This was wrong. All of it.

But then he was there, deep inside, and she bit her tongue instead.

He was large and filled her with ease. She heard him breathing behind her, felt the hard length of him swell until she thought she could take no more. And when he slowly began to move, she thought she would die from the sheer pleasure that rolled over her.

Shame colored her cheeks and ripped across her heart.

There were no more words, no tender encouragement. This was a joining that fed the darkest parts of their souls and filled a need long ignored.

Jaden pushed aside all thought and arched her back as he quickened his tempo, his long cock sliding in and out of her with torturous measured strokes. Each pass spread fire along the way, and the walls of her womb constricted and vibrated as he pounded against her flesh with a savage need that was answered deep inside her.

The tattoos along her neck burned, her chest felt like it might explode, and, deep within, a crushing orgasm was brewing. The sounds of flesh against flesh reverberated inside the chamber, and when Julian’s teeth broke through the skin on her shoulder, when his hands cupped her breasts and massaged her aching nipples, a low, keening growl erupted from deep inside her throat.

She felt her jaguar shift beneath her skin, felt the ancient magick surround her as he slammed into her flesh. When her orgasm crashed through, and she felt him shudder against her skin, in that moment, clarity opened her eyes.

Slowly, her breathing returned to somewhat of a normal state, and she felt a rush of cool air against her heated flesh as he withdrew. There were no tender words, no soft lover’s endearments.

There was nothing. She felt empty, and though her desire was sated, it was bittersweet and left her wanting.

It was a cold dose of reality.

Julian rolled away, and she wrapped her arms around her body, squeezing her eyes shut in an effort to force away the tears that pricked the corners. They infuriated her, and she clamped down her teeth tightly. She had no time to cry for things lost and those that would never be gained.

Julian Castille was her mate, and that would never change. But she’d never let him use her again, regardless of how much she needed the physical bond.

Not like this.

She would die before she’d let that happen.

Chapter 17

J
ulian turned from Jaden, needing some space between them. Though he knew he was acting like a total fucking asshole, he’d been unable to stop himself. Such was his curse, this need to hurt and punish. This disregard for feelings.

It was easy to do when you had none. His were long gone, torn in half and buried beneath layers of pain. He knew he was on the edge of crazy, and it was only a matter of time before he was lost forever. Each hour that he spent in the human realm destroyed a little bit more of what was left of his soul.

If he and Declan didn’t find the portal and return it, they’d both be done within the week.

He ran his hands along the puckered flesh beneath his heart and hissed, his frustration nearly blinding him with rage. He felt like he was coming apart, and the loss of control was something that pissed him off. It was something he’d just taken back, and he’d be damned if he’d give it up so easily.

He heard Jaden move, felt the air stir as she gathered her clothes, and he turned to watch her in silence.

She’d pulled on her jeans and was about to don her bra and T-shirt when she looked up and paused. Long waves of silken hair slid across her skin, and she made no effort to hide her nakedness from him.

Her full breasts showed evidence of his passion. He saw small blemishes, love marks along the soft curves, and the nipples remained turgid, hard peaks under his gaze.

Her eyes shimmered as if unshed tears filled them, and for a second, as their eyes connected, something inside him twisted.

It soon passed, and he rolled his shoulders in an effort to alleviate the tension he felt.

“The answer is no, by the way.”

Her voice was muted, no animation or emotion.

He remained silent, an eyebrow raised in question. What the hell was she talking about? She pulled the T-shirt over her head and shook out her hair.

She smiled though her eyes remained cold. “Nico.”

She began to walk slowly, her head turned from him as she studied the chamber they were in. “I haven’t had sex with him, so, no, he’s never fucked my animal into submission.”

A hint of bitterness entered her voice. “You win that award. Hands down.”

Julian was surprised by her admission, and if he was truthful, there was a part of him that was pleased by her words.

“So now that you’ve satisfied my itch, we can put this behind us and forget it ever happened.” She cocked her head and turned to him, cool as a cucumber. “Are we clear?” she asked softly, an edge to her voice.

Julian nodded, feeling the dead space inside him expand and pulsate. “I have no problem with that.”

Liar.

“Good,” she retorted sharply.

Something flashed across her face, a fleeting wrinkle of pain, but it was gone just as fast. The intimacy of the moment, if it had every truly existed, had all but disappeared.

“We need to get out of here,” she said, her voice neutral, devoid of emotion, “and you need to get some clothes.”

Julian glanced down at his nakedness. “Sorry if it offends, but there’s nothing I can do about it at the moment.”

“Whatever,” she muttered. “Glad it’s not my bits hanging out.”

She turned once more and ran her hands along the stone wall. The damp chill of the earth at his feet slowly crept along his flesh, and he shivered slightly as it clung to him.

The smell down here was brutal, old and stale. He inhaled sharply, his nostrils flaring slightly as the lingering scents of their sexual encounter teased him.

He shook his head, cleared all thoughts from his mind except one, and that was getting the hell out from beneath the temple. Time was fleeting. If the portal wasn’t retrieved, if Azaiel wasn’t dealt with and Cormac destroyed, the consequences would be unimaginable.

“Why did you come here?” he asked abruptly as he walked toward the wall, his eyes traveling along the gray stone as he studied it closely. “What did you think you’d find?”

“Answers.” Her tone was matter-of-fact. “Kragen said something to me that got me thinking about the whole situation, about Azaiel and the portal. I realized I don’t know shit about the fallen, about his connection to us, and I need to know everything because when I find him, this ends.”

Julian ran his fingers along the stone, and his hand caressed the rough surface. It pulled at something deep inside him, and, for a second, he felt humbled by the history it represented.