Jacob's Trial [Forbidden Legacy 2] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (20 page)

“I thought you weren’t going to yell at me.” The plaintive note in her voice stroked amusement through him.

“I’m not yelling at you,” he soothed, brushing the tangles out carefully. “I am asking you a serious question. Tell me about the gate you built.”

She stretched, wincing as the slice on her shoulder opened up. Jacob set the brush aside and reached for the hem of her shirt. Carefully he peeled it up, lifting the uninjured arm to pull the shirt up and over then down her right side until he could discard it to the floor.

“I remembered watching Helcyon pull us through. He’s taken me to the office several times since we arrived here. I wanted my shoes, and I remembered that he said doorways make the best gateways because they are already between.” Her words slurred with tiredness.

Jacob nodded, unsnapping her bra and peeling it off. His gaze went to the mirror. The shallow slice across her shoulder blade oozed, but the skin was only slightly red. Salve would seal it shut.

“You both told me to practice, and Helcyon is always saying it’s what you hold in your mind that you can create, so I put my hands on the doorframe.” She lifted her hands and flattened them against Jacob’s chest. “And I pictured my office, the carpet, the desk, the windows overlooking the ocean. I closed my eyes, and I remembered every inch of it. It helps that I decorated it, so I knew every grain in the wood panels.”

Steadying her, he pulled her off the counter and waited until her feet were stable to peel her jeans, panties and all, downward. His nose brushed her belly button and he pressed a kiss to the soft swell above the nest of reddish-brown curls.

Above him Cassie sighed, her hands reaching back to grab the counter. He lifted one delicate foot to tug the clothes off and then the other. Steam rolled out of the shower, and he tossed her jeans and panties onto the discarded shirt and bra.

His gaze roamed over her smooth, tanned skin. Fresh, red bruises marred her golden flesh. He winced at the grape cluster on her thigh. Smoothing a thumb over the marks, he wished he could just wipe them away and take the pain with them. But the Wizard in him knew that sometimes lessons had to be brutal to be effective. She wouldn’t forget what hurt. Better bruises than flesh scoring or, worse, punctures that would tear out muscle and bone.

He pressed his lips to the damaged skin, tracing his way up her body to kiss every bruise.

“Tickles.” She let out a breathy little sigh, clearly too tired to actually giggle.

“Hmm. So you imagined your office.” He caressed his way upward, stroking his fingers over her skin. Nearly every injury was only to the surface, but clusters of those rubber balls flying at high speed could break bones. He trusted Jude.

Mostly.

“Yeah, I saw it, I smelled it, and it’s like this ball of sticky energy unfurled inside of me, or maybe it unraveled. It was like yarn, only not, and the ribbons raced through my blood and my hands grew hot. When I opened my eyes, I could see it. My office. Right there on the other side.”

Cassie sighed. “I saw four shoe boxes, and I got so excited. I thought I could dart through and back before you two knew I was gone. I was so excited. I wanted to be able to show off. But it was all a trick. Even the shoes.”

Her luscious lips formed a pout, and he paused, bracing his hands on the counter as he stood and kissed that full lower lip. “That was an amazing feat. Did you see me come through the door?”

“I heard you, but I’d already started forward, and I couldn’t seem to stop. I went through.” A frown wrinkled her forehead. “But it wasn’t like Helcyon’s tunnels. You know how when we go through with him, we actually have to walk down some long hallway or cavern before we come out the other side?”

“I’m aware.” It was the longest run of his life racing side by side with the Elf through Underhill to burst out into the conference room of her office. In reality, the journey took two minutes or less, but it seemed an eternity.

“And once I was through, I was exhausted. More tired than I am now. I thought I was going to puke. I grabbed my desk, and that’s when I heard Michael.” Her voice quavered, exhaustion dulling the emotion. “I turned around, fully intent to leap back through and yell for help. But the gate was gone. There was just me, Michael, and the office.”

Fat tears brimmed in her eyes and splashed down her cheeks. “I didn’t mean to trap myself or hurt you. I thought you were going to die when that spell hit you.”

“Shhh.” Jacob cupped her cheeks, kissing the tears away. “You’re safe. I’m fine. We learned a lot from that escapade, didn’t we?”

“Yeah, I’m never going to do something like that again.”

He pressed his lips together to keep from laughing in her face. She must have truly been tired to believe that. Just a few hours before she was holding them off with a shield so she could play a duel of words with the inquisitor general. She was plotting a confrontation, and she fully intended to tackle the Council. He doubted she was anywhere near the retreat she whispered.

“Sweetheart, we learned that the three of us work, magically and physically.” To his great amusement, her cheeks flushed scarlet. Professional woman, erotic lover, and innocent all rolled into one being.

“I love you.” The words were gruff, hoarse with raw emotion, but she needed to hear it. More than that, he needed to say it. “I love your stubbornness, your irreverence, and your mind. Don’t get me wrong, your body was made for sex, and the sins I have in mind for you are too numerous to count. But that mind of yours is more precious than diamonds.”

A tremulous smile tipped up her lips. “I love you, too. And I am sorry about running out for my shoes. It was stupid. I just wanted some small piece of normalcy. This…”

“It’s overwhelming.” He tucked a damp strand of hair behind her ear and leaned back to discard his own clothes. Naked, he picked her up, enjoying the way her skin rubbed against his cock. He’d been hard for her for hours. But he was beginning to think it would be a perpetual condition, so he focused on looking after her first.

Arms twining around his neck, she sighed as he walked them into the triple jets of the shower. The warm water sluiced over them like a summer storm. Jacob bowed his head under the water, caressing the rivulets running down her back.

“You warned me about this before. That if I opened that door, I’d never be able to shut it again.”

He remembered the conversation. He remembered her confidence and the unswerving dedication to doing her job.

“You told me they were a client and you had to do it.”

“Am I awful that I don’t think I was wrong?” Her tired gaze collided with his, and he kissed the tip of her nose before passing her the shampoo. She loved the citrus scents. Soap was soap, except where Cassie was concerned. With her it was an experience.

“No, you are not awful.” He peeled his hands away to reach for the soap and washcloth. She would feel better when she was clean. He would feel better for taking care of her. “Want to know a secret?”

He lathered the soap over her, smoothing away the dirt and the sweat. She hissed a breath as the soap stung her cuts. He winced for her but stroked a path across her shoulders before swirling the cloth over her breasts and the round, turgid nipples tightening at his caresses.

She was so damn responsive. His cock jerked in agreement.

“That’s not a gun in your pocket, and you are happy to see me?” The whisper of sass assuaged his conscience better than any prettier words might have.

“Oh, I’m definitely happy to see you.” He nudged them both under the spray, letting her rinse out the soap from her hair, and ran the washcloth down her back to shape her bottom. His cock jutted against her belly, the warm, wet skin teasing him far more than it seemed possible.

“But that’s not your secret.” The liquid gold of her eyes warmed, the spark shining through the sheen of tiredness.

“Nope.” He teased the cloth between her legs, rasping it gently across the folds of her pussy.

She arched up onto her toes, white teeth sinking into her lower lip. “Then yes, I want to know a secret.”

He took his time, rinsing the soap away from her bottom and then the washcloth before running it between her thighs again. Nudging her legs apart with his, he pressed his lips to her temple and then trailed a kiss down to her ear. Grazing her earlobe with a tug of his teeth, he murmured, “I’m not sorry you did it either.”

Shock rippled through her and she stiffened. Her head arched back, and she tugged them out of the spray so she could look at him. “Really?”

“Yes, but it’s a secret.” He caressed her lower lip with a finger and traced the outline of her jaw. “You were right. Helcyon’s right, too. Killing the Fae was killing us, and eventually it would have ended life in the world. We need each other.”

Tossing the washcloth aside, he reached down and lifted her bottom. His cock found her slick pussy unerringly, and he thrust up as he slid her down on him. She was so fucking tight as she clamped down on him. She helped out by wrapping her arms around his neck, and he sighed, burying his face in her wet hair.

“I need you,” he admitted. “I need both of you.” The words squeezed out of him as he walked her to the shower wall and rested her back against it. Every step thrust him deeper inside the sweet heat of her pussy.

“Jacob.” Her fingers dug into his shoulders. He loosened his grip, worried that he might be hurting her, but need rolled through him, smashing aside the walls he’d erected while she trained. He wanted her. He wanted to slam his body into hers until the only thought in her mind was his name.

“No matter what happens.” He pushed the words through his teeth. “You need to know that. I am not sorry that you chose to bring them out into the world. I’m not sorry you chose me or him. I am not sorry for any of it.”

Cassie’s brows drew together, her mouth opened, but he took possession, swallowing her words, and let his hips piston. Her cunt was so tight, stretching and clamping around his cock like a vise.

Her tongue stroked his, drawing him deeper into her mouth. Her legs hitched up around his waist and their skin slipped against each other, the warm water sliding over, around, and between them. He struggled to hold onto his orgasm, his cock swelling with every thrust. His balls drew up threateningly.

He drew back, breaking the kiss, fighting for control. But Cassie peppered his face with tiny kisses and thrust her hands up into his hair. “Take me, Jacob.”

His gaze collided with her luminescent gold. Her eyes glowed, shivering away any visage of tiredness, and he held her gaze as he slammed into her. He braced one hand against the wall, holding her tight to keep her body from being bruised against the warm tile.

And he let go, giving into the unrestrained moan that tore out of his throat. She whispered encouragement to him, her voice rising up and falling with every glorious thrust. Her pussy clamped around him. Her gaze swallowed him. Her legs tightened on his hips as she arched her pelvis, grinding her pussy along his cock with every swift pound that took him deeper.

Cassie let out a little cry, and her body slammed down to meet him. Her staccato breaths and soft cries only heightened his pleasure. He ached to be in her, to fill her, and to do it again and again. Only one thought chanted through his mind.

Cassie.

She clung to him, nails scraping as she cried out and he crashed into her, a roar exploding out of his throat as his strokes lost their rhythm and he came, hot streams shooting out of his cock as he buried his face in her throat.

Shudders rolled over him as his cock jerked, eager to spit out the last of its load. Her heartbeat echoed in his ears, pumped the blood through his body. He lifted his head and met those shimmering eyes and their forbidden promise. Every muscle in his body relaxed. His cock nestled deep inside of her pussy, twitching with the need for more.

He kissed her temple. The skin was hot and moist from their passion. She smelled of her favorite soap, arousal, and the scent that was just Cassie.

“I love you,” she whispered, and the words cinched around his heart.

“I love you.” He took her mouth in a sweet kiss, nuzzling her lips. The taste of her mouth, the way she whispered his name, nothing felt like this. Nothing in the world felt as good as sinking into her throbbing pussy, feeling her tighten around him, and the rain of kisses as she encouraged his primal thrusts.

“Did I hurt you?” he murmured, worried that in his zeal, he added to the bruises peppering her body.

“Only in the best possible sense.” The languid, lazy voice hardened his dick, and he pushed against the sensitive folds.

“Good. Because we’re doing that again.”

She was laughing as he slid out of her and shut off the shower. He never dropped her as he carried her, soaking wet, to the bed. They landed in a dripping, heated mess, and his cock slid unerringly home.

“And again,” Cassie suggested.

“And again,” he confirmed, closing his lips around the hard point of her nipple. His cock stiffened further, and he knew it didn’t matter. Nothing mattered.

Except her.

Helcyon leaned against the stone fireplace, not quite hovering over the Brownie as she worked a ladle through the blackened pot. Nose wrinkled, her furred face gave her all-seeing eyes a sad cast. “This will not last under too strict an application of magic.”