Son of No One (25 page)

His breathing ragged while she thoroughly pleasured him, Cadegan buried his hand in her hair as she slowly, methodically explored every inch of his hard cock with her mouth. “Lass, you've no idea what you do to me.”

She laughed deep in her throat as she cast an impish glance his way that told him she knew exactly what she was doing. And that she meant every bit of it.

In that heartbeat, he knew how much he loved this woman. How quick he'd die at her bidding. There was nothing else in this world that mattered to him.

And he would never be able to take another day without her.

Even though it was the last thing he wanted, he withdrew from her and swung her up in his arms to carry her to the bed.

Jo held her breath at the fierce expression on his face. While there was no sign of the demon, he held an almost possessed quality to him. “Are you okay?”

He answered her with a kiss so hot, it left her breathless and weak. He literally ravaged her mouth as he pressed his body against hers and parted her thighs with his knees.

His hands and lips took turns exploring and teasing her with pleasure until she came from it.

She was in the middle of her orgasm when he entered her and heightened it even more. Screaming out his name, she clung to him as he thrust himself against her hips.

He laughed as he cupped her cheek in his hand and stared down into her eyes. She saw the hunger inside him. But more than that, she saw the love and adoration. No man had ever looked at her that way.

“I love you,” she breathed.

“And I, you.” He took her hand into his and kissed it. Holding it against his cheek, he buried himself deep inside her and came.

She watched ecstasy play out across his face before he collapsed against her and held her tight.

“Thank you, lass.”

“For what?”

He lifted his head to stare down at her with a searing sincerity. “For keeping your word to me. No one has ever done that before.”

Her heart broke for him as she fingered his whiskers and lips. “They were great fools, me lord,” she said, trying to duplicate his accent.

He rewarded her with a bright, impish smile. “Your fake accent is terrible.”

“And yours isn't. I could listen to you speak all day.”

His eyes gentle, he kissed his way from her lips to her stomach, where he placed his cheek and sighed. Jo played in his hair while his breath tickled her skin. In a matter of seconds, she felt him relax and realized he'd fallen asleep with his body between her legs.

Smiling, she laughed. Her poor Cadegan. Like this, he seemed so harmless and sweet. But she knew the violence he was capable of. The rage.

This wasn't a man she'd let into her heart. He was one of the fiercest demons ever born.

More than that, he was a demigod.

What have I done?

Jo held her breath as reality crashed into her and she glanced around a room that was the temple of a god in a mystic land that existed outside of human time and space.

You don't believe in this crap.

Yet she could no longer deny it. This was as real as the demon god sleeping in her lap.

Holy cow. She hadn't merely dipped her toe into the paranormal pool, she'd cannon-balled it. And Cadegan would have enemies after him for the rest of his life.

Thorn had warned her of that. It was part of the reason they'd decided to put him here, where no one and nothing could reach him. Only Acheron and those he invited directly could access the Atlantean heaven realm. Here, they would always be safe.

At least that was her thought until a bright light appeared beside them.

One moment, Jo was lying peacefully with Cadegan. In the next, she was ripped from his arms and pulled from the bed.

 

18

“Brit? Is it really you?”

Jo blinked at the incredibly beautiful red-haired woman in front of her. “Excuse me?”

The woman gripped her chin and angled her head so that she could peer deep into Jo's eyes. “It is
you
!” she breathed with a bright smile. Tears spilled down her face as she seized Jo into a happy hug and held her there.

Bug-eyed, Jo stared over her shoulder to where Cadegan was now rising from the bed to confront the woman holding her.

“Release her!”

The woman turned around and snorted dismissively. “And you!” She pulled him in for a tight hug. “I've missed the two of you terribly!” Growling at them, she shook her head. “Why did you ever want to be mortal? I've never understood your reasoning. And you must have reconsidered, otherwise you wouldn't be you now, would you?”

Cadegan exchanged a baffled grimace with Jo. “And here I thought
you
were the one who confused me most, lass.”

Sadness darkened the woman's vibrant green eyes. And now that Jo thought about it, she looked a lot like Acheron's daughter Kat. “You don't remember me at all, do you?”

“Artemis?”

The joy returned to her beautiful face at Jo's guess. “You do know me! I knew you couldn't forget. Not after all we did for each other!” She pulled Jo into another tight hug. “I should never have allowed you to go to Britain. Icky place, that. Why didn't you come home?” She pouted at Jo, then smoothed her hair. “But you're back now, aren't you? Both of you!”

Jo bit her lip, unsure of how to answer.

Artemis patted her shoulder. “It's all right. You will remember me. In time. I know you will.” She dropped her gaze and turned bright red as she realized Jo was standing there naked and she'd interrupted them in bed. “Oh … oh! I'm so sorry. I didn't even think. When Katra told me that you were back … I wanted to see you immediately. Forgive my intrusion!”

She took Cadegan's hand and Jo's and pressed them together. “You two were always my favorites. And this time, there will be no more of this talk of mortality. No more talk of leaving me or each other, ever again. You are two halves of a whole and I love you both too much to ever stand to see you pulled apart again. Damn the witch's curse. This will be undone. My word to you both.” She vanished instantly.

Completely stymied, Jo stared at Cadegan. “Is it just me, or do I attract every weirdo in the universe?”

He laughed at that. “You attracted me, so I be thinking I shouldn't comment on it.”

She kissed him then pulled back with a scowl. “Do you feel reincarnated?”

“Not really. You?”

She shook her head. “Weird, huh?”

“Any idea what she meant about the
gwiddonod
?”

“English, dude! Speak English.”

Laughing, he kissed her. “Witches, love. She spoke of a witch's curse.”

“No idea.” She trailed her gaze over his long, muscled body and felt the heat inside her build again. Stepping closer, she lifted her chin so that she could nip at the sexiest jawline she'd ever seen.

Cadegan closed his eyes as he savored the sensation of her lips and tongue on his flesh. Pleasure ripped him asunder. “You keep doing that, lass. And we'll never leave this place.”

She reached down to cup and fondle the part of him that was already growing hard for her again. “I'm good with that.”

He covered her hand with his and rocked himself against her palm, enjoying the warm pressure of her touch.

Jo frowned as he spoke in his thick Welsh to her. “What?”

“You are the light in my darkness, lass. Without you, I have no hope. No faith. I barely exist. And all I ask is that if you ever leave, you will do me the mercy of tearing out me heart, rather than leaving me lost inside the forever night without you.”

Tears choked her, not just at his words, but at the honest, raw emotion that backed them. “I wish I could be that poetic, Cadegan. I suck at romance and relationships. I always have. Never have been able to find the right words at the right time. But I do love you. Now and always. And I never want to live without you.”

He kissed her then, and drove himself deep inside her body. This time, when he made love to her, it wasn't soft and gentle, but demanding and fierce. As if he was afraid he might never see her again.

Jo lost herself to the sensation of him hard and thick inside her. She met him stroke for stroke as she sought to ease the pain that never left his eyes. At least not entirely.

But whenever he looked at her, it lessened. And that made her feel special and cherished.

That was all she'd ever wanted. To matter to someone. To have someone she could depend on when she needed them. Someone who wouldn't break faith with her. Life wasn't easy. It wasn't supposed to be. Yet with the right person, even the worst journey was tolerable. More than that, it could be fun. It wasn't about learning to suffer through the storm to make it to the daylight. Life was about running through the rain and laughing even while it soaked you to the bone. Dodging the lightning strikes and daring it to come for you.

That was what Cadegan made her feel. In his arms, she was invincible. Not because she couldn't be hurt, but because she knew he wouldn't leave her cold and alone. He would pick her up and fight by her side until the storm passed.

She wrapped herself around him and came in a blinding wave of ecstasy.

Growling deep in his throat, Cadegan joined her. And even then, he didn't release her. Still on his feet, he kept the whole of her weight without complaint.

And when he met her gaze, she saw the yellowish eyes of the demon inside him.

Unafraid, she pressed her hand to his cheek and kissed his lips.

Cadegan savored her taste that shook him to the core of his being. “Marry me, lass,” he breathed. “Stand with me, forever.”

She dipped her head to pass him a playful frown. “What is that look?”

“What is what look?”

She narrowed her gaze. “You don't really doubt my answer, do you?”

“I doubt any time me life is going good.”

Nipping his chin, she squeezed him tight. “You should never doubt me, Cade. Of course I'll marry you. Name the altar and I'm there, with Selena's bells on.”

“Selena's bells?”

“My crazy cousin who sews them into the hem of her skirts. She thinks it keeps evil away.”

“You wear that and it would keep me away.”

She tsked at him. “You're not evil. Wicked, definitely. But not evil.”

Cadegan closed his eyes as he savored her acceptance. It was the first time in his existence that he didn't feel as if he were a scourge that should never have been born. He felt whole.

Most of all, he felt happy.

And that terrified him.

Happiness had always been something other men had. Never him. Happiness had run from him as if he were a leper carrying the pox and selling plague-laden bread.

He dropped his gaze to the medallion that he'd put around her neck. Picking it up, he placed it in her hand and covered it with his own. “Should you ever be without me and need me to protect you, take this in your hand and say these words …
Ysym arglwydd gwrdd gorddifwng ei far, gorddwy neb nyw ystwng.
”

It took her several times before she spoke them correctly.

“Can you remember all that, lass?”

“I can. But what does it mean?”

“There is to me a powerful lord of overwhelming wrath—the oppression of any, he will not tolerate.”

Jo smiled up at him. “It's beautiful, and very fitting for you.”

“You bring out the best in me.” He kissed the medallion and rested it between her breasts. “You can only use it when you are under attack, never against someone else. For any reason. Understood?”

“Got it.”

With a quick nod, he turned about and frowned as he looked for something.

“What is it?”

“Your most important room is missing. I was looking for a place to wash.”

Jo laughed. “I know it's an ancient place, but … there must be a bathroom here, right? I would assume such a room, should it exist, would—”

“It's the door on the left.”

Her eyes bulging at the unknown voice, Jo squeaked and placed herself behind Cadegan to cover her naked body. “Who said that?”

“I did.” It was the stone lamp statue thing, in the corner of the room.

“Who are you?” What was it?

“I am Electra. But fret not. I'm not really sentient, but rather am a smart device, or conduit if you rather, set here for your convenience. I only activate for certain questions. Such as where are rooms, should you need lights, or if you wish to contact another person who calls Katateros home.”

Cadegan approached it slowly. He reached out and touched the cold marble. “You truly can't feel?”

“Or see. I only hear and speak.”

Jo pulled Cadegan's robe over her head before she joined them to inspect it. “It's kind of cool, huh?”

“Aye, but marble usually is.”

“Not, cool, Cade … cool!”

“Ah … the wombat's on a horse, lass.”

She laughed at him. “Poor wombat's getting his workout today.” After kissing him lightly, she stepped back. “Where was that bathroom again?”

It actually pointed at the direction.

Still not quite sure about it, Jo went and found a huge, gilded bathroom with a pool reminiscent of an ancient Roman one instead of a tub. “Hey, Cade?” she called. “I think you're going to really like this.”

He stuck his head in the door, then grinned like an adorable little boy. “Aye, me like.”

Before she realized what was going on, he removed her clothes with his thoughts, tossed her over his shoulder, and dove into the bathing pool. She came up laughing and sputtering while he continued to swim beneath the surface.

Jo froze as she realized something. Cadegan was amphibious. Or he had the strongest lungs ever created.

When he finally surfaced, it still wasn't his whole head. Only his eyes. He kept his nose and mouth below the waterline.