Authors: Kate Douglas
Tags: #Romance, #Man-Woman Relationships, #Fiction, #General, #Paranormal, #Demonology, #Revenge, #Paranormal Romance Stories
Starfire (18 page)
An almost palpable sense of power rushed through her. Selyn smiled and tugged her hand free of his grasp. “Good. Then it won’t take us very long, will it?”
He blinked. It appeared Dawson Buck hadn’t expected her to press the issue.
“Lie back.” She gave his broad chest a gentle shove.
“And think of England?” He laughed, but he did as she said, and lay back against the pillow with his arms folded beneath his head.
Selyn straddled his long legs and studied the thick length of him that pointed almost to the ceiling. “I have no idea what that means, that ‘think of England.’ Some day you will explain. Now, though, you will have to tell me what you like. I need to know what will make you embarrass yourself.”
He groaned, and she was almost sure he blushed. She wrapped her hands around his… . “What do you call this?” She squeezed him for emphasis.
He gasped. “You’re killing me. You’re doing this on purpose, right?”
“Of course I am. What is it called?” She ran her fingertip through a small bubble of white fluid that appeared at the tip.
“Oh, shit.” He arched his hips, lifting her.
“Oh, shit?” She laughed. “I don’t think that’s right.”
He groaned, rolled his head back, and closed his eyes. She continued to stroke him, slowly up and down. She cupped the sac that hung beneath and explored it with her fingertips, gently rolling the two hard little balls inside. His legs trembled beneath her thighs, and his chest was heaving with each breath he took. His lips were drawn back, and if she hadn’t known better, she’d have thought he was in terrible pain.
She remembered how it had felt when he put his mouth between her legs. Thought of those moments before her climax—how badly she’d needed. How much she’d wanted.
That must be how Daws was feeling now. Needy. Wanting her to finish this. She leaned over and wrapped her lips around the broad head of his parts and sucked, just the way he’d done to her breast, to those sensitive nerves between her legs.
She definitely got more than she expected. He cursed and cried out, his fingers tangled in her hair; his hips bucked hard, and suddenly her mouth was full of him. She wrapped her hands around the base to keep him from choking her, but she kept squeezing and sucking and licking. His cries were much as hers had been—incoherent and ruled by passion. She tasted his release—salty and a little bitter, but not at all unpleasant—and she held him in her mouth even when he wanted to pull away. Held him and licked and eased him down, just as he’d done for her.
When he was still and his member had gone soft, she finally set him free with a final lick and a kiss. His fingers slipped from her tangled hair, and his hands fell to his sides when she crawled along his body to lie beside him.
He turned and looked at her with what could only be wonder in his eyes. Selyn wanted to weep, to think that she and this man she was growing to care for so much, had shared something so personal, so intimate and unbelievably wonderful.
He leaned close and kissed her hard, and she wondered if that was the taste of herself on his lips, wondered if he tasted his release on hers. And then she realized he was grinning and so was she. “Now,” she said, staring into those blue eyes of his and feeling powerful and feminine and much more sure of herself than she could ever remember, “are you going to tell me what you call that thing?”
They showered together, exploring each other’s bodies with an ease Dawson really hadn’t expected. Of course, he hadn’t expected a lot of what had happened this morning, including Selyn’s taking over in bed and leaving him cross-eyed and weak as a kitten.
He’d never had an experience like that. Not even close. He definitely wanted it again, and if it meant going all the way back to Sedona by himself, he was going to round up an entire crate of condoms.
He slipped on his jeans and boots while Selyn dressed in the scrubs she’d brought along, and wove her hair into a long braid. Neither of them knew what to expect today, but Daws wanted to be ready for anything.
“Are you hungry?” Selyn stepped out of the small kitchen area. “There’s food here. Cereal and fruit. We need to break fast.”
“I’m starving. Those sandwiches were gone a long time ago.”
After a few minutes’ preparation, Selyn handed him a bowl of hot cereal that reminded him of sweetened cornmeal. She’d sliced what looked like apples on top.
Tasted like apples, too. “Where do you get all your fresh foods?” He leaned against the counter and took another bite.
She shrugged. “I’m not really sure. I’ve heard we have traders who go out into other dimensions. Fruits and grains come from Earth, fish and some fowl from Atlantis. Some of the foods are manufactured here, though I’m not sure what they’re made from. We don’t farm or raise animals, yet we occasionally have chicken and even beef. Even those of us who are slaves have never gone hungry.”
“This is good, and it’s filling. Some day I really want to learn how this place functions. Like the light in here. When we went to sleep, it was dark, and yet we awoke to dim morning light that’s brighter now, like daylight.”
“The light comes from inside the rock. Most of the stone is crystalline and has a natural-looking glow that mimics sunlight on Earth. It’s all set to a twenty-four hour clock, since that’s what we had before Lemuria was destroyed. This light through the stone is all I’d ever known until I went to your home.”
A soft knock had both of them turning toward the door. Dawson set his empty bowl down quietly, but Selyn put her hand on his arm before he could reach the door.
“Grab your sword,” she said. “I’ll see who it is.”
He reached for his sword and jerked his hand to a stop just above the hilt. Instead of the bare blade he’d left on the table the night before, this morning it was enclosed in a red leather scabbard. Swallowing back a million questions, he unsheathed his sword and stood to one side. Selyn unlocked the door and swung it open just a crack. Then she flung it wide. “Good morning,” she said, stepping aside as Birk and Artigos the Just slipped through the door. Selyn shut it firmly behind them.
Artigos immediately checked out Dawson’s crystal blade. “Birk told me yours was a ruby. Good. Let’s hope it will remove demons as effectively as DemonsBane.”
Dawson swallowed. “It managed to create its own scabbard during the night. What’s a demon after an accomplishment like that?” He laughed and glanced at Selyn. She held her sword in one hand, a red leather scabbard in the other, and a look of utter confusion on her face.
Grinning, Dawson turned back to Artigos. “How is that going, getting rid of the demons in the guards?”
“Very well. The trick will be convincing the women and men to work together. The soldiers in an army must have trust if they’re to become a cohesive force.”
“All but one of the women have crystal.” Selyn was buckling her new scabbard on as she spoke. “Taron spent some time training them, though we all have much to learn. Unfortunately, there’s one woman, a rather foul-tempered sort, who did not get a sword. She might be a problem.”
“Any reason why she was skipped over?” Artigos glanced at Dawson, but Selyn answered.
“She tried to take a sword that hadn’t acknowledged her and ended up with badly singed fingers. Then, when all the swords were handed out, the last one went to Dawson and not to Isra. I worry that she might be angry enough to give us away.”
Silence stretched while Artigos seemed to ponder Selyn’s information. Finally, he reached his decision. “She might, but for now we need to concentrate on removing the last of the demons from the few remaining guards. They’re the only ones down here she could even go to. Plus, there are those six others, still possessed, who were called to work in the levels where the free folk live. They’re a problem we’ll deal with later.”
Birk interrupted. “The last five men down here who still harbor demons are due to report in a few minutes. I’m going out to meet them. Lord Artigos, I’ll contact you when I’m ready, but if the three of you show up with crystal, plus mine, we should be able to take care of the entire group at once.”
He slipped quietly out of the room. Dawson shot a quick glance at Selyn. It was starting. He was going into his first mission in the battle against demonkind, and he was going with Selyn at his side and a sword in his hand. And a red leather scabbard strapped to his back. “What do you make of these?” He patted his scabbard.
Selyn checked the position of her sword across her back. “I’m learning not to question good fortune. I needed a crystal sword. I got one. My sword needed a sheath. There’s one waiting when we awaken.” She stepped close to Dawson and grabbed his hand. Her laughter gave way to the seriousness of the moment. “I needed a hero, and there you were.”
How could she possibly see him as hero material? Dawson wanted to protest, but all he could think to do was lean close and kiss her. Then, glancing up, Dawson realized Artigos was studying him. “Sir?”
“I am still trying to figure out why a human would be here in Lemuria, fighting demons in a battle we may very well lose.”
Dawson shook his head. He’d felt this war was every bit his as much as Lemuria’s from the beginning. “From what I’ve been told, Lord Artigos, demonkind threatens all dimensions. If Lemuria falls, Earth will be next. Likewise, if Earth goes over to demon rule, Lemuria will follow, as will Eden and Atlantis. It’s not just Lemuria’s battle. It’s one we all have a stake in, one that affects all our worlds.”
Artigos looked almost weary when he nodded. For the first time, Dawson was aware of the man’s age, the fact he’d been locked away for thousands of years.
As if he’d heard Dawson’s thoughts, Artigos sighed. “I have been away from my world, from my people for much too long. I remember humans as a primitive, warlike people, yet you are obviously thoughtful and well-educated. Thank you for your commitment. And you as well, young Selyn. This battle is, for you, even more personal than for many.” He raised his head. “Birk calls. Are you ready?”
Dawson glanced at Selyn. She leaned close and kissed him full on the mouth. “Now I am,” she said.
Dawson noticed that Artigos was now grinning ear to ear as he led them out to meet the demon-possessed guards.
Selyn’s first thought was that these guys were huge. Her second that she really didn’t have a clue how to fight—her every step in the battle with Birk had been directed by Artigos’s ruby sword. Still, she drew her clear crystal blade and stood between Dawson and Artigos, each man carrying a crimson blade that flashed with light the color of blood.
And, just like that, knowledge flooded her mind and body. How to grip the hilt, where to place her feet, how to feel as the battle began to unfold.
The guards immediately broke formation and drew their weapons, but it was obvious from the beginning they expected Birk to join them. When he sided with the prisoner and two strangers, the five stumbled back, confused and disoriented.
Birk drew his sword. What had appeared as steel within his sheath now glistened with blue light. “The five of you are known to be possessed by demonkind,” he said. “Throw down your weapons so that we can remove the demons that rule your thoughts.”
“Demons? There’s no such thing in me.” The guard turned and thrust, but his charge was toward Selyn, not his commander. She crossed blades with him, crystal to steel, and his arm twisted with the strength of her blow.
Artigos lunged forward, slapping at the man with the flat of his blade, but he missed. It was Dawson who got the hit, connecting with the man’s chest while ducking to avoid a wild parry with steel.
The guard stiffened; his steel sword dropped from nerveless fingers, and he fell to his knees. The other four leapt back as a thick, oily mass oozed out of the man’s chest. The sulfuric stench made Selyn’s eyes water, but Artigos reached high with his ruby blade, and the demon burst into flames.
Dawson raised his blade, ready for the next attack. It came as the first guard toppled to the ground, unconscious. Dawson slapped his blade against one man before he had a chance to attack, while Artigos went for another. Selyn leapt to one side and reached for the demon mist escaping from Dawson’s opponent.
Her sword seemed to swing under its own power. She caught the demon and destroyed it with a single well-aimed thrust. Artigos had his man down while Birk fought off the other two with his own crystal blade.
As soon as Dawson’s man was down and out, Selyn shifted her stance and swung her blade through the mist escaping from the one Artigos had just downed. It flashed with blue sparks and left nothing behind but the stench.
Birk and Dawson engaged the final two guards. Where Birk used brute force to back his assailant across the cavern floor, Dawson’s fight was one of finesse and skill. Selyn glanced at Artigos and saw that the man was standing and watching Dawson with a look of pure admiration on his face.
“Should we help them?” She shot Artigos a grin and got his answering smile in return.
“I’ve not seen footwork like that since I was a very young man. It’s like watching a dancer.”
Dawson parried and thrust, but the guard twisted away and Dawson’s blade missed. “I could use some help, here.”
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