The Ruby Kiss (15 page)

The hunter ceded ground. Sweeping down his wings, he took flight. Nightshade grasped Ruby’s hand and ran with her toward the Bunker.

Twister loped past on four legs and got there first. He had the door open for them when they arrived, but just before they went through to safety, Ruby halted. She stared up at Kade, who was hanging in the sky and watching.

“Nothing’s settled yet,” he shouted sullenly. His fingers uncurled to reveal her three linked stones.

Anger flashed through Nightshade, and he nearly went after Kade then and there, but Ruby hung on to his hand. “I’ll get my Magic Knot from him when I’m ready,” she promised.

“One day you’ll be back for these,” Kade shouted.

“Too bloody right I will,” Ruby bellowed. “And you’ll regret it!”

* * *

In Devin’s room in the Bunker, Ruby sat in a luxurious burgundy silk armchair. The fire flickered, casting a dancing pattern of light over the plush patterned carpet and brightly striped wall hangings. Nightshade and Devin sat in matching chairs, the three of them forming a semicircle around the fire.

Shortly after they’d arrived back here, Devin had returned full of apologies for deserting them. He said he’d had to get away before he killed the Seelie king and started a war.

Ares snuggled in a hairy ball on Nightshade’s lap, and Apollo sat on Devin’s, his chin resting on Devin’s arm while he gazed up at the djinn adoringly. Ruby tried not to be miffed that her dogs had deserted her in favor of the men.

Devin petted Apollo absently. “Tell me again what Aila said when you gave her my gift.”

For the third time, Ruby dutifully repeated everything that Aila had said about Devin.

“Oh.” He leaned back, his gaze drifting into the distance.

Nightshade gripped Devin’s arm. The two men’s eyes met, and the silent support and concern in the nightstalker’s expression made Ruby’s heart trip. What a strange and complex creature he was: uncompromisingly male on the outside, soft on the inside.

“She
was
worried about you, Devin,” Ruby reassured him.

“So she hasn’t forgotten me.”

“I reckon she thinks about you all the time.”

Devin closed his eyes and dropped his head forward.

How could Eavan and Nairne doubt the djinn’s character? Ruby still wasn’t sure what was wrong with being a shadow elemental, demon, whatever. After all, it was just a label. But she’d bet he was more worthy of Aila than all the Seelie hunters put together.

The silence lengthened, the only sound the funny little squeak of Ares’s snoring. Ruby’s gaze traveled back to Nightshade, and she pretended she was looking at Ares rather than his solid, muscular thighs. The lamp between the chairs cast a sheen over his sculpted abs and pecs. She lingered with concern on the raw streak across his ribs where Kade had zapped him.

When her slow perusal reached his face, he gave her a knowing grin.

“Thank you for protecting me today,” she said. Her words came out breathy with the fluttering of her heart.

“My pleasure,” he replied, his voice again dark velvet. “Thank you for choosing my freedom instead of claiming your Magic Knot.”

“Kade would never have stuck to any bargain anyway.” She smiled, trying to make light of her decision.

“I’m only sorry I didn’t get the chance to teach him a lesson.”

“Next time,” she said. “But we won’t take Twister again. Talk about useless.”

“I have to keep apologizing for my uncle’s behavior,” Devin said, rousing from his thoughts. He frowned at the fire. “I don’t understand what’s gotten into him the last few days.”

Ruby stood and stretched, hoping Nightshade would take her hint. “Well, I’m worn out from Aila’s lesson. I’m off to bed.”

He scooped Ares off his lap and rose, making her pulse jump. He held the tiny dog at eye level. “Time for bed, scamp.”

Devin stood, too, passing Apollo to Nightshade, and the two small dogs relaxed in the nightstalker’s grasp as he headed for the door. Ruby firmly believed that animals were good judges of character. His fangs obviously didn’t worry them, and he’d given her ample reason to trust him. She was finding more and more that she did.

When they reached the room she’d been given, Nightshade deposited her dogs on their blanket near the fire. He hadn’t been alone with her much since they arrived at the Bunker, and he hadn’t mentioned mating again. But the heat in his gaze suggested his thoughts were X-rated. She was more than ready to bring those thoughts to life just as long as he didn’t mention babies again.

He turned to leave, but she called his name.

“Yes?” He pivoted, sweeping back his long hair with a casual gesture that sent desire shivering through her.

“Stay with me a little longer.”

“Ruby . . . .” He hesitated, and her heart tripped.

“Come on, laddie, I don’t bite.” She grinned at her joke. He didn’t.

“That’s a problem. If I spend time with you alone, I might.”

“Oh.” Her nipples peaked so hard against her leather bodice they pinched. The little hairs on her body prickled with a darkly tantalizing fear she didn’t understand. How could the thought of his fangs sinking into her neck fill her with both fear and longing?

Nightshade’s nostrils flared. His eyes widened then narrowed. “You want to mate, woman?”

A strange languorous shiver ran through her. “You’ve got it in one.”

He moved toward her with the sinuous grace of a predator.
“I thought you didn’t want a—” He halted. His brows snapped down, then slowly relaxed as if he’d just fought an inner battle. She just hoped the right part of him had won.

He took her hand and drew her closer until they stood toe to toe, not touching anywhere else. She had to crane her neck to see his face.

“You’re not going to throw me out of your bed this time, are you?” he asked.

The memory of Nightshade’s naked body pressed against hers set her pulse racing. “I’ll tie you to the bed so you can’t get away.”

His eyebrows canted up, showing his surprise. She grinned. For all his macho bluster, he was obviously inexperienced with women. She relished the chance to educate him. “I’m joking,” she said. “I won’t tie you to the bed—until we know each other better.” Then, before he had a chance to reply, she leaned into him and rubbed her breasts against his chest, reaching up to link her hands behind his neck.

“Oh, Ruby,” he said on a rush of breath.

He gripped her waist and turned her so that he could sit on the edge of the bed. She needed no encouragement to step between his splayed thighs. When she angled her head, their lips met in an achingly sweet kiss, gentle, very different from the hungry urgency of the kisses they’d shared at her home. She slid her hands beneath his wings to stroke the knots of sensitive muscle, and he groaned against her lips and moved to nuzzle her neck.

“You’re just a big pussycat,” she whispered against his hair. “I bet I can make you purr for me.”

One of her hands continued to stroke his back; the other glided over his ribs to the front of his jeans. Simmering excitement weakened her knees as she traced her fingers along the ridge of his erection. “Sweet,” she whispered while she caressed him. Her memory hadn’t exaggerated.

He pulled at the lacing down the back of her dress. After a few minutes, he leaned back with a grunt of annoyance. “Twister’s dressed you in a bloody chastity belt.”

She suppressed her smile and turned her back so that he could see what he was doing. After a few more seconds of tugging, she heard the ping of snapping leather laces. As she turned back to face him, he pulled the sagging dress down to her waist.

“Ruby, Ruby . . .” His breath rushed out. He cupped her breasts, stroking her with his thumbs. Her eyelids fell as streamers of sensation fluttered across her skin.

He lowered his head and ran his tongue over first one nipple, then the other. “What is it about you? I’ve never been interested in breasts before, but yours drive me crazy.”

She found herself surprised again. “So there’ve really been no other women?”

“No.”

As he explored her with his mouth, Ruby cradled his head between her hands. She speared her fingers through his silky black hair; her head fell forward and nuzzled his.

I’m the first woman he’s fancied. Good. But isn’t that odd? Either he likes women or he doesn’t—

Ack! She gave herself a mental slap and tried to lose herself in the wonderful sensation of Nightshade’s mouth against her nipples. But her stupid mind wouldn’t quit.

“So . . . you like men?”

He looked up, the fading flames of the fire reflected in his silver eyes. “Biting them, love. Dominating them.”

A nasty little worm of jealousy wriggled through her. “What about Devin? Have you bitten him?” She remembered how friendly they’d been.

He grasped her waist and swung her onto the bed. Following, he caged her with his arms. “Why the interrogation?”

Heat rose to her face. “Not important,” she mumbled.

He lowered himself slowly atop her, the muscles in his arms and chest bulging, the curtain of his long black hair cutting out the light. His lips came down firmly on hers, his tongue plunging into her mouth, combative and dominating. He was letting her know who was boss, and she ran her palms over his shoulders and biceps, reveling in his power.

After long minutes, he pulled back. She gasped for breath. He scooped his hair aside and perused her face and body; then he settled at her side, his head propped up on his hand. “Devin and I are just friends. I’ve only bitten him once—on the wrist when I needed blood to help me recover from a wound.”

Ruby smiled with relief. She would
not
ask him any more questions. Well, maybe just one. She walked her fingers down his chest toward his belt. “Have you bitten any men recently?”

His silver eyes flicked up from her breasts, and his lips tilted into a smile. “You’re jealous!”

“I’m not,” she snapped.

His grin widened, and he tweaked her nipple playfully. “Liar.”

“Well, have you?”

“I bit someone at the Gathering. Before you arrived.”

Shock jolted through her, followed by a sensation of nausea. He’d bitten a man after he’d been to see her. A sense of betrayal burned through Ruby, though she knew she had no right to feel it. She’d thrown him out. And they were talking about biting, not sex.

Nightshade leaned closer, misunderstanding her silence. “Some people desire the pleasure of my bite,” he whispered. He brushed his lips across her neck.

Ruby angled her head to give him better access, her heart sprinting. It would be so easy for him to bite her now. Little
shivers of expectation raced through her at the thought. But he’d done this to someone else at the Gathering. The sick jealous feeling lay in her stomach like lumpy porridge.

“Who did you bite?” she asked.

“Troy.”

She took a second to place the name he whispered against her skin; then she remembered that Troy was Devin’s father. The jealous twinge faded. Why would Nightshade want to bite an old guy?

His teeth scraped her neck and all thought fled her mind. She trembled at the frisson of dangerous pleasure. His hand cruised her body, pushing the leather dress down to her hips. That large warm palm circled her belly, the caresses moving lower toward where she longed to be touched.

“Let me bite
you,
Ruby.” His breath tickled her skin and raised goose bumps.

“I’m not sure.” She writhed against the covers as his fingers crept lower.

Leaning over her, he claimed her mouth in a drugging kiss. Something sharp stung her tongue and she tasted blood. A deep needy rumble filled his chest, and he pulled back.

“You’re going to kill me, woman. I must bite you.”

She peered at his mouth in the dim light of the fire. Two needle-fine white fangs showed beneath his top lip, and deep instinctive fear made her tense. Her hands flattened on his chest to push him away but she checked herself. Conflicting emotions knotted her insides. She longed to make love with him, and part of her ached even to feel his bite. But her good sense recoiled.

“Would the blood bond give you any control over me?”

Nightshade sighed. “Ruby, love, do you really think I’d try to control you?”

“So you would have power over me if you bit me?”

“I don’t know.” Nightshade sat up and pinched the bridge of
his nose. “Look, it’s been a long day. Maybe we should discuss this tomorrow.”

Ruby slapped her hand on the bed in a burst of frustrated anger. She’d again ruined their time together. Why hadn’t she kept her big mouth shut?

She sat upright and rearranged the front of her dress. “I’m sorry, Nightshade. There are just things I need to know before we take this any further.”

He shook his head. “It’s all right.”

He climbed off the bed, but at the last moment she grabbed his arm. “Stay with me.”

“Aren’t you worried I’ll bite you?” he asked.

“I trust you.” She winced. Nothing like mixed messages. “It’s not that I don’t want you to bite me. It’s just that I like my independence.”

He shrugged wearily. “Even if the blood bond gave me the ability to control you, I’d never use that power.”

She could feel him slipping away, and her chest ached like a bruise. She didn’t want to lose him. “Perhaps we can do the mating bit tonight and save the bite for another time?” She plucked at the button on his jeans, tilting her head with a smile.

“Love, I don’t think I’ll be able to do one without the other.”

“Oh.” Her hand dropped away to rest on the dark red duvet cover, small, pale, and alone. “What do you want to do then?”

His eyes met hers. They stared at each other, balanced across the chasm of their differences. Did he want her enough to make allowances for her human fears, or would he decide the effort was too great?

He opened his mouth. Before he could answer, a light knock sounded on the door.

“Bloody hell.” Ruby scrambled under the covers. “Who’s
that in the middle of the night?” Now she would never know Nightshade’s answer.

Nightshade opened the door. With a glance over his shoulder, Devin slipped inside.

He paced to the bed, his face tight with concern. “I’ve been mulling over Twister’s strange behavior, because it’s out of character. Really out of character. I think I know the reason he was so desperate to keep you in the Unseelie Court, Ruby. You’re not going to like it.”