Wicked Wind (Solsti Prophecy #1) (25 page)

“You did well,” he whispered. “But that won’t be the last battle you see.”

“I’ll be ready. Brooke will be ready too. I know you want to keep me safe, but you can’t put me in a bubble. We both know I’m here for a reason.” She caressed his nape and stood on tiptoe so that her lips gently brushed his. “Did you bring me out here to talk?”

“No. But if there was a bubble that could hold you, I’d find it,” he growled, and with one tug of his hand, her leafy dress ripped open and fell to the flower-covered ground. Like last night’s almost-sheer dress, there was no way to wear panties under this garment without looking ridiculous. A couple of days with the scantily-clad nymphs had made underwear seem unnecessary, anyway. She ran her fingers through his silky black hair and circled her naked hips against him.

His lips covered hers tenderly, gently shaping her mouth with sweet kisses. She opened to let him in, feeling the rush of adrenaline from this morning surge back into her. She didn’t want him tender right now. She wanted the warrior she had seen out on the field, easily cutting down the enemy as if he could do it in his sleep. With his steely strength and her innate gift, they had battled
together
to defeat the Vipers. Licking into his mouth insistently, she wanted to tangle with him, wanted to possess him. She clutched his shoulders, her nails digging in to his skin, making him hiss.

Need uncoiled low in her belly, sending shimmering waves across her overheated skin. Her nipples hardened into tight points as they rubbed against his bare chest. She ran her hands down to the waistband of his trousers, hooking one finger inside and dragging it slowly back and forth. With her free hand she reached around to cup his ass. His muscles clenched under her touch.

He groaned into her mouth. “So aggressive tonight, Nicole. Is that how you want it?”

“Yes.” Her breath was ragged. She nipped at his lip. “Now.”

“And here I thought I’d be all romantic, making love to you tenderly among the phos-flowers,” he chuckled. His hand covered her breast.

Why is he still talking?
“Next time.” She popped the button on his fly.

With the tree at her back, he nudged one of his thighs between hers. She hooked one ankle around his calf, sliding it up. His pants were gone, his erection huge against her stomach. The blue fire in his eyes was brighter than the flowers around them. He lowered his mouth to her neck and tugged her marked flesh between his teeth. She gasped as little jolts of pleasurable pain shot straight to her core.

With a growl, he turned her around, and lowered her to the soft grass. His big hand on the center of her back pushed her shoulders down. She turned her head to one side, her cheek on the carpet of glowing flowers, and looked at him. He was so powerful, so huge and masculine, and he delighted her on every level. Her butt was up in the air, her sex hot and wet and exposed to his hungry gaze. Her position was completely submissive, yet she felt potent, knowing her warrior would give as much as he took.

He licked her once, tantalizing and teasing from her rear all the way down her slick folds. She moaned in response, fingers clutching blades of grass. He grabbed her hips and with a snarl he thrust his cock deep, tilting her body to give him complete access. She’d probably have bruises tomorrow from his tight grip, but she didn’t care. He let go of one hip, only to bring his hand down hard on her ass.

A whoosh of air left her lungs. Just like the first time he had spanked her in the hallway of his house, it felt naughty and erotic. She had no idea why, and this wasn’t the time to start ruminating on her new-found sexual pleasure. She only murmured, “Do it again.”

He spanked her other cheek, then reached around to find her nipple and tease it with his fingers. Leaning down, he bit her shoulder. She cried out, his teeth sending shivers all along her back and around to her chest. Her skin tingled everywhere as need built inside her, and she pushed back to meet his body.

He thrust harder and deeper, making her breasts bounce against the grass. With one last gentle pinch, his hand left her nipple and trailed down her belly. She gasped as his teasing fingers found her clit and began slow, tortuous circles.

“Faster,” she moaned, and he obliged her with a growl. She braced one arm against the ground to keep from sliding forward from the force of him as he pushed deeper inside her. She relished the night air on her skin. The sensation of being naked outside, with him buried inside her, made her pleasure build until her world exploded into white heat.

When she could breathe again, she realized he was still pounding against her backside. Then she decided turnabout was fair play, and reached her own hand back to cup his balls. He cursed and pumped her harder. She continued to massage him until she felt his body detonate as he roared her name.

He slumped forward, leaning his weight on her for the briefest moment. Then he swiftly flipped her to her back and set upon her breasts with his mouth and hands. He sucked, licked, tickled and teased her nipples and the tender skin around them until she writhed in the grass.

Keeping his lips closed around one achingly hard nipple, he moved one hand down to stroke between her thighs, which were soaked from their combined fluids. One stroke, then two, then he fluttered his finger devilishly against her clit. She cried out as her body rocked against his hand, her vision hazy, the sensations seeming to go on and on.

She rode out the last of the aftershocks and gazed up. Through her fog of delight, she could see his handsome face framed by the endlessly glowing blossoms. It would be so easy to believe this was some sort of Eden, that she had been transported straight into a dream she didn’t want to leave. All of Torth seemed that way so far. Even though they came here to gather information and had run into their share of trouble, the journey had been magical. They had found such a wealth of pleasure in each other’s arms that she knew she would never get enough of him.

But Eden had its snake, and so did Torth. The Vipers and Ghazsul demons had shown the vicious underside of life in the demon realm. And she and Gunnar were here to prevent another ugly evil from taking hold on Earth. She reached up to caress his jaw and he leaned into her hand, kissing it.

“This place is amazing,” she whispered. “It still feels like a dream.”

“A very wet one,” he murmured teasingly. “But yes, you look like some kind of dreamy sex goddess, lying here on the ground, sated from my touch, with your hair full of crushed phos-blooms.”

“What?” She reached up to touch her hair and couldn’t suppress a giggle. So much for not crushing any of the delicate flowers. Deciding to just leave them there, she said, “Lie down.”

He obliged, and she curled up next to him with her head on his shoulder, her arm thrown across his chest. She wanted to steal just a few more minutes in this magic place with him. They lay quietly entwined as the moon shone high overhead, its pale light adding to the soft glow of the phos-blooms and sharpening the edges of the tree trunks.

Today had been a momentous day for her. She felt closer to him than ever, but still, she knew he harbored a dark secret. She wanted to break down that last barrier between them. Something haunted the big dangerous demon in her arms, something that he hadn’t wanted to share with her.
Is he hesitant because he’s not sure what I’ll think?
She pressed a kiss to his shoulder, the knowledge growing in her that she cared for him with a surprising protectiveness. Whatever had happened was in the past, and nothing could alter their connection. She wanted so badly to understand him, to know every single thing about him, that tonight she felt bold enough to push him.

“Gunnar?” She traced his collarbone with tentative fingers.
Please don’t shut me out
.

“Mmm?” His rumbled response made her belly flutter.

“What happened between you and the Ghazsul demons?”

C
HAPTER
17

T
HE
ENTIRE
WORLD
froze. Gunnar went utterly still. The wind held its breath, as Nicole held hers. Even the crickets quieted their soft chirping.

She propped herself up on one elbow to look into his handsome face. His eyes shone with an azure luster, but his gaze hardened as he stared up at the moon. She gently cupped his cheek and whispered, “Please tell me.”

He lay silent for so long that she doubted he’d confide in her. Disappointment chilled her veins at the thought that he didn’t trust her or didn’t care enough about her to share this painful part of his life. Then she felt instantly chastened, worried she’d pushed too far. Unwelcome tears gathered and she closed her eyes, her heart beating in dull thuds of regret.

Her emotions tumbled to a halt as he nudged her down to the soft grass, reversing their positions so that he leaned on his elbow beside her. He gazed at her, his eyes glowing and soft. “It’s not easy to talk about.”

Afraid to speak for fear she’d ruin the moment, she reached for his hand and held it between both of hers. Tenderly she rubbed small circles along the back.

“I haven’t spoken of it in a long time.” Breaking her gaze, blue eyes looked off at some distant point in the trees. He seemed a million miles away. She continued to caress his hand, trying to convey the overwhelming devotion welling in her heart. His internal struggle painted on his face, she waited. Then he spoke.

“My family lived near a city called Halice. We had a house just outside the city limits.” His voice was rough. “It wasn’t huge, but it was nicer than most of the homes in the city. My sister was a year older than me, and we played games constantly. She and I looked alike enough that many people thought we were twins. Our mother taught us at home, and we always tried to get out of our studies.

“One day we were playing hide and seek. We had the perfect house for it–there were lots of rooms and closets. We even had a secret passageway; although my sister and I made up a rule that it was off limits. It was too obvious to hide in there.

“We convinced my parents to join us. Our mother played our games with us sometimes, but it was my dad who took more coaxing. He loved us, but there were a lot of demands on his time.

“We decided that since there were four of us playing, we would use the entire house and yard. My mother was “it.” I was hiding in a closet in one of the bedrooms when it seemed like it was taking a long time for her to find me. I didn’t hear my sister either, and she always made a lot of noise when her hiding place was discovered.”

A sick feeling filled Nicole’s stomach. She couldn’t look away from Gunnar as raw emotions fired across his beautiful eyes. Her fingers stilled and she squeezed his hand tightly.

“Then I heard screams coming from downstairs. I tiptoed to the second floor landing and looked down to see our foyer full of Ghazsul demons. I didn’t know it then, but it turns out it was a group of thugs who had broken into some homes in the city a few months back. They had never been caught, but things had been quiet for a while, so everyone thought they had moved on.

“Being Lash demons, my father and mother were both excellent fighters, but they were vastly outnumbered. My mother was on the floor, trying to protect my sister who was cowering and crying underneath her. But they pulled her away.”

Gunnar broke off, his face a mask of painful memories. She wanted to reach for him, but she was afraid to move. At this moment he wouldn’t want her comfort. He was finally sharing with her the burden of his past, and she sensed he would do it by finding the strength within himself to get the words out.

His voice dropped to a whisper. “Two of them held my sister. Three each held my mother and father. They slit their throats, one by one. First my sister, then my mother. They forced my father to watch. Then it was his turn.

“I didn’t know what to do. I couldn’t move. I was frozen in a nightmare, watching my family being murdered. Then someone yelled to search the house, and I ran for the secret passageway. I stayed there as the Ghazsuls ransacked our home. Then they were gone.”

Nicole bit her lip and tears again brimmed in her eyes. She ached to hold him, to embrace the dark-haired boy she saw in her mind’s eye. But that boy was gone, replaced by the dangerous man who’d finally opened his soul to her. She swallowed hard and waited.

“I stayed in the passageway for hours, scared that one of them might have stayed behind. Finally I got too hungry to stay put, so I came out. I crept through the house as quietly as I could, but there was no sign of the Ghazsuls. They had just left my family there on the floor. I couldn’t move them–I was too little. I sat down next to them and cried. Night came and I stayed with them. I almost wished the Ghazsuls had killed me, too, because I didn’t know what to do. We had no other family.

“I took some bread from the kitchen, took some bedding from my room, and went back into the secret passageway. I did that for a few days, until there was no more food. Then I had to find a way to eat.

His expression darkened. “That’s when I became a criminal. I stole food and slept in the street. If I got caught by the shop owners I got beaten, so I learned how to sneak through the shadows undetected.

“On the streets there were other young feral demons like me. Most were looking for food or a fight. Most were stronger, so I had to be careful. The bigger ones slept in the better places, the alleys that weren’t full of piss and biting rats. I was small and alone, and I had my dinner taken away from me more than once. But as I grew older, I grew bigger. A lot bigger than the others, since most of them weren’t Lash. I learned how to fight any way that I could, even if it meant fighting dirty. I made a lot of enemies.

“My anger only grew stronger. If I came across a Ghazsul demon, I killed it. No questions asked. If anyone stole from me, I killed them. Whenever I thought of my family, I was filled with rage. I wanted to avenge them. Deep down, on some subconscious level, I knew I wasn’t going about it in the right way. My father wouldn’t have wanted me to live like that. But I didn’t know anything else. At that point, I didn’t know who I was. I was nothing more than a thief and a killer.