Carnal Magic: The Wraith Accords, Book 1 Page 5

  Hands fisted in her hair, pulled her toward him. She wanted to take his cock in her mouth, suck him down, feel him come, but could not. Her fangs were extended and she was too aroused to call them back. Maybe next time she’d have more control, would be able to retract them and then take him in her mouth, but right now she couldn’t.

  Instead she swirled her tongue around him, and when his hips pumped toward her she ran her fist up and down the length.

  “Enough, I need you.”

  With those words, he lifted her off the bed. Turning them both, he slammed her back against the wall. Isabel gasped as her naked body was pressed between cold stone and warm man. She dug her heels into his back and raked his shoulders with her nails.

  He reached between her legs and tore her panties off. The lace dug into her a second before the fabric gave. Then his cock was at her entrance, the head pressing into her.

  Isabel clutched at him, and he grunted in surprise at her strength. She wouldn’t apologize for it—she was sure Aed, unlike many men she’d been with, could handle her full power.

  He slammed into her, his cock filling her, opening her body, touching her deep inside. A little orgasm rippled through her. That first moment of penetration was always her favorite—to feel possessed, taken and at the same time powerful and feminine.

  Aed held her under the ass as he fucked her against the wall, their grunts and moans of pleasure a counterpoint to the slapping of flesh. Dimly, Isabel realized dawn was coming. She felt it as she always did, with a shiver of fear.

  Aed lifted her off his cock. Before she could ask why, he dropped her to her feet and spun her to face the wall. A hand on the back of her head pressed her forward until her upper body was bowed, her head and forearms braced on the stone as he bent his knees and slid into her once more.

  He held her breasts, his fingers rolling and plucking her nipples. Isabel shifted to grip his wrist, rocking in time with him as he fucked her. The muscles low in her belly tightened. She was ready to come again, but she wanted to see him when she did.

  Throwing him off, she turned, trying to force him back to the bed where she could ride him.

  He was too large, too strong. They grappled for a moment, her nipples brushing his chest, his cock rubbing against her belly. She lost the battle. He took control, lifting her and forcing her onto her hands and knees on the side of bed.

  His cock slammed into her willing body. Catching a fistful of her hair, he pulled, tipping her head back as he fucked her. It had been too long since Isabel had been fucked this roughly, this masterfully, and she’d forgotten the simple pleasure of being taken.

  Her fingers curled into the silk covers. “Aed. Aed. More.”

  “Isabel.” Her name was a prayer, a plea at odds with his demanding possession of her body.

  He grabbed her arm, forcing it up along her back. Her fingers curled over her own ass. His hand covered hers, his thumb forcing two of her fingers against her anus.

  “Touch yourself,” he demanded roughly.

  Isabel rubbed her index and middle fingers over her rear entrance, knowing he was watching. She pressed the tip of one finger in. Dark pleasure shuddered through her at the second penetration. She pulled her finger out.

  “Again,” Aed demanded in a rough voice.

  She did as he ordered, then added a second finger, pressing just the tips in before withdrawing.

  “Will you fuck me here, Aed?” Isabel wanted his cock in her there, where the girth would be sweet pain.

  His groan was the only warning before he pulled out, rolling her onto her back. Isabel pushed up onto her elbows and, grabbing Aed’s hips with her heels, pulled. He lost his balance and fell forward over her, catching himself on his hands.

  His face was only inches from hers, his blue eyes bright. Lifting herself another inch, Isabel kissed him, deep as her fangs would allow. Aed shuddered above her, his arms shaking. When the kiss was done, he dropped his head to her chest.

  Pressing her advantage, Isabel pushed him over onto his back and straddled him, his lower legs dangling over the side of the bed.

  This time there were no clothes in the way and she sank down on his cock. The smooth glide of her body over his, the power and strength of him between her legs, pushed Isabel closer to the peak of the orgasm that was winding tight within her.

  Aed braced one hand at her lower back. Placing the other between her breasts, he bent her back over his arm. She braced her palms against his knees. Bent as she was, she could not use her body weight as leverage and had to depend on the quick upward thrusts of his hips to keep her spiraling toward the peak of ultimate pleasure. His free hand slid to her breasts, cupping and squeezing them, then pinching the nipples, twisting the sensitive flesh.

  “Isabel.”

  Her name, an aching plea, was the final stimulus. The orgasm tore through her, sudden and overwhelming.

  Her lips pulled back from her fangs and she lunged at Aed’s neck. At the last second she regained control enough to press her teeth against him but not break the skin. Aed rose, holding her around the waist with his cock still inside her. Standing beside the bed, he let her fall back so her shoulders were on the mattress, her back and ass suspended in the air, held up by his hands on her hips and her legs wrapped around him.

  Aed’s face was savage as he slammed into her. There was a fine sheen of sweat on his chest, then he too came, back arched, muscles clenched. Isabel drank in the sight of his completion. Every muscle clenched, his hands digging into her hips, her name escaping his lips on a puff of air.

  When it was done, he positioned her in the center of the bed and then collapsed down beside her.

  Isabel took a moment to regain control—Aed had touched her more intimately than she’d planned, but it wasn’t the physical touch that scared her, it was the emotional connection.

  She looked over at Aed, brushed a lock of hair from his face. There was more to the quiet warrior than met the eye.

  “The humans have a saying.” She traced the line of his cheekbone.

  “Hmm?”

  “Still waters run deep. And your waters run very deep indeed, Aed mac Goll.”

  He pulled her tighter against his side.

  Isabel stroked the muscles of his chest, then traced the defined lines of his abs. “I see why the Fianna are such renowned warriors.”

  He snorted. “War and sex are not the same thing.”

  “Aren’t they?”

  “No. War is far less dangerous.”

  At that she laughed. Rolling over onto him, she propped her chin on his chest. He opened one eye and looked at her.

  “I must say I am very glad about that Fianna rule.”

  He raised his brows. “We have many rules.”

  “Oh? Well, I once read that a Fenian, a warrior of the Fianna, could not refuse a lady’s advance.”

  His mouth opened, then closed. “Uh, you knew about that?”

  Isabel laughed. “So it is true?”

  “Not any longer. That rule caused us much trouble in the past.” He grabbed her ass. “Is that why you invited me in, because you thought I couldn’t refuse?”

  “No. I would have invited you in anyway. It just made you a sure bet.” She wasn’t sure he’d understand the somewhat modern phrase, but the way he rolled his eyes said that he understood enough.

  “Look at it this way—now you can tell them I forced you.” Isabel sat astride him, rubbing her sex on his semi-erect cock. She shivered as it brushed her clit.

  Aed tightened his hold, stilling her hips. “I thought this was our secret?”

  She smiled. “It is.”

  Isabel rolled off him and then off the bed and onto her feet. Old habits died hard and she liked to bathe after sex. “I’d like to wash. Is that a water closet?” She pointed to a door beside the fireplace. She hoped that the castle b
oasted running water. Surely a people with the power of the Tuatha de Danaan would have amenities.

  He nodded and closed his eyes.

  As pleased as a cat with cream, Isabel strolled into the bathroom.

  Aed yawned and rubbed his forehead. As the last reverberations of pleasure faded from his body, exhaustion stole over him. He’d been tense for days, preparing for Isabel’s arrival. After that bout of truly incredible sex, it was hard to be anything but relaxed. Out of habit he rose and redressed, using a little puff of air to quickly thread the laces Isabel had pulled out.

  He’d had sex with a vampire.

  She was nothing like he’d expected.

  Both those thoughts merited further contemplation and study when he had time. He finished tying the laces by hand, then called back his armor. The weight of the metal settled on him, while the weight of the magic he’d used to vanish it lifted from his mind. He dismissed the dark coating that he used to camouflage the shine of metal when he was out at night, leaving his armor gleaming silver with gold inset patterns.

  A wave of weariness washed over him. Aed frowned. He shouldn’t feel so tired. Maybe the tension of the past few days had taken more of a toll than he’d accounted for.

  He rubbed his head again, releasing some of the other enchantments and wards he’d enacted in preparation for meeting Isabel. The less magic he was using, the less drain there’d be on his energy.

  It was stuffy in the room. The banked fire seemed to roar with heat, and the air smelled like stale sex and sweat. His armor tripled in weight between one breath and the next. He tried to vanish it but didn’t have the mental strength. Sweat beaded on his forehead. He was roasting, like a pig in an oven.

  Just outside the room the cool, sweet air of Tara was waiting, ready to soothe him.

  Open the door. Open the window.

  Aed went to the door, throwing it open. Dawn light filled the courtyard, making the lemons and grapefruits hanging from the trees gleam yellow and pink.

  He took a breath of cool, fresh air, but the heat was still there, burning him from within.

  Too hot. You’re suffocating.

  In ten long strides he was across the room at the shuttered window. He grabbed the heavy, carved wood cover, but the cross bar had been welded to the stone. He dug his fingers in and heaved. Metal groaned and crystal hissed as the Fenian pitted his strength against structures that had been welded with both iron and magic.

  Hurry. Hurry.

  He heaved again, his whole being focused on opening the window.

  A hiss was all the warning he got before Isabel slammed into him.

  Aed hit the floor, his armor ringing against the marble. The impact rattled through him, the suffocating heat that had filled him gone in a moment.

  She was naked, wet hair clinging to her face and breasts. The vampire was a study of dark and light with her pale skin and dark hair. Her eyes were black, her red lips pulled back from her long, white fangs.

  Aed blinked, then looked at the sunlight spilling in the open door.

  What had he done?

  Before he could say anything, Isabel grabbed his breastplate at the neck and waist. Lifting him, she threw him across the room. He crashed into the doorframe. He was stunned both from the impact and from the fact that she was strong enough to do it. In the next second she was behind the door, shoving it closed and pushing him out into the corridor along with it.

  “Isabel, wait.” He was still disoriented from what he now suspected was a spell. He struggled to get to his knees, but she kicked him. For a moment her leg was in the dawn light, the sun’s rays seeming to shine not on but through her flesh. He saw dark pink muscle, blue veins, red capillaries and the white twine of tendon.

  Isabel screamed in pain.

  Her kick knocked him into the corridor where he landed heavily on his ass and hands. Before he could get to his feet the door was closed with him on the outside. The heavy bar on the inside fell into place with a thud.

  “Isabel!”

  There was a crash followed by an enraged scream from inside. Aed stepped back, prepared to ram the door. She was in danger, he had to protect her.

  But he’d been the one who’d opened the door. He was the one who had hurt her. The danger was not inside the room with her, it was outside in the corridor with him.

  Taking a step back, Aed called on his training. Putting aside his feelings, he focused on what he knew. Someone had just tried to kill the vampire ambassador, using him as a weapon. He slammed his mental and magical defenses into place, wincing as they settled in the back of his mind, almost a physical weight in his skull. No one could break his mental barriers, but they had not been breached—he’d been tricked into dropping his shields, opening the way for someone to use magic on him.

  Aed looked at the door, pictured the woman on the other side. He’d felt something with her he never had before, the intimacy between them was rare and special. But he’d betrayed her. Though he was the weapon, not the assassin, Aed knew that didn’t matter. He could pound on the door and demand that she let him explain, but what was the point? He needed to focus on his job, which was protecting her.

  Aed braced his feet, laid one palm on his sword handle and scanned the courtyard.

  He was a Fenian, and would not fail a second time.

  Chapter Five

  Isabel hobbled into the bathroom and turned on the cold water, sticking her burned leg under the stream. She beat her fist against the wall as pain washed over her, but after twenty minutes the fire had dulled to an ache and she shut the water off.

  Either she had just been taken in by the most skilled liar she’d ever known or Aed was a pawn in a larger scheme to kill her.

  Isabel dropped down onto the bed, willing her leg to heal. When she’d opened the bathroom door and seen Aed tugging at the window covering, there’d been something wrong with his face, almost as if he were wearing a mask—a mask carved in an exact replica of his features, but with none of the life of a real face.

  That made her think that Aed’s actions were not his own, but the result of either orders or manipulation. And if that were the case, what else was a lie? Had he been ordered to sleep with her or merely ordered to give her what she wanted?

  Isabel rubbed the heel of her hand up and down her breastbone. She hated that what had just happened between them was nothing more than a game, an intrigue.

  Rolling herself up in the blanket, Isabel closed her eyes and willed herself to sleep, praying she didn’t dream about Aed.

  The throne room of Tara was a place of unequaled beauty. The massive room was built of pale green and white crystal and stone. Towering white columns supported virescent marble beams on which huge curved ceiling panels of cream and pearl quartz rested. The double doors at the entrance were carved with Celtic patterns and phrases in a script and language Isabel didn’t recognize. The view from the threshold was breathtaking, with a smooth expanse of white marble floor guiding the eye to the dais at the far end. The support columns marched down either side of this pathway, obscuring the true breadth of the room.

  Had she come here under other circumstances, Isabel would have loved to explore the space, to remark on the proportions and the materials. Her long life had given her opportunities to explore many interests, and in the last three hundred years that had included architecture.

  But the vampire’s awe was hidden behind an impassive mask. Danger was all around her. She’d made one mistake since coming here yesterday, and trusting Aed had nearly proven fatal. She had not survived this long by making such a mistake more than once. She hadn’t slept well after the confrontation with Aed, but luckily she’d arrived a day early, meaning last night and today she’d been able to hole up in her room and rest in preparation for her meeting with the Tuatha de Danaan court.

  “Isabel.” Aed spoke from just behind her. He’d been he
r escort to the throne room, but unlike their first night’s trek this one had been done in silence. “Be careful what you say. Do not show your strength. Do not make promises or accept gifts.”

  Isabel ignored him, as she had since emerging from her chamber. He’d tried to start a conversation when she first opened the door, but she’d made it clear that she did not want to hear anything from him.

  “You must protect yourself. There are those here who can influence your thoughts. Do not let your mind wander.”

  His words had the ring of truth, his urgent tone that of a man imparting some secret wisdom. His warning reminded her of the strange look on his face when he’d tried to so clumsily kill her with sunlight. Maybe this was his way of telling her that he’d been influenced by someone else, or maybe he only wanted her to think he was innocent of any ill intentions as a way of luring her back into trusting him.

  “Thank you, Sir Aed.” Isabel’s tone was formal and distant.

  Aed shifted, metal clacking softly. “There are things I would say to you.”

  Isabel’s heart clenched. “No, Aed. No more lies.”

  “I have never lied to you.”

  “You mean you have never spoken a lie. I heard about your people’s trick of always speaking the truth, but there are more ways to lie than with words.”

  She’d lingered too long on the threshold. It wouldn’t be good to appear reluctant or hesitant. Skirt swishing over stone, Isabel started walking. The size of the chamber meant she couldn’t clearly see the throne, or the people seated there.

  The closer she got, the more wary Isabel became. She’d assumed distance hid the occupants of the room from her view, but that was not the case.

  The thrones—one made of gold set with pearl, the other made of silver set with emerald—were empty.

  Isabel’s visit had been negotiated for weeks. Everything from the time of her arrival to the day and time of her meeting with the High King and Queen had been arranged far in advance.