In the Beginning... (51 page)

Immediately. Willingly.

Her hands were gentle on him when she
brushed the hair off of his forehead.

He’d been hurt, protecting her. How was she
supposed to come to terms with that?

She sat by his side for hours, running her
fingers through his hair, and ensuring he didn’t jerk around,
opening stitches. Making sure he didn’t develop a fever, or any of
the other complications they’d had to watch out for with Josey. It
gave her plenty of time to think. To worry.

Why was she so resistant to the idea of them
being destined for one another? Was it only because of the rape?
Was it because he’d forced the changes on her? Was it something in
him? In her?

Everyone in her family seemed to accept the
idea of Rajnis completely. Everyone except her. What did that tell
her? What could she do about it?

She fell asleep cuddled against him with
those thoughts repeating over and over in her mind.

She didn’t know how many hours had passed
since she’d fallen asleep on the floor next to him. She did know
that he was awake, and so were his hands. And other parts of his
body. Her tunic was open, her bra exposed. Opened and parted. His
mouth was doing tantalizing things to the skin her bra normally
covered.

Mal arched against him before she could stop
herself. “What are you doing? You’re going to hurt yourself.”

“Not by doing this. You taste so sweet. Why
haven’t you let me taste you here before?”

Mal thought about pushing him away, but
couldn’t bring herself to do it. “Why are you tasting me now? I
didn’t tell you that you could.”

“No. That you didn’t do. But you were here
beside me, looking so beautiful. So damned tasty. I just had to
have one little taste.” His teeth nipped at her neck. “Just one. Or
three, maybe.”

For the first time in a long time, heat
burned in her gut. Sexual heat. Hot, intense, healthy lust. It
brought tears to her eyes. Her fingers sank into his hair and she
pulled gently. He paused, then looked at her.

“Kitten? Do you want me to stop?”

Mallory shook her head. “Will you...kiss
me?”

He didn’t have to be asked twice, but he
seemed to understand that she wasn’t asking for heat, but for
gentleness. He brushed his lips against hers, then pressed a little
harder, a little deeper.

Mallory slipped her hands from his hair and
locked her arms behind his shoulders.

He kept the kiss gentle, tasting and teasing
her. She ran a light hand over his shoulder and down his chest. The
stitches were rough beneath her fingers. She pulled her head back,
breaking the kiss. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“For not hurting my brother.
For not
…
” For not
pushing her. She couldn’t understand why that suddenly mattered so
much to her, but it did. He hadn’t pushed her; he’d come close a
time or two, but she had always had the knowledge that he would
stop if she told him to.

She had...trusted him.

That realization was what frightened her the
most.

After those initial few days she hadn’t
feared him at all. Why?

Was it something in him or something in
herself? Or was it because they were somehow fated to be together;
fated and therefore it was out of their control?

“Mallory? Do you want me to kiss you? To
touch you? Or do you want me to stop?”

She pulled in a deep breath, the movement
pushing her half-naked chest against his. The burn of his skin
scorched her. “I...I don’t want you to stop.”

His eyes widened just a tiny bit and his
hands tightened on her back.

“Whenever you do, just tell me, ok? I will
never do something you do not want.

You are my
Rajni
, and your happiness
is what matters. Even in this.”

Mallory nodded. She
understood the significance of what she was doing. It was decision
time. If she
they
did this, there was no going back.

Aodhan shivered, seeing the trust that shone
in her green eyes. She meant it. She finally wanted him. He brushed
a strand of red hair off her forehead, catching a small bead of
sweat with his fingers.

She was frightened of what they were about
to do. Frightened of him? Frightened of the sex itself? He kissed
her ear, tasting the sweet, perfect taste of his female. No other
female in the world would taste quite like her. He murmured soft
noises designed to comfort as he stood and did his damnedest to
pull her up with him. He didn’t care if he opened every one of the
stitches holding his skin together, but he knew she would. That
mattered. So despite the urgings of his body to scoop his female
into his arms he refrained. “Come, kitten. Our first time together
should be in our bed.” He held out a hand to her, waiting for her
final decision. “Please?”

He’d never forget the slightly vulnerable,
slightly excited look his female turned up at him in the moment
that she took his hand.

Her
vestis
was partially undone, her
feminine flesh exposed and beautiful. Her skin there was the palest
of white, telling him that his female did not sunbathe often
at least not with too much skin exposed. Her
nipples were reddened from his earlier attention. His mouth watered
in anticipation of her taste. But he wouldn’t rush her. Aodhan had
to let her lead. Had to give her all the choices.

Aodhan backed up until the
back of his knees hit the mattress, then sat. It put her above him,
and he sensed instinctively that was what she needed. He guided her
hands to his shoulders, then slipped his hands down the
vestis
hanging open. He
was careful not to touch her skin. Not yet.

He slipped the turquoise silk off her
shoulders, letting the material pool around her feet. Her bra
followed. His hands rose and he cupped her, running his thumbs over
her nipples. The skin puckered and he smiled when she gasped. “You
are beautiful. Here. And everywhere.”

“I have scars. From when he cut me.” Her
head went back proudly, almost as if she was daring him to dismiss
her claim. He’d seen the silvery lines along her sides. “They are
ugly.”

“He was ugly. Never you. And you are not the
only one with battle scars, my little kitten. Mine own body bears
the marks of my past.” He brushed loving fingers over the marks on
her skin.

She shook her head. “Dardaptoans do not
scar.”

“Unless the wounds are grievous. Do these
make me ugly?” He traced the lines from swordfights long ended. “Or
these, perhaps? I gained them fighting to protect a young girl from
a band of Civil War deserters. Sixteen men died that day, but that
girl was safe.”

Her fingers followed the path his had taken.
“No. What all have you done? What have you seen?”

“More than you can imagine. But what I see
now is what I have been waiting my whole life to see.” He fought
the urge to wrap his hands around her waist and pull her tightly
against him. Then he thought better of fighting it and did just
that, holding her for a moment before she leaned back. He flicked
her nipple with his tongue. Her breath caught again, and that
thrilled him. He covered one nipple with his mouth and sucked it
deep.

She arched against him, her moan turning to
a squeak that had him smiling. Responsive. His female was
responding to her male.

Had any man’s touch ever felt like his?
Mallory didn’t think so. Couldn’t remember. Her knees threatened to
buckle and she told him, resisting the urge to beg him to never
stop. He wrapped his hands around her thighs. He buried his face in
her stomach. “Goddess woman, you smell good. Tell me what you want,
and I promise you I’ll give it to you.”

“I want
…
” What in the hell did she want?
Mallory didn’t think words could even describe the need filling
her.
“More.”

His laugh tickled her
abdomen, and Mallory squealed. The sound freed some of the
inhibitions that had taken hold of her for a moment. If she was
going to do this
and she for damned sure
thought she was
she was going to do it
right. Her fingers sank into the chestnut curls above his ears and
she pulled his head up. “Kiss me.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

She dove into the kiss just as hot and hard
as he did. Then her hands were everywhere, his were everywhere, and
for several long moments they absorbed the taste and feel of each
other.

Mallory didn’t know how she ended up on the
bed, but she strongly suspected she’d crawled up his lap. He
wrapped a strong arm around her waist and turned them both until
the turquoise silk of his blanket was beneath her back. He leaned
over her, strong and fierce. A warrior.

Her hands traced every muscle of his chest,
to sooth the wounds still red and raw, and to familiarize herself
with his shape. With the touch of his skin. His mouth pressed
against hers, all the heat concentrated in that one spot.

It wasn’t at all like before. There was no
taking, no force. Just a man who cared about a woman.

And a woman who cared about her man.

This time it was Mallory who
kissed him. His hands touched her everywhere, and she was just as
fervent as he. His left hand slipped the
pardus
from her, leaving her in
nothing but a white scrap of underwear. The underwear followed,
hitting the floor where he threw them.

A moment of uncertainty took hold. Her hand
dropped to cover the worst of the scars where it wrapped around her
hip. Plastic surgery had only done so much to remove the marks of
the attack.

Masculine fingers covered hers, forcing her
hand to relax over the marred flesh.

His gold eyes stared into hers. “You are
beautiful. Every inch of you was made for me. Just as every piece
of me is yours. For the taking. Just make the decision, kitten, to
take what the Goddess decreed was yours.”

Mallory pulled in a deep breath and did just
that. No more moments of hesitation, he was hers. She took and took
from him, and he let her. Laughed at her fervency. Appreciated
it.

His hands were just as busy, touching her
everywhere. Stroking her delicate skin until every nerve in her
body hummed in pleasure. When she thought she could take no more he
guided her legs around his hips. She felt him against her in every
way that mattered.

She eagerly tightened her legs around him,
her hands pulling him closer. “Hurry, Aodhan. Please.”

“All in good time, my kitten. All in good
time.” He nipped along her neck, sending streaks of lust straight
to her abdomen. She shivered and held him tighter as he pushed
inside her easily. She arched to meet him, locking her ankles
around his waist as he begun to move.

His teeth sank deep into her neck, and
sensation so hot and so damned right shot through her that it was
several moments before she was aware of the world around her
again.

He held her against his chest while she
tried to catch her breath, his hands hot but gentle on her skin. “I
did not hurt you, did I? I did not take too much?”

“You didn’t take anything that I did not
give.”

It didn’t change anything. Not really.
Mallory still didn’t know if she was going to stay with him, but
the decision to leave eventually seemed even harder for her to
make. Thankfully he’d been gone when she’d finally opened her eyes
that morning. She’d been relieved then upset then relieved again
when she’d realized he wasn’t there beside her.

What would she say to him?
Thank you? She had absolutely no experience with
morning afters.

Still, she couldn’t avoid him all day and
she needed to check on his injuries, make sure he hadn’t hurt
himself any worse when he’d lifted her or twisted around on the
bed. Had she ever been with someone quite as physical as
Aodhan?

No. She hadn’t.

That thought gave her a warm little thrill
that she tried to ignore.

She found him in his office surrounded by
his friends. Cormac nodded at her. Mallory nodded in response, then
turned to Aodhan.

He looked ok, though the
stitches on his arms were still visible beneath where he’d rolled
the sleeves of his turquoise
vestis
partially.

“Mallory? Kitten, is there something you
needed? I’ll be finished here shortly.” His tone was tender and his
gaze warm. Mallory felt a flush hit her cheeks. Had the other men
guessed at what they’d done the night before? Was it evident?

“I-I-I want to see Rand.”

He nodded. “Of course. Can you give us ten
minutes? I can meet you in the lobby.”

Mal nodded. Maybe in that
ten minutes she could decide what to say to both of them
Rand and Aodhan.

Aodhan’s sister and Kindara were in the
lobby when she got there, Rathan and another man standing at their
sides. Mallory joined them. It was then she noticed the packs each
carried.

“We’re going to Relaklonos,” Auri said,
motioning to Rathan. “Apparently, the demon thinks some of the
medical knowledge in his realm will be beneficial to our
people.”

“Aodhan used demon blood last night.”
Mallory still couldn’t fathom that the man she’d known for ten
years was a demon. He’d been a close friend, yet she’d never
suspected. “He said it worked.”

“Yes.” Kindara studied Mallory and had
Mallory squirming. “No side effects?”

“Not that I’m aware of. Aodhan seems fine
this morning. He’s supposed to join me. We’re going to talk to my
brother for a while.”