Bodyguards (19 page)

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

One Night

Relief swept through Vivien,
followed by an unexpected wave of shyness. When their lips met again, the kiss
was as sweet and slow as their first one, down by the lake. Vivien ran her hand
through Brad’s hair, pulling him tighter against her. His mouth lifted from
hers, but immediately pressed against her cheek, then her jaw and neck. Tingles
radiated from every touch, warming Vivien’s body and making her knees tremble.

She nuzzled his neck and pushed
gently against him, trying to guide him toward the bed to her left. After
taking a step with her, he resisted and drew her to the bed on her right
instead.

Thoughts fluttered through
Vivien’s mind, as fast and elusive as the flashing wings of a butterfly.
Aedan’s bed. Where was Aedan? Would he intrude on them? They hadn’t closed the
door. What about the bond thing? He had to know what was happening. Would he—

Brad chased those stray thoughts
away when he looked into her eyes and asked in an almost solemn murmur, “May I
remove your shirt?”

A shiver coursed through Vivien,
and her mouth was suddenly too dry for words. She nodded and remained still as
Brad’s fingers trailed down her arms and sides on their way to the hem of her
tee-shirt. He eased it off with a careful gesture and averted his eyes as he
set it on the night table, next to the tall candle and its wavering flame. She
watched his face as he turned back to her and felt a rush of embarrassed pride
when his eyes widened as they flitted over her. His Adam’s apple jumped, and he
licked his lips.

“Vivien.” Her name sounded like a
prayer on his lips. “You’re…”

As much as she wanted to know how
he’d finish that thought, she wanted to feel him against her even more. She
threw her arms around him and crushed her bare chest to his, feeling strength
everywhere she was soft, and such heat that she shuddered against him. She
mouthed kisses along his neck and collarbone, flicking her tongue to taste his
skin.

His hands ran up and down her
back, tracing arabesques and spirals, then ventured to her sides, coming up to
brush against the sides of her breasts. Within the confines of his pants, his
cock was pulsing with each of her kisses, each of his caresses.

“My turn,” she said.

She only needed to take half a
step for the back of her knees to hit the edge of the bed. She sat down,
letting her hands trail from his shoulders to his hips, where his pants rode
low and hinted that he might not be wearing underwear. She hooked her fingers
under the fabric and pushed down, glancing up as she did. Brad’s eyes, usually
so pale, were darkened by his dilated pupils. He watched her with such
intensity, such hunger that her heart jumped in her chest, and she had to drop
her gaze. She looked down just as she freed his cock and couldn’t suppress a
moan at the sight.

Well-defined veins ran down a long
shaft that bobbed up and down, inviting touch. The entire length was flushed,
but the tip was darker still, a small, clear drop of fluid beading along the
slit. Vivien’s fingers felt nerveless when she fumbled to push Brad’s pants to
his feet. She raised a trembling hand to his cock and wrapped it close around
the base, where his sack hung tight and heavy. He was so thick, her thumb could
just touch her forefinger around him. Brad moaned, a soft, keening sound that
grew louder when Vivien leaned forward and flicked her tongue at the tip.

Brad jerked back right out of her
hand. Startled, Vivien looked up, wondering if she’d done something wrong. All
she could see was the lust in Brad’s eyes before he pushed her down onto the
bed and climbed in after her. Her legs dropped open to cradle him close to her,
and as he lay on top of her, his cock pressed against the groove of her thigh.
Even through her sweatpants she could feel how warm he was. He cupped her face
in his hand and kissed her hard, making her body buck against his, her
fingernails drawing trails down his back.

He said her name again, right
against her lips, and this time it was a low sound that vibrated down to her
very core. She closed her legs around him, holding him tight against her, but
already he was sliding down. She started to complain, but her protest turned
into a groan when his lips brushed against one hardened nipple, then the other.

Then there was a small,
closed-mouth kiss on the same nipple, and a second one on the other side. A
small, flicking lick. A long, lingering one. Back and forth from left to right
as though both her breasts needed to be worshipped in exactly the same way, and
it wasn’t long before Vivien’s moans were equal parts pleasure and frustration
since his touches were always exactly right—and always much, much too short.

When he gave a small, tight suck
to her right nipple, her hand flew to the back of his head and pressed hard,
holding him in place before he could lift his mouth once more to switch sides.
She felt him shake against her, and she realized he was chuckling—and
understood he had been driving her mad on purpose. He would pay, she promised
herself. She’d get her revenge, and make him plead for her, and...

And all thoughts fled her mind
when his mouth fastened tightly enough on her nipple that she felt his teeth
pressing into her flesh, a counterpoint of pressure to the delicious, wet
suction of his lips. She crushed him even more tightly to her, both her hands
now tangling in his hair to keep him close. He sucked until the tightness was
on the edge of becoming pain, Vivien’s entire body tense under him, then abruptly
shifted to gentler, soothing strokes of his tongue.

Vivien’s body relaxed, though it
still trembled, pleasure flashing through her in brief bursts, like shooting
stars streaking across the sky. Her grip on his head slackened, and he lifted
his mouth from her breast to caress the other.

Quiet, breathy moans filled the
room, reverberating off the walls and through Vivien’s mind, and it took her a
little while to realize that they came from her. Brad was absolutely silent as
he lavished attention upon her breast, his fingertips caressing the mound he
wasn’t sucking on. With an effort of will, Vivien lowered one of her hands,
caressing Brad’s smooth back, then the tight muscles of his ass, before
slipping over his hip in search of his cock. She had to push her way between
their bodies to find it, but soon she held the hard length in her hand, the wet
tip pressing against her palm with each tiny jerk of Brad’s hips. His moans
joined hers, muffled against her skin, and she shuddered with each one.

“I want...I want you,” she
stammered, her words coming fast to the galloping rhythm of her heart. “I want
you inside me.”

Brad lifted his head to look at
her, desire burning in his eyes. She could have wept at the loss of contact
when he pushed himself off her and sat back on his heels, but she consoled
herself with the thought that soon he’d be back, closer than before, and she’d
feel that strong body against her again, sculpted abs tight against her, strong
arms cradling her.

She watched his face as he tugged
her pants down, leaving her bare before him. The hunger was still in his eyes,
still as pronounced, now accompanied with a kind of reverence that took
Vivien’s breath away and made her long for him, for his warmth, for closeness.
No one had ever looked at her like that; she’d never known it could feel so
erotic to be touched with nothing more than a loving gaze.

He started to lower himself onto
her, and Vivien felt herself blush when she asked, “Do you have... You know. A
condom?”

Brad stilled, then knelt up again,
his hands resting on Vivien’s thighs, his thumbs brushing tiny circles on her
skin that made it hard to concentrate and listen to what he was saying.

“I’m sorry, I don’t.” He was
breathing fast, his cock bobbing in front of him to the rhythm of his breaths.
“We don’t use those on Foh’Ran. There are no illnesses here. At least not that
kind.”

It was hardly the most incredible
thing she had heard since coming to this place, but a tiny bit of reluctance
clung to Vivien. “What about...” She gulped. Her fingers twitched at her sides,
longing to touch Brad again. “Birth control?”

He laid down against her, holding
himself up on one forearm, his cock pressing hard and hot along her wet folds,
though not entering her.

“Remember what I said,” he
murmured, caressing her face with his fingertips. “About how the Quickening
affects many aspects of our lives? Couples who want a child have to channel
together, focus on the thought together while they make love to make it happen.
And as much as I love you, I don’t think either of us wants that now.”

Memories of that morning surged
through Vivien, when the Quickening had looped between her and Brad,
intensifying their desire for each other, making every touch, every kiss
intoxicating and shattering. She didn’t want a child, no, not now when her life
was already so complicated, but maybe next time they would channel together
again and ride the power until the end. She thought she’d like that. For now,
though...

She slid a hand down to where his
cock waited against her flesh. It pulsed in her hand when she took hold of it
and spread the wetness from the tip over the entire head. Brad caressed her
face again, his eyes locked with hers as she led the tip of his cock inside
her. She let go of him, and they both sighed, then shared a smile at their
mirrored reaction.

Brad dipped his head toward her at
the same time that he shifted, settling more comfortably between her legs. She
brought her hand back up, and he took it, linking their fingers together. His
lips touched hers at the moment his hips pressed forward, pushing his cock a
little further inside her. Vivien moaned his name against his mouth; those
couple inches were already awakening nerve endings she had forgotten existed—if
she had even ever known.

“Brad, please, I need you.”

The words had barely passed her
lips before Brad was thrusting again, slow slides of his hips that didn’t stop
until he was all the way inside her, stretching her walls, stealing away her
breath and ability to think. All she could do was feel: his hand as she
tightened her fingers over his, the rippling of his muscles when she caressed
his back, every last inch of his cock pressed so deep inside her, the strength
of his body as it caressed hers, and on top of it all, the depth of his love as
he looked at her as though he had never seen her before.

She moved first, rolling her hips
to meet his; he fell into her rhythm at once, and a new dance started, their
movements complementing each other in this back and forth older than time
itself. His face was still a mere inch away from hers, their eyes locked, and
every so often their mouths would brush together in elusive kisses.

Little by little, the warmth
suffusing Vivien grew more intense, until she felt like tongues of fire were
licking her everywhere she and Brad touched. Her orgasm took her by surprise.
Heat flooded her, and she pulled Brad tight on top of her body, relishing the
weight of him, anchoring her to him even as she soared. She gasped and moaned
against his throat, kissing, even biting gently without realizing what she was
doing.

Brad shuddered against her, inside
her, and when she felt his release, another wave of pleasure crashed through
her. She managed to hook a leg around him and held him as his body rocked a few
more times, then grew still. He rolled onto his side, taking her with him, and
gave her a little smile when their gazes found each other.

“I love you,” he murmured. “More
than I know how to say.”

Her throat too tight for words,
Vivien kissed him softly and closed her eyes, burrowing in the warmth and
safety of his arms as she went to sleep.

* * * *

Several times during the night,
Bradan drifted out of sleep, each time still a little surprised—a little
awed—to find Vivien in his arms. He watched her in the pale light of the
candle, listened to the soft rhythm of her breathing, and wished he dared
caress her cheek or her eyelashes where they rested like soft butterfly wings
against her skin.

When she started to shiver, he
drew a sheet and blanket over them, channeling to light a small fire in the
fireplace. A few moments later, the door creaked softly; open or shut, Bradan
couldn’t have said. As gently as he could, he turned in Vivien’s embrace, doing
his best not to wake her. Aedan was standing just outside the room, his hand
still on the doorknob as he pulled the door toward him to close it. He paused
when he saw Bradan looking at him, although he said nothing. Wariness pulsed
through the bond, accompanying the sharp spikes that Bradan had never felt
until that night: the pain of betrayal.

“She changed her mind,” he said
quietly, biting back the apology that wanted to rise to his lips. “I told her
what would happen to you if we left and she changed her mind. She’ll stay in
Foh’Ran. She’ll go to Rhuinn tomorrow.”

Relief flooded the bond. Aedan
didn’t say anything, but Bradan knew he was forgiven for his temporary lapse
when Aedan offered him a small smile before leaving. Bradan turned back to
Vivien, held her close, and went back to sleep. He’d need to be well rested and
alert when they Passed Through to Rhuinn’s palace.

The next time he woke, Vivien’s
eyes were open, inches from his on the pillow. Despite the closed curtains,
sunlight was filtering through, and it struck him how beautiful she was even
now, her hair mussed and a red crease from the pillow on her cheek. She smiled
shyly and whispered, “Good morning.”

“Good morning,” he repeated just
as softly. “Did you sleep well?”

Her smile widened a little. “Very
well. You?”

He smiled back. “Better than I
ever did.”