Embrace Me At Dawn (40 page)

Every slow thrust reawakened her nerves and her need. She threw back her head with a gasp.

“
Oh, you feel so good, love. I’m already mulling many intriguing ideas, ways of binding you to our bed so I can do this to you for hours.”

“
Please…” Her voice cracked as she begged.

She didn’t know where they were headed or what would happen, but she knew that nothing else mattered but him in this moment. If he truly loved her this much…maybe he could handle her terrible truth.

With a wave of his hand, he turned off the shower, then stood. “Wrap your legs around me.”

His firm voice rang out in the enclosure, familiar…but deeper than ever. Sure of himself. It hadn’t been a request, but a command. Complying both thrilled her heart and aroused her body. With another wave of his hand, one big bath sheet wrapped around them. The other disappeared into the bedroom.

She forgot about everything when Lucan took his first step, gravity driving him deeper inside her than he’d ever been before. She cried out, digging her nails into his shoulders, planting kisses along his neck and jaw. Though he gripped her by the arse and held her up, Anka felt herself slipping—and lacking the strength to clutch him. The energy he’d given her earlier had revived her, but it was quickly waning, drained by the heavy thrum of Morganna’s spell still sucking her under.

Her suddenly heavy lids drooped, and he kissed her mouth while every step had her gasping with every deep shuttle into her body. Then the bed was at her back, the towel beneath her, and Lucan dragged her backside to the edge and stood above her.

With a leisurely withdrawal, he caressed his way down to her aching nipple. “You look exhausted, love.”

Blast it all, she wanted to stay awake, stay with him, enjoy this precious moment back in her mate’s arms, in the bed they had long shared. “I’m with you.”

“
You need more energy.”

“
I know. But I ache. I need.”

He frowned as he pulled away almost completely, then eased the thick crest of his cock back between her shiny folds, watching himself disappear into her body with a guttural groan. “God knows I want to give you pleasure. So much that you can’t stand to be away from me again. But I don’t know if giving you release and you sharing your energy with me now is wise.”

“
Please. Please. Please!”

Lucan hesitated, then traced his fingers over her abdomen, trailing them into her plump mound and brushing his knuckles over the hard little pearl at the top.

The flare of sensation was like a sunburst all through her. Anka gasped, her eyes widening. He merely smiled as he kept up the slow torture with his fingers and his shaft, both teasing her so slowly and precisely, she had no way to fight it—or him.

“
Lucan…”

“
Let go, love.”

She arched with a hoarse cry, grabbing the sheets in her fists and staring at him with wide eyes, panting. “Yes. Oh my—”

The scream tumbled out of her, a high wailing of her need and pleasure that shattered her all the way down to her soul while her body throbbed and pulsed with a fireball of an orgasm.

After that, she had a vague impression of Lucan’s worry, his urgent driving strokes into her body over and over, slick skin sliding over her own, desperation thick in the air. Then his choked cry as he released into her again and the feel of warm seed jetting against her womb.

She reawakened later with her old silk robe wrapped gently around her body and her sister-by-mating, Sydney, rushing in with a tray of eggs and fruit, a blueberry scone nestled on the side of her plate.

Anka happily ate everything in front of her, smiling as Lucan took the fork in hand to make sure she finished every bite. He pampered her, kissed her, his face reflecting all the love she’d feared she’d never see again and wanted so desperately.

“
Full, love?”

She nodded sleepily and curled up to his side, nuzzling her face into his chest, breathing in his skin and holding him close. Peace washed through her, a coveted feeling she thought she’d never know again.

“
Excellent. Sleep now.”

She wanted to. A full night’s rest—without Shock crashing through the house during the wee hours of the morning, so intoxicated that he barely knew his own name—sounded both heavenly and restorative. But she and Lucan had unfinished business. In good conscience, she couldn’t make him wait to know her secret. If, after hearing it, he still wanted her…then she would answer his Call.

“
I need to tell you something—”

He placed a finger over her lips. “Is the world going to end if you don’t tell me right now?”

Impatience and anxiety merely needled her, but her secret had been safe for over a hundred years. One more night shouldn’t matter, except to her conscience.

“
No, but—”

“
No buts. You need sleep, and I’m going to make sure you get it.”

Anka gave in. Yes, she wanted to enjoy one whole night of being in Lucan’s arms and bed again in case he no longer loved her after she confessed. The time was stolen, but she craved these moments with him.

“
You also need more energy. During the night, I’ll make sure you get more of that, as well.” He winked at her.

Anka hadn’t believed it possible, but she fell just a little bit more in love with Lucan. For once, it felt as if her entire world was coming together again. She prayed their love was strong enough to keep them together forever.

Chapter Fifteen

In the dark bedroom, Lucan slipped from bed with a crooked smile, threw on a pair of jog pants, and padded down the stairs. Coffee, a little breakfast for the two of them, then… His smile widened. He’d given Anka
plenty
of energy through the night. She should be more than able to give some back to him, and he was very much looking forward to that. Having her with him all night had been the sweetest miracle. He’d barely allowed himself to sleep for fear he’d awaken and find every beautiful moment with her had been only a dream.

In the kitchen, Lucan snapped on the light and waved a hand in front of the coffee maker. As he waited for the hot brew to finish, he opened the refrigerator and contemplated the contents. He’d never mastered the art of cooking, not even magically. He could ask Sydney to help out or ring Sabelle but—

“
You Called to Anka again?”

At the sound of Caden’s astonished question, Lucan turned. His brother stared at his altered signature. Caden’s expression wasn’t condemning…but he didn’t look thrilled, either.

“
She’s it for me, brother. My one. That can’t be a surprise.”

“
Did she Bind to you?”

That was Lucan’s only disappointment. He wanted to be certain she chose him freely, yet…if he was the mate of her heart, why was she hesitating? The waiting chafed. “Not yet.”

Now Caden let his displeasure show. “She picked the enemy over you, Lucan.”

“
It’s more complicated than that, and the enemy… Yes, Shock is a dodgy prick, but he cares for Anka. She had no memory of me after she escaped Mathias, so she took shelter from the one person she
knew
she could count on to protect her. By the time she recalled once having a mate…” He shrugged. “I’d let her down and I didn’t fight to win her back. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”

“
That’s utter shit!”

“
Is it? Zain is awfully interested in your mate. If you failed to protect Sydney from him, if he ravaged her and she barely escaped with her life, would you really expect her to come running back to you with open arms?”

Shuffling into the room, Caden grabbed a coffee cup and tapped his thumb against the counter. He knew the answer; he simply didn’t like it. “Probably not.”

“
Because every wizard knows that the unspoken part of the Call demands that you give everything, even your life, to protect your mate. I didn’t. I failed her. I must earn back her trust before I can expect to earn back her devotion.”

As the smell of fresh brewing coffee filled the air, Caden nodded. “So you’re determined to make her your mate again.”

“
Yes. Anka and I will talk through whatever our problems are, but I
will
get beyond every barrier between us so we can start over. I’ve got her sleeping under my roof—”

“
And in your bed, if the noise last night was any indication. Sydney giggled a lot.”

Lucan smiled, feeling almost optimistic for the first time in three hellish months. “In the bed, on the floor, against the wall...”

“
TMI, brother.” Caden rolled his eyes. “You know, if it works out with you and Anka, Sydney and I are happy to move elsewhere and let you two—”

“
No. You’re family. I want you here, if you’d like to stay. Besides, safety in numbers. Mathias took Anka because she was alone and unprepared. With both of us here, we’ll have extra fortifications around the house. No one will catch us unprepared again.”

Caden nodded, thoughtful. “That makes sense. Having extra protection for Sydney would allow me breathe a bit easier when I can’t be with her. That woman has a penchant for finding trouble.”

“
A frightful one, yes,” Lucan agreed with a grin.

“
I should tell you that Sydney and I have been considering…” He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “She wants a youngling.”

Lucan couldn’t keep the surprise from his face. “You’re both young. Times are dangerous.”

“
I don’t disagree. But she refuses to put life on hold for a bully. In her head, giving into the fear Mathias makes her feel is letting him win. You know how stubborn she can be.”

“
You must be talking about someone else. Sydney stubborn?” Lucan teased.

Caden sent a mock punch sailing into his shoulder. The coffee maker stopped its drip, indicating that the brew was ready. They both lunged for the pot, but Lucan was faster. With a supreme smile, he poured them both cups and took a sip, moaning with deep delight.

“
No more! I heard enough of that sound last night,” Caden drawled.

“
I’m paying you back for all the nights I was alone and had to listen to you two.”

Caden’s grimace said he hadn’t considered that before. “We should move our bedroom down the hall.”

“
Good idea. You don’t need to stay that close to me anymore. No more rages where I try to tear the house apart with my bare hands.”

“
Thank God.” His brother clapped him on the back, then withdrew another cup from the cabinet, filled the kettle for tea, then waved his hand at the stove to turn it on.

“
What flavor does Sydney want today?”

“
She likes that PG Tips with a cinnamon stick.” Caden waited for the water to boil, then fixed the cup of tea. “Good luck with Anka. You know I only want you to be happy. If she’s the one, then do whatever you must to win her.”

“
Thanks, brother. That’s precisely my plan.”

As Caden left, Lucan made Anka a cup of tea. He couldn’t cook well, but he could manage toast. Within seconds, he’d retrieved bread from the cupboard with a crook of his fingers and given it a magical toasting. He piled it all on a tray and conjured a flower from the garden, as well as a little vase to put it in, watching the rising sun pour into the kitchen with satisfaction. From now on, he would show Anka how much she meant to him. In big ways, in little ways… She would never doubt him again.

Rather than risk spilling the tea by jaunting up the stairs, he teleported to the landing. Faster anyway, and Lucan couldn’t deny that he was damn near desperate to return to Anka’s side, slip into bed with her, and wake her up in one of the thousand deliciously wicked ways bombarding his brain.