Heart of Stone (24 page)

“They don't. I was supposed to cause a rock slide to stop the van. Then we'd capture them.”

“I see.” He smoothed his hands along her back. “And you had no idea killing them was the real plan?”

“Of course not!” She stiffened. “As soon as I realized what he was up to, I tried to leave. But he stopped me. He tried to … to…”

“Okay, okay.” His gentle hands seemed to create a soothing calm within her. “You got away. You won.”

“But I killed him.” She gripped his shirt.

“Sounds like a clear case of self-defense. If he had succeeded and taken over your powers, those Seers would have died, right?”

She nodded. “There were little kids. And a dog.”

“Well, yeah, the dog seals it.” He brushed a kiss over her forehead before tilting her chin up so he could see her face. “You did what you felt was right, and you saved lives. It was a terrible accident.”

“I never meant to kill him,” she whispered, taking solace in the calm understanding in his eyes.

“I know you didn't.” His lips quirked. “And you saved the dog, so extra points.”

That startled a laugh from her. “Thanks.”

“Hey, this is what I do. Peacemaker.” He rubbed her upper arms. “You steady?” She nodded, and he released her. “I'm going to put the troublemaker away.” He stepped away and picked up the stone. The pyramid lightened from crimson to clear in his hand. He walked over to the wooden box sitting on the table and replaced the stone, then locked it back in the storage cabinet.

She watched him, so assured even with a disability. How was he able to calm her just by his presence? “You're an amazing man.”

He laughed and came back to where she stood. “Not really.”

“Yes, really.”

He nodded at her circle of gems. “You going to clean up your toys? Or do I have to send you to bed without dinner?” He grinned that mischievous little-boy grin again, and her heart thumped. Falling in love? Ha.

She was already gone.

She propped a hand on her hip. “Maybe you should just take me to bed instead.”

 

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Darius searched for the right thing to say. With the stone put away and her ring across the room, his empathy was in full form. He could sense that she felt off balance and vulnerable from what the stone had shown her. Guilt about Michael's death still weighed on her. And while she was attracted to him as much as he was to her, he didn't want her to regret what might happen between them.

Especially since he had deliberately kept secrets from her.

“That's not what I expected to hear,” he said, knowing she was still waiting for an answer.

“What's the problem?” she asked. “We talked about this chemistry between us the other day. We both acknowledged it.”

“Yes, but you also said you weren't ready. You're feeling a little vulnerable after that trip into the past, and I don't want you to have regrets the morning after.”

She approached him, hips swaying and eyes soft. “All my life, people have been telling me what to do, and while I appreciate the gesture, I've made up my mind. There's something powerful between us, Darius, and I want to find out more.” She linked her arms around his neck. “Now are you going to kiss me, or what?”

He cupped her face in his palm, stroking a thumb across her cheek. “I want nothing more than to make love to you, Faith.”

“That makes two of us.” She leaned in closer, her lips a breath away from his.

“Wait a second. There's something I have to tell you.”

“Talk fast.” She eyed his mouth. “Time's a-wasting.”

“This pull between us … it's not just attraction.” He cupped her head between his hands. “It's the mating bond.”

“What? No.” She stepped back, and he let her.

“Yes. We're destined mates, Faith.”

“Look, if you don't want me, just say so. You don't need the elaborate story.”

He'd hurt her. “I didn't tell you to put pressure on you.”

“You mean it's true?” At his nod, she spun away from him. “Then why did you tell me? You know I can't stay. You know that when all this is done, I mean to get as far away from the Atlantean world as I can.”

“Which is why I told you. The mating bond pushes us toward each other, and the sex would be incredible. But there is no law that says we have to walk down the aisle.”

She gave a short laugh. “I should say not.”

“If we're going to end up in bed, I want you to be sure. Remember, I'm not exactly strong in the long-term relationship department myself.” He caught her hand. “I want you all the time, Faith. Every time I look at you.”

“You're good at hiding it.”

“Am I?” He sent a pulse of the desire he'd been trying to keep in check along the mating bond. She gasped, her cheeks turning pink. “That's the mating bond, the link between us. It's been getting stronger every day. It's how I found you when the stone had you trapped. The Stones of Ekhia may shut down normal Atlantean powers, but they have no effect on a link like this.” He took a step closer. “Believe me when I tell you that I want you badly, Faith, but what I don't want is to be the next man to hurt you. You need to be sure.”

*   *   *

He'd left the decision in her hands. Part of her wanted him to decide for both of them, to sweep her off her feet and seduce her so that later, if things went sour, she could blame him. But that wasn't the way to handle an affair. She knew the notion was just a knee-jerk reaction to having been manipulated all her life.

He was asking her, adult to adult, what she wanted. No one had ever really asked before.

She studied his face, so familiar to her now since they'd spent most of the past several days in each other's company. She knew she trusted him in a way that made no practical sense, given her past experiences, but maybe that was the mating bond he talked about. The little pulse he'd sent to her had illuminated the bond, and she recognized it from when she'd been trapped in the stone's coils. The silver path that had led her home.

To Darius.

Why was she hesitating? She'd already recognized her growing feelings for him.

“It bugs me that me wanting you might be the result of this mating bond thing,” she said. “I refuse to be manipulated anymore, even by a mystical link.”

“Like I said, you're under no obligation to do anything. We can continue as we were, ignoring it except in emergencies, like if the stone decides to act up again.”

“Stones Behaving Badly.” She chuckled. “Think we could get a reality show going?”

“I suspect the audience would be limited.” He smiled, but it was a bit forced. She could see the tension in his shoulders, and her reservations weakened. Her answer mattered to him, more than whether or not he would get laid.

She
mattered to him.

She already knew that Darius was a man who cared passionately about things. And she wanted to be one of those things. She wanted to make love with him, to be cherished for who she was, not what she could do. Darius had proven himself her safe harbor time and again in their short acquaintance. He would not hurt her. She could trust him.

“Yes.” She walked to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, I want to make love with you. Right now.”

He slid his arms around her, his cane pressing along her buttock and thigh. “If you're hoping I'll sweep you off your feet and carry you to bed, you're going to be disappointed.”

His tone was playful, but she caught the concern that lingered in his eyes. Darius, worried about rejection? For some reason, his wariness reassured her even more. She had equal power here.

“How about we forget about all those romantic clichés and just do what works for us?” She brushed a kiss to his lips. “Is your room close?”

He grinned, the shadows fleeing from his gaze. “Yeah.”

“Let me just put these stones back, and we can go.” She stepped away and began to gather her safety circle, scooping up the stones and dropping them back into the box without bothering with the plastic bags. The entire operation took minutes, but it seemed like an eternity when she'd finished and turned to face him.

He'd clearly been checking out her backside while she'd squatted down, and he didn't even look guilty. He looked—hungry.

He'd dropped his mask, his need stark on his face, his eyes burning with it. Had she really thought him a patient, controlled man? There was nothing controlled about the way he looked at her as he held out his hand, the demand unspoken.

She took it and followed him from the cabana.

*   *   *

They hurried along the length of the pool with the furtiveness of a couple of teenagers, glancing around them in case anyone was home. But the pool and its deck chairs were deserted this Friday afternoon, and they reached the door to Darius's cottage without seeing a single soul.

He tugged her inside and shut the door behind them, clicking the lock. She barely glanced at his living room, focused completely on him. He leaned his cane against the wall, her scent tickling his senses. “Tell me you're sure.”

Her lips curved, and she laid her hand against his thudding heart. “What do you think?”

He took that hand and guided it around his neck, pulling her against him. “I think you're beautiful.”

She blushed. “You're not so bad yourself.”

He laughed. “I'm the one with the dents. If I were an appliance, I'd be in the clearance section of the store.”

She stroked his cheek with her free hand. “I think you're the most amazing man I've ever known, dents and all.”

The sincerity in her words intoxicated him like top-shelf bourbon. She looked at him as if he could leap tall buildings, arousal simmering in her eyes. It sparked his own hunger.

He kissed her, relishing the sweetness of her mouth, the ever increasing desire that reflected from him to her and back again, intensifying each time. The bond between them swelled, lengthening, strengthening.

It wasn't the only thing.

He slid his hand beneath her shirt, started to pull it out of the way. She broke the kiss and put her hand over his, stopping him.

“I'm not very experienced.” Her voice sounded lower than normal. Husky. Sultry. And sexy as hell.

“That's okay.” He slipped his fingers below the hem of the shirt and traced the flesh of her waist along the edge of her jeans. She didn't stop him this time.

“I've only been with one man.” She bit her lower lip, an earnestness coming through that humbled him. “I don't want to disappoint you.”

His heart softened. “That won't happen.”

“You don't know that.” Her doubts crowded in, dampening a bit of her ardor. “I was so young when I met Michael, and since him … well, there's been no one.”

“Don't worry about that.”

“No, listen to me. I want you to understand.” She stared into his eyes, her own stark with honesty. “I never had the inclination. Figured I was a failure at romance, at being a woman. And you— You're so strong. Protective. You always know the right thing to say. It's like you can read my mind.” She swallowed hard. “You make me feel like a woman the way no man ever has.”

With every word of her heartfelt sentiment, the yoke of guilt tightened around his neck. Here she stood in his arms, pliant and willing, and he was deceiving her by not telling her the full truth about his abilities. She'd been manipulated all her life by everyone, even her husband. Was he any better?

“I just wanted to tell you that.” She pulled away a little, her insecurity whittling away at her earlier confidence. “So you would understand if, you know, it isn't as good as you expect.”

He put a finger to her lips. “Stop talking like that.” He couldn't stand how she doubted herself, denied her very allure as a woman. He knew he should probably stop this now, before it was too late. But if he backed away after that poignant confession, it would only make her think she was right, that she wasn't attractive enough for him.

He couldn't let her think that. But neither could he take advantage of her when he hadn't told her the whole truth. So if he couldn't walk away and he couldn't in good conscience indulge himself, there was only one option.

Today would be all about her.

“I think you're beautiful and sexy and fun.” He held eye contact as he said the words and reflected a little of his own hunger along their bond. “You feel that? You do that to me, Faith. I want to take you to bed and make you feel so good, you'll know for certain you're the sexiest woman on the planet. Because you are, to me.”

Her lips parted, her cheeks flushing and her eyes bright. “Promise?”

“Hell, yes.”

She took the edge of her shirt and jerked it off herself, dropping it on the carpet. Her pale pink bra cupped her delicate breasts, her waist a gentle curve, her belly smooth and flat. She waited, half excited, half nervous.

He took her hips in his hands, bending forward to press soft kisses along her throat and down, nuzzling the succulent flesh that pushed up from her bra. She arched into his touch.

He took his time, savoring the taste of her, her answering passion bursting on his tongue like tart berries. Slipping a finger beneath the edge of her bra, he teased her nipple. Arousal shot through her, reflected to him. He pulled the material out of the way. Bending his head, he captured the tip of her breast in his mouth and sucked. She cried out. He let her nipple slip out of his mouth and blew gently. The taut flesh grew even stiffer. A shiver rippled through her.

He slid his hands into her hair and captured her mouth, pressing her back against the wall. Her body heated and sparked beneath his touch, singeing him physically, empathically. She filled his every sense with her need, intoxicating him. He wanted to give her more. Give her everything.