hidden talents (26 page)

Adam was completely gobsmacked. Leaving aside that these were remains,

Lord Grygir had just handed him sixteen ounces of uncut faerie dust. Its street value would be next to incalculable.

“I can"t accept this,” he said firmly.

“You can,” Lord Grygir insisted, one eyebrow arching up coolly. “I owe both of you my life, and I value my life highly. Chances are you ... also preserved the life of a friend of mine. I will email you the contact information of a trusted associate at a pharmaceutical lab. Prepared correctly, the contents of this canister will allow your non-were mate to live as long and healthily as you.”

When he put it that way ... Adam met the proud fae lord"s eyes. To his

surprise, he saw a hint of envy in them. “Thank you,” he said.

“You agree our debt is cancelled?”

“I do,” Adam said, understanding his response was contractually binding.

He expected Grygir to leave. Instead, the faerie"s face screwed up like he"d swallowed a lemon. “About my true name ...”

Ah
, Adam thought. The faerie wouldn"t like that he"d heard. “Sir,” he said, not prepared to call him
milord
. “You"re one of the citizens I"m sworn to protect.

I"d never share knowledge that could compromise your safety.”

Grygir stared at him impassively. “Others heard my name as well.”

Was he worried about Ari? “You shouldn"t doubt Ari will honor your

privacy. You saw her face down that demon. You of all people understand why it wanted her.”

“I don"t mean the pureheart.” Grygir sighed quietly, some debate decided inside his mind. “I expect it"s pointless to ask you to let me kill a few of the men you and your policemen put in jail today. Just the ones who were close enough to overhear.”

“Oh,” Adam said. He"d forgotten how ruthless faeries could be. “Yes, I"m afraid it is.”

“Then I will not attempt to bribe you.”

The faerie dust would have made an enticing payoff, if he hadn"t given it to Adam already. “I appreciate that,” Adam said with dry respect.

Satisfied - or as near to it as he was getting - Lord Grygir bowed and left.

Adam shut the door, then turned to find Ari waving one hand in front of her face. The faerie had left a decidedly heady aroma behind him.

Annoyance flicked through him. Was Ari waving the smell away because

she"d rather not be aroused around him?

“Whew,” she said. “Looks like everyone expects us to get hitched.”

Under the circumstances, he didn"t find her attempt at humor very humorous.

“Sorry,” she said, her lips twisting. She gestured toward the pressurized container of faerie dust. “Isn"t that stuff a dangerous street drug?”

“It depends on what it"s combined with. It had medical uses too. Look, Ari, I know we"re both tired. Maybe we could leave this aside for now. Talk about it in the morning.”

Or never, if she really was going to refuse him.

“Okay.” She hesitated. “Would you rather I stayed in the guest room?”

“No,” he said, instantly husky with emotion. “I"ll always want you with me.”

He saw from her expression that he"d pleased her. She wasn"t sure of them as a
them
, but he"d pleased her. He promised himself that was enough to build on.

∞

Ari showered again, which was plain nervousness on her part. She"d thought maybe the faerie"s visit was what had gotten her wet and squirmy, what with his aphrodisiac scent and all. The cleansing effect of the shower dispelled that theory.

Adam made her want him all by himself, no matter how tired she was.

With a sense of anticipation she couldn"t quash, she padded back to his room in her towel. Except for stashing his special delivery, she hadn"t been in his bedroom. The space was comfortable, just like the rest of his house, with an old-fashioned brass-railed bed, two battered nightstands, and a couple overstuffed armchairs. The walls were beige and the windows big. The only extravagance she could see was that the bed was king size. Adam was sitting up in it with the sheet pulled to his waist. His stomach was lean enough that the only flesh to crease was skin. He had the TV on to the news. Ari glanced at the screen, then did a double take.

“Adam, is that newscaster a talking horse?”

“Strictly speaking, she"s a talking unicorn. She"s very popular. A little liberal, but viewers consider her trustworthy.”

Ari"s wobbly knees sat her on the end of his bed. The newscaster - news equine? - did have a little spiral horn sticking out of its -
her
- forehead. Her blonde mane looked like it had been professionally blow dried. Adam clicked the set off with his remote, leaving her blinking.

He put his hands on her shoulders, massaging them gently from behind,

which did nothing to put more starch her knees. His lips whispered up her neck to her ear. “There"s plenty more marvels to see in Resurrection, you know.”

“I wouldn"t stay for that. You"re the only reason that matters.”

“Good,” he said and kissed her.

Kissing him was easy to fall into. He did it so well, and he tasted so good.

When they touched each other, there was nothing to argue about, no reason for her to worry about disappointing him. Lost in the wet slow pleasure, Ari barely noticed when he tugged off her towel.

“If you"re too tired for this ...” he kind of panted, giving her a chance to stop.

“Nuh-uh,” she said and pulled his talented mouth back to hers. She was tired, but this was way better than sleeping. Besides which, she was pretty sure he"d do most of the work. Her hands slid up his muscled back, and he moaned.

Two seconds later, her spine was flat on the mattress and all six foot two of him was over her. His hips came down to hers and pressed luxuriantly.
Oh boy
, she thought, because he turned out to be naked too. He gave a little grunt as he pushed again. His cock felt hot enough to brand her, its thickness slanting to the side to lie across her hipbone. He stretched his gorgeous hard body up her to dig one of his remaining Tiger! condoms from the nightstand drawer. Ari grinned at the thought of how many more awaited unsuspected in his closet.

“What?” he asked, his voice so hoarse it gave her the shivers.

“I"ll tell you later,” she promised. “But don"t put that on just yet.”

She pushed him up so that he rose to his knees and elbows. Once his weight was lifted, she wriggled under his body until his amazing cock dangled above her face. The shaft jerked harder as she approached, like a string had been attached to its shiny tip.

“Ari ...”

“Forget it,” she said before he denied himself an indulgence one big part of him clearly craved. “This won"t tire me out. I"m still flat on my back. I"ve been dreaming of tasting you again.”

He laughed at her reasoning, then groaned as she pulled his erection down with one hand. She"d never sucked a man off in this position. The angle was a little weird but convenient, because he was doing the thrusting. He was very careful about it, and it wasn"t long before she let go of his base and relaxed. His balls were fun to explore, and the firm smooth stretch behind them. He made deep noises in his throat as she played with both. Ari was letting out nearly the same moans. She loved the feel of him on her tongue and between her cheeks - the roundness, the hardness, the buttery smoothness of his skin. She loved the way he trembled as his excitement rose, the way his big thigh muscles bunched with tension. He"d dropped his head down to watch her, and she knew that aroused him too. The flow of his precome grew increasingly salty.

Ari moved the pads of her thumbs to the place where his gland would swell.

She rubbed them lightly back and forth across it.

“Christ,” he breathed, pushing in almost too far that time.

She could sense him fighting conflicting urges. Keep going and enjoy this.

Pull out and shove into her pussy. She let her hands roam up his thighs to the clenched muscles of his ass. Because she could, she smoothed her hands in praise over them. That longing sated, she took his hips in her firmest grip, directing his next thrust and then his next, letting him know precisely how far she was comfortable with him going.

He trembled harder, but he didn"t withdraw. “Ari,” he moaned. “I don"t think I can stand much more of this.”

He did, though, for five tremulous, gasping minutes. He was a take-charge guy, but allowing her to guide him was doing it for him. When he gave up, he wrenched out of her mouth as if he didn"t have an instant to spare, flopping away from her on his back. His hands were clenched and pressed to his forehead as his lungs labored for control. His cock bounced and throbbed above his belly like a thing possessed. “Don"t touch me right now,” he warned.

She didn"t, but she rolled onto her stomach beside him to watch him struggle not to come from nothing. She thought she"d never seen anything so hot.

“Stop grinning at me like that.”

Since his eyes were screwed shut, he was only guessing. She drew one finger around his tightly beaded up left nipple.

“Shit,” he said, his cock jerking hard again. A tiny spurt jetted from its hole.

“Want me to unwrap the condom?” she teased.

“Yes,” he snapped. “And don"t move from the position you"re in now.”

He was back to giving orders, but she had no complaints. She passed him the opened condom, which he rolled on with gritted teeth.

“Stay,” he said, pointing at her like a naughty puppy.

Resisting the urge to giggle, Ari took a grip on the brass bed"s bars and arched her bare bottom. She hadn"t forgotten doggy style was his thing.

Her blatant tease earned her a nice little curse. More than a curse, actually. As he climbed over her and kneed her legs wider, he leaned down to give her ass a nip. His fangs had descended. She felt their hard curve against her skin. All at once, a gush of cream ran from her.

“God,” Adam growled, nuzzling up to her from behind, his tongue reaching between her labia. “Please don"t be insulted, but you are the best fucking lay ever.”

She would have laughed, except he"d begun sucking and licking his way up her back. He was really tasting her - her sweat, her skin, the scent underneath her arms. He must have liked it. His dick just kept getting harder. Every time he rubbed and rolled it against her, she thought no way could it get bigger.

He kissed his greedy, groaning trail to her nape, where his lips sealed to her skin and pulled. His whole body heaved over hers, shoving her down into the bed.

Man, he was into this.

Ari was too. Her spine felt like it was all tingle and no bone. Just the same, she knew she"d better call a halt to this.

“Don"t,” she said.

He groaned and sucked harder. Ari reached back to yank his hair.

“I have to go home soon,” she pleaded. “At least for a while. If you give me another of those moon-bond hickies, leaving will be too difficult.”

Adam released her and panted. “You"re right. I"m being selfish and stupid.”

Ari"s eyes burned with tears. “You aren"t either of those things. You have no idea what you ... being so serious means to me.”

He rubbed his cheek over hers, seeming to force himself to relax. “Okay,” he said. “We"ll just do the rest.”

He kissed her temple and then her shoulder, his lips as gentle as they"d been fierce before. The
rest
began with him sliding his forearm beneath her pelvis, to lift her hips for entry.

“Do you want me on my knees?” she asked.

“No,” he said, his voice as rough as if he were half wolf. “I want to cover you. I want to drive you down into the bed.”

She bent one knee to scoot her leg further to the side.

“Oh yeah,” he said, his knee coaxing it even higher. His body settled on hers, hot and hard all over. His hips wriggled, and the wide round tip of him touched her folds. Ari reached back to grip the thigh that was spreading her wider. Its muscles tightened as he pushed in.

“Oh
yeah
,” he said even lower. His free hand slid up her arm to grip the bed rail above her fist. Right then, Ari couldn"t do anything but moan. These slow entries of his killed her. They went on
forever
, allowing her to savor every masculine inch of him. He pushed hard at the end of the thrust and held, his balls squashed tight against her. He stretched her so persuasively she was already coming a little.

“Adam,” she whispered.

His hips rocked forward, giving her another pleasure twinge. He dragged his face across her shoulder. “I feel you. I feel how ready you are to go.”

He undulated again, not quite sending her over. The arm he"d wedged under her hips pulled back, enabling his hand to engulf her pubis. His fingers squeezed her mound, then parted her labia. So lightly she wouldn"t have felt if she weren"t hyper-sensitized, he pushed her clitoral hood back and forth.

Ari moaned and dug her fingernails into his hairy thigh. Her neck arched back and he nuzzled it. He was breathing harder, rougher. She knew he wanted to bite her, and she almost gave permission. He grunted, his pelvis hitching deeper into her. Without warning, his middle finger dug in to rub her swollen clit with quick and intense pressure.

The tether holding back her orgasm snapped. She cried out as pleasure shook her, clutching her inner muscles around the hard length of him. She expected him to say something. He could be plenty verbal during sex, and he liked it when she was. Instead, he dragged back through her wet contractions, sucked in a giant breath, and started pistoning into her.

His speed was shocking, the force he used a risk few men could have pulled off. Each thrust"s strength was so carefully controlled that it stole her breath with excitement but didn"t hurt. Despite having just come, he drove the sharpness of her sensations right to the brink again.

“Ah,” she cried, now hanging onto his leg for dear life. “Ah, ah.”

Adam shoved her left leg as wide as her right. She was spread like a frog, barely able to move, and she"d never felt any helplessness that enjoyable. She tried to groan his name but couldn"t. Adam released the rattling head rail to shove that hand under her right breast. Spikes of pleasure shot back through her taut nipple.