Jewel of Darkness (27 page)

“Answer me,” he growled.

“How do I know that you still really want me?” she asked him finally. It was a question that she needed the answer to.

Dalton’s eyes narrowed as he took a step forward. She had to take a step back to keep from being pressed up against his hard body. Her lower back hit the counter of the sink and she could retreat no further. Dalton took another step, and another, until he was pressed closely against her. Both his hands came up and framed her face. Without waiting for her permission, Dalton swooped down and took possession of her mouth. His lips were warm, full, and delicious. Jewel felt his tongue dart out and caress her lips and she gasped at the sensation. One of his hands slipped around to the back of her neck and he threaded his fingers into her hair, tilting her head to the right so he could deepen the kiss. He demanded entrance to her mouth and she could no more deny him what he wanted than she could stop her own heart from beating. He pressed more closely against her, his warmth enveloping her. Jewel could feel his rapid heartbeat and her own sped up in response. He groaned as she slipped her tongue into his mouth and slid it over his own. He tasted like home, if such a thing could have a taste. All too quickly he was pulling back. His eyes squeezed closed tightly and a grimace of pain marring his handsome face.

“Dammit!” Jewel snarled at him. “I told you this would happen! I told you not to touch me. Why did you touch me?”

“I’m fine, Jewel,” his words came out in a low growl. His eyes opened slowly and they glowed as they stared at her. She tried to move back, practically attempting to climb on the counter behind her, but he didn’t allow a centimeter of space between their bodies. He simply pulled his head back so he could look down at her.

“Did that feel like I don’t want you?” Dalton asked her boldly.

Jewel shook her head. “No, it felt stupid! Why would you do that?”

“Because you’re mine and no damn curse is going to keep me from you. The bond might have been what brought us together, but what holds me to you is you. Don’t you see that? I want you, Jewel Stone. I want you to be my mate. What do I have to do to convince you of that?”

Jewel’s body began to shake. She wanted to believe him so desperately, but she was so scared that the darkness inside of her would chase him away. She was scared he would grow tired of dealing with the curse. She supposed the only thing there was left to do was come clean. She looked up into his beautiful eyes and her breath caught in her throat. He was so handsome. Jewel had always felt he was way out of her league.

“I need to tell you something,” she admitted. She knew he could see how scared she was of telling him.

He ran his thumb across her bottom lip. “You have my undivided attention,” he told her as he took her hand and led her from the bathroom back into the bedroom. He walked them over to her bed and pushed her to sit down as he sat down beside her. Dalton angled his body so that he was facing her and then waited.

Jewel’s hands shook as she fidgeted with the hem of her shirt. She took a deep breath and then it spilled out of her. “I’m scared. I’m scared of how much I need you. I’m scared of how much losing you will hurt. I know so many things, but I don’t know how to handle these emotions. I don’t know how to do this.” She motioned between them. “What if you grow tired of me? What if we can’t figure out a way to break the curse? Can you really be tied to a woman you can never be with physically?” Jewel didn’t look at him. She didn’t want to see the disappointment at her weakness in his eyes, not after the kiss he’d just given her. She was sure it would be the last one she’d ever receive, and she didn’t want the memory tainted by his regret. She sat there, waiting for him to tell her that it was over, that he didn’t want any part of her or the filth inside of her, and that she was right ― that he would eventually grow tired of all of it: the curse, the darkness, the magic that wasn’t her own flowing through her.

D
alton’s blood felt like ice in his veins as rage engulfed him. Not only had Volcan beaten her but he’d forced himself on her — maybe not sexually — but it was an invasion just the same. Then he’d placed a curse on her; he’d made her doubt him — doubt his love. Blood was sacred. The sharing of it for his kind was beyond special, and he wouldn’t deny that the thought of another’s blood in her body, being a part of her, infuriated him. He was infuriated that she thought so little of his integrity that he would walk away from his mate just because things were tough. Though he tried not to be too hard on her about it, she was young and so very innocent. He didn’t speak right away; he couldn’t. Dalton didn’t want to scare her. So instead, he took her hand in his and allowed the warmth of her touch to soothe him. Jewel’s skin was as soft as silk and much too tempting. He quickly pushed away any feelings that might activate the darkness inside of him. He felt his wolf stir as her scent danced around him, and he couldn’t help his need to feel more of her, but this wasn’t lustful, it was purely the need of his wolf — the need and comfort of touch from the one person who could settle his beast.

Dalton reached for her and grinned when a small yelp came out of her as he picked her up and placed her in his lap. He wrapped his arms around her waist and laid his chin on her shoulder so that his mouth was right next to her ear. He felt the trembling of her body and was pleased that she was still affected by him.

“Dalton,” Jewel’s soft voice was full of questions.

“Hmm,” he rumbled, still not trusting himself to speak.

“Are you alright?”

He knew part of the question was in regards to the curse and some of it was in regards to what she revealed to him. He wasn’t sure how to answer that. He wasn’t alright, but he was a little bit better now that she was in his arms, where she belonged. Finally, he attempted to answer her truthfully, while simultaneously hoping that he wouldn’t scare her. “I’m angry, but not with you, Little Dove. I’m angry, no, I’m enraged because Volcan,” he snarled the name, “took something from you. He took your self-confidence and made you doubt yourself. He’s convinced you that you don’t have the ability to choose good over evil. Jewel, regardless of the things you crave, be it knowledge or power, you are still in control. You still have the choice of what to pursue. What angers me, even more though, is that you actually believe I wouldn’t want you. He’s made you doubt
us
and that angers me too.”

Her eyes shot up to his and he could see in her devastated face that he was right. Dalton reached up and cupped her face. “You can’t get rid of me so easily.”

“Dalton,” she started to speak but he cut her words off as he pressed his lips to hers. He pushed her back until she was lying flat on her back with his larger body sheltering hers. Dalton allowed just enough of his body weight to lie on her so that she knew she couldn’t escape. He wanted all of her attention, all of her thoughts on him. He made sure their bodies were touching from the lengths of their legs all the way up to their foreheads. He pressed his forehead into hers as he met her bright gaze. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as her breathing increased.

“I want you, Jewel Stone. I want to kiss you, I want to touch you, and I want to do things to you that only your husband will be allowed to do. And if I have anything to say about it, I will be that man. There is nothing inside of you, nothing you could say or do that will change that. You. Are. Mine.”

“Dalton, please, you can’t,” she pleaded with him because she cared so deeply for him and he appreciated it, but again she needed to realize that not all touch was lustful.

So he continued without acknowledging her pleas. He told her for what felt like the millionth time. He’d come to terms with the fact that he might have to tell her that every day for the rest of their lives. “You are mine and I am yours. I will always crave your touch, your kiss, your scent, and your taste. And I have to admit that I wish the bond was there so that you could feel the truth in my words.”

She reached up and cupped his face. “I can feel it in your touch,” she practically whispered. “I don’t want you to ever stop touching me, but we can’t risk this. I won’t risk you.”

He touched his lips to hers briefly before pulling away and grinning at her playfully. “It’s not up to you. I can control my desire, Little Dove.” He knew he should climb off of her, his control was not even close to what it needed to be for him to be in such an intimate position, but his wolf wasn’t budging. He needed her. He began to feel the darkness growing again, and it was cold, like ice water being poured into his veins. Okay, so maybe his control wasn’t as good as he thought. He ignored the pain and took what he so desperately needed ― her. He needed her. Dalton pushed his face into her neck nuzzling her and breathing in her scent at the same time. “Damn, you smell good, female,” he practically growled. His tongue darted out and licked her skin, causing him to groan at the same time that she moaned. “You taste even better.”

“Dalton,” she breathed out, a desperate plea, but he was pretty sure she had no idea what she was begging for. His little dove was incredibly innocent in the ways of physical intimacy and he knew that she didn’t understand what her body was screaming for. “I… just… please,” she breathed out as his lips pressed against her neck and down her collar bone. He pressed his chest closer to her and heard the air rush from her lungs. He chuckled, loving the way she responded to him. Then his own breath was pulled from him as the darkness grew even more. He needed to get up. He needed to pull himself together but he didn’t want to let her go, not yet.

“I know what you need,” he whispered against her skin as his hand slipped under her shirt and splayed across her stomach.

“Please,” she begged again.

Dalton’s hand moved up over her rib cage and slipped around to her back. He moved his hand up until his fingers slipped beneath her bra strap. He itched for the day when he could flick the clasp open and unwrap the gift of her body, but he knew that day wasn’t today. Though he longed to taste every inch of her and claim every part of her, he respected her too much to take what wasn’t his. She was his, but the precious gift of her body belonged to the one who would commit himself to her for life. And he intended to do just that. When Jewel arched her back pressing closer to him, Dalton bit his lip to keep from moaning. He had to be the one to stop things, because the look in his mate’s eyes told him that she was too far gone.
Damn, she was beautiful,
he thought as she gazed up at him with unabashed desire.

“One day, very soon, Little Dove, that look is going to get you ravished by me.”

“I hope so, because that will mean the curse is broken.” she said breathlessly. Then as if the words brought her to her senses she began to push against him. “Get up. I can see in your face that you’re in pain.”

He groaned and dropped his head to her chest. “It’s worth it. If there was no curse, I would not make this so easy on you, considering it’s torture for me.”

“Um, I’m pretty sure a three dollar whore isn’t easier than me at the moment. All that’s missing is the silver platter for me to lay on,” she told him.

“Dammit,” he growled. “I’m going to peel Volcan’s flesh from his body slowly for this offense.”

“Considering I want to wait until we are bound and married to take our relationship further, maybe the curse is a good thing?” It came out as a question.

“The hell it is,” he growled as he rolled off of her. Dalton pushed away the image of her wrapping her legs around his waist to hold him in place. One day, he vowed, he would have all of her. He laid on his back staring up at the ceiling as they both gathered themselves. He hoped now she at least knew how much he wanted her. “Do you trust me now? Do you see that I have no plan on going anywhere?”

“Yes, I trust you,” she whispered breathlessly.

Dalton smiled. “If you need me to remind you from time to time, I’m happy to do so.”

“I don’t think that will be necessary. You will not be touching me again. I saw it in your eyes, Dalton. The darkness was growing.”

“I hate to break it to you, but there is nothing that will keep me from touching you.”

“Dal—”

“No, Jewel,” he cut her off. “I will tell you over and over if I must. I am yours and you are mine and with that comes certain rights. You have the right to touch me whenever you want or need to. And I, Little Dove, have the right to touch you whenever I want or need to.”

To his surprise he heard her whisper, “You’re right, you do.”

“What?” He asked as he looked at her. “Why do I get the feeling you aren’t telling me something?”

Jewel let out a resigned sigh. She rolled over onto her stomach and turned her head to face him. She lifted the back of her shirt and his breath caught at the sight of her creamy skin.

“You’ll have to pull the waist of my jeans down a bit.”

His eyes widened at her words. “I thought you wanted me to control my need of you, Little Dove. Inviting me to begin pulling at clothing isn’t exactly helpful in that control.”

“Just do it, Dalton.”

He didn’t know why she was doing this but he rolled to his side and used his left hand to gently tug the back of her jeans down. He didn’t have to pull them very far to see what it was she wanted him to see.

Dalton was pretty sure his heart stuttered in his chest as he stared down at the markings on Jewel’s body — markings that matched his own.

“How?” he whispered.