Kissed By A Demon Spy (14 page)

“Are we done?” Dash was completely unimpressed.

She and Jorie shared a mutual giggle. Garnet settled their bill and then walked Dash back to the inn. She forced an even pace to her steps, though part of her wanted to sprint to the devastatingly sensual male waiting for her. For the first time in years, she felt…light. It was like layer after layer of dread peeled away, so many that it took time. And she wasn’t done yet. But what had started by returning to Ivydale had accelerated with Aden’s tenderness.

Night-blooming jasmine at the side of the road carried its fragrance to her, the scent hitting straight to her soul. She slowed as clarity hit. He’d helped her grow. Just like she coaxed plants to reach for the sun, to open flowers and unfurl leaves so they’d be even stronger. Aden had somehow coaxed her into seeing a positive, larger picture.

No more tunnel vision of darkness. No more dread weighing her down. Here, in the town where she’d been born, she had come full circle.
Hope.
That’s what she felt. It had been so long she hadn’t immediately recognized it.

“Why are we stopping?” Dash asked.

“Oh. I’m just looking at these flowers. They’re called jasmine.” Dash, too, had gotten more used to school and friends, laughing and playing. Aden had taught him to play Battleship and now they both easily defeated Garnet. Not that she minded.

Aden had showed her, too, how a powerful male could be gentle. Every night, their
goodnight kiss
had turned hotter than the last, and it was getting harder to end them. She knew he wouldn’t push her for more than what she was ready to give, but his acceptance of her, his protectiveness, had her mind racing. And his sexy-as-sin body had her thighs clenching every time she felt the brush of his lips. She’d found a man with whom she wanted to say yes to anything.

Saying no to him, on any level, wasn’t going to happen.

They rounded the corner and passed Pearl’s shop, where the woman was refilling large glass containers with more confections. Pearl waved from inside and winked. Garnet smiled and waved. The old woman knew everything.

Giddiness washed over her as she stepped onto the inn’s path.
Calm down
. She wanted to rein it in but her hopes, once she cracked the door of their cage, zoomed out and into the sky. And that had everything to do with the molten silver eyes that captivated her.

Aden
. He stood casually, one arm bent at the elbow, leaned up against a vertical porch support. But his face betrayed his stance. He watched her, unmoving, except for his eyes. They’d stunned her from day one but now, in the dusk, they shone like beacons of hope, promise, and acceptance.

Love?

She wouldn’t go there, not yet.

Dash rushed ahead of her. “Hi, Aden!” He had dropped the
Mr.,
which was fine with both Aden and Garnet. “Can we play Battleship?”

“It’s late, Dash,” Garnet murmured. Jorie had fit them in as her last appointments of the night, and it was bedtime.

“Awww!” Dash groaned, and plopped down on the swing.

Ascending the steps, she looked up into Aden’s handsome face. Perfect jaw, perfect hair, perfect full lower lip. “Hi.”

“Hi.” He wore a blue button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and his trademark jeans. He reached for her hand and kissed it. “You look beautiful.”

“Thanks. My first real haircut in years.” She felt beautiful too. On the inside as well as the outside. She sensed that he saw all of her, dark and light, good and bad, strengths and flaws. And he still wanted her. “I need to get him in bed, then I’ll find you.”

“I’ll find you first, sugar.” His gray eyes glittered in the twilight.

“Okay.” She bit her lips as his words sent shivers of promise across her skin. Turning to Dash, she cleared her throat. “Upstairs, sweetie.”

Thankfully, Dash didn’t put up a protest. They passed through the large living room in the front of the inn, where two guest pixies were talking animatedly and snacking on the oatmeal cookies she had baked yesterday. Dash let her hustle him into bed, yawning the whole time. After one story his eyes grew heavy and his breath came slow and steady. Dropping a kiss to his newly cropped hair, she slid off the bed. She opened the door quietly and stepped into the hall, where she came face to face with Aden.

“Hey,” she whispered.

“Hey, gorgeous.” He stood, handsome and full of sinful promise, leaning against the opposite wall. “I want to show you something.” Taking her hand, he led her down the hall, past the other guest rooms, and past his own room.

He opened the last door to reveal a second staircase.

She blinked in surprise. “This is new. I mean, I didn’t know there were other stairs besides the main ones to the guest rooms.”

“It’s safer to have a second staircase, in case of a fire. Also, I have a special spot up here.”

They walked one flight up, along cream-colored textured stucco walls. A row of fire bulbs near the ceiling lit the way. At the top there was a small landing with one wooden door. Aden opened it and gestured for her to walk through.

Garnet’s eyes widened as she took in wide sky and the setting sun. They were on the roof.

“I didn’t know this was here!” She looked around. It was like a small terrace in the center of the roof. It was built so that its half walls blended into the roof line, and above it rose a wrought iron railing. She’d seen the railing from the ground and thought it was purely decorative.

“It’s my little secret.” He rocked back on his heels. “Well, Leif and Luke know about it too.”

The space was probably twelve feet square, with two wide chaise lounges and a chair, a small table between, and a chest against one wall. She walked to the railing and peered between the delicate bars. Like a gold ribbon, the river ambled along the town’s border, reflecting the last rays of daylight. From the other side of the terrace, all the buildings in Ivydale and the surrounding fields stretched out into the night. “This is beautiful.”

“If you need to find me and can’t, chances are I’m up here.” He came up behind her and wrapped her in an embrace.

She leaned into him, absorbing his delicious clean smell, happy he’d shared this with her. Happy he’d let her in on a secret. “You know, Dash would love this.”

His chuckle vibrated through her body. “I’ll show him. We can have man-to-man talks up here.”

She giggled. “I’m not sure how much manly talk you’ll get from a six-year-old who thinks poop is fascinating.”

Warm lips brushed the top of her head. “He may be six, but he’s been through more than most kids.”

“True.” It was a fact, undeniable and ugly, and she was grateful for Aden’s easy acceptance of her
nihjo
.

They stood like that for several minutes. The sun dipped lower, finally dropping out of sight behind the western tree line, leaving streaks of pink in its wake. The steady thump of Aden’s heart, the warmth of his arms, and the giddy feeling from before all rushed at her.
He trusts me. It’s time to trust him.

She turned to face him, sliding her hands up his chest. “Thank you for showing me this.”

“Believe me sugar, it’s my pleasure.” He lowered his head so his lips were at her ear. “Every minute I get with you is my pleasure.” He took her lobe between his lips and bit gently.

A shiver raced from her ear to her toes. She gasped, incapable of speech. His lips were magic. And she was ready for any spell he’d put on her. Her lower belly clenched in anticipation and she tilted her head to give him better access to her neck.

He took her cue and kissed a sensual path down to the spot where her neck met her shoulder. He sucked, and a whimper escaped her mouth. His hands dropped to her bottom and squeezed, massaging and kneading her.

Her muscles went limp, melting into his skilled strength. He pulled off her sweater and nibbled across her shoulder, making goose bumps erupt on her bare skin. Her lips tingling with the need to kiss him, she hooked a finger under his chin and brought his mouth closer.

He let her explore, sliding her tongue into his mouth, tasting him like she’d never get enough. His hands roamed from her butt over her hips and up her sides, stroking maddeningly up and down her ribs. She squirmed.

He pulled back a fraction. “Tell me what you want, sugar. Not doing anything you’re not ready for.”

She moved his hands up to her breasts. “I’m ready for you,” she whispered.

His gray eyes darkened, matching the sky behind him. With a low growl, he cupped her aching breasts and brushed his lips across hers. Light and teasing.

She moaned at the delicious torture. “Kiss me harder.”

Before she could blink, his mouth was on hers, dominating. But doing so in way she craved, a way that screamed protector. He sucked her tongue, and at the same time teased her nipples through her thin cotton tank top.

Everything he did sent her farther into a haze of bliss. Up here, it was just them and the darkening sky. Stars emerged, framing his sexy hair. And those horns. She was dying to touch them, but she didn’t know how much pressure to use.
Time to find out
. She caressed the length of one with her finger.

He groaned. “Fuck, Garnet.”

“I want you,” she whispered.

He slid his hands under her bottom and carried her to the nearest chaise lounge, laying her down on the soft cushion. “You’ll get me, sugar.”

Garnet smiled, her veins buzzing with hope and hot anticipation. The memory of his bare muscular torso was burned into her mind, and she couldn’t wait to see the rest of him. She reached up to the buttons of his shirt, undoing them all and tugging his shirt loose from his jeans. She pushed it off his broad shoulders.

God, would she ever get used to his chiseled chest? She wanted to lick every ridge and dip.

He grabbed the edge of her tank and pulled it up over her head. Tossing it somewhere behind him, he stared in hungry appreciation. “You’re so damn beautiful.” He lowered his head to kiss along the outline of her bra.

Impatient, she unhooked the back clasp and wiggled out of it. He sucked in a breath as her nipples hardened in the night air. He dragged one finger slowly across one, back and forth. So taunting. She thrust them closer to his face. They ached for his touch. She was ready to do it herself if he didn’t—

He licked around one tip and her head dropped back in pleasure. “Look at me,” he commanded.

She forced heavy-lidded eyes open to find his locked on her. His lips closed over one nipple and his fingers played with the other. A rush of liquid heat pooled between her thighs. “That feels so good,” she whispered. She was losing the ability to speak. She clutched his shoulders and her back arched from the intense pleasure. No man had ever made her feel this way.

She shifted her legs, trying to soothe the ache between and get closer to him.

He released her nipple. “You ready for more?”

She nodded. “Please.” She lifted her hips, reaching for the back zipper of her skirt, and unzipped.

His warm hands covered hers. “Let me.” He tugged her skirt down, then slid her panties slowly down her legs, leaving her sandals on. She lay naked, but she didn’t feel exposed. She felt cherished.

Her clothes were somewhere on this roof, and she didn’t care where. Holding one ankle, he kissed his way up her leg to the top of her inner thigh. Would he…? No man had ever kissed her there. Though Drant had forced her and the other female thralls to perform the act on each other while he watched.

Aden traced a finger through her dark curls, down her center. She gasped at the sweet pressure that both eased and intensified her need.

He brought his finger back up, tracing her folds. “You’re so wet,” he said through clenched teeth.

She could only writhe in response. This had never felt so good. He dipped his head.

She cried out at the sensual probe of his tongue. Hot and slick, he licked her up and down, paying extra attention to her most sensitive spot. He sucked her clit into his mouth, feathering his tongue back and forth. She thrust toward him, needed more, needing everything he did to her. She closed her eyes, absorbing everything about him.

One strong hand skated up her torso to play with her breasts, and sensation exploded behind her eyes. Her body bucked and she flung her hand over her mouth to keep from shrieking his name and alerting the whole town to their whereabouts and activities.

Oh God. Her body was a puddle of sated muscles. Would she keep it together this time?
 
He loomed over her, blocking the stars.

“You good?”

She nodded still unable to speak.
Yes
. No tears. Only bliss.

He smiled and bent to kiss her. She wrapped her arms around him, wanting to soak up his heat and strength. “That was a first,” she murmured against his lips.

He pulled back, a torrent of emotions flicking across his face. He opened his mouth and then closed it again. “Well, shit. I plan to make it the first of many.”

Always thinking of her. She wiggled so she was sideways on the lounger, and kissed his chest. “I’ve been wanting to do this for days.” She traced the lower edge of his pec with her tongue.

He ran his fingers through her hair. “Feels amazing.”

She lifted her head and reached her hand up to his horns. Grasping one between two fingers, she stroked it from his hair to the tip. “How about this?”

Holy hell. His cock surged behind his zipper. “You do that, lying with your sweet naked body next to me? I’m ready to take you hard. That’s how it feels.”

She pulled her hand away. “Maybe I shouldn’t have—”

He grabbed it and brought it to his lips. “But I won’t do anything you’re not ready for.”

“I’m ready to taste you.” She stroked his length through his jeans, creating a sweet torment that had him groaning. Sitting up, she went for his fly, popping the button and sliding the zipper down.

He rocked his hips. Naked in the starlight, her long dark hair cascading around her full breasts, she was a vision. He wanted to memorize her in this exact minute: her face, her body, her aroused scent. And he wanted to pleasure her every night, burying her dark memories beneath his love.