Married (39 page)

She trailed kisses over his abdomen, traced the lines leading to his groin with her tongue. She let the taste of his skin permeate her, let his scent sink into her head. She slid lower to fill her mouth with Adam’s soft cock and had the pleasure of feeling his flesh stiffen against her tongue.

She licked his length and sucked gently, nuzzling her nose against his warm skin. Adam rose in a rush, before he was fully awake. Tulah had to pull back to accommodate the change, releasing much of his length before she was ready, but she made up for the loss with slow strokes of both hands over his shaft.

His hands groped blindly, anchoring in her hair. “Holy shit, Tulah.”

She tightened her lips around his crest and sucked enthusiastically before letting him fall from her mouth. “Good morning.”

“I need to be inside you, honey.” Adam’s voice was dark and portentous, sending a thrill straight through her. He’d said the same thing the night before in exactly the same way, his normally impassive eyes full of emotion and a hard edge of command riding his intentions.

He’d taken her like a madman, and she’d loved it. He’d thrust with all the power and strength at his disposal, pouring his fear and sorrow into her with a fiery flood. Tulah had taken him the same way, wild and furious, his need of her soothing her own terror. She’d thought they’d exorcised their demons, but apparently she was wrong.

His hands slid from her hair to her shoulders and urged her up his body. Tulah slid her leg over his waist and closed her eyes at the feel of him between her thighs. She loved the way he fit against her, stretching her subtly, heating her blatantly.

He shifted her fully on top of him, his hand already reaching between her legs to circle her clit. A slow burn started in the little bud and radiated out until Tulah was writhing against him. She braced her weight against his chest and bucked her hips, forcing his fingertips deeper between her folds.

Some knot inside her unraveled, melted. Her pussy softened in a rush, sending sensation streaking between her legs and an unfamiliar emotion rising up her spine. She closed her eyes against a sudden surge of tears, focusing on Adam’s touch instead.

His fingers slid through her cream, his touch brought more. A pleasurable hum worked over her most private flesh before spearing into her. Her pussy rippled and squeezed, begging for more. Unfamiliar heat raced over her body, setting fire to her nerves and calling her magic from the prison of her tenuous control.

Tulah didn’t understand—Adam had never sent his magic at her like this. It had only escaped his control once, but this was a directed flow, a tool for her pleasure and intimate beyond her wildest imaginings.

“Adam?”

“You’re ready for me.” He grabbed her hips, tugged her forward and gripped his cock to angle it against her heat. “I need you now, Tulah. Hard and fast, honey, as deep as I can go.”

The wide, hot head stretched her opening and scorched her heart. Her body gave way for him, accommodating him gratefully. She braced her knees, thinking she’d go mad at feeling his thick crest wedged between her walls while she refused its full entry, but that was the price she would pay to get her answers.

Adam arched against her, a vein on his forehead throbbing. His fingers tightened on her hip, his other hand pulled from his cock to pet her clit. He stared at her with a plea in his eyes, determination and a need for her to take him deep shining in their depths.

Her pussy convulsed and squeezed his tip. They both moaned but Tulah shook her head, ignoring the hot slide of cream slipping between them. “Why are you using magic against me?”

Adam’s eyes dropped to stare at the place where their bodies connected. The skin over his cheekbones tightened and the determination in his gaze sharpened. Tulah knew he was watching her honey trickle down his shaft, knew he was appreciating the sight of his crest lost in her body. Something flashed in his eyes and magic erupted from his cock, shooting straight up her core to explode with a full set of fireworks in her belly.

She threw back her head and tensed her legs against the need to drive down on him, the need to sink him so deep inside her body that his exact width and length would be impressed on her nerves for all time. Delicate muscles flexed and pulled, trying to tug him in and hold him close. Tulah curled her nails into his chest.

“Don’t you like it?” A smirk ghosted over Adam’s lips. He knew full well she did.

Tulah struggled for enough breath to speak. “But why are you doing it?”

Adam became serious. “Let me in and I’ll explain.”

“You swear?” His promises were worth her weight in gold. So far, he was the only person in her life who’d never broken one made to her.

“I give you my word, honey. I’ll explain what I’m doing as soon as I feel your heat all around me, swallowing me up and snuggling close. I need to be inside you, Tulah. I need you
now
.”

She relented and slid down his cock slowly, taking her time to enjoy the sensation of him stuffed inside her. Nerves trembled and hummed, both his magic and her desire skimming her walls and tugging every ounce of pleasure from her they could find. She strained to keep from ramming her body over his, aided only by the tight constriction of her inner muscles as they fought to press close and soak up the feel of him.

Too many emotions to count threatened to overwhelm her.

Adam slid his hands up her torso. He spent a brief moment fondling her breasts before moving to her shoulders and closing his hot palms over her arms. He slid his hands down until he linked their fingers. Tulah grasped him tight, wondering what his seriousness meant, sensing it was tremendously important.

She breathed deep and forced her body’s urgency to step back. She willed her nerves to calm just enough that she could hear his explanation and maybe even think.

“I don’t trust Muso to let you go,” Adam said once she’d settled completely onto him.

Tulah panted. “Why are you thinking about him?”

“Because we’re leaving today and I’m taking you with us.”

She shook her head as lust renewed its demands. Her pussy protested the conversation with a brutal spasm. “He has no reason to keep me anymore.”

Adam gritted his teeth even as his hips jerked off the mattress. He was so deep it was a futile effort to push deeper, but flames still roared through Tulah’s body. She bore down and clamped every muscle she could command around his cock.

“You’re the only female of this branch left to barter,” Adam grated. “He won’t let you go easily.”

Shudders worked up Tulah’s spine, but they weren’t born of fear. Fear had no place in Adam’s bed. It took all her effort not to rock against him, not to lift up and sink back down. Her body screamed for her to do it, to let this odd conversation go so she could concentrate on the sensations Adam poured over her every time they were together.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

He tightened his fingers around hers. “We’re on the bridge, Tulah. I want you to marry me.”

Her brain froze, but her body didn’t. Pleasure and need were zinging between her legs, bouncing from hip to hip, stroking her slick folds and swollen clit with phantom touches. It made it difficult to think straight, in spite of the denial wailing in her skull.

She closed her eyes. “No. I told you—”

Adam flung her hands away and grabbed her hips in a move too fast for Tulah’s lust-sodden senses to track. He dragged her up his cock and slammed her back down. Shock waves roared through her, lightning flashed between her legs. He gripped her and held her to his body, lifting against her incessantly until she felt pressure behind her belly button.

“You’re mine,” Adam snarled. “I claim you, I protect you. I want you and I won’t let anyone take you from me, least of all Muso Ngozi. He doesn’t fucking deserve to even know who you are, Tulah. I’ll be damned if I let him keep his power over you.”

She arched helplessly. “I didn’t want to trap you.”

“You didn’t. This is my decision.”

“Adam, you can’t—”

“Don’t tell me what I can’t do.” He lowered his hips and lifted her again. This time, his re-entry was controlled. “I’ve never met a woman like you, who fit me so well. I can fall in love with you very easily, Tulah. You just have to let me.”

She folded forward to press her head against his shoulder. She was instantly engulfed in his body heat, wrapped up and held safe. It was exactly what she wanted. All she had to do was trust him to make the right decision for both of them.

“Okay, Adam. Yes.”

His hands left her hips to tangle their fingers again and their wrists pressed together, his pulse thumping against her own. Tulah lifted her head, stretching to reach his mouth and kiss him deeply. She let Adam’s confidence wash over her and gave her body free rein to move on his.

Her wrists burned under a slice of magic. A trickle of blood flowed down, his and hers, mingling. His cock pushed into her body, sending trails of fire singing through her blood. Nerves tightened, denied too long by his unexpected proposal, and Tulah slid toward the edge of her climax.

Adam pulled his lips from hers. “I take you as my wife, Tulah Ngozi. Forever. Mine to protect, mine to care for.”

She breathed deep and repeated the words back to him, simple and straightforward. “I take you as my husband, Adam Davenold. Forever, mine to protect, to care for and to love.”

Magic took root, splicing parts of Tulah into parts of Adam. She felt it in the deepest levels of her soul, his presence embedded within her, physically and spiritually. Power built between them, cinched them together and held tight.

Tulah rode him as the magic wove them into one. Pleasure spiraled, heat blazed and ecstasy raced through her spine. Adam lifted beneath her, their eyes locked, their fingers clutching. There was a weighted presence to the moment that impressed Tulah with its importance and sent sheer sensation shimmering through her veins.

Nerves stretched and flexed, her inner walls convulsed. Her intuition reached out until she
knew
Adam. She became a part of him as much as he became a part of her, and Tulah felt his rush toward orgasm as she felt her own. She struggled under the dual sensations of sharp pleasure in her body and heavy bliss in his, as magic swirled through them and flickered around them in tiny flares of silver and indigo.

She let go and felt him do the same. She flew on weightless wings, hips pumping, her inner walls burning with his release. The world opened to her, a thousand images stealing her sight, a thousand loves clenching her heart. Pure magic. Then Adam’s arms were around her and she was consumed by a solid sense of safety.

He held her for a long time, both of them silent and thoughtful until the sounds of the hotel prodded them from their bed. They got up, showered and packed their things. When Silviu rapped on their door, they were ready.

Muso was not.

The Ngozi Father waited for them in the lobby, his intentions writ across his face. Chelsea fidgeted by the front door. Eliasz and Ileana hurried to get the older Davenold women out, with Madeleine conceding to her weakness enough to lean on Eliasz’s arm. Silviu waited impatiently while Georgie calmly claimed his hand.

Adam faced the Ngozi Father. “Tulah’s coming with me.”

Muso straightened his shoulders. “You’re mistaken.”

“Don’t do this, Muso,” Silviu warned.

Muso scowled at Tulah, pressed against Adam’s side, exactly where the new groom anchored her and exactly she wanted to be. “You’re not going with them.”

“Yes, she is,” Adam said. His pleasure was plain to see as he lifted his hand, then hers, turning their new scars to the light for Muso’s perusal. “My wife goes where I go.”

Georgie closed her eyes but rallied quickly. “Tulah Davenold leaves with her Family, Father Ngozi.”

Muso’s face darkened dramatically. “She doesn’t have my permission to wed!”

Adam smirked. “Blood and magic outweigh betrothal contracts every time. Your permission wasn’t required.”

Adam pulled Tulah to the front door and threw it wide. She tensed, fearful after the few times she’d tried to leave, but her husband smiled down at her and put his hand to the jamb. A wave of magic pulsed a single time around the entire frame, and Graves’ spell shattered.

Chelsea rushed through the door without consequence. Tulah realized that Muso had known the block was there by the way he cursed. Silviu growled but Georgie laughed a completely false, tinkling laugh.

“You should feel honored, Muso,” Georgeanne said. “Not everyone can say one of their daughters is good enough to be a Davenold.”

Adam ushered Tulah out into the bright London sunshine, smiling when she laughed in delight. “You’re free, honey.”

She threw her arms around him and held on tight, letting her joy flood every corner of her heart. Because of Adam, Tulah was free—safe—for the first time in her life.

Also available from Totally Bound Publishing:

The Double O Saga: Outrageous Offer

Lola White

Excerpt

Chapter One

“Dang, woman, I can hear your caterwauling all the way down at the post office.”

Only vaguely hearing him through her sobs, Hyacinth didn’t recognize the deep male voice, but that wasn’t surprising. After all, she’d only been in Creek Bend for thirty minutes—just long enough that the stage coach had departed. Just long enough to have fear tearing holes through her stomach as the prospects of her future turned darker than they’d ever been before.

“Oh, leave me alone!” Hyacinth turned her back on the male voice at the same time she shot to her feet, but a low whistle kept her from leaving—not that she had anywhere to go.

“God have mercy, woman. You here to work in the saloon? Tell me when you start and I’ll scrape a few dollars together to visit you.”

Hyacinth collapsed back onto the rickety bench as a new wave of terror tore her legs out from under her.