Shadowfae (22 page)

My rapture sizzled. Rajah laughed darkly in my head, and I felt like laughing, too. I locked my legs around Luna’s hips and wrapped my hands in his hair, dragging his head down to me. I had the bastard exactly where I wanted him. I flexed, gripping his cock with practiced muscles, and he clenched his teeth, thrusting deeper, again and again. It felt good. But not so good, I couldn’t enjoy his powerlessness. Cold magic fists grasped, crushing, searching for my glamour, but it was too late. The rapture was too strong, flowing over us like a sparking volcano.

Absurdly, a breathless smile parted his lips. “Shit. You’re good. I figured I’d see this coming. I didn’t see a damn thing.” He pushed into me again, helpless, groaning, his glittering mauve aura licking over me. He knew what was happening. He just couldn’t do anything about it.

Victory flushed me, and I tightened my thighs, urging him on. “Confidence in a bottle, Vorenus. You should be more careful what you snort.”

“Guess so. Still, it was good, wasn’t it?” His movements quickened, sweat beading on his handsome forehead. His breath came shorter, his lips shining. “Oh, fuck. No way. You won’t get me like that.” He pushed away, triceps straining, forcing my legs down and away from his hips, trying to pull out of me before he came. I struggled, despair clenching dead fingers in my guts. He was too strong. I couldn’t hold him.

“No, you fucking don’t.” A dark shadow flickered above us. Gold-speckled brown eyes flashed into view over Luna’s shoulder, wild black hair, gleaming brown skin.

Luna choked and slammed back into me, crushing me, a painful gasp escaping his open mouth. He struggled to press up onto his elbows, panting, and with an effort sniffed the air like a cat. “Rajah,” he gasped, a smile tugging at his lips. “There’s two of you. No wonder. Look, we can talk about this—”

“No talking. Not for you.” Rajah stared at me, smoldering, and reached down to grasp my hand, bracing himself. His forearm strained in his shining thrall bangle, his long fingers clenched in mine. He slipped his other hand beneath him, and I felt his fingers slide delicately around where Luna and I joined, collecting slick wetness and spreading it. “It’s been a while, Luna. Sure hope you don’t mind.”

Luna tried to catch his breath, sweat glowed on his face. “You crafty bitches.”

“That didn’t sound like a no.” Rajah gripped Luna’s hipbone tightly, where Luna’s body pressed into his beautiful naked flank, and shifted his hips, gritting his teeth, working his way in. Luna gasped again, his cock swelling inside me.

I couldn’t see what Rajah was doing, but I had a pretty good idea. Delicious images flooded my rapture-soaked senses, and I shuddered, pleasured, sure my eyes were glazing over. The night I’d met him, I’d imagined a threesome. This wasn’t quite what I’d had in mind. But my heart overflowed to look at him, damp hair falling in his face, his lips wet, gazing raptly down at me while we both did something—someone—we abhorred. He squeezed my hand, his thumb teasing my burning wrist, and his luscious lips formed a kiss, just for me.

Rapture licked over my body, raising lustful gooseflesh on my skin, and my loins ached for him, my flesh scorching with friction. I knew it wasn’t Rajah my muscles clenched around in longing. But it didn’t matter. He was here, with me, making love to me as we murdered our oldest and most deserving enemy. My heart ached, a lump swelling in my throat, and I fought back sweet tears. It was the most romantic thing anyone had ever done for me.

I tilted my hips up against Luna’s, urgent now to get this over with. Luna groaned and filled me, and to my surprise a tear glimmered on his mauve-lit lashes too. “Well,” he breathed with a gentle smile, “might as well enjoy it while it lasts.” He pushed backwards, grunting in pleasure. Rajah thrust deep into him, driving them both into me. My breath forced from my lungs, delicious sensation rippling deep inside me. We moved together, slick skin sliding, muscles rubbing on muscles, dark hair mingling with golden, and the whole time Rajah’s gaze never left my face, desire burning in his eyes, his fingers crushing mine.

Luna’s breath deepened, ragged, his eyes squeezing shut as he tried to hold off his orgasm, to prolong the pleasure and his life. But Rajah pressed again and again against some deeply pleasurable place inside him, and I milked him, squeezing and releasing his cock until he shuddered, every breath a groan. “I can’t,” he gasped, a helpless laugh tearing from him. “See you both in hell.”

H
e thrust hard into me one last time, muscles straining in his thighs, and his cock jerked and throbbed, filling me with his seed and his soul. A long painful cry forced from his mouth, dampening my face with his last breath, and his beautiful bright eyes faded to gray and rolled back. His arm muscles juddered and loosened, and he fell on me, lifeless, his weight crushing what was left of my breath away.

17

I
lay stunned, my limbs rigid. Luna’s soul rushed around inside me, laughing madly, filling my veins with burning mirth. My mind distorted and stretched, brimming with insane, alien intelligence. I shuddered, uncontrolled. Luna was crazy like a blood-mad raptor, and I wanted to scream, cackle like a madwoman, let the bubbling thing froth up my throat and choke me.

Rajah dragged Luna’s heavy corpse off me. Golden hair tumbled onto the sheet, limbs tangling. He caught me in his arms, crushing me to his chest, smoothing sweaty hair from my face. “It’s done, princess. You got him.”

The carnal smell of our sex churned my stomach. Luna’s soul writhed in my womb, kicking, scratching at my walls with hateful nails, and my rapture hissed and fought back. I retched, spit flecking, my eyes watering, but nothing came up.

Rajah pulled me closer onto his lap, my legs folding over his knees. The air still shimmered and roiled around us. His heartbeat throbbed rapidly against me, his damp cock still pressing hard beneath my thighs, but he wasn’t bothered with rapture now, and neither was I, not really, not with this evil soul energy still raping me. I dry-heaved again, my face scorching, and he stroked my back gently, small circles from the base of my spine up. His hand shook a little, burning to do more, but I couldn’t blame him for that. “Come on, sweetheart. Don’t keep it in.”

“Always telling me to be sick,” I muttered, nausea gripping me again, the lust burning within me from unsated rapture only making it worse.

He grinned softly, charming, and scrabbled on the floor for my bag. He dug out the soultrap, folded my fingers around its warm brass neck, and resumed stroking my back, willing the grotesque thing out of me.

And out it came. Pain stabbed through my veins, cramping like a vise. Acid seared up my throat and poured out onto my tongue, bubbles stinging my nose. Hot purple froth gushed into the soultrap. I choked, spitting up the last of it, sweet and horrid in my mouth, and when I was finished, Rajah jammed the cork in tight. The bottle sizzled in my hand, the metal thrumming. Rabid laughter echoed faintly from within.

I dropped it on the bed and clung to him, my limbs stiff and sore, sticky fluid leaking between my legs. He folded his arms around me, resting his cheek on top of my head. Cheated of its prize, my rapture flared hotter, angry, heating my skin. My senses ignited to Rajah’s quivering body, his warm muscles moving against me, the stony length of his cock pressing against my leg. But the sickly sweet taste of Luna flowered on my tongue, a shady remnant of his soul still chuckling deep in my heart. His sweat still greased my skin, his saliva still running between my legs, his hot semen still coating my insides. Filth smothered me, clogged my hair, my nails, made me stink. Sluggish worms of loathing coiled in my innards. Disgusting. Filthy. Useless. Whore.

I shoved Rajah away, my legs scything on the wet sheet. I didn’t want him to have to touch me. Why would he want to touch me? I stank. I wept refuse. Shudders racked me, and I wrapped my arms around my curled legs, sick, even as my rapture screamed at me to push him down next to Luna’s cooling corpse and impale myself on him.

Rajah’s warm hand touched my shoulder, hesitant. “Princess—”

“Don’t touch me!” I shrugged him off, furious.

But he held me, and a moment later I felt his arm slipping beneath my bent knees, my shoulder thudding into his hard chest as he lifted me effortlessly. I wriggled. “What are you—?”

“Hush.” He carried me across the carpet, cradling my head on his shoulder, his warm cardamom scent a temptation and a scorching reprimand at the same time. His bare feet snicked on hard tiles, and I heard the splatter of rushing water. He put me down, the slate cold beneath my feet, and pushed me under the shower.

Hot water splashed, running over my face, into my mouth, soaking my hair, flooding down my body. Steam clouded, misting the air with warmth. Scalding freshness sloughed over me, but filth still clung like fungus. I scrubbed at myself, frantic, my bangles scraping, water stinging my eyes as I tried to see. My arms, my breasts, my belly, between my legs, the hot friction of my wet hands tearing at my skin, digging into the dirt, my nails scratching.

“Slow down.” Rajah gripped my wrists and gently pulled them away. Water splashed over his gleaming brown body, rinsing away sweat and stickiness, and he reached for the soap. “Let me wash you clean.”

Tears spilled from my eyes, cold in the steaming water, and my hand shook in his. Was he reading my mind now? God, I’d been raped enough already for one night. But I looked up into his eyes, and his bleeding torment floored me. He chewed his lip, his mouth tight and quivering, and his fingers strained white where he clutched the pale soap. It was okay between us; he didn’t despise me. His anguish was for me, and it was all his own. He wasn’t reading my mind. He just knew.

My giddy heart tipped over a precipice, falling forever, and the clang of warning in my head came too late.

Barely able to move, I nodded. He touched my shoulder and turned me gently, and I felt the smooth soap rubbing over me in his palm, slow circles over my shoulder blades, down my spine, up to the base of my neck. My hair stuck to my shoulders, and pine-scented soap suds slid down my back, over my hips, into the cleft of my ass, washed away by the rushing water. Now he used both hands, massaging me, sending new blood to my worn, aching muscles. Bumps crept over my scalp. I shivered, flexing sore shoulders, and my still-unsated rapture sighed, urging me to press backwards, slide his cock between my legs.

He folded strong arms around me, holding me gently against him. My skin slid over him, slick, the friction delicious. I could feel his erection pulsing against my bottom, his body heat searing even in the shower, but he didn’t seem to care. His soapy hands slid to my belly, my ribs, leaving a fresh, clean feeling behind them. He washed the undersides of my breasts, hesitant, and I wanted to thrust forward, rub my nipples into his palms, feel the hard lump of soap against them.

“Touch me.” My voice scraped my throat, hoarse with wanting. I needed Rajah’s hands on me, to erase the memory of what we’d done, of Luna’s body on mine, the smell of orange blossom, his mouth invading me, the hard thrust of his cock, his groan as he came and died.

Rajah bent his head against mine, black hair dripping hot water onto my face, and his gentle touch moved higher. My breasts slid like gel in his hands, slippery with soap. He delved his hands between them, around them, over them, up around my shoulders and back down, and soft pleasure flooded into my body, washing away the tension and the dirt. He caught my nipples between his knuckles and tugged gently, and when his fingers slipped off, twin bolts of desire jammed deep into me, my breasts aching.

Now I did press back against him, rubbing my head on his shoulder. Water flooded down, over my face, washing hot waves over my breasts, trickling between my legs. I parted my thighs, and the water stroked my swollen clit, teasing, making me want more. My soap-slick back skidded on his chest, the twin hard nubs of his nipples dragging over me. He sighed, and reckless need ignited in my heart. I flexed my hips. He pulled me onto him, his fingers digging into my hipbones, his cock burning in the drenched furrow between my buttocks. I shivered to my core with longing. My body wanted more, wanted to bend over and push him into me, make love to him, fuck him hard and fast until I exploded. I clenched my ass, squeezing his cock, and the throb of his flesh and his soft groan told me he wanted the same.

But my mind wouldn’t let go. Fragments of insane soul energy still giggled inside me, wicked. I couldn’t forget the feel of another man fucking me, making me wet, sticky, filthy with desire and come. And it wasn’t just Luna. It was Dante, Quinn, Angelo, every man I’d ever touched without emotion, every man I’d let soil me with lust. Rajah touched my heart and my pleasure in ways that delved deeper than I wanted to admit. If we were going to love, I wanted it to be special, and it wasn’t.

“I can’t,” I whispered, but something deep inside me cracked.

“It’s okay. Let me care for you.” He slid the soap down over my belly, into the curls between my legs, rubbing me gently until it lathered frothy and white. Easing his hand lower, he slid soap into the creases at the tops of my thighs, washing sticky residue from the hair. Despite my upset, my flesh twinged and strained under his touch, and my thighs drifted apart of their own accord. When the soap in his palm brushed the hood of my clit, sensation shocked my nerves, crinkling my skin with pleasure.