The Guardian (25 page)

his pectorals. Hair that vanished over his eight-pack abdomen only to pick up again below his navel, where

it was thickest of al , as it led her gaze down to the part of him that was swol en for her.

However, it was his tattoo that stood out so brightly on his skin. That was what beckoned her first. The one

thing he’d manifested in an attempt to give himself comfort.

The first haven Noir had stolen from him.

Now she wanted to be the one who gave him comfort and took away his pain. To show him that he didn’t

need a bird’s wings to escape what was happening around him. That there was pleasure to be had in his

own body.

Let me love you, Seth …

But would her stubborn demon lord ever accept that from anyone? Even her. Or was he so badly

damaged that nothing would ever make him whole again?

Seth ground his teeth as Lydia leaned forward to run her tongue over his swal ow mark. It was the first

time since it’d appeared that he didn’t hate it and what it signified.

Closing his eyes, he surrendered himself to her mouth and warm touches that reached far below his skin

and soothed him on levels he’d never imagined he possessed. His senses on fire, he was actual y dizzy

from the pleasure of final y having her in his arms.

He ran his hands under her shirt and over her back, delighting in how warm and soft her skin was. How

good it smel ed. Everything around them faded as he surrendered himself completely to her caresses.

Caresses that were far sweeter than anything he’d imagined them to be.

And how could he? No one had ever touched him like this.

Like he mattered.

There was no pain in her gentle touch. No fingernails shredding his skin.

But her top was beginning to frustrate him as he tried to feel more of her. “No fair,” he whispered in her

ear. “You stil have a shirt on.”

It vanished instantly.

Seth sucked his breath in at the sight of her perfectly formed breasts. Her skin tone was so pale

compared to his. Something that didn’t make any sense since she was from the world of bright sunlight and

he’d lived in darkness for so long that he could barely tolerate the sun at al .

His mouth watering, he cupped her breasts that overfil ed his hands and smiled at the bounty of them. He

lifted her up so that he could run his tongue over the tight nipple of her right breast and final y taste her.

Mmm … she was even more succulent than his best fantasy, and he wanted to taste every inch of her

body until he was drunk from it.

Lydia shivered at the way Seth’s tongue played against her breast as he rol ed her over onto her back

without withdrawing from her.

Then he moved from breast to breast, tickling her nipples with his tongue and then his whiskers in turn.

Something that made her entire body convulse with unbelievable bliss. Who knew a man could do that? Her

demon lord was extremely talented. So much so that she actual y came a few minutes later just from that

alone.

Throwing her head back, she laughed in ecstasy as her world exploded.

Seth smiled as he felt her shuddering against him. The sound of his name on her lips …

It was the sweetest of songs and he was so grateful he’d given her that voice.

He’d never taken delight in pleasing his partners before. In the past, he’d developed that particular skil as

a way to get them off him quicker so that he could find his own release and be done with them.

But with Lydia, he wanted it to last and he wanted her to be pleasured like she’d never been pleasured

before. He was desperate to make sure that when she left this bed, she didn’t regret a single minute of

being with him.

Lydia licked her lips as her body settled back down and Seth continued to run his hands over her breasts

while he gently nipped her skin with his teeth. She lifted herself up to kiss him.

He pul ed back again.

“Seth—”

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. Staring at her, he swal owed hard, then lowered his lips toward hers. His entire

body was tense and rigid. He al but cringed in expectation of her kiss.

Lydia ran her finger over his mouth while he watched her. “A kiss isn’t supposed to hurt, Seth.”

He frowned as if he thought she was insane.

“Trust me.”

Seth nodded, even though he didn’t believe her for an instant. Kisses didn’t hurt women. But they always

hurt him. No matter who gave them, the result was ever the same.

He braced himself for the coming pain as she pressed her lips to his. She buried her hands in his hair

while she lightly tongued his lips, sending chil s al over him. And when she slipped her tongue into his mouth

to stroke his tongue and tease his teeth, he swore he saw stars from it.

Lydia smiled as she felt him relaxing against her, and getting more into the kiss, until he final y took

control of it.

Now it was her turn to be amazed. While she’d had her share of boyfriends and dates over the centuries,

none of them had ever kissed her like this.

Like she was the air he breathed. She sank her hands into his soft curls and let them wrap around her

fingers in the sweetest of caresses. She didn’t know why, but those curls always made her smile. Probably

because hair like his was rare. Not just the unusual color of it, but also the silkiness of his curls. The way they

spiraled in a mad chaos that was unruly and yet control ed and formed. Ever a contradiction.

Just like him.

And in that one moment, as their breaths mingled and he groaned against her, she made the most

startling discovery of al .

She loved him.

Truly. Deeply.

And with the whole of her heart.

Yes, he made her crazy. He had a way of infuriating her to the highest level of madness and motivating

her into wanting to murder him.

And at the same time, he broke her heart and made her crave his touch even while she was trying to

figure out where to hide his body.

But most of al , whenever he looked at her, she felt like a goddess. Pure and simple. And when he held

her like this, she could almost believe she was beautiful.

I love you, Seth.

If only she dared say that out loud. Yet she knew better. He wasn’t ready to believe her. He’d been too

hurt. But in time, she was going to make him see it. Somehow.

Seth’s head swam at the way Lydia held on to him and kissed his lips without hurting him in the least.

Never had he imagined anything sweeter. More succulent.

Now he understood why people craved this. Why they were wil ing to die and to kil for it.

And as he breathed her in, a need came from the darkest part of his soul.

Love me …

He was desperate for her heart and he had no idea why. But whenever he was with her …

Nothing else mattered. He felt no pain.

Only her. Her smile warmed him al the way to the coldest part of his soul. And she had no idea how much

power she had over him. Noir may have owned his body.

But she owned his heart and his beleaguered soul.

In her arms, he had the ability to dream again. To believe that maybe, just maybe, he wasn’t a worthless

piece of shit to be used and discarded.

That maybe for once, he was worth keeping.

In that moment, he felt more exposed and vulnerable than he ever had before. Because he knew a truth he

could never deny.

Lydia was the one person on this earth, above or beyond, who could destroy him with one single word.

How could he have done this to himself? He knew better than to let anyone close to him. Yet he couldn’t

keep her out. She was too vital, too sweet, and the way she looked at him …

Like he mattered.

In her eyes, he saw the man he’d always wanted to be and he never wanted to disappoint her.

Lydia playful y rol ed him over so that she could stare down at that gorgeous body that rippled with raw

power. She kissed her way from his chest to the juiciest hipbone ever made.

But when she brushed her hand lightly against his cock, he jerked away from her and grabbed her wrist to

keep her from stroking him.

That reflex caught her completely off guard. She’d never had a man do that to her before. Usual y they

begged to be touched.

Once again, he surprised her.

Mystified, she met his uncertain gaze.

He pul ed her hand up and laid it against his chest before he final y explained. “I can perform a lot better

for you if you wait until the end to hurt me there.”

She didn’t know what made her hurt the most, the sincere honesty in his voice or the expectation of pain

she saw in his eyes. He spoke as if he were nothing more than a trained monkey with no other purpose than

service her and go.

Her hand trembling, she brushed his curls back from his forehead. “Has no one ever made love to you?”

Scowling, he cocked his head. “Made love? I don’t know what that is.”

Of course, he didn’t. Because no one had ever touched him with a loving hand. They had used him,

abused him, and then thrown him away his entire life.

But that was going to change.

She smiled up at him. “You’re about to find out, but you have to trust that I’m not going to hurt you.”

“I don’t know if I can.”

The saddest part was that she believed him. “Then I’m going to teach you.”

Seth had no idea what she meant by that until she manifested five silk scarves. She looped one about his

wrist, then tied it to the bed.

Panic gripped him at her intent. “What did I do to displease you?”

She laid her head on his chest and shook it. Then she locked gazes with him so that he could see the

sincerity in her eyes. “Baby, this isn’t about punishment. It’s about pleasure.
Your
pleasure. Trust me.”

She kept saying that.

Did he dare?

Trying to make her happy, he forced himself to submit to what she was doing even though it terrified him.

Once she had his arms and legs tied down, she hesitated. “Are you okay?”

He wasn’t sure. He hated this feeling of vulnerability. Of being at anyone’s mercy. Ever.

But he’d made her a promise.

“I think so,” he lied.

She narrowed her gaze at him as if she sensed his dishonesty. “Trust. Me. You real y are going to enjoy

this.” And with that she blindfolded him.

Seth held his breath as he feared what she’d do to him now that he couldn’t protect himself at al .

Until he felt her long soft hair on his chest. Ever so light, it teased his flesh like a butterfly’s kiss. His eyes

rol ed back in his head as she gently beat him with it. But there was no pain.

Only sweet torture.

Slowly, teasingly, she began kissing him again. First his lips, then his neck and ears. Ears that she licked

and blew into until his body was on fire from it. Her naked breasts were plastered against his skin while she

slid herself down his body, nibbling his flesh the whole way.

Okay, this was good.

Actual y, it was far beyond good. Anytime Lydia wanted to tie him down and torture him like this, he would

be her most wil ing slave.

Then he felt her warm breath against his cock. He tensed involuntarily.

Her fingers started dancing over the tip of him, until he was leaking from it. His breathing ragged, he bit

his lip as blind pleasure consumed him. Slow and easy, she rubbed his moisture down his shaft until she

played with the curls at the center of his body. Her fingernails brushed through them ever so lightly and then

she slid her hand down until she cupped him in the gentlest caress he’d ever known.

Arching his back, he growled at how good it felt.

Then he felt something even better.

She took him into her mouth and tongued him until he thought he’d die from it. More than that, he heard

her murmurs of pleasure. She actual y enjoyed tasting him.

He couldn’t believe it.

No one had ever done that to him before. No one.

He tried to hold himself back so that he could please her in return. But she was relentless with her mouth,

tongue, and hand as she licked, sucked, and stroked every inch of him.

Before he could stop it, he came.

Stil , she didn’t pul away. Rather she continued to taste and please him until she’d sucked the last

shudder from his sated body.

Only then did she let go of him. With a gentle hand, she slid his blindfold off and smiled. “You stil alive,

baby?”

He would never get used to the way endearments for him rol ed off her tongue. “No,
sšn
.” How could he

be after that?

She jerked back as if he’d slapped her. Then her eyes darkened with a fury he didn’t understand the

source of. “Um … um … Seth?”

That icy tone made him extremely wary. Especial y since he was stil tied down and at her mercy. “Lydia?”

“Did you just cal me Su-san?”

He scowled at the foreign word. “Susan? What’s that?”

Her voice was stil coated with icy venom. “A woman’s name.”

“I’ve never heard of such a name.”

“Then what did you just cal me a minute ago?”

It took him a minute to figure it out. “You mean
sšn
?”

Lydia narrowed her gaze as he said it again. And as before, it made her want to kick him because it

sounded kind of like Ses-sahn—the way someone with his accent might say the name Susan or Suzanne.

“Yes. Who is that?”

“Not a who. It means lily in Egyptian.”

“Lily? Real y?”

He nodded.

What an odd thing to cal her. “Why lily?”