The Nymph King (24 page)

“You can walk away from both of us,” Joachim said, his voice rough. “We won't stop you.”

Run, and stay locked in her safe little world. No feeling. No pain. No pleasure.
I'll never run again.
“I'm so sorry, Shivawn,” she said, chin trembling. “I wanted it to be you. I did. But…”

“Stop. Please. Just stop.” He studied her for a long while, jaw locked tight. Then he slowly turned to Joachim. “She is yours. I relinquish all claim to her.”

“Thank you,” Joachim said tightly.

Shivawn flicked her one last glance, nodded, and strode from the room, leaving her alone with Joachim. Brenna gulped. Gathering her courage, she faced him.

Her man.

Fear would never rule her life again.

She'd chosen him, and she was only sorry it had taken her so long to realize the depth of this man's honor. He trusted her to chain him; she would trust him not to hurt her.

Ready to finally move on with her life, she walked forward. Her heart raced erratically, but she didn't stop
until she was in front of him. Joachim stood, grasping the ties in his fists.

His gaze was hard, unrelenting. “Did your attacker use his hands or a weapon? If he used a weapon, I want you to use the same on me.”

At first, she didn't answer, didn't let the memory intrude on this precious time. “Only hands,” she managed on a trembling breath.

He nodded and gave her the bonds. Slowly, very slowly, Joachim unfastened his pants and pushed them from his hips. They pooled on the floor and she was given a glimpse of large, aroused male.

“Come here,” he commanded, lying on the bed. “Tie me.”

Her hands were shaky as she tied his wrists to the posts, then his ankles. Then she stood at the side of the bed, staring down at him. Such magnificence, hers to control.

Joachim didn't utter a word, but he watched her intently. Her knees almost buckled because she knew what he expected, what he wanted. It was her turn to strip. After the attack, she'd stopped working out and had tried to make herself as unattractive as possible. Would Joachim find her body undesirable?

She reached up with shaky fingers and undid her robe's shoulder ties, revealing her breasts. She continued to watch Joachim, gauging his reaction. There was no disappointment in his eyes. Only desire. She lost a little of her uncertainty. Delicious bumps broke out over her skin as his gaze skimmed over her, his nostrils flaring with arousal.

“You are beautiful, Brenna.”

When her robe was completely loosed, it fell from her body and joined Joachim's pants on the floor. Finally she was naked, like him. Her cheeks heated as Joachim's eyes raked over her again. At one time, the thought of joining a man on a bed would have paralyzed her. This time, her hormones were too busy rejoicing.

“Close your eyes,” he said.

She didn't think to argue.

“Imagine me behind you. Imagine my hands caressing your shoulders and cupping your breasts. Imagine me rolling your nipples between my fingers.”

Yes. Yes! She saw it in her mind, just like before, only this time the image was clearer. Her head would fall back onto his shoulder, her hair tickling them both. His fingers would touch every inch of her.

Imagining was almost as good as the real thing. Almost. But thinking about it
did
make her unbearably wet.

“I want to lick you,” Joachim said.

“Yes,” she said breathlessly.

She climbed onto the bed without hesitation. Soon she straddled Joachim, her knees at his waist, his erection between her legs, touching her intimately but not entering her. She moaned at the utter decadence.

“Lean forward,” Joachim urged roughly.

He might be tied, but he was still a warrior. For the first time, a small kernel of fear sprouted.
You're safe. You're protected.
She crawled up him until her breasts were poised over his waiting mouth. Her black curls fell around them like a curtain as he eagerly sucked on her, dissolving her fear, filling her with pleasure. Contact with his hot, hot mouth was like nothing she'd ever ex
perienced. His mouth possessed volts of electricity, and those volts lanced inside her body.

She groaned, the sound broken and rough.

While Joachim sucked her, she continued to imagine. Had his hands been free, he would have traced them over her back, over the ridges of her spine. Over the curve of her bottom. Yes, yes! She saw it happening, somehow felt it. Everywhere his phantom hands touched, his mouth followed, his phantom tongue laving her skin. She couldn't help herself. She writhed against Joachim's penis without actual penetration. She was so wet, she slid up and down with ease.

“You taste like heaven,” Joachim said.

In her mind, Joachim's hands circled her and urged her to straighten, then his fingers were sinking past her pubic hair and into her moist, hot center. She gave another groan of absolute pleasure.

Why had she tied him? she mused.

He sucked her nipple with delicious force.

“Yes,” she gasped out, unable to say anything else. “Yes.”

Her head again fell back.

“Do you want me to lick between your legs?”

“Yes.” She didn't try to deny it or play coy. She wanted Joachim's mouth there. She wanted it fiercely. Would have killed for it.

“Come here,” Joachim said. Sweat beaded over his skin. His jaw was tense.

She moved forward until she was poised over Joachim's body, the apex of her thighs mere inches from his face.

“Lower,” he commanded, a rough snarl.

“Joachim,” she said, sinking into him and in the next instant he was loving her with his face. His tongue, his lips, his teeth. He used them all. She screamed at the intense sensation, the heady pleasure. Her hips writhed back and forth.

“Come, Brenna. Come for me,” Joachim said, and she obeyed. Her pleasure exploded. Erupted. Her entire body shook and trembled with her climax, propelling her to the gates of paradise. Joachim drank her up until she thought she could take no more.

“Take me,” he said. “Put me inside you.”

Limbs weak, she straddled Joachim's waist without hesitation. She rose up, placed Joachim's shaft at her entrance and sank down on him, taking him all the way to the hilt. He was big, and it had been so long. He stretched her, but it was a wonderful stretch. Made her feel alive.

Joachim roared.

She panted his name over and over again. “Joachim.” She couldn't say it enough. It was in her head, branded on every cell in her body. “Joachim.”

She was safe. She was sated—and would soon find release again. Her nerve endings were already sparking with renewed life.

She anchored her hands on Joachim's chest. Their faces were inches apart, his breath a part of her and her breath a part of him.

“Kiss me,” he said.

Her mouth meshed against Joachim's. She gasped in pleasure and he swallowed the sound. Hard, hot, gentle, fast, slow, his tongue sparred with hers as she rode him. It was sheer bliss. Total ravishment.

The kiss became savage, and in turn, the loving became savage. Her teeth banged his; her body slammed up and down. She purred, she groaned, she gasped some more.

“That's it,” Joachim praised. “Take it all.”

“Yes.”

“No more fear.” Joachim.

“No more,” she panted.

“Come for me, sweet.” Joachim nipped her collarbone. He strained against his bonds. “Show me how much you like having me inside you.”

There was no holding back at that point, no prolonging the pleasure. She erupted for the second time. The orgasm was so intense a black web clouded her vision. She was dying slowly, quickly, unable to breathe, yet so alive she could have stayed exactly where she was forever. “Joachim,” she screamed, and for once she didn't care how broken her voice sounded.

“Brenna.” Joachim roared loud and long and reared up, sinking deep, deeper than she'd ever thought possible.

She collapsed onto his chest. “Thank you,” she panted. “Thank you.”

“Untie me,” he ordered harshly.

She didn't think to deny him. Blindly she reached up and removed the bonds. His arms instantly wrapped around her, pulling her close and holding her tightly. Cherishing her.

“No more fear,” he said again.

“No more,” she agreed. She would have agreed with anything he said just then. Marry him—yes. Be his slave—of course. His heat surrounded her, enveloped her, beckoned her.

“Mine,” he said.

“Yours,” she breathed. “Joachim's.” Her eyes closed, her lids growing heavier and heavier with every second that passed. Sleep summoned, a peaceful sleep she'd needed for so long but had been too afraid to take. “Don't let me go.”

“Never.”

Oblivion claimed her then. She was smiling.

 

S
HIVAWN STOOD IN THE
hallway for a long while. He wished Brenna had chosen him, but it had been Joachim her eyes had heated for. Joachim she'd probably wanted all along. He was angry, so very angry. She was beautiful, she was passionate, she was kind. But she wasn't his. He knew that now. No matter how much pleasure Shivawn could have given her, no matter how safe he could have made her feel, she would always have wanted Joachim.

The two were mates, that much was clear now.

And so he ended up alone.

Perhaps one day he would find a woman who loved him like that. Who wanted him above all others.

He blinked when he realized Alyssa had stepped into the hall and now stood a few feet away from him. He scowled at her.

She frowned at him. “You smell like a human,” she said flatly. “Have you been with one? Is she your mate?”

“What business is it of yours?” He leapt into a quick stride.

She followed suit, keeping pace beside him. “Is she?”

“No,” he snapped.

“I told you I would see to your needs,” she snapped back. “You should have come to me.”

“And I told you no.” Alyssa was beautiful, and Shivawn even felt himself stir for a taste of her, but he would not touch her. He didn't have Valerian's love for the vampires.

Vampires survived on blood and sometimes took more than they should. He'd made the mistake of bedding a vampire only once and had almost died for it. Never again, he'd vowed. Alyssa knew that, but she always sought him out when she came to visit.

“Goodbye, Alyssa,” he said, and strode away from her.

She wasn't content to remain behind this time. She rushed after him, even jumped in front of him. Her eyes glowed. “I've always known I would have you one day, Shivawn, and I've decided today is that day.”

Her lips slammed into his, her tongue forcing its way into his mouth. The taste of her filled him. Not a taste of blood and death, but of woman. Shivawn found himself responding. He was disgusted with himself but maybe, just maybe, she could help him forget his loneliness.

“One night,” he growled. “That's all I'll give you.”

Triumph blazed in her eyes, and her red, red lips curled in a sensual smile. “That's all I'm asking for.”

S
HAYE LOUNGED AT THE EDGE
of the bathing pool. Warm, steaming water lapped at her sensitized skin. The scent of orchids filled the room, sweetly perfuming the air with a sultry ambiance. She inhaled deeply. Her body was sore, but her spirit was invigorated.

Valerian sat behind her, massaging her shoulders. His magical fingers worked her muscles expertly. He knew exactly where to rub, knew the precise amount of pressure to apply for optimum enjoyment. Her head lolled back, resting on his shoulder. Steam coated their skin and his exhalations chilled the sheen of liquid.

“Thank you for gifting me with your virginity,” he said.

“My pleasure.” Really. She'd never enjoyed herself more. Never thought losing all control, all sense of her cool facade could be so blissful.

In the pleasure-filled hours they'd just spent together, she'd realized a few things. She'd given Valerian more than her body; she'd given him pieces of herself, just as she'd feared. She hadn't meant to, had tried to guard against it, yet had been helpless to do otherwise. But it was going to be okay.

He was a nymph, and nymphs liked sex (and lots of
it), but she would be the one he came to. She was going to trust him. Not love him, she assured herself, still refusing to experience the emotion. But trust.

It would be hard, she didn't doubt that, but to keep him in her life she was willing to try.

“Your wounds healed,” she said without turning to face him. She'd noticed when they adjourned to this bath.

“Yes.”

“I'm glad.”

“Me, too.”

“Now you have the strength to tell me the secret spot on a woman's body,” she said. “The place that brings maximum pleasure.”

“Mmm, well. I will tell you for a kiss.” He nuzzled the side of her cheek.

Ah, she loved his bargaining. “I'll kiss you if you tell me what I want to know,” she said throatily, grinding against the erection pressed against her lower back.

He hissed in a breath. “I love when you move like that. Keep doing it and I will tell you all my deep, dark secrets.”

Up, down she moved.

His hands tightened on her waist. “Close your eyes,” he commanded softly.

They'd made love only an hour ago, but it felt like an eternity. She needed him inside her again. Addicting…that's what he was.

“Shaye.” He
tsked.
“Close. Your. Eyes.”

Her eyelids fluttered shut. Darkness blanketed her mind. His hands glided over her shoulders, caressed her neck, then dipped to her breasts, kneading.

“Picture what I'm doing to you.”

“I thought—”

“Do it.”

Picture it,
he'd said, so she did. In her mind, she could see the thickness of his hands covering the pale mounds of her breasts. Her nipples, pink and pearled, peaked through the crevices of his fingers. Pleasure spiraled through her, hot and needy. Seemingly unquenchable.

Unbidden, her legs spread, silently begging for his attentions. A single touch, a pinch, something. Anything. She ached, oh, she ached.

One of Valerian's hands glided down her stomach. She felt it, yes, just the way she'd wanted it, but more than that she
saw
it in her mind. Another picture of them. Valerian behind her, this time with his hand between her legs, parting her wet folds. But he didn't touch her where she needed him most. Not yet. He stayed poised, inches above her entrance.

“What do you see?” His voice was strained, as if it required all of his strength to remain still.

“You. Me.”

“Do you see me licking you here or sliding my fingers into you?”

“F-fingers,” she managed.

“Are they moving slowly, savoring or pounding in and out?”

As he spoke, she again pictured it. Again saw it, unable to stop the flood of images. Yet he didn't do it, didn't do what she needed. Her hips moved forward, seeking. Back, seeking. Forward, back. Writhing and arching. “Touch me, Valerian. Please.”

“Tell me. What do you see? Slow or fast?”

“Fast. Hard.” Water sloshed over the pool's rim. “So hard.”

He pinched her nipple, and a lance of desire hit directly between her legs. She cried out at the amazing torment of it.

“Shaye. Moon. Your mind shows you the things your body needs before you actually know you need them.”

No more talking,
she wanted to shout.
Make love to me.
“I don't understand.”

“The most erotic place on a woman's body is her mind. By giving her the right images, a man can increase her pleasure a hundred times.” He bit her ear. “Lean forward for me, moon.”

She did, and even that served as a stimulant. The water caressed her clitoris, making her shiver.

“Hold on to the ledge,” Valerian beseeched.

Angling forward a few more inches, she curled her hands on the ledge. Her breasts and hips were out of the water now and Valerian was granted a full view of her from behind.

A long while passed in silence. She stayed where she was, anticipating the first touch. Wet hair tumbled down her back and shoulders. Some of the ends treaded the water's surface. When would he touch her? She needed him to touch her. “Valerian?”

“You are magnificent,” he said, his voice heavy with awe. He traced the tattoo on her lower back.

A shiver danced through her.

“I like this,” he said. “A skull with a pretty bow on top. It is a mark that says you are both warrior and woman.” His lips brushed the tattoo; the hot wetness of his tongue traced it. He kissed his way up her spine and
grazed the back of her neck, smoothing her hair aside to get to her.

“The first time I saw you,” she said, “I thought you were a god, rising from the sea.”

“And I thought you were the thing I needed most in my life.”

His words acted with the heady intoxication of a caress. She licked her lips, then bit into them to tamp down a loud, long scream of pleasure when his cock pressed into her opening.

“So tight,” he praised.

“More.”

He gave her an inch. “Is that all you want?”

“More.”

Another inch. Not enough. “And now?”

“More, more, more.”

He pounded all the way in. She gasped. He groaned. But he didn't move, just left them both at the edge. “Do you know the most erotic place on a man's body, moon?”

By this point, she was incapable of speech. She needed him too fiercely. The ache was all consuming. Burning. Yes, she burned fiery hot. Pulses of electricity sparked along her veins, demanding completion.

“His heart,” Valerian finally said. “His heart.”

His heart
… She climaxed, throbbing, throbbing. Screaming, sobbing. The force of it raked her, vibrated and hummed. Valerian slid out and pounded forward. Over and over, driving hard and deep.

“Shaye,” he roared, shuddering into her a final time. “Love. You.” His hands dug into her hips. Gripping. Bruising deliciously. “Love you,” he said again.

 

“I'
M BEING RUDE
to my guests,” Valerian said a long while later. He lay on the bed, and he held Shaye in his arms. He was loath to let her go. They were both naked, and he was tempted to remain that way for all of eternity.

He loved the way Shaye's curves fit against him. Like the last piece of a puzzle, perfectly matched.

She yawned. “What guests?” she asked, her breath fanning his chest.

“Vampires. They helped us with the dragons and bought us a bit of a reprieve.”

“I should run screaming from this room, but I'm too tired to be scared of vampires. Even vampires that are in the same house as me.” She chuckled. “Do you mind that you're ignoring them?” Her fingertip slid along the ridges of his stomach.

“It is my greatest pleasure to ignore them,” he said roughly, aroused by her touch
and
her words. She was adapting to life here. Maybe even coming to love it as he craved.

Her finger looped through his nipple ring, and she chuckled again.

He liked the sound of that laughter and realized he'd never really heard her amusement before. “How old are you?” he asked, wanting to know everything about her.

“Twenty-five. How old are
you?
”

“A lot older,” he said dryly. “Hundreds of years older.”

Her mouth fell open. “No way.”

“It's true.”

“So you're going to, what? Live forever? Never age?”

“I age, just slower than humans.”

Her entire body tensed. “What you're telling me is
that if I stay here, I'll grow old while you continue to look like
that?
”

“You are in Atlantis now, love. Your aging process will slow, as well.”

“Oh.” Little by little, she relaxed. “That's okay, then.”

“Do you miss your surface life as you did before?” he found himself asking.

An intense stillness came over her. “That's a hard question to answer.”

“Yes or no is all that is required.” He didn't want her to miss her old life. He wanted her happy, completely, with him. If she did miss it… What would he do? His two greatest desires would be at war with one another—the desire to keep her with him and the desire to see to her happiness. Always. No matter the cost to himself.

A sigh slipped from her. “I'm not sure if I miss it or not. I mean, I'm not close to my family. I never have been, really, but closure would have been nice.”

“Why exactly were you not close with them?” He could not imagine such a thing with his brother if Verryn had lived.

“They wanted me to be something I wasn't,” she said.

“What?”

“Sweet.”

He snorted. “You
are
sweet. You like to pretend otherwise, but you are most definitely the sweetest morsel I have ever sampled.”

Shaye bit him on the shoulder and licked away the sting. This man saw into her soul; he saw the woman she'd always secretly wanted to be. Something her own mother hadn't been able to do.

“How can your family not see how sweet you are? More shame, them.”

She raised her head, cupping his cheeks with her palms. “Thank you for that.”

Valerian's chest tightened. This woman possessed his heart, of that he had no doubt. Now he wanted hers. “Have you been able to make your anti-cards here?”

“Yes.”

“If you were to make one for me, what would it say?”

“Well…let's see.” She rested her head on his shoulder. A minute ticked by, then another. “Are you sure you want to know?”

“Yes.”

“If I were going to make and send you a card, it would say…” She paused, frowned. “It would say, I'm trusting you not to break my heart. If it gets even a scratch, I'll break your face.”

His lips twitched. “Break my face?”

“You heard me.”

Break his face if he broke her heart… Her heart. Valerian stilled, the significance of what she'd said finally registering. Even his blood ceased flowing. Breath froze in his lungs. A wave of dizziness hit him as emotion after emotion crashed through him. “You are trusting me with your heart?” He was almost afraid to ask, afraid he'd misunderstood.

He, a warrior who had laughed at danger his entire life, was afraid this tiny, pale woman would not want him.

“Kind of,” she said. “I'm not saying I love you or anything like that.” A layer of panic coated her words. “But I'm going to trust you not to be with anyone else while you're with me. That means no other women.”

“Moon, I desire no other save you.”

“Now you don't. But what about later, when the novelty of me wears off?”

As she spoke, he heard her vulnerability. He rolled her to her back and stared down at her. “You are my mate. I have told you that, but I do not think you understand what that means. None arouse me anymore but you. None tempt me. None appeal to me. Only you. When a nymph takes a mate, that is the way of it. Now and always.”

Her gaze softened, and he knew she wanted to believe him. “Yeah, well,” she said, “we'll see what happens in the coming days.”

“So you want to stay with me?”

Radiating vulnerability, she whispered, “Yes.”

Joy burst through him, full but not complete. Not yet. “You want to stay with me but you do not love me?”

“Right. Love is complicated and messy.”

“I love the way your nipples are pushing into my chest. That is not complicated.”

Her lips pursed. “That's not what I meant, and you know it. Loving someone gives them permission to do bad things to you because they know you'll forgive them.”

“What kind of bad things have been done to you by those you loved?” The question emerged quietly, lethally. He would slay anyone, man or woman, who dared hurt this woman.

“I've been abandoned, rejected, dismissed and forgotten,” she said, and he tensed. “Plus, I saw the way you pushed aside the women who came before me.”

“I did not expect you, moon. You were a surprise. I cannot undo what I have done in the past. But you have
my vow of honor that I will never tire of you. In time, you will realize this for yourself.” He paused, intent. “I know you said you would stay, but I'd like your vow. Promise me you will give me time to prove myself and my intentions toward you.”

Her eyes searched his face, probing. Whatever she saw in his expression must have comforted her because she gave him a slow smile and nodded. “You have my vow.”

He breathed a sigh of relief and renewed joy. Leaning down, he brushed his lips over hers. His hands searched for and found her own, and he intertwined their fingers before anchoring them above her head. This lifted her chest and meshed her breasts deeper into him. She licked her lips as her eyelids lowered.

“While you have seen only the bad side of love, I have seen the best. My mother and father were mated and completely devoted to each other.”