Nocturnal Part 16

d.a.m.n. She'd never been kissed by anyone the way she'd been kissed by Darius. She licked her lips and raised her head. He stared at her with a bemused expression on his face, as if she'd maybe rocked his world a little bit, too.

"Let's go." He reached for her hand. When she placed her fingers within his grasp, Mari felt as if she'd somehow made a huge concession, as if she'd agreed to much more than merely holding his hand for the walk back to Crystal Dreams.

And oddly, she didn't mind at all. The misgivings she'd had earlier today, when she'd learned of his immortality, somehow seemed unimportant now. Not that there was a practical way to actually work through them, but maybe she could just sort of shove all those issues aside for now.

When they got back to the shop, it was quiet. There was no stench of demon, and the stray cats that showed up when she filled the bowl with kibble were the usual strays she always saw-even the big tom that had cornered her last night.

Was it only a day ago? Mari flashed a grin at Darius as they locked the front door. "I just realized that you showed up about this time last night. It's been a busy twenty-four hours."

He nodded, but he hardly took his gaze off her. Then he shook his head and shot a quick glance around the store. "I expected the demons by now. Maybe Leland and Matthias have stopped all of them at the portal." He gazed longingly toward the door leading upstairs.

Mari laughed. "I need a shower and something to eat. We can come back down here later and make sure everything is okay."

"That works." Darius grabbed the book of spells off the counter where Mari had left it. "Have you learned anything today?"

She laughed as she led him up to her apartment. "Only that all of my mother's spells rhyme, not to mention she's a lousy poet. Rhyme seems to be the only common denominator. There's one she wrote for calling forth rain that I remember." Mari lowered her voice and ponderously recited, "Clouds roil and water rise, let rain fall down from heaven's skies. Water flowers, water trees...this I ask, so mote it be."

"'So mote it be'? What's that for?"

"I read that it's a sorcerer's phrase for 'because I said so.'" She laughed. "I think it's to add validity to the spell. Who knows? Most of the spells are my mom's, and Lord only knows what was going on in her mind."

She thought about all the spells she'd read, the thoughts she'd had as she'd slowly worked her way through the book. She'd ignored the published spells and concentrated on the ones her mother had written. They filled the margins and every other blank s.p.a.ce on the pages. "Ya know, at first I thought they were just silly poems. Then today I asked Mom if she'd ever cast a spell that worked."

"What did she say?"

A s.h.i.+ver pa.s.sed along Mari's spine. She turned and stared at Darius. He'd stopped a few steps beneath her, which put him at eye level. "Mom said that's how she caught my father and why Crystal Dreams has always been a success. Because of her spells. She also said she cast a spell that would bring me home when Dad was hurt. And another to show me Brad's true colors. She never did like him."

"What did you say?"

"What could I say? I thanked her for taking care of Brad. At the time I was joking, but the more I think about it, the more I wonder if it's true." She opened the door and stepped into the apartment. "Maybe those stupid rhyming words do have power of some sort."

Darius glanced out the window. "It's raining," he said. He pulled the curtains aside so Mari could see the rain falling gently from what had, only moments ago, been a perfectly clear sky. Then he turned the curtains loose and carefully set the book down on the kitchen table. "Maybe we need to read those demon spells a little closer."

"Maybe we do." She glanced at him and the first thought that flitted through her mind had nothing to do with rain or demons. No, it was exactly what she'd been thinking this morning-how glad she was that she hadn't quit taking her birth control pills when she and Brad split up. Need rose in her like a bloom opening its petals.

Then she smiled at Darius and very softly added, "Later."

Chapter 8.

That one word skittered across his nerve endings like a physical caress. Later? Later? If Mari wanted to discuss the spells later, he hoped she wanted to do the same thing he did, now. If Mari wanted to discuss the spells later, he hoped she wanted to do the same thing he did, now.

She stepped up close, and he sighed. It appeared she did. Mari ran her fingers down the b.u.t.tons at the front of his s.h.i.+rt. Lemurian robes had no b.u.t.tons, but as he watched, almost mesmerized while she slowly unb.u.t.toned the top one that rested against the base of his throat, he realized how sorely lacking were the b.u.t.tonless robes his people wore.

"I'm going to take a shower." She raised her head and looked him straight in the eye. "Would you like to join me?"

He tried to answer, but nothing came out of his mouth.

Mari chuckled. "I'll take that for a yes." She finished unb.u.t.toning his s.h.i.+rt, flipping open one b.u.t.ton after the next, exposing his bare chest to her fingertips, the sharp edges of her nails.

He drew in a shuddering breath, and then another. She slipped her hands beneath his s.h.i.+rt. Her palms were hot as she slid the s.h.i.+rt back over his shoulders and tugged it down his arms. Then she ran her fingers through the dark hair covering his chest.

"I've wanted to do this since I first saw you after your shower last night." She nuzzled his chest and then glanced at him with a huge grin on her face. "We were in too big a rush this morning. It's so soft. Like silk. I thought it would feel coa.r.s.e."

She ran her fingers over his chest again and he tilted his head back and groaned. "You're trying to kill me, right?"

"Not at all. Just helping you get out of all these clothes."

"If that's what you're after..." He ripped the s.h.i.+rt off and tossed it over the kitchen chair. Unb.u.t.toned his jeans and slid them down his legs. As soon as they stuck at the tops of his boots he realized his mistake.

Mari's giggles didn't help any. "Oh, Darius. There's a system to undressing when you're wearing jeans. Boots first. Then pants."

"I can see that. Now." He sat on the floor in his boxer shorts with his pants around his ankles and untied the laces on his boots. Slipped them off and tugged off the socks, tugged the jeans off, and left everything in a heap on the cracked linoleum. When he looked up, Mari was already out of her s.h.i.+rt and shoes and had her hands at the waistband of her jeans.

The tiny little bra she wore barely covered her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, and when she peeled her jeans down over her underpants, Darius sucked in a breath. There was hardly enough fabric to cover her feminine mound. Her long legs were sleek and smooth. She stepped close to him, close enough for him to reach out and run his fingers across the soft curve of her belly, just above the elastic band of her panties.

Her skin rippled beneath his touch and a soft little gasp hissed between her lips. She swallowed, took a deep breath, and grabbed his hand. "C'mon. The shower's big enough if we get real close."

He stood up and followed her into the little bathroom, watching while she leaned over and turned on the water. She waited for the hot water, adjusted the temperature, and then grabbed a towel and looped it over the curtain rod.

Steam billowed up and out of the shower stall. Mari stepped away, but she didn't even look at Darius when she unhooked her bra's front closure and slipped the thing over her shoulders. Nor did she look when she peeled her tiny pink panties over her hips and down her legs. She stepped out of them and left them lying on the floor, a tiny wisp of pink silk.

He couldn't have not looked if his life depended on it. It took an act of will to keep his hands to himself as she stood there, so close and so perfectly naked. Darius shoved his boxer shorts down over his legs without another thought, though he appreciated the way her eyes flashed the moment his pants were down and his erection finally freed. It had been much too dark this morning to appreciate each other's bodies. Now he reveled in the light.

Mari quickly pulled the shower curtain back and stepped beneath the spray. Darius followed her, standing to one side so he didn't block the water. It was a tight fit, thank goodness. Tight enough that when Mari grabbed a cloth and covered it with soap, it was easier for her to wash him than to bathe herself.

Following her lead, Darius grabbed a second washcloth and ran it over her shoulders and b.r.e.a.s.t.s. She washed his back and then his waist, down his arms, over and under, scrubbing so gently the friction made him s.h.i.+ver with all the sensations she was raising on his overly sensitized skin.

She washed her own hair, he washed his, they both rinsed. He soaped the cloth again and washed her b.u.t.tocks and her legs, kneeling in the small shower to run the soapy cloth over her feet as she lifted first one and then the other.

He wondered if her skin tingled as much as his did. If her heart was pounding as hard, her need growing as desperate. Darius raised his eyes and gazed at Mari. Neither of them had said a word and yet Darius felt as if every question he'd ever asked was being answered in this moment.

As if every need he'd ever felt, every desire he'd wanted fulfilled were suddenly encapsulated here, in this time, in this tiny shower, with this one perfect woman.

The water continued to beat against his back and b.u.t.tocks. His long hair, loosened from its braid, covered his arms and tangled in the swirling water. He grasped Mari's flanks in his big hands and drew her close, nuzzled the soft, wet tuft of blond curls at the apex of her thighs, and used the tip of his tongue to separate the sweet folds between her legs.

She cried out and clutched his shoulders. He felt the bite of her nails sc.r.a.ping his skin. The sharp pain sparked a bolt of energy that shot straight to his groin.

He licked deeper, harder, using teeth and tongue now to claim her, using his big hands and his long, strong fingers to mold the firm muscles of her b.u.t.tocks, to hold her even as her legs trembled and her body arched against his mouth.

He concentrated on the tiny nub at the top of her cleft, suckling and licking, stabbing deep with his tongue and then sucking her gently between his lips.

Mari's breath escaped in harsh pants, her grip on his shoulders tightened, and she screamed. He tasted the warm rush of her fluids, felt the convulsive shudders of her climax, but he kept his mouth against her, licking gently, nuzzling softly, slowly bringing her down.

When he stood up, finished rinsing, and turned off the tap, Mari leaned against him as if she'd lost the ability to stand. He dried her off, supporting her with one arm, drying her from head to foot with the towel she'd hung over the shower curtain rod.

Then he dried himself as best he could with one hand and a damp towel, lifted Mari easily in his arms, and carried her to the bed where they'd awakened together this morning-where they'd made love this morning. He laid her gently on the mattress. Then he knelt beside her, hard and ready and utterly confused.

He had to know-did she really want him, want this? This morning they'd made love without really thinking of where it might lead. Tonight was different. Tonight had meaning.

Was she ready to take a leap of faith with a man who was already falling more than a little in love with her? Nine h.e.l.ls, he hoped so, because it was killing him to be so close, and yet not at all close enough.

Her ears were actually buzzing. They hadn't even made love yet, and her body felt replete and yet so needy she wanted to grab him and tell him to quit staring already and get busy! Then she remembered how he'd waited at meal-time-waited again this morning, and then followed her lead.

She reached for him. Held out her hand and almost giggled at the relieved look on his face when he took her hand in both of his, kissed her fingers, and then turned his attention to her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, her belly, her legs, her shoulders, and even her toes.

There wasn't a part of Mari's body that hadn't been touched or kissed or rubbed or loved by the time he settled himself between her thighs. He sat back on his heels and just smiled at her, running his hands over her arms, linking their fingers together.

His body glimmered with a fine sheen of sweat as he leaned close and kissed her gently, but even though his lips barely touched hers, she felt the tension in the soft pressure, knew Darius was strung tight enough to explode. She planted her feet and lifted her hips, offering herself.

He closed his eyes for a moment, almost as if he whispered a brief prayer. Then he leaned forward and pressed the broad crown of his erection between her swollen l.a.b.i.a. She was so wet, so ready, that when he pushed inside her tight channel, there was no pain. He was bigger than any man she'd ever been with, longer and thicker than any lover ever, and yet once again, her body adjusted, took him deep, welcomed him with a rippling embrace.

Slowly, in and out and back in again, deeper with each roll of his hips, he worked his way inside her pa.s.sage until he'd seated himself fully, until his patience and her need won out.

After a moment, he began to thrust. Faster, deeper-harder than she'd expected after his gentle entry. It was as if, once he'd gained her full compliance, he set himself free, taking her as a conquest, as the prize he'd fought for and won. This was no civilized lover-he was a primal force, his lips drawn back, eyes narrowed, nostrils flaring. His breath was harsh upon her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, his hands hot where he held her.

She lifted to him, begged for more, and rolled her hips to meet his on each downward thrust. Her nails raked his back and b.u.t.tocks. Her lungs burned with the effort to draw enough air, and she felt each powerful thrust like a brand, a mark of owners.h.i.+p, a claiming. This was so primitive, such a visceral mating, she wanted to cry out with the power of it.

Her body was pliant, receptive to his every move. A frown marred his forehead and from the tight clench of his jaw she knew he fought for control, fought the spiraling desire that pulled him closer to completion with each slap of thighs and bellies and b.r.e.a.s.t.s.

His long black hair draped all around them, a midnight curtain of silk trailing over Mari's b.r.e.a.s.t.s and shoulders, tickling her thighs. Then he reared back on his heels, easily lifting her in his arms. She locked her heels behind his back, tightened her arms around his neck, and reveled in the powerful rhythm, the lovemaking that was so much more than mere s.e.x, so far beyond anything she'd ever experienced in her life.

She wasn't a woman who found completion in the s.e.x act alone. It always took more-lips or hands or even toys to take her over the edge. Not this morning and not now. All it took was Darius-filling her, loving her, taking her to the edge and over in a screaming free fall awash in sensation, a clenching, throbbing, burning blast of pleasure shared.

Her climax slammed into her and took her breath. Mari's scream and Darius's growling release echoed in the small room, shook the mattress against the wall, left them both sated and laughing with the shocking power of two bodies joined, of hearts thundering and lungs laboring.

Long moments later he lowered Mari to the mattress and followed her down. Their bodies were still connected-all sweat-slick and trembling with the aftereffects of their powerful shared o.r.g.a.s.m. Darius held his weight off of her, resting on his elbows and nuzzling her b.r.e.a.s.t.s, kissing her chin, her shoulder.

It hit Mari like a body blow. Pure, straightforward, powerful-a knowledge so true, so deeply planted within her heart, there was no doubt at all. She loved him. No matter the problems they faced, she would never give him up. Somehow they'd make it work. As impossible as it might be, as impossible as they they might be, she finally understood what love really was. might be, she finally understood what love really was.

And it wasn't anything at all like she'd imagined.

Darius dried the last dish and set it in the cupboard while Mari wiped down the counter. He knew that if she were to ask him what he'd eaten for dinner, he probably wouldn't be able to answer, though whatever it was had filled him. He certainly wasn't hungry-for food.

How could he possibly want her again? But he did. She'd said her mother was a witch. Maybe that was true, but he knew for certain Mari was. How else could she have bewitched him so?

It was almost midnight. They'd made love for hours-the most glorious hours he'd ever spent in his life. They'd showered once more and eaten and all he wanted to do was bury himself in her perfect body once again. Mari glanced his way, and from the sparkle in her eyes he knew she was thinking the same thing.

Suddenly her eyes went wide as she stared past him, toward the couch. "Darius? Your sword is glowing. Look!"

He spun around and was almost blinded by the brilliant flash of blue light. "It's warning of demons nearby. I wonder if they're getting into the shop?"

All he wore were the cut-off sweats. He slipped on his sandals and tightened the straps as Mari grabbed her book of spells and opened the door.

"I'll go first," he said. "Stay close." He drew his sword and raced down the stairs, paused at the door into the shop, and flung it open.

Black demon mist boiled and swirled within the small shop. Broken gla.s.s lay on the floor in front of the door, and more demons spilled in through the missing window. They seemed drawn to something on the counter. Mari dodged under Darius's arm and reached straight into the swirling ma.s.s. She pulled her hand out, firmly clutching the ruby geode.

Darius sent out a mental call for help. Where the h.e.l.l were Matthias and Leland?

Leland's voice popped into Darius's head as he swung his crystal blade through the seething mist.

We've almost reached the coordinates you sent us. We've battled demonkind all the way down the mountain. For some reason Roland can't keep the portal closed, but you were right. Something here is drawing them. They're all headed your direction. Hang on.

Sharp talons slashed Darius's arm, drawing blood. He swung his sword and the demon died in a shower of sparks, but for a moment he was certain he saw an image within the mist-wicked fangs, multiple arms, scales, and wings.

Something else b.u.mped into him and he felt the slice of teeth biting into his calf. He swung again and yet another demon died, but blood poured from Darius's wounds. "Mari! Stay back. They're gaining corporeal form without avatars. Somehow they had the strength to break the window. Something's happening. I can't explain it."

Mari cursed and he glanced her way. She held the geode out in front of her face. Demonkind, still in mist form, swirled and dove, but they went for the geode, not Mari. She flipped through the pages of the spell book, unharmed.

Sharp teeth latched onto Darius's thigh. He cursed and swung his sword again.

Something kept drawing her to pick up the ruby geode, but the geode appeared to attract the demons. What was it about the d.a.m.ned thing? Mari was almost certain it was linked to the demon attacks, but she couldn't explain how. There had to be something in this blasted book!

Darius was hopelessly outnumbered. More of the dark wraiths streamed through the broken window. The brief rain had ended and the roiling black cloud outside the shop had nothing to do with the weather she might have called with her mother's stupid spell. It was demonkind, ma.s.sing in front of Crystal Dreams.

Frantically searching for answers, Mari swung the geode at the demons and skimmed from one page to the next.

She heard a shout and spun around just as two large men burst through the back door. Darius yelled out a greeting to Leland and Matthias, his fellow guards. Mari's breath caught in her throat as the two new Lemurian guardsmen filled her mother's small shop. Swords flashed and sparks flew. Dressed in dark blue robes as Darius had been-was it only yesterday?-they moved with the same powerful grace as only highly trained warriors could.

More demons swirled through the broken gla.s.s. The air reeked, thick with their sulfuric stench. The walls echoed with banshee cries and Lemurian oaths and the battle went on for what felt like forever.

Darius's bare chest and back were streaked with blood. All three men were bleeding now. Still fighting bravely, still killing demonkind, yet their strikes were coming slower, their strength beginning to fade.

Mari held the geode out from her body, hoping to call the demons to her and give the men a break, but after the demon mist flowed over and through the ruby crystals, they sped back into battle against the three Lemurian warriors.

No wonder. She skimmed page after page in her mother's book until it all made sense. The ruby geode! It wasn't merely drawing the demons, pulling them all the way from the mountain portal to her mother's shop. It was energizing them. Giving them the strength to exist in this dimension without an avatar.

d.a.m.n! She wasn't helping. She was making things worse! But how to destroy it? According to the text, breaking the geode would merely free the evil power held within. It could only be stopped by magic-magic powered by blood and sacrifice.

She read the lines again, unwilling to believe the answer printed so plainly in the published text in front of her.