Lover Enslaved: Thieves of Aurion, Book 1 (36 page)

Mara tried to concentrate on Jerrick’s baritone instead of the smooth glide of Dash’s fingers over her sensitive arches. “The rune granted my wish.”

Skepticism colored Jerrick’s expression.

“Hell, if I didn’t witness what the stone’s capable of with my own eyes, I wouldn’t believe it either,” Dash said.

“It doesn’t make sense.” Shaking his head, Jerrick eyed the rune. “I had it in my possession for nearly a week before selling it to Lefere, and it didn’t grant me any wishes.”

“Did you specifically make any?” Mara waved her hand in response to Jerrick’s frown. “Keep in mind this is only a theory, but maybe the granting process only works if you actually word or think a specific wish.”

Jerrick’s expression turned thoughtful while he pondered her theory. “In that case, I guess not—” He lowered the rune and stared at it. Stillness descended over him.

“What?” Mara leaned forward on the arm of the couch, excited. “Did you think of something?”

“Yes, but it’s…insane.”

“Your brother wished me naked. Trust me, whatever your wish was, it couldn’t be that ridiculous.”

Dash’s hands squeezed her feet and she glanced down in time to catch his unrepentant grin.

“There’s only one thing I recall specifically wishing for. And it’s something I’ve held deep inside me for the past fifteen years.”

Out of nowhere, the crazy old woman’s words floated inside Mara’s head again.
The deepest wish you carry will come true.
The eerie déjà vu returned, but she shook it off in order to pay close attention to Jerrick’s story. She had a feeling it would be quite enlightening. “What was it?”

The tanned column of Jerrick’s throat moved with his rough swallow. His knuckles whitened as he fisted the rune box. “To find a way to forgive my brother. And restore everything lost between us.”

His admission added to the emotional overload already burdening Mara and she blinked back tears. “Jerrick…that’s so sweet.”

A groan rumbled from Jerrick. “Please don’t use sweet in the same sentence with my name. It’ll severely impact my reputation as a hard ass.”

Dash’s hand encircled Mara’s ankle and he propped her foot against his thigh. “So we have another piece added to the puzzle. Rhyann might not always grant the wish immediately.”

“Or maybe some wishes take longer than others to fulfill.” Mara gave Jerrick a tentative smile. “Perhaps you needed those fifteen years for your brain to catch up with the wish carried inside your heart.”

“Hell, Blondie. How’d you get to be so smart?” Jerrick’s mouth crooked upward.

Piper hopped onto the chair with Jerrick. Her wings twitching together, she scrunched her face. “Wait a minute, you’re saying that rock gives away wishes?”

Mara snorted. “Glad to see you’ve been paying attention the past ten minutes.”

“Well, I want my turn.” Without warning, Piper plopped butt first onto the rune. White lights streamed from the stone, seconds before wads of merca bills rained from the ceiling. With a whoop, Piper scooped them up and shimmied her tiny hips.

“She wished for merca.” Mara rolled her eyes. “There’s a shocker.” Leaning an elbow on her knee, she cupped her chin. “We’ve all used up our wishes. Now we’re stuck with fate to get us through the rest of this mess.”

Dash lifted her foot and tucked it on the couch cushion before rising. “Wait here, I’ll be back.”

Her thoughts were too glum to question where he was going.

Jerrick set the rune box on the arm of his chair. “For someone who outsmarted a sadistic bounty hunter, you don’t look very happy.”

“We might have defeated him, but does it really change anything? Finian still wants your brother dead.”

He remained quiet for a long moment. “There’s no proof Baggins didn’t kill Dash.”

Her palm fell away from her chin and she stared at him. Hope fluttered in her chest. Until reality once again set in. “Baggins—he’ll report to Finian and tell him what happened.”

“Not necessarily. I think he’ll cooperate, especially once he sees the logic in lying. He won’t want to return all that nice merca Finian paid him.”

The hypothesis Jerrick rolled out in front of her made a lot of sense, but Baggins’ cooperation was only part of the problem facing them. “Nalia won’t just take my word for it that Dash is dead. She’ll want to retaliate.” Fear trembled down her spine when she thought of the danger Gideon would be placed in. It seemed no matter what, fate insisted on stepping in and demanding a choice from her. Gideon or Dash. Her brother or her love.

“Then give her proof.”

She met the steel in Jerrick’s eyes. The answer was there—temptingly within reach. “The slave collar.” Her mouth suddenly felt dry as desert sand. “It might not be enough to convince Nalia.”

Jerrick opened his mouth but immediately snapped it shut when Dash strolled into the room and stopped in front of the couch. Humming beneath his breath, he scooped her into his arms.

“Hey, what do you think you’re—?” She broke off when Dash’s tongue pushed past her lips. Moaning, she curled her arms around his neck.

Breaking off the kiss, Dash slid his hot gaze in his brother’s direction. “Come anywhere near the bedroom and you’re dead.”

“Fine, guess I’ll occupy myself with the merca-loving sprite.” Jerrick grimaced. “I didn’t mean that in any sexual way, of course. I like my females bigger than six inches.”

Piper was too busy counting her merca to stick out her tongue in the usual fashion.

Lightheaded from Dash’s intoxicating taste and smell, Mara held on tight as he carried her down the hall to the bedroom. She gasped when he stepped inside. Flickering flames danced shadows on the walls, provided by the dozens of candles scattered about the room.

“Where…? How…?”

Dash chuckled and shut the door behind them. “I wish I could say my grandfather was a hopeless romantic, but I’m afraid the candles were originally intended for more practical uses. Like if the energy generator broke down. As for the how…” He set her on her feet and reached for the flame laser sitting on the nightstand. “This little contraption helped me out there.”

“It’s beautiful.” Emotion thick in her throat, she looked at Dash. “This is the sweetest thing anyone’s done for me.”

He smoothed her hair back and cupped her face. “You deserve nothing but sweetness. And I’m going to give it to you. In every…” Leaning down, he pressed his lips near the corners of hers. “…single…” He inched over a fraction, wetting the bow of her lip with the tip of his tongue. “…way.”

She opened her mouth, inviting him in. He accepted with a hot sweep of his tongue that liquefied her insides. Desire, thick and heady, throbbed between her legs. She slicked her hands over his bare chest and he nudged his impressive erection against her belly. Kneading his shoulders, she sucked on his bottom lip and earned his husky groan in return. Her hands continued caressing upward until she felt the coolness of metal. The collar.

Her conversation with Jerrick broke through the sensual haze shrouding her brain. Jerking back, she stared at Dash.

“What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Holding firm to the collar, she stepped around him. Fingers shaking, she reached up with the other hand and punched in the code that would disable the system. The lights flashed one last time before blinking off. She clicked the tiny button above the hasp and the collar’s interlocking teeth sprang open. With a small tug, she freed it from Dash’s neck and placed it on the nightstand.

She stepped back around him and his dark eyes locked on her. Her palm still carried the chill from the collar and she pressed it against his breastbone. His heat seeped into her skin. Beneath it stirred his other energy—the potent source of his magic.

“I might lose control of my powers, if I get too…excited,” he said, as if reading her thoughts.

“Is that your way of warning me I might become your sex slave?”

“Good gods, no.” Dash shook his head furiously. “If anyone’s in danger far as that goes, it’s me. In fact, I’m already your willing slave.” He threaded his fingers through her hair, holding her steady, his stare compelling. “But my magic is interwoven with my emotions. The more I feel, the more my magic will demand to express itself.”

“Your magic is a part of you.” She moved her hand to cup his jaw. “And I know
you
would never hurt me.”

The joy sparkling in his eyes nearly made her breathless. Until that moment, she hadn’t realized how much he’d longed for the simple handing over of her trust. And until that moment, she didn’t know she was even capable of the act.

His hands circled her waist and lifted her for his kiss. She drank him in, reveling in the dark pleasure of his mouth. The sounds rumbling from his chest inflamed her, spurred her questing hands to fumble at the waistband of his trousers. He stepped away, but rather than aid her with the removal of his clothes, he reached for hers. Warm fingers brushed her midriff before tugging the sweater over her head. Ignoring the hair streaming in her face, she tried freeing the button of his fly. He squatted in front of her and she gave the top of his head a frustrated look.

“Hey, I’m trying to remove your pants here.”

“Patience, babe.”

She lifted a hand to swat him but stopped when he sucked her nipple inside his mouth. Releasing a shaky breath, she cupped her hovering hand around the back of his head.

He flicked her with his tongue. “You’re like candy. One taste is never enough.” Working strictly by touch, he rucked her pants down and helped her out of them. He groaned in appreciation when his fingers encountered the slick wetness between her legs. “I like you without panties. Easier access.”

Her breath sawing in sharp pants, she leaned against the bed. He widened her stance and knelt before her. His mouth settled between her legs and began a slow, thorough worshipping that made her head spin and her fingers claw into the velvet bedspread.

Dash’s mouth disappeared, leaving behind a frustrated ache. He stood and she swallowed hard when he shucked his trousers and tossed them towards the foot of the bed. No matter how many times she saw his body in its full, unclothed glory, it still managed to leach her brain of coherent thought.

He brushed a whisper-soft line from the crook of her elbows to her wrists. “Wrap your arms around my neck.”

Her body trembled with anticipation at the gentle command. Standing on tiptoe, she pressed into him. The air surrounding them crackled with invisible energy and she waited, breathless.

His fingertips smoothed down her back, tickling over each vertebrae of her spine. Warm breath puffed against her ear. “Hold me tight.”

She linked her fingers behind his nape and he dragged her legs up, anchoring them around his hips. He reached for one of the silk bed panels and wrapped it several times around their waists, binding them together. The symbolism wasn’t lost on her and it brought a flood of tears. They spilled over, running down her cheeks.

Dash’s lips soothed over the tears. He lifted his head and stared at her. She was exposed—vulnerable—but she didn’t look away.

His heart pounded against her breast. “
Sher ’tian
, do you feel my love?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love me?” He cupped her face. The naked emotions blazing in his caramel irises were an exact twin to the ones thudding in her heart. She wanted to give herself completely to him and not worry about the consequences.

This one night, she would love Dash with her heart unlocked.

“Do you?” he prodded, relentless.

“
Yes
.” She gave a low moan when he thrust deep in a powerful stroke.

“Say it.”

The tears leaked endlessly down her face. “I love you.”

His eyes shuttered and he pressed his face into her neck, gusting a harsh breath against her collarbone. Hugging her tight, he began moving in short, smooth strokes that stole her breath. Crimson sparkles glittered around them, audibly popping and throwing off waves of heat. Instead of scaring her, this tangible proof of Dash’s fiery love amazed her.

She clasped his shoulders, hugging him back with equal fervor. The tendon at the side of his neck beckoned and she gave it a gentle nip. He groaned and tumbled them onto the mattress before sinking impossibly deep inside her.

“Don’t you…dare stop.” Panting, she surged upward to meet his thrusts. Pleasure spiraled fast and furious. The world was shaking, crumbling down on them. Literally.

A small chunk of plaster bounced off the back of Dash’s head and plunked onto the bedspread, followed by another chunk.

“I won’t stop,” Dash gasped. “I promise.”

It took a second to realize he’d mistaken the raining plaster pieces for her hand. Before she could correct him, he gave a mighty thrust that scooted them halfway across the bed and whirled stars inside her head. It also loosened the canopy frame bolted to the ceiling. Shrieking, she rolled to the side, taking Dash with her, as the frame plummeted to the mattress.

“What the—?” Whipping his head around, Dash stared at the frame and the giant chunk of ceiling wobbling on top of it. Both rested within the indent where her backside had been moments ago. The silk panels, including the one still wound tight around them, puddled across the bed and surrounding floor.