Sex and Trouble (11 page)

He frowned at her. “And you don’t want to know the reason why I killed someone?”

Even though he looked at her like she’d grown a second head, Mari didn’t respond.

After reading her father’s journals, she had a mission to fulfill. She knew that Ros had killed someone to protect her father. She also knew that he would kill to protect her.

Now was not the time to discuss that.

Today was for concentrating on finding the third key and unlocking all of her potential power. Today was for finding out more about Ros before she sent him back to his own dimension. Today was her one shot at finding out more about this man-demon her father had liked—even respected. They’d worked together on many projects. The grudging admiration he’d developed for Ros and his hope that she would be able to send Ros home had been in those words.

Although her father had been weird when he’d also warned her not to fall in love with Ros. He’d even left her instructions on a spell to do after she’d sent Ros home so that she could forget all about the Demonae. He’d seemed to be worried that she’d feel something for Ros or that she’d be confused and conflicted about sending him back.

Still, her father had stressed how important it was for her to do what was necessary to 76

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let Ros go. Mari gave a mental shrug. She liked Ros but she wasn’t in love with him or anything.

“So let’s have breakfast, reset the wards and then discuss finding that last key. Will you have some coffee?” She smiled at Ros, ignoring the strange tingle in her belly when he lifted an eyebrow at her. Filling a cup for herself, she gestured toward the pot.

“No, no thank you.”

What on earth was wrong with the woman? Ros studied her. The power emanating from her rippled off in solid, thick ropes that pulsed gold and purple with a streak of green every now and again. She might not know it, but she was at the brink of her full power. He also knew how dangerous this was for her—and him. She had to find that third key soon or the power might turn back on her. If she burned out, he’d have no chance to get back to his world. Worse, she would be defenseless against her father’s enemies—LaPierre was only one of them. Mari seated herself at the table, forcing him to move back from those ropes that seemed to reach out to him.

The flash of hurt across her face cut him more than he wanted to admit. How could she have gotten under his defenses this fast? Was he truly so weak that one mutual release could make him so hungry for another? The rise and fall of her breasts under the thin cotton shirt she wore seemed to beg him to touch them. The blue color deepened the brown of her eyes. That drowning feeling was back. Not even realizing he had, Ros took a step back toward her. The power signature shifted as he moved.

“Ros? You look funny. And I feel really lightheaded suddenly. Whooo…” The last sound came as she inscribed a circle in the air with her head. “Like I’m on a carnival ride, or just got off one. Kind of like I did last night only more so.”

He covered her hand where she patted at the wood of the table as if she were trying to ground herself. Then he realized what was happening.

“Mari! Those journals. Was there anything in those journals?” Her owlish blink at him might have made him grin if worry wasn’t eating at him now. She wasn’t just over-77

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tired, Ros knew. She’d found the third key but put it down or ignored it. That brief contact could have done this to her. This was not the woman he’d seen go to bed last night. This woman was drunk on power.

“We have to get you grounded.” He tugged her up from the table, ignoring her childlike squeal of delight.

She turned to him so fast he never saw it coming. Her hands were in his hair, her lips pressing hungrily against his. Ros reacted just like the Hedonae that he was. He buried his own hands in her hair, letting the softness arouse him even as the press of her soft body burned into him. He needed this. He needed her.

The flash of desire nearly incinerated him. He was surprised that they didn’t both simply go up in flames. She moaned as she stretched up to kiss him, then her lips left his. His head fell back as she scraped her teeth down his throat to bite him none too gently at that juncture of his neck and shoulder. He throbbed from head to toe as she softly licked where she’d just left passion’s mark.

“I want you to fuck me, Ros. Now.”

Her soft voice roughened with desire shot straight past his brain and directly to his cock. Some part of him reminded himself that she was drunk—maybe not on alcohol but definitely on power.

But his own nature urged him on. Sex could be very grounding. Mari needed grounding. He was doing it for her own good, wasn’t he?

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Biting back a curse, Ros sighed. Gently, he leveraged his arms to put some distance between her softness and his aching body. This woman seemed determined to put him in a permanent state of arousal. No, it wasn’t her this time. The power was raging through her.

“Mari-girl, as much as I want you right now—this isn’t the time for it. You’re drunk.”

Her scoff made him smile. She’d closed one eye, screwed up her face and blown out a huff of denial. “I’m not drunk. I might be overtired but I’m not drunk. Haven’t had anything to drink. Ooooh, room’s spinning. Okay. Maybe I’m sick?”

Her hands clutched at his shirt. The feel of her nails digging into him in such an innocent way made him want to throw her down on the floor and thrust himself into her. But he couldn’t.

He picked her up. Trying to ignore the thrill as she wrapped her arms around his neck and sighed his name, Ros carried Mari into her father’s study. Immediately he felt the power vibrate. Swearing, he dropped her into the nearest chair, ignoring her indignant protest.

Ros stood very still for a moment. He had to distinguish her power from the power signature of the key. It had to be in this room. Crossing to the far side, he began his search.

“Ros?” Her voice sounded stronger. “Ros, this is very strange. I feel better when you moved away. Can you come back? I want to test something.”

He shrugged then moved toward her. As he did, he saw the power strands undulating toward him as though he were a magnet. What the hell? Mari watched him 79

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like a tiger hunting prey. Once he stood where he could feel the power exploring his skin, her eyes seemed to glow from within.

“Oh it’s you. It’s definitely you. I have to have you.” She slid off the chair to her knees. When she tipped her face up, he nearly shouted for joy. So angelic. How could she want him?

“No!” Ros leapt back just before her hands reached the top button on his jeans.

“This is fucking messed up, Mari.”

She gave a shaky nod. “I don’t know who I am when you get near me. Are you casting some sort of Demonae spell on me?”

“Demonae don’t do spells. We are magick. This is something else.” Ros tugged at the rope chain bracelet on his wrist. Sparks flew from it. Cursing softly but thoroughly, he realized what her father had done.

The old bastard had bespelled two keys for Mari to find, but locked her power into three separate vessels. Ros was the third vessel. Sex with him had begun to unlock the third key. Once she’d found those keys, her power would be fully unlocked. But she had to have all three keys with her to open that channel fully.

Mentally cursing her father for forcing this on them both, Ros took another step back. Mari shook her head then looked up at him.

“What’s going on, Ros?”

“Your father told you there were three keys. We, or at least I, assumed those three things would be something meaningful to your father. You’ve found his ring and the Crystal of Tolenthia. Those two items have unlocked a lot of power for you and that power is looking for an outlet. That’s why you’re dizzy. But that’s not all of it. Mari, I think I’m the third source of power. Do you have the crystal on you?”

“Yes, it’s in my pocket.” He watched as she pulled the piece of crystal out of her pants. It glimmered on her palm. Picking up a pair of scissors from the desk, Ros cut a strip of material from his shirt. Slicing that strip into thirds, he took the key from her and braided the material around the crystal to hold it tightly in place. Murmuring to the 80

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material, he ensured that it would hold this shape and never drop the precious crystal.

While he was at it, he wove in specific wards to protect her against his own kind. He knew he was breaking Demonae code, but he couldn’t risk losing her.

Since he was already in this deep, what else did he have to lose? He’d already spent so much time in the human world that he wouldn’t recognize his youngest siblings if they passed him on the street. Issia was the only one he’d been in contact with, and she also risked death or imprisonment for even speaking to him. Ros knew he could wind up spending the rest of his life locked up in a containment unit being tortured by the legions of the Demonae realm for helping this human, but it didn’t matter. Marielle mattered.

The thought took his breath. The bracelet tightened on his wrist to a near painful tension. Ignoring that, he didn’t stop until he knew his magick imbued the material encasing the crystal. When he returned it to Mari, he motioned for her to put it around her neck.

“How did you do that?”

“My mother does a lot of weaving and all of us know how to make jewelry out of various materials. Put the necklace on and then come closer to me.”

Mari did as he asked, then started toward him. As soon as Ros felt the tendrils of power reaching for him he held both hands out to Mari. She stopped then put her hands in his.

“I don’t feel as lightheaded but I still want you.” Her breathless confession nearly undid his tightly held control. Focusing on their joined hands, Ros let his guard down slightly. He saw Mari jolt as though a surge of electricity was going through her body and tightened his grip on her hands. Another rush of power traveled from her to him and back again.

“Oh Ros, yes. Yes, this is good.” She leaned into him.

Ros felt his body tingling, felt the hair on his arms and legs rising and saw the first tendril of Mari’s hair start to rise. Yanking her into his arms, he let even more of his 81

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guard down and kissed her. She gave as good as she got. Her hands slid up his arms and he felt her fingers tunneling through his hair. Smoothing his own hands down, he flexed his fingers on her ass, pulling her closer and shifting his hips so that his erection rubbed against the heat from her cunt.

Using just a small amount of energy, he removed her clothes even as their kiss broke. She looked down at her nakedness then at his fully clothed body. “No fair!”

“Use your magick, Mari-girl. Strip me.”

“Ros, I don’t know how.”

“Yes, you do. You have the power in you. The spells written in your father’s books, think back to what you saw there, what you read. Apply one of those spells to me. Strip me.” Ros cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to meet his eyes. “Just be careful. I don’t want you to strip my skin, just the clothes.”

Laughing at the look of horror on her face, he stepped back slightly, but kept the connection between them by keeping one hand on her shoulder. “Do it, Mari.”

If the situation weren’t so important to both of them, he might have laughed at the expression that twisted her features. She looked for all the world like a young Demonae trying to shift the earth for the first time. Squinting her eyes and pursing her lips, she stared hard at him. Ros felt the magick reaching for him and gave himself up to it. For the first time, he willingly submitted to the touch of a witch’s spell. Mari whispered something under her breath, a language he didn’t understand, one he wasn’t even sure she would know if she hadn’t been wearing the crystal. Suddenly she waved her hands in the air in front of him and he felt a draft. Looking down, he realized she’d succeeded.

His clothing had definitely disappeared.

Mari laughed and jumped toward him. “I did it! I did it!”

She really reminded him of a young Demonae in her enthusiasm, but the flesh in his arms was certainly adult and definitely more arousing than any female had any right to be. Giving in to the temptation that was Marielle Greenlea, Ros lowered his head and kissed her again.

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Again, Mari responded more wildly than he’d anticipated. They exchanged hard kisses. Nipping and then licking, then more soft seductive kisses, then nips again until they were both breathing like they’d just run a marathon.

Ros went to his knees in front of Mari, showering her stomach and hips with kisses, licks and gentle bites. She drove her hands through his hair, directing him exactly where she wanted him, right where he needed to be. Pushing her back in the chair again, he put himself between her legs. Moving her legs even wider apart, Ros lowered his body so that he could see her glistening pussy.

Trailing one finger through the folds of her sex, he traced meaningless designs on her flesh with her own moisture. Mari kept her hands on his head until he looked up to meet her eyes. Keeping his gaze captive, she raised her hands and cupped her breasts, lifting and squeezing them even as she brushed her thumbs over her nipples.

“Ros…”

“Yes, Mari-girl?” It was hard to tell whose voice was the rougher. Hers filled with desire or his filled with the strain of not just shoving his cock into her body and fucking her mindless.

“I like it when you call me that. Taste me. Touch me. Make me come.” She whispered the last word, her voice quavering with more feeling, more emotion than he’d ever heard. He could deny her nothing.

“Squeeze your nipples, Mari. Get them hard.” Placing his hands on her thighs, he used his thumbs to open her pussy wider. With no more finesse than a Demonae with his first female, Rosier dropped his head and proceeded to feast.

Her growls and the lifting of her hips as he licked and sucked his way around her tender folds, sucking and even gently biting her labia before concentrating on her clit, let him know she felt just as driven as he did. The magick swelled around them, drawing them both in. Mari screamed out her release, and though he hadn’t entered her body with anything other than his tongue, Ros felt his balls tighten.