Shadow's Pleasure: The Shadow Warder Series, Book Two (A Paranormal/Urban Fantasy Romance Series) (18 page)

Taking control, Kiernan backed her to the long, leather couch, not stopping until he could lower her to the cool, smooth surface. Realizing she was horizontal, Sorcha broke their kiss, making a questioning sound in the back of her throat. Kiernan declined to answer, kissing her again instead, stretching out on the couch and dragging her half beneath him. Bracing his weight on his elbow, he slipped his other hand free and traced his fingers along the inner swell of her breast. Her dress was brilliant, the delicate fabric easily shifting out of the way to reveal a plump curve of milky white flesh. Spread against the black leather, Sorcha was a flame, red curls spilling everywhere, her lips a deep, swollen pink. Would her nipple be the same ripe color? Impatient to know, he caught a finger in the dark fabric and pulled it aside. Exactly like those ripe lips, her tight nipple was a dark, lickable pink. Sorcha’s pupils dilated in anticipation.

Teasing both of them, Kiernan traced a fingertip around the tightly beaded point. Sorcha moaned, arching her back, pushing her nipple higher. He couldn’t hold out. Dipping his head, Kiernan closed his lips around the tight bud, sucking hard. Sorcha gasped, her hands flying out to hold his head in place. Kiernan sucked again, taking her in with rhythmic pulls. Suddenly frantic, he drew back and opened the deep neckline of her dress as wide as it would go, baring both breasts. Sliding his free hand down her side, he took her other breast in his mouth, licking at her nipple, loving the way she squirmed beneath him.

Her hands on his head were hot. Hotter than they should be, even accounting for her arousal and the weird warmth that transferred between them when their skin connected. Her touch burned. In the back of his mind, the part not occupied with the taste of her and the easy slide of her legs parting for his seeking hand, Kiernan wondered if she was going to lose all control and burn him alive. He’d seen what she’d done to her mentor in anger. Could she control all that power when she was distracted by pleasure? By her own admission, she hadn’t been touched in ten years. Not since her powers had surged, sending fire into her hands.

The heat seared his scalp in a burn that wasn’t quite pain. Her fingertips, digging into him, were ten flares of white-hot pressure. The heat flowed into him from those ten points of contact, saturating his body with her fiery arousal. She was making it far harder to hold on to his control, but she wasn’t hurting him. Not exactly. He felt it building. The heat, her need. Driving his need higher. His cock wanted to take over. Wanted him to shove off his suit pants, tear away Sorcha’s lace thong, and give them both what they wanted.

With an iron will, Kiernan reined in his need. She wanted him to fuck her. And he was going to. But not here. Not on the couch in Cameron’s office. Not where they were vulnerable. He wouldn’t put Sorcha in danger just for an orgasm. And she wasn’t exactly capable of consenting. Not really. It wasn’t so much the drink that made her vulnerable, but the arousal she hadn’t asked for. She wanted it now, but that wasn’t enough. The first time he fucked her, Sorcha was going to come just for him. Not because she’d gotten a contact high from Cameron and his very effective staff.

Still, he couldn’t leave her like this. She needed to come. If not on his cock, then by his hand. With that justification clear in his head, Cameron eased the tips of his fingers past the edge of her lace thong. Her outside leg fell wide, giving him all the space he needed to slide his hand against her damp heat. Finding her clit wasn’t hard. Swollen with arousal, it jutted up, as if begging for his touch. Kiernan didn’t hesitate. He circled it once before pressing his palm flat against her and thrusting two fingers deep into her pussy.

Molten heat closed around him. Everywhere. He gritted his teeth, trying not to think about how good she would feel around his cock. How tight and hot she’d be. How she’d squeeze him.
Sorcha
, he thought.
This is about Sorcha
. Moving his fingers inside her, Kiernan’s cock strained, moisture beading at the tip. Dazed with the feel of her, with his own pleasure, Kiernan barely noticed tiny licks of flame skating across Sorcha’s pale skin. A part of his brain stuttered at the sight before instinct and need took over.

Driving his fingers deeper into her tight heat, grinding his palm into her clit, it was only seconds before Sorcha exploded with pleasure, sending a wave of red and orange flames through both their bodies. Kiernan wasn’t sure he could have stopped it. It was as if her body detonated, from her fiery grip on his head where she still held his mouth to her breast, to her hot, tight pussy clamping around his fingers. She bathed him in an explosion of fire that tore free his orgasm in a surge of pleasure so strong he cried out, gasping for breath. For a moment, as his lungs heaved, he was certain the fire had sucked all the oxygen from the room.

Kiernan had no idea how long it took him to come back to himself. When he did, he became aware of a few very odd things. The room wasn’t burning, yet he smelled smoke. Raising his head an inch, he saw tendrils of white smoke drifting from their bodies. Nothing appeared damaged. Still, there
was
smoke. Slowly, he drew his hand from beneath Sorcha’s dress, part of him reluctant to leave her slick heat. Later. He’d get back to that later.

Lifting his head from her breast and sitting up, he looked her over. Her eyes were closed, a smile on her pink lips. She looked just a little bit smug. Kiernan couldn’t stop his smile. Dropping a light kiss on her mouth, he rolled off her. Her dress was intact. Hair still spilled around her in lush disarray. The couch looked fine. Ditto for the carpet. A quick glance told him that his suit was as good as he could expect, considering he’d just come inside his boxers. That hadn’t happened since he was an adolescent. A young adolescent. Fortunately, Cameron had a bathroom in his office. Kiernan took a deep breath. He smelled Sorcha. Sex. And smoke. Holding his hands in front of him, he studied them, mystified. Fainter than a minute before, but definitely still there. White wisps of smoke drifted up from his skin.

A flutter caught his eye. Sorcha looked at him through her lashes, smile widening.

“Stay there,” he said, suddenly driven to take care of her before she fully came back to herself. He was relieved to see her eyes drift shut again. Taking advantage, Kiernan headed for the door behind Cameron’s desk.

Sorcha drifted, every muscle in her body relaxed. Sated. She wasn’t exactly sure what had happened. One minute she’d been kissing Kiernan. Then they’d been lying down. His mouth on her. Those strong, sucking tugs on her breasts. Just the thought of it made her shift on the couch. His hand between her legs. He’d made her come in about two seconds. One touch, his fingers filling her, his palm pressing on her clit and—boom. She’d never come like that before. Ever. As if her whole body imploded in a white-hot burst of sheer ecstasy. Her skin still felt hot. And oddly cold at the same time. Like her nerves were misfiring. Did she smell smoke?

Sitting up a little, she looked around. At first, Sorcha was alarmed to realize she was alone. Then she heard the sound of running water behind the big desk, and realized there was a bathroom tucked away. Giving herself a second to regroup, she flopped back on the couch. No fire. But she did smell smoke. She sniffed the air. Definitely smoke. She could even see it, drifting in the air above her. Slowly, she realized it was coming off her arms. Rising from her skin in delicate, white wisps before floating away.

What the fuck? Was it Kiernan? No. He’d made her come like a rocket, but the smoke had to be from her. A side effect of her power with heat? She was probably lucky she hadn’t burned the whole place down. It was impossible to suppress the giggle the tumbled from her chest. Kiernan opened the bathroom door just as she slapped a hand over her mouth.

“Something funny?” he asked.

“I’m smoking,” Sorcha said, still giggling a little. “I think I set myself on fire.”

“You set both of us on fire. I only just stopped smoking. But I still smell a little barbecued.”

“How?” she asked.

Kiernan approached, a cloth in his hand. Kneeling beside her, he set one hand on her thigh before she could sit up. As if it were no big deal, he reached between her legs with the cloth. Cool, damp flannel pressed to her heated flesh. Gently, Kiernan stroked, soothing her.

“Better?” he asked.

With a rush of heat to her cheeks, Sorcha nodded. She’d been so wet, she’d needed to clean up, but even after what they’d done on the couch, his taking care of her was unbearably intimate. When he was done, he set the washcloth on the coffee table and adjusted her thong, then her dress. Rising, he pulled her to her feet.

Not ready to stand just yet, Sorcha wobbled on her heels. It took a second before her Tk kicked into gear enough to steady her. Fighting back her sudden shyness, she looked at Kiernan’s face. He watched her, his eyes warm with an odd mix of emotions. Sorcha couldn’t feel him the way she could others. He was contained, his thoughts his own. But a lifetime of reading people showed her what he felt. Affection, humor, lust. Possession. The first three she understood.

The last made no sense. Kiernan got around. From what she’d seen, he wouldn’t have the slightest idea what possessiveness was about. Yet the glint in his eye as he scanned her from her sex-mussed hair down to her spiked heels was all about ownership. Sorcha resolved not to think about it. She wasn’t going to mess this up with complications. The only way she could excuse getting involved with her partner in this mission to rescue Caerwyn was if she didn’t let it distract her. A tiny voice in her head asked how the hell she thought Kiernan wasn’t going to be a distraction. He didn’t exactly disappear into the background.

Shut up, she told herself.
That was the best orgasm I’ve ever had. I fucking set us on fire, it was so good. And he didn’t even take his clothes off. Don’t mess this up by thinking. I can focus on the mission and still have sex with Kiernan. We have to go to bed some time. We’ll just have sex before we pass out. No big deal.

Ruthlessly, she cut off the errant thoughts. Smiling up at Kiernan, she said, “Are we going now?”

“Definitely.” Surprising her, Kiernan dipped his head to lay a soft kiss on her still swollen lips.

Pacing to Cameron’s desk, he lifted the phone, dialed a number, and asked for the car. Sorcha stepped closer and peeked through the window at the stage below. Her eyes bugged out in shock when she saw Thalia straddling the lap of a human male, one of the patrons from the audience. She was completely naked, grinding against the human. From the trousers slumped around the man’s legs and his half-undone shirt, she was clearly fucking him. A steady, wide stream of red mist flowed from the man’s chest to Thalia’s.

Sorcha felt Kiernan stand beside her. She couldn’t tear her eyes from the spectacle on stage long enough to look at him. His hand took her elbow in a firm grip. With a tug, he pulled Sorcha to the door. She was forced to fall into step beside him or risk falling on her ass.

“They’re… She’s… Did you see that?” Sorcha stuttered. Kiernan chuckled.

Bending close, just before he opened the door to Cameron’s office, he said, “Discretion. The humans in there won’t remember. And she’s not hurting him. At worst, he’ll be a little tired tomorrow.”

Biting her lip to show that she’d keep her mouth shut, Sorcha let Kiernan lead her down the long, red hallway back to the elevator and out through the heavy wooden doors. It felt like days had passed, when she knew it couldn’t have been much more than an hour. If that.

Dropping into the low-slung car with as much grace as she could manage, Sorcha put their trip to the club out of her mind. Cameron would have eyes on Michael. Goal accomplished. Time to move on.

“We need to go back to your place,” she said. “Change clothes and switch cars before we go back to the spot where we lost Caerwyn’s trace. I love the Maserati, but it’s too conspicuous.”

Kiernan didn’t answer. Was he planning something else? They had a job to do. Taking in his tight jaw, the stripe of color on his cheeks, Sorcha felt like an idiot. Of course he was planning something else. She’d had an amazing orgasm, but she’d been so wrapped up in herself, she didn’t even know if Kiernan had come. He’d been smoking, but that could have been from her pleasure.

Embarrassed, annoyed with herself, Sorcha reached out and wrapped her hand over Kiernan’s tight fist resting on the console between them. “Sorry if you missed out back there. I think I passed out. And you didn’t—” Her cheeks burned as she searched for the words.

“Are you kidding?” Kiernan shot her a grin and his hand relaxed under hers. “I did. You just missed it with the explosion of fire. And you’re right. It’s still early and we have work to do. I can wait until later for round two.”

“Round two?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “You’re so sure you’re getting back in there?”

“Now I know you’re kidding. We were so hot together you literally caught fire. And we were both still fully clothed. You’re deluded if you think you’re not ending this night naked with me inside you.”

Sorcha didn’t even try to hide the shiver that ran through her at the greedy determination in Kiernan’s voice.