I had actually expected much worse. “What happened next?”
“I stood by my word and went back to my cell. The next day, Apollo turned me into one of the Fallen. He never mentioned Theo’s death. And part of my punishment was that I never found out what he did to Astra. I’ve done many cruel things since then, but I don’t take harming others lightly. Theo, however? I do not regret killing him. Sometimes, I wonder what happened to Astra. Then I think, perhaps it’s best I don’t know.”
As he fell silent, I squeezed his hand. “We’re a pair, aren’t we? Mad Maudlin and Aegis the Fallen.”
He leaned down, his lips seeking mine. “I love you, Maudlin—whether you’re mad or not. From now on, no hidden secrets. I know other parts of our lives will come up. Secrets we might not think important will come to light. But if these are the worst, then we’re weathering the storm well.” And with that, he laid me back on the sofa and began to undress me.
Chapter 8
HIS LIPS WERE soft against mine as he brushed my hair back from my face, his fingers lingering on my cheek. The flames from the fireplace brightened, the sparks crackling as they consumed the wood. My breath caught in my chest, and I shifted, allowing him to slide his hands beneath my shirt. A cool ripple raced up my spine from the chill of his fingers. I still wasn’t used to his touch, and part of me hoped I never would be. The thrill was still new and even though old loves were often the best, that vibrant sense of still being in the Getting-to-know-you phase appealed to me on so many levels. I slid my legs apart, the material of my jeans chafing at me as he nestled his hips between them. I moaned softly.
“I want to feel your skin against my fingers,” I whispered. “I want to touch you, to feel you inside me.”
“Do you want to go up to your bed?” His voice was muffled as he buried his nose in my hair, nuzzling my neck.
“No. Here, by the fire.” I didn’t want to traipse all the way upstairs. The sofa was comfortable and all I wanted was to ride him, to connect body to body, heart to heart.
He pushed himself away from me, sitting up, and began to strip off his shirt. I scrambled to my knees, yanking off my own top. As I unbuckled my jeans and stood to shimmy out of them, Aegis tossed his pants across the room, then threw several of the large sofa pillows on the floor.
Turning to me, he stood at full attention, a lascivious look spreading across his face. Oh, he was smoking, all right. One look was all it took to make my blood pulse heavily in my throat. His chest was taut, his muscles finely developed but he wasn’t too bulky. Just the right amount to fill out a muscle shirt nicely. He had a thin layer of hair on his chest and I was grateful he had never shaved it because I liked my men with a little chest hair, not all smooth and shiny. Although bald wasn’t bad…a bald scalp was one thing. A blank chest devoid of hair was another.
Shaking my thoughts away from his chest, I followed his muscled abs down toward the V of his waist, biting my lip as my gaze reached his groin. My mouth watered as I took him in, all firm and swollen, waiting for me.
“Is that all for me?” I whispered, suddenly realizing how corny I sounded. I blushed, hoping I hadn’t destroyed the mood.
“Oh, Maddy, it’s all for you. Want me to give it to you now?” His eyes were twinkling and he looked ready to laugh, but then the energy shifted and he began to stalk me around the room. I backed away, not afraid, but daring him onward.
“You want me, come and get me.”
We had played this game before, though it really wasn’t a game. He was the hunter and I was his quarry, and yet the hunter was actually the hunted.
Gaze locked with his, I slowly crept around the sofa. Aegis responded, darting around the other way. I paused as he headed toward me, then sidestepped to behind the desk, my blood racing as he grunted and shifted direction.
“You can’t get away from me,” he said, his eyes bright.
“Ah, but are you worthy to catch me?” I ducked behind the chair and around the other side as he made a lunge for me. “Come on, show me what you’re made of.”
We went on this way, cat and mouse, vampire and witch, lover and lover until I was panting, aching to feel him inside me. He was hungry, I could feel it—not for my blood but my body. As I rounded the sofa, he leapt over the top, landing in front of me. I turned to run, but he caught me in his arms, pulling me toward him, and I melted, my breasts heavy and aching for his touch. As I pressed against his chest, he swept me up in his arms and tossed me on the pillows that we had scattered in our foreplay. I leaned back on the thickest, bending my right knee and ever so slightly spreading my legs.
“Touch yourself,” he said, his voice rough.
My sex was wet and I reached down and slowly trailed my fingers over the thatch between my legs. “You mean like this?”
I fingered myself, slowly circling the raised nub of my sex, luxuriating in both the feel of my finger and the sense of him watching me. Conscious of my breasts, I began to breathe rhythmically as I picked up the pace. I raised my other knee, spreading my legs wider as I reached lower, sliding one finger inside me as I let out a little moan.
Aegis dropped to his knees, staring. I brought my other hand up to trace one of my nipples, pinching it so hard that I gasped. Closing my eyes, I focused on my body, my breath quickening as I became more aroused.
“You’re so fucking sexy, Maddy.” The hunger was thick in his voice, and I recognized it as both desire and thirst. Witches’ blood was an aphrodisiac to vampires, almost an intoxicant. Aegis had never drunk from me, but I knew he fought the longing.
“If I’m so sexy, what are you doing way up there?”
That did it. He dove for me, burying his head between my thighs as he pushed my hand out of the way. His tongue fluttered over my clit and I arched my back, gasping as he quickened the pace. The frantic lapping drove away all thoughts of anything but the feel of his tongue rasping against me, the roughness jolting me toward a climax that I didn’t expect so soon. I came, almost spiraling out of my body, then slammed back in as he came up between my legs to grasp one of my breasts between his lips, worrying the nipple like a dog might worry a favorite bone. He pressed his cock against me, and all I could think about was feeling him inside me.
“Fuck me, Aegis. Fuck me, now.”
As I arched up toward him, he drove himself inside me, swiveling for better position. I wrapped my legs around his back, pulling him tighter. He was thick and hard, cool as ice and the chill penetrated my body as he hunted, thrusting as deeply as he could. I squirmed beneath him, dizzy from the pleasure.
But still, I could sense what he wanted—to drink from me. To taste my blood.
“Aegis—” I started, ready to capitulate, to give him what he so very much wanted.
“No,” he whispered back, stopping inside me, holding me close. “I know what you’re going to say. Don’t even think about it. I refuse to drink from you. Maddy, I want you, all of you, but I won’t take anything from you that you aren’t ready to give. Blood is the most sacred of elixirs. It’s life force and energy. I won’t take that from you unless…until…” Pausing, he leaned down and kissed me, long and deep. He lingered on my lips, reaching up to softly caress my cheek. “Love me, Maddy. Love me and let me love you, and that’s enough.”
And then, he started moving again, slowly building his strokes, thrusting deep as we lost ourselves in the rhythm of our bodies.