“I liked Darrell. He was always nice, polite, and friendly, and I thought he was good at his job. I just didn’t realize that he was a littletoogood at it.” Owen grimaced. “I still can’t believe he was plotting behind my back this whole time. And not just to steal money but to kidnap and kill me.”
He fell silent, still staring into the flames. Several seconds passed before he spoke again.
“Iguess it just goes to show that you don’t really know some people the way you think you do. Maybe the ren faire should have a new theme next year. Maybe instead ofWinter’s Web, the organizers should call itThe Ides of Winter.” He let out a low, bitter laugh. “Hey, maybe I’ll even dress up like Julius Caesar next year. After all, I’ve been betrayed, just like he was.”
I kept quiet, sensing therewas more he needed to say.
“And I can’t help but feel stupid that I fell into Darrell’s trap. I should have known something weird was going on when I supposedly won the faire tickets.” He shook his head. “And I can’t help but think that I could have done things differently. That if I’d just known how unhappy Darrell was, I could have done something to help him.” His voice dropped. “Instead ofkilling him.”
I sat up and looked at him. “It isnotyour fault that Darrell did what he did. People make their own choices, and they are responsible for their own actions and the consequences that come along with them. Darrell could have come to you and told you he’d made a mistake embezzling the money, and you would have helped him. Iknowyou would have, because that’s the kind of good, decent,honorable man you are. But Darrell was arrogant and stupid and greedy, and he decided to take what he wanted no matter how many people he had to hurt. That was his biggest mistake, and it ended up costing him everything.”
Owen nodded, and some of the tension eased out of his body. “How did I ever get so lucky as to have you in my life?”
I grinned. “I could say the same thing about me havingyou.”
He leaned over and kissed me. The brief brush of his lips against mine sent warmth shooting through my body and ignited a spark of desire deep in my stomach.
I drew back, then grinned again and clasped my hands to my heart. “Oh, my dear, sweet, humble blacksmith!” I cooed in a high, falsetto voice. “Oh, how you make meswoon!”
I put my hand up to my forehead, let out a long, loud, dramaticsigh, and then flopped back against the couch cushions, as though I was a genteel lady overcome with a case of the vapors.
Owen laughed and then bent forward at the waist, as though he was taking a bow. “Why, thank you, fair lady. This humble blacksmith always aims to please his pirate queen assassin.”
I crooked my finger at him. “Then come here and prove it,” I murmured in a low, husky voice.
Owen grinned, leaned forward, and lowered himself on top of me so that we were both stretched out on the couch. I threaded my hands through his silky black hair and pulled his head down to mine. Our lips met, and I swiped my tongue against his. He deepened the kiss, plunging his tongue into my mouth. More sparks exploded in my stomach, and I sighed with happiness, wrapped my arms around his neck,and pulled him closer.
Owen kissed his way across my cheek, then sucked on the side of my neck. I drew in a breath, drawing his rich metallic scent deep into my lungs. He kept kissing my neck, even as his hands slid up my shirt. I wasn’t wearing a bra, and he cupped my breasts, gently tweaking my nipples with his thumbs. Those sparks burned even brighter and coalesced into a liquid heat thatflooded my entire body.
“You are wearing entirely too many clothes,” Owen rumbled, still kneading my breasts.
“I was just thinking the same thing about you,” I murmured back, running my hands down his strong, muscled back.
“Then let’s fix that.”
Owen grabbed me around the waist and sat up, pulling me up along with him. I lifted my arms over my head, and he stripped off my shirt, exposing mybare breasts.
His violet gaze darkened with desire. “Now, that’s more like it.”
He dipped his head to my right breast and gently caught my nipple between his teeth. Then he sucked on it hard before doing the same thing to my other breast. I gasped with pleasure and arched back to give him better access.
Owen kept sucking, licking, and kissing my breasts. That liquid heat in my body burned alittle hotter with every sure stroke of his fingers and every sly slide of his tongue. I reached down to get rid of his shirt the way he’d gotten rid of mine, but Owen caught my hand in his and pressed a kiss to my knuckles.
“Not yet,” he murmured. “This blacksmith wants to thoroughly pleasure his lady first.”
He gave me a wicked grin, then laid me back down on the couch and undid my jeans.I lifted my hips, and Owen slid the jeans off me, along with my underwear and socks. I lay there and watched while he got rid of his own clothes, then grabbed a condom from his wallet. I took my little white pills, but we always used extra protection.
The crackling flames bathed Owen in a soft glow, outlining his broad shoulders, his strong biceps, his muscled chest, and his long, hard erection.I let out a low wolf whistle of appreciation.
“Not so humble after all,” I purred.
Owen winked. “Like I said before, I aim to please.”
He got down on his knees beside the couch. He smoothed his hands down my thighs and eased them apart. My breath caught in my throat. I knew what was coming next and just how good it would be.
Owen gave me another wicked grin, then bent forward and put his mouthon me, sucking, licking, and kissing just as he’d done to my breasts. I moaned with pleasure and rocked forward, and he plunged his tongue even deeper inside me.
That liquid heat in my veins flared up into something hotter and far more intense, the pressure and the pleasure built and built, and it wasn’t long before I cried out and exploded.
