“I hope you’re comfortable—” a shaky laugh left her, “because I don’t think I can move after that.”
He brushed her hair away from her face. “Then allow me,a leannan.”
She looked up, and he covered her mouth in a tender kiss, dematerializing them back to their bedroom.
* * *
Darci still floated in that heady space of pure pleasure when something warm and wet slid between her legs. She opened her eyes and found Blaéz cleaning her.
Squirming, she reached for the wash towel. “Wait-wait, I can do that.”
“Why?” He continued without stopping. “I’ve seen every inch of you.”
It was one thing when he was making love to her, but to look at her there now. Darci pulled the pillow over her face. Yeah, silly she knew, but still.
Soft laughter reached her. Blaéz grabbed the cushion and tossed it aside. “Don’t be embarrassed, love. I like looking at you…” When she met his gaze, he said, “When I first touched you, I was terrified I’d disappoint you.”
“Disappoint me? Can you not tell just how “disappointed” I am when I can’t even move? God, Blaéz, any moredisappointedand I probably wouldn’t walk for days.”
He tossed the cloth aside, his pale eyes gleaming in amusement. “It is good then that all my reading and watching has proven successful.”
Darci stilled. Then she bolted upright, her heart thudding in disbelief. “Blaéz, are you telling me that you’ve never been with anyone else—ever?”
“I haven’t.” A shrug. “My life before Tartarus was always about war. Then I lost all emotions along with sexual needs, ‘til you. Another truth? I’m fiercely glad it was with you.” He lay down on the bed and drew her to him.
Darci gaped, unable to wrap her mind around what he’d just revealed.
“What?” he asked, his fingers stroking her hip when she continued to stare. He smirked. “Want to get “disappointed” again?”
A shaky laugh escaped. She pressed her lips to his jaw. “I love you,” she said softly, unable to hold back the words.
His caressing stopped. Glacier blue eyes met hers. At his hesitation, her chest tightened. It would be a lie to say the fact that he couldn’t love her didn’t hurt.Shemade him feel, andhistouch gave her body fulfillment, her life meaning. So she tucked her pain deep inside.
“It’s okay. I just want you to know howIfeel. And I’mfiercelyglad, too, that no other woman knew you inthatway but me.”
His slight smile was pure sin. He flipped her on her back and said against her lips, “I get better with practice.”
She wound her arms around his neck as he deepened the kiss. And hoped her love would be enough for the both of them.
* * *
Blaéz walked into the rec room later that day. Aethan and Dagan stood near the wet bar at the far end, the air around them tense. The Sumerian reached behind the counter, pulled out a narrow black case and a lighter, selected a thin cigar, and lit it. The scent of woodsmoke and cherry wafted in the air.
“Another kill,” Aethan told Blaéz before turning back to Dagan. “And you picked up nothing again?”
“I have no idea what the hell it is.” His gaze hardened with ire, the orange specks visible in the yellow irises. He tossed his case back on the counter and blew out a thin trail of smoke. “Feels supernatural. An ice-cold sensation surrounded the scene, masking any emotional strains. Can’t pick up anything. I would think it was Nik’s,” he mentioned the other Guardian stationed in Romania, “but he seems to have gotten his anger issues under control. So, whoever the hell this is, he’s too calculated—always a damn step ahead of me. AndIcan track anyone.”
Aethan leaned against the bar counter and scratched his jaw. “A psionic?”
“It could be the damn tooth fairy and I wouldn’t know,” Dagan muttered in irritation.
Blaéz tuned out their conversation and stopped at the open French door, stewing in his own thoughts. Heavy rain clouds darkened the noon skies as a light drizzle fell. A cool breeze blew in from the Atlantic.
She loved him.
And he could say nothing. Not about the way he felt because all those emotions were hers, ones he siphoned from her. Worse, she knew. She really deserved better than him.
Needing a drink, he crossed to the bar, splashed some whiskey in a glass then just stared at the thing.
