"Hmm," she gasped. "II like that."
He liked it, too.
He liked everything about her.
After soaping her calves and thighs and biting the inside of his cheek to keep from biting her, he washed the suds from his hands. Unable to resist a moment more, he inserted two fingers into the very heat of her.
"Oh. Oh!" She jumped away from his erotic touch, but quickly leaned back against him, spreading her legs wider, silently asking for more.
The lather had been slick, and now, so was she. He stroked her, gently pinched her swollen core. A shiver rocked her. "Like it still?" he asked. Tension beat through him.
Take her. Take her now.
"Love it. I love it," she chanted.
He pumped deep, as deep as he could go. She gasped out his name.
"Tight," he said through clenched teeth. He almost thought he felt No, surely not. "Hot."
"Good. Feels good."
Any moment now, he would be consumed by flamesflames hotter than the ones he battled in hell. He was shaking, more than before. He was hard, achingly hard. He was poised and ready for attack.
If he reacted this strongly to filling her with his fingers, what would he do when he filled her with his cock?
Don't stop. Can't stop. Grinding his teeth, he worked another finger inside of her, stretching her and that's when he could no longer deny the barrier that marked her as virgin. His lips pulled down in a tight glower. His head tilted to the side and he found himself staring between her legs in confusion.
Virgin? Surely not. She was a grown woman. But the barrier could not be refuted.
He withdrew from her and stood. He didn't touch her again, just looked her up and down. Like him, she was trembling.
A thousand thoughts tumbled through his fevered mind. How could so beautiful a woman still be a virgin? And why would Hunters send an inexperienced woman to tempt him?
She wouldn't know how.
Why would the gods send a virgin to punish him? Would that not simply punish the virgin?
Obviously confused by his sudden withdrawal, Ashlyn craned her neck until her eyes met his. Pleasure and pain warred for dominance on her lovely features. "Did I do something wrong?"
He shook his head, not yet ready to speak. Possessiveness was shooting through his every cell. No man had ever penetrated her. No man had ever tasted her sweetness.
"Why did you stop, then?" She turned to face him fully and he saw that her nipples were hard, rosy and wet. They reached for him, begging begging
He'd been about to take her virginity and he'd never even kissed her, he realized. Any woman, even Bait, even divine punishment, deserved better than that. And right now, he didn't believe she was either.
But she'd been out in that forest last night and four Hunters had been following her. The two situations were connected, he was certain of it, but now he thoughtwhat? Could Ashlyn have been their target?
If so, why? She didn't hold a demon inside her; he would have sensed it. Wouldn't he? He didn't know anymore. Didn't know anything except that he wanted this woman with every fiber of his being. Had since the first moment he'd seen her. Something about her affected him deeply. Affected the spirit, even.
"Maddox?"
He badly wanted to take her virginity, but he wasn't going to. Not today. Not when she'd been sick only hours before. Not when he wasn't sure how he'd react to being inside herand being her first. She would be a first for him, too. He'd never taken a virgin before. He would have to find the best way to go about it, the best way to keep Violence contained. The spirit would relish causing Ashlyn even momentary pain. Wouldn't it? He might have to chain himself.
As for now
He backed her against the cool tile. Her eyes rounded, those big beautiful brown eyes. Even though his lips had yet to heal fully, he kissed her. Her mouth opened in surprise, then widened in eagerness, welcoming his tongue. He thrust it inside, angling his head to go deeper, to take more, to feed her as much as she needed. Her flavor tantalized him, minty, feminine.
There was another spark between them.
She gasped, and he swallowed the sound. His chest flattened against her breasts, her nipples so hard they stabbed at his skin. He could feel the erratic hammer of her heartbeat.
He bent his knees and pushed up, rubbing his erection against her. She gasped again. She shivered. Her hands tangled in his hair, gripping, pulling him closer. Their teeth banged together; the kiss continuednever stoppedlasted forevera kiss of sorcery and dreams and fire.
Yes, fire. There was so much fire. White-hot. Blistering. An inferno inside of him. He bit her lower lip, couldn't have stopped himself even if he'd wanted to, which he no longer did. A bead of blood leaked onto his tongue. He savored the metallic taste.
Good, so good.
She moaned and bit him back, returning the darkness of his passion with a fervor that surprised him. Gentle, calm. He gripped her cheeks and forcedgently, calmlyher head to the side. Licking and nipping his way down her jaw, her collarbone, was almost his undoing. Her skin was like a drug and one little taste beckoned him to take more, do more. Experience all.
She arched against him, panting. She pulled back, panting still. She arched against him again. His erection probed between her legs, desperate to enter.
No, not yet. Innocent, remember? She is innocent.
Her teeth sank into his collarbone, and he almost came. Almost spilled then and there. She was wild, frantic for release. Her fingers moved to his back and squeezed, kneaded. Her nails scored his skin.
He didn't think she was aware of her actions. Her head was thrashing from side to side and her eyes were closed. "I'll make you come," he told her, fighting for his own control.
"Yes. Come." She released him to grip her own breasts, to pinch the nipples between her fingers.
He'd never seen a more erotic sight.
"Just touch me," she commanded roughly. "Don't stop touching me."
"Will. Needa moment." He closed his fingers over his erection, knowing he'd spread her and take her if he didn't. He pumped once, twice. Hissed in a breath.
"Maddox. Hurry!"
"With my hands or mouth?" he asked, the words barely audible. The water was beating against her, slipping and sliding down her abdomen, daring him to follow and drink.
"Wh-what?" She pried open her eyes, looking at him, looking at herself. When she realized what she was doing with her hands, she dropped her arms to her sides and blushed.
"Should I touch you with my hands or my mouth?" He continued pumping his own hand down his swollen length, wishing it were her hand. Or her mouth. Her body.
"Hands?"
He didn't know a lot about humans, but he recognized her true desire. She wanted his mouth to finish her. He wanted it, too. The need probably embarrassed her; well, he would conquer that soon enough.
He dropped to his knees a second time.
"What are you doing?" she whispered, scandalized. In the undercurrents of her voice, however, were tendrils of excitement.
Rather than answer, he licked her right where she needed him. It was something he'd wanted to do to a woman for years but hadn't dared risk, too afraid of Violence's reaction. In that moment, he was too enthralled to be afraid, and suddenly he was glad that he had waited. Ashlyn tasted of pure, innocent female. She tasted of honey. Passion and slick heat. Drugging, addicting. His.
"Mouth," she gasped out. "Mouth. Changed my mind."
He licked her again and her belly quivered. She flattened her palms on the tile beside her, holding herself up. Her hips arched forward, seeking more of his tongue. He gave it to her. Spreading her with one hand and pumping his shaft with the other, he sucked on her hot center. She moaned, she undulated, she writhed.
"More?" he asked.
"More. Yes. Please."
She was close, so close. He could feel her rushing toward release, could taste the abundance of sweetness. Bite. The urge scared him. He stopped moving. She screamed in frustration, and he clamped his jaw in aroused pain.
Droplets of water fell from his eyelashes onto his chin. He wanted to brush them away, to see her more clearly, but didn't want to move either of his hands. Air burned his throat, his lungs. "Tell me you want me." While I calm down.
"I want you," Ashlyn all but shouted. She stared down at him, as if she couldn't believe they were having this conversation here and now.
"Tell me you need me."
"I need you."
"Tell me you'll never betray me."
"I'll never betray you."
At least she hadn't hesitated. Something inside him softened, melted. "Where do you want to be?" he asked, the words almost a plea. Need me as much as I need you.
Maybe it was the water. Maybe it was the steam. Her eyes seemed to mist over, a curtain of vulnerability falling over her face. "With you," she replied. "Only with you."
Both man and spirit were staggered by the magic of her words. Humbled. Maddox again buried his face between her legs, tongue burrowing deeper than before. She sighed in ecstasy, one of her legs curling around his back. Her heel dug into his shoulder, but he didn't care. Even liked it.
Her desire flowed down his throat as he nibbled on her. Couldn't stop himself now. Was helpless against his actions. He didn't want to hurt her, and neither did the spirit. For once in accord, both wanted only to pleasure her.
She reached the edge. Fell. The orgasm rocked her entire body. Her inner walls clamped down on his tongue, holding him captive in those gates to heaven. And when she shouted his name, he came. Hot seed spurted from him and onto the tub. His body jerked, muscles gripping bone in an iron clasp. Nothing had ever felt so right. Nothing had ever felt so perfect.
Secondsminutes? hours?passed. In that timeless eternity he became Pleasure. He wasn't a being ruled by Violence. He was simply a man who craved this woman. A man who lived in a world where light always stamped out darkness and good always conquered evil.
If only
When he opened his eyes, he was once again Maddox. Once again a man ruled by darkness, living in a world where midnight always triumphed and evil laughed in the face of good.
He was still on his knees. Ashlyn was still in front of him. He could hear her panting rasps and realized he was panting himself. He stood, disconcerted to note his legs hadn't stopped shaking.
Neither had Ashlyn's. Her eyelids were closed, lashes in wet spikes. There was a blissful, satisfied aura surrounding her, but he couldn't dislodge the sudden thought that he'd been too rough, that he could have been gentler. Tried harder.
"Please look at me," he said.
Like butterfly wings, her lashes fluttered open. Those amber orbs gazed up at him, and she nibbled on her bottom lip, expression uncertain. "Yes?"
"Did I hurt you?" Worse, "Do you regret?"
"No and no." She smiled that radiant smile of hers, sunshine in the tenebrous recesses of night.
"How are you still a virgin?" he asked, dazed.
Slowly, her smile faded. Embarrassment clouded her eyes, darkening the brown to a churning black tempest. "I don't want to talk about it."
"Please."
She peered down at her feet, hiding the emotion, the storm. "I never should have told you to ask rather than demand. It's irresistible!"
He would have to remember that.
"Maybe I should have told you earlier, before we But"
His stomach pitched. Should he want to hear her confession, whatever it was? Yes. Did he? No. Not now. He turned the water off and crowded her against the tile. He couldn't predict the spirit's reaction to being told this lushly beautiful creature had conspired against him. "Ashlyn"
"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Hear me out. Just promise not to hate me, okay, and try to understand that I can't help it." Pause. Shuddering breath. "Here goes. You're not the only one possessed by something you can't control. I hear voices. When I stand in a spot where a conversation has taken place, I can hear every word that was uttered, no matter how much time has passed." Her eyes landed anywhere but on him as she spoke.
Maddox listened, shocked to the core. She hadn't admitted to Hunters or gods or a vendetta against him, but to voices. He knew, deep down, her words were not a lie. They were too complicated and too easily disproved; true Bait would have opted for something less refutable. More than that, what she described made sense, fitting several pieces of last night's puzzle together.
Which meant she had tried to protect him earlier. Not for any ulterior motives, but because she had wanted to. Amazement flowed through him. Amazement and relief and joy.
Now he understood why she hadn't been too brokenhearted when he'd admitting to killing those men. Most likely, she hadn't even known them. As he'd suspected, they could very well have hoped to capture her and use her ability to their advantage.
His fingers itched for a knife; he wanted to kill them all over again. Calm down. They still could have worked for her Institute, and she simply hadn't realized it. No, that couldn't be right. They would have made themselves known to her, for they'd been close enough to hear and see her.
"Why did you fear I would hate you?" he asked.
"I hear secrets," she whispered. "It's hard to make friends, you know? The people who know what I can do want nothing to do with me and the people who don't know can't figure out how to deal with me."
The loneliness in her tone affected him deeply. He understood. But even he didn't like the thought of her knowinghearingthe violent things he'd done over the years. "What secrets of mine have you heard?" He tried to keep his voice light, but didn't quite manage it.
"None. I swear." She gazed up at him with wide eyes. "When I'm around you, the world is silent."
She'd said that before. He recalled the expression on her face when he'd first approached her. Total bliss. She'd been savoring the silence, just as she'd claimed. The knowledge humbled and baffled him, yet underneath both emotions was an unshakable pride. He had helped her. He, who was unable to fight free of his own torment, had somehow released another from hers.
"You said you hear secrets. What have you heard about us?"