Witch Heart

CHAPTER TEN

"IT'S THE WORST IDEA EVER," SHE AGREED. HER breath had a little hitch in it and her heart sped its pace. Her hands found his upper arms and clenched there, feeling the bunch and flex of his muscles. Strength. Power leashed for the moment.

He repositioned himself over her, pressing her down against the mattress. His gaze still searched her face, lust flickering in the depths of his dark blue eyes — lust for her. At the moment Claire felt like the most beautiful, most desired woman on the face of the planet — both of them.

"I shouldn't kiss you," he murmured.

"There's that stupid word again."

He grinned for a fleeting moment. Adam's head dipped and his mouth came nearer hers. "If it were up to me I'd tell you you were beautiful every day." The words came out a whisper and Claire sensed they were sincere. His lips brushed hers, just barely, sending a wave of pleasurable shock through her.

Claire wanted.

Oh, how she wanted with every molecule of her being. She wanted him to pull away the blankets between them, undress her slowly, and make love to her. She wanted to know what his bare chest was like under her fingers and tongue. How would his thighs feel pushing her legs wide open? How would his cock feel tunneling deep inside her? She could barely remember the experience.

Oh, now she remembered. Ty. She jerked and stiffened.

Luckily, there were blankets and clothes between them. Luckily, she had all those years of practice locking away her sexuality.

Before he had a chance to do anything more than barely brush her lips, she pushed him back, but with effort. "Wait. Rue would kill you, and I don't mean that figuratively."

Adam leaned in again. "Rue doesn't have jurisdiction here." He jerked. "Or… are you and Rue…"

"No!" She shook her head. "He would never consider me in that way. I mean, he thought of me as a woman, but I was more like his protected ward or magick experiment than anything else. He never saw me sexually and I never thought of him that way either."

He grinned again. "Then I'm not seeing the problem."

"But—"

His mouth caught hers, slid over it. Ah, Houses.

She melted against him, her lips parting of their own accord against the flick of his velvet tongue that promised beauty and pleasure. His teeth gently grasped her lower lip and rasped the sensitive flesh. Much farther down, her sex noticed and reacted, growing warm.

With one kiss he'd awoken her completely. Like the fairy tale her mother used to tell her when she was a child.

Mustering up every ounce of willpower, she pushed at him again. This time she also swung her legs down and bolted from the bed to the middle of the room, away from his devilish mouth and hooded, lust-filled eyes.

"I want to," she gasped, "but this is not a good idea. Rue will—"

"Rue will what?" Adam stood and walked to her, an amused smile playing over his lips. A smile like a man confident in his ability to seduce her. "Anyway, I thought you said I was expendable."

"I lied."

"Rue isn't here, Claire. He's off in another dimension. He could even be dead. Rue isn't going to do anything, but I might."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

He moved close to her and she couldn't make herself dart away. "As far as this being a bad idea, well, honey, you couldn't be more right about that." He grinned and dimples popped out on each cheek. Adam dipped his head and his warm, sweet breath caressed her lips. "I love to be bad."

His mouth dropped to hers once more and he pulled her up against his chest. The heat of him bled through the fabric of her clothes and made her nipples hard. If this continued any longer, she'd be completely lost. She couldn't let that happen.

But then… disaster.

His hand slipped under her shirt and found the small of her back, touching bare skin. His fingers caressed the tense muscles there. And then his other hand slipped up her back to the nape of her neck and cupped it as he tilted her head to the side and deepened their kiss.

Adam Tyrell was a man who could make a woman feel like the most desirable, beautiful person on the planet. Right now, that's how Claire wanted to feel. Facing death, she wanted to celebrate life. She wanted to throw all her concerns to the wind and escape into the sexual oblivion that he offered. Fighting against that powerful escape just dangling in front of her was nearly impossible.

His tongue swiped against hers, sending a jolt through her. Then he settled in to lazily kiss her as his wicked fingers massaged and caressed, dipping lower and lower.

His touch shredded her will until it was gone.

Her hands ran up his arms, concentrating on every luscious bunched muscle from his wrist to his shoulder. He yanked her against him with a little sexy growl in the back of his throat that made her nipples go tight.

Oh, yes, she remembered this… and it was good.

She wanted it again. Now. With Adam. Forget Rue.

Adam dropped his mouth to the sensitive place below her ear and nibbled. Gooseflesh erupted over her body. Adam kissed his way down her throat and over her collarbone, then dragged her gently back toward the bed.

"It's been a long time," she murmured against his mouth when he caught her lips once more.

"A long time?"

"It's been five years for me, Adam."

He stilled, then jerked and pulled away. "Wait. What are we doing? What am I doing? Claire, the last thing I want is to take advantage of you. I told Thomas I wouldn't do this."

She swallowed hard. "So you don't find me attractive after all?"

He blew out a breath. "Honey, you float my boat in every way. That's not it. This is the damn air fire thing pushing me to do what I've wanted to do since we met."

She walked to him and took his hands in hers. "What's that?"

"Seduce you. Take you." His eyes narrowed. "Fuck you, Claire, until you're so flushed with pleasure you can't even speak."

Her breath hitched and lust pulsed through her body. She ran her fingers through his hair. "I don't have a problem with that."

"I don't want to—"

"Shut up now." Claire went up on her tiptoes and pressed her mouth to his.

He groaned against her lips and wrapped his arms around her.

"Take me to the bed," she murmured against his mouth.

He did. Once he got her there, he laid her on the mattress and hovered over her, still kissing her. She gasped against his lips as he worked the button and zipper of her jeans open. His warm, broad palm spread over her abdomen, teasing the edge of her panties.

He raised his head a little. "So, you're not a virgin?"

She bit her lower lip and shook her head.

"Good. Because the things I have planned for you a virgin wouldn't be able to handle."

Thank the Houses.

"Adam, I've missed this so much. I want — I want—"

"Me to help you make up for lost time?" he murmured against her mouth.

She nodded.

"Claire, I specialize in no-attachment sex. It's kind of my thing. Has been for years. If you want me to help you go wild for a while, I'm willing."

"That sounds good," she breathed.

He kissed her again, all the while working her pants down and off.

She closed her eyes, remembering Ty, remembering the last time a man had kissed her this way… Images flooded her mind. How she'd yearned for him and how he'd given her everything. Ty had been the only person besides her mother whom she'd ever formed a truly deep attachment to. He'd loved her and she'd loved him.

Then one night, Rue had caught them in the weaving room… in a state of undress. His anger had been terrible. He'd gone straight into a killing rage, incensed that Ty had dared disrespect not only an unmated female, but his own handmaiden.

Houses, that night Rue had called her his daughter.

"How dare you dishonor my House and my daughter this way, Ty!" Rue had yelled, his eyes red and his fangs fully extended. "You have broken all of our laws and I pass judgment on you now."

Ytrayi judgment was swift and brutal. Nothing Claire could say would have stayed Rue's hand.

Claire jerked, remembering the carnage. Her heartbreak. After Ty had been killed Claire had never felt so alone, not even after her mother had died.

Adam pulled back. "What's wrong? You're crying. Are my kisses really that bad?"

She allowed a smile to flicker over her mouth. "If Rue ever finds out we were together, he will tear you limb from limb." She paused. "Literally."

Adam sat up. "Claire, are you worried for me?"

She propped herself on her elbows. "Yes."

"That's very sweet, but I've had demons wanting to tear me up before and I've always managed to stop them."

She blinked, looked at him with solemn eyes. "You would not be able to stop the Cae of the Ytrayi. He's worse than an Atrika when properly motivated, when his control has snapped and he scents blood."

"Rue's kind of the baddest of the bad, huh? Why would he want to hurt me for touching you?"

She pursed her lips, thinking how to phrase her answer. "In their culture, the father is responsible for the females until they are mated. Under no circumstances are males allowed to touch unmated females. If a male does so, the father is honor bound to eviscerate them."

"Wow. I've always had a thing for dangerous sex, but that goes above and beyond."

"The catch is that I cannot be mated. It's against their law for an aeamon to mate a daaeman and since there are no aeamon males on Eudae… Also, Rue declared himself my guardian when I became his handmaiden. The night he caught me with Ty I discovered that meant he considered me his daughter and, as such, under this cultural law."

"You know, I'm beginning to really not like this guy, Claire. So you were supposed to remain a virgin for your entire life, then? And he would kill anyone who laid a hand on you?"

"Yes. As a female aeamon, I was the most defenseless individual in their culture and Rue was very protective of me. I was to remain untouched until the day I died, even though it wasn't fair to me and I did resent it."

"But I'm not a demon, Claire, I'm an aeamon male. What if I want to mate you?"

She smiled. "Are you asking to bind my life with yours for all eternity? Death do us part?"

"Uh."

Her smile widened. "Then you cannot touch me. Touch me and be eviscerated."

"Yeah, well, I don't live on Eudae. I don't play by their rules. You shouldn't either, Claire."

"If I did, I would've remained untouched for my entire life."

He gave her a sly look. "And you didn't do that, did you?"

She shook her head and bit her lower lip. "I did something even worse than lose my virginity. I fell in love with a Syari, one of the scholar class, and he fell in love with me. When Rue found out—"

Adam made a slashing motion across his throat.

"Not only that, he—"

He held up a hand. "I got it. The fewer details the better."

"I don't want to be responsible for that again, no matter how much I want… this, whatever this is that's happening between us now."

Adam said nothing for a moment. Then, he began, "I guess if my last lover had been eviscerated for having sex with me, I'd be a little jumpy, too. But, Claire, you're a witch, not a demon. You're home now. Stop thinking like a resident of Eudae."

"As aeamon, I'm half-daaeman. And I've been playing by their rules since I was six, Adam."

"Yeah, okay." Adam leaned down, pinning her to the bed. He spoke close enough to her mouth that his breath warmed her lips. "But I think you're worth the risk."

She inhaled a little, feeling his words go straight to the center of her. He really believed it. Her empathy, coming from her water magick, picked up that clear, crystal feeling of truth.

He stayed that way, barely touching her. Their gazes locked, held. The heat of his body bled through the fabric of his clothing and into her skin. His eyes seemed to hold pure heat, everything he wanted to do lay there immersed in barely banked fire.

Something in the depths of her chest squeezed a bit. Emotion rose — hers or his, she wasn't quite certain. All of a sudden they were one being. Claire wasn't sure where she stopped and he began.

It was intense and her body responded in kind. Her sex quickened, remembering what it was like to be aroused. She moved on the bed a little, wanting him to touch her like she'd never wanted anything before. Wanted his hands on her again, more intimately this time.

This was a man who could help her explore the side of her femininity that had been neglected for so many years. He could help her revel in the ultimate expression of life while she fought to keep hers.

Yes, this was a good decision. This was a man accustomed to doing this for many women, a man who would use her as she would use him. Perfect. She closed her eyes, waiting for his kiss.

But it never came.

Her eyes opened. Slowly, his gaze fastened on her mouth as he sat up. "As much as I hate to cut this short, we need to tell Theo and Thomas you've separated the magicks."

What? A moment ago he'd been ready to tear her clothes off. She warned him to tear her clothes off! Jolted from her bliss, she also sat up.

Recovering quickly and trying to mask her confusion she replied, "Of course, you're right. Pleasure shouldn't take the place of business."

Adam held her gaze steadily. "Pleasure should always take the place of business, Claire, but it shouldn't take the place of guarding your life."

Suddenly feeling uncomfortable about their whole exchange, Claire stood and went for the door. "I'll go tell Theo."

Adam stared at the open doorway, listening to Claire's exchange with Theo in the living room. It was true they needed to share information as soon as they got it, but this particular bit could have waited awhile longer.

It had made a convenient excuse.

The addition of her air magick had opened some kind of floodgate. He'd been attracted to her before, but once she'd peeled her magick from the elium, the sexual draw had exploded. He couldn't remember being this attracted to a woman since he'd been with Eliza.

All he'd wanted was to ease her pants down and off, explore and tease every luscious inch of her body until her cries had echoed loud enough to bring Theo running. It had been so, so hard to pull away. Especially since she'd been laying there beneath him, nipples hard, chest heaving, lips rouged and swollen from his kisses, and her eyes had been begging him to do it.

Giving in to the passion in that moment had just been wrong. It had seemed like… adultery. Adam bowed his head. Gods, how stupid! Yet, there it was, stupid or not.

Eliza had been in her grave for seven years now and she'd slap him silly if she knew he'd pulled away from a woman because of her. Fuck! He'd slept with lots of women after he'd grieved for Eliza and moved on! But none of those women had ever evoked anything like what he'd felt with his wife.

Until Claire.

And there was the problem. That's why it felt like adultery.

Adam rubbed his chin and squeezed his eyes closed for a moment, trying to work out the why of that. It was probably the air magick. Once that eased up, he could keep the promise he'd made to Claire and help her make up for lost time.

Fuck Thomas and his opinions. Claire was an adult and could make her own decisions. If she wanted to take what Adam offered, so be it.

But it would have to wait until this strange, jarringly familiar intensity faded.