She was simply a woman, looking at a man, who was anything but simple.
His hair was longer than she had realized. He usually kept it in a tightly bound tail, as was the popular style among the males of her race. But now it was loose, streaming like a waterfall of pure shaved silver over his pillow. His brows were silver, his lashes purely black. His jaw was shadowed darkly with the beard that had grown in as he slept. Upon close inspection she realized it would be streaked both silver and black if he had let it continue to grow. For some reason, it made her smile.
It was strange, but he looked both younger and older as he slept. Younger because he was truly relaxed, having shed the rigidity of the flawless control he held over his poise and body during waking hours. Older because, somehow, seeing him strictly as a male only added to his presence and power in her mind. If she were not so fascinated she might have been a little intimidated.
Legna reached out impulsively to touch his hair. It was unexpectedly soft and smooth, nowhere near the brittle feel of metal it tricked her into expecting. It was clinging to her fingers as if caressing them on purpose, the eerie sensation giving her a shiver as she double-checked his state of sleep. Once she was satisfied she was getting away with her trespassing undetected, she grew bolder, leaning farther forward over him, her breasts pressing against the hard musculature of his arm as she did so. She touched his face so lightly she could barely feel him. Curiously, she followed the arches and curves of it, from wide forehead and aristocratic cheekbones to his strong, slightly cleft chin and the perfectly sculpted lines of his mouth.
Braver still, she traced her butterfly touch down the firm column of his throat, marveling at its complete antithesis to the slim shape of her own and how strange it was that she found that to be a sexy thing. She had not realized a man’s neck could look so appealing.
She licked her lips slowly, her eyes riveted to the movement of her fingers, breaking her attention away only briefly now and then to check his breathing or his closed eyes to monitor the maintenance of his sleeping state. She touched the broad curvature of his collarbone, tracing it with single-minded fascination. She moved her exploration to his chest, noting the marks she had left on him had healed naturally, only the ghosted presence of the impressions of her nails remaining. It pleased her to realize he had not used his skills to heal them, and then it disappointed her that their bodies healed so damn quickly. She pressed her lips together to prevent a giggle from escaping her. It was a silly, clearly territorial thought, but she made no excuses to herself for it.
Her fingertips next drifted over his belly, softly weaving around his fingers, enjoying the increasing warmth of his skin as she traveled. She paused, her eyes scouting ahead of her touch, and nibbled on her lower lip as she considered whether or not to continue her secret tour of him.
Her question was answered when she suddenly felt his hand wrap around her fingers. She gasped, jerking back instinctively, her face flaring with heat while her neck prickled with chills. Nevertheless, he held tight, preventing her withdrawal, pressing her hand to his stomach beneath his own. She looked up into his eyes, vexed by the humor ghosting through them.
“How did you do that?” she demanded. Eyes and breathing aside, it was impossible to fake sleep with a Mind Demon. She should have picked up on the rise of his awareness as he awoke.
“You continually attempt to fit me into the molds of the men you are acquainted with,” he said softly. “I am extremely different than anything you know, Magdelegna. It would help if you expected what you would least expect, and go from there.”
“Gee, you are so wise,” she said in a high, cooing voice, blinking her lashes with ridiculous speed. “I am so tremendously lucky! Most girls get stuck with an insufferable, devious, underhanded snake of a man.”
The humor of her act drew a smile to one side of his mouth, and Legna couldn’t ignore the way it turned her insides around when the smile glowed warmly in his eyes.
“You will never bore me, Nelissuna. I can see that fact straight to my soul.”
“But I can clearly see you being easily capable of boring me to tears,” she countered archly, trying to free her trapped hand with a determined tug. He was even stronger than he looked, she thought.
“How are you feeling?” he asked, noticing her struggle and insults about the same way he would notice a passing speck of dust.
“Why can you not tell me? You are the medic, are you not?” She exhaled sharply. “Will you please let go of me?”
“No.”
Legna growled in frustration at him.
“You are so obnoxious!” she accused. “I hate it when you do that!”
“Do what? Answer a question? If it disturbs you, I will ignore your questions from now on.”
“You know exactly what I mean. I hate it when you lay down the word no as if it were the last letter of the law. And do not think I do not know that you are doing it on purpose just to irritate me, because I do!”
“Then you should cease giving me the opportunity to say it,” he told her, his tone so matter-of-fact that she almost screamed at him. “And you should be careful of those little growls you insist on making, Neliss. They are…very stimulating.”
Suddenly Legna forgot all about trading barbs with him and became very aware of his warmth above and below her trapped hand, the solid strength she leaned up against so cozily, and the very clear hunger that was brewing under the humor he had been using to hide it.
Now that he had her full attention rather than her acerbic defenses, he slipped his hand out from under his head and reached to touch her soft, warm cheek with fingertips as light as the ones she had explored him with.
“You are so very lovely, Legna. I have always thought so. Even as a child, you were quite stunning.”
“It took you long enough to tell me so,” she said, but there was no true energy to the would-be sarcastic remark.
“Yes. I know. But I always felt it would be inappropriate. Noah is…I was his Siddah. I began fostering him from the time he was ten years, his abilities proving to be too powerful to wait until he was at the usual age. He was like a son to me…more so after your parents were gone. Noah treated you more like a daughter than a sister as he raised you in turn. It always felt like a barrier I ought not to cross. Even now, I do not welcome the time when he discovers what is happening between us. I can see you have the same concern.”
“Yes,” she agreed. “But in time…”
“Yes. Time. I am finding myself in great competition with time of late.”
“He will resist at first, but if he thinks you will make me happy, he will eventually come around,” Legna assured him.
“So then”—he picked up her hand from his stomach, lifting the palm to the kiss of his lips—“all that remains is for me to convince you that I will make you happy, so that you are able to convince him of it.”
“A daunting task, to be sure,” she murmured, looking at her arm to see if there were any visible signs of the sensation the touch of his mouth was causing to rush up the length of it. She blinked twice and shook her head slightly to clear it of the dangerous predatory sensation stirring within her thoughts. “I have not asked about Bella,” she said, discreetly trying to clear the catch that had entered her voice. “Is all well?”
“Yes. Both she and the baby will survive and, eventually, regain their health.”
“Thank goodness,” she sighed. “If I ever complain about the changes going on inside me, remind me of how they saved my friend’s life.” She hesitated to catch her breath as his mouth brushed back across her sensitive palm.
“Legna, why are you so afraid of me at the moment?”
She met those penetrating eyes of his, feeling as if they were searching her very soul. It made her breathless and nervous.
“I am afraid of how easily you seem to…cause strong emotions within me with such a simple touch.”
“And if I told you that you have the same power over me?” he asked,
his rich voice hypnotically gentle.
Legna knew in an instant what that knowledge made her feel. She felt that baser side of herself stirring into awareness, threatening to overcome her as it had in her room so recently, in the garden nine years ago, and in battle with the necromancer last October.
She sat up away from him and this time he let her go, releasing her hand with a lingering touch.
“I should go home. Noah must be worried.”
She turned and slid out of the bed on the other side, but by the time she was upright on her feet, he was in front of her, leaning a shoulder casually against one of the bedposts.
“Run, run, as fast as you can…” he said softly, his meaning all too serious and all too clear.
“Gideon, please,” she begged quietly, unable to meet his direct gaze as her heart pounded out a frantic rhythm.
“I see what you are running from, Magdelegna. But you will not succeed. The huntress is a part of you. Back before time was time, our people lived in prides just like the lions do. And like lionesses, your ancestral females were born to the hunt, built sleek and beautiful and deadly in the most magnificent ways. It is deeply embedded in your genetic code, in spite of all of our evolution and civilization, and is as much a part of you as your empathy. I am sorry, but this code, Neliss, is the one thing you can never escape.”
“But it is worse when you are near me. Tell me that is not true.”
“It is very true. But instead of thinking of it as worse, I would hope you would think of it as natural. It is, you know. It is natural that your baser nature appears when your mate does.”
“You are not even my mate yet. What happens if…if we have sex?” She wrapped her arms tightly around herself to ward off a chill. “Will it become wor—more frequent? Stronger? It overtakes me so easily, Gideon.”
“I understand how unnerving that can be, Legna. It haunts me as well whenever I come close to you. Even if I cross a path you have recently trod, your lingering scent stimulates the dominant in me, the part of me that urgently needs to be with you. Near you. Wrapped around you, with you…with you wrapped around me.”
The phraseology was intensely suggestive, but it was lost on her until he reached out to her, past her shoulder to take hold of her braid, wrapping it around his large fist twice before using it to coax her closer to him. When she was close enough for him to lower his head to her ear, he brushed his mouth over it in an unbelievably erotic caress.
“I crave the time when you are wrapped around me,” he told her, the heat of his breath and his words flying through her like an arrow to its mark. Her entire body lit up with the heat of response, a flood of molten liquid rushing madly to awakening places beneath her skin.
“Gideon,” she breathed, unable to draw in enough air to sound his name more firmly.
“Mmm, I love when you speak my name, Neliss,” he said, his tongue touching to the sensitive lobe of her ear just long enough to draw it between his gentle lips. “I will love it just as well when you cry it out. And even more so when you scream it.”
“Gideon, please do not do this,” she begged, the words falling from her in soft, short bursts of breath. “I am not ready for this.”
“I think you are.”
To illustrate his argument, Gideon lifted the knuckles of his left hand to her breast, skimming over the taut thrust of her clearly aroused nipple. Legna practically melted under the touch, her body swaying into his as he turned his hand over and cupped her through the rich satin of her dress.
“Yes. Yes,” she relented. “My body is ready. But Gideon…”
“Hmm.” He brushed his mouth over her jaw until he was nearer to her mouth. “A Demon of the Mind whose mind is not as willing as the rest of her. A remarkable dilemma, Magdelegna.” His mouth hovered so close to hers, an awesome temptation to her weakened resistance. She remembered his kiss too well, the flavor, the artistry, and the intensity beyond anything she had ever known. “I will make a bargain with you, Neliss,” he offered, continuing to caress the shape of her breast, eliciting an unchecked moan from her. “Whenever I take something from this delightful body of yours, I will give you anything you desire that will appease your reluctant mind.”
Gideon stepped away from her, releasing her so unexpectedly that she had to stop herself from following him. She looked into the white-hot fire of his eyes, understanding instantly the effort it had taken for him to deny his needs. The taut set of his jaw was only the beginning of the rigidity locking up every muscle in his body.
“This time, I give you your wish to go home. Go. This instant, Legna.”
Another command. Albeit a welcome one. One she wanted to follow almost instantly. But she hesitated just the same, her gaze still locked to his, unable to break away.
Gideon’s hands curled into fists.
“Legna,” he warned.
Legna crossed the distance he had put between them in a heartbeat, throwing herself against him. Gideon caught her to himself even as she locked her mouth to his and thrust her hands into his hair at the back of his head. She held him to her, aggressively seeking his tongue, tasting him with wild savagery as his arms wrapped tightly enough around her to lift her onto the very tips of her toes. She disengaged as sharply as she had begun, panting rapidly for breath before she pulled him back to her hungry lips.
His hands were sliding over her, everywhere at once, his touch matching the ferocity of her kisses. Wildfire scorched her wherever he grasped her, setting her to burn. His body was pure strength against hers, solid and unforgiving, hot and hard and just as aggressive as hers was.
Gideon caught the satin fabric at the back of her dress up into a vicious pair of fists, using the material to pry her away from him. He held up a hand to keep her at bay when she moved forward with a sound of protest.
“If you touch me again, Legna, I will have you,” he warned, his voice hoarse with pent-up need and barely leashed impulses. “Do you understand? No turning back, no more time.” She drove him to the brink with just a kiss, his control shuddering with weakness. Gideon’s whole being was rocked with this outrageous desire for her that she wasn’t ready to appease. She thought she was at war with parts of herself, but she couldn’t know how much his feral half was raging to be let loose on her. It was all he could do to maintain control of himself.
Gideon’s caution humbled Legna, and her eyes widened with her remorse for forcing him to be the one to maintain control in spite of her aggression. She felt the haze of his mind within her own, felt the baton of respect and concern for her he was using to beat back every inborn instinct he had. He wanted her to come to him with clarity of thought, with an honest need that transcended just the physical chemistry that so over-whelmed them. The amazing part was that he wanted it for himself just as much as he wanted it for her.
“So, once again you are the one to show far better control between us,” she said quietly, taking a ginger step away from him. Slowly, he released the fabric of her dress, the satin slipping from his fingers after a long, highly charged moment. “I will go home, as you say, because I must put Noah’s mind at ease. I know he is worried. I can feel it. But I will not take long, Gideon. The night has just begun and I want to spend it learning exactly who you are and what we will be with one another.”
Gideon nodded once, a short movement that radiated the strength of the tether he had upon himself.
“Do me one courtesy, Neliss. Remember at all times that I am a part of your mind now. Take great care in what you do and what you think.” He exhaled slowly. It galled Gideon to confess his weakening discipline, but he had to make this clear to her. “My self-control is stretched far too thin as it is. For all my age and experience, I cannot fight what is happening to me. Do you understand?”
“I do. I will do my best, but I am similarly afflicted and I may make mistakes.”
“I understand that quite well, Legna. But there is a vast canyon between understanding and execution. However, I will maintain a reasonable min
d. That is a promise.”
“Thank you.”
This time she moved forward slowly, her intent quite clear as she watched him with careful eyes. She reached to kiss him gently, briefly, stepping back with a sensation of awe over the tenderness he had used while returning her kiss. She absently touched her mouth for a moment, then raised the same hand into a graceful twist, sending herself home.
Legna appeared in her bedroom, startled to see Noah was already there waiting for her. Suddenly self-conscious, she touched her hair with one hand and covered her reddened mouth with the other. Noah turned from the window to look at her and she turned away and moved to her wardrobe, making herself busy with her back to him.
“I would have come down to you,” she said as neutrally as she could.
“I was worried. After Kane told me what had happened, I went to see Jacob. He told me when he left you with Gideon you were sleeping, but I grew concerned when the entire night and next day passed without word. Jacob told me what you did for him and for Bella. I am amazed, to say the least.”
“I know.” She reached to absently recrease a fold in one of the dresses hanging before her. “I rather amazed myself.”
“Legna, when are you going to tell me what the hell is going on?” he demanded suddenly, his hurt at being left out of the life she had always shared with him coming through in spite of his efforts to maintain an even tone.
“It is senseless for you to try and hide emotions from me in any event, Noah,” she chided softly, finally turning around to meet his eyes.
“Legna,” he uttered, the shock that washed over him so potent that it made her catch her breath. He crossed over to her in only two steps, reaching to grasp her by the chin and turn her face up to his. “What the hell is this?” he interrogated her roughly. “What happened to your eyes?”
She could not answer him. She was suddenly overwhelmed by Gideon’s virulent concern for her.
Legna, what is the matter? I can feel your distress.
Nothing. Please, do not worry.
You are lying to me. Tell me what is going on.