Bound to midnight, p.17
Bound to Midnight, page 17
He kissed the side of Clara’s head. “Get some rest.”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
He couldn’t help but look in the direction of the bag she’d brought over. It had basics in it and he fully intended to buy her anything she wanted and needed. In addition to that, he’d see to it her things were moved to the main house as soon as she was ready for that big of a change. He wouldn’t push her.
Landros had watched her pack the bag she’d brought. He knew that within it was a long white silk nightgown with a matching robe. From the second her fingers had connected with the article of clothing, he’d wanted to see her in it. “Are you putting on the nightgown?”
“No. I was going to sit up, stay dressed, then lie and tell you I tried to sleep,” she confessed with a snort.
He knew her well enough to know that was her plan all along. “I really want to see you in that nightgown.”
“If I put it on, will you hurry back?” she asked, a hopeful note in her voice.
“As fast as I can,” he said, meaning every word.
“Then I’m putting it on.” She drew away from him and went to her bag.
Landros practically sprinted for the door. “If I stay to watch you change, I’ll never leave.”
Her laughter followed him as he rushed down the hall.
Chapter Twenty-One
Landros entered his bedroom, careful to avoid making any noise. Clara was there, asleep on the huge bed, her long brown hair cascading out around her. The silky white nightgown she had on looked even better on her than he’d imagined. All he wanted to do was unwrap the prize inside.
Sadly, getting Bill and Gus settled in for the day to sleep, since they’d been up all night, had proven to be quite the task. It had taken Landros and Wheeler nearly two hours to convince Bill to shower and put on clean clothing (that didn’t fit him in the least because they were Landros’s).
Wheeler had been downright ecstatic when Bill had finally emerged from the bathroom smelling human once more. Not like he’d rolled in a city dump on a hot summer day.
Gus had been equally as resistant to getting some rest but had finally given in when Landros carried the bust of Aphrodite into the guest room he’d assigned to Gus. The man was now curled up around the bust, sleeping soundly.
Bill was in the guest room next to him and Wheeler was down the hall.
Once Wheeler and Landros had gotten Bill and Gus settled in, they’d gone through his home making sure all the points of entry were locked and warded. Landros had to admit he was slightly out of practice using his Fae side, and increasing the mystical wards had drained him.
It didn’t help that the sun had risen. That naturally left his kind tired.
He needed to feed as well but hadn’t wanted to take any more time from being near Clara than necessary.
Wheeler had opted for the pig’s blood that Landros kept stocked in the refrigerator.
PSI would deliver actual human bagged blood later in the day. It would be needed to help Landros and Wheeler be at peak performance.
Landros had the option to feed from Clara, but he didn’t want to take from her if he could help it. Doing so could put a strain on her system if she was run down—which she was.
He wasn’t taking any chances with his mate.
At some point during all the pre-bedtime hoopla, he’d felt the strain the night had taken on Clara. He’d sensed her in the master bedroom trying to wait up for him but finally succumbing to sleep.
As much as he wanted to touch her, caress her, lose himself in her silken depths once more, he knew she needed rest.
He did as well, but he wasn’t tired. The idea of shutting his eyes at all with Mirza in Savannah was absurd. Landros might never sleep again if the man wasn’t caught and dealt with.
As he soaked in the sight of his wife on the bed, a hollow pit formed in his gut. He had to find Mirza and kill him once and for all. The man could not be allowed to escape or win. If he did, it would be the same as signing Clara’s death warrant.
Flashes of the carnage Mirza had caused in Landros’s life flooded back to him. Though in place of the family members Mirza had murdered was Clara. It was her he saw dead each time. Her he saw limp and lifeless. Her he’d been too late to save.
His pulse raced as anxiety overtook him.
He spun around as his demon rose fast. Using his magik, he shut off the bedside lamp that Clara had left on for him, not that it was needed. He could see perfectly in the dark. He didn’t want to chance her catching sight of him with his demon riding him high. Fangs were one thing. Seeing his face contort and take on the shape of the demon that inhabited him was something entirely different.
Something she wasn’t ready for.
He closed his eyes tightly, trying to will his demon down. It was already on edge because of Mirza. Landros was so focused on gaining control that he nearly spun around and attacked the second a hand fell upon his shoulder. But his demon knew the touch of its mate.
So did Landros.
He cringed. “You should be sleeping.”
He knew his voice was extra deep because of the state he was in.
Clara slid her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. She then kissed his back before putting her cheek to it, rocking in place.
His hands eased over hers as he savored her touch.
“Come to bed,” she said, her voice husky with sleep. “You need to rest too.”
“Clara.”
“Shh,” she said, kissing his back once more. Then she slid her hands down the front of him and stopped at the top of his pants. “Come to bed, Landros. I’ll make it worth your while.”
His demon nearly backed down with the offer of sex on the table. “I can’t. Not right now.”
She eased around him and he was thankful he’d killed the light so she couldn’t see him. Couldn’t see what she was mated to.
A monster.
Clara didn’t bother asking as she undid the front of his pants.
He caught her wrists gently and then released them. He wanted what she was offering. Needed it. Needed her.
She freed his cock and surprised him by going to her knees before him.
A protest died on his lips the second her mouth eased over the head of his cock. He was hard in an instant, his dick eager for more. She took him deep, drawing a moan from him as pleasure rushed through him. The woman had the nerve to add her hands to the mix, stimulating his balls as she continued to move her head up and down most of the length of him.
She varied licks and sucks and he shook, doing his best to stave off his orgasm. He wanted to prolong the pleasure and he didn’t want to look like a chump and come within seconds of her starting.
But it was damn hard to resist hitting his zenith.
The moment Clara licked a line down to the base of his shaft, his hands found their way to her head. He eased his fingers into her hair and gave in to the bliss she was providing. With two more pumps, his ball sac tightened before his cock twitched, his seed releasing into her mouth.
She remained there before taking one long suck and pulling her mouth from his shaft.
Landros’s legs suddenly weren’t as stable as they’d been only moments before. In addition to that, his demon had receded during the sex act but Landros had been too swept up with his mate to notice.
My mate.
He liked the ring of that.
Liked knowing she was his wife.
Bending, he scooped her up, making her gasp and then laugh. Her arms wrapped around his neck. “You scared me. I can’t really see you. I sort of had to feel my way to you and then down you.”
He stared into her beautiful face, seeing her with ease. “Might I add that you felt your way around me perfectly.”
“Liked that, did ya?” she asked, grinning wickedly as he laid her out on the bed.
“I loved it,” he said, sliding his hands down the length of her as he stood fully. He kicked off his boots and then went to work removing the rest of his clothing. He cast it aside with little concern, his only focus his mate.
When he returned to her, she reached for him, fumbling slightly in the darkness. He laughed as she nearly stuck her finger up his nose.
“I can’t see a damn thing,” said Clara with a huff.
“You can. You just need to learn to trust your supernatural side. Let it up more,” he soothed as he inched her nightgown up her thighs little by little.
Clara sighed and rolled her eyes, clearly thinking he was full of crap.
He wasn’t. “Trust me.”
“I do trust you,” she said, reaching for him again. This time she connected with his cheek the first time and then skimmed her thumb over his lower lip.
Landros caught her thumb in his mouth and bit it lightly.
“Mmm, you’re a biter. Kinky,” she said with a wink, making him laugh.
His hand eased over her hip and he lowered his head, kissing her lips first before kissing his way down her jaw, to her neck, then her collarbone. He slid his tongue lightly up to just behind her ear where he nipped at her earlobe.
He wasn’t a shifter, but a low rumbled growl of longing came from deep within him. It teased her ear and his mate arched her back to him, her hands finding his shoulders. She dug her fingers in slightly, holding him to her.
“Landros,” she breathed.
He kept his mouth to her ear and spoke in his native tongue, telling her how much she meant to him and how he’d do anything and everything to keep her safe.
He knew he should leave her be to rest and go downstairs to make calls to all his contacts. Someone might have gotten word on where Mirza was hiding.
But the idea of being away from Clara a second longer than he had to left him glued to her. He rubbed against her, his cock hardening. It didn’t matter that he’d only just come. His downtime between sex wasn’t like a human male’s.
He could and would go for hours, days even if Clara was willing and able.
She raked her nails over his back. “I think I’m going to combust.”
He smiled against her ear. “Good.”
With one hand, he cupped her pussy, which was covered by the thinnest scraps of material he’d ever seen in his life.
And he fucking loved it.
All her panties should be that exact size.
He’d see to that.
He eased the material aside and used his middle finger to part her wet slit, where he went to work rubbing her clit. Landros read the tells Clara offered via her body. When he found a rhythm that left her squirming against his touch, he increased his pace, before inserting his finger into her.
She gasped.
He used his thumb to rub her swollen bud.
When he sensed she was on the verge of coming, he stopped and slid down the length of her.
“Landros?”
He shoved her legs apart and dipped his head, pushing her panties aside once more before burying his face in paradise. Her scent filled his head and the taste of her sweet cream nearly drove him mad with need.
Clara grabbed for his shoulders, her nails digging into his skin. She released him fast. “S-sorry.”
She had nothing to be sorry for.
He kept going, kept licking her while he moved his fingers in and out of her. She tasted so fucking good. He loved the way she ground her hips, rotating them with each swipe of his tongue. She wasn’t ashamed to go for what she wanted. Not that he was surprised.
Clara had always been bold.
That extended to the bedroom as well.
Her legs began to shake a moment before they squeezed together, catching his head in the act.
Grinning against her slit, he continued his sensual assault and she pushed her hips up, nearly bucking him free from her hold.
He kept going.
She cried out and jerked.
Cream flooded her sex and he lowered his head more, lapping it up.
Clara tossed her arms out wide and her body went limp.
He stood and she moaned, reaching for him.
He took hold of her panties and eased them off her. He then brought them to his face, inhaling their sweet scent. He didn’t want to tell her, but he planned to keep them.
“Tell me you’re not smelling my underwear,” she said sternly.
“I thought you said you couldn’t see in the dark,” he returned.
She grunted. “I can’t. But I heard you take a deep breath, like you were…never mind. I don’t actually want to know what you’re doing.”
He laughed and she joined in.
Landros used that moment to slide up the length of her. His cock needed no instruction or assistance on where to go and what to do. It found her welcoming core and sheathed itself fully in her, making her cry out once more.
Her legs wrapped around his waist, permitting him to go even deeper.
His thrusts were almost urgent to start with, as if he might not have all the time he wanted with her. It took him a bit to reassure himself enough to slow his pace. As he did, Clara smacked his upper arm.
“Harder!”
Landros caught her mouth with his and gave into her demands. He fucked her with long, deep strokes. The fluttering walls of her sex nearly caused him to lose his seed, but he held firm, maintaining control as he pumped in and out of her.
His eyes burned for the slightest of seconds and he knew they were filling with black. He was happy she couldn’t see him fully.
His demon was there, just below the surface, taking pleasure from the act as well. But it wanted more. It wanted blood too. Her blood.
He closed his eyes as he fucked Clara, hoping to push away the need for her blood.
It didn’t work.
As she reached orgasm, he lost his fight with his demon. He went at her neck and only barely managed to avoid being too rough as he bit into her flesh.
Clara reacted by clawing his back, yanking him tighter to her, her pussy constricting around him more and more as the act prolonged her ecstasy.
As her blood coated his throat, his eyes rolled back and his body moved faster and faster, like a piston. In a frenzy, he rooted deep and found release, pulling his mouth from her neck before he took too much blood.
He pumped more, the need to push his seed deeper into her automatic. When his body calmed, he licked the spot he’d bitten, closing it over at once.
Clara touched his cheek. “Holy shit, Greek. That was awesome. Let’s do it again.”
“Did I hurt you?” he asked, fearful he’d gone too far.
“Uh, no. Not even a little. I can’t feel my toes right now. Is that normal?” she asked.
He grinned.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Clara lay in bed watching Landros as he slept silently next to her. The man made no noise. Twice since she’d woken, she’d checked to see if he was breathing. Unable to help herself, she’d used the light on her phone to get a better look at what her husband looked like totally naked. She’d had a decent glimpse of him in her bathroom, but everything had been so fast and furious that she’d been too swept up to really appreciate the specimen before her.
It was certainly a sight to behold.
Husband.
It was beyond weird to think of him in that light, yet somehow it felt just as right as it did strange. She couldn’t make sense of it, and she didn’t want to. Right now, she simply wanted to enjoy being close to him. Plus, she was a little concerned about waking him. He didn’t seem to have an off switch when it came to sex, and it wasn’t as if he was a small man.
Slightly uncomfortable in her nether regions, Clara did her best to ignore the sensation. The pleasure that had been brought about during the marathon sex session had been well worth the discomfort later.
Her stomach picked then to growl, and she blushed, thankful Landros was asleep. It did it again, this time so loudly that she wondered if he’d wake.
It was pushing noon and they’d not gotten to sleep until after six in the morning. Then at some point she’d woken to find his head between her legs and his tongue doing things that should have been outlawed they were so sinfully delicious.
While she wasn’t above accepting the pleasure that he’d given her, she was concerned about him being at full strength if Mirza showed up again.
He needed more rest and additional blood. Especially if nightfall would mean more of Mirza.
A shiver of fear raced over her at the thought of the man from the mirror. He’d not only taken supervillain to new levels of bad, he’d choked Landros, lifting him off his feet. Something she was sure not many could claim bragging rights to.
The knowledge that the man who made Landros was probably more powerful than him—a guy the other Ops seemed to fear—scared her. She didn’t want him out there hunting for the madman. She pretty much wanted to pack a bag for him and take him on the lam. But she understood that wasn’t an option.
And deep down she knew that a showdown between Landros and Mirza was inevitable. The second she began to wonder would what happen in said battle, she felt hot and sick to her stomach.
Landros turned slightly and reached out for her in his sleep, as if he’d sensed her fear and wanted to comfort her. The act made her smile and she eased closer to him on the bed, her lips finding his. She gave him a chaste peck and then smoothed his hair back from his face with the gentlest of touches.
He remained asleep.
That was a good thing.
Her stomach growled more and she gave in, knowing it wouldn’t stop until she ate something. Quietly, she slid out of the bed and went to the overnight bag to retrieve the robe that matched her silk nightgown.
Slipping it on, she made her way to the door only to stub her toe on the edge of a side table. She’d known it was there but the low lighting in the room didn’t help her see it any.
Cursing inwardly, she hopped on one foot a second, waiting until the pain in her toe subsided before leaving the room and heading down the hall. Bill’s door was closed, as was Wheeler’s, but Gus’s was wide open.
Clara paused near it, expecting to find it was empty and Gus was up and about already for the day. What she found was Gus out cold with one arm draped over the bust he’d been so taken with. He looked so peaceful and innocent there, in spite of the fact he had a partially nude bust with him.
