He was turned-on himself. The feel of her tight, wet pussy surrounding him drove him wild. His cock sliding along her inner walls, hitting various spots that made her gasp, sigh and moan stimulated him as well. He plunged a bit deeper and she responded by squeezing him, nearly stealing his breath.
“I really should have more stamina,” he admitted, “but with you, I lose it so quickly.”
“Then we’re both about to come?”
He pumped in and out of her as he massaged her clit. He felt the tiny vibrations that moved through her body and heard the hitch of her breath, indicators that she was on the edge. Thrusting into her, he felt the tension grip her. Then she cried out and he pumped a bit faster as she clutched him.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Come all over my cock. You’re nice and wet.”
He erupted inside her as he whispered her name in her ear. His voice was full of desire and soul-deep yearnings he doubted Sheena would ever understand. He tried to keep the emotions between him and Jade this time. He didn’t know if he was successful, because Sheena was much too tactful to even make her presence known if she was close by, going about her daily business.
Jade’s body trembled and he kissed her shoulder again.
“Go with the slayers. Morgan and some of his men have been tracking the fire wraith. I don’t anticipate him coming back this way, but I have a patrol ready to scour the woods on my side of the village’s perimeter. The slayers will monitor the inner circle and your cottage. Don’t wander the woods alone. If you must go into the village or to the tavern, be sure Walker or Tanner escorts you. Will you do this for me?”
She nodded. “I can’t hide out at home, I’ll go stir-crazy. But I won’t do anything spontaneous or stupid either.”
He let out a long breath. “I would stay with you at the cottage if I could. But that would undermine my power here, create tension in the village and…I need to be hunting the wraith myself.”
“I understand.”
He withdrew from her body and slipped from the bed. A knock on the door a moment later made him almost roll his eyes. Sheena was much too efficient. He retrieved the towel he’d discarded the night before and wrapped it around his waist before opening the door.
His assistant handed over a bundle of clothes. “For Jade.” She even had tall boots and a black cape. “These are well insulated. She’ll be fine in the snow.”
“Coming down hard?”
“There’s practically a whiteout. The slayers are anxious to get her back to the village before the blizzard sets in.”
“Damn it,” he said. “The snow will make the border more difficult to patrol, with lack of visibility and freezing conditions.” Not a problem for his troops, but the slayers were human, after all.
He slid a glance over his shoulder at Jade, who still huddled under the covers. Likely out of sheer embarrassment. He found that a humorous thought. Or rather, a charming one.
Turning back to Sheena, he said, “She’ll be out in a couple of minutes. Escort her downstairs and then send Morgan up after he’s seen Jade and the slayers off. They brought a horse for her?”
She nodded. Then she said in such a conspiratorial voice, he was certain only he heard her, “Do you think she’s still in danger?”
“Depends on where the fire wraith is and what his true intentions are.”
“Then how can you let her leave the castle?”
“You’re fond of her. So quickly.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “You know she can’t stay. She’s human.”
“Are you sure?” With that, she turned sharply on her high heels and sauntered off.
Darien stared after her, then shook his head. Sheena was still awestruck or dumbfounded that a human could self-heal at such a rapid rate. Understandable. It still perplexed Darien.
But no creature other than a human would experience pain in the fashion she did. When a demon was wounded, the recovery might not be instantaneous, but it was certainly quick enough—much faster than Jade’s own recovery had been. And the actual sensations were dull, unless multiple, near-lethal wounds were inflicted. Even then, one did not suffer the way she did. What she endured was excruciating—something only a human felt.
Returning to the bed, he sat on the edge and said, “Sheena brought you clothes.”
This seemed to perk her up. She tossed off the duvet and sat up. Eyeing the stack, and the boots in his hands, she touched the royal blue sweater on top and smiled.
“More color.” She pulled the sweater from the pile and unfolded it. “How beautiful. I thought the robe she lent me was spectacular, but this is equally gorgeous. That vampire—woman—knows her fashions.”
“Black seems to be a staple for you,” he observed.
“And for you. Which,” she said as she leaned in for a quick kiss, “is damn sexy. As for me, we don’t have colorful fabric in the village. Black a