She kissed the spot just over his heart, then rested her cheek there. His body temperature jacked up, delicious heat enveloping her.
Lids growing heavy, she traced the tattoo on his pec. Two small swords that flanked a larger one. “What does this image mean?”
“It is Hades’s seal,” he explained, then gave her butt a little slap. “Go to sleep, sundae. You’re halfway there already.”
“No, I’m—” A big, fat yawn ended her denial. Fine! But she refused to sleep with someone nearby, even if that someone was William. Plus, she’d set zero traps. Mostly, she wasn’t ready to put a plug on their conversation. “Tell me about Gillian. Yes, I know her name. No, I won’t tell you who told me.”
Once again, he stiffened. “I don’t have to wonder who told you. I know. Pandora. But we’re not done talking about you.”
Seriously? “That’s such a penis move,” she grumbled, and he laughed.
“Penis move? Do you mean dickpix? No, sorry, I misspoke. Do you mean dick,” he said, his eyes flashing with amusement.
“Yes,” she hissed. Her cheeks burned, her humiliation spoiled by another jaw-breaking yawn. One way or another, she would learn something about him today. “I’m unable to say the D-word without tacking on another.” Reverse alpha male had worked so beautifully before. Why not now? “If you’d like to postpone the conversation about your former ladylove, that’s fine. I’ll withhold sex until you change your mind.” Tormenting him sexually...orgasm denial... Sign me up!
Where had this wanton side come from?
He must have liked it, because he smiled, his blue eyes twinkling. “You’re already withholding sex, sugar tush.”
“I’ll withhold make-out sessions, then.”
“Please. Now that you’ve had a taste of the good stuff, you’re going to jump me three times a day. Minimum! So go ahead. Try to withhold make-out sessions. I dare you.”
“You are so, so wrong about me jumping you.” The number was probably closer to five. Still. “You asked for it, you get it. Consider my candy store closed.”
In a singsong voice, he said, “Someone’s forgetting mating season.”
Well, daisy. “Answer my question about the girl, and I might—might!—open the candy store up on occasion. Like holidays. And every night before bed.”
He exhaled a breath, and at first, she figured she’d pushed too hard and too fast, and he merely worked up strategies to bail. Instead, he surprised her by saying, “I only thought I loved Gillian romantically. If I had, I would have waited for her. But I feared the curse and continued to sleep around. That should have clued me in that I’d made a mistake, and we were destined to be friends, not lifemates. Alas. Later, when she wed another male, my pride was pricked rather than my heart. Another clue I missed. Then I kissed her and realized we had no spark.”
When Sunny glided her fingertips along his sternum, she felt his heart leap, and she thrilled. “We definitely have a spark.”
“No, sundae, we have an inferno.”
We must. I’m melting... Then a thought hit, and she skipped several breaths. What if she were his lifemate? What if he fell in love with her?
Her heart leaped next. She wanted his love, despite the curse? Oh, sage. The curse. He hadn’t let himself love Gillian because of it. He might not let himself love Sunny, either. Might not? Ha! If anyone had the ability to kill him, it was Sunny and her horn. He might fear the curse more.
Words began to spill out of her. “You can rest easy. I’m fifty percent—probably sixty...seventy-five...ninety percent sure your curse will never affect me.”
His heart raced faster against her hand. “Explain.”
“Some immortals are bulletproof. I’m curse-proof, because horns are siphons as much as conduits. Spells and curses don’t stick.”
Different emotions played over his features. Hope. Doubt. Excitement. Dread. “Can you siphon the curse from me?”
“I wish, but no. It’s has been a part of you so long, it’s bonded to you. Removing it would kill you, the same way removing a demon kills the one possessed. You’d need some kind of spiritual patchwork afterward, and that’s not my specialty.”
He exuded hope and disappointment, one after the other. The first warmed her, but the second chased the heat away, leaving her chilled.
“Tell me about your childhood,” she said, as determined to distract him as she was curious.
He tensed. “I don’t remember my childhood.”
Truly? “Not a single memory?”
“There is one.” With a hand under her knee, he draped her leg over his own, clinging to her, as if he needed an anchor in order to continue. But that couldn’t be right. Could it? “I see the memory in my dreams,” he continued, his voice so broken it was almost unrecognizable. “A Sent One tells me and another boy that she loves us, but we should never have been birthed. A faceless man appears behind her and sinks a blade into her heart. Then the memory goes blank.”
“Oh, William. I’m so sorry.” What a terrible thing to tell a child. Or anyone! “For the record, I’m very glad you were born.” To prove it, she kissed a corner of his mouth. Once, twice.
The darling man lifted his chin to give her better access, and she planted kisses on his brow, his temples, the tip of his nose.
“I shared the memory with Hades, and he told me to forget the woman, and the boy.” The more he spoke, the more easily the words seemed to flow from him. “I was never to speak of it again, for all walls have ears, and if ever anyone discovered my connection to the boy, or if ever I met with him, a part of me would die.”
Yet still he’d told her. He doesn’t just like me. He cares for me. “Thank you for trusting me,” she said, melting faster. “What happened to the rest of your memories, baby?”
Resentment frosted his eyes. “I believe someone erased it. I just don’t know why.”
“Uh, there are very few ways to erase an immortal’s mind. Like limbs and appendages, memories can regenerate. Are there exceptions? Yes. But I’d guess your memories were hidden with magic rather than erased, and if that’s the case, I can help you. Maybe. Probably. The problem is, I don’t sense a curse in you.” She recalled the barrier she’d encountered when she’d first touched the book. Fresh from a couple orgasms, her mind clear for the first time in forever, the answer crystalized. Excited, she told him, “I think the witch tacked on the magical qualifier.”
He frowned. “Explain.”
“The woman you love will kill you, but only after you fall in love with her, right? Well, Lilith ensured the curse couldn’t be purged from you, only from the woman.” She yawned again, her excitement no match for her strengthening fatigue.
Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Too heavy to hold up. “William,” she said, sounding drugged. “I think I’m about to fall asleep...can’t stop it. Do you know how long it’s been since I—” The world went dark, and Sunny knew nothing more.
22
“Hate thy neighbors.”
William held a sleeping Sunny for hours, his body completely sated for the first time in...ever? A miracle, considering they hadn’t even had sex. The unicorn truly was, well, a unicorn. One of a kind. And mine.
Moonlight seeped through the window to paint her slumber-softened features with gold. Had he ever seen a more exquisite sight? She had no tension, no fears.
He hardened, ready for another go—when wasn’t he ready with her?—but he’d rather die than wake her.
He recalled the day they’d met, how tired she’d looked. Until now, he hadn’t realized her trust issues had been keeping her up at night.
When had she last slept this deeply, dead to the world? The wonder in her tone as she’d drifted off... Had to be years, perhaps even centuries.
A pang threatened to rend him in two. What was he going to do with his unicorn?
For the first ti
me, he had no thoughts about his next conquest. Why should he? With Sunny, he’d been present, utterly caught up as he’d watched her discover the pleasure to be had with a partner. Talk about a revelation!
The only downside? She’d never admitted she cared for him. The lack shouldn’t matter. They were better off not caring for each other right now. But the lack fucking bothered him! She’d gotten to know him better, so she should care. It was only fair, since she’d made him care for her.
William scoured a hand down his face. He did. He cared for the lifemate he’d kinda sorta agreed to date. Even now, he clung to her, and he couldn’t force himself to stop. Somehow, she’d wormed her way under his skin. Therefore, he needed to worm his way under hers. Because karma.
She released a puff of breath, and he caught himself smiling with contentment. Contentment. While cuddling.
Traveling a dangerous road. If the curse activated, affecting Sunny, what would he do? What could he do? His stomach turned inside out at the thought. He wouldn’t put her down, and he couldn’t mute the feelings he already had.
Maybe if he locked her away until she’d fully decoded the book?
No, she’d hate him for it. As punishment, she would refuse to help him. At first, anyway. If decoding the book were the only key to her freedom, she would change her mind soon enough. But damn it, he didn’t want to go that route. The guilt would ruin him. They’d have no future.
Look at me. Planning ahead to salvage a relationship.
He wanted more nights like this. Sunny coming undone as he tongued her. Talking after. Cuddling. Sharing breaths and memories.