He cupped her cheek. “I have the most to gain or lose. And Merrick will demand it.”
“But he’s a hellhound. How can you win?”
“Baby, I’m a troll. Have a little faith.” He gave her a crooked smile. “But I could use some magic.”
“Merrick will have Liliana at his side. She’ll have funneled every bit of energy she can to aid him.”
“And I have five witches with so much more at stake than just personal gain. Don’t you think your Goddess will have our backs?”
Bryn’s smile began slowly, and then stretched across her face. She sniffed and tilted her head, a silent plea for a caress, which he gave her. He slid his hand along her cheek and threaded his fingers in her hair. He bent and kissed her soft mouth.
“Sex magic works well, too,” Darcy said, her tone wry.
When he shot her a glance, it was to see her eyes alight with mischief. So maybe Darcy wasn’t completely anti-troll.
She shrugged. “We can do some spellwork, prepare the herbs and the crystals. When night falls, we’ll gather at the oak.”
An open plain. A place for the Others to move freely. Protecting a structure like a house was confining for demons. Ethan nodded. “Why don’t you let the men know? They’ll prepare the field.” He glanced down at Bryn.
Her gaze slid sideways. “You’ll have to finish preparing the steaks on your own,” she said to her sisters.
“I think we can manage,” Radha said. “Go do what you need to do. We’ll batten down the glassware if the house shakes.”
Bryn’s blush was a deep pink. “She’s exaggerating.”
He snorted. “Is she?”
Laughter followed them as they left the room hands clasped. At the stairway, Ethan swept her up into his strong arms.
“You should be saving your strength.”
Ethan ignored her. She was as light as a feather. He didn’t break his stride. His breathing remained even. At her door, he shouldered it open, then walked to the bed and dumped her on top of the mattress, where she bounced, giggling.
Not bothering to remove clothing because he was already too eager, he roughly shoved up her skirt, gratified she’d foregone underwear. Likely to conserve her panties, since he didn’t have patience with lacy bits that only got in his way.
Her hands were busy too, opening his belt, unbuttoning his pants. When she reached inside to free his cock, he shook his head, trying to clear it of the blinding heat that stole his self-control. “Easy there,” he ground out when she tightened her grip on his shaft.
But she was pulling now, hard. Opening her legs and bringing him closer, placing his head right at her entrance. Moist heat, lots of it, greeted him. But he was hard and thick, and she really should wait until he’d played with her pussy, prepared her with his fingers, gently stretched her and made her so aroused there’d be no pain.
When she lifted her hips and forced him inside, he was lost. Just the cap was surrounded by her slick sex, but her eyes, sleepy lids falling to darken her stormy blue to navy, drew him. He thrust inward, gritting his teeth at the snug fit. “You should have let me do this right.”
“You are, I promise. So right.”
Not able to withdraw, he ripped apart her shirt and clamped a hand on a naked breast. As he thrust, he played with her nipple, twisting, tugging. Her body tensed beneath him, and he felt the clench of her muscles all around him every time he gave her a tweak. Liquid heat seeped around him, easing his harsh entry.
He took her mouth, grunting when she bit his tongue. He pumped faster, plunging harder inside her, and leaned to the other side to tease her other breast. He pulled the tip and let it snap back again and again, and then pinched it hard, only satisfied when she growled and groaned and her nails striped his back.
Her hips were curving, tilting to let him thrust deeper. She bucked and writhed, each movement increasing the friction as the wildness rode them both.
And then the moment shattered in an explosion of heat and light as their mutual pleasure eclipsed. She spilled moonlight into his body that hardened his muscles, bulking them outward. He pummeled her sweet channel, jagged shards of electric delight delivered inward and sparked from his hand at her breast.
The strength of their sharing made them both cry out. In the distance, he heard the slamming of the bed frame against the wall and floor, the shudder of the house, the tinkle of the overhead chandelier, but he couldn’t stop. The moment stretched and darkness fell around them.
When he came back to himself, he jerked, his eyelids slamming open. Fear gripped him. He’d lost himself. Had he harmed her?
But she was wound around him, arms and legs holding tightly to his frame. Her mouth showered his face with kisses.
“Yes, yes, yes,” she sobbed, drawing him deeper and deeper. They were one, blended in light and electricity, the air sizzling around them, sparking, humming.