Born of Ice (The League #3)(24)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

She tugged once.

“No,” he breathed, shaking his head. “This is for you.”

Those words made her want him all the more. She spread her legs further as he dove deeper inside her. Pressure built with each caress. He trailed kisses down her neck, over her mouth, each time murmuring sweet things to her.

If she was going to die, let it be now. Let it be while she was dreaming and loved. For once. Was it too much to ask that this be real?

Then, when she could stand it no longer, she splintered around him, screaming out his name.

Devyn smiled in satisfaction as his name rolled from her lips. He wanted to join her, but not yet. Not until she came over and over again. This would be her moment. He wasn’t some selfish bastard who only took and never gave in return.

He rolled them over until he was on his back and let her take the reins.

Alix just looked at him, bewildered. She’d never been on top of a man and wasn’t sure she knew what to do. All the selfish ass**les on her father’s ship had never let her be in control.

“Are you okay?”

Still trying to catch her breath, Alix nodded. She just hoped she didn’t disappoint him.

Noting her hesitation, Devyn reached up and grabbed her hips, guiding her down on top of him. As she descended, he groaned. She was still so pliant, so wet on top of him, and the way she rolled her eyes back almost made him come right then and there.

Alix bit her lips. Within a few strokes, she began to enjoy riding him. She could take him in fully and the crazy thing was he watched her each time. His heavy-lidded eyes let her know she was doing everything just right.

Reaching up to her, Devyn cupped her neck and moved her hair from her face before pulling her down for another kiss. His other hand reached around to take her nipple between his fingers again.

It was all too much. Within seconds, pressure built and she screamed out his name.

Again.

Devyn soon joined her and she collapsed on top of him.

She lay quiet in his arms, wanting it to last forever. And he held her as if it could…

But that was what happened to other people.

Not slaves.

And definitely not her.

That choice had never been given to her, and it was something she’d just have to accept. At the end of all of this, if they lived, she’d have to leave him.

The mere thought of being separated from him ripped through her like nothing ever had.

This is all we have. This one moment.

Hang on to it.

But it wasn’t enough. He made her selfish and she wanted to live this dream forever.

Devyn wanted to savor the look of her lying on top of him forever. No woman had ever felt better in his arms. And the greatest pleasure had been watching her explode as she looked down at him.

He wanted to see it again.

With that thought in mind, he withdrew from her to dress. He handed her her clothes and savored the sight of her dressing next to him.

Once they finished, he lifted her up in his arms as if she were a bride.

Alix scowled at him as he made her feel tiny and petite. Weightless.

Most of all, he made her feel treasured.

“Where are you taking me?”

He grinned at her. “You read my mind, love. Next I’m taking you on my bed. Then probably the floor and bathroom. And wherever else meets my fancy.”

“Fancy?” What a strange word for him to use. It was so out of character.

“My Aunt Tessa’s favorite word. I don’t use it much, but it seemed to fit.”

They made their way to his room, where he immediately placed her on the bed and removed her clothes so fast it was like they teleported off.

Even after having had two orgasms, Alix still had a hungry look in her eyes. “Come here,” she commanded.

“I think I’ve created a monster.” But he was loving every minute of it.

“Where you’re concerned, Captain, I don’t think I can ever get enough.”

That admission made him instantly hard again. What is wrong with me? I’m becoming hopelessly addicted.

The sad thing was, he didn’t want a cure. Especially not if it meant giving her up.

Alix loved being in his bed. The scent of him, masculine and powerful, lingered on his sheets. She wanted to bury her nose in it and inhale the warm delightful smell for days. The silky softness of the sheets moved over her nak*d body and made her feel feminine.

Desired.

Things only Devyn had ever made her feel. And there in his bed, he made love to her until she was breathless and spent.

When she was sure her body would never work again, he pulled back to look down at her. “All this has made me need a shower.” He smiled, then got up and walked into the bathroom.

She growled at the sight of his perfect butt as he left the room.

A few seconds later, the water came on, and it wasn’t long before he came back holding out his hand for her to join him.

In an instant they were in the shower, water pouring over their bodies and kissing so heavily, Alix wondered if she’d die from the mere pleasure of being around him.

But what a way to go. She could imagine no better death than drowning in his kisses.

He tangled his fingers through her wet hair and lifted her up and against the shower wall. Before she knew it, he slid himself into her. Slick from the shower and hard as a nail.

“Do you know what you do to me?”

Devyn looked at her with a gaze so intense, it was a wonder she didn’t break under the weight of it. Then he drove himself into her over and over until they both came.

They spent the rest of the shower bathing each other. It was amazing how tender Devyn was as he washed her hair. Taking extra time to condition and rinse it.

It was pure heaven.

Caring.

He even massaged her shoulders as the water’s warm rivulets moved over their bodies. This was it. She could die happy now.

They finished up the shower and made their way back to the room.

As he dressed, he raked another hungry look over her body that made her shiver. “I could still eat you up, but I’ve spent way too much time already being distracted. I’ve got an enemy to trace.”

And she had duties to attend. So she kissed him and watched as he left her alone in his room.

She finished pulling her clothes on and froze as she realized what they were in for.

Merjack and Whelms wouldn’t be satisfied until Devyn was dead. They were like madmen who couldn’t be won with reason or intellect.

Devyn was going to die.

And most likely so would she.

CHAPTER 10

Devyn stood outside the galley, watching Alix and Omari attempt to cook something together. Manashe ran between them, looking for dropped scraps while they laughed and worked. Alix’s eyes twinkled in a way that made her entire face glow.

And Omari…

He was open and happy—something Devyn hadn’t seen in a long time. They had music playing in the background and every now and again, Omari would spin her around to the beat of it.

“W-w-wait!” Alix said excitedly as she dipped a spoon into the pot. “You have to try this.” She held it up for him with her hand cradled under it to catch any spills.

Omari opened his mouth and let her feed him. He moaned as he savored it. “Oh, my God. Who made it taste like that? You or me?”

“Definitely one of us. We did good, I think, and I’m happy to let you have the credit for it.”

He grabbed another spoon to eat more and some of it dripped on his chin.

Smiling, Alix picked up a napkin and cleaned it off—like a mother would.

Something inside Devyn clenched as he watched that. The one thing he’d always wanted to give Omari …

But his son was too old for a mother, and when he looked at Alix, he saw a lot more than just her kindness.

He saw a future that he wanted her to be a part of.

You are out of your effing mind.

Yeah, he was, and it was the most unlikely of sources who made him that way. A slip of a woman who was a strange mixture of competence and insecurity. More than that, he could still smell her sweet scent. Feel her touch on his skin.

What had she done to him? And in such a short time, too.

He’d never been the kind of man to let his emotions rule him. Even with Clotilde, it’d taken a year before he’d felt like this toward her.

Yet with Alix…

He wanted to be with her. To hold and protect her. She awoke something deep inside him that he hadn’t even realized was asleep.

And as she turned to catch sight of him and smile, his body erupted again—even after their hours of play. It was like every nerve ending inside him was attuned to her.

Like every part of him begged for her.

Omari turned and grinned. “Hey, Dad, you’ve got to taste what we just did. It’s actually good.”

Manashe barked his agreement.

Moving to join them, he allowed Alix to grab a new spoon and feed him like she’d done Omari. The moment the sauce hit his tastebuds, he groaned. “That is good. What did you two do?”

They laughed.

Alix lifted her chin in pride. “No idea. We just added spices until it didn’t suck anymore.”

Her laughter was infectious and before he even realized what he was doing, he dipped his head down to capture her lips.

Alix’s head spun her hand up to Never in her life ship with a crew while her life was at the unexpected taste of Devyn as she brought cup his face while his tongue danced with hers. Never in her life had she thought to feel like this. To feel safe on a who could make her laugh and have fun—even threatened… while everything fell apart…

This isn’t happening.

It’s a dream.

“Um, should I leave you two alone?”

Devyn pulled back as Omari’s voice broke through his lust. “Sorry, Slim.”

“Don’t apologize to me. So long as you don’t try to kiss me like that, it’s all good.”

Devyn pulled him into a headlock. “You’re such a smartass.”

Omari laughed as he spun out of the hold. “I learned it from the best.”

Alix stood back as Nero and Sway joined them and they all sat down to eat. While they chatted and joked, a strange feeling came over her. Like a dream fog. This peaceful moment was so surreal and hard to accept.

Her entire life had been a study in insults and degradation. Yet with Devyn and his “family”… she had found a place she wanted to belong to.

And all too soon the moment was over, and Vik notified them that they were coming into Charisis.

She met Devyn’s stare and her heart slid into her stomach. A feeling of bad foreboding hit her hard. “I’ll get everything cleaned up while you land us.”

“I’ll help you, Alix,” Omari offered. “Only fair since I started the mess.”

Devyn inclined his head to them before he and the others went to the bridge.

True to his word, Omari helped her clean the table. “Don’t be so sad, Alix. It’ll be all right.”

She paused as she picked up Devyn’s plate. “You said that you kept waiting for your dad to leave you when you were younger. How long did it take before you lost that feeling?”

Omari’s face was haunted. “I lost it the night Clotilde almost killed him.”

What a weird thing to say. How could something like that take away his fear? If anything, she would think it would worsen it. “I don’t understand.”

A muscle worked in his jaw. “I was with my grandfather that night. We’d gone to a game together to give Dad time alone with Clo. When Dad called, I saw the look on my grandfather’s face and I knew it was bad. I can’t even describe it. It was like staring into the face of hell. One second we were driving normal through traffic and in the next, I saw a side of my grandfather that I hope I never see again. He got me home so fast, I still think we broke some kind of land-speed record.”

Omari fell silent as that night replayed through his mind. His grandfather was still in prime shape, and while he knew the man was a lot older, he definitely didn’t look it. Syn was in better shape than most men half his age.

“I was told to stay outside, but I didn’t listen.” He’d followed his grandfather up to find Clotilde lying dead in the foyer.

Terrified and sick, he’d stared at her open eyes, transfixed by the horror of her death. Blood had been splattered all over the white walls and across the marble-topped table, showing him exactly how brutal their fight had been. Pictures and paintings had been knocked from the walls and shattered. There were burn marks from blaster shots through furniture, on the walls, floor and ceiling.

The large arrangement of flowers that had always stood in the center of the foyer table had been knocked to the floor where the vase had broken, and the flowers lay floating in her blood.

“Stay with me, Devyn. Goddammit, boy, don’t you dare die on me! You hear me? Stay with me!”

Those words had pulled him away from her gruesome death pose and toward the living room, where his grandfather was kneeling beside his father, trying to staunch the flow of blood that poured out of his chest. He could see the trail marked by the blood his father had left as he crawled from the foyer to the coffee table to get his link so that he could call them.