Dream-Hunter (Dark-Hunter #11)(27)
Author: Sherrilyn Kenyon

I am a rank bastard.

And in that moment he had a bad epiphany. "You’re right-that was my intent. I’m no better than Solin. I was so fixated on the novelty of being human with you that I never thought past my blind obsession. You gave yourself so freely in your dreams that I made the assumption you lived your life that way, too. But you don’t. I think that’s why you’re so uninhibited in dreams. You keep everything bottled up inside you."

"Yeah," she said in a low tone. "I’m so inhibited here that it’s the only place I feel free to roam without someone trying to judge me."

He nodded and for the first time ever, he felt guilt. Real, true, and bitter. More than that, he cared for her. He didn’t want her hurt in any way, and he didn’t know how to stop the course he’d already set into motion.

When he’d seen her there in the middle of the fighting, it had made his heart ache. He’d actually been afraid for her.

Oh, this was getting way too complicated.

"I’ve made such a mistake by coming here, Megeara. I’m so sorry. I should have been content to stay in your dreams." If only he’d been able to. Had he stayed there, they would have driven him out of her life completely.

Now he just wanted to stay here with her forever.

If only he could…

Geary pulled him into her arms and held him close. She didn’t know what to think about any of this, but then maybe she shouldn’t be thinking at all. She’d cherished those dreams with him. He was both naive and experienced. Trusting and suspicious. She’d never known anyone like him.

No kidding. He was a god turned human who lived an existence she couldn’t even begin to understand.

But she wanted to.

Today he’d given her her dream by taking her to Atlantis and letting her hold a piece of it in her hands.

And if they were meant to die, then she wanted to make sure he had the one thing he’d wanted most.

Rising up from the sofa, she took his hand and pulled him to his feet.

He frowned at her. "Where are we going now?"

"Somewhere that we can be alone so that I can strip you nak*d and ride you into the ground."

CHAPTER 15

ARIK’S BREATH CAUGHT IN HIS THROAT AS SHE UTTERED the words he’d been dying to hear since the moment he’d made his deal with Hades. A slow smile spread across Arik’s face before he slung his hand out to lock the door. Nothing happened.

He cursed as he remembered his human limitations. If he wanted the door locked, he’d have to do it manually, which seriously sucked.

Time’s wasting. Arik raced to the door and locked it tight.

Megeara was frowning at him as he returned to her side. "What are you doing?"

"I’m not going to take a chance on your changing your mind. By the time we find someplace else, something could happen to ruin your mood, and I don’t have any chocolate here to entice you with."

She laughed. "So we’re just going to make out in here like horny teenagers?"

"Works for me."

She looked around the room rather sheepishly. Afraid she’d chicken out, he pulled her against him and slow-danced with her. "Come on, Megeara. Walk on the wild side with me. Let’s get nak*d and ruin Solin’s upholstery. It serves two purposes. We’re happy and he’s pissed."

Geary bit her lip in indecision. Arik was adorable when he was like this. Playful and charming. How could she resist him?

She cast her gaze around the room again. "There’s no comfortable place in here."

"I’ll be on bottom. I promise, I’ll make you a good cushion."

He was incorrigible. "There’s nothing I can say to dissuade you from this, is there?"

"Nope." He took her hand in his and pressed it against his fly so that she could feel his swollen c**k in her palm. "I’m too desperate for you. You have to take pity on me."

Geary’s heart pounded as she lifted her chin to receive his kiss. Oh, he tasted like divinity. She wrapped one arm around his neck as their tongues danced and she stroked him through his pants.

Arik drew a deep ragged breath as Megeara nibbled her way around his jaw, down his neck while her hand massaged him with an irritatingly slow rhythm that only added to his craving for her. The stroke of her tongue on his flesh was like being hit with electricity over and over again. Every part of him shook from the sensation. His nerve endings were alive and throbbing.

Growling, he jerked his shirt up over his head so that there would be no more barriers between her mouth and hands and his skin. He only wanted to feel her touch.

She gasped at the sight of his torso and splayed her palms against his bared chest.

Geary couldn’t believe the scars Arik carried. They were everywhere. Mostly faint and faded by time, she’d failed to see them when he was fished out of the water. But up close, they were extremely prominent. "What have they done to you?"

He ran his hand gently through her hair. "They tried to control me."

It was obvious from the amount of damage that they’d failed repeatedly. Arik was truly a stubborn man.

He dipped his head to kiss her, but she pulled away. "What will they do to you over this latest action?"

"Don’t know and right now I don’t care."

" I care, Arik."

He scowled at her as if he couldn’t understand her words. "Why?"

"Because no one should be tortured. It’s wrong."

"It’s the way of things. You break the rules and there are consequences. I’m willing to pay that price."

She trembled as he returned to nuzzle her neck. How could he be so nonchalant over this? But then judging by the look of his body, it was such a common occurrence that he most likely didn’t even blink over it.

As he said, to him it was normal. But to her it mattered. She didn’t want him to be hurt, especially not for being with her. He was a decent man who deserved so much more than this. She couldn’t stand the thought of his being punished any more-it ached like a physical pain.

Arik was fascinated by the true softness of her skin as he toyed with her neck. By the way her body smelled so fresh and sweet. She skimmed her hands over his back while he unbuttoned her shirt. He’d expected her to be bare beneath it. Instead she wore…

Bondage gear. Pulling back, he scowled at the white thing that wrapped around her chest like an oversized bandage. "What is that ?"

Geary laughed as she realized that in dreams she never wore a bra. And judging by his reaction, she deduced that no one else ever had, either. "It’s a bra. Haven’t you ever seen one before?"

He ran one finger under the strap and curled his lip as if it were the most repugnant thing he’d ever seen.

"No. What’s it for?"

"It keeps me in place."

"Yeah, but I don’t want you in place. I want you in my hands."

On any other man, that line might have angered her to the point of nailing him in a certain part of his anatomy and walking away. But it was said with such growling sincerity that it only made her laugh again.

She reached around and unsnapped her strap. The look on Arik’s face as the bra fell to the floor was priceless. No man had ever looked at her with such satisfied hunger.

He lifted one hand, then hesitated as if afraid to touch her br**sts. She took his hand and led it to her.

The instant he touched her, she moaned and ached at the center of her body. And all she could think of was having him hard and deep inside her.

Arik’s breath caught in his throat as he cupped her swollen breast in his palm. It was so soft… He’d

never felt anything like it.

He brushed his thumb over the taut nipple and was delighted as she literally squirmed. Grinning, he dipped his head down to draw that peak into his mouth so that he could taste her. She let out a moan as she cupped his head to her breast.

Oh yeah. This was what he wanted. He reveled at the taste of her, at the way her puckered nipple rolled against his tongue. But all it did was make him burn for more of her. He wanted to see her completely nak*d.

With that thought in mind, he quickly unzipped her pants. She kicked her shoes off as he slid the pants down her body and then tossed them over his shoulder.

"More surprises, huh?" he asked as he studied the small pair of panties.

Geary couldn’t speak as he reached up to brush his fingers between her legs. She felt on fire from his touch. And all she could think of was her dreams when he’d licked her until she’d screamed out in pleasure.

He massaged her with his thumb through this silk until she was wet and begging for him. She buried her hand in his hair, as he continued his relentless torture.

Arik pushed the silk material aside so that he could touch her intimately. She was so wet already and he was dying for a taste of her on his tongue. He hooked his finger in the bottom of her panties and pulled them off.

He was still in his slacks while she stood nak*d before him. Gods, but she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. She wasn’t skinny or lean but rather voluptuous and tight. He could see the outline of her bikini where her skin went from tan to a paler tawny color.

But that wasn’t what held him captive…

Geary licked her lips as their gazes met and locked. Arik took her hands into his and led them to the center of her body that ached for his touch. Using her thumbs, he spread the folds of her wide so that he could see the most private part of her body.

He ran one long finger down her cleft, drawing a shiver along her spine. "You’re so much softer than I thought," he whispered. "Wetter."

And when he slid his finger deep inside her, she almost came just from the sheer pleasure of it. Groaning low in her throat, she panted while he explored her at length. His fingers swirled and teased until she was weak from it.

Just when she was at her end, he lifted himself up and replaced his fingers with his mouth. The shock of pleasure was so great that she rose to her tiptoes. She gasped his name as he tongued her with an unrivaled skill. Widening her stance, she lowered herself on his mouth as his tongue flicked inside her over and over again.

Unable to stand it, she came with a small cry. But still he didn’t stop. He continued to tease and torment her with his mouth and tongue until she was cresting another orgasm.

Wanting him inside her more than she wanted anything else, she buried her hand in his hair and pulled him away from her.

Arik was dazed by her taste and by the fire in his blood as she sank to the floor and captured his lips with her own. Her hands sought out his body with an unrivaled eagerness.

Now this was the Megeara he’d come to know. She was relentless with her exploration. Relentless with her kissing. Shoving him back on the floor, she quickly removed his clothes so that she could run her hands over his body.

He spread his legs for her as she ran the back of her hand over his sac. He actually whimpered from the pleasure of that sensation.

Taking no mercy on him, she dipped her head down and took him all the way into her mouth. Arik arched his back as unimaginable pleasure ripped through him. Everything was swirling. In all the times he’d had sex, he’d never known anything like this. Never felt any pleasure equal to it.

He tilted his head to watch her and met her hungry gaze. The look of her there tore through him. He reached down to stroke her cheek as she again took him in all the way. Her throat tickled the tip of him before she pulled back to nibble the very tip of him. He was in ultimate heaven.

Megeara sucked him in hard before she pulled away again and kissed her way up his body until she was able to straddle him. Blind with ecstasy, he lifted his h*ps as she impaled herself on him.

Arik cried out from the warmth of her body surrounding his. It was all he could do not to come immediately, but he didn’t want this to end so soon. He wanted to stay inside her forever.

Geary smiled at the unabashed pleasure on Arik’s face as he held her h*ps in his hands and urged her on.

And she did just as she’d promised. She rode him with everything she had.

Fast and hard, pulling him in as deep as she could and then rising up until he was about to fall out. There was nothing better than the feel of his hardness inside her.

And as she thrust against him, she knew they had no future together. But even so she felt closer to him than she’d ever felt to anyone.

It was like he was a vital part of her and for once she didn’t feel self-conscious around him. She was completely at ease with her nudity and with her sexuality. Completely at ease with his knowing how much she craved him. There were no barriers between them now. No secrets.

And when she came again, she actually screamed out loud.

Arik groaned at the sight of Megeara’s ecstasy. It was so intense that it set off his own. He drove himself deep inside her as his body shook out of his control. A thousand emotions and sensations tore through him, robbing him of all reason and thought.

All he could do was feel. Feel her and the moment of pure, uninterrupted bliss as his body spasmed inside hers.

She leaned over him to kiss his lips. Arik held her there, letting his senses swirl.

"Are you all right?" she asked, her brow creased by worry.

"I don’t know," he answered honestly. "I think my body just turned inside out. And I can’t understand why Solin would ever venture into dreams if this is what it’s like in a human body. He must be out of his mind."

She laughed at Arik’s indignation. "That was not what I was expecting to hear. But I’m glad you enjoyed yourself."