Obsidian Flame (Guardians of Ascension #5)(22)
Author: Caris Roane

Give it to me, she practically shouted within his mind.

Fuck, came back to her.

He shoved into her hard, released her neck, and shouted at the ceiling.

She could feel his release and because she was in his mind, she could even experience his pleasure, which triggered hers all over again, so that as he thrust hard, she came and came and came, crying out and pressing her mound against him.

It’s never been like this.

“No, it hasn’t.” His movements slowed, but his breathing was a harsh rasp in the shower.

“I’m shutting the water off,” he said. “Damn, that got cold.” He must have used his mind because he didn’t let go of her and suddenly the water stopped spraying. “I don’t want to let go of you yet.”

“You’d better not,” she said. She slid her arms up around his neck then kissed him. “I like being inside your head. That was the best we’ve ever done together.”

He nodded and chuckled. “You’re a pain in the ass, Marguerite, but I love the way you talk to me.”

“I’m gonna leave your head now,” she said.

Again, he nodded. His lips were parted as he sucked in air.

She pulled out of his mind and it was the strangest rubbery sensation, like pulling taffy or something, until at last she left him. Still, he remained in the shower, holding her ass firmly in both hands and keeping them joined.

She wiggled her hips so that she could feel him deep inside. “This feels good,” she said. She looked into his eyes, gorgeous hazel eyes. Usually they were bloodshot, but not now. Of course, he’d been off duty for three weeks chasing her across the country and back, which meant he’d been off the Ketel One.

Now here they were, joined like two people would be joined who’d been making love for a century. Only this had been better. Of course, they’d only had sex while she’d been held captive and he’d been worked to death as a warrior.

There was, however, one issue she needed clearing up.

“So what the hell was that with José?”

“Oh, was that his name?”

“You know damn well that’s his name. You were in his head, weren’t you? And when you’d had sex, you didn’t mean with another woman, did you? What was this, like some kind of ménage à trois?”

“I guess,” he said, with a slight shrug. “Worked for me. And it kept me from killing him.”

Her shoulders dropped, and she leaned her head against his neck and sighed. “I’m glad. I couldn’t stand the thought of you with another woman. I know that makes me the worst kind of hypocrite when I shagged José, but I think I’d kill her. I’m beginning to understand why that woman with the long dark hair was so upset with me. What was her name? The one bonded to that tall gorgeous Italian?”

“Parisa.”

“Yeah, she about ripped my face off when I flirted with her man.”

“I remember.” His arms tightened around her.

“I’d be like that if we took this much farther. I’d want to kill any woman who looked at you.”

“Then tell me you understand my dilemma a little.”

She lifted up, her arms still hooked around his neck. “So you wanted to kill José?”

“Yeah. I almost did, too. Then I worked it out in my head.”

“Or his head.”

“I guess you could say that.”

She yawned. “You want to sleep with me tonight?”

“Thought I already did.”

She thumped his shoulder. “In bed, idiot.”

He squeezed her ass. “Did you actually think I was going anywhere else?”

She laughed. “No, I guess not.”

He shuddered.

“What?” she asked.

“We get to sleep together … all night.”

“Thorne, please … please don’t get too used to this.”

He gave her a soft smile. “No worries, not right now. Let’s just get some rest. We’ll figure things out tomorrow. And since there are Seers in this colony, maybe they’ll have some insight about your visions.”

“Okay.”

He thumbed her cheek and stared into her eyes.

His gaze was full of something she didn’t quite recognize except that it warmed up her chest all over again and made her put her lips against his. He kissed her fiercely, pushing his tongue inside her mouth, a kind of claiming.

She wrapped her arms more tightly around his neck.

He kissed her for a long time. Because he’d firmed up inside her again, she wondered if he was headed toward a second round. She wouldn’t have said no, but suddenly she was really tired.

“Okay, bedtime.” But he sighed heavily as he withdrew from her, as if he didn’t like being apart either.

He flipped the lever and the cold water came on. “Sorry, there’s no hot water left.”

She didn’t mind the cold so much. She’d been used to it for decades in the Convent.

He stepped out of the shower as she finished up. When she finally emerged, he had a towel waiting for her, holding it wide. She stepped into it and he wrapped her up from behind.

Why the hell did he have to be such a nice guy? Didn’t he know this was killing her?

* * *

After a night of working the darkening, in which she lost sleep keeping death vampires from being shipped to the Metro Phoenix Two area, Endelle wasn’t in the mood to be polite. She had never been so f**king agitated in her entire life. She felt like a thousand little ants were gnawing on her nerve endings. Where the hell was Thorne and why hadn’t he come back, preferably with Marguerite strapped across his back?

Fucking morons.

She paced the weird tree room in Jean-Pierre’s house, having decided she needed a break from her office in her administrative HQ. Fiona sat on the huge branch that bent sideways from the main trunk, swinging her legs and smiling up at her warrior from time to time. He stood behind her and had his arms draped over her shoulders.

These latest lovebirds gave her the scratch.

“I had to get out of the office.”

“You are always welcome in our home,” Jean-Pierre said, his French accent as easy as a wet dream.

She waved an arm. “What the hell kind of room is this anyway and what’s with the walls? They have to be ten feet and then there’s this huge-ass tree growing straight through the floor.”

“I built the floor around the tree when it was young and trained this branch. I often sit here to think. It is an Arizona sycamore. The fragrance is very sharp from the leaves, especially after a rain.”