Adamant Spirits, page 119
He dismounted from his bar stool, taking deliberate steps around the bench until he stood before her.
"Take a deep breath, Miss Kelly, for once we have begun, I fear I will not be willing to let you up for air," he said.
She wanted to laugh, but she remembered how breathless their first kiss had made her, and this time he was not so tentative. So she sucked in a loud breath, then blew it out in a gust that would have extinguished a cake full of birthday candles, and granted her one wish…
This.
His lips were hard and demanding, yet still warm and yielding. For a man who did not need to breathe, he sure liked to steal her breath.
Yet she could have kissed him forever.
But she knew she had no right to keep him captive as her gargoyle protector.
Tor sensed the change in her and, contrary to his threat, let her go. "You are disappointed, Miss Kelly."
"Not about the kiss, Tor, I promise. You kiss like you should be giving lessons. Any time you want to kiss me again like that, feel free." But he wasn't free, was he? She sighed.
Tor's eyes were far too knowing. "You hoped a kiss might break the spell. I fear you have been reading too many fairy tales, Miss Kelly."
She wished he wasn't right. "Well, it was worth a try."
"Indeed it was."
Frustrated, she reached for her wine glass and gulped some down. It was a good red, too good to be thrown back like shots of cheap tequila. She took another sip.
Something that melted his heart, turning an enemy into an ally. Everyone had a price…
Catena set her glass down. Maybe Tor would have the answer. He knew more about gargoyles than anyone else, after all. "What would it take for you to walk away from being my protector, Tor? There must be something you want, that you wish for. More than duty or anything else. What would you wish for, if you could have anything?"
Anguish darkened his eyes. "Miss Kelly, I wouldn't – "
Everyone had a price. Even Tor. He was a man, after all, even if he wasn't entirely human. "Is it killing the man who did this to you? Because if it is, I'll help you." Help him dispose of the body afterwards, too, because they'd need to, but wasn't that what friends were for? If he even considered her a friend, seeing as she'd been responsible for keeping him enslaved, by not finding a way to break the spell sooner.
"No, dear God, no! Even if that would break the spell, which I doubt, for it is likely the man has died long ago of old age, and I am still here." Tor shook his head. "I am no murderer, Miss Kelly."
Of course not. People had been hanged for murder in those days, not transported to the colonies. He'd likely only stolen a handkerchief or a loaf of bread before becoming a convict.
"Then tell me what you wish for."
"I cannot."
She threw her hands into the air. "Tor, it could be the thing that sets you free. What is so bad that you can't tell me?"
"It is too shameful."
"I once tried to stuff my brother into the letter box when he was a baby, so the postman would take him away and I could be my parents' only child again. He screamed and flailed about so much he actually gave me a black eye." She wondered if Archie remembered that. Her parents definitely did.
"Miss Kelly, that is…amusing, but nothing to be ashamed of. I'm sure all children wish to be rid of their brothers at some point. Evidently you did not succeed, unless you were not referring to the brother I met the other night…"
"No, it was Archie. Infant mortality isn't as bad as it was in your time. But we're not talking about me. We're talking about you. Your wish. The one you're too embarrassed to tell me."
"Please, Miss Kelly. I am sure anything you wished for would not be shameful. Would you tell me your greatest, most heartfelt wish?" His eyes implored, and she couldn't resist.
She only had to reflect for a moment before she had her answer. "I'd wish for one more night with Maria, here, with us, her mind as sharp as it used to be. I'd wish she could have shared this meal with us, and the wine, and then we would have taken dessert into the lounge room to watch Stargate. The ice cream episode, because that one was always her favourite."
Tor smiled faintly. "I, too, would have liked that."
"But it's not your greatest wish," she pressed. "The one wish that would make you leave me…"
He glared at her with such animosity she actually took a step back. "You would dismiss me for merely saying the words."
Laughter bubbled up in her chest. "Is that the answer? Like a genie, all I have to do is wish you free?"
"If you dismiss me, then I return to the darkness from whence I came to await a new call to arms. I would not be free. I would merely be gone from your sight, should you wish it." He sighed. "And you will."
"Try me, Tor. I've already promised I will find a way to set you free. Will it help if I make another promise – that whatever you tell me, however shameful your wish might be, I promise not to send you back into the dark?" Though she had to wonder where this darkness could be. He'd already said there weren't any bodies in the walls. Was he talking other dimensions, or what? If there was a gateway to hell or some dungeon dimension in her house, she definitely needed to know about it. And find a way to close it.
"You are too kind for your own good, Miss Kelly. No, such things are not fit for a lady's ears. I dare not tell you."
"I'm not a fucking lady, Tor! You've met my family. No lords or ladies among them. Just working class people, the same as you. Except they don't build mansions that will stand for centuries. Now, I've spent the morning discussing some pretty gory rituals, in the hope of finding a way to set you free. So if it's worse than cutting out hearts, summoning demons and burying people alive…just tell me, Tor."
He stood up straight, but he kept his eyes closed, as if he could not bear to look at her. "My dearest wish is to spend a night in your bed." He hung his head.
So Callie and Maria had been right. Seduce the gargoyle indeed. "That's…not so bad," she said.
Then he stared at her, his eyes wide with horror. "Do you not understand? I wish to spend the night in your bed, with you in it, doing the most debauched…" He shook his head. "It is the one thing I could do, that I long for, which would make me a complete failure as your protector. For what sort of protector would I be if I could not protect your virtue from my own dark desires? Forgive me, Miss Kelly, I would never betray you so. It is too high a price for freedom, for it would cost me not only my own honour, but your own as well."
If he hadn't been so heartbroken, this might have been funny. As it was…
She pressed her palm to his chest, over where his heart would be. "Tor, let's get one thing straight. There is nothing wrong with two – or more – consenting adults giving in to their desires. Dark or otherwise. If I've learned anything from history, it's that they always have, and they probably always will. So, if I admit I've had a few fantasies about you in my bed, too, would you be a bit more specific about what you mean when you talk about dark desires?"
She had no idea whether this would work to free him or not, but getting naked with Tor for a night…well, it was hardly a hardship.
Fifty-Two
She wasn't shocked. He'd told her his darkest secret and she'd asked to know more. Tor wasn't sure what to make of it.
"You're…you're naked," he whispered. "And you come and sit in my lap…"
Even with his eyes closed, he could still feel her hand on his chest. He could even feel his heart, thumping away beneath it, thrilled at her touch.
"Tor, I'll do it. I'll grant your wish, and gladly, but I have one request."
He hardly dared believe he'd heard her right. "Anything."
"If this works, or even if it doesn't, you won't walk away without at least saying goodbye, okay? Even if it's just one pre-dawn kiss, you won't just leave."
"As you wish, Miss Kelly." She would likely change her mind, but he would respect her wishes, no matter what they were.
"Yeah, and about wishes…this is your wish. I'm…look, this isn't my first time, just so you know, but I'm not really an expert at all this. I think this will work best if we go with what you want. So…you give the orders, at least for the first time."
She wanted him to give orders? How strange. He supposed he could do that.
"Take your clothes off, Miss Kelly," he began.
She gave a nod, then untied her apron and tossed it onto the bench. She toed off her shoes, kicking them into a corner, before she lifted the hem of her dress. Up and up and up, until she dragged the dress over her head and dropped it on the floor. She bit her lip, looking nervous standing there in little more than a corset and stockings. Good God. Did women not wear drawers in this time? Oh, but there was a tiny scrap of lace at the juncture of her thighs, in the same deep blue as the trim on her corset.
He couldn't help but stare. He wanted to drink her in, to taste…
His mouth was dry. He wanted to reach for a glass of wine and pour it down his throat. Not that it would help. He wanted to bite through that scrap of lace and taste her. His pants were growing uncomfortably tight. If he didn't remove them soon, the pain would become unbearable.
She gestured at her corset. It sat against her bare skin, with no underthings at all. Scandalous. And yet…perfect.
"I bought this for a steampunk festival a few years back. I haven't worn it since. I'm surprised it still fits…"
"Take it off." His own words surprised him. They sounded so raw.
"I…okay." A faint smile touched her lips, one filled with mischief. "Yes, Mr Stone." She began to undo the row of buttons fastening the front. Each one gave a little pop as she released it, and her creamy flesh began to spill out the top. Bit by glorious bit, until her breasts were completely exposed, the nipples like two pink jewels. He'd never seen anything so perfect.
The pants had to go, or he was going to burst the stitching. He ripped the lacing in his eagerness, and the pants dropped to the floor. He kicked them away, then dragged a dining chair away from the table so that he might sit on it while he watched her.
With one final pop, the corset released her. Never had he imagined such beauty, not even in his dreams.
"You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen, Miss Kelly."
She grinned. "You're pretty sexy yourself." She eyed his groin with approval.
He did not want her eyes on him. He wanted to feel her flesh against his.
"Come here and sit on my lap," he said, patting his thigh. He half expected her to panic or refuse, or at least hesitate.
But Miss Kelly was a marvel. She picked her way across the floor, through the maze of discarded clothing, until she stood before him. Then she set her hands on his shoulders, curled one leg around his hip, then the other, as she settled in his lap.
Rough lace scratched against his tender flesh. She hadn't taken off her tiny drawers. He stuck two fingers inside the ribbon of fabric at her hip, and ripped. Then he did the same with the other side, before throwing the ripped rags to the floor.
"Pity. I liked those," she said.
"I asked you to take your clothes off."
"Well, you could have warned me you'd rip them off if I didn't."
He didn't know what to say to that. He hadn't known how much it would anger him, having that miserable scrap of lace standing between them.
"I'll just remember for next time," she said, her voice a little breathy as she rubbed against him. "What…what next?"
Tor couldn't seem to find any words for her. Just the feel of her skin against his, rubbing along his length as she shifted in his lap. He wrapped his wings around her, holding tight, then urging her forward before pulling her back, over and over until the mesmerising rhythm of her movements was all he could think about. Her slick heat, so tantalisingly close. If he just tilted his hips a little and thrust…
Catena arched her back and cried out. It was the most joyful sound he'd ever heard – and he'd done that, he'd driven her to the heights of ecstasy. Her cry had barely died away before he was determined to hear it again. His own pleasure could wait, especially while he was the master of hers.
Her breasts bounced before his face, and he surrendered to temptation, taking one of those jewel-like nipples between his teeth as he cupped those gorgeous globes in both hands. Silken soft, he couldn't seem to stop stroking them.
She cried out a second time, her thighs tightening around him. She was panting now, her eyes half lidded as she stared at him in wonder.
He tore his lips from her breast and kissed her instead. She kissed him back with the sort of desperation that matched his own. If they were to share but this one night together, then there would be no holding back.
He felt her stiffen, her back arching again, but he did not release her lips, swallowing her cries as another orgasm shook her body.
She was the most beautiful, the most perfect, the sweetest… He opened his mouth to tell her.
"Tor, please," she gasped out. "Please, I need to feel you inside me. Now, Tor, before you give me another…argh…another…"
His wings lifted her as he shifted, then lowered her to give her what she wanted. Molten silk sliding around him, encasing him, as she pressed down, down, until he was sheathed to the hilt in the sweetest, most perfect woman who had ever lived.
Fifty-Three
Catena teetered on the brink of her fourth orgasm, sucking in a breath to scream because she knew this one would be bigger than the rest, she could feel it, just as she could feel his hard length beneath her as she rubbed against him, teasing her, but not giving her what she wanted, not yet.
Then he lifted her, the slightest chill of air between them before he impaled her, the slowest and most exquisite torture imaginable. Inch by glorious inch, he filled her, hotter and harder than any human flesh, until she felt she might split in two. Until…she was sitting in his lap again, his massive cock (for this was no mere dick or penis, no, the monster wedged tightly inside her was a fully-fledged cock) stretching her to her very limits.
She trembled, hardly daring to move, because if she did, she'd combust into a million stars, and she didn't want to miss even a moment of the best sex of her life.
Tor smiled knowingly, as if he could read her thoughts. Perhaps he could, for his wings lifted her again, the length of him stroking all of her most intimate walls, before he slammed her back down again. Once. Twice. Three t…
The unearthly scream that rent the air could not have come from a human throat, let alone hers, but it must have. She was clenched down so hard on him, she'd have snapped a normal man's dick off.
Yet Tor just sat there, chuckling, the rumble of his laughter making her insides quake in the most delightful way. "I had thought to take you to bed before you'd scream so," he said, shaking his head.
Bed! Yes. They could do so much more there. But her legs were boneless after that earth-shattering orgasm. "I don't think I can walk yet," she admitted, feeling her cheeks heat.
With another roar of laughter, he rose to his feet, lifting her effortlessly along with him. She wrapped her legs tightly around his hips as she felt him start to slip out, just as he adjusted his grip on her, driving him in deeper, making her gasp and see stars.
By the time her vision cleared, he was lowering her onto the bed, his wings cradling her body as he knelt between her spread thighs. Then he lifted her legs, so her knees bent over his shoulders.
"You've offered me many treats tonight that I could smell and not taste, but there is one cup I cannot refuse. I will not let this night end before I have tasted you, and drunk deep."
And then there were no words, for his tongue was too busy, and his fingers, and his lips…waves of pleasure overcame her, as relentless as the ocean itself, until she could stand no more, and she begged for his cock again.
Grinning, Tor wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. His wings lowered her, so her back touched the bed again, but he didn't shift her legs off his shoulders. She felt his hot, hard head touch her clit, but go no further.
"Those are the sweetest, saltiest words I ever heard fall from a lady's lips, Miss Kelly, and I believe I would like to hear you say them again."
She didn't know what she'd said. Just that she needed him, now. "I want…I need…to feel your cock inside me again. I want you to fuck me until I forget my own name and all I can scream is yours. Please, Tor, I need to feel you inside me now."
With one swift thrust, he granted her wish, but then he slowed. He pumped into her, slow and dark and deep, a pace as relentless as the beat of her own heart. As she looked into his eyes, fixed on her, though there was only one heart between them, they shared it equally, two bodies moving as one.
Until he leaned in to whisper, "I love you."
Tears sprang to her eyes as she fought to find the breath to say the same words back to him. She knew it down to her bones, but she couldn't…seem to…
Oh God, she was close to the cliff again. So close…
"Come for me, Miss Kelly," Tor growled.
"Come with me, Mr Stone," she puffed back, clenching down hard as her whole body seemed to dissolve.
She smiled as she heard him roar his release.
Whatever else their future held – freedom for him, she hoped – at least she would have no regrets about this night.
Fifty-Four
The clink of chains woke Tor from his doze. He must have moved in his sleep. The guards did not even remove the chains to allow him to sleep. If they did not remove them soon, he would die in chains, locked within the walls he had built, long before their shoddy workmanship fell apart.
He had dreamed this moment many times in the darkness, despair dragging him down deeper until he could not escape, but tonight, it was different.
"Get up," Dunstan whispered.
Arms at his shoulders dragged him from his hammock, forcing him to his feet.
"Wrap this around them so they don't make that infernal noise."
It was a blanket they'd wrapped around his chains, he remembered now, to muffle the sounds they made with every step he took. Then they marched him out of the barracks, to the smithy at the back of the prison.
