Текст книги "Passion Ignites"

Автор книги: Donna Grant

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Текущая страница: 12 (всего у книги 23 страниц)

CHAPTER

TWENTY-FIVE

Thorn stood in the warehouse long after Lexi left. His mind was spinning with possibilities of how her memories had returned.

He put a hand on the wall, his chest constricting with the thought of Lexi in the city at such a dangerous time. Thorn shouted Guy’s name through their mental link.

Guy answered instantly. “What is it?”

“Are you sure you took all of Lexi’s memories?”

“Of course.”

“You must have left something,” Thorn insisted.

Guy sighed loudly through the link. “I didna. I got all of them. Why? What’s going on?”

“Lexi. She’s here. And she remembers everything.”

“Impossible,” Guy stated in confusion.

Thorn ran a hand down his face and looked to where he had seen her sitting on the table when he walked in. “Ask Darius. He spoke with her as well.”

“No one has ever had their memories returned after I took them. I doona understand.”

“I doona either. I wanted to make sure you didna do something so she would get them back.”

“You asked for a favor, Thorn. I knew the reasons, and I’d never do such a thing to you.”

Shite. He was in real trouble now.

“What are you going to do?” Guy asked.

“The only thing I can. I’ll protect Lexi until I can get her out of the city once and for all.”

“Is she angry?”

Thorn rubbed his face where her hand had connected with his cheek. “You could say that.”

He severed the link and closed his eyes. The only way to ensure Lexi remained safe was to board her up at the flat and stand guard over her.

That wouldn’t work for several reasons. The main one was that he couldn’t leave Darius alone to fight the Dark. Even with the Warriors and Druids, he was needed. Then there was Lexi. She wouldn’t appreciate being held captive for any reason.

Thorn slammed his hand into the wall. “Fuck!”

“She knows the threats out on the streets,” Darius said as he walked into the warehouse carrying more dead Dark. “I followed her to make sure she arrived without incident.”

Thorn nodded, feeling numb and frozen at the same time. “How did this happen?” When Darius didn’t respond, Thorn turned to him, his hands clenched at his sides. “Did she tell you?”

“She doesna know,” Darius said and tossed down the two bodies.

“But you do?”

Darius let out a slow breath. “I have my suspicions.”

Thorn threw out his hands in agitation. “I’m all ears.”

“I was there with Guy. He took her memories. Lexi walked away without having any idea who we were.” Darius ran a hand down his face. “Perhaps she’s meant to stay here. With you.”

Thorn shook his head. “Nay. Nay! She can no’. If she does, the chances of her getting caught in the middle of this war rise each day she’s here.”

“Something triggered her memories. It was strong enough to wipe away Guy’s dragon magic, and we both know that’s never happened before.”

“She thinks I left her defenseless,” Thorn said. “I would never do such a thing.”

Darius crossed his arms over his chest. “What did you do?”

“I put a Fae knife in the lining of her purse so she would always have a weapon.”

“That shouldna be enough to break through Guy’s magic.”

Thorn rubbed the back of his neck. “Nay, it shouldna.”

“You should tell Lexi it was you.”

Thorn wasn’t sure it would do any good. She was too upset. “Scotland is the last place she should be now.”

“So tell her that as well. Go to her. Whether she wants to admit it or not, she needs you. And I’ve got everything covered for the night.” Darius pointed to the door and urged, “Go.”

If Thorn went to her, he knew he would kiss her again. If he kissed her again, he would want so much more. And if he made love to Lexi?

Thorn wasn’t sure he could even think of that right now. He’d known from the moment he first made contact with Lexi that she was dangerous to him.

If there was trouble, Darius would let him know. Thorn looked down at his torn shirt and jeans that were covered with blood. He quickly changed, and without another word to Darius, left the warehouse.

*   *   *

Lexi stood at the window, but it wasn’t the city she saw. It was memories of Thorn. She ran her thumb over the hilt of the knife she found in her purse.

She had seen it used before by Thorn. Had he put it in her purse? It sounded like something he would do.

The darker the evening became, the more people filled the streets. She blinked and looked down when music grew louder. It was coming from a pub at the corner where people could be seen laughing and dancing.

More and more jack-o’-lanterns popped up all along the street. Even more troubling was the number of Dark Fae. Very few were now using glamour, and it seemed to only spur the humans to gravitate to them even faster.

The door to the flat opened and heat spread over her. Thorn. She saw him through the glass of the window, but she didn’t turn around. Lexi didn’t trust herself not to blurt out how happy she was he was there.

He came to stand behind her, silent and powerful as he gazed out the window. “Things are getting worse.”

“Why can’t they tell what the Dark are? We look like cattle being led to slaughter.”

“It’s their appeal,” he murmured.

Lexi swallowed past her emotion. “I’m scared for what’s to come.”

“In all my years, there was only one time I felt fear. That’s when I had to send my Clarets away. I never experienced it again. Until you.”

She was so shocked at his words that she turned to him. Thorn scared? Surely she misheard him. A man like Thorn would never feel such an emotion.

“When I saw you’d been hit with Dark magic, it was like watching my dragons leave all over again.”

Lexi couldn’t hear such words. They made her want him even more, and he had made it clear that there could be nothing. Aside from that one kiss.

“You were no’ meant to come back.” His voice was barely above a whisper as his dark brown eyes searched her face. “I was prepared for that. I wasna prepared to see you again.”

He was close enough she could feel the heat from him. His eyes looked haunted, as if he were trying to come to grips with something.

“When I walked into the warehouse and saw you, I was angry because I knew you were still in the thick of all the peril. But I’ve never been so happy to see you,” he said softly.

Her gaze silently begged him to kiss her, to make her feel like she was being scorched from the inside out.

He slid his hand around the back of her neck and held her as he covered her mouth with his. His kiss stole her breath, seized her soul. Lexi clung to him as their passion collided. And burned. He held her tight, his kiss deepening as their desire mingled and came together in a tangle of need and yearning so great she was drowning in it.

Lexi jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist as they continued their frantic, heated kissing. The next thing she knew, she was lying on the coffee table with Thorn’s wonderful lips trailing kisses down her neck.

She sighed and ran her hands over his back. Thorn sat up long enough to unbuckle his pants. Lexi took the opportunity to throw off her sweater to have one less obstacle between her flesh and his.

He was leaning over her again. His head lowered as he brushed his nose against hers. “Tell me to stop. Please, Lexi, because I can no’ do it on my own.”

She put her hands on each side of his face. “Don’t ever stop.”

He issued a groan before he took her mouth again.

*   *   *

Guy walked into Con’s office to find him poring over some files. Guy tapped his knuckles on the opened door. Con glanced up and waved him in as he wrote something on a paper and closed the file, setting it off to the side.

Con sat back in his chair and took one look at him. “You look worried. What is it?”

Guy closed the door and leaned back against it. “Perhaps nothing.”

“Or something.” Con tossed his Montblanc pen on the desk. “Tell me.”

“I went to Edinburgh earlier.”

Con nodded his head of blond hair. “Aye. Hal was looking for you. Elena told us where you went.”

“Did she tell you why?” Guy asked.

“Nay.”

Guy let out a deep breath. “Thorn asked me to come. There was an American woman who he and Darius saved from the Dark. She had been following the Dark after they killed her friend.”

“And?” Con asked as he sat up, resting his arms on the desk.

“Thorn and Darius had to tell her of the Dark to let her realize the danger. However, she followed them to the warehouse and saw them dispose of the Dark.”

“I’m guessing they wanted you to wipe her memories?”

Guy gave a small shake of his head. “While she followed Thorn and Darius, the Dark were trailing her. When she saw Darius shift, so did the Dark. They took her and tried to kill her. Thorn saved her.”

“I know Thorn and Darius. There’s no way those Dark lived,” Con stated.

“Nay, they didna. Lexi was wounded with Dark magic though.”

Con’s forehead frowned. “Thorn didna ask for my help.”

“He didna think you would give it.”

Con’s face lost all emotion. “Is that so?”

Guy gave him a hard look. It was never good when Con closed himself off in such a manner. “Do you blame him after the things you said?”

“Did the woman die?”

“The Druids healed her,” Guy explained. “That’s when Thorn asked me to erase her memories.”

Con shrugged and once more reclined in his chair. “It was the smart thing to do.”

“Except I’m no’ sure it was.” Guy rubbed his temple with his right hand. “You know I see the memories I’m erasing.”

“Aye.”

“I saw Thorn and Lexi kiss right before he realized she was injured by the Dark.”

“So?”

Guy dropped his hand. “It was no mere kiss, Con. It affected Lexi deeply, and based on the fact that Thorn refused to bring her to the airport, it did him as well.”

“You think she’s his mate?” Con asked.

Guy began to pace. “It’s a possibility. Or it could be just an attraction that willna be denied. I took her memories, even though I had a feeling it was the wrong thing to do.”

“I doona see the problem,” Con stated in a firm voice. “Thorn made the right call, and you did as he asked.”

“Except Lexi’s memories returned.” Guy threw up his hands as he paced. “I’ve been over it and over it ever since Thorn told me. She has no magic. There was no magic preventing me from taking her memories or anything that would allow them to return.” Guy stopped and turned to Con. “Something or someone returned her memories.”

Con slowly rose to his feet. “That’s impossible.”

“Lexi was waiting for Thorn at the warehouse. She told him she remembered me taking her memories.”

“Where is she now?”

“At Darcy’s flat.”

“I think it’s time I paid her a visit,” Con said, walking around his desk.

Guy blocked his way. “Ah … if I guess right, you might want to wait until morning.”

CHAPTER

TWENTY-SIX

With every kiss, every sigh, Thorn was falling. It wasn’t just desire. He knew the taste of desire. What he felt for Lexi was so much more. It’s what had kept him from her for as long as he had been able.

His palms caressed down her sides. Her flesh was warm, soft, and inviting. The sound of her ragged breathing shattered his will to go slow.

He held himself over her with his arms while she tugged his shirt up and over his head. Need, sharp and true, burned through him, demanding he fill her body.

Lexi sat up with him when he straightened. Her hands roamed seductively over his chest as she kissed his stomach.

Thorn hissed in a breath when her fingers grazed the head of his cock. With his pants already unbuckled, she merely tugged them down his hips.

He looked at her, watching as she slowly kissed her way to his aching rod. She wrapped her hand around his arousal and slowly slid her lips over him.

Thorn grasped her head as his fingers sank into the cool strands of her long hair. He held her there while she took him deep into her mouth.

Lexi let her hand trail down Thorn’s magnificent chest and his tight abdomen. She wanted to look closer at his dragon tat. The ink wasn’t just black. It had a mixture of red in it as well.

But her attention was pulled away by his thick member. He was impossibly hard. Lexi ran her hands up and down his length along with her mouth. She was normally never this brazen with a lover, but Thorn brought out something wanton in her, something primal and urgent.

She didn’t fight it. That never entered her mind. All she wanted was to give him pleasure so he might know a little of how she felt when he kissed her.

Lexi glanced up at him to see his eyes closed with a look of utter joy visible for all to see. The muscles in his arms moved as he held her. She knew in that instant that she had made the right decision in following her heart—and her body.

If Thorn let her continue much longer, he would be past the point of no return. He fought to remain on his feet as her mouth worked its magic. When he opened his eyes and looked down, his breath was sucked from his lungs. She was exquisitely erotic, divinely carnal.

And she was his.

He pulled out of her mouth and touched her face. Her gray eyes had darkened with passion, and the sight of her orange lace bra made his balls tighten.

Thorn kicked off his boots and removed his jeans. Then he smiled in approval when Lexi grinned up at him and laid back. He unzipped and removed each of her boots. While he did, she unfastened her belt and jeans, making it easy for him to tug them off.

All that was left from seeing every bare inch of her was the lace at her breasts and between her legs. It teased him, tempted him.

Unable to keep away, he was over her again, their lips meeting in a breathless kiss, both needing the feel of the other. That should scare him—and it did. But he couldn’t stay away. He was inexplicably drawn to her in a way he couldn’t begin to describe or ignore. All he knew was that he had to have her.

Lexi sighed in pleasure. Thorn’s hands were masterful as he caressed her as if had found a precious object. He made her feel treasured, beautiful, and cherished.

It was a first for Lexi, and it moved her deeply. Her eyes filled with tears at the heady emotion he invoked by simply touching and kissing her.

Her back arched, a startled cry falling from her lips when his fingers grazed a nipple. Her breasts swelled instantly and desire tightened between her legs.

He whispered something she couldn’t make out. She wanted to ask him to repeat it, but the thought was lost when he unhooked her bra and removed it.

Lexi watched as he looked at her breasts as if he had just found a feast. When his gaze met hers, he stilled as a tear leaked out of the corner of her eye and trailed across her temple.

He caught it with a fingertip before it reached her hairline. Thorn looked from the teardrop to Lexi. No words were needed between them. She could see in his deep brown eyes that he understood.

She brought his head down for another kiss. He consumed her with that kiss, leaving no question that whatever was happening between them was meant to be—that it had always been meant to be.

Thorn had been struck by that single tear. Mostly because he realized she had felt something so profound, so intense it formed a tear. It made him wonder how he could have ever thought to let her walk out of his life.

He moaned at the taste of her sweetly seductive kiss. His hands moved between them so he could cup her breasts. Then it was her turn to groan.

Thorn ran his thumb over her nipple before circling the tiny bud. He ended the kiss and shifted down so he could wrap his lips around the turgid peak and suck.

“Thorn,” Lexi said thickly.

Her hands were in his hair, her hips rocking against him. She had no idea what a sensual picture she was and how it took everything he had not to fill her right then.

He moved to her other breast and teased that nipple until it was just as hard. Her breasts fit his palms perfectly. He massaged them, his cock jumping when he felt the wetness between her legs.

Thorn slid his hand down her stomach, over her hips to the trimmed curls. He lifted his head to look at her. Lexi’s pale brown locks were scattered around her on the table, her lips were swollen, and her eyes were glazed with passion.

Nearly where he wanted her.

He held her gaze as he slowly slipped a finger inside her. Her breath caught as her fingers clutched the sides of the coffee table.

When he withdrew his finger and then leisurely circled her clit, her eyes closed as she moaned. He knelt at the edge of the table and spread her legs wide.

It was the cool air on her that made Lexi open her eyes. She raised her head to see Thorn kneeling between her legs. She wondered what he thought of her nearly bare sex, and then it didn’t matter when he leaned forward and flicked his tongue over her clit.

She sighed loudly, the pleasure rolling through her body. His tongue teased and licked as he brought her closer and closer to orgasm.

Each time she thought she might reach it, he would pause and thrust a finger inside her or pinch her nipples. She didn’t know how much more she could stand. Her body shook with the need to find release, a release Thorn kept just out of reach.

Lexi was delirious. Her nerves were stretched tight as her head rolled from side to side. Desire was spiraling out of control all because of Thorn. He tended to her body as if he were worshipping it, as if he had waited an eternity to pleasure her.

The orgasm took her by surprise. She opened her mouth to scream from the intensity of it, but there was no sound. She could only lay there, her body jerking from the ecstasy.

Thorn watched the pleasure wash over Lexi. It was a sight to behold, one he wanted to see every day. He rose over her and guided his cock to her entrance before sliding within her tight walls.

He held her hip with one hand, his other braced near her head as he slowly thrust in and out until he was fully sheathed. When he looked down, Lexi stared up at him as if he were a star she had plucked from the heavens. No one had ever gazed at him in such a way.

He put an arm beneath her back and stood as her legs tightened around his waist. Her gaze softened, a soft smile lifting her lips.

Thorn turned and sat on the coffee table. He cupped her face and smoothed her hair back. “You’re beautiful.”

The first movement of her hips had him clutching her waist. She wound her arms around his neck and gradually moved faster.

Their eyes were locked, their bodies rocking together in a dance as old as time. As good as it felt, it wasn’t enough.

He held her tight as he moved off the table and laid her on the rug. Thorn kissed her hard, letting her know how much he craved her, how desperately he needed her.

Her nails scraped lightly down his back. He pulled out of her until just the head of him remained. Then he drove deep.

It was hard enough to scoot her back. Her nails sank into his skin as a harsh breath passed from her lips. Thorn braced his hands on either side of her and began to move. His thrusts were fast, hard, and deep.

Soon her moans filled the flat. Her legs gripped him tightly, urging him faster. His hunger pulsed violently. It didn’t allow him to go softly or gently.

This was him at his most primal. He was taking her wildly and violently, but there was no way to pull back. The attraction he feared had turned into unrelenting, unwavering yearning.

He now needed Lexi in a way that could never be altered. With every thrust, he was staking his claim.

It never entered his mind that she might not want him with the same desperate intensity, the same ferocious passion. All Thorn knew was that he had been an utter, complete fool not to have taken her to his bed sooner.

“Thorn,” she whispered.

He felt her clamp around his cock as another climax swept her. She looked up at him, a silent urging in her gaze.

As if he could ever deny her anything.

Thorn gave in and let the orgasm come. Their bodies pulsed together, bliss sweeping them into an abyss of light and decadence the likes of which he had never known before.

He held her, their limbs tangled as they slowly came down from such hedonism. His eyes were closed and his forehead rested on her shoulder when her hand softly grazed his cheek.

Thorn lifted his head to look at her. There were no tears now, just a smile so stunning that it crushed the last threads of reservations he had.

“Wow,” she whispered.

He smiled and pulled out of her. Then he gently lifted her in his arms. She was boneless, a contented sigh the only sound from her.

Thorn walked to the bed and laid her down. Once he climbed in beside her, Lexi rolled toward him to rest her head on his chest.

He looked at the ceiling as he held her. Good or bad, right or wrong, he had caved and let Lexi in. He didn’t know what tomorrow would bring. Nor had he figured out how she’d gotten her memories returned. But what Thorn did know was that he would die before he let anything happen to her.