Page 24

Chapter twenty-four

Brandon

I couldn’t sit in this opulent room any longer. It’d been weeks, maybe months, since Roisin had left. They’d taken me outside every day to fight with the demons, and I’d relished slicing them with their swords. They’d nicked me a few times. I hadn’t ventured back to the old man’s cottage again, even though they’d offered for me to go to the infirmary with my victims. A servant had delivered a jar of magical healing salve to my room, and I wasn’t too stubborn to not use it, but I didn’t want to listen to the old man’s lies again. There was no way in hell he was my father. He was too old. It was as simple as that, I kept telling myself. Part of me didn’t want to believe the man who’d abandoned his duties, his wife, and his son. The hurt from knowing my father had left me as a baby ran deep. Hadn’t he wanted me enough to stay?

Yet the niggle in my mind made me think about him.

But I’d finally worked out who I’d try to coerce into taking me home. Every three meals, a smaller, female demon with dainty protrusions on her forehead would come to my room with a tray. She’d given me the once-over every time. It grossed me out because she wasn’t Roisin. My heart beat for her now and other women were nonexistent.

My sword hand itched to threaten her. Every second away from Roisin, not knowing if she was safe was making it impossible to focus. I paced the room, trying to calm my emotions, but whenever I thought of Roisin, they always flared out of control. Time ticked past when I’d figured out the meals usually arrived.

Had they finally given up on keeping me alive?

A knock pounded on the door. It always amused me they announced their presence before opening the door.

The door swung in, and the object of my obsession stepped into the room.

“Roisin?” I asked stupidly because it was her.

“I said I’d be back for you,” she said, lifting her chin.

The door closed behind us, and the lock clicked into place. There went my chance at escape, but I couldn’t complain with Roisin in the same room as me again.

“That you did.” I strode across the room and paused a bare centimeter before her.

Her breath hitched as though the closeness of our bodies affected her as much as me. The longer I stared, the wider the blue of her eyes grew until they swallowed me in the magical depths. Her tongue darted out to wet her lips.

“I missed you. How about a kiss hello? ”

“I’m not sure that’s appropriate.” She tossed back her hair over her shoulders, leaving me the creamy expanse of her neck I’d dreamed about nuzzling.

I leaned forward, testing her resolve. “What about a little kiss here?”

She didn’t move, so I lowered my lips to her neck. The second my lips touched her skin, I grasped I was done for. I wouldn’t be able to stop unless she said the word no.

“That’s acceptable.” She shivered under my lips.

“What about here?” I kissed her lower along her collarbone.

“Dia.” She moaned.

“Yes?”

“Yes!”

I slid my arms around her back and drew her body into the warmth of mine. How I hungered for her. Craved her like a drug. My lips kissed her tender neck over and over, testing which parts of kissing her made her shiver and moan the most.

“Will you kiss me now?” I asked before nibbling her jaw.

“Yes, Brandon, yes,” she said throatily.

My lips claimed hers, slanting over them and devouring every inch she gave to me. Her tongue met mine in a hungry kiss that made my cock harder than it ever had been before. Every time she turned me on, it grew harder than I’d ever thought possible. We kissed so much she began rubbing her body against mine in need. I understood how she felt. How she hungered for more .

I backed toward the bed, easing her with me until the backs of my knees hit the mattress and then I tumbled backward, taking her on top of my body. She lifted her head and gasped, then giggled. Music to my ears. I brushed her long hair back from her face then held it in the palms of my hands like a precious flower, and she was, she was my Roisin.

“Roisin what happened?”

“Talk later.” She smiled shyly. “I want you to do those things to me you promised.”

“What things might those be?” I brushed a thumb over her bottom lip.

Her tongue darted out and licked the pad of my thumb. I groaned, imagining her tongue licking my cock. Her cheeks tinged a delicate pink hue. I loved seeing her blush.

I loved making her blush.

“Do we have hours?” I asked.

“They never said how long they’d give me. I was only supposed to see if you were still alive and safe.” She touched the side of my face where an ugly bruise had formed from one fight. “What happened?”

“Training, that’s all. Nothing bad.”

“Nothing bad?” She sat up and looked at me.

I’d sustained a few injuries during the sword fighting sessions, but thankfully, no hits with the swords. They’d all been sneaky elbows or knees I hadn’t anticipated quickly enough. The demons liked to fight dirty, and I was picking up their skills .

Roisin tugged my top up and hissed at the sight of my bruised ribs. Those were painful after a solid knee had doubled me over in pain. I’d scored a stab wound through the demon’s thigh, though, so I’d won in the end.

“Is this not bad?” She poked my bruise, making me wince. “And you pulled me on top of you. What were you thinking?”

“I was thinking about kissing you, pleasuring you, if that wasn’t obvious.” I placed my hands behind my head and let her look her fill of my body. Her gaze darted everywhere as though she didn’t know which part of me to look at. As though she loved the extra muscles I’d developed while fighting the demons.

She placed her hand on my bruised ribs gently this time. “How bad is it?”

“I’ve had worse during training back home.” I placed my hand on top of hers, eager to keep her touching me.

“If we were in the Summer Court, I’d heal these with our Spring of Life.”

“I didn’t think humans could go to the Fae Kingdom.”

“They can’t.” She shook her head as though to herself. “I still don’t believe they can, but I can’t be sure. Father unlocked the Veil.”

“That’s great news.” I sat up, bringing our chests together and trapping her hand between us.

“It is. We’ll fix everything once we sort out this business with the Demon King.”

“You still don’t believe him?” I rubbed my hands up and down her back, enjoying the way her body moved with the caress. “I didn’t determine if they were lying to you.”

“He might tell the truth.”

“No shit?”

She giggled. “I’m not sure what that means, but it sounds funny.”

“You feel good in my arms.” I ran my finger along the top of her dress. “I want to have you naked against me.”

Roisin blushed harder. “I’d like that too.”

“Can I?” I tugged on her dress.

She nodded.

“Tell me what you want.” The swell of her breasts peeking along the seam of her dress tempted me too much. I kissed the delicate skin.

“Touch me.”

“I thought you’d never ask.” My fingers tugged the top of her dress down and her breasts spilled free. Thank heavens she wasn’t wearing a bra. Wait, did that mean she also wasn’t wearing panties? My hands slid to her waist and searched for the telltale sign. Nope, no panties either. I’d died and gone to heaven, which explained my fantasy coming to life.

“I thought you were going to touch me?” She pouted.

“Right away, Princess.” I snapped my hands up to her breasts and greedily cupped them both in the palms of my hands.

She bit her lip as she watched my hands fondle her breasts. I stroked my thumb over the hard peaks of her nipples, watching them with her as they tightened even further .

“I’ve never seen breasts as beautiful as yours.”

“Have you seen a lot?” she asked.

“I’m not a virgin, Roisin.” I paused what I was doing to stare at her face. Would she still want me, knowing I hadn’t saved myself for fated love the way she was? But then, she was letting me touch her so maybe she’d changed her mind about waiting for her fated mate?

“I never thought you were.” She leaned back and pulled her dress back up covering the best breasts I’d ever seen. I wanted to kiss them, suck them, and rub my cock against them until I came all over them and marked them as mine.

“Then why ask?”

She dropped her gaze to my cock, straining in my pants between us.

“Do you want to see me naked?”

“I don’t have any other men to compare you to.” Her tongue touched her lip.

“Anything you want, just ask, Roisin. I’ll happily give it to you.”

She glanced toward the door. “I’m not sure how long we have alone.”

“So, a little show and tell is all we’ll do right now, yeah?”

She nodded her head.

“Hop up, love, then you’ll see me better.”

My fingers flew to my pants. I’d never been this eager to show a woman my body before, but this was different. This was the woman I was in love with.