Page 48 of Possess Me at Midnight (Doomsday Brethren #4)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Ice

S ay no? Impossible. When it comes to Sabelle, I can refuse her nothing.

I lock gazes with her, staring into the blue oceans of need and sorrow, straight into the shining light of her soul. I’ve never known someone like her, so good and true. Kind. Real. I’ll never forget a moment I spent with her in my arms.

Tonight, I’ll have to make memories to last for the rest of my life. Her torn expression says she’ll be doing the same.

Drawing in a shaky breath, I caress my way down her arm slowly, then wrap my fingers around hers, giving her hand a squeeze.

She squeezes back, and the gesture nearly breaks me. “Thank you. I know I've asked a great deal of you.”

“There’s nothing I have that I wouldn’t gladly share with you.”

Her face softens, and she cups my cheek, clearly fighting tears. She wins the battle—barely. Her valiant effort touches me, though she didn’t need to fight at all. I will love her regardless.

With slow steps, I lead her to my bed, glad we’re making our final memories here, where I can lie at night and remember every soft sigh and treasured touch.

When we reach the edge of the bed, I lift her pale jumper, palming my way up the velvet skin of her exposed torso and brushing her breasts as I raise the garment over her head.

She emerges a moment later, all tousled golden hair and trembling mouth, looking at me as if I’m her salvation instead of her sacrifice.

Again, I marvel that she can love me. And I curse the fate destined to tear us apart.

Sabelle caresses my chest, hand trailing down my abdomen, until she reaches the hem of my shirt and draws it up and away.

The need to touch her everywhere, all at once, jolts me. I pull her against me, chest to chest, hampered only by the delicate lace of her bra. The warm press of skin makes me sizzle. I draw in a shaking breath.

“Princess…” I begin, but I have no words. What is there to say?

“I know.” She sniffs. “But I won’t cry tonight. I simply want to be with you.”

Somehow, it will have to be enough.

I nod, pushing aside the futility and rage beating at my heart and surrender myself to her. Tonight, I’ll give her everything good and helpful and loving I’ve been storing in my heart since Gailene’s death.

Below me, her rosy, lush lips beckon. I fuse our mouths together—a brush, a breath, a sigh. With every kiss, I taste the rightness of her on my tongue. Certainty shivers down my spine, rocking me to my core. No matter what vows she exchanges with Lucan in a few short hours, she’s mine.

And I will forevermore be hers.

Filtering my fingers through her soft curls, I cup her head, bring her closer, and dip my head for another kiss, letting her sumptuous taste slide across my senses again.

She moans, then peppers my face with slow, reverent presses of her lips.

I feel her devotion in every trembling touch and worshipping kiss. She humbles me all over again.

My hands shake as I unclasp her bra, slide her jeans down her slender hips, and tug away her knickers, baring her to my greedy stare.

I’ve never seen a more beautiful woman, true.

But now when I look at Sabelle, I don’t see the Privileged, golden-haired siren capable of ensnaring any man with her wiles, but the princess who undoes me with every move and breath.

Sabelle helps me out of my camouflage pants as I toe off my boots.

Finally, we stand together, naked, heart to heart.

I yearn to devour her quickly but force myself to savor her.

I’m rarely given to indecision, but tonight…

how can I reassure her I’ll always be here for her, yet send her to do her duty while making sure she doesn’t suffer regret for what cannot be?

In the end, Sabelle guides me, lying back against the silken black sheets, arms raised in welcome. The easiest—yet hardest—act I’ve ever performed is to slide into those waiting arms and possess her parted lips again.

She opens like a flower to sunlight, her arms closing around me, her legs parting beneath me. I flow over her, sharing my heat as I caress the soft mound of her breast, the graceful swell of her waist, then take her thigh in hand and lift it to my side. She opens willingly.

An urge to drink in every part of Sabelle rolls over me. I whisper butterfly kisses down her jaw, her neck, to the curves of her breasts. Her hard nipples await—a treat I don’t resist. A stroke of my tongue, a pull of my mouth, and she moans for me, arching to me, both seeking and offering succor.

Down her body I move, dragging my tongue over the long, flat expanse of her abdomen.

The creamy texture of her skin, her peachy scent—both mingle with the tart-sweet hint of her desire.

The combined perfumes rush to my head, and I delve deeper, where I feast on her, lapping the concentrated essence of her desire for me.

With patience and reverent kisses, I draw her higher, higher, reveling in the feel of her hips in my hands and her pleas to fill her, to love her, ringing in my ears.

For a few bittersweet moments, I resist her siren call, content to shower her with pleasure, gratified when she reaches climax once, then again. Still, I don’t want to leave her, but I can’t deny her breathy pleas to become one with her.

Slowly, I kiss my way up her body, cupping her backside as I tunnel into her.

Sabelle closes around me, gripping me tightly, with a caress of hot silk, a ripple of pleasure.

I shudder as she surrounds me everywhere, soothing my pained heart.

I glory in our last hours together. Is she using her siren abilities on me?

No, the way she makes me feel is simply her.

“Ice…” She cups my jaw, tears trembling on her lashes as she looks straight up into my eyes.

The jolt of her needy stare reaches all the way to my heart as I slide deep into her body once more.

We remain like that—connected gazes, bodies, and hearts—until she cries out beneath me, rosy cheeks flushed, pleasure transforming her face into the most beautiful sight ever.

Then I join her in a shimmering world of passion, the crash of it washing through my body as I flood her with my devotion and seed.

She lights up my heart, where I know she’ll stay forever.

Sabelle draws in a shuddering breath, and her eyes flutter shut as a look of sublime peace settles over her. I feel it, too. We have this one perfect moment. For this brief, stolen second in time, we can simply share a heart, a soul, and be one.

She drifts off to sleep, cocooned in my arms. I watch her, unmoving, as the hours slip away.

Having grown up in these caves, I’ve developed a keen sense of time, despite the lack of windows.

I hold her tighter as dawn approaches, the sun rising, heralding the day that will change everything between us forever.

I shift to her side, pillowing her head on my chest, gripping her as if I’ll never let go.

The gesture is futile. The black chasm of my future roars in, and I clench my eyes against the reality.

What the hell am I going to do with the rest of my life now besides fight Anarki, hunt Mathias, and secretly hope that someday, somehow, she’ll find her way back to my arms?

Sabelle

I wake up in Ice’s arms. I know it even before I open my eyes. The strong arms, the pine-and-musk scent, the way he latches on to me as if he’ll never let go. The feeling of joy and security like no other.

Reluctantly, I open my eyes, face the world, and find Ice studying me. Grief shadows his eyes, the hollows of his cheeks, the pinch of his mouth.

I swallow. “It’s time, isn’t it?”

He nods and brushes his thumb over my cheek. “Sabelle, I?—”

Pressing my lips to his, I stop his words. “If you speak, I’ll only cry. And there’s nothing more we can say…”

Ice sets his jaw, then nods once. “When are you supposed to go to MacTavish?”

“As soon as I wake.”

How I wish I had another few centuries to spend with Ice. But we don’t have even a few hours. Magickind might well depend on Lucan filling MacKinnett’s vacant Council seat before Mathias somehow talks his way into it.

“If you’d like a shower, there’s one through that door.” He points across the room.

I don’t, actually. I’d rather let the scent of Ice cling to me as long as possible, revel in it for as long as I can. But it would be disrespectful to Lucan and cause more strife between my brother and the man I love.

“Thank you.”

With wooden movements, I climb into the sleek, black-tiled box. Reluctantly, I lift the soap to wash away the traces of Ice from my body. But I can’t make myself do it.

Forehead against the cold tile, warm water beating down on my back, I clutch the slick, foaming bar and sob. In that moment, I hate my brother. I hate the bloodline I’ve been born to that forces duty and responsibility upon me. I hate being needed to stave off genocide.

Still, my feelings change nothing, and that fact tears my heart in a hundred irreparable pieces with each tear.

Suddenly, I feel cool air, then a warm presence at my back, blocking the spray of water. I feel more than see Ice as he wraps his arms around me and gently pries the soap from my hands.

He bathes me in slow strokes, carefully washing every inch of me, even shampooing and rinsing my hair.

When he’s finished, he turns me to face him. “Say the word, and I will fight for you. Your brother, Lucan…”

The world assumes my big warrior is mad, but I see past his facade. He hides behind it, shutting off his caring and warmth. Because no one will believe it? Because he fears being hurt again? Either way, I love the man I’ve uncovered. My heart praises him with every beat.

“We’ve been over this,” I say finally. “I should have known there were too many obstacles, too few possibilities, before I fell for you. I will treasure every moment?—”

Ice stops my words with a kiss. “I will, too.”