Tangled Sin (A Dark Realm Novel) (30 page)

She whipped around and glared at him from across the decaying room, unable to hold back her hurt. “The last time we were together, you told me ‘
this was a mistake.’
Do you have any idea what that did to me? You yanked out my heart and ripped it apart.”

Tears burned. She dashed them with her knuckles and pivoted to stare into the gloomy trees shrouded by night. “I thought maybe I’d done something, that you were still upset about Piers, except it wasn’t about me, was it?”

Debris crunched behind her. His hands slid up her arms, and he drew her against him. “I'm sorry, Saia. I thought it would occur exactly on my two-thousand year of birth. I was wrong. It just took over…wanted you, too. I was losing control, I was terrified of what it would do. So I left for the bayou. ”

His lips nuzzled her nape. His hard body pressed against hers. She struggled not to succumb to his beguiling heat and tormenting mouth as desire hummed through her veins.

“That other voice was your Sin?”

“Yeah. It was waiting for me to accept it.”

She frowned. “You're like two people?”

“No, it’s merged with me now. My voice will change during those times when it takes over, seems what I say as a Sin becomes set in stone. It cannot be undone. I couldn’t take that chance with you. But I’m still me, just a little, er, different now.”

He kissed the side of her jaw. “Come, let me make it up to you, let me show you just how
bad and
dangerous
I truly am.”

His words were so tempting, but she stayed put. She didn't know what to think about his revelation, how to feel. “You can never get angry?”

“Sure I can. You're bound to drive me crazy—”

She scowled at him over her shoulder.

He smiled. “But in regards to the Sin, I’ve only inherited a part of it. When my sire takes his eternal rest, the rest of the Sin will pass on to me. Of course, there’re a few special cases I will personally see to before then. Now. Do you plan to stand guard at the window the entire night?”

She sighed. “It’s probably a good idea.”

Soft laughter feathered her skin. He swept her off her feet and carried her over to his coat, then sat down with her cuddled on his lap. His head tipped back against the moss-covered wall, and he shut his eyes.

Saia studied his face in the moonlight dappling him. Deep lines bracketed his mouth, and tiny ones marred his forehead. How bad was this transference? He looked exhausted. Tenderness engulfed her. Unable to help him, except to offer comfort, she reached out and gently stroked the lines of pain on his rigid, stubbled jaw.

His Sin wanted her, and Riley was fighting it. She remembered those lime-green eyes stained with red and tried to sort through her thoughts at how she felt about this.

The Sin needed to mate with her, too.

But it would still be Riley, wouldn’t it?
He
would make love to her…

Riley shifted, trying to ease the tightness building inside him. It had nothing to do with his transference and everything to do with his unruly sex. After being so rough with Saia the last time, he didn't dare risk her now. More, he knew he was holding back because his Sin had to claim her, too.

He didn't want to think about that. Instead, he concentrated on with agony corroding his mind as the changes in him continued. It felt as if spikes had been drilled into his skull. He clenched his teeth, breathed in deeply.

“Your Sin wants me, too. Doesn’t it?”

Her question took him by surprise, startling him out of his pain. His eyes snapped open. “What are you talking about?”

“It told me.”

Ah, shit! “I'm sorry.”

“Why?”

It took a moment before he could speak past the pain. “It must be terrifying for you. Me, with my…needs. And
it
, who the hell knows what it wants…”

“But
you
would be the one making love to me, right?” Her gaze searched his as if looking for reassurance.

He wanted to lie. Couldn’t. “I don’t know, Saia. I honestly don’t know.”

“What if we take it slow?”

“No. Later, when all of this is over.” When he had more control. He was too unstable now.

She dropped her gaze, staring at her fingers. “Did you really want to break our mating bond?”

“Wrath.” He blew out a ragged breath. His sire sure covered all his bases. “No, Saia. It was a fleeting, foolish thought that it would keep you safe, and abandoned just as fast.” He lifted her chin, held her gaze. “I could never leave you. You are mine. And
that
bond cannot be broken. Ever.”

A smile trembled on her lips. “I'm glad.”

Then she slid her warm lips over his in a tender kiss, distracting him from the searing pain wracking his mind. He hoped like hell this torture would soon pass.

She shifted and sat astride him, her core hit his painfully erect sex. He held still, didn't dare breathe, but when she rubbed herself against him, he lost his tenuous control.

“Gods, Saia.” He grunted, could do nothing, held in the throes of the power consuming him. More, it made the pain strangely bearable, and a deep-seated hunger for his mate grew. He realized then that this had to happen. There was no other choice.

She stared at him anxiously. “Do you want me to stop?”

“By the gods, no—touch me. Just touch me.”

The smile she gave him rocked his heart. It was like the sun shining amidst the storm. All he could do was sit there and stare like a mute as she rose.

She’d braved this hazardous bayou full of gators, and worse, a nesting ground for dangerous Caligos, and had come for him. So he wouldn’t be alone… No one had done that for him. Ever.

Emotions for his mate overwhelmed him.

She straddled him again and he realized she’d gotten rid of her boots, her leggings, and her underwear. The socks remained and her long sweater, which hid her sexy body. She reached for his waist, her fingers skimming against the skin of his belly as she unfastened and unzipped his jeans, freeing him.

She circled his erection and stroked him. By the nine hells, it felt so damn good. She worked her hand down his rigid length, then up again, her thumb caressing the head. Scooting back, she lowered her head, and her warm mouth slid over his sex.

His entire body tightened. He pushed her long hair aside to see her face. At the erotic sight of her working him with her lips and tongue, he groaned and hauled her up, kissing her hard. Tasting himself, her sweetness.

He grabbed the end of her sweater and dragged it off, followed by her tee, tossing them onto the rest of her things. He shifted, moved her off him and rose. His jeans hit the dirt seconds later. He came up behind her, pulled her down in front of him, and pushed her on all fours. Leaning over her, he ran his tongue from her nape, along her spine to his mating mark, and down her sexy backside.

He slid his hand between her thighs and stroked her clit with his thumb.

He worked two fingers into her tight body, thrusting in and out, preparing her for him. Soft pants escaped her, her inner muscles clenching him. He withdrew his hand. She was so deliciously wet.

“Noooo,”
she moaned.

“Not from my hand, sweetheart,” he rasped, tone raw, dark with need. “Inside you. Want to feel you come all around me.”

He gripped her hips with one hand and guided his sex into her with the other. Her body squeezed around him like a fist, the sensation so fucking incredible.

As he pressed his mouth to the side of her neck, his vision blurred, a red haze seeping through. Deep within him a stirring began, his body tensed as his Sin rose. A darker energy—sharp, potent—its essence swept though him and embraced Saia in that same fiery haze.

He stilled, his heart pounded so hard, it almost cracked his ribs.

She stiffened. “Riley?”

“Yeah…it’s still me,” he said, his voice low. Guttural now.

“It’s okay.” She pushed against him and undid him with her trust.

Dark desire and ferocious need flooded him. He squeezed her bottom, pulling out and thrusting in harder. A low rumble rolled out of him as his Sin took over. This time, it didn't block Riley out.

He held on to her hips with one hand, the other he ran down her smooth back and to her stomach as if rediscovering every inch of her silky skin. His palm squeezed her breast, his fingers tugging at her nipple. He moved his other hand from her hip to between her thighs and rolled her clit with his thumb.

“God, Riley, it feels so good—more…” She pushed her hips into him, her inner muscles contracting around him. He drove harder into her, the sounds of flesh slapping flesh echoing in the quiet night. Her body tightened around him.

Needing to see her face, he withdrew and flipped her on her back. Gorgeous passion-glazed golden brown eyes slumberous with need met his as he thrust back into her. Her legs slid around his hips. He kissed her deeply. Slowly. Powerfully.

The emotions churning within him, made him want to shackle her to his side, be the very air she needed. And he didn't fucking care if that was too possessive.

Because she was his life.

His Sin hummed in approval.

Changing the angle of his penetration, his cock slid against her clit, in and out, the friction had her body arching. She cried out, her inner muscles clamping around his cock like a fist as her orgasm yanked her over.

He thrust harder into her. Seconds later, his own dam broke, rolling through his spine and tightening his groin; everything taking on a glowing red miasma as his release spilled inside her.

Overcome, he buried his face in her neck, shut his eyes and drifted on the sea of emotions consuming him.

She ran her fingers through his hair. Her breath escaping in soft pants brought him back. The red haze had faded.

“I must be crushing you…” Riley reluctantly withdrew from her body and pulled her with him as he lay down on the coat he’d summoned a few days ago when the shivers had set in.

He willed a blanket from his apartment. Seconds later, it materialized, and he pulled it over them.

She slipped her arm around his waist. “That was amazing.”

“No.” He placed a reverent kiss on her brow. “
You
are amazing. You are my world, Saia—my everything.”

She pressed her lips to his chest. “I love you.”

He knew it, but to hear the words... Like her very own brand of claiming fire, it wrapped around his heart and imprinted in that part of him that had given up on ever being loved. His soul.

A light smack landed on his arm pulled him back. “And?”

He smiled. “Ditto.”

She rolled her gorgeous eyes.

His smile dropped. The intensity of his emotions for his mate unfurled. “I love you, Saia. The gods knew I never believed in that emotion, but you showed me differently. This undeserving heart of mine—such as it is—you own it. In every lifetime we meet.”

Tears crowded her eyes. She hugged him tightly. “Forever.”

***

Early morning arrived with a new perspective for Riley. Drops of water slid from his cropped hair down his naked body as he made his way back to Saia. He flexed his fingers and ran a quick scan through his body.

The roiling turbulence, the agony inside him had abated. His body felt different, more stoked. Powerful. And he wanted his mate, but she needed rest. It’s what drove him to the small river close by for another swim.

He dreaded thinking what would happen when he eventually housed the entire entity of the Sin of Wrath. But for now, his Sin had settled, satisfied that Riley had allowed it to be a part of claiming Saia, too.

He cut through the thick undergrowth. Animals scurried off, rustling the grass and leaves. The cool air swept over his damp body and dried his skin as he walked into the clearing. Weak sunlight peered through the clouds, highlighting the crumbling walls of the ruins. All was quiet. He pulled down the protective spell he’d cast around the place, then moved the vines aside and entered.

The blanket he’d covered Saia with had slipped to her waist. Long, silky, black hair covered parts of her face and chest. He’d worn her out with his demands and wished he could let her rest longer.

But the day had to be faced.

Riley trailed his lips along her clavicle and breathed in her feminine scent. She ran her fingers up his back. He grasped her hand. “Come on, sweetheart, get up. We need to make tracks before your family sends out a search party for you.”

“Do we have to?” she grumbled, eyes closed.

“Yes.” He laughed, then frowned at her bare fingers. “Where’s your ring?”

Her eyes flicked open. “In my coat pocket. It was making me uncomfortable. I'm too hot all the time, and besides, I sort of sense them now—sense evil.”

Riley stilled. “You do?”

“Uh, huh. It’s like an ominous slither, an icy cold sensation inside me.”

She’d developed a power? It could only be the mating flame. He was so damn glad. A ring could get lost, but this way, she’d always know when evil was around. He smiled. “You have the ability to sense evil now.”

She frowned. “I felt it then, too, when that demoness left me stranded at the gateway to Hell, but I hadn’t really thought about it, being terrified out of my mind—” She stopped dead. Eyes wide. “How?”

He shook his head in amusement. “When the mating flame engulfed you…” He picked up his jeans from the ground, fished in the pockets, then took her hand and slipped something solid over her ring finger.

Saia shot up from the makeshift bed and stared wide-eyed at the gleaming black gold band embedded with three glowing red stones—the stones exactly like the ones in the circlet he’d given her. Her gaze flashed to his. “What is this?”

“Only a wedding ring counts,” he teased, his expression tender. “I had that with me for a while, there didn't seem to be a right time to give it to you.”

“But I only said
that
because I was mad at you.”

“I know…” He held her hand, his thumb stroking the stones. “Those belong to my mother. I never knew her, but I wanted you to have them. The circlet appeared fine, but I had the ring redesigned so it’s more you.”

“Oh…” She leaped for him, hugging him tight. “I love it—thank you! It’s beautiful. But I left my circlet behind.”

“It’s safe—” He eased back and glanced out the vine-concealed window. “We have company.” Rising to his feet, he pulled on his jeans and boots.

Saia yanked the blanket protectively over her. “Who?”

“Ikaria. I’ll see what she wants.”

Riley freed his t-shirt hanging on a nearby branch, pulled it on, then walked outside. He found Ikaria waiting at the edges of the trees.

“What is it,” he asked, straightening his tee.

As she crossed the clearing, her troubled gaze flickered to the ruin and back to him. “Ayperos has Zayn.”

Dammit. Riley ran his fingers through the half-inch of hair he now sported. He should have known the bastard would go after Saia’s family if he couldn’t get to her. “Take Saia back to the house—”

“No-no.” Ikaria shook her head, her anxiety growing. “It is not a good idea. Ayperos has more of them watching the mansion. I’ve killed three of his blood-demons and wounded another in the time you were gone—”

“He wanted me, but took my brother instead?” Saia’s hoarse voice cut through the brisk, early-morning air.

Riley pivoted and met her horror-stricken gaze where she stood frozen in the ruined doorway.

“Don’t worry, we’ll get him back,” he said, crossing her. No way would he let that insane bastard get his hands on his mate or her family.