Darkest Nyte Page 16

  "Why?" he asked.

  She couldn’t think of a single reason. Good or bad.

  He shifted, easing her onto her back. Propped on his side, he gazed down at her, his eyes burnished ebony. She exhaled and couldn’t quite capture another breath as the sight of him filtered through her raw senses. Sunlight touched his face with warmth, like a brush of gold across his strong features. The crinkles around his eyes reflected the radiance of his smile.

  It was as though a light had turned on inside his heart and glowed through every part of him.

  This man had touched her in many ways last night, physical being the least important, if not the most spectacular. She felt a longing for him deep in her soul. She wanted to know his presence beside her always. She wanted to bear his children, a concept she had never even considered before.

  He stroked the tip of her chin. "Do you know you are absolutely glowing?"

  "Am I?" If her glow matched his, she must be luminous.

  He kissed the sensitive flesh below her ear. His long hair flowed like a black river of silk, the ends swirling across her chest. She ran her fingers through it, drawing it back over his shoulder. He touched her cheek with his fingertips and smiled. The warmth and openness radiating from him took her breath away.

  How had she endured all this time without knowing him? Without having him near? And if something were to happen to him--

  The thought struck a chord of fear within her, vibrating to the depths of her soul. He might be a wizard who wouldn’t die, but she sensed he had the power to travel further than she could ever imagine. If he ever wanted to leave her, he could go where she could never follow.

  The memory of yesterday, when Nyte had disappeared jolted through her like a lightning bolt of sheer agony.

  She had suffered the loss of so many people over the years. The memory of Jerrick, her youngest and dearest sibling, weak and old on his deathbed, shriveled her heart. When he’d died, she had never felt so alone.

  She’d lost something of herself that day. If anything ever happened to Nyte ... if he ever left her... How would she ever survive it?

  "Lucinda, what is it?" He stroked her cheek with gentle fingers.

  Tears sprang to her eyes as she slid her arms around his neck and drew him close. She clung to him, the only thought in her head that he could fill the aching emptiness within her.

  She pressed her lips to his neck and murmured, "Nyte, I need you." His arms tightened around her. "Make love to me."

  He eased her back and stared into her tear-soaked eyes. "Of course, little one." He kissed the tears from her eyes but his tender touch only triggered more. "But why are you crying?"

  "Because I need you so much." And that thought frightened her more than she could ever explain.

  Nyte smiled. She needed him. Pleasure soared within him. She had finally come to accept the Bond and at the joy of it she had swelled into tears.

  He took her lips in fevered joy. Her body responded to his immediately, her nipples hardening against his chest, pressing into him like hard little pebbles. Urgency surged through him, blood rushing to his groin. His penis swelled in need. He shifted his lips to her breast, drawing the peak deep into his mouth. She gasped. His erection pulsed, already at full mast. He stroked his hand down her belly to her center, but her hand grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

  "What is it, sweetheart?" Please, don’t let her want to stop. He didn’t think he would survive stopping now.

  He glanced at her face. The glazed, needy look in her eyes told him that wouldn’t happen. She planted her hand on his shoulder and pushed until he lay flat on his back. She prowled over him and sat on his hips, cradling his cock in warmth. It swelled harder, knowing her waiting moistness sat only inches away.

  She leaned forward and he felt her hair pool across his chest in cool waves, then her warm mouth surrounded his left nipple. She lapped it with her tongue, then sucked. His mouth went dry. Her fingers toyed with his other nipple while she drove him crazy with her teeth and tongue.

  He stroked his hands through her hair, the silken strands tangling around his fingers as he gathered it up so he could see her lovely face.

  Oh, God, he wanted her. He needed to feel her warmth surrounding him, drawing him deep into the center of her being. He stroked his hands across her bare shoulders.

  Her hand slid down his belly and wrapped around his erection. At the tantalizing feel of her soft hands on him, the pounding of his pulse quadrupled and all his blood seemed to bolt toward her touch, until he thought he’d burst.

  She leaned forward and licked the edges of his lips, then kissed him, moving her mouth enthusiastically on his. Her tongue curled around his then and she sucked it into her mouth. He groaned, then swirled inside her, tasting her sweetness.

  She drew back and gave him a wicked smile, then she slid down his legs and kissed his navel, then placed butterfly kisses down his belly to the left of his cock. It bolted upward, then fluttered in need. She continued down his thighs, then kissed inward and up, stopping below his balls, driving him insane. She kissed and licked, then continued across the other thigh, then up to his navel again, never touching his erratically twitching penis. Oh, God, he wanted to feel her mouth on him.

  He almost jolted through the ceiling when he felt the first delicate touch of her lips on the tip of him. Her tongue lapped over the small opening, as though tasting him. She pushed herself up on her hands, cradling a clear droplet on the tip of her outstretched tongue, and leaned forward to kiss him. Her tongue swirled into his mouth sharing with him the salty taste.

  "Sit on the bed," she murmured as she stood up. He followed her instructions and she kneeled in front of him.

  She grinned and slid her hands down his chest, leaving one to tease his nipple as the other continued downward to his steely-hard erection. She lifted it and licked his shaft, from base to tip, then swirled around the head. Cupping his balls and lifting their weight in her hands, she admired them as she licked downward again. With her lips, she nibbled his testicles lightly.

  He moaned as she drew one inside, cradling it in the hot interior of her mouth. Slowly, she drew in the other, then pulsed her tongue, gently squeezing his balls against the roof of her mouth.

  "Oh, God," he groaned.

  Her hands wrapped around his penis and she stroked, sliding skin over hard muscle. She released him, lapped the length of his cock, then swallowed the head. She moved down, taking in as much of him as she could. Damp warmth on the top half, cool air on the bottom, until her hands wrapped around him and sealed him in heat. Her head bobbed up and down, her hands moving in pace. Her tongue swirled around the head, dabbing and cajoling, creating an intense ring of pleasure. One of her hands cupped his balls again. His groin contracted. He stroked his hand through her hair curling his fingers behind her head. The tightening intensified and he knew he would erupt in seconds.

  "Lucinda, I’m going to--"

  She nodded vigorously, clearly encouraging him. He relaxed into it, feeling the burning liquid stream through him, exploding into her waiting warmth, on his long, guttural groan.

  It pulsed and pulsed, helped by the feel of her hands curled around his balls and her mouth squeezing his cock. Finally, his load emptied, he fell back on the bed. Lucinda followed suit and curled up beside him, a very satisfied grin on her face.

  "Did you like that?"

  "Absolutely." He hugged her to his side.

  She sighed deeply.

  "I guess I should let you rest now."

  "Why do you say that?"

  Her fingers curled around his limp member and she lifted it sadly, stroking it like a sick puppy.

  "It looks a bit tired."

  He shifted his body so he lay fully on the bed, then he lifted her onto him, sitting her across his thighs.

  "It won’t take much encouragement from you."

  He willed energy through his body, magnifying the effect of her hands stroking his cock. It rose before her eyes, reaching fu
ll height within seconds. He caressed her soft breasts, watching the nipples pucker. Sliding his hands down her sides, over the curve of her hips, then over her thighs, he reveled in the silkiness of her skin. He slipped his hand under her body and dipped into her moist opening.

  "Mmm." She shifted forward, allowing him to flick across her clit. She moaned.

  She lifted her hips and he positioned his rod under her, then she lowered herself onto it, her hot moistness surrounding him with intense pleasure. How had he survived so long without her? Their physical joining had finally completed the link between them and he had never known such euphoria.

  Love. He’d only known a shadow of the emotion before. The completeness of it filled his being with all the colors of the rainbow.

  She leaned forward, offering her breast. He lapped the tip with his tongue, the pebble hardness exciting him to the straining point. She smiled and moved her hips in a circle, squeezing his cock inside her. She plucked at his nipples and turbulent spirals of need built in him. She lifted up, then eased down slowly and moaned softly. The sound of her pleasure nearly shot him to the edge. She lifted and lowered again, contracting tightly around him, causing magnificent friction along his ultra sensitive shaft. Her rhythm steadily increased until she pounded down on him in quick thrusts. He knew he wouldn’t survive a moment longer. At the next thrust, he exploded, erupting into her, the sweet agony of release augmented by the sound of his name on her lips in a long moan of pleasure as she joined him in orgasm.

  Afterward, he held her against him, stroking her hair. His heart swelled with overwhelming emotion. Nothing had ever felt as sweet as holding this woman in his arms.

  "Lucinda, I don’t know how I ever lived without you."

  Lucinda stiffened slightly, confusion swirling through her. His words, so closely echoing her own sentiments, disturbed her.

  She had actually formed a Love Bond with Nyte, but he was not her mentor. A bond between them should not be possible.

  Unless he was right about him being her mentor, not Rand.

  It could be possible. He’d already shown himself to have superior powers to her. That thought, however, curled through her belly and tightened around her gut. She didn’t want him to be more powerful than her. She didn’t want him to be able to control her. Especially if they were bonded.

  And what about Clarissa, the woman Rand told her Nyte had already bonded with?

  The confusion of thoughts rebounding through her head like a ping-pong ball was starting to give her a headache. She pulled herself to a sitting position, materialized a robe around herself, then stood up.

  It was time to get some answers.

  "Nyte, since you have your memory back, I’d like you to explain a few things."

  His smile waned. "What do you want to know?"

  She clasped her hands together and paced across the room.

  "For one thing, I’d like to know about Clarissa."

  He pushed himself up against the pillows, his expression wary. "Clarissa? What did Rand tell you about her?"

  "He told me you two were lovers."

  He folded his arms over the blanket. "I see. What else did he tell you?"

  She averted her gaze from his. She couldn’t ask him about Rand’s accusation that he’d killed Clarissa.

  She shrugged. "Not much."

  He pushed the covers aside and stood up. As he approached her, she felt her body stiffen. He placed his hands on her shoulders.

  "Lucinda, don’t be jealous of my relationship with Clarissa. That was a long time ago. It’s over between us."

  His searching gaze threatened her composure.

  She pushed his hands aside. "How can it be over? If she’s a wizard, she lives forever."

  Unless he’d killed her. Rand said he was powerful enough to kill other wizards, but she didn’t want to believe he would kill anyone, let alone someone he loved.

  Trembling inside, she drew in a deep breath and shot out the question she knew she had to ask. "Where is she now?"

  Pain clouded his eyes. "I don’t want to talk about that. You’ll just have to believe me when I tell you she will never be a part of my life again."

  Numbness crept through her. His disturbing words made her wonder if Rand was right after all. Had Nyte killed Clarissa?

  If so, she knew something must have happened to push Nyte over the edge, such that he hadn’t been in control of his actions. Something that would make him strike out in blind rage.

  Like finding out Rand had been having an affair with her.

  "Nyte," she started, but her throat--clenched too tightly--barely released the word. She cleared her throat and tried again. "Nyte, tell me what happened between you and Rand. Why do you hate him so?"

  He stared at her for a long moment. She barely breathed as she sensed a dark conflict playing out within him.

  He sighed, then stepped to the window as though seeking a retreat. As he slid open the glass, the salty tang of the ocean seeped in with the breeze. As Nyte stared outside, the curtains fluttered lightly and sunshine billowed into the room. Lucinda could hear the gentle ocean waves breaking onto the beach below.

  The air around her felt lighter, as though he had beckoned the ocean breeze to clear out the stagnant energy from the past and allow it to flow and change.

  "I never said I hated him."

  "You didn’t have to. Every time you two are in the same room I expect a major explosion--literally. I’m surprised you haven’t thrown a fireball at him."

  His long fingers curled around the white gauze curtains.

  "Don’t do this, Lucinda. You’re dredging up memories I’d rather leave dormant."

  She clenched her fists in frustration. "But I need to know." She stepped closer. "Rand has always been the most important person in my life."

  His back stiffened. Of course, he didn’t like hearing that. She placed her hand on his forearm, resisting the temptation to stroke the taut muscles to relieve his tension.

  "Until now."

  He turned to face her, his gleaming, dark eyes focused on her. The intensity of his stare burned through her.

  "I need to understand why the two men in my life are so at odds," she insisted.

  His continuing silence and the way he stared at her with that unreadable expression made her uncomfortable. Her stomach churned and she slowly withdrew her hand.

  He caught it and drew it into the warmth of his own. "You might not like what I have to tell you."

  A crimp formed in her heart.

  "I’ve held off telling you because...." He seemed to carefully consider what he was about to say as he traced paths across the back of her hand with his fingertip.

  "Because what?" she prompted.

  He released her hand and scowled. The fierceness of it startled her. "Because, believe it or not, I didn’t want to destroy your image of him. You obviously have him on some kind of pedestal. To you, he’s the great, the wonderful, Randalph."

  He paced a few steps, then turned back to face her.

  "When I see the admiration in your eyes, directed at him...." His voice softened to a rough whisper. "I should have been your mentor. If it hadn’t been for...." He clamped his eyes closed. "Damn!"

  He spun away, turning his broad back toward her. As he walked to the window again with his long-legged stride, Lucinda couldn’t help noticing how much alike he and Rand were. The same stature, the same quality of movement, the same explosive arrogance. It must be something about the era that had shaped their youth. The two men had so many similarities. How could they possibly have wound up hating each other?

  Dragging back the curtains, he stared at the horizon. Dark blue and hazy in the distance, it looked a million miles away. Lucinda could hear the gulls outside, like wounded creatures screeching in pain.

  "Rand and I were very close once, did you know that? As close as you and he are now."

  She stepped to his side, sensing he needed her closeness.

  "In fact, we shared a trust
that surpassed the mentor-student relationship." He gripped the curtain so tightly, she feared he would pull it down. "Or so I thought."

  "What happened, Nyte?" she asked softly. She couldn’t imagine anything that would destroy a trust as powerful as that.

  Nyte turned to look at the little, blonde angel watching him. Her appearance, so much like a fairy tale creature, took a concerted effort to ignore. It would be so easy to misjudge her, to underestimate her fierce independence and keen intelligence.

  Looking at her now, seeing her wide-eyed impatience to hear his tale, he wondered how he could possibly go on. No matter how much he would like to draw her from Randalph’s influence, he could not bear to break her heart. And hearing of Randalph’s capacity for treachery would do just that.

  He strode away from the window. "No, it’s better that you don’t know."

  He felt her fingers dig into his arm as she grabbed him. "Oh, no, you don’t. I want to know exactly what happened."

  He turned on her then, his voice harsh. "Do you?"

  Her eyes flared wide in surprise.

  "Are you very sure about that?" He walked toward her at a steady pace and she backed away. "Do you really think you can handle it?"

  Suddenly, she flattened her hands on his chest, stopping his forward motion. Determination lined her features. "Yes, I do."

  Damn. His cutting words had been directed more at Fate than her, but now he’d challenged her strength, the last thing he’d intended. He had been so worried about hurting her that he had almost done just that.

  She held her ground, glaring at him, like a kitten facing a snarling wolf. A surge of admiration spiked through him. She certainly was a small package of fireworks, his Lucinda.

  In this world, his power was unsurpassed. He had never faced a challenge he could not conquer. If he ever did, would he handle it with anywhere near the same courage as this woman?

  "All right. I’ll tell you." He settled down on the edge of the bed and sighed. The telling would not be easy. He closed his eyes and willed the winds of time to reverse and whisk his thoughts back thirteen centuries hence--yet less than a fortnight to his time-strewn brain. In the image that flared inside his head, Randalph’s eyes blazed brilliant blue. The same image emerged every time Nyte closed his eyes. Agony crept around him, scouring the edges of his consciousness, as his mind drew back into the past.