She wore nothing beneath it. The moonlight caressed her skin, but out of its direct rays, she didn’t react to it like she did the sun earlier.
When she tossed her shirt aside, his hands clenched on her hips while he drank her in. Bending, her mouth found his again, and their tongues entwined. The sweet taste of her washed away the bitterness of the memories haunting him.
As they kissed, she slid her arms around his neck and pressed her breasts against his chest. His cock throbbed in anticipation, but he didn’t rush it. Instead, he savored her as he ran his palms along her back and down to her hips.
They spent a lot of time exploring each other, touching, and tasting and arousing. Eventually, they untangled enough for her to kiss her way down his body to his shaft.
When she took him into her mouth, his hips lifted off the bed, and he groaned as she tasted and teased him until he was on the verge of coming. When he couldn’t take any more of her exquisite torture, he grasped her arms and drew her back up.
Clasping her hips, he flipped her over on the bed. She giggled before biting her lip to stifle it; she gave him a sexy smile and wiggled her hips enticingly.
She knew she was driving him nuts, but two could play that game.
With slow, deliberate movements, he kissed her belly as he moved lower, but when her legs spread wider and her hips arched up, he grasped her waist and turned her over. Lexi gasped as he leveled himself over top of her.
Clasping her hands, he nudged her thighs apart with his leg. And then, he slid his hand between her legs to caress her wetness.
She buried her face in the pillow as she moaned. Leaning over her, he kissed her shoulder and then her cheek as he guided his dick into her.
Lexi’s fingers curled into the sheets as Cole’s body covered hers and his heavy weight pushed her into the mattress. The sensation wasn’t uncomfortable; in fact, she enjoyed it because it reminded her that he was alive and here, and for tonight, nothing could tear them apart.
The future was so very uncertain, but here, in this room, everything was right. When his fingers entwined with hers, she grasped them and lifted her hips to meet his slow thrusts.
She forgot that she was changing into something none of them were familiar with, that the Lord wanted them dead, and the countless other horrors in this brutal world as he possessed her.
While they moved together, her love for him grew until it radiated outward almost as much as the light she emitted earlier. When he started feeding on her, the gentle tug of the sexual energy he absorbed aroused her further.
He released one of her hands and slid his palm down her belly to the junction between her legs. She reacted as if she’d grabbed a live wire when his finger stroked her clit before he moved it in a circular motion that almost made her scream.
Before she did cry out, she recalled the others in the manor and bit her lip as she turned into the pillow again. When she came, it muffled her loud cry.
Cole’s fangs pierced her shoulder, marking her as his mate again. His bite muted his loud groan of pleasure, and the sound of it sent a thrill through her as his seed filled her.
Chapter Sixty-Seven
When Cole met the others in the library the next morning, the scent of coffee brewing and bacon cooking on the stove filled the downstairs. Orin and Varo sipped coffee while Del flipped through the pages of an old book.
Sahira and Brokk shifted nervously from foot to foot as they stood near the fireplace. They’d had too much coffee already, or they were eager to be free of the stone. He suspected it was the latter.
The drapes remained closed over the windows, but it was still early enough the sun hadn’t risen yet. They had a few hours before the stone had to go back, but Brokk knocked on their door early that morning, waking Lexi and him.
Cole wasn’t happy to discover himself still sleeping in her bed, but she smiled and nuzzled closer. “This is where you belong,” she’d muttered happily.
Cole wasn’t anywhere near as happy. He hated that he’d put her at risk, but he’d made it through the night with her in his arms.
More than that, for the first time since the war ended, he hadn’t experienced any nightmares. It was as if she chased them away.
If anyone could, it was Lexi, but he was still afraid they would come back, or she wouldn’t keep them away. And if they returned, he could attack her again.
But she wasn’t going to let him return to sleeping in chairs or on the floor; truth be told, after finally getting a really good night of rest, he didn’t want to do that either. Waking to find her in his arms had been as exhilarating as it was terrifying.
Cole loathed the idea of putting her at risk, but unless something drastic happened again, he wouldn’t sleep apart from her anymore. He had to make sure he didn’t hurt her. He wasn’t sure how to do that, but he would figure it out.
“Where’s Lexi?” Sahira asked.
“Upstairs getting dressed, but she’s not coming with us,” Cole said.
Though the crones were mostly retired from the immortals, no one else could see Lexi in the light until they were ready to fight the Lord. Instead, she would remain here with Del, Orin, and Varo while he went with Brokk and Sahira.
He didn’t like leaving her again so soon after returning from the Lord, but they would need the witches and crones on their side in the future. Besides, he should thank the generosity the crones showed by allowing them to use the harrow stone.
“I’ll get the harrow stone,” Sahira said, “and open the portal when I return.”
“Are you strong enough to open it?” Brokk inquired. “Or would you prefer if I did it?”
“They’ll sense if it’s not a witch opening it and might attack if it’s a vamp. That spell drained me, but I have enough energy to open a portal.”
She left the room and returned less than a minute later. With her shoulders back, she glided over to the fireplace and set the stone on the mantel. Her mahogany hair was in its customary bun, and her amber eyes glinted with determination as she turned back to the room.
With a wave of her hands and a few muttered words, she opened a portal and lifted the stone from the mantle.
“We should go soon,” Sahira said as Lexi stepped into the doorway.
“Good morning, everyone,” Lexi greeted with a smile that warmed Cole’s heart.
“We were getting ready… OW!” Sahira cried.
Cole turned toward her as smoke coiled from Sahira’s hand, and she released the stone. It glowed like it was on fire as it plummeted toward the ground. Just before it would have crashed into the floor, it stopped. For a few seconds, it hovered above the ground.
“What the…?”
Whatever Brokk was about to say died away as the stone shot like a bullet across the room toward Lexi. Her hand flew to her chest, and she staggered away as the stone stopped to hover a couple of inches away from her face.
Her eyes widened as the stone’s radiance grew. Cole was too stunned to move at first, but then panic slammed his heart against his ribs, and he lurched forward. He had no idea what was happening with the stone, but he didn’t want it near Lexi.
Then the stone began to shine brighter. It bathed the room in a brilliant red glow that illuminated her sun-kissed skin and reflected in her now golden eyes.