Page 44 of Demon's Bluff
Mmmm?“Sure, I don’t mind warming the water.” A quiver of anticipation shivered through me as I recalled his thickening layer of smut. Perhaps this was where it was coming from. Soaking in a puddle of hot water watching the stars come out would be a little slice of heaven. The only thing to make it better would be a fire, and he had that, too. “I’ll find some wood for the fire first.”
“No need. I got it. You can take a soak while I finish the soup.”
“You sure?” I asked, and he gave me a gentle push.
“You, naked in my river? Absolutely,” he said, and I grinned.
Jenks’s wings clattered in annoyance. “Oh, for ever-loving, troll-humping fairy farts,” the pixy said. “If you need me, I’ll be with the horse.”
Twenty minutes and a singed finger later, I had shimmied out of my clothes and was easing into a warm puddle of water, moaning as I settled my bare ass on a flat rock now radiating a gentle warmth. The sound of Trent fussing over a pot above the fire was incredibly soothing, and I felt my eyes slip shut. It was obvious now that—much like demons—his darkening layer of smut had been not from illicit spells but from him replacing his tech-rich luxuries with magic-based fineries. The entire glen felt safe, what with the lingering scent of burnt amber and the zing of elven magic.
My breath eased in and out, as relaxed as the day I was born, while the crickets sang their song of insect seduction. Trent was making me dinner, and I drowsed, lulled by the heat of the water and the peace of the place…
Until a soft ripple of water splashed, and the cool of the night hit me, startling me awake.
“Oh, hey!” I said, sitting up as Trent eased himself into the makeshift bath across from me, the water rising higher to rub out the chill the lapping water had left. His naked body was little more than a shadow, and I looked up, surprised that the stars had shifted. The fire, too, was now only embers. “Crap on toast,” I whispered as he beamed at me. “I fell asleep?”
Moving slow to keep the ripples at a minimum, Trent eased closer until our shoulders touched and our feet intertwined. “You were tired.” His arm slipped behind me. “I had to reheat the water.”
My gaze went to the water, then back to his lightly stubbled face. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”
“Don’t worry about it. The soup will hold.” A sigh sifted from him, and he stared up at the sky. “This isverynice.”
Behind him, a burnt-out candle sat between two covered bowls and a bottle of opened wine on a small table. “You should have woken me.”
Trent’s eyes closed. “I’m not going to wake you up for soup.”
“Yeah, but you made it for me.” I scanned the silent campsite for Jenks, finally spotting a faint glow over by the horse. “I can’t believe I fell asleep.”
His eyes opened and he tugged me closer, his fingertips tracing a suggestive circle on my shoulder. “You fell asleep in my wooded garden,” he said, voice low. “That’s dangerous, you know. Falling asleep in an elf’s garden?” Water trickled as he shifted to give me a kiss, his lips tasting of broth and wine. “You might never escape,” he whispered.
Escape wasn’t exactly on my mind at the moment, and a wry feeling of disappointment rose through me when he eased back to settle more firmly beside me. I was naked. He was naked, and his eyes were shut again.What’s wrong with this picture?
“Escape? I should be that unlucky,” I said, even as I wondered again why I was trying so hard to remain in reality. Al clearly wanted me in the ever-after until his synapses healed and he could do magic again. Trent was in exile, accessible and wonderfully bored. The coven was after my ass. I could wait them out. A hundred years was all it would take, and as a demon, I had that to spare.
And yet I couldn’t leave Cincy to the mercy of whoever was strongest. Not when they fought only for themselves, not the weakest. I hated a bully, and that’s what many undead vampires were. Most had to be incredibly selfish to survive in the first place, and that carried over when they died their first death.
Trent’s breath was slow and even, and I shifted, water sloshing. “I had fun tonight.” Sideways to him, I played with his hair, my entire side going cold. “Evading Laker?” His skin was perfect, glistening with a sheen of water, the firelight turning him into silver and gold under my touch. “Elven magic is so…earthy,” I whispered, smiling as I saw goose bumps rise behind a finger trailing down his neck. “Every time you pulled on a line, I could feel it.”
“Mmmm,” he said, drowsy, and I sent a little surge of ley line energy into the water.
Trent shuddered, a wrinkle of water echoing from him as his eyes opened wide. They were almost black in the dim light, glints of firelight making him a dangerous shadow under my touch. The softness of sleep was gone, and a shiver traced down my spine when his gaze found mine.“I didn’t know you could sense me pulling on a line. Is that an issue?” he said, voice full of question.
I snuggled closer, my hand finding him in suggestion. “Only because it gets me more randy than a goat. Are you sleepy?”
“Ah, not anymore.” Water sloshed as he shifted to tuck his arm behind my head, pillowing it. “What time do you need to be at the church?”
Sensation rippled over me as his hand found my thigh, tracing up and down in a gentle rhythm. “Hours ago.” Tilting my head, I found his ear with my teeth, nibbling, tugging. “Ivy will be frantic.”
A small sound escaped him, and under my hand, he became hard, his breath quickening. “I’m incredibly busy tonight,” I whispered.
“I can see that.” Again water sloshed, and suddenly he was over me, a heady, delicious feeling suffusing me as he nudged my thighs and I moved to make room for him. “This was not on my agenda, but I’ll see if I can work you in.”
Warm, he pressed into my entire length, and looking up at him, I could see only love. “That’s my line,” I whispered, then gasped when his reaching fingers sent little jolts of ley line energy into me, sparking against my skin and delving deep. My hold on him spasmed, and he leaned in, lips finding my neck.
“Oh, God,” I groaned as he drew the smallest thread of ley line energy through me, running from my neck to my groin. It was almost too much, and I arched into him, reaching to guide him in. Foreplay? The entire evening had been foreplay, and I wrapped an arm around him, holding him close as a thrill flowed through me when I felt him enter me, the water making everything rougher than normal.
My breath left me in a rush, and I arched into him again, demanding more as he moved with me, slow at first, each motion meeting mine with an almost savage grace. My fingers grasped his shoulder, and when his teeth found my old vampire scar, I groaned, gasping as he worked it in time with our joined motion.