The look in her eyes was a dare. A challenge. And Cain was more than up for it.

He tugged her hands away and pushed them behind her back where she could no longer reach him. With one hand, he held her wrists there, which thrust her breasts out at him. Her stiff little nipples taunted him, and he no longer had the willpower to hold himself back.

Cain drew circles over her breast with one finger while he watched her face. The link between them pulsed with impatience as he came closer and closer to her nipple. The supple fabric of her shirt molded to her skin, denying him the contact he craved. It was all he could do not to shove her shirt up to feel her naked skin fill his palm. Her pupils dilated, and she bared her teeth at him, tugging at his grip as if she could actually break free.

Of course if she really wanted to get away, all she had to do was use his power to shove him into a wall. The fact that she hadn’t done that yet spurred him on and gave him great satisfaction. Though not nearly as much as he planned to give her.

His finger slid over her nipple and she sucked in a sharp breath. Her head fell back, putting the luceria on display. Dark, rich amethyst purples swam below the surface, swirling like they’d been stirred. Her pulse pounded in her throat, and a heavy flush spread over her skin.

The added heat heightened her scent, making it hard for Cain to think straight. He needed to slide inside her and fuse them together even tighter. The luceria wasn’t enough. Even with that, she could walk away. He needed more—to bind them together in a way she’d never be able to break.

A child. That was a bond she wouldn’t be able to deny. Even more, it was what Cain wanted. What he’d always wanted.

He stared down at her, knowing that if he went any farther, he wasn’t going to care what she wanted. The gift she’d given him—the hope for survival and some kind of future—was too precious for him to throw away with trickery and betrayal.

His hand covered her breast. The cotton of her shirt was so hot he wondered how it didn’t simply ignite. Her nipple stabbed eagerly against his palm. Her eyes were closed, and a look of abandon covered her face.

Opening his mouth and shoving out words was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to do. “We need to stop.”

Her eyes opened, revealing confusion and a foggy layer of lust. “What? Why?”

Words were beyond him. Desire was too heavy in his veins, depriving him of the oxygen he needed to speak. So instead, he formed a single, coherent thought and sent it flying through their link.

He showed her the two of them together, naked and in the throes of climax. The image morphed to her, with her belly rounded with their child; then of her holding that baby in her arms, rocking it to sleep as it suckled at her breast.

Rory’s body shook as the image dissipated. She stared at him in silence for so long, he was sure that she had to be disgusted by his near loss of control. He was fertile once again, and with that hope came responsibilities. Responsibilities he’d failed to attend by finding some human means of birth control.

“Is that all that’s stopping you?” she said, her voice faint and rough around the edges.

“It’s enough, isn’t it? Unless you want a—”

“No. I don’t. But it’s okay. I’m protected.” With her words, she sent him her own set of thoughts—her fears that her monthly bleeding would bring the demons, her worry for her grandmother, her trip to the doctor to get pills that would stop her cycle.

She was on birth control.

“Good enough?” she asked. “Because I really don’t want to stop.”

His erection hadn’t dissipated one iota. It didn’t control him, but it certainly was trying.

He nodded, unable to find the breath to speak.

Rory gave him a smile that promised heaven. “Good.”

Chapter 20

Rory was shaken. The things that Cain had shown her had thrown her for a loop. It wasn’t just the idea of having a baby that freaked her out, it was how she’d felt when she’d watched those images play out inside her mind. Before, the concept was this distant, alien thing that would never happen to her—something she’d thought about only in the vaguest sense, the way she thought about traveling the world or going to the moon.

Now the idea seemed . . . possible.

Maybe it was just Cain’s emotions rubbing off on her. She really didn’t know. What she did know was that if she stopped and thought about it too long, she might forget the way things were. She was dangerous. People around her died. As tempting as the idea of having a child one day might be, it wasn’t in the cards.

Right now, all she needed to know was that Cain was ready and willing to drive away all of the unsettling thoughts that came to haunt her.

The man had a way of making her forget to think.

Before his brain started working again, finding some impossible reason for them to stop, she decided to take things into her own hands.

Rory stepped out of his grip and stripped off her shirt. She dropped it on the kitchen floor and started walking as she undid her bra. She felt him behind her as she hit the first step. His imposing bulk had its own gravitational pull on her. The only reason she was able to walk away now was because she knew he would follow.

Her bra landed on the banister. She caught a fleeting sight of herself through his eyes—of her bare back and swaying hips as she walked away.

One of her shoes tumbled down the steps. The other hit the bedroom door as she kicked it off. By the time she reached the bed, her jeans were open and on their way down her thighs.

Cain grabbed her waist from behind. His hands were hot on her skin, his fingers clenching as he pulled her back against his body. The hard ridge of his erection pulsed against her bare skin, making her groan with need. He pinned her in place with an arm across her hips while his hand slid over her belly, her ribs, and finally he cupped her breast. She looked down, enthralled by the sight of his huge hand covering her. As she watched, he slid his fingers over her skin until just the bare tips were stroking and plucking at her nipple.

A jolt of pleasure arced from his fingers to her center. She felt a rush of heat between her thighs, felt herself grow wet.

Cain’s chest vibrated with a low growl of approval. His cock jerked toward her, throbbing in time with his heart.

Her thighs were trapped together by her jeans. Cain slipped a single finger along her slick folds, barely brushing her clit as he gently pinched her nipple.

A wash of tingling electric sensations shot through her, bouncing around along her insides until she was sure she had to be glowing from within. Her head was too heavy to support. She let it fall back against his shoulder, simply enjoying the way he learned her body.

His lips found her throat. He kissed her, his mouth hot and open, his tongue swirling over her skin in a way that made her shiver in reaction.

Rory wanted to touch him, too, so she reached back and gripped his head in her hands. It wasn’t enough. She needed to kiss him, too, and watch his face so she could learn how to please him the way he pleased her.

She found the strength to turn in his grasp, nearly falling over as her jeans tripped her up. The bed was right behind her now, so she sat down to get rid of the offending garment, only to be completely waylaid by the sight of his glorious cock thrusting out at her.

Her mouth watered. She reached for him, gripping him in both hands. Hot, velvet skin sucked her in, tempting her beyond reason. His scent curled around her, making her dizzy. She closed her eyes and took the tip of his erection in her mouth.

His body clenched and he let out a hiss of pleasure. His taste went to her head. She needed more—all he had to give.

Cain’s fingers cradled her head. Rory felt his self-control tremble through him, saw his abdomen clench as his fingers tightened against her scalp. He was close to losing control. She wasn’t sure how she knew, but the idea gave her a heady rush of power, and a naughty little jolt of satisfaction.

She wanted to make him go wild—to drive him out of his mind with pleasure. Before she could, her mind blazed with a vivid image of her laid out on the bed, her body completely open as he worked the tip of his thick cock inside of her. The sight was so erotic, so compelling, she trembled with need.

Cain had done that to her. She felt his presence hovering in her mind, gauging her pleasure, feeding her his. She wasn’t sure how he’d done it, but there was no room in her head to study the technique right now. Thought was beyond her. Only feelings were strong enough to make it through the lust-filled maze of her mind.

He lifted her away from his body and laid her back on the bed. His dark green gaze dared her to fight him—to stop him from taking what he wanted.

He pulled her jeans off her legs, and gripped her ankles in his hands as he came over her. His wide body blocked out the sight of everything else. He’d shed his robe, leaving himself gloriously naked. She drank in the sight of smooth skin layered over dense muscles. The tree along his chest swayed, its branches now fuzzy and green with new leaves. The roots of the tree spread down toward his groin and over his left hip.

Before their time was over, she was going to trace every one of those roots and branches with her tongue.

Cain kissed her calf, the inside of her knee, spreading her legs wide as he eased his body between them. The hot trail left by his tongue cooled as he worked his way toward her pussy. Every inch of her skin tingled in anticipation as his mouth settled over her, kissing her.

She arched off the bed, making a desperate, mewling sound she never would have thought herself capable of making. It vibrated with pleasure and need, stringing her tighter as Cain simply did as he pleased. He made her feel what he wanted her to feel, sucking and licking until she was no longer in control of her own reactions.

A tiny spark of heat leapt from his tongue, and Rory’s whole world went up in a blinding flash of light and sensation. The climax exploded from her core, shoving the air from her lungs and all rational thought from her mind. She was suspended in a wave of pleasure, held in place by Cain’s strong hands.

As the cataclysm eased, as she struggled to catch her breath, Cain began working a single finger into her body. As sensitive as she was, as slick as she was, the penetration was nearly too much to stand. She tilted his head up to get his attention so she could tell him to slow down, but the look on his face made the words dry up and blow away.

His skin was dark with lust. Sweat lined his brow. His mouth was wet. Determination ruled his features.

“Too much,” she managed to get out between gasps for air.

“If you can’t take my fingers, you’ll never be able to take my cock. You do want that, don’t you?”

Oh, yeah. She’d never wanted anything more in her life. Thankfully, she didn’t have to say the words. He seemed to understand her silence.

Cain gave her a dark grin. “Good. Now lie back and relax.”

Relaxing was out of the question, but his finger moved inside of her, sliding deeper, and she no longer needed a breather. A trickle of desire flowed into her, sharpening her own until it clawed at her for more.

He’d done that to her—fed her some of his lust—and she was right back to where she’d been a few minutes ago, clamoring with the need to come.