From the first floor, I heard her distant shout of “Yes!”
I plucked the string one more time before walking away and climbing down the ladder to the second-floor hallway. With my forearm, I wiped the sweat from my brow while I gazed through the open door of the bedroom across from me and out the window.
Through the glass, I saw the woods and the sun creeping toward the horizon. Would the minotaur return tonight?
If it did, we would be better prepared for it, though everyone said traps were useless against it. I wanted to tell them they were wrong, but after last night, I suspected they weren’t. That thing had stormed in here and slapped us around like annoying gnats it was determined to squash.
They told us it would happen, but I was so certain we could kill it. We’d survived the falling of the seals, escaped Hell, destroyed Lucifer, battled the jinn, and destroyed five of the eleven horsemen; one overgrown cow couldn’t be that tough to kill.
I hadn’t expected that cow to be the size of a small house and nearly impervious to injury.
However, it didn’t matter the minotaur seemed unbeatable; Iwouldfind a way to stop it. When it went after Aisling last night, I was sure she was the victim it was going to take, and I was helpless to stop it. I’d always known I’d do whatever it took to keep her safe, but in that instant, I realized how much she meant to me.
I was falling in love with her, and if I had to find some way to kiss the minotaur to stop it, I would do it.
“Hawk?” Aisling asked from the bottom of the stairs leading to the first floor.
“I’ll be right down.”
I tore my gaze away from the window and bent to lift the stairs going into the attic. They creaked as they slid into place. I plucked the string again, and it remained secure—one more trap set for the thing.
A squeak from one of the stairs alerted me Aisling was climbing them before she turned the corner of the hall. My heart skipped a beat when my gaze met hers and a sad smile curved the corners of her mouth. Her limp from last night was already gone, but the horror of the night lingered in her eyes.
When she glided toward me, I opened my arms and enveloped her against my chest when she stepped into them. She fit so perfectly against me that her body melded to mine. My chin rested on her head while she played with the buttons on my shirt.
She undid a couple of buttons, and her fingers slid inside my shirt to rest against my flesh. She sighed when her palms flattened against my skin. Sliding my fingers through her hair, I clasped her nape and held her closer.
“When I thought it was going to take you…” My voice trailed off when she lifted her head to look at me.
Her beauty robbed me of my breath, and releasing her nape, I clasped her cheeks in my hands as I kissed the tip of her nose. I stifled my resentment over not being able to really kiss her and show her how much I’d come to love her, but I settled for telling her.
“I’m falling in love with you, Aisling,” I admitted as I released her face.
My mouth hovered near the corner of hers as she remained unmoving against me; her increased breaths warmed my cheek. Then she removed her hand from my shirt and rested it against my cheek. Leaning back, she released my face to trace her finger over my mouth; I turned my head away.
Rising onto her toes, she kissed my cheek before taking my earlobe into her mouth and nipping at it. My hands constricted on her when her fangs grazed my flesh and her breasts pressed against my chest. I lifted her off the floor and carried her into the bedroom to set her on the bed within.
When dust rose around her, I lifted her again and yanked the blanket off before setting her down. I gripped the bottom of her shirt, and she sat up as she lifted her arms into the air for me to tug it over her head.
I threw it on the floor before running my fingers over the delicate curve of her collarbone. Bending my head, I kissed the hollow beneath her throat and listened to the increased beat of her heart as I unhooked her bra and tossed it aside. I stroked the curve of her breast before rising over her again.
She leaned back and set her hands on the mattress while watching as I untied her boots and pulled them off; they hit the floor with a thud. I pulled her socks off before unbuttoning her pants.
A sexy smile curved her mouth, and she lifted her hips so I could tug her pants down. I admired the smooth curve of her legs while I ran my palms over her silken skin and shapely calves.
Unable to take being apart from her, I released her leg and rose to remove my boots, socks, and pants. She moved back and lay down when I climbed onto the bed to join her. Settling beside her, I propped my head on my elbow and simply stared at her. She was achingly lovely, and she was mine. She gripped the edges of my shirt and pushed it back until I shrugged it off.
Shifting my weight to one side, I rested my hand on her hip before sliding it to her thigh and running it down to her knee. Her hips rose and her legs spread when my fingers glided up the inside of her thigh. She gave an impatient little wiggle when I moved from one thigh to the other instead of sliding my fingers inside her. I skimmed my hand down her other leg as I memorized every inch of her body.
“You’re exquisite,” I murmured.
“You’re a tease,” she replied, and I grinned at her.
She smiled back at me as she rested her hands on my shoulders and pushed me back onto the bed. Pressing my shoulders into the mattress, she climbed on top of me and bent to kiss my neck before working her way down my chest. She used her teeth and tongue to leave a trail of kisses and nips across my flesh as she moved steadily lower.
I sucked in a breath when her breasts brushed against my rigid cock, and then she was hovering over it. She licked the head of my shaft while her hands ran down the inside of my thighs. Then she slid lower and nipped at my inner thigh.
My fingers twisted into the sheets as I waited for her to take me into her mouth, but she continued to run her hands over my legs as she kissed my inner thigh. Rising over me again, she ran her tongue down my dick before kissing my stomach. She leisurely made her way back up my body while her belly slid tantalizingly along my dick.
