Page 70 of Birthright

I closed my mind in much the same way I closed my mind to Jordan’s psychic abilities, building a little wall in my brain to shut it out. I turned to Jordan, who was still lying on the floor.

He smiled. “You have more Demon blood than I thought, priestess. It’s rare to be able to share with the line. Most can draw little bits from it, but few can build on its power and share it back. It is the gateway to other realms and it has welcomed you.” His body shuddered. He took in a ragged breath. “You are a remarkable creature.”

I blushed, still feeling very content. He got up. “Grab a shower and we’ll have lunch.” He walked away and I watched him, his confidence still hanging around him as sure as his power.

I shook my head and opened my mind to the ley line again. Just in case I had imagined it. It still hung there, shimmering with the blue of darkest sapphire. I reached for it again, and it came to me quickly. Power filled me. I was aware of Jordan removing his clothes at the lockers, the guard shifting uneasily from the energy in the hall. I could feel others moving about above me, on the next floor. I took a step forward.

“Don’t walk through it, Keena,” Jordan called out from the locker room. “Slow down. Remember, you don’t have to control everything at once.” His voice seemed to surround me, filtered and echoed by the power of the ley line. I pulled away from the line, backing up and pulling my hand back.

It released me with a small swooshing noise. I closed my mind back down. I still felt that sense of wonder from it. Felt like I gained some unknown understanding from it. I sat on the floor for a moment to contemplate the experience.

I had fought so hard for control over everything, holding myself back and endangering others in the process. I was struggling to hold on to my humanity. I had controlled everything and everyone around me in my human life, and I couldn’t here. It was time to accept I wasn’t just human anymore. I was something else that held a piece of humanity, but I wasn’t human. The time had come to accept myself—and those around me—completely. To embrace all aspects of my being and use that human part of me that I did have confidence in to understand the rest. Easier said than done, but I knew where to start.

CHAPTER 30

Ipushed through the locker room door and silently walked past several rows of lockers, following the sound of running water to stand at the end of a row. Jordan soaped the top of his head and the tiny bit of hair that had not been shaved off.

I wondered what color it would be if he let it grow out. It looked very dark. The soap slipped off his head and dribbled down the center of his muscled back. Those back muscles rippled as he worked the shampoo. The bubbles trailed farther, over the curve of his hip and down his tight butt muscles. I released a breath I hadn’t known I was holding. Every bit of him was tanned, tight, and wholly masculine. Hard and deadly, he was a machine made for one purpose.

“Not just one purpose,” he said and turned to me. I had to make myself not gasp at the sight of his stomach, rippling and shimmering with water and soap. “Have you come to drive me insane? I want you to have the control you need, but I can only stand so much. You do realize you affect me the same way I affect you?” His face was still hard, and I could see he was losing his patience with me. I had to think for a moment to realize why I had come.

“I…I…” The amulet was still working. I had come on my own. I had made the choice and had the control over the situation that I needed. I had come to him because I wanted to. He understood me, wanted to be with me. Not for the power of the priestess, but for me. He could have taken advantage after the club. He could have, but he’d waited for me to make up my mind. Even though he tried to hide it behind arrogance, the alpha male had given me control.

I was ready now, and he still wanted to make sure it was what I wanted. I raised my hand to the amulet and jerked it from my neck. Need rushed over me, and I watched his eyes roll back, and his wet lashes flutter just from the feel of my magic reaching for his.

His whole body tensed from it. Water was still running over him, leaving his skin shiny and slick. He reached out his hand. I went to him without hesitation. His mouth found mine, and his strong lips took possession. Wrapping his wet arms around my waist, he pulled me closer, the full length of our bodies pressed together.

He was so tall he had to bend down to reach my mouth with his. His tongue tested the seam of my closed mouth. I opened to him, and our tongues danced, fought, and need surged forward. The kiss became a shared demand.

He pulled his mouth from mine and turned us so I was under the water. The coolness of it shocked my skin, the intense change of temperature adding to the onslaught of sensations. “Cold shower?” I had just enough voice to get it out.

“I didn’t have an amulet,” he said against my skin, his hot breath teasing as he kissed his way across my shoulder. His hands worked at pulling off the sheaths that had held the sparring blades, then tossed them out of the water spray. Big, nimble fingers found the bottom of my tank top. His fingers moved with a lightness I wouldn’t have imagined along the edge, as if he were savoring the first touch of my skin outside of a fight. He pulled it gently over my shoulders.

His lips reached my chest, moving ever so slowly to my pointed nipples. I arched my back, needed more contact. He nibbled at them through the fabric of the little sports bra. I wanted to watch his hands as he explored me. I was shaky, needful and open. Cool water was running over my face and body. I waited for the steam to rise from my heated skin.

My bra fell to the tiles. I heard a small moan escape from my mouth as his lips caught one of my breasts and sucked it hard into his mouth. I let out a louder moan from the sheer ecstasy of his tiny bites, my knees starting to feel weak as I held his head to my chest. I used his body to steady mine as his bite grew more intense. The sensation echoed the cascade of the shower, sending waves of pleasure down my spine. He treated each nipple with equal zest. He bit hard enough to make me gasp, then let his tongue lightly circle and ease the sharpness of his bite, the little bit of pain making them more sensitive. I clawed at his back to hold myself upright. More. I wanted more.

He held me up with one arm and moved his free hand to unzip my leathers. His mouth was moving slowly and deliberately across me. My pants slid to the floor, but were still around my ankles as he lifted me with no effort and carried me out of the locker room and into the gym.

He slowed long enough to ward the door with a flourish of words and twist of his wrist to prevent any interruption. Gently, he placed me on a knee-high pile of blue vinyl exercise mats. The wetness of my skin made me slip a little, but he rearranged them to hold us steady. He pulled the leathers free of my feet. He stood and let his hungry gaze follow the lines of my body. His gaze like fire on my flesh.

I could stare at the man forever, but he crawled over, kneeling above me, his eyes gliding up and down my wet body, the Demon silver of them swirling like molten liquid. His knees were on the mats on either side of my thighs. “You’re sure you want this? Want me?” He sounded vulnerable.

I let my gaze run the full length of his chest and down to find his gorgeous cock hard and seemingly reaching for me. I sucked in a breath. It was long and thick, with a bead of moisture at the seam of his head. I nodded and looked back up, taking in his face so he could see my eyes. His features were rough and strong, his shoulders bulging from holding his weight above me, his thighs long and taut. As I eyed him again, he jerked in anticipation of my answer.

I let my gaze rest squarely on him. “Yes. I want this.”

He didn’t hesitate again. His lips moved gracefully over my skin, down my stomach, lingering when he sensed it was particularly arousing for me. He bit and kissed and sucked, and I could only writhe beneath him and respond as best I could to his touch and tease. Jordan’s attentions left me a puddle of yearning need. He touched all the right places, using a rough grasp when needed or a soft, loving stroke in contrast as he explored. He felt like a longtime lover, one who knew my body well. Like he’d planned every move.

“I have been inside your head for weeks, Keena.” He ran his tongue slowly around my navel and watched my stomach contract. “I know every single thing you want from me.” He looked up from beneath his lashes, silver eyes swirling with heat. “But I want to hear you say it.”

“Jordan—”

“Tell me what you want my mouth to do to you.” His lips hovered just below my navel, warm breath and nothing else, not quite touching.

“I want—” My voice came out wrong. Too tight. Barely there.

“You want what?” He pressed a single, slow kiss to my hip bone. “You give orders easily enough everywhere else. Give me one.”