Sylvia Day - Spellbound

“Where are we, Darius?”

“You know where we are.” He looked straight ahead, revealing no more than the classical elegance of his profile.

“Is it over for me, then?”

“It can be.” With a gesture of his hand, he directed her to sit upon a half-moon bench that hugged a tree. A tree that had not been there just a second ago.

“You still have magic,” she said.

“It is ingrained in us.”

Victoria sat, her fingers moving restlessly over the edge of her skirt. The urgency inside her grew with every breath she took, sparking a driving need to act. For her, the clock was ticking double time, a jarring contrast to the pervasive leisure she felt in the Transcendual Realm.

Darius sat beside her and picked up one of her hands in his. “When I first saw you,” he said softly, “I knew you were the only woman for me. The sensation was lightning in a bottle, an instantaneous awareness. I was certain, prior to exchanging a word with you, that you would make me happier than I had ever been or could ever be without you.”

Her eyes stung as her vision blurred with tears. “I felt the same.”

“I always knew you loved me.”

“Yes . . . ”

“I also knew that I was not your soul mate.”

Victoria stilled. Darius smiled, but his handsome features were marred by sorrow.

“What are you saying?”

“You were all I needed, Vicky, but I couldn’t be all you needed. I didn’t have a firm enough hand. You were content with me, but not thriving.”

“No,” she protested, canting to face him directly. “That’s not true.”

“It is.” He cupped her cheek, his thumb following the line of her cheekbone. “That’s why I gifted my power to you. I wanted you to have a choice. I wanted to give you the opportunity to get it right the next time.”

“It was right the first time,” she insisted. “I will always care for you, always love you.”

“I know.” The sadness left his blue eyes, replaced by the mischievous twinkle she’d fallen in love with. “What we had was perfect . . . but now you have something even more perfect. I wish I could have been that for you. Still, I’m grateful for what we did have. I know we had something wonderful.”

“Yes. We did.” Victoria glanced at the field of flowers around them. “What happens now?”

“Now, you decide.” He squeezed her hand. “Stay with me or live the rest of your eight lives.”

She bumped his shoulder with hers. “That’s a myth.”

Darius grinned. “Is it?” he teased, standing.

Victoria rose to her feet and stared up at him. “Are you happy?”

“Of course.” His dimple flashed. “I’m with you always. There’s nothing more I could ask for.”

“Do you want me to stay?”

“I want you to be happy,” he said, in a low ardent tone. “Whether that’s with me or with Westin. He loves you. Almost as much as I do. He’s fighting to bring you back as we speak.”

“I love him.” Her tears flowed freely.

“I’m glad, Vicky.”

“I love you, too.”

“I know you do.”

His golden head lowered, bringing his mouth to hers. His advance was slow, yet heartrendingly familiar. The press of his lips soothed a long restless part of her heart. She hadn’t had the chance to say good-bye; he’d been ripped from her too quickly. That lack of closure had haunted her for centuries.

Victoria’s hands fisted in Darius’s linen shirt and she kissed him desperately. Not with the passion she felt for Max, but with the lingering love they’d once shared. It was a bittersweet parting, but one that felt absolutely right. Her life was with Max now. So was her heart.

“Thank you,” she whispered. “I couldn’t have saved him without you.”

“I’ll see you on the flip side, love,” Darius replied softly. “Stay out of trouble until then.”

She tried to open her eyes, but sank into darkness instead.

Victoria woke to the feel of snow falling on her face. Warmth cradled her right side and she rolled into it, groaning as searing agony burned through her chest.

“Kitten?” Even from a perceived distance, the aching wonder in Max’s voice could not be mistaken.

“Hi.” She pressed her cheek to his soaked shirt. “Miss me?”

“Don’t tease, damn you. I could kill you for putting me through that.” He caught her close, his large frame quaking with the violence of his emotions. “What a shitty stunt to pull on a man. Especially on Christmas.”

“I’m sorry, baby.” Her hand curled around his side.

Take good care of her, Westin.

Darius’s voice moved through her like a tangible caress.

“I will,” Max assured hoarsely.

Turning her head, Victoria found Darius standing a few feet away. Translucent and glowing, he watched her with warm, loving eyes.

Live for yourself now, he admonished gently. You’ve lived enough centuries for me.

She nodded.

With a wave, he was gone.

And with a snapping of Max’s fingers, so were Victoria and Max.

Six days later . . .

If you ever do that again,” Max growled, rising over her in his velvet-covered bed, “I’ll spank your ass red.”

“Is that supposed to be a threat?”

She purred as he rolled his hips and pushed his magnificent cock into her.

“Kitten, you have no idea.” He withdrew and thrust deep, the wide-flared head of his cock stroking across a sensitive spot inside her. “I thought I was losing my mind in that alley. I would have, if Darius hadn’t brought you back to me.”

“I’ll always come for you, Max.”

Holding her hip with one hand, he responded to her teasing by shafting her pussy in hard, fierce drives. “Come for me now,” he bit out.

She climaxed with a mewl, gasping as heated pleasure exploded across her senses with dazzling brightness.

An edgy rumble vibrated in his chest. “Fuck, that sound makes me hot as hell.”

“After nearly a week of nothing but showers, food, and sex?” she asked breathlessly. “You’re insatiable.”

“I’m just enjoying my Christmas present, kitten. Besides, you love it.”

Max stared down at her with his stormy gray eyes and she knew she’d never loved him more. He’d kept her within touching distance for the last week; cooking her favorite meals, feeding her by hand, and washing her hair and body. For a Familiar, it was heaven, and she soaked it up like sunshine after a long, dreary winter.

“Max . . . ”

He thrust rhythmically, plunging deep and slow to give her time to recover, making her feel every throbbing inch of him.

Her neck arched, her nails dug into his back, and her pussy fluttered in helpless delight around him.

“Oh yeah,” he rumbled, a wicked smile curving one side of his gorgeous mouth. “You definitely love it.”

“I love you.” She offered her mouth and he took it with breathtaking passion.

“I love you back.”

Finally content, Victoria’s lips curved against his in a catlike smile.

Max Westin stood in the coffee shop across the street from the St. John Hotel and barely tempered his anticipation for the orgasms he’d be relishing in the hours ahead.

The woman who would be serving his needs was already inside. He’d watched Victoria greet her morning business appointment at the curb, her lithe body encased in a black pencil skirt and emerald silk blouse that perfectly matched her sloe eyes. She’d been wearing nude stilettos, making her already long legs appear endless.

He couldn’t wait to feel them wrapped around his hips, tightening in a vain effort to hold his thrusting cock inside her.

The barista called out his name and he went to the counter to collect Victoria’s favorite tea, which he’d ordered liberally laced with heavy cream. As he exited to the street, he checked his watch, noting that he would be exactly on time to use lunch as an excuse to monopolize her attentions. His blood thrummed through his veins, heating with every step he took.

He’d been gone for two days on a High Council summons and he felt the withdrawals of separation acutely. His dick was thick and heavy between his legs, his balls full and tight. The need to come in the tight, plush depths of Victoria’s honey-sweet cunt rode him hard.

Max entered the St. John through the revolving lobby door and nodded at the three employees manning the front desk. If he’d been certain Victoria’s morning meeting was over, he could’ve bridged the distance between them in the blink of an eye, an embarrassingly simple spell for a warlock of his power. Instead, he rounded the corner to step into the private pass-coded elevator.

As the car began its ascent, he forcibly reined in his desire. His endless hunger for his mate had been sharpened by the black magic that shrouded his latest hunt. Although Victoria was more than strong enough to sate his darkest cravings, he wanted to greet her with tenderness. He wanted to show her that he’d missed her from the very depths of his soul—because he’d begun a hunt without her and knew that would hurt her, despite the validity of his reasons for doing so.

The moment the elevator doors opened on the executive level, he saw her. His chest tightened with the ferocity of his love for her, the fierce sense of connection he’d only ever felt with her. She stood in the reception area of her office, one hand on a slim hip and a wide smile on her stunning face. She spoke to the two men Max had seen with her on the street, and their avid gazes betrayed their heated masculine appreciation. The men were enchanted by her beauty and mischievous nature, as all males were, and she was toying with them like the cat she was.