Dark Solace (37 page)

I reached up and slapped him across the face.
Lash snarled, baring his fangs, but didn’t hit me back. The front
door was suddenly thrown open, crashing back against the side of
the house.

Oh shit. Lash had said we had an audience.
He’d meant...

“Get the fuck out of here, Lash!” Theo
growled, pointing his gun at Lash. “Get your hands off my wife
unless you want holes in you.”

Lash looked up at him, hissed, and then
pulled me in front of him, blocking his body.

“Hey!” I said, more annoyed than scared.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?”

Lash ran his tongue up the side of my neck,
making Theo’s growl. “She still thinks about me inside her, Cat!”
Lash said in a jovial tone, smirking. “How good each thrust felt
going in, and how hard I made her come. But I’ll bet she doesn’t
want to fuck you anymore!”

Theo roared, stepping off the deck and
launching himself at Lash. Lash gave me a shove, pushing me out of
the way as Theo barreled into him, knocking him off his feet. Then
they were rolling over and over, punching each other, and snarling.
Lash tried to bite Theo, but Theo grabbed him by the throat,
holding his fangs out of reach of his body, as he smashed him in
the face with his fist. I grabbed Theo’s gun, but they were both
moving too fast for me to aim accurately.

“Stop it!” I screamed. “Lash! Theo! Stop
it!”

Theo—easily the stronger one—pummeled Lash,
holding him down with one hand, and smashing his face repeatedly
with his other fist. Lash took a few punches, and then he quickly
resorted to his knife, drawing it soundlessly and sliding it
between Theo’s ribs to the hilt in a swift deft movement. Theo
gasped and went limp when he felt it go in. Lash kneed him in the
groin, and then rolled over on him, pushing the knife in deep and
twisting it.

“Stop it!” I yelled, firing into the tree
above them. The bullet’s explosion severed a few small branches
that fell beside them. Neither of them even looked up.

Lash twisted the knife again, making Theo cry
out. “You should use your brain, you jackass,” Lash hissed. Giving
it one last twist, he pulled his knife out of Theo.

Theo grunted with pain, and lay there
gasping, looking murderously at Lash, holding his bleeding chest,
blood oozing steadily through his fingers. Lash cleaned off his
blade in the dead grass, resheathed it with a click, and then
looked up at me. His face was very bloody and bruised, but the
wounds were already healing before my eyes, the bruises lightening,
and disappearing.

He truly was in his prime. I’d never seen a
were heal that fast, never. “Leave.”

“I didn’t start this. But I damn sure
finished it. Keep your kitten on a leash, Sar.”

The fuck he hadn’t. “Go, Lash,” I said again.
“And don’t come back unless you can promise not to fight with my
husband.” I held the gun in my hand, but I didn’t aim it at him,
because we both knew I wasn’t going to shoot him, despite what he
had just done to Theo. I wasn’t going to provoke him, not with Theo
on the ground hurt.

Lash’s eyes narrowed, but he nodded.
“Remember what I said, Sar,” he hissed meaningfully, spitting blood
out of his mouth onto the grass. “I meant it. Don’t take an Oath to
Dev unless you can handle the consequences.” He turned, quickly
walked to his truck, and then got in. Lash gunned the engine,
spinning his wheels on the icy driveway once before they caught,
and roared off.

Jesus. That had been close.

I went over to Theo and helped him to his
feet. “Come inside, and I’ll bandage you up.”

“It’s healing already,” Theo said, obviously
embarrassed that I’d seen him beaten again by Lash.

Like there was another way their fight
could’ve ended. “All the same, it’s deep. Let me sew it
closed.”

“Do you think about him, like he said?” Theo
said pointedly. “He’s young again, and handsome—”

I sighed, flushing. “Sometimes, yes,” I
admitted. “But that doesn’t mean anything. Let’s get inside.”

“It does matter,” Theo retorted. “It matters
to me. I thought at first you wanted him. I saw you sitting
together in the truck, but when you slapped him I felt like an
idiot for not realizing sooner what was happening.”

Theo had been watching us the whole time. I
flushed, wondering if he had seen how much I was fighting myself as
well as Lash.

“I went to get my gun, but it took me a
second—”

Why’d he grabbed the 9mm, not the explosive
bullets gun? I pushed that thought out of my mind quickly. I didn’t
like where it was heading. “I can guess what you might have
thought. What happened is that Dev told Lash he had the green light
with me. He thought that I was going to jump back in bed with him.
I...well, I handled it badly. But that doesn’t matter. He knows I
meant what I said now.”

I helped Theo to his feet, and we walked
inside slowly. His wound was healing quickly, his flesh knitting
together, but I still made him get onto the bed anyway. “Take off
your shirt.”

Theo pulled it over his head slowly,
grimacing in pain. After taking it into the laundry, I returned,
trying hard not to look at his muscular chest, his tight abs, or
his wide shoulders. “Not that I’m not grateful, but why are you
home?” I asked, cleaning the blood off his side with antiseptic. “I
thought you had guard duty tonight.”

“I do,” Theo said, wincing. “I’m supposed to
be on the way there now.”

“I’ll call Danial, tell him you’re hurt—”

“I’m healing okay. Just lie here with me for
a few minutes, and let me heal the rest. If you can teleport me in
a half hour, I’ll be okay. It was a clean cut. Lash doesn’t usually
use poison on his blades. If he had, I wouldn’t be healing as well
as I am.”

Good to know, just in case. “I can do that,”
I said, cradling his body close and stroking his hair. “I’m glad
you’re okay—”

“You still smell like him,” Theo said under
his breath.

Men were all assholes. “Look, I’ll go—”

Theo stopped me, wincing. “Stay here with me.
It doesn’t matter.”

I eased back down next to him. “Since
when?”

“You’re here with me,” Theo said softly. He
stroked my arm. “You want to be here, don’t you?”

“You’re half naked in my arms and you have to
ask me that?” I whispered, giving him a smile.

“That’s not an answer,” Theo said, growling
slightly.

“I’ll answer, if you’ll tell me the truth
about why Lash bothers you so much. And don’t say it’s because of
me, because you hated him long before.”

Theo was quiet for a minute. “Because he’s a
snake, that’s some of it: his very scent bothers me. As for the
rest, some of it is his association with Devlin, and the things I
heard that he’s done, or saw him do. There’s you. There was
Neoline, years ago, and another woman I...um...thought was
attractive. Some of it’s just the way he’s rubbed my face in the
dirt so many times, always saying he’s better than I am. And it’s
true that he is—”

And here I’d thought he’d resist expounding.
“You have to stop attacking him,” I interrupted. “You just end up
injured. And one of these days he’s going to hurt you badly, even
if he doesn’t kill you.”

“I know,” Theo said ruefully. “He knows what
buttons to push. I know I have a temper, and with him it’s worse. I
have almost no control with him. Just seeing his smirking face,
hearing his hissing voice infuriates me. And every time I think of
him fucking you, his naked body on yours, I want to beat him into
pulp.”

I beat down the quick flush of desire.
“Promise me you’ll stay away from him, Theo.”

“I’ll stop provoking him, I promise. I’ll
avoid him whenever I can. Good?”

“Good,” I replied, relaxing back into his
arms.

“Are you going to answer me or not, Sar?”
Theo said, his blue-grey eyes serious and guarded

“Of course I think about you and me,” I
answered, giving him an incredulous look. “I’ve thought about us
every day for weeks now. I was daydreaming about us about thirty
seconds ago—”

“Do you want me?” Theo interrupted. “Here and
now?”

I blinked, caught off guard. “You said that
you—”

“Yes or no, Sar,” Theo growled, his tone
rough with base need.

“Yes,” I said hoarsely. “I want you very
much, Theo.”

Chapter
Thirteen

Theo kissed me deeply, pulling my body
against his. The instant I felt him stiffen against me, my head
went back and my eyes closed, savoring his arousal.

But Theo wanted far more than a little
stroking. He pulled off my top and unhooked my bra, throwing it
aside. A half second later, Theo was on me, suckling my breasts,
drawing a sharp gasp of abandon from my parted lips. Together we
slid off my jeans, our movements hurried. Instantly, his hands
roamed my naked body, touching me as he hadn’t touched me for
weeks. I writhed, glorying in the feel of his powerful hands
sliding over my hot skin. Eagerly, I reached for his jeans to free
him, but Theo pushed me back on the bed. He got up and moved to the
dresser. Sliding off his jeans to puddle at his feet, he began
putting on a condom.

Watching him, my fiery lust fizzled. Theo
obviously believed Lash had given me something. There was no other
plausible reason, now that I was fixed. Uncomfortable, I stretched
out on the bed, pretending I hadn’t seen. I’d believed Lash when
he’d told me that he hadn’t been with anyone else but me. Maybe
this was a mistake...

Theo carefully eased his body down on mine as
he kissed me, his tongue darting into my mouth as he slipped his
finger into me. He stroked my clit gently, making me murmur as I
pushed up with my hips, eager to be filled. The sensations burst
within, my breaths coming fast.

“Ah!” I cried, arching my back.
“Please...”

Theo’s fingers stroked my sudden slickness.
“Sar, I’ve never felt you so wet for me,” he said lustily, his blue
eyes dark with desire. “Not ever—”

“Stop talking,” I said in desperation,
reaching down to squeeze his organ eagerly. I moved beneath him,
trying to impale myself as I rubbed the slick head of him between
my legs. Theo moved into position above me, and with a quick press
of his hips, he slid himself inside.

“God, yes!” I moaned, pulling his lips to
mine, as I pushed my body tight to his. “Please take me—”

Theo began thrusting gently. Each motion felt
exquisite as paradise. I wanted only to feel each thrust and yet I
had to move, desperate for the friction, the sheer joy of taking
all he had to give with each plunge. This was heaven; what I had
been longing for, dying for. Just coming last night hadn’t been
nearly enough, no matter that Devlin had been good with his mouth
and hands. I’d wanted to feel a man inside me, feel him taking me
for all I was worth...

“Sar, what’s wrong?” Theo whispered,
stopping. “You’re shaking.”

“I needed this so bad,” I moaned. “Please
don’t stop.”

Theo’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve gone to Dev
every week.”

“He’s injured, Danial’s ignoring me, and I’ve
stayed away from...anyone else,” I said throatily, clasping him.
“Please, Theo, please, I need you.” I slid my hands down across his
hard chest and around to his lower back, pressing up with my
hips.

“So you missed being touched?” Theo said
softly, thrusting into me very slowly, and slowly drawing himself
almost all the way out. My only reply was an incoherent groan, as I
arched my back, unwilling to release him. Theo paused just inside
and flexed, teasing me, watching me writhe beneath him. “Or did you
miss me touching you?”

“Yes, I missed you!” I cried, staring up into
his eyes recklessly. “I kept hoping every night that you would
reconsider, that you would reach out to me, to touch me, to hold
me.”

“Tell me you want me,” Theo said throatily,
again thrusting in very slowly and out again.

“Please, Theo,” I panted. “I want you.
Please, please, make love to me now.”

“I want you, too,” Theo groaned. He kissed
me, then buried himself inside in a sharp thrust, his body
pistoning on mine as his hands grasped my nipples, twisting and
pulling. I let out a muffled cry, sucking on his tongue wildly, the
sensations he was making me feel almost too much in their
intensity.

He was close, but I was closer. I came in a
few seconds, crying out loudly in release, clinging to him. My
contractions around his engorged penis brought him roaring loudly,
pulsating inside me as he came again and again.

The abrupt loss of tension was incredible,
knocking out the foundations of my well-placed walls. Within a few
moments, I was crying brokenly. Theo hugged me as I cried in his
arms, venting all my pent up frustration, fear, hurt, anger, and
mistrust.

When I got control, I reached up with shaking
hands to touch his face. I ran my fingers lightly across his cheek,
and back into his hair, giving him a tentative smile. He brought
his hand up to the back of my head, and kissed my forehead lightly
with his lips, then lowered his head to rest his forehead against
mine, closing his eyes. I relaxed against him, closing my own. We
stayed that way for a long moment, unmoving.

“Stay here,” Theo said softly. He withdrew,
and then got up, stripping off the condom and throwing it away. He
picked up the phone, and began dialing.

I watched, surmising he was calling
Danial.

“Danial, I’m going to be late,” Theo said
gruffly, his eyes roaming over me as he talked. “I had a run in
with Lash and he knifed me. I’ll be fine, but it will be a few
hours. It was deep, and—”

Theo blushed and stopped talking. Then he
said goodbye and hung up, grabbing another condom from the
dresser.

“He knew, didn’t he?” I asked.

“He said to say hi to you, and to come in
when we were done,” Theo said rolling his eyes. “He wants to see
you tonight, Sar. He asked that you pack a bag to spend tonight
with him.”