The Darkest Touch

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Angelique’s words played over and over in Ryder’s head. He’d started this to try to make her feel better, to show her the difference between him and her. Instead, she’d blown him away, accepting him for who he was, convincing him that he wasn’t his father and could never be, and then telling him that she loved him.

She loved him. What the hell had he done to deserve such an honor? He wasn’t an honorable man.

Ah, hell. Her soft lips slid like warm, silken butter over his, melting the last of the tension away. He gave up on thinking when the tip of her tongue slid through his teeth, jolting him into full sexual heat. With a sharp groan, he gave up and jerked her fully against him, wrapping his arms around her so he could feel her body-really feel her body.

Within seconds he was hard, his cock pushing against his pants with the rush of heat and desire that seemed to occur so damn fast whenever Angie was near. From the first time he’d become aware of her in the caves in Australia, when she’d thrown that first teasing remark his way and he’d responded by storming over to her and pulling her into his arms for a kiss, he’d known there was something about her that was different from other women.

She was right. There was a bond between them. He sure as hell felt it now. Like sparks of electricity that zinged through his nerve endings, firing him to life, concentrating all his thought processes on just her-on getting her clothes off so he could touch the soft silk of her body, kiss her all over. They were alone now. He didn’t need to hurry. He could take his time and really love her.

Really love her. Yeah, he did, didn’t he?

He stood, lifting Angie into his arms. She broke the kiss, looked at him, her gaze warm and melting all over him with heat and understanding.

It seemed to take forever to get upstairs and to his room. He could have taken her in the library again, but this time he wanted to be assured of privacy, so he could take his time.

He kicked the door closed and laid her on his bed. Yeah, he liked seeing her there, knowing that’s where she belonged, where she’d stay from now on.

She was his. A rush of possessiveness hit him like a mortar blast. He waited for the inevitable twinge of discomfort, the need to run that always happened when he started to get too close.

It didn’t happen. He liked having her here in his room. This is where he wanted her to stay.

She leaned up on her elbows, arched a brow, and watched him. She’d never looked sexier, one slender leg raised, her bare foot planted on the mattress. A natural, unaffected pose. And when she smiled at him-a smile of confidence in what was about to happen, but also mixed with a touch of vulnerability-man, that was hot. He knew how she felt. Yeah, they both knew they were going to get down to it, but they both had feelings bubbling up to the surface. They could both get hurt. But they were still going to put themselves out there.

He liked knowing they were even. It made him want to show her that she didn’t have anything to be afraid of. Not with him, anyway.

He’d never been one to take time with a woman, to explore every inch of her body, to really pleasure her. It was always about getting to the sweet spot, getting them both off, then hightailing it the hell out of there before anything emotional happened. But now, with Angelique, he had all this damn. . emotion. It was physical, for sure; but there was much more than that, and he wasn’t sure he knew what to do with all of it.

Other than he really wanted to take it slow.

He crawled onto the end of the bed and kissed the top of her foot.

“That tickles,” she said.

“Does it?” He did it again, this time kissing his way up to her ankle and onto her calf, reaching out to hold her leg in place when she laughed. The deep, gravelly sound of her laugh sent shock waves of pleasure through his body.

“What are you doing?”

“Kissing you.”

“Oh.”

He loved the feel of her skin against his lips. Even her knee. And he loved even more the way she responded, lying back and just. . breathing. Deeply. As if she was really affected by his lips on her kneecap. That made him smile.

She let out a little whispered gasp when he moved upward, pressing his lips close to her inner thigh.

“Ryder.”

“Yeah, darlin’,” he murmured against her skin.

“I love your mouth.”

He loved the sound of her voice. “Keep talking to me.” He reached for the waistband of her shorts and tugged them over her hips, drawing them down her legs and out of his way. “Now these are pretty.”

Tiny black panties, part lace, part satin, skimming just her hipbones and barely covering her sex. Naughty little things, just like the woman wearing them.

She tilted her head up, watching him as he pressed his hand over her pubic bone.

“I. . I like underwear. It makes me feel feminine even when I’m working a dusty, dirty archaeological dig. Sometimes it’s. . months before I can dress up and I. . oh, God.”

He grinned, knowing she’d lost her ability to speak when he slid his fingers under the silky material to caress the moist, swollen cleft of her sex. Her head dropped to the mattress and she lifted against his hand.

“That’s it. Tell me what you want.”

“More.”

He gave her more, caressing her, dipping his fingers inside her. Damn. She clenched tight around him, grabbing his fingers with a warm, welcoming grip. His cock tightened and he wanted to be deep inside her. Right now.

But he was going to thoroughly pleasure her from the tips of her toes to the top of her head, which meant his own needs would have to wait. Which wasn’t difficult considering how she was squirming underneath him. Her reactions ratcheted up his own desire to please her. So he rolled to the side of her, placed a soft kiss on her hip, and just watched her face as he dragged his thumb over her center.

She turned her head, her eyes open and focused on his face.

“Do you like that?”

“Yes.”

“There?”

“Oh, yes.”

He’d never been this intimate with a woman before-never looked into her eyes as he brought her to the edge, or asked her how something felt. Hell, if he were honest with himself, he’d never cared before. Yeah, he got a woman there-he at least gave it that much effort-but before it had been about the pure physical satisfaction of sex.

Now he wanted Angie to feel this-really feel this. To know that it was him giving her this pleasure. And the selfish part of him wanted it to be better for her than it had ever been with any other man.

The room was filled with the sounds and scent of her, the heady aroma of her desire, the feel of her undulating beneath his questing hand and fingers. It was a unique experience, and he was drunk with the pleasure of it. All he wanted to do was touch her, taste her, and make her fully his.

But first, he wanted to make her come.

He slid his thumb over the swollen nub at her center, using soft, coaxing movements to draw her closer to the edge. When she tensed, then cried out, he held her, watching her face as she climaxed.

“Ryder.” His name left her lips in a long, slow shudder. She kept her eyes open, her gaze directed at him. She gave it all to him and he’d never seen anything more beautiful than his woman coming apart for him.

He’d never felt closer to a woman before. But he wanted even more. When her trembling died down, he drew her panties off, then spread her legs, mesmerized by her utter softness, the way she glistened as she opened up to him. He drew her tank top up, dragging it over her ribs, then her breasts, revealing a matching black lacy bra. He unhooked the clasp in the center and freed her breasts.

“You’re staring.”

He slid his gaze to her face, then quirked his lips. “Yeah. You’re beautiful.”

A pink blush stained her cheeks and chest. “Thank you. So are you.” She held out her arms to him, but he took her wrists and placed them at her sides.

“Let me.”

She let out a soft, rippling sigh.

Resuming his visual feast, he focused on the plump peaches of her breasts, centered by ripe, pink nipples. They were hard, tight points peaking upward toward his waiting mouth.

Did she have any idea what just the sight of her did to him? He was tied up in knots, aching to be a part of her.

“Ryder.”

“Yeah.”

“What are you waiting for?”

“I’m just lookin’ at you, babe.”

“I can see that. You know, one of the things I love most about you is your intensity, the way you throw yourself into everything you do with full force.”

He shook his head. “Not this time.” Dammit, couldn’t she see how much he was trying to hold back for her?

“Just love me.”

He sat back on his heels, cocked his head to the side, and said, “I do love you.”

He’d never seen a more serene smile. Her eyes glistened with tears. She tilted up, reached for his face, and pulled him down on top of her. “I love you, too. Now make love to me. Hard. Passionately. Be yourself and give me all of you.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He didn’t have to be told twice.

Suddenly his clothes were a hindrance. He had to pull away from her long enough to get rid of them, while she removed her tank top and bra. When they were both naked, skin to skin, he slid on top of her, savoring the feel of the length of his body along hers. But he couldn’t appreciate it for long, because the driving need to be inside her had taken over, and with one push he seated himself fully, feeling her pulse and tighten around him.

He shuddered in his next breath as he drove in harder, deeper, wanting to push himself fully inside her. She surrounded him with wet heat, her hands moving skillfully over his back with soft, gentle movements.

She was killing him from the inside out, looking up at him with liquid pools of green and gold eyes, completely open to him. He dug his fingers into her hair and pulled her face to his, kissing her as deeply as he moved within her.

It was like a fierce battle, an internal war waged with the dark side of him and this newly found emotional side that was new and raw. One he hadn’t yet come to grips with. Part of him wanted to hold back, to do what he normally did and just go for the physical. The other side of him dove into Angie with everything he had, merging with the old Ryder. It only served to intensify his passion.

He was losing his mind, his grip on sanity, and at the core of everything he used to be and all he was about to become was Angelique. She drove him, writhing underneath him, both sweet and yet demanding him to give her all that he had.

And he was scared to death he was going to hurt her.

“Don’t stop,” she breathed against his mouth, taking his bottom lip between her teeth and tugging even as she raised her hips to take more of him. “Please, don’t stop.”

She knew. Somehow, she sensed his hesitation, this conflict of darkness and light within him, and she realized he wanted to back away from the animal need spiraling up and threatening to rear its ugly head and tear her apart.

But he couldn’t stop it now. She’d given him the green light and he was going to go for it. He grabbed hold of her hair with one hand, jerking her head back so the creamy column of her throat was open to him. He licked his way along her neck, feeling her shudder underneath him, feeling her walls clench around his cock, which only served to drive him even more into the darkness.

He slid the other hand underneath her, gripping her buttocks and drawing her closer so he could rock inside her, against her. She splintered, crying out as she climaxed, her body trembling, racking with spasms both inside and out.

Now he couldn’t hold back. He dug his fingers into her and buried his face in her neck as he came apart, pouring himself into her, growling out her name against her skin.

Sweating, it seemed hours before oblivion became reality again, though he was sure it was only a few minutes. Angelique lay limp underneath him, her own breathing erratic.

He lifted his head to scan her face. She looked at him and her lips curled.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

“Oh, yeah.” She swept his hair off his forehead.

He rolled to the side and pulled her with him so they faced each other. “You do strange things to me.”

“Strange good or strange bad?”

“A little of both, I think. I don’t know what I’m doing when I’m in bed with you.”

She arched a brow. “Seemed to me you knew exactly what you were doing.”

He laughed. “Not what I meant. I just. . lose it with you.”

Her soft little hum made his dick quiver. “That’s not a bad thing. I like you losing it. I like losing it with you. I’ve never abandoned myself so freely with anyone before you.”

“Good to know.”

She pressed her lips to his. “It’s not a crime to lose control, Ryder.”

“I’m just not used to it.”

“I understand. You still worry about who you are, what you might do.”

He didn’t answer. But she was right.

“You’ll never hurt me. I’ve known that for as long as I’ve known you.”

“How did you know that?”

She shrugged. “Instinct. A woman knows who to be wary of.”

“Didn’t work so well for your mother.” He bit back an oath as soon as he’d said it, wishing he wasn’t such an insensitive bastard. Then again, he was who he was and Angie would have to learn to deal with that if she was going to be with him.

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said that. I’m an ass.”

A shadow crossed her face, and she nodded. “Yes, you are. But you always say what’s on your mind, and I love that about you. Don’t worry about hurting my feelings. I want to know what you’re thinking.” She smiled again. “Besides, I’m not my mother. And you’re not a demon in disguise.”

If only he could be sure of that. “Oh, I don’t know. I’ve carried plenty of demons inside me over the years.”

She laid her palm on his cheek. “It’s not the same thing. I know you, inside and out. I know what you’re capable of. Yes, you have violence in your past, and it’s part of who you are. But you’ll never hurt me. Not the way your father hurt your mother, the way he hurt you.”

He took her palm and kissed it. “I love you.”

She breathed deeply, then her face went serious. “Then take me to my sister.”

“I can’t. It’s not safe for you.”

“So everyone keeps telling me.” She pushed away from him and sat up. “Don’t you understand that I can help her? I can find her. I can find the black diamond. I might be the only one who can. I’ll bet you and I are the only ones.”

Curious, Ryder propped himself up on one elbow. “Why do you say that?”

“Can’t you sense it?”

“Sense what?”

“The black diamond. It’s like we’re a part of it.”

He’d been so busy dealing with Angie, he wasn’t sensing anything. “I’m not sure what you’re talking about.”

She crossed her legs and faced him, taking his hands in hers. “Tap into your feelings. You touched the black diamond back at the caves in Australia, just like I did. It somehow. . links us to it. I know it does. We have a connection with it. As soon as it came back to life, I felt it.”

“Sorry, darlin’, but I’ve got nothing.”

“You’re not trying hard enough. Think about the black diamond. Visualize it. I know you can feel it, just like I can.”

She pulled at his hands until he sat up and faced her. “Okay, I’ll give it a try.”

“Focus on how it felt when you touched it back at the caves. Remember how alive it was?”

He did remember that. “It glowed. Almost like it had a living pulse inside it.”

Her eyes lit up. “Yes! That’s it exactly. And now the diamond is alive again. And it’s calling to us.”

Ryder thought about the diamond, tried to visualize its whereabouts, tried to connect with it, and came up empty. He shook his head. “Sorry, babe, I’ve got nothing but a void here.”

“Dammit. I can feel it. Why can’t you?”

He knew why. “You’re half demon, Angie. You’re connected to the Sons of Darkness, and so is the black diamond. That’s why you’re getting signals from it.”

She blinked, then nodded. “That would make sense.”

He studied her expression, looking for signs of upset. But she only seemed to be analyzing. “Are you okay?”

“Yes. I’m fine. I’m just trying to figure this out. So maybe I am of use to the Sons of Darkness after all.”

“Which is what I’ve been trying to tell you. That’s why you couldn’t go on the expedition to find your sister. The Sons of Darkness want you back.”

“Which is why we should go there. It’ll give them something to concentrate on other than the hunters. They’ll want me, they want to keep Isabelle, they want to protect the black diamond. Trying to get to me, keep her, and protect the diamond forces them to divvy up their concentration so they can’t focus on one thing alone.”

What she said made sense. It was logical. And it was damn hard to argue with logic.

“Besides, I can find Izzy.”

“How?”

“I have a connection to my sister, one I’ve never felt as strongly as I did when I was stuck in that room. It was like the instant she put her hands on the black diamond, I knew it.”

He saw the stress in her face, the worry.

“She’s gone dark, Ryder.” She laid her hand on her stomach. “It sickens me to feel the evil swirling around inside her. I have to help her.”

“Damn,” Ryder said, lowering his head.

“It’s not your fault. I knew this would happen. It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have run with the black diamond back in Australia. I screwed it up from the very beginning. I thought I was protecting her, and all I did was put her in a position to be taken, and the diamond along with her.”

“It’s no one’s fault,” Ryder said. “Placing blame isn’t going to get her back. And nothing is set in stone. You’ve taught me that. Everything can be changed.”

She smiled at him. “True enough.”

“So first we have to find her and the black diamond, and ensure its destruction.”

“I can find Izzy. I’m. . hooked into her right now, experiencing these weird sensations attributed to her. But I know it’s her, and I know I can find her.”

Ryder knew he was going to get his ass skewered over this, but sometimes the right decision wasn’t always. . the right choice.

“Get dressed. Let’s move.”

She leaped across the bed and threw her arms around his neck, planting a long kiss on his lips. When she pulled back, she said, “Thank you for believing in me.”

She had believed in him when he hadn’t believed in himself. He owed her. “You’ve got ten minutes.”

She leaped off the bed and threw open the door, her feet pounding down the hall. “I’ll be ready.”