The Stone Prince

FIFTEEN

THE DAY PROGRESSED QUICKLY for Jorlan. He worked much, talked little, and always remained alert. By the time he and Katie entered her home, he was at last able to relax, for the sensation of being watched had finally abated. Still, he desired time alone to ponder what had happened. Without telling Katie his purpose, he went into the bathing chamber, stripped, and stepped inside the tub. Warm water rained liquid heat upon his naked body, almost like a caress.

The presence he had felt today…something had not been right. Yet he could not exactly lay claim to what it was that bothered him. He pressed his forehead against the cool, damp tile. At first he’d thought the presence had been a sorcerer, but the more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that what he had felt was a lingering hint of magic. A lingering hint of the stone spell.

Each day that passed, the spell’s power grew in strength, ready to claim him. He could not let that happen, and he knew what he had to do to prevent it. ’Twas past time he forced Katie to face what simmered between them.

His mind drifted back over the day’s events. After Frances and Heather had said their goodbyes, he and Katie had worked inside the old house for many more hours. He’d enjoyed every moment of their time together, especially the way her gaze had repeatedly glided over his body with longing. But she never asked for his touch. Nay, she merely asked him more questions about his past.

How had the curse come about? she’d wanted to know.

He explained how he’d been abed—although he hadn’t explained that he’d been with Maylyn. A servant had rushed inside, happily shouting a man waited below and claimed to know who had killed his father. As Jorlan had searched for months with no results, he welcomed any information most eagerly.

He had vaulted from the bed without giving Maylyn a second’s thought.

But in the next instant, Percen materialized.

Maylyn, splayed across the linens in all her naked glory, had smiled oh, so sweetly and used her sorcerer’s power to lock Jorlan’s feet in place. He’d known then that everything she’d ever done or said to him had been a lie, and he’d hated her. She’d been Percen’s ally all along. He had reached for a weapon, but just as his brother had cast the stone spell. Jorlan’s flesh instantly hardened, yet he had still heard, felt and saw everything around him.

Limping, Percen studied the stone from every angle. He laughed, the sound filled with more glee than humor. “I know you hear me.” He trailed a fingertip down Jorlan’s chest. “I’ve already killed the man below, for the answer to Imperia’s greatest mystery will die with me.”

Percen uttered a long, drawn-out sigh laden with false sorrow. “Do not worry, my brother. There is hope for your freedom. When I think you’ve suffered long enough as stone, I will allow Maylyn to kiss you. After that, you will have two cycles to win her love.” He laughed, the sound like shards of broken glass grinding together. “Just imagine. She betrayed you, and yet you will have to court her or lose your freedom forever.”

Katie had listened intently, had even hugged him close afterward. But when he questioned her about her past, about her life, she turned away, suddenly busy. She’d done the same thing all these many days they’d spent together. He thought he understood her reaction, even if he didn’t like it. Sharing of oneself created a bond and opened wounds mistakenly thought healed. But she would learn, just as he had, that they couldn’t deny their pasts.

She would also learn that she couldn’t deny her future.

WHILE JORLAN BATHED, Katie set the stage for his seduction.

Her fingers shook nervously as she lit jasmine-scented candles on her dresser. The flames flickered lazily in the darkness, dancing shadows and light together and casting a lacy canopy over the room. She wanted the atmosphere to evoke a mood of sublime promises and carnal need, where every shadow held a hint of the coming pleasure. True to Nick’s advice, she wore nothing beneath her robe. The condoms, rope, handcuffs and lubricant were on the small round table beside the bed.

The atmosphere was perfect.

Just a few more finishing touches…

The flowing water tapered to quiet sooner than she’d anticipated.

Katie froze.

One minute ticked by. Then another. And another. From the far corner of her bedroom, she watched Jorlan emerge from the bathroom. A white cotton towel was wrapped around his waist as tendrils of steam wafted above him, curling up toward the ceiling.

She gulped, steeled herself. I can do this. I can. “Jorlan?”

Footsteps resounded from the freshly cleaned floor as she watched his approach. He stopped in her doorway. The candlelight snaked from her room to the exact place he stood, paying him nothing but tribute, making his skin glow to bronzed perfection. His gaze raked her slowly, deliciously. She didn’t say anything, just waited. Then his gaze collided with hers. He must have guessed her intentions because he inhaled sharply, causing his nostrils to flare. Suddenly he possessed the patent stillness of a predator, just before attack.

In the next instant, his features were unreadable. “You know, Katie,” he said smoothly, “I have been thinking.” Looking as though he possessed all the time in the world, he leaned into the door frame. “We have talked about my life, my past, but we have never discussed yours.”

“Oh?” She glanced away, guilt etched in every curve and hollow of her face. “What do you want to know?”

“You may start by telling me what qualities you desire in your life-mate.”

Her gaze snapped back to him. “Are you asking me to marry you again, because I —”

“I am simply curious.”

She wanted to make love to him, and he was curious about her future husband? Angered, she gave him more of the truth than he probably wanted. “I want a man who loves me for the woman I am, not the woman he wants me to be. And I want a man who will love me forever.”

“I see.”

Such an easy reply disappointed her. On some level, perhaps, she’d hoped he’d say I can be that man. “What about you? What are you looking for in a wife? Besides a means to an end.”

“A woman with spirit and courage. A woman who fascinates me and makes my body throb with unquenchable need…a woman who makes me forget.”

Cords of jealousy were already working a path down her spine. She didn’t want to think about this faceless female who would one day be his life-mate. Katie only wanted to think of here and now. “I don’t want to talk anymore, Jorlan.”

His brows arched. “What, then, would you have us do?”

“Make love. All night.” She reached out and beckoned him over. “Until neither of us can move.”

Instead of racing to her and swinging her into his arms, he replied, “Are you sure this is what you want, katya?” There was an edge to his tone that suggested she agree, and as he waited for her answer, his eyes turned to cool slate, the crystalline light that usually danced within them subdued to dark sapphire. “You have refused me so many times.”

“I’m positive I want this. I even bought us some things.” She motioned to the side table with a wave of her arm.

His expression still unreadable, he eased into the room. He didn’t come to her. No, he sat at the edge of the bed, just in front of the table and inspected her purchases. Lips twitching, he tested the strength of the rope then set it aside. He held up the handcuffs. “What do you plan to do with these?”

“Lock you to the bed.” Her heart raced at the thought, her toes curled, and her nervousness increased.

“Mayhap I will lock you to the bed.” He paused, then grinned slowly. “Aye, I like the sound of that. Having you subject to my will.” He replaced the handcuffs on the table surface and fingered a box of condoms. “What is this?”

“Condoms.”

His brow puckered in confusion.

She explained the consequence of unprotected sex.

Half grinning, half resolved, he uttered a sigh. “I could only give you a child if we were life-joined, katya. ’Tis the way of the Imperians.”

“Really? So I don’t have to worry about that?”

He gave a slight shake of his head, sending several strands of dark hair over his brow.

“Well, then,” she said, gently brushing the inky locks from his eyes and fighting a rush of nervousness, “you have my permission to proceed to the next level.”

“Not just yet, I think.” He swept the box to the floor. He raised the tube of lubricant and studied it from every angle. “And this?”

“It’s to help—” No, that wasn’t how she wanted to explain. “It eases—” No, that wasn’t it either. “It’s to make a woman wet.”

His grin faded completely. “I make a woman wet, katya,” he growled. “What a ridiculous concept. This—” he eyed the tube with disgust “—is not needed.” He didn’t give her a chance to reply. He tossed the tube over his shoulder and beckoned her closer with a crook of his finger. “Now come here.”

This is it, she thought. I’m giving myself to him.

Suddenly an unexplainable calm settled over her. This was right. So right. In fact, it was as if she’d always existed for this exact moment. For this man. She could no more deny that than she could deny her lungs air.

Filled with a heady mixture of need and anticipation, she closed the remaining distance between them. His hands anchored at her waist, easing her between his thighs. Warm and sweetly scented with mint, his breath kissed the V of her robe.

“I might have been in a hurry to get to this moment,” he said, his voice laced with determination, “but now that it has arrived, I am going to take my time with you, savor every touch. Every sound.” His eyes glinted with an emotion she couldn’t name. “I do not want any games this time. Only you and me.”

“Yes.” The words escaped on a breathless sigh. “Just you and me.”

“Later…We will play later.” His gaze slowly slid up her body and then he was gazing right into her eyes. Heat and longing and passion all blazed in those baby-blue depths.

A heartbeat passed, a mere whisper of time, before his lips touched hers. His tongue moved inside her mouth with drugging slowness, exotic and consuming. Each time before he had been molten lava. Now he was a well of water, and she was parched, living for every ounce of him that he offered.

“Do you know,” he said, pulling back to watch her through the thick shield of his lashes, “that when I felt the stone dissipate, ’twas not vengeance or home that I first craved. ’Twas you.”

Those words washed over her, gentle, wonderful, and oh, so beguiling. “I wanted you, too.”

He uttered a soft chuckle. “Had we followed our instincts, we would have saved ourselves much frustration.”

“I’m sure we would have made love over and over by now. In the garden, the truck, the bathroom.”

“The rented chamber,” he added helpfully. His hands slid languidly up her sides and cupped her jaw. He planted breathy little kisses and nips over her nose, eyes, her chin. “You know, of course, that I will not be satisfied until I have you in all of those places.”

Warmth skidded along her spine. “Do you promise?”

“Oh, aye. You have my word, and my word is my honor.”

He gently tugged her face down for another kiss. While his tongue worked its magic, he urged her onto his lap, spreading her thighs and hooking her legs around his waist until she straddled him completely and cradled his erection. His mouth never left hers.

In their position, she knew he was impossibly aroused, that he was huge and thick and hard—and she had caused this reaction. She, a woman who was too tall, too bossy and lacking in feminine graces, had brought this seductive man to such potent arousal. That knowledge gave her power, power that was very, very intoxicating.

On and on the kiss continued. Jorlan explored her leisurely, prolonging her pleasure, making her burn for so much more. He let his tongue trace the outline of her lips, leaving fire in its wake. His hand splayed over her collarbone, so warm, so inviting, a heartbeat away from dipping inside her robe and cupping her breast.

But that strong, masculine hand remained in place, teasing, taunting. Tormenting.

As one minute ticked by and then another, her nipple puckered in expectation and rasped against the cotton fabric of her robe. Her body began a constant ache for the heat of his hands—any part of his hands. His fingertips. The pad. The calluses. Something, anything except the waiting, the needing. She already knew an invisible cord stretched from her nipples to her clitoris, and if he would only touch her intimately the throb between her legs would spring and uncoil, giving her release.

She pulled away from their kiss. “Jorlan…”

“Kay-tee.” He took possession of her mouth again, smothering her words. His fingers traced a path down the middle of her robe, and she thought, Yes! This is it. He’s going to give me what I need. But he merely traced the seam back up again, never once touching actual skin.

She’d been aroused one too many times in the last few days without receiving a reward. Her body was demanding that reward now. Immediately. She bit the cord of his neck and said, “Please.” He just let his fingers blaze the same unhurried path they’d taken before, always remaining a breath away from where she craved them most. He paused sometimes to simply look at her, or tell her something naughty, but he always left her untouched and wanting, aching. She loved his kiss, she truly did. Never had a man kissed her quite so perfectly. But she was becoming more and more desperate for skin to skin, full body contact.

“Jorlan?” She strained against him. “You’re killing me here.”

His lips curled with wicked amusement. “Did you not once say you wished to die of pleasure?”

“I didn’t mean it literally.”

“So you wish me to do more to you?”

“Hell, yes!”

“Hmm,” he said, tormenting her to an even greater degree. “Not just yet, I think.”

Oh, he would pay for this later. His tongue licked and sucked the exposed skin of her neck and chest. He kneaded her butt. She writhed, she pressed against him, she tried to place his hands where she needed them most, but he always ruined her efforts by returning his palms a safe distance away.

“Damn it, Jorlan, I’m seriously considering tying you up and taking over.”

His laugh was a low purr. Then—finally! — his hands dipped inside her robe. But instead of cupping and squeezing as she so desperately craved, he teased a fingertip around her nipple. The action only increased her frustration, her need.

“Tell me what I do to you,” he commanded softly.

“You make me ache.” She meant the words as a complaint, but they sounded more like a plea.

“Where exactly do I make you ache, katya?”

“Everywhere.”

“Where specifically? Here?” He grazed the tip of her waiting nipple.

Her hips jerked, and she almost came right then. “Yes, there.” He licked the same path his finger had taken. “Oh, God. Right there! Do that again.”

He gave her other nipple the same treatment—a light grazing, followed quickly by the heat of his tongue. Her lower body arched into him. Just one more touch. One more.

“Where else?” he demanded. All touches ceased. She shimmed against him, causing her robe to part, and he sucked in a sharp breath. “By Elliea, katya, you are magnificent.”

His words washed over her like a bold caress, making her groan and squirm. Beyond desperate now, she reached between their bodies and yanked at his towel. He caught her hand and brought it to his lips. “I asked you a question. Where else do you ache?”

She was too aroused to be embarrassed by her admission. Liquid warmth was whirling in her stomach, and lower. “Between my legs,” she told him passionately. “I ache between my legs.”

Watching her face intently, he tunneled her pale curls with his hand, almost reaching where she craved him. But just when she rocked forward, he darted away.

She followed.

Over and over he teased her, giving her a glimpse of pleasure, only to stop. He touched her briefly. Her head fell back, and she cried out, “Yes. Right there. No, come back. Oh, yes, there. No!” As the dance continued, her breath came in short, erratic pants. “I have another rule,” she managed to croak.

“And what is that?” He was beginning to lose his playful air. In fact, the teasing light had completely abandoned his eyes, and now he watched her with a deep intensity. “What is that?” he demanded again, this time a rough edge to his tone.

“When engaged in lovemaking—hurry!”

His eyes darkened to a deep sapphire-blue. “My adjustment is simple. I will hurry, but only when I want to.”

She ripped off her robe, hoping her brother’s advice would not lead her astray. “If you don’t hurry up, I’m going to break every one of your fingers.”

“How fortunate I am, then, that I am ready to hurry.” In the next instant, she found herself flat on her back. While on his knees, Jorlan jerked her to the edge of the bed, spread her legs and kissed the hot wetness between her thighs. At the first lick of his tongue, she exploded. Fire, joy, pleasure all rocked her, sending thousands of twinkling lights through her mind. Her head reeled. She lost touch with where she was, who she was, only feeling an incredible shiver race through her again and again. And when she thought she might die from the sensation, Jorlan kissed her again with his heavenly tongue until she could only gasp his name. He tasted her, sucked her, made her want him all over again. He expertly maneuvered his tongue and fingers in a way that made all her fantasies pale in comparison.

Suddenly he was standing up over her. His hair seemed darker than the night sky that framed her window, and his eyes…his eyes were blazing with passion, bright and crystalline. He gazed down at her body, at her spread legs and wet arousal.

“You amaze me,” he said, his voice strained.

Jorlan knew at that moment he had never seen, nor would ever see, so beautiful a sight again. Katie’s cheeks were flushed. Her eyes were brilliant and wide, her lips swollen and parted from his kisses. Her nipples were as ripe as pink berries and her woman’s flesh was damp with arousal he had caused.

Muscles bunching, he crawled over her. They both cried out as skin met skin. He’d wanted to prolong the moment, to prolong their pleasure, but he wasn’t sure how much longer he could last. He rocked himself against her, careful not to enter her yet.

“Just like that,” she panted.

So he did it again, gliding back and forth in the slick V of her thighs while she rubbed herself wantonly against him. Finally, Jorlan had pushed himself to the edge of his control. He wanted this woman too desperately and for too long to stop himself now. He kissed her breasts, dragged his teeth over her nipples and positioned himself for entry.

He didn’t push inside immediately.

“You have said no so often, I need to hear your assent once more before I go further.”

She had been so bold about everything else; he yearned for her boldness in this as well. Her eyes were the warm color of honey and passion misted in their depths. Yet they had been so glazed before. When he took her, he wanted it to be with her cries of acquiescence in his ears. When she remained silent, looking up at him through her thick, spiky lashes, he teased her opening with his cock. “You have to say the words, katya. Say the words.”

Another heart-stopping pause, then, “I want you to fuck me, Jorlan.” Her voice was so sweet he was taken aback by the contrast of her words. “Now,” she commanded, no longer so sweet, but a vixen aroused to the point of pain. “Do it now.”

“My pleasure.” He grinned slowly, wickedly. She was a warrioress through and through, even in lovemaking, and that fueled his desire as never before. “’Tis indeed my pleasure.”

He plunged inside her.

She cried out as her virginity gave way, as her sleek tightness encased him. He stilled. Her nails deeply scored his back as she uttered expletive after expletive.

“Katya,” he gritted against her ear, struggling not to go over the edge, and struggling even more to give her time to adjust. This bold, passionate woman was— nay, had been—untouched. He was the first, the only man to ever fill her this completely, to ever be a part of her, and the knowledge very nearly felled him.

How had this enchanting creature gone so long without knowing a man’s touch?

Were the men of her world fools? Jorlan shook his head in wonder, for aye, they were. For what manner of man left such a prize untouched? Delight, wonder and awe all wound through him. He was no fool. He had wanted her, needed her, and so he had taken her. He was the only man to have ever seen Katie so flushed, the only man to have heard his name on her lips. What a sweet gift she had given him, a gift he would cherish all the days of his life.

“We’re not done, are we, Jorlan?” she asked hesitantly. Her teeth chewed at her bottom lip.

He gave a strained chuckle. “Nay, my katya. We will not be finished for a long while yet.”

“Oh.” Her legs wrapped around his waist, sending him deeper inside of her. She winced.

He almost groaned at the exquisite sensation. “Did I hurt you?”

“No.”

But he knew he had, and he knew, as well, that she needed more time to adjust to his size. He’d never taken a virgin before, so he did not know exactly how long he should wait. Not long, he hoped, for sweat was already beading on his forehead. His muscles were already clamoring for more. But he was determined to finish as slowly as he’d begun.

“Tell me when you are ready,” he ground out. His restraint was quickly breaking, and he was fast losing his control.

Her breath fanned across his cheek. She moved her leg experimentally, sending him even deeper inside. The movement drove him nearly mad with his needs. If she pulled back now, if she said no more, he wasn’t sure he would be able to stop.

“Jorlan?” The tone of her voice did not bode well for him.

“Aye.”

“Move,” she said.

Dread speared through him, desperate and achy. “Just give it more time. You’ll feel better and become used to my presence. Just give it some time,” he repeated almost savagely.

“No.” She chuckled, a rich, husky chuckle that poured over him like thick, sweet honey. “I don’t want you to move away. I want you to move inside me.”

Comprehension dawned, and with it, his movements spurred into action. Like a dam that had burst, he sank into her, then pulled back, over and over thanking Elliea for sending him to this woman. At that moment he might have thanked even Percen. He hooked her knees over the corner of his arms, spreading her wider, pressing against her center. She purred like a sweet little kitten.

He reached between their bodies and circled the center of her desire with his thumb. She gasped, cried out. He felt her inner walls tighten and spasm against him, and he moved faster. Harder. Deeper. Only when he heard his name rip from her throat did he spill inside her.

When the last pulse subsided, he remained as he was, surrounded by her essence. Silently, he gazed down at her. Katie’s eyes were closed, and she appeared to be asleep. That had been the most intense, satisfying experience of his life, but he didn’t have the strength to examine why just yet. By Elliea, he was not sure he would be able to move ever again. Still, he didn’t want to crush Katie during the night. Careful not to wake her, he leaned slightly to the side. After a while, his eyes began to grow drowsy, the sounds of their breathing filling his ears.

“Jorlan?” Katie asked softly.

“Hmm?”

She paused. “Nothing.”

Silence enveloped them like a thick blanket.

Katie lay still, unable to sleep as she waited for him to say something, even though she hadn’t asked him anything. She couldn’t help it; she craved words of praise. She knew she’d been good. After all, her body would not feel so sated if she hadn’t rocked his world as he had rocked hers. But just as he had needed to hear her acquiescence, she needed to hear his adulation. Yet minute after minute dragged by and he remained quiet.

“Jorlan?”

“Aye, katya.”

Again, she paused. “Nothing.”

His warm, silky breath fanned her ear, and he sat up, suddenly wide-awake and smiling. “Say what is on your mind or neither of us will sleep this eve.”

“That was wonderful, Jorlan.”

The corners of his lips faded to a frown of disappointment.

Feeling her blood begin to freeze, she gazed over at him with wide eyes. “You didn’t think it was wonderful?”

“’Tis not that…” He settled at her side. “I had thought you were about to speak your love for me.”

“Oh.”

A long sigh escaped his lips. “Mayhap you still need some persuasion, which I will most happily provide once your body is not so sore.”

She waited for him to say more. When he didn’t speak again for a long while, she asked, “Is there anything else you want to say to me?”

“Good eve.”

She jolted upright, hitting his chin with the top of her head in the process. “Good eve? Good eve! Well, you can shove your good eve right up your as—”

In the next heartbeat she found herself flipped over and pinned to the bed. Jorlan loomed over her. “Did you wish to hear something from me, little witch?”

Mutinous, she glared up at him.

“You were more than I could have ever dreamed,” he said softly.

Well, that was better. “And?”

“And what?”

She slapped his chest.

He chuckled. “You owe me money, katya. I should like to collect my payment now.”

She gasped. “I’m not paying you for sex, you…you gigolo. In fact, I was so good, you should pay me.” Oh, my Lord, had she really just said that?

He blinked. “You misunderstand. You owe me a quarter for every time you spoke a foul word.” His lips stretched in a grin. “The closer you came to your peak, the more profanities you uttered. And I—” he kissed her softly after every word “— loved every moment of it.”

Her features softened. “Well, I’ve decided I’m not going to quit cursing and I’m not paying. It wasn’t working out for me, anyway.”

“And I have decided you may quit. Later. Right now you still owe me, and I will allow payment in trade.”

That sounded intriguing. “What sort of trade?”

“You will listen to my next words without comment.”

Curious at his sudden seriousness, she nodded. “All right.”

He waited a moment to assure himself she listened. “Never have I experienced a joining like ours. You captivated me, amazed me and stole the breath from my lungs. Had I known you tasted so sweet, I would have sampled you that very first night, and every moment since, even without your approval.”

Katie didn’t know what to say. His confession was more than she’d ever dreamed, headier than a kiss. Then he began touching her once again and the added sensation made her purr.

Oh. Oh, my. Oh, yes.