Page 55 of The Guardian (Dark-Hunter 20)
Her breathing labored, she turned to face him.
Never in all of his life had he seen anything more beautiful than her tousled hair falling into those eyes that touched a part of him he thought was gone forever.
His heart.
Brushing her hair back, she threw her staff to the ground and ran to him. "You still with me?"
He looked down at the spears in his torso. "Sadly, I can honestly say, that compared to other sessions I've had this one wasn't so bad."
She sighed wearily. "You find your humor at the strangest times." Her brow furrowed, she reached for the bottom spear. "This is going to hurt. I'm so sorry."
He stopped her before she could yank it out. "Why are you here?"
Lydia paused at the odd catch in his voice. He really had no comprehension. "Don't you know?"
He shook his head. "You were so mad at me. I didn't think you'd ever speak to me again."
She took his hand into hers and held it tight. "Baby, I would always come for you."
"But I didn't call you."
"You didn't have to. I knew you needed me. Now hold on." She jerked the spear out as fast as she could, hoping to spare him as much pain as possible.
Seth bit his lip as she freed him of the other two. Instead of letting him hit the ground, she caught him against her and held him close.
"Hold on," she whispered in his ear as she draped his arm around her shoulders. "I'll take you home."
* * *
Seth came awake slowly. For a full minute, he was afraid to open his eyes lest he find himself back in his room or, worse, in Noir's torture chamber.
But as he caught the scent of his precious lily, he knew he was safe.
When he blinked his eyes open, it was to see the most beautiful woman in existence.
Before he could move, she started tearing at his shirt, pulling it up to expose his stomach and chest.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Making sure those bitches didn't hurt you so much that you brought your wounds back with you. I swear if they did, I will stalk them down and kick their teeth in until they beg me to stop and even then I'll..."
Lydia froze as she heard the most incredible thing of all.
Seth's laughter.
Stunned, she sat back on her legs to scowl at him and marvel at the way his smile lit up his entire face and made him all the better looking.
He truly had an adorable smile that could melt the iciest heart.
But she was completely bemused by his mood. "You find that funny?"
"No," he breathed. "I find it a miracle." He reached up and cupped her face in his hand. "You really came for me."
Closing her eyes, she rubbed her cheek against his palm, savoring the feel of his skin on hers. "I told you I would."
But he'd never believed it. Not for a single heartbeat. Words were cheap.
Actions cost.
Even so, she had fought off his attackers and brought him home. Just like she said she would.
She released his hand and went back to searching his body for injuries. Something he wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't turning him on so badly that he couldn't stand it.
And when she leaned over him, spilling her soft hair across his chest that she'd bared, he almost came just from the scent of her alone.
Lydia hesitated as she saw the fire in those blue eyes that followed her every movement. More than that, she felt his desire for her swelling against her thigh.
Neither of them moved as they stared at each other, both afraid to move. Afraid of how the other would react if they did.
They knew one wrong word or action would shatter this moment, and it was something neither of them wanted to accidentally spoil.
But Lydia had never been timid in anything. She dissolved his shirt completely so that she could run her hand over his bare chest and feel the wall of cut muscles there. He had the lightest dusting of red hair over his pectorals. Hair that vanished over his eight-pack abdomen only to pick up again below his navel, where it was thickest of all, as it led her gaze down to the part of him that was swollen for her.
However, it was his tattoo that stood out so brightly on his skin. That was what beckoned her first. The one thing he'd manifested in an attempt to give himself comfort.
The first haven Noir had stolen from him.
Now she wanted to be the one who gave him comfort and took away his pain. To show him that he didn't need a bird's wings to escape what was happening around him. That there was pleasure to be had in his own body.
Let me love you, Seth ...
But would her stubborn demon lord ever accept that from anyone? Even her. Or was he so badly damaged that nothing would ever make him whole again?
Seth ground his teeth as Lydia leaned forward to run her tongue over his swallow mark. It was the first time since it'd appeared that he didn't hate it and what it signified.
Closing his eyes, he surrendered himself to her mouth and warm touches that reached far below his skin and soothed him on levels he'd never imagined he possessed. His senses on fire, he was actually dizzy from the pleasure of finally having her in his arms.
He ran his hands under her shirt and over her back, delighting in how warm and soft her skin was. How good it smelled. Everything around them faded as he surrendered himself completely to her caresses. Caresses that were far sweeter than anything he'd imagined them to be.
And how could he? No one had ever touched him like this.
Like he mattered.
There was no pain in her gentle touch. No fingernails shredding his skin.
But her top was beginning to frustrate him as he tried to feel more of her. "No fair," he whispered in her ear. "You still have a shirt on."
It vanished instantly.
Seth sucked his breath in at the sight of her perfectly formed breasts. Her skin tone was so pale compared to his. Something that didn't make any sense since she was from the world of bright sunlight and he'd lived in darkness for so long that he could barely tolerate the sun at all.
