Page 36 of Tanglewood Legacy (The Three Sisters 3)
Isis froze. “What do you mean, Étienne will be arresting her?”
“I visited with him just before the incident. I told him I suspected she was… supernatural. She’ll be captured and interrogated.”
The gasp that rose from Isis’s throat disturbed him. “You shouldn’t have done that. She heard you, Pierre. That’s why she attacked you. She told me as much.”
He shrugged. “All the more reason she should be behind bars.”
“You don’t understand. That will never work.”
“Why not?”
“Because I waswrongabout Delphine being a vampire. Sheislike a vampire in that she drinks blood, but unlike that species, she can tolerate the sun and enjoys additional powers fueled by demonic magic. For one, we know she turned her sister Lucienne to be like her. That’s not possible where I come from. Delphine is channeling a demon of the underworld. She can’t be burned. No prison will hold her.”
Pierre’s stomach sank like a stone. “But then, how do we stop her and Lucienne from striking again?”
Isis seemed to ponder this. “We’ll have to trap them on holy ground and bind them magically.”
He groaned. “Please tell me that’s simpler than it sounds.” He rubbed his neck wound. “She does have one sister left human.”
Deep blue eyes met his. “I’ll protect you, Pierre. She can’t hurt you as long as we’re together, and my sisters and I will find a way to stop them from hurting anyone else.”
“You’ll protect me.” He laughed under his breath. It was not supposed to be this way. Wasn’t he, as the man, supposed to protect her? But oddly, he didn’t feel threatened by her pronouncement in the least. It would be like feeling threatened by the sun’s offer to warm him. She was magic, a goddess, a star. His star.
“Now, about this bath.” Shadows leached off the walls and began untying the laces of her dress.
“The shadows follow your commands.” Pierre watched in wonder as the darkness undressed her, as careful with the material as any lady’s maid.
She stroked her hands along the outside of his arms. “They obey me, yes.” His breath hitched as she stepped out of her dress, wearing nothing but a whisper-thin shift that left little to the imagination.
His cock twitched, and his gaze drifted down along her exposed collarbone, over her firm breasts, her taut abdomen, and the dark triangle between her thighs. Oh, how he wanted to explore every part of her. She was a land in need of discovery, and he was the explorer eager to brave her wilds.
He swallowed around a thick tongue. “Tell them I can manage the rest on my own.”
“Done,” she said softly. The shadows slunk back to the door.
Reaching behind his head, he grabbed the back of his shirt, pulling it off over his head. When her eyes raked over him and turned heated, he didn’t hide his satisfaction. Her fingers found his fly, and in minutes, he was naked before her, his cock hard and ready.
Gripping the bottom of her shift, he unveiled her slowly, every luscious curve revealing itself to him inch by glorious inch. He released a shaky breath, unsteady for want of her, but gathered himself quickly. Offering her his hand, he beckoned her toward the tub.
She slipped her fingers into his.
He tested the water, finding it deliciously hot before sinking in and ducking under. She stepped in after but stayed standing for a moment, straddling his legs. Good God, the sight of her body was kindling, igniting a fire in his blood he’d never thought possible. His gaze raked up her legs, catching on the juncture of her thighs.
“Let me wash your hair.” She motioned for him to turn around so that his back was to her. Perching on the edge of the tub, she dug the soap from its dish and started rubbing it between her palms. He closed his eyes against an urge to turn his head and trail kisses up her inner thigh.
“Are you well enough for this?” he asked. “You said on the terrace that you were tired?”
She started scrubbing his hair, her nails working the soap into his scalp. “Surprisingly, all hints of fatigue have left me,” she said softly. Her fingers slowed in his hair. “I am nervous, though.”
He inhaled sharply at that admission. “I make you nervous,mon etoile? Why? I’d think the goddess who commands shadows wouldn’t be nervous of anything.”
“It’s been a long time since I’ve been with a man, and I’ve never been with your kind. I’m afraid I won’t be what you expect.”
At her urging, he tipped his head back, staring up at her between her knees. She cupped water in her hand and rinsed his hair. “It is what I love about you most. Everything about you is unexpected. Mysterious. Exceptional.” He turned his head, placing a kiss on her inner thigh.
The delicate gasp she released was all the encouragement he needed. She sank into the water behind him until her face was level with his. Turning, he kissed her then, probing her mouth and stroking her tongue with his own. She groaned in response, opening for him, her mouth accommodating his exploration. Her breasts rested above the surface, and he trailed his wet fingers over one, weighed it in his palm before teasing her nipple into a hard peak with his thumb. Rolling and pinching her nipple between his thumb and finger, he coaxed another gasp from her, devouring the sound with his kiss.
“You like that?” he whispered against her lips. “Then we must try the other.” He repositioned himself and then turned her, pulling her back against his chest, her bottom flush against his hard length. He slid his hand, wet and warm, to her other breast, where he repeated the process, watching the results over her shoulder as he whispered in her ear. “You’re so beautiful,mon etoile. There isn’t a star in the sky as bright as you.”
