Below the Surface Page 5

  She gasped his name and arched into his kiss, her hips following his lead, unable to stop the need for more. “Please, Marcus, please,” she cried as her climax sailed closer.

  His finger quickened, plunging deeper and harder as his mouth did the same. He nipped at her clit and thrust a second digit into her and she saw stars. Crying out his name, she shuddered and spasmed, her body raining pleasure, a deluge of rapture so intense she felt every beat of her heart as it thundered within her breast.

  Before she could calm down, he was over her and in her, and the feel of his massive cock flared her frazzled nerve endings, rekindling her desire with a startling rush.

  He said something lyrical as he thrust inside her, his shaft growing harder and larger as he pummelled. She was slick, accommodating him easily, yet she still felt stretched. Not painfully so, but her womb felt full, completely gloving him.

  “Tessa, yes,” he said in a guttural voice, nearing fulfilment.

  Another few thrusts and Tessa came again, the lighting speed of her climax stunning her into a breathless gasp.

  He rode her hard, and his chest continued to brush her sensitive nipples, driving her further into mindless ecstasy.

  Then suddenly he stiffened, and she actually felt him convulse inside her. On and on he tensed as he shot into her, moaning her name feverishly.

  Trying to regain her breath, she felt completely astounded at the absolute, out of this world rapture she’d experienced not once, but twice and both occurrences within moments of one another. Blinking hard, she stared into the taut face above her, entranced at the passion lining Marcus’ cobalt eyes, half-closed and sleepy with pleasure.

  He grinned down at her, a heart-stopping smile that made her toes curl. “I knew you’d be good, but you damn near killed me.”

  She blushed and couldn’t help smiling back. He made her feel so good, so special. Warmth surged in his voice, affection and something magical swimming in his gaze. Here was a seducer who could easily conquer anyone with a pulse. And regularly did. The thought took away some of her afterglow, but as if he could sense her troubled thoughts, he shook his head and leaned down to kiss her tenderly.

  “No more worries for tonight, Tessa. Let’s enjoy the peace of safety and being together. There’s time enough for trouble tomorrow.” He chanced a look at his alarm clock and groaned. “Or should I say, later today?”

  She yawned, her body in complete agreement. “Good point.” Regrets could wait. Tonight she would bask in pure sexual satisfaction. Before she could ask where he wanted her to sleep, he withdrew from her body and lay down beside her. He smoothly shifted her onto her side and spooned her with his large frame.

  They fit like two perfect pieces to a puzzle, she thought drowsily and yawned again. “We fit,” she murmured and snuggled back into his warmth.

  “Just like a lock and key,” he whispered and kissed her neck.

  She had just begun to drift off and thought he’d done the same, when he pulled her closer and nuzzled her ear. “Hmm,” he breathed, and she relaxed when he murmured something else, something she instinctively knew was important. As her mind wandered into dream, she promised herself to ask him about it when they woke.

  * * * *

  Marcus moved closer to the source of softness cushioning his growing erection. He’d been having the most erotic dream about Tessa, only to wake and find her still in his bed. He inhaled the sexy scent of perfume and woman at the crook of her neck and wrapped a strand of silken, auburn hair around his finger.

  She murmured softly in her sleep and wriggled closer. He closed his eyes again, relishing the feel of her naked flesh. She was so damned gorgeous, so sensual. And all his—at least for the time being, he hastily reminded himself.

  He should have been satisfied from their loving earlier, but he couldn’t seem to get enough of Tessa Sheridan. Not bothering to dwell on his fascination, he decided only a fool would ignore what Tessa offered, even innocently in sleep.

  Shifting his hand from her hip, he traced the sleek contour of her belly, arousing himself further by rubbing his heavy cock between her soft cheeks. She murmured and stretched, taunting him with subtle approval.

  Wanting to experience it all, he opened his eyes and watched the light of day caress Tessa’s honeyed skin. Such creamy purity on a woman with enough sexuality to bespell a prince, he thought wryly, moving his hand towards the apex of her thighs.

  Ah, but such magic. She was already moist and needy. He fingered her ripe clit, full and begging for pleasure. And as he touched her, he spread her thighs wider and repositioned his cock between her legs.

  He found this position on his side a tad awkward, but definitely interesting. As he angled her leg over his, widening her entry, he sensed her gradual awareness.

  “Marcus?” she asked in a throaty voice. “What are you doing?”

  He pushed slowly inside her, sliding through the slick, narrow walls of her sex and found perfection. “I’m waiting for you to cry out when you come.” He began pistoning, pulling her hips back to meet his controlled thrusts. “You’re so wet, Tessa,” he rasped, tightening his hands on her hips.

  “And you’re so hard,” she said huskily, reaching behind her to fondle his ass.

  Her fingers amplified his lust, making the urge to come swell uncomfortably near.

  Reaching around her, he fondled her clit, thumbing her until she jolted against him, out of control and breathing hard.

  “Marcus,” she moaned and drenched him with a flood of desire.

  Her clenching pussy pulled him deeper, until he too felt the stirrings of orgasm. An invisible push sent his cock deeper into her, and he couldn’t delay it any longer. With a grateful groan, he sank into her heat and emptied himself, pulsing with the beat of her heart. She continued to contract, stimulating him so that he literally saw stars as he came.

  When next he could function, he kissed Tessa softly on the shoulder. She shivered and he chuckled. “You are so sexy,” he murmured, unable to stop touching her. He remained within her, not yet willing to part from her liquid warmth.

  She tightened her walls around him and he sighed with regret, not wanting to face the world waiting for them. He’d much rather make love to Tessa through tomorrow.

  “We have to get up,” he apologised as he withdrew and left the bed. Coming around to face her, he noted her flushed cheeks and heavy-lidded eyes, and something in his heart gave.

  Startled, he took a step forward and looked harder, as if to see what it was about her that was so different from the other women he’d met.

  “Marcus?” she asked, blinking up at him. “Something wrong?”

  “Only that I’m leaving you naked in bed, alone,” he muttered. “I’ll go shower, unless you want to go first?”

  She shook her head and he grimaced.

  She laughed. “Age before beauty, I always say.”

  “Intelligent, sexy and funny. There’s no end to your many talents is there?” A towel suddenly shot out of the bathroom and smacked him in the head.

  “You forgot unmanageable,” she quipped, and he rolled his eyes at her grin before turning to the bathroom with the wayward towel.

  Tessa couldn’t help her own sigh as she snuggled into his soft, satin sheets. Trust Marcus to sleep in luxury, she thought with a huge grin. Much as she wanted to lament her decision to sleep with him, she couldn’t, in all honesty, regret exploring the chemistry between them.

  She had never, in her entire life, felt such extreme pleasure from another’s touch. And despite his reputation, she had a feeling that for Marcus it was the same. She couldn’t put her finger on it, but she could almost sense a hint of unease in ‘Cool Blue’, a fact contrary to everything she knew about the arrogant, larger-than-life playboy.

  Her face flamed. ‘Larger-than-life’ definitely applied to his physique. Whew! Both the size of his ship and the motion in his ocean scored a perfect ten.

  A small laugh left her when she thought about how scatte
red her normally organised life had become. She’d given in to her desires and slept with Marcus Storm, the office bad boy, and didn’t feel the slightest bit guilty about it. Not to mention she’d seen true evil, been face to face with it, and right now couldn’t care less.

  A hazy sense of disquiet tried to pass but couldn’t penetrate the sexual fulfilment encasing her from head to toe. Who knew hot sex could feel so liberating?

  Suddenly aware that the shower had stopped some time ago, Tessa pushed the covers down to her hip, leant on her elbow and glanced towards the partially closed bathroom door, hoping for another glimpse of Marcus’ mouth-watering nudity.

  “Hello there,” he said in a deep voice, full of male speculation, from the other side of the room.

  Startled since she hadn’t seen him exit the bathroom and dress, she took a moment to get her breath back and rolled to face him. He wore strange clothes, a scarlet-belted overshirt over black silk trousers tucked into black boots.

  She grinned, pleased when his eyes settled over her breasts. “Like what you see?”

  “You have no idea,” he murmured, his eyes flashing from silver to black in a heartbeat.

  She licked her lips and saw him swallow. Excitement flared. Maybe they could postpone returning to the world a little longer. Yet, the longer she looked at him, the more something bothered her about his reaction. He seemed aroused, but at the same time, different?

  “What’s with your eyes?” she asked, noticing the discrepancy for the first time. Maybe the whole magic slash sex thing had turned his eyes from blue to grey. Hell, she’d seen stranger things in her lifetime. “I thought they were blue.”

  “They are,” came an extremely annoyed voice from behind her.

  Chapter Five

  “Sorry,” preceded a soft whisper of sound as Aerolus teleported from the room.

  “It’s about time you returned. What did Arim have to say?” Cadmus badgered as Aerolus met him in the living room.

  Still trying to calm his surging hormones, Aerolus thought it best not to say anything about what he’d just seen. All he needed was Cadmus teasing him about Marcus’ woman in front of Marcus to start a full-out war.

  Their now-absent brother, Darius, the resident firewalker, had a short temper, the Royal Four’s renowned hothead—literally. But at least with Darius you knew to avoid the fireball sure to come your way.

  With Marcus, retaliation might not come for days or even weeks. Cool and self-possessed, the River Prince’s cutting arrogance would not allow him to fly off the handle. No, Marcus preferred guerrilla tactics that would do the Djinn proud.

  Aerolus shook his head, not wanting to deal with an internal problem when he had so many other issues to worry about.

  “Hello, Aerolus?” Cadmus snapped his fingers. “I think you need to lay off the sorcery for a while, windboy. Your brain’s been fried.”

  Cadmus had a real knack for picking up local idioms. Unfortunately, he also had a knack for causing undue aggravation.

  “I’ll tell you about Arim as soon as Marcus comes down.”

  Cadmus grinned. “Speaking of Marcus, I believe he and that gorgeous redhead are well on their way to creating a new Royal Four. I was going to bring them something to eat earlier when I got the distinct impression not to disturb.”

  “Really?” Aerolus tried to sound disinterested, but he could feel his face heating. Images of the woman’s lush breasts and sultry features stirred uncomfortable longings he’d been suppressing since he’d taken this new path to sorcery.

  “Really,” Cadmus said, sounding as if he’d swallowed a laugh. “So it probably wasn’t a good idea to barge in on them the way you did.”

  Shit.

  “So what can you tell me?” Cadmus sounded more than interested, and his brown eyes sparkled with mirth. “Is she even half as hot naked as I think she is?”

  “Yes, Aerolus, what can you tell us?” Marcus asked in a stiff voice as he left the hallway and entered the living room.

  Aerolus took a deep breath and turned to face his brother. Icy blue eyes fairly begged him to give the wrong answer. Despite Marcus’ infallible control, he seemed to be hanging on a precipice of rage.

  Not good.

  Shrugging and holding his hands up to protest his innocence, Aerolus spoke calmly, not needing any more headaches today. Arim’s news was more than enough to make everyone’s week sour. He didn’t need Marcus adding to the misery.

  “All I can say is, I’m sorry. I had no idea she would be sleeping in your room, let alone wearing…” he paused and looked back to see Cadmus hanging on every word. Aerolus frowned, a small hint of emotion he normally kept in check, but Cadmus’ grin only widened. “Suffice it to say I apologise, wholeheartedly. I would never intentionally intrude on your privacy,” he added in a softer voice.

  Thankfully, Marcus accepted his explanation as truth, for his hardened expression evened into one of familiar arrogance. “I shouldn’t have jumped to the wrong conclusion.” They both ignored Cadmus’ disappointed mutterings. “Had you been anyone else,” Marcus paused and pointedly looked to Cadmus, “I wouldn’t have believed you.”

  “Well, thanks for small favours.” Cadmus huffed and shot Aerolus a pitying glance. “Unlike Saint Aerolus, I have a libido that reacts to a woman like that.” He whistled and looked beyond Marcus. “And speaking of Lady Fine…”

  Tessa Sheridan entered the room with eyes as round as saucers. She stared from Marcus to Cadmus to Aerolus, then focused again on Marcus.

  “You did tell her you had identical brothers, right?” Cadmus asked innocently, for which he received an icy glare.

  “I didn’t have time to mention it before Aerolus burst in this morning,” Marcus said between clenched teeth,

  And caught an eyeful, Aerolus mentally added. He could only be thankful that unlike Darius, Marcus couldn’t read minds.

  Tessa stared suspiciously from brother to brother, and Aerolus felt simultaneous pity for her obvious shock and curiosity at how she would handle this new information. Darius’ wife had handled the news of four identical brothers in stride, a definite indicator of her potential as his affai. Would Tessa accept the Royal Four and their current predicament so calmly? Could Marcus be so lucky?

  He glanced at Marcus and saw his brother trying to appear calm as he awaited Tessa’s reaction. But his clenched fists clearly indicated nervous anticipation. Well, Aerolus thought and inwardly smiled. The coolest of the bunch had finally met his match. Aerolus only wished he knew how long it would take the River Prince to recognise he’d fallen.

  * * * *

  Tessa stared at three—not one, but three—carbon copies of the sexiest man she’d ever seen in her life. Amazingly, they all possessed the exact same haircut, same facial features and same height, but not the same eyes. Marcus’ were a clear, ocean blue, whereas the one who’d seen her earlier had silver eyes, and the grinning one on the couch possessed light brown, laughing eyes.

  She was glad one of them found the situation amusing.

  “Anything else you’d like to tell me? Are there any more of you I should know about?” She tried to appear nonchalant, as if she always made hot, passionate love with one of several clones after slaying demon spawn at the office.

  Marcus sighed and the brown-eyed copy laughed openly. “Actually, yes. There’s one more of us, our brother Darius, but he’s not here.” She stared at him in amazement and he quickly continued. “I’m sorry, Tessa. I was just coming back to explain our situation when you walked in.” He took a breath and calmly introduced the others, as if one of his brothers hadn’t already seen too much of her earlier.

  “We’ve met,” Aerolus said blandly and grasped her hand in his large palms. She could practically feel Marcus’ tension rise until Aerolus nodded respectfully and took a step back, safely out of reach.

  Had Cool Blue just shown some jealousy? Intriguing thought. She gave him a surreptitious study before nodding towards the remaining brother, Cadmus. Darius,
Aerolus, Cadmus—geez, was Marcus the only one with a normal name?

  “What an absolute pleasure to meet you,” Cadmus said smoothly, lifting her hand to his hot mouth. He placed a chaste kiss against the back of her hand that warmed, but in no way made her feel what Marcus had.

  Marcus’ eyes darkened and narrowed, and suddenly Cadmus stumbled back several paces to tumble over the couch.

  “Dammit, Marcus, I’m not the one who saw her naked!”

  Aerolus rubbed his forehead as a flush of red bronzed his cheekbones. “You have as much tact as a freznalian bull,” he murmured and shook his head. “I’m sorry for any duress I may have caused earlier,” he said to her in a soft, deep voice. “I clearly had no idea my brother had company when I arrived.”

  Tessa nodded, accepting his apology even as it stirred new questions. “About that arrival—”

  “Tessa, you’d better sit down,” Marcus deliberately interrupted and led her to the couch. “There’s a lot to explain and no way to do it gently.”

  “I’m not china, Marcus,” she said firmly. “I won’t break. And with what you know about me, I don’t think my accepting the unusual will be that difficult, do you?”

  Cadmus and Aerolus watched the interplay with interest.

  “What does she mean?” Cadmus asked, nearing her before Marcus forcibly thrust him further down the couch. “By the Light, Marcus, I wasn’t trying to seduce her with a kiss to the hand.” He sounded exasperated but he turned to Tessa with a wink. “It didn’t work, did it?”

  She couldn’t help sharing his grin. His playful antics relieved some of her stress, but apparently did little to ease Marcus’ worries. He placed a protective—or was that possessive?—arm around her and remained stoic under his brothers’ regard.

  Aerolus raised one brow, an eerie likeness of the Marcus she knew at the office. But he didn’t comment on the arm, or on Marcus’ aggressive stance.

  Again she studied the men surrounding her before conceding with a sigh. As much as she wanted to stand around and stare at three gorgeous men, she couldn’t ignore what had happened last night. She needed answers, some way to make sense of the unreal creatures they had fought, as well as the near-perfect lovemaking she’d experienced with the office bad boy who was way more than what he seemed.