One Breath Read online

  Conlan stayed behind Sydney’s chair and continued to work his own magic by massaging places he could reach without the interference of her body armor. She focused on taking deep breaths and relaxing, pushing thoughts of the eye, the battle, and death from her mind.

  As Conlan pressed his thumbs along her neck up to her scalp, she wished she had the body armor off so she could get the full effects of his massage.

  She wished she and Conlan had everything off and were naked. In her bed.

  Sydney groaned at the mental image, and he paused. “Am I hurting you?”

  Her face heated as she snapped back to the moment. “No. I’m enjoying it.”

  Mackenzie winked at her, and Sydney’s face grew hotter.

  How can I even think of sex at a time like this? And with a guy like Conlan who has a reputation for playing the field?

  Perhaps it was her mind’s way of dealing with the horrors they had experienced.

  Silver handed Alyssa and Sydney each a lodestone. She wrapped her hand around hers and immediately the pain in her arm lessened.

  Mac started attending to the gouge on Alyssa’s neck while Silver unwound Conlan’s tunic from Sydney’s arm. She grimaced from pain when the leather stuck to her torn flesh as it was pulled away.

  “Ouch.” Silver grimaced too, as if the wound were her own. “All three slashes are going to need stitches. They’re too deep to close up any other way.”

  “Great,” Sydney grumbled. “We should be out looking for Darkwolf, not having to mess with my arm.”

  The need to find the warlock and the eye was so intense she felt it in every muscle of her body. If Balor reached Darkwolf before they did—

  In past battles, they’d had several more D’Danann to aid them in the search and in the battle with Ceithlenn, the evil goddess wife of Balor. But after losing their headquarters, they hadn’t yet found a location to house a larger contingent of warriors.

  Only eight people would fit into Sydney’s small house, and that was pushing it. So for a few days, just the group of them would be in on the hunt until they could get backup.

  The kitchen’s normal scents of the dried herbs hanging over her stainless steel sink combined with the smells of healing powders, creams, antiseptics, and blood. The tea tree antiseptic was the most intense of all the scents. Marigold cream and comfrey ointments were also used on her wounds, along with a good dose of Silver’s magic.

  Silver then grabbed another jar out of the cabinet and held it up for Sydney to see, when the three claw marks had been cleaned and were ready to be stitched up.

  “Yup.” Sydney nodded and added, “I think I’d rather be asleep for this one.”

  Just a single breath of the sleeping potion and Sydney entered darkness again.

  8

  When Sydney woke, she blinked away the blurriness of her vision. Silver was rubbing something that felt soothing on her stitches. They crawled up Sydney’s arm in three long rows like marching spiders.

  She was still in the kitchen, only now she was in Conlan’s lap. He had wrapped his strong arms around her waist, and her back was against his bare chest. His scent surrounded her, mixing with all the other smells.

  Only now there was one more. She sniffed. “Chicken noodle soup.” Her words came out a little slurred, but her stomach growled quite clearly.

  “Nice to see you awake.” Silver started gathering the supplies and taking them back to the cabinet. “Soup will be ready after you take a bath. You’ll feel better. Stronger.”

  “I think you’re right.” Sydney’s head spun a little as she eased to her feet, placing one palm on the tabletop to brace herself. Conlan stood with her, steadying her.

  She leaned into him as he took her to the large downstairs bathroom that adjoined her bedroom. He shut and locked the door behind them, then turned on the water in the whirlpool tub.

  For some reason it felt totally natural for him to be undressing her. After he removed her glasses and set them on the marble countertop, he tugged her T-shirt over her head, taking care with her injured arm.

  “I was worried for you, sweet witch,” Conlan murmured as he unfastened her body armor and dropped it to the tile floor. “But you are a strong warrior.”

  Sydney smiled. She still felt a little groggy and woozy from the knockout potion, but the man was turning her on. Her arm didn’t hurt right now, although her body ached from the day’s events. Yet he still caused butterflies to flutter in her belly.

  “Hold on to that bar,” Conlan told her when she was naked. She wrapped her fingers around the towel rack and he released her. She listed a little to one side but was too fascinated by watching him strip out of his clothing to really pay any attention to it.

  His finely carved chest was already bare. Her mouth watered as he removed his boots and she watched the play of muscles across his shoulders. It still amazed her that there were no signs on his back of where his wings appeared when he wanted them to. Just smooth, golden skin.

  When he pushed down his leather pants, she sighed with pleasure. He was so gorgeous—every hard, sinewy, inch of him.

  Yummy.

  Conlan helped her into the whirlpool tub. Her stitches were magically waterproof, so she didn’t have to worry about them.

  It was heaven as she sank into the warmth. With a big splash and swell of water, Conlan slid in behind her so that her back was to his chest, a hard ridge against her ass. Using one of her loofah sponges and her favorite raspberry-scented body gel, he began to wash her body, and she sighed.

  She’d never done anything like this in her life. In past relationships she’d always dated the man for a while before she would allow the relationship to progress to a sexual stage. If the man was truly interested in a relationship with her, then he’d be willing to wait.

  Two times she’d had her heart broken, and she’d broken a heart once herself. But none of the relationships had been serious. All three relationships had been enjoyable, romantic, special in their own ways, and it had hurt to end them. But to this day she remained friends with each of the three men—they were all good guys, just not right for her.

  Conlan was so different. He made her crazy, made her thoughts twist and turn until she was willing to do anything with him.

  She’d known the man, what, a few days, and she’d already gone down on him and was now naked in a bathtub with him? Was she out of her mind?

  Yup. Certifiable.

  Sydney threw herself into the moment, putting aside her misgivings to enjoy what he had to offer. Right here. Right now.

  “Tell me about yourself,” she said as he massaged her at the same time he washed her.

  He paused in his movements before continuing. “There is not much to tell.”

  Sydney snorted. “Oh, yeah. You’re probably like the other D’Danann, around two thousand years old. After living forever and a day, how could you not have anything to say about yourself?”

  Conlan kissed the curve of her neck, and she shivered. “I have been a warrior since I was a youngling. It is all I have ever known.”

  He brushed his lips over the other side of her neck, and she shivered again. “My parents were both warriors who died in battle against the Milesians, the time when the D’Danann fell and left to form our Sidhe in Otherworld. That was long ago.”

  “I’m sorry.” Sydney was quiet for a moment. “My parents live in Seattle. They’re both D’Anu witches, but not gray magic like I am. I’m so glad they don’t live here. I wouldn’t want them in this kind of danger.”

  She had to thank Anu that so far the war was contained in San Francisco. If it spread beyond the city—she didn’t even want to think what that could mean.

  He began washing her again. “While you slept, Silver said you are what is called a CEO of an advertising agency.”

  She found it hard to talk with the way his hands soaped her body. It felt soooo good. “I took a leave of absence when things started getting really rough with the demons. I’ve taken so much
time off, I’m not sure I’ll have a job when all this is over.”

  The thought of the probable coming battles made her stomach twist.

  Please let it all end with sending Balor, his bitch of a goddess wife, and all the Fomorii back to Underworld. And soon.

  Don’t forget Darkwolf and Junga, she mentally added. They need to be dealt with, too.

  Conlan continued to wash her. It was the most sensual bath she’d ever had. His fingers and hands were so skilled.

  Well, he had lived around two millennia, after all. He was bound to have loads of talents.

  They talked while he gently and slowly brushed every part of her with the loofah and bath gel. He told her a few stories from when he was growing up and asked her questions about her own childhood.

  The whirlpool tub was large enough that he was able to turn her sideways in his lap so that he could even reach her toes. It was one of the most erotic things she’d felt—to have each of her toes and the bottoms of her feet washed by a man.

  Absolutely delicious.

  When he washed her breasts, the loofah was rough against her nipples. He skimmed his lips over hers at the same time, and she released a long, low moan against his mouth.

  He teased her between her thighs, barely brushing the loofah over her sensitive flesh. His eyes held hers as he slipped the slightly abrasive sponge close to her core, and she gasped when he stroked it over her.

  She was so close to climaxing, but he just smiled and set the loofah aside when he finished washing her.

  After arranging himself close to the water faucet, he forced her to turn her back to him and began washing her hair.

  He used a cup that had been on the side of the bathtub, filling it with water from the faucet and pouring it over her hair until it was completely wet. Then he began to work shampoo into it, massaging her scalp in a way that had her sighing with pleasure.

  Because of her injured arm, Conlan wouldn’t let her bathe him. She turned in the whirlpool tub so that she could watch him run the soapy loofah over his gorgeous body.

  By the time they finished bathing, Sydney felt like she knew him almost as well as any man she had dated. They had shared so much in one sensual bath.

  Rather than feeling sleepy from the knockout potion, she was wide awake now and so turned on she was vibrating with desire.

  Conlan helped her out of the tub, grabbed one of her thick towels, and dried her off, her body tingling everywhere the cloth touched. He paid close attention to her breasts, his hands rubbing her nipples as he swiped the towel over them, making the nubs so hard they ached.

  He was more than careful around her injured arm, but right now it didn’t hurt and she probably wouldn’t have noticed it anyway.

  She wanted him inside her. And she wanted him now.

  Sydney trembled with need as she helped dry him. When she reached his groin with the towel, she wrapped her fingers around him.

  It was his turn to groan. He murmured something in Gaelic and cupped her face in his palms. The slightest brush of his lips across hers made that place between her thighs ache so bad she could hardly stand it. He slipped his tongue into her mouth, and she moaned with pleasure.

  So male. So good.

  She skimmed her hand up and down his length, and he moved his hips in rhythm to her strokes. Their kiss intensified and grew so wild that Sydney felt like she could climax just from his kiss.

  He drew away, and his eyes were a stormy green that told her how turned on he was. With a shiver of anticipation, she released him to take one of his hands in hers. She unlocked the bathroom door, opened it, and led him into her bedroom.

  They eased onto the bedspread, lay down face-to-face, and studied each other.

  He trailed his fingers over the swell of her breast and down to the curve of her waist. “I told you we would finish this, sweet witch.”

  Sydney shivered at the contact of his callused fingers on her soft skin. “I want you, Conlan.” She reached up and stroked her thumb over his stubbled cheek. “I want to feel all of you. And so you don’t worry, I’m a witch, so I will conjure a magical shield inside me.”

  A low rumble rose up in him, and his eyes darkened. “I will be inside you. Soon.” He gripped her ass and jerked her close and pressed against her belly. She reached between them, grasped his length, and squeezed.

  Conlan slid his hand from her ass up and into her wet hair. He brought her to him and caught her lower lip between his teeth. The feel of him sucking on her lower lip made her sigh, and when he released it to slip his tongue between her lips, she moaned.

  All her senses were on fire. The way his muscled form pressed up against her made her whole body burn. His earthy male scent filled her, surrounded her.

  The soft groans coming from him created an excitement within her, knowing he wanted her as much as she wanted him.

  She didn’t want to stop kissing him, his taste was so addictive. Whenever she looked at him, his beautiful green eyes drew her in, and she wanted to lick every inch of his glorious golden skin.

  She almost felt a sixth sense with him, too. As if she could communicate with him in her mind and feel what he was feeling.

  “We can mind-speak,” came his voice in her head.

  She jerked away from his kiss and stared at him. “Did—did you just talk in my mind?”

  “Yes, sweet witch.” He was smiling and he wasn’t moving his lips.

  Embarrassment and irritation rose up within her. “You were reading my thoughts?”

  “No. You merely projected your desire to speak with me on this level.” He ran his thumb across her moist, kiss-swollen lips. “You can mind-speak with me, as well. Project what it is you wish to say.”

  Her anger died a quick death. She sensed no dishonesty in him, only the intense desire to fulfill her fantasies.

  And he was a fantasy man if she ever saw one.

  “Kiss me again,” she said forcefully in her thoughts. “And hold me tight.”

  He smiled as he brought their mouths together and hooked his thigh over her hip so that they were pressed even closer to each other. “My pleasure, sweet witch.”

  Sydney’s head spun from the kiss. He spoke soft words in Gaelic in her mind as his mouth mated with hers. She’d never been so aroused in her life—having him speak to her while kissing her—it was amazing.

  He slipped his hand from her hair and moved it down her side, then grasped her ass and clenched his hand in the soft flesh.

  A moan rose up in Sydney. “I want you so badly,” she said to him in her mind. “I don’t think I can wait much longer to have you inside me.”

  This time a low growl rolled through her thoughts. “Be careful or I will take you so hard and so deep you will scream my name.”

  His words sent a rolling thrill through her belly and she moved her hips.

  “Do it.” She couldn’t wait much longer for the real thing. “I’ve never screamed before. Make me scream.”

  In a slow movement, taking obvious care not to hurt her injured arm, he rolled her onto her back. His eyes focused on hers as he slid between her thighs. He rocked his hips, rubbing her with his hardness.

  Sydney lifted her hips to meet him, wanting him so badly she could taste it. “Take me,” she almost screamed in her mind. “Take me, now.”

  Conlan’s jaw tightened. He grasped himself and placed the head at the entrance to her channel. She tensed. He made her wait only a fraction of a second more, and then thrust deep inside her.

  She cried out loud. It felt more wonderful than she’d ever imagined. He was thick and long, stretching her and filling her. He held himself motionless inside her, his hips pressed tight between her thighs.

  When he began moving in and out in long, sure strokes, Sydney thought she was going to lose it. Her body had been on fire before, and now it had gone supernova. Her orgasm started to twist inside her like a fire serpent.

  “Scream my name out loud,” he said in her thoughts. “I want to hear my name on
your lips.”

  Sydney was incapable of thought at that moment. All she could do was feel.

  She closed her eyes, but the moment she did, Conlan commanded, “Look at me. I want to see those beautiful lavender eyes when you climax.”

  An unintelligible sound rose in Sydney’s throat as her gaze locked with his. His jaw was tense and his forehead covered with beads of perspiration.

  All her senses whirled around her at once, and when he said in her mind, “Come for me, sweet witch,” she lost it.

  “Conlan!” she shouted, letting his name tear from her throat loud and long.

  Sydney’s body vibrated as if she might fly apart. She felt like sparks prickled every spot on her skin and wouldn’t have been surprised to see her body glowing.

  Conlan grunted as he continued his thrusts. Her core contracted around him, and she desired more, more, more. She never wanted this moment to end.

  She climaxed again when he shouted, “Gods, Sydney!” He pumped a few more times before collapsing on top of her.

  For a moment she could barely catch her breath because of his weight. But she loved the feel of his sweat-slicked skin against hers so much that she didn’t care if he moved or not.

  When he finally rose, he braced his hands to either side of her chest and looked down at her. He was still inside her, and he pressed his groin tight to hers. They smelled of soap, sweat, and sex and she’d never felt so good in her life.

  “Beautiful witch.” He smiled. “I think you have cast a spell upon me.”

  9

  Sydney snuggled closer to Conlan, feeling more sated and happy than she had in a long time. Maybe forever. Which was a crazy idea since she barely knew the man.

  Her stomach rumbled.

  Conlan nuzzled her neck and chuckled. “We had best get something into your belly.”