Heart's Storm (Falling Underhill Book 4) Read online

  “Um, I could walk.” She held her arms across her abdomen.

  “I have been trying to imagine you fully in my arms since I first saw you. The reality is so much better than the fantasy.” He smiled. “You are very soft.”

  She blushed and then tensed as two large doors swung open and a huge four-poster bed, with twisted wood in a swirling wind and cloud pattern that formed a canopy, was at the end of the room.

  Raiden didn’t head for the bed; he headed to the left, where a bathing room was waiting with a steaming foot bath and a small stool. She blushed and wiggled her toes. “Oh. Right. I forgot.”

  He set her down on the stool and eased her feet into the water. “I didn’t.”

  She chuckled as he knelt next to the bath and splashed her feet. “I run around barefoot a lot.”

  “Really?” He smiled.

  “Yeah.”

  “Well, that is an inherited trait for a few branches of fey. You are probably related to a green man or woman. I am guessing that you feel stronger when in direct contact with the soil?”

  “Yeah.” She looked at him curiously. “How did you know?”

  “There was something in your eyes while you were in the forest. Part of you was completely at home there. Even the trees knew it.”

  She chuckled. “That makes sense. I always feel best when I am with trees, not plants. Trees have a history; they are there to stay.”

  He nodded and picked up a cloth from the water. She connected what he was doing a moment before he was scrubbing at her foot, and she shrieked, kicking and squirming to get her foot out of his grip. She was panting as she reached for the cloth. “I will do it.”

  Audra blushed furiously; she had soaked him with her efforts to free her foot. “Sorry about that.”

  He gestured, and the water left his clothing and was dropped back into the tub in a ball. “I am guessing that your feet are ticklish?”

  “To put it mildly.” She held out her hand. “Can I have the cloth, please?”

  “No. I want to do this. I will go slow.” He picked up the cloth and tried her other foot. This time he used small strokes that made her leg jerk but didn’t cause the frantic hysteria that the first contact had.

  He even managed to stroke between her toes, which caused another reaction that had nothing to do with giggles. Apparently, her ticklishness had been hiding an erogenous zone all this time.

  He carefully scrubbed her second foot with tiny little movements that didn’t set her off. She sighed when he wrapped her feet in a fluffy towel and dried them. She wiggled her toes happily. “Thank you.”

  “My pleasure. Learning the sensitive spots a lover has is important. Also, a reason not to rush.”

  She looked away from him.

  He cocked his head. “Don’t people use the word lover anymore?”

  She wrinkled her nose. “I suppose some do. Hook-ups is the newer version of the same thing.”

  “Hm. I prefer the term lover. It denotes an attachment that goes beyond the moment. Hook-up sounds temporary.” He wrinkled his nose, which was incongruous in a face that pretty.

  She wiggled her feet, and they made it out of the towel all pink and clean. “Any other parts of me that need a bath?”

  He laughed. “None that are accessible with that ribbon on you.”

  “Oh. Right. So, what are we going to do about that?” She lifted the edge of the ribbon.

  “That will be up to you. I am planning to seduce you slowly so that you are comfortable enough to want me.”

  “Interesting strategy. Do you think it will work?”

  He smiled and picked her up again, walking with her into the bedroom. “I am willing to devote as much time as possible to this exploration.”

  Audra didn’t know exactly what that entailed, but he settled her on the bed and removed all clothing from the waist up. Thank goodness. She might have had to hide her eyes again.

  He looked her up and down, and then, he smiled and returned to her head where his detailed and arousing kiss began and involved each lip at a time.

  She was shivering and panting when he slid his tongue between her lips. The taste of him was surprising. He tasted like the first drops of rain, and she sighed as she extended her own tongue to duel with his. She slid her fingers through his hair and held him as their kiss slowly grew more intense.

  She gasped when he lifted his head, and she felt a slithering across her chest. He stroked her chest down the centre with two fingers and pulled the ribbon away. He didn’t change his direction, he kissed her again until she was twisting against him, and then, he slowly moved down her neck, taking time with her and making sure that she was responding fully to his lips and tongue before he moved on.

  She had never been aroused by inches before. He took extreme pains with her to make sure that she was quivering before he moved on. She felt his shiver against her when he reached her left breast, and his breathing picked up tempo. So, it wasn’t just a guy thing; he really liked breasts.

  He nuzzled her nipple with his lips, lapped at it, and then, he settled his lips over it and sucked slowly and then with growing ferocity. She moaned, and her body tensed as she got closer to orgasm. Her hands were still threaded through his hair, and she held him against her as her hips twisted, her thighs shifted, and her breath got caught in her lungs. She was a few sucks away from release, and he released her with a pop.

  “No! You jackass.”

  He laughed, and then, he moved to the other breast and sucked hard from the start. She shrieked and bucked against him. His hand pressed against her belly, and he held her down while she came undone.

  When her breathing slowed from the frantic wheezing, he lifted his head and released her nipple from the gentle grip of his teeth. She shuddered as he looked at her with a storm in his eyes.

  He removed the last of the ribbon from between her thighs with a slow slide, and she moaned. Audra blinked when his skirt simply dissolved and flowed off the bed. She swallowed slowly and expected him to press against her, but he moved between her thighs and continued his slow kissing and licking down her body. She couldn’t stop her hips from moving in a slow undulation against his torso.

  She kept her grip on his hair but let it go when he moved his head to her sex and started running his tongue along her folds.

  He reached up, took her hands, and placed them on his head again.

  She stroked the edge of his ears, and he shuddered, the slow lapping of his tongue pausing. She kept her touch careful, and he returned to his licking. When he slid two fingers into her, she gripped the sheets to either side of her hips, and she shuddered as her body bucked against his mouth. She moaned and had to wait until her body stopped twitching before she could give him a dazed look.

  He smiled. “That is an excellent expression.”

  He moved up her body and kissed her. She tasted herself, and his storm overwhelmed her a moment later. His cock was nudging against her entrance, and he supported her neck and whispered, “Watch it go in.”

  She looked at the thick, long cock pressing into her. She felt her body stretching and adapting to the size of him as he rocked into her. She could feel him going in; she didn’t need to see it. Seeing it brought another level of focus to what her body was feeling, and she groaned when he finally worked himself all the way in.

  He kissed her again. “You feel like heaven.”

  She wanted to ask what his belief system was, what heaven was for the fey, but he kept his lips on hers, and she lost all of her focus, and curiosity was focused only on what was happening next.

  She wrapped her arms around his ribs and slid her feet along the sheet until she could brace herself when he stroked deep. He did. A slow and all-consuming thrust that was countered with an equally deliberate withdrawal. Raiden had all the time in the world, and it showed.

  Their time together stretched into endless rounds of pleasure and a dizzying array of positions. Raiden favoure
d positions where he could cup her breasts, which was a surprising amount of them. Having them rubbing against him was his second favourite set of options. Keeping them out of his reach was not on his list of options, so no reverse cowgirl for her.

  He came twice that she could count. She had no idea how many times she had shivered and moaned in his arms.

  He finally rolled her to her side and remained inside her with a hand resting on her left breast—his favourite.

  “How is it that I am not chafed to hell and back?” Her voice was a low croak.

  “Ah, I am very good at monitoring moisture.” He pressed a kiss to her ear, and he ran his tongue along the curve.

  Her body pulsed around him in return.

  She sighed. “If you start up again, I am getting the hell out of here.” She chuckled. “Somehow.”

  “You are safe. You are tired, and I want you in my arms.”

  She nodded and exhaled slowly as she nodded off.

  * * * *

  Raiden looked down at her and wrapped her in a cocoon of air that would deflect sound. “What is it, Puck?”

  “It seems that you and your bride are getting along.” The imp was sitting at the far end of the bed.

  “She’s wonderful. Good choice.”

  Puck nodded. “Thank you. Your brand of calm strength is hard to match. Now, to the reason I am here. Spring is an ass.”

  Raiden waved his hand and covered him and Audra with a sheet. “He is known for that personality trait. What is the issue?”

  “His bride is linked to your bride. He did something generous, and now, I have to alter Audra’s memory. I was hoping that you wouldn’t kill me if I did that now.”

  “Fine, but don’t take her, or I will turn your bones to soup.”

  Puck nodded and leaned forward carefully to brush his fingers across Audra’s forehead. “Got it. The change is done. So, how long are you going to keep her here?”

  Raiden smiled. “I don’t know.”

  “You know, you are the only one so far who hasn’t goofed by setting out criteria and then letting me pull their brides, sending them back to the mortal realm. So, when will you let her go so you can get ready to join the modern world?”

  He held her close. “Soon. I will send her back soon. I just feel so at peace when she is near me.”

  “She has people there. People that she is responsible for. You will have to work around that as well. May I make a few suggestions?” Puck smiled brightly.

  Raiden nodded and listened as an outline of a plan to ease Audra’s responsibilities came into being. He also learned her last name. Ackley.

  He would keep her with him for another twelve hours and then send her home. He would study quickly and get to her side as fast as he was able. He could not guarantee his mood if they were separated for too long.

  Chapter Five

  Audra blinked and set the gingerbread house on the table next to the seed packs. Her head was roaring, and she felt inexplicably hungry.

  She ignored her hunger and finished the inventory of the incoming seeds, taking a list with her to compare with previous years’ sales. The basics were the basics, but the new and trendy plants had to be guessed at.

  Audra finished her evening’s work, washed her hands, and her phone rang. She looked at the display. It was her mother.

  “Hey, Mom!”

  “Audra, you will never guess what just happened?”

  She snorted and got her jacket. “That is a nice vague sentence, Mom. What is going on?”

  “Come over. Oh, this is wonderful.”

  Audra sighed, knowing that it was all she was getting out of her mother without thumbscrews or a face to face.

  “I am on my way, Mom. Did you want me to pick up some Chinese?”

  “Oh, that is a wonderful idea. Double the regular order, please, dear.”

  “Double?”

  “You will see when you get here.”

  She hung up, and Audra looked at her phone. Right. Double it would be. She used the app and punched in the order.

  She headed to her car, made her way to the restaurant, picked up the order, and headed for her family home.

  There was a strange pickup truck in the driveway. She dropped the bag of food on the stoop and then drove her car over to her place before walking back. The food had been taken inside, and she knocked twice before stepping inside, and there were some large shoes to match the strange truck with the weird grey paint.

  There were two men sitting at the dining room table with her father. Her mother was setting out plates and a bowl for Audra, along with forks for those who wanted them and chopsticks for the adventurous.

  “Good evening. Sorry if I am a little grubby.” She got glasses and the ubiquitous iced tea from her parents’ fridge.

  She set the pitcher on the table and sat down next to one of the guests. There was a weird heat coming from him, and she glanced at him and then had to crane her neck slightly. “Um, hello.”

  He smiled; his dark hair and stormy grey eyes held her hypnotized. “Hello. You are Audra?”

  She extended her hand to him. “Yes. And you are?”

  “Raiden Freyr. Pleased to meet you.” His fingers closed carefully around hers, but he didn’t give her a limp handshake. His grip was firm and warm but not damp.

  He glanced across the table. “That is Darius Omek. He is here to make your family an offer.”

  Her father grinned. “And we are taking it.”

  Audra blinked. “What is going on?”

  Her mother blustered, “Business after dinner. Everyone, please eat.”

  Audra was hungry, so she began the cascade of dishes from right to left clockwise around the table. She put rice in her bowl and then put all of the other items that she wanted on top. She leaped to her feet and went to the fridge to get the sauces, and she covered her bowl with a drizzle of chili sauce.

  She picked up a set of chopsticks and set to work. The man at her right hand watched her for a moment, picked up the chopsticks, and mimicked her. “Have you used them before?”

  He chuckled and shook his head. “No. Any tips?”

  She reached over, corrected his grip, and when he picked up a shrimp, he grinned.

  It was a slow meal for him, but he managed it.

  Darius frowned. “How is the grip?”

  She went around and showed him, but she didn’t lean against him like she had when it was Raiden. She put a few sample chicken balls on his plate, and he was off to the races.

  Raiden asked her, “Why do you eat it from a bowl?”

  “Food that is prepared a certain way is designed to be eaten a certain way. If you eat stew on a rock, you are going to lose a lot of the flavour.” She tried to think of another example. “If you drink hot tea out of a wooden teacup, the taste changes. I like to eat it the way it was initially supposed to be eaten, as much as possible given that that culture is half a world away.”

  Her mother passed two bowls over, and Audra handed them to the guests. She walked them through the rice first and then the stuff with sauces and then all the North American-styled deep-fried stuff.

  They went through their second meal, and the guys both nodded. Raiden said, “It does taste different. The rice catches everything and mixes it up.”

  Darius cleaned his bowl with his newfound skills, and he looked hesitant. Audra chuckled. “We are done. You two can fight it out.”

  In a rush, the leftovers disappeared. It was a good thing that she had ordered enough for seven. She got the feeling that she could have ordered enough for nine, and still, it would have disappeared.

  She looked from her parents to the two strangers. “You are selling the greenhouse.”

  Her parents grinned. “We are. We can’t do it anymore, and while you have been helping, it is too much for one person alone.”

  She looked to the two men. The gorgeous golden one had an anticipatory gleam in his eyes.
r />   “So, Darius, you want to run a greenhouse?”

  He shrugged. “I like to grow things, but if you know of anyone who wants a job for the growing season, it would be appreciated.”

  She frowned. “I have a friend with a severely green thumb. I will see if she is available.”

  He inclined his head. “Give it a few weeks. I would like to get things up and running with the teashop and a few other plans I have for the property.”

  “Oh, wow. So, you are just jumping in?”

  Her parents grinned. “We are going on a cruise.”

  They were talking together, which was adorable but annoying.

  “Right. Uh, you are going to need the profit and loss statements, the projections for this year, and the tax filings for the company.”

  She nodded and frowned, collecting the plates, bowls, and utensils while she thought about what needed to be provided to the new purchaser.

  Raiden spoke, “You don’t need to do anything today. There is plenty of time to get things organized. We are also not rushing you out of the shop. You can have all the time you like to transition to another business.”

  She nodded and swallowed. “Right. Well, gentlemen, this has been a pleasant dinner. Congratulations on your purchase. If you will excuse me, this has been quite the day.”

  She kissed her parents on their cheeks and nodded to the two men who rose to their feet as she passed. She put on her boots and pulled on her jacket. Her mind was numb. So much to do, and then, she had to start her life over again.

  Audra left her parents’ home and supposed that if they were going to start travelling, they might sell the houses as well. She was really going to have to start from nothing.

  She heard the crunch of footfalls behind her, and she heard a calm voice. “Audra.”

  She stopped and didn’t speak. Raiden stepped up to her, and he touched her arm. He leaned in to look at her, and he reflexively took her in his arms. “You are crying.”

  She blinked. This felt very familiar. “I... why do I know what you smell like?”

  “You and I have not met before tonight.”