I tried to get angry, to find any emotion that could hold back the spine-tingling flash of pleasure. «Damn it, Mircea! You know I hate games!»
«No games,» he promised, pushing himself between my legs, parting them with his body. The robe gaped halfway up my thighs, but I couldn't close it with him kneeling there. I tried to shove him away, wanting some distance between us so I could think, but it was like pushing at a granite statue. «Do you want me to beg you?» he whispered, looking up at me with those glowing eyes.
«No, I…» I looked around for Billy, but he was off sulking. Damn it!
«I will beg,» he murmured, before I could get a sentence together. He was close enough that I could tell that he smelled as good as he looked, not like expensive cologne as I'd expected, but clean and fresh, like the air after rain. «And plead"—his hands slid into the robe to caress my calves—"willingly"—they moved up to my knees, stroking the sensitive skin behind them—"gladly"—they massaged a path up my thighs—"eagerly"—his hands stopped on my hips, thumbs kneading the flesh gently. «If it pleases you.»
He buried his face in my stomach, and my hands moved on their own to comb through that dusky hair. I spread it out on his shoulders, while he kissed his way up my body. I fought to clear my head, but then his lips claimed mine in a searing kiss that burned all the way down to my fingertips. Then he dropped his head and began to kiss back down the way he'd come, with slow, almost worshipful motions. The feel of cool air on my breasts as he pushed the robe completely open jogged me out of the haze slightly, but it was difficult to put thoughts together while pleasure coursed through me.
«You are beautiful, dulceata» he murmured, hands ghosting over me reverently. «So soft, so perfect.» His touch felt so warm I expected it to leave imprints behind. His breath on the tender skin of my nipple was electrifying; his tongue, when it followed a moment later, was almost overwhelming, and when he began to suck, pulling deeply, pleasure burst inside me so large that it was almost pain.
«Mircea, please… tell me what is going on!»
In response, he suddenly swept me up into his arms and carried me to the bedroom. He waved a hand and the curtains over the windows snapped shut. He laid me gently on the bed and began unbuttoning his trousers. «The Silver Circle wants you very badly, Cassie. Antonio told them that you died in the car with your parents, and they only learned differently when your ward flared for the first time a few years ago. It was the Circle's own ward that your mother had transferred from herself to you, and it is unmistakable. They have been hunting you ever since. As long as you remain only a rogue sybil, they have rights over you, as they do all human magic users. There is no way to dispute their claim without risking a war. Well"—he stepped out of the trousers—"almost none.»
Mircea wearing only black silk boxers was enough to confuse my brain without learning that the most powerful magical society on earth, who happened to hate me, had the right to decide my future. «I don't understand.»
Mircea crawled onto the bed and I scooted back until I hit the headboard. He smiled and tugged playfully at the edge of the robe, which I'd wrapped about me protectively. «You are lovely in anything, dulceata, but I would prefer to dispense with this garment. Had I known this scenario would occur, I would have arranged something more appropriate.» He slid his hands slowly up my calves, kneading as he went higher. «I will make sure to correct that oversight at the first opportunity.»
«Mircea! I want an answer!» I drew away from him and glared. After a pause, he sat back on his heels, looking rueful.
«Why did I know it would not be so easy with you?» He sighed. «Dulceata, it has to be one of us. You seemed to respond to me best, and I would be honored to be your choice, but if you would prefer one of the others… I would not like it, but under the circumstances, I would agree.»
«What are you talking about?» I was getting angry that he kept ignoring me.
«Tomas was not sent merely to guard you, Cassie. Keeping you safe was his primary function, but he was also told to ensure that the Circle's claim could be successfully disputed.» Mircea quirked an eyebrow. «I am beginning to understand why he failed.»
«I… What are you doing?» Mircea had run a hand through his waterfall of hair, and now he was sliding those beautifully shaped hands down his chest to glide over his nipples. His torso was hairless and perfectly sculpted, with toned muscles and a long waist. He followed the lines of his flat stomach to the low-slung border of his only remaining garment. His fingers lingered there, sliding along that insubstantial barrier teasingly, drawing my eyes to the line of dark hair that started below his navel and disappeared beneath the black silk. It was startling against the pale perfection of his skin and, except for the faint pink of his nipples, gave the only color to his upper body.