"Lay back, Ivy."
He seemed to be staring right at me as he said it, although that black swath of fabric was still covering his eyes. I repeated to myself that this was a bad idea even as I did what he said. Adrian went around to the back of the tub, kneeling so that he had better access. Then his hands settled on my shoulders and he began to rub in firm, duplicate patterns that found my tenseness and relentlessly coaxed it into lessening.
Oh, the feel of those strong, smooth strokes on my skin! They were blissful, soothing and enticing all at the same time. A soft sound escaped me, not a sigh, not a moan. Something else.
After several more minutes of that pleasurable attention, his thumbs slid up, kneading my neck while his fingers and palms continued to do truly wonderful things to my shoulders. Unbidden, I squirmed to give him better access, and that slight movement shifted the water around me, causing the hidden waves to stroke me in much more intimate places.
"Your skin is so soft," Adrian breathed, brushing my neck with his lips for the briefest moment before leaning back. "I can't get enough of touching you."
Then his hands went lower, massaging the length of my back with strong, supple movements. They skillfully manipulated my tendons and muscles, played along my rib cage like piano keys, and teased my spine with short, hard little pinches that had me arching in bliss. Water rippled over me with every shift of his hands, and sometimes, his mouth skipped across my flesh, vanishing before I could savor the feel of it, and replaced by more deep, soothing circles.
Whether it was the wine or the drug-like effects of his touch, my upper body began to feel as if had been replaced with melted caramel. Even my arms were limp after he'd rubbed them from fingers to shoulders. Each breath filled my lungs with warm, humid air and my eyelids felt heavy, but I kept them open. Water had spilled over him from his movements, highlighting his muscles more clearly than oil, and watching his hands move over me was as mesmerizing as it was arousing.
"Do you know how much I love touching you this way?"
His thick, growled voice made gooseflesh race over me even though I was submerged in hot water. In reply, I parted my lips and tilted my head up. He leaned forward until his mouth grazed mine, and a low laugh teased my lips.
"Did you want something else, Ivy?"
"Yes," I breathed. "You."
And I reached up, grabbing his hair and pulling his head down until his mouth slanted over mine.
For a few mind-shattering moments, there was nothing except the fierce sensuality of his kiss and the scald of excitement I felt when he hauled me out of the tub. Water sloshed everywhere, soaking him and the floor as he picked me up and carried me over to the bed. He didn't stop kissing me, and when he laid me against the silk-covered bedding, I was gasping for breath against his mouth. Then his body covered mine and his hands moved over me in ways that erased my prior relaxation, replacing it with tingling, pulse-pounding need.
That's why a noise of sheer protest left me when he suddenly sat up, holding me down when I moved to follow him.
"Shh. Something's wrong."
His words and the harsh urgency in his tone turned my desire to fear. I let go of him, looking all around but not seeing anything. What was it?
Then a loud, very familiar snarling sound came from outside, followed by a hard thump above us that shook the entire ceiling from its impact.
"Brutus," Adrian said darkly. "He feels it, too."
"What is it?" I said, pulling the sheet around me.
Adrian leaped off the bed, grabbing my clothes and throwing them at me. "Something big is coming."
I began pulling on my clothes without checking to see if they were inside out. "Another demon realm?"
Adrian looked at the wall as if he could see beyond it, and his body was so tense, it seemed as though one hard blow could shatter him where he stood.
"No, but if I'm right, it's just as bad."
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
THE WORDS WERE barely out of his mouth when the whole chapel began to shake. Brutus's snarl turned into a roar, and I was suddenly hit with the same invisible force I'd felt when I thought I'd located the staff. In the next moment, a crashing sound reverberated throughout the chapel.
"Brutus, larastra!" Adrian shouted, grabbing me and pulling me toward the opposite wall with his body covering mine.
Before I could ask anything, wood exploded from the ceiling. Then another tremendous bash showered the loft with shattered stone tiles. A third bash caved in a section of the ceiling and revealed Brutus, who was using his great bulk like a battering ram. The tub overturned, spilling water everywhere, when Brutus's fourth and final bash created a hole large enough for the gargoyle to fit through. Adrian shoved me at Brutus, yelling "Tarate!" at the gargoyle, before spinning around and running toward the entrance to the loft.