Claimed by Shadow Page 0,115
chest, and I gasped as the length inside me shifted. His sweat-damp hair fell around me, and his teeth latched onto my throat. I felt my whole body constrict at the bite, and heard Tomas' pleased growl as my inner muscles tightened around him. Large hands gripped my hips, driving him into me as far as he could go. He released my throat without feeding, tongue swiping once along the abrasion; then his hips began pumping faster, his face slack with need, and I lost all ability to think for long minutes.
He finished inside me in a delicious rush that felt scorching next to the lingering bits of ice at my center. It ate that cold, consumed it, burnt the final vestiges of it away and filled me up with a heated languor that spread throughout my body. My own pleasure was less overpowering now, but deeper, more persistent and sweet. I felt boneless with Tomas draped over me like the best of heaters.
After a long moment, Tomas pulled back to gaze into my half-closed eyes. He searched my expression, but whatever he was looking for, he didn't seem to find. He kissed me anyway, and I arched into the sensual heat of his mouth, feeling somewhat bereft when he ended the contact too soon. "I'm sorry," he said softly, his thumb tracing my lower lip.
I smoothed one of his fine, dark eyebrows with a finger. "What's wrong?”
He took my face between his hands and gently kissed my forehead. "It's all right, Cassie. It will be all right.”
"What will?" My afterglow was fast disappearing.
Tomas hesitated, then let his breath out in a sigh. "I can still feel the geis around you, like a cloud." His jaw tightened. "It seems Mircea does not wish to release his claim.”
I shook my head. "There was a complication with the spell. Mircea couldn't remove it, either." I'd known this was a possibility, but it was still a crushing disappointment.
Tomas started to say something else, but the door suddenly swung inward and there was Françoise, hands on hips, looking impatient. She tossed a bundle of clothes at me. "It's about time! It's supposed to be a ritual, not a marathon.”
I scrambled to my feet, shivering in air that felt cold against my flushed skin. "What?”
"Well, come on! Get dressed! The king wants an audience, and he doesn't wait well. Piss him off, and none of us are getting out of here.”
"Françoise?" I was getting a very bad feeling about this. The accent was suddenly gone, and the look on her face didn't remind me much of the French girl's usual nervousness.
She smiled grimly. "Françoise isn't home right now. Can I take a message?" Before I could come up with an answer to that, she grimaced and clutched the wall, her fingers clawed and white with strain, as if they were trying to dig into the stone. "Damn it! Not now, girl! Do you want to stay here forever?”
Tomas was looking back and forth between the two of us, but I could only shake my head at him. I had no idea what was wrong with her. "Um, Françoise," I finally said, as she began to vibrate as if her finger were stuck in a socket. "Is there something we can… do for you?”
She suddenly stopped, stock-still, and stared at me, impatience flooding her features. "Yes! You can get dressed! How many times do I have to say it?”
I was cold without Tomas' body heat, so I decided to humor her. The dress was too large, and stiff with embroidery, but the dark red wool was warm. I decided that my best bet was to concentrate on one problem at a time, and Françoise's mental glitches weren't even close to top of the list.
"Françoise, do you have friends here? People who would help you?”
She narrowed her eyes. "Why?”
"It's Tomas… If he leaves Faerie, he'll be killed. He can't go back, but he can't stay in this place, waiting to be executed, either. Do you know someone who can hide him?”
"Cassie." Tomas touched my elbow. "What are you doing?”
"I need to know that you're safe. What if the king orders us deported back to MAGIC? If you return, they'll kill you!" The Consul had offered me his life, but only in return for information I didn't have. I hadn't meant to place the geis on Mircea, and I certainly couldn't lift it.
"And if you go before the king without me, he may blame you for my escape.