Lydia stood in her newly adopted bedroom in Maahes's impressive home, staring out the floor-to-ceiling windows at one of the most beautiful views in the world. When he'd said his house was isolated, he hadn't been joking.
What he'd failed to mention was that his home was in the middle of an island he owned. She'd always loved looking out at the sea, but this ...
Wow. It reminded her a lot of Solin's home in Greece. She'd be hard-pressed to decide between them as to who had the better view.
And she would have enjoyed it a lot more if she wasn't still angry at Seth.
Bastard.
Was she really so repugnant that he couldn't even kiss her? She didn't know why she was so fixated on that, but it had stomped her hard in an ego that had never been all that much to begin with. She knew she wasn't the prettiest of women. That her overly large eyes were a freakish color. One of her past boyfriends had even made the comment that he'd broken up with her because she reminded him of a troll doll with its big spooky eyes ... Something that gave him the willies.
She wanted to kill Seth for bringing back all of this pain that she usually kept buried.
I'm not your yo-yo, buddy. She was tired of trying to guess his moods, which never made any logical sense to anyone but him.
Gah, how frustrating could one man be?
And what the hell was the thumping in his room? It'd been going on for the last few minutes, to the point that she was ready to go beat him with her shoes. Wasn't it bad enough he hurt her feelings? Was he now trying to make her insane?
But as she stood there, contemplating his murder, a weird sensation tickled the back of her mind.
Something's not right.
She couldn't explain it, but she had an overwhelming need to get to him and make sure nothing was wrong.
Of course he's okay. Really? You're freaking out over nothing.
Still, that feeling persisted. In fact, it was growing stronger by the heartbeat until it became a full panic that he was under attack and needed her.
You're so stupid. Just go check on him so that you can see what an idiot you are.
And she was, too. She had no doubt. Why else would she be worried over someone who could take care of himself?
Fine. Whatever. "I've had enough." What would the harm be? At least he wouldn't laugh at her.
He didn't know how to do that.
Furious at herself, she left her room and knocked on his door.
He didn't answer.
And still that thumping droned on.
Glaring at the wood that separated them, she used her powers to unlock and open it. But the minute she entered the room, she stopped dead as she saw him lying on his bed.
Asleep, he was in the middle of a nightmare and it appeared as if he was trying to fight someone off him. The thumping came from him hitting the wall with his arm while he flailed against whatever was in his dream.
She went to him and tried to wake him. "Seth?"
He didn't respond at all.
Her bad feeling intensified. Had something grabbed him in the unconscious realm? "Seth!" She shook him even harder.
Still, he slept on.
Lydia ducked as he almost hit her. She had to do something to wake him. Fast.
Fine, if she couldn't get him this way, she had another. Lying down beside him, she closed her eyes and used her powers to walk into his dreams.
It took a few minutes to get past her fear for him so that she could make the connection she needed. Eventually, the haze cleared and she found herself in Azmodea again.
She cringed. Why would he come here? But unfortunately, that was what people did. They either visited things that were familiar or things they wanted to see. Seth had so little experience with anything outside of the hellhole that it actually made total sense for him to be here. Where else would he go?
And he better be hurt after bringing her back here, or else he would be once she found him.
Then, they would have a nice long chat on acceptable dream locations for future unconscious traveling.
With white gossamer wings, she flew over the dark landscape, trying to locate him. At first she didn't see anything in the darkness.
"Where is she?" The angry voice came from her right.
Lowering herself into the shadows, Lydia followed it to a small sinister meadow.
A mocking, masculine laugh rang out. "You hit like an arthritic three-year-old girl." That was Seth's voice.
Her heart clenched. Oh no ...
He was in trouble.
"You really think you can hurt me?" he challenged whoever he was talking to. "Think again, bitch."
Tucking her wings in, Lydia crept through the shadows until she found him. Her stomach lurched as her gaze focused what was happening. Not again ...
He was speared against a tree. Literally. Three long-handled spears were planted in his stomach and chest, holding him there while he was surrounded by four women.
The one she'd heard earlier grabbed his hair and wrenched it hard. "Call for her. Now!"
"No."
She slammed his head back against the tree. "Have we not done enough damage to you already?"
"Is that what this is?" Seth asked derisively. "I thought it was foreplay."
Lydia couldn't believe what she was seeing or hearing. Those were Dream-Hunters torturing him. They must have been waiting for him to sleep so that they could grab him and drag him back into this hell.
Damn it. She hadn't even thought to warn him about a danger she'd known from birth. Stupidly, she'd assumed everyone knew to be wary of Dream-Hunter powers.
But Seth wasn't Greek.
The Dream-Huntress sank her hand deep into his hair again so that she could yank his head down to hers. "Shame we didn't know how pretty you were the other night when we had you. Even the Phonoi would have been impressed."
"Fuck you."
She smiled at him, then jerked his lips to hers.
Seth growled as she pulled back and left his lips pouring blood. He spat the blood at her, but she dodged it and laughed before she backhanded him.
Lydia felt sick as she realized why he hadn't kissed her earlier.
How could I forgotten? After all she'd seen?
But then she'd been so wrapped up in her own damaged past, she'd lost sight of the fact that Seth didn't know kisses could come without blood and pain.
Even I bit him when he kissed me.
No wonder he'd pulled away. He hadn't meant to hurt her. He'd only been trying to protect himself from more harm.
Somehow she'd forgotten about biting him. But she'd lay money that Seth hadn't. How could he? He'd only been trying to give her a voice and she'd hurt him for it.
Strange how you always remembered the pain someone gave you, but seldom the hurt you caused them first.
"Here, Maia." One of the Dream-Hunters passed his tormentor a knife. "What say we castrate him? You think it would carry from his dreams into his real life if we did?" She looked up and tsked at Seth. "What? No smart retort for that?"
Seth didn't say anything as he tried again to pull one of the spears out of his chest.
The damn thing wouldn't budge.
He glared at the four women who'd dragged him to this realm against his wishes. "Do whatever you want. You're just wasting your time anyway. Lydia won't come for me."
He wasn't the one she loved. And even if by some miracle he was, she was still furious with him. Hell, he was lucky she hadn't pinned him to the tree.
When he'd tried to apologize again at Maahes's house, she'd slammed her door in his face.
Devastated, he'd gone to his room. And with nothing else to do and no one to talk to, he'd made the mistake of trying to sleep.
He should have known better. Why would he have ever thought himself safe? Slumber had never once in his life given him peace. It'd only left him weak and open to attacks.
The Dream-Huntress lifted the knife to his neck. "Where would you rather I stab you this time? Hmm?" She hovered the blade over the hollow of his throat. "This is always a painful place to be stabbed."
She trailed it down to his chest, raising a bloody stripe under the blade. "Then there's always the heart, or..." She moved it to his cock. "So what's it to be? If we harm you badly enough in a dream, you'll carry those wounds with you back to your waking state. So if I were you, I'd call her while you're still able."
He shook his head in steadfast denial. "I won't do it." He would never put Lydia in harm's way.
"It sucks to be you tonight." She pulled her arm back to stab his cock.
Seth tensed and held his breath in expectation of the pain he could already feel.
For once, it didn't come.
Before she could stab him, a blur came running from the shadows and tackled her to the ground.
At first, he thought he was imagining things. But there was no mistaking the flash of topaz eyes glowing in the dark.
Lydia was on the woman, beating her down with a ferocity he hadn't known she was capable of. The other three launched themselves at her.
"Lydia, behind you!"
She came to her feet and manifested a staff that she twirled around her back to the front. She caught one of the women with the hard end of it against her face, then knocked a second in the head. The third, she punched in the middle.
He had to give her credit. She knew how to handle herself with a skill he wouldn't have thought possible. It was a good thing he'd taken her powers when he captured her. With her abilities, she might or might not have defeated him, but she would have definitely put a hurt on his body.
In a matter of minutes, she had the bitches on the run. As they fled, she shouted after them. "Send the word out, you whores. If you want to fight me in this realm, you better practice more and bring serious backup."
Her breathing labored, she turned to face him.
Never in all of his life had he seen anything more beautiful than her tousled hair falling into those eyes that touched a part of him he thought was gone forever.
His heart.
Brushing her hair back, she threw her staff to the ground and ran to him. "You still with me?"
He looked down at the spears in his torso. "Sadly, I can honestly say, that compared to other sessions I've had this one wasn't so bad."
She sighed wearily. "You find your humor at the strangest times." Her brow furrowed, she reached for the bottom spear. "This is going to hurt. I'm so sorry."
He stopped her before she could yank it out. "Why are you here?"
Lydia paused at the odd catch in his voice. He really had no comprehension. "Don't you know?"
He shook his head. "You were so mad at me. I didn't think you'd ever speak to me again."
She took his hand into hers and held it tight. "Baby, I would always come for you."
"But I didn't call you."
"You didn't have to. I knew you needed me. Now hold on." She jerked the spear out as fast as she could, hoping to spare him as much pain as possible.
Seth bit his lip as she freed him of the other two. Instead of letting him hit the ground, she caught him against her and held him close.
"Hold on," she whispered in his ear as she draped his arm around her shoulders. "I'll take you home."
Seth came awake slowly. For a full minute, he was afraid to open his eyes lest he find himself back in his room or, worse, in Noir's torture chamber.
But as he caught the scent of his precious lily, he knew he was safe.
When he blinked his eyes open, it was to see the most beautiful woman in existence.
Before he could move, she started tearing at his shirt, pulling it up to expose his stomach and chest.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"Making sure those bitches didn't hurt you so much that you brought your wounds back with you. I swear if they did, I will stalk them down and kick their teeth in until they beg me to stop and even then I'll..."
Lydia froze as she heard the most incredible thing of all.
Seth's laughter.
Stunned, she sat back on her legs to scowl at him and marvel at the way his smile lit up his entire face and made him all the better looking.
He truly had an adorable smile that could melt the iciest heart.
But she was completely bemused by his mood. "You find that funny?"
"No," he breathed. "I find it a miracle." He reached up and cupped her face in his hand. "You really came for me."
Closing her eyes, she rubbed her cheek against his palm, savoring the feel of his skin on hers. "I told you I would."
But he'd never believed it. Not for a single heartbeat. Words were cheap.
Actions cost.
Even so, she had fought off his attackers and brought him home. Just like she said she would.
She released his hand and went back to searching his body for injuries. Something he wouldn't have minded so much if it wasn't turning him on so badly that he couldn't stand it.
And when she leaned over him, spilling her soft hair across his chest that she'd bared, he almost came just from the scent of her alone.
Lydia hesitated as she saw the fire in those blue eyes that followed her every movement. More than that, she felt his desire for her swelling against her thigh.
Neither of them moved as they stared at each other, both afraid to move. Afraid of how the other would react if they did.
They knew one wrong word or action would shatter this moment, and it was something neither of them wanted to accidentally spoil.
But Lydia had never been timid in anything. She dissolved his shirt completely so that she could run her hand over his bare chest and feel the wall of cut muscles there. He had the lightest dusting of red hair over his pectorals. Hair that vanished over his eight-pack abdomen only to pick up again below his navel, where it was thickest of all, as it led her gaze down to the part of him that was swollen for her.
However, it was his tattoo that stood out so brightly on his skin. That was what beckoned her first. The one thing he'd manifested in an attempt to give himself comfort.
The first haven Noir had stolen from him.
Now she wanted to be the one who gave him comfort and took away his pain. To show him that he didn't need a bird's wings to escape what was happening around him. That there was pleasure to be had in his own body.
Let me love you, Seth ...
But would her stubborn demon lord ever accept that from anyone? Even her. Or was he so badly damaged that nothing would ever make him whole again?
Seth ground his teeth as Lydia leaned forward to run her tongue over his swallow mark. It was the first time since it'd appeared that he didn't hate it and what it signified.
Closing his eyes, he surrendered himself to her mouth and warm touches that reached far below his skin and soothed him on levels he'd never imagined he possessed. His senses on fire, he was actually dizzy from the pleasure of finally having her in his arms.
He ran his hands under her shirt and over her back, delighting in how warm and soft her skin was. How good it smelled. Everything around them faded as he surrendered himself completely to her caresses. Caresses that were far sweeter than anything he'd imagined them to be.
And how could he? No one had ever touched him like this.
Like he mattered.
There was no pain in her gentle touch. No fingernails shredding his skin.
But her top was beginning to frustrate him as he tried to feel more of her. "No fair," he whispered in her ear. "You still have a shirt on."
It vanished instantly.
Seth sucked his breath in at the sight of her perfectly formed breasts. Her skin tone was so pale compared to his. Something that didn't make any sense since she was from the world of bright sunlight and he'd lived in darkness for so long that he could barely tolerate the sun at all.
His mouth watering, he cupped her breasts that overfilled his hands and smiled at the bounty of them. He lifted her up so that he could run his tongue over the tight nipple of her right breast and finally taste her.
Mmm ... she was even more succulent than his best fantasy, and he wanted to taste every inch of her body until he was drunk from it.
Lydia shivered at the way Seth's tongue played against her breast as he rolled her over onto her back without withdrawing from her.
Then he moved from breast to breast, tickling her nipples with his tongue and then his whiskers in turn. Something that made her entire body convulse with unbelievable bliss. Who knew a man could do that? Her demon lord was extremely talented. So much so that she actually came a few minutes later just from that alone.
Throwing her head back, she laughed in ecstasy as her world exploded.
Seth smiled as he felt her shuddering against him. The sound of his name on her lips ...
It was the sweetest of songs and he was so grateful he'd given her that voice.
He'd never taken delight in pleasing his partners before. In the past, he'd developed that particular skill as a way to get them off him quicker so that he could find his own release and be done with them.
But with Lydia, he wanted it to last and he wanted her to be pleasured like she'd never been pleasured before. He was desperate to make sure that when she left this bed, she didn't regret a single minute of being with him.
Lydia licked her lips as her body settled back down and Seth continued to run his hands over her breasts while he gently nipped her skin with his teeth. She lifted herself up to kiss him.
He pulled back again.
"Seth-"
"I'm sorry," he whispered. Staring at her, he swallowed hard, then lowered his lips toward hers. His entire body was tense and rigid. He all but cringed in expectation of her kiss.
Lydia ran her finger over his mouth while he watched her. "A kiss isn't supposed to hurt, Seth."
He frowned as if he thought she was insane.
"Trust me."
Seth nodded, even though he didn't believe her for an instant. Kisses didn't hurt women. But they always hurt him. No matter who gave them, the result was ever the same.
He braced himself for the coming pain as she pressed her lips to his. She buried her hands in his hair while she lightly tongued his lips, sending chills all over him. And when she slipped her tongue into his mouth to stroke his tongue and tease his teeth, he swore he saw stars from it.
Lydia smiled as she felt him relaxing against her, and getting more into the kiss, until he finally took control of it.
Now it was her turn to be amazed. While she'd had her share of boyfriends and dates over the centuries, none of them had ever kissed her like this.
Like she was the air he breathed. She sank her hands into his soft curls and let them wrap around her fingers in the sweetest of caresses. She didn't know why, but those curls always made her smile. Probably because hair like his was rare. Not just the unusual color of it, but also the silkiness of his curls. The way they spiraled in a mad chaos that was unruly and yet controlled and formed. Ever a contradiction.
Just like him.
And in that one moment, as their breaths mingled and he groaned against her, she made the most startling discovery of all.
She loved him.
Truly. Deeply.
And with the whole of her heart.
Yes, he made her crazy. He had a way of infuriating her to the highest level of madness and motivating her into wanting to murder him.
And at the same time, he broke her heart and made her crave his touch even while she was trying to figure out where to hide his body.
But most of all, whenever he looked at her, she felt like a goddess. Pure and simple. And when he held her like this, she could almost believe she was beautiful.
I love you, Seth.
If only she dared say that out loud. Yet she knew better. He wasn't ready to believe her. He'd been too hurt. But in time, she was going to make him see it. Somehow.
Seth's head swam at the way Lydia held on to him and kissed his lips without hurting him in the least. Never had he imagined anything sweeter. More succulent.
Now he understood why people craved this. Why they were willing to die and to kill for it.
And as he breathed her in, a need came from the darkest part of his soul.
Love me ...
He was desperate for her heart and he had no idea why. But whenever he was with her ...
Nothing else mattered. He felt no pain.
Only her. Her smile warmed him all the way to the coldest part of his soul. And she had no idea how much power she had over him. Noir may have owned his body.
But she owned his heart and his beleaguered soul.
In her arms, he had the ability to dream again. To believe that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't a worthless piece of shit to be used and discarded.
That maybe for once, he was worth keeping.
In that moment, he felt more exposed and vulnerable than he ever had before. Because he knew a truth he could never deny.
Lydia was the one person on this earth, above or beyond, who could destroy him with one single word.
How could he have done this to himself? He knew better than to let anyone close to him. Yet he couldn't keep her out. She was too vital, too sweet, and the way she looked at him ...
Like he mattered.
In her eyes, he saw the man he'd always wanted to be and he never wanted to disappoint her.
Lydia playfully rolled him over so that she could stare down at that gorgeous body that rippled with raw power. She kissed her way from his chest to the juiciest hipbone ever made.
But when she brushed her hand lightly against his cock, he jerked away from her and grabbed her wrist to keep her from stroking him.
That reflex caught her completely off guard. She'd never had a man do that to her before. Usually they begged to be touched.
Once again, he surprised her.
Mystified, she met his uncertain gaze.
He pulled her hand up and laid it against his chest before he finally explained. "I can perform a lot better for you if you wait until the end to hurt me there."
She didn't know what made her hurt the most, the sincere honesty in his voice or the expectation of pain she saw in his eyes. He spoke as if he were nothing more than a trained monkey with no other purpose than service her and go.
Her hand trembling, she brushed his curls back from his forehead. "Has no one ever made love to you?"
Scowling, he cocked his head. "Made love? I don't know what that is."
Of course, he didn't. Because no one had ever touched him with a loving hand. They had used him, abused him, and then thrown him away his entire life.
But that was going to change.
She smiled up at him. "You're about to find out, but you have to trust that I'm not going to hurt you."
"I don't know if I can."
The saddest part was that she believed him. "Then I'm going to teach you."
Seth had no idea what she meant by that until she manifested five silk scarves. She looped one about his wrist, then tied it to the bed.
Panic gripped him at her intent. "What did I do to displease you?"
She laid her head on his chest and shook it. Then she locked gazes with him so that he could see the sincerity in her eyes. "Baby, this isn't about punishment. It's about pleasure. Your pleasure. Trust me."
She kept saying that.
Did he dare?
Trying to make her happy, he forced himself to submit to what she was doing even though it terrified him.
Once she had his arms and legs tied down, she hesitated. "Are you okay?"
He wasn't sure. He hated this feeling of vulnerability. Of being at anyone's mercy. Ever.
But he'd made her a promise.
"I think so," he lied.
She narrowed her gaze at him as if she sensed his dishonesty. "Trust. Me. You really are going to enjoy this." And with that she blindfolded him.
Seth held his breath as he feared what she'd do to him now that he couldn't protect himself at all.
Until he felt her long soft hair on his chest. Ever so light, it teased his flesh like a butterfly's kiss. His eyes rolled back in his head as she gently beat him with it. But there was no pain.
Only sweet torture.
Slowly, teasingly, she began kissing him again. First his lips, then his neck and ears. Ears that she licked and blew into until his body was on fire from it. Her naked breasts were plastered against his skin while she slid herself down his body, nibbling his flesh the whole way.
Okay, this was good.
Actually, it was far beyond good. Anytime Lydia wanted to tie him down and torture him like this, he would be her most willing slave.
Then he felt her warm breath against his cock. He tensed involuntarily.
Her fingers started dancing over the tip of him, until he was leaking from it. His breathing ragged, he bit his lip as blind pleasure consumed him. Slow and easy, she rubbed his moisture down his shaft until she played with the curls at the center of his body. Her fingernails brushed through them ever so lightly and then she slid her hand down until she cupped him in the gentlest caress he'd ever known.
Arching his back, he growled at how good it felt.
Then he felt something even better.
She took him into her mouth and tongued him until he thought he'd die from it. More than that, he heard her murmurs of pleasure. She actually enjoyed tasting him.
He couldn't believe it.
No one had ever done that to him before. No one.
He tried to hold himself back so that he could please her in return. But she was relentless with her mouth, tongue, and hand as she licked, sucked, and stroked every inch of him.
Before he could stop it, he came.
Still, she didn't pull away. Rather she continued to taste and please him until she'd sucked the last shudder from his sated body.
Only then did she let go of him. With a gentle hand, she slid his blindfold off and smiled. "You still alive, baby?"
He would never get used to the way endearments for him rolled off her tongue. "No, sšn." How could he be after that?
She jerked back as if he'd slapped her. Then her eyes darkened with a fury he didn't understand the source of. "Um ... um ... Seth?"
That icy tone made him extremely wary. Especially since he was still tied down and at her mercy. "Lydia?"
"Did you just call me Su-san?"
He scowled at the foreign word. "Susan? What's that?"
Her voice was still coated with icy venom. "A woman's name."
"I've never heard of such a name."
"Then what did you just call me a minute ago?"
It took him a minute to figure it out. "You mean sšn?"
Lydia narrowed her gaze as he said it again. And as before, it made her want to kick him because it sounded kind of like Ses-sahn-the way someone with his accent might say the name Susan or Suzanne. "Yes. Who is that?"
"Not a who. It means lily in Egyptian."
"Lily? Really?"
He nodded.
What an odd thing to call her. "Why lily?"
"It's the most sacred and beautiful of all flowers in Egypt. They bloom in mud and shine in the darkness like a gift from the gods to remind you that no matter how bad something is, it will get better. That no matter how dark the night, the light will come for you. If you partake of them, they have the power to calm and soothe you, and to heal your wounds." When he spoke his next words, they were laced with emotion and sincerity. "You are, and will always be, my sšn."
Lydia pressed her lips together as tears gathered in her eyes. Those words set her heart pounding as she realized that sšn was so much more than a random endearment that he'd tossed at her.
He'd given it thought and chosen it with purpose.
Seth writhed on the bed as if he was trying to reach her. "I didn't mean to sadden you, Lydia. I'm sorry if I did. If you'll untie me, I'll please you now."
She sniffed back her tears and offered him a shaking smile. "You haven't made me sad. Not at all." She moved his necklace aside so that she lick his nipple again. "This isn't about you pleasing me. It's about me giving you pleasure. And baby, I'm about to rock your world."
Hours later, Seth lay on the bed with Lydia curled against him while she slept. He'd wrapped himself completely around her so that her hips pressed against his groin and her breasts rested on his arms.
All he could smell or feel was her, and it was all he wanted.
He still couldn't believe all the incredible things she'd done to him this day.
It was ...
Words failed him.
Now he was completely sated and calm in a way he'd have never thought possible. Everything was right in the world and he didn't possess hardly a single god power.
Who would have ever thought that could happen?
He, the most feral of Guardians, the only one who had withstood the worst torture Noir could dish out, was tamed by the tiniest woman he'd ever seen.
And she hadn't done it with beatings or insults.
She'd broken him with a single kiss.
It didn't make a bit of sense. He'd been sold to Noir against his will and had fought that possession every day since. But he'd willingly given himself to her. Without question or regret.
Seth rubbed his cheek against her hair and smiled. This day had been the only happiness he'd ever known. And unlike her, he was afraid to close his eyes and sleep.
He was terrified that if he did, he'd awaken to find it all a dream. Or worse, have it all snatched away from him again.
Never had the gods allowed him to be happy. Why should that change now?
Suddenly, Lydia jumped up in the bed as if something had shocked her. Her breathing ragged, she reached for him and started searching his bare body.
Her actions worried him. "What are you doing?"
She clenched the necklace Ma'at had given him in her palm, and finally calmed down a degree. "Why didn't this work?"
"I don't understand."
She tightened her grip on it. "Remember what your aunt said when she gave it to you? That it would protect you-and yet it didn't. The Dream-Hunters attacked you and hurt you while you wore it."
He pulled on the chain until she released it and it fell back on his bare chest. "But only in my dream was I hurt. The one Dream-Hunter told me before she started to stab me that I should have been harmed outside the dream, too, but I wasn't. So maybe it did work."
Lydia calmed down a degree as she considered that. Perhaps he was right.
And yet, she couldn't shake the bad premonition she'd just had while she was sound asleep. It was of Seth being dragged back into Azmodea by Noir and put in a room like the one she'd found Solin in.
Over and over, she saw his abuse so clearly ...
In every detail.
The last time this had happened to her, her mother had died just days later.
And in the exact manner she had foreseen.