Dante’s Relic
genre:erotic romance ~ paranormal
An angel is released from an eternity of captivity - good had been bound with evil until a woman’s touch frees them both…
Archaeologist Cammie Howard is after a priceless relic-and more than a little perturbed when a sexy stranger tries to steal it out from under her. Okay, so Dante might have saved her life at the same time. But that doesn’t give him the right to take over, ranting about demons and ancient curses and how only he could protect her from evil. She refuses to let his dark angelic looks sway her from her task—she won’t give up control for Dante or any mysterious curse, no matter how he makes her feel. It only takes one stolen kiss to realize the clinical explanation of sex and human lust have little to do with the kaleidoscope of emotions and desires Dante experiences with Cammie. Their passion is all-consuming, erasing from his mind all thoughts of demons and cursed relics. Cammie’s touch convinces him he’s never lived before that moment. It’s all new—the tastes and textures of her skin, the pleasurable, throbbing pain of needing to possess her and the joy that nearly tears his heart from his chest when he finally does. But there’s a demon out there, silently threatening to destroy Cammie’s world and erase any chance for her future happiness, with or without Dante. With Cammie’s help, Dante must search deep within himself to learn if he has weakened himself by giving into lust, or empowered himself by falling in love. After all, the fate of the world depends on him.
“It’s too late to go back.” His words had many meanings.
She shivered.
Dante shifted, then reached down and released the scabbard from his belt and tossed the sword several feet away.
Cammie snagged the opportunity and yanked her wrists apart, easily breaking the single-handed grasp he had on her. She had her hands between their shoulders and pushed up before he could catch his balance and react.
Not that it did her any good. She gritted her teeth and used every muscle she had, but he wasn’t going to budge.
And now he was pissed. Quite evident in the way he forcefully breathed out, like a bull flaring his nostrils before charging. She wasn’t afraid. If he’d wanted to hurt her, he would have already. Easily would have killed her to take the relic, of that she was sure now.
“What do you want?” she wrenched her arms away despite it being a losing battle.
“Stop fighting me,” he hissed. So maybe he wasn’t pissed. Hurt. Which meant she did have some impact in him. Good.
“Stop treating me like you’re holding me for ransom.” Her adrenaline had kicked in when she’d seen that opening. Her body might be tired and she might have resigned herself to staying with him for at least the night, but she didn’t have to be pinned to the ground.
“I need to know you won’t try to run again. I need you to trust me.”
“I won’t run, but…trust?” Still, she’d had already handed over the reins of this situation on so many levels. Instinctively she’d known it was the right thing to do. But that didn’t mean she had to like it.
“I’ve given you my word, I will never hurt you. But there is something out there that will.”
She knew that answer—or at least what he was going to say. “This demon.”
He shifted his weight slightly. The seriousness of the conversation did little to cool the heat between their bodies. If anything, the fact that he didn’t take immediate advantage of her while having her in this compromising position should be added to that “why to trust” column.
He answered, his breath hot on her cheek. “I will never leave you.”
Those five words branded her heart.
“But in that…vision. You left me.” Her breath caught at the memory of having her soul wrenched from her body. How could she be so inexplicably tied to this man she barely knew?
His whisper echoed in his head. “I didn’t leave you. I stepped away to defend you from evil. I’m not going anywhere.”
She tried to roll from beneath him, frightened by her own feelings of surrender. Maybe it was another one of those spells he cast over her. However he did that. She was tired. Overloaded. A man who had simply unlocked her pent up emotions and walked in now triggered a sexual awareness. If she didn’t get out of his arms, she’d act on it.
They stared at each other for a long moment, as if both contemplating the way she’d lifted her hips to squirm from beneath him. The mere motion alone had triggered some carnal thoughts to form in her mind and she was reminded of the electric current that had passed between them when he’d so carefully freed her hair.
“Are you going to let me up?” she asked him, squinting to see past the shadows and decipher his features. The darkness was too thick, a mask that increased his mystique and played with her common sense.
His breathing increased. “I rather like you here.”
“Why?” she said, and half-heartedly tugged at her hands, which he still held above her head.
Instead of answering, he lowered his head. His lips met hers with a force that knocked the breath away from her and left her limp in the grass, as if he’d drawn every last bit of willpower out of her. His mouth opened over her bottom lip and nipped at it, then before she could even sigh, covered her lips again.
Her body betrayed her. She slid her tongue between his lips as he had done to her. All the nerve cells in her body came alive with his groan and increased pressure of his hips against her. As if her surrender to his kiss increased his excitement.
But it was so much more than a kiss.