"Yes," he agreed.

"Don't you have to sleep now?"

"While that is the generally accepted practice for Demons," he drawled as he led her to the bed, "I had considered making love with you for a couple of hours first. Although not for too long." He herded his body against hers until she fell to the bed and he followed. "I have a feeling you are going to be exhausting come Samhain."

"Hmm." She contemplated that as he slid between her thighs and pushed aside her towel so he could start licking water off her skin. "It is plausible," she agreed graciously. "I'm in peak physical condition. I'm wholly sexually deprived, as you know. And I find that I'm really quite horny. So I'd say conditions are favorable."

"Horny?" He laughed until she pinched him on the shoulder.

"Yeah. I'm hot for your body, you big jerk. But if you want to laugh at my expense, I could find a subzero freezer to sit in instead. After all, Samhain is only twenty-four very long, long, interminably lengthy hours." She sighed for dramatic effect.

"I think your days of deep freeze are very much over," he told her as he licked a long line from curls to navel to cleavage.

"Mmm. That would be nice." She lifted a shoulder, nudging her nipple against his sexy mouth, practically purring when he obliged her skillfully until she was wet with want all over again. "And the daylight?" she gasped.

"In twenty to thirty minutes, the sun will hit the eastern windows," he said, pausing over her body to point them out. "The stained glass will catch the light and it will bathe your body in a kaleidoscope of colors. Since I love colored light, I can do no less than to worship it in entirety with the reverent kiss of my mouth."

She swallowed convulsively at the thought, her pulse pounding tellingly in her throat.

"Twenty to thirty minutes?" she asked. "What will we do until then?"

"Practice, of course."

He slid down Kestra's body, his mouth dragging hotly over her skin in a direct descent to his training grounds.

Noah woke, feeling that strange disorientation and lethargy that the daylight brought, even before he opened his eyes and saw the spray of colors still gilding the room. Not understanding why he had wakened, he rolled to feel for Kestra, who had fallen asleep snuggled up to his back while toying lazily with his hair, her fingers combing through the waves and curls so rhythmically that he had barely felt her fingers stilling before he himself had given in to rest.

She wasn't beside him and his heartbeat jumped. He sat up, sharp eyes sweeping the room. He exhaled hard with relief when he saw her standing before one of the floor-to-ceiling windows, tracing the patterns of color with a slow, thoughtful interest. His heart literally ached for her as he saw her color-splashed body, wrapped in a sage-colored sheet, her lower lip firmly between her teeth. He realized it was still before noon, the slant of the light in the eastern windows still too strong to be anywhere beyond.

He silently moved to his feet, crossing to her and resting his hands on her shoulders. She settled back against him with a small sigh that sounded too sad and too troubled for his peace of mind. His fingers slid over her collarbone and up along her throat, a soothing gesture as he struggled to keep his questions to himself. He couldn't rush her, could never expect her to settle for him and all he had revealed without a qualm and without a great deal of thought.

"You're so wise," she remarked softly, suddenly breaking the silence and letting him know she was aware of his thoughts, as well as his struggles. "I think more than anything your wisdom and confidence of conviction have had an effect on me." She reached up to draw a finger down the back of the hand resting against her throat. "I was wondering how I was going to explain to you that this isn't settled between us, and suddenly you wake and it's in your thoughts that you already understand that."

Kestra finally turned around, looking up into his eyes, her expression soft yet serious. He instantly cupped her throat between his hands, his thumbs stroking back along the line of her jaw.

"I am not so noble that I do not fear every ounce of your independence when it comes to this topic, Kes, but I am enough of an honorable man to know that I could never hold you without it. I hope you understand that I do not expect everything at once? That I only need you to stay close while I try to..." He hesitated, checking his immediate phraseology.

"Try to convince me that you're right?" She gave a wry little laugh. "There's a possessive streak within you."

"It..." He made a sound of frustration, unused to second-guessing his every spoken word. "I almost said that this is because it is true of all Imprinted mates, but that would be a half-truth. You are right. I have always been possessive and protective over that which I deem my own. I am used to those being necessary qualities in my life and my rule. How can a King not be those things for the good of his people? If I care too deeply, and if it is a failing, I cannot make myself regret it. Apathy is the curse of those who live long lives, and I will not neglect my responsibilities. I believe this is how a nation falls into disrepair, when a monarch or leader no longer cares to protect his people as though they were his family."

"I can actually understand that. I don't condemn you for it, Noah. I'm simply not used to it."

"I feel I must warn you, Kes," he whispered softly, leaning to touch foreheads with her, closing his eyes briefly. "The night of Samhain is tonight, and it is a night of extremes unlike anything you have experienced-or will ever be likely to experience. It has a way of magnifying all that is wonderful, and all that is volatile, in our emotions."

"I know this, Noah. I saw your memories. I felt your pain and your need."

"Need." He laughed, but without mirth. "Tonight you will learn a new definition to that word. So will I, I suspect. No," he said quickly when he felt the sudden surge in her heartbeat. "Try not to be afraid. If you embrace it, make the power of it your own, then you will not feel fear."

"Sort of like going down a hill in the snow and slipping on the ice? What does it matter how you get to the bottom? You were going that way anyway."

He chuckled at that, kissing her lips gently in tribute to her wonderful humor.

"Something exactly like that. The difference being a few bumps and bruises along the way. But I will try not to see you hurt, Kes. I promised you I would not hurt you, but if there will ever be a time when that would become an issue in the physical sense, it will be tonight. I am of Fire, and there are such dangerous things within me."

"I'm not afraid of danger," she whispered in reminder as she moved to kiss him soothingly. "And I'm not afraid of you. Not physically, at least."

"Well, you should be," he said, straightening up a little sharply and giving her a small shake. "You act so confident about things that even I am not sure of. Do not underestimate me. Not this night. It is the first night, do you understand? It is the first Hallowed moon I will have with you, my one true mate, and I am entering it with a keen and painful awareness that your heart is not mine and that you are afraid to give it to me." He felt her hands circling his wrists tightly and he looked away from her, drawing a deep breath in an attempt to control his rising anxiety. "I am sorry. That sounded like I was blaming you, but I am not. I understand your needs, truly I do. I only wish to make you aware of what mine will be."

"Noah, I know what your needs will be. But you can be as volatile as you like and it will not change the essence of who you are. Your sense of honor is remarkable, unlike anything I have ever known. It won't simply disappear."

"You have more faith in that than I do," he said with a candid bitterness. "I would have agreed with you not five...six days ago. But after what I have done recently, I cannot be so sure."

Kestra felt the phrase like a stinging slap. It wasn't his intention to blame her, but she felt responsible just the same. Circumstances had placed him at odds with all the values he held dear. He didn't feel guilt, because he couldn't make himself regret his choices, but he did feel remorse for the fallout of his actions. She regretted it, too, because her careless actions had put him in the untenable position.

"Noah, you just told me I needed to embrace the unfamiliarity of what I'll experience tonight. Doesn't the same hold true for you? Your own fears will be what makes this so difficult for you." She ran her hands soothingly along his forearms. "I haven't closed my mind to you. In fact, you should be encouraged by the fact that..." She exhaled shakily, laughing through it because she wasn't used to thinking with her heart. "The fact that I'm willing to stay with you and learn if I can...if I can have the courage I'll need to..."

"To love me, Kestra," he said with impatience. "You cannot even speak of the idea!" He cursed under his breath as soon as the words passed his lips, releasing his hold on her so he could run agitated hands through his hair and quell the unwanted emotion surging through him. "There is an example of logic and honor for you," he said with bitter sarcasm, "and dark has hours yet to fall." He sighed when he saw she was regarding him with a level gaze. "Whatever else you believe of me in the coming hours, Kes, believe that I truly understand your limitations in this matter and intend to be as sensitive as I need to be to help you cope with it."

"That doesn't mean you have to be happy about the situation, Noah. Don't be so unreasonable with yourself. There's nothing wrong with you wanting someone to love you. I'm only sorry that I-that you've chosen to want someone who feels so much panic when she's faced with an individual who wants her to love him."

Her regret was agonizingly sharp in her eyes and he felt pain choking off in his throat. He reached for her, enfolding her in his arms and hugging her as tightly as he dared to his sheltering body. Kestra instantly felt protected, the sensation so amusing to her that she laughed.

She was the one protecting him at the moment. She probably would be for the remainder of the day and night. Guarding him from these surges of power she knew nothing about, but was supposed to be innately able to conquer. She wasn't afraid of the challenge. It's what would come later that would be more difficult.

Kestra had learned a very long time ago that when it came to dangerous things, a dangerous life, it was best to stay focused on the moment and not let herself be distracted by uncontrollable details. She hadn't liked the idea of not having a real choice in the matter, but she also realized that a tantrum wasn't going to change the facts. Besides, she had to confess she was getting increasingly curious about this night that so powerful a being as Noah seemed to dread, worship, and crave all at once. It was a fascinating combination of expectations. And she'd always wondered what it'd be like spending a day in bed with a great lover and making love like bunnies.

Noah broke out in a coughing laugh, suddenly reminding her that he was skulking around in her brain. She reached out to pinch him, but he caught her fingers in his hands and diverted them to the kiss of his warm lips.

"You think the most incredible combination of thoughts," he said. "One minute impressively brave and philosophical, the next irreverent and bordering on adolescent."

"Mmm, well, I don't think you want to criticize me on adolescent thoughts," she remarked with a well-bred tone of haughtiness. It completely belied the warmth seeping up her arm as his mouth rubbed over her fingers and palm. She did snuggle a little bit more cozily against him.

"I am under the influence of great cosmic forces," he excused himself, a brilliant sparkle of mischief in his eyes.

She contemplated him from under her lashes for a moment, letting him distract himself with her taste and scent, allowing herself to feel how it sent heat dripping through him when he noted the scent of their lovemaking was etched over them both so deeply it was almost permanent. She did the same, inhaling their combined fragrance off his skin, slow and deep, filling her lungs with the intoxicating and stimulating scent. She understood her senses were sharpening, and it excited her, but not half so much as smelling him on her own skin. She didn't understand why, she only felt her every sense coming to attention. She felt sensory memory playing tricks on her body, heating and tingling in deep places as the scent called to mind a certain touch, the fine stroke of his body inside her, his kiss and tongue playing over wickedly sensitive places.

She began to wonder if this was normal or if she was under the influence of cosmic forces. Then she wondered why the hell she was worrying about it. What did it matter?

She smiled up at him, reaching to stroke a hand along his ribs and waist. She was fascinated by the feel and strength of his flesh. Its warmth and power left her envious and breathless. Kes inched her body back from his so she could slide her hand over the firmness of his belly. She felt the muscles clench beneath her touch and there was a sudden nip of teeth against the hand he'd been kissing. She raised a single brow as she looked up at him with mischievous intent. She knew the expression drove him nuts.

"Kestra, I really do need to sleep at some point," he reminded her pointedly. "I am burning energy just to be talking with you at this hour."

"Then by all means, let's put you to bed," she murmured softly against the strong column of his neck as she reached to kiss him there with all seeming innocence. He nodded, the shadow on his jaw abrading her cheek and catching on stray wisps of her hair.

Noah let her grasp his hand and lead him to the bed. She had him lie down; then she made a show of yanking the tuck of the sheet she wore from between her breasts, the light green fabric suddenly billowing free of her breathtaking body. She placed a knee on the bed near his hip and swung one of her extraordinary legs over him. For a brief but ecstatic moment, she straddled him, settled the center of her weight against him so that he was suddenly flush against scorching feminine heat and moist secrets. He could swear the little minx even rubbed against him before she continued to climb over him to her side of the bed. She slid beneath the coverlet and snuggled down as if perfectly ready to obey his request for sleep.

Meanwhile, her slight erotic dance across his body had pretty much set an all-time speed record for inspiring a completely rigid state of arousal. Never one to be outdone, or easily manipulated for that matter, Noah was faced with a conundrum. It didn't take him long to decide that, in this case, he could accept manipulation and go right for not being outdone. Though he almost changed his mind when he heard her try to muffle a feminine snicker of victory.

He gave in, reaching for her with lightning speed, flipping her onto her back and rolling himself atop her cozy body and right into the nestling cradle of her thighs. He did it fast enough to earn a somewhat satisfactory gasp of surprise from his temptress. In a heartbeat he was breathing softly against her lips and returning her sliding caress of intimacy with a deadly accurate undulation of his hips. Her gasp was far more powerful and extremely satisfying this time, as was the slick heat and nectar of her expectant body.

"The sun," he lectured her softly, the low timbre of his voice against her lips, the smoothness of which was marred by the slightest grunt of pleasure, "though a great distance away from Earth, emits enough radiation to reach the planet, bathing it in what we call sunlight." He moved his lecture down to her throat, although he slid his rapidly thickening arousal against her at the end of the sentence. "Radiation is one of the purest forms of energy available on this planet."

"Oh?" she managed to say, following it up with a groan as his hips shifted again and his mouth lowered so his hot breath was cascading over her breast and its already painfully erect nipple.

"While this energy is best absorbed as a Demon sleeps," he continued, using a significant pause to draw her nipple into his mouth, sucking on it hard and with obvious hunger before releasing it. He felt her response in her sound of pleasure and the flood of fresh wet heat seeping from her body. "For the male Fire Demon especially," he stressed, shooting her a look that made her throw her head back and release a throaty laugh. "It is not entirely impossible for the male"-he stressed the word male with another taunting slide of very male parts and a leisurely lick of his tongue-"Fire Demon to utilize the sun's radiation in order to maintain a wakeful state"-a slide for punctuation, a swift, ferocious sucking before he shifted weight on his arms so he was above the opposite breast-"during the daytime hours."

"That," she gasped, "is fascinating." Kestra's hands had long since grasped his broad shoulders, and for the moment she was just helplessly taking her lecture and punishment as if she were a very good girl.

"He can also maintain a state of power by using this same source," he said, his voice turning a little rougher before he attended her waiting breast. Kestra barely had a moment to feel him smile against her skin. "However." He thrust into her with a single, savage stroke, forcing her to inhale on a long, hitching gasp of surprise. He reached for her hip, tilting her pelvis so he went fully inside her. His lecture barely missed a beat. "Although this energy can be a satisfactory source of necessary supply..." Noah caught up her nipple as he stroked into her again, pleasing himself with her outcry. She was as hot as a forge as she surrounded him, and he could easily have lost himself in the ecstasy of it if he had not been so determined to make a specific point. He lifted his head and grinned down at her. "It is far better for the Demon's state of mind and state of health for him to recharge using the natural resource of sleep." He once more hovered against her lips, looking deeply into her eyes, which so blatantly radiated her bodily bliss. "Especially the day before Samhain night. Now, I just wanted to make sure I have made my point, Kes."

Kestra nodded speechlessly as he chose an exceptionally deep rhythm into her slick heat.

"Are you sure?" His words tumbled over a groan as his pitch inside her was met with a flexing of limber internal muscles. "Because I have learning aids." He chuckled, momentarily destroying her concentration as she broke into hysterics. Her body shook with every outrageous laugh, clenching around him in a way that made him want to be a much funnier man. "My Kes," he whispered softly before he caught her last giggles with his kisses.

Her hands slid from his shoulders and into his hair.

"I think, then," she said with a smile, "that this should be a quickie."

"Which is what you wanted all along," he noted, his scolding look making her laugh again. He closed his eyes and savored the sensation rippling over him, pausing in his stroke again to do so.

"I heard only a lecture, not a complaint," she pointed out.

"The complaint comes next," he teased, showing her his hand back and front purposely before placing it on her breast and sliding it down her ribs and belly. He slid through wet curls in search of sensitive flesh to play with, in the process feeling himself sliding into her body, giving himself an erotic shiver up his spine. "There we are," he said silkily as he found the very spot he was looking for and began to stroke her with sure fingers, "the root of the problem."

Kestra bucked beneath him as a soundless exclamation shuddered up through her along with the blinding ripple of sensation he created. In the end, all it sounded like was a sharp exhalation bursting out of her throat. She searched a little helplessly for his gaze, knowing it would be there because he loved to watch her face as he gave her pleasure.

"Do you like that?" he asked knowingly, tossing back his sweat-dampened hair. She nodded furiously, then gasped as he hit her with a double sweep of magic, both inside and out. He groaned, almost as if he were in pain, but never broke his cadence into her building body. She was tightening around him with whips of tension and it was an incredible feeling. "Is this going to be quick enough for you, baby?" An important question considering how she was driving him crazy. She was using her astonishing legs to meet his every push into her body, reaching just as he was for the ever-deeper surge and connection. They were a whole, a completion, when they were joined like this on a journey to mutual bliss.

"Yes," she said breathlessly, the word punctuating a half dozen sounds of lost joy. "Hurry...please..."

This was definitely not a problem for him. He felt how ready she was, and he was burning with his impending release. He thickened inside her until the feel of it overwhelmed him with mindless instinct. He came first, a crashing wave spewing forth, only it was so hot he thought he would burn her. She felt him go off like dynamite inside her, heard his heedless cries and felt the helpless thrusts of his hips as he lost himself. The culmination of her little manipulation of him hit her like a ton of bricks. She couldn't breathe, couldn't move, and could barely see. She arched up, meeting his final strokes, and then truly screamed as tidal swells of release washed over her with the violence of a riptide, tearing her first one way, then another.

Noah held himself above her as long as he could while the squeeze of her body took him for everything he had. Finally he fell against her, into her waiting arms, matching her gasp for gasp as their hearts crashed together at the juncture of their chests. He wasn't capable of the casualness it would have taken to roll off her and say good night as if they'd just been talking about the weather, finishing the joke between them. He was incapable of leaving her at all, not even to give reprieve from his weight. But she didn't complain. She held him, her hands alternately in his hair or sweeping his back. Her legs were curled around his. Buried inside her still, it was as full-bodied a hug as was mutually possible.

The Demon King came to understand then the true power of a mate for his soul, and why the everlasting nature of an Imprinting was so necessary. He lifted himself up onto his elbows, an easing of his weight on her and a way to look down into her eyes as his hands stroked through her hair. There was no such thing as complete fulfillment and contentment without someone to share it with. All the most valuable things in life were so wonderful that he wanted to share them, and felt empty when he could not. Weddings. Births. Deaths. Accomplishments. Knowledge. Family. Frustrations. Even the most painful tribulations were in essence things of wonder, deserving of respect and the most honorable of things to be shared.

I want to share my life with you.

The thought was between them before he could censor it. He caught his breath, blanking his thoughts of expectations or regrets or any baggage that would have come with such a deeply felt confession. He feared putting pressure on her that would shut her down or send her away from him in panic.

"Noah, I've been reading your thoughts for the past five minutes," she chided him softly. "It's the most beautiful thought anyone has ever shared with me." She blinked, a single tear dropping out of her shining eyes. "You have such an incredible soul. You can't frighten me with such honesty and purity of feeling."

Noah felt his heart clenching tightly with emotion, and he bent to catch her tear on his lips, treasuring with all of his soul the acceptance that had created it. Finally, he rolled with her, taking her weight and warmth onto his body so he could hug her now. He wanted her to sleep like this, blanketing his body, her beautiful hair a soft sheet like white linen across his chest and arm. She lifted her head to look at him, quietly searching his eyes for a minute.

"So I guess this means you are...tired." She sighed on the word regretfully, her eyes sliding over him a little too suggestively.

"If you dare do what I know you are thinking, I am going to have to-"

"Lecture me again?" she asked hopefully.

"Kes!" He laughed at her impudence, feeling her lips on his chest as she tried to unobtrusively slide lower against him. "Kestra, you have to think of the long run," he complained, though clearly halfheartedly. She arched that damnably naughty brow at him and he realized he was lecturing her again. "Kes, I am going to be dead by dusk if you keep this up!"

"Keep this up?" She asked the question while stroking fingertips against him that had somehow wriggled between their bodies.

He groaned softly, closing his eyes and covering them with both hands for a moment.

"Human females reach their sexual prime around the ages of thirty to thirty-five," he began, making her laugh victoriously.

Chapter 15.

Kestra woke several hours later, realizing that darkness had fallen and she was alone in Noah's bed. The presence of a couple of new towels, most likely damp ones, draped over the foot of the bed on his side attested that he had already showered and had begun to make his way through his evening.

Well, he was a King, after all. He probably had a great deal to do. Kes didn't understand why he wouldn't wake her, though. Or for that matter, why he wasn't still sleeping beside her after giving her so much guff about how important his sleep was. Still, it was well after dusk by the look and feel of it. He was probably being considerate, letting her rest up from their heavy-duty lovemaking of the morning.

And early afternoon.

His pained remark floating into her awareness was incredibly welcome and she laughed as expected. Her entire mood lightened and she bounced out of bed.

Thought I had abandoned you, Kikilia?

Momentarily, I confess. She quickly crossed the room to the bathroom and gasped when the lights flared to flaming life though she had done nothing to initiate it. She realized that Noah had anticipated her and set them to flame for her. Feeling inexplicably pleased, she began to run the shower.

My apologies. I had an urgent matter to attend to. Samhain festivities start soon and I wanted to get all business out of the way. Otherwise, there is nothing I would have wanted more than to wake next to you as I did the evening before this.

Kestra recalled that gentle wakening, lying together talking, his hand softly touching her back, nothing on his mind but comfort and caring. She suddenly felt his laughter ringing richly in her head.

Believe that if you like, but I was not entirely innocent.

Now, that I do believe.

She made sure the thought was in her haughtiest tone. She felt the surge of his amusement even though he didn't laugh. This connection was so remarkable, she thought with hasty appreciation. She unexpectedly felt fortunate. How many women had this advantage? The opportunity to see directly into a man's mind? To actually know what he was thinking, feeling...telling the truth or lying about? Any other situation, she might have been left to feel uncomfortable and a little neglected for waking alone. This way, he instantly put her mind to ease. What was more, Noah had sought her out. He'd kept a part of his thoughts dedicated to her, seeking her needs as she'd wakened. She hadn't even thought to search for the answers within his mind when she'd felt her doubts, but the potential was there.

Baby, Imprinted mates cannot lie to one another. They do not even feel compelled to do so. The joining of our minds is one of those precious blessings that help us to communicate more smoothly, with love and less misunderstanding. For instance, I must tell you to shower and join me in the Great Hall when you feel up to it. That I must focus on my task here for the moment.

Of course. Thank you for thinking of me.

I am always thinking of you.

The thought was so incredibly pleasing that it warmed her entire time in the shower. She was surprised to find her toiletries settled comfortably next to his in the shower and along the vanity. Perhaps surprised was an inadequate word. It was just like everything else he did. Thoughtful, subtle things to make her comfort a priority to him. It was strange to have someone who was always considering her and her needs, even before she might consider them for herself. She wasn't used to being taken care of. She wasn't used to being cared for.