Free Malakai by Michele Hauf Page A

lightly. He’d never
before stood wrapped within a faery’s wings, feeling so close to a
climax, and yet without a single kiss or stroke to what were the
usual sexual hot zones.
    Sliding an arm over one wing, he spread his
fingers across it and pressed the wing against his face. His breath
permeated and heated his palm, and stirred a delicious moan from
his lover.
    And he felt her shudder within his arms.
Wings fluttered minutely but madly. Her summer scent gushed into
the air, along with a glitter of faery dust, and he breathed the
taste of her climax, sweet, soft and sensual.
    “Did you just come?” he whispered, noting the
fall of dust onto the stones at their feet. “From me stroking your
wings?”
    “Yes,” she gasped.
    And without thought, Kai spoke his heart. "I
love you, Rissa."
    Her exhale was audible. And he thought he
heard her heartbeats thunder as if racing toward the edge of a
cliff. A wisp of her hair brushed his elbow and shivers rode his
skin.
    "I wish you did not," she said quietly.
    Stepping away from him, with a shiver of her
shoulders, suddenly Rissa's wings furled and they receded into her
skin. It happened quickly, so fast as when Kai shifted to wolf,
that he would not have believed it had he not witnessed it.
    "I know what you are," he said. "Leanan
sidhe."
    "And still you can love me?"
    He nodded. "I understand you must have
sex—you literally drain a man of his life—to survive. I wish my
love was returned, but it's not important. What is important is
that I have known love."

    "But I—"
    "Kill me slowly, sugar cube. I want to make
love to you as often as possible, and die in your arms as I come
over and over."
    "I hate you," she gasped. "I hate that you
can love me."
    Despite how painfully her words cut across
his heart, Kai pulled her into a hug that she initially struggled
against, but then she calmed and her arms banded about his back and
her legs found hold about his hips. Locked together in a wicked
bonding neither could fight.
    "I don't mean that I really hate you," she
whispered against his ear. "I love you too, Kai. I tried to walk
away, to give you your freedom. But this part of me that demands
life will not relent. It's a curse."
    A flash of hope grabbed him by the heart. "If
it's a curse, it can be broken?"
    Her eyes searched his then she breathed out a
heavy sigh. "Only by killing the Unseelie king who cursed me. An
impossibility. I've not the strength or a weapon powerful enough.
What of your curse?" she asked. "You'll lose your heart if you love
a faery."
    "I made a deal with Ooghna, the faery
champion. She will release me from the curse in exchange for the
sword I've made."

    "Really? But, don't you forge weapons from
iron? Why would the champion…?"
    "It's a faery sword. The metal changed as I
forged it. It's unlike anything on this earth. And it…sings."
    "Sings?" Rissa pulled away, meeting his gaze
with a wondering stare. "And you made it thanks to my
inspiration?"
    He nodded. "I've felt you've been my muse.
Ooghna explained it is the leanan sidhe's gift to her dying
marks."
    "Yes, an unfortunate gift. Show it to
me."
    "I—"
    "Now," she insisted firmly. "Please?"
    Without setting her down, Kai wandered over
the stones and moss to the shed. He nudged open the door with a
foot and carried her inside to set on the wood table where the
sword lay. Both naked, their bodies gleamed as he flicked on the
overhead light, but the sword shone the brightest.
    He tossed the tee-shirt to Rissa and she
pulled it on as he gestured toward the weapon lying on the
table.
    Rissa gasped and put a hand out to touch the
blade, yet retracted. "It's very powerful. I can hear it."
    "Yes, of course, if you're faery you should
be able to. And Ooghna heard it too. I only heard its song when I
was forging it. It still sings?"
    "It is…Glamoursiege," Rissa said.
    "What does that mean?"
    "That is the name of this sword. I just…I can
hear it speak its name. Oh, Kai, this sword has great power.