108
" You are so beautiful,” he said as he stared at her, “standing there in the light like that.”
She glanced at her Gap black pants and her two-year-old knit turtleneck. “You must be blind.”
“Why?” he asked, coming over to her.
“Well, I feel like such an ass for saying this.” She smoothed the front of her off-the-rack-and-then-some slacks. “But I wish I had better clothes. Then I’d be beautiful.”
Rehvenge paused.
And then shocked the crap out of her by kneeling before her.
As he looked up, he had a slight smile on his lips. “Don’t you get it, Ehlena.” With gentle hands, he stroked down her calf and brought her foot forward, balancing it on his thigh. As he undid the laces on her cheapo Keds sneaker, he whispered, “No matter what you wear…to me, you will always have diamonds on the soles of your shoes.”
-Rehv & Ehlena "
― J.R. Ward , Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7)
109
" Rehvenge bowed his head. “I’m just glad you’ll have me.”
The words were so quiet and humble, at odds with the incredible breadth of his shoulders.
“How could I not?”
He shook his head back and forth slowly. “Ehlena…”
Her name was spoken roughly, as if there were a lot more words behind it, words he couldn’t bear to speak.
She didn’t understand, but she knew what she wanted to do.
Ehlena took her foot from him, got down on her own knees, and wrapped her arms around him.
She held him as he leaned into her, running one hand up the back of his neck to his mohawk’s stripe of soft hair.
He seemed so fragile as he gave himself up to her, and she realized that if anyone tried to hurt him, even though he could more than take care of himself, she would commit murder.
To protect him, she would kill.
The conviction was as solid as the bones beneath her skin: Even the powerful needed protection sometimes.
-Rehv & Ehlena "
― J.R. Ward , Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7)
111
" She lifted the cup to her lips. “You make good coffee.”
“You haven’t tasted it yet.”
“I can smell it. And I love the way it smells.”
It’s not the coffee, he thought. Not all of it, at any rate.
“Well, I love your perfume,” he said, because he was a dolt.
She frowned. “I’m not wearing any. I mean, other than the soap and shampoo I use.”
“Well, I like them, then. And I’m glad you stayed.”
“Is this what you planned?”
Their eyes met. Shit, she was perfect. Radiant as the candles had been.
“You making it all the way to the coffee? Yeah, I guess a date was what I was after.”
“I thought you agreed with me.”
Man, that breathless quality in her voice made him want to have her up against his naked chest.
“Agreed with you?” he said. “Hell, if it would make you happy, I’d say yes to anything. But what are you specifically referring to?”
“You said…I shouldn’t date anyone.”
Ah, right. “You shouldn’t.”
“I don’t understand.”
Fuck him, but he went for it. Rehv put his numb elbow on the table and leaned into her. As he closed the distance, her eyes got wider, but she didn’t pull back.
He paused, to give her a chance to tell him to cut the shit. Why? He had no clue. His symphath side was into pauses only for analysis or to better capitalize on a weakness. But she made him want to be decent.
Ehlena didn’t tell him to step off, however.
“I don’t…understand,” she whispered.
“It’s simple. I don’t think you should date anyone.” Rehv moved in even closer, until he could see the flecks of gold in her eyes. “But I’m not just anyone.”
-Ehlena & Rehv "
― J.R. Ward , Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7)
113
" I’ll let you help.”
When he smiled broadly, because he was getting his way, she cut through his robin-breasted satisfaction.
“But there are conditions.”
He laughed. “You’re putting restrictions on a gift given to you?”
“It’s not a gift.” She stared at him with dead seriousness. “It’s only until I find some kind of work, not my dream job. And I want to pay you back.”
He lost a little of his satisfaction. “I don’t want your money.”
“And I feel the same way about yours.” She folded her napkin. “I know you’re not hurting for cash, but that’s the only way I’ll be okay with this.”
He frowned. “No interest, though. I won’t accept even one penny in interest.”
“Deal.” She put her palm out and waited.
He cursed. And cursed again. “I don’t want you to pay it back.”
“Tough.”
After his mouth performed some intricate f-bomb acrobatics, he put his hand in hers and they shook.
“You drive a hard bargain, you know that,” he said.
“But you respect me for it, right?”
“Well, yeah. And it makes me want to get you naked.”
“Oh…”
Ehlena flushed from head to toe as he slid off his stool and towered over her, cupping her face in his hands.
“You going to let me take you to my bed?”
Given the way those purple eyes of his were shining, she was willing to let him take her down on the damn kitchen floor if he asked. “Yes.”
A growl rolled up out of his chest as he kissed her. “Guess what?”
“What?” she breathed.
“That was the right answer.”
-Ehlena & Rehv "
― J.R. Ward , Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7)
114
" Entering yet another code, she took the passageway to Rehv’s office, and when she came through his door, the three males around the desk all looked at her warily.
She took up res against the black wall across from them. “What.”
Rehv leaned back in his chair, crossing his fur-clad arms over his chest. “Are you getting ready to go into your needing.”
As he spoke, Trez and iAm both made the Shadow hand motion for warding off disaster.
“God, no. Why do you ask?”
“Because, no offense, you’re cranky as fuck.”
“I am not.”
As the males looked at one another, she barked, “Stop that.”
Oh, great, now they all just pointedly didn’t look at each other.
-Xhex, Rehv, Trez & iAm "
― J.R. Ward , Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7)
116
" Wrath…”
“What,” he murmured against her, working her with his nose. “You don’t like?”
“Shut up and get back to doing—”
His tongue slipping under the panties cut her off…and made him have to slow himself down.
She was so slick and wet and soft and willing, it was all he could do to keep himself from hauling her on the rug and going at her deep and hard. And then they’d both miss out on the fun of anticipation.
Moving the cotton aside with his hand, he kissed her pink flesh, then delved in. She was oh, so ready for him, and he knew it because of the honey that he swallowed as he dragged upward in a long, slow lick.
But it wasn’t enough, and holding the panties to the side was distracting. With his fang, he punctured them, then split them apart right up the middle, leaving the two halves to hang off her hips. His palms went up to her ass and squeezed hard as he quit fooling around and got busy working out his female with his mouth. He knew exactly what she liked best, the sucking and the licking and the going in with his tongue.
Closing his eyes, he took it all in, the scent and the taste and the feel of her shuddering against him as she peaked and came apart.
Behind the fly of his leathers, his cock was screaming for attention, the rasp of the buttons not nearly sufficient to satisfy what it was demanding, but tough shit.
His erection was going to have to chill for a while, because this was too sweet to stop anytime soon.
When Beth’s knees wobbled, he took her down to the floor and stretched one of her legs up, keeping to his pace while shoving her fleece to her neck and putting his hand under her bra.
As she orgasmed again, she grabbed onto one of the desk legs, pulling hard and bracing her free foot into the rug.
His pursuit pushed them both farther and farther beneath where he discharged his kingly duties until he had to crouch down to fit his shoulders.
Eventually her head was out the other side and she was gripping the pansy-ass chair he sat in and dragging it with her.
As she cried out his name once more, he prowled up her body and glared at the stupid, nancy chair. “I need something heavier to sit in.”
Last coherent thing he said.
His body found the entrance to hers with an ease that spoke of all the practice they’d had and…Oh, yeah, still as good as the first time.
Wrapping his arms around her, he rode her hard, and she was right there with him as the storm rolling through his body gathered in his balls until they stung.
Together, he and his shellan moved as one, giving, receiving, going faster and faster until he came and kept going and came again and kept going until something hit his face.
In full animal mode, he growled and swiped at it with his fangs.
It was the drapes.
He’d managed to fuck them out from under the desk, past the chair, and over to the wall.
Beth burst out laughing and so did he, and then they were cradling each other. "
― J.R. Ward , Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7)
120
" The pause that followed was one she couldn’t interpret. Maybe he was pissed she was interfering?
“I just want to make sure you’re okay.”
“Do you do this with patients a lot?”
“Yes,” she lied.
“Havers know you’re checking his work?”
“Did he even look at your veins?”
Rehvenge’s laugh was low. “I would rather you had called for a different reason.”
“I don’t understand,” she said tightly.
“What? That someone might want to have something to do with you outside of work? You’re not blind. You’ve seen yourself in mirrors. And surely you know you’re smart, so it’s not all just pretty window dressing.”
As far as she was concerned, he was speaking in a foreign language. “I don’t understand why you’re not taking care of yourself.”
“Hmmm.” He laughed softly, and she felt the purr as well as heard it in her ear. “Oh…so maybe this is a pretense just so I can see you again.”
“Look, the only reason I called was—”
“Because you needed an excuse. You shut me down in the exam room, but really wanted to talk to me. So you called about my arm to get me on the phone. And now you have me.” That voice dropped even lower. “Do I get to pick what you do with me?”
She stayed quiet. Until he said, “Hello?”
“Are you finished? Or do you want to run around in circles a little longer, reading into what I’m doing here?”
There was a beat of silence, and then he broke out in a rich baritone belly laugh. “I knew there was more than one reason I liked you.”
-Ehlena & Rehv "
― J.R. Ward , Lover Avenged (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #7)
