Touch a man like this for the first time.
She wasn’t sure what to expect, but as she dipped her hand beneath his T-shirt and her fingers made contact with the firm ridges of his stomach, fire swept through her. His skin was soft, like silk, but his muscles were hard, screaming of strength that had heat pooling lower.
Marinda lost herself a little as she boldly explored his stomach, loving the way his breath hitched when she lightly raked her nails over his muscles, and how his kiss slowed from time to time, as if he couldn’t concentrate on it while she was touching him.
He pulled back again, and she wanted to berate him for stealing himself away from her.
But then he reached over his head, gripped the back of his T-shirt and yanked it off.
“Oh God,” she muttered, confronted by the delicious glory of his bare chest. She had seen it before, but seeing it now, when things were getting a little hot and heavy, cranked up that heat inside her to an unbearable degree.
An ache bloomed between her thighs.
“More?” he husked, his hands dropping to the waist of his jeans.
Marinda nodded eagerly, perhaps a little too eagerly judging by his soft chuckle.
She repaid him for that teasing laugh by leaning forwards, grabbing his jeans and tugging him to her. His hands dropped to his sides. Her fingers trembled as she fumbled with the button, pulse racing faster as her mouth dried out.
She had never seen a man naked before. Not like this anyway.
Not when he was hard.
She licked her lips, the hunger burning hotter in her veins as she finally popped the top button and moved to the next. With each one she unfastened, her nerves grew, and adrenaline surged.
And that ache between her thighs grew sweeter.
She finally freed the last button and Cal pushed his jeans down for her, revealing long toned legs, and a pair of black trunks.
“More?” He half-smiled as he ran his fingers along the elastic of his trunks.
Marinda felt as if she might die if he didn’t go on, and that fierce part of her that she had been struggling to contain over the last few days rose to the fore. No one was going to deny her what she wanted.
What she needed.
Her hand shot to the front of his black trunks before she was even aware of what she was doing, and Cal grunted, his face contorting, as her palm met the hard length of his cock.
“Sweet gods,” he muttered and leaned forwards, bracing his hands on the dresser on either side of her thighs.
She found she liked that reaction.
Found she wanted more.
She stroked him, feeling the heat of him through the material, studying how he jerked and pulsed, and seemed to grow harder still. Was that even possible?
The bolder side of her urged her to take the next step.
Who was she to deny it?
Marinda went with the flow, beginning to relax as she held Cal at her mercy, feeling powerful as his handsome face twisted and he groaned, his brow furrowing as he leaned more weight against the dresser.
When he moaned her name, she took the leap.
She slid her hand beneath the waist of his trunks, a moan of her own slipping from her lips as her palm met the velvet-covered-hot-steel of him. She’d had her share of fantasies about men in her time, but nothing she had imagined came close to this.
She stroked him, caressing her palm up and down, fascinated by how he began to pant, how his expression alternated between bliss and pain. When she idly stroked her thumb over the blunt tip, he grunted and seized her wrist, stopping her from doing it again.
Hadn’t he liked that?
He panted, “Wait. Just a second. Need a moment.”
Perhaps she had pushed too far too fast.
He straightened and swallowed, exhaled and dragged down another breath. He was glorious as he ran a hand over his hair, his muscles shifting in a tempting way, keeping that heat inside her rolling at a boil.
She absorbed the sight of him, taking pleasure from just looking at him.
Would he feel pleasure like this if he could look at her?
Her nerves returned, but she refused to let them get the better of her as she gripped the hem of her top and pulled it up. Cal’s gaze zipped to her stomach as she exposed it, the heat of his eyes on her giving her courage as his blue irises darkened with need.
With pleasure.
She pulled her top up, took a breath to steady herself when she reached her breasts, and then tugged it off. She lowered it to her chest at first, suddenly conscious of his eyes on her, but as he continued to stare, that hunger shining brightly in his eyes, her confidence returned.
Marinda discarded her top and sat there, waiting for him to make the next move.
He swooped on her mouth with a wicked groan.
His hands cupped her breasts. Marinda moaned, the wanton sound of it shocking her as much as the way her body arched into his touch, seeking firmer contact. A shiver ran through her as he teased her nipples through her bra, her breath hitching as tingles swept outwards from their stiff peaks.
“Cal,” she breathed, her hand sliding around his nape, and seized command of the kiss again, unable to stop herself as all the heat condensed into a burning need that demanded she satisfy it.
She needed to feel him, and needed to ease this ache inside her.
He reached around her and unhooked her bra, pulled the garment down her arms and groaned low as he peered at her breasts. He fell to his knees before her, planted his hand between her shoulder blades and pulled her to him. His mouth seared her breasts, a thousand arcs of lightning shooting outwards from the point where his lips caressed her, and then he pushed her right over the edge.
His mouth claimed her nipple.
Marinda tipped her head back and bit her lip, stifling the cry that wanted to burst from her lips, aware that others were in the mansion.
She had thought his touch had been bliss before, that she had been experiencing pleasure. She had thought wrong. This was pleasure and it lit her up inside, had her squirming and restless, aching for more.
Cal seemed to sense her need, or perhaps his own fuelled him. He undid her jeans and gripped the waist of them, and she pushed her bottom up, allowing him to slip them down her thighs. The air was cool against her bare skin as he stripped her, but the heat of his touch as he caressed her calves and up to her knees, stroked his hands over her thighs, chased it away.
His lips worked black magic on her breasts, making her breathless. The heat that bloomed between her thighs turned to wetness that only had her writhing harder, aching for him to touch her there.
His fingers reached her panties and she arched towards him, goading him. He growled as he pulled them down, as he slipped them over her feet and tossed them away. His mouth tugged harder on her nipple, ripping a gasp from her as lightning struck again, had her hips jacking up off the dresser.
Cal groaned and broke away from her breasts, pressed wet kisses to her stomach as he trailed downwards. Her breaths came faster, anticipation hitting her hard as she realised where he was going and what he was going to do.
Pleasure rocked her as he brushed his thumbs between her thighs, heat shooting through her body. He eased her thighs wider apart, and she expected to feel embarrassed that he was able to see all of her.
The way he growled as he gazed at her only made her feel more confident.
She covered her mouth with her hand as bliss shot through her with the first brush of his tongue over her most sensitive flesh. She bit her palm as he teased and stroked it, coaxing more wetness from her. He groaned and tugged her closer to the edge of the dresser, his tongue circling her pert bead. She couldn’t stop herself from gripping his head, twisting her fingers into his hair as he licked her, sending waves of pleasure blazing outwards from her core.
“Cal,” she mumbled into her palm, her breaths coming faster still as need mounted inside her, shoving her right to the edge.
She needed more.
She was already close, teetering on the precipice.
Cal stroked his fingers down her and she arched her back and stifled another moan as they caressed her entrance.
“Gods, you’re so…” He licked her harder, devoured her as she tried to hold back another moan.
He didn’t need to finish his sentence for her to know what he meant. She was positively dripping with need. He eased his finger forwards, and it slipped into her without resistance. As the pad of it pressed against something inside her, her hips jacked up off the dresser and a cry tore from her lips.
“That’s it… give in to it, Mari,” he murmured against her as her entire body quaked, her ears ringing and heart thundering as pleasure rolled through her, crashed over her in waves that stole her breath from her lungs.
He stroked inside her, making those waves collide and grow stronger as she quivered.
Her breaths blasted back at her from her palm, every inch of her locked tight as release took her.
Cal teased her with his tongue, his finger continuing to move inside her. She lost track of time as the pleasure subsided and need began to build again. He pulled his finger from her and lowered his head, stroking his mouth over her opening. He shuddered and groaned, probed her with his tongue, and she blushed as she realised he was tasting her and what he had done to her.
She wanted to slap him away, but his words echoed in her head. She gave in instead.
Surrendered to him.
That ache returned, demanding more, and Cal fed it as he teased her nub with his tongue and eased two fingers into her this time. It felt tight at first, but then she began to relax as pleasure built, as her breaths began to saw from her lips.
“Cal,” she whispered, practically whimpered.
She needed him.
She needed more.
He pushed to his feet, continuing to pump his fingers inside her, and kissed her. She tasted herself on him at first, but then she only tasted his heat and the need that coiled inside him and her both as their lips clashed.
He drew his fingers out of her and her breath hitched as something replaced them. The blunt crown pierced her, and she grew damper, eager to feel him stretching her, hungry to have him inside her. She tried to rock her hips to meet him, but Cal held her firm, rendering her immobile.
“Slow,” he husked against her lips.
She wasn’t sure she could obey that command, not as he inched into her, as his heat branded her and he stretched her, filling her so sweetly. She wanted to rush, wanted to know what it would feel like when they were joined completely.
It was hard to keep still as he eased into her, at least at first. As more of him entered her, that wicked bliss returned to flood her, the pleasure of their joining flowing through her.
His lips slowed against hers as his hips pressed against her thighs, and she thought he was done, but then he shifted his hands to her legs, pulled them apart and sank deeper.
A cry tore from her lips, the brief spark of pain overwhelming the pleasure that had been growing inside her.
Cal kissed her softly, murmured things against her lips as he stood still, his length buried deep within her. She breathed through the pain, and as it subsided, she grew aware of the thickness and heat of him. Need burned through her and she didn’t deny it.
Marinda rocked her hips towards him and moaned as he grunted, as he gathered her to him and kissed her harder. He ground his hips forwards, pressing himself deeper still, and then withdrew. It was too much. The tip of his shaft rubbed that spot he had touched before to bring her to release, and tingles shot through her, the ache growing fiercer.
More demanding.
She wanted to rock to meet him as he plunged back into her, but it was hard when she had to remain seated. She wrapped her legs around him, had to do something to make him do as she wanted, before she exploded from frustration. She needed release.
She pressed her heels into his buttocks, urging him back into her whenever he withdrew. He grunted and leaned over her, planted one hand against the dresser and supported her back with the other as she leaned back. He sank deeper into her, a thrill chasing through her as he quickened his pace. His breaths burst against her lips with each surge of his cock, each swift withdrawal. It still wasn’t enough.
Marinda kissed him harder, used her feet as leverage to make him go faster. His pelvis slammed against hers, sparks ricocheting through her as it struck her sensitive spot.
“Oh God!” She clutched him, squeezed him with her body and ripped a grunt from his lips.
His pace picked up, each deep thrust hitting her in just the right spot to have her breathless, on the verge, back on that precipice and ready to fall. His fingers pressed hard into her hip and he held her in place as he frantically pumped her, holding her at his mercy.
She pressed her mouth to his as the need that had been condensing inside her detonated, her entire body shaking as he plunged into her. He groaned and grunted, his hips curling as she throbbed around him, as stars winked across her vision and heat blazed a path through her.
Another wave of bliss crashed over her as Cal jerked to a halt and his cock pulsed, heat flooding her with each throb that sent an aftershock of pleasure through her.
He dropped his head to her shoulder, breathing hard as his body quaked, trembling in time with hers.
Marinda stroked his sweat-slicked back, struggling to come down from the high as a sense of power flooded her. She felt incredible. Strong. Confident. Sexy. She had never felt anything like this, and she knew she would never feel anything like it again, not with anyone else.
It was Cal and Cal alone who made her feel this way.
He leaned his cheek against her and exhaled slowly. “That was…”
“Incredible.” She idly traced patterns on his back, a little dazed.
He chuckled and pulled out. She fluttered her eyes open and frowned as he removed a condom.
Something dark curled through her, stirring the cold. “Why did you wear that?”
He tied it and looked at it. “I figured it was necessary.”
Marinda’s other side felt as if he had wanted to deny her something.
The real pleasure of feeling him naked inside her.
He had held something back.
He looked from the condom to her, and his eyebrows drew down. “I’m getting the feeling this has upset you. I was just thinking of you. I didn’t know what the situation was… or what you wanted.”
She knew that. The other part of her didn’t. All it knew was that it had been denied something it had wanted, something she fiercely craved.
“I’m protected,” she said and tried to control herself as she stared up into his eyes.
Tried and failed.
She didn’t recognise her own voice as she growled.
“Next time, you’ll be naked inside me.”
Chapter 29
Cal had found it impossible the concentrate over the last day. Marinda’s fierce demand constantly rang in his mind, cranking up his temperature, and more than once he had been forced to excuse himself as he had lost control of his body.
A few of those times, he had hoped Marinda would follow him.
She blushed a thousand shades of red whenever he looked at her with heat in his eyes, turned awkward and started to fidget. Her furie side had been firmly in control, or maybe at least partly in control, in that moment. Her eyes had been violet ringed with black.
He had learned something new about the Erinyes.
They didn’t like to be denied the thing they wanted, whether that was vengeance or something else.
Her words ran around his head again, shredding his focus, and his control. The thought of being inside her again, close to her like that, was enough to push him to the edge. The thought she wanted him naked inside her, giving him the ultimate pleasure, shoved him right over it.
He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had sex with someone without using a condom, and he really couldn’t rem
ember if he had ever had anything like what he had with Marinda.
Something that was fast becoming a relationship.
He watched her as she went through the motions, fighting an invisible foe, practicing the moves he had shown her and preparing to spar with him again.
“Ready?” he said when she stopped and wiped sweat from her brow with the back of her hand.
Her workout clothes were going to be the death of him one day. Now he knew her intimately, seeing all those curves inflamed him, had him struggling to concentrate. He wasn’t doing a great job of teaching her how to fight. Not today anyway.
She nodded, untied her blonde tresses, clawed them back to neaten them and tied them again.
She blew out her breath.
Cal launched a punch at her, and she went to block it, but he dodged left, using speed to his advantage. She grunted as he tapped her on the shoulder, a light blow that wouldn’t do any damage. She huffed and came at him, a swift strike followed by an uppercut that almost hit him. Her next punch landed, slamming into his jaw.
His vision wobbled.
He shook off the blow as he rubbed his jaw. She was getting better, and she was getting stronger too. As her confidence grew, her strength seemed to grow too. It made him feel a hell of a lot better about letting her fight, something that was going to happen according to her. Cass had backed her up when she had announced she was going to be out there on the battlefield when the enemy made their move.
He ducked beneath her next swing and gave her a tap in the kidney.
“You’re faster than before.” She huffed and tried again, missing him by a mile this time.
“Focus,” he snapped and swung at her, catching her on her shoulder again. “I’m faster because I need you ready for the speed at which the enemy will move. They won’t be sparring with you, Mari. They’ll be coming at you with everything they have and we don’t know how strong the necromancer will be.”
She closed the gap between them, her blows coming faster. He blocked one with his forearm, batting her hand away, and stepped back so she overreached with the other punch.
Calistos: Guardians of Hades Series Book 5 Page 28