Pulling her computer pad out of her pocket, she held it out to Blane. “Here. Sign that the cargo was safely offloaded and I’m out of here.”
He took the pad from her and scrawled his name across the surface. “Are you planning to watch the double moons rise together? It’s considered good luck.”
“Another superstition. Kyffin seems to be full of them. Blessings, lucky moons and faeries!”
Blane handed the pad back to her with a surprised look. His startling violet eyes scanned her face. “Ryol told you about the faeries?”
“He told me some absurd story.”
Blane chuckled. “You don’t believe him?’
“Are you going to tell me they’re real?”
He shrugged with an amused smile. “Believe what you want.” Without another word, he circled around a pile of crates. Curious, she followed him, keeping a safe distance in case he was wearing the powerful Scent of Magic again. She found Ryol’s story difficult to swallow, but it did explain her reaction to Blane, and to the scent of the perfume.
Blane leaned over to read the contents stamped on the outside of one crate and then straightened and regarded her with a serious expression. His earlier anger had vanished. She could see faint laugh lines wrinkling the tanned skin around his soul-stirring eyes. His firm mouth quirked upward in a smile.
For the third time that day, her insides melted as a wave of heat surged through her body. Desire pooled in her center. Warmth tingled on the ends of her fingertips and her toes. Her body hummed with delight at his nearness. A pleasant arousal made her keenly aware of how long it had been since any man had touched her between her legs. Her skin shivered with longing for his caress. She’d forgotten how pleasant it was to feel aroused by a man.
Without thinking, she took a step closer to him. Maybe avoidance wasn’t the answer after all. It was obvious from their previous encounters that Blane knew his way around a woman’s body. Maybe a dirtball fling was what she needed to get this insatiable lust out of her system. If the fires she kindled in him were anything like the passion blazing through her, they’d burn each other out.
Give in to it, something deep inside whispered. Let the fires rage. Sensuality is a gift to enjoy.
Curious, she allowed herself a small sniff of his sensual scent, hoping he wouldn’t notice. He smelled like a man who’d worked hard that day, but it was a clean, masculine scent. And why was she sniffing at him anyway? Ryol’s tale was nonsense…yet even as the thought passed through her mind, passion uncoiled in her center like a whiplash of fire. Without warning, her insides turned molten and sent darts of flame shooting down to the sensitive flesh between her legs. The pleasant ache escalated into a needy throb, and her nipples hardened under the concealment of her jacket.
Blane scanned the datapad on the crate in front of him, oblivious to her reaction. “I can’t blame you for being a skeptic. But the faeries are real. I’ve seen them myself. On a night of the double moons, I watched the enchanted folk cavorting in the meadow.”
He slid a measured look at Ange. “Ryol calls it a dance but it’s much more than that. You’ll never see another dance like it, ever.” His eyes gleamed and the hard planes of his face softened with yearning. “It’s a sacred ritual. Whatever their purpose in coming to Kyffin, it’s beyond our understanding. My brother interferes at his peril.”
Ange coughed. Her head spun and it was hard to think through the lustful images crowding her mind. “Ryol says when they dance they leave behind a dust. He claims that dust is the secret ingredient in Scent of Magic. He says the glamour of the faerie magic is what makes those who wear the perfume irresistibly attractive to the opposite sex.”
Blane’s mouth curled in disgust. “He’s made a fortune with that damnable perfume. One day his secret will be discovered by those who lust after power. When that happens, they will descend on this world like a plague seeking this rare aphrodisiac. The faerie dance will end and who knows what catastrophe will result from our meddling. It was never meant for our eyes, and the dust was never meant for us to use.”
“Why do they leave it behind then?” She regretted the question as soon as she spoke it. Already these two mad brothers had her speaking about the faeries as if they really existed.
“They don’t—at least not on purpose. They generate an enormous amount of energy as they move—in fact that seems to be why they come to our realm in the first place, to create elaborate energy patterns, spirals of magical light that sweep about the meadow. The energy interacts with this physical universe. I don’t know what their purpose is, but I’m inclined to think the dust is an accidental byproduct.”
“You sound as if you’ve made a study of these faeries.”
He leaned his head toward the desk in the far corner of the warehouse. “We can sit on the desk if you want to hear the story of our settlement.”
She remembered all too well what had happened the last time she’d sat on that desk. Besides, her ship was waiting and she had a long checklist of things to do before they could take off again. Ryol had indicated he would be ready to leave as soon as he’d gathered a fresh supply of whatever it was he was really after, and that was fine with her. She’d be glad to head back to civilized space. She’d tell him to find another ship and she’d forget about Kyffin.
Without warning, Blane stepped to her side and curled strong fingers around her forearm. The heat of his body penetrated through her jacket and tunic. His warm breath tickled her ear, sending tingles down to her toes. His powerful male scent encircled her again. “I know our story sounds incredible to you, but we’re telling you the truth. The faeries do exist. I’m cursed by them.”
“Cursed?” She lifted one eyebrow in a question, her heart pounding, as he gripped her arm at the elbow and led her over to the desk. She pulled free and sat perched on the edge. Blane stood in front of her, his arms folded. The light pouring in through the window fell on his face, accenting its strong lines. He wore the look of a man who’d faced hard times and endured.
“What do you mean, cursed?” she asked again.
Sorrow had returned to his eyes. “I told you I went up to the meadow. When I returned I found I was suddenly irresistible to women.”
She swallowed and looked away, feeling the hot blood mount in her cheeks. Did he know how much she lusted for him at this moment? Moisture pooled between her legs as she imagined the sensation of his hard length thrusting into her for the first time. The thought of waiting even a moment longer grew unbearable. She wanted to lean back on the desk and part her thighs in invitation like some wanton hussy. Her hand moved of its own volition to the top button of her jacket, toying with it.
“They all wanted me.” He spoke quickly, his voice harsh. “I expected it would wear off in a few days. After all, Ryol experienced the same phenomena, but it went away as soon as he washed off the dust. I enjoyed bedding a couple of them, but I soon realized they didn’t want me. They just wanted to be close to me, to smell that incredible odor. Believe it or not, I couldn’t wait for life to return to normal. But it didn’t. It never has. Anytime I get close enough to a woman for her to smell my scent, she goes mad with desire.”
No kidding! Ange clenched her hands over the edge of the desk and held on for dear life. Her thighs tensed as she willed her legs to stay closed.
He held out his hands to her in desperate appeal. “Then you came. As soon as I got close to you, I smelled something. It was the smell of heaven and pure sex combined. I thought it was Scent of Magic, that Ryol had given you some.” He curled his hands into fists. “If you say that’s not so, I believe you, but I can still smell it. You’re like me and that’s not possible. Now I know how women feel when they get close to me.”
Like an animal in heat. That’s how she felt. Ange gripped the edge until her fingers hurt. “I can’t explain my scent. I wouldn’t want a man if Scent of Magic was the only lure.”
His puzzled frown grew deeper. “I know you’re not wearing Ryol’s perfume. But you
smell as if you are. You smell of the Otherworld, of the land of the faeries.”
“That—that’s impossible!” she sputtered. “I don’t even believe in your damned faeries.”
“I know.” A lost, desperate look passed over his face. “I can’t explain it. I only know it’s true. You’ve traveled the stars, haven’t you?”
Warily she nodded.
“Did something inexplicable ever happen to you? That’s the only explanation I can think of—you’ve had contact with their realm somehow.”
“Never.” She ran a nervous tongue over her lips. This world was getting more insane by the moment. Yet she knew Blane spoke the truth about the scent that clung to her, the scent that began the day she became a woman. Since that day, her life had been a nightmare whenever a man came near. She’d long since decided she was a freak—a mishap of nature. Now she wondered…was there a link of some kind?
She pursed her lips in thought. Faeries! It wasn’t possible. Did Blane think she was an idiot to swallow such a mad tale? And even if it were true, she’d never had any contact with any alien race even remotely resembling faeries.
She heaved a sigh. That was a mistake. She caught a fresh whiff of Blane’s scent. Her nipples hardened, the tender tips pressing against her bra. Rapid spurts of electric sensation darted straight down her nerve endings as the heat mounted in her already burning woman flesh.
“We’re two of a kind.” He moved closer. His breathing deepened as he took in her scent. “You must have some link to the faerie realm.”
“Not that I know of.” Her brain seemed to have stopped functioning. He was too close. His magical smell swamped her senses. She drowned in the depths of his eyes as he moved nearer. His hands touched the tops of her knees. His warm breath stirred the curls tumbling over her forehead. The suppressed desires of the past few years swept through her body in an urgent tidal wave that couldn’t be denied.
With a small moan, she yanked off her jacket and threw it on the floor. His eyes widened as he saw the stun gun in its holster around her side. Not caring what he thought, she pulled it off and threw it on top of the jacket, then undid the fastenings of her blouse.
“Ange! Is this what you want?” His voice shook with his own passion but his fierce question recalled her to some semblance of reality.
“Yes.” As incredible as his story seemed, on some deep level she knew he told her the truth. They were two of a kind. Not that she cared at the moment. All she cared about was satisfying her craving for that incredible body of his. Without another word, she drapped her arms around his neck and drew him close.
He bent over her. His lips brushed hers in a silken caress. She wrapped a hand around the back of his head, pulling him to her. Gods, she wanted to devour him. He kissed her open mouth with his demanding lips, probing her with his tongue. His hands pushed aside the blouse she’d unfastened. It slid off her shoulders and down her arms and she tossed it aside without a glance. His fingers already tugged at the seams of her bra, releasing it.
It fell away from her breasts, leaving her nude from the waist up. A rosy sexual flush warmed her skin. Her nipples were taut, aching for his touch.
“Please.” She made a strangled sound, deep in her throat. His mouth moved down her neck, leaving behind a trail of wet kisses, and plunged into the hollow between her breasts while her heart beat in a wild rhythm. He settled over one rigid nipple, tracing it with his tongue, teasing it, then taking it into his hot mouth and sucking with unbridled gusto.
She hissed in pleasure and arched her back as waves of ecstasy rolled through her after each lavish sweep of his tongue. His fingers found the other nipple and squeezed as his lips moved over the first one, sending fissions of fire sweeping down her belly and into her loins. Moisture dampened her panties. Her underwear became soaked and she knew her inner flesh was hot and slick, ready to welcome him inside. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the waves of intense passion that washed over her with each tug of his fingers. Her hand reached out and searched for him. She found the firm curve of his hip and groped lower, her finger tracing the flat plane of his abdomen, until she found the hard length of flesh she’d been searching for.
“Oh, gods!” His sharp gasp caused her to spasm with desire. She tightened her grip on him, massaging his rigid length as best she could through the rough cloth.
He looked at her, his pupils enlarged to black holes of desire that seemed determined to drink her in. He gave her breasts a teasing squeeze and then stepped back, away from her hand. Moving quickly, he stripped off his tunic and pants. She wet her lips with pleasurable anticipation at the sight of his broad chest with its thick mat of dark hair, then gave her own gasp as his pants fell away and she saw his phallus spring free, erect and proud.
“It looks like the faerie dust has more than one magical effect,” she said, unable to suppress a wide smile. She slid off the edge of the desk, kicked off her boots, and pulled down her own pants and panties. The moisture created by her overwhelming desire dampened her thighs as she undressed. Stepping free of the last of her clothes, she moved into his arms and pressed her naked body against his, marveling at the contrast between her pale spacer’s skin and the tanned darkness of his work-hardened body. The white globes of her breasts rubbed against the wiry hair that covered his chest and her stomach welcomed the pressure of his swollen length as they embraced and kissed, drinking deeply of each other.
“Ahhh … ahhh!” Soft moans of pleasure escaped her throat as his kisses once more descended down the pillar of her neck. An exploring hand parted her legs and she bit her lip with pleasure as three fingers probed the depths of her moist interior.
Throwing back her head, she groaned. Her body pulsed with the pleasure she’d denied for so long. She wanted him deep inside her. She shuddered with pure physical delight as he stroked her. She pressed close again, felt his stiff shaft poke the soft flesh of her stomach. That was what she wanted inside her.
She twirled her fingers in his chest hair and backed away, pulling him after her. She had a moment to feel bereft as his fingers left her, and then she bumped into the desk with the backs of her thighs. She grabbed the edge with both hands and hopped up into a sitting position, spreading her legs wide.
Chapter Eight
Blane inhaled deeply as a musky odor rose up from the exposed flesh of Ange’s private parts. His fingers trembled with anticipation as he stroked the creamy smooth skin of her inner thigh. She was hot velvet and he couldn’t wait to sink into her. Her power to enchant him only added excitement to the heady rush of emotion that pounded through his body. For so long he’d kept his feelings dead, knowing nothing could come of caring. But with this woman … with her it might be different.
Their eyes locked and he thought he saw the same expectancy in her gaze. To find someone who shared his curse gave him hope for an end to the terrible loneliness. And even more wonderful, the hope was wrapped up in an incredible package. With her tough exterior, her urchin’s curls and her tender heart, Ange was a complex woman, and he liked complex.
Complex and sexy. His eyes devoured the body spread out before him like a scrumptious feast. She was small and delicate, like fragile china, all white and pale pink, yet he knew her heart contained a fierce spirit and a passion that matched his own.
She shuddered at his touch, whimpering with desire, and leaned back on the desk. Supporting herself on her elbows, she spread her legs wider yet, exposing her most intimate secrets to his greedy view. He drank her in with his eyes—her curves, her rosy skin, the golden gleam of the curls that framed her opening. Her labia gleamed with dew, the distended folds drawing his gaze deeper into the moist entrance that beckoned his aching phallus.
Groaning, he leaned hard against the edge of the desk and thrust into her. Her velvety heat enfolded him as he plunged into her silken depths. He grabbed her hips and pulled her up against him, his buttocks moving in a fierce rhythm of desire as he stroked in and out of her.
The smell of her warm
juices mingled with the deeper smell of her body, driving him almost insane with desire. He had to possess her or die. Any thought of gentleness vanished, consumed by the flame of desire. He pounded into her like a madman. Her own frantic need matched his as she lifted her hips and arched her back to expose her breasts.
“Please.” Her voice was a desperate whisper.
She didn’t have to ask him twice. He grew even harder inside her at the sight of her ample bounty. He leaned over and nipped at one stiff nipple. Her whole body convulsed at his touch. Her legs shook and her hips buckled as her aroused flesh clenched around him like a warm, velvet glove, then released.
“Oh, goddess!” she screamed and collapsed back on the desk, a red flush covering her breasts and inner thighs.
He continued pumping into her and in response, her intimate muscles still clenched and unclenched around his shaft. The silken stimulation sent fire coursing through his engorged organ. With one final thrust, he came, spurting his seed into her depths. He leaned over the desk, supporting his weight on his hands, as the orgasm slammed through him. When the waves of rapture ceased, he withdrew, breathing hard. Wondering how his legs still managed to support him, he collapsed into a sitting position at her side.
Slowly, his breathing returned to normal. She sat up beside him, her full breasts caught between her arms as she hugged herself.
“That made up for two years of celibacy,” she said with a dazed smile.
He looked down, saw his shaft thrusting upward between his legs in proud defiance of the exhaustion wracking the rest of his body. “Ready for round two?” he asked, only half teasing.
He glanced over at her and saw that her nipples remained taut with desire. If she was willing, so was he, although it might kill him. He’d only begun to kiss those delectable nubs. Exploring the delights of her body might just be a lifelong project.
Scent Of Magic Page 9