by Nova Archer
"Do they hurt?"
He shrugged. "A little. But I don't mind. I'm hoping you'll give me a matching set on my back by the time we're done with each other." The corners of his mouth lifted.
The image of Jace riding her while she raked his back with her nails flashed through her mind. Tala groaned, unable to resist him any longer. She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him down to her lips. Warmth spread through her body. She gasped from the bombardment of sensations coursing through her. And finally let go.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Jace thought he was prepared for the cascade of emotions that he knew would flow through him the moment he touched her. But nothing could prepare him for the overwhelming reality of it. It was like molten desire, liquid and scalding hot, racing over him, through him. Possessing him completely.
As her full soft lips moved over his, her tongue tasted and teased. Jace filled his hands with her breasts. Her nipples hardened through the fabric of her robe as he caressed them with his fingers, enjoying the way she gasped each time he moved.
He gobbled up every sound she made, eager to hear more. He wondered if she'd moan his name as he took her. The thought left Jace achingly hard. Moan it, scream it. He didn't care, as long as it was him she called for.
Desperate to feel the warmth of her skin against his, Jace pulled on the cloth tie. The fabric barrier separated, exposing a sliver of bare skin to his hungry eyes.
With the sash undone, he was able to push the sides apart and streak his hands over her warm flesh. He groaned, then body slammed the impulse to take her right here.
Blind to everything but the sensations in his hands, Jace moved his fingers over her, exploring the soft dip of her waist. So fragile, yet so strong. Her ribs tickled his palms as he stroked his way up to her perfect breasts. This time when he cupped her, she gasped and pulled back from the kiss.
"Jace," she moaned. "It's too much. I can't think."
"Good," he growled as he looked down at her. "I don't want you to think. Just feel."
Her eyes fluttered closed as he massaged her nipples with his thumbs. He loved the lost look on her face. One of abandonment. Shifting backwards, he pulled the pieces of her robe down her arms and off her body so he could look his fill of her sleek lithe form.
"You're so damn beautiful."
Her eyes opened and he saw the pink stain her cheeks, and the beginning glow in the green of her eyes. She moved to conceal herself.
He covered her hands with his. "Don't hide. Not from me. Never from me."
Sighing, she let her arms fall to her sides. Jace looked her over from head to toe, drinking in her sublime body. She was so striking. Powerful with sculpted muscles and sleek lines. She had a body made for running and for sex. He couldn't resist any longer. His desire was ripping at him, clawing its way out. He needed to have her, possess her utterly.
Growling, he moved in, wrapped his arms around her and crushed his mouth to hers. The kiss left him dizzy. Jace trailed his hands down her back and molded the firm cheeks of her rear, then he picked her up. Instinctively, Tala opened her legs and wrapped them around him. Gripping her tightly, he nibbled on her bottom lip and made his way over her chin to her neck. Her skin tasted like golden syrup.
He nuzzled in between her legs, effectively pinning her against the wall with his body. With the liquid heat of her center pressed against his groin, Jace thought he'd died and gone to heaven. Surely, there wasn't a more divine place to be than nestled between Tala's thighs.
His whole body trembled with desire, a ferocious insatiable hunger. He needed to be inside her now. He would perish if he had to wait much longer.
"I want you so bad," he growled into her ear, after licking the side of her neck. "Do you want me?"
She nodded, her lips pressed together tightly. He could feel her body quivering under his touch. The smell of her desire enveloped him. It was an exotic spice in his nose. Lord, he'd never smelled anything as delectable in his life.
"Say you want me." He nipped at her chin.
"I do," she breathed. "I want you so much."
"Where?" Jace rocked his hips, grinding his shaft into her warmth. His arms quaked with strain and repressed need. He couldn't hold back for much longer. But he wanted to hear her words. Needed to know how much she desired him.
"Inside of me." She gasped, urgency tightening her grip. "Now, Jace. Please now."
With one hand, he unbuttoned his pants and freed himself from the confinement of the fabric. Moving his hand up, he sought her. She was hot and wet and ready. Unable to wait any longer, he guided himself in between her legs. With one swift thrust, he buried his entire length inside.
In that instant he found his Shangri-La.
Tala had no idea that sex with Jace would feel so incredible.so wild and primal. Every nerve ending in her body sparked to life as he moved, slowly at first, then picked up his pace before finding a delicious rhythm that sent shivers from her toes to her scalp.
She'd had lovers before, but she had never felt so alive with them. With Jace, it was if the world had exploded with color, texture, taste, and smell. She could discern everything around in a kaleidoscope of brilliance.
The skin on the bottom of her feet tingled, as did the backs of her knees. Places she never knew could react with such hot intensity to sex flared to life. Her whole body became one multi-faceted erogenous zone.
But deep down, Tala could sense something else trying to surface. The feral part of her howled inside her head. Sensing Jace's lycan, it longed to be released. It wanted out to mate.
Panic squirmed through her. Squeezing her thighs against Jace's waist, she pushed at his shoulders. It was becoming too much. She couldn't handle the multitude of sensations bombarding her all at once.
Sensing her panic, Jace slowed his movements and looked her in the eyes. "Am I hurting you?"
She shook her head, too overcome with emotion to speak.
Bringing his hand to her face, he stroked her cheek and kissed her lightly on the lips. "It's okay. Just let go. You don't have to hold back with me." He kissed her again, this time nipping her bottom lip. "I can take whatever you give."
By God, she wanted to let loose. Her desire was bubbling up like molten lava, waiting to erupt. Tala had always been so afraid of letting it out with other men. Deep down, she was afraid of hurting them. She knew she possessed the strength to.
But with Jace, it would be different. He was more than human. He was more than any man before. He could handle everything she let out and then some. In fact, he was eager for it.
Digging her fingers into his shoulders, she returned his kiss with eagerness, nibbling and teasing his tongue. A growl rumbled out of him as he buried a hand in her hair and countered, biting at her lips.
He pounded between her legs as they kissed. With each thrust, Tala thought she'd go mad with pleasure. It didn't just ripple over her skin but surged through every inch of her body like shore-crashing waves of pure unadulterated bliss.
Streaking her hands to his back, she searched for purpose, something to hang onto as he took her up, pushing her close to the edge of orgasm. Shifting his stance, he gripped her butt cheek tight, pushed her hard against the wall and buried himself deep.
Gasping from the assault she dug her nails in and raked them across his flesh.
Jace returned her fervor by clamping down on her shoulder with his teeth. Pain and pleasure washed over her and clashed together into a delicious torment. Moaning, she urged him on as she bucked and writhed against his body.
"More," he growled while licking the spot where he had just bitten on her collarbone. "I want more."
Settling her in his arms, Jace carried her into her bedroom. She squeezed her thighs tight around his waist and held on, but that didn't stop her from feasting on his lips, groaning into his mouth with each stride of his powerful legs.
When he reached the bed, he dropped her onto the mattress, stood back and tore down his pants. He kicked out of
them and gazed down at her with wild fire in his eyes.
His hot intense gaze made her stomach flip and her thighs tingle. No one had ever looked at her like that. As if he could feast on her from head to toe all night long. The wild primal things that she hungered for him to do were in his eyes.
She reached out for him, gripping him around the waist and pulled him to her. He was gorgeous. All rippling muscles and hard rigid planes. Tala touched his stomach, trailing her fingers around his navel. She loved the way he flinched and his muscles quivered under her touch. She had power over him and she reveled in it.
Urging him closer, Tala pressed her lips to his sternum and licked her way down to his belly button and back up again. His skin was fevered, hot to the touch.
He moaned and wrapped his hands in her hair. Tilting her head, he stared down at her. The muscles in his jaw twitched with barely controlled passion and his eyes flashed like burnt amber. "By the moon, woman, you drive me wild."
She smiled at him and dug her fingers into his backside, taunting him to prove his statement.
Jace took the challenge and pulled her up to his hot hungry mouth. He kissed her hard, devouring her lips with teeth and tongue.
She couldn't get enough of him. He tasted like the night bathed in pale moonlight, crisp and clean. Like a cool mountain spring, natural and pure. Tastes she'd been longing for her whole life.
Tala was burning up inside for him. If he didn't take her now, she'd scream. As she nibbled on his bottom lip, she moaned into his mouth. "Enough foreplay."
He needed no more encouragement.
Breaking the kiss, Jace spun Tala around and pushed her forward onto the mattress. She put out her hands in time to break her fall. She tried to turn, but he was there, pressing up against her backside, his legs in between hers, forcing them apart. Jace's hands clamped down on her hips, preventing escape.
She was inflamed beyond reason as he nuzzled his erection into the juncture of her parted thighs. Digging her fingers into the mattress, Tala bit down on her lip as he slowly entered her, inch by delectable inch. He was so big, so hot and tantalizing male. She thought she'd go mad before he fully seated himself.
Once sheathed inside her, Jace started to move. With every thrust forward Tala pushed back, meeting him, matching his rhythm. Pleasure swelled over her, into her, and through her. All thoughts left her mind. She became a purely sensate being. Every inch of her body ignited and flared and flashed. Finally, she let go and gave Jace complete control. She was too enraptured to do anything but hang on.
She closed her eyes and surrendered, riding the waves of pure pleasure that crested over her and twisted her under.
Groaning, Jace fell forward onto her back, wrapping his hands around her body, filling his palms with her breasts as he buried himself deep. She could hardly breathe with the intensity of emotions cascading around her.
As Jace continued to slide in and out of her, he moved one hand down and cupped her where they joined. She gasped when he slipped two fingers over her, circling the sensitive nerves at her center. As he pressed one then two fingers down on her, she could feel her orgasm building to a crescendo.
Already Tala could feel her legs tighten, and her breath hitching in her throat. She cried out Jace's name as she went spiraling down toward a liquid pool of pure pleasure. Release found her and pushed her in, drowning her in sensation without thought or care.
Everything around Tala exploded with color and sound, and texture. She thought she'd go blind and deaf in the bombardment.
She crawled forward on the mattress in an attempt to escape the almost painful orgasm, but Jace held her down, coaxing more from her with his clever fingers and his tongue on the back of her neck. Quivering uncontrollably, she gritted her teeth as another wave of pleasure swept her away. Jace followed, emptying himself inside her with a violent shudder.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Jace didn't want to move, but knew he had to the second his cell phone trilled from his pants pocket. There was going to be hell to pay for them leaving the scene. Especially without the suspect or the drugs Darryl tossed. And Jace imagined the hysterical kid wasn't going to help matters any.
While Tala had been asleep earlier he had checked in at the lab. Caine had been none too pleased with the situation. Officer Vargas had come back to help Tala and found her gone. Instead there had been an ambulance attending to an injured teenager raving about a werewolf.
Jace told Caine the edited version of what happened, leaving Tala's transformation out of the picture. There was no way that he was going to be the one to out her, not even to Caine.
The vampire informed Jace he would take care of it. But it was in that icy calm of Caine's voice, Jace knew there would be consequences that he was going to have to deal with when he returned to the lab. He was sure he would be able to handle whatever Caine dished out. It certainly wasn't the first time he ended up on the vampire's bad side. And it definitely wouldn't be the last.
Scrambling off the bed, he grabbed his pants and dug out his phone. "Jericho." He turned and watched Tala as she rolled out of the bed and slid her robe back on.
"Mr. Jericho, its Rick. From the lab."
"What's up?"
"You told me to call you as soon as I had any results. Well, I think you really need to see it to believe it."
Jace sighed. "Look, I've had a really tough day, can you just tell me what's going on?"
Tala padded past him and disappeared into the bathroom. He heard her turn on the tap. The sound of water trickled out from the room.
"The DNA from the kit? Well, it's not on my database."
"Which I already told you."
Rick chuckled nervously. "Yeah, but it isn't on the Otherworld one either. Gwen is just as floored as I am."
"So what are you saying? That you can't identify the DNA?"
"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying. Whoever or whatever this belongs to is a completely new species."
"I'll be there in twenty minutes." He flipped the phone closed, slid it back into his pants pocket and then put them on. He padded back to the bed and sat down on the edge, cradling his head in his hands.
Tala came out of the bathroom with a wet cloth in her hand. When she neared the bed, she crouched on the floor and began to scrub at the stain her vomit had made on the rug.
He watched her and knew she was upset. He could tell in the jerky way she moved and the scent she was giving off. Guilt. Remorse. And still that shame. But now he wondered what exactly she was ashamed of. What she was or that she had sex with him?
"We need to go back to the lab." Jace rubbed his hands over his face and through his hair. That was the most his hair was going to get combed today.
She nodded but didn't meet his gaze. After one final rub on the carpet, she stood and walked back to the bathroom.
"Tala."
Ignoring him, she continued and disappeared into the bathroom again.
"Stubborn woman," he grumbled under his breath.
"I heard that," she said from the bathroom.
Standing, he stalked over to the doorway. "Good. Because it's true." He paused just inside the door.
She stood at the sink, her hair up in a tight ponytail, and her face freshly washed. And by the moon, he wanted her all over again. Just as fiercely. Maybe more so. Now that her scent and her taste had been imprinted on his soul, he was lost to her.
She met his gaze in the mirror and visibly tensed. He knew she could sense his growing desire. It was hard not to, when his pants were becoming constricted once more. He shifted his stance to accommodate his arousal.
The corners of her mouth lifted. "Is that all you think about?"
"Pretty much. Especially around my female. I can't help it. You smell so damn good."
She swiveled around and sneered. "I'm not your damn female, Jericho."
"The hell you aren't," he snapped back.
Whoa, where did that come from? His female? When had that happened?
Sh
e stomped across the tile of the bathroom and pushed past him to go into the bedroom. He stared at her retreating back and realized with blinding clarity that he had indeed branded her his own. He could smell it on her. She belonged to him whether she liked it or not. By the way her eyes flashed at him when she turned around, he figured she was none too happy about it.
Well, neither was he. But there was nothing either one of them could do about it now. Branding was permanent. Lycans mated for life.
She stormed back across the room at him, the green of her eyes sparking like emerald fire and her robe fluttering behind her. "Look, just because you and I—,"
"This wasn't just casual sex, Tala."
Coming to halt right in front of him, the next words died on her lips and she clamped them together then sighed. "It can't be anything more. And I want my eye drops back."
Gripping her by the arms, he pulled her to him and crushed his mouth to hers. No, nothing between them could ever be casual. It would always be hot and frantic. They were doomed to be forever urgent, impossibly frenzied.
Wrapping her arms around him, she kissed him back just as hard and just as fierce. She tasted like sunshine. Hot and sultry. She was all flash and fire his Tala. Just like him.
He broke the kiss and stared her in the eyes, willing her to feel the power zinging all around them. "Does that feel casual to you?"
"No," she said, her voice barely a whisper.
"I didn't think so. And I flushed the silver nitrate down your toilet."
"Great. So what are we going to do about all this?" she asked, her eyes flaring again. He could read the desire in them.
"Well, I'd love to take you back to bed." He nuzzled his face into her neck. Moving his hands down, he cupped her rear-end.
Something stirred the air. Lifting his head, he turned toward the door of the bedroom.
An older petite woman stood in the door frame. A murderous look wrinkled her face. Tala's mother, he had no doubt. They had the same expressive green eyes.