"Can I ask you something else?" He shifted his seat so that he was now sitting sideways facing me.
"What is this branding on your chest? Did Ziona do this to you? Did they burn this into your flesh?" His brows knit together and the vein in his forehead suddenly became more prominent.
"Oh, this, no. They didn't do this to me." I looked down and almost forgot that it was there. I touched at the raised mark on my chest. I could feel each point of the star like shape.
"Phaela and Patience told me that the symbol is called the goddess pentacle. It was actually a pendant that my Gram gave me. She told me that it would help to keep me grounded and enhance my abilities to control the elements."
"You have lost me. When did your grandmother give you this pendant? And what does it have to do with your branding?" he asked.
"She gave me the pendant a while ago when she was alive. She came to me while I was in captivity and told me these things, and then Anton... He... When he, I sort of poked him in the eye and a drop of blood fell onto the pendant. Something about dragon's blood unlocking a spell and the thing fused into my skin.
"The sad thing is that it was a really lovely piece of jewelry. At least now I don't have to worry about losing it." I closed my eyes and yawned louder than I would have preferred. I covered my mouth, "Excuse me."
Graven started to stand up and came over and scooped me up. He lifted me effortlessly and cradled me in his arms. "I'm putting you to bed. You need your rest." He started walking to the bedroom that was supposed to be mine, although I think they were all the same.
"Maybe tomorrow we can have a nice breakfast and have some fun shopping for some new digs. We can go run your errands after that. We are going to need to get back to Sedona as soon as everything is finalized here," Graven spoke softly, and his voice soothed me.
I snuggled against him. My eyes were too heavy to keep open any longer. I started to feel myself drifting off to sleep. I heard the door swing open and felt the softness of the bed as he placed me under the covers. He kissed the top of my head.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him closer. "Stay with me, I feel safer with you here," I muttered out. I felt the bed sink in against his weight. I wrapped his arm around me and let myself drift off.
Chapter Fourteen
MY BODY CLOCK WAS BEYOND out of whack. After spending all that time in the dark I had no concept of when day and night began and ended. The few days since I had escaped I had been awake until the sun started to kiss the sky.
My eyes still hooded, I knew that this was a new day. I silently declared it was the first day of my new life, a life that I was going to find control over. It might not be the life I want it to be right now, but I was determined to make it on my terms as much as I could.
My tenacity was enhanced by what lay behind me. Not my past, but the man that still had his arm wrapped around me. I knew he was awake, but he did not stir in an attempt to allow me to sleep as long as I could. I kept my eyes closed and pretended to stay asleep. I just wanted to enjoy the peace and serenity of the moment. It was the first time I woke up without an overwhelming sense of fear.
I'm not sure how long I lay there in Graven's embrace before he spoke.
"I know you are awake. You ok?" His husky voice whispered against the back of my neck.
It occurred to me that this was also the first time waking up next to a man. I smiled; it felt good that it wasn't an awkward morning after we had sex. Because had I been able to control what was happening to me, I wouldn't have been able to control the passion that was raging between us last night. If our kiss had taken place in the room and not in the courtyard things may have turned out differently.
I rolled over to face Graven. My hair might have doubled in size while I was sleeping because I basically rolled into a layer of my brilliant hair. I had to pick my head up and move my hair out of the way. Way to be smooth.
"I am. What time is it?" I asked.
"It's around ten. Do you feel rested enough? I know you must be hungry, I have been listening to your stomach rumbling for the past twenty minutes." Graven moved the few stray hairs that were still covering my face.
"Oh, you could hear that. I could eat, but this feels good just laying here pretending not to have a care in the world." I rolled my blue eyes at the thought. "As if."
Graven smiled at me. I loved the way his frown lines creased, making happy parenthesis around his mouth.
"But I am ok with it. I know my life will never be the same again. Obviously after last night I am going to have to get used to a lot of changes, both internally and externally. I need to learn what I am capable of, and what it is that I can do with regards to the elements. I have to learn how to control things so that I don't do something I am going to regret, especially in public."
"That is for certain. We are lucky that scene last night didn't take place somewhere else more public," Graven agreed with me.
"It seems like these metaphysical things have happened to me when I have been super charged with my emotions," I realized.
"When we get back to Sedona you can practice whatever you need to at the ranch. No one will see you there. You can be alone or I can be there with you. For now I think I will make sure we are alone before I kiss you again," Graven said.
"Are we alone now?" I asked before I could think about what I was saying.
Graven's eyes seemed to twinkle as the corner of his lip pulled up at the same time as his brow lifted.
"We are," his smile broadened, "Maritza left an hour ago for a meeting. She is going to meet us downtown for lunch and then some shopping. She had some clothing brought up for you to wear for today. Everything is in the bathroom for you."
At that moment I realized I was still wearing my clothing from last night. Not that it really mattered at that point.
"I would like to kiss you again. Hopefully this time I won't fuzz out on you." I felt the flutters in my stomach. Part of me couldn't believe I just told him that, but this was my life and I would claim each moment as I saw fit. And I wanted back the moment that was interrupted the night before.
"Kasha you can do whatever you want to me or on me. You may take all the time and kisses you desire."
"Oh, I desire." I rolled over on top of him with my hands pressed into the mattress on opposing sides of his head. All of my hair fell forward. Graven reach up inside my arms and pulled my hair gently back before he leaned up as I lowered myself until our noses grazed each other.
I closed my eyes and took a slow controlled breath before letting my lips press against his. We gently eased into a slow rhythm with our lips before our mouths actually parted to create an exchange of tantalizing whirls of the tongue.
Graven held onto the back of my head with one hand as we kissed. His other hand glided down my back. He supported me as he brought us up to a seated position. He helped to guide my legs around his waist, never neglecting my lips.
I took his face in both my hands and kissed him with the intention of never finishing the kiss. The kiss was hard and it told him that I wanted more. I knew I should come up for air, but his breath on my mouth was all I needed.
Graven's fingers combed through my hair, gathering it into his fist, gently pulling my head back just enough to allow his kiss to drift down my chin to the crook of my neck. His tongue massaged and tickled at my throat on the way down. The second I felt his exhalations in my ear I moaned out gasping for a breath of air.
My skin started to tingle. His kisses continued toward my collarbone driving me further into losing myself to the purity of the passion and devotion that I could feel between us. It didn't make sense, but why did it have to? As long as life might be for some, I had felt the impending doom of my immortality and the truth was, I didn't know how long my safety or freedom would last.
He pulled at the collar of my shirt to kiss at my shoulder. I could feel a rumble of desire emanating from his throat as he pressed his mouth into my skin. I squeezed at him with my legs. He pushed himself up b
etween my thighs. I rocked my hips into him, craving to be one with him. Why did he have to tease at the edges of where my shirt ended?
"Take it off," I commanded him without a thought to the consequences of our actions.
He looked up at me with his eyes slightly hooded. I could see the hunger of an unfed beast ready to devour its long overdue meal. He pulled my shirt over my head so fast that he barely had to lift his lips from my skin.
Leaning back, he looked at me and made a hissing sound as he sucked in at the air through his clenched teeth. As he let the breath go he moaned in an approving grunt. Graven lifted the straps of my bra one by one, letting them fall over my shoulders.
His mouth now gently dragged his tongue across the dip above my clavicle. He paused at the indentation where the bones met and swirled his tongue at the center of the depression. I knew that was where my throat chakra lie. I think he was stimulating more than he realized.
My legs were quivering at every lick and brush of his lips against my chest. His tongue outlined the branding that sat just between my breasts. It started to feel like a fire was scorching at my skin. It should have hurt enough for me to push him away, but it only made the sensation between my thighs pulse.
The man had not even removed my bra yet and I found that everything down to the tips of my toes was tingling. Graven pulled the cup of my bra down exposing my left breast. He flicked his tongue across my nipple and then blew a cool breath over the moisture. It tightened into a little bud. Shooting electric currents fired out in all directions.
I lifted my head so that I could look down at Graven. I wanted to watch his face as he took me into his mouth. I had not expected to see the illumination of our spirit bodies again, but they were flaring out around us. Graven looked up at me and I could tell by the look in his eyes that he saw it too.
"You are magnificent," he said. "I have never seen anything like this ever. It is amazing the way your body reacts to my touch."
He ran a finger from the top of my shoulder down my chest between my breasts teasing up and down between the mounds of flesh that created my cleavage. My breaths were shortening and my heart was quickening.
He unlatched the clasp at the base of my cleavage, letting my breast spring to life. I could see a green beam of light extend out from the middle of my chest that attached itself to the center of his massive pectorals. He lifted his other hand so that he could cup both my breast as he lowered his face to kiss them.
The sensation sent my spine into an extorted arch. I lifted my head to look back at him and the hunger in his eyes grew, as did the colors and layers of his striking face and body that seemed to multiply around him. I wanted to be touched by every one of them.
I grabbed his ponytail and pulled his head back enough to elevate it to where my lips could reach his. My arms rested on his shoulders as our tongues slipped in and out of each other's mouths. Graven's hands gripped at the edges of my jeans, pulling me harder onto his lap. The harder he pulled, the hotter the fire burned in my pants.
He flipped me over on my back, doing a high plank over my body. Only I was watching him do this from behind him. My astral body did not make the same trip.
I reached up and took a hold of the button that held his jeans together. Even with his jeans on and the height of his plank I could feel that his muscles were not the only thing that was hard.
I watched myself and told myself to hurry and unwrap that package. I pulled at the button and it easily popped open. The zipper practically unzipped itself. As I started to tug at his pants he used his right hand to put his lips on my perky breast. He sucked as much of it into his mouth as he could fit.
I was so turned on watching from my astral body that I wanted to start to touch myself. I wondered if I could feel anything in my astral body, but Graven's tongue making its way down my rib cage distracted me. As it slid down toward my hipbones my stomach felt like it was dropped and flipped from high in the sky.
"What are you doing out here," I heard in a sexy whisper at the edge of my astral neck. "Are you enjoying the show?"
"I am more than enjoying it." I felt Graven pull the hair back over my shoulder in my astral body and started to kiss the edge of my neck. His tongue ran down along the length of my spine. At the same time I realized that he had slipped my jeans down.
Graven grabbed at my panties, pulling the straps up so he could lick below the fabric. I thrust my hips up into the air with each flick of his tongue.
My attention shifted to my astral body again where I felt Graven's larges hands holding the backs of my hips. He used his knees to gently spread my legs apart.
Graven grabbed at my panties and pulled them all the way over to the side, I could feel they were already soaked through. It didn't matter because his mouth was salivating against my hotness. The mound between my legs hurt so much that it begged to be touched. Graven's soft tongue traced the shape of an eternity symbol where my panties had just been.
His tongue found a circular rhythm making sure to touch every tingle. I could feel myself pulsating. At the same time in my astral body I could feel Graven's hard cock teasing at me, sliding down under my cheeks, searching for a place to call home. I couldn't believe how much I could feel in my astral form. Both my bodies craved more of him.
Graven pulled at my astral hip forcing my upper body down exposing my everything to him from behind. My blue shimmer was flaring out so bright I'm not sure he could see much more than my shimmer.
Hovering over my body I watched as he licked between my legs. He reached with his other hand and inserted his fingers inside of me. At the same time I could feel the pressure opening me up to allow him to become one with my astral body.
Graven's fingers gyrated in and out at the same time I felt the thunder of his hips thrusting behind me. I could feel him inside the very core of my existence. I wanted to close my eyes, but I kept them open. Watching what he was doing to my body while he made love to my astral body. He was sending shockwaves through my very existence.
I grabbed at his head and opened myself to him and to the power that he had over my body. I moaned out and called his name as every last hair on my body stood on end, the only sensation I could feel in my extremities were tiny bursts of electricity. The intensity was building and building until he slowed down to a pause for a split second before he thrust himself into both of me for the final blow that made my insides feel like they were bursting with infinite pleasure. I wanted the moment to last forever.
I called out, "Ohhh, Yesss," as my body bucked toward him. My hands gripped at the sheets on the bed as my body tightened over and over again. And then it happened. It was like a rocket went off inside of me, my entire body shuddered as he plunged into my soul.
I couldn't stop the energy from escaping. My arms stretched out to the sides. As I reached the peak of my climax, I looked over and saw the mix of blue and green light firing out of my hands in either direction. It was as if the orgasm forced the current out of me.
Before the quivering quake subsided, I realized that I set a picture on the wall ablaze.
"Holy shit!" Graven exclaimed.
When I turned my head in the other direction there was water spraying in the bathroom.
"Oh boy," I said as I tried to catch my breath. My consciousness was now fully in my physical body, as was Graven's. He sat back on his knees and we both looked around in shock.
I reeled my arms in close to my body. There was no time for any of what just occurred to sink in. I smacked Graven on the arm. "You better put that fire out before we get the hotel evacuated by the smoke alarms."
He leapt off the bed and used his bare hands to pat out the flames. I grabbed the sheet off the bed and wrapped it around my body. I looked back to the bathroom to investigate the hovering water situation. By the time I got in there, all that remained was a puddle on the floor.
"It should be interesting trying to explain this when we get ready to check out." I heard Graven half mumbling to himself and ha
lf telling me.
"Ya think?" I called back to him as I grabbed a towel to cover the wet spot on the floor.
I was ready for a shower and a cup of coffee. I looked in the mirror and realized that there was only a claw foot tub in this bathroom.
"Graven," I called out as I walked back through the bathroom door. He was in front of me with his elbow leaning on the doorjamb before I could finish my thought let alone my sentence.
"Hi," I said as my lips widened.
"Hi," he purred back to me. One side of his lip curled at the corner. He looked like a cat that just ate the canary. And I was the canary.
I was trying to talk but all I could do was smile back at him.
"What was it you were going to say?" Graven asked as he traced a circle around my bare shoulder with his pointer finger.
"I need coffee and a shower," I spoke just above a whisper. "How bad is the wall?" I peeked around the door and saw a burnt painting on the floor and scorch marks on the wall. I bit my lip.
"It's not that bad. Don't worry about it. We will take care of it. How about I call down and have some coffee and pastries brought up? There is a nice large shower in my room. It is big enough for two if you would like some company."
My cheeks felt hot. Images of what just happened came flooding to my mind.
"That sounds nice, but I don't know what might happen if you get that close to me again. I might blow this whole place up." I wished I was kidding.
"I would be honored if you would allow me to accompany you. It would please me to help you bathe." Graven leaned in and softly kissed my shoulder and then the tip of my nose.
"That sounds really nice. Can we have coffee first? I am famished."
Graven went out to the common area and called down for Jesus to bring us breakfast and I grabbed the fluffy robe from behind the bathroom door. I brushed my teeth and by the time I was finished I heard a knock at the door.
Betrayed: Breaking the Darkness Series Book Two Page 14