by Jodi Redford
“I don’t want to hurt you, sweetness, but I can’t guarantee it won’t this first time.” He swept the hair from her eyes and kissed her softly as he settled in place.
“I won’t break.” Except my heart. Please be gentle with that. Her worried musings fled, replaced with another when he eased past her opening. The stretch was more than she’d expected, and he wasn’t even in more than an inch. There was no way in hell the whole of him would fit.
He pushed with greater determination, and she reflexively grabbed his hips, her knuckles cramping. His mouth turned coaxing upon hers, lulling her into surrender. He rocked against her, and she once again fought the intrusion into her body. His fingers lacing with hers, he nibbled at her lips. “Let me in.”
“There’s not enough room in there.”
His sigh caressed her chin. “Yes, there is. You’re just not used to this. We’ll take it slow.” Giving her fingers a reassuring squeeze, he looked into her eyes. “Ready?”
She nodded. Aligning their hips, he bore down.
“Stop.”
Sweat beading his forehead, he dutifully complied. They went about their awkward advance and retreat for what she swore had to be a dozen more times before Jerrick leaned up on his elbows. “We’re going to have to go about this a different way. Do you trust me?”
“What is it you’re intending to do?”
“Distract you with my magic.”
“How do you mean? Are you going to materialize a herd of mutant lizards? Because that might work.”
His mouth curved. “No, I had something else in mind that’s far less likely to result in us getting eaten by reptiles.”
“I like that plan.” The next instant, an intense wave of pleasure crested over her, and she arched her back from the bed, her fingers curling tightly around Jerrick’s. “Oh gaaaaaaawwwds.” She liked this plan a lot.
He thrust deeper, but this time she didn’t hinder his advance, instead wrapping her legs around him. Her teeth scraped his jaw, his woodsy musk potent on her tongue. “Keep going. Don’t you dare stop.”
He hit her with another pleasure bolt, and she surged against him, shuddering as he lodged to the hilt inside her with one smooth pump of his hips. Retreating slightly, he dragged his cockhead over the sweet spot just past her entrance, lighting a fuse to the wicked rapture he’d suspended her in. She rolled her head, the tendons in her neck straining along with her voice. “Jer.”
“Are you ready to come, baby? Because I’m going to deliver it hard.” His tone was a maddening tease that matched the persuasive rhythm of his cock stroking inside her.
Strung out on the glorious pleasure he was giving her, she squirmed beneath his weight, whimpering. “Please.”
He set his hips in motion, ceaselessly working her G-spot with his cock. Her body pulled tight, shallow panting breaths lodged in her throat. The orgasm shimmered into place, its silken threads wrapping around her nerve endings with dazzling potential.
Close. So magnificently clo—
Jerrick’s magic rocketed into her, turbo boosting her climax into the stratosphere. She screamed as she bucked against him, her cells splitting into a million molecules of pure, blissful nirvana. Shaking and sobbing, she clutched at him, riding out the storm until she thought she’d expire from the ferocity of it.
When the quakes rippled into tiny tremors, she slid her arms around Jerrick’s neck, hugging him close.
He nuzzled her mouth, his breaths ragged. “You were amazing.”
She chuckled. “Isn’t that supposed to be my line?”
Laughing along with her, he rolled onto his back and massaged the globes of her ass. He was still rock hard inside her.
Splaying her hands on the deliciously smooth curve of his pecs, she kneaded his flesh, luxuriating in the tensile strength of his muscles. “Laying down on the job already?”
“I thought I’d let you do some of the work for a while. I got all of the hard stuff out of the way.”
“Not all of it,” she said with a grin, rocking on his shaft.
A sexy growl vibrating through him, he massaged her butt and leaned up to suck on her nipple. She let him get away with that for a few seconds before she pushed him back down and began swiveling her hips. Her concerns of not being exactly coordinated dissolved into the ether as Jerrick’s gaze turned glassy and he groaned, his hands tightening on her waist. He felt so unbelievably good inside her in this position. Rubbing all of the spots precisely right.
Her hand drifted down to where they were joined. She slicked over her clit, the still-tingling nubbin immediately responding to her caress.
Another groan tore from Jerrick, and she glanced down to see him watching her pleasure herself. “Mmm, I decided to be generous and let you observe this time.”
“Goddess bless you.” His cock thickened even more inside her.
Stretching one arm behind her, she gripped his thigh just above the knee, anchoring herself as she rode him, each corkscrewing motion of her hips creating that luscious friction that drew her orgasm nearer. She chased after it, her other hand scrabbling to gain purchase on Jerrick’s opposite knee.
His thumb took over on her clit, urging her on. “That’s it, sweetness. Come all over my cock.”
She broke on a shuddering wail, his name ripped from her lips.
Before she fully came down from the rush, he flipped her onto her back. His palms sliding beneath her rump, he pulled her into the fervor of his thrusts. “Avi, gods.” His eyes fiery, he slammed into her harder. Their bodies slid together in slick harmony. There wasn’t a centimeter of him that didn’t glisten with sweat, and he even dripped on her in places when he leaned over her. She didn’t care. She loved it. Loved every blissful second of it. Of him.
The words couldn’t stay caged in her mouth. She needed to shout them to the world. “I love you.”
He didn’t answer. Didn’t say anything at all. An indecipherable emotion slipping over his strained features, he closed his eyes, an almost tortured groan that seemed to come all the way from his toes shaking from him as his body jerked. A second later he slumped onto his side, his arm tucking her tight to him.
No, it wasn’t a declaration of love by any means.
But it was a start.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Jerrick awoke to the odd sensation of a warm body snuggling against his front. Lifting his head from the pillow, he stared at the fingers of golden sunlight caressing Avi’s face. The beautiful sight of her, soft and angelic in her sleep, stirred things south of the border. Recalling their sexy escapades last night, his cock went to full mast.
She was a decadent, uninhibited treat he wanted to gobble up in one lusty bite.
Deciding that was a most excellent scenario, he inched back the sheet covering her and licked a slow path along her belly. By the time he made himself at home between her legs, she was awake and rubbing the grogginess from her eyes. “What are you doing down there?”
“If you have to ask, I’m clearly doing it wrong.” He set about rectifying that possibility with a leisurely swirl of his tongue over her clit. She wiggled, and he held her down, laughing evilly as she tried to squirm out of his grasp. Within seconds her attempts at escape morphed into restless pulls of his hair and swivels of her hips while she moaned and rode his tongue.
The way she took her pleasure from him drove him crazy. Out of his damn mind. He wanted to return the favor until she was screaming in ecstasy beneath him.
Lifting onto his knees, he scanned the bed, his gaze landing on the silk panel attached to the nearest post. That will do nicely. Leaving his cozy spot between Avi’s legs, he unbuttoned the top tab of the silk and gathered it in his hands, twisting the fabric to make it taut. He slipped one end around the crook of her left knee and wound the coiled silk several times before securing it with a firm knot.
She stared at him the entire time, her breasts quivering with her rapid breaths. “Somehow I doubt this was the decorator’s intended purpose when
fabric shopping.”
“Damn short-sighted of them.” He angled her so her head aligned with the post and pulled the improvised restraint toward the carved column, wrapping the silk behind it. The shortening length of the binding forced Avi’s trapped knee up toward her shoulder. He tied the remaining end of the panel around her right knee, resigning it to the same wicked fate as its mate, and scooted back to admire his handiwork.
A rosy flush painted Avi’s pale skin. Her wide, expressive eyes glued to him, she shivered. He stroked his cock, his attention drifting to the beautiful sight of her glistening pussy open and available to him.
Only him.
Licking his lips, he lowered his head and plowed his tongue through her sweet honey, savoring every drop.
“Jer.”
He glanced up and met the desperate pleading in her eyes. He slowed the advance of his tongue, deliberately teasing her.
“Please.”
Goddamn. He did love her begging. His index finger momentarily taking over for his tongue, he continued tormenting her clit. “You need to come, sweetness?”
A tremor coursed through her body. “Yes.”
“I’m going to give you that orgasm. Then I’m planning to fuck you. So hard and deep, you won’t be able to walk for a week.”
She shuddered. “You damn well better deliver on that promise, cocky bastard.”
That was a challenge he was prepared to deliver. Returning his mouth to her pussy, he sucked on her clit with firm, demanding pulses. She strained upward, a strangled cry ripping from her. The sound spurred him on, and he ate her like he was starved for her taste, her climax. She bucked against his mouth, her trilling wail accompanying the fierce beating of her clit under his tongue. When she went lax upon the sheets, he settled between the cradle of her restrained legs. His cock ached in his fist, anxious to fill the wet heaven it most longed for. He conjured the protective sheath and eased inside her, his breath hissing at the snug velvet fit of her.
Her drenched state aided his first thrust, and she enveloped him completely. He felt nothing but her pussy rippling around him, and it was blissful nirvana. Glancing down, he stared spellbound at the slick advance and retreat of his engorged cock. Her wetness bathed every inch of him and trickled a path to his balls. He could feel his climax building, tingling at the base of his spine. Desperate to prolong the pleasure, he slowed the pumping of his hips to a lazy bobble. His motions came with the added side benefit of allowing his cockhead to ruthlessly torment her G-spot. But soon enough he became victim to his own dirty game when she gasped, her tight little channel milking him like a fist. The pressure on his shaft and balls winning the war on his restraint, he pounded into her, sweat leaking down his spine.
The orgasm blindsided him, the ferocity of it clueing him in that he’d once again merged with the tail end of her climax. Eyes rolling back in his head, he shuddered and groaned, riding out the insane storm before he collapsed on top of her.
His own snore snapped him awake a moment later. Or maybe it was an hour. He was willing to bet on the latter, once he took in Avi’s wry expression. Recalling the state of her bound knees, he moaned an apology and quickly set about freeing her.
She grinned up at him. “Far as good mornings go, I’d say that ranks in the top ten.” Her lips twitched at his cocked eyebrow. “Fine, top two. Number-one spot is reserved for me tying you up next time.”
“Deal.” Stretching over her, he awarded her a proper kiss. Combing his fingers through her hair, he shared her breath, the cadence of her heartbeat…
And wondered what the devil he was going to do now.
He’d tied her to him. In every sense of the word. Like the selfish bastard he was, he’d given his middle finger to the curse of the goddesses because he couldn’t bear the thought of Avi with another.
The hell of it? He’d do it again in an instant. If that didn’t make him a selfish bastard, nothing would.
Avi cuddled into him, her hand resting on his shoulder. The need to protect her, hold her safe and dear, expanded inside his chest until he swore the pressure would burst through his sternum. When she nibbled his earlobe, a whole different pressure built.
She rimmed the shell of his ear. “Do you know what I’m dying to do right now?”
“Fellatio?”
She chuckled. “We just came our brains out. Surely it’s too soon for you to even think about doing it again.”
“Wrong. I’m most definitely thinking about it.” He splayed his palm on her breast, his thumb a coaxing brushstroke on her nipple.
Her breath snaked from her lungs. “I wasn’t considering a blow job.”
“No?” He ducked and kissed her nipple.
She shook her head. “What I have in mind is hot, wet and feels soooo good.”
“Sounds like a blow job to me.”
She pinched him. “I was talking about taking a shower together.”
He nodded enthusiastically. “A blow job in the shower. Distinctly what I said.”
“You’re an impossible fairy.”
Yes, but one who was about to get fellatio in the shower. Sending a silent memo to his cock to hold on to that thought, he kissed her forehead and began to roll her into his arms. He paused when he spied the corner of a tattoo near her tailbone.
“Holy hell. You have an ass tat.”
She stiffened and attempted to flop onto her back.
“No way, baby. I gotta check this out.” Avi with ink? Talk about fucking hot.
“I need to explain something before I show you the tattoo.”
Like that didn’t make him more determined to see it. “Okay, sure.”
She started to relax. Seizing his opportunity, he grinned and flipped her over.
“Jer!”
Chuckling, he dropped his gaze, prepared to witness something scandalous or embarrassing. Instead, he got an eyeful of her gorgeous ass.
And his tribe symbol.
Blinking, he traced his fingers over the intricate design that was a perfect duplicate to his own. She went deathly still beneath him.
“When did you do this?” No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t mask the thick emotion in his tone.
“Five years ago. The night before I offered you my virginity.”
The pressure built behind his sternum. He opened his mouth, but words refused to budge loose. Fingers stroking her skin, he leaned down and placed a tender kiss in the center of the design. The tension dissolved from her.
Straightening, he carried her into the bathroom. After setting her on her feet, he dialed the jets in the enormous glass-block cubicle, quickly filling the enclosed space with steam.
She slid her arms around him from behind and rubbed her cheek along his spine. The gesture was in no way meant to be erotic, but hell, all she had to do was breathe and he got an instant hard-on. She nipped his shoulder blade. “We should probably go over the plans for tonight.”
Yeah, they should. Right after he made her come another dozen times this morning.
Pivoting, he pressed her into the glass, his mouth capturing hers. His tongue delved deep, mimicking what he longed to do with his cock. He traced the lush flare of her hips, worshipping the flamboyant femininity of her before he hiked her higher on the slick block tiles. Positioning himself, he let her glide down onto his rigid shaft, her pussy enveloping him in velvet heat. Shuddering, he buried his face in her neck.
She chuckled. “What happened to the blow job?”
“This scenario sounded better.” That fact was driven home when she squeezed her inner muscles around him. Groaning, he pumped his hips. “Do that again.”
She did. Over and over until he thought he’d lose his mind courtesy of the wet heaven rippling around him.
“I can’t get enough of you.” He was inside her, but not deep enough. He wanted to crawl beneath her skin, burrow into her heat. Her heart and soul. Until she permanently banished all of the filthy darkness from his.
Tunneling his hands in her hair,
he ravaged her mouth. Hammered her with his cock. The sting of her nails digging into his back encouraged him to take her pleasure to the limits. Sinking his teeth into the tender spot beneath her ear, he sent her over the edge, his own white-hot release barreling close behind. She convulsed around him, gasping his name. With a final slam of his hips, he emptied himself inside her, his bones liquefying.
It wasn’t until he pulled out that he realized he hadn’t woven the necessary protection in place. “Bloody fuck.”
“What is it?”
Feeling like the worst kind of bastard, he met Avi’s concerned gaze. “I forgot the condom.”
She blinked. “Oh. Well…” Her dusky lashes lowering, she gnawed her kiss-swollen bottom lip. “I mean, I’m okay with it if you are.”
“Avi, I might have gotten you pregnant.”
She rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know how it works. My mother did explain the birds and the bees to me.”
Shit. She would have to bring up her mother at a time like this.
She patted his cheek. “Relax. I know for a fact that I’m not ovulating. Chances of me getting pregnant are pretty slim.”
A strange twinge of disappointment lanced him. He shook it off with a stern reminder to himself not to be any bigger of a selfish bastard than he already was. “Good. At least we don’t have that to worry about.”
Because gods knew they already had a shitload of worries on their plate.
If not for the nerve-wracking magnitude of the job ahead of them, Avily could have easily counted the day as the most blissful in history. Did it get any better than spending all morning wrapped in Jerrick’s arms, the subject of his deliciously decadent lovemaking? Not freakin’ likely. Too bad they couldn’t lounge in bed for the rest of eternity. Sighing in wistful regret, she let him hug her to his side and lead the way to the hotel elevator.
Moments later, they reached the main promenade. A delivery boy from the Glasstisserie rushed past them, wheeling a cart of savory-scented trays of food. An image of Thane’s bemused face the night before flashed through her head, and she let loose a groan. “Oh gods. Thane. I have no idea how I’m going to explain my ditching him, much less make it up to him.”