Aflame (Apotheosis)

by Daniels, Krissy

  Being a male and human, there were of course physical needs. He dealt with those just like any other warm blooded male. An active imagination, his right hand, and quality time with himself added up to a daily ritual that he sure as shit wasn’t going to miss.

  Sharing a bed with Grayce and knowing he wouldn’t touch her soft, warm skin, or taste her full pink lips had been pure torture. Hands down, the most difficult night of his life.

  As he tried and failed to wash away the torrid thoughts, a wave of fear and panic washed over him. And something else.

  Something was wrong with Grayce.

  Not bothering to dry off, he abandoned the shower and ran to the bedroom. His heart dropped to his gut, bounced around a bit, then settled somewhere near his groin. Grayce sat on her knees in the center of the bed and frantically rubbed at her arms. A deep red glow illuminated her skin.

  “Grayce?”

  With imploring eyes she begged. “Please help me.”

  “Oh shit.” A hungry growl escaped his lips. He captured her gaze, hoping to give the comfort he could so easily offer. She only stared back, eyes pleading with carnal need.

  The desire he’d washed off in the shower? Yeah, it was back, with a vengeance.

  “Please help me,” she sobbed. “Please.” She glanced down at her body then back to him, lost, helpless and terrified.

  At her side in an instant, he threw the bedding across the room. “Tell me what you need. I’m here, baby.”

  The room temperature rose. “Touch me,” she begged.

  “I know you’re scared, love,” he whispered. “I’ll be gentle. I promise.” Zander leaned forward and planted a reassuring kiss on her head. “I’ll never hurt you. You know that, right? I’ll never do anything to hurt you.” He flinched when she placed blazing hands on his heaving chest. Fuck. She was on fire.

  “Grayce, can I kiss you?”

  Through labored breaths she groaned. “You’re asking my permission? Now is not the time to be a gentleman.”

  Now was exactly the time to be a gentleman. This needed to be right. She needed to know she had complete control. “May I touch you?”

  “Please.” Grayce’s tormented plea battered his spirit. Hell, it damn near gutted him. This wasn’t the way he’d imagined their first time playing out. With her past, he had been certain it’d be a long time coming. There were spiritual, heavenly forces at work, urging them to come together. It was more than physical. The need to be inside her, to claim her in the most primal way, surged through his body and soul like a tsunami. Even if he’d wanted to, he was powerless to stop the inevitable joining of their bodies.

  Blood filled his sex with ferocious heat. At first, he claimed her lips with tender nudges. The kiss turned into a fevered assault the moment she reciprocated. With unrelenting urgency, he deepened his exploration, cupped the back of her head and urged her to lay back. She trembled under his touch, whimpered when he trailed his free hand down the front of her shirt, groaned when he brushed a finger across the top of her panties.

  Reaching under her shirt, he rubbed his fingers across her abdomen, making his way over heated skin to her breasts. She was so much softer than he’d imagined. Her breasts were full and as they heaved with her gasps, he marveled at how perfectly they molded in his hands.

  “Is this what you need?” He brushed the pad of his thumb over a taught nipple, her moan an assurance he was headed in the right direction. With little effort, he tore her shirt right down the middle, exposing her naked, scarred and glowing body. Pink, pebbled peaks greeted him with promises of fleshly delight. He had to taste them. When he brushed his tongue against one hard nub, she nearly bucked off the bed, so he continued, exploring every inch of her breasts with his mouth. The unrelenting flow of blood had his cock crying for mercy. When she arched her back and held his head to her chest, he damned near lost his composure.

  Satisfied he had properly tended to her breasts, Zander wandered lower, savoring her flavor with each kiss, each nip of desire-basted skin. He paused and lightly traced his fingers across the largest battle wound she wore. It started underneath her left breast, stretched in a jagged arch across her stomach and landed a finger’s width from her right hip. Goosebumps popped across her skin as he studied her with eyes and touch. He stopped to watch a single tear trickle down her cheek.

  “I wasn’t there to protect you.” With a final kiss to her hip, he positioned himself lower. “You have my word. I’ll be there every fucking day for the rest of your life.” His breaths came deep and ragged as he slid her panties down around inviting hips, past lean trembling thighs, and swept them from her feet. Nestled between her legs, his erection strained hard and heavy toward the only place it was ever meant to be. Home. He couldn’t help but drink in her naked body. So voluptuous for such a small frame. So perfect. All his.

  “I can’t believe how beautiful you are.”

  Grayce blinked away another tear and reached up to him. Zander leaned over, hands fisted on the bed. The red glow spread, enveloped them both in its warmth. Grayce’s hazel eyes burned with hunger.

  “Please, I need you now.” Fingers curled around his neck. She drew him down for a hard kiss, expressing just how carnal her need. God, he needed her too. His body was coiled so tight he thought he might snap. Blood pounded through his ears in a thunderous roar. The tip of his erection found her plush folds. As he eased into her heated flesh, she flexed her hips to meet him. With ardent grace, she wrapped her legs around his thighs in attempt to force his entry.

  “Slow down, love,” he panted. “I don’t want to hurt you.” It was impossible to hurt her physically, but since this was his first time with her or any woman, Zander didn’t want to explode before satiating her completely.

  “Zander!” Desperate pleas shredded his sanity. “It hurts already. Can’t you feel me burning alive?” With a shift of his hips, he delved further. Silky. Tight. So fucking warm. Full breasts bounced and teased as she arched and clawed at his back.

  “Oh hell.” Wits completely unraveled by her need, he thrust deep and hard. She took every inch and bit back a scream. “Fuck, Grayce. You’re on fire.” He took pause, allowing their bodies to acclimate to one another, stealing time to get emotions under control. He wanted to revel in the moment, commit it to memory—her glow, her smell, the way her sex enveloped his, the way their bodies fit together, a seamless knitting of flesh. Face buried in his chest, she whispered something inaudible and tightened her embrace. Teeth gritted, he withdrew and slammed into her again.

  “More,” she cried. “Please, more.” Nature guided his movement. In. Out. In. Out. She met him thrust for thrust. Each time he impaled her, he claimed victory over the war with the dark and lonely days of his past. Each sheathing, a claim to his throne. He continued again and again, each time burying himself deeper. God, he couldn’t believe how lucky he was. He’d never felt so empowered. It was worth the countless years spent frustrated and angry. Zander fisted the sheets on either side of her head and buried his face in the mattress next to hers.

  “My sweet, sweet Grayce.” Needing to be deeper, he wrapped an arm around her waist, pulled her hips tighter to his, then lifted his head to find her eyes. She gazed through heavy lids then tossed her head back into the mattress. Back arched, her sex convulsed with violent spasms around his erection, pulling and pulsing, taunting him to the point of painful ecstasy. “Grayce. Oh fuck...I...” He struggled for breath, and with one final desperate thrust, exploded inside of her with savage tremors.

  His release was excruciating, exhilarating and exhausting all at once. As he pumped in and out of slick, heated flesh, he feared it would never end, he’d continue exploding and filling her to the brim. Grayce clung to him with desperate unrelenting convulsions. Her orgasm was every bit as overwhelming as his. And damned if that didn’t make him the happiest man on the planet.

  5

  Blinking sleepy eyes open, Grayce was, for a fleeting moment, in a state of complete bliss, an emotion both
foreign and elusive. The moon flashed a bright smile through the open window, illuminating the dark room with milky rays of light. Zander clung like a protective shield. How she wasn’t crushed under his massive weight was a question only briefly entertained.

  The grumbling that vibrated her midsection reminded her it’d been hours since her last meal. Attempts at wiggling free of her Z blanket only caused him to hold tighter.

  “Mmm,” he purred, “you’re hungry.” How did he know? Should mind reading be added to the growing list of weird?

  “Hungry is the understatement of the year,” she grumbled, still unable to move. If her bladder weren’t about to burst, she’d consider staying like that all day. She tapped his arm locked in a tight vice around her chest. “Let me up.”

  “No. Do I have to?” he asked with a pout. Pouting from a man would, under most circumstances, be a major turn off, especially a man of Zander’s stature. However, the resonance of his voice, combined with the sensation of his warm powerful body against hers, had the opposite effect. “I’m not ready to let go yet.”

  “Please. I need to use the bathroom.” She wiggled about, trying to worm her way under his arm. “You’ll be sorry in about ten seconds if you don’t let me go,” she warned in a vain attempt to sound agitated.

  He rolled off and stretched underneath the comforter. Clasping his hands behind his head he watched with an amused grin as she wrestled free of the bedding. “You are so fucking sexy.”

  Grayce had no idea where her clothes were, but oddly, she didn’t feel modest. Was it the mind blowing sex? Maybe it was because with him, she felt absolutely safe. Perhaps she was dreaming. If that were the case, she’d have to remember to send a thank you note to Mr. Sandman.

  She decided to take a quick shower while in there. When she returned from the bathroom, buffed and shined, Zander stood by the bed dressed in perfectly worn out jeans that did nothing to hide the muscled sculpture of his thighs and a white, fitted cotton tee. It hugged him so tight, it could’ve been body paint.

  “Come here.” With a firm pat of the mattress, he gestured for her to sit next to clothing folded neatly on the bed. Tilting her head she raised an angry eyebrow. “Please.” He smiled.

  Grayce obliged. He unfolded a yellow cotton sundress he must’ve grabbed from her apartment. Her favorite lazy day outfit. “Lift your arms.” Deep dimples made a playful appearance. “Please.”

  With surprising skill, he lowered the garment down her midsection. Ecstatic waves of pleasure pulsed through her as his fingers traced seductively down her sides.

  “You disintegrated your bra. We’ll have to get you another one. Or not.” He reached around, grabbed her panties, knelt down and lifted first her left foot and then her right. His thumbs caressed her skin as he slid the garment up her calves.

  “Stand up.” He groaned. Her insides clenched with his carnal show of want. Grayce stood while he slid her panties up her thighs and over her rear. After straightening them, his hands drifted sensually to her stomach. His finger left a trail of blazing skin as he traced the length of her scar. Wrapping his arms around her waist, he hugged, pressing his nose against her abdomen. An intimate act that bordered sensory overload. With jaw clenched, she fought the impulse to recoil, forced leaded arms around his head and hugged him back. Her stomach grumbled, protesting its neglected state.

  “Well, my little firecracker, we better get you some food.” Zander released his hold, scooped Grayce into his arms and whisked her down a long wide hallway. The vestibule brought to mind images Grayce had conjured as a child on the rare occasion her mother read a story about the prince who rescued a princess from an evil queen. Deep burgundy walls were adorned with large cast iron mirrors and sconces that lined either side. Dark wood floors held a mirrored shine and not a speck of dust or lint could be detected. Grayce smacked his arm. “Put me down. I can walk.” With his large strides, they were already halfway down the corridor.

  “But this is more fun.”

  Anger welled like a raging flood. Bad enough he dressed her like a child, now he had the nerve to carry her too? “Dammit. Put me down.” She shouldn’t have raised her voice, but her temper was so volatile, there was little time to register the mood change, let alone filter her verbal response. The rate at which she shifted from content to turbulent left a disconcerting knot in her gut.

  He dropped her feet and they swung mere inches from the floor. Cradled in his other arm, she punched at his chest. “Show off. Fucking put me down, now,” she commanded through clenched teeth. Her skin heated with rapid force. Zander felt it too. His expression changed from playful to regretful in a blink. When he dropped her, the floor seared her bare feet like hot coals.

  Grayce looked up into captivating blue eyes. “Thank you,” she said, sugarcoating her words. To assure him rejection hadn’t been her intent, she hooked his elbow and gave him a bump with her hip. Zander sighed deeply and slowed his pace so she could keep up with his strides. “Is this a heated floor?” she asked.

  He snorted. “No baby, that’s you. If we don’t tame this temper of yours, we’ll have to fireproof the entire estate.”

  * * * *

  The walk to the dining room was an exercise in patience as well as self restraint. Patience on Zander’s part, self restraint on Grayce’s. Holy fuck. Each chamber they passed was larger than the last, each hall lined with countless doors. Grayce wanted to sprint into each room and spin like a school girl then bellow into the vast space to test for an echo.

  Never had she seen, let alone imagined, a home so enormous and full of wide open space. Zander watched with a pleased grin as she explored, opened doors and peered through windows. If hunger pains hadn’t been raking her insides she would’ve insisted he gave her a full tour.

  Grayce was ravenous by the time they reached the dining room. Platters of food covered most of the ornate wood table that stretched the entire length of the room. The aroma made her stomach twist and growl. Zander pulled out a chair and kissed the top of her head as she sat. Electric currents danced across her scalp.

  “This isn’t all for us, is it?” Grayce practically drooled on herself. Damn she was hungry.

  “I don’t know what you like, so I asked Chelsea to make a little of everything.” Nonchalant and clueless to the bomb he just dropped, Zander started to fill his plate. No big deal. Another woman in the house. Just Chelsea.

  “Chelsea?” A strange feeling poked and prodded the back of Grayce’s mind. Jealousy? No, couldn’t be. For some odd reason, she wasn’t so hungry anymore.

  “She’s Doctor Compton’s soul ma—er, wife.” He smiled down and handed her a plate. “The woman loves to cook. What do you wanna start with?”

  Wife. Muscles relaxed. Fingers unclenched. “A little bit of everything please.”

  They ate in silence. Zander was big, gargantuan even, but Grayce was still shocked by how much food the man put down. She’d filled her plate twice and felt like a boulder had taken up residence in her stomach. Zander worked on helping number four and showed no signs of slowing his pace. Unable to take another bite, she decided to break the silence.

  “Why is this table so big? How many people live here?” she asked.

  Zander held up a finger while he finished chewing. With aristocratic elegance, he wiped his mouth and hands with a linen napkin, then, after a crisp fold, laid it next to his fork. “Nikolas and Chelsea live here with me—I mean, us. They have their own wing but we share the kitchen.” His hand slid from the arm of his chair to her thigh. Heat charged her skin on contact.

  “You said us.” Grayce voiced dryly to him.

  “Yes I did.” The perplexed expression in his eyes irritated her, like he expected her to accept his word with no questions or concerns.

  “This isn’t my home. I don’t live here.” She shook her head at him. Grayce never had a real home. Her apartment was the first place she’d called her own. She’d never been fool enough to believe it wasn’t temporary. Before that, it was one
crappy hotel room after another. Always on the move, always looking over her shoulder. One step ahead of the monster. “You said the same thing earlier, about this being my home now.”

  “Grayce.” He scooted his chair, turned it toward her and rested his elbows on his knees. “I know you don’t understand, not yet. But this...” He waved his hand, presenting the kitchen to her. “I built this for you. I knew you’d be coming soon.”

  “How did you know?” Oh, this ought to be good. Her skin tingled with annoyance.

  Zander reached between Grayce’s legs, grabbed her chair and scooted her close, bringing them nose to nose. “I searched the planet multiple times trying to find you. Gradually, the pull became stronger. I knew you were close, but had a hard time pinning you down. It was so fucking frustrating. At first I thought something was wrong with me. Nikolas explained that perhaps I couldn’t zero in on you because you were on the move. We joked about you being in the circus or some traveling show. I passed through this area many times. Our connection was always strongest here. I felt you getting closer, so I built this home.”

  “So you’re saying this was built for me?” She looked around. “All of this?” She glanced back to his serene face. A pool of liquid warmth formed between her thighs. Shit. Betrayed again. By her own blood and bones.

  “Yes. I know it must sound crazy. You have to know I’m one hundred percent sincere. I couldn’t lie to you even if I wanted to.”

  Ha! Couldn’t lie. What man didn’t lie, or do everything in his power to deceive the women in his life? No man she’d ever known.

  “I’d been out of town for several weeks on business. When I returned, a shift had taken place, not just in me, but around me. I sensed you. I followed the energy and it led me to the gym. Every cell in my body vibrated when I stepped inside. I zeroed-in on you, tried to make eye contact, but you avoided me at all costs, like you were afraid. So, I didn’t push. Nikolas warned me to take it slow. God, it was fucking torture.” He searched her eyes, she had no reaction to offer. “Anyway, you know what happens next.”