by Brea Viragh
“Let yourself go. Stop overthinking.”
Her heart leapt when he changed the tone of their kiss. It went from gentleness to a raging beat. Nasira floated back to the memory of their first time together. The fire of their coupling until she felt like she would never be able to catch her breath. The image in her mind blurred with the reality in front of her and she had to wonder at the depth of her feelings.
How miraculous it was that they had ended up back where they started. She was hopeless to resist him. The familiarity of his body drew her until she wrapped her arms around his neck and felt the press of his muscles against her chest. The years only made him harder. Stronger. He was broad at the shoulder, with lean hips, big hands, and a solid weight. So much the same as the last time.
She’d missed him. A terrible aching loneliness no one had been able to fill. Her body responding to his eagerly. No one else had ever managed to come close to making her feel this way. No one except Brock. She’d missed running her fingers along his shoulders and the rush of pleasure when he responded with a groan.
The old rhythm beckoned her and she eased back. To catch her breath. To look at him.
“What?” Brock searched her face for some sign of hesitation. “Was it something I ate?”
She shook her head. “I’m not allowed to look at you?”
“No, of course you are. I like it when you look at me.”
She pushed his shirt aside, took her time skimming her fingers over his exposed skin. Loving the way goosebumps rose in their wake. “I didn’t want to want you. I hope you understand I fought tooth and nail to protect myself from the pain. Who we were and who we are…I didn’t want them to be in the same stratosphere. I wanted to be strong enough to say goodbye to you for good.”
“Trust me, I understand how you feel. Just as I want you to know, I’m not going anywhere without you.” He never took his eyes off of hers. While she caressed him, he lifted his own hand to trail trembling fingers over the thin material covering her breasts. “Wherever I go in this life, I want you with me. Next to me. I hope you don’t mind my daughter.”
Nasira felt her eyes tear up. “If she’ll have me, too.” She shivered when his fingers brushed her nipples.
“She—” Brock punctuated the word with a kiss. “Will love you. Now can we please not talk about my daughter before we have sex?” He drew her up and slipped the shirt off her shoulders.
“Always so logical.” Nasira stroked her hands up and down the planes of his back. “One of the many things about you that appeals to me.”
Sweat gathered on his forehead and he fought against his own inner monologue, those dark thoughts urging him to take her right then and there. Like an animal. “Stop being so chatty,” he admonished instead. “I’ll start to think you’re stalling.”
She opened her mouth to say something and he kissed her roughly. His fingers reached around to unclasp her bra, nudging the straps down.
She wanted the quick flash of need and opened herself up to it. She didn’t want to think about anything else. Only what they brought to each other here. Now. She tangled her fingers in his hair and fisted there to draw him down to her. Swipe her tongue through his mouth before trailing lower to his throat.
Her small hands shoved against his chest in a halfhearted attempt to push him back when they both knew it was foreplay. A way to toy with him, to goad him into wanting her more. Fingernails scraped skin and brought blood to the surface. Her mouth fused to his.
She gave into the restless energy prowling inside of her. Her fire, her spark. She wanted to devour him without hesitation. She was never prone to anything that came too easily. The moment deserved to last. So she had to struggle against the desires of her body urging her to hurry. And refused to run when he deserved a stroll. Even if it drove them both mad.
The spark in her belly became a raging heat which she channeled into the kiss. Her hands rushed over him and forced his shirt over his head. Onto the floor where it belonged. She trembled and, with a pause, noted he did so as well.
Brock groaned. She felt good underneath him, better than in his wildest remembering. Nasira was soft heat with an iron core. The soft moans coming from her chest egged him on and he tried to tell himself to slow down.
Her body was a pleasure to him. He took a moment to appreciate the shape of her. The texture of her golden skin and, when it came down to it, her eagerness. She’d never shied away from sex. It was their adventure together.
His heart thundered under his rips when he bent to purse his lips around her nipple.
Another swipe of his tongue and she shivered. She retaliated with a scrape of her teeth along his collarbone. A silent urging for him to take more. To take whatever he wanted and know she planned to do the same.
Approval purred in her throat when Brock scraped his nails down her belly. Her blood burned.
He knew exactly what to do. What to touch to have her wiggling and demanding more. Yet he held back, pushed her to the edge and toyed with her.
“Brock, stop playing with me.”
“I haven’t had my fill of you, yet. We have time. I want to savor you. No rush. ” His breath tore out of his lungs and he pinned her arms. Continued to fuel the flames with his mouth.
No matter what she did or said, he would never want her more than he did right then. Like if he didn’t have her he would cease to exist.
He took a moment to unbuckle his jeans.
“You feel wonderful,” he told her on a breath.
Nasira grit her teeth and drew him down closer. Her legs wrapped around his hips. Brock shoved his pants the rest of the way off and within seconds hers went the way of his, revealing a white thong standing out against the richness of her skin.
He needed all of her. Her lavish body and staggering intelligence and the part of her heart she kept locked away. The part he’d lost because he hadn’t been stubborn enough to stand up to her the first time. Call him selfish, but he wanted more than her desire.
Trust, he thought hazily. He needed her trust. Already he noticed a glimpse of the affection they’d once had for each other.
He wanted back what they’d both given up. He released her hands to hold her against him as they rolled over the bed.
Nasira ended up on her back and Brock pushed her legs apart for access. He thanked god for the thong. His mouth watered at the side. Still, it had to go. He nipped his way down to her core. The tiny barrier of white lace posed little threat and he took care of it with ease.
Breathing her in only worsened the condition in his loins. His erection hardened to the point of pain. His tongue slid inside of her and he felt the muscles of her core twitch.
“Holy shit!” Nasira cried out, gripping his hair in her fist.
He concentrated on her, the nooks and crannies he remembered from days past. She was still as sweet, as wet and ready as she’d ever been. Brock used his hands to bring her even closer, his fingers digging into her rear and hips to bring her closer.
“I’ve dreamed about tasting you again.” He scraped his teeth along her sensitive folds. “Sometimes it haunted me in the night, kept me from sleeping.”
“Stop talking.”
He continued to torment her until each nerve stood to attention. With a last-minute angle change, Brock flexed his muscles and took her to new heights.
And he knew, when her body went limp, she’d given him the last piece of her he needed. Her submission. “Nasira.”
She cried out, sobbing his name and crushing his face between her thighs when her body erupted. Wave after wave of pleasure coursed through her. She felt her heart pounding against her ribcage and the yielding only a good orgasm could bring.
That alone was arousing. Brock always knew exactly what to do to get her off. She’d never known a man who could bring her to the brink with only his mouth and tongue. Now she wanted those hands, her bones and muscles melting under his ministrations.
When Brock rose to his hands and knees, his arms felt h
eavy. It took effort to lift them and slip off his underwear. Baring himself to her, their mouths met again and there was fire in his touch.
He shivered in anticipation when her tongue lightly trailed along the side of his neck. “Are you ready?” The words were torn from his throat and he fought for breath, desperate to have her.
It was like jumping into a furnace, he mused. It was easy to see how he’d been consumed by her once upon a time. How he’d craved more and more until she was all he could think about.
Her skin was damp. Brock felt his pulse in every part of his body. He poised above her, waiting until she gave the final say so.
With a great heave, he pistoned forward and slid into her until his pelvic ground to a halt on hers. When her eyes, dark and heavy, blinked open and stared up into his. It was coming home. Better than anything else. Coming home and discovering the good things you left behind were still there, but better. Truer. Stronger. Impossibly moved, he linked his fingers with hers, and gripped her tight, pushing her down into the mattress. Nasira accepted and arched her back to press closer. Lifted her hips.
“Brock.”
The sweetness of his name on her lips brought an ache to his throat as pleasure built on top of pleasure.
Then she cried out and squeezed his fingers, face flushed and the lovely line of her throat bared for him. “Yes, yes!”
He took her with long, hard thrusts. She gripped his hips and moved with him to match each movement.
His focus narrowed on her, the dark spread of her hair and the blush of her lips. She was perfect. “I’m close,” he warned her, perilously close to the finale.
She rubbed her cheek against his chest. “Then do it.”
The one and only time he would not mind acquiescing to her demand. With a heave, Brock let himself release, his legs tangled with hers and her arm wrapped around his neck.
CHAPTER 20
Two days to the eclipse…
Nasira woke from a dream where the world burned under an endless and blistering fire. She expected the nightmares, she realized, wiping the sweat from her brow. She expected to be tested again and again. She fingered the stone Astix had given her and knew it kept the worst of The One Who Walks in Darkness’s games at bay.
It was more than she could ask for.
Her eyes fell on the sistrum rattle and wondered if it helped having it close by. It couldn’t hurt, she knew that much. Although from what she understood, the last time there had been no veil separating the two realities, people died. They didn’t call it the Dark Ages for nothing. Cecilia and Vane’s last act had been to sacrifice themselves for the good of their people, their community. Their son.
Nasira seriously hoped she wouldn’t have to do the same this time around.
She thought about the story again, how Morgan had told her the history and whatever information he had on the subject. She wondered about the choices and mistakes of her ancestors. And fate. She thought about fate a lot and tried to keep things clear in her head.
After a few more hours of halfway decent sleep, she stirred and sat up, drawing the blanket to her chest. And saw Brock sitting in the chair across the room.
“Go back to sleep,” he said softly, glancing over. “You need every bit of it you can get. The next two days are going to be rough.”
Her face warmed. “What are you doing? How long have you been watching me?”
“I wasn’t watching you. Much. I tried to call home and talk to my kid but no one answered. I think I’ve been speed dialing for the last five minutes. I must have called twenty times.” Brock stared down at the phone as though by sheer will alone he could make the party on the other end answer. “I’m not sure what’s going on.”
“Try again later. I’m sure they’ll pick up.” Nasira felt like she’d slept like the dead. “I’m hungry.”
“Denver omelet?”
“You remember.”
“I think you ate a million of them in high school. Any time you were stressed or happy or horny. If you’re in the mood for one it means I did my job well.”
“I told you not to bring it up.” She leaned back.
“I’m lulling you into a false sense of complacency by playing on your good memories of the past,” Brock said.
“Why? Are you afraid that since it’s morning I’ll see the error of my ways? Realize sleeping with you was a mistake and cut you out of my life again?”
“If you had more spine and less heart then you might. I’m glad you didn’t. I know you won’t today either.”
“Well, the time to run is done. I either have to face what I feel for you and forgive myself or turn away from it all. I’m not ready to give you up, Brock.” Her mouth quirked and she stifled a yawn. “I won’t waver again, because any moment of weakness could cost us.”
“If I didn’t know any better I’d say you feel guilty for letting me suffer this long.”
She hurled a pillow at him in lieu of an answer.
Brock crossed his ankles and let his elbows rest on his knees. “We have days left, Naz. That’s it. Then everything is going to change.”
Her expression hardened. “I won’t let it.”
“It’s quiet out there,” Brock said, turning to face the street. “Like a normal morning. The school bus came and carted a load of kids to school. You would hardly think something huge is coming. Two days,” he repeated. “And what do we do when it’s done?”
“I won’t walk, if that’s what you’re thinking. It won’t be like last time, where the ultimatum stands and, if one of us goes, we never see the other again. Come over here and hold me,” she demanded. Unwilling to continue the conversation further.
He did as she asked and rose out of his seat. Moved to the bed. Drew her against him until her head rested on his chest.
“Tell me how you feel about me, Naz. Before the day starts and we lose this time together.”
“You know how I feel. How I’ve always felt.” She turned her lips up to meet his. If they were destined to make it through the eclipse, then she accepted it. If they were destined to die? Then she couldn’t live without tasting him again.
Brock’s eyes gleamed and stayed locked with hers as she straddled him. Bending to kiss him again and letting her hair fall to curtain them.
When their lovemaking took the breath from their bodies and brought sweat to his brow, Brock rose and moved to the windows again. He looked out on the quiet street in the sleepy town. Dawn came and with it the certainty that their time ticked down to the finish line. He thought about Callie and his heart squeezed.
Nasira wasn’t the only one who felt the weight. Brock knew, if they failed, his daughter wasn’t safe. It brought an edge to their remaining time. He’d come for Nasira, and he stayed for her, to protect her. There was work to be done and months of preparation they’d have to condense into days.
“Time to get up, I imagine.” Nasira forced herself out of bed. Brock remained motionless at the window.
She left him to his musings, knowing there were too many things going on inside of him for her to push. For most of the rest of the day, she worked with Astix and Aisanna. Gathering the necessary ingredients for spells of protection and healing. Charming stone and wood and crystal in preparation. Every hour or so Karsia would come into the dining room and gather what they’d done, storing them in the den with Morgan’s book collection.
“Who knew magic was this tedious?” Astix said after lunch came and went. “This is the worst.”
“If one of us were proficient in battle magic, then this would be a different story,” Nasira ventured.
Astix turned to her and noticed the deepening shadows under her eyes, skin pale and drawn. “I know this isn’t what you’re used to. Do you want to stop for a little bit? Maybe get some air?”
Nasira shook her head. “If we stop then it will never get done. And we’ll be unprepared.”
“Hate being the last one to class, huh?”
“I like to show up twenty minutes early
to make sure I know what’s going on.”
“That’s good. You have fire inside of you. You’ll need it.”
“Are you…scared?” Nasira asked, gathering a handful of rosemary and using a mortar and pestle and grind the stems into powder.
“Should I be?”
“I don’t know. It seems like an awful lot of responsibility for someone who said she hasn’t been a part of the family for twelve years.”
It was Astix she felt drawn to, more than the others. They were the same in many ways.
Astix kept her eyes on the shards of amethyst in front of her. “If I give in to the fear, then it will take me. I decided when I accepted my gifts that I was done giving in to it. It made me weak and I’m not weak. Not anymore.”
“I doubt you’ve ever been weak,” Nasira replied.
“I don’t know. Do you believe the things you tell yourself late at night?”
“Sometimes I do. Then I wake up in the morning and realize I’m an independent woman who isn’t built to give into bullshit. It’s been a bit of a topsy turvy ride since I’ve been here, but—”
“You feel like you’re back on your feet,” Astix finished for her. “At the end of the tightrope.”
“Yes.”
“I like your serious voice. It’s like you decided you were going to take this bitch down singlehandedly. Very nice.”
“Not so far from the truth.”
Astix nodded. “I think,” she said slowly, “when it comes down to the wire, we realize we don’t have a choice. This might not have been our fight to begin with, but it’s become our fight to end. I know I want to see this through. I can’t walk away from this. You can’t either. I guess you could say my skin is a little thicker these days. You look tired.”
“I’ll manage. This is pushing closer and closer and there’s no holding it back. Which means I need to be prepared for blood. At first, I wondered why we are doing this alone. Why it’s for us to finish. But I know. It’s not for others. And we’re strong enough.”