by Mardi Ballou
Jade’s eyes grew wide as Gabe continued his tirade. She’d never seen him this worked up, and his emotional storm had her gut twisting in distress. She needed to stop him, now. “Gabe, calm down. And, please, don’t make such threats.”
Gabe looked at her as if she’d slapped him or poured an undeserved bucket of cold water over his head.
Alex perched at the end of the couch. “I know things are moving quickly, but that’s within the nature of prophecies coming true. Once the forces of destiny are unleashed, advancement toward them can come quickly.” He spoke softly, his voice and manner an unfortunate contrast with Gabe, whose face was quite red from his elevated emotions.
“Gabe,” she said as serenely as she could under the circumstances, “I think we should listen to Alex.”
Gabe backed away from her, but she continued. “We’re partners, so I’d never proceed without you. But I’m finding something new, something unexpected, in my writing, and I can’t help feeling it’s due to his influence.”
“I want to hear about that,” Alex said.
She felt he deserved to hear what he’d helped inspire, but Jade suddenly felt the tiniest bit disloyal in the face of Gabe’s unhappiness.
“I want to tell you,” she admitted to Alex. “But I’m not going to do anything until Gabe’s okay with it.”
For the first time since the conversation began, Gabe appeared to relax slightly. Jade looked at him, hoping her wordless communication with him conveyed her reassurances of her love. Despite her very strong attraction to Alex, Jade felt her loyalty to Gabe was stronger than ever. Before she did another thing, she wanted her lover to be positive of that.
Alex bowed his head slightly. “I respect that, Jade. The strength of your bond with each other is very impressive. It also makes me more confident you’re the right ones for me to be with, and that I’ve come to the correct place and time.”
“The correct place and time? A bit melodramatic and touchy-feely, aren’t you?” Though Gabe’s words were harsh, he said them with less venom than he’d expressed earlier.
Jade, a confirmed optimist, saw a glimmer of hope in Gabe’s words. “I’m going to try to explain to both of you what the earthquake meant to me. In your words, Gabe, this may sound ‘melodramatic’ and ‘touchy-feely’. Also probably delusional. But, you see, while I blacked out or whatever, I truly believe I came into contact with Aphrodite. Venus. The goddess of love. And I felt that I became her.”
Gabe’s brow shot up, and his face crumpled with distress. Alex, on the other hand, nodded as if he hadn’t just heard something extraordinary.
Jade rose from her place at the desk. The screen saver was a romantic tableau of hearts and roses that would delight Aphrodite, who definitely combined the sentimental with the sensuous in her romantic nature.
Though she was still dressed in her twenty-first-century garb, Jade had taken on the glow and allure of Aphrodite like a mantle. Alex, a confirmed worshipper of the goddess of love, took Jade’s hand and lowered his lips to pay homage. Gabe stood scowling at their elbows.
Then Jade took them both in her arms for a group hug that started affectionately and quickly grew quite warm. Alex sensed the breaking up of something dammed and rigidly held in Gabe. Suddenly his aura went from pinched and miserable gray to expansive and passionate gold.
“I love what there is between the two of you as well as what each of you feels for me and what I feel for you,” Jade pronounced.
Gabe moaned, and Alex sensed the other man’s relief, as if he’d just let down a huge burden.
For himself, for just the moment, Alex basked in the love Jade favored him with. She truly was a goddess. The Tarot had steered him correctly.
“When you two make love with each other, you’ll also make love with me.” Jade looked from Gabe to Alex, and her meaning was crystal clear. Gabe swallowed hard, and Alex could feel the growing fervor of the other man’s desire. Always eager to worship Aphrodite, Alex reached his hand out to Gabe.
But Gabe turned away in a huff. After all the progress, all the closeness they’d felt together in the magical interlude, Gabe shook his head. The fierce attraction between them was evidently not strong enough to draw Gabe fully in—yet.
Alex could see his own disappointment mirrored on Jade’s beautiful, expressive face. As Gabe distanced himself from them both, the residual effects of their earlier lovemaking seemed to recede like a wave moving out from shore.
Jade looked beseechingly at Alex, as if to ask him what to do next. Gabe had busied himself at his own computer.
“What are you doing, Gabe?” Jade asked.
He shrugged. “Following your lead, I figured I should also write down my emotions about this morning, while they’re still fresh. Not that I agree with you two that there’s any great significance to what’s gone on, but you never know what might come in handy down the line.” He wrote some more, then glared at both of them. “I still intend to get some of our real work done today, Jade. We promised our editor the edits by tomorrow, which means we’ve got to put in a very long day, maybe an all-nighter.”
Alex reluctantly took the cue. “Seeing as you’re on deadline for edits, maybe we should postpone the rest of our conversation until you’ve got them done.”
“Sounds like the best idea you’ve had since you barged into our lives, Rapsos.” Gabe was typing very fast and pounding the keys as if they’d done him personal injury.
“I would like to talk about my ideas and reactions with you both soon.” Jade’s voice sounded wistful, but Alex could sense her priority now was to placate her partner. And he did understand the motivational power of a deadline.
While he was thinking of a way to effect a graceful exit, his cell rang, further breaking the mood. As he’d given his number to very few people and whatever calls came in needed immediate attention, Alex excused himself to take the call.
The cleaners he’d summoned to put his apartment back to rights had questions, the tone of which made him realize they might discard things that had great personal value to him. In Greek, he instructed them not to discard a single thing without his approval. He realized he needed to be onsite to ensure there was no confusion.
“A matter that requires my attention. I need to go back to my place.”
“Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” From the tone of Gabe’s voice and the expression on his face, Alex figured he could expect any such call sometime after Hades turned into an ice-skating rink. But he also sensed Jade would work on Gabe, help him grapple with his new feelings. Maybe retreat now was the strategically wise move.
He nodded to Gabe. “Jade, thank you. I’ll go now, we’ll talk later.” She hugged him, and, for just a moment, he felt the spark of mutual electricity that had lit them up before.
But he really had to get going.
“I thought he’d never leave.”
Jade had never before seen Gabe look so angry, so messed up and so bruised.
She went over and put her arms around him. “What is it, Gabe? Why is he getting to you so badly?”
He looked at her as if he thought she’d lost her mind. “Are you kidding, Jade? In addition to the fact that he’s intrusive and out of bounds, he’s messed up our writing schedule. Nothing’s been right since we let him into our lives.”
“It’s not like this is the first time we’ve been off-schedule,” Jade pointed out. “And our deadline’s not until next week.” She nuzzled him, trying with her touch to defuse his strong emotions. After several minutes, she admitted to herself that she wasn’t making much progress. Though Gabe was a dedicated professional, usually he took a more laissez-faire attitude to how they used their time. And he didn’t usually lie about their having a deadline. But he was so uptight, she felt like the tension was rolling off him in waves she could practically touch.
He snorted. “We’re so far behind, the deadline might as well be tomorrow, Jade. Heck, you’re usually the one who’s determined to keep us on track, but this g
uy has you losing track of what’s important. Don’t you see he’s poison for us?”
“He’s different. Sometimes it’s good to get shaken up, the way Alex is doing to us. Otherwise, you can get stale and complacent.”
“I don’t think we’re in any danger of that happening. Look, I want him to stay away. Let’s just tell him outright we’re not interested in whatever he’s peddling.” Gabe’s jaw was clenched so tight, he looked ready to snap.
She didn’t at all agree about Alex. Since he’d arrived on the scene, she’d begun to feel energized, newly inspired. Not to mention, she felt a special tenderness for him, and that, strangely, made her feel more intensely in love with Gabe than ever. She shook her head. “So much has gone on today. I think we’re in a strange place and really shouldn’t make any major decisions right now.”
“So you’re saying we shouldn’t show Rapsos the door yet? Why?”
Jade hated being confrontational with her love, and she really couldn’t find the words she needed now. “Why don’t you talk about Alex, tell me why you’re so dead set against letting him have his say? I’ve never before seen you take such a strong dislike to anyone.”
Gabe broke away from her, stood up and began to pace. “Why can’t you just let me veto his being with us with no explanation? Can’t you see this is important to me?”
Much as she adored Gabe, Jade felt Alex’s further presence with them was too important for her to capitulate unless he provided a much more compelling reason than he had so far. “To me having him with us for now is important, but I’m more than willing to listen to what’s bothering you. Gabe, spill. Tell me what’s going on in that head of yours.”
After weighing his response for several moments, Gabe seemed to come to a decision. He took her hand, grabbing on to her as if she were a lifeline and he’d gone under three times already.
Jade, realizing that the bedroom was not going to be the most conducive place for them to talk, resisted. He turned and wordlessly pleaded with her to follow him. She’d never before seen Gabe look so nakedly needy. Of course, she followed him. But before he could lead her to their bed, she stopped him. “I know we have a lot to talk about, but I need to take a shower first.”
He grimaced. “Good idea. Let’s wash off everything that’s happened together and start off again, clean.”
“No, it’s not that. I want us both to shower together, but not as a way to deny any of this morning. Let’s be together in the water, Gabe. Just to feel fresh when we talk.”
Showering together always charged the mundane chore with delicious sensuality. But today there was an added dimension, a special awareness between them that the water confirmed rather than dissolved. Afterward, they dressed quickly in clean clothes and went to their bed. Gabe sat her down, sat beside her and took her in his arms. The look of neediness had not diminished. If anything, it was sharper. With his kiss, Gabe asked for far more than usual. His lips demanded her complete faithfulness and a pledge of forever.
“I love you, Gabe,” she whispered.
He practically devoured her with his eyes. “I love you, Jade.”
Though they’d often exchanged the words before, Gabe said them with a new poignancy. And he drank in Jade’s words as if each were a freshly discovered treasure.
Sensing his urgency, Jade stroked her lover’s cheek. As her fingers touched the familiar flesh and the scab from the morning’s shaving cut, she couldn’t help realizing the fragility of their union. How intricate were the bonds that joined them—like a complex spider web. Yet like a web, what they’d labored together to build could easily be destroyed. She was committed to her relationship with Gabe. Today, with the press of his body and the look of longing in his eyes, he was reassuring her that he was equally committed.
Where did Alex fit in all this?
Through the swirl of emotions that had taken residence in his head, one stood out clearly. He loved Jade, and he had to show her that in no uncertain terms—right now. The act of making love with her would save him from the maelstrom pounding his head. With Jade, he’d be safe. Together, they could hold any outside dangers at bay.
He took her beautiful face in his hands and really looked at Jade. Strange how a person, caught up in daily life and its mundane details, begins to take for granted the lover’s face, her body, her scent.
After what he’d experienced or hallucinated this morning—would he ever be sure?—Gabe vowed he would never again fail to notice his lover’s beauty. Now he inhaled the sensory pleasure of being with her and let the comfort of her love wash over him. He kissed her gently at first but quickly his need gathered force, and he drew her more tightly to him.
Her scent and taste reminded him of roses and vanilla, of sweet cinnamon spice. No matter how hard he pressed, he couldn’t get enough of her unique flavor. She opened her lips and stayed with him, matching him passion for passion. Joined in their embrace, they let their teeth, tongues, lips and breaths express their passion for each other. From the first moment of their touch, the intimacy between them crackled.
He could scarcely breathe, he wanted so much to be in her. His cock, almost painfully hard, felt as if it would burst through his pants. But he wasn’t going to enter her quite yet. First he needed to pay homage to the rest of her body—her long, shapely legs, the flat stomach with its tiny puckered navel, the plump white globes of her breasts with the so responsive pink nipples.
Jade never remained passive in the lovemaking process, thank the universe. She’d unzipped his jeans to free his cock, which she now stroked with an avidity that threatened to bring him to his release far too soon.
“Hmm,” she murmured, bending to his erection and tonguing away a drop of pre-cum glistening in the slit at the top of the head. “You are delicious.”
He groaned and regretfully convinced her to move her mouth away from its delightful task. The sensation of her tongue on his sensitive skin there nearly sufficed to reassure him everything would be all right. He would come through the tempest currently rocking him from within. They’d emerge intact—together, stronger than ever. What they had together was worth fighting all his demons to protect. With her by his side, he’d have the strength to confront anything. He had to.
“Clothes,” he whispered frantically. The compulsion to quickly get out of his, get her out of hers, impelled him like a fire raging inside.
Her eyes fixed on him, she slid off the bed and disrobed. No sexy strip now, no play. The need between them had become so powerful neither wasted a drop of energy on anything that would not bring them immediate fulfillment. He tore off his own clothes. With no consciousness of what he did with them or of anything but the movements that would take him to his goal, he got naked and offered himself to her.
She stood before him, a goddess, his goddess, with the light playing magnificently off her curves. He put his arms around her waist and drew him to her. Holding her close, he buried his face in her belly and breathed her in. He could hear her body functioning, the faint gurgle of circulation, the hammer of her heart, the whisper of her breath.
She wove her fingers into his hair and held him, just there. But he wanted to taste her womanhood before he entered her with his cock. Uttering a near sob, he lowered his mouth to her moist pink folds, so plump with longing. He circled her sweet, throbbing clit, and savored the way his touch there set her to quivering.
“Gabe,” she moaned, pressing herself more tightly to him.
With a growl, he moved back and pulled her down on top of him. In moments, she was straddling him and rubbing her pussy up and down this shaft.
“I need to be in you.” Though he’d intended to have her beneath him, now he found he wanted to feel her on top. He wanted to look up to his goddess, and to feel her slide her hot pink sheath down to surround him. Goddess? Geez, he needed to get rid of Rapsos-inspired vocabulary and images, pronto.
With his guidance, Jade positioned her intimate opening so the head of his cock just penetrated. Then, both
of them panting and hot, he thrust into her and she pushed down on him. In a matter of moments, they were intimately joined. His cock was deep inside her, where he’d longed to be for all of this hellish day. For a while, earlier, he’d felt so lost he’d feared he could never return home. But now he knew he could. She was his home.
“Oh, Gabe,” she whispered. The two of them moved slowly at first, as if united in their desire to make the erotic pleasure they shared last.
“Carissima,” he whispered back. He massaged the small of her back, the spot he knew she loved to have touched during their lovemaking. From there, his fingers darted to the sensitive skin of her butt crease, where he tarried.
Jade seemed super-aware today, more than ever in tune with his movements, his pleasure, and her own. With her actions, she showed him she wanted his attentions, both fore and aft. Never before had he been so aware of himself and her in their lovemaking. Almost as if he’d taken some sort of consciousness-raising drug, he experienced everything they both did as if magnified by some giant lens.
Jade altered her movements, which nearly made him come. Hell, if he was going to have her beneath him, the moment had come for him to shift them both. He started to roll them over, then realized he didn’t want to change their position without talking to her first.
“I’d like to roll us over,” he said.
Jade caressed his shaft with the muscles of her sheath, and he barely held on. “Just getting my last licks in. Roll away, baby.” She tightened her legs around his and helped accomplish the change.
When he was on top, she wound her legs around his waist and started to move under him. Sweet heaven, just a tiny movement set off ripples of pleasure from his center, through every inch of his body. He put his hands on her hips to still her. He knew he wouldn’t last much longer, but he wanted to remain locked with her for as long as he could. In addition to the erotic pleasure of being with her, he wanted to avoid the talk he’d managed to put off until now. Once they shared the closeness of their orgasms, he knew he wouldn’t be able to postpone that talk for long.