by Dena Christy
But she wouldn’t do it on the floor of her shop. She pulled her mouth away from his and he lowered her so that her feet were back on the floor. She took a step back and looked up at him. The desire for her was written on his face, in the tightness of the skin over his cheekbones and in the dark smoky depths of his eyes.
"You haven't changed your mind have you? I'll stop if you want me to, but please tell me now while I have the strength to walk away from you." His voice was deep, dark and gravelly and even if she had changed her mind, the sound of that voice and the memory of that body pressed against her would've changed it back again.
"I haven't changed my mind. I want you, I want to make love with you but I don't want to do it here. I want you in my bed."
His response was instantaneous. He swept her up in his arms and she gave a startled gasp as he carried her toward the door of her apartment. She reached out and pulled the door open and he took the steps two at a time in his eagerness to get inside her apartment. She felt safe and secure in his arms, knowing that although he was in a hurry to get to her bedroom, that he would not let her go until they got there.
Her room was dark when they got inside, and he set her on her feet as if she was the most precious object in the world. She reached out and turned on the overhead light, turning the dimmer switch so low light flooded the room. She took him by the hand and led him over to her bed. Now that they were here, the sense of urgency that had taken hold of her downstairs faded a little. They had all night to enjoy each other, and it was like they’d reached an unspoken agreement that they would take their time so they could fully pleasure each other.
He reached up and cupped her face, bringing his mouth slowly down to hers and moving his lips on hers with the gentleness that made her feel cherished. She responded in kind, moving her mouth under his to match the same slow pace. Her heart pumped out a slow steady rhythm that was matched by the beat of his heart that she could feel coming through his chest. Soon mere kisses were not enough, she wanted to feel his flesh against hers.
She sank back on her heels and let her mouth drift away from his. She reached for the hem of her shirt and pulled it off over her head. Fire flared in his eyes as he did the same. The sight of his bare, muscular chest made her heart pound and she couldn't resist reaching out to touch him. His skin was smooth and warm under her palms, his muscles hard. She ran her hands down to the ridges of his abdomen and she wondered what would he would feel like under her lips. She brought her face forward and nuzzled into his chest. She ran her mouth over one of his pectoral muscles until she got to his tight hard nipple. She swiped her tongue out to taste his hot, smooth skin.
"Jesus woman, if you keep this up, this won’t last for long." He took her by the shoulders and eased her away from him. He reached his arms around her and undid the clasp on her bra. It fell away with a whisper against her skin, and her breasts felt heavy and aching for his touch.
“God, Gregor. I need you to touch me.” Her voice came out in a fevered whisper and he obliged her. He ran his hands up her belly until he reached her breasts. He cupped their weight, caressing her until the nipples were tight, aching peaks. She ran her fingers through his hair as he bent his head and took one of her nipples in his mouth. A soft moan escaped her as he took her aching flesh into his mouth and gently sucked. Her fingers tightened in his hair, and she pressed herself closer to him. She felt the evidence of his desire growing against her and she rubbed her pelvis against him.
He pulled back with a hiss through his teeth, and a new sense of urgency took hold of her. They had too many clothes on, and she wanted nothing, not even fabric, to keep them apart from each other.
Her hands went down to his jeans and undid the buckle on his belt. He stood still, allowing her free rein to undress him. She pulled his belt free and undid the button at the top of his jeans. She gently eased his zipper down, and pushed them down, along with his underwear, over his lean muscular flanks.
His body was like that of a god, and she was transfixed for a moment at the sight of his cock jutting out from his body. His body was made for a woman's pleasure. And she trembled in anticipation of the pleasure they would give each other.
“Now it's my turn." He reached for the waistband of her jeans, and tugged her closer with the growl. With quick and efficient movements, he dealt with the button and zipper and pushed her jeans down over her hips. She stood before him in only her lace panties, and she could feel the moisture pooling between her legs. He ran a strong male finger underneath the delicate waistband and she shivered as he stroked it over the skin on her belly.
He eased his hand under her panties and cupped her between her legs. With a gasp she reached out to grab his muscular biceps, to hold herself steady as he stroked one finger over her tingling flesh. If this slow torture was what he had in mind for her tonight, she didn't think she would make it through to the other side with her sanity intact. She let go of his arms and shoved her panties down so they pooled around her feet.
With them both now naked, they sank down on the bed together, and Elle held her arms open to him as he came down on the bed beside her. He brought his mouth down to hers and kissed her for long moments as his hand gently caressed her. She moved restlessly on the bed, her desire for him feeling like an itch just beneath the surface of her skin, one she desperately needed scratched.
He seemed to read her mind, and he pulled his mouth away from her and moved it so it started an exploring path down her body. He devoted his attention to every dip and curve until she was so tightly wound she thought she would lose her mind if she didn’t find relief soon.
He made his way down to the source of her arousal, and she tipped her head to look at him as he lowered his mouth to give her the most intimate of kisses. Her head fell back on the pillow as she gave a long, drawn-out moan. Jesus, his mouth on her felt so good. She felt like a finely tuned instrument, and he was the maestro. Higher and higher she went with each masterful stroke of his tongue, and just when she thought the pleasure would never crest, he sent her into orbit and she exploded into orgasm.
Pleasure flooded her body, and she trembled with each pulse as it went through her. As if from a distance she noticed him moving up, and he put himself at the entrance of her body and slid inside her.
She’d never felt so full, and as if sensing she needed time to adjust, he held still above her. He placed gentle kisses on her mouth and she moved her hips in a signal that it was time for him to take his pleasure with her.
Her arms came around his big body as he pulled back and thrust forward. The friction was delicious, and she moaned as she moved with him. Just when she thought her well of pleasure was empty, he filled it again as he moved inside her.
“Yes, Gregor. I need more.” At her command, he moved faster inside her. She ground her pelvis against him, moving with him in a fever pitch of pleasure. Tension coiled inside her as they built a world of pleasure together, and finally the floodgate opened and her orgasm slammed through her again. Ecstasy invaded every cell of her body until she thought she would die from it.
Her name was a fevered groan on his lips as he moved faster. She clung to him as he joined her in paradise and she could feel every pulse of his pleasure as he collapsed on top of her. She brought her legs up around him and she held on to him as they slowly came back down to earth.
The rate of their heartbeats slowed, and he pulled himself out of her body, rolling off her and settling beside her on the bed. He gathered her close to him and she put her head on his chest. The steady beat of his heart, the slow caress of his hand on her arm, along with the repletion that came from their fantastic lovemaking, lulled her. Her eyelids were heavy as he moved to pull a cover over them and sleep captured her as he cradled her in his arms.
10
Sleep eluded Gregor as he held Elle's body next to his. He didn't want to miss a moment with her, especially since it had taken centuries to have her back in his arms again.
He wanted to wake her, to dec
lare himself to her, but prudence held his tongue. As far as she was concerned they were at the beginning of their relationship. He had to keep in mind that she was unaware of their past together.
Rushing her at this point would only scare her away and that would be a disaster. This was his second chance to love her and have her love him in return. If he moved too fast and lost her, fate would not smile upon him a third time.
Besides, just because the threat of the hunters had been removed didn't mean that the path before them was free and unfettered. There was the nature of what he was and her ignorance of it that's still needed dealing with. How was he going to tell her he was a dragon without sounding insane?
He wouldn’t find any clues in the past because he bungled the revelation back then so badly that she’d run from him and it caused her own death. And that had been at a time when people were more willing to believe in the fantastical. In this modern time that he now found himself in it was more difficult for people to believe in things that couldn't be explained. How was he going to tell her about himself?
“How long have I been asleep?” Her voice was soft as she snuggled closer to him and he tightened his arms around her.
“Not very long. You should go back to sleep.” And he should stop thinking so hard about what would happen tomorrow. He should take each moment with her as it came, let the moment he would need to tell her about what he was come when it was time.
“What about you? Aren’t you tired?” She moved so that she was leaning up, and her long hair brushed against his chest. He was struck again by how beautiful she was and how lucky he had been to find her again. How could he let himself waste even a moment with her by worrying about what would happen? He should savor every second he was blessed with. He’d spent so much time since he had awakened longing to have her in his arms again, but now that she was in them his inclination was to worry about what would happen next. He should treat the time with her like the precious commodity it was and let the future take care of itself.
"I'm not tired." The exact opposite was true, and just seeing her nude body in the dim light of the bedroom and feeling her satiny flesh against him was awakening the desire slumbering inside him.
"Well, I think we should do something about that, don't you?"
“What did you have in mind?” He ran his hands up-and-down her arms as the corner of his mouth pulled up. He couldn't let himself get so bogged down in the details of the future that he forgot to have fun with her.
“Oh, I think I can think of something.” With a smile that women have been giving men since the beginning of time, she leaned down and pressed her mouth against his neck. His hands tightened around the flesh of her upper arms as desire flooded his veins. The urge to take over was so strong that he had to make a conscious effort to loosen his hold on her and relax. He wanted her so much, and he was curious to see what she would do to him. In the past, the one time they’d made love, he had been the one in control. Perhaps he needed to let go of that control a little and let her take the lead.
Her tongue swirled around his neck as her hand drifted down his chest. Her palm skated over one of his nipples and his breath hissed in for a second. Her mouth left his neck and followed the path being forged by her hand. Her tongue swirled over the flat coin of his nipple as her hand traversed the terrain of his abdomen. He was at full attention when she reached the apex of his thighs and he held his breath when her hand closed around him.
“Do you like that?” Her voice was a whisper on his skin as she caressed him. God, her touch felt so good that all he could do was growl and move his hips. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
His hands moved from her arms to clench in the tangle of sheets that surrounded him. What she was doing to him was torture, but it was a torture that he never wanted to end. Finally he was with her. His woman was returned to him and it was glorious.
He could feel his body climbing closer and closer to the brink, but he didn’t want to go there alone. He reached for her, pulling her so that her body was on top of his and he kissed her on the mouth.
There was an urgency in his kiss, and it seemed to communicate to her that the time to tease him was over. She pulled her mouth away from his and moved so that her legs were on either side of his hips and sat up. She looked magnificent sitting astride him and more than anything he needed to be a part of her.
“Take me inside you.”
She looked at him through the curtain of her hair as she reached down, took him in her hand and put him in the entrance of her body. He thrust his hips up and he slid smoothly inside her.
“Oh Gregor, you feel so good.” She moved her hips, in a slow, undulating circle. His hands went to her hips, and he ran his hands over her supple flesh. He willed himself to hold on to his control, to make this last long enough that she found her satisfaction with him.
As she moved her hips he reached for her, using his thumb to stroke her clit. She gave a sharp gasp as he stroked her and her hips jerked for a second. He plied his ministrations to her as she moved above him. He gritted his teeth to hold on as her movements picked up speed. This needed to be as good for her as it was for him.
Soon they were both mindless, and it was impossible to know where he ended and she began. Her breath was sobbing in and out and his own breathing sounded harsh to his ears. He was so close, and he stroked his fingers on her with ever increasing speed. In a matter of seconds her body ignited in orgasm and he joined her. He poured all his pleasure inside her as she cradled his body.
She collapsed on top of him, her body trembling with her pleasure and he held on to her. The weight of her soft body on top of his felt like it was meant to be there. For a moment the past and the present blurred together, and he almost blurted out how sorry he was, that he’d never meant for her to run from him when faced with the truth of what he was.
Fortunately, some sense of reality returned to him and he held his tongue. Perhaps one day he would tell her about their shared past, but now was not the time for that. Now was the time for them to enjoy each other, to get to a place where it would be safe for them to love each other.
“I must be getting heavy.” She stirred against him and moved to get off him.
“You’re not.” He put his arms around her and held her to him. He held her for a long moment, not wanting this moment with her to end. But the need for sleep would eventually claim them both and he knew this would not be comfortable for her. So he let her go and she moved, so she lay by his side.
Her head was on his chest and her hand was running along his skin. There seemed to be a question hanging in the silence between them.
“What is it you want to ask?” His voice broke the stillness, and she gave a little laugh.
“How did you know I wanted to ask you something?” She leaned up and looked at him. She looked down for a second and drew a circle on his chest with her index finger. Her touch was distracting, and he put his hand on hers and she looked up at him. There was a certain hesitation in her eyes.
“Go ahead and ask, Elle.”
“Why did you come here tonight? Not that I’m complaining about how things turned out, but when you were here for dinner, I was under the distinct impression that this would not happen between us yet.”
What should he tell her? He couldn’t tell her he’d learned that the men who’d been hunting him were no longer a threat. That would open a whole other set of questions he wasn’t ready to answer, and it would only send her running away from him.
“It was the talk we had before dinner.” He knew what he would say, and deep down it had the ring of truth to it. “We are both coming into this with having lost someone. And it is the kind of loss that makes someone hesitant to risk trying again with someone else. But there is another side to that loss too.”
Elle swallowed as she sank back down and put her head on his chest. He tightened his arms around her.
“What is the other side of it?” There was a quietness to her now, and Gregor realiz
ed that what he said now had the potential to change the direction of their relationship. He didn’t want to drive her away by reminding her about the pain of losing her husband. But she needed to see, just as he did, that going through life encased in emotional armor was not the way to deal with the loss they’d both been through. He realized now he’d been using the hunters as an excuse to hold himself back from her. That excuse had been taken away and once it was gone he’d felt liberated. He wanted the same for her.
“We both know how unpredictable and sometimes short life is. How painful it can be. But there is also joy to be found in life. I felt that joy when I was with you tonight. If we hide ourselves away from each other, yes we might protect ourselves from further hurt, but we won’t get to experience the joy. I came here tonight because I don’t want to hide myself from you. I want to be with you for however long you want me.”
He wanted to be with her for the rest of their lives, but it was much too soon to make that statement. There was a curse hanging over his head that was pushing him to proceed with this relationship with her, but she had no such impetus in her life. He didn’t know if she saw him as someone she could be with for the rest of her life, and until she did, he would take things as slow as he could with her.
“I never looked at it that way. It doesn’t make it less scary, but you’re right. I felt joy with you too and I want to see where being with you will take me.”
That was all he could ask for and it gave him hope that one day soon she would come to love him. Her love was the key to breaking his curse.
Several days after Elle and Gregor had made love, Elle was getting ready to go out. The plans she had were not with Gregor, and she didn't want to think of this outing as a date. Her words to Gabriel at the coffee shop had come back to haunt her when he called her and suggested that they go out for dinner. She hesitated in giving her answer, but had ultimately decided to go. Gabriel would not go away, that much was clear. She could say no repeatedly and he would keep calling and calling and calling. Maybe if she went out with him this one time, she could talk to him and he would get the message she was not interested in anything with him.