He’d known from the start of his mission that he would have to leave her behind. He’d been through that painful experience once, but his feelings had never before been this strong. And each time they made love, every day that passed, intensified his growing feelings.
Damn it. He’d told himself not to repeat his mistakes. But how could he fail to cherish her when she was so open to new ideas, to adapting to new challenges, to accepting him? As he kissed her and she kissed him back, he realized he might have found the perfect woman—and he couldn’t keep her.
Pain lanced deep but he did his best to set it aside. Tonight was for them to enjoy. Tonight he would make unforgettable. Tonight he would create enough precious memories to last a lifetime.
He waited until she wrapped her hands around his neck, and then he instructed HC1 to nibble one of her delectable ears and HC2 the other. He needed merely to think about teasing her sensitive lobes with his lips and the Hard Copies would follow through.
Although she’d had warning, at the first nip to her ears she broke her kiss with him. The Hard Copies kept right on nibbling, per his orders, and he tugged her back for another kiss. He didn’t think she’d resist, but he didn’t quite expect her to sigh so contentedly, either.
“You do know how to make me happy, don’t you?” She kissed his nose, his chin, his jaw. “What I don’t understand is how you know what I want better than I do.”
“It’s because I’m brilliant.”
“And sensitive.”
“Of course.”
“And the world’s greatest lover.”
“If you insist.”
“And so humble, too,” she teased.
“You wouldn’t adore humble,” he teased right back.
Her eyes gleamed with challenge and a bold sauciness that he’d come to appreciate. “Who says I adore you?”
“You didn’t have to say so. I can tell by the way you react to me.”
“So now you can read my mind, too?”
“Oh, yeah.” The Hard Copies nibbled her shoulders and, eyes sparkling, she quivered. He lowered his hands to her bra and unsnapped the clasp at the back. “You like lots of attention. You’ll like it even better when we worship your flesh with our tongues.”
Each Hard Copy slid a shoulder strap down onto her arm. She was about to shrug off her bra when he stopped her with a curt demand. “Do not move.”
“Or else…?” she prodded, her eyebrow raising in speculation.
“Or else I’ll take twice as long,” he threatened, watching her irises darken with hungry comprehension. “That’s right. You’re going to stay still and do exactly as I say, when I say it.”
“Yes.”
“Or you will suffer the consequences.” He saw her lips twitch in delight. Oh yeah. Fallon loved to play games. She liked it when he took charge and freed her to simply enjoy what he had to give. And he and the Hard Copies could give more than she’d ever imagined.
“Think of HC1 and HC2 as extensions of me.”
“Okay.” She licked her bottom lip and stood straighter, her breasts swelling beneath the lace and causing the fabric to slide until one shrug would free them.
Kane wanted her so much that holding back wouldn’t be easy. Yet, for her he was determined to do whatever he must to give her a night she would never forget. It wouldn’t be fair to tell her how much she meant to him, not when they would live the rest of their lives separated by more than a century. While he couldn’t tell her with words, he could show her with actions. He intended to savor every moment, cherish her, adore her, because the time bubble was collapsing and their time together running out.
FALLON’S AMAZEMENT over the Hard Copies quickly switched to excitement. It didn’t matter that she hadn’t a clue how the Hard Copies worked. She didn’t understand the engine in her car but that didn’t stop her from driving it. So the scientific principles behind the Hard Copies didn’t matter. Kane had explained the important points. He was in charge. The Hard Copies followed his thoughts. So, as he’d instructed, she thought of the replicas as an extension of Kane. Instead of using a feather to stroke her skin, he’d employed the Hard Copies to nibble along her neck.
And if she’d had any doubts about who was in control, the way Kane put his knowledge about her body to use dispersed those doubts. Just as Kane knew where and how she liked to be touched, so did HC1 and HC2. They homed in on the sensitive spot behind her ear and another at her neck with total accuracy.
Her bra now hung from her nipples. One deep breath would free her straining flesh. And she oh-so-wanted to be as naked as Kane.
When he angled his mouth over hers for another kiss, she had to stiffen her legs to prevent leaning into him. But then at the same time as Kane’s kiss, the Hard Copies each took a nipple into their mouths right through the lace material and she forgot all about standing still.
She gasped into Kane’s mouth and flung her arms around him for balance but ended up embracing each of the Hard Copies instead, men who felt exactly like Kane. Stunned by the sensory overload, she quivered and clung to HC1 and HC2 as they continued to swirl their mouths over her captured nipples.
Her belly swooped at the dual tugs. But it was the fire in Kane’s eyes that made her breath catch. She had no idea what he intended to do to her, but her anticipation upped another notch.
Tongues lapped through the lacy material and it took concentration to not only follow the conversation but to keep her thoughts from moving ahead. They had the entire night in this suite and had only been here less than thirty minutes. Yet, she was already aching for an orgasm. The tiny strip of lace between her legs was damp with moisture.
And then Kane dived down and took her mouth in a fiercely possessive kiss, his hands tipping up her chin. Meanwhile the Hard Copies’ hands caressed her breasts, her belly, her thighs. Three mouths, three pairs of hands, all stimulating and simultaneously giving her pleasure.
No one could have stayed still under such conditions. No one. Her body shivered and gyrated to the rhythm of the caresses.
Kane broke the kiss and directed the Hard Copies to release her. He pointed to a drapery tie. “Since you cannot hold still. I will bind you. Bring me the ties.”
When she turned to obey, her bra fell from her breasts and slipped to the floor. Good riddance. She hurried to the drapery ties, remembering the last time he’d kept her still with the buffs and the chain. But she no longer wore those so he was devising a new plan.
It had been difficult enough to bear the intense pleasure Kane alone gave her. With him directing the Hard Copies, she knew she was about to undergo a wondrous experience. And yet, her mouth was dry. The idea of being so helpless and vulnerable rocketed up her nerves to almost unendurable levels.
She unfastened the drapery tie and turned to bring it to him, hoping the man in the center of the identical triplets was the real Kane. She handed him the drapery cord as if she had no doubts but was unable to control the telltale trembling in her hands.
“You’ll require more than one.”
She nodded and went back to gather the others. The idea of being helpless while all those hands and mouths roved over her exposed flesh thrilled and tormented her, and made every step back to Kane seem to take forever.
“The Hard Copies will remove your panties.” At his command, both of them kneeled and in unison peeled down her panties with their teeth. And their lips seared a blazing trail down her sides while their hands lightly skimmed her buttocks and thighs as if giving gentle promise of what was to come.
Kane tugged off the coverlet to expose forest-green sheets. “You will lie there.” He pointed to the middle of the bed, his gaze evaluating the bed frame that curved completely around the bed’s perimeter. And for the first time she noted the upright bed posts, which would allow him to bind her however he pleased.
She sat on the bed and scooted backward. Kane ambled around and stopped at a point above her head. “Cross your wrists and place your arms over your head.”
While Kane tied her wrists, HC1 and HC2 tied her ankles, spreading her legs, but leaving enough slack for her to bend her knees if she liked. Feeling totally exposed, her heart sped in anticipation as she waited for them to join her.
So Kane shocked her when he and the Hard Copies turned to leave the room. She lifted her head, startled and upset. “Where are you going?”
“Will you miss us?” Kane asked.
“Yes.” Of course she would miss him. How dare he promise her all kinds of pleasure and then walk away.
“Good.” He shot her one of those arrogant looks that told her his mind was set and nothing she could say would change it. And as he stared between her legs with satisfaction, arousing her with just a look, she knew she’d met her match. She might be furious at his game. She might not want to wait. But every moment would be sweet torture. Every moment she spent thinking about what he was going to do would feed her arousal.
Impatience made her come close to begging. “Kane, I already want you.”
“Close your eyes,” he demanded.
“But—”
“Close them or I’ll blindfold you.”
She snapped her eyes shut, totally irritated, totally frustrated, completely aroused. It wasn’t fair that he could look at her and he wouldn’t let her do the same. And now she wouldn’t know when he returned. She’d jump at every sound, twitch at every breath of air-conditioning.
She heard footsteps coming toward her and held her breath. Maybe she’d changed his mind. But then she felt him tying a scarf around her eyes.
“What are you doing? I didn’t look.”
“And now you can’t.”
She groaned. “Don’t you trust me to keep my word?”
“Now you don’t have to fight with yourself. You have absolutely nothing to do except think about how much pleasure I’m going to give you.”
Every cell in her sparked.
“Ah, Fallon, Fallon, Fallon.” His voice swept over her like a silken caress. “Your body is so adorable. Your breasts are exquisite. Your sweet crease is already filling with moist honey and the scent is driving me wild.”
Fallon sucked in her breath. Sweat broke out on her forehead and she twisted against her bindings. She couldn’t see. Couldn’t move.
Suddenly, an icy bead of fluid dropped between her legs. At the cold, she jerked. “Kane?”
He didn’t answer.
But he was there. She tensed. Icy drops spatted on her nipples, dribbled over her breasts. And then three mouths closed on the cold with fiery heat. With a mouth on each nipple and one between her legs, every muscle in her body tensed in expectation of more cold.
“Is it champagne?” she asked.
“Yes,” was his curt reply.
Then with no warning, warm hands soothed a fragrant oil over her shoulders and neck, her belly and thighs, her arms and feet. Six hands caressed and stroked, moving as one, moving in unison, and as the oil heated her flesh, she began to tug against her bonds.
She wanted to touch. She wanted to see. She wanted to reach out and draw Kane against her singing flesh.
But the tight bonds kept her exactly where he wanted her to be. And then once again, the icy cold droplets pricked at her nipples and mons and she tensed, praying his mouth would return too and warm her. She didn’t know how, but she was certain Kane’s was the breath blowing between her legs. And when the heat followed the cold, she lifted her hips into him, wanting more of his magical mouth. His hands slipped under her bottom, holding her to him.
He ran his tongue over first the outside of her lips, then delved to the inside. As scrumptious as he felt, he ignored her sweet spot where she wanted him most. And as he directed the Hard Copies’ mouths over her breasts, she realized he was deliberately keeping her from going over the edge. She needed more, harder, faster.
Kane gave her slow, sensual, seductive.
And as her slick flesh became more slippery, he increased the tempo, as did the Hard Copies, but never quite enough. And between the hands and the lips, every inch of flesh on her body received simultaneous caresses, creating incredible sensations.
She hadn’t known she could absorb this much stimulation without release. But Kane had carefully stoked the heat, the increments so tiny that her body kept adjusting, then requiring more. She pulled on the bindings. Her ragged breath barely filled her starving lungs.
And Kane and the Hard Copies kept upping the friction. Her breasts swelled and each flick of tongue on her nipples shot fire straight to her core, where Kane matched fire with more fire, building a conflagration. Kane was pushing her beyond her limits.
If she hadn’t been bound, she would have been clawing at him to enter her. She would have been twisting and turning to capture his sex between her thighs. And as more droplets trickled over her flesh, she was going out of her mind with need.
“I can’t take…much more.”
Silence answered her.
And yet even as she bit back a few choice swear words, her body leaped to a new place—a plane where every puff of air, every twist and clenching of her muscles rippled pleasure over her skin. Not enough for release, but her own movement caused further arousal. Her own breathing caused her nipples to tighten. Just thinking about the heat between her thighs fed the fire.
He’d caused this marvelous sensation. And now it was time for him to finish.
“Kane?” His name on her lips came out more whimper than demand.
“Yes?”
“I need you.”
“Okay.”
She felt tugging at her wrists and her hands were freed. Other hands on her ankles freed her feet.
She shoved the blindfold from her eyes. Kane knelt on the bed, frowning as the Hard Copies disappeared, melting into their components and flowing like a river back into the red case.
“It’s your fault.”
“What?” She tackled him and he rolled onto his back. Without hesitation she straddled him and took him inside her.
He lifted his hips to meet her halfway. His hands closed over her breasts. “Maintaining the Hard Copies…takes concentration.”
“So?” She rode him, leaning forward, allowing his sex to rub her sweet spot. Nothing had ever felt so delightful.
“So…all I could think about was…you.”
A roar filled her ears. Her muscles clenched around his hardness and she spasmed so violently that streaks of bold red and slashes of oranges seared through her. Talk about seeing stars. She saw an entire galaxy.
And beneath her Kane took control, holding her hips, thrusting into her with powerful lunges. Somehow he maintained the exact angle she liked most and kept the pressure on her pulsing core, until one explosion expanded into a series that took away her breath and blew away her thoughts.
Unbelievable pleasure caught her in a vortex, shooting her higher, bursting, then rocketing her higher again. Her fingers and toes went numb. Her body turned electric, sensation zinging from head to foot and back again, feeding on itself, escalating, extracting every iota of energy from her in order to fuel the explosions.
She writhed wildly. Her body shattered. And she lost all sense of time and place. She no longer knew where she began and Kane ended. It was as though they’d merged into one.
13
THEIR NIGHT TOGETHER might have started with incredible orgasms but it ended on a tender note. Fallon had no idea how long it took her to recover from those first series of orgasms, but afterwards she dozed and woke up sometime in the middle of the night wrapped in Kane’s strong arms.
Sensing that he was awake, she snuggled into his warmth. His proximity reminded her that the time bubble was collapsing. However, if that kept them close during their remaining time, she certainly wouldn’t object. She lo
ved waking up with his scent on her skin, his heartbeat in her ear as she cuddled against his chest. “You are amazing.”
“We are amazing.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. “If there was any way at all that I could stay with you, I would do so.”
“I know.” She didn’t want to think about him leaving. “If there was a way for me to go to the future, I would do it.”
Surprise lightened his tone. “You’d leave your family? Your business?”
“Yes.” She didn’t hesitate. This time had shown her that her family had to learn to manage without her. She’d always believed they’d needed her, but perhaps she’d had to believe that to make up for what lacked in her personal life.
Even after Kane left, she was determined not to repeat her mistakes. She needn’t be so ready to solve her family’s problems. She needn’t be so available. She needed to let them stand on their own. And she had plenty of work to keep her busy. While so much of the recent cancer work looked promising, there was more money to raise, more scientists to whom she wished to offer grants. Work had always satisfied her, but now she wanted more.
If only Kane could stay. Or she could go. But wishing that they had a lifetime couldn’t alter the laws of physics. The time bubble was shrinking.
“I have no regrets.” She spoke past the lump in her throat. “I would rather have loved you than never loved at all.”
He groaned and rolled on top of her, supporting his weight on his elbows, his hands cupping her face. “I want you to live a full, happy life. Will you do that for me?”
“Yes.” Heart breaking, she wound her arms around his neck. “I shall miss you terribly. But you have given me something precious.”
“Wonderful orgasms?” he teased.
“That too.” She tugged his mouth close. “But you’ve taught me that I can’t ignore the part of me that loves. Even if I find another—”
“And I hope you will.”
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