Shadowgame

by Christine Feehan

  Ryland moved then, slowly lowering his head to hers. Inch by slow inch. All the while holding her captive with the power of his glittering eyes. Her pulse, beneath the pad of his thumb, raced wildly. His lips moved against hers. Gently. Skimming. Barely touching. "You've forgotten to breathe." His breath was warm on her skin, on her mouth, breathing for her, sharing the very air in his lungs.

  His lips were soft. Velvet soft. Heat curled in her stomach, pooled into a sweet ache. Ryland leaned closer, his lips rubbing over hers, teasing at the corners of her mouth, small little nibbles. An enticement. A temptation. His tongue traced the line of her lips, a gentle persistence completely at odds with the tremor of intense hunger that ran beneath the surface of his body.

  His hands were gentle, tender even, as one curled around the nape of her neck to hold her still. The other followed the line of her back, the curve of her hips to rest possessively on her bottom.

  A flame shot through her bloodstream, wild and hot and all at once out of control. The sensation was shocking when he was so gentle, coaxing her response rather than demanding it. Lily felt weak with wanting him, tired of fighting the attraction between them. The temptation of heat and fire stole her good sense. Her mouth moved under his, her lips soft and pliant and welcoming.

  His mouth hardened, became hot and dangerous, compelling her to open for him, her dark sorcerer claiming his rights. At once she was swept into another world, one of pure feeling, of colors and sensations. Tongues of fire raced along her skin. Every nerve ending came alive. Her blood was thick and hot with need. Her body craving, craving, until her arms crept around his neck and her body molded itself to his.

  Her breasts ached, her body throbbed. His hands cupped her bottom, lifting, pressing her against the thick evidence of his arousal, rubbing her close until the friction was almost too much to bear.

  Ryland groaned, a sound of stark need. "I'm losing my sanity, Lily. I burn for you, day and night." The words were whispered against her open mouth. "It's not comfortable or pleasant, it hurts like hell. Put me out of my misery, honey. Help me, Lily. I can't think with wanting you."

  "Want" was such an insipid word. How could he explain to her what it was like for him? Day and night thinking of her, dreaming of her, a drug in his bloodstream, a craving that couldn't be sated. His body was always hot and unmercifully hard. There were no words adequate enough, intense enough, to describe the nights of sweat-soaked sheets and days with his jeans stretched so damned tight over his hard body he thought he might never be able to take another step without pain again.

  His hands on her bare bottom cupped her firm muscles, began a slow, intimate massage, deliberately, wickedly enticing her.

  Lily couldn't breathe with wanting him. His mouth fastened to hers, devouring her, the gentle coaxing manner lost in the inferno building between them. She let her body answer for her, without words, giving consent with her hands, sliding possessively over his body, while her tongue dueled with his.

  Ryland groaned softly, low in his throat, somewhere between a growl and a purr. Lily was trembling beneath his hands. He didn't want her to be afraid or nervous, not even for a moment. "I dreamt of this moment, Lily." He lifted her easily, casually, his mouth roaming her face and throat as he carried her to the bed. "So many times, I dreamt of this."

  Lily could feel the coolness of the sheet against her back as he pressed her into the mattress. His hands were strong, determined, possessive even as they roamed over her body. His face was etched with deep emotion, his eyes burning. He swept away the shirt, dropping it carelessly on the floor. She heard him gasp, the hitch in his breath, the husky sound in his throat. His palms trailed over her skin slowly from her shoulders, over the swell of her breasts, along her narrow rib cage to her tucked-in waist and the flat expanse of her stomach. "It's amazing how soft your skin feels."

  His touch was exquisitely gentle, completely at odds with the terrible hunger burning in his eyes. He bent his head slowly to her breast. His breath reached her skin first. Warm. Moist. His lips were soft.

  Lily jumped under his seeking mouth, all at once so sensitive even the brush of his hair was erotic against her skin.

  Ryland was determined to go slow, stay in control, hold his terrible hunger for Lily under some sort of rein. The last thing he wanted to do was frighten her. There was plenty of time for wild cravings-right here, right now, it was all about pleasing Lily.

  Go slow. Go slow. The words beat like a litany in his head. His fingers trembled as they stroked her breasts. Worshiped her. He closed his mouth around the soft mound, a tight wet bond, his tongue dancing over her taut nipple as he suckled.

  Lily cried out, arched into him, craving his touch, needing more. Always more. "Take your clothes off, Ryland," she pleaded, "I want to touch you, look at you." Her voice, hungry with urgency, hungry for him, shook him. She had known the moment she laid eyes on him that she wanted him and she had immediately begun to educate herself, learning as much as she could about sexual appetites, wanting to know how to please him. Nothing she read or watched had prepared her for what she was feeling.

  She had thought she would be embarrassed and afraid to be naked in front of him, but instead she reveled in the way he looked at her. The way he touched her. The way his gaze burned over her so possessively.

  Ryland lifted his head, studied her cloudy eyes, her soft mouth swollen from his ravaging kisses. "I'm trying to be gentle, honey." He attempted to explain, but the words were trapped in his heart. His hands were already pulling off his clothes, flinging them aside. His heart beat like thunder. He had fantasized this moment so often, his body in a continual state of arousal for so long, he feared anything he said could never describe how he felt about her. There were no words. She was a fever in his blood, a craving, obsession, she was his heart and soul. How could he say that to her? "I swear I won't hurt you." He meant ever. Not with his body and not with his mind.

  Lily stared up at him, lying in the darkness, mesmerized by the dark passion etched deeply into his face. He took her breath away. Every muscle in her body was weak with wanting him, every cell on fire for his touch. She should have been afraid of his craving, the intensity of his terrible hunger, but within her body, in the shadowy corners of her soul, she found her own secret desires.

  There was no ice running in her veins, there was molten lava. Deep inside of her stirred a volcano, hot and thick and ready to erupt, swirling to the surface to meet his every demand. Eagerly. Wantonly. She reached for him. "I'm a woman, Ryland, not a porcelain doll. I know exactly what I want."

  Their mouths fused together, electric and hot. Her hands moved over him, needing to feel every muscle, just as he needed to explore her body. He kept to his plan, using slow torture to arouse her to a frightening pitch. He suckled her lush breasts, his tongue teasing, his teeth scraping gently, his mouth hot and moist. He traced her ribs, the flat of her stomach. The curve of her hip, every hollow. He wanted every one of Lily's secrets. He wouldn't take anything less.

  "Ryland, please," Lily's body was so sensitive she was afraid she was going to cry with wanting him. She was aching and heavy and beyond reason.

  "Look at me, baby," he said softly, directing her gaze to the heavy erection. "I'm a big man and I'll be damned if I'll hurt you, even a little."

  His finger stroked into her damp heat and she nearly rose off the mattress. "You're torturing me," she said, but she couldn't stop herself from pushing against his hand, desperately seeking relief.

  Ryland encouraged her to thrust against his hand as he slowly pushed his finger into her tight channel. She was hot and slick but far too tight to take his thick arousal. It was obvious she hadn't been with anyone else and the idea that he was her only, that he would be the one teaching her was even more exciting. Lily was passionate, abandoned, willing to do what came naturally to her.

  "I'm going to stretch you a little more, honey; just relax for me. You trust me, don't you, Lily?" He withdrew one finger, slowly inserting two,
watching her expression closely for signs of discomfort as he pushed deeper into her body.

  The sensation was so pleasurable it was alarming. Lily fought for breath, fought for control where there was none. She never wanted Ryland to stop. He thrust deeper, the friction electric, shocking in its intensity. He was doing things deep inside her, stroking and teasing and making her crazy so she couldn't lie still. Her hips surged against his hands wantonly.

  "This shouldn't hurt, Lily, I'll make it good for you," he whispered, pushing her thighs apart, settling his weight there. "Look at us, honey. We belong together." Ryland took his erection in his hand, pressed the engorged head to her moist entrance.

  He was far thicker than she had anticipated and he stretched her body, slowly, pushing his way through her hot folds, forcing her tight muscles to allow him entrance. She cried out as he went deeper, stopped at the thin, almost nonexistent barrier, then deeper still in a harder thrust, filling her to such a fullness she burned and throbbed and unexpectedly plummeted over the edge.

  Neither expected the reaction, the waves of enchantment rippling through her, spreading like a tidal wave. Her body gripped and suckled at his, so tightly he was gritting his teeth, the pleasure so intense it bordered on pain. Her orgasm bathed him in hot heat, so that he slipped in another couple of inches.

  Lily looked up at his face and his male beauty took her breath away. She wanted everything with him, too. She trusted him inexplicably. And she wanted every moment with him. "I want to be your every erotic fantasy." The words came out of nowhere. Said into the night. "Teach me how to please you, Ryland."

  The honesty in her voice shook him, ripped his heart right out of his body. He withdrew, pushed deep again slowly, feeling his way, wanting it right. Wanting it perfect for her. His hands tightened on her hips as he began a slow, steady rhythm. He urged her body to move with his. "Everything, honey. We'll have it all. I want to know your body better than you know it. I want every square inch of you to belong to me."

  He caught her hips in his hands, holding her firmly, tilting her body while he went deeper still, wanting her to take all of him. Lily gasped as the heat engulfed her, as he filled her completely. Ryland began to move again, long slow thrusts, deep and perfect.

  She cried out again, low, in her throat, as he changed speed, driving harder, faster. "We're just getting started, Lily," he promised. "This is just to take the edge off." He let himself go, his hips surging deep into her tight channel over and over, taking them higher than he ever thought possible. His head roared and his body clenched and burned, but he didn't want the ecstasy to ever end.

  When his orgasm came, it was explosive, ripping through his body with gut-wrenching force, shaking him, nearly taking off the top of his head. Her body was so responsive to his, following his every lead, he had never experienced anything remotely like it. He was staggered by the intensity of pleasure she had given him. And he had given back to her.

  Ryland collapsed beside her, holding her in his arms, his face buried against the softness of her breast, his body still deep in hers. He had known he wanted her, that it was for all time, but he hadn't realized what was between them. A priceless gift, a treasure beyond his dreams. She was wrapped so tight inside of him, he knew it was more than his body and mind. More than his heart. She was entrenched in his soul.

  "I thought it was painful for women their first time," she said. "I expected it to be so different. You having all the fun and me being disappointed."

  "Did you?" He was smiling, joy spreading through him. That was the Lily he knew, analyzing her data. "I guess you were thinking about some other man making love to you." Deliberately he drew her breast into the heat of his mouth, knowing each time he sucked strongly or lapped with his tongue, the shock waves rippled deep inside of her, doubling her enjoyment.

  Lily closed her eyes, pleasure washing through her. "Is it always like this? I read all those manuals but…" Her voice hitched as his tongue swirled.

  "Manuals?" Ryland lifted his head, grinning at her in the darkness. "That's so you, Lily, reading a book to experience life. If you were wanting to know something why didn't you just ask me?"

  Her fingers found the silk of his hair, tunneled, and held. "I might have been embarrassed. It isn't easy to talk to someone of experience about intimate matters."

  She was frowning, he knew that she was. Everything about her made him smile. Her tone was so scientific, yet he could feel her body trembling, the little aftershocks still rocking her. "We've always talked about everything, honey. I didn't exactly make it a secret that I wanted you. You could have told me you were inexperienced. I might have toned down our very erotic dream."

  "I liked your dreams. The visuals were astounding, much better than the lifeless manual. I wasn't actually certain it was physically possible to do the things the books talked about."

  He cleared his throat. "Where exactly did you get these books?"

  "Off the internet. They have very explicit information and people willing to answer all of your questions."

  He groaned aloud. "I'll bet they do. I think I'd like to see these books of yours. I was a little concerned you might tell me you were really watching Arly's movies."

  She laughed wickedly. "I'm not certain he has any movies but if he does, he's probably putting some sort of security device on them to keep me away."

  "You have a mean streak in you." Ryland leaned down to nip at her enticing breast. "You smell so damned good, Lily." His body was still locked with hers. He could feel every ripple in her muscles. He discovered just breathing on her taut nipples caused an answering contraction in her deepest core. She bathed him in liquid heat and sent pleasure coursing through his body. "I noticed that immediately, how wonderful you smelled."

  She rubbed her face against his throat. "I love the way you feel." And the way he cared about his men. And the way he loved his mother. And the way one unruly curl fell across his forehead no matter how he slicked it back. It was appalling how much she loved about him. She couldn't help running her hands over his back to feel the defined muscles there. "I used to wonder about miracles."

  "Miracles?" He echoed the word, shaken by the naked emotion in her voice. She turned him inside out with a tone.

  "Well, yeah. Miracles. What could be considered a true miracle, that sort of thing. It's an interesting puzzle that so many people around the world have a form of worship and belief. But actually…" She trailed kisses along his throat, over his jaw to tease the corner of his mouth.

  Rather boldly for a woman of no experience, but his body reacted, growing hard when it should have been impossible. Ryland kissed her because he couldn't stop himself from tasting her. From just fusing them together and wanting to remain that way, locked with her in a private world of heat and passion. His hands moved over her body, memorizing every line, every hollow. The texture of her skin. The way she reacted, her muscles contracting around him and her breath leaving her lungs in a rush of pleasure.

  She was his miracle. In the midst of a hell he had helped to create, he had found her. Lily's lush body was paradise. Her smile, the sound of her voice. Even the way she moved and could look so haughty with her tempting mouth and cool blue eyes. He raised his head to look down at her.

  "Lily, from now on, if you have any questions on sex, ask me." He caught her waist as he rolled onto his back, not wanting to break contact, wanting to stay buried in the tightness of her hot, slick body.

  Lily gasped as she found herself sitting up, astride him, his body deep within hers. Her hair fell in a tousled cloud around her, the silken strands teasing her sensitized skin. It was impossible to be embarrassed when he was obviously enjoying the sight and feel of her body. His hands came up to cup her generous breasts, his fingers stroking and caressing.

  Lily closed her eyes and gave herself up to the sheer pleasure of experimenting. She moved her hips, slid over his body, tightened her muscles. She felt him deep inside her, growing, thickening, responding to her movements.
She began a slow ride, arching back to give him a good view of her breasts swaying in temptation. It was an amazing feeling to just indulge herself in every sensation. She moved slowly at first, judging his reaction, getting used to taking the lead. Then she became bolder, trailing her fingers along his muscles, swirling fingernails over his flat belly and teasing dark curls of hair. She experimented, tightening muscles as she rose up, as she slid along the length of him, moving faster and harder until she had to open her eyes and see the naked passion on his face.

  She loved his rough, weathered features. The dark shadow along his jaw. The brilliance of his silver eyes. He took her breath away and sent her body into meltdown. She reveled in his watching her, touching her. The way his gaze was so hot, so intense, electrified her, brought her body to a life of its own.

  Ryland couldn't take his gaze off of her. Lily's body was flushed with the fever of passion. Her breasts moved invitingly with every surge of her hips. She rode him hard, incredibly uninhibited, showing her enjoyment of his body with her every touch, every gesture. Her eyes clouded over, her breath hitching. A soft sound escaped her throat. At once he caught her hips in his hands, holding her while he took over the pace, surging into her, guiding her movements so her body fisted around his. Velvet soft, fiery hot, a liquid flame wrapped tightly around him.

  Lily threw her head back, cried out his name, a gasp of wonderment, of awe, while her body rippled with strength and life around his, driving him over the edge with her.

  "You're unbelievable," she whispered, bending to kiss him. The action tightened her muscles around him, mashed her soft breasts into his chest.

  Ryland was amazed at how masculine the simple action made him feel. And he was really amazed at how bereft he felt when she slid her body from his and lay beside him. He longed to stay deep inside of her, filling her, joined with her, sharing the same skin with her. "Oh, we're just getting started, Lily. There are all kinds of ways to make love and to enjoy one another. I've got plans."