The thin control he was trying to maintain splintered into a million pieces as intense pleasure swept through him. He rained kisses along her lips, cheek, and neck as he drove into her. The friction between their bodies heated his blood. Angeni’s soft moans and desperate whispers were music to his ears. Her hands feverishly touched him. He groaned when she nipped his shoulder, at the same time grabbing his ass. Her legs were now wrapped around his waist and he swore the tip of his cock was touching her womb. The tingling started low and built up until he was sure he would go mad.
It was Angeni’s loud cry of release, the way her body stiffened under his, and the way her sweet moist depths fisted him, pulsing and greedily begging for his seed, that pushed him over the edge. His cry mixed with hers in the narrow canyon, swirling on the wind and rising upward to the heavens.
The muscles in his throat stood out as he pushed his shaft as far as he could into her. His body hummed with satisfaction as his hot cum poured into her. A shudder ran through both of their bodies when his cock jerked inside her as her pulsing depths tightly squeezed him, demanding every drop of his desire.
His arms trembled, and afraid that he would collapse on her, he carefully rolled them until she lay on top. A deep sigh of contentment slipped from him. He blindly stared up at the cliff. With their bodies still joined, the aftershocks of their lovemaking continued to grip him.
He caressed her back down to the curve of her buttocks and up again. Her long hair spread out around them like a curtain. A satisfied smile curved his lips when she rubbed her cheek against his chest and sighed with pleasure.
“Is this a dream?” he quietly mused aloud.
She giggled and leaned up so that she could see his face. “I will have to ask my sister. She is the dream weaver,” she replied.
The mention of her sister and the memory of Angeni’s own extraordinary powers sent a shaft of fear through him. She must have sensed his unease because she started to pull away. His arms tightened around her and he leaned up to kiss her.
She returned his kiss, caressing his face with the pads of her thumbs until his fear faded. He reluctantly released her when she ended the kiss and rolled to the side. She sat on the edge of the blanket, gazing at him in silence before she cupped his hand and pulled him with her to a standing position.
“Let us swim and I will gather some food for our evening meal,” she suggested.
He nodded in agreement. “Angeni—?”
She lifted her hand and gently placed the tips of her fingers against his lips. The silence grew and he knew deep down that neither wanted the answer to his unspoken question. He pressed a kiss to her fingertips.
“Will you stay tonight?” he murmured.
“Yes.”
Chapter Seven
The shadows of the day had faded into the night by the time they finished their bath in the pool, dressed, and collected food. He marveled at Angeni’s ability to talk to the earth and how it would respond. Seeds, long buried and forgotten, grew before his eyes. Plants that would take months to produce food did so in minutes.
They quietly talked as they harvested their evening meal. Angeni shared wondrous stories of her father, mother, and siblings. He listened, asking questions when she would blush and grow quiet. The stories his grandfather used to tell him poured through his mind.
His eyes swept over her long hair. He wanted to reach out and touch the long braid that fell over her right shoulder. A light breeze swept over them after they emerged from their bath as it had before. The difference this time was that the wind swirled around Angeni’s hair, braiding it and tucking tiny wildflowers amongst the thick strands. She must have sensed his fascination because she paused and fingered the ends of her hair.
“My sisters love to play with my hair,” she explained.
He reached out and touched it. “I can understand why,” he responded.
Her light laugh drew him closer to her. He cupped her cheek and brushed a kiss across her lips. Alone in the canyon, they felt like the only two people in the world. It suddenly occurred to Aditsan that he would be perfectly content to spend the rest of his life here—if that would mean being with her.
“I will ask my brother to start our fire if you would like to gather some wood,” she suggested.
He nodded and watched as she walked back to their campsite. It wasn’t until she glanced back over her shoulder and smiled again that he realized he was staring at her instead of collecting the firewood.
You have it bad, Aditsan, he thought.
Anyone in the outside world who knew him would have a hard time recognizing him now. It was more than his clothing—which would have shocked everyone, including his grandfather’s friends. It was the emotions boiling over inside him. The iron control and cold facade of organization and focus that had helped him through Harvard Law School was completely shattered. His cool, clinical approach to business had been replaced with a burning need to hold onto the woman who, according to the White Man’s world, shouldn’t exist.
He bent and picked up several pieces of sturdy Juniper branches. Once his arms were filled, he turned back to the campsite. The sounds of the night, the hoot of an owl, the howl of a lonesome coyote, mixed with Angeni’s soft, lilting hum.
He dropped the wood next to the fire ring before he knelt and arranged the pieces inside. He surveyed his handiwork before he rose to his feet and wiped his hands together. Angeni walked over to stand beside him. She whispered a soft request to the wind. In seconds, fire rose from the center of the firewood where he had tucked the small pieces of dried bark.
“Are you hungry?” she asked.
“For you? Always,” he teased.
She laughed and shook her head. “First your belly, then I will feed the rest of your desires,” she murmured, running her hand across the front of his breeches.
Aditsan grabbed her wrist and lifted her hand to his mouth. He pressed a hot kiss to the inside of her wrist. Her eyes darkened with desire when he ran his tongue along the sensitive spot.
“I may be insatiable,” he warned.
“I hope so,” she murmured before pressing a kiss to his lips.
***
“Tell me about your life,” she requested, handing him a woven plate filled with food.
He motioned for her to sit next to him on the blankets. She sank down onto the bed, twisting enough so that they were facing each other. He fingered the food on his plate and was silent, as if he were trying to think about how to answer her question.
“What would you like to know?” he finally asked.
She smoothed her dress over her knees and picked up her plate of food. The food was more for show than for her consumption. There was no need for her to eat. She had made the plate to make him feel more comfortable.
“What do you do in your world?” she asked.
He chuckled and relaxed. “I have a law degree from Harvard Law School with an undergraduate degree in Business. I own Claw Corporations with subsidiaries in London, Sydney, Canada, and the United States. My company buys and sells companies and real estate among other things,” he said.
She frowned. “I do not understand,” she confessed.
“One of my companies buys and sells land to developers who build houses, shopping centers, and business offices,” he explained.
“How can you sell land when earth belongs to everyone?” she asked with a confused expression.
“People own particular pieces of land and they can buy and sell it. For example, this canyon belonged to my grandfather because he purchased the land many, many years ago. It now belongs to me,” he said.
“But, the canyon has been here before the people came and it will be here long after the people are gone. The land was given to all the people so that it can be shared. What you are saying is that one person can own this canyon and not share it,” she argued.
“If he—or in this case—I didn’t want anyone else to come here, I have t
he right to prevent them from visiting,” he acknowledged.
She looked out over the river and along the canyon walls. People were very strange. She couldn’t understand the benefit of pretending that they didn’t share one land, one planet. She looked up at the night sky.
“Do your people try to own the sky and the stars?” she murmured.
Aditsan laughed. “Not yet, but give us time and we probably will,” he answered.
She looked back at him and shook her head. “I do not think my father and mother would be happy with the way people are behaving. They are already upset people do not take care of the gift given to them. I do not think trying to claim the sun and the stars would make it funnier,” she grudgingly informed him.
“I’m sure it wouldn’t,” he replied more soberly.
She sighed. There was so much she didn’t understand and wanted to learn. Picking up a piece of fruit, she slipped the juicy morsel into her mouth and chewed.
“Tell me about your grandfather,” she said.
He leaned back against the cliff and looked up at the stars. “My grandfather’s name was Niyol. He took me in after my mother abandoned me,” he began.
Chapter Eight
Angeni packed up the remains of their meal while Aditsan completed his evening refreshment. She placed the basket with enough food for his breakfast to the side and turned to add a few more pieces of wood to the fire. She was surprised when a shiver ran through her.
“You must come home, Angeni,” her brother softly chided.
She saw her brother Askuwheteau’s face appear in the fire. “What are you doing here?” she demanded.
“Father has been asking for you,” Askuwheteau warned.
She scoffed and waved her hand. “Distract him. He isn’t the only one who starts fires. Isn’t there a place you can burn?” she inquired.
The sound of wings alerted her to Dyami’s approach. This time her brother came in the form of a large owl. He landed on the limb of the juniper tree that was growing out of the side of the cliff. She rose to her feet and scowled up at him with a defiant expression.
“Are you here to warn me as well?” she hissed, rubbing her hands up and down over her chilled arms.
“You are in danger, Angeni,” Dyami said.
Tears burned her eyes and she glared back and forth between her brothers. She knew they loved her, but they were also asking something of her that she couldn’t do. They were asking her to leave Aditsan.
“I know,” she softly replied, her eyes focusing on Aditsan.
“Come home with us,” her brothers murmured.
The longer she stared at Aditsan, the more certain she was about her decision. She couldn’t leave. She loved Aditsan and wanted to stay with him—forever.
“I can’t,” she replied in a voice thick with emotion. “I won’t leave him. I love him.”
“He will only live a short time, Angeni,” Askuwheteau reminded her. “What will you do then?
Tears filled her eyes at the thought. Aditsan’s life was a mere blink in time, or a grain of sand in the desert. Her heart hurt for the inevitable consequences.
“You grow weaker the longer you are in this world, Angeni. It is not safe for you here,” Dyami said.
“I know, but it is a choice I have made. If it means giving up the Spirit World, then I am willing to accept the consequences of my decision,” she softly replied.
“We will try to talk to father. We love you, sister,” Dyami finally replied before he and Askuwheteau faded away.
Angeni knew they would do what they could to help her, but she also knew her father. He would be very unhappy with her decision. Her gaze softened as she watched Aditsan wipe the water from his face.
“I want to feel your touch again,” she murmured.
Aditsan stood up and turned to face her as if he’d heard her quiet confession. The smile on his lips as he walked back to the campsite told her that the wind had carried her softly spoken words to him. He removed his shirt as he walked, tossing it on a boulder as he passed. His hands moved to the top of his breeches.
By the time he reached her, he was gloriously naked. She ran her hands over him as he removed her clothing. He cupped her hand and pulled her down on the pallet of blankets. This time, she remained on top. Pleasure filled her when she straddled his waist. His hand slid along her hips and across her ribs to cup her breasts.
Her soft cry of pleasure filled the air when he pinched her hardened nipples. She splayed her hands on his chest and rose up far enough to align his thick shaft with her feminine core. She rocked back and forth until he lifted his hips and impaled her with one swift motion.
“Forever, Aditsan, I want to stay with you forever,” she cried out, knowing deep in her soul her words were true.
“Yes, Angeni,” he passionately replied.
The sounds of their lovemaking filled the air. The shadows of their intertwined bodies, cast by the fire, danced across the canyon wall. Above them, the stars of her sisters and brothers watched protectively over the lovers while her sister, Tayen, tried to conceal them with the darkness of the new moon.
Their lovemaking continued throughout the night and she embraced each moment. Angeni lay in the protective arms of her human lover, holding him and studying his face as he slept. When he woke, she leaned in and kissed him.
“Don’t leave me,” he ordered, gazing into her eyes as he drove into her again and again. “Don’t ever leave me.”
“Never, my love,” she promised, cupping his face and losing herself in his eyes as she came.
“You are mine, Angeni,” he declared, the expression on his face twisting with a pleasure so intense it bordered on pain as he came.
“Always,” she whispered.
She tenderly stroked his hair and stared up at the stars. A shudder ran through Aditsan’s body, as if he could feel the accusing eyes glaring down at them. Tears filled her eyes, but she refused to allow them to fall.
Come home, Angeni, her sisters begged.
It’s too late, she replied, wrapping her arms protectively around Aditsan as he fell asleep once more.
***
Aditsan woke early the next morning. The low hoot of an owl pulled him from his exhausted sleep. He lay on his back for a moment, wondering if he even had the strength to move. He slid his hand out, searching for Angeni. The empty space next to him caused him to jerk into a sitting position. Panic struck him as he frantically scanned the area for Angeni.
“Angeni?” he called.
“She is gathering firewood,” a voice said.
Aditsan twisted on the pallet. The owl he had heard a moment before swooped down off the branch of a juniper tree and landed on the boulder across from him. He pulled the blanket over his lap and stared back at the unblinking eyes.
“Who—who are you?” he demanded in a choked voice.
“Angeni’s brother, Dyami,” the owl replied.
“Why are you here?” he demanded, rising to his feet and tucking the blanket around his waist.
“You must send her away,” Dyami said.
Aditsan’s hands froze at the top of the blanket. His mind shied away from the thought. The pounding of his heart when he woke and realized that Angeni wasn’t beside him left him feeling weak and shaken. The idea of never seeing her again was beyond repugnant to him.
“Never,” he snapped.
“She will die in your world. Even now she grows weaker, more fragile. She tries to hide it from you,” Dyami stated.
Shock held him rigid. He stared at the owl with growing fear and anger. The creature was lying to him. Surely Angeni would have told him if it was impossible for them to stay together.
“You’re lying,” he gritted out through clenched teeth.
“If you love her, you must let her go,” Dyami instructed.
Aditsan swayed when the owl suddenly disappeared as if it had been an illusion. He lifted a trembling hand to his bro
w. What if the creature was telling him the truth? The thought of losing her sent a shaft of pain through him. The emotion was so intense that he sank to his knees, breathing heavily and breaking out in a sweat despite the cold air against his bare skin.
“I can’t. I can’t let her go.” He looked up at the pre-dawn sky. “I love her. Please—don’t take her away from me,” he begged.
Chapter Nine
Angeni picked up another piece of wood, ignoring the call of the wind. She needed to get back to camp before Aditsan woke. A wisp of wind blew around her again, this time with a little more force. A tiny tug pulled loose several strands of hair that swept across her face.
“Go away,” she ordered.
You must come home. Father knows. He has requested you return, her sisters begged.
“I’m not leaving. I’m staying with Aditsan,” she replied in a mutinous tone.
Mother cannot calm him. You must come home, Angeni, her sisters warned.
She stood still and closed her eyes. The rumble of displeasure deep within the earth matched the one above. Her father was furious. A tremble of unease swept through her.
I love him, she whispered, hoping her father would accept her decision.
Beneath her feet, the ground began to shake. Fear for Aditsan filled her. She dropped the wood she had collected, opened her eyes, and turned back in the direction of the campsite where she had left Aditsan peacefully sleeping. If her father created an earthquake, there was a chance that rocks from the cliff might fall.
All sorts of horrible images filled her mind as she raced back to the campsite. Relief flooded her when she saw him down near the riverbank. She slowed until she was walking at a quick pace.
“Aditsan, you are awake,” she said with a trembling smile.
The smile on her lips faded when she saw the panic in his eyes. She rushed forward when he opened his arms for her. They held each other as if they would never let go.
The Glittering World Anthology: Native American Romance Paranormal Fantasy Page 26