by Mardi Ballou
“I want to make love with you.” His whispered words penetrated her soul.
“Yes.”
Hand in hand, the two of them ran to his bedroom. His king-size bed beckoned. In moments, he’d tossed back the blue and beige quilt to reveal pale blue cotton sheets. He tore off his clothes, then drank her in with his eyes as she gave up on a sexy strip and got naked.
Usually, she felt shy about being naked with anyone, but tonight was different. With Rafe she had the strangest desire to display herself with pride, to offer herself. The way he devoured her body with his gaze, Lilith could have sworn he was responding to her whacko emotions. Under Rafe’s intense scrutiny, she unfurled herself, opening like a blossom at last encountering sunlight. His gaze warmed her. Though she didn’t make it a practice to jump into strange beds, her leap into Rafe’s bed felt exactly right. Kind of like Goldilocks. Oof. She wished her mind wouldn’t play such weird tricks on her.
“I want to savor your beauty with all my senses.” Rafe towered over her in his naked glory. Impossibly, the man appeared even more gorgeous in the actual flesh than she’d imagined. His body was the ideal. Not even Michelangelo could have sculpted such magnificence. Lilith couldn’t decide what she wanted to do more—look or touch. Not to mention taste and smell. Like a starving woman invited to a rich one-time only banquet, she went into glutton mode and prepared to feast.
“I must touch you, now,” he growled, climbing in alongside her.
Touching his skin set off electrical impulses within her. Before now, she’d never realized how much pleasure could come from simple skin-to-skin contact. Was it the wolf in Rafe that made him feel so different to her fingertips? Realizing this magnificent creature, this total man, contained within him a different nature took her breath away, exciting and terrifying her. She was completely out of her depth. But more than breath itself, she craved the erotic intimacy their being together promised.
“Lilith Graves, you are a very special, beautiful woman,” he murmured, tracing the contours of her body with his fingertips.
She closed her eyes and focused her whole being on the moment. His masculine scent—pine and forest and something she couldn’t name but found appealing—made her head spin. She wanted to remember that scent always, to imprint it within her so she could conjure it up, so she could summon up the sense memory of being with him every day for the rest of her life.
His breath seared her as he nuzzled the space between her breasts. She always felt self-conscious because she was bigger than most of the models in fashion magazines. Though people always said men liked big breasts, she hadn’t found that to be true—until now. Rafe suckled one nipple with gusto while he fondled the other and appeared not only to accept but to appreciate her as she was. She moaned with pleasure in response to the way his hand and mouth moved, the things he did to her with each movement and breath. Most of all, she loved the way he savored her and awoke her to the wonders of her body. She’d never before realized how sensitive her breasts were, or how direct the connection was between her areolas and her clit.
“Mmm,” she murmured. Her fingers wove into Rafe’s thick black hair. With his ear near her heart, Rafe had to be able to hear what he was doing to her, how her heartbeat sped with arousal. His skin heated her everywhere they touched, as if he wanted to share his inner fire with her.
Never one to remain passive, Lilith reached for Rafe’s flat, taut belly. Her hand immediately encountered his huge pulsing erection and they both moaned at the erotic contact. Rafe Graywolf was exceedingly well formed. His cock felt like velvet skin over a marble core. He responded to her slightest movement. With the thrusts of his hips and his deep growly moans, Rafe let her know how much she pleasured him.
“You are one delicious lady,” he whispered. Using his talented tongue and teeth, he began to nibble the sensitive flesh of her breasts. She shivered. Moving with infinite slowness and deliberation, he began to work his way down her aroused body with his teeth and lips. At the same time, he caressed her vulva, his fingers darting to her clit, along the folds and on a foray deep inside her.
Goddess, she’d never before been so wet. She wanted him so much, he had to sense it in every fiber of his being. When his mouth touched her pussy, she had to hold tight to keep from flying off the bed. The pleasure of his tongue on her clit, his strong, sharp teeth nibbling at the soft, sensitive tissues and licking her wetness had her at the edge of a high precipice. Waves of pleasure radiated through her, from her feminine core outward, threatening to force her off that edge.
“I want you, Lilith. I want you to ride my cock until we both holler from the sheer pleasure of me being deep in you.”
Hearing him put his desires into words almost brought her to tears. The fragility of the moment, of the bond between them, staggered her. This was the first time she’d ever experienced such perfect communication with any other being—as if their bodies were created for just this moment. She regarded her thought as silly, a mind blip caused by extreme arousal. There was no such thing as destiny, right? Yet her body thrummed with the wisdom that every moment in her life, all she’d ever been or done had led her to this exact time, this place, this man.
“I want you, too, Rafe.” Her brain scrambled for something more memorable to say, but she came up empty. All she wanted now was to focus on him, on them, on what they could be together.
“I’m coming in,” he groaned.
“Yes, oh yes,” she breathed.
With a grunt he got to his knees and, in one smooth movement, wedged himself between her legs. He held his dick in his hand and Lilith nearly fainted from the pleasure of looking at him. Where was a camera when a girl needed one? Heck, she wished her eyes could become a camera to record the image of Rafe offering her his huge, hard penis. She’d have a special time each day for the rest of her life when she would dream over his picture and feast her senses on her memories.
With total focus, he positioned his glans between her folds and the contact set off sparks of pleasure that nudged her out of control. The pleasure of divine friction coupled with his scent shot through her. The way he sucked his breath in, with her empath senses going at full tilt, she could feel him experiencing the same level of sensation and delight.
“You feel so fantastic,” he rasped. “So wet and warm, so welcoming.”
“You’re totally welcome to come into me.” Her voice sounded surer and steadier than expected, considering how much she was quivering.
Now he braced himself with one hand on each of her hips and wedged the head of his cock the smallest bit into her. “Ohhh.” This was the first time she’d ever had such a sense of intimate connection with a lover.
Too slowly, he worked his way into her. Every bit deeper opened her up to a whole new world of ecstasy. To her astonishment, the sense of intimate connection grew deeper as he claimed each inch of her.
“I feel like I’ve just found my missing half,” he whispered.
Goose bumps sprang up on her arms and her back, despite the warmth the two of them generated. By sharing this profound intimacy with her, Rafe was inviting Lilith to a whole new dimension of being, one she’d never even imagined. He was showing her who he was and taking in the deepest knowledge of her. By participating with him in this almost mystical union, she welcomed him and agreed to their bond, the first time she’d ever felt this close to anyone—as if they’d become one. That realization scared and awed her.
When Rafe had penetrated to the deepest bit inside her, he lay perfectly still. Despite the impetus to move, to give themselves up to the full erotic pleasure of being together, she tried to follow his lead and remain still. If they stayed joined like this, they could prolong this magical joining. Could it ever be enough for her? Thinking that, she tilted her hip a fraction. He groaned and put his hand on her to still her.
If only she could turn off her mind and be in the moment. Despite the perfection of their being together, Lilith couldn’t keep doubts at bay. After all, the ecstas
y of their contact might blow her mind, but it might be just business as usual for Rafe. An unwelcome wave of jealousy surged through her, threatening this exquisite moment. It couldn’t be this amazing for him with anyone else, could it? Lilith turned her head to clear away the disturbing thought. Just for now, she willed herself to turn off her mind and stop the questions that tormented her. No matter what, she would focus on being in the moment, allowing no thoughts of the past or the future or Rafe with another woman to intrude on the magic ride of the present.
Rafe grunted something and Lilith was afraid she’d messed everything up with her usual insecurities.
Then he said, “Much as I would love to remain like this forever, I’ve got to move. I’ve got to explore how it feels to plunge my cock in and out of you, to touch all the beautiful places inside you.” He ran his strong fingers down her side, raising shivers wherever he touched.
“I want to feel the way you maneuver your cock in me,” she whispered back. She had her legs wound around him and he was so deep in her she imagined he could go no further. Nonetheless, she laid her hands on the firm cheeks of his ass and pressed him to her. To her wonder, this tightened their contact and sent new sparks of pleasure shooting through her.
In complete joy and togetherness, their rhythm perfectly in sync, they played out their intimate dance. They each touched more and more of the special places that rewarded their intimate exploration with ecstatic sensation. Lilith fell helplessly, ecstatically into the erotic mystery of being one with Rafe.
Chapter Three
Rafe had been attracted to Lilith from the moment they met, with an intensity that made previous attractions seem trivial. Though he’d made love with more women than he could remember, nothing about being with Lilith resembled any of his other experiences. The uniqueness couldn’t be due to her being part ghoul, could it?
He was out of control, not at all a familiar experience. Holy shit. If he’d known making love with her would push his buttons to this extent, would he have given in to the erotic impulse—or run like hell? A woman like her, an interlude like this, could ruin him for being with other women. Talk about timing. Why had this woman come into his life just when he could no longer play around, when he had to search for his soul mate?
The way they moved together, the perfect rhythm and synchronicity between them, sparked a wild idea. All his instincts screamed that Lilith Graves was his mate. Except, how could that be? Lilith was possibly the most inappropriate woman in the universe to be a pack alpha’s mate. For crying out loud, she was a ghoul, the absolute bottom of the evolutionary chain. To add insult to injury, she was a vegetarian ghoul. Not even the most flea-bitten, god-forsaken pack would lower themselves to accept her as their alpha’s mate.
Though his rational inner voice kept arguing against the physical attraction that drew him to her, an overriding sense knew there was something more. Try as he might to be logical and listen to reason, he couldn’t focus long on this glimmer of future trouble. He couldn’t focus on anything that interfered with their being together. Right now, he’d be happy to stay forever in the pheromonic haze of their erotic coupling.
In addition to how he felt when he was with her—like he was bigger, stronger, handsomer and more fascinating than all the super heroes combined—he got off on the power of the chemistry between them. It was like they were the only two people in the world and they could happily recreate their own personal Eden.
Rafe took no small pride in pleasuring his sexual partners. That was one reason why they always wanted to come back for more. Besides, pleasure for pleasure fit with his notions of fair play. With Lilith, though, that impetus took on a whole new dimension. Pleasuring her became a mission he had to fulfill. Her reactions mattered because she did.
“Rafe,” she whispered, stretching his name to several syllables as her body prepared to rise to her release.
The way she called his name, the way she clutched him, her graceful erotic dance—every nuance combined to sweep him up and carry him along in a flood of sensation. Now that he was sure she’d come first, he could let up on his iron self-control—he could unclench his teeth and begin to allow the gathering force of his own orgasm.
“Lilith,” he murmured, stroking her hair. His thrusts and plunges into her became deeper, faster and ever more frenzied. The heat between them crackled and sparked, raising the stakes. Such intensity couldn’t last, but before the flames subsided, he sensed they’d be forever singed in a mutual fire.
With Lilith now fully focused on the release she’d been building to, her face took on an especially sweet expression, almost peaceful. Rafe wanted to lick her rosy cheeks, her full, pouting lips, but he feared he’d burn her and scar her with the searing heat of his arousal. Later, he’d tongue her, taste her everywhere he longed to. For now, his own sexual wild ride threatened to engulf them. His cock had grown larger than ever before and, once he began to come, he’d explode into her, flooding her with the come she’d stimulated.
“Oh, oh, oooh.” Lilith shuddered to a full-body climax that shook the earth and stars. He cherished each tremor and wanted to catch her moves and hold them to him. Breathless and stunned, he registered with shock what this woman did to his breathing and his heartbeat.
Right before he came, Rafe always had a moment when his inner wolf surfaced, fueling his orgasm with the powerful force of his dual nature. Though he didn’t take on the physical aspect of his wolf self, for a time his heart beat doubled and his full soul soared. Then, after he gave himself up to his climax, as he lay in the glow of erotic satisfaction, his selves completed the journey to unity.
With Lilith, his wolf self lingered far longer than ever before. Reeling from all the shocks of their lovemaking, Rafe had no idea what to make of yet another first he was experiencing with her.
“How are you?” he crooned softly in her ear.
Rafe’s breath tickled her ear. Lilith couldn’t believe she had any nerve endings left to register sensations, but his warm breath proved she did. “Yum,” she whispered back in brilliant response. Judging by his smile, he wasn’t looking for brilliance just then, which was good.
Lost in a tide of pleasure with the merest touch of confusion, she fell back against the pillow. Her usual experience in the past was to find the after-loving moments to be a letdown, probably because she usually felt that she’d once more been with the wrong man. But with Rafe, who’d been the wrong man from the very first, Lilith couldn’t bring herself to regard anything about him as less than right.
She had seriously underestimated how being with him would impact her. All she’d wanted, she told herself, was to break her long sexual dry spell. Rafe, who was totally out of her league for several million reasons, had seemed like her dream candidate for a quick but meaningless fuck—assuming they ever got that far, which had been a bit of a fantasy for her. But, goddess, she’d gotten far more than anticipated. Would the most amazing orgasm in her life turn out to be her biggest mistake ever?
As they clung to each other, limbs entangled, cocooned in the mutual musk of incredible sex, Lilith wished she could turn her mind off. Most of all, she wished she could make what they’d just experienced last. She’d never before made love with a shifter. Although she’d heard the same wild stories as everyone else, she hadn’t believed them. When she and Rafe had come—their orgasms so close they’d been virtually simultaneous—Lilith could have sworn she’d sensed the life force of a big, powerful wolf hovering around her. She should have been scared, but instead, its presence seemed the most natural thing in the world. Heck, she’d shivered with disappointment when the sensation dissipated before she could examine it.
“I sensed the wolf,” she whispered to Rafe. “Your wolf…you.”
He brush kissed her lips. “He wanted to get to know you,” he confessed. “And he will, but that wasn’t the right moment. He likes you, a lot.”
“Really? Is that usual?” She blushed, which was stupid considering how intimate they’d ju
st been—still were. In some ways, lying with him like this felt even more intimate, considering that she had his leg between hers, wedged against her pussy, still creamy and sticky with his come. Yet asking the question made her blush.
He traced her areola, coaxing the nipple to bud into delicious hardness. Her lower belly clenched in renewed arousal. Lilith had always considered her ghoul self practically a nympho, which her human self made behave. Now, in contrast, she suspected Rafe was arousing both her inner girl and her ghoul. And considering that she’d just come, she’d have expected to need some recovery time. She felt good to go again and that just had to be completely wanton.
“No, it’s not. Lilith, nothing about my being with you is usual. To be honest, I don’t know exactly what to make of what’s happened between us. My gut tells me that nothing you and I do together is wrong. You’ve hit me like a meteor from outer space, lady, and I can’t ignore that.”
He’d had that effect on her too.
And then she remembered. The questionnaire, the friggin’ questionnaire. She was with Rafe to help him fill out the intake interview questions so she could help locate his perfect mate. Not her. Everything she was doing tonight threatened her agency, her job there and maybe most importantly, her friendship.
Still, what was happening between her and Rafe seemed even more important than her forever friendship with Dominique—which stunned her. Until now, she’d never have believed that anything could be more important to her than that friendship. Of all the inappropriate, unprofessional and disloyal behaviors. How could she have let this happen? How could she have fallen into bed with the most unavailable client in the universe?
The return of her thought processes sent Lilith’s spirit plummeting back to Earth like a rogue elevator, down from the fuzzy, dreamy height of her fantasies.
***
Conflicting voices raged in Rafe’s head—a variation on the usual “angel” and “devil”, because this time, it wasn’t at all clear which was the devil’s voice. Was it the one behind the loud chorus urging him to extend his intimate interlude with Lilith? He loved everything about being with her like this, the two of them floating in their own unique world, buoyed by the incredible affinity that had sprung up between them. Being with her felt anything but wrong. On the other hand, the voice of reason, the one programmed by the elders, provided a much different message—“Run!”