“It’s like magick.” The words slipped from my mouth without hesitation. I sounded so infantile. Magick? Really. But, they were supernatural beings with extraordinary powers … and the siren made enchanted, self-cleaning clothes. Were pixies with a supernatural greenhouse so outlandish?
Bella’s face beamed. I could have sworn I saw an effervescent glow surround her. “It is magick. Fae dust, to be precise. Mixed into the water we give the plants, it allows us to completely control the essence of the plant, down to its atomic structure. Any plant anyone brings me, we can grow here.” She waved her hands again and the glowing mist ceased to fall. Lights brightened in the room until it appeared as though it was noon outside. “Now, tell me. What’s your favorite fruit?”
“Pineapple.”
“Oh, good one! Follow me.” She scurried down an aisle beckoning us to follow.
I glanced back at Erick.
“I’ll wait here for you. Go see,” he answered, grinning.
My hesitation lasted only a second before I darted after her. She’d stopped in the back corner and had picked up a pot from the floor and set it on an empty table in the middle of the aisle. Maybe it was a pineapple plant. I couldn’t be sure. I didn’t really know what they grew on.
She looked up and caught my gaze. “Watch the bud in the center of the plant.”
Nodding, I focused on the reddish-pink ball in the middle. It was the size of a tennis ball and looked like it was covered with reptilian scales. A flick of her wrist surrounded us in the fine glowing mist again. I gasped. The plant moved, growing and changing right in front of me. The bud got bigger and brighter. It was bigger than my fist in seconds and then started changing colors, fading from the bright pink red to a rich green. The scales started to widen and stretch. Then I began to see a faint yellow outline around each one. It was ripe. A pineapple had grown and ripened in front of me in a matter of seconds.
“How?”
“Like you said earlier.” She grabbed the fruit and cut it from the stem. “It’s magick.”
“So all the plants here … they grow just as you need them?”
Bella nodded. “Except for meat and packaged food, though why anyone would ever want to eat something called a Twinkie is beyond me, the town is completely self-sufficient. We provide produce for everyone’s home, including the café.”
“I don’t know what to say.” The whole place was overwhelming.
“Just tell me what you need for breakfast and I’ll set you up with a quick basket. I can show you more another time.”
“I would like that. If there’s anything I can do to help in the store, please let me know. I’m not really sure where they think I’m going to fit in around here. I’d really like to have something to keep me busy.”
She waggled a pointer finger at me and clicked her tongue. “Be careful what you ask for, I may just hold you to that offer.”
“Thank you.”
“What do you need?”
“Oh, some eggs, orange juice, maybe a little bacon would be good. Any fresh fruit you are willing to part with would be appreciated.”
“Excellent. I’ll meet you at the front.”
“Thank you, again.”
“Phffft. No trouble, sweetie.” She flitted away, plucking this and that from different plants.
I walked back to the front of the store where Erick stood. His gaze darkened as it fell on me and I felt his hunger in the air between us like a sparking live wire. His wasn’t the only energy. My arousal spiked right along with his. I wanted nothing more than to be naked and wrapped in his arms.
“Kjaere,” his accent oozed sex. I’d met dozens of vampires since I moved to Texas, but Erick was a whole different variety. Hell, he was a whole different variety of man, too. “Did you enjoy the tour?”
“Yes,” I nodded, licking my lips. “She showed me how the fae dust feeds the plants.”
He stepped forward and pulled me into his arms. His peppermint scent filled my lungs just as his mouth captured my lips. He tasted like honey and smelled like peppermint. Where did he get the candy? He drove his tongue into my mouth and all thoughts of missing the bowl of mints vanished. He crushed my lips with his, all the while cradling my head in his large palms. His thumbs caressed the rise of my cheeks and I moaned into his mouth.
My body burned and my sex throbbed. I could feel my pulse everywhere. Moisture soaked my panties and my breasts were heavy. It was like we’d been in bed touching each other for hours, instead of only a few seconds.
“Erick Thorson, take your tongue out of her mouth and get her into a proper bed before you spread her across the counter next to the cash register.”
I squeaked and tried to pull away, but he held me tight, licking the edges of my lips before slowly releasing me from his grasp.
Bella held up a basket of groceries and flashed me a quick smile before looking back at Erick. “She had a nice dowsing of dust. You can thank me later by helping me build some new tables for the back.”
“Will do.” He took the basket and guided me out of the store with his other hand at my back. “Night, Bella,” he called out before she closed the door after us.
“What was that? What did she mean I got dowsed? I thought that stuff was just for the plants.”
“Fae dust has a unique effect on humans,” he finally answered as we turned off the main town circle. “It heightens their senses and libido.”
“It makes us horny?” I giggled. I certainly felt horny and absolutely ready to strip naked in the street. Damn, we needed to hurry. I pushed into a faster walk and felt his arm encircle my waist. My feet lifted from the ground and we rushed forward. Air whipped against my face. The scent of honeysuckle was on the breeze and a second later we were at his door.
He set me down in the center of his foyer and left my side in a blur. The lights flashed in the kitchen for only a few seconds before he was back and carrying me up the stairs, cradled in his arms like a precious treasure.
Shouldering open the double doors to his bedroom, he walked to the edge of the bed and let me slide slowly to my feet. I kicked off the ballet flats and raised my arms in the air over my head, allowing him to pull off my shirt. It sailed across the room and moments later, my bra followed.
He paused and kissed each breast before unsnapping my jeans and pushing them gently over my hips. I shimmied until they fell to the floor. The underwear was next and I breathed a sigh of relief when he let me step out of them instead of tearing them from my body. I really liked these clothes. I would hate to have to ask Calliope for more so soon.
His lips seared my skin, leaving a hot trail from my neck down to my breasts. I pulled at the hem of his shirt, begging him to join me skin to skin. He obliged and I ran my hands over his solid pecs and taut, eight-pack abs. I wanted to bite and nip at his body. He smelled so good.
He lifted me like a feather and laid me gently on the bed. I sat up and crawled toward him on my knees. He shucked his pants and underwear and gestured with a hand for me to turn. My pussy creamed at the thought of him behind me and I twisted to present my ass. He gave each cheek a quick smack and I yelped. Before I could move, he grabbed my hips and drove into me from behind with one thrust.
So full. So much pressure.
My heart leapt into my throat and I strangled a moan. He held me there several moments before slowly pulling out and then pushing back in. The movement was torturously slow. I tried to push back against him to get a better rhythm, but he held my hips still.
“Am I hurting you?”
“No,” I gasped. Nerve endings surged with electricity as his drew his cock in and out of my slick pussy. Every moment was pure pleasure. One of his hands slid down from my hips and between the folds of my sex, finding the tiny swollen nub that thrummed with need and circling it with a finger ever so slowly. “Ahhh,” I whimpered and pushed back against his cock. Struggling against his grip, I fought to take him harder and faster, but he wouldn’t be rushed. His thrusts remained slow, an
d just his one hand on my hip held me firmly in place.
As his cock slid in and out, his talented fingers tortured my clit until sheen of sweat coated my skin and my entire body shook. The release I needed was just out of reach. Every time I would rise to the crest, he slowed down, keeping me on an edge that bordered on painful.
“Please.” My arms threatened to collapse. Soon I would just be a writhing mass, crying for an orgasm to soothe my humming body. “I need you.”
He released my hips, slid from my body. I cried out. The emptiness was worse than the desire to come had been.
“Shhh, kjaere. I am here.” He turned me over and spread me out on my back. Kneeling between my legs, his form was truly spectacular. His tanned skin glowed in the low lamplight of the bedroom, and his blond hair caught the light and shone like strands of spun gold. A god among men.
He was overwhelmingly male … protector, predator, and lover.
His blue eyes were as dark as the night sky and I caught a glimpse of crimson sparkling from them. My skin tingled in anticipation of his bite. I knew it was coming. I wanted it to come.
I smiled and reached up to embrace him.
My hands slid along his arms and up over his shoulders as he lowered himself onto me. He guided his cock back to my entrance and sank inside me. I made a noise that sounded like the purr of a cat, enjoying every inch of his hardness as it returned to my wet pussy, filling me once again.
His chest rubbed against my sensitive breasts and I arched into his mouth as he suckled first one nipple and then the other until they throbbed. Every surface of my body throbbed with my pounding pulse. He raised his head and looked up at me.
“May I?”
I nodded and turned my head to the side, baring my neck. He leaned down and licked my neck, then kissed along my collarbone and back up to the soft hollow just where my neck and shoulder came together.
His thrusts sped up and my focus returned to my throbbing sex and all-consuming desire to find release. An orgasm started building within me again, swirling inside and heating my skin until the touch of his skin to mine was like fire on ice. My need only grew more and I rocked my hips, matching his rhythm. He ground his pelvis against mine and it set me off like he’d struck a match.
A scream tore from my throat and I arched my back, pressing against him as hard as my human body was able. Muscles tightened and I wrapped my legs around his waist, digging in my heels and pulling him deeper.
A slight pinch on my shoulder made me flinch just slightly, and then the pain faded to pleasure as I felt the pull of blood. I moaned as he drank his fill. Being the one to feed him filled me with a sense of empowerment. He asked. He didn’t take. He made sure I knew it was a gift to be given, not a debt I owed. I loved him for that.
I’d known him two days. Could I love someone that fast? My mind soared to a place of euphoria and I contemplated my realization. His cock moved slowly inside me as he drank. When he finished I felt the swipe of his tongue as he sealed the bite and licked away any trace of blood.
His strokes increased their speed and depth, pushing against my womb and sending me spiraling toward a second orgasm. I couldn’t come again. Not so soon. Not so hard.
“Fly, min kjaereste. Let go and soar again for me.” He reached between us and pressed hard on my clit. Everything went white. My body contracted as if it were made of one single muscle. A deeper, huskier scream, almost like a growl came from my throat and I dug my fingers into his arms. I rode the wave of pleasure higher than I’d ever gone before.
He roared as his body went rigid against mine. After finding his release, he lowered his chest down on top of me, pulling his cock free of my slick sex. Then rolled to the side and moved me to lie in the crook of his shoulder.
I snuggled closer, throwing a leg over his thigh. It was unexplainable, but I loved him. He’d stolen my heart in that cold bus station and brought it to a sanctuary. What we’d done together over the last two days, I hadn’t done with another man … ever. I hadn’t wanted to, either. With Erick, I wanted it. Wanted everything. I was alive again, truly alive for the first time in four years. At his side, anything was possible.
“I’m glad you are happy, kjaere.” His chest rose and fell as he spoke. “You fill me with a joy I thought I’d ever find again.”
I smiled against his skin and rubbed my thumb back and forth over one of his ribs, tracing a small arc back and forth. “There you go reading my mind again.”
A chuckle shook his shoulder, jostling my head ever so slightly.
“I don’t think I’ve ever felt this happy before, Erick. I …” I snapped my mouth shut before I said too much. I couldn’t tell him I loved him now. He was a thousand years old and I’d known him two days. Whether I loved him or not, I couldn’t say it out loud, yet. “You feel like home,” I whispered.
He squeezed me tighter and I craned my neck to look up at him. I was rewarded with a soft kiss on the lips. “As do you, my beautiful Bailey. As do you.” He rubbed his hand through my hair and I leaned into the caress. His thumb traced figure eights on my scalp and my eyes drooped. Sleep was calling, but I wanted to enjoy just being with him a little longer.
“You’ll stay with me … tonight? I don’t want to wake up and you be gone.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” he assured me. “Sleep, min kjaereste.”
I could have sworn he said something about a busy day after telling me to sleep. But, tomorrow would just have to wait. Tonight I was snuggled in the arms of a man who offered me a chance at a fresh start. A chance to love and just maybe, be loved in return.
I was taking it.
CHAPTER TEN
The gentle, but persistent prodding of Erick’s cock against my ass awakened me from a contented sleep and I shivered in anticipation. One of his arms was draped over my waist with the palm holding one of my breasts hostage. I wiggled my hips, rubbing against his hardness.
He shifted behind me and trailed his lips along my bare shoulder. Chuckling, his breath tickled the hairs along the back of my neck.
Wait. “Why does it feel like you are breathing?”
He moved his hand from my breast and lifted my leg, sliding into my wet sex without a hitch. I take a deep breath, surprised I was so ready for him. A moan slipped from my lips as he slowly pumped in and out, stroking the folds of my sex and building a burn deep in my belly.
“It’s something I did long before I became a vampire. Motor memory. The act of drawing air in and out of my lungs serves no physical purpose, but it does give me a more human appearance.”
He thrust in and out, grabbing my hips to give himself more leverage. Another moan slipped out and I leaned back against his chest, quite content to let him have his way with me.
My body was still sore from the night’s escapades, but he has no intention of allowing me to be lazy. One of his hands slips from my hip to my slick folds and rubs directly across my clit.
I gasp and jerk in his arms, digging my nails into his arms. Fire burns in my belly, and an orgasm rushes forward with unusual speed. How does he do this to me? He pressed again on my now-throbbing clit and I grasp at the sheets in front of me, fisting handfuls. I hear myself screaming his name as my body contracts, squeezing his cock for everything it’s worth. He drives into me once more, growling into my ear and taking his release as my mind and body continue to soar in ecstasy.
As my panting returns to normal breathing, he rolls away and gets up from the bed. He walks around to my side and scoops me into his arms. I start to protest, but then decide being carried against his hard, sexy chest is exactly where I like to be. Why walk when a sexy man insists on carrying me?
He pushed through the bathroom door, put me down on the edge of his large soaker tub, continuing across to the shower. A few turns of the hardware has water coming out of all the spigots, including the ones on the wall. I stand, my legs still a little wobbly, and move to his side.
“You should have waited.”
“I can w
alk.” A slight smirk twists my mouth, but my legs wobble like gelatin, betraying how much he’s affected me.
“Barely,” he answered, a smartass grin splitting his face. Taking my hand, he led me into the steaming hot water. The streams pounded against my body.
I sighed. “I’ll just stand here if that’s okay with you.”
He laughed.
I closed my eyes and leaned my head back, letting the rain-like spray from the showerhead directly above me smooth my mussed hair away from my face. Ecstasy. That’s what Erick’s shower was –a marbled room of perfect bliss.
The squeak of a lever made me open my eyes. A draft of cool air wrapped around my wet body as all the flowing water stopped on my side of the shower. Then his hands were on me, running up and down my body, creating a silky lather from neck to toes, chasing away all thoughts of the cold. He took special care with all of my most intimate parts.
A moment later, he pushed a button on the wall next to me and the massaging jets of water returned, along with the steady stream from the overhead spigot. The water temperature was warm enough to keep the chill at bay, but not hot enough to fog the glass wall of the enclosure. He rubbed and guided the water over my soap-slicked body until every trace had been washed away.
“Feel better?”
“What a lovely way to begin the morning.” I licked away some of the water from the top of my lip.
He returned my grin. “There are towels on the warmer. I’ll be out in just a moment.”
I followed the line of his hand across the bathroom and saw several black towels hanging over a chrome frame. Stepping carefully out of the shower, I tiptoed across the black marble floors and grabbed one of the oversized, fluffy towels.
After pressing as much water out of my hair as I could, I wrapped the damp towel around my torso and set the hairdryer to my long tresses. A few minutes later, the water turned off in the shower.
He grabbed a towel and wrapped it around his waist. Via the mirror, I watched water droplets fall from the ends of his blond hair and run in rivulets down his muscled chest. I couldn’t help but wet my lips. An urge to toss down the hair dryer and lick the water from his chest crossed my mind. I caught his naughty smirk in the mirror. Heat crept into my cheeks, and it wasn’t due to the hair dryer.
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