The Tempting Touch Of Fire (Elemental Awakening, Book 1)

by Claire, Nicola

  "You think, because my chest is not foreign to you, that I should simply strip down to my trousers and not make you reciprocate, or pay for the privilege each time you wish to view it again?"

  Huh. What did I say to that?

  "Cassandra. Every single time I get to see you naked, I want you to make me work for it. The honour of viewing your perfection should not be received without due regard. I would never take advantage of your beauty, simply because you once let me see you bare. I will always show you how much I value the moment, regardless of how familiar we become."

  He spoke as though this experience would be repeated, as though he had every intention of seeing me naked again and again. Not as though we had a time limit placed upon us. Not as though I was his kind's enemy and we would never be able to be this intimate again. But as though this was the start of something special, something he had every intention of pursuing indefinitely from here on in.

  It was a lovely feeling. But it was merely a ruse. Still, for now, right in this second, in this moment, I would accept the artifice, because I could no further deny myself Theo, than I could believe I was human still.

  I reached down and grasped the edges of my singlet, then before I could think better of it, lifted my arms and pulled the flimsy material over my head. Cold air hit my bare stomach, then wrapped around my taut nipples through the lace of my bra.

  Theo was breathing heavily and wasn't even trying to hide that fact. I crossed my arms protectively over my breasts and Theo growled out a sound of annoyance. I took a step back as though he was about to attack and watched as he battled to make the gold, that had suddenly appeared in his eyes, dim. That muscle along his jaw flexed and his breathing became even more rapid.

  "I will not harm you," he rasped. I wasn't sure I could believe him right then. "But never hide yourself from me." His fingers went to the remaining buttons on his shirt and he made quick work of releasing them. The shirt slipped off his arms, once he'd removed the cuff-links and undid the cuffs, and he tossed it to the floor by the chair.

  He paused, eyes sweeping my still covered frame, and then started to work on his trousers. I wasn't sure whether he was speeding things along because he couldn't stop himself from having me now - and that unfortunately did scare me, even though I didn't want to be scared - or whether he was speeding things along so that he'd be naked, and I would feel better about my nudity in front of him. I was hoping it was the latter, but my skittish heart was sure it was the former.

  Within seconds I had my first view of a fully naked man.

  Oh my God. He was glorious, but in a way I wanted to hide from all that beauty. It didn't make any sense, he was the one fully naked, but I was the one turning crimson from head to toe. My eyes ran over his body and even though I told myself to look away, they wouldn't obey me. He had muscles in places I didn't know people had muscles. One particular spot was so intriguing I stared at it for a full minute, I think. Just above his hip bones, beneath where his abs began. And the abs were pretty impressive, but what was that muscle called, that dipped down on either side of his pelvis, framing the perfection of the man?

  I bit my lip and forced myself to look elsewhere, but there was just so much to take in. I thought I'd be caught in a trance looking at his arousal, but my mind seemed to be blanking on that part of his body and taking its sweet time to catalogue all the rest of him instead. His thighs were impressive, I think both of mine together weren't quite as wide as one of his. I'd seen his chest before, and I took my time to reintroduce myself to that stunningly gorgeous stretch of flesh as well.

  He was a bronze Adonis, no tan line evident, his colouring was all natural, seamless, beautiful. I had the sudden desire to taste all of that magnificent golden skin. Lick it. Bite it. Suck it.

  Theo, clearly seeing my reaction, said in a deeply silky voice, "What are you imagining doing to me, Oraia? Please, put me out of my misery and tell."

  My eyes flicked up to the amused hazel of his. I licked my lips and he cocked his head, a smirk beginning to form on that lush mouth.

  "Sweet Gi," he murmured. "Did you want to taste me?"

  Oh good Lord, how did he know that? He started chuckling, a deeply arrogant sound to my ears right then. He reached out a hand and flexed his fingers.

  "Casey," he said, when I didn't respond after a moment. "Trust me."

  Could I?

  Yes. For some reason - and I guess I wouldn't be considering losing my virginity with the man if I didn't - I trusted him.

  I stepped haltingly towards him and took the offered hand. He brought my fingers to his chest, laid my palm flat with his above it, pressing slightly to make sure I didn't move away.

  "Here?" he asked. Oh dear.

  He shifted my hand, making my palm rub over his flesh, making me feel every... single... muscle and ridge.

  "Or here?"

  He had stopped just above his belly button, directly between the rise and fall of his abs. I was drowning. But strangely wanting the sensation to continue, even though my heart was frantically beating in a world all of its own.

  "Maybe not," he murmured, shifting our hands down further.

  I thought he was going to make me grasp him there. I thought he was going to bypass the spot I had been drooling over and that I wanted with ever fibre of my body to touch. But he knew what he was doing, he probably knew from the very start where I had been fixating my gaze and mind upon. Our hands shifted sideways until he wrapped my fingers and palm around the ridge of one of those delicious, enticing, absolutely mind-blowing muscles on either side of his hips.

  "Little Gi," he whispered, leaning forward so his breath could wash the hair at the side of my face. "Please kiss me here."

  A strangled sound left my lips. It would have been amusing if I wasn't desperately trying to breathe right then. His hand felt so hot against the back of mine, his skin, under my palm and fingers, felt like velvet which had lain in the sun for too long. A jolt of something primal shot up my arm, down my torso and landed directly between my thighs.

  I was dying. There was no other word for what I was feeling. But before I died I'd damn well kiss that spot.

  I was on my knees before him without realising I'd moved. My hand still resting over that muscle, the ridge of it marking my palm for all eternity, I was sure. He removed his hand from mine and laced the fingers of it through my hair, then ever so gently pulled my face towards my hand. Somehow he knew I needed a little more encouragement, and he knew not to delay in offering it up, because I was sure I was about to freeze.

  My hand moved and wrapped around his hip, fingers digging into his flesh. My other hand had somehow made the necessary motions to bring it up on the opposite side, so both hips were grasped by me. I studiously ignored his straining erection, even though it jerked with every new movement I made. If I gave it purchase, I would stop. And nothing was stopping me from tasting Theo right there.

  "What's this muscle called?" I asked, from out of freaking nowhere. My voice sounded strange to my ears; husky, low. Foreign.

  "Oblique," Theo rasped above me, sucking in air as I shifted a finger to run along that ridge. Oblique. I liked that.

  I chanced a glance up his torso to look at his face. I don't know why I did, I just needed reassurance that what I was doing wasn't anything wrong. Oh sweet heaven, that was a mistake. He looked... lost. In a way I had never seen Theo look before. Lost and at home at the same time. In awe and desperately pained simultaneously.

  "Should I stop?" I asked, unsure how to feel about that.

  "Dear God no," he breathed, running a hand softly down my hair, cupping my face. "Please," he begged and that's all it took for me to find the last little bit of courage I needed.

  I kept my eyes on him for a suspended moment and dipped my face towards that beautiful looking and sounding muscle, then leaned in and kissed his flesh.

  It wasn't enough. I shifted closer, gripped him more tightly at his hips, and licked a line up the length of the muscle's ridge.


  "Oh Aetheros," Theo breathed out above me. I think that meant I was doing this right.

  So, I went back for more. This time, ignoring the shape of the ridge, how my tongue rolled over the side and slipped into the dip the muscles created, and instead let the flavour of Theo reach my tongue. He tasted salty, I was sure that was his sweat. Despite its origin, I liked it. It was him; all Mediterranean spice. I expected to taste his scent then. To me, Theo is sunshine and rosebuds, mixed with that Mediterranean spice. But his taste, although complementary to his scent, was not exactly the same.

  But I liked it. I liked it so much I let a little moan come out from the back of my throat, licking and tasting, nibbling and nuzzling his skin. I tried not to think about what I was doing, I just tried to sink into the moment and let my body dictate the pace.

  Once I'd had my fill of that muscle, I moved back, so I could taste the other side. He did have two of them, after all. But before I could move around his erection, which I think may have gotten bigger and angrier looking than before, he reached down and grasped me under my armpits then hauled me up his body so his lips could claim my mouth. Luscious skin rubbed against my skin the entire trip up to his lips. Ooh.

  Kissing, though, I could do. We'd done this already. It was familiar, but also still so new to me that I felt like I was riding a fairground ride, spinning around and around, letting the world pass me, making me dizzy and light headed and wanting to smile.

  "Never" - Theo breathed into my mouth, then kissed me deeply again - "have I" - kiss, tongue swirl around my tongue - "been so" - mouth crushed against mine, teeth pulling on my bottom lip - "turned on" - he groaned, my body pressed firmly into his, my head tipped to the side, so the kiss deepened - " by a kiss to a bloody muscle," he managed to finally finish.

  I was smiling through the onslaught of his erotic and amorous kiss. Theo made me feel like a seductress, made me feel so sure of my effect over him. He made it all seem so natural, so beautiful and sensual. So right.

  "Oraia," he breathed, pulling back and resting his forehead against mine. His eyes were shut, he had one hand wrapped in my hair at the back of my head, the other pressed firmly into my spine, pressing me against his hard body. "You stun me," he added. "You simply take my breath away."

  His head came up and I saw it. That look. The one where he wishes I was born Pyrkagia. He quashed it quickly, banished it from his face and no doubt his mind as well, and kissed me passionately again on the lips.

  "I need you," he moaned against me. "Please, Casey. Let me see you now."

  And despite that look, or maybe because of it, I'm not sure, I let the last of my reserve go and I embraced the man before me, who I'd almost brought to his knees with just my touch. And I stepped back, letting him see me, while I slipped out of my shoes and socks, lowered my yoga pants and quickly removed my underwear completely.

  For the first time in my life I stood before a naked man, completely naked myself.

  We stared at each other. I'd already got a fine look at him, so my eyes were on his face as he took my body in. Wonder and reverence, gave way to a desperate hunger that matched my own. His eyes scanned my upper chest, taking time to note the painfully erect nipples stretching tight across my skin, then worked their way languidly down my frame. Over my flat stomach, my hips, my thighs, until he allowed himself to look at the curls between my legs.

  His eyes shot up to mine and he smiled.

  "Blonde," he said, licking his lips.

  "I wasn't lying," I pointed out. Probably not the most romantic thing to say, but he'd obviously still doubted me so I felt it needed to be mentioned.

  "No," he whispered, eyes back down on my most private place. "I don't know what you are, Casey Eden," he huskily announced. "But I want you."

  My eyes closed briefly at his admission, but he wasn't done.

  "And I'm afraid I may never want to give you up."

  Chapter 16

  He Surpassed All Expectations For Me

  Such honesty at that moment was simply... astounding. And I had thought we'd laid ourselves bare by being naked. Nudity had nothing to do with baring your soul. It was simply removing an outer shell, nothing more. To truly see inside the person's heart, you needed a key. And Theo had just given me his.

  His eyes came up to mine and I saw the pain that admission carried with it. I was not his to keep, as he was not mine. Even if I wasn't born Gi, I was Gi now and he wasn't. He may wish for me to be Pyrkagia, but that was a blind hope that could never be met. We were enemies, and we didn't want to be.

  "Oh, Casey," Theo murmured. "I wish this wasn't so."

  I could feel my tears threatening, my throat was constricting, any moment now I'd be a blubbering mess. Yet I had never experienced such a romantic moment as this in my entire life. Theo took the steps necessary to wrap me in his arms, he laid a kiss in my hair, his hands running in soothing circles across my skin. His warmth enveloped me in a welcoming blanket.

  "Shhh, " he crooned, as a hitched sob escaped. "Please don't cry, Oraia. We have now, we have this moment. Would you pass up this chance to protect your heart? Or would grasp it with everything you have, so you don't miss an opportunity to feel... alive?"

  I swiped at my eyes and looked up at him. He was right. There was no stopping this now. I wanted him. I needed him. Dear God, I was already in love with him. This was going to hurt so much, but I could not walk away.

  "Make love to me," I whispered, in awe of the woman I had become.

  "With pleasure," he husked, abandoning the idea of a shower and lifting me up in his arms to carry me from the room to my bed.

  He lay me down as though I was a priceless treasure. For a moment, he just looked. The need to cover up under his perusal no longer existed. I watched him openly watching me, and I realised that I had absolutely no desire to thwart this moment. His moment to look at me unhindered by the covering of my arms.

  "You are beautiful, Oraia," he murmured above me. "So beautiful I could stare at you all day."

  My breaths picked up in pace. I think I'd spontaneously combust if he just stood there looking at me all day and didn't touch. I needed his hands, his body, his lips on me. But how to ask? My eyes searched his, begging him to see my desire in my gaze, but he was too consumed with other aspects of my body. His preoccupation made me smile. A sound escaped my lips, bringing his attention back to my face.

  "Are you amused?" he asked, shifting to place one knee on the bed beside my body. The movement made me hungrily take in the way his muscles dipped and flexed. The skin smooth and tight across the ridges, the shadows between each rise making his body a sculpted work of art.

  "I see what you mean," I said, absently. Theo cocked his head and arched an eyebrow at me. "I could look at you all day too." His smile was blindingly beautiful.

  He lay himself down beside me and began running a finger lazily up my thigh, across my hip bone and over my stomach, to come to rest beneath my breasts, then go back down again. Every action he made was slow and purposeful, when my body was craving hard and fast. I'm not even sure what hard and fast meant, but I knew I wanted more than he was teasingly giving.

  I squirmed beneath his touch and watched eagerly as he lowered his lips to my skin, kissing each one of my ribs from the bottom up to my breast. His finger was drawing circles just above my pubic hair, while his tongue and lips lavished attention on my chest. I wanted him to touch my breasts, my nipples. I arched my back without thinking, offering myself up on a platter for his tasting.

  He made a sound so like purring it surprised me. My eyes flicked open and I saw the hungry look in his gaze just before his lips wrapped around one nipple.

  Oh sweet heaven, nothing compare to this. Then his free hand wrapped around the neglected breast, full hot palm over its entirety. I moaned, it was an extremely erotic sound. And all he was doing was touching and kissing me. What would I do when he did more? His palm squeezed my breast, then his thumb and forefinger found my nipple and he rolled an
d pinched the peak. I cried out and rocked my hips for something I wasn't sure of, but needed.

  "Shhh," he purred above my nipple. "I'll take good care of you, Oraia, but I have to get to know these two beauties first."

  He shifted his weight so his upper chest was over mine and his lips could reach the nipple he'd been palming. His tongue swirled around the edge, soothing the sting of the pinches he'd made and then he sucked the tip into his mouth hard. I felt the firmness of his erection pressing against my hip, letting me know he was as into this as much as me.

  I think I was going to fall apart from this alone. My hand snuck down my stomach and reached between my legs before I could stop it. My mind was misfiring, working on automatic pilot. I was so turned on and craving contact at my core, I was prepared to embarrass myself to get it. I didn't realise he'd replaced his mouth with his fingers again. I didn't realise he'd lifted his head to watch what I was doing with my hand. Until it was too late.

  Just as I was about to come apart his hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled it away from my centre.

  "For shame, Cassandra," he chided with obvious amusement. "You would deny me your first orgasm in my presence? I will gladly watch you play some other time, but tonight, my first with you, your orgasms are all mine."

  Heat washed up my body, turning everything pink. His eyes came up to my face and he growled.

  "You misunderstand me, Oraia. If I see you come apart from your touch right now I will spill myself right here. I am barely in control as it is." His face dipped down and he kissed me soundly, making my body relax with each swirl of his tongue, nibble of his teeth, moan from his mouth.

  By the time he broke the kiss I was languid and his hand was between my thighs, stroking one solitary finger up through my wet folds.

  "I need to prepare you for me, little Gi. I'm going to taste you here. Drink you down. Are you ready?"

  Was I ready? For him to kiss me there?

  I nodded, noticing my eyes felt as wide as saucers in my face right then. My heart thundered like a freight train in my chest. I felt alive, but as though at any minute the world would stop... and me with it.