by Lisa Olsen
Bishop picked up my hand and brought it to his lips, brushing them against the sensitive inside of my wrist. That simple contact alone had me shaking like a leaf on the wind. “Hey, it’s okay. It’s just a kiss,” he smiled, pressing my hand over his heart to steady it.
“I don’t know why I’m so nervous about this,” I admitted, my teeth scraping over my bottom lip as my gaze fell to his mouth. “I have plenty of memories of us kissing, it should be no big deal.”
“No, this is our first kiss,” he said softly, leaning in to brush his mouth against mine. Once… twice… electricity building between us, until I completely surrendered to the moment and my lips parted to accept him. His tongue swept out to claim mine, the kiss building in intensity. There were echoes of other past kisses swirling around in the back of my mind, but this was real and this was now. It wasn’t just desire flaring between us, it was a spark that had a life of its own.
Tongues sliding, hands grasping, teeth nibbling and biting, lips crashing together, every time he made a little groan I writhed against him, desperate for him to do it again. Utterly swept away by the moment, I didn’t realize how completely ensnared I was until his mouth pulled away from mine.
Bishop’s forehead pressed tightly against mine, “Please tell me you felt that too,” he said, his breathing harsh as he fought to regain control that I was only to happy to throw out the window.
“Yeah-huh, I did,” I nodded, too overcome to come up with a coy response. Somehow his arms had wrapped around me, pulling me closer until I’d wound up on his lap, and I hadn’t even noticed. I realized I had a tight hold on his hair, and relaxed my grip, rubbing his scalp gently. “Oh, sorry.”
“I don’t mind,” he smiled, pulling back enough to look into my eyes. “Can we do that again?”
“Maybe just once more, to make sure it wasn’t a fluke. But, um… maybe you should take your shirt off? You know, for science.”
He lifted an eyebrow. “Science?”
“Sure, you know, for research purposes. It might spark a memory,” I said nodding earnestly.
“Well, you can’t argue with science.” In the next instant I found myself gently set aside as he went up on his knees. Bishop pulled his shirt off over his head, his muscles bunching and flexing in a beautiful symphony of movement until he knelt in front of me, half naked, like a perfect sculpture.
Jiminy Christmas, he was beautiful. My hand reached out to touch him, gliding over the dusting of hair across his chest, before resting on the tattoo just above his hip. “What’s it mean?” I asked.
“I have no idea,” he admitted with a shrug. “Do you have any tattoos?”
“I… don’t know,” I realized. “I haven’t checked.” I could have a dozen of them on my back and not even know it.
“I’d be happy to do that for you,” he smiled, his eyes dropping to the buttons of my blouse. “I lost my shirt, now it’s your turn. You know, for science.”
“Right, fair is fair,” I nodded. I wanted to do a sexy striptease for him, but it just wasn’t me. Instead, my fingers fumbled at the buttons, until I seriously thought about tearing the darn thing off.
“Here, let me.” His long fingers made short work of my buttons, his eyes intent on the task as he opened my shirt to reveal my simple white bra. Why couldn’t I have been wearing a sexy red number? There was a moment when he stared down at me, all exposed, but I didn’t have time to feel embarrassed, I was too drawn by the hunger I saw in his face.
The shirt slipped from my shoulders in a whisper before he tossed it aside, leaning down to press a soft kiss to my shoulder. “Beautiful,” he murmured against my skin, making my stomach flutter in anticipation.
“You make me feel that way.”
Bishop leaned back, drawing my gaze up to his by a light touch to my chin. “Oh no, it’s all on you, Anja. Everything about you is beautiful, not just the skin you walk around in. Your heart, your voice, your soul. Though your skin is lovely too,” he smiled, fingertips ghosting down my back, sending another shiver along my spine.
The crazy thing was he meant every word, I could see it written all over his face. There was no one else he’d rather be with, and he thought I was beautiful inside and out. “You’re going to make me cry,” I blinked, as emotion made my voice thick.
“We can’t have that, can we?” His fingers turned playful, tickling my sides in a sudden attack that made me squeal and thrash to escape them, a huge mischievous grin on his face.
“Oh, you’re gonna get it!” I cried, fighting back for a few seconds, before I clamped my hands over his, falling back against the bed with him on top of me. Only when I was pinned beneath him did his devilish attack stop, his fingers stilling as he looked down at me.
“This… This is what I remember,” he smiled. “Not just the kissing or the sex. I remember sharing laughter with you. And I remember needing it. I remember needing you.”
He was saying all the right things, and making me feel the right way, but could I trust it? “But what if…?”
Disappointment flashed across his features, but it disappeared, replaced with a patient optimism. Bishop slid to one side, propping himself up next to me, carefully tugging up my fallen bra strap. “We’ll wait as long as you want to in order to feel safe. We’ll wait until all of your memories come back if that’s what it takes. I don’t need mine to know how much I want to be with you. And we have forever to get back to where we belong.”
There is no forever, sunshine. There’s just today, and I’m glad to have you in it. I wasn’t sure where the quote came from, but it popped into my head. “It doesn’t matter,” I realized aloud as everything clicked into place. “It doesn’t matter what we were to each other, what matters is today. And today, I want to be with you, more than anything.”
His lips parted in surprise, forming the beginning of a word only to pause a moment later and regroup. “And by be with, you mean…”
I wrestled Bishop onto his back, straddling him easily. “I mean, you’d better hurry if you want to prove how much you want me before the sun comes up.”
In one smooth movement, he flipped me over, reversing our positions, only instead of straddling me, he came to a rest between my legs. “That sounds like a challenge to me.”
“Do you think you’re up for it?”
He made a show of looking down to where a part of him was definitely up for the challenge. “What would you say if I said I could prove it to you at least twice before dawn?”
“I’d say that sounds mighty ambitious,” I smiled, sliding my arms up his shoulders.
“I feel pretty good about our chances,” he boasted, pressing the bulge in his jeans against my core, which clenched in anticipation.
“That’s mighty big talk for a guy still wearing his pants.”
“Only one way to fix that,” he grinned.
Oh, he was fast. At getting my jeans off and his own, I mean. I barely had time to blink and we were both lying there in our underwear, him nestled between my thighs again. “It’s a good start, but we’re still wearing too many clothes to do this right,” I pointed out.
His lips curved into a wicked smile. “Some things I’d rather do slowly.”
“Well then, by all means, don’t let me stop you,” I smiled, arching my back so he could reach the clasp on my bra behind me.
“What makes you think I want to start there?” he asked, leaning back.
“Hey, feel free to start with your boxer briefs, whatever floats your boat.” I wouldn’t say no to another eyeful from him.
“You first.” He edged lower, hooking his fingers around the tops of my panties to slide them down, stopping to kiss and lick along the way. Over my hip, down one leg until he flung them off, and up the inside of the other, tempting and teasing.
I arched my back again when he made his way back up, but he made no move to take it off of me. “I like this bra, I’m not done with it yet,” he insisted. His cool breath teased me through the lace, hardening my n
ipple through the flimsy fabric. With exquisite care, he gave the same treatment to the other one, until my breasts ached to be freed. Only then did he unhook the strap and set the girls loose, immediately closing his mouth over one dusky peak, the sting of his teeth making me gasp for breath.
“Are you trying to make me remember something, or lose my mind?” I groaned, pressing my breast up into his mouth, desperate for more.
“Maybe a little of both,” he replied with a smug smile.
Two could play at that game. “Maybe it’s my turn to help you with these?” I reached down to trace the length of him through the fabric of his underwear, enjoying his swift intake of breath. He went very still as I held him, stroking ever so slowly, enjoying the weight of him in my hand. My hand dipped inside to touch the velvety smoothness, smiling to myself as he swore in a language I didn’t recognize.
“I’m gonna lose more than my mind if you keep doing that,” he growled, his eyes clenched tight with concentration.
I pushed the briefs over his firm backside, feeling the muscles bunch and shift beneath my hands as he bucked against my thigh in response. He kicked them off, settling between my legs with his thick length slick against my belly.
And then the challenge between us turned into something new. Lost in a sensory swell, we rubbed against each other, hands seeking, mouths clashing. There was no art to it, no teasing, just the exquisite slide of his body against mine.
Every touch was a new discovery, learning what made me sigh, what made him moan. It was like the best parts of a hot one night stand, only with feelings and less awkwardness. We traded gasps of delight, caught up in a whirlwind of sensation.
“Mmm, that feels amazing,” I urged him on when he did something particularly pleasing. “Faster, please… oh… yes, right there.”
And he was just as vocal with me, groaning things like, “Don’t stop that,” or once, “Jesus, do that thing with your mouth again.” It was almost like discovering sex for the first time, everything surprising and new, and so hot, I thought I might go up in flames.
Until it descended into nothing more than a series of gasps and moans, both of us brought to a fever pitch without him even entering me yet. Only when I trembled and shook on the edge of ecstasy did he sink deep inside me, and he didn’t stop, not even when I came apart with his name on my lips.
Even then, he didn’t let me catch my breath, but drove into me again and again, desperate to prove how right we were together. Not until he’d not only proven it to me once, but I quivered on the brink of twice. Only then did he stop just long enough to look into my eyes.
“I love you, Anja, and I always will.” He surged deep then, even as his fangs bit into my throat, the pull of his mouth against my flesh catapulting me into a new world of pleasure. My teeth sank into his shoulder, muffling my blissful cries as we pulsed together. The taste of his blood exploded across my tongue, and it was like coming home. Forget the worries, forget the doubts – I knew him, deep in my soul, and Bishop was mine.
We drank from each other until we were both wrung out with pleasure, and he collapsed on top of me, whispering sweet nothings into my hair. I smiled up at the ceiling, able to understand about half of the flowery words in Italian.
“You were right,” I said, as he propped himself up over me so I could breathe again.
“That we belong together?”
“No, that you could prove it twice before sunup,” I chuckled, looking at the brightening sky through the cracks in the blinds.
“I can prove it to you again if you like,” he grinned.
“No, we have plenty of time to prove it to each other over and over again. I feel just how I want to feel right now.” Lazy, a little sore, and very, very satisfied.
“Good.” He kissed my forehead and rolled over, bringing me with him in the shelter of his arm so that I rested against his chest. “Does that mean I don’t have to go sleep in the root cellar?”
“I knew it, you only wanted me for my bed,” I sighed dramatically, my head bobbing as a rumble of laughter went through his chest. “I guess you can stay, as long as you don’t hog the covers.”
“Deal.”
“Oh, I almost forgot something.” I slipped out of bed, padding over to my bag to rummage through the side pocket.
Bishop watched me with growing curiosity. “Not that I don’t enjoy the view, but what are you looking for? Can’t it wait until tonight?”
“Nope, not this.” Finding what I wanted, I scrambled back into bed beside him, holding my trophy up between two fingers.
“Your ring?”
“The ring you gave me,” I clarified.
He seemed surprised. “I gave it to you?”
“You did. Here’s the inscription, see?” I handed it over for him to examine. “To the stars and back. You said it was a promise ring.”
“Did I say what I was promising at the time?”
“Something about me holding your heart for as long as I wore the ring, only you said it a lot more poetical at the time. You also said these are meteor fragments on the sides. How shiny is that?”
“To the stars and back,” he repeated. “That’s how much I love you.” Lost in a memory, he went still for a few moments, before returning to me with a smile. “Well then, I guess you’d better put this back on your finger.” I held out my hand, and he slipped it on. “There, back where it belongs.”
I settled back down on his chest, snuggling into the crook of his arm. “Just like us.”
His arm wrapped around my back, holding me close. “Back where we belong.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
I woke up with my head still tucked into the crook of Bishop’s arm, his green eyes open and crinkling with his smile.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” he said in a low, bedroom voice.
My voice sounded more like a croak, super sexy. “Hi. Have you been awake for very long?”
“For a little while.”
Had he been watching me sleep the whole time? “How come you didn’t get up?”
“There was nowhere else I wanted to be.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that, indulging in a lazy stretch. “What time is it?”
“I’m not sure. I never set my phone to the local time when we landed in Oslo, but the sun only went down a little while ago.”
“Are the others up?”
“Yeah, I heard them moving around, except for Mason, he’s still conked out.”
That meant it was close to Maeja time. “I guess we should be getting downstairs.”
“Yep, we probably should,” he agreed. “Oh, but there’s one thing I wanted to do first.”
“What’s that?”
He slipped under the sheets, and I squealed as his fingers brushed over my sensitive sides, thinking he wanted to wrestle a bit, but that wasn’t what he had in mind at all. His cool breath across the top of my mound was the only warning I got before his teeth pierced me there, sucking hard, fingers busy. I went from zero to sixty in two point five seconds, coming so fast and hard I didn’t have a chance to slip in a breath before my body became a live wire, arcing with incredible delight.
“That’s three,” he said, crawling up to lay on his back with a smug look on his face, while I lay there gasping for air.
“I thought you liked to take it slow?” I managed to get out eventually, my body still twitching with aftershocks.
“I wanted you to have a good start to your night.”
“It worked.”
“Should I go back to slow now?”
“Yes, slow is good, please. In fact, maybe don’t move a whole lot yet, I’m still recovering.”
He only chuckled. “Only one cure for that.”
The cure turned my bones to water, leaving me feeling weak and exhilarated at the same time, Bishop’s blood coursing through my veins, and counting for another two notches on our new score.
There was a lot of laughter and teasing as we shared a quick shower, the tight quarters maki
ng for a few bumped elbows, but a lot of fun as we cleaned up. I felt lighter than I had since losing my memory, more at peace, and more sure of myself. That I was on the path I was supposed to be on.
We came out of the bathroom in time to see Mason stumbling out of his bedroom in his boxers, hair sticking up every which way. He took one look at us and a sappy smile stretched his face.
“Aw, and all was right with the world,” he said, clapping us both on the shoulder in passing.
My brows rose as he disappeared into the bathroom. “He can tell just by looking at us that we…”
“It probably had more to do with the fact that his room is next to ours, and we weren’t at all quiet last night. In fact, I’d be surprised if the whole house and possibly the neighbors didn’t know what we were up to.”
I knew I should probably be embarrassed, but I didn’t care. “Good,” I grinned, reaching up to steal a kiss. “It’ll save on explanations over the breakfast table.” His arm encircled me, pulling me closer for a more thorough kiss, and then we went downstairs for a cup of tea and to check on Jakob.
The sight of him dampened my good mood, he didn’t look well at all.
“Hey, how are you feeling today?” I asked, offering a smile of thanks as Nell set a mug of something hot and spiced before me, some kind of cider.
“Not so good,” he admitted, barely looking up from where he slouched at the table like an old man. It might’ve been my imagination, but his hair looked dull and lifeless, and the natural glow to his skin had faded to a pale cast.
“Oh.” The sheep’s blood must not have been cutting it. I traded a look with Bishop, who seemed just as concerned. “Do you need one of us to…?”
Jakob shook his head. “No, I will be fine enough until I see Maeja. Then if all goes well I shall be restored.”
“And if it doesn’t?” I hated to say it out loud.
“Then your blood will not sustain me for long,” he said with a tired smile. “I thank you for offering though, petal.” He picked up my hand and kissed the back of it.