Hunger: Goddesses of Delphi

by Gemma Brocato

  “Oh, Ben.” Her infectious laugh tickled his solar plexus. “I’m immortal. You can’t get a ticket for drinking then driving through the Hollow.”

  “The Hollow?” He prowled toward the bar, drawn to her like a plant to the sun.

  She hopped onto a stool and patted the seat next to her. “It’s like mass transit for immortals. I can think about where I want to go, anywhere in the world, and be there in an instant. You have the ability now, too.” She splashed the potent, clear liquid into the shot glasses.

  “Sorry, but I still have to use a car to get from point A to point B, just like other people.” He sat facing her, framing her knees between his. Her jeans-clad thigh was warm and supple under the palm of his hand.

  “Nope, since we already share premonition, I asked Zeus to provide you with power of transport and communication.” A delicate smile lifted her lips and her words sounded directly in his head.

  The musical quality of her voice intensified, was clearer and sharper. As if by not being spoken out loud, the atmosphere couldn’t muffle the sound. His heart sped up in response. “So I can hear your thoughts?”

  “And you can speak back to me. Just form your sentence and imagine releasing your inner voice into my head. Like a movie projector. But don’t yell.”

  When Lia laid her hand on his arm, electrical currents surged along his nerves, spreading like wildfire through him. The sensation made it difficult to focus on the task of speaking directly into her brain.

  Blinking hard, Ben formed the words in his head, then thought of a drive-in movie theater he’d gone to as a kid. He imagined the words crawling away from him, like the opening scene from a Star Wars movie. “So kind of whisper-think and the words will just appear in your head?”

  “You did it.” Lia laughed out loud. “That calls for a reward.” She pushed the shot glass across the space between them.

  She clinked her glass against his, then poured the liquid into her mouth, tipping her head back and exposing her neck. Ben downed his shot, squeezed the lime into his mouth. Leaning forward, he captured her lips to share the tart juice.

  Lia lifted her hand to his jaw, and in turn, he tunneled his fingers through her soft curls. The gentle rasp of her tongue jolted lust straight south, landing with a lurch in his lap. He was already harder than he’d been in ages, his cock thick with desire and need.

  She eased back from him. “You need more practice.” She poured another shot for each of them. “More practice, more reward.”

  Dropping his hands to her hips, he debated what he should think into her brain. Ignoring the drink, he studied her forehead and imagined his words sifting through skin and muscle and bone. “The first time I cup your breasts will be magic.”

  Her eyes melted and her breath rushed out. “Yeah? Do tell.”

  Thinking straight into her brain again, he said, “I’m going to worship them with my fingers, my teeth, and my tongue.”

  Lia’s mouth dropped into an open O. “You’re pretty good at this.”

  “Yeah? Does this work with pictures? Can I think of an image and have you get it?” Widening his legs, he wrapped his hands around her hips and dragged her forward until her knees grazed his thighs. He swept his lips over her cheek and to her ear, licking the hollow between it and her jaw.

  With her low chuckle, a picture formed in his brain of them kissing. He drew an image in his mind of her unbuttoning his shirt and sent it back to her.

  Lia ran her hand from his jaw, skating it over his clavicle, then down the center of his chest. She paused on the first closed button and slipped it free of the material.

  Holding her gaze, he received an image from her, of her straddling him, his hand under her shirt and pulling her bra clear to suck her tit deep into his mouth.

  “Damn, I’d have loved playing the piano more if practice had been like this.” He lifted her body closer, helping arrange her legs over his hips until she was seated on his straining erection. Blood sang in his veins and his body tightened. He dragged his hand up her ribs, pushing the fabric of her T-shirt upward. Once he’d exposed the silky fabric of her bra, he snagged his fingers in one cup and dragged it to the side. Her dusky rose nipple was already drawn tight.

  She moaned quietly then sent another picture, this one of his tongue circling, licking, loving the peak. When he complied, her skin tasted of vanilla and cinnamon as he rolled the tight bud under his tongue.

  Moving his other hand to her curvy, luscious ass, he pressed her to him until her core was as close as it could be to his arousal while still completely clothed. Tequila mixed with hormones in his blood was a potent combination. It made him reckless as he continued to suck her nipple, one hand massaging the mound, holding her tight against the seal of his lips.

  Lia moaned and gripped his head between her hands. Shifting her hips, she ground against him. In a smooth move, she lifted one leg over the back of his barstool, opening more, exposing her core to him. She arched her back and purred when he bit her nipple, then laved the sting away.

  His cock was so hard he worried he’d shoot off the instant he plunged inside her, if not sooner. Pleasure fueled by alcohol coursed thru him and he rocked his pelvis against hers. The stool teetered precariously with the motion, then righted once he stilled his hips.

  He let her breast slip free of his mouth, then licked his way up her chest and neck until he possessed her mouth again. Thrusting his tongue deep, the way he wanted to move his dick inside her sweet heat. In response, Lia scooted tighter to his body, rocking the stool again.

  “Lia,” he breathed as he scattered kisses over her face. “An unsteady barstool isn’t the safest place for this. Need to get your ass naked and on a table or somewhere steadier.”

  “I have a better idea.” Her eyes were bright and mischievous when she leaned away. “I mean, not about the naked part, but about a steadier place.” He shivered when she ran her tongue around the rim of his ear. Goddamn, he wanted that tongue running around the crown of his cock. Her throaty little laugh made him believe she’d gotten that mental picture as well.

  “What did you have in mind?” he asked as he nibbled his way down the narrow column of her neck.

  She leaned her head back as he swirled his tongue into the scallop between her collarbones. Her breasts, one still clothed and the other exposed, naked and inviting, arched against his chest.

  She clutched one shoulder, and grasped the neck of the tequila bottle. “Ready for another lesson? How about I show you transportation, immortal style?”

  “What do I need to do?”

  She nibbled his jaw. “This time, nothing. Just enjoy the ride.”

  An unaccustomed laugh rasped in his throat. “Oh, I’m sure I’m going to.” He turned his mouth toward her seeking lips and delved his tongue deep inside. The kiss was open-mouthed and hungry, and Lia accepted his tongue eagerly. Raising his hands to her head, he held her still and broke the seal between their mouths. “Will moving through the Hollow hurt?”

  She opened her eyes, her lids at half-mast with the sensual drugging of the electric kiss. “You’ll feel pressure at first, like flying in an small airplane. If you keep kissing me like you just did, your ears should keep popping. Breathing won’t be as easy at first, as the compression builds. But once we slip through the barrier, it will be okay. Won’t take long, I promise.”

  Standing, he secured her legs around his waist and tucked her tight against his body. “This is it? I don’t need to do anything?”

  “Nope. I’ll shift to mist and you’ll maintain your form, but it’s like you’ll be transparent. You’ll feel like you’re losing your grip on me, but don’t worry.” She squeezed her legs and arms tighter around him. “I won’t let you go.”

  An instant later, pressure built in his chest and ears, just like he’d experienced last night, and then again this morning when immortal things were going on around him. In his arms, Lia’s form shimmered, changing to a cloud of sunset orange and speckled with bright pink
dots of light. She glowed from the inside, her eyes shifting to the intense blue flame of the pilot light in his furnace. His own body heated and when he glanced down, his chest was gilded silver. A small pulse of sunny yellow glimmered where his heart should be. Lime green pulsed like a heartbeat in Lia’s torso.

  All around him, he had a sense of darkness, of being in a fog, dotted by occasional spots of color. His body appeared to be the only instance of silver.

  Sealing her lips over his, Lia moved her mouth in abandon. His ears popped when he sank into the motion, opening and closing his mouth with each slide of his tongue over hers, swallowing her taste. The odd reality of movement through space commingled with his sense of floating.

  Lia’s voice chuckled in his head. “You’re doing great, but I can tell by your kiss you’re distracted.”

  “If it were your first time, you’d be a bit absent as well.” His words echoed oddly in the cavernous void.

  “You’ll get used to it. Almost there.”

  He kissed her again. Or rather, the mist where her face should be.

  “Uh, Ben? That’s my nose you’re trying to shove your tongue into.”

  “Sorry, I couldn’t tell.”

  In his peripheral vision, an orange cloud encircled his face, holding him in place. The feeling of being enveloped in her mist, merged with her body, shot way past erotic to fucking inflammatory. His arousal was so steely he thought he’d burst through his zipper.

  Slowly, his surroundings, and the glorious woman in his arms, solidified. Although they still hovered inches above the ground, they’d clearly shifted into a bedroom. A beautiful, softly feminine bed dominated the room. Big enough for five people to roll around in. Ben rejoiced it was just the two of them.

  Lia dropped her hands to his chest even as he kept his under her butt, supporting her weight against him. With smooth motions, she unbuttoned his shirt. His feet finally touched the plush rug under him.

  “Put me down, Ben.”

  As he complied, she slid down his body like a firefighter sliding down a pole. Passion burst within, like he was getting a vibe from her about how awesome his erection felt to her. Hot, driving lust speared up his spine, his balls tingled and pulsed as they drew closer.

  “I can’t—” He arched his hips back from her. “Holy fuck, Lia. Gotta give me a minute. You just about rocked my world.” He squeezed his eyes shut, willing his impending and premature climax back into his body. He fucking wasn’t going to come in his jeans. Not when he had this warm, willing woman two inches away from him, Trying to strip off his clothes, leaving him one inch away from heaven.

  “Not yet, I haven’t.” She dropped her hand past his waist and molded it over his dick.

  Sweat broke out on his forehead and he ground his back teeth together so hard he swore he cracked one. He grabbed her hand and pulled it away from the front of his jeans.

  The smile on her face turned wicked and she eased a step away from him. “But I will.”

  She skimmed the bottom of her shirt upward, pulling it over her head. After she tossed it behind him, she reached around her back, arching her chest toward him, and released the confining bra. With a shimmy of her shoulders she worked the scrap of fabric free. It plopped softly as it landed near his foot.

  Ben’s jeans, already taut against his groin, outlined his ass as he stooped to pick up the pink lace. He held her gaze as he lifted the material to his nose. “Vanilla and cinnamon. Like a Snickerdoodle cookie.”

  That drew a startled laugh from her, distracting her from the path of seduction she’d set out on. “Imagine you eating a cookie.”

  Still squatting, he gave her a serious look. “I eat cookies. Mine are typically made with molasses and chia seeds.”

  “No chocolate? Sounds awful.” Lia balanced on her right leg and put her left foot on his thigh. Oh, goddess his fingers were warm on her ankle as he unfastened the strap of her sandal.

  As he drew the shoe off, he lightly skimmed a fingernail over her instep. Shivers coursed up her leg, crested at her hip and lapped against the melting spot between her thighs. The shoe clunked on her bedroom’s hardwood floor, He eased her left foot to the ground then reached for her right.

  He’d dragged off her other shoe and ran his fingers up inside her pant leg, his fingertips trailing heat along her calf. The boot cut of her jeans tightened around the knee, prohibiting his path.

  “Ben, help me out of these.”

  The speed with which he complied stole her already scarce breath. He dug his fingers lightly into her flesh, rose on his knees in front of her, pressing his lips to her belly. Swirling his tongue into her navel, gripping her waistband, he popped free the button of her jeans. The zipper rasped loudly as he bared her lower abdomen. Fingers digging gently into the flesh on her hips, he squeezed and pulsed, driving her wild with the pressure. The heavy denim, along with her silky panties, slid down her legs to pool on the ground. An arm around her thighs steadied her as she stepped free.

  His light touch, calloused palms and steady arms pushed her toward the edge of reason. He buried his nose at the apex of her thighs, and flicked his tongue against the bundle of nerves hidden in her folds. A shudder claimed her, weakening her knees, making her heart tremble.

  “Ben,” she sighed out his name and dropped her head back on her shoulders, tangling her hand in his hair. “Please…” She urged him on with just a thought. “Take me. Spread me on the bed and fuck me.”

  “Oh, God.” Ben growled straight into her head as he surged up her body.

  Lia found herself floating through the air with Ben’s muscular arms supporting, laying her back on the bed. She arched and moaned as a picture materialized in her mind—of his straining hips, pumping into her body. Closing her eyes, the image continued its playback against her eyelids. She bit her lip against the orgasm rising despite the fact that he still stood by the side of the bed, not physically touching, but mentally stroking her to the happiest of all endings.

  She opened her eyes and pinned her lust-addled gaze on him as her knees fell open. He’d stripped off his shirt, exposing his lightly furred chest, and a narrow band of brown hair descending the center of his body, disappearing into his pants. Although he didn’t have the six-pack abs of most models, what he had revealed were lean hips and a firm belly that winged upward to end in broad shoulders. His physique reminded her of Hermes, not that she’d actually seen the immortal naked or anything, but there’d been accurate paintings of him over the millennia. Ben had that frame…a runner’s build.

  He fumbled with the button on his jeans.

  “Hurry,” she nudged him.

  That drew a heated gaze from him, which he dragged over her naked, waiting body. When his gaze landed on her center, exposed and wet, ready for him, he shoved his clothes over his ass and to the ground. It only took a moment for him to toe off his shoes. Trying to rid himself of the jeans made him dance from foot to foot, his cock standing proudly at attention, bobbing against the taut flesh of his belly.

  He tumbled onto the bed next to her and captured her lips. His kiss was drugging, sensual, and hotter than lava. Her skin jumped as he slid his hand down her chest, over her belly and between her legs. He sifted his fingers through her folds and then buried one inside her, pressing deep while he thumbed her clit.

  Everything in her quaked and quickened, all feeling centered on his lips and his hand drawing his finger almost all the way out, then returning two to her sheath. His long middle finger prodded against her most erogenous spot as he rolled his thumb over the knot of nerves sending signals of release to her brain. Her inner muscles clenched and rippled, drawing his fingers deeper. Tearing her mouth free with a sibilant moan, Lia arched her back, twisted her fingers in the sheets, and drove her hips into his grip. Wave after wave of sensation crested and crashed over her as she rode his fingers.

  He reclaimed her mouth with a gentle kiss, his heavy erection prodding her hip. Slipping his tongue past her teeth, he stroked smoothly as h
is fingers worked within her. Desire blasted through her again, building toward the insane heights where she’d already perched.

  “Oh, my goddess,” she breathed, heart thumping hard against her ribs. “Sending that image of you and me was…oh, goddess, I have no words, Ben.”

  “I do.” His breath huffed against her skin, warm and moist. “It was inspired.”

  When she laughed, her inner muscles clamped hard on his still busy fingers, sweeping her higher, faster. “I see what you did there. I’m a Muse and I inspired you.” She nipped his chin. “I’m good at my job.”

  Ben buried his nose against her neck and laughed. “You are fucking awesome at your job.”

  “I’m also fucking awesome at just plain fucking.” She slid her fingers through the lightly silvered hair at his temple. “Want to find out?”

  Without waiting for his answer, she grabbed his shoulders and urged him on top of her. She circled her legs around his hips, locking her ankles behind his back, and trapping his hand between their bodies. She grasped his wrist and pulled his fingers free of her sheath. The hot crown of his cock prodded at the now available opening.

  “Hang on,” he whispered against her lips, eyes wide and staring into hers. “Should we do the responsible thing and discuss birth control?”

  Lia rocked her hips up, letting his tip slip inside her. “It’s up to you. But I can’t get pregnant unless I actually want to. Immortal perk. And I don’t get sick, so…” She cleared her throat “… even if you have something transmittable, I won’t catch it.” She squeezed the muscles of her pelvic floor to pull him deeper.

  Oh, mighty Helios, Ben’s smile was hot and wicked as he rocked his hips against her, thrusting himself fully into her, stretching and filling her with heat. He set a rhythm that pushed her along a current of lust so strong it felt like a tidal wave. Meeting him stroke for stroke, she climbed the pinnacle of desire with him.

  He made love with his whole body. Propped on his elbows, his arms under her back, hands anchoring her shoulders. He slid his torso up with each stroke in, rubbing crisp brown hair against her breasts with nearly unbearable friction. With each reversal, he dragged his tight stomach over her clit. Then repeated the process, again and again. Jagged bursts of need coursed through her.