by Mina Carter
“Earlier?” Great, she was reduced to one-word answers, but for the life of her she couldn’t figure out what he meant.
“Yeah.” Color hit his high cheekbones, but he held her gaze. No cheeky little grin, no flippant comment. “I let your partner needle me into changing. I should have considered how the magic would affect you…with you having been so long away from the pole. It can’t have been easy for you.”
The tears at the back of her eyes forced themselves to the front. She blinked them away hastily.
“No. But it wasn’t like I had a choice.” The words weren’t spoken harshly, or with malice. She was tired of it all. Tired of being away from home, tired of feeling heartsick…tired of being strong all the time when she felt anything but. Finally, she shrugged, looking down at the beautiful flowers. “You just get on with it, don’t you?”
He moved closer until she could feel the heat of his body through her clothes; a comfy jumper and yoga pants…she wasn’t exactly dressed to impress.
“Rudi…” he whispered her name but she dared not look up. Her defenses had been stripped away. If she looked up and met his eyes, then she’d probably do something stupid. Like give in to the impulse to kiss him.
He eased a finger under her chin, gentle pressure making her lift her face up to his. Then he sighed softly. “Rudi, look at me.”
“No.” She shook her head, eyes squeezed tightly shut. It was something she hadn’t done since she was a child. In the days when not being able to see something had meant it didn’t matter, it didn’t exist. “I can’t.”
“Can’t or won’t?” he’d leaned down so his words were whispered against her lips. She felt them as well as heard them. Her heart sped up as his scent wrapped around her. Deep inside, her deer moved restlessly. It remembered him, recognized him as their male, their alpha, and keened softly to have him near again.
“Won’t…can’t…don’t know.”
She made the mistake of opening her eyes, only to be captured by the dark blue of his. Midnight velvet with sparkles of gold around the pupil. The magic of Christmas made flesh and blood. The temptation to kiss him grew stronger.
“Nick…”
Somehow her free hand had wrapped around his collar and she lifted on her tiptoes to press her lips against his.
Just one kiss, that’s all she wanted. All she needed. She’d been in limbo for the last five years. Away from him, but he’d never been far from her thoughts, no matter what she’d told herself. Just one kiss. Proof to herself she was over him. Proof she could kiss him and feel nothing, then she’d walk away and start her life again properly.
Their lips brushed, the softest of caresses, then caught. Clung.
“Rudi…” Nick gasped, his hand snagging her around the waist as he pulled her up against him. His mouth covered hers again, harder this time. She whimpered and clung to him, giving herself up to the moment.
The instant their lips had touched; her question had been answered. She wasn’t over him. Not by a long shot. Might never be…but she could give it a shot.
Tomorrow.
Tonight, right now, she was too weak to push him away. Instead, she pulled him closer and returned his kiss. Accepted and welcomed the heat that rolled through her body in response. A pang of familiarity joined it as she nestled closer. They’d always fit together so well, like two halves of a whole. Like they were made for each other.
The kiss deepened, and turned torrid. Hot, open-mouthed kisses that betrayed the deep need which flared to life every time they touched. Just like it had always been…they hadn’t been able to keep their hands off each other.
Nick broke away, his breathing ragged. “Tell me to go, Rudi. Please tell me to go. I don’t deserve you. Never did.”
“No, you didn’t.” She pulled him back down, lips almost connecting with his. “One night. It means nothing, understand?”
Chapter Four
It meant nothing. Just one night. But the sensations that coursed through her as she pulled Nick through the door and into her apartment were very real. He stumbled forward, caught by surprise at her sudden move, but quickly recovered himself. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he twisted to close the door with his free hand. It had barely clicked shut before he urged her backward.
He kissed her with an intensity bordering on desperation, holding her close to his body as his lips claimed hers. She gasped, unable to do anything but give herself up to him. His tongue swept over her lower lip and she opened up for him, groaning softly as his tongue drove deep to tangle with hers. She needed this, hadn’t realized how much she needed this.
Her hands weren’t idle. Somehow, she managed to drop the flowers on the console table by the door as they stumbled past it, and then her hands were free to dive into his hair. Close cropped, there was enough length on top for it to curl slightly. Just enough for her to run her fingers through like she used to.
He groaned, breaking the kiss to lean his head back into her caress. “God, I’ve missed you.”
Rumbling in reply, she stood on her tiptoes to trail a line of kisses up his throat to his stubble-covered jaw. “Less talking and more kissing.”
She didn’t want to talk. Or think. She wanted to feel. Just feel. Body against body, skin again skin. She wanted to lock the world and the past out and claim this moment and all the ones that would follow. Tomorrow she’d think, but tomorrow was a world away from now.
“More kissing, you got it.”
He bent his head and claimed her lips again, his hands sliding down her back to smooth over her hips. Then they cupped her ass as he urged her upward. Easily, he lifted her so she could wrap her legs around his hips. The thick, hard bar of his cock pressed against her pussy, the layers of their clothes doing nothing to ameliorate the heat rising from him. She gasped as her clit ached in response, her pussy clenched with the need to feel him filling her again.
“That feel good, Rudi?” he whispered against her lips, big hands rocking her hips and grinding her against him. He knew she liked that. He knew everything about her. Knew how to seduce her and make her body sing…
“Hell yeah, you know it does,” she groused. Arms wrapped around his broad shoulders, she continued to kiss him. Soft kisses along the full curve of his lower lip until, without warning, she nipped him.
“Fuck me!” He growled, hips jerking to press his deliciously thick cock against her even harder.
“That’s the idea, hotshot. The bedroom’s through there.”
She gave him a tight smile, need riding her too hard for anything else. Even though she’d left the Pole, she hadn’t been able to get him out of her mind. Ever. Which meant her dates had been few and far between, and usually a complete disaster which ended up with her home alone with her memories and her battery-operated boyfriend. She wasn’t going to need BOB tonight...
He studied her expression for a moment and something in his eyes dimmed at her plain talking attitude. What did he expect? Give her a bunch of flowers and it would be all hearts and roses again? Not happening.
“I see I have a long way to go yet.”
She didn’t get a chance to answer, as reaching up, he claimed her lips. Rather than the soft kiss she was expecting, it was the kiss she needed. Hard, dominant, and utterly ruthless.
The last of her resistance to him melted and she moaned in approval as he strode through into the bedroom. Neither of their hands were idle as he dropped her onto the bed, following her down. His jacket hit the floor behind them, his lips on her neck as she grabbed handfuls of his shirt. One quick yank and the buttons gave, pinging free to shower over her and onto the bedspread as she slid her hands beneath the fabric onto his skin.
Hot, silken skin over strong muscles. She shivered, reveling in the touch as he tangled his legs with hers and kissed beneath her ear. The touch made her weak with need, but she covered the weakness by tweaking his left nipple. His gasp was low and masculine, and the thrust of his hips against hers made her eyes roll back in her head.
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br /> Pulling her sweater up over her head, she aided him by lifting up, letting him whisk it away and leaving her exposed to his gaze. Unbidden, her nipples perked up, tightening into small, tight buds begging for his attention. The blue of his eyes darkened, heated until she thought the air between them would spontaneously combust.
Neither of them spoke. Words weren’t needed.
He lifted up, sitting back on his heels as he reached for the waistband of her yoga pants. Not taking her eyes from his, she lifted her hips. Strong fingers pulled her pants and panties down the length of her legs in one smooth movement.
Only then did he take his eyes off hers, sweeping a hot blue gaze along her naked form.
“Beautiful,” he murmured, the word constrained, as though he wanted to say more but dare not. He reached out and encircled her ankle with one large hand, pulling her leg out to the side. Silence reigned as he did the same with the other. Parting her, opening her, to his intense scrutiny.
Breathing was hard, she could only suck in oxygen in short pants. Pants became groans when he slid between her thighs and began kissing his way up the insides of her legs. He branded her with each touch of his lips, parting her legs further around his broad shoulders as he reached her inner thighs. His hands slid around from the backs to the insides of her knees, palms down to press her legs up and out further. She bit back her whimper as her pussy was fully exposed to him, her clit aching in need.
“So pink and soft.” His voice was quiet and so close to where she needed him that the vibrations in the air were enough to make her hips rock trying to get more of what he offered.
“You always did taste fucking delicious.”
She couldn’t answer as, at that moment, he bent his head and licked her. Crying out in wordless pleasure, she arched her back, offering more to him. And more he took. With a growl, he ravished her with his lips and tongue. Ate her out with a ferocity she’d never experienced before.
Holding her down he licked her, stabbed his tongue deep into her pussy to fuck her, then moved up to latch onto her clit and sucked. Hard. Over and back, one then the other, never in the same pattern twice so she didn’t know what to expect next.
She whimpered and keened, moaned and rocked her hips to ride his mouth. She needed…she was going to…
“Come for me, Rudi,” he commanded, lifting up and thrusting two fingers deep into her tight, wet pussy. He pulled back, then in again, finger fucking her hard and fast.
Not wanting it to be over so quickly, she tried to hold on, tried contain all of the burgeoning pleasure inside. But her body was a leaky pressure valve, the more she attempted to keep it all in, the harder and more intense the escaping ripples became.
“Come.” He thrust again, leaning down to clamp his lips around her clit.
As soon as he sucked, she lost it. Ecstasy-driven by five years’ worth of frustration tipped her over the edge with a scream. Pleasure cascaded through her in wave after unstoppable wave. She gasped and clutched at the covers to try and ground herself. But she was sabotaged, Nick’s lips around her clit and his fingers in her pussy drew her climax out and built her straight up into another one.
Before she knew what was happening, she was back to moaning and gasping his name, pleading to come again. Moving, he pulled his mouth and hand away, only to replace them with the thick head of his cock at the entrance to her pussy.
Her eyes widened, gaze ensnared by his as he braced himself over her. His hips nudged forward, thick cock breaching her. No need for protection, not with two magical creatures. They could neither pass disease nor could he get her pregnant unless she was in heat. Instantly, she stuffed the idea of carrying Nick’s baby into the smallest, darkest part of her mind she could find and slammed a lock on it. Not happening. This was strictly a one-night deal.
“You’re tight,” he grunted, managing to slide in another half inch. Half inch of sheer pleasure which made her moan and writhe beneath him. Instinctively, she lifted her legs to wrap them around his lean hips and they both gasped as the change in angle allowed him to slide deeper.
He pulled back, just a little, and thrust again. Then again until he was buried deep inside her, his cock throbbing in the silken grasp of her pussy. Holding still for a moment, he watched her, then reached out to gently brush a loose strand of hair from her face. Caught up in the moment, she allowed it, wanting to believe just for a while they were back at the Pole and the last five years hadn’t happened.
“You’re so beau—”
“No talking.” She pulled him down for a hard, hot kiss. “Just…sex. Screw me. Now.”
His lips quirked against hers, in amusement or something else…she couldn’t tell. “As my lady wishes.”
He pulled his hips back to drive into her again and a moan of pleasure was forced from her lips. Quickly, he set up a hard and fast rhythm, his face tense as he braced himself over her. Every inch of his lean, muscled body moved in perfect accord with hers, the two halves of a whole dedicated to one purpose: carnal pleasure.
She lost herself in the physicality of it. The slide of skin on skin, the slap of his hips against hers and the friction of his cock in her cunt. The pleasure as he stroked nerve endings deep inside her and built the ecstasy she’d just tasted up to an inferno again.
No words, just movement, but she felt the emotion in every touch, every soft stroke, every hard thrust. As though he wanted to prove something to her, to himself, or the world at large, she didn’t know. All she knew was she was being driven up to the precipice again and she had no defense against it.
Then she was there, crying out as she clutched at his muscle-corded upper arms. Everything froze between one thrust and the next. A moment of perfect stillness. Then he moved, drove his cock deep inside her, his pelvis grinding against hers to trap her clit between them.
Pleasure broke and exploded through her with the force of a supernova. She screamed, his name, something else, she had no idea, and was washed under by the strength of the wave. Pulses followed. Pulses of pure ecstasy vibrated through her, each one driven by a hard thrust of his hips as he chased his own release. His thrusts grew harder and faster, jolting her and the bed beneath them so much her breasts jiggled with each movement.
Then, finally, he pushed into her a last time, buried his cock as deep as it would go and came with a bellow.
***
The day of the operation dawned bright, if not exactly early, for Rudi. By the time she woke up, Nick was gone. In his place, there was a sticky note with a scrawled heart and the letter ‘N’. She’d smiled as she picked it up, a little relieved he’d left while she slept. No awkward ‘morning after’ chat. Because, really? She had no idea where to start on that one.
But…still, there was a spring in her step as she walked into the PPA building that afternoon. She’d dressed for operational work, her tight denim replaced with cargo pants and heavy duty combat boots. Her leather jacket remained the same, layered over a basic tee, and as usual, she’d scraped her hair back from her face and woven the thick mass into a single braid which danced over her shoulder as she walked. There was even a smile on her face, a fact which made more than one person she passed stop and stare in amazement, but she didn’t care.
Nick was back. Even though she’d said last night was one night only, her heart was optimistic. He hadn’t pushed her boundaries as he would have five years ago and seemed sincere about making amends. They still hadn’t discussed Ginger, but baby steps. This was all still too new for her to want to rock the boat.
Right now, she wanted to savor the feeling of hope and optimism that sprang from the center of her soul. She felt the happiness emanating from her inner deer and held the feeling close. The poor thing had suffered so much; it was nice to feel it’s simple joy in life again.
“Dayum girl, you’re looking fine.”
Darrick gave her an assessing glance as she strode into the staging area. A section off the garages in the basement of the building, it was filled with the SU
V’s and vans which would take them to the mall. Three tables were set to one side, the one in front of Darrick filled with rifles. She smiled. He’d already hit up the armory. No surprise there, sometimes she suspected he slept with at least three weapons in easy reach.
As lead operatives for this assignment, that both of them were early wasn’t a surprise. Quite apart from the dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s the human PD required for all operations involving paranormals working within the human populace, there was a lot of equipment and, in Darrick’s case, ordnance, which required organizing. The last thing they needed was for one of their team to be missing something or to run out of ammunition, at a critical moment. Not only would that be bad, it would be downright fucking embarrassing.
She grinned and stepped up to the table next to him, her hands sure and confident as she helped him finish checking the weapons. M4’s, they were the standard assault rifle used by the agency, and all agents trained with them. Most to a basic level, but some, like her and Darrick, trained more extensively so the armed teams were a solid backup to the shifters and magic users on the teams. A perfect combination of the supernatural and the technological.
“Someone looks happy,” Darrick said after a moment. He glanced up, his blue eyes sparkling with mischief. “Did lover boy put out last night or something?”
Rudi snorted, putting her checked rifle to the side with the rest, and ignored the fact her cheeks burned. “Screw you, Darrick.”
“Fuck me. He did, didn’t he?” The pixie blinked, the rifle he was holding clattering against the table just enough to let her know she’d surprised him. Recovering himself, he put it down carefully, the last one to be checked, and turned to her.