by Marilyn Lee
“No. Please…don’t torture me anymore. Let me come…please.”
He rained kisses on her neck and shoulders. “Patience, sheenea. We have to make this last as long as possible.”
“I can’t wait any longer. I’m on fire. I need to come. Let me come,” she begged.
“Soon,” he promised. “Let’s just make this last a little longer.” He pinched her nipples, thrusting deep into her.
She licked her lips. “Hmmm.”
He withdrew his cock.
“No,” she protested. “Don’t stop.”
“Just for a little while, my love.”
He nibbled at her neck before he licked a path down her back. Gently parting her cheeks, he thrust his cock back into her.
She shuddered, grinding her ass against his groin. “Yes!”
Sliding his hands down to her waist, he withdrew all but the big head of his shaft out of her.
She moaned in protest. “You’ve tortured me long enough,” she protested. “If you love me, let me come.”
“You know I love you.”
“Prove it.”
He slid back inside her. This time, with her wantonly rotating her hips, he fucked her with long, deep satisfying thrusts.
Waves of pleasure crashed over her. Battered by the anticipation of delicious bliss so close, her toes curled. Her thighs quivered. She moaned, digging her nails in his thighs.
He shortened his strokes, powering himself in and out of her pussy with a ruthless precision that dragged her under a giant wave. She surrendered totally. Within minutes, her back arched and she exploded around his plundering cock.
His big body tightened behind hers. Pressing her against the side of the pond with the weight of his body, he thrust deep and hard into her in a series of rapid movements that heightened and prolonged her release until it bordered on a bittersweet pleasure.
Only then did he explode inside her, jetting streams of seed into her.
She felt his cum trickling out of her pussy to stream down one of her thighs. She slumped against the grass, a lecherous smile spreading across her face. Sated and happy, she lay half in, half out of the pond.
He lay against her back, his warm lips pressed against her neck.
With him still buried in her pussy, she experienced a wonderful sense of belonging that warmed her insides.
She felt his breath against her neck. “I love and adore you, my sheenea.”
She sighed happily, delighted that he continued to make verbal love to her even after they’d both come. Having him retain his erection after they’d climaxed had always made her feel as if he were a part of her.
Finally, a cool breeze blew against the part of her naked flesh not covered by his body. She shivered.
He sighed, kissed her shoulders, and slowly drew out of her. He climbed out of the pond and leaned down to lift her out as if she were a skinny minnie.
Standing there in the dusk, he slipped his arms around her. “I love you still,” he whispered.
The words washed over her like a sweet caress. After she linked her arms around his neck, they shared long, wonderful kisses that were devoid of passion, yet that promised a lifetime of love, lust, and devotion. She felt ready to burst with happiness despite the lingering gaps in her memory and his certainty that they had no future together. Her inability to vanquish annoying but persistent thoughts of Aleksander troubled her.
“When will I see you again?” she asked when he finally lifted his lips from hers.
Keeping an arm around her waist, he caressed her cheek. “I’m not sure.” He glanced around it. “It’s late. I’d better take you back to the party.”
She shook her head. “I want to stay with you. There’s so much about our past I don’t understand.”
“You still don’t remember?”
“Not fully,” she admitted.
He sighed. “You will in time. When you finally do, also remember that I’ll always love you.”
She squeezed in a breath at the finality in his tone. “But—”
“Our time together has passed. We have to go now.” He released her and took her hand in his.
“But—”
“There’s no time left for us. We have to go back now.”
As they turned to walk toward the party, she sensed discomfort and regret in him.
She shared his conflicted feelings. “Please tell me what’s wrong.”
“There’s no time.”
She stopped, forcing him to do the same. “Let’s make time.”
His dark eyes were troubled. “I had no right to take you without your remembrance, but it’s been so long and I’ve missed you so much, my lovely one.”
She pressed her fingers against his lip. “No. There’s no question of right. I gave myself freely to you. Don’t doubt that, but tell me how we know each other.” Even as she spoke, she knew or thought she knew that they had once been lovers who had lost each other. All the passion and love she’d experienced as they made love was not a product of wanton lust. A warm love and a passion long denied had fueled their intense lovemaking.
All her life she’d known something was missing in her intimate relationships with her lovers. Even when she thought she was happy with a lover, there was always a sense of emptiness and an ache she struggled to overcome. Lovers sometimes thought her cold. She’d even begun to fear she lacked the ability to really fall in love. Now she knew failure to surrender her heart to anyone was firmly rooted in her belief that only one man was capable of igniting the passion buried deep inside her.
Her gaze remembered and caressed his face. His? She frowned. “Why can’t I remember your name? Whisper it to me.”
He shook his head. “You need to remember on your own. I’ve already said too much. I’ll take you back.”
She clutched at his arm, fear forming like a lump in her belly. “Not yet. I can’t leave you with so many unanswered questions between us. I have to know when we’ll see each other again.”
He stroked a finger down her cheek. “If the gods smile on us, we might find a way to be together again. This interlude with you has given me hope. I can go on now, secure in the knowledge that I had one wonderful afternoon with you, my lovely one.”
“Well, I can’t! Please. Tell me what’s going on. Why do I feel like we’ve known each other for so long when we’ve never met?”
“You must remember on your own.”
“Why?”
He hesitated. “Because I promised I wouldn’t coach you or do anything to bind you to me again.”
“You promised? Who did you make such a rash promise to? Who had the right to demand such a promise from you?”
He shook his head. “I promised I wouldn’t reveal that either. Now, come. I have to take you back.”
She sensed she would gain nothing by arguing with him. But a knot formed in her belly as her certainty grew as to who was responsible for tearing them apart again. The sounds of music reached them. They were near the party. A feeling of desperation settled over her.
She turned to look up at him. “Please tell me when I’ll see you again?”
“That’s up to the gods, but as long as you remember me, a part of me will always live—even if only in your thoughts.”
Oh, God, then he was dead?
“Not as long as you remember me.”
But she didn’t completely remember him.
“Then maybe he’s right. Maybe it is time for you to embrace a new love.”
“No!”
He caressed her cheek. “You deserve to love again, my lovely. You always have. Perhaps it’s time I accept that.”
“I love you.”
He sighed. “Our time has passed, but I know you’ll be happy.” He turned her toward the party, giving her a gentle push. “Go, my lovely, while I can still allow it.”
Erin shook her head and turned to look at him. She gasped.
The path stretched on for several hundred yards before it verged into the woods. He couldn
’t possibly have run that far. Yet there was no sign of him. He was gone again.
No! “Come back. Please come back.”
There was no response.
She rushed back along the path where they’d walked together just moments earlier. “Come back. Please…please.”
“Don’t make this any harder for me, my love.”
She stopped, lifting her gaze toward the darkening sky. “Please…oh, please. I can’t lose you again.”
“The choice is not ours to make. Please return to the party while I still have the ability to see you safely there.”
Swallowing a rush of disappointment, she reluctantly retraced her path. Minutes later, she walked out of the woods. As she neared the pool, she saw Erica and Terrale dancing slow and close together.
Erin frowned. She’d been gone hours, and they were calmly slow dancing? She walked up to them and tapped Rica on the arm. “So you two have my back, huh?”
Erica lifted her head from Terrale’s shoulder and sighed. “We will if you ever decide to make a move, girl.”
She stared at Rica. “What?”
“After the hours you’ve spent in that blasted pool, you should be feeling waterlogged by now. When are you going to make a move on one of these single men?” She smiled, her eyes lighting up. “Or are you saving it for Aleksander after all?”
Erin blinked. Clearly Erica was unaware of the hours she’d spent in the woods. She wasn’t sure how Erica had missed seeing her alight from the pool and accept that drink from her long-lost lover.
Erica frowned, pulling out of Terrale’s arms. “Erin? What’s wrong? Why are you staring at me like that? Are you all right?”
Erin shivered. She now knew why no one had seemed disturbed when she had impaled herself on her lover’s cock in the middle of the party. Apparently no one had seen it happen! If not for her sexual satisfaction, she might have been tempted to believe she’d imagined the bittersweet tryst in the woods.
She understood very little of what had happened to her since Aleksander’s return. She needed to be alone to think. “I’m okay, but I’m feeling a little tired,” she said. “Can we go?”
Erica gave her a long look. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Erin nodded and smiled. “Don’t worry about me, Rica. I’m just very tired.”
Erica grimaced. “No doubt from all that swimming. Are you sorry you came?”
Sorry? She recalled those wonderful, uninhibited hours in the woods. “No, I’m glad I came.”
Erica reached for her hand. “Nika?”
She squeezed her twin’s hand. “I’m tired, but otherwise okay, Rica.”
“So you want to go home to Aleksander?”
Erin’s feelings about Aleksander were more conflicted than ever. While part of her longed to see him again, another part held him responsible for her present unhappiness. Mindful of Erica’s searching gaze, she smiled. “Why not?”
Erica smiled. “Great. Let’s get you home to your Norseman.”
Seated in the back of Terrale’s car, Erin made an effort to keep her mind focused on the conversation during the ninety-minute drive back to Philly. Erin became aware of a stilted silence. She sighed, realizing she’d probably said something that made no sense. “Ah…I—”
Erica turned to smile at her. “It’s okay, girl. You don’t have to work so hard at trying to make conversation with us.”
Erin nodded in gratitude and sank back against her seat. She closed her eyes and made no effort to join in Erica and Terrale’s quiet conversation during the remainder of the drive.
Chapter Eleven
When Terrale parked in their second space, Erin leaned between the front seats to kiss Erica’s cheek. She squeezed Terrale’s shoulder. “Thanks, you two.” She pushed the car door open and slipped out.
Erica alighted from the passenger-side door. “Are you sure you’re all right?”
Erin nodded. “I’m positive.”
She nibbled at her bottom lip. “Maybe I should stay here with you.”
While Erin appreciated her concern, she needed to be alone. “That’s not necessary, Rica.” She kissed her twin’s cheek. “Don’t worry about me. Go have a great weekend. I’ll see you Monday night.”
Erica hesitated a moment longer before she finally nodded. She embraced Erin briefly before she got back into Terrale’s car and closed the door.
Erin watched Terrale drive away before she entered the apartment complex and rode the elevator up to their apartment. While undressing in her bedroom, her arm brushed across her right nipple. A tingling sensation shot through her.
She glanced down and sucked in a quick breath. Spread across her right nipple was what looked like a tattoo or brand in the shape of an erect cock!
The sight of the brand forced long-suppressed memories up past her subconscious and into her conscious thoughts. Long ago she had loved and adored a handsome African warrior who was promised to a neighboring king’s daughter.
A wave of pain accompanied the full memories of their last meeting. She closed her eyes, leaning her forehead against the wall near her dresser. She took a measure of comfort in the knowledge that he had been happy and pleased just moments before his untimely death.
Recalling her own close escape, she opened her eyes. Back in the West African jungle, she had thought she owed her salvation to the spirits. She frowned, turning her thoughts to what she now knew about the so-called spirits, Aleksander, and him.
As he died, her hopes and plans for the future, as well as a large part of her, had died with him. She had gone on living. She had endured several lifetimes since without ever knowing true love again.
And yet… Erin struggled to grasp the remnants of an elusive memory. Once she had been adored by another male. At least she thought she had. Why couldn’t she remember?
Clear your mind. Become one with the past. Allow it to live again.
Although uncertain of the origins of the admonition, it felt right.
She took a series of deep breaths before she closed her eyes.
After moments of blackness, she tilted her head. A faint roar she recognized as generated by a powerful waterfall reached her ears. A smile curved her lips. The Falls. She drew in a deep breath. As she slowly released it, a vision crystallized on her closed lids.
She stood naked at the base of a crystal clear, majestic waterfall with the morning sun warming her wet skin. Her eyes were closed. Her head tilted. An ecstatic smile curved her lips upward as she reached behind her to clutch at her lover’s thighs.
A nude, well-built male with tanned skin and dark blond hair stood behind her. His big hands cupped her breasts. He slid a thick, hard cock in and out of her stretched pussy as he ingested her blood.
Across the ages, Erin shook with the memory of ecstatic delight her unknown lover had given her. Unknown? She opened her eyes. Surely she’d just seen herself with Aleksander. She frowned. He’d behaved like a vampire, ingesting her blood. She’d loved it until a moment of sudden fear and inexplicable anguish gave her pause.
Erin lifted a hand to her neck. Her fingers encountered two small puncture marks. Oh, God. What was happening to her? Why did she feel excitement instead of fear now?
Her breasts tingled. She looked down at them. The tips of both nipples bore impressions of his erect cock. She trembled at the signs of his endless love and passion for her.
“Malikinder,” she whispered, embracing and welcoming the painful memories. “Malikinder, my love, I finally remember. I remember. Where are you?” I remember. Where are you? Return to me.
She heard a low, almost musical, whisper-soft sound. A warm breeze swept over her, filling her with a sense of well-being. The spirit, which had saved her so long ago, was present.
“Will I do?”
Erin opened her eyes and stared around her bedroom. She saw no one. Yet she knew she was no longer alone. She could feel the spirit…feel him… She frowned. The presence felt familiar, yet it wasn’t Malikinder. “Wh
ere are you? Show yourself.”
“I can’t.”
“Why not? I need to see you.”
“I’m too weak to assume a corporeal form again so soon, but I’m here.”
She sighed, struggling with conflicting emotions. “You’re not Malikinder.”
“No.”
“Who are you?”
A warm breeze caressed her naked body.
She crossed her arms over her breasts. “Who are you?”
“You’ve forgotten me so quickly?”
“Who are you? What’s your name?”
“I am known as the spirit who quiets or summons the wind and the lightning. Some call me Stormreaper.”
“Stormreap…storm? Aleksander? Aleksander?” She bit her lip. “It’s you…isn’t it?”
“Yes, my sheenea. It is.”
She closed her eyes. “Why can’t I see you?”
“I’m unable to assume a physical form at the moment.”
Which meant he wasn’t human. She’d apparently slept with a being who wasn’t human. She’d also slept with a man who’d died hundreds of years earlier. But then if any of this were true, she had also died hundreds of years earlier. She had probably died more than once. What did that make her?
She opened her eyes. “You were the spirit who saved me in the West African jungle. Didn’t you?”
“Yes. I couldn’t allow you to die while it was in my power to protect you.”
She sucked in a breath, sinking down onto the side of her bed. “If you saved me, you could also have saved Malikinder as well.”
He didn’t respond.
“Why did you allow him to die, Aleksander?”
Continued silence greeted her question. She closed her eyes. She could still feel his presence. “Aleksander? Why did you allow him to die?”
“We are forbidden to interfere in the affairs of humans.”
His answer angered her. “Then why did you save me?”
“I had to, but it was viewed as a grave lapse in judgment, for which I paid dearly…for which I am still paying…but I’d gladly do it again.”
Recalling the depth of his passion when he’d made love to her in the Blue Desert and at the base of the Crystal Falls on another planet, she knew why he’d saved her but not Malikinder. “You allowed him to die because you were jealous,” she whispered, angry tears filling her eyes. “You’re still jealous.”