Conception

by Sarah McCarty

  “This promise is given.” She didn’t seem any more relaxed for receiving it. Her breathing was becoming erratic and along with desire, fear was pumping adrenaline into her system again. “Take a breath, Edie.”

  She did, sucking it in deep, but forgetting to let it go as he pulled her thighs apart. He backed off her adrenaline and the stress that had her breath lodged in her throat. “What do you fear, Edie mine? Do you think you are ugly to my eyes?”

  Her groan confirmed his suspicions. He parted her thighs farther. Her head dropped back and her eyes closed. “You are beautiful, my heart. Delicately made, lushly inviting, and perfectly wet.”

  The last drew a strange squeaking sound from her throat. He glanced up to catch the blush racing over her torso.

  “I like you like this. Wet and eager and hungry for the touch of my fingers…” He parted her labia with his fingers. “My breath…” He leaned in until his mouth was a scant inch from her clit. “My tongue.”

  He touched her shy, sensitive little clit with the tip of his tongue. Her scream echoed in his ears as he nuzzled his way under the heavy ring. The carvings of the joining words lay against his tongue as he pressed the sensitive nubbin, imprinting the rightness of the moment into his mind.

  “Oh God!” Her sob of “Too much” reached out to him.

  It was not enough. Her hands fisted in his hair, tugging at him. She didn’t have a prayer of getting him to move. Not when he finally had her under him, her scent in his nostrils and her juices on his tongue, and all the time in the world to enjoy all three. He circled her clit lightly, feeling the spark of delight shoot through her. Followed quickly by a shot of fear.

  He kissed the straining little bud gently. Glancing up her body, over the fluttering muscles of her abdomen and between her heaving breasts, he studied her expression.

  Beyond fear and desire, he saw confusion.

  “Edie?”

  Her grip tightened in his hair. Her “What” was cautious.

  “I am trying to make you lose control.”

  “I figured that.”

  He dipped his finger into the copious cream coating her pussy and thighs and brought it up to her clit, sliding his finger all over the little bud, coating it thoroughly. “Then why do you hold back?”

  “Because I’ll do something incredibly stupid and ruin everything.”

  He rubbed his lips over the freshly slicked area. She shuddered and strained toward him, her body understanding what her mind could not accept. “There is nothing to ruin, Edie mine. Just relax and trust that I know where I am taking you.”

  “That’s what my grandfather told me when he took me on my first roller coaster ride.”

  “And?” There was always an “and” with Edie.

  “I threw up all over him.”

  He squashed the snort of laughter that threatened his control. “You will not throw up tonight.”

  “But if I do?”

  “Then the fault will be mine.”

  “How so?”

  “With six-hundred-fifty years of experience, I should have this down pat.”

  She stared at him, her breath lodged in her lungs, her mind straining to reach for him but smothered by her will, and finally nodded. “Okay.”

  “You will relax?”

  “Yes.”

  He kissed her little clitoris again, smiling when she jumped. “Because you know you can trust me?”

  He felt her weigh the lie and then sigh with the truth. “Because I don’t seem to have any choice.”

  “No. You do not.” And neither did he. He had to have her. Her scent, her taste, her passion. Her joy. “Come to me, mate.”

  He cupped her buttocks in his palms, frowning at how little of them there was left. He would need to remember to make her eat. Her gasp as he squeezed the soft mounds jostled another smile from his desire. His mate had a sensitive ass. That was good. Very good.

  He lifted her pussy up into his mouth. Keeping her suspended on the platform of his hands as he traced the swollen outer lips of her pussy, licking at the cream there, rolling her unique flavor through his mouth, catching the ring between his teeth and tugging gently, as he pulled her buttocks apart, stretching her anus ever so slightly, savoring the reality.

  This was his mate who tossed beneath the lash of his tongue. His mate who panted with anticipation as he rimmed the opening of her vagina. His mate who screamed and pulled at his hair when he plunged his tongue inside. His mate. Forever and in all ways, for all that she still did not accept it. But she would. Before the night was over she would accept all of him. And not just his body.

  He lapped at her clitoris, teasing her with the stiff strokes. Her muscles tightened. Her body stiffened. Her head thrashed from side to side. Her scent changed subtly. He sucked her clitoris into his mouth. Edie screamed and thrashed on the bed, denying herself and him her orgasm. He growled deep in his throat, deep in her mind.

  You will not deny me this.

  “I can’t bear it.”

  His fangs exploded into his mouth. She would do more than bear it. She would come for him. On his command. He increased the pressure of his tongue, adding little nips between the strokes, gradually increasing the force until she stopped pulling away and began thrusting up into his mouth.

  He took his hands away from her buttocks. She fell to the bed. She stared at him uncomprehendingly, her blue eyes dark with her passion, her lips swollen and red from her biting, almost as swollen and red as her other lips.

  “Present yourself to me.”

  The flush on her chest intensified, and then with a little whimper that went straight to his cock, she arched her back, thrusting her breasts out and her hips up. Her body swayed slightly as she offered herself to him.

  “Higher.”

  Another whimper and her hips lifted that fraction more that had her legs quivering and her sex parting, exposing the tender flesh between and the gold hoop resting above.

  He reached out, placing his finger at the top of her labia, dead middle of the hoop, centering it over her clitoris. She shuddered and her whole body went stiff as a board.

  “Do not come.”

  “I have to.” It was almost a wail.

  “No.”

  Her glare was pure frustration. He ignored it. He palmed the pad of her vulva, massaging the heel of his hand into the slick prod of her clitoris. Edie whimpered and shook, but didn’t fall.

  “Deuce…”

  “Not yet.”

  Her vagina fluttered helplessly as he traced the opening with his index finger. Once, twice, he circled, drawing her need, focusing her attention before he nudged the opening. Her hips dropped. Her moan projected outward, flowing through his mind with addictive pleasure. “Yes. Show me your delight.”

  The ring of muscle kissed his finger in a tiny clench and release. He rimmed her vagina again, tempting more cream from her body, more moans from her throat and another kiss from her hot channel. He eased his finger inside, biting back his own moan as her heat surrounded him. He pushed in farther. She cried out and her muscles clamped down with everything they had.

  The Maker! She was tight. Incredibly tight, and her muscles strong. If he took her now he’d be lucky if he did not come on the first stroke.

  “Do that again, little one. Let me feel your power.” She did, another broken whimper gouging at his control. “Can you take more without coming?”

  She shook her head no. “I think so.”

  The contradiction made him smile. “What part are you not sure about? Taking more or coming?”

  “Coming.” She arched her hips a fraction higher, her thighs trembling with the effort. “I can’t tell that part.”

  He blinked and looked at her. “You cannot tell if you are going to come?” She shook her head, her pussy clenching and releasing on his finger in pre-orgasmic entreaty.

  “How could I? I’ve only done it with you.”

  It was inconceivable. His Edie was a woman of passion and heat. Accepting
pleasure should be as natural as breathing for her. He kept his finger in her and brushed his thumb over her clit. “You had never come before I loved you, not even by your own hand?”

  She could not blush any brighter without exploding into flames. “You saw my grandfather’s house. There were video cameras everywhere. Even in the bathrooms.”

  He had not realized the surveillance went to private areas.

  “He was obsessed that I keep myself pure.”

  “For me.” He had not meant to say that last aloud. More evidence of how she affected his control.

  Her hips stilled. “Yes. Apparently, you Chosen are picky.”

  “When it comes to our mates, yes.”

  He could feel the resentment surge in front of her desire. “Quite the double standard you have there.”

  “It matters not who comes before—but after—you are mine.”

  The desire that had been raging in her body now hummed at a low level. He eased his finger out of her pussy, giving it a reluctant little pat. “Relax.”

  Her hips went down but her head popped up. “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?” He circled her belly button with his index finger, waiting for her answer. Her stomach fluttered as her breath sucked in. He glanced up. She stared back at him from the bed, her torso propped up on her elbows, her small pink nipples still peaked, her breathing still labored and her eyes full of regret. “I go crazy thinking about all the women you’ve known.”

  He cupped her breast in his hand as he knelt on the bed over her. “I cannot change the past. I can only promise for the future.”

  Her lower lip slipped between her teeth. Her gaze ducked his as her fingers drew into a fist. “I don’t know enough to compete.”

  He pinched her nipples between his fingers, compelling her gaze to his. Her breath squeaked off to a gasp. She jumped, her flush slowly dying away, the residual heat tempting him to taste the rich blood that lingered on the surface. “This is a mating, not a competition.”

  Despite his reassurance, she did not look at him. “What if I’m a dud?”

  Other women would have whispered the fear. Edie threw it out like a challenge. Deuce opened his fingers on her breasts, cupping the softness in his palms, unsure how to address her insecurity. No other woman had the power over him that she did. No other woman could match her importance, yet she saw herself with human eyes. As one of a crowd when in reality, she was the center of his universe.

  “You are the other half to my soul. My match in all things. There is no failure between us.”

  Her nipples were small in his grip, but sensitive. Very, very sensitive. He rubbed them lightly while she struggled for her voice. “If I’m not doing something right, do you promise to tell me?

  “Yes.” The promise was easily made as it was natural for him to give orders, in and out of bed. “Now may we proceed?”

  This time she did meet his gaze, bravado almost but not quite, masking her fear. “Yes.”

  He slid his hands up the sides of her soft breasts until his fingers snuggled under her arms. He lifted her up. She grasped his shoulders as he lay her down on the pillows. She lay there all pink and white, innocence and heat, tempting his beast to roar. He beat it back. This was her night of fantasy. He would not disappoint her. He came down over her, sheltering her body under his. “Put your arms around my neck.”

  Her arms were soft, her body softer, calling softness from him that he hadn’t known he possessed. He kissed her lips, running his tongue along the parted seam. Every bulge, every crevice was a miracle, luring him to explore further. His hair fell around her face, obscuring the light. He could see easily, but she squinted, trying to make out his face. Her tongue came out to touch his, coaxing, teasing. He granted her request, slipping into her mouth, exploring leisurely, slowing the pace, calming her passion. She was too impatient, seeming not to know there was pleasure in the journey. He wanted her to experience the journey.

  He cradled her head in his hand, kissing her cheek, the end of her nose, her lips. “You please me, my heart.”

  “I haven’t done anything.”

  “You gave me happiness, gave me my life, a child, and now you give me yourself.” He shook his head, so amazed that she could not see the truth. “The statement would be better phrased as ‘What have you not given me?’”

  Her fingers wrapped around his wrist. Her eyes met his—determination where there had been shyness. “I’d rather give you the best night of your life.”

  “You already have.”

  “Not the way I want.” She bit her lip and her voice filled with the determination he could see in her face. “Tell me how to make it good for you.”

  He turned his head and kissed her palm. “You will not worry about this tonight.”

  “What if I want to?”

  “Then your pleasure will wait on mine.”

  She didn’t give him the argument he expected. Instead, she pushed his hair behind his shoulders. Her blue eyes searched his face as if memorizing his features one by one. “But later you will show me?”

  “Yes. But now I will show you how a Chosen man makes love to his mate the first time.”

  “Dare I hope that’s fast?”

  The element of hope in her voice made him smile. He discouraged it with the shake of his head. “Slowly. Very slowly.”

  She let go of his hair and fell back on the pillows. “You’re just determined to torture me, aren’t you?”

  He nibbled on the side of her neck, lingering on her faster than normal pulse, tasting the banked promise of her passion. “Yes.”

  She threw her arms wide. “Then do your worst.”

  He shook his head and chuckled through his passion. She was such an intriguing combination of play and seriousness. He captured her wrists in his hands, pinning them to the bed. Her eyes popped wide open, inspiring another chuckle. “I like you like this.”

  “You would.” She tugged at his hold, her efforts insubstantial against his greater strength.

  “It is good you are beginning to understand me.”

  “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you.”

  He traced the “u” where her collarbones met with his tongue. “You have but to open your mind.”

  “So not happening, Deuce.”

  “It will be my pleasure to teach you.” He stretched her arms wider, arching her torso up. The point of her nipple brushed his chin. He ducked his head, capturing the small point. Her cry was the sweetest music. Almost as sweet as the way her nipple melted on his tongue and her breathless moan caressed his ears.

  Eden tugged at her wrists again. Deuce didn’t let go, just held her hostage to his pleasure, taking as much of her breast as he could, sucking gently, then harder as she thrashed beneath him. He slipped his thigh between hers, drawing his knee up until it grazed her pussy. She shuddered and wiggled down. He gave her what she wanted. More suction, more pressure, his cock jerking in an agony of its own, wanting the warm nest he could sense opening for him.

  She bucked under him. “Oh God, Deuce. I need you.”

  He released her breast. “What do you need?”

  She arched her back, her nipple prodding his lips. “I need you in me.”

  “What part of me?” he asked, letting the words shape the caress of his mouth.

  “You know.”

  Her shyness was sweet, but he wanted a woman in his bed. “No, I do not.”

  “Do you need me to beg?”

  “Yes.” He nudged her with his knee. “Let me hear how much you need me.”

  She sobbed and ground down with her hips. “I need your cock, all right? I need it in me now.”

  He had not thought she would say it, but he should have known better. His Edie was a woman determined to go after what she wanted. Inside he smiled. It was good she wanted him.

  “Then you shall have it.” He nipped her nipple sharply, absorbing her start with his torso, enjoying the hard clench of her pussy against his thigh. “When I come ins
ide you, I want you to do that again.”

  She hesitated before nodding. He slid his other knee between hers. “That is all I want you to do.”

  He levered his cock to the top of her cleft, teasing himself with the brush of the joining ring, the solid proof that she was his. “Do not move, do not help, just concentrate on how it feels when you accept your mate for the first time.” Her eyes darkened as his cock slid down the slick crease, nestling with precision into the well of her opening. Her pupils dilated as he pressed in, panic mixing with desire. “Be easy, mate.”

  Her whimper broke off in a gasp as the broad head eased her open. Her respirations shortened to pants. Her muscles tightened. Deuce drew a hard breath and halted his forward movement. He caught her face in his hands, brushing his thumbs against the corners of her closed eyes. “Look at me.”

  She blinked and lifted her lids halfway, more of her attention focused inward than outward.

  “I will not let you hurt, Edie.”

  Her teeth sank into her lower lip as she nodded, every muscle pulling tight. He sighed and ran his tongue along the smooth surface, tracing the edges, her small squeak as he stroked under her upper lip bringing a smile to his face. “If you believe this, why do you tense?”

  “You’re so big.” Her lower lip went back between her teeth.

  “Which will only bring you pleasure.” He kissed his way to the corner of her mouth—easy, gentle kisses designed to lower her defenses. He feathered his tongue in the tiny crease between her lip and cheek. She gasped again. Her lower lip popped free. He caught it between his, sucking it into his mouth, seducing her past her anxiety with a gentle suction. “I will not turn into a beast because you give yourself to me.”

  He levered himself over her, kissing her lips gently while everything inside urged him to plunge into that hot, willing channel with all the hunger clawing at his control.

  Her “What if I turn into one?” pulled him up short. He leaned back to better see her expression. “This is your fear?”