by Ju Ephraime
He didn’t know another way to describe it. He felt a tightening in his belly as his sense of reasoning went out the door, and he reached for her and brought her to him. He gave her the opportunity to pull away. He didn’t want to push her too hard. He knew he had to give her time to accept him. She was looking up at him as her eyes went from black to liquid heat. Then she lowered her long lashes, hiding them from him. He could no longer hold back. He claimed her mouth in a kiss that bordered on insanity, so consumed was he by his need for her. She opened for him as he found his refuge, and the world receded. There was only Simonia...his Venus.
He tasted passion and emotion that was exciting and scary. He lost himself in her mouth, kissing her over and over again. He was drowning in a sea of emotion, and he didn’t care. He needed her like he needed air to breathe, and he forgot himself—forgot that he might be scaring her—until he felt her hand on his chest fluttering like a trapped bird.
He lifted his head, breathing deep, drawing air into lungs that were just about ready to burst. He rested his forehead against hers, still struggling to breathe. How could he tell her she completed him and he needed her? In the end, he didn’t have to. It appeared she was not immune to him like she’d pretended that first time. She moaned her need as he moved away from her completely, forcing his hands to remain at his side. It was a battle not to reach for her again.
Come on, Todd, control yourself. You don’t want to scare her away.
CHAPTER ELEVEN
This was the woman he’d married, and this was the woman he wanted, no matter what the witch looked like and how good she was at what she did. He wanted his wife, and no other substitute would do. Tonight, he intended to find how much of him was still there.
He spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone with his head office, filling them in on the progress of things as he’d left them in St. Lucia. When he was done with that, he called his mother to let her know he was back home. He promised her that he and Simonia would visit soon. She had to be content with that. He didn’t want to make any firm commitment until he’d discussed it with Simonia.
They had a light dinner together and retired early. He felt like a teenager on his first date—excited and apprehensive at the same time. His emotions were all over the place. He would feel better after he’d taken care of the brunt of his appetite for his wife.
***
She walked into the bedroom fresh from her bath and was excited to see he was ready for her. Discarding her robe, she stood naked at the foot of the bed, watching him. With a growl he was off the bed and pulling her against his rampant body. The searing kiss he gave her was worth waiting for. She loved kissing him; he had the most succulent lips.
Opening her mouth beneath his, she returned the kiss with just as much, if not more, hunger as his. She’d missed him something terrible. Her breasts were aching. She was sensitive in her skin. She’d been too long without this.
Her arms tightened around him as he covered her body with his. This night promised to be just what she needed as he proceeded to make love to her as only he could. She felt raw and needy, so empty. She needed him filling her up. Making love earlier today had been okay, but now she needed him inside her. Her body felt alive for the first time in months.
She ran her hands over his back, and she could feel the muscles rippling with strength. He moved her hands over his tight butt, and she hugged him to her. She was like a greedy cat. She didn’t know where to touch him—she wanted to touch him all over. She had to force herself to relax and let him come to her, but it was hard. They always fought each other for supremacy. But tonight she wanted to concede control to him. Her instinct told her to, and she always followed her instinct. It was an inherent part of her upbringing.
***
Getting back into bed, Todd lost himself in her, kissing her. Sitting back on his heels, he looked at her. He loved looking at her. Crawling up her body, he took the tip of one gorgeous breast into his mouth and was rewarded with a deep moan from her. He spent his time loving every inch of her body. His body ached to be inside her. Yet, he was filled with a lot of trepidation. What if…
To hell with this, there is only one way to find out.
His hand slid up and down her thigh in small circular motions, around her hips, and all the way to the underside of her butt, caressing her silken skin. He slipped his hand between her thighs to her moist heat. His finger began to circle her sensitive clit until she arched her back off the bed in offering to him. She was more than ready for him.
He spread her thighs and bent his head, his tongue probing, licking, and sucking as he drank of her nectar.
“Please, Todd,” she whispered. “Please.”
He lifted his head to look at her, his beautiful wife. Her eyes were glazed over with lust. There was no way he could hold back any longer.
He pulled her to him, and she lifted her legs and placed them on his shoulders. He pressed the throbbing head of his heavy erection, and boy was he erect, against her entrance. Her tight, fiery heat gave way inch by agonizing inch. He felt heat pouring over his body as he penetrated deep into her body, joining them together. God, how he’d missed the exquisite feel of her body. She clenched her powerful muscles around him, almost ending it for him before he’d even begun.
“Easy, darling,” he cautioned.
She was beyond hearing, head tossing on the pillow, body writhing in spite of his hands controlling her hips. She was pushing her body onto him. The position in which he had her gave him the leverage he needed to plunge into her over and over. With every thrust, he dragged the thick head of his penis across her clit. He was shaking with the concentration to delay his release. He wasn’t certain he could survive the pleasure rushing through him. He drove deep, bumping the scalding heat of her cervix.
Using the leverage their position gave him, he increased the rhythm, slamming into her fast and hard. She surrounded him like hot silk, crippling and clasping him with her muscles. He felt his body burning hotter and hotter with his release closing in on him. He needed to take her over the edge with him. Reaching forward, he took her stiff nipple into his mouth, and with a scream, she melted. He followed her, and as he let out a hoarse groan, waves and waves of an orgasm claimed him in its grasp.
Gently, he allowed her legs to drop to the bed as he eased out of her. Moving behind her, he took her into the curve of his body as he rained kisses on her face and neck. He was home in every sense of the word.
Todd lost count of the number of times he reached for her during the course of the night. It was like it used to be—him loving her and she loving him back. She was a very generous lover, giving just as good as she got.
They spent the week rediscovering and enjoying each other’s bodies. If she didn’t get the baby she wanted, it would not be for want of trying.
CHAPTER TWELVE
They had been going at it like bunnies, and somehow he knew it wouldn’t last. He had that feeling of impending doom, and there was nothing he could do to shake it off.
He didn’t discuss it with Simonia; he didn’t want to worry her about his superstition. But now, in retrospect, he wished he had.
He’d been home exactly eight days, and he’d spent the night, as he’d spent the last seven, making love to his wife. He’d gone to bed sated and exhausted; now he was up.
He woke up on the bathroom floor, his naked body aching, his head throbbing, his mind filled with unrecognizable images. Slowly, he sat up, rubbing the back of his head. There was a lump there, as if he had fallen and hit his head. He couldn’t remember any of this. He was trying to get off the floor when he looked down and was shocked to see his body covered in long scratches, especially on his inner thighs, that came frighteningly close to his groin.
“Oh, God,” he moaned as he noticed the bite marks and bruises on his flaccid penis. How did he come to have these marks on his body? How did he come to be asleep in the bathroom, but more importantly, where was Simonia?
“Simonia!�
� he cried, moving too quickly to stop the wave of nausea that came over him. He felt as if he’d been run over by a steamroller as he made his way to his bedroom. He had been without her attention for only a little over a week.
“God,” he groaned.
He hoped nothing had happened to Simonia. He almost cried in relief when he found her fast asleep in bed. How and why he was in the bathroom, he could not remember. But he knew that somehow the witch had followed him to his home because he was feeling the same way he used to feel after she’d had her way with him. Only this time he had the physical evidence to prove it. He had to tell Simonia about this now. There was no avoiding it, no putting it off. He had to show her what the witch had done to him. He was sorry he hadn’t told her before. He’d thought to spare her his embarrassment, but now he was truly sorry.
Looking back on his naiveté about this entire thing, he couldn’t help but be annoyed with himself. When he’d first been violated by the witch, he’d looked at the entire thing as a joke. Frankly, he’d not believed anyone could have sex with him against his wishes—in essence, rape him—but after what he had been through, he was a believer.
It was amazing to him that the witch had been able to follow him all those thousands of miles to New South Wales. He’d thought he would be safe here. He thought all those sexual escapades would have ceased when he returned home, but apparently the woman had somehow followed him home. The last time he was home, though, and unable to perform for his wife, he didn’t have any of the nightly escapades. But this time, she had somehow found her way to his home in Australia. How did she know where he’d gone? Evidently, she must have some sort of tracker on him.
She’d almost ruined his relationship with his wife. He wouldn’t allow her to do so now. He’d given up his position at the lab to escape her constant raping of his body, but for her to have followed him here was too much.
As soon as Simonia was up, he would talk with her about this. He could no longer handle this alone. To begin with, he didn’t like the idea that the woman felt free to have her way with his body. He’d given his body to Simonia when he’d exchanged vows with her, and even before. It had just been legitimized by the marriage ceremony. He knew he would be beside himself had the situation been reversed.
He returned to the bathroom and took a bath. He couldn’t avoid hissing in pain as the hot water hit his ravaged body. He hurt all over. Returning to the bedroom, Simonia was just waking up, and seeing him standing there, she gave him one of her winning smiles.
“You’re up early,” she greeted him. “Come back to bed.”
“I need to talk with you, darling. Do you want to visit the bathroom first?”
“What’s the matter, Todd? You sound very serious.”
“This is serious,” he replied.
“Give me a minute then.”
She was in and out of the bathroom in record time. Give it to Simonia, she could tell something was troubling him. So, he didn’t have to ask her twice.
“You have my undivided attention. What is the matter?”
“I’m sorry I didn’t discuss this with you sooner. I thought I could handle it, but as it turns out, I can’t.”
“Todd, you are scaring me. Could you please tell me what’s going on?”
“This is a bizarre story. I’ll start at the beginning. Do you recall my inability to perform when I was here last?”
“How can I not? For a while there, I thought you were cheating on me.”
“Well, in a way I was, just not willingly.”
“What! Todd Montgomery, please explain yourself.”
“Well, just right before I came home that last time, I began waking up in the night to someone making love to me. In the beginning I thought it was a dream, but as the entire thing accelerated, it became very serious. I couldn’t function at work or with you. I saw my entire life unraveling before my eyes.”
“What happened?”
“It turned out I was being visited by a White Magic Woman, what the island people called a sorceress, a witch. I did everything I could, short of going to a local Obeah woman. Nothing worked.”
“Is that why you left your assignment?”
“Yes, I thought she couldn’t follow me here. Turns out I was wrong. She followed me here.”
“How do you know this? You have been functioning like your old self since you’ve been home.”
“Take a look at this.” He allowed the towel that was wrapped around his hips to fall to the floor.
“Oh my God, darling, did you injure yourself?” She stared with her mouth hanging open as she sat on the bed looking at the bruised body of her husband. It took her a minute to get her brain working again.
“Why, God?” she exclaimed. “Is this the work of the witch, Todd?”
“Yes, this is the work of the witch.”
“But how? Did you leave the house?”
“No, sweetheart, I did not leave the house. Somehow, the witch was able to get in here, remove me from the bed, and have her way with me in the bathroom, which is where I woke up about an hour ago.”
She was so stunned it took a couple of minutes for her to recover from the shock. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing on her Todd’s body. There was almost no spot on his body, particularly on the lower half that was left untouched.
Todd was handsome by any standard, but coupled with the fact that he was so well endowed made seeing him naked a spectacular sight.
He stood over six feet two inches with wide shoulders, a thick, muscular chest, and narrow hips. He was all muscle. He was a poster child for women’s fantasies. His face was handsome in an angular sort of way. His nose looked out of place on his face because it had a slight bump to it from where it was broken in a ski accident. But it was his eyes that held and captured your attention. The color of steel, his eyes had a direct focused stare that seemed to see right through you. He wore his dark hair in a slightly shaggy style, which gave him a slightly unkempt appearance. She loved his mouth. His lips were very generous and framed beautiful white teeth. He was fanatical about taking care of his teeth, and it showed.
She looked again at the strong sturdy columns of his thighs, which were covered with evidence of the abuse from the witch, and she wanted to weep. How dare that witch? Who gave her the right to abuse what was hers?
She had fallen in love with Todd from the moment she saw him sitting in the audience at one of her performances. She’d given him a run for his money when he’d begun pursuing her, but it was all a show. She’d wanted him with the same intensity he obviously wanted her, but she had played hard to get, to make him work for her, to prove that it was she he really wanted and not the passionate dancer.
During her performances, she had found most men lusted and wanted the dancer she portrayed on stage. They had a difficult time accepting that her persona on stage was all an act. Since meeting Todd, though, she had to conclude that the men she had met prior to meeting him had not known how to release the true dancer in her.
She could remember as if it was yesterday the first time she’d kissed him. He’d tasted like pure nectar, and she’d become immediately addicted to it. After he initially pulled her to him and given her a taste of what the heat of a true man felt like, she was hooked. The need to have all of him was so overwhelming. She’d lost touch with reality and forgotten where and who she was as she clung to him like a lifeline.
Only the knowledge that she would soon be in the spotlight when the stage light was turned back on gave her the reason not to lose control. Her adrenaline was pumping, her body on fire as wave after wave of heat coursed through her, going straight to her core. Never had she wanted anything the way she’d wanted Todd that night, and since.
He’d responded with a hunger equal to hers, shuddering in response to her nails raking a trail down his back. In a sexual daze, she’d wondered if he felt the same heat between them, the way she did. She wanted him with a desire that was almost animalistic in its intensity. She’d never
felt that way about any man before. She’d never allowed them to get too close to her.
She’d made one mistake in her early teens when she’d married someone who she’d thought was the love of her life, a young man from the same background as herself. He’d turned out to be a lazy drunk who didn’t believe in working to earn a living, believing they could live off her skill as a dancer. She’d quickly disabused him of the idea and had wasted no time in divorcing him. She had been alone since, scared to make the same mistake again.
When she’d met Todd and they’d exchanged that passionate kiss, she’d been ripe for the picking, as they sometimes said. Looking back now, she was happy she’d finally allowed him to do the picking.
In the end, she’d realized she was fighting herself more than she was fighting him and had given in because she could not continue to resist the very air she breathed. That’s how much she’d loved this man from the start. He was her life, and to think that some sorceress witch was lusting after her man, trying to take him away from her. This was too much for her to handle.
That witch was in for a fight. She’d picked the wrong man to sink her claws into because, whereas Todd didn’t know how to deal with her, she, on the other hand, was not so naïve. She was the descendant of the Australian Aborigines, and if she had to, she would take a trip to her grandfather to seek his help in removing this threat to her and her husband. The witch had targeted Todd, and so she’d targeted her also. They were a team, she and Todd, for better or worse.
The one fly in the ointment was that Todd hadn’t seen fit to confide in her from the start. She just couldn’t understand why. It hurt her badly, but now was not the time for recrimination. She would’ve been willing to travel to St. Lucia to be with him, to help him in this madness. She would’ve probably been able to save them both a lot of grief. But for now she would tackle this one step at a time.