Of Sand and Stone

by Lauren Smith

  “Devon!” She placed her palms flat on his chest, and he towered over her at the edge of the bed.

  “Do you wish for me to stop?”

  “No…just give me a minute, okay? It’s been a while since I’ve done this.” Even though it was fairly dark in the room, with evening shadows stretching through the windows, he could see the blush on her face spreading down to her collarbone. His chest tightened and he smiled, stroking her lips with his fingers.

  “It will be all right, love. I’ll go as slow as you desire,” he vowed, even if it would kill him. He didn’t want her nervous or afraid—he wanted her wild and excited. If it took hours to reassure her, then so be it. He would take all the time required for her to trust him. He’d been a masterful lover once. But by that fateful with night Aphrodite he’d grown careless and lazy when it came to women and she had rightfully cursed him. Two hundred years in stone had changed some things inside him, but the old lover was still there, a man who knew how to please his woman. The difference now was his priorities—pleasing Rebecca instead of himself.

  He bent over her and kissed his way down from her lips to her breasts, tugging the lacy cups down to free her tempting breasts. Her nipples pebbled against the cold air, but he covered one with his hand and the other with his mouth. Rebecca moaned and arched back. He chuckled as her hands dug into his hair, holding him to her breasts.

  “God, Devon…”

  “I’m just getting started.” He tugged the lacy scrap of cloth from her hips, baring her completely. Then he knelt again in front of the bed and wedged his shoulders between her thighs.

  She gasped, trying to sit up. “Wait—what?” Clearly she was not expecting what he had planned.

  “Lie back and enjoy, love,” he commanded.

  “O-okay.” She lay back down, and a thrill rippled through him at this little victory. Devon placed a kiss on her inner right thigh, then her left, before he used his fingers to stroke her folds. She was wet and hot, and it was going to drive him mad to wait to sate his needs, but he wanted her to experience what he could do with this mouth.

  He kissed the top of her mound, letting her feel his tongue flick against the small bud of arousal, and she let out a keening whimper. From that moment on, he showed her how much he wanted her to enjoy what he could give her.

  She climaxed twice, her sweet taste upon his tongue, her trembling legs against his shoulders, and her gasping words of ecstasy in his ears as she came down from those glorious heights of pleasure. The evening light illuminated her like pale alabaster with only a hint of rose, and he had never seen anything more glorious in his life.

  And she is mine. In this moment, I own every part of her.

  He rose, his hands fumbling for the buttons of his jeans, his breath coming fast as he realized he was going to bed a woman, something he hadn’t done in two hundred long years.

  “Devon.” Rebecca’s voice caressed his name, and he froze as another voice, one that filled him with dread shook him deep inside like thunder.

  “Be careful Devon…Your time of sacrifice has not yet passed.” The echo of Aphrodite’s laughter clung to the air like a hint of perfume, faded and invisible but still there.

  He dropped his hands from his jeans and stepped away from the bed, away from Rebecca. How could he have forgotten his vow to Aphrodite? He had seen to her pleasure, yes, but the deity’s terms now came back to his mind, haunting him. The devil is in the details, they say, and with a scorned goddess this was doubly so. He could not sate himself, could not enjoy Rebecca as he would have any other woman. Not if he wished to remain in the world of the living.

  His shoulders went rigid as he fought to regain control. His body surged with unsatisfied hungers, and he struggled to bury them.

  Rebecca sat up, her hair falling down around her shoulders, covering her breasts before she raised her hands to shield her body. “What’s wrong?”

  “I…” Words failed him when they never had before. “I cannot do this.”

  He grabbed his abandoned shirt from the floor and stumbled from the room. If he stayed close to her, naked and beautiful as the morning sun on snow in winter, the desire would bloody well damn him for all eternity.

  Rebecca didn’t chase after him. That was something the old Rebecca would have done. She would have gone after him and demanded answers, only to be disappointed and get her heart broken. She was done being that sort of woman.

  Devon had opened up a new side of her. She’d gotten a taste of what she’d wanted from life, from a relationship, and she wasn’t going to allow anyone to mistreat her again. Whatever had happened between them tonight had scared him off, that much was clear, but she wasn’t going to blame herself. Still, his rejection didn’t hurt any less no matter what she told herself. She got out of bed, took her robe from her closet, and headed for the shower.

  The hot water beating against her skin was a blessed relief. She leaned against the back of the shower wall and closed her eyes.

  I have a two-hundred-year-old, gorgeous, sexy-as-hell man in my house thanks to an ancient Greek goddess. I’m living in a world where I can’t have the one thing I want—his heart.

  Rebecca blinked away the tears in her eyes. Wait, she wanted his heart? They’d only known each other a short time, and she stoutly did not believe in love at first sight. Yet, she couldn’t deny that she felt something for him, something that ran deep, like still waters in a vast lake. But she was afraid to face those feelings and the uncertainty of the future.

  What if he ended up being like every guy she’d dated before? Arrogant, selfish, and incapable of loving a woman while still respecting her as an equal partner. Hell, it was the reason he’d been imprisoned in stone in the first place! She wasn’t a maid or a chef on call. She had a full-time career that had stresses, worries, and complications, just like every other person. She hadn’t met a man yet who’d truly understood that.

  Which is probably why I’ll die alone.

  The sobering thought threatened to start a fresh wave of tears. Rebecca buried her face back beneath the spray, wanting to hide in the hot, steamy glass box forever. But she couldn’t do that. She had to get out, even if it was the last thing in the world she wanted to do.

  With a weary sigh, she turned off the water and reached for her towel. She yelped when she realized Devon was standing there, still bare-chested and wearing nothing but his jeans, watching her with hooded eyes.

  “I upset you.” His voice was ragged as emotion tore through his voice. “I’m sorry. I never wanted that. I never wanted to hurt you.”

  Rebecca’s throat constricted. “I wasn’t…” The lie burned bitterly upon her lips.

  “I wish I could undo the hurt I caused, but I cannot. The fault is mine.” His throat worked as he struggled to continue. “Aphrodite cursed me.”

  “I know,” she replied, clutching the towel over her body.

  “But you do not know the conditions she placed upon me.” His blue eyes burned with fury, but Rebecca wasn’t afraid.

  “Conditions?”

  He stepped closer but still kept his distance. “I have seven days to prove that I can put a woman’s desires above my own. If I were to seek out my own satisfaction, even after you reaching yours, I have no doubt that I would be turned back into stone.” He looked over her body, and she could feel it, almost as though he’d caressed her. “We came too close in your bedchamber. I almost lost control and took you the way I wanted, the way I craved…”

  It all made sense now, and Rebecca exhaled, her lungs burning. She hadn’t even realized she’d been holding her breath while he spoke.

  “You mean you can’t…finish?”

  “Yes.” He came to her then, towering over her as he cupped her face in his hands. Their mouths were only inches apart, and she could see into his eyes. For a moment she thought she glimpsed his very soul. The shifting glints of light fused with desire melded with something deeper, something more pure, and it left her breathless.

  �
�You were such a temptation that I would have damned myself for all eternity to have but one moment with you.” And then he kissed her.

  It was a kiss made of dreams and starlight that spun her world in a dizzying array of colors and sensations. His warm body, the feel of his arms as he slid them around her. The taste of her own tears mixed with a hint of his sweetness upon their lips. The devastating perfection of that single, fleeting, yet somehow everlasting kiss was imprinted upon her soul.

  There would be no other man who would hold her heart captive as he did in that moment.

  We’re both cursed.

  “What are we going to do?” she asked as they broke apart.

  He rubbed his hands up and down her back. “Try to survive six more days.” Both of them were afraid to ask the question: What would happen when those six days had come and gone?

  8

  Six days might as well have been an eternity for Rebecca. It was wearing on Devon too. They spent each evening together, laughing, cooking, dancing on the patio after dinner. Each night, he would walk her to her bedroom, pull her into his arms, and kiss her tenderly. But it could never lead to more, and it was killing her. After nearly losing control the first time, they’d agreed not to go to bed together, even for just her pleasure. It was too much of a risk and she didn’t want anything to happen to him because she couldn’t resist temptation.

  On the evening of the sixth day, Rebecca lingered by the kitchen, watching Devon do the dishes. He was still amused by the novelty of putting dirty dishes into a the dishwasher rack and turning it on, then allowing the machine to do the rest. Rebecca couldn’t help but stare at those jeans that hugged his ass. The man was temptation wrapped in sin and coated with desire, and she wanted him more than she wanted anything in her life.

  “Devon.” She spoke his name softly.

  He turned, dark hair falling into his eyes. “Yes?”

  “Tonight at midnight will be seven days. You’ve given me everything I’ve desired. Aphrodite would have to agree, right? Do you think we could…?” She couldn’t resist smiling when understanding glinted in his eyes.

  “I would like nothing more.” But his smile faltered. “Aphrodite?” he called out.

  Silence was their only answer, and he sighed.

  Rebecca looked around the room. “Maybe she can hear us anyway? I can’t imagine she’s forgotten about you.”

  Devon spoke louder. “Goddess! Have I passed your test? Is Rebecca’s request something I may grant after midnight?”

  Again silence. Then the doorbell rang.

  Rebecca frowned as she left the kitchen to go answer the door. “Who could that be?” Devon followed her, the heat of his body warm behind her as she opened the door and he put a hand on her waist. No one was there.

  Devon looked over her shoulder and pointed down at the doormat. “What’s that?” Rebecca picked up a small gift bag and dug through the tissue paper, finding a box of extra-large condoms.

  “What are those?” Devon picked up the box, studying it with interest as he mouthed the words “ribbed for her pleasure” written on the side.

  “Oh God!” She grabbed him and dragged him and the bag back inside the house, slamming the door.

  “There’s a note.” Devon turned the box over, where a little white card was taped to the side. He opened it and read it aloud. “At midnight, you are free. But not a moment before. Enjoy this little gift. —A.”

  “The goddess of love sent us a box of condoms?” Rebecca’s cheeks burned with embarrassment, but she was also on the verge of laughing.

  “What are con—doms? It sounds familiar.” Devon tested the word, smiling as he seemed to notice her blushing.

  “They’re um…here.” She smacked the box against his chest and fled back to the kitchen. He was a man—he could figure it out.

  She busied herself with pouring two glasses of wine, and when she looked up, he’d entered the kitchen, grinning as he waved the box of absurdly large condoms in his hands.

  “Ah, now I remember. They were more commonly referred to as French letters in my day.” He studied the box intently. “Are they still made of sheep intestines?”

  “Sheep intestines?” Rebecca echoed faintly. Oh holy mother of— “No, they use latex. It’s not made from any part of an animal.”

  “Latex?”

  “Thin rubbery mat…oh, never mind. It’s better, trust me.”

  Devon chuckled. “What luck! I always hated using them. A man had to soak them in a jar for hours before he could get them on. Terribly messy things.”

  The mental image made her wince. Talk about an ick factor.

  “Let’s not talk about old-fashioned condoms anymore, okay? In fact, let’s not talk about any of them again until we get a chance to use them.” She took the box from his hand, opened a cupboard, and shoved them inside.

  She turned back to Devon. He had his arms crossed and was biting his lip as though to keep from laughing. “I do love how modest you are, but come midnight, I want the other Rebecca, the one who will scream my name.” His voice had turned husky. “Because I wish to be inside you until dawn, giving you pleasure over and over until you cannot leave the bed because you’re drunk with ecstasy.”

  Her mouth ran dry, and she struggled to think coherently past the explosion of heat inside her. The thought of making love with him for hours, from midnight to dawn? To think about him making her come over and over…

  Rebecca gripped the shreds of her self-control. She had to find a way to distract them both before midnight.

  “We still have four hours. Why don’t we find something safe to do far away from my bed?” She handed him a glass of wine and then took a sip of her own. “And I have an idea.”

  The internet was a most fascinating thing, Devon decided. Any question he’d ever had could be answered in seconds. The mysterious Google that Mrs. Lesley had told him about turned out to be something Rebecca had called a search engine. You could put any question in the box and it would provide a hundred answers.

  He and Rebecca settled down on the couch with an object she called a laptop, probably because it sat on her lap. It had a flat glimmering face that she could make change instantly, much like the TV and cell phone.

  “Look.” She pointed at what she’d called the screen, and he read the words “Ancestry Registry” with a picture of a tree, the leaves and branches slowly growing.

  “What is this?” he asked, peering closer.

  “I thought we could research your family, find out what happened to them.” She watched him hesitantly, as though she was afraid it might upset him.

  His throat tightened, and he nodded. “Thank you, Rebecca. I mean that, from the bottom of my heart.” He watched her as she filled out the various forms on the screen, and it asked him questions about his ancestry.

  In a short time she beamed at him, tapping her fingers on the little square at the base of her laptop. “Yes! We found them! Your family is still around.” She zoomed in on a large tree structure that had leaves with names and dates on them. His brothers, Rhys and Colin, were there, the branches splitting down over the years until they reached their modern-day descendants. The title was still in the family name, it seemed, with the oldest male son directly from Rhys’s bloodline.

  Rebecca nestled back against him, and he could see her face reflected on the screen. “It looks like both your brothers married and had long lives with lots of kids.” She looked happy, but there was a wistfulness about her eyes and mouth, as though something she desired was not quite within her reach.

  In that moment he felt the same. Neither he nor Rebecca had asked the goddess the one question that haunted them both. After midnight, what would she do with him? Would she leave him here in an era that wasn’t his? Would she return him to the past? He closed his eyes and held Rebecca close, nuzzling her cheek. She murmured something so softly that he didn’t hear what she said until she was tugging on his shirt.

  “It’s half an hour till midnight,” sh
e said, turning in his arms.

  “I’m quite aware,” he murmured back, smiling down at her. He didn’t want to move from here, from this moment. The woman of his dreams, the woman he’d never known he should have been searching for in his life, was right here where she belonged.

  He lowered his head again and pressed his lips to hers in a slow kiss. He took his time, feathering her lips with his, teasing her with the tip of his tongue before she opened her mouth and he took possession of it. Rebecca moved the laptop onto the table so she could crawl onto his lap, straddling him on the couch.

  He gripped her jean-clad arse, loving how her bottom filled his hands. Bless the man who had decided women should wear pants. It was far more arousing than a mess of skirts and petticoats. She could ride his body just like this, torturing them both with the pleasure that would come just after midnight. He pulled her tighter to him, letting her slid up his body and back down as they kissed, mimicking penetration until his body was hard and aching but he didn’t want to stop. It felt too good. Devon gripped her back, fisting one hand in her hair so he could pull her head back slightly and leave little kisses on her neck and throat.

  “How do you know just what to do? It’s like you…are perfect.” Rebecca moaned, squirming on his lap.

  “I spent years perfecting my technique,” he whispered before biting her earlobe and she whimpered, grinding her pelvis harder against his. She gripped his shoulders, digging her nails in.

  “Come upstairs with me,” she begged. “We can do everything but…you know…until midnight.”

  “So modest, Lord, you are the sweetest creature,” Devon chuckled and kissed her again, his mouth rougher as he couldn’t help but picture finally claiming her as his, possessing her in the most primal way.

  She climbed off the couch and he wanted to protest.

  “Let’s go, show me how bad a rogue you were.” She winked at him and he laughed. She had no idea how bad he could be…