by Kate Douglas
It was her third climax of the night and not as strong as the two that Thomas had given her but enjoyable nonetheless. Well, of course, he had certain advantages, she thought dreamily. She couldn’t very well spank herself or kiss her own flesh or writhe alone as she did in the powerful grip of his hands upon her waist when he pleasured her long into the night. For now, her fingers took care of the last lingering trace of desire from their time together.
Satisfied, she turned once more to her bath and stepped in, settling into the warm water with a blissful sigh. Fiona watched the candles flicker through half-closed eyes, not thinking of anything at all. Relaxed and happy and delighted to be alone, she lolled in the water until it grew cold.
A draft was coming from the bedroom. Perhaps Sukey had left a window open. Lady Fiona shivered and sat up, reaching for a towel and patting the wet pearls that encircled her neck, then rubbing her breasts and arms somewhat dry.
She gripped the rim of the tub and rose from the still water, dripping and looking for her new robe. Ah. There it was, on a nearby hook. The silken folds shimmered in the candlelight, and its elaborate embroidery of full-blown peonies and butterflies shone dully. Hardly a practical garment, but then Lady Fiona owned very few garments that fit that description.
Her wardrobe was designed to be alluring. Workaday woolens and puritanical linens were not fabrics that interested her in the slightest. She preferred sheer things, soft things against her sensitive skin. And if her dress and under-things could be easily removed by her lover du jour, so much the better. Being attended by a lady’s maid before and after an amorous interlude had definite drawbacks. Though Sukey, a little hussy if ever there was one, never seemed shocked by anything.
Fiona clambered out of the bathtub rather awkwardly and tossed the towel with which she had dried her neck onto the floor. She picked up another, wrapping it around her hips and rubbing her bottom hard enough to make it jiggle. If Thomas were watching, he would have had her on her knees immediately, her head down and her hands reaching over her hips to spread open for him. He loved to see her cunny when he spanked her this way and watch her bare buttocks quiver under his welcome chastisement—a quivering she could not control and did not want to control, because she knew that the sight aroused him beyond measure.
She loved the feeling of shameful pleasure that pulsed through her, loved hiding her face in her tumbled hair, a woman with no name and no identity for a little while, begging with her whole body and a few gasped-out words, to be fucked by him.
Then, when he could stand her cries no longer, he would ram his hot shaft in all the way, until she screamed his name and came hard, thrusting her hips back, back, back. He very much enjoyed the satisfaction she found in being dominated now and then…
Don’t miss the further adventures of
Xandi, Stefan, Anton, and Keisha in
Kate Douglas’s new novella, “Chanku Rising.”
SEXY BEAST
Every Woman Wants One…
Some men are more than meets the eye…much, much more. And when they unleash a woman’s wildest desires—her deepest, animal hunger—the results are primal, magical, and undeniably hot! Shape-shifting has never been sexier than in Sexy Beast, an anthology of three novellas from three of the best new writers of erotica:
Chanku Rising by Kate Douglas
Tiger, Tiger by Noelle Mack
Night of the Jaguar by Vivi Anna
SEXY BEAST
A Kensington Trade Paperback coming in March 2006
Books by Crystal Jordan
CARNAL DESIRES
ON THE PROWL
UNTAMED
PRIMAL HEAT
EMBRACE THE NIGHT
SEXY BEAST V
(with Kate Douglas and Vonna Harper)
SEXY BEAST 9
(with Vonna Harper and Lisa Renee Jones)
UNDER THE COVERS
(with Lorie O’Clare and P.J. Mellor)
Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation
EMBRACE THE NIGHT
CRYSTAL JORDAN
APHRODISIA
KENSINGTON PUBLISHING CORP.
www.kensingtonbooks.com
All copyrighted material within is Attributor Protected.
Table of Contents
Acknowledgments
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Acknowledgments
This book is special. No, really. It is. This is the first book I ever started to write, quite a few years ago. At the time, it was a comedy. At the time, I had no idea what I was doing when it came to writing a story. I labored through many, many drafts of this book, and finally realized I didn’t have the chops to do the characters justice. Frustrated, I put it aside and thought I’d never come back to it.
But this book is special. These characters are special. Merek and Chloe and Alex wouldn’t stop popping up in the back of my mind, reminding me that their story was still untold.
So, I dragged it out one day and dusted it off. I started reading, and it was even more awful than I remembered. I had to scrap everything, except the characters and the basic bones of the story. It went from comedy to dark and sexy. And my editor, John Scognamiglio, was his usual awesome self, bought the book, and gave these characters a chance to have their story finished. Finally.
There are so many others who have helped me get where I am with my writing, and helped me get this book to where it is. This acknowledgments page wouldn’t be doing what it’s supposed to if I didn’t give them a nod for all they’ve done for me.
There is my best friend, Michal, and my boyfriend, Frank. My two favorite partners in crime. Then there are the other authors who’ve prodded, cajoled, encouraged, or otherwise kicked my ass into meeting my deadlines: Kate Pearce, Loribelle Hunt, Dayna Hart, R. G. Alexander, Eden Bradley, Karen Erickson, Robin L. Rotham, Patti O’Shea, Rhiannon Leith, Elaina Huntley, Lilli Feisty, and Gemma Halliday. And, of course, my Grams.
Thank you all for being part of this story with me. My story as a writer.
1
Gods, but she needed this.
Chloe’s body arched beneath the heavy, muscular form of the most talented warlock she’d ever fucked. And he wasn’t even inside her yet.
A low moan slipped from her throat when Merek’s hands closed over her breasts. His thumbs chafed her nipples, and a little smile kicked up the side of his full lips and crinkled the corners of his gray eyes as he watched the tips of her breasts tighten for him. Little bolts of lightning flickered around the warlock’s hands and up his forearms. The shocks hit her flesh, sizzling her nerve endings. She jolted, but a flood of moisture slicked her pussy. More. Gods, she craved more.
Sinking one hand into his dark blond hair, she urged his head down. A chuckle rumbled from his chest while he obliged her. His hot tongue swirled around each nipple in turn, sucking them deep into his mouth. When that same electrical current pulsed from his tongue to her breast, she writhed helplessly, a scream ripping from her.
“You like that, don’t you, Chloe?” He glanced up at her, his gaze gleaming with silver light. His teeth scraped over her nipple when she didn’t answer. She jerked against his hold on her, her thoughts scattering into incoherency. “Don’t you, sweetheart?”
“Y-yes, Merek.” A shiver rippled over her skin as his tongue soothed the sting his teeth had left. “Oh, gods, yes. I like it.”
Her nails scored his back, raking down his flesh. He shuddered over her, groaning. His hips bucked against hers. She could feel his long, hard cock sliding over her naked flesh. His dick was already damp with pre-cum, but he didn’t try to enter her. She wanted him deep inside her. Now.
Parting her thighs, she wrapped her legs around his flanks
and lifted herself into him, rubbing the lips of her wet pussy on his cock. His white teeth flashed in a pirate’s grin, his gaze heavy-lidded. She arched her body into him, enjoying the pleasure that flashed in his gaze as she watched him watch her twist on his sheets, the fabric warm and smooth against her back. He angled his hips and ground himself against her clit, but still didn’t slide that long cock into her. Instead, he eased his weight away from her a bit.
“No, don’t go,” she whispered, shoving her fingers into his silky hair and dragging him back down to her breast. Her heart pounded so loudly in her ears, it drowned out the ragged sound of their breathing.
He batted at her nipple with his tongue, shoving the tight tip against the roof of his mouth. Her nails dug into his scalp, and he grunted, biting down on the beaded crest in retaliation. Her breath froze in her lungs, her body jerking under the lash of too many sensations overloading every nerve at once. “Merek. Merek, please!”
He released her breast, blowing a cool stream of air onto her damp flesh. “I like it when you beg.”
It felt so fucking good, she thought she might die. Still, she needed more. She needed to lose herself in the scorching heat of this moment with this man. “P-please.”
Those tiny sparks of lightning arced from his fingertips as he stroked them down her ribs, her stomach, and into the thatch of hair between her legs. The first touch of his hand on her clit made her sob with need. Excitement twisted like a wild thing inside her, and she had to grit her teeth to keep from screaming again when his callused finger penetrated her sex. He flicked his digits over her slick folds, diving into her soaking pussy. He hummed low in his throat. “So wet for me. I’m going to love fucking your tight little pussy.”
“Yes. I want that.” Her head rolled on the pillow, sweat gathering at her temples to slip down her skin as her muscles shook in reaction to all he was doing to her, in anticipation of all he would do to her. “Hurry.”
“Not just yet.” The pad of his thumb stroked her clit in time with his plunging digits. He worked her at a fast, punishing rhythm that made her twist in his embrace, a low keen of need spilling from her lips. She was so close, her inner muscles clenching on his fingers with every hard push into her body, tingles skipping and racing down her skin, but she knew he wouldn’t let her go over the edge into orgasm until he decided. He was the master of this game, of that she had no doubt. The mere thought made her burn. It was exactly why she’d picked him for the night.
She sucked in a deep breath, trying to calm herself, but it only drew in the heady smell of sex and the rich, masculine scent of him. Heat and magic flared deep within her, spells she was barely conscious of casting. If he was going to drive her crazy with lust, then turnabout was fair play.
Golden light poured from her fingers as she slid them down his skin, over the flexing muscles of his chest, his arms. He went still, a great shudder racking his big body as the spell worked on him, transferring her searing pleasure to him. It would feel like flames were licking at his flesh. He groaned, and she watched his control strip away—just as she had wanted. A tiny smile curved her mouth.
“Such a talented little witch.” He parted the lips of her sex with one hand and guided his cock to her entrance with the other. A hard thrust drove him hilt-deep into her, and she choked at the exquisite stretch. Gods, he was so big it was painful to take all of him, but she didn’t care. She wanted this too badly to stop now. She bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes to savor the sensation.
“Mmm. I think that’s my job.” His tongue slid along her lower lip, sucking it into his mouth. The feel of his hard cock within her, the pleasure-pain of his thick shaft stretching her, almost made the gentle sweetness of his kiss overwhelm her. The man could kiss, his taste honey-spiced. He was already inside her, and his lips and teeth and tongue seduced her, coaxed her into an even wilder response, made her grow even wetter, her nipples bead tighter, her nails dig into his back as she slanted her mouth under his. His hands cupped her breasts, his fingers rubbing her nipples. She moaned against his lips.
Undulating her hips beneath him, she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist and broke the kiss, gasping at each hot plunge of his flesh into hers. Her eyes pinched closed as she dragged in the musky scent of sex and man. “This feels so . . .”
“Fucking good,” he finished for her. His hands moved to close around her knees, pulling her legs farther apart to allow him to drive as deep as possible. His thrusts were hard, but too slow to shove her over the edge.
Shivers raced over her skin, every muscle in her body trembling with insipient need, with dark, unspeakable magic. It pulsed from her to him in sharp stabs of lust, making them both groan. “Hurry, Merek.”
“And end this so soon? No way in hell.” But his hands gripped her hips tightly enough to leave bruises, his fingers sending waves of that same overwhelming power, silver lightning flashing between them to sting her flesh. It was too much and not enough all at once. A spasm clenched her sex, and she cried out at the sensation. He gritted his teeth over a harsh sound of need.
Squeezing his cock with her inner walls, she tried to increase that consuming ecstasy. He groaned, his thrusts picking up speed and force, just the way she wanted. Her nails sank into the heavy muscles of his chest, and she tugged at the light smattering of curls there. “That’s perfect, Merek. Just like that. You feel so good inside me.”
“Gods, Chloe.” Those gray eyes closed, and he swallowed hard. His breathing was nothing more than ragged panting, his powerful body arching between her thighs as he pushed them both to the edge of sanity.
They moved together seamlessly, magic building around them, flowing through them as their power cycled back and forth, feeding the need. The raw, stark sensuality of it shook her from deep within. It was perfect, just as she said. Too perfect. Shuddering away from that thought, she focused on the physical, carnal reality of sex. The scent of him, the feel of his flexing muscles against her skin, the creak of the mattress beneath them, the gasps of air that escaped their lungs as they moved faster and faster. The fire and magic that heated her blood, made her heart pound until she could feel nothing else, think of nothing else.
“Oh, gods, yes.” She clenched her jaw to hold off the orgasm building within her. As much as she wanted it, she also wanted to savor every second of this experience.
He chuckled, the sound rough with unspent lust. Slipping his hand between them, he rubbed his knuckle over her swollen clit and took the choice to linger away from her. “Come for me.”
“Merek!” She shattered, her body bowing in a tight arc, and she lifted him with her as she convulsed around his cock. Her pussy gripped him tight, relaxed, and gripped again, milking him until she was sobbing with the force of it and he was groaning with his own orgasm. He slammed deep, shuddering over her as he came, his fierce expression emptying as he collapsed on top of her.
Slowly, she went limp, utter contentment sapping her will to move. His weight crushed her into the mattress, and she ran a hand down his sweat-dampened side before letting it drop. With a soft groan and a final thrust of his still semihard erection inside her, he managed to leverage himself off of her and onto the bed next to her. He hooked an arm around her waist and dragged her up against him, running his palm down her body, cupping her breast, tweaking her nipple, swirling a finger around her navel, and finally slipping between her legs to settle over her sensitized clit.
A low moan tore from her throat, shivers raising goose bumps on her flesh. She’d been so right. This was exactly what she’d needed. For one night, she’d needed to forget everyone and everything in her life and just feel. She’d needed to be touched, to have a man’s hands slide over her skin.
She’d needed to be fucked.
“Mmmph.” Something heavy landed on Chloe’s stomach, jerking her out of the erotic dream, the erotic memory. Her heart thundered, sweat slid down her face, and her lungs heaved in a desperate bid for air. Icy fear and hot lust warred for dominance inside
her as the fantasy gave way to reality. She shuddered, her fingers balling in soft cotton sheets. Her familiar’s eyes glowed in the low lighting of the lamp she’d left on, a freakish little alien head peering down at her. Ophelia blinked, her whiskers twitching. Chloe groaned, shoved the Siamese cat off her belly, and flopped over to bury her face in the pillow. “Gods.”
How many times was she going to have that dream? How often did she have to relive that wild night? It had happened two months ago, and hardly a night had passed that she hadn’t had the dream.
Maybe she just needed to get laid. Get that night out of her system. She moaned into her pillow, squeezing her thighs together as a lingering throb of desire went through her. That was how she’d ended up having that night in the first place, by telling herself she needed to get laid, to get her cheating ex out of her system.
That had gone so well for her.
She’d gone out to Sanguine, her favorite Magickals-only private club, scoped out every species of hotty the Magickal community had to offer—elves, Fae, vampires, werewolves, warlocks. She had mentally debated the sexual gifts each species could bring to the table—bedroom, whatever—and then she’d seen him. After that, there’d been no contest. Chemistry was a bitch like that. She would know—she was a biochemist.
Sighing, she rolled over, kicked the sheet off of her, and forked her hands through her sweaty hair. Her body still burned, her sex aching with a need to be filled with more than just her vibrator. “Damn it.”