by A. C. James
Fallon smiled briefly and nodded, stroking the inside of her thigh with his fingertips. “Aye, open wider for me, love.”
She drew her knees even farther apart, until they were touching the ground on either side of her. His feather-light touch sent tingles down her spine, and she wriggled with need. Fallon dipped his head to her exposed flesh and blew gently, making her squirm in agony. Leaning even closer, he gently licked a trail from just above her knee to where her thigh met her body.
Cyn shrieked, and then groaned in exasperation. “I need...”
Glancing up at her with a smile, he lowered his head once more and licked her labia, using his hand to spread her apart. Cyn moaned and shifted her hips closer to his face, desperate for more. His teasing was torture, and her body was on fire. Heat flushed her face, and every time he breathed on her she thought she’d explode. For fuck’s sake, she could die right there in a puddle of her own passion and that would be perfectly fine. Fallon continued licking her gently, avoiding her clit, making her twist at the exquisite sensations.
“Please,” she said, panting and begging. “Please take me. Take me fucking now. Right now.”
Fallon gave her labia one last kiss before sitting up and licking his lips. Cyn watched him, every cell in her body trained on his movements. He got to his knees, slipping out of his loose cloth pants with apparent ease. Cyn gaped at the size of his erection. She sat up, leaning over and stroking the length of his cock, enjoying the sounds he made in the back of his throat. Its girth filled her hand. She pushed him onto his back and mounted him, straddling him like a horse. His cock pressed at her entrance, and she moaned and ground her hips on top of him, making him groan in response.
Cyn looked deeply into Fallon’s eyes before reaching down and taking him inside of her. Her delicate muscles stretched around his massive cock, making her writhe. Waves of pleasure radiated through her body as Fallon took hold of her hips and gently began thrusting up inside of her. She pushed back against him, savouring the friction of her clit rubbing against his pelvic bone. Fallon looked up at her, reached for her breasts and toyed with her nipples. Clearly he was a breast man, from the way he was intently focussed on those dusky pink tips of hers. The sensation was almost enough to send her to the threshold of no return. She moaned loudly, sending echoes through the forest.
“Please, please don’t stop,” she said, panting.
Fallon obeyed her demand and tweaked her nipples once more—hard. Spasms of pleasure rocketed through Cyn, making her grind even faster and harder on his cock. As her orgasm savagely ripped through her, she took a deep breath and bent forward on his gorgeous chest. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close, still deep inside of her.
“Let’s roll you over, love,” Fallon whispered into Cyn’s ear, gently moving her to the side and climbing back on top of her. “Let’s be more leisurely now...” his voice trailed off as he spread her legs and climbed between once more.
Cyn moaned, arching her back, amazed at how good he felt inside of her. It was as if their bodies, minds, and souls had melded together, and the thought of that practically stole her breath. Instead of focusing on her stormy emotions, she leaned up to kiss him and tangled her hands through his hair again, tugging hard. Fallon’s mouth found hers, and his tongue explored its depths, making her shiver. With a gasp and a spasm Fallon came inside of her, and she followed him over the edge. He flopped down against her chest, utterly spent. Her heart seemed to hammer in time with his...she was losing control. The delicate world she’d built to keep from getting hurt again was falling apart.
Chapter Seven
Fallon lay on one elbow until he was conscious of a faint tingling in his arm. Damn, he thought to himself, taking in the curvy creature beside him. Cyn had drifted off post-orgasm into a light slumber. He’d covered her with the remains of her ensemble, quickly dressed, and packed up their picnic supplies. And as he watched her now, he couldn’t bear to wake her.
But there was a sound in the woods and Cyn gave a start, opening her eyes, before she spotted Fallon and yawned, smiling sleepily up at him.
“I had a bit of a lie-in,” she said, as she arranged the sheet back into a dress.
He grinned, feeling like a fool. Her smile was so beautiful, he couldn’t help it. “I saw.”
“Couldn’t help it... you wore me out, love.”
“In a good way, I hope?”
She laughed, but there was something more serious he wanted to talk with her about. He cleared his throat.
“There’s something we really ought to discuss,” Fallon said slowly.
She frowned. “Getting me shipped home, you mean.”
“Right.” Fallon took a deep breath. “I will mate with you, and then you can leave. You can only leave once you’ve mated, so you may want to reconsider your adamant refusal.”
She looked stricken. “Oh?”
He hated seeing her upset. His stallion pawed the ground, unsure of what to do. “Aye, love.”
“But I thought mating was for life?”
Fallon noted with displeasure that her voice was much softer than usual and his stallion sensed she must be hurting fiercely.
“It is,” he said lightly, disguising his emotions. “But, as you may know, I am the chieftain.”
Hopefully she’d buy it. Of course, he knew it was all a lie. She would be able to leave, but it would cost him dearly.
“So?” she asked, sceptically.
Fallon took a deep breath, dreading what came next. “So, I can enjoy certain privileges others of my kind are not allowed,” he said.
He couldn’t read her. She was gnawing at her lip, and confusion marred her lovely features.
“But that doesn’t make sense.” She shook her head, her curls flying. “Why wouldn’t you and Felicity have told me before?”
“This is shameful,” Fallon said, clearing his throat. “I wanted to be with you. I hoped you’d change your mind. You see... I’ve never been in this situation. And after meeting you, I realized how much I wanted you to stay. But it’s not fair to expect you to give up whatever you left behind, considering you didn’t know what it meant when you came here with Tomas.”
“Oh,” she said. Her words hung in the air.
Fallon’s insides raged with conflict. He was lying, of course. Once she left, without a mate to love him in return, he would surely die. Even seeing Cyn’s brief unhappiness made him realize it was unfair to make her stay. He couldn’t bear to see her vibrancy diminish, and she’d no idea what she was getting into when Tomas brought her to the Realm. It was simply too much. When you loved someone, you couldn’t imprison them. He wouldn’t take a mate under those circumstances. If she wanted to be his mate, wanted him, and decided to stay of her own free will, that would be one thing. Fallon refused to make her feel trapped, even if it meant his life.
“So, will you think about it?” he asked, in a weak attempt to flirt.
His stallion shook its head in disapproval. We must make her want us, and we cannot live without her. Fallon hushed his selfish, stubborn, love-stricken beast.
“Sure,” Cyn said, batting her eyelashes. “I’ll think about it.”
“Good,” Fallon said, with a heavy heart. “I want you to be happy, love. This should have never happened this way...”
Cyn cocked her head to the side. “But it did, and I’m so glad you came into—”
Fallon silenced her with a kiss, because it might be his last.
Chapter Eight
Pacing around her flat, Felicity realized she couldn’t take the suspense anymore. She’d have to return, as soon as possible, and assist in coming up with a solution. She’d done everything she’d needed to do in London, including a few loads of laundry, a vigorous re-packing of her valise, and a quick scan through her email for any important messages. It’d been relatively uneventful, considering the disaster awaiting her back with Fallon and Cyn, but there was one last step she’d been putting off with dread. Felicity picked up
her mobile and dialled her boss.
“Nathan?” Felicity said into her mobile, hearing what sounded like vigorous chewing on the other end of the line. “Are you there?”
“Felicity!” In the background, there was a loud crash.
Felicity winced. “Are you busy?”
Felicity hated lying to Nathan, but this had gone on for much too long. Her gut clenched. She felt horrible. He’d been such a good friend and boss. She knew she’d never find another working relationship like this one. He’d turned into such an important part of her life. And to make matters worse, she was a horrible liar. Felicity was always honest, because when she lied you could read it on her face like a bloody book. And her voice wasn’t much better; it always seemed to betray her emotions.
“No, just finishing lunch,” Nathan said, sounding worried. “I’m so glad you called, I really need to ask you to do something for me.”
“Listen, Nathan, I need to head back to the Aran Islands. The story’s not quite done and I need to check out a few more sources. I was thinking of returning later today or tomorrow, if it’s all right with you.”
Nathan was quiet before his tone turned serious. “Felicity, I’m really worried about Cyn. I’ve been calling and calling her, and it goes right to voicemail every time. She always calls me back... eventually. Is she okay?”
“Remember I told you that she met someone?” Felicity cringed, waiting to hear a muttered curse in response. When one didn’t come, she took a deep breath before continuing. “I think they’re just spending so much time together she forgot to call you.”
“Listen, I have a bad feeling about this, okay? This is completely unlike her. You’re her best friend, you must know that. I care for her so deeply. I’m not sure I could bear it if something happened...”
“I know how fishy it sounds,” Felicity said, closing her eyes to block out the lie. “But it’s the truth. And as soon as I get back, I’ll make sure to check on her first thing, okay?”
“It doesn’t seem like something she would do. She always does the walk of shame and comes home. I’ve never seen her stick around,” Nathan said.
Felicity sighed. This painful charade was taking much, much too long. And she couldn’t keep stalling him. He was completely right about Cyn. Felicity knew he would never believe her if he pressed for more detail. Damn. This has really become a fuck of a muddle.
“I know,” she said, in the most soothing voice she could manage. “But I’ll see her really soon. She’s with the right type of guy, okay? You know I wouldn’t let her be with anyone who disrespected her.” She steeled herself for Nathan’s inevitable angry reply, but surprisingly, the line stayed silent.
“Nathan?” she said, hoping they hadn’t been disconnected.
He sighed, sounding dejected. “I’m here. Just please, please let her know I need to speak with her, okay? It’s quite important.”
“I understand. I’m going to look at travel arrangements, and I’ll talk to you soon. Call me if anything comes up, okay?”
“Okay. Be safe, Felicity. And I’m calling Pier House if I don’t hear from you in twenty-four hours, d’you understand?” His tone was stern, but Felicity knew it was only out of concern.
“Sounds good, Nathan. Cheers.”
Felicity had tried to muster as much pep as she could, but after he hung up without returning her sentiment, she knew she’d done a piss-poor job. It’ll be all right. We’ll think of something. Strangely, her stomach lurched. She’d been rather nauseous lately and every time the sickly sweet smell from the bakery near her flat wafted past it made her want to yak. It was probably stress from the dishonest web she’d spun.
Chapter Nine
“So it’s like this?” Darcy asked cautiously, as she held up the eyeliner crayon to her lower lid. Cyn watched Darcy follow the make-up application instruction she’d given. The girl’s gorgeous amber eyes would be even more beautiful accented with green.
“You’ve got it,” Cyn said, smiling in amusement.
The two of them had been together all afternoon while Fallon was out on some kind of ‘business’ Cyn could only assume pertained to her eventual homecoming.
“What’s this for?” Darcy asked, as she dug through Cyn’s gold leather make-up bag.
She was holding up an eyelash curler, dangling it by one finger and gazing at it with interest. Cyn couldn’t help herself...she burst out laughing.
“Stop laughing. What is it?” Darcy said, dropping the curler and looking at it like it might bite her.
“Sorry, I can’t help it. It’s for curling your lashes,” Cyn said, choking on her giggles. She picked it up from the ground and demonstrated, holding it a few inches away from her eyes so Darcy could see the angle. “It makes mascara look even better, like you’ve got on falsies.”
Darcy cocked her head. “Falsies? What’re those?”
Cyn shook her head, still chuckling.
“False eyelashes. They look better in pictures,” she said, trying to explain as she put the eyelash curler back in the bag. She was immensely grateful she carried a make-up bag in her purse. “I usually wear them on a shoot, but they can irritate your eyes if you’re not careful.”
“That’s funny,” she said slowly, before shaking her head. “Your world is full of really strange things.”
Cyn gaped. “My world is full of strange things? Your world is bloody barmy!”
Darcy blinked, before shrugging and giving Cyn a smile. “At least we don’t glue false eyelashes on when we’ve already got them. And that thing is like some sort of ocular torture device.” She gestured toward the eyelash curler.
“Fine, you’re right. Not that your lot need any bloody help in the beauty department,” she grumbled under her breath.
A breeze wafted through the room, and Cyn closed her eyes, enjoying the calm and quiet. It was as different from London as it could possibly be. She was actually enjoying being marooned here. Well, not enjoying. But it is refreshing. Opening her eyes, she saw Darcy going through the contents of her purse again, picking up her mobile and staring at it with wide eyes. She couldn’t believe how much she liked spending time with the girl. With a pang, Cyn realized she would miss her. Cyn didn’t have any younger brothers, and always thought a lot of younger children were incredibly bratty. But Darcy was so bloody intelligent, it was impossible not to like her.
And it wasn’t only Darcy she fancied. While at first, Cyn despaired the thought of no mobile service, she’d come to appreciate the silence. She was no longer compelled to whip out her phone twenty times a day, checking eagerly for clever social media updates. She’d worried about her friends being unable to reach her, but a few days in, it was glorious to be unreachable. Instead of worrying she might be missing out, she was more relaxed and happier than ever. This is what solitude must feel like, she’d thought during an introspective moment. And for Cyn, it was a complete novelty. She was truly unplugged for the first time in her life, and was beginning to relish the simple pleasures it could bring. There were many more outdoor walks and casual lunches like the one she’d enjoyed with Fallon. Well, maybe not exactly like that one. She blushed at the memory of his touch, his kisses, his thorough and tender lovemaking. It was the way he looked at her. Cyn always had admirers, but Fallon made her feel like the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. He listened, and he was beyond patient. He tried to take her needs into consideration, and yet there was still so much she didn’t know about him.
A lump formed in Cyn’s throat at the thought of leaving him and all of this peace. She was confused. She wanted to go home. She loved her life in London, her friendships with Felicity and Nathan, and her modelling career. Cyn had worked so hard to get there, and it would be such a shame to give it up now. So why was she having these feelings? Cyn swallowed hard, hearing Fallon’s voice float up from the courtyard. Oh, God. I bloody well fell in love. She tried shaking her head to clear the thoughts, as she watched Darcy play with her phone. Her phone! That was it... she’
d forgotten to ask Felicity to check in with her agent. How could I have been so dim? Cyn thought, setting her mouth in a thin line. He’s a pain in the arse, but worlds above the last one. Her jaw clenched at the memory of her last agent.
“Hold still,” he says, reaching toward her chest. “You’ve got a loose thread on this one.” His fingers rub against the front of her chemise, brushing against her nipple. She squirms away in discomfort. They’re in her dressing room, after hours, and with a pang she realizes that she’s probably alone with him in the building.
“Are you sure?” she asks, voice unsteady. “I don’t see anything.”
She steps back, creating distance between him and her body. The chemise suddenly feels even more revealing than it was designed to be. Gooseflesh pimples her body, and her heart is thudding in fear.
“You missed it.” He laughs, reaching toward her breasts again. “Come on, let me have a little feel of what’s so hot right now.” His fingers brush against the silky fabric barely covering her skin. “I gotta know what young blokes find so appealing about you.”
She twists away, backing into the corner of the dressing room. “No! Leave me alone!”
She’s frightened, and her blood is pulsing hot and loud in her ears. She wonders how long it would take anyone to hear her cry for help, and thinks about the embarrassment of being caught screaming at her agent.
“Knock it off, love, let me just have a feel.” He tries again, reaching for her ample chest. In fear and panic, she swats him away, yelping. Her agent laughs and sneers, mocking her discomfort. “Don’t be shy with me, I know how you models are,” he says in a voice dripping with sarcasm. “Stop being so bloody coy. You know you want this.”
Tears threaten to spring unbidden from her eyes, and she blinks furiously. “Get out of my fucking dressing room,” she says, but her voice is hollow and scared.
No matter if she loses him as an agent, it’s not worth sacrificing her dignity and self-respect. Un-fucking-professional prick.