by Nina Bangs
She was kidding, right? “Just tell me what to do.”
Kelly didn’t waste words. “Lie on your stomach on the bed.”
Ty didn’t follow orders well, but there were orders and then there were orders. Nodding, he stretched out. Resting his head on his folded arms, he waited.
Straddling his hips, Kelly squeezed a blob of cold lotion onto his back, then rubbed it in. Every stroke of her magic fingers left a trail of sizzling sensation behind. He shifted his hips to accommodate his increased excitement.
But with excitement came the return of his beast. It had hidden behind Seir until the demon was gone. Ty clenched his teeth, willing it away. Tonight it wanted to stay.
Kelly scooted back and squeezed a drop of lotion onto each buttock. “I love these. Firm.” She dug her fingers into his flesh and massaged. “Sensual.” Lowering herself until her breasts just touched his cheeks, she moved back and forth, dragging her nipples across his flesh. “Delicious.” She bit his right cheek.
He swallowed a growl. His beast wanted to bite back. Anything that involved teeth turned the T. rex on. Ty grew harder, if that was possible.
Kelly murmured close to his ear. “That was for taking a call from Fin right in the middle of our foreplay.”
Foreplay? That had been foreplay? Suddenly he felt more human. T. rexes didn’t do foreplay. His beast backed off a little.
“Lie on your back.” Kelly was moving right along.
He flipped over and looked up at her. God, she was gorgeous. Her hair was tousled, her cheeks were pink, and her eyes were filled with heat and emotion and so many things he couldn’t ID. He hoped they were all good for him.
She looked mesmerized as she lightly traced the shape of his mouth. He didn’t move as he held her gaze. Could she see his beast waiting behind his eyes? Did she even suspect the danger she was in?
Leaning close, she nibbled a path from the corner of his mouth and down the side of his jaw. “Your courage touched and excited me tonight. No matter how many times Gig knocked you down, you got up again.”
Some of his fear eased. His primal side hadn’t disgusted her.
She moved from his jaw back to his mouth. Her lips were soft, demanding. He opened his mouth and welcomed her in. And as her tongue tangled with his, his beast roared its need.
Just in time, she broke the kiss. His breath rasped in and out, laboring even more than when he’d fought Gig. With her breath warm on his skin, he felt her hunger as she kissed a path to his nipples. She flicked each one with the tip of her tongue until they felt so sensitive, he wanted to cry out and draw her down to him.
It was getting harder and harder to deny his T. rex. The beast flung itself at the bars in his mind, but for now they held.
Ty forced his body to still as Kelly smoothed her fingers over his chest and stomach. The scent of vanilla would always bring him back to these moments.
She paused to meet his gaze. “Do we have time for me to twirl my tongue inside your cute belly button?”
He must have looked horrified because she laughed. “Okay, your manly navel.”
Ty struggled to hear himself above the now constant screams of his beast. “No. No time. Can’t wait.”
Kelly grew serious as her gaze came to rest between his spread thighs. “Here’s where I want to spend some quality time.”
Slowly and with maddening deliberation, she smoothed the lotion over the insides of his thighs. Every stroke was a slide of sensual torture.
“I was sure this was one place you couldn’t reach. Aren’t you glad I’m here to help?”
He couldn’t stop the moan forced from the depths of his need for her, his hunger for her.
She didn’t say anything else as she lowered her head and slid her tongue across his balls.
Warm, so warm. And wet. Sensation piled on sensation until the whole pile threatened to tip over. And still his beast cried for its release.
“Can’t wait.” He shook as he fought for control, his body’s demands feeding on themselves. Ty needed to bury himself deep inside her right now, needed to tell her how much he loved her. Both urges were snowballing down a mountain built from all the emotions he’d felt since meeting her. But at the bottom of this particular mountain, a T. rex waited.
“I know.” Her murmur was rough with desire.
And when she closed her lips over his cock, he almost came off the bed. Everything became a sexual blur as she swirled her tongue up, down, and around. The heat of her mouth drove him crazy. But when she nipped the head of his cock, she’d gone too far. His beast burst from its cage and roared its challenge.
No. He wouldn’t let it control him. Ty held it at bay for the moment.
With an inarticulate cry, he pushed her onto her back and then rose over her. He knew his hair was tangled around his face and his body was sheened with sweat. He was almost afraid to think what she’d see in his eyes.
“Now.” His breaths came in harsh rasps and his heart felt ready to explode from his chest.
“Now,” she agreed.
Slipping his hands under her buttocks, he lifted her to meet his thrust. Biting his lip until it bled as he fought to keep from savaging her the way his animal craved, he eased his cock into her. So wet, so hot, so ready. Ty gritted his teeth as he tried to hold that position, his whole body shaking from the effort.
“I don’t know what you’re doing, but I want all of you inside me. Now.”
Exhaling a huge breath of relief, Ty plunged into her. Kelly cried out her satisfaction as he drew almost completely out and then buried himself deep inside her again. She wrapped her legs around him and with every plunge, she rose to meet him.
As his orgasm became a rushing tide, pushing him closer and closer to that inevitable moment, and his beast’s primitive soul fed off that most basic animal need, it happened again. What had happened that first time.
Ty felt like he was falling into Kelly, past the physical, into her yesterdays. He touched pieces of her humanity. Her fear when she first met him. Her joy when she played her first song. The excitement of her first date. The sadness when her first pet died. The love of her family. And then, beyond all that, he touched something bright and warm and wonderful. He touched her soul.
Just as he wrapped his arms around all that warmth and wonder, his orgasm exploded. He froze in that moment, time stopping while spasm after spasm rocked him. Dimly, he heard Kelly cry out as she joined him. Then the spasms rippled like pebbles tumbling over and over in the surf until the waves slid back to the sea, leaving the two of them still on the shore. Quiet and somehow peaceful.
And as he lay there with his breaths still coming in quick gasps and his heart pounding fast and hard, he felt as though he was more than he’d been before. He’d touched her soul and made a piece of it his. Ty closed his eyes. And he wasn’t giving it back.
It took him a moment to realize something unbelievable. His beast was gone. She’d given him a piece of her humanity, and that humanity had driven the beast back to its cage.
“I love you.” He lay on his back, staring up at the white ceiling.
“I know.” Her voice sounded like it was clogged with tears.
He held his breath, the moment stretching into forever.
“I love you too.” Only a whisper, but he heard it.
Her words repeated themselves over and over in his mind, echoing back to that long-ago time when he’d walked the earth as T. rex, and he knew that this was where he wanted to be. Forever. With her.
Ty tried to keep his voice calm, tried not to think he could lose her when he told her what loving him would cost. “I want you with me forever, but the price of loving me might be more than you’re willing to pay. I’ll understand if you choose not to go through with it.”
She moved close and rested her hand on his chest. “I don’t count the cost when I want something. Or someone. And I want you more than I’ll ever want anyone in my life.” Kelly looked as if she was wrestling with something. “I have t
o tell you something. I thought I could keep it to myself, but that’s no way to start forever.”
He nodded.
“Fin told me that you guys were something else before you were dinosaurs.” Kelly’s expression said she was waiting for him to explode.
“I know. He admitted it to me.”
“When?”
“When he realized I love you. Fin thought I should know what you’d have to go through to claim me. Once I knew, he figured I wouldn’t ask you.” Ty glanced away. “But I’m a selfish bastard. Besides, I knew that if the shoe was on the other foot, I’d want to be given a choice.”
Kelly looked outraged. “You bet I want a choice. Tell me what I have to do.”
He told her—about his soul, her immortality, and the ceremony.
Her wedding day. Sort of. Oh, she’d have a traditional one with her family and friends, but this moment was for her and Ty alone. No white today. She’d chosen a short red dress. Red, a color that always made her feel brave and sexy, both things she wanted to be for him.
Fin stood beside her, radiating suppressed dis pleasure.
“Why don’t you like me?” Kelly had to admit that even in a roaring bad mood, Fin was a beautiful man.
He looked surprised. “Why would you think that? I’ve always liked you. I just don’t think marriage is a wise move for any of the Eleven.”
“You don’t think I’ll still love him at the end, do you?” Foolish man.
“Some things should never be revealed and are best forgotten. I don’t want Ty to be hurt.” He paused. “Or you.”
Shocked, she stared at him. He almost sounded human. “Don’t worry. I love him too much to hurt him. Whatever I see, I’ll survive.”
Fin didn’t try to change her mind. The time for that was past. Kelly looked around her. They were in the huge room on the top floor of Fin’s condo. Someone had gone to a lot of trouble to decorate the place. But bright colors couldn’t take away the knot in her stomach. God, let me do this right.
The rest of the Eleven, all dressed in tuxes, formed an aisle down the middle of the room. Ty stood alone at the far end. Waiting.
“It’s time, Kelly.” Fin’s voice was soft as he took her arm.
She controlled a nervous giggle. Fin was giving her away. How…traditional. As they started walking slowly down the aisle, the men began chanting in a language she didn’t recognize. It rose and fell, a joyful spill of words.
Startled, Kelly looked at Fin.
He smiled. “This ceremony is our tradition. For this one moment, I gave them back the memory of the wedding chant. When they’re done, the memory will be gone.”
“Will Ty have to say anything?”
“The words will be given to him.”
Tears welled in her eyes. She didn’t know why, but there was something wrenchingly sad about this small gift Fin was giving her and his men. “Thank you.”
He nodded. “Are you sure you understand how this will change your life? When this is over, you’ll be immortal like us. You won’t age, so you’ll watch those you love die.
You’ll be facing some of the same dangers Ty faces until Zero and the other eight are gone.”
“I understand. And I accept that my life will never be the same.” She’d spent sleepless nights staring into the darkness, thinking about her family, her career, her life. Kelly was fiercely determined not to give up her family. Yes, she would tell them. And no matter how hard it was, they’d work it out because they loved one another. But she wouldn’t trade Ty for a safe and comfortable future. She loved him that much.
And then she was facing Ty. He looked spectacular in his tux. This wonderful man loves me. The magic of it still boggled her mind.
Finally, the chant ended. Fin and his men moved to the far side of the room.
Ty looked into her eyes, his love filling her, completing her. “I love you, Kelly. Are you ready?”
“Yes.” She bit her lip. She wanted to reach out to him, hold him, but she knew it wasn’t allowed. Not yet. Nerves, not fear, made her stomach hop and skip, because as long as Ty was with her, she’d be safe. She’d always believe that.
So quickly that it made her gasp, Ty’s beast towered above her. Within the dinosaur’s massive form, she saw Ty the man waiting. Taking a deep breath, she began walking.
Kelly didn’t slow down as she drew close to him. Ty would let her in. She would be his only mate, the only one who’d ever be allowed to walk into his beast.
Then she was through, Ty’s form closing around her. Kelly didn’t know what she’d expected, but it certainly wasn’t this. Surrounding her was a world that had disappeared sixty-five million years ago. Eyes wide, she watched the pattern of his days—the hunt, the kill, and the savage beauty of what he’d been. All the giants that had roamed that time filled her vision as far as she could see, alive once more.
But gradually the forests and plains faded to an earlier time, before the dinosaurs reigned. Nothing could have prepared her for this world. A kaleidoscope of darkness, death, and destruction spilled over into horror and evil that even the worst nightmare couldn’t conceive. Kelly knew she was screaming, but no sounds came from her mouth. There was nowhere to run, no place to hide. Shadows she recognized as human drifted out of the blackness, but she couldn’t tell whether Ty was one of them. She was too terrified to look very hard. Even though she knew it was useless, she ran. And ran and ran and ran.
And just when she felt that she’d collapse onto the hard earth and die, she found Ty. Tears streaming down her face, she reached for him.
He opened his arms, and she fell into them. The familiar feeling took her, the sensation of falling into him, becoming a part of him.
Ty spoke, his voice rumbling from beneath where her head pressed against his chest.
“You touch my soul, Kelly. You touch what I am, what I once was, and what I will be.”
Kelly stared up at him. Words appeared in her mind. She spoke them. “I accept what you share with me today—your love, your soul. I give my love and my soul in return.”
Dropping his arms from around her, Ty framed her face with both his hands. “Take what is mine, and let it join us forever.”
Then he kissed her. It was a kiss for the ages, and Kelly lost herself in the magic of his mouth on hers. She hadn’t expected to feel anything more than she’d felt before, but this time was different. A sense of newness filled her, awareness that Ty was now a part of her essence, and her happiness exploded at the unbelievable completeness of it.
When the kiss ended, Kelly realized his T. rex was gone. She smiled through her tears. “I walked into the heart of your beast, and I came out the other side still loving you. Never underestimate the heart of a woman in love.”
He held her close as he walked with her toward Fin and the others waiting to congratulate them. “What did you see?”
Kelly thought of the hell she’d glimpsed, thought of what it would do to him if he knew. “I saw dinosaurs. Lots of dinosaurs.”
“Anything else?”
Some things should never be revealed and are best forgotten.
“Nothing.”
RAVES FOR PARANORMAL QUEEN NINA BANGS!
ONE BITE STAND
“Bangs delivers another outrageously fun and scorchingly sensual paranormal romance in the latest creative addition to her loosely connected Woo Woo Inn series.”
—Booklist
“Bangs’s wacky tales never disappoint and her offbeat characters face danger with flair.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
A TASTE OF DARKNESS
“The creativity and humor of Bangs’s outrageously sexy paranormal tale is topnotch and consistently excellent. Her over-the- top scenarios are rich with adventure, fun and laughter. A guaranteed mood lifter!”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“Bangs continues her wildly imaginative Mackenzie vampire series with another deliciously dark tale that is perfect for readers who like their paranormal
romances sizzling, sexy, and wickedly funny.”
—Booklist
NIGHT BITES
“Cosmic chaos and laughs abound in this latest romp from the always wonderful Bangs. Sexy and sizzling, this is paranormal fun with lots of spice.”
—Romantic Times BOOKreviews
“Nina Bangs has written a truly fascinating romantic tale with Night Bites. It has everything from trickery, sorcery, sizzling sex, intrigue, and danger all rolled into one explosive package just waiting to be devoured.”
—Romance Reviews Today
NIGHT GAMES
“A look into a future where sex is the only game worth playing showcases Nina Bangs’s talent for witty, irreverent eroticism…A sensual time travel that at once titillates and satisfies…a tempestuous fantasy with scintillating details.”
—Midwest Book Review
MORE PRAISE FOR NINA BANGS!
MASTER OF ECSTASY
“Is there any author who does humor, horror, and romance in one blending better than Nina Bangs does it?…An amusing romance that will lead the audience to read [it] in one enchanting bite.”
—Midwest Book Review
“Bangs…mixes in several different paranormal elements and equal measures of passion and humor to create her latest wonderfully creative, utterly unique romance.”
—Booklist
THE PLEASURE MASTER
“Sizzling!…A remarkable blend of extremes, including charming, endearing, and exciting, The Pleasure Master lends a new definition to the word tease as it titillates the reader.”
—Wordweaving