Air Bound

by Christine Feehan

  Her breath came in a ragged, shocked gasp as his mouth closed over her breast and drew it deep, his tongue lashing her nipple. Teeth scraping. Her body arched. Pushed into his. So responsive. So perfect. She made a little sound in her throat and his own body answered with hot blood raging in his veins.

  He indulged himself as he never had before, taking his time, using his teeth to tug and his tongue to ease any sting, his hands shaping and kneading. She fit in his hands. Her perfect little body, all woman, curved and soft and belonging to him. He realized he’d be ferocious in his possession of her. No other man would ever come near his woman or her body. And no one would ever harm her.

  He kissed his way over her breasts down along her injured ribs to the dip of her sweet belly button just waiting for him to explore. Her little noises drove him wild, and now her body writhed under him.

  “You’re mine,” he whispered against her soft skin. He kissed her belly, right where his child would grow someday. He had choices, and his choice was to claim her. To keep her. To let her teach him all about love. Enough that he could share that love with children.

  Her eyes met his. Even with one slightly swollen, her intense blue gaze moved him. He couldn’t speak. Couldn’t move. His entire body felt paralyzed with need for her. She shook him up so that the world tilted for a moment, and he held her close, waiting for the intensity of his emotions to settle.

  Show me, Airiana. I want to learn how to love with you. I’m not going to run away. I honestly didn’t know I was hiding myself away, but I don’t want to be alone anymore. He couldn’t give her the words aloud. He just couldn’t. But he could say them in his mind to her. He could kiss her firm belly and swirl his tongue over her delicious skin.

  I know everything there is to know about sex, but not about love. I want to love you, to show you I can be counted on. I’m not going to bolt the moment things get rough.

  She reached up and pushed back his thick hair. “I know that about you.”

  He wanted her to know everything. To know her trust and faith in him would never be a mistake. I’m tenacious and relentless. I’m capable of being there for you under any circumstances and I always will be. You’ll never need to worry that I’ll want another woman.

  “I’ve always known you were a man of your word and once you gave yourself to someone, it would be forever. For always. You have too much integrity to do anything else, Maxim.” Her fingers slid lightly over his nose and traced his mouth.

  The things he’d told her about himself were all true. He knew once she belonged to him he would hold on to her with everything he was, but he had to trust her that she would accept that flaw in him.

  She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her body close to his. “I’m not going to hurt you, Maxim. I just want you safe. You’ll be safe with me.”

  He allowed himself a small smile. “There’s nothing safe about being with me, Airiana, both of us know that, but if you’re really willing to take the chance, I’m willing as well. Are you really looking at me? Do you see me?”

  She nodded slowly, her eyes holding his. “I see you better than you see yourself. You want out, away from these men who send you all over the world, but you’re so afraid everyone you love will be taken if you escape. You’re a good man. A brave one. But you’re far too protective of everyone.”

  He knew he had been attempting to protect his heart and the small slice of a soul that was left inside of him. If he loved her and lost her . . . He groaned and lowered his forehead to hers, still looking into the deep blue of her eyes. “Be certain, Airiana. I’ll never give you up.” It was already too late—love had found him and it was already wrapped tightly around his heart and had entered his soul.

  “You’re my choice, Maxim.”

  “It won’t be easy loving me.” He could at least admit that to her. Warn her. He would hold too tight. Make her crazy with his arrogance. Expect her to follow his every dictate. He had the feeling his shins were going to be black and blue a lot.

  Her soft laughter vibrated through his body. “Did you really think I didn’t know that about you?” She took his hand and brought it to her mouth, her tongue sliding over the center and then up his finger. Gently she bit on the pad of his middle finger, her teeth scraping back and forth. His breath left his lungs when she sucked his finger into her mouth.

  “You must really like a good challenge,” he said, hardly able to draw air into his lungs. Her mouth, so tight around his finger, gave him the same sensation around his cock. She nearly drove every sane thought from his head. Thunder roared in his ears.

  Her tongue wrapped around his finger, stroking along the pad until his only thought was to bury himself deep inside her and relieve the building pressure. He withdrew his finger, and for one moment reveled in the knowledge that he would be teaching her how to please his body with her mouth and tongue.

  He had that privilege. That pleasure. He kissed her. Gently. Tenderly. He hadn’t known tenderness and certainly hadn’t known he was capable of such a thing. Possession welled up. Need. A dark craving that spread through him like a firestorm.

  He nipped her chin with his teeth, lavished more attention on her breasts until she was once again writhing beneath him, arching up to give him better access. He wanted her with every breath he drew. She was more precious to him than his gift of air. He stroked his hand down her body possessively, from beneath the soft rise and fall of her breasts to the triangle of curls guarding her treasure.

  His hands caressed her inner thighs as he pushed her legs apart and wedged his hips between them to keep her open to him. “You’re going to lie very still for me,” he instructed. “No matter how difficult it is, you’re going to do that because I want you to. I want you to feel everything I’m doing to you.”

  He lifted his head to look into her deep blue eyes. Fear skittered there. Just a small edge for the unknown, but he saw the trust. She bit her lip and nodded her head.

  “Say it, for me, baby. Tell me you’ll hold still for me, even if you’re afraid. You’ll trust me.”

  She licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. “I trust you, Maxim. I gave my body into your keeping a long time ago. You just didn’t know it.”

  He didn’t wait. He’d already waited too long. He simply bent his head and tasted her. All that sweet, creamy honey waiting for him. He knew what she’d be like, totally addictive. He already craved her and he hadn’t even had the chance to devour her—until now. He needed to eat her like a bowl of wild honey.

  His tongue lapped at the heated liquid dripping there as if from the very center of the honeycomb. She cried out, a soft little shocked cry that only spurred him on. He drew more liquid out, his hands holding her flower open to him. His teeth found that small bud and teased while he suckled.

  Airiana bucked, although she couldn’t go far, and her small, whispered apology only added to the excitement and pleasure as he took his fill. He wanted her slick and hot, so slick he wouldn’t hurt her when he entered her for the first time. He had no illusions that it would be perfect for her.

  He used one finger to feel her tightness. Her muscles resisted for a moment and then opened enough to allow his entry. She gasped and pushed against the mattress, her body shuddering with the effort to keep her promise to him.

  “Maxim, it’s too much. I feel like I’m going to fly into a million pieces,” she whispered, her voice strained.

  Her head tossed on the pillow, her hair wild. He loved the way she looked, her body flushed, her lips parted, eyes a little dazed. The way his hands looked so large and dark against her white skin and small bones made him feel his power all the more.

  “It isn’t too much, honey, this is the way you’re supposed to feel. Let yourself go. Give yourself completely to me. All of you. Everything you are. I’ll catch you.”

  He lowered his mouth again, and she screamed, a cry of shock and plea
sure. He held her still when she could no longer keep herself from pushing into him, need driving her now.

  That’s what he wanted—that mindless hunger that would allow his entry to be much more comfortable. He knelt between her legs and positioned the head of his cock at her entrance. She was so hot, he could feel that welcoming heat before he even lodged himself inside her.

  Her eyes widened as he pressed forward. She gasped at the burning, stretching feeling she hadn’t expected. Her channel was slick and hot, just as he’d planned, grasping at his invading shaft, nearly strangling him she was so tight. Her body gave way reluctantly, opening like a flower, but slowly, and unwillingly.

  “Stop. You’re too big.” Panic was in her voice. In her eyes.

  He stopped moving but didn’t withdraw, just held himself there, her body surrounding him with the most exquisite feeling he’d ever known. Her gaze clung to his. He refused to allow her to look away.

  “I’m not too big, Airiana. You were made for me. That mark on your palm told both of us you were. It’s your first time. You’re a little scared, but in a few minutes, the pleasure will take over. You have to relax. Take a couple of deep breaths and feel me inside of you. It’s where I belong.”

  She pressed her lips together as if to keep from contradicting him, her gaze still clinging to his as if he was her lifeline. He was her everything, she just didn’t know it quite yet. He gave her another moment and slipped in another inch. His hands held her open to him and he caressed her soft skin with his thumbs, but she couldn’t move. Couldn’t writhe around or buck hard against him.

  He didn’t dare allow her to inflame him anymore than he already was. He wanted her so much. Everything in him demanded he take possession, that he bury himself deep. The roaring in his ears was too loud, the fire raging too strong. He’d never been out of control before, certainly not during sex. Now, more than any other time, he needed discipline and control. He wanted her first time to be wonderful, not painful and frightening.

  Another inch set him against her firm barrier. Panic set in, he could see it in her eyes, but she still didn’t fight him, or demand again that he stop. He felt his cock grow even more, swelling with hot blood, as her body, stretched around him, gripped him with burning silk. He grit his teeth, fighting to stay in control when his body was going up in flames.

  “Look at me. Keep looking at me,” he ordered. He waited until her eyes cleared. He surged forward, a hard thrust, driving through the barrier and seating himself deep.

  Airiana gasped, a small cry escaping. Tears swam in the blue of her eyes. He held himself very still, allowing her to get used to his invasion, used to that full, tight, stretched feeling.

  “We’re good now, honey,” he soothed. “I’m sorry that hurt.”

  She nodded, her gaze clinging to his. Again, all he saw was trust, and it was humbling. He hadn’t given her that much reason so far to really enjoy sex. He was more determined than ever to love her, to show her love.

  He waited until he saw the pain recede from her eyes before he moved again, a long leisurely surge, watching her closely the entire time. Her breath caught in her throat and her eyes went wide.

  “That’s it, honey, just relax and let me do the work. It’s going to feel good. I can promise you that.” It had to feel good to her, because her scorching hot, liquid honey surrounded him, held him tightly, the friction sending streaks of fire racing through his bloodstream to center in his groin.

  He set a smooth, easy rhythm, watching her intently, touching her mind with his to ensure she wasn’t in any pain. Once her expression cleared he guided her response with his hands, bringing her body up to meet his.

  He saw the moment the sensations went from too tight and too stretched to pleasure. He’d never forget that moment or the expression on her face—or the way her gaze jumped to his in startled shock. In awe. Almost reverent. He increased the pace, still careful of her, needing to take her to a place of pure pleasure.

  Her little panting gasps drove him wild. Her ragged breath became a counterpoint to his own. The sound of their bodies coming together added a depth to the music he heard in his head along with the roaring in his ears and the thunder in his veins.

  His control was slipping fast. She was hot and tight and felt as if she’d sheathed him in tangles of living silk. He began to thrust harder and deeper, driving them both up again and again to the very brink, the friction turning into a fiery crash of pleasure consuming him.

  He clenched his teeth as flames licked at his thighs, his balls, his belly and then centered in his groin. She gripped him, milked and squeezed, surrounding him with sheer pleasure. He’d been taught a million ways to please a woman, but he’d never had the experience of a woman trying to please him.

  Her shy, untutored responses pleasured him more than all the experienced women he’d ever been with. He lost himself in the sensations welling up, gripping her tightly, taking her past the point he should have, but he couldn’t stop.

  Maxim?

  Her voice quivered just a little, bringing out his every protective instinct. Stay with me, baby. I’m right here. Let yourself fall. I’ll catch you.

  I can’t.

  It wasn’t going to be perfect for her. As a first time, it wasn’t bad, but she was just too small and tight, and he couldn’t stop his body’s reaction to her scorching sheath and her innocence. He gave himself up to the fire, allowing the flames to consume him. He felt like the phoenix, dying in one fiery ecstasy of death and rising again reborn into something altogether different. Or maybe he just wished for different.

  Her body trembled, but she didn’t fall with him. She didn’t soar. He was supposed to be the best at sex, so trained no woman could ever resist him, and the one woman who mattered the most, that meant everything to him, had a painful, unfulfilling experience. What the hell kind of lover was he?

  “I’m sorry, baby, I’d never experienced making love. Just sex, and there’s a hell of difference—or maybe it’s just you. I’ll do better next time.”

  He kissed her over and over, knowing he couldn’t take any chances and do a better job that moment, but he would before the day was out. “I know that wasn’t the best for you, Airiana, but it will definitely get better.”

  “It’s better than that? Because I thought it was pretty good.”

  “Believe me, honey, I can do much better for you.” Thank God she was so innocent and had no clue. She still looked at him as if he was the greatest man in the world when he definitely didn’t deserve it.

  Maxim held her to him, rolling, still buried deep, but pulling her body on top of his so he didn’t crush her. She lay with him, sharing the same skin, trying to recover her breathing. He could feel her heart pounding right over his.

  “Was I terrible?” she asked, turning her head so she could look up at him.

  “No. You’re . . .” He searched for the right word. “Extraordinary. I had no problems, as you could tell. It was you who didn’t get the full benefit of what we can do together.”

  She sighed. “You don’t have to say that to me. I know I don’t have any experience. You’ve probably been with all kinds of women who knew exactly what they were doing.”

  He stroked his hand over her silky hair. “My emotions weren’t engaged, Airiana, with anyone else. Not one time. Of course the bodily function was pleasurable, it’s meant to be, and I was definitely trained to ensure that, but my emotions were never involved. I never loved someone or wanted to please them because of the way I felt about them.”

  “There’s a difference?” She frowned, trying to puzzle out if he was telling her the truth or not.

  “I won’t lie to you, honey. I lie to the rest of the world, but not you. If we don’t have truth and trust between us, we don’t have anything.” His fingers slipped from her hair to the heated silk of her bare skin. “You give yourself generously and that’s more th
an half the pleasure right there. You give me your complete trust, and that’s a gift beyond any price. More than that, you want to please me.”

  She pressed a kiss against his chest. “Of course I want to please you. I just don’t really know how yet. But I will, Maxim,” she added adamantly. “I’ll learn.”

  “Putting your partner’s needs and desires above your own is what makes an extraordinary lover. You trust that I’ll do the same for you.” He moved subtly, enjoying the scorching hot silk of her sheath surrounding him. That little action sent a series of shocks vibrating through him.

  “Of course I trust you,” Airiana said. “I gave myself to you, didn’t I? I wouldn’t ever do that if I didn’t trust you.”

  “Trusting me is one thing, honey; giving yourself to me the way you did is something altogether different.” He bunched her hair in his fist and brought it to his mouth. “But what do I know? I might be the expert on sex, but you’re the expert on love. I’ll teach you what I know about sex and you can teach me about love, because I really want to know. This one was my fault because I couldn’t control myself. That’s never happened before.”

  “I’m fine with trying again,” she assured with a small smile that twisted at his heart. “And I really love the fact that I can make you lose control.”

  He wanted to make her lose control. To give everything to him. “I want to be a good husband to you, not the overbearing ogre I’m fairly certain I’ll be.”

  She laughed, a sweet, melodic, unexpected sound that sent vibrations through his shaft and melted his heart. It didn’t take much for her to wrap him around her finger. She always seemed to react with unexpected amusement.

  “Ogre?” She lifted her face and scooted up his hips just enough to frame his face with her hands.

  His body left hers and he immediately felt abandoned. His first instinct was to bury himself deep inside her again, but he didn’t want her to be sore. He could see the blood and seed on her thighs and that kept him sane enough to stay still.