His tongue darted inside her mouth and she met him with her own. His erection pressing against her intensified the dull ache throbbing low in her belly. Her body quivered, instinctively wanting him with every fiber of her being. She indulged in the luxury of a traveling hand and slipped it underneath his shirt, tracing her fingers over the planes of his chest and the ridges of his smooth, defined abs. He gasped when she brushed down the front of his pants, and she smiled.
With an unexplainable collapse, the walls she’d always hidden behind crumbled, exposing her to the raw emotions flooding her body. Alive with feeling, his every caress encouraged her while his every kiss spoke to her on a level only she could hear. He seared her…scorched her…burned her.
Because of him, she surrendered to the passion she’d always shied away from, letting it devour her. Desire welled inside her fast and furious, a beast consuming her. She dug her fingers into his back before burying her hands in his hair to pull his mouth to hers, needing this man to quell the ache eating her alive.
His kisses overloaded her senses, leaving her breathless. Panting, she broke away and ducked her head into his shoulder, trying to catch her breath but refusing to let him go. The rise and fall of his chest as he struggled to calm himself intensified her hunger.
His hand swept the hair off her neck just before nibbling kisses traveled down it, cascading chills over her like sheets of water. She clung to him as the sensations from his touch ignited a desire she didn’t know existed within her, pushing her to relinquish control of her mind and body to another.
She lifted his shirt until with a quick grab from behind, Marek pulled it over his head. Unable to resist, she ran her hands over his bared chest. After a brief, questioning glance, she floated her thumb across a nipple and marveled at its instant reaction. When his chest expanded with a sharp inhale of air, she stilled her exploration to gaze at him, resting her hand on his pectoral muscle. Although his jaw clenched in restraint, he couldn’t subdue the desire blazing in his eyes that blasted through her like a lightning rod.
“Marek,” she moaned dropping her forehead against his chest, knowing she wanted him, but not sure what to do about it.
He lifted her chin with a finger an instant before his lips touched hers. His mouth teased while his hands fed the insatiable need ravaging her. She melted into his overheated body, succumbing to the desire.
His mouth traveled down her jaw, the sweep of his whiskers against her cheek a contradiction to the soft caress of his lips. He unbuttoned her blouse and pushed it off her shoulders, her thin undergarment the only barrier between her swollen breasts and his searching hands. She gasped when he cupped a breast and squeezed her nipple until it swelled to an aching point, straining against the flimsy material. Seemingly irritated by the hindering fabric, he grabbed her undergarment and yanked it off her.
The chilly air on her bare body cooled her skin while the blood inside her boiled. He worked the buttons on her pants and suddenly she stood naked before him. She knew she should feel embarrassed, but the hunger drove her now swallowing up every other emotion until only Marek existed.
His hands slid down her hips and she shuddered. The heat radiating from him incinerated her. Even as a blush flooded her cheeks, a stronger overpowering need to see him pushed her. She stepped into the small gap between them, and with shaky hands, began unbuttoning his pants. Her concentration faltered when his fingertips traced a sizzling path down her back. His gentle stroke counterbalanced his iron stomach and the corded muscles in his forearms, reminding her that the man embracing her was a warrior who happened to be a king among men. How did she deserve such a gift?
She paused at the last button. His hard shaft threatened to steal her courage. Unable to continue, she glanced up and disappeared into his blistering eyes. He reached for his pants. She started to pull away but he interlaced his fingers within hers and guided her, so together they slid his pants over his rock-hard erection and down his legs. She stared unashamed, yet overwhelmed. She’d never seen a man naked before and wished she had the nerve to touch what she wanted with each clenching pulse of her body.
Marek pulled her into his chest and suffocated her with kisses until she clung to him out of desperation, her legs unable to hold her. She groaned as every cell in her body cried out for him to take her.
****
Somehow, he stepped out of Carina’s arms even though his body screamed in frustration. She stared at him with puzzled eyes, her lips swollen from his kisses. He searched her face, but saw no fear. For the first time, he’d been the one to pull away, not Carina who had demanded more from his every kiss, who trembled at his touch, and who was driving him crazy.
He grabbed her hand and in a scrape of a voice, murmured, “Come, swim with me.”
Her eyebrows furrowed. “I’ve nothing to swim in.”
He grinned. “Me neither.”
Even in the moonlight the beautiful blush on her cheeks melted his heart. Although still naïve with the innocence of youth, an unyielding strength burned inside her. She displayed a quiet courage, a resolve born of someone with an ageless wisdom. And tonight she would become his.
A gentle tug on her hand nudged her feet into motion until they were both walking toward the water. The moonlight dancing off the pools reflected in her eyes, radiating back at him in a shimmering silhouette. He paused and pulled her close, framing her face with his hands before kissing one eye and then the other, wondering in the beauty of her.
She shivered as his fingers skimmed down her arms. Entwining his hands within hers, he backed into the water so he could watch her every move. Although hesitant, she followed him. He wanted to be gentle, to make her first time memorable, but the sway of her hips as she tiptoed into the pool was going to make it difficult.
She glided into the path of the moonbeams bouncing off the water. The rays illuminated her body in a breathtaking iridescent light as her legs disappeared under the surface. With the soft glow reflecting off her skin, her hair mussed from his hands, and her beautiful, red lips—redder from kissing him—she looked like a goddess.
He guided her deeper until her breasts teased the surface, not completely above but not submerged either. Transfixed, his eyes devoured her. She stepped up to him and his teeth grazed down her neck to the hollow of her throat. He smiled at her rapid pulse, and ran his hands down her thighs before lifting her to straddle him. He held his breath when she rubbed against his cock, straining his already weakened willpower. Even in the water, he could feel her slick heat and it took all his strength not to enter her.
He wrapped her legs around his waist and gently pushed her back into the warm pool. She spread her arms wide, her upper body floating in the ripples, and closed her eyes. Her hair danced with the movement of the current and again he thought her a goddess.
Even as he bent over her, capturing a nipple in his mouth and hearing her whimpered response, a thought burst into his mind. Out of nowhere, he couldn’t shake the feeling that Carina’s fate had been predetermined at birth, and he was meant to protect and guide her. His chest tightened at the importance of this task and he trembled, humbled by the knowledge that he’d been the one chosen for such an honor. He prayed he would be worthy and his blades would be swift and strong when the time came to defend her. But these thoughts were fleeting as Carina dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him into her chest.
His hand covered her other breast, the nipple hard and rigid, demanding the attention he readily gave it. She started rubbing against him, moving her hips up and down his thick column. Panting, he buried his head in her chest. His arms shook as he fought to maintain control when every instinct in his body urged him to drive into her in one long, deep thrust.
Grabbing his forearms, she pulled her upper body out of the water, pressing her taut nipples against his chest. Water trailed down the sides of her face. Her hands roamed along his arms and across his shoulders before her fingers settled in his hair, her palms against his jaw.
Her moans tantalized him while her body clamped around him tormented his throbbing need for her. Until Carina, he’d been devoid of life—living, but only walking through the days—not seeing the world around him. Yet with her every touch, she reawakened something inside him, a part of his spirit he’d somehow lost.
She showered kisses down his face. Insistent and pleading, she begged for him to ease the ache, and he obliged by lifting her and resting his tip just inside her heat. As he tortured himself by watching her mouth part in anticipation, he finally understood what she was offering. His beautiful Carina would breathe life back into his soul. She would help him see the world again, a world that had only regained its color because of the goddess he held in his arms.
He lowered her. Her satin walls grabbed him, encouraging him to fully merge with her. When he felt resistance, he paused knowing her first time would be painful. She opened her eyes and stared at him, sensing his hesitation.
“Marek,” she whispered. Her eyes, glazed with passion, yet the trusting eyes of someone experiencing the beauty of what was about to happen for the first time, crushed his heart and a flare of protectiveness flooded his veins.
“Carina.” He rasped her name, his desire so great. “The first time might hurt, we—” He had intended to say they should go slow, but her lips plundered his mouth, unrelenting and insistent. He lost all thought, wrapping his arms around her and pinning her lithe body against his chest, losing himself in the welcoming marvel of her mouth.
In a sudden motion, she used him for leverage by tightening her legs and lifting her body to plunge down hard onto him. He tore through her barrier in one smooth motion until he was buried deep inside her. She cried out and burrowed her head in the crook of his neck. He groaned, clamping his teeth in restraint as she cradled him in a silken cocoon. The wonderful velvet steel of her body beckoned him, forcing him to use every ounce of self-discipline to keep from driving into her. She was in pain. His focus had to remain on her.
She rested against him, breathing heavy. He stroked her back, tracing his fingertips along her smooth skin. When she shivered, he smiled.
He murmured in her ear. “Are you okay?”
She lifted her head and gazed at him with wide eyes. “Yes,” she stammered, her voice washing over him like a whispered caress. “I guess I lost control,” she mumbled with a sheepish smile. Not even the soft moonlight could hide the rush of red filling her cheeks.
A veil lifted from his heart. He laughed and pulled her to his mouth, kissing her until they were breathless. When he spoke, he refused to remove his mouth from hers, murmuring against her lips. “Then we should finish what we started, luv.” His hands grabbed her hips and coached her by sliding her up and down the length of his pulsing cock.
She moaned in the back of her throat and tightened her legs, following his direction and guidance. With a final shudder, he surrendered, closing his eyes to the world and losing himself to the sensations Carina commanded with every thrust of her body.
Aye, a goddess indeed.
34 – MORNING AFTER
Carina awoke the next morning to an empty bed. The sun streaming in from the windows bathed her in warmth. She rolled onto Marek’s pillow. Just the faint smell of him rekindled a flood of memories. Although a little overwhelmed by what had happened, a lazy contentment filled her with peace.
She yawned and arched her back in a relaxed stretch, but a twinge of discomfort fluttered low in her belly. Marek had told her that any soreness would pass. He’d also promised next time would be better, but she doubted that since their first time was burned in her mind forever.
She closed her eyes. Last night, she couldn’t control the desire Marek had awakened from some hidden depth within her, and never imagined wanting someone so much that her body ached for him. Marek brought those feelings to the surface, exposing them in a raw, basic emotion. She blushed as images replayed in her mind. And even though tender, a dull longing throbbed in her core at the thought of him inside her again.
Her stomach growled. She roused herself out of bed, splashed water on her face, and dressed. With a quick pull on the door, she hurried down the circular staircase, her purpose twofold—to eat breakfast and find Marek, but not necessarily in that order.
When she reached the bottom floor the unmistakable rumble of Marek’s voice booming from the foyer greeted her. As if they were connected by an unseen tether that snapped taut whenever he was near, she turned away from the kitchen to find him. She rounded a corner in time to witness a group of men leaving through the main door. Marek was shaking hands with someone she didn’t recognize. Although shorter than Marek, the man still looked intimidating with thick arms, a barrel chest, and long red hair that flowed over his shoulders like a panthera’s mane.
Feeling self-conscious, she almost slipped back around the corner, but Marek glanced up. His eyes raked over her with an unfettered heat that caused her heart to somersault. The red-haired man followed Marek’s gaze and smiled before exiting with the others, leaving the foyer empty except for Marek, Damon, Caden…and her.
Not sure what to do, she stayed rooted in place, a silent shadow watching Marek talk to the remaining men. With hard eyes and grim faces, their body postures were of warriors about to go into battle, and a whisper of concern chased through her mind.
Caden said something and Marek nodded. After Marek had formally spared Caden, the fair-skinned Tiwan had surprised everyone by swearing a loyalty oath to Marek.