A Message of Love (4 page)

It was so hard to talk. He just wanted to stare at her eyes; nothing else was really important. “How did you - know...”

“Let’s just say I have a very reliable source for information,” she said, dipping her chin slightly, looking at him from under slender dark eyebrows. “But it’s not important Jacob. I’m here now, with you. That’s all that matters.”

She pulled the cloak away from her body, and dropped it to the floor behind her. Jacob gasped.

She was stunning. He couldn’t leave her eyes for more than glances, but he still perceived enough. She was tall, though even in her heels, she was still a few inches below his imposing height. From just above the nipples to halfway down the thighs, she was wrapped in a dark, form-fitting fabric. It seemed an almost translucent material, like peering at the sun through the shield of a curtain. Only there wasn’t a sun behind this fabric, but a gorgeous female body. The fabric emphasized an incredibly narrow waist, the generous swells of her breasts complemented by the stretch of the wrap across the sweep of wide hips. The dark areolas were hinted at through the dress, the delta of the sex an unmistakable inviting shadow between the strong thighs. Above and below the dress (if it could be called that), the almost glowing skin dazzled his eyes. He’d not seen skin so pale, so clear ever before. He ached to touch it, to feel it against his lips.

Jacob could feel his cock straining against the front of his jeans, painfully erect. “Please,” he breathed his jaw clenching.

She glanced down for a moment, and he felt suddenly lighter.

“I don’t control that,” she said, grinning and gazing into his eyes again. “That’s all you.”

She took a step toward him, her slender hands clasping her hips as if bracing herself. He felt the movement in the air, like a swimmer in a pool feels the water pressure change when someone else dives in. He hadn’t felt such a surge of desire, such a rush of naked lust since. . .since Mara.

As Elira stepped closer to him, her steady gaze never leaving his, all he could think about was Mara. He remembered the first time he’d seen her bare breasts, their soft, heavy curves highlighted by the afternoon sun pouring through the windows of the very room he was now standing in, captive in.

Closer the strange, incredible woman stepped. He could still see Mara, tears running down her cheeks, and Jacob greedily licking them off, kissing her wet eyelids. Her grateful yielding smile, as he held her head clasped tenderly in his hands. Jacob could feel his legs shaking, his groin throbbing, testicles pulled up tight against his body. He knew if he so much as brushed his cock, he’d come. He felt like he was thirteen again.

Then Elira stood a mere step from him, as if to be as close as possible and still afford him a full view of her lush body. He could feel her heat on his skin, smell her unbelievable scent. Still she gazed at him, her mouth pursed as if considering something. The tip of her tongue darted out to wet those delicious lips. He wanted to crush them with his mouth, to bite them, feel her breath against his cheek. To wrest moans, cries from them.

He wanted to fall upon this woman like a wild animal starved and imprisoned, finally escaped from it’s captivity and finding prey. Only one person had ever made him feel that way, and it had been his wife.

Jacob felt guilt, shame that his old feelings had resurfaced. He’d made a vow to his dead wife that his love, his immense desire would die with her. He’d vowed to stay true to her, until his death rekindled their love in the next life. He knew Mara had heard him that windy, cold day as he crouched at her grave, forehead pressed against the unyielding stone, his tears anointing his bent knee. Jacob had felt her presence that day, a lone pinpoint of light to momentarily push back the sickening, suffocating despair.

Then Elira touched him, bringing him back to the present, just fingertips light against his cheek. He jerked as if current had been passed through his body, but her touch suddenly made him feel himself again. His legs worked, his arms moved, fists clenched. He backed away quickly until his heels struck the wall of the archway that opened to the hall. He could run. There was nothing stopping him.

But he didn’t. He couldn’t. The strange, terrible beauty in the room before him had given him a taste, just a glimpse of what he’d shut off from himself. He knew he shouldn’t. He knew he was desecrating Mara’s memory, as good as spitting on his vow. But instinct was too much; with his lust unleashed, his willpower was in tatters.

“Who are you? You know - things,” he said, taking a stalking, tense step back into the room. “Are you reading my mind?”

Her breasts quivered slightly as she laughed. “Mmm, I don’t know. Maybe a little.”

He took another step, this time toward the bar. He watched her with a sidelong gaze, as if he feared she would bolt if he didn’t keep eyes on her.

“I told you already, Jacob. You don’t need it. I’m not here to hurt you.”

He turned and advanced on her, until he stood a hands-breadth from her, looming. “How do you know there’s a gun there? What the fuck is going on here!”

He grabbed her upper arms, his fingers sinking into the firm flesh. Her beautiful eyes rolled back a moment, and her head tilted backward

“Who are you?
What
are you?” he said.

“Oh, he
is
strong. It’s true after all,” she murmured, gazing at him again, lashes fluttering. He could see her lower lip tremble, perfect teeth worrying the corner of her mouth.

As soon as her gaze locked with his, he felt the strength drained from him again, washed away in an instant. He’d had heat exhaustion once while swimming in a warm pool, and the sensation was similar. His limbs suddenly felt leaden, feet rooted to the floor. His hands dropped from her arms, the impressions from his clenching fingers left pinkening archipelagos on the pale skin.

She said nothing, just reached out with both hands, smoothing them over the hard planes of his chest, up to broad shoulders, and pushed his coat slowly down his arms. It fell to the floor, his hot skin feeling blessedly cooler.

He stood still, luxuriating in her touch. Though he fought against it, her hands felt so good, so
right
touching him. She embraced him, pressing the soft weight of her breasts against his chest. Her hands drifted down the hard angles of his back, and gently squeezed his buttocks. The smell of her hair was incredible. He just managed to stave off the urge to nuzzle the top her head and bury his face in the dark tresses.

His arms worked again, but they felt heavy, almost asleep. He clasped her to him, feeling the play of the delicate muscles of her back beneath his hands. He thought he could stand for an eternity with her in his arms.

Then he felt his throbbing erection digging into her firm, flat belly, and once again felt the guilt. This was a betrayal of Mara. He cursed himself for his weakness.

She looked up at him, her warm smile lighting up that gorgeous face once again, and placed a slender finger against his lips as if to silence him. He automatically pursed them into a kiss of that finger, the desire surging in him again.

The phone buzzed from the bar, making his body jerk. Elira glanced over at the bar, her embrace tight. His chuckle was jagged, nervous.

“My friend Sierra. She’s calling.” He felt sheepish about it for some reason. These feelings were so unlike him. He felt completely unbalanced, out of control somehow.

“Soon, Jacob. I’ve waited a long time for this,” she murmured against his chest. “So she can wait.”

She pushed against Jacob’s chest with a gentle nudge, backing him up until his shoulder blades were against the wall. She just stood against him for a few moments, her breasts tight against his chest, hips pressed firmly to his. His cock was killing him, confined in the prison of his jeans as she ground against it. He stared over her head, the smell of her enveloping him anew. His hands drifted down to her plump buttocks, kneading them in his strong grip.

She sighed, then lowered her body slowly, still pressed up against him. The sensation of those generous breasts, the hard nipples, moving down his body and over the bulge of his groin almost set him off. Her hands trailed down his chest, nails dragging lightly against the fabric of his shirt.

He placed his hands in her hair, twining his fingers through its luxurious weight. She swiftly undid his fly, releasing his cock to finally jut free in blessed relief. He groaned as her fingers clasped around it, the cool flesh of her hand a soothing balm of stimulation on the insistent heat of his erection.

She looked up at him, as she stroked her cheek against the broad head of his cock. He closed his eyes, groaning again. It was so difficult to hold back.

“Open your eyes. Please. I want you to watch me,” she whispered, her grin flashing.

He did, and she took him into her mouth. She sucked just the head at first, enveloping him in the warm wetness of her lips. She made those lips a tight O then slowly sank down the long shaft, her tongue darting and snaking around his length as she took him in.

His eyes were as wide as saucers as he watched her take him all the way to the base. Her throat clenched around him once, and again, then she slowly rose back off of him, her eyes never leaving his face.

Jacob had taught Mara how to deep throat properly. She’d told him she knew how from experience with a previous boyfriend, but Jacob had quickly disabused her of that notion. He’d been relentless with her, making her practice over and over, pulling her over his knee for a spanking when she wasn’t satisfactory in her performance. Then he’d kiss each of her scalding buttocks in a dichotomy of tenderness and cruelty, before depositing her kneeling between his knees to begin again.

Elira released his cock from her soft mouth with an audible pop, her lips a deep crimson. He burrowed his hand into her hair, fingers twining in the silky weight. “Don’t stop until I tell you to. Keep going.”

Her eyes closed, a slight curve to her lips before he guided her head back down upon him. He leaned his head back as she worked him.

What are you doing Jacob? What about her?

His thoughts came to him as if yelled down a deep well, a distorted echo. He wanted to listen, do the right thing. But it had been so long. He missed her so much. He missed
this
so much.

She moaned around his cock and he almost lost control. He pulled her off of him by her hair, peering down into the unearthly beauty of this strange woman’s face. Her lower lip quivered as she wiped saliva from it with a delicate finger.

“If you know so much about me, then you know how this is going to go don’t you?” he said, cupping her chin with his other hand.

Her gaze didn’t waver, her body tense, eyes giving away nothing. The hair at her scalp must have been burning from the grip his hand had on those soft tresses. She grabbed at the hand holding her chin and pressed her swollen lips to his knuckles. Then she bit them.

He snarled, hauling her up and moving fast, still holding her tightly by the hair, the other hand clasped around her waist. His lips met hers, plundering that mouth as they stumbled down the hallway, those soft lips that now tasted like his blood. Her hands roamed his back, squeezing the defined muscles there with a brutal, surprising strength. She grasped his cock, and he snatched at her wrist, pulling her hand away.

“Not without permission, girl,” he growled, between sucking and nipping her lips.

They collided with the tall mattress of his bed, and he froze a moment.

Mara’s bed.

He knew this was so wrong, but he was lost to it. The instinct hadn’t died after all. It was just hiding. His frustration drove him further; to the darker place within he’d only ever shared with Mara. He wanted her back so badly he ached. He still hurt for her as much as the day the light in her eyes was lost to the dullness of oblivion. Instinct took over then, the hurt too much to bear. If only for this one night, he would put aside those wounds, and give in to his lust. It would have to be enough.

He made Elira sit on the edge of the bed, while he stood over her. She took off the wrap, revealing her beauty fully to him, while he stroked his cock in a casual grip. She tried to speak, but his sharp voice quelled her.