Destiny United (27 page)

“The hell you will!” Then he grabbed her.

Aila lay passive in Marcelo’s
arms as he whisked her through the castle hallways. A moment later she was
airborne then bouncing on her ass in the middle of a mattress. Marcelo’s heavy
body followed her down. He placed urgent, wet kisses over her face and neck
while admonishing her.

“You left me, Aila,” he said, lips grazing her forehead.
“Do you know how scared I’ve been?”

“I –”

His lips descended on hers, cutting off her defense. Too
soon he pulled away, leaving her bare and empty.

“Don’t you ever do that again. Do you hear me?” He kissed
her eyelids and the tip of her nose. “You could have been hurt. Or worse. I’m
so angry I could strangle you!”

She couldn’t hold back a snicker.

He lifted his head to look her in the eye. “Don’t you
dare laugh about this. There’s nothing funny about it.”

“But –”

A heavy, punishing kiss covered her protest. “It was a dangerous,
reckless thing to do,” he scolded against her mouth.

When he let her breathe again, she asked, “Should I act
repentant?” She had to force herself to stay still under his assault. “‘Cause
I’m not.” She gasped when he nipped her earlobe. Goose bumps rose on her skin.
If this was the wrath of an angry vampire, she should shoot him in the neck
more often.

“If you had any sense of self-preservation you would.” He
pushed up to look her in the eye again. His expression was hard but she could
sense a softening underneath. “I am but a breath away from tying you to this
bed and lecturing you.”

The fact that he was so serious about such a ridiculous
threat made her laugh out loud. His brows arched in challenge but she could see
a sparkle of amusement in his eyes. He had forgiven her.

“It’s hard to take you seriously while you’re kissing me
all over,” she said between giggles.

“Make no mistake,
querida
,
I am very angry with you. But my relief exceeds my anger at the moment.
Consider yourself lucky.” His mouth moved down her neck where he pushed the
fabric of her yellow sundress aside and planted kisses on her collarbone.
“You’re so damn irresistible,” he breathed against her skin. “I’ve missed you
so much,
mi amor
. It felt like my heart was gone
from my chest.”

She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled his
head up to meet her gaze. Her fingertips trailed from his temple down his cheek
and landed at his lips. One finger stroked along the bottom. He gazed deep into
her eyes, tenderness and love pierced her soul. She didn’t want to leave this
moment.

He claimed her mouth again, more forceful this time. She tasted
his passion, felt the fierceness of his hunger. Teeth clanked together, tongues
intertwining. How she missed his taste. When he pulled away, both of them were
gasping for air.

“Well,” she said between breaths, “do you really want to
waste time yelling at me when there are more interesting things we could be
doing on this bed?”

 His body stilled. His eyes locked onto hers with a
darkness that promised wicked things. A shiver crept up her spine. “You’re
right,” he rasped then yanked her to a sitting position and pulled her dress
over her head before she could utter a single word. “This time we finish it,
Aila, yes?”

He didn’t allow her to answer. His mouth was on hers with
a searing kiss that melted her body all the way down to her toes. She gasped
when he released her. He graced her with a seductive smile. It faded in only a
few seconds and his forehead creased in concern.

“You’re nervous,” he said. “Aila, love, there’s no reason
to be nervous with me. I’m not like the person who hurt you.”

She bit her bottom lip. “Will you stop if I want you to?”

His dark eyes narrowed in concentration. For a moment she
thought he would say no. But then he leaned down and brushed his lips across
her eyelashes. “Of course,
querida
.” His mouth
grazed hers, the lightest of touches, his warm breath lingering along her skin.
“But I’m hoping you won’t ever need to say those words again.”

He rose to his knees, keeping his gaze on hers. Gentle
hands circled her ankle. He placed a soft kiss on her
leg as his hand slid up her calf and behind her knee. She giggled and tried to
pull away but he tightened his hold.

“I forgot you’re so ticklish,” he said with a mischievous
smile. With a firmer hand he rubbed up her thigh then back down to her calf.
She melted into the mattress. He nestled his face against her knee and placed a
kiss on the inside of her thigh, his unshaven face scratchy against her tender
skin.

“You smell so good. Like the summer days I remember when
I was human.” His gaze held hers in a moment of vulnerability. “I haven’t felt human
in many centuries, Aila.”

He massaged and kissed his way up her other leg until
Aila could swear she was lying on a bed of clouds. Each touch sent sparks
shooting to her most intimate parts, yet it relaxed her at the same time. Her
eyes were half-hooded, a languid smile stretched across her face.

Marcelo’s gaze locked on her breasts. He crawled up her
body, planting kisses as he went. Any more relaxed and she could have fallen
asleep. But sleep was the last thing on her mind when her bra disappeared in a
flurry of barely detectable movement. She saw it in pieces on the floor. She
opened her mouth to scold him but when he filled both palms with her breasts
and kneaded them with his callous hands, she forgot what she was going to say.
His tongue lashed her nipples until they were firm and aching. She arched into
him and groaned.

“Marcelo,” she whispered. “You’re making me crazy.”

He chuckled then licked and kissed his way around her
neck. His tongue lapped the spot behind her ear sending shivers down her spine.

Her core was throbbing now, yearning for contact. She
wanted so badly to part her thighs and grind against his erection, but fear
held her in place. Fear. She had every reason to be afraid. Last time she had
been in this position she had been hurt. She squeezed her eyes shut but was
taken back to that night. The black star-less sky above, the crunching of dead
leaves under her body, the heavy panting in her ear. Someone pulling her hair
roughly, a scream trying to erupt –

“Aila,” a familiar voice pulled her back to reality.
“Stay with me.”

She opened one eye, then the other.

Marcelo’s warm gaze held hers. “Right here,” he said,
pointing two fingers at his eyes. “Keep your eyes here. Stay with me.”

He took her hand and rested it on his chest, directly
above his heart. “Feel that?” he asked. She nodded when the
thump, thump
reverberated under her palm. “Learn it.
Remember it. Whenever you hear that noise, Aila, you’ll know you’re home.”

Home? She studied his face. How did she fall so hard for
a man in just a couple of weeks? Yes, she was home. Not the room, or the
building, or even the dimensional plane. Home was with Marcelo. By his side. In
his bed. As much as her twenty first century feminist upbringing dictated she didn’t
belong to anyone, her heart disagreed. She was his.

With a nervous smile she nodded.

“Your turn to be in control,” he said. Then he swung her
so she was on top, straddling his hips. “Now then,
mi
amor,
I am your slave.” He grinned and put both hands behind his head.

She huffed when she saw his gaze fixated on her breasts.
Such a man
.
Her palms rested on his chest, the
fabric of his t-shirt under her hands finally registered. He was still dressed
. And I’m sitting here naked except for my underwear?

“First things first,” she said. “Shirt off.”

His grin widened as he rose up and pulled off his shirt.
Her gaze got lost somewhere between his flexing pecs and washboard abs, all
coherent thought gone.

“Aila,” he rasped. “Are we going to do something here? I
can’t hold on much longer.”

She gave him a sultry smile. Even though she knew what he
wanted, being in control set her fears at ease.

Her fingertips trailed down his chest as she slid down
his body. She replaced her fingers with her tongue. He was a perfect
combination of salty and sweet. His breath hitched when her breasts mashed up
against his chest. She rolled her tongue around his pebbled nipple.

“You have such a beautiful body,” she said, worshipping
every inch of it. “It isn’t fair to the rest of the male population. No one can
compare.”

He chuckled, a deep, sexy sound that rumbled through his
chest. “I like the sound of that,
querida
. I’m
the only man you need to keep your eyes on. Now take these off.” He snapped the
elastic of her underwear against her skin.

“Hey! I’m supposed to be the one in control here,” she
teased, but slid off him and obeyed.

She unbuttoned his jeans and his erection sprang forth.
Commando, figures
.
She had forgotten the
daunting size of him. How would they fit together?

“We’ll fit, Aila,” he assured her as if he could read her
mind. “We were made for each other.”

His eyes were bottomless pools of a blackened midnight
sea, honest and sincere. Something just snapped. Maybe it was the simplicity of
the statement, or the purity in which he said it, but he was right. They were
made for each other. It was as easy as that.

Marcelo sat up and claimed her mouth while he centered
her over his shaft. She lowered herself onto him, savoring every sensation as
he stretched her. She moaned and let her head fall back. He filled her so
completely the intensity threatened to overwhelm her. Then his hands were on
her, solid and grounding. Firmly he rubbed up and down her thighs, soothing her
as she rocked against him.

“Touch me,” she commanded. Was that
her
voice, so smoky and seductive?

His hand slid between her curls and parted her intimate
flesh. One stroke between her folds and pleasure rippled through her so
suddenly she squeezed her thighs around him and cried out, “Oh god!”

He sat up and covered a nipple with his lips and when she
gasped and trembled, he suckled harder, his thumb rubbing slow circles around
her throbbing flesh.

“Yes,” she said, breathless.

A cross between a growl and an agonized groan came from
the back of his throat and he dug his heels into the mattress shoving himself
deeper inside her. He grabbed her backside with both hands and squeezed,
rocking her back and forth against him. Tension built in her nerves, sweat
beaded on her brow. The climax was coming. Just a little more and she would
explode.

But Marcelo sat straight up, holding her against him with
an arm wrapped around her waist. He nuzzled his nose into her hair.

“Aila, love, I need your trust,” he whispered against her
ear.

She hesitated. Without another word he gently flipped her
beneath him and nudged her thighs apart settling his hips between them. She
could feel his length up against her opening. Panic erupted. She squeezed her
eyes shut and tightened her thighs around him, preventing him from entering
her.

His scratchy cheek rubbed up against hers, warm and
reassuring.

“Shh…
mi amor
, I would
never hurt you.” He smoothed her hair from her face. “You know I won’t hurt
you.
Mi vida, mi alma
. My life. My soul. I could
never hurt you.”

Was it true? Could she trust him? Marcelo had said trust
was a risk. Was she strong enough to take that risk? Here she stood, at the
edge of a precipice, where the only man she’d ever loved was asking her to take
a leap of faith. Could she trust that he would be there, ready to catch her at
the bottom?

“Aila, know that I would do anything to protect you. Feel
it. Trust it. I am your mate. I will always be here for you.”

She took a deep breath. And jumped.

“Yes, Marcelo. I trust you. I’m ready.”

She grabbed onto his ass and pulled him in. But her mind
didn’t betray her this time. There were no painful memories. Only Marcelo. His
warm body against hers. His heart pounding pressed up against her chest. His tender
chocolate-brown eyes looking down at her, sparkling with male satisfaction. In
that moment, he was her world.

At first he only moved in slow circles, allowing her time
to adjust to the position. He kissed her face, her neck, her chest. He kneaded
her breast with one hand, tugging gently on her sensitive nipples.

“Ah,
mi amor
, you’re so
hot and sweet and perfect, do you know that? You feel so good. I don’t think
I’ll ever get enough of you.”

He pushed in further, burying himself deep inside her.
Possessing her, scorching her very soul.

“I love knowing how wet and aroused you are for me,” he
whispered against her ear. “I may never let you wear underwear again.”

She laughed and felt the anxiety ease from her body. He
pulled out then thrust back in, the sensation leaving her breathless.

“You left me hanging that night by the lake,
querida
. You have a lot to make up for,” he teased
with a smirk, grinding against her. “Later I’m going to taste you, keeping you
on edge for so long you’ll be begging me for release. Then I’m going to take
you in the shower, up against the wall where you’ll be at my mercy, and when
you come,
querida
, you’ll see fireworks.”

“Holy shit,” she whispered, her eyes wide with longing. A
new flood of liquid poured to her center, lubricating her channel.

With long, slow strokes he pumped in and out, until her
muscles trembled then turned to jello. Her back arched, a quiet moan escaping
her lips.

“That’s it,” he praised. “Surrender, Aila. Surrender to
me.”

In an ultimate act of trust, her legs fell wide open. He
shoved in with a firm thrust and she gasped, grabbing onto his shoulders, digging
her nails into his flesh, anchoring her before she floated away.