Eternal Craving (15 page)

Enough. She didn’t care.

Leaning over, she drew one finger down the side of his jaw and watched it clench. His eyes burned with need, and she felt the heat and heaviness building low in her stomach. Her mind might be ambivalent about him, but her body didn’t have any doubts.

She waited for the blast of desire from him she’d experienced before. Nothing. So maybe this was an act. If Al was just shoring up his companion status with her because of Fin’s order, then she didn’t want any part of his seduction.

Her head was firmly back in control. They’d settle this some other time when she was more prepared. “Look, I think we’re both tired. Let’s call it a night.”

He was still sitting, his back propped against the glass wall, when she started to stand.

“No.” The one word was the angry growl of a predator not to be denied its prey.

She was the only prey in the room. “Yes.” Well, this antelope had attitude.

Wrapping his arms around her hips, he pulled her back down to the thick mattress. Then he loomed over her. Hunger tightened the muscles in his face until every line stood out starkly. His eyes burned with what he held reined in for the moment. “You don’t dismiss what I’m feeling, what
you’re
feeling, with just a few words. I thought I could control it this time so I wouldn’t scare you. Can’t do. Too bad, sweetheart.”

Okay, no words.
Then what? She swallowed hard as he lowered his head. If she was lucky, she’d stirred up the perfect storm.

The moment his lips touched hers, every suppressed emotion she’d locked away since coming here exploded in one focused attack. She reached up, tangled her fingers in all that glorious hair, and pulled him closer.

Whatever his motive might be, his reaction matched her intensity. His lips moved hard over hers at the same time his tongue demanded unconditional surrender. He tasted of mint toothpaste and aroused male. Her favorites.

When he finally broke the kiss they were both breathing in short gasps. Gripping her robe, he peeled it off. Her gown followed close behind.

With her last bit of rational thought, she scanned the area to make sure no one could possibly see them. Safe.

Then she fumbled at his jeans. She wanted to see the powerful muscular whole of him exposed for her enjoyment. With an impatient sound, he stripped them off and flung them aside. No underwear. Good.

His soul finally made its appearance. And if she wasn’t already flat on her back, his emotional punch of amped-up lust would’ve knocked her onto her deprived butt. The blast of desire wrung a cry from her. It left Jenna wet and clenching at the image of her legs wrapped around him while he plunged into her again and again and again.

He didn’t speak. He didn’t need to. She knew what watched her from Al’s human eyes. His beast wouldn’t see any use for sensual words or sexy compliments. Ruled by its senses, all it wanted was to hear her panting and screaming as she climaxed.

Jenna welcomed him, no matter who was in the driver’s seat.

He leaned over her, and all that shining mass of hair skimmed her bared body. Jenna shivered as she gathered it into her fists, rubbed it between her fingers, savored its silky texture and clean scent, then let it spill out of her hands again, a dark waterfall for her pleasure alone.

There was no playfulness, no teasing foreplay in his sexual dictionary. His mouth touched her everywhere—breasts, stomach, and a long sensual nibble from the back of her knee and along her inner thigh.

Her breathing came hard and fast as he gave her no chance to do anything except dig her nails into his broad shoulders and hang on.

He was a silent lover. No doubt his beast saw no reason to make useless noises. But it did crave as much contact as possible. Al straddled her and then lowered his body until it was barely touching hers. He supported his weight on his forearms as he lightly scraped his torso over her breasts and stomach. Back and forth, back and forth. The friction against her nipples and stomach drew a moan from her.

When he moved down between her legs, she opened to him. He knelt, slipped his hands beneath her buttocks, and lifted her to his mouth.

Even as she felt her orgasm gathering low in her belly while his talented tongue teased and tortured, she knew there needed to be more. Where was her part in all this? She wanted to touch him, talk to him, slow down the pleasure. This may have been how males did it millions of years ago, but he was about to get a sexual update.

“Stop.” Her voice was breathy, and parts of her body wanted to know what the hell she was doing.

Within the blink of an eye, Al shut down everything. It was as though someone had turned off his motor. Except for one part. That part remained long, hard, and hopeful. “You’ve changed your mind.” His voice was flat, expressionless.

But she knew how hard it must have been to obey her. “No, I
want
to make love to you. Now listen carefully.
I
want to make love to you.
I
want to touch you.
I
want to tell you what I’m feeling.” She paused, trying to think of how to say this in a way he’d understand. “In this time, men and women give each other pleasure. It’s not a one-way street. Let me touch your body the way you’ve touched mine.”

In the silence that followed her announcement, she could almost hear his mind trying to make sense of what she’d said. Time for a demonstration.

“Lie on your back and spread your legs.” She smiled as his eyes widened.

But he did what she asked. Omigod, she didn’t know if she’d survive touching all that beautiful flesh. As he lay there in the darkness, hard muscle moving beneath smooth skin, she could truly believe he was a god of the night.

“I talk when I make love.” Jenna knelt and then leaned over to kiss his neck. She felt him swallow hard beneath her lips. She smiled. “Feel free to talk back.”

Remembering how sensual his hair felt, she purposely trailed her hair over his chest, his stomach, between his spread legs. He jerked as the strands slid across the head of his cock.

“It makes me hot watching you react to the things I do to your body.” If her voice was a little hoarse, it could be blamed on all that want clogging her throat.

“How long do you expect me to last?” He sounded a little desperate.

“Oh, for a little while longer. I haven’t even started yet.”

Even his beast couldn’t stop his groan. “You’re killing me, woman.”

“Really?” She swept her tongue over his collarbone and then flicked each of his flat male nipples with the tip. He flexed those perfect pecs in response. “See, now that makes it all worthwhile.” She leaned down to whisper in his ear. “Want to know a secret? I don’t think I can last much longer either.” She tugged on his earlobe with her teeth.

Al’s breaths came in harsh rasps as his chest rose and fell while a sheen of sweat made his naked body glisten in the darkness.

She skimmed the tips of her fingers over his ridged stomach and watched the muscles clench. “Touching you is magic.”

He couldn’t stay still any longer. Arching his hips, he dug his fingers into the mattress. That put his amazing male package on full display.

For a moment, the wonder of him overwhelmed her. She could barely see past her own need. Had she ever been this wet for a man, felt such powerful anticipatory spasms for one, knew that she’d go crazy if she didn’t relieve that heavy desire low in her stomach?

But he was touching something else, something that yearned toward his sudden vulnerability. She’d bet he’d never laid himself open like this in his previous life. And his trust. No matter how quickly he could change, right now he was
not
thinking about home security. If she whipped out a knife, she could kill him before he knew what was happening to him.

He trusted her with his life. And she…She wanted to trust him with her heart. Jenna almost chuckled. And wasn’t that the most ridiculous thing she’d ever thought? Sex did strange things to the human mind.

“Jenna.” Her name on his lips was a tortured cry.

She abandoned wayward thoughts and turned the show over to her senses. Kneeling between his legs, she cupped his balls. He shivered, but didn’t move. Leaning over, she slid her tongue slowly over each and felt them tighten in response.

Giving him pleasure upped her own excitement level a thousand times. That hadn’t happened before. With the few other lovers she’d had, touching them had been pleasant but not like
this
. This was…

Oh, forget it. She was still thinking. Turning her attention to his cock, she grasped him and ran her tongue from base to head.

He bucked beneath her. “Damn it, keep doing that and I won’t—”

She circled the head with her tongue and enjoyed the tactile sensations of velvety smooth skin and heat. So much heat. Then she planted a kiss right on the tip.

“I won’t be responsible for what happens.” He pushed each word out between clenched teeth.

She kneaded his inner thighs, and if she dug her nails in a little too hard, it was just a demonstration of her slipping control. Taking a firmer grip on his staff, she placed her lips over the head and slid lower and lower and lower. Then she tightened her lips and began the up-and-down motion she hoped would give him so much pleasure that he’d never again yearn for his past life. Faster and faster, swirling her tongue around him until…

With fingers she could feel shaking, he reached between her legs and touched her. She might as well have stuck her finger in a light socket, because her reaction was the same. The low moan of unbearable need couldn’t have come from her mouth. She didn’t make sounds like that.

And when he slid his finger back and forth over that sweet, sweet spot, she lost it.

“Now, now, now.” Her strangled cry bore no relation to the Jenna Maloy she knew, but then maybe she hadn’t known herself as well as she’d thought she did. This was someone driven by all that was savage and primordial. He didn’t waste the opportunity. With enough strength for two men, he slipped his hands under her behind and lifted her into the air. Then he planted her firmly on his cock.

She would like to have said she wiggled and teased, eased herself down a little at a time to prolong the pleasure. But Jenna couldn’t say any of those things. She was so wet and ready that she ground herself down on all that hot male flesh and howled her happiness.

The female-on-top position might not have been a natural one for Al, but he adapted quickly. He grunted with effort as he drove up into her at the same time she slammed down on him. The ancient rhythm of sex caught them in its claws and tore away the fabric of civilized behavior. Jenna and his beast were on equal footing right now.

Jenna didn’t even have time to anticipate her orgasm before it was on her, a violent spasm that flung her high and tumbled her end over end. Why all the glass walls didn’t shatter was a mystery to her.

She hung on to the moment, milked it of every drop, and then rolled into the slowly weakening aftershocks. Somewhere she remembered hearing Al’s roar of release.

But as she came down after that ultimate second when she knew she was going to die, because anything that felt so incredible had to kill you, Jenna realized there should’ve been more.

As she breathed in hard gasps and listened to the heavy thud of her heart, she thought about it. Okay, total mystery. Nothing could’ve been more. More was impossible.

Why then did she feel like she should’ve
touched
something? Not physical. Sort of like if she’d stretched her emotions a little more, reached out as far as they’d go, she would’ve connected with…Connected with what? She didn’t know, but it left her with a vague sense of incompletion.

“You are wondrous, woman.”

Jenna had collapsed on top of him, and now she could feel his voice vibrating in that beautiful chest. She rolled off him to lie flat on her back staring up at the night sky.

Al’s words seemed strangely formal, almost from another time, but they made her feel special in a way ordinary words wouldn’t have.

“You were…” Rarely at a loss for words, she searched for the right ones now. “You were more. More than I’ve ever known, more than I could ever have imagined. Just
more
.” She turned to look at him.

Whatever he would have said went unspoken, because suddenly his gaze grew distant. Then with a grunt of disgust, he pushed himself to his feet and reached down to help her up. “Fin wants us to come to his room. He needs to discuss something.” His hands were clenched tightly at his sides.

“Now? Both of us?” She let him slip her gown over her head and wrap her robe around her.

She didn’t question how Fin knew they were awake and together. The old Christmas song about Santa knowing when you’ve been good or bad came to mind. The thought almost made her smile. Fin would make a warped Santa.

Al nodded. “I’ll wait while you get dressed.” He pulled on his jeans and guided her down the stairs and back to her room.

“Doesn’t anyone ever say no to Fin?”

He didn’t reply; he just stared at her.

“Right. I’ll throw something on.” But she couldn’t help wondering what happened to the ones who refused Fin. Well, she wouldn’t be tempting fate to night.

A few minutes later, they were at Fin’s door. Al’s body was still thrumming with its memory of Jenna. His hunger for her was a many-headed monster. Back when his soul had ruled him, all hungers were the same. He hunted, he killed, he ate, he fucked. No mixed emotions about any of his actions. There hadn’t been a lot of thinking going on back then.

Now that seemed like all he did. He wanted her body, but he didn’t want the emotions she made him feel. He wanted her body, but he didn’t want the complications that went with caring about her. He wanted her body, but why would she ever want anything to do with his rage and his soul? Most important of all, something had almost happened up on that roof that must
never
happen. But how could he stop it when he was determined to have a next time? The conflicts went on and on.

Jenna might not realize it, but Al had no doubt the timing of Fin’s call hadn’t been an accident. Next time he was with her, he’d have to remember to lock Fin out of his thoughts for the duration no matter how pissed it made their fearless leader. In this life, Al was beginning to realize that Fin didn’t need an all-access ticket to his mind.