Goblin Moon (10 page)

Tearach's anger sought release. How dare she turn away as if
she
were the injured party! He stepped in her way. “Maybe I
should
just take you. Why should I show any more concern for you than was shown to my people?"

He stared at her and saw some flash of passion in her lovely eyes. He immediately recognized that his own ardor was out of control. Some instinct told him that something was wrong with this sudden surge of erotic reaction to her presence. His body was already responding, as if he were her lover. He couldn't stop his excitement from building and began to suspect they had, in fact, been drugged.

The alcohol Kathy had consumed was affecting her in a bizarre way. She'd had whiskey before, but it hadn't caused such wetness between her thighs. For some inexplicable reason, she suddenly found Tearach, even in his anger, more attractive than any man she'd ever gazed at. Unable to control her actions, she moved closer, grabbed him by the front of his jerkin and kissed him hard. Her mind told her she was behaving like an idiot, or maybe that should be strumpet, but her body seemed to crave his. The kiss might not make sense, but she had to taste him. She had to feel those full lips against hers.

His mouth met hers in a searing kiss. She grasped his shoulders, and the sensation was like holding onto green granite. His chest was as muscular as the rock-hard arms surrounding her. As the kiss went on, something changed. His touch became less urgent and more yearning. His strong hands began to caress, and a primal impulse within her responded. Instead of fighting her feelings, Kathy looped her arms around his neck and plunged her fingers into his long, black hair. A low moan rumbled from his chest. Their tongues parried and she could feel the tips of his incisors. Their sharpness excited her.

Tearach pulled his mouth away to trail fiery kisses down the length of Kathy's throat. She was soft and warm, and it had been eight long years since he'd touched a woman. It didn't matter if it was the alcohol or the sweet, low sounds coming from the back of her throat. All that mattered was how his body and this woman were responding. He envisioned himself wrapped up in that glorious golden mane, saw himself plunging into her over and over. It would be
his
name she'd shout into the night. He could envision her mounting him and purging this burning anger inside him. All he had to do was remember she was an enemy to his kind, do the deed and let nature take its course. It's what he'd promised the Sorceress. Once the task was done, maybe he could convince Shayla to order more tests and genetic studies. The Sorceress would be satisfied he'd done his best.

Before she could protest, he picked Kathy up and carried her toward the cottage door. His desire drove him to the woods and a place sacred to his kind. Oddly, she didn't object or struggle. Her arms went about his neck and her body melded to his. She kissed his neck and ran her hands beneath the open, leather jerkin he wore. His blood boiled. The woman couldn't possibly know that, to the men of his race, such small caresses were tantamount to complete acceptance.
So be it
.

He strode through the door and into the night, and Kathy clung to him as dew clings to a leaf. Some small part of him wanted her to want him.
To want what was about to happen.

He mentally shoved the last of his conscience aside and kept moving. What difference did it make what she wanted? Honor, dignity, pride and chivalry were gone. Shayla had taken the last of those qualities when he'd been ordered to become no more than a breeding stud.

Filled with both self-loathing and pure lust, he moved deeper into the forest, and Kathy snuggled further into his embrace. The insistent idea kept hammering through his brain that they'd been drugged. Still, he couldn't stop himself. He didn't want to stop.

Eventually, he heard the sound of a small waterfall. At its base, was a bubbling pool. Fireflies blinked in the surrounding brush and wild flowers scented the air. The Moon Pool was one of the last sacred places left to his kind. It derived its name from nights like this. Light from heavenly bodies cast a silver sheen upon the water's surface. The effect was ethereal. Instead of being cool like the night sky, the water originated from a hot spring. But steam never rose from the surface. Nothing ever blocked the moon's glow and the place was magical. Kathy lifted her head from his shoulder and gasped.

"
It's beautiful
,” she murmured.

"No outsider but you has ever seen this place.” He gently dropped her feet to the ground, but he kept her close to him. “We'll finish this here and now."

"If you're expecting me to go screaming into the night, don't hold your breath, Tearach. I won't give you the satisfaction."

Again, he was amazed by her self-control. Even in her captive state, she knew what was about to happen and faced him like an Amazon. “Am I to surmise you're agreeable?"

Kathy's response was to lean into Tearach, pull his head down to hers and kiss him very hard. All she could think about was having his hands on her body. She longed to explore the acres of muscle beneath his clothing. Green or not, his glorious body was too inviting. Women would kill for a man built like Tearach Bruce. Why should she be denied what her heated senses craved? She was tired of always being sensible. It was time to throw the rule book away. Her abdomen tightened with expectation.

He broke the kiss, gently reached for her shoulders and buried his face in her hair. “I've three times the strength of a human male, Kathy. That means three times the endurance. Do you understand?"

"Shut up and prove it,” she goaded.

Tearach growled, pushed her away so he could undo his belt and rip off his jerkin. Kathy's hands immediately covered his chest. Her lips followed. His head dropped back when she teased his nipple. The world, time and all sense of reality stopped. They tore at each other's clothing. Kathy's moan of pleasure filled the small clearing when he massaged her breasts. Her slender, perfect body molded to his. His hands greedily stroked and caressed. She seemed as out of control as he.

The only part of his clothing left to remove was the soft leather pouch covering his erection. Kathy stared at it as if she was mesmerized. He reached to untie the string with one hand while cupping her shapely rear with the other. All he could think of was entering the silken, golden curls between her creamy thighs—stroking himself long and deep within her body.

"No, not yet,” she commanded and palmed the leather. “I like this."

Her graceful fingers stroked the pouch and Tearach's mind left him.
"Herne, help me!"
he gasped.

"Herne isn't here. It's just you and me,” she whispered.

He gripped her hips and pulled her against him. He pushed his covered erection into the mound of curls and felt her push back. Finally, she let him loosen the string and release the pouch. She reached for him again, but he picked her up and quickly carried her toward the Moon Pool.

"The first time we take one another is in the water. It's tradition,” he explained.

"Hurry, Tearach. I need you.” Kathy felt every part of her body responding to his touch. And she'd never felt so alive in her life.

The mating lust was upon Tearach so strong nothing could stop him. As with all the men of his race, his vision began to blur, and all his senses shut down except those necessary to mate. He carried her into the water and carefully lowered her. They kissed and fondled each other for only a few short moments before he lifted her straight up then let her slide onto him. They both cried out as the ecstasy of the moment claimed them. Her long legs wrapped around him, and he began to slowly thrust. With each movement, his heart beat harder.

There was nothing for Kathy but Tearach. He was heavy and hard within her vagina. Touching every part of her. After only a few minutes, her control shattered with an overwhelming climax. It seemed to go on and on. Nothing so intense had ever happened to her, and she thought she'd die from the pleasure.
This
was how a man and woman were made to love. When the peak finally faded, she was completely and utterly spent. Only Tearach's strong grasp kept her from falling into the warm water.

Tearach stroked three more times before exploding. No woman had ever pulled such a strong response from him, and it tore through his heated body like an electric charge. His vision completely left him for several moments. Only her warm, soft body kept him sane. It was almost as if his mind tried to leave his sated body. His arms closed around her. He could feel her heart beating against his own breast. But, she was barely conscious.

This was the only time in a Goblin's life when he or she was completely helpless. It was one reason members of his race chose to make love in very secluded places. An enemy would have no problem destroying even the best warrior during the mating lust. Something must have alerted Kathy to his physical state because her hands came up to his face and he heard her soft, surprised exclamation.

"Tearach, your eyes are glowing! It's like looking into cat's eyes when the light reflects from them."

It would only take a few moments for his vision to return. Then, because the act had been so very satisfying, his blood would heat again. “I can't see, Kathy. This is what happens when we mate. It's a very private and intimate thing. We expend all our energy pleasing our partners. Were I with a Goblin woman, she'd be unable to see me as well. We could only feel and hear each other. Our sight would return only when our passion subsided. Because we're stronger than normal, we expend more energy in the act of making love. It's been this way since our race began."

"You're virtually helpless, aren't you?"

He noted the soft tone in her voice. Something in it begged him to trust her. He really had no choice. He
was
helpless. “Yes, Kathy. All my senses are attuned to you. I can't see anything."

Kathy's heart softened. Her incredible climax was due to his giving everything he had. She doubted she'd pleased him nearly as much. But here he was, a helpless giant in her arms. Kathy wondered how much it had cost him to admit such a thing to someone he considered an enemy. “I'll never tell another living soul, Tearach. Even if every creature in these woods already knows it, I'll never say anything to anyone. I swear it on my life."

Tearach's heart warmed. Kathy had no reason to make such an earnestly phrased promise. They were alone. Some part of her must care a little about him.
But why
? He'd kidnapped her, brought her into a world of magic and myth. How in the world could she possibly give a damn about him?

His vision began to return. Droplets from the waterfall must have fallen onto her face. The moisture couldn't be tears. Kathy simply didn't lose control enough to cry. Certainly, she wouldn't cry over the problems he and his people suffered.

Kathy quickly buried her head against Tearach's shoulder to hide the fact that she was weeping. His vulnerability drew upon a protectiveness she couldn't begin to explain. She began to softly kiss his neck and his body tensed. His skin began to heat. She gently pulled his earlobe between her lips, and then she kissed the tip of his pointed ear. From his shuddering response, Kathy knew she'd found a very sensitive part of his body and stored that information for future reference.

Tearach groaned, slid Kathy's legs from around his waist and pulled her into a tight embrace. His incisors lengthened, and he gently nipped a path of small bites across her shoulder. “Forgive ... forgive me. I-I can't help..."

Kathy felt him bite deep into her shoulder. Instead of feeling pain, an intense contraction began within her vagina. It seemed to circle and caress deep within her and move outward. Her hands clasped his hips, pulling him close as pleasure overtook her. She must have lost all sense of reality because the next thing she felt was his arms around her, and she heard his voice calling her. Another climax claimed her as he laid her upon some soft surface and embedded himself deeper within her body. If this was what it was like to be taken by a legend, there was good reason for those old stories to still exist. The universe reeled away from her.

Tearach placed Kathy upon a moss-covered bank and plunged into her sweet body. His hands grasped her small waist and held her steady. Pleasuring her was more amazing and fulfilling than he could have possibly dreamed. She responded with passion and an ardor all her own. No Goblin woman could have pleased him as much. She was a taste of the forbidden. Being an outsider, it made making love to her more exotic and exciting. And they
were
making love. No sexual liaison he'd shared had been so gratifying. So extreme.

Finally spent, he lay beside her on the moss. Sleep was almost upon him. Kathy was already in some far off place, dreaming peacefully. Her long, glistening hair covered her shoulders and chest. He took a fist of it in his hand and brought it to his lips. Then he stroked her lovely body with his hands and kissed it gently. After resting, he'd bathe with her in the warm water and hold her close. Something deep within him had changed. His anger was completely gone, and without it, he was filled with confusion.

He gazed at her once more and saw the marks his incisors had made. Two small drops of blood had trickled down from the puncture wounds on her left shoulder. He vowed he'd be much more careful with her in the future. She wasn't Goblin and hadn't the ability to withstand such insistent lovemaking. But, he'd felt her searing pleasure his loving had caused, and her response had motivated him to extremes. She
enticed
him, and there were thousands of delights for them to explore. This proud, defiant woman was in his blood. He was already obsessed with having her again.

Tearach turned on his side, pulled her toward him and cradled her against his chest. His hands automatically lifted and caressed her full breasts. She fit against his body perfectly. It was as if they'd been made for one another. Much needed sleep came, and for the first time in years, he slept without nightmares of the past.

It was either very early or very late depending upon how one looked at it. Midnight had long since passed. Tearach rose on one elbow to stare down at Kathy's lovely face. The moonlight made her look like some forest goddess. She moaned and turned into his chest.