Hyde, an Urban Fantasy (38 page)

She took the condoms out of his hand and said, “I had to put one of these on a banana at a party once. It was a dare.”

“Dare you to try it again.”

“And if I can do it?”

“Anything you want.”

She smiled. “And if I can’t?”

“Anything you want. In addition to a how-to lesson.”

“You got yourself a deal.” She rolled them both over, her breasts pressed against his chest. “I like having control over you, Mitch.”

“That makes two of us.” Words he’d never imagined coming out of his mouth.

For some reason, he decided to make it harder for her, turning his cock and hips away from her as she tried to aim. And he loved that she was game. Her smile and occasional glare were, unbelievably, worth the delay.

“I could keep you still with these.” She bared her teeth.

He let her win, knowing he’d blow the second that mouth got anywhere near his cock—teeth involved or not. But before she could collect her prize—his prize—he’d make her work for it. They played, laughed, and teased until the moment she slid him inside of her. When his world stopped. Everything he’d ever known. Everything he’d ever
been
disappeared in that one movement.

Forcing his eyes open, he saw her. He cursed the pleasure he felt ripping through his body. Because it happened at the same moment as shock registered on her face. He needed to help her.

“Jesus, Eden, we can stop.” His words were guttural and torn from him. The hardest thing he’d ever had to say. “Get off.” He grabbed her hips and pushed her up away from him.

She slapped her hands on top of his, her eyes wide. “Did I hurt you?”

“No. I—” He stopped. “Are you in pain right now?”

She started to move slowly. “I feel . . .” A smile spread on her face. “This is how it’s supposed to feel, isn’t it?”

He sat up half-way, leaning on his elbows as she rocked him, wanting to be near her flush breasts, her pounding heart. “Yeah, I think it is.” Yep, he might get used to this, after three or four lifetimes.

§         
§          §

This
was
how it should feel. She was tingling, vibrating, each time she lowered onto him, taking him deeper. She tried to keep her eyes open, but they
so
wanted to close, to allow every nerve to focus on the feel of him inside her. “Touch me.” When she heard him inhale sharply, she looked at him.

“You sure?” His hands were inches from her hips, shaking. “Because it could change things . . . rapidly.” When he shifted to sit up straighter, she felt him press further into her, rubbing against the wall of her core. Both of them moaned.

Oh, God.
“I want you to touch me, Mitch.” She rose slightly, tempting him into action.

Given permission, his chest relaxed momentarily. Then he clutched her hips and pushed her down.

“Oh!” A spike of pleasure tore through her, lifting her up and slamming her back down again. She threw her head backwards, digging her fingers into his shoulders.

He kept the momentum, rocking her faster, pulling her forward so her center brushed against his skin with every thrust.

Her breath came out in gasps, matching his. Someone was moaning loudly, probably
her
since the sound continued as he dragged his teeth across her shoulder. Oh my God, she wanted him to bite her! Wait, reverse that. She wanted to bite him. Who would have ever thought she’d have it in her? Um . . . no one? Not wanting to break their rhythm, she carefully lifted his chin. She clenched her muscles, wanting to hold onto him forever, but the feeling was getting too strong. Too overpowering.

His eyes were glazed over, the vein in his neck pounding under her fingers. He blinked and opened his mouth to say something. At first, all he could get out were short moans in beat with their hips. Then his lips moved. “I—I—”

A cry broke free from her, sending her scream and euphoria bouncing off the sky, aftershocks bringing jolts of pleasure as if God himself was sending her a reward.

§         
§          §

Mitch kept her moving above him, her legs shaking and limp, the ripples of gratification being prolonged with each movement.

Her chest lifted with every gasp as she started breathing again, her eyes shining. “Another thing I’ve never done—check.”

Did she mean . . . ? “Never?” His voice was hoarse, broken apart by the gift she’d given him.

She smiled, a question filling her eyes.

Was it over? Did he
deserve
to finish within her? He slowed her down, letting her recover, wondering what he should do.

“What were you going to say?” she asked breathlessly.

You mean, before you made me the luckiest bastard on earth?
Who could never have earned this much happiness in twelve lifetimes? “Don’t remember.”

“Too bad.” With one twitch of an eyebrow, she let him know how much she believed him. But she didn’t push. Until she brought her hands to his chest and pressed him down. “You don’t want to stop now, do you?”

“Stupid question, Eden.” When she smiled, he felt the sudden need to wipe the grin off her face and replace it with the half-lidded look she’d worn earlier. He flipped them both over, trapping her underneath him, fighting the idea to take her fast and hard with everything he had. That would come later. If he was very fucking lucky. But she’d have to make that decision, not him.

Her eyes widened momentarily until he carefully started rocking into her. Then that smile disappeared and she moved against him, lifting her hips to meet his.

It was fairly traumatic for him to move so slowly.
Gentle. Be gentle.
Kissing her helped to calm his thrusts, the shake in his thighs and ass, the struggle to make this special for her. She was nothing like any of the other women he’d been with. She deserved nothing less than all the pleasure and care he had in him to give. And part of him hoped that, in return, she would accept him for who he was. If he could just show her that he was worthy of her.

He brought his hand under her ass, using it to lift her to him, to be deeper inside of her, without bringing all his force down onto her. When her moans increased, he realized he’d sped up. Pressing into her, he wanted to claim her. In a way no other man would ever be able to do. His body, this experience, would be the yardstick she’d compare all future lovers to.

Whoa
. His rhythm broke with the idea of her being with someone else. He stopped, heart pounding, body wanting, brain melting. His mind was overcome with images, nightmares of her being under any body but his. No, that couldn’t happen. He couldn’t let that happen.

Her hand brushed his cheek, then his shoulder. “Don’t stop.” Her voice was guttural with need. “Please, don’t stop.”

How incredibly hot is that?
He lifted away from her, admiring her beauty, and all thoughts of anyone but her disappeared. In that moment, all he wanted was to block out the rest of the world for her, to be the only thing she saw, the only thing she felt.

Her legs tightened around him, her hips lifted higher, and her muscles clenched around his cock, sending out a moan he recognized as his. He picked up the slow, difficult rhythm of thrusts from earlier until he felt her nails dig into his back.

“Faster . . . please.”

That
, he could do. Their union sped, not to the maximum, just enough to appease her. His eyes never left her face, watching her enjoyment, searching for any signs she wasn’t being fulfilled.
Looking good so far.
Her body arched under his, her arms pulling him deeper, demanding more speed. He tried to ignore the intensity of his own pleasure, the incredible feeling radiating through him. He slipped his hand in between them and helped her along, knowing how pissed off he’d be at himself if he came before she’d taken everything he had to give.

Her hand grasped the nape of his neck and yanked him forward, an inch away from her face. She swallowed and glared at him. “Stop. Being. Gentle.”

Sweeter words were never spoken. He gave in to her, forcing his eyes to stay open to make sure she was still alright, but unable to ignore the sensations her body was sending scorching through him.

She stopped breathing, squeezing him with more strength than he’d thought she had. Then her breath resumed as a gasp and she cried out, her body jerking as she came.

He couldn’t hold back any longer, seeing her breathless smile, her eyes. With one final push, he felt himself release into her, holding onto something he’d never remembered feeling before. As if this moment would be burned in his memory for the rest of his life.

For the next thirty-six hours, Mitch was numb to everything but her. The world was probably still turning, people still were living their lives—making bad decisions, getting into trouble, doing the occasional good deed. He imagined. But didn’t really care.

Everything he cared about was curled into his arm, her leg still resting across his body, both of them breathless.

Did they eat? Not off of plates, but yeah, he remembered eating. He vaguely recalled going to the grocery store, not wanting to leave her but knowing he kept nothing in the house that was good enough for her. And she needed food. Between the amount of exercise they were getting and her previous stress-induced weight loss, she needed calories. He’d wandered through the aisles, looking for nutrient-dense foods, grabbing anything he thought she might like. Fruit, granola bars, chocolate, power drinks, more condoms.

She’d eaten most of the food off his body. Then wiggled and giggled incessantly while he snacked off her. They’d taken countless showers together and gone swimming a few times, so neither was sticky from the remnants their tongues hadn’t reached.

Did they sleep? Yeah, catnaps wrapped around each other’s bodies, waking up dazed, happy and still exhausted. Before starting to explore again.

He also remembered an angry call from Jolie when he didn’t show up at work. He thought she might have jumped through the phone line and wrapped it around his neck if she could have. She was suspicious enough to know something was going on and then plain pissed-off when he wouldn’t tell her what it was. But he shrugged it off easily—he had no plans to share any part of Eden with anyone else ever again.

§         
§          §

“You’re a very good teacher.” She trailed a fingertip across his chest, still damp from the shower.

Laughing, he said, “You’re a quick study.”

She nodded. “I am. You should see me do calculus.”

“As long as you’re naked, I’ll watch you do anything.”

“With regular study breaks, of course.” She winked and kissed him. “Thank you, Mitch. For everything.”

“Stop it or I’ll blush.”

“I’d love to make you blush, but I don’t think that’s possible.”

He swept his lips across her forehead. “You must have missed it. I definitely blushed. A few times.”

“That’s not called
blushing
, Mitch.” She laughed and then pushed up on her elbow, allowing the first bit of air between them all day. “Question.”

Oh, boy.
“Easy one or tough one?” The easy ones involved their bodies, trying different positions, testing new sensations. He hoped it wasn’t a tough one—those involved speech. Questions about the past, sometimes the present. He wouldn’t lie to her anymore, if he could possibly help it. Second nature wasn’t something he had any experience ignoring.

“An in-the-middle one,” she said.

“Wait. Let me prepare myself.” He stretched his neck from side to side, muscles sore. “Okay, let ‘er rip.”

“Do you think your stamina has anything to do with Hyde?”

He flinched at the name he hadn’t thought about—the creature he hadn’t felt—for days. That never happened. More than the physical reminders, Hyde was usually a constant ache in his mind—transform for one night, dread for the next thirty-four days. A cycle with no end.

“Was that a tough one?” Her voice rang of regret, something he never wanted her to feel.