by Alexa Silver
He gasped and threaded his fingers into her hair. “Dear heaven. I love you too. Please, don’t stop.”
A drop of pre-cum bubbled at the top of his cock. She rubbed over it, spreading it around the head. He squirmed as she worked her hands up and down the solid shaft. “Kelly,” he pleaded. “I love it, but…I can’t hold on much longer.”
“Good. Wait a moment.”
She had to get up and go get the pack of condoms in her bag, but she stopped just inside the room to admire the long, lean masculine length of the man sprawled on her bed. From the handsome face to the long, strong legs, not to mention the mind and spirit within, she loved everything about him. She rushed back to the bed, almost ready to explode herself from wanting him so much. He gave a hoarse cry as she put the condom on him.
A quick move and he had her on her back, legs spread. He got over her and positioned himself. “You’re ready?” he asked.
“Been ready,” she told him. “Come in, please!”
He did. She wasn’t quite so tight this time and he slid in more easily. Once he was buried inside her he stopped and let her squeeze him. His face screwed up in joy and tension but he said, “That feels like heaven on earth.”
“It does to me too,” she told him. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, opening herself to him as widely as she could and drawing him deeper inside. She’d never wanted a lover so desperately, never wanted to become a part of him and have him become part of her.
Desire and love mixed so intricately she couldn’t possibly separate them.
Need spiraled into a fierce storm that swept her up and stretched her out as far as, farther than she could go. She was a spring, pulled to the limit and a little more with each stroke of his cock sliding into her sheath.
His panting breaths huffed in and out in time to his thrusts going faster and harder with each. “Kelly, I can’t… I can’t…”
She couldn’t either.
He pulled all the way out, then rammed home. His shout as he came seemed to echo in her ears, but that was probably because her own yell met and mingled with it as the spring burst and rocketed her into ecstasy beyond anything she’d ever known.
For a long time they lay together in each other’s arms, enjoying the glow as their breathing slowly settled back to normal.
They dozed for a while. When she woke, she had to reach over and touch him to be sure it wasn’t all a dream. But, no, he was there, and solid, a man in flesh and blood.
“I feel sure you’re healthy,” Kelly said later, “since all the scars are gone, but we’ll get a medical test to confirm it. We’ll need to have it before we can get married anyway.” She stopped and looked at him. “Am I jumping the gun?”
“Proposing to me?”
His lazy, loving grin made her heart turn over.
“Are you sure you don’t want to look around for a while before you commit?” In her head, though, she was saying, Please say you want me. Just me. Please.
“I’ve seen plenty of other women here over the years. I’ve watched a lot of them on TV. There’s only one Kelly Scranton and she’s the only woman I want.”
Fireworks were going off in her head, complete with joyful music and people dancing. Come to think of it her heart was beating like a drum in her chest. “And I’ve dated plenty of men, but you’re the only one I’ve ever loved like this.”
“How soon can we get married?” he asked.
“I don’t know. There are a few complications. I’m not sure what we’re going to do about paperwork for you.”
“Silas—the head of the group in the cavern—said I wouldn’t need to worry about that. He said we’d find the documents I’d need on your desk.”
“I have no idea how he’d do it, but it would certainly simplify things.”
“Tomorrow can I drive a car?” he asked.
“We’ll see. There’s some paperwork we need to do for that, too, but I guess you can have your first lesson anyway. There’s a lot we need to do. First of all we’ll need to get you some clothes. Maybe we should try to do that tonight. I can still get there before the stores close.”
He pulled her to him. “Can we worry about that tomorrow? Today is just for us. Just for this.” He kissed her again.
“Works for me.” She put her whole self, body, soul and mind, into returning his kiss.
“We may not be officially married yet,” he said, “But for my part, you’re now my wife, my lover, the companion I choose for the rest of my life. I vow it to you.”
“And I take you as my husband, lover, and companion for as long as we live. I swear it to you.”
The kiss that followed went on and on, until her stomach rudely interrupted by growling to remind her she hadn’t eaten in a while.
He leaned back and laughed. “Got anything interesting for a wedding dinner? Never mind. It doesn’t matter what it is, it will be interesting. I haven’t eaten for hundreds of years. And there are so many new foods you have. It will take me forever to try everything I’ve seen advertised or heard about.”
Kelly, got up and put on jeans and a tee shirt. She found an extra-large tee shirt for him and a pair of her athletic shorts that were loose in the leg and had a drawstring waist. When she handed the shorts to him, he studied them with a dubious expression but put them on, then followed her into the kitchen.
She’d planned to microwave a meal in a box for herself, but wanted to do better than that for Robert. Unfortunately she didn’t have a lot of food in the house. They’d have to go grocery shopping tomorrow, too.
The refrigerator held a good supply of eggs and cheese, so she fell back on the old standby. “You’ve probably had omelets before,” she said, “Eggs and cheese?”
“Eggs, yes. I cooked my share of those. Sometimes we’d have a bit of cheese to sprinkle on them. Not always.”
While she cooked, he poked through the contents of the refrigerator, touching and smelling things, tasting occasionally. The fruit, especially surprised him. “Is this a lemon?” he asked, holding one up.
“Yes.”
“Can I eat it?”
“Not really. It has a great flavor but it’s also very sour. We generally mix it with other things. I’ll make you a drink from it later.”
He found a carton behind the milk. “Orange juice? May I try some?”
“Of course.” She found a glass for him and poured some out. “I’ll have some, too.”
The incredible delight and joy that spread over his face after one sip repaid every effort she made on his behalf. He ate the omelet with equal surprise and happiness. “I’d forgotten how satisfying food could be,” he told her when they were done. “Those eggs tasted much different from anything I cooked. Much better.”
“Later on, I’ll explain to you about the herbs and seasonings we have available. For now, though, how about a glass of wine?”
He accepted. Kelly opened a bottle of white wine and poured a small glass for each of them. Robert took the glass from her, sniffed it and sipped carefully. “This is interesting. I need to get used to it, though.”
“Not surprising. Did you have any alcoholic beverages when you were alive last time?”
“Ale was our most common drink other than plain water. I tried it occasionally but wasn’t very fond of it.” He took another sip of the wine. “I believe I could grow quite fond of this, though.” His eyes focused on her as he sipped and his expression darkened. “Kelly… There’s so much I don’t know about this world I’m reborn into. I’m grateful to have you to guide me, but I don’t want to be a burden. And I hope I can give you what you need in return.”
“I feel sure you can.”
He nodded, took her glass and set it down along with his own on the countertop before moving closer to her. “Shall we see?” he asked, pulling her gently against him.
“Let’s give it a try. But I’ll do everything I can to resist you.”
“And I won’t allow it. Come to the bedroom with me now.”
&
nbsp; *****
At least Kelly didn’t attempt to resist him in that. Robert wasn’t sure he could handle actually having to pick her up and carry her to the bed. One of these days he’d give it a try, but only once he felt sure his reborn body was up to the task. Many of the heroes in those books she stashed beneath her bed and re-read lustfully had heroes that carried off the heroine despite her half-hearted protests. Of course, the authors were at pains to note that the hero realized the heroine wanted him in her heart. Only social convention or her fears kept her from acknowledging it.
That wasn’t Kelly’s problem. He was pretty sure she just wanted a man who could take charge and be in control…a dominant man in the terms of some of those racier books she had that featured sex scenes where the man not only gave the orders, but also punished the woman if she failed to obey.
It thrilled him to know she had that desire, since he felt drawn to it himself…from the dominant male side. But until he had a better understanding of what she truly wanted and what should remain “fantasies”, he’d proceed cautiously.
When they got in the bedroom, though, he did give an order. “Remove these garments from me,” he told her.
Kelly’s eyebrows lifted for a moment and a half-smile curved her lips before she lowered her eyes and said, “Yes, sir,” in a very submissive way. His cock was already hard and got harder as she lifted the shirt over his head. She licked her lips as she stared at his chest. She reached out to touch him, but stopped. Instead she looked down and grabbed the waistline of the shorts she’d lent him. It took a careful lift to get them over his erection, then she pushed them down his legs until they dropped to the floor.
A wave of unreality crashed over him. Through all the long years of being a spirit, he’d never dared hope something like this could happen to him. Even when she bought the house. Her grace, her beauty and her intelligence combined to make her the most fascinating woman he’d ever met. And when it occurred to him that she might be the one he could trust to judge him, he still barely let himself believe in it. So many things could have gone wrong. A couple of them very nearly did.
“Undress yourself. Slowly,” he told her.
She nodded.
About the Author
Katherine Kingston
Katherine Kingston has a wild and crazy imagination that she sets free to rummage through the past, present, future and other worlds entirely. That imagination comes back with a lovely assortment of ideas for characters, plots, settings and events. The result is stories in many different settings, ranging from the medieval period to the far future to places that don’t actually exist except in her fantasies. They all include a sizzling hot romance, usually with kinky elements. A former computer programmer and magazine editor, Katherine now works part time and spends the rest of her day writing. She lives in North Carolina with her husband of many years, and has three grown children and several grandchildren.
Her website is at http://www.katherinekingston.com
Sticky and Sweet
Lainey-Jo Charles
Dedication
To Shannon: you were thinking Mötley Crüe; I was thinking Def Leppard.
They both work.
To the love of my life: thanks for the working lunches.
Acknowledgements
No one writes in a vacuum and I’m certainly no exception. My critique group is amazing, and I’m very thankful to have their unwavering support in everything from brainstorming to their feedback on manuscripts. Thanks, y’all, for everything.
The Naughty Literati editors are a wonderful group of hard-working ladies. Kate, Alexa, and Terry took the time to help me with this story as I struggled with being caregiver for a family member who was very ill and still had to write a story because…deadlines. Alexa and Terry took extra time in the eleventh hour, and I learned just how talented they are. Not only had I already fallen in love with their stories, but their guidance for my own story was invaluable.
Thank you, ladies, for your time and expertise.
I had the privilege of getting to read every single one of the stories in this boxed set during the copy edits stage. The stories cover a wide range of genres, and you get an incredible mix of styles as well. I’m honored to be working with this talented group of ladies.
Chapter 1
The sound of cabinet doors in the employee break area slamming into each other was the only noise Nick Collins could hear throughout all of Halston’s Garage. Somehow, all of Dani Halston’s mechanics were working on tasks that didn’t require noisy machinery. He didn’t think that had ever happened before. Even the radio, which usually blared some kind of rock or country station to help drown out the sounds of tools and machinery going constantly, had been turned way down or even off.
The tension throughout the bays could be felt as if it were the heat and humidity of summer, acting like a fog you had to try to wade through. This was completely at odds with the actual weather—a pretty spring day that called to Nick on every level. All of the bay doors were open, a breeze sweeping through them, carrying the sweet scent of the flowers in planter boxes right outside, mixing with the smells of rubber, motor oil, and grease.
The banging of the cabinet doors eventually took on a rhythm that Nick found himself turning his wrench to. Before too long, though, that rhythm was broken by a crash that could only be one thing—a cabinet door falling to its untimely death.
But the silence that fell after the crash was so loud it was deafening, and Nick found himself holding his breath, waiting for the boss to say something. Anything.
He popped out from underneath the car he was working on and saw his coworkers do the same. They looked like a bunch of gophers, popping their heads out, wanting to know what was happening, and he gave a mental head shake to the lot of them.
Dani rounded the corner from the back rooms. If humans could vent steam from their ears when they were pissed, Dani would be filling her garage with a fine mist right now. “I want someone to explain to me,” she paused, glaring at them and gritting her teeth, “how my last espresso pod managed to disappear between yesterday afternoon and this afternoon.” She ended her command by swinging her arms in a huge ‘previous’ motion followed by a ‘now’ motion.
Stepping into the bays, she continued when no one said anything. “I know none of y’all are owning up to this.” She threw a hand up in the direction of the break room. “But did any of y’all happen to see a customer enter or exit the back area?”
Noises that sounded like no came from all around Nick.
“Look. I have a headache and I don’t want just coffee. I want my fancy espresso crap as y’all call it. Which means none of y’all had better have taken it.” She turned toward her office, stopped, and gave them The Look before saying, “And I’d better not smell espresso in anyone’s coffee cup out here,” then disappeared again.
Nick liked keeping the peace and hated coffee. The only smell coming from his coffee mug was hot chocolate, and that was only during the winter. Otherwise, he was all about the soft drinks. But today, keeping the peace had him finishing his current job quickly, then running an errand for the boss, even though she didn’t know it.
He completed the little bit of cleanup on the car he was working on, got the paperwork ready for the customer, and told Dani he’d be back in a few. Since he didn’t drink coffee at all, he was in a fairly safe position, but that was the only thing that saved his head from being snapped off.
He took off in the direction of downtown Charolton. It was just a few blocks, and the walk acted as the perfect counterpoint to the atmosphere at the garage. The yards he passed were full of spring flowers in bloom, their aromas filling the air with everything from the stinky blossoms of some trees to the fragrant blooms of colorful flowers he recognized from his mom’s yard.
Growing up and through college, Nick played baseball all spring and summer long. It was days like this—with the angle of the afternoon sun shining in his eyes enough that he had to wear his bal
l cap—that reminded him of those many hours of baseball practices and games.
But even now as an adult, working at the garage allowed him to soak up some of what called to him to be outside. He wasn’t stuck in a building having to look out through a window. When the weather was nice—and even when it was rainy, but warm—the bay doors were open and the fresh air flowing. There was nothing he liked more, and he considered himself one lucky son of a gun to have the job he had.
He drew nearer downtown and heard the thwack of a bat against a baseball. The town ball fields were off to his left, just on the other side of the row of houses, and Nick smiled at the sounds he associated with baseball. Depending on the day, sometimes he missed it, other times he liked reminiscing, but was happy to not spend every day training like that. He much preferred the recreational workouts he did now versus the workouts he had to do as if baseball were his job during college.
Nick popped into the drug store and began searching the food aisle for the fancy pods Dani used. Muzak played in the background, and his brain finally processed what sound had been missing from the direction of the ball fields.
The Kool Treats ice cream truck.
Amanda Lowell’s ice cream truck.
Well, technically her dad’s truck, but she was always with him on his routes. Always.
After practices. After games. It didn’t matter. Mr. Lowell showed up with his ice cream truck and was ready to cool down a bunch of hot, sweaty kids with frozen deliciousness.
Nick’s favorite had been the Neapolitan ice cream sandwich. But what made it even better was that Amanda had been the one to hand Nick his ice cream. Always. Maybe it was just coincidence. Maybe she always happened to man the side of the window closest to the case where those sandwiches were kept. No matter. In his mind, Neapolitan ice cream sandwiches and Amanda Lowell went hand in hand. He couldn’t separate them.
