by Lea Kirk
She swallowed around the lump in her throat. “Leave them.”
The memory of Kenji returned, but now it seemed substantially diminished, especially in the light of Nick’s memories.
She forced her eyelids open. “Nick?”
The mattress dipped as he sat on the edge of the bed, his fingers trailed a gentle path along her cheek. “I love you, Sakura. My Saku.”
He loved her, and for the first time she did not question his sincerity. He had given her his memories and they were hers to treasure. The most selfless gift she had ever received. She reached for him and drew his face within inches of hers, holding his gaze with all the honesty and openness in her heart. “And I love you too, Nicholaus Bock.”
His lips brushed hers, firm and warm, before he pulled back and touched his forefinger to her forehead. “Dormio.” Sleep.
His face faded in her vision as she sunk into the soft arms of the healing sleep.
Chapter Fifteen
“I’m sorry for waking you, Dante. Thank you for coming over so late.” Nick wrapped his fingers around the warm mug of kumi as he relaxed into the tufted softness of the living room recliner. His Saku was safe in her room, lost in an induced, dreamless sleep. She would wake up in the morning feeling rested after a night free of the dreams that had haunted her for far too long. And, most importantly, untouched by him. It might take some time before she was ready for a physical relationship, but he could wait.
“Of course,” Dante nodded over the rim of his own mug. “How do you feel, Nick?”
He gave Dante a small smile. “I’m fine.” How could he not be? Saku’s demon had been eradicated. Kenji no longer had power over her. “Her peace is my peace.”
Dante sipped his tea. “Very well done, young man.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“You handled the situation well. I am not sure what you told her to get her to agree to anagas namis. I have been working on Megan Trimble for years, and still she refuses to free herself from Kotas’s ghost.”
Poor Megan. While Saku had suffered at the hands of Kenji, the then fifteen-year-old Megan was being held hostage by Vyn Kotas. “Megan doesn’t believe she was raped, Dante.”
The master healer inhaled and exhaled through his nose. “No, she does not. She still lives in her fantasy that the traitor loved her. We can only wait and see how her attitude will affect their son as he grows. My sincere hope is that her choices will not come back to haunt us.”
Dante touched the bridge of his nose in the Matiran manner of prayer, then shook his head and smiled. “I must tell you I harbored a small concern when you contacted me. We are very lucky we did not have another eno anim tonight. You and Sakura are in the midst of a crisis here.”
His eyes widened briefly. Eno anim, the Matiran legendary mating of souls called to right wrongs during dark times. It’d happened to his sister and her husband, so it wasn’t a stretch that it could happen again. Amazing, and frightening, that this hadn’t even crossed his mind earlier. “I suppose the situation here isn’t dark and desperate enough for a soul mating to happen. Or maybe, having discovered how to cure the illness by joining our Gifts is close enough.”
“Hopefully so,” Dante replied. “Being a soul mate is not as romantic as one would think. Alex lives in legitimate fear that something will happen to Gryf while he is away from her and she will drop dead in front of the children.”
A shuddered tracked along his spine. The ‘one soul mate cannot survive without the other’ clause. Just the thought gave him the chills. The only break Alex got was when the kids were with their tutors and she was at the infirmary with Dante. “As much as I love Saku, I don’t think I’d handle that type of stress very well.”
“Yet, unlike Alex and Gryf, you two would have the advantage of working together,” Dante pointed out.
Yeah, there was that.
“Speaking of which, how goes the lab work?” Dante quirked an eyebrow at him.
He pushed himself upright and set his cup on the side table. “We’ll probably have the correct chemical mixture for atolce within a couple of days. There are three Anferthians due for their atolce shots next week, which is a strong motivator to finish the project. If it’s not ready in time, we’ll have to use the government-provided ampules—ones that have tested contaminate free. Not our first choice. Given the way the illness is able to camouflage itself once in the victim’s system, I don’t fully trust what we’re seeing in the atolce ampules. But, Anferthian nature being what it is, we don’t want to keep them waiting either. Cranky Anferthians are not prone to reason.”
“They are a passionate race.”
“Hopefully not beat-a-healer-to-a-bloody-pulp passionate.” Wouldn’t that be just great?
Dante choked on his tea. “One would hope not,” he wheezed.
“Anyway, the vaccination experiment has been scrapped since Sakura and I are able to eradicate it through healing. She’ll work on replicating atolce tomorrow while I make rounds through the villages.” He gave Dante a hopeful look. “I don’t suppose you’d like to come along?”
“It would be my pleasure, Nick.”
~*~
Nick stared at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, foam from his toothbrush bubbling around his lips. All-in-all, a successful night. Things really couldn’t get better. He leaned down and spat in the sink, then rinsed his mouth and toothbrush. Sharing his personal feelings regarding Sakura with her during diorga had been a calculated risk, but she seemed to have accepted his memories. She’d even opted to keep them. A small smile tugged at the corners of his mouth. He’d ask her about that again in the morning, just in case she changed her mind.
Right now it was well after midnight, and he needed sleep. He stepped through the doorway into his room.
“We need to talk,” an accusatory-laden voice announced from the direction of his bed.
“Gaah!” His whole body startled. “Saku? What the hell?” Why was she awake, and how did she keep getting into his room?
“‘What the hell’ is right.” She scooted off his bed, marched toward him and poked him in his chest with one finger. “You put me into dormio.”
“You needed rest.”
“I did not ask you to.”
He opened his mouth, then shut it again. She had a point. “Well, you seem to be awake now. How’d you do that?”
She raised her eyebrows and smirked. “I have my secrets.”
A snort escaped him before he had a chance to consider the wisdom of it. “You don’t need to—”
“Stop telling me what I do and do not need!”
His mouth opened and closed again. Logic was difficult to argue against. “Fine. But, could you at least tell me how you undid my sleep suggestion?”
“Maybe some other time.” She took a step back. “There is something I need.”
He folded his arms over his chest. “Fine. What?”
His gaze was drawn to her hands as her fingers worked the knot of her robe. The same thin, silky one she’d been wearing earlier. She probably had no idea the havoc that little number was wreaking on his determination to take things slow.
“I need to know what it is really like between a man and a woman when everything is good and right,” she said.
Okay, maybe she did know. Dry, hot desert air closed over him, stealing every drop of saliva. His lips parted and compressed several times in a row. He was turning into a damn fish. “Ex-excuse me?”
She gave him an exasperated look. “You heard me.”
Yes. Yes, he did. But it couldn’t hurt to hear it again because this couldn’t really be happening. Could it? “Saku, you don’t nee—.”
“Nick.” There was a clear warning in her tone.
He swallowed against the desert sand in his throat. “Right. Why?”
Tears surfaced in her dark eyes and her fingers stopped moving. “I thought…I thought you….”
Well, crap. This conversa
tion was about to tank. He stepped toward her, toe-to-toe, and gave her a smile. “You thought right about me, but is this what you want?”
“I would not be here if it was not.”
Of course she wouldn’t.
“Nick, please, my first and only experience was a nightmare. It is not supposed to be that way. I want to feel the good. Really, truly, deeply feel.”
There was no good argument against that logic. But, was she as ready as she seemed to think she was? He frowned. What a stupid question. This was Saku, his brave, determined, loving woman. If anyone knew how ready she was for anything, it would be her.
He reached for her, cupped her precious face with his hands and brushed his lips over hers. She didn’t flinch, balk, or slap him. All good signs. “Promise me one thing.”
“What?”
“You will tell me what feels good, and what doesn’t. If you have a single doubt, just tell me. I’ll stop.”
She nodded. “I promise.”
“Good.” He lowered his head again, slanting his mouth over hers, running his tongue along the seam of her lips until they parted.
Just as before when they’d kissed on the couch, she seemed awkward and unsure what to do with herself, something he’d never experienced before. But, Saku wasn’t a one night stand or a friend with benefits, not to him. She hadn’t thrown herself at him like the handful of other women he’d known. Okay, technically she had, but not in the way most women did when they were looking for a good time. She offered not only her body but her heart as well. It was on him not to crush either gift.
A faint hint of Matiran ice-mint lingered as he explored the silky smoothness of her mouth, encouraging her to do her own explorations through his actions. Her body softened, and her arms snaked around his waist as she relaxed against him with a sigh. This small act had to be a huge victory for her, whether she realized it now or not. And it was the hottest thing he’d ever experienced. A conclusion supported by the hardening of certain parts of his lower anatomy. Holy crap, it was going to be difficult to go slow, but if he scared her it’d be all over.
As their tongues slid against each other in their intimate dance, he trailed his fingers along her neck, shoulders, stopping at her breasts to outline her nipples with his thumbs through the shimmering material of the robe. Sakura shivered, arching into him as he rolled their hardness between his fingers. Then he allowed his hands to drift lower and slip through the opening to rest just above the flare of her hips. God in heaven, her skin was warm under his palms, and he could swear his fingertips must be close to touching as he spanned her narrow waist. He guided them both toward the bed, drawing her down on top of him without breaking the kiss.
His palms brushed up and down the gentle curve of her back, then over her plump bottom. It shouldn’t surprise him, but she had absolutely nothing on under her robe. Even though he would have enjoyed slowly removing her lacey undergarments with his teeth, this was still an incredible turn on.
Saku pulled away, ending the kiss. He frowned. “Do you need to stop?”
“I do not want to be on top.” She rolled off him and onto her back. “Help me learn what I like.”
A slow smile rose to his lips. “Any particular place you want me to start?”
“Any place you want.”
His smile grew into a full-fledged grin. “Challenge accepted.” This was going to be fun.
~*~
A startled gasp escaped Sakura as Nick slid off the bed and pulled her rear near the edge. His large hands enveloped one foot, massaging each of her toes. Then he lifted her foot to his mouth and ran his tongue along her arch. A shower of tingles ran up her leg and—surprisingly—took up residence in her nether regions.
“You like that?” Nick asked.
More than she’d ever thought possible, but her mouth suddenly couldn’t form the words so she nodded her head.
His grin turned wicked. “I thought so.” He lifted her other foot and repeated the process. Then he kissed, nibbled and sucked his way up her legs—gradually drawing them apart with his strong hands—until he stopped at her apex. He just stared intently at her, not moving, not blinking. Heat rose to her cheeks. Was she that ugly down there that he could not go on?
She moved her hands to cover herself, but Nick grasped them gently. “Don’t.” He set her hands at her sides one at a time. “Put this one here, and the other one here. Good. Now, if you like this, just hang onto the sheet. And make as much noise as you want, it’ll make me feel…appreciated.”
He knelt on the floor and spread her nether lips with his fingers, a hungry gleam in his eyes. Oh, god, was he going to…? The warmth of his breath fanned over her mound and a shiver ran through her as his tongue and teeth closed over her clit, teasing and nipping. Electric chills chased over her skin. Never in her life had she imagined anything so delicious. There was nothing in her experience she could compare it to.
“You like?” The vibration of Nick’s voice against her clit brought on another wave thrills, and her fingers dug into the mattress. All she could do was puff out a breath and nod.
“Tell me if this is better,” he said.
His hands slipped under her bottom and he raised her up. With the touch of tongue circling her nub, the world exploded with sweet sensations. She arched her hips upward, seeking something more, as her hands curled into the sheets. It was like being on a precipice waiting for the perfect moment to jump. Anticipation tightened her body until Nick sucked her into his mouth. Freefall consumed her, but instead of riding air currents she clung to waves of intense pleasure and gratification. There was no beginning, no end, just Nick wreaking glorious havoc on her body.
“Saku?”
She forced her heavy eyelids to open. Nick had shifted them fully onto the bed so that his body covered hers. He held his weight up with his arms, the soft, heated velvet of his erection lay against her inner thigh. This was different from when Kenji had used her. It was…right. Safe. “Can we do that again?”
Nick’s deep chuckle vibrated through her, and her inner muscles contracted in a weak imitation of the orgasm that had rocked her world just moments ago. “Anything you want, my Saku. How about a different way this time?”
She reached up and skimmed her fingertips over his chest. “I want to have that again anyway I can.”
His gaze seemed to intensify, and he lowered his body more until his lips brushed hers. “You got it.”
He traced his open mouth down her neck, across her collarbone, the side of her breast before claiming her nipple. A moan welled out of her throat as she pushed upward to encourage him as he split his time lavishing each breast. That sweet tension was winding up again, searching for that one thing to set it loose.
Breathless, she squeezed her eyes shut. All these incredible sensations to savor, yet some deep instinct called out for more. “Please, Nick.”
The head of his arousal touched her opening. “Eyes on me, love.”
She met his gaze as he pushed forward, slowly entering her. He was watching for something. Maybe some sign of rejection, or distress, but that was not going to happen. She planted a foot on the bed and leveraged up to take him deeper.
A shout of victory welled up in her chest. “Yes!”
Nick’s eyes shut and he groaned, head lowering until their foreheads gently touched. “God, Saku.”
“I am okay, Nick.” She had not expected to be the one reassuring him tonight. “Take me there again. Please.”
He opened his eyes, snaring her gaze as he pushed deep. There was no turning back now, for either of them. He stroked her with his length, back and forth, a little harder and a little faster each time. The exquisite coil of tension built at her core.
“Saku.” The raw sexual edge in his voice was the trigger. She squeezed her eyes shut and met his thrusts, one foot caressing up the small of his back while the other pushed into the mattress for the best angle. This exquisite pressure could not get any better
. Nick thrust just so, and she catapulted over the edge and into space. Above her, Nick stiffened with a harsh cry, pouring himself into her.
Life seemed to fade away. It was only her and Nick, intimately joined and sated. The warmth of his body covering her was her security. Something stroked her cheek and she dragged her eyelids open.
“How do you feel?” Nick asked.
She reached up and swept a wayward strand of hair off his forehead, then gave him a smile. “I finally remember what it is like to be okay.”
Chapter Sixteen
Ping.
Nick stirred, and the warm body wrapped in his embrace groaned. The sound was softly feminine, as was the supple bottom pressed against his stirring manhood. If he could wake up like this every morning for the rest of his life, he’d be the happiest man ever. He lifted Saku’s hair to nibble and lick that tender spot just below her ear, while another part of him searched for her other sweet spot.
Ping.
Saku moaned and arched her back, snuggling her bottom even closer. He ran his hand over the swell of her hip, nudged her entrance with his tip. And froze. What was he doing? This woman had been victimized, her trust broken in the most horrible way, and here he was taking liberties with a body she’d only just begun to share with him. Saku was his now. His. And he must step up and protect her, even if that meant from his own goddamn urges.
He gently moved away from the intimate contact. Sakura groaned, what had to be the sexist protest ever. “Mmmm, Nick. Don’t stop.” The gentle touch of her hand against his thigh halted his retreat. “Need you. Now.”
Who was he to argue? Clearly, his woman knew what she wanted. “God, Saku.” He nuzzled the curve of her neck, mouthed kisses along her shoulder, and slid into her welcoming heat from behind. As she surrounded him, he let out a content sigh. He pulled out, then sank in again, finding a rhythm that would set them both on fire, and was rewarded with her sexy little mewls of pleasure. He picked up his tempo until she arched her back, and her breath caught as she clenched in hard waves around him. A low growl rumbled low in his throat as he thrust hard once, twice, spilling his seed into her even as she continued to milk him.
