“What’s wrong?” Nate asked, because of course, he felt it. The slightest disturbance inside her. She’d never known anyone as perceptive as he was.
She didn’t try to evade the question. “It’s just too good, with you,” she said. “It scares me.”
He nodded. “Same,” he said. “But I’m not going anywhere. Let’s just be brave. We’ll hope for the best. Give it our best shot. That’s the best anyone can do.”
She pulled him closer and hid her face against his chest. “I guess so.”
“It’s going to be all right,” he said. “Tomorrow, we go on the attack, with reinforcements. Tonight, you can relax. Rest, so you can be fresh and alert for Josh.” He rolled away and got up. “Wait here,” he said, heading for the bathroom.
Right, like she was going to bounce up and race off into the night.
She heard the roar of running water, and Nate returned swiftly, looking pleased with himself. “I want to try that bathtub. It’ll relax you.”
It sounded wonderful. Frivolous and sensual and self-indulgent. “You’ll get in with me, right?”
His grin was wicked. “Babe, nothing on earth could keep me out.”
13
Nate had to go back a few times, to check on the water and gauge the temperature. In between times, he slid right back into the warm bed and wound himself around Elisa’s slender, silken one. So lithe and strong. Those beautiful, plump, perfectly shaped tits. So perfect for his hands, his mouth.
His dick was in a perpetual state of frantic eagerness whenever she was in his line of vision. Or his thoughts, for that matter. And the touch of her skin made his heart thud and his whole body instantly overheat into a thrum of raw need.
Wait. He had to pace himself. This wasn’t about him. He had to make it perfect for her. It was the iron-clad rule. Forever and always.
When the tub was finally full, he turned to find her already in the bathroom door, winding that long, night-dark curly mass of her hair into a thick messy knot on top of her head, and securing it with the black elastic tie she’d used for her braid.
He was speechless, his entire brain busy processing the sensory input of her naked beauty. Her eyes fell to his erection, and she gave him a teasing smile, her eyebrows going up. “Oh! So it’s that kind of bath?”
“It’s just a bath,” he assured her. “Any kind of bath you like. I don’t want to overdo it.”
“Speak for yourself, buddy.” She stalked past him, stroking his chest and arm as she went by, and her slow, teasing touch buzzed against his nerves like electricity.
He followed, helpless and dazzled. She moved like a queen. Regal, lofty. He could stare at her elegant back forever. The little wispy dark curls at her nape.
Nate stepped in front of her and went in first, down the steps and to the bottom of the hip deep tub. He held out his hand. When she took it, the contact was a soul touch. A mark of divine favor, and she was a goddess with the power to bless and transform him. To change his fate forever.
He couldn’t even pretend not to look at her. From her bold eyes and face and her body’s stance, she silently commanded it.
He took the opportunity to memorize every tiny perfect detail. The curly wisps of dark hair clinging to her cheekbones, the secret, mysterious smile in her golden eyes, the flushed, sexy lips. So full. Their beautiful, sensual shape.
She already acted so differently with him, after only a few hours of being lovers. Since they met, he’d admired her beauty and wanted to know her secrets, but she’d kept him at arm’s length. She’d struck him as fragile, brittle. Hunted.
She didn’t seem that way anymore. She felt her power now. He saw it in her eyes, in the tilt in her chin, in the way she held her shoulders. She flaunted her body as she descended slowly into the water, and sank down onto the bench, the steaming water now up to her collarbone. “Thank you,” she said demurely.
He followed her lead, and sat down next to her. But the natural magnetism of their bodies just pulled him toward her until their thighs touched.
“Is the temperature good?” he asked. “It’s not too hot?”
“It’s perfect,” she said. “It’s delicious. Just like this.”
They floated there for a while, and he reached over, sliding his finger into her hand. He felt almost, oh God forbid, shy. He fished awkwardly for something to say.
“So, Gina says there’s a strip mall about twenty miles down the highway,” he said. “There’s an electronics store with gaming stuff there. I checked, and the site says it opens at nine. Plus there are clothing stores, so we can outfit you.”
“Don’t worry about that,” she said. “I’ll get my stuff back from Demi’s apartment if I survive. A change of clothes is the least of my worries right now.”
“You shouldn’t have to wait,” he said stubbornly. “We’ll just grab a few things.”
“Very nice of you, but not necessary,” she told him. “Is this part of your seductive lover-boy routine? Buying me fripperies?”
“No, just a simple to-do list,” he admitted. “I’m not the crafty scheming type.”
She floated out into the middle of the tub and spun around to face him, smiling into his eyes. “You’re sweet, Nate,” she said. “Did you know that?”
“No,” he said, bemused. “Not particularly.”
She surged forward and cupped his face in her hands—and kissed him.
God. He was so primed, he could have come then and there. By a hair, he fought it down, breathing it down, fists clenched. Her lips were so soft and sweet. A tender, velvety hidden secret that only he was privileged to know. It humbled him.
Her hands splayed over his chest. So trusting. The points of her nipples touched his chest, ever so slightly. Tiny twin kisses, every point of contact a bright glow of hyper-awareness.
Kissing her made him want to be worthy of her. To be better than he was.
Then she was on his lap, straddling him. Knees perched on the bench, right over his stiff, aching cock. Her body undulating against him with a sigh, the water heaving and sloshing around her shoulders. Inviting him to take whatever he wanted.
What, was this some sort of test of his resolve? Damn. He made a low sound, a groan of frustration, and lifted her gently up, holding her suspended in the water.
“We shouldn’t do it again so soon,” he said. “You should rest. Take it easy. You’re killing me.”
“Am I?” Her small, secret smile drove him nuts. “Talk about mixed messages.”
“Don’t tease me,” he pleaded. “It’s really fucking hard to say no to you.”
“So don’t,” she said. “If it’s hard to say no, then it should be easy to say yes.”
She reached down to caress his dick. That twist-squeeze-pull, from root to the head, made him shudder and gasp. “What a waste of a beautiful hard-on,” she said.
The water sloshed heavily as she stood up. Pink from the heat. Gleaming.
She sank down facing him on the top step, which was barely covered in water, and fixed her big, dreamy eyes on him, red lips parted, eyelashes tangled with drops of water. Trailed her hand down slowly. Over her breast, over her belly, and then lower, to the whorl of dark silky hair on her mound.
Her legs opened. “I just feel so hot,” she whispered. “But poor me…it looks like I’ll have to take care of this all by my lonesome self, right?”
“Holy fuck,” he groaned. “Really? You’re going to do this to me?”
“Well, technically speaking, it’s something that I’m doing to myself,” she mused. “What choice do I have, if I want this orgasm? And I do want it. I want it bad.”
He watched, hypnotized, at the stunning spectacle of her pale skin, her gleaming, luminous hot pink folds sensually caressed by her long, slender fingers. Parting herself, opening, showing him all of it. Her golden eyes were half-lidded, lost in a sensual dream. Completely unself-conscious. Owning him, taunting him as she toyed with the taut pink button of her clit. Watching him watch her, with
that seductive smile.
He loved to see her like this. Playful, strong. Enjoying her pleasure. Egging him on. Fucking with his head, in the best possible way. Pure agony, and he loved it.
“So strange,” she said in a dreamy tone. “I don’t even know the person I am right now. You have the strangest effect on me. I go all naughty sexpot femme fatale. I feel like some sort of celestial deity. Bow and tremble before my power, mortal.”
“I’ve always trembled before your power,” he said. “I felt it all along. You’ve just been a little distracted lately, so you haven’t felt it yourself.”
She laughed at that, but then it petered out, breathless, as she thrust her fingers inside herself, moaning in her sensual abandon. Taking her own sweet time. Eyes closed, head thrown back. Strands of her hair had tumbled loose, floating in the water, waving like seaweed. Lost in her pleasure. Unguarded.
She went rigid, and then he watched as pleasure rippled through her, shaking her like a storm wind. So fucking gorgeous.
And that was it. She’d won. Whatever might have remained of his self-control vanished. He didn’t even remember why he’d been trying to hold back.
Water sloshed over the edge of the tub as he reached for her, stretched out seductively on the steps. Eyes closed, but smiling. Toying with herself.
He splayed his hands over her hips and put his mouth to her. Her taste was so sweet. Fucking exquisite. She wound her fingers into his hair and held it tight as he went at her with his tongue, every tender, furled up pink fold of her pussy. Lapping and laving until she was pulling at him, pushing against his face, with those whimpers of desperation as the energy rose, swelled—and crested.
Oh yeah. He could never get enough of that wild, sweet rush of bright energy against his face as she came. He drank it up, stroking her hips.
He waited for the aftershocks to fade, pressing slow kisses against the silky skin of her inner thigh. Her hands eventually loosened on his hair, enough so he could look up at her face.
She looked dazzled, sated. “Nate,” she whispered. “I just…no words.”
He kissed her belly. “I love it,” he confessed. “Can’t get enough of your taste. Your pussy is so sweet and hot. Makes me crazy.”
She slid down the steps and into the water, peeking down to ascertain the state of his stubborn, long-suffering erection. Then she ran her hand down his body, and gripped him. “So have I broken down your objections to making love again?” Her voice was husky and low. “Or do I have to bring out the big guns?”
He shook with silent laughter. “I am disarmed,” he said. “Take anything you want from me. It’s all yours.”
Elisa stroked and squeezed his cock with a tight, swiveling stroke that made his shudder and gasp, and then draped her arms around his waist, and wound her legs around his thighs. “Well, then,” she murmured. “Give it to me.”
Nate gripped his cock, to guide it, sliding the tip of his dick into the slick, tight well of her pussy. Keeping it slow, so they could savor every instant of that snug, delicious glide. “Oh fuck.” He couldn’t keep his voice from shaking. “Elisa.”
“Yes,” she whispered. “Oh, yes. That’s perfect.” Elisa’s nails dug into his shoulders as he thrust inside her, undulating against him as her beautiful body slowly took him in. A long, hot, welcoming kiss. Every stroke a tender, suckling pull.
Then they were kissing again, frantically as their bodies moved, pumping together, water sloshing rhythmically. Writhing and straining to get closer.
And the whole world dissolved. Nothing but pleasure. Huge and hot. Thundering through them, rolling over them, washing them away.
After they floated there, boneless. Weightless. Still joined, her head resting on his shoulder. Beyond words, beyond thought.
Only the cooling water finally moved him to stir, or he could never have broken the spell.
“Want to get back to bed?” he asked. “We have a couple of hours till dawn. The electronics store opens at nine AM, so we should leave here a half hour before. So, a nap, then some breakfast, and we go at it.”
Her smile blinded him. “Sounds like a plan. And it’s so great to finally have one.”
Nate helped her out of the tub and dried her off himself, never one to miss the opportunity to stroke every inch of her perfect body.
They slid back into the bed naked, and their bodies fit together perfectly. Her head rested just under his chin, his arm around her neck. Her slight, warm weight was like a long, and constantly renewing kiss against his whole body.
Elisa kissed his chest and then drifted off to sleep, her breath slow and even.
He felt so good, it scared him.
It was too soon to feel this way. He hadn’t earned it. He’d borrowed it. Snatched it from the jaws of death. But those jaws were still out there, still snapping, still hungry for her. He had no business letting himself feel happy about this. Not yet.
Not for one single goddamn second.
14
The smell of coffee and bacon woke Elisa. She rolled over in bed, as the memory of the night she’d just passed rushed through her mind, along with a flush of intense emotion. Excitement, terror, hope. A strange and heady mix.
She felt so different. Her body was more relaxed, and her mind was clearer. And she had a sense of purpose. An actual plan for the day. Oh God, yes.
It felt so good. Even if it led nowhere, it was something to do. Her daily to-do list since fleeing Gil had one single, solitary item on it: Don’t get killed.
Limiting, to say the least.
Nate looked into the bedroom. He saw her awake, and his sexy smile made her heart quicken. “We should get moving,” he said. “Come get breakfast while it’s hot.”
“On my way.” She slid out of bed, intensely aware of his focused gaze on her naked body, and headed into the bathroom to retrieve her washed-out underwear, now thankfully dry. She gathered up her clothes, giving him a teasing sidelong look from under her eyelashes as she pulled up her jeans.
She turned to face him as she put on her bra, brazenly plumping her boobs up for maximum lift and cleavage while he watched her. Hot-eyed. Keenly interested.
“Whoa,” he muttered. “That really sharpens the appetite. Some sexual torment, to start the day off right?”
“You’re inflicting it on yourself,” she told him. “Gawking at me. Bad boy.”
The quantity of food he’d ordered for breakfast astonished her when she came out into the dining room. She stared at the table, openmouthed. “Holy God, Nate! This is enough food for an army!”
“I didn’t want to wake you, and I wasn’t sure what you’d like,” he explained. “Pick out your favorites, and I’ll eat the rest. I like everything.”
She hadn’t had much of an appetite for breakfast or any other meal since her troubles began, but this morning, she was ravenous. The Eggs Benedict were spectacular. So were the cheesy home-fried potatoes and a fluffy buttermilk pancake from the top of the towering stack, drenched with maple syrup and dotted with juicy blueberries. A pitcher of fresh orange juice. Strong coffee. Heavy cream.
She put on her hat and her glasses, and they got on the road in good time. They were at the strip mall five minutes before the store’s opening time, but had to wait an extra fifteen minutes because whoever opened was late that day.
Then the Closed sign finally flipped to Open, and the search was on.
It didn’t take long to find a few copies of Shards of Ruin. Elisa’s insides fluttered with nervous excitement as she studied the cover, a fantasy scene with mythical beasts in a desert landscape. “I’ve seen these graphics. Josh plays this.”
“Let’s see what the clerks can tell us about the game,” Nate said.
The young man at the counter had long black hair and heavy, black-framed glasses that magnified his eyes and made him look like an insect.
“Lemme go get Craig,” he responded to Nate’s question. “He’s in back doing inventory. He’s the Shards freak. I think he got int
o the Celestial Realm in just a few weeks of playing, which is epic. Almost nobody does that. Hang on, I’ll go get him.”
Craig appeared moments later, a lanky twenty-something with the pallid skin of a basement dweller. He wore an oversized flannel shirt that flapped loosely over his black Angel Ascending T-shirt, and he proved to be more than willing to talk about Shards of Ruin. In fact, he issued an unbroken torrent of words.
“I’m telling you, man, it’s, like, groundbreaking,” he said, as if they were disposed to argue with him. “It’s a huge game world. It goes on for-freaking-ever, and there are a bunch of different adventures you can do. And you can play at any level and enjoy yourself. Beginners can have a good time, but if you really go deep, you find some super crazy secret stuff.”
“Yeah?” Elisa said. “Such as?”
Craig leaned over the counter, eyes alight. “Well, Shards is supposed to be single player, but there’s a hidden secret place you can get to, if you do the work and pay the points, and it has a communication point with other players. But the Shards designers never told anyone. They don’t advertise it. It’s not in the literature. It’s, like, a secret little gift, just for the true Shards freaks.”
“How did you find out about it?” Nate asked.
“The buzz on the gaming forums,” Craig admitted. “And there were, like, six YouTube channels dedicated to it for a while last year. A bunch of the big YouTubers have done deep dives.”
“Suppose I wanted to get to this connection point at the highest possible speed, never having played before?” Nate asked.
Craig looked bewildered. “Uh…why? Why would anyone do that? Wouldn’t that spoil the whole thing and, you know, like, defeat the purpose?”
“Not my purpose,” Nate said. “I’m more interested in how the game works than in the gaming experience itself. You can’t spoil it for me.”
Heedless: The Hellbound Brotherhood Book Four Page 13
