Watcher: A raven paranormal romance (Crookshollow ravens Book 1)

by Steffanie Holmes

  “What are you looking at?” Cole broke the kiss and stared down at me, his eyes worried. “Did I suddenly grow a third nipple or something?”

  “I was admiring your tattoos,” I said, my voice wavering as his nibbled on my earlobe.

  “Really? I can think of a few more exciting things you could be admiring.”

  Cole laid a trail of kisses along my jawline. Every touch of his lips was like a little electric jolt. The tribal pattern on his shoulder danced as he moved his arm to cradle my head. His lips continued their trail down my neck, nuzzling into the small of my shoulder. The skin there sizzled with heat. As his lips touched it my body shuddered. He kept going, kissing along my collarbone, and down my chest.

  I gasped as Cole drew my nipple into his mouth again, and that tongue swirled itself around the sensitive bud. A line of heat ran from his mouth right through my body, stopping between my legs, where the ache intensified. This was pure, exquisite torture.

  Cole continued his slow, deliberate trail of kisses, moving over my stomach, his tongue plunging into my belly button. I was so turned on that when he kissed the edges of my underwear, my whole body convulsed. He grinned that wild, sexy grin. “Patience, Nightingale.”

  “Damn your patience!” I moaned, not even caring anymore how out of control I was, how desperate. I needed this so badly. I needed him.

  “Just for that, you have to wait a little longer.” Cole lifted my legs onto his shoulders and kissed my toes, behind my knees, each touch sending jolts of pleasure through my body. He ran his tongue up my thighs, squeezing my arse cheeks. He brushed his fingers over the material of my underwear, so lightly and delicately I could barely feel his touch. I growled in my throat and arched my back, trying to get him to touch me harder, to give me what I was aching for. But Cole simply grinned that infuriating grin, and went back to making circles on my thighs.

  Finally, he hooked his fingers under the edge of my panties, and kissed a line across the top. I was so hot and wet by now, I was nearly ready to burst.

  Slowly – agonisingly slowly – Cole rolled my underwear over my hips and down my legs, pulling my panties off my feet and tossing them from the bed. He leaned down and planted his soft lips on my mound, his eyes never leaving mine. That whisper of a touch nearly sent me over the edge.

  Cole used his fingers to spread apart my lips, and he slowly licked the entire length of me, his tongue flicking over my clit before plunging inside of me.

  All the surging energy inside of me concentrated on that one spot. Cole took his time, slowly licking and circling, unheeding to my groans. I bent my hips up toward him, begging him with my body to go faster, to let me give in to the rising orgasm that threatened to claim me, but he simply pushed my hips back down and went even slower.

  “Ooooh, Cole, damn youuuuuuuu,” I moaned, as he slowly circled me with his tongue. My body was on fire. I was burning in the flames of my desire. How did he do this to me?

  Suddenly, Cole sucked my clit into his mouth and held it there, his tongue circling it like a propeller. He thrust a finger up inside of me, and I was gone. The fire consumed me, flames tearing through my body. I lost all sense of myself, all possession of my body. All that existed was the fire, the pleasure. My vision blurred, and turned red. The fire was everywhere, even inside my eyes.

  Somebody was moaning, yelling, howling like a hyena. With a fuzzy mind, I realised that somebody was me. I should have felt embarrassed, but I was too far gone.

  The flames burned up the last of me, and the heat slowly left my body. I relaxed against the sheets, my vision blurry, my whole body coursing with beautiful, quiet, heavenly bliss.

  Wow. I’d had orgasms before, of course. And they were pleasant enough, but I’d never experienced anything like that. No one had ever made me scream or lose my sight before.

  “Are you OK, there?” Cole leaned beside me, his breath hot against my ear as he made lazy trails across my stomach with his fingers.

  “Mmmhmmm,” He looked so smug, like he did this all the time. He probably did. But I didn’t care. I’d never felt this good in my life. My body was a cloud, floating away. So this was what good sex was all about.

  “I know you’re pretty wiped right now,” Cole licked my earlobe. “But I still have more in store for you.”

  “Mmmhmmm.” His breath against my ear sent a shiver of delight through me. Cole circled his fingers around my nipples, teasing them into hard marbles once more. Despite the incredible orgasm that had completely wiped me of energy, I could feel the ache returning, my body responding to his touches. I was ready again. I wanted more.

  Cole bent over me, his black hair brushing my cheeks as he kissed me again. This time, his kisses were more urgent. He was done playing with me, now we were both ready for him to be inside me.

  “Belinda, you’re so fucking hot.” He grabbed my shoulders and rolled me on my side. I had no idea what he was doing, but I couldn’t find the words to protest. Cole lay down behind me, pressing his body against my back, wrapping his strong arms around my body, his leg hooked over mine. His cock pressed against my thigh, hard as rock.

  Cole found a box of condoms in the drawer beside the bed. He rolled a condom over himself, and lay back beside me, one arm under my head, the fingers delicately stroking my nipple. The other grabbed my hip and pulled my leg up, opening me up. I closed my eyes in anticipation, the ache within me burning to be full of him.

  Cole slid his tip inside me, his lips closing around my neck at the same time. I sighed with pleasure at the sensation of part of him inside me. Cole took a deep breath, his fingers digging into my thigh, then he thrust himself all the way in.

  He was so huge that at first I gasped with the pain of it. He buried himself deeper, and the pain faded, becoming a deep, satisfying sensation. From this angle, he was never going to get as deep as he could go, but still I felt stretched, completely full. God, it felt so amazing. Cole pulled out, and sighed as he thrust into me once more, his length sliding through my wetness with surprising ease.

  I’d never had sex in this position before. It was so odd not being able to see him, to look into his eyes. I wondered why Cole had chosen it. It didn’t seem it would be the best for him—

  He reached over me, and pushed his fingers between my legs, finding my swollen clit and rubbing it with practiced ease. Now I understood why he’d chosen this position – his hands had free rein to roam over my body. The ache of an approaching orgasm swelled inside of me, driven by his exploring fingers and the sensation of him sliding inside of me.

  Cole’s teeth dug into my neck as he increased his speed, each thrust shifting my body forward against the bed. The sharp pain only intensified the ache between my legs. I gripped the sheets, trying to hold myself in place, to prevent him from fucking me right off the edge of the bed.

  His fingers circled me harder. I felt the pressure building inside my belly. Each thrust sent me closer to the edge, literally and figuratively. His hardness swelled inside of me, filling me completely.

  He dragged his teeth along my neck, and I was gone. I tossed my head back, my body shuddering as the orgasm washed over me. The fire shot through my limbs, and red welts appeared before my eyes. For a few moments, I lost myself to the sensation as the pleasure washed over me. And then I was back, my body soaked in sweat and the delicious smell of him.

  Cole grabbed both my hips with his hands and pulled my body against his, a low growl escaping his throat. “I love feeling you come against me,” he whispered in my ear, his hot breath sending a shiver through my body. I pushed back against him, meeting each powerful thrust with my hips, driving him deeper. I could feel another orgasm building as his cock stimulated.

  “Cole, I’m going to … I can’t believe this …” I was so close, so close. My core was ready to burst again.

  He obliged, his fingers finding my clit again, flicking the swollen bud with them while he fucked me hard from behind. I turned my head up to look at him, and he claimed my mouth
with his, our tongue entwining. I moaned against his tongue as the third orgasm rocketed through my body, my walls closing around his cock, his hardness driving deep inside of me.

  A few moments later, I went slack in his arms. Cole grunted and pulled out of the kiss. “You’re so fucking hot,” he moaned. “I’m not going to last much longer.”

  I wanted to see his face as he came, to feel his own pleasure after what he’d given to me. I pushed back with my hips again, meeting each of his thrusts with my body, driving him as deep as I could. Cole’s body tensed, his fingers digging into my thigh. He squeezed my nipple hard, and bit down on my neck again. I felt his cock go rigid, and with a final, desperate thrust, he came, pounding deep inside of me, a deep, guttural moan escaping from his throat.

  He flopped back against the sheets, his arms around me going slack, his cock still buried inside of me. “Wow,” he said, his lips brushing my neck. He reached down and pulled out of me, tying a knot in the condom and setting it aside. He slumped back down on the bed with a contented sigh.

  “Yeah, wow.” I rolled over on to my back, cupping his face with my hands, enjoying the way his hair fell over his face, matted slightly by the sweat of our bodies. Cole gazed at me with heavy-lidded eyes, his expression unreadable.

  “What are you thinking?” I asked, stroking his cheek.

  “You should never ask a man that. It’s always something filthy. Especially when that man has a beautiful woman lying naked next to him. Why, what are you thinking?”

  “That this is nice.”

  “Nice? Nice? I give you three orgasms and all you can say is nice?” He rolled over so he was on top of me, pinning my body to the bed. He blew a raspberry on my collarbone, right over my skin. He pinned my arms with his shoulders and tickled me under my arms. I screeched as I broke down into uncontrollable spasms. “I’ll show you nice.”

  “Cole! No, arrrggggh! I’ll behave. I promise!” I gasped.

  He stopped tickling, but he didn’t climb off me. He grinned down at me, black ringlets flopping over one eye. “No, don’t do that. I like you when you’re misbehaving.”

  “I like it, too.”

  “You are getting under my skin, woman.” he growled.

  I grinned back, my chest swelling with pleasure at his words.

  You’re getting under my skin. Cole rolled off me and pulled me to him, placing his arm over me. His warmth seeped into my skin, I realised with a sinking heart that I was allowing him to get under my skin, too. I spent so much time assuming he wasn’t interested in me, that I hadn’t really considered what would happen, how I would feel if we did fall into bed together.

  Well, it had happened. And I felt happy. And that made me scared. Terrified. This was a guy who belonged to a very different world, one that was currently trying to kill him. As much as I told myself that this was just about sex, about me having a positive memory of a guy who wasn’t Ethan, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was falling for Cole. And that was a very, very bad thing to do.

  12

  Cole

  We slept for a time, Belinda’s face resting in the crook of my arm, her beautiful body stretched around mine like a reposing cat. There was a moment, just after we’d collapsed together, where a worried look came over her lovely face, and I thought for sure she was going to bolt. I was surprised by the depth of the ache in my chest at the idea of her leaving. I held her extra tight and whispered something filthy in her ear, and that seemed to convince her to stay.

  My mind flickered in and out of consciousness, filled with pleasant dreams where Belinda and I floated on clouds, rolling naked together, our bodies pressed against each other. Her kisses tasted like warm bread fresh from the oven, her eyes danced with fire, her body shuddering with pleasure whenever I touched her. The pain in my finger faded into oblivion.

  I opened my eyes, and realised that part of the dream was real. I was kissing Belinda, in a bed so soft it might have been a cloud in another life, and I was hard again.

  Her tongue slid over mine, her hands kneading my shoulders. Her kisses were languid, sensual, half-cloaked in sleep. I returned her touch, wrapping my body around her and pressing her into the sheets.

  This is the best way to wake up.

  As if reminding me that my situation was precarious, pain flared through my body, starting in my swollen index finger, and moving along my arm, across my chest. I kissed Belinda harder, forgetting the pain in the warmth of her lips.

  I pulled myself on top of Belinda, spreading her legs wide. I rolled another condom on and thrust into her in one deep stroke, enjoying the way her warmth slipped around me, sheathing me entirely. Her lips parted ever so slightly, and she sighed with pleasure as I slid up into her, grinding my thighs against hers, pushing myself deeper than I had the night before. Sometimes women were frightened to take in all of me, but not Belinda. She accepted everything I had to give.

  I cupped her head in one hand, the other gripping her curvaceous arse, and pushed her body up to meet mine. Belinda wrapped her knees up around me, angling her hips to allow me to go deeper. Yes. I pounded into her, relishing the way her eyes locked on mine, fully losing herself in the moment.

  Getting an idea, I pulled her knees forward, placing her feet on my shoulders. Not many girls had the flexibility to do this position for long, but Belinda sighed with happiness as she pulled my head down with her knees and I slid even deeper into her. Her sighs quickly turned to moans as my thrusts stroked her in just the right way, my pelvic bone hitting her clit while my cock rubbed that special spot deep inside her.

  “Oh, Cole.” She breathed through gritted teeth, her black hair bouncing wildly around her face. I loved it when she said my name. “Oh, oh!”

  I continued to thrust steadily, enjoying the view of Belinda’s head tossing about wildly and her lips parting as she panted in pleasure. I could feel myself getting closer, the tension in my body pulling me under. There was nothing in the world I wanted more right now than to come inside this beautiful woman. But I had to hold on a bit longer, for her.

  I had to make her forget that fucking loser ex of hers. And the best way to make someone forget is to fuck the memory out of them.

  I gritted my teeth and slowed my pace, concentrating on meeting Belinda’s gaze, on keeping my eyes locked on hers. I leaned against her, pushing her knees along my shoulders, and manage to press my lips to hers. As I kissed her, I felt her lips tremble against mine. She was close.

  “Belinda,” I whispered against her lips.

  Belinda’s walls tightened around me, squeezing my cock inside her. She threw her head back and moaned as she came, her orgasm sending pulses of delight through her entire body. She shuddered against my cock, and I was so close that sent me over the edge. I felt myself go rigid, and then my own orgasm claimed me. I grunted as I pounded into her one final time, relief spreading through my whole body as a hot wave of pleasure rose up and washed over me.

  I leaned back, allowing her to slide her legs from my shoulders. I took care of the condom, then curled up next to her, wrapping my body around hers and pulling her against me. I loved the feeling of her soft skin against mine. Usually I wasn’t keen on all the cuddling women liked after sex, but with Belinda … I couldn’t get enough of the feel of her.

  “I could do this all night, in every conceivable position.” I said, running my fingers along the edge of her breast. Belinda shuddered as the last vestiges of her orgasm fluttered through her body.

  “I have to work in a few hours,” she murmured, her eyes flickering shut. “Bread must be baked, Eccles cakes iced …”

  “Then you should sleep. I’ll try to keep myself from further devouring you until tomorrow night, but then you are mine.”

  “Mmmmmhmmmm.” Belinda didn’t open her eyes. A few moments later, she was breathing steadily, her chest rising and falling with a regular rhythm. She had this enormous smile on her face that made my chest feel tight, and not from the pain that shot periodically through my body. />
  This night had been amazing. Belinda’s body was even more incredible out of her clothes. I had been so worried she would be afraid of sex, after what her scumbag ex had done to her, but from the moment I kissed her she was completely uninhibited. Behind her sugary-sweet exterior there was an inner minx just dying to get dirty. And I was definitely keen to help her with that.

  But now that I had satisfied her, the time for play was over. The night stretched out before me, and as I lay in bed I grew more restless. I thought of Byron, and of the way I’d acted when he surprised us in the forest. I probably shouldn’t have been so rude to him, but I hated that he’d caught me off guard.

  We had a pretty shitty relationship. Growing up, our father had played us constantly against each other, and Byron usually came out on top. After he was killed, Byron wanted nothing to do with me. He spent all his time with Pax and Poe, learning to fight and drink and barrel-roll and all the things teenage boys did when they were mad at the world. And when our mother died … well, we were never going to forgive each other for that. But even though Byron was a complete shithead, he was right – I’d taken too many stupid risks, and I wasn’t being careful enough. I fucking hated it when Byron was right.

  I should probably find him. We need to sort this out. If I got Byron killed, I’d never be able to forgive myself.

  I inched my arm out from beneath Belinda, checking to make sure she was still asleep. I slid out of bed. There was a window on my side of the bed that overlooked the forest. I pushed it open, letting in a gust of cool air. Next, I put the charm Ryan had given me around my neck. Luckily, it was light enough that it wouldn’t affect my flight too much. Neither Belinda nor I had bothered putting any clothes on again, so at least I didn’t have to worry about that. I saw her charm looped around her wrist, and thought about taking it for Byron. But I didn’t want to leave her unprotected.