Alix straightened at his words, and then leaned forward as he continued.
“That night I came into your shop, or rather, the days that followed. I kept thinking about you. So much so, I couldn’t get you out of my mind.” He chuckled half-heartedly, embarrassed.
“What were you thinking...about me?” Alix bit her lower lip, and rolled her eyes. She didn’t mean to actually say the words, they just slipped out.
His cheeks reddened, and he grinned deviously as he met her gaze. His blue eyes burned with desire, as he reached out, and gently touched her cheek. “I’d rather show you.”
The same electric tingling that pulsed into her the night she and Troy first met, came rushing back at his touch. It was warm and sensual, and coursed through her more quickly than a lightning strike. Her eyes fluttered, as her body began to respond to the erotic, drug-like effects of the man.
Troy’s voice was deep and husky as he spoke, “I’m here because of you.” His hand moved to cup the back of her neck. “I’m here because I want you.” He pressed his lips hungrily against hers.
Her heart hammered like thunder in her ears, and she grabbed hold of his shoulders, clawing him. The pleasant tingle from his touch, turned into an inferno of unquenchable fire. Oh, how she had wanted this. Those nights in front of the TV hoping to catch a glimpse of him, or when she awoke in the dark, wet from torturous dreams of his glorious body. The hopes and wishes from those lonely nights ran rampant in her mind.
He stood suddenly, dragging her with him. His hands gripped her jacket, and tore it from her shoulders. Her shirt went next in a flourish over her head. His lips moved from her mouth to her heaving breast. His teeth bit lightly on her hard nipples, as his hand cupped and squeezed.
Alix moaned with pleasure. Her palms slid down his back and sides to find the waistband of his jeans. Grabbing hold of the fabric, she pulled Troy closer. His mouth came away from her breast, deep breaths, escaping his lips. They kissed again, as her hands probed the front of his pants in search of the button and zipper that would set him free. She felt his hardness through the tight denim, and took a moment to stroke the thick, rope-like bulge.
A low, sensual growl rumbled from Troy’s throat, his kiss becoming more intense. He sucked on her lower lip, while his hands rubbed and squeezed her jutting breasts.
Her hand delved into his pants. Silky, ginger hair brushed against the backs of her fingers, as she undid the button and zipper of his jeans. He hadn’t put underwear on during his quick change in the bathroom, which suited Alix just fine. The trousers fell to the floor, unleashing him. She took his hardness in her hand, and began pumping. The dichotomy of its soft but hard texture, only spurred her sexual desire to greater heights.
Her actions proved too much for Troy, as he took her by the arms, and threw her to the bed.
She let out a panting moan, filled with surprise and excitement.
Boots and pants were peeled from her body in rapid succession. Her black boy-shorts didn’t stand a chance against his determined grip, and were torn from her hips, as if they had been caught in a meat grinder.
The throbbing of her core picked up in tempo, as Troy’s chiseled features dove into her softness. How he didn’t drown, she’d never know. She’d been ready for him even without the foreplay. Her back arched, as his mouth latched onto her, licking and sucking with total abandon. Her thighs squeezed the sides of his head, as she rode the wave of her orgasm, convulsing into his thick jaw. She wailed like a banshee.
Once the orgasm receded, Troy gently spread her legs, and crawled up onto the bed. As he got to his knees, Alix caught a glimpse of his manhood. It was long, thick, hard, and covered with heavy veins. She knew she’d feel every one of the vine-like swells against her wet walls. “God, put it in me,” she demanded.
Alix was so wet, that Troy didn’t need a guiding hand. He just slid into her. They both moaned from the pleasure of their bonding. Then he began pumping, slowly at first, and then like a jackhammer. Her nails dug into the flexed mountains of his chest, as she came again. And again. And again, until she was driven mad with ecstasy.
Alix clamped her legs around Troy’s gyrating backside, and began to grind her hips into him.
“Wait,” he moaned, and tried to pull away. “I’m too close...”
Alix wasn’t having it. She squeezed her legs tighter, while grinding her hips faster. She clawed his back, as she bucked wildly. Another orgasm rifled through her, just before Troy called out in total and utter euphoria. His entire body went rigid and his final, jerking spasms, made her shudder with delight.
Troy collapsed on top of her, breathing heavily in her ear. “I’ve been wanting to do that ever since you opened the door to your apartment.”
Alix grinned and nibbled on his ear. “I’ve been wanting to do that since you walked into the shop.”
Troy chuckled, and kissed her neck gently. “Naughty girl.” He then eased out of her.
Alix shuddered from the aftershock of his thickness departing. She had never experienced a riding like that before, and realized just how utterly short her former boyfriends had fallen.
He rolled off of her, and lay flat on his back, arms spread wide. “That was amazing. You are amazing.”
Alix snuggled up next to him, beaming. “You weren’t so bad yourself.”
Troy barked a laugh, and wrapped her up in his arms. “Thanks.”
She buried her face into his chest. “Okay. You’re fabulously awesome too.”
“Much better,” he replied, as he kissed the top of her head.
They lay there, embracing one another in silence for some time. It was magical.
Alix suddenly felt unsure. She was falling for him, too fast. There had been other relationships where she had thought the same, but this was like a fiery comet plummeting to the earth. There was no slowing it down, no stopping it. She was scared and excited all at the same time, and wasn’t sure how to handle it. “What are we going to do?”
Troy squeezed her reassuringly. “We’ll figure it out. We just need to get some rest, and regroup.”
“Well, we just blew the resting part.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, but it was worth it.”
She nodded, and snuggled closer despite her reservations. “Could we just stay like this, forever?”
Troy ran his fingers through her hair. “I wish.”
The door opened, sending a blast of cold air into the room, and across their naked bodies.
Troy and Alix both jolted up.
“Oh shit,” Sam said from the doorway. “I guess I came back a little too soon, huh?” As quickly as she had entered, Sam backed outside, and closed the door. Her laughter carried through the barrier as a muffled howl.
Troy looked at Alix and raised a brow. “I suppose her timing could have been worse.”
Alix laughed, and flopped back down on the bed. “Sam and her timing.”
“A shower then?” Troy asked.
Alix nodded. She hadn’t had the opportunity to bathe since the road trip had started. I must be a stinky cow. she lowered her arms self-consciously. She gave Troy a wan smile. “Yeah, a shower would be good.”
He offered his hand as he stood.
She took it and got to her feet. They staggered toward the bathroom. Alix hadn’t noticed the cold so much while they had been interwoven with each other. But now that they were apart, goose pimples rippled along her bare skin like a turbulent sea. She shivered. “Geez, get the hot water going!”
The shower had been shorter than Troy would have liked. He found himself once again aroused, as he’d lathered soap onto Alix’s naked body. But Sam had been waiting outside in the cold, so he tried to practice some restraint. Alix had sabotaged his best efforts though. After she’d “accidentally” dropped the soap, and bent over to pick it up, Troy’s willpower failed. He took her once more. Sam be damned.
Currently he sat in one of the small chairs next to the door of their little motel room. Alix and Sam lounged on one
of the beds, snacking on the assortment of junk food Sam had picked up on her foray into town. As much as he tried to focus on the dilemma they were all in, Troy couldn’t keep his eyes off of Alix. The woman had completely bewitched him. Her enchanting smile and sexy laugh, only intensified his need to have her. Her pale green eyes, full lips, tantalizing breasts, and hips to kill for, burned his vision every time he looked at her. Flashbacks of her naked body thrusting against him, made his pants become uncomfortably tight, and he shifted in his seat.
Alix cut her gaze Troy’s way, catching his movement. She gave him a sheepish smile, but said nothing. Troy could tell she was still embarrassed about being caught by her friend. The barrage of jibes from Sam about why the room smelled like sex, and the mock compliments about the two of them suddenly glowing, didn’t help either. Troy laughed it all off because it was actually kinda funny. But Alix appeared to become more and more self-conscious about it, and a bit withdrawn. He wasn’t sure what that was about, but he hoped she didn’t regret what they had done. He certainly didn’t.
Sam had turned on the TV in hopes of getting some news that might help them to no avail. A sense of gloom permeated the room, even though everyone seemed at ease. The girls hadn’t initiated a discussion about what had happened the other night, or Alix’s confession about her power.
Troy wouldn’t have believed a word she’d said if he hadn’t experienced the effects of her ability first hand. By his reckoning, he should have died at least twice since Alix had put the tat on him. Whatever it was she had done to him, it prevented death, but not pain unfortunately. He’d felt every bone-crunching fall, punch, and gunshot. Still, to cheat death the way he had was beyond incredible. It was a miracle.
Troy’s capacity to avoid an untimely demise wasn’t the only thing that had changed. His strength and stamina had been bolstered as well. Although those mutations seemed to become active depending on the particular situation at hand. At the moment he felt normal, functioned normally. But once under duress, his body would become an indestructible wrecking machine. Perhaps one day they would be able to discover what it was that Alix had done to him, what her full potential was, and what the future had in store for them. For now, they just needed to survive.
“We need to talk about those things that were after us back in New York,” Troy said out of the blue.
Alix stopped munching mid-chip. Sam picked up the remote, and reluctantly turned off the TV.
Neither of the girls seemed in a mood to initiate, so Troy continued. “Do either of you know what they want?”
“Other than looking for Alix, not a clue,” Sam replied. The poor girl looked beat, her tone only enforcing the fact. She slumped back against the headboard, and glanced at her friend.
Alix finished her chip, and shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. I’ve never seen anything like those guys before.” She shrugged her well-shaped shoulders. “I can only assume it has something to do with my power.”
That’s what Troy was thinking as well. The only other “supernatural” being he’d seen outside the monster that had attached them, was Alix herself. To run into both anomalies in the same place at the same time, couldn’t have been a coincidence. He nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense, but why?”
“And who the hell are they?!” Sam asked. Her tangled blonde hair whipping around, as she looked from Troy to Alix.
“Guys, I wish I knew,” Alix blurted. “I wish I had some answers, but I’ve got nothing.” She held up her hands in surrender. “I mean, I don’t even know how they found me.”
Sam gave Alix an accusing look. “Are you sure you didn’t accidently join the Legion of Doom or something? Cuz that one gorilla dude kinda looked like Grodd.”
Alix snorted, and shook her head. “Shut up.”
Troy appreciated the humor, but they needed some answers, or at least a plan. “Look, I’ve got some relatives down in Oklahoma. Maybe we head that way until we come up with a plan?”
“Sounds good to me,” Sam replied.
“We’re gonna need to get some cash,” Alix said. “I can pull my savings, if we stop by the bank.”
Troy smiled. He had plenty of money for the trip, but if it made Alix feel better by sharing the load, he wasn’t going to argue. “Okay then. South we go.”
“I need to do something first,” Alix stated, as she got off the bed. “We aren’t going out there without some kind of protection.”
“Dude, this is awesome!” Sam said, as she looked over her new tattoos. “You should like, do this for a living or something.” Her sardonic smile widened.
Alix rolled her eyes, and gave Sam a stern look. “I’m not sure what that will do as far as protection, so don’t run out in front of a car or anything. Okay?” She knew her friend wasn’t paying attention, and even if she was, she wouldn’t practice caution—it just wasn’t in the girl’s nature. Alix sighed, and examined the imprint herself.
Similar to Alix’s tats, Sam’s took on a vine-like design that intertwined up her arms, and across her chest. The colors and type of vine were completely different though. Where Alix’s were purple, yellow and teal flowers, Sam’s were rusty thorns and needles, with bright crimson roses. The imprint continued over her shoulders, and all the way down her back, ending at the slope of her butt. All-in-all, the design looked complete. Alix just hoped it would help Sam if they got attacked again.
“No wonder you always had the cleanest tats,” Sam said, as she put her bra back on. “Damn cheater.”
“Hey, I did a lot of those by hand too, ya know,” Alix scoffed. “And most of those didn’t have any power in them.”
Sam laughed. “Yeah, I know.” She pulled her shirt over her head. “Ready.”
Alix opened the bathroom door, and stepped out. “She’s good to go.”
Sam followed her out, and began primping in the mirror.
Troy sat in the same cheap, particle-wood chair he’d been sitting in all night. He gave her a nod. “How about you?”
“I’m good,” Alix replied, making her way over to him. She had already reapplied the imprint that had disappeared when she was shot. The only difference being that she tried to put a little more stopping power behind her thoughts as she applied it. Hopefully this new one would prevent some of the pain and bruising. She took a seat on the bed across from Troy. “That leaves you.”
Troy arched one of his ginger brows. “I didn’t think there was much more you could do for me.”
Alix was tempted to let him know there was a lot more she could do for him, but held her tongue. She was feeling a little out of sorts since their much-needed tension breaker. Well, a lot out of sorts really. She no longer had any doubts that Troy was into her, but given their current situation, Alix was afraid of getting him killed. Losing Hank and everyone else at the shop had been a terrible blow that she was still recovering from. If she lost Troy, or Sam for that matter, she didn’t think she would be able to handle it. Bullshit timing, Alix thought with a grimace.
“You sure you’re okay?” Troy asked, in a low voice.
Alix shook off her grim thoughts. “Yeah, just dealing with what’s happened, ya know?”
His features relaxed, and he gave her a solemn smile. “I get that.”
Alix was glad her excuse had put him at ease, but the weight on her shoulders didn’t lessen in the slightest. She glanced down at his hands to change the subject. “I want to try something. You mind?”
“Of course not,” he replied, offering one of his fists.
She steadied herself with a deep breath, and took his hefty hand in both of hers. The tingling, sensual warmth that always came from his touch danced along her fingers, up her arms, and through her body like a spring breeze. His manly scent intensified to the point that she could smell nothing but him. The tingle caressed its way down until it stirred her core, causing sweat to bead on her brow.
Troy had tensed upon her gentle touch, but remained still, except for his low, heavy breathing.
Ali
x swallowed the sudden dryness in her throat, and forced her thoughts away from naked images of her and Troy, to the imprint she intended to place on his hand. She imagined explosive, fiery power, releasing from Troy’s fists, as they made impact with his foes. An image of fire and smoke came to her mind, and she let the combination of thought and image out into the real word. When she looked again at Troy’s fist, the imprint had taken hold. Wicked flames of crimson and gold crawled up the back of his hand all the way up to his elbows, while light tendrils of smoke filled the spaces between the licking flames.
“Whoa, that’s badass,” Sam said, whistling as she walked over. “Can I get one of those?”
“I’ve never tried imprinting over another imprint,” Alix replied, gesturing to the thorny vines on Sam’s wrists. “I don’t think experimenting on you is such a good idea.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Sam said, still studying Troy’s arm.
Alix repeated the process on his other hand. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen the next time you punch something, but I’d suggest closing your eyes when you do.”
“Gotcha,” Troy said, as he examined the new imprints. “Hopefully I won’t have to use them.”
“No way,” Sam said. “You gotta use those on something—”
“But not now,” Alix interrupted.
“Don’t worry,” Troy said, as he rolled his sleeves down and smiled. “I’ll use some restraint.”
Alix yawned suddenly. She’d never imprinted so much at one time. The weariness of using her gift had crept up on her, robbing what little energy she had managed to recoup from last night’s sleep. “I’m wiped out. I don’t think I can do another one, for a while at least.”
“We should be good to go for now, so take it easy.” Troy said. A look of concern crossed his face as he looked down at his hands. “I’m not going to blow myself up by accidentally bumping into something, am I?”
Alix (The Coven's Grove Chronicles #1) Page 6
