The entire backyard looked like a winter postcard. A beautiful dusting of snow on the trees and the white carpet covering the grass made it seem otherworldly. The snow outlining the stark, almost sculptural limbs of the leafless trees were a contrast to the thick blanket on the evergreens. Just off to the side of the barely visible path were the distinctive tracks of several raccoons. So peaceful. So easy to forget the rest of the world existed.
What would the hollies look like? Did Ilex feel the snow, the cold?
The woods were almost eerie with the overhang of tree limbs bent with the weight of the snow. Kayleigh jumped at the rumble and shudder of a tree shedding some of the heavy load from its full branches. Her pulse raced and the cloud of her breath fogged the clear air ahead of her and swirled around her face.
For just a moment, she gloried in her renewed strength, the ability to walk faster and not stop constantly to recover. Not back to normal yet, but definitely better. Naps might be in her future for a while, though.
Ilex's clearing was worthy of a holiday card. The snow on the grass pristine and undisturbed. The sparkle of it almost like crystals. His tree was festooned with a thick layer of white, pockets of it shimmering in each curved leaf. Her breath caught at the sheer beauty.
Kayleigh was almost loathe to step into the unmarked blanket of white and hesitated a moment before her eagerness to try her theory forced her to move on.
Welcome, my Kayleigh. Are you well? It's very cold today and I did not think you would come to me.
The mere feel of Ilex's words sent a shiver deep through her. “I'm very well, Ilex. It's supposed to get a lot colder, though, and I have an idea to try."
She began her clockwise spiral to his tree, unwilling to forgo the courtesy just to get there a tiny bit faster. Thankfully, considering what she wanted to do, Ilex didn't speak as she walked, and she used the rhythmic ritual entrance to sink into her familiar light trance.
Finally standing before Ilex's tree, she took a deep breath. “I've thought a lot the last few days about how to get the extra energy you need so we can have more than a few minutes together. I know, somehow, we are meant to be together but I don't know why or even how."
No matter how crazy she sounded, she'd spent the last few days resigning herself to the fact she'd fallen in love with a Spirit. A tree Spirit, at that. The certainty of that knowledge strengthened her resolve. “I never thought it was possible to fall in love with a tree Spirit, but apparently I've fallen in love with you. And I want to be able to touch you for more than a few minutes."
She didn't feel any response from Ilex but pushed ahead anyway. It was too late to worry about rejection. “I have an idea of how to give you enough energy that we can actually make love."
Suddenly the silence scared her. Maybe he didn't want her at all. Maybe she was imagining his desire. She forced words out past the fearful lump in her throat. “If you want to, that is."
* * * *
Ilex couldn't believe what he'd heard. She loved him? And he had to let her go tomorrow, at least for the first few months of his long sleep. Then he would gradually be able to spend more time with her, if she were still here. What woman would want that? His mind raced at the possibilities and the potential heartache.
He was so caught up in his own fears and excitement, he couldn't decide what to say. His head just seemed to spin. After a moment or two, Kayleigh seemed to take his silence as a rejection of her love. Sadness and pain shadowed her pale face and she started to turn away from his tree, clearly retreating.
Wait, my Kayleigh. I need to tell you something.
He steeled himself for her shock, her rebuff, when she learned who he truly was. If she couldn't accept the realities of his service to the Goddess, he would have to let her go. No matter the cost to himself.
She turned back toward him and waited for him to continue.
I am not just the Spirit of this holly tree. I am the Holly King. Since my appointment by the Goddess, almost a hundred years ago, I have served Her and continued the yearly cycle of the ancestors. Tomorrow is the Solstice and I will be ritually slain by Quercus, the Oak King. This means I will be locked within my tree to sleep and gather strength until the Spring.
Kayleigh just listened, her face not betraying her thoughts, though he wished she would say something. Anything.
I can only be dismissed from my office by the Goddess, when She chooses. But I don't want to let you go. I love you but I will not make you suffer by lying to you only to hurt you when I am unable to stay with you as a human man should be.
Her silence worried him. Had he already hurt her, already caused her pain?
You deserve more than just me.
Suddenly Kayleigh stood up straight, threw her shoulders back and set her hands on her hips. The muscles in her jaw flexed and her lips pursed. “What the hell makes you think I can turn off what I feel for you? And what makes you think you get to make decisions for me?"
He could only stare at her, magnificent in her anger, as she chastised him. Her voice rose in volume until she almost yelled the last words. Her eyes flashed with her fiery temper and she radiated the heat of her annoyance.
I do not want you to turn off your love. I merely want you to know all of me before you make a decision that will tie me to you forever. Once I am able to hold you in my arms and make love to you, I fear I will no longer be able to let you go, even for your own good.
"I knew you weren't human and I was pretty sure you were something special, Ilex. I didn't know what, though. I've spent days thinking about what I feel and love is the only word I can come up with. I've never really loved someone like I do you."
She threw her arms around his trunk and pressed her cheek to his bark. “I know it's sudden and I'm scared that it's all some weird delusion. But the Goddess has never steered me wrong when I've listened to Her. My accident changed me but I don't believe it makes me imagine this soul-deep yearning I feel."
He felt her emotions clearly now she was in direct contact with him. The warmth of love and affection. The fire of sexual need. The sharp tang of fear. All mixed with the hardness of determination, of resolution. Of a decision already made.
Do you realize that, if your idea works, it would give us at most one night together? Tomorrow I will have to play my part in the cycle and then will be unable to come to you for several months. I won't even be able to speak to you for weeks. That is a long time to live on memory and hope, no matter the strength of the love.
She nodded, rubbing her cheek against him. “I know. I'm willing to risk that. I'm willing to risk it not working at all. I've never felt this way and I can't just stand by and do nothing."
Then so mote it be. What is your idea, beloved?
Chapter Five
Heart beating so fast she wondered if she would pass out, Kayleigh readied herself to try to buy just one night in the arms of the man she'd fallen in love with. She wanted this time, short as it might be, more than she'd wanted anything in a long, long time. She needed this time.
For a moment, she doubted her own sanity. Who fell in love after only a few days and little contact? Let alone with a non-human man. Hell, how many people even believed non-humans existed?
Deep breaths. Slow breaths. Her heartbeat gradually slowed as well.
She knelt down and brushed the snow away from the ground, then took off her gloves before she set her bare palms atop the dirt. Eyes closed, she offered thanks. “Goddess, thank you for the power that flows through your world. I seek to harm none with the energy I borrow from you."
She reached her awareness down into the soil to seek out the earth's energy, the power that ran through the living planet beneath her. Lei lines criss-crossed this area in a dense pattern not unlike a power grid, each one a sign of a natural flow of energy.
On her own, she could only give Ilex a small amount of her energy but the Goddess could give far more. If her intuition was correct, she would soon be able to touch him for more than a few moments
. She had to have at least this one night to tide her over until Summer. It had to work.
Concentrating on her breathing and the energy she sought, she probed and explored further. At last she felt a strong jolt, like a static discharge, sizzle along her nervous system. She hissed at almost painful sensation. It was exactly what she'd been looking for, what she needed.
What if it didn't work? She forced the thought away. It would work. It had to work. Kayleigh struggled to maintain her calm, measured breathing. Time to test her theory.
She lifted one hand and placed it on Ilex's trunk, then began to channel the Goddess's energy into her otherworldly lover. Strong and steady, it flowed through her like a river. Most passed easily through the conduit of her body, but some seeped into her body and energized her as well. The electric sensation grew from a tingle to a roar, then to a deafening torrent.
Kayleigh held herself steady as long as she could, until her teeth seemed to vibrate in her jaw and she felt as if every hair on her body stood straight on end. Her nerves went from a pleasant buzz to a painful jangle, then the pain of overload just as she ripped her hands away and leapt to her feet.
"Ouch, ouch, ouch.” She chanted, shoving her cold, trembling hands into her pockets and dancing from one foot to the other.
Had it worked? She was almost afraid to look. To say anything. Her back to Ilex's tree, she tried to gather her courage. Just as she steeled herself for certain disappointment, certain the silence meant her efforts had been in vain, she felt solid, thick arms encircle her waist and the warmth of a breath on her cheek.
"Beloved, you did it. You bought us this night together."
He nibbled on the tender nape of her neck, below the winter hat she wore, and she melted into his arms. Her abused body began to tingle again at his touch. This time the electric sensations converged in her pussy, making it swell and weep in anticipation. This time she would not have to rely on her own fingers, her fantasies. Just for tonight, she had Ilex—and he would have her.
In a single, sudden move, he spun her around in his arms and snatched her up off her feet, then strode back toward the house. His naked body seemed impervious to the bitter cold.
Kayleigh threw an arm around his neck, pulling herself closer to him. Unable to resist the temptation, she rubbed her cheek against his neck and inhaled his distinctive smell. The rich woodsy scent overlaid with the spicy tones of his holly foliage filled her lungs. Her lips parted and she tasted his skin for the first time, cool and slightly salty. The delicious flavor only made her want more, crave more.
She parted her lips further and laved her tongue over the tendons and veins in his neck, relishing the groan her actions seemed to tear from him.
Her nipping teeth elicited a deep moan, then a growled order. “Beloved, you'd better stop that. It's too cold for me to throw you on the ground and make love to you."
She laughed, thrilled by the power she had over him. “Maybe if you moved faster, your torment would be over. I'm not the naked one here, after all."
Ilex ran up the steps to the deck and tore open the mudroom door with one hand, still balancing Kayleigh in his arms. As soon as he slammed the door behind them, he set her on her feet and captured her lips with his. He tore off her hat and wove his fingers into her hair, holding her head still as he continued to devour her mouth.
His cool lips parted her own. The chill of the outdoors quickly gave way to the heat of his mouth. His satiny tongue traced over every inch of her lips, sometimes giving a teasing flick at the corner of her mouth followed by a lush, long stroke that left her gasping.
Eyes closed to savor the glorious sensations; she steadied herself by grasping his shoulders. Then, unable to resist the lure of his bare skin, she trailed unsteady fingers down his chest, learning her love's human form by touch. His smooth, hairless torso gave way to tight, pebbled nipples that grew harder as she stroked them.
A deep growl erupted from Ilex and he ripped his mouth away, panting unsteadily. “That's it. You need to lose all these clothes. Now."
Now as eager as he, Kayleigh pushed his fumbling hands away before she shoved him down to sit on the small bench. She tore off her coat, boots and winter pants as quickly as she could, given both his attempts to help her and her own distraction with his gorgeous body. The body she couldn't wait to fully explore, to taste, to touch.
Not bothering to unbutton her shirt, she shimmied it off over her head just to be stopped, arms trapped behind her back in the sleeves, as Ilex grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him. His slender fingers pushed the cups of her bra down until her breasts popped free.
A whimper escaped her at the feel of his clever hands kneading and stroking her breasts, taking his time before touching her aching nipples. A strangled scream escaped her when his mouth closed over first one tightly ruched peak, then the other. His teeth tormented each nipple in turn, before laving it with soothing strokes of his velvet hot tongue.
Weeping and pulsing with need, her pussy throbbed in time with her heartbeat. Never before had she been so aroused by a man's attention to just her breasts. He'd not even touched her below her waist and already she was on the brink of a huge orgasm.
She yanked her arms free of her shirtsleeves and quickly unhooked her bra, tossing both carelessly to the floor. She wriggled free of her pants and underwear, barely dodging Ilex's attempts to help her again.
Finally naked, a brief moment of fear flashed through her. Would he find her scars ugly? Would he find her unattractive for some other reason?
He leaned back on the bench and played his eyes over her, from head to foot. He stared again at her breasts and licked his lips before reaching one hand down to his erect cock. Graceful fingers circled the thick shaft and stroked from base to tip.
Eyes riveted to his hand's motion, she forgot her self-consciousness and licked her lips. Her hand trailed down her belly, then strayed lower, to touch her soaking labia. She teased herself with the tip of her middle finger, barely grazing the erect nub of her clit.
"Enough, woman.” Ilex leapt to his feet, tossed her over his shoulder and quickly walked from the mudroom toward her bedroom.
Kayleigh couldn't resist reaching down and fondling his tight, muscular ass as he walked. The deep, tormented groan only added to her pleasure. He seemed to want to be touched by her as much as she wanted to touch him. It was a heady sensation.
He tossed her down onto her bed, then pounced upon her and pinned her beneath his tall body. Despite her attempts to continue to touch and caress him, he held her down easily while his mouth tormented her breasts and nipples until she writhed in hunger.
Empty. She felt so empty. “Please, Ilex. I need you now."
Her whimpered pleas instead drove him to move down her body, covering her belly with tender kisses and licks. A nip of the tender skin over her hip, another at the junction of her leg, made her writhe even more. Her hips thrust up against him, seeking relief for her aching, empty pussy. “Please.... Oh, please, Ilex."
He chuckled and lifted his head to look at her for a second before he shoved her legs apart and lowered his head between them. Fingers spread her labia and a warm breath teased her clit.
Close. So close. Kayleigh sobbed in frustration.
With a sudden ferocity, Ilex closed his mouth around her swollen clit and sucked it between his lips with a single strong motion.
A tidal wave of sensation burst over Kayleigh and she stifled a scream. The strength of the orgasm threatening to slam into her was so strong, so overwhelming it scared her even as she craved it. Close, so close. Every muscle clenched to resist the onslaught. She heard Ilex's feral growl just before he gently bit her clit. The sharp, delicious pain pushed her past her fears and catapulted her into the strongest climax of her life.
Ilex rose over her quickly and captured her lips with his own, devouring her mouth. Devouring the essence of her. He stole her breath, then gave it back tasting of his own spicy, woodsy flavor; the wild taste unique to him.
"I need you now, beloved. I have dreamed of this from the first day I saw you.” The husky, pained tone of his voice rasped over her skin.
He rubbed his thick cock against her pussy, careful not to hurt her over-sensitized clit, sliding smoothly over her labia.
Only a minute or two earlier, Kayleigh had been nearly unable to move. Now she needed to move and needed him to move. She wanted him inside her more than anything. Ignoring the twinge of pain from her scar, she wrapped her legs around his hips and reached between them to run her fingers over his cock. His foreskin moved freely, a silken sheath slipping over the hard strength of his cock.
She pushed his foreskin back, then smoothed her thumb over the weeping slit in the engorged, reddened head.
"Enough, my Kayleigh. I can't take any more. Let me love you while I can."
The proud, strong man begged. The Holly King begged for her.
With a quick motion, Kayleigh fit the tip of his cock against her. Just feeling his hot strength at the mouth of her vagina drove her to the brink of orgasm again. She tried to tighten her legs around his narrow hips to force him into her.
Resisting her efforts, Ilex rocked his hips, teasing her with a gradual advance and retreat.
"Now, Ilex. Now.” It was her turn to beg.
Ignoring her pleas, he continued to torment her, driving her insane by fractions of inches. Her temper flared and she threw her arms around his shoulders. With a desperate motion, she shoved his shoulders until he took the hint and flipped both of them over on the large bed. Kayleigh rose to her knees and thrust herself back, impaling herself on Ilex's glorious cock.
He filled her completely. The incredible feeling of his possession was tinged with the burn of long-unused tissues painfully stretching to accommodate Ilex's size. Still for a moment to allow herself to get used to him, she stared down into his handsome face and almost laughed. He looked concerned, amazed and hungry, all at the same time.
Babes in Toyland II Page 38
