Her gasp echoed in the room as his warm mouth closed over her, and she strained against the ropes as her back arched. His tongue flicked the sensitive tip, slicked around it. Then he pulled back so he could nip at the tip with his teeth.
Not hard, but a moan broke from her throat at the exquisite pleasure that coursed through her.
Closer, he needed to be closer.
She needed him to suck her into his mouth and draw on her, maybe bite her harder. Just a little harder. But he only licked at her, the warm air and his rough tongue making her nipple harden almost to the point of pain.
Then he did bite her, and she arched her back off the bed with a short cry.
“More. More.”
The sharp shock of his teeth made her muscles clench and ache, but his hands squeezed her breasts gently. Almost tenderly, his fingers stroked and caressed. Teased. But it wasn’t enough to give her any ease.
Damn him, she wanted him closer. Needed him closer. She wanted to pull his head down to her and force him to take her breast further into his mouth, but the ropes held her back.
And he knew exactly how to torment her.
He lapped at one and then the other nipple. Back and forth, he licked and nipped until she thought she might actually cry from frustration.
“Gods, please…”
He lifted his head and stared down at her, a question in those stormy eyes. “Please what?”
“Please don’t stop.”
He continued to stare, his expression showing no emotion, his hands idle. And her sanity began to return.
What the hell was going on? And why did he kiss her body with such care?
Then he dipped his head and sucked her nipple into his mouth again, pulling the flesh into the warm, wet cavern and rolling the tip with his tongue, and all questions evaporated into thin air.
Oh, Blessed Mother Goddess, that felt absolutely divine. Who would have guessed that a man who looked as hard, as rough as he did would have such soft lips? And really, at the moment, who cared? As long as he kept using them on her body, which he did.
His large hands kneaded as he suckled her and then pressed her breasts together until they touched. With his tongue, he licked at the seam where flesh met flesh and then released her breasts to press kisses to her sternum and below.
He dragged his hands down her sides as his lips laid a trail straight to the hair on her mound. But before she gathered the breath to gasp, he pulled away and stood.
She moaned. She couldn’t help it. The bastard was teasing her.
Had she fallen so far that she couldn’t entice a man into bed with her?
Then again, maybe she wasn’t as far gone as she’d thought when she saw him rip his T-shirt over his head and unbutton and unzip his black pants.
He was commando under there, his erection a thick, ruddy shaft jutting straight out from his groin. Thick as a broomstick and longer than her hand. Her mouth dried at the sight.
The man was absolutely beautiful.
She let her gaze make a leisurely path up his body, lingering on the washboard abs and the flexing pecs before meeting his gaze.
A smile curved her lips, and his gaze narrowed.
Good, she wanted him to wonder. And to want.
Because she wanted him with a ferocity she’d worry about later. Right now, she just wanted him to take her.
He must have read her mind—or maybe the scent of her arousal was enough—because he crawled onto the bed beside her. He loomed over her for several seconds, his eyes traveling the length of her body before he moved first one knee then the other between her legs.
Her lungs struggled to draw in enough air, and her hands lifted again before being caught by the ropes.
Sitting back on his heels between her spread legs, he stared into her eyes as he lifted his right hand and set it on her left thigh. Then he did the same with his left hand on her right thigh. Heat shot up her spine and his hands clenched as if he’d had the same reaction.
Good. She wanted to know that the man she desired lusted after her as well. It would definitely make him easier to manage. But she’d worry about that later.
Right now, she wanted to enjoy the anticipation and the promise of lust in his eyes.
After a few seconds, his fingers began to knead her thighs as they had her breasts. The feeling was so luxurious that she let her head fall back onto the pillow.
How long had it been since someone had caressed her?
Way too damn long.
As his hands stroked down to her knees and back up, he moved closer to her sex each time. She was soaking wet for him. She wanted him to know it, to touch her. She arched her hips… and he pulled his hands down to her knees.
Damn him. She bit back a groan and settled back onto the bed. He rewarded her by smoothing his hands back up to her hips, his thumbs finally grazing through her curls and brushing against the lips of her sex, sending tingles shooting into her womb.
She bit her tongue on a moan, not wanting to give him any cause to pull away. And felt his thumbs begin to part her.
“You’re wet.” His voice vibrated through her skin and into her soul as he placed one hand fully over her mound. “I can smell your desire. Is this why you’re here?”
She shook her head, straining against the ropes, wanting to force him to touch her as she needed.
He removed his hands, and she nearly screamed in frustration. She opened her eyes and found herself staring into his as he planted his fists next to her head and bent over her. His knees brushed high on the inside of her thighs, crowding her and forcing her to try to open her legs even further, over the protest of the ropes.
“Did you come for sex?” he asked. “You must need it bad if you trekked all the way out here. But I can’t believe you couldn’t crook your little finger and have any man you wanted. So I gotta wonder what the hell you’re doing here.”
His eyes were such a pure gray, more silver than blue. Mesmerizing.
“I need you,” she panted. “I need you… to protect me.”
He smiled, but it was not kind. “Yeah, well, who’s gonna protect you from me?”
Hell, she didn’t want anyone to protect her from him. She wanted him to ravage her. For hours. She hadn’t had a man in her bed for ages. She felt like she’d been on the run for years, not weeks. Ages had passed since she’d been able to sleep or had known whom to trust.
She trusted Salvatorus, and he’d sent her here.
To this man.
“I don’t need protection from you,” she said. “Right now, I just need you to take me.”
His eyebrows lifted but he didn’t move. “Take you where, babe? Where’re we going?”
She looked him straight in the eyes to be sure he did not misunderstand her. “Do me. Right now. Fuck me. Please.”
***
Cal shuddered, and the bed shook with him.
He’d never expected her to be so blunt. She was too damn preciously beautiful to have a mouth like that. But that word, that one word coming from those lips made his cock throb and his muscles ache with the need to shove inside her, to get so far inside her that she’d forget she’d ever had anyone else.
He wanted her to wrap her legs around his waist and her arms around his shoulders, to sink her nails into his back as he rode her hard and satisfied this raging lust. And to make her come, hot and wet around him, until she screamed and passed out. He must be fucking nuts.
He must have knocked his head sometime in the past few hours. That would explain his insane need to have her and mark her in some way as his. Because that’s exactly what he wanted.
Well, he could have her, but he wouldn’t be keeping her.
With his eyes trained on hers, he lowered his hips until he could brush the tip of his cock against the soft hair on her mound, then further down, against the satin-soft lips of her sex.
Her eyelids fluttered closed and her soft moan made his arms shake as he held his body above hers. He did it again, this time le
tting his cock slip between her lips and rubbing her moisture all over the head.
God, he could feel the warmth of it, so fucking beautiful it nearly made him cry out. But that would be showing emotion, and this had nothing to do with emotion.
So he reared back and thrust into her. Not brutally hard. Just with enough force to sink deep, almost to his balls. Slick heat enfolded him, milked him.
She cried out, though not in pain. No, she ground against him, wrapping her hands around what little slack there was in the ropes and using them to angle herself to him.
On his arms above her, he forced himself to watch her face, to watch every expression. The relief, the ecstasy, the frustration.
He figured if she looked up, she’d see the same expression on his face. And that was probably not a good thing. With his cock lodged inside her sex, he lowered onto his elbows and shoved his face at her neck. Nipping at the soft flesh beneath her ear, he flexed his hips and pulled out, one centimeter at a time, letting the drag of flesh on flesh tighten his balls.
God, she was hot and he could feel that heat. No other woman he’d fucked had ever made him feel like this.
But this didn’t feel like fucking. This felt more… reverential. That was a dangerous path.
But it was going to be fun while it lasted.
At the point where he’d nearly slipped free of her body, he shoved back in, making sure to catch her clit at a good angle. He must have done okay, because she gasped, her warm breath brushing his ear and raising the hair all over his body.
Damn, being this close to her was a revelation of all the sensations he thought he’d lost forever. And he was determined to enjoy the full extent of every one.
Removing his teeth from her neck, where he could see the beginning of a bruise, he rubbed his nose against the skin under her ear on his next retreat, breathing in her scent, fresh and clean, like clear air at the first touch of the sun. Something he hadn’t experienced in almost a century but remembered for its purity.
Obviously this woman wasn’t untouched, but there was something about her, something pure. Something he wanted. Something he needed.
And that was so totally bad.
This time, he shoved in a little harder and immediately cursed himself for it, though she seemed to enjoy it, if her breathy moan was any indication. Lifting his head, he finally let himself kiss her full on the mouth. He wanted to taste her and needed to penetrate her again. To conquer her.
Her tongue slid along his, his hips hammering faster now, his tongue halfway down her throat. Her mouth was just as warm as the rest of her, even more so, and his cock twitched, warning him he was about to come. He froze, not wanting to, but she broke away and pressed her lips to his ear.
“Do it,” she whispered. “Come on, harder. I need to come and so do you.”
Her rough-edged words flicked a switch in his brain, allowing his body to take over the rest of the ride. His hips pulled back before he slammed into her again and again. Her moans fueled his lust, and he made a small adjustment to the angle of his thrust until she cried out and clenched around him.
Her orgasm cut the last thread of control he had on his sanity, and he released into her with a cry and a sense that he’d finally found home.
Now that really scared the shit out of him.
***
The man fell all over Tessa like he’d passed out.
Breathing heavily in her ear, he lay on top of her, his heavy body providing a curious sense of safety. Which was great, considering why she was here.
The problem was going to be the sex. It had been good. Maybe too damn good. How was she going to keep her hands off him?
Then again… She tugged on the ropes. That might be the easy part.
Convincing him to be her savior was going to be more difficult. According to Salvatorus, Caligo wouldn’t want to help her.
Something about a deal gone wrong. Though Salvatorus hadn’t elaborated, the probability that Cal had been screwed, possibly by someone she knew, was a very real possibility.
Still, he was a mercenary, a man who could be bought for a price. Hopefully, he’d want more of what she could give him. She didn’t mean only the sex, but that definitely wouldn’t be a hardship. She hadn’t felt this level of lust in centuries.
Lying silently, she felt his cock still twitching inside her, pulsing his seed into her.
After that great orgasm, she felt more rested than she had in… Well, she couldn’t remember how long. She wanted to close her eyes and sleep, at least for a little while, but they needed to talk.
As if he’d read her mind, he sighed, his chest moving against hers, the dark hair on his pecs teasing her nipples. As he eased his hips back, his cock pulled free, and he sat back on his haunches.
He stared into her eyes for several seconds before his gaze shifted to her left arm and then her right. Leaning forward, he released her arms from the ropes, which had begun to chafe. Then he got off the bed and released her legs.
She lay there for a minute, rubbing her wrists and flexing her ankles. He watched her, his jaw clenching as he stood by the bed and then turned and tossed his shirt on the sheet next to her.
“Put this on,” he said. “Then we’ll talk.”
His tone brooked no dissension but at least he wasn’t kicking her out. Yet. “Can I use your bathroom?”
He pointed to the wall to her right.
Okay, not much of a talker. Sliding off the bed, she headed for the bathroom next door, feeling his gaze on her the whole way. The slickness of his essence between her thighs made her hips sway just a little more than usual.
Closing the door behind her, she noticed there was no mirror in the utilitarian room, only a toilet, a sink, and a tiny shower stall. Guess there’d be no shower sex. And thinking about sex was not going to get her head together, which was part of the reason she’d stepped in here. She needed just a little distance to think.
After she cleaned up a bit and washed her hands, she pulled the shirt on, shaking her head as it fell almost to her knees. She’d have to ask what he’d done with her clothes. Then she took a deep breath.
She had to go back out there and convince him to help her. But fear rooted her feet to the floor. If he turned her away, she was dead.
“Oh, just get out there and talk to him. It’s not like you haven’t just had sex with the guy.”
And it wasn’t like she hadn’t had sex with lots of guys. Of course, she hadn’t needed any of them to save her, which was the real kick in the pants.
How low she had fallen.
Stepping out of the bathroom, she found him standing before the open front door. In this brutal August heat, he was wearing long pants but wasn’t sweating. She was used to the heat, but even her skin was slightly damp.
He turned and she knew from his expression that the real interrogation was about to begin. And the Great Mother Goddess help her if she didn’t give him what he wanted.
“Who are you?” His voice brooked no resistance. At any other time, she probably would have turned up her nose at him and told him to stuff his question. “And don’t give me any bullshit. I’m not in the mood.”
Now, she couldn’t help but smile. She did so love men who didn’t screw around. Well, not with business, anyway.
“My name’s Tessa.”
“What the fuck do you want, Tessa? And if it’s anything other than sex, you’re outta luck.”
Well, the sex had been amazing, but she did have more pressing issues.
“It’s about a job.”
He continued to stare at her. “What kind of job?”
“One for which I would pay you a lot of money.” There, that was sure to get a response.
But the man paused again. “To do what?”
Okay, maybe this one was smarter than the average bear. “Keep me alive.”
He made a sound that could have been a snort or a laugh. “Yeah, well, that’s easier said than done most times, ain’t it? What’s so special abo
ut you, babe?”
Not much. That was both true and very misleading. “You are Caligo, correct? I need to know I’m talking to the right person.”
Again the snort. “Probably not.”
That was complete bullshit. This was definitely the man Salvatorus had told her she needed. And if Salvatorus said she needed him, then this was the man she wanted.
“My name is Tessa. Salvatorus sent me here to seek protection he told me you’d provide.”
“Huh.” The man’s mouth twisted in a smirk. “Now I know that’s not right because Salvatorus should know better than to send your kind to me.”
“Special circumstances. Please, I need you.”
Some emotion crossed his hard face, something she didn’t understand, so she pushed on.
“My name is Thesan, but I go by Tessa now.” She paused, waiting to see if her name struck any chord at all with him, but his expression never changed.
She sighed. So much for being a formerly beloved goddess. That and five bucks would get her a Starbucks mocha latte these days.
“Your name’s supposed to ring a bell?” He crossed his arms over that deliciously perfect chest.
She shook her head. “It’s okay. It’s been several thousand years since anyone worshipped me on a regular basis. Of course you wouldn’t know my name.”
His gaze narrowed. “Worshipped you?”
She stood a little taller and pointed her nose into the air. “Thesan, Goddess of the Dawn, at your service.”
“Yeah, right,” he grunted. “Goddess my ass. The deities don’t live down here with the common people, babe. And the only Goddess of the Dawn I know is Aurora, and you ain’t her.”
She held her smile though she had to grit her teeth to do it. “No, I am not Aurora, for which you should be grateful. She’s…” A worthless, ugly cow “…not worth talking about. And most of the Etruscan pantheon still lives in this time and place.”
His gaze never faltered. “And that’s what you are? Etruscan?”
She nodded, unsure if her affiliation would help or hinder her cause.
He grunted again, but in response to what she couldn’t tell. “That still doesn’t explain why you need me for protection. Aren’t you deities supposed to be all powerful and shit like that?”
What a Goddess Wants Page 3
