Aeromancist, The Beginning (SECOND EDITION): Prequel (7 Forbidden Arts Book 2)

by Charmaine Pauls

  But… “Why?” She was no one special or noteworthy. She was just a girl who got a kick from flying, a girl who ultimately wanted a degree, a job, and a family—an utterly average life.

  Closing the distance she’d put between them, he cupped her jaw. The way he stared into her eyes told her what he was about to say carried significant weight.

  “Because, Katherine,” he said in that low, gentle tone, “you move the air for me.”

  “Move the air?” What was he talking about?

  He dragged his thumb along the line of her jaw. “You touch me in a way I never thought possible.”

  The declaration was a powerful aphrodisiac. It even boosted her ego, but this was physical, and she wasn’t sure she could separate sex and emotions. Eventually, emotions always got in the way.

  She took a shaky breath. “You don’t know anything about me.”

  “Don’t I?” His eyes held a challenge. “I know what matters.”

  She stepped away from his touch. She couldn’t think while he was stroking her jaw in a way that seemed both gentle and possessive. “Like what?”

  He dropped his hand. “I know you’ll like it in my bed, because making love is like flying. You want it hot and wild. You want someone else to take control. Come to bed with me, Katherine. Surrender that control you want to let go so badly.”

  Her breasts hardened painfully. No man had ever been so direct with her regarding his sexual intentions. She was pulled between her body’s desire and her heart urging her to run.

  “I’m not asking for your life,” he said, his voice patient even if the set of his shoulders was rigid with tension. “Give me thirty days. In return, I promise you unequalled pleasure.”

  Did she hear right? “You want to have sex with me for a month?”

  “Just a month, and then I’ll set you free.”

  A tremor ran over her body at the thought of his hands on her skin.

  “When we’re together, you’ll be mine in every sense of the word.” He smoothed his palms over her arms. “We need to talk about rules.”

  “What rules?”

  “For the duration of our agreement, starting today, you stay here with me. Since our time is limited, I want you by my side day and night. You can work from here. I’ll bring in anything you need. I won’t keep you from your studies. On the contrary, you’ll have unlimited access to the library and my resources.” He paused, giving her time for his words to sink in. “I expect your exclusivity.” He grasped her chin. “I won’t tolerate another man’s hands on you or your touch on another man. Is that clear?”

  She nodded in his grip, and by doing so, realized with shock that she was making it seem as if she not only agreed to his proposal, but also to his rules. She tried to pull back, but this time he held fast.

  “I like to fuck, so I’ll take you often, but I won’t do so if it’ll harm you in any physical way. All I ask, is that you don’t deny me unnecessarily.” He brushed his thumb over her lower lip. “I’ll provide you with medical reports dated yesterday, stating that I don’t have any sexually transmittable diseases.”

  The clinical statement pulled her back to reality and somewhat cooled the heat that surged through her. “I can’t do it.”

  “Why not? You want me, and don’t try to deny it.” She opened her mouth, but he didn’t give her time to make a snappy remark. “You’re not in a relationship. What’s there to lose?”

  Her heart. But she wasn’t going to admit to her fear of her emotions.

  At her prolonged silence, he said, “Don’t make this a battle of wills. I already know you’re a strong woman. You don’t have to prove it to me. You can fight me, but I’d hate to have to break your will.”

  All of what he said was true. She wanted him. She was resisting, not wanting to get burned, but he could break her will. It wouldn’t take much. Surely, she could handle thirty days. It took her longer to fall in love with Mac. They’d been dating for at least six months and sleeping together for three before she fell deeply and madly for him. A month couldn’t leave such a bad mark.

  “I’ve never done this before,” she said, her voice barely audible.

  He smiled. “Neither have I.”

  His statement surprised her. It pleased her, knowing she’d be the first. Her skin was on fire and her body throbbing with need. Still, her mind warned her to practice caution.

  “Lann, this is crazy.”

  “You’re a passionate woman, Katherine. Don’t be frightened to take what you want.”

  Could she? Wasn’t this her fantasy? Already she felt her resistance sliding as practical questions started taking over in her mind. “So, if I agree to your proposal, you’ll need me to have tests done?”

  “That won’t be necessary. I’ve already seen your medical records.”

  Nothing Lann said should have still shocked her, but it did.

  He released her. “Any questions?”

  Was she seriously going to have a relationship with Lann Dréan, the most evasive man on the continent, maybe in the world, for thirty days? Her body already told her yes, even as her mind clung to logic and questioned her sanity. A month in his bed… She’d never had as much as a one-night stand. Her life was ruled by control, by order, not by impulsive decisions or lustful choices.

  Suddenly, as she looked back on her meticulous and careful choices in dating, always going for the safer options that never worked out anyway, she knew she was going to do it. For once, she was going to throw caution to the wind, and maybe also control. Even Mac had been a decision based on logic, on the pros and cons of living together and a careful analysis of their compatibility, and look where that had left her.

  Another thought hit her. Since she’d broken up with Mac, she hadn’t been on the pill. “What about birth control?”

  “You don’t need to worry about that. I’m infertile.” He said it like it didn’t matter to him, his face impossible to read.

  “Oh.” She didn’t know what to say. “Good, I guess.” She added hastily, “I mean, not for you. We’re both clean, but would you want to use condoms?”

  “What would be the point? In Russia we say using a condom is like smelling a flower with a gasmask.” He cocked his brow. “Wouldn’t you agree?”

  Her cheeks burned hotter. If anyone had told her this morning that she’d be standing here discussing a month-long physical relationship in clinical detail with Lann Dréan, she would’ve laughed in that person’s face. When Diana learned of this, Kat would never hear the end of it.

  “If I agree to do this, I have to tell my roommate,” she said. “She’ll want to know why I’m moving out for a month.”

  “You can tell her that you’re staying here. Nothing more.” His voice held a note of warning when he said, “I don’t like talking out of the bedroom.”

  Fair enough. She respected his privacy. She didn’t share the intimate details of her relationships with her friends either.

  “What is your answer, Katherine? Think carefully. I’ll hold you to your decision.”

  She took a deep breath. Before she could change her mind, she blurted, “Yes.”

  “After thirty days, you will walk away, and never look back. Can you do that for me?”

  He was asking for a physical affair. No emotions, no love. He couldn’t have made himself any clearer.

  “I understand.”

  He took both her hands and kissed them. His eyes were so heated she thought he might do more, a lot more, but he stepped away from her and checked his watch.

  “It’s only five. Do you care to join me in finishing my evaluation of this book?” He motioned to the table where he’d been working when she’d entered. “We’ll get you settled in before dinner.”

  Her stomach summersaulted. If she had a wise bone in her body, she’d be running right now, but instead, she took the hand he offered and allowed him to pull her next to him.

  As he explained the content of the book, quoting Latin phrases, and showing her wha
t needed repair, his arms and thighs brushed against her from time to time. Every sweeping touch ignited a new fire. Every breath of air that fanned from his mouth over her face made her want to feel his lips on hers again.

  After a grueling hour of his proximity, his deep, calm voice doing nothing to relax her, he finally put the book away.

  “Come, Katherine.”

  If the smile he gave her was meant to be soothing, it had the opposite effect. Her body was as tight as a violin string. He took her hand and led her outside. The monastery was eerily quiet.

  She looked around. “Where are Martina and the others?”

  “They get off at five.”

  Of course. She’d lost track of time.

  They walked down the hallway and up the stairs to the end of the landing. He opened the second to last door and pulled her inside.

  She was too aware of the fact that he’d closed the door to inspect the room. She glanced back at him, her heart pounding in her chest.

  His expression was warm, affectionate even. “Do you like your new room?”

  Her room? She turned her attention with difficulty to the room. There was a big bed in the center of the floor, a living area facing a balcony, and two doors on opposite sides. It was a handsome room, masculine, with dark furniture and finishes in hues of blue.

  “Will this do?” Lann asked.

  The question didn’t require an answer, but she nodded anyway.

  “Good,” he said. “Now, krasavitsa, take off your clothes for me.”

  Chapter 4

  This wasn’t what Kat had expected. At least, not like this. She stared at Lann, hoping she was misunderstanding. “What do you mean?”

  “You heard me,” he said in that soft tone he often used with her but that did nothing to calm her nerves.

  “I … this is awkward.”

  “You’re like a string ready to snap. Let’s just get this part over with so you can relax and enjoy the rest of the evening.”

  She bit her lip. “Aren’t you supposed to seduce me or something?”

  “If I have to seduce you, you’re not compliant.”

  She swallowed. “I don’t think I can do it. Not like this.”

  “You have the face of an angel and the body of a goddess.” He brushed his knuckles over her cheek. “You’ll have me on my knees at the drop of your dress.”

  Her heartbeat spiked. She’d never thought of herself like that.

  “Take it one step at a time,” he said. “Start with the shoes.”

  This was what she’d signed up for. This wasn’t your average candlelight dinner and then deciding whose place to go back to. Surprisingly, skipping the dating ritual made it hotter.

  “That’s it,” he said as she pulled off her sandals. “Easy, see? Now the dress.”

  Hesitatingly, she pushed the straps over her shoulders. Why was this so difficult for her? It was because she felt out of her depth. She didn’t know anyone like Lann. He was foreign, exotic, intense, and a little frightening. However, she’d made the decision and she was determined to see it through.

  Taking a deep breath, she pushed the dress down over her hips and let it pool around her ankles.

  He dragged a heated gaze over her, stopping on her breasts. When he lifted an eyebrow in a silent challenge, she reached for the clasp of her bra at her back, undid it, and let the garment fall on top of her dress. Her breasts hardened when they spilled from the confinement of the lace cups, her nipples tightening in response. The way his eyes deepened to a golden color that seemed to glow told her he liked what he saw. He stared openly, carnal hunger etched on his face. He wasn’t shy about letting her see the effect her naked body had on him.

  After a long moment, he dropped his gaze to her French-cut, matching panties. “However sexy those are, they have to go too.”

  She pulled off the final barrier as he followed the action with that lustful gaze, setting fire to her skin with nothing but a look. Standing naked before the tall Russian while he was fully dressed make her feel both vulnerable and excited. She liked the perverseness of the situation, something new she learned about herself.

  He took a step back to study her. “Perfect, just as I’d thought.”

  A hot flush crept up her neck.

  “Do you ever look at yourself the way I’m looking at you?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  Taking her shoulders, he turned her toward the full-length swivel mirror next to the dresser. “I want you to see what I see.”

  He removed his glasses and left them on the dresser before picking up a nearby chair and placing it between her and the mirror with the chair back facing her. Then he rounded her slowly and stopped behind her.

  Watching their reflection, he lifted his hands to her hair, smoothing them over the curls down her back. He stroked his palms up her spine, over her shoulders, and back down the front over her breasts and stomach. She tried to look at herself through his eyes, but it was hard to do anything but feel his hands on her skin. His touch was warm, warmer than what was natural, and the calloused pads of his fingers invited goosebumps in their wake.

  “You’re more beautiful than any artist’s muse who ever existed,” he said. “I can’t bear the thought of any other man looking at you or touching you like this.”

  She gasped as he dragged his fingertips over the insides of her thighs. Unable to help herself, she leaned back against his body as she surrendered to the moment. He rewarded her by brushing his lips over her neck. The sensation was delicious. His broad palms around her waist felt right. When he yanked her against him, making their bodies collide, a gasp escaped her lips. The bit of roughness wasn’t unpleasant, on the contrary, but she hadn’t expected it.

  He rubbed against her, pressing his erection against her lower back and whispering in her neck, “Feel what you do to me.” His fingers overlapped around her middle, making her look fragile against his much taller and masculine form. “Do you have any idea what kind of power you have?”

  She couldn’t imagine having power over him.

  “Right now,” he said in a hoarse voice, “you can ask me for anything, and it’ll be yours.”

  Flattening a palm on her back, he pushed her forward until she had to grab the back of the chair to keep her balance.

  Her skin contracted as he caressed her thigh, and when he ran a finger through her folds, her breath caught. Her inner muscles contracted. She throbbed with need, needing to be filled.

  “You see, krasavitsa?” he asked when his finger came up wet with her arousal. “You didn’t need seduction.” He smoothed his palms over her ass cheeks. “Good.”

  He went down onto his knees, gripping her thighs as he kissed the back of her leg. A soft nip of his teeth made her gasp, but the gentle bite hardened her clit.

  “Pain and pleasure are inseparable.” He trailed his hands up the insides of her legs and brushed his fingers over her entrance. “Already you torture me, before I’ve even tasted you.” He moved her legs apart. “Don’t be shy to say what you want. A woman who asks for her pleasure drives a man wild.”

  She whimpered as he planted kisses on her inner thigh. “You don’t wax,” he said, tracing the line of her slit with this thumb. “Good. I like you just the way you were made. Since the moment I saw you, I’ve wanted this.” He dragged his tongue over the crease where her globe met her thigh. When she squirmed, he tightened his grip. “Pleasure can be as unbearable as pain, and I promise to take you to the limit.”

  He planted a kiss on her sex. “I want to feel you go weak as I fuck you with my tongue. I want only my voice to exist in your head when I make you scream.”

  She trembled. Mac had been a good lover, but not this good. Mac would never have gone down on his knees and made her feel as if he was worshipping her body. Lann’s tongue was hot on her folds, testing and teasing her, and then he made good on his promise by stealing her breath as he fucked her with steady strokes of his tongue.

  When the sensations
became too much, she clamped her knees together and was rewarded with a slap on her ass. The sting shocked her, but it also turned her on. She was so taken aback she didn’t react until he delivered a few more slaps in succession.

  Her heart almost stopped. Was he spanking her? Her normal reaction would be anger, mortification even, but somehow the strange situation allowed for the kink. Instead of resisting the unknown, she embraced it, internalizing the feeling. Strangely, the sting of his palm on her skin intensified her need.

  He spanked her again, and then she understood what he wanted. Relaxing her legs, she threw back her head and tried not to moan as he continued the wicked work of his tongue.

  He pulled away just enough to say, “Tell me.”

  She understood that cryptic command too. He wanted to hear what he was doing to her. Still, she swallowed the sounds that threatened to escape, too embarrassed to let them out, even when he circled her clit with the tip of his tongue. He sucked gently, taking his time to enjoy her. Unlike her, he wasn’t shy to let her hear what her body did to him. He groaned as if he couldn’t get enough.

  It was so damn hot. Her legs weren’t going to hold her up much longer. Her knees wobbled and her muscles quivered. His too gentle touch became the pain he promised. It was sweet torture.

  “More,” she said, her chest rising and falling with rapid breaths.

  He obliged immediately, sucking harder and pinching her throbbing clit with his lips. When she swayed, he held her steady with his hands on her hips.

  She felt exposed but cherished, a heady cocktail that sped up the building of her release. The moment her inner muscles contracted, he bit down softly, sending her body into a prolonged spasm. She moaned as the orgasm ripped through her. Normally, she had to work hard for her orgasms, but this one came hard and fast.

  He continued nipping and sucking until he’d wrenched the very last tremor from her body, and her legs finally gave in. He had to catch her around her waist to keep her from falling to the floor.

  “Krasavitsa,” he said in a rough voice, “I can’t wait longer.”