"I believe you." She tilted her head and her hair tumbled over her shoulder in my favorite way.
"You're still my sweet jawbreaker candy girl." I snickered and tugged her firmly to me, her belly colliding with mine. "No matter what."
Her eyes twinkled with excitement tangled with mischief, leaving the fear and worry long gone. "You're mine just the same. Best candy ever."
"Mhmm. Best." I nibbled her lips and a harsh shiver raced up her spine. "What do you think he meant by willed forth? How can I will a gland to do something?"
"Not sure. How do you will your elemental powers?"
"I just…think about it. Ask the air to meet me with a certain type of wind. Slow, harsh, spiral. It's…instinctive, I guess? Like I can direct my energy or concentration or focus or something." I puffed up my cheeks when I thought about it. "What's the gland supposed to do? Spew out something weird?"
"Or squirt out some stuff like a horned lizard." Harlow covered her mouth while trying not to laugh.
"Did you just say squirt? Harlow! Lizards don't squirt." I swatted her elbow and she laughed at me. "There's no such thing."
"There is so!" She cracked up, tossing her head back with the abandon belonging to her amusement. "Horned lizards squirt blood from their eyes as a defense mechanism or something."
"But I'm not from Reptalon." I whined at the thought of it. "Gross."
She laughed so hard that she tumbled from my lap, landing with a flop in the pillows. Her giggles bounced the bed and turned her face shades of red while she watched me. Her joy made it to her eyes, setting them to shimmering twinkles of delight.
I scowled at her and rolled up to straddle her legs. She squealed when I wiggled my fingers to tickle her.
"Veyda!" She cracked up, her arms forming protective blocks against my attack.
"You called me a horned lizard! You deserve a tickle torture." I laughed, tickling the palms of her hands until she laced her fingers with mine. I leaned over her, pinning her hands to the bed beside her head.
Harlow's smile never ceased, and she nibbled her lip when I held myself above her. "Hi."
"Hi, baby." I chuckled and kissed the end of her nose when she squeezed my hands. "Tickle torture time?"
"No," she squeaked then pouted at me. "Only if it's done by your tongue."
"Tickle you with my tongue, huh. Is that what you want?"
"Uh huh," she said, snickering as I felt her squeeze her knees together. "Always."
"Even if it squirts horny lizard goo?"
"Yes." She burst out laughing again. "Worst visual ever."
"It's your fault!" I cracked up and kissed along her jaw to her lips.
She smiled as her body softened under me, and she tilted her head to the side to accept my affectionate nibbles. All of her throbbed under me, the sensation of her pulsating energy cooled and quelled any ache or disturbance left lingering in my psyche. Her lips tasted of the sweetness I craved, like the nectar of a ripe mango after the first piercing of its skin.
I considered what she said, closing my eyes for a moment to focus my concentration on the newfound organs in my mouth. I swirled my tongue against the soft, fleshy bumps that I thought belonged to my typical humanesque anatomy. They felt different to me then, as if my attention suddenly made them equally responsive. I looked down at Harlow again and she stroked my cheek with her knuckles, her gaze locked on mine.
"I love your eyes," she whispered. "I love how you look at me."
"The way you look at me is the reason I wake up in the morning these days, baby," I said, then drew in a slow breath. "I want to give you everything. To make you feel good, please you, make you happy. And better, keep you happy. All the time. I want you to sleep comfortably every night without fear or nightmares. And I want to make sure you never worry about another locked door or window ever again."
Tears slid down her cheeks despite her smile as she appeared to hang on to my every word. "They won't ever be locked for you."
"Never. I'll always tumble through them just to get to you." I kissed the end of her nose.
Her breath hitched and I felt her body fully relax under me as if my words soothed an ache much deeper than intended. The energy she gave off smoothed to a long, languid flow as if the two of us belonged to delicate pieces of fabric flowing in the breeze above the sea. I relished in it; the synchronous sway of belonging with only her. No sounds penetrated my consciousness save for her breathing, her heart, and the way her hair tickled the fabric of the pillows under her. No scents save for Harlow's magnolia made it to my nose, but my mouth craved her. It wanted to be all over her all the time, and I closed my eyes as I pressed my lips to her forehead.
She nuzzled me, her feet stroking my calves as I perched myself between her trembling thighs. When I leaned away to gaze down at her again, her eyes widened suddenly. She released my hand to thumb my lips.
"What is it?" I asked, a lurch of worry penetrating my comfort.
"Open your mouth," she said, her attention uniquely focused. I obliged, and a soft gasp caught her. "You're twinkling."
"What?"
"Like you have a mouth full of stars." A sweet smile spread across her lips while she gazed at me, as if observing a cosmic event unfold in the night sky. "All of you…your eyes, your mouth. I see it."
I glanced over to the standing mirror on the floor a few feet from us. I leaned over to catch a peek at myself, but didn't notice anything different. "I seem normal…"
"Not to me…" She cupped my face in her palms, urging me back to meet her gaze. Her eyes searched my face as her lips parted in a mild expression of awe. "You're so beautiful."
"No, baby. You're so beautiful. You make me this way." I leaned down to kiss her, capturing her lips with mine.
Her body immediately rolled under me, and her moan ended our kiss as soon as it started. I made to speak, but the sensation of a tiny, rolling ball of something met the tip of my tongue. It felt like a tiny hot, silky bead tumbling around. My heart skipped a beat and I opened my mouth with the sensation still lingering there.
"What's wrong?"
"I need to…I think I need to…" I couldn't finish my sentence as the ache to slide down her body tore at me. I pushed up her shirt as heated movements broke my stride.
"Veyda." She gasped out my name when I landed between her thighs, her eyes wide as she watched me. Her gaze flickered between my eyes and my mouth, and the way she trembled so deeply excited me.
I urged her thighs apart, pushing up her shirt to kiss below her navel. She jolted under me and dropped her head back in the pillows.
"Oh God," she cried, her voice soft for the moment. "Oh God, Veyda."
I couldn't wait, couldn't manage a second longer. She looked down at me with vast, glimmering pupils that darkened her eyes to lusty hues. I held her gaze as I placed a single, long languorous lick across her soaked pussy. Her reaction startled me when she cried out and gripped the bed as if I nearly thrust her off it. Her whole body jolted as if wracked with electric shock. The taste of her melted over my tongue, like sweet, delectable candy that belonged to a world-class confectioner. With wide, nearly-panicked eyes, she watched me, as if fearing my withdrawal. I couldn't, and wouldn't, and so I took her again, palming her hips as I held her to my mouth.
The moment I made contact again, my body erupted and I lost myself to a wave of pleasure that rolled from my core to the farthest reaches of me. Harlow shouted, gripping handfuls of my hair as if fearing she would fall. Every inch of her shook, and when the tip of my tongue flicked her clit, a primal, lust-filled scream broke her. She bucked her hips against my face, a sheen of sweat coating her silky flesh as she came against my mouth. I couldn't satiate my hunger, and I took her, over and over again as I devoured her saturated center. I moaned into her, rolling with the gyrations of her hips as she moved with me.
Heat rushed from her in a gush that soaked me, and her shouts broke her voice, cracking the pitch as her body convulsed with the pleasure that tore throu
gh her. It radiated into me, sending me on a long glide through ripples of release that I couldn't even begin to temper.
Harlow burned beneath me, and I let up on her only when her knees lifted with the harshness of her twitching. I crawled up her body, licking my way from her pussy to her breasts with my eyes locked on hers. She writhed under me, a crying, heaving mess captured in the tendrils of pleasure that ensnared her.
The rolling bead sensation lingered on the tip of my tongue as I held myself above her, moving my hips to collide with her center. Tears stained her cheeks as she laced her fingers behind my neck and gazed up at me through half-lidded eyes. A soft smile tugged the corners of her mouth as she pulled me to her, urging me into a delicious kiss. She moved with me as if I bore an appendage not meant for me, our hips moving in practiced collisions.
A luscious, trickling warmth overcame me, flowing down my back then whooshing around us in a swirl of wind. Harlow moaned in my mouth, her tongue parting my lips before making contact with mine. As soon as we collided, white-hot light overcame my vision. It blinded me and radiated in a glowing orb that erased the rest of the room from view. Only Harlow remained in my consciousness. Our bodies lifted from the bed, and I ran my fingers harshly through her hair while devouring her mouth. She held on to me, her legs encircling my waist and her arms around my neck. Sharp, snapping tingles of pleasure coursed through me, thrashing between us and capturing Harlow in its reverberation. I erupted with her, moaning into her mouth as the undulating, soul-rocking climax nearly split me in two. She tossed her head back, ending our kiss to cry out. The sounds that left me weren't a beat behind as I licked and kissed her neck.
We moved together, our bodies colliding in the white floating bubble of bliss. Timeless and weightless above the world, above the bed, but locked together in passion meant only for us. I never wanted it to end, and part of me knew it wouldn't. When she met my gaze again, her gray eyes glimmering in the brightness, and a smile curved her luscious lips. With all of me, I closed the distance between us with an impassioned kiss. She met me there, her fingers lost in my hair as our lusty actions shifted to loving ones, our bodies colliding in a sensual round of lovemaking.
As if she controlled the space around us, she urged me backward, turning me over like the flight above the world belonged to her nature instead of mine. She settled herself between my knees, her hands gripping mine as her hair tumbled to a canopy around us. Her lips never left mine as we moved together, our hips and bodies galloping along a rhythm known only to us.
When she released my mouth, her gazed locked on mine as waves of magenta broke the bright white around us. It left her lips in sparkling, spiraling ripples of airy color to meet mine. I breathed her breath, and she mine, as the color swayed between us, moving in time with our air flow. The tip of my tongue warmed, and the silky ball sensation pulsated. I pulled Harlow down to me, and as soon as her tongue collided with mine, the ball rolled forward, leaving my lips for hers. She moaned through it, her tongue dancing with mine while gyrating on top of me. She gasped, tossing her head back as her tongue lashed her lips. Her hands squeezed mine, and when she met my gaze again, her lips twinkled as if she'd taken in a mouthful of stars.
She rode me until our bodies melted with the sweaty peak of our passions. Harlow's movements slowed, and she leaned down to press her lips to mine
"You're so beautiful, baby. So beautiful," I declared, taking fistfuls of her hair away from her face.
"I love you, Veyda," she said, her words echoing around us. "I love you with all of me."
"I love you, too." I urged her down to me, wrapping her up in a hug.
The white around us began to fade, the height we'd gained slowly receded, lowering us down to the bed again. Harlow tucked herself close to me, her palm falling to my chest. She closed her eyes, solace setting her lashes to sleep on her reddened cheeks. I kissed each of them, blinking away my tears and leaning into the succor of the connection with her that rocked us in a hammock of cosmic balance. She belonged to me, and I to her, and in that moment, I knew it. I didn't have to guess or wonder. I could feel her emotions, her desires, her comforts pulsing inside me as if they came from my own heart. I knew she craved pancakes with real maple syrup or maybe strawberries and cream. I understood why she loved her favorite blue sweater, and I knew why she chose the last exhibit at her job.
I heard all of her, and I knew she understood all of me.
Chapter Twenty
Harlow and I spent the next three days at my place without any interruptions, as if the world somehow allowed us our time. She took a few days off from work since my classes didn't run during the Thanksgiving holiday break. Everything changed the night we learned of my unspoken gift, and we took our time experimenting and learning. She felt different to me now; closer, louder, easier to access. I could feel her emotions sway with mine, anticipate her thoughts before she spoke them, and understand her needs all around.
I poured her a cup of tea, adding a bit of milk and agave nectar, before toting it to the bedroom where she perched in bed. She lay on her side, naked in the sheets with her head propped on her hand while staring at her tablet computer. We existed now in two states, reading or sex, and I enjoyed our new vacillating ways of being.
She lifted her hand to me before I even sat beside her to accept the mug as she pushed herself up. I wasn't sure if she harbored awareness of our newfound style of communication, but she seemed to roll with it easily.
"Thank you, baby," she said, leaning over to kiss my shoulder when I sat beside her.
"Welcome. What are you reading?" I scooted back to sit against the headboard, and she nudged up the hem of my basketball shorts to expose more of my thighs.
"A little more about the war waged on your peaceful race." She tucked my hair behind my ear. "Unjust wars make me angry."
"Almost all wars are unjust from my experience. They rarely meet their goals, and only end up causing greater cultural divides." I caressed her leg when she draped it over mine.
"All true." She sipped her tea, and a smile broke out across her lips. "Not coffee."
"Nope." I shook my head. "You wanted tea. I felt it."
"How?" She chuckled and kissed my chin. I leaned into her affection and slipped my arms around her middle.
"I just knew." I winked at her and tugged her closer. "You feel different to me. In a good way."
"You feel different to me, too. Like I can…sense you? I think I always could, in a way, but now it's more obvious." She set the mug down on the nightstand, then rested her palm on the portion of my chest left uncovered by my tank top.
"Yes. Just like that."
The creaking of my back door stole my attention, and my focus heightened so sharply that Harlow noticed immediately.
"What's wrong? Your energy changed." She sat up, her eyes looking toward the door.
"Nalea's coming." I reached for the top sheet then tucked it around her.
"Vey?" Nalea asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"You can come in," I called back once Harlow covered up without breaking our position.
It took her a few seconds to walk through the rest of the house before she found us. Her smile preceded her, and she leaned against the doorway, her arms folded over her middle.
"Look at you two hot stuffs chillin' in bed…still."
We both laughed and I shook my head.
"Doing okay?" she asked. She walked closer to us, and I noted her weapon holstered behind her back under her jacket.
"We're really good," Harlow answered first. "How are you and your girls?"
"We're really good, too. Granny Naomi is already here getting her food prep on. I'm starving for Thanksgiving food already." Nalea joined us on the bed. "I wanted to tell you Audra and I are going out for lunch. Mom insists on looking after Elara."
It took all of three seconds before Nalea's worry surfaced, but it wasn't me who replied first.
"Veyda will keep an eye on them and I'll help. What makes you
worried about your mom babysitting?" Harlow's words hit me hard, and I glanced between them while pondering how she stole them right out of my mouth.
Nalea seemed to think about it, her gaze flickering here and there. "I think it's just new."
"You or Audra are the only ones who look after her except for Veyda. And you can relax when it's Veyda because you know Elara is very protected. I think that's what it is," said Harlow, in a soul-rocking clarity that seemed to shake Nalea from her pause.
"Yeah." Nalea laughed once, her brows lifting as she looked between us again. "You two are acting differently."
"How?" we asked at the same time.
Nalea motioned in our direction. "Harlow said something Veyda would say, and just, I don't know, the essence of you both feels different. Calmer? I don't know. Something."
"We definitely feel calmer. And a little different," I said, then reached for Nalea's hand. "We can look after your mom looking after Elara, Nae. That's what we're here for."
"Are you going out or anything?" She took my hand, and a small smile tugged the corner of her mouth.
"Nope." Harlow shook her head. "Going nowhere. Veyda can hear Elara all the time. She listens for her."
I smiled when Harlow divulged my secret, and just let her continue.
"How can you tell?" Nalea's smile broadened as Harlow led the conversation with ease.
"Her eyes change. When she looks at me, they're so purple with silver or turquoise lightning swirling in the nebula of them. When she's listening to Elara, bursts of pink flash through." Harlow stroked my thigh then gave my knee a squeeze.
Nalea's brow furrowed as she met my gaze. "This is new information."
"Don't look at me. I don't know what colors my eyes are changing into. I can't see them." I laughed and gave her hand a squeeze. "Listen to the newfound expert."
Harlow giggled then kissed my shoulder. "She's right."
Nalea grinned at the two of us while leaning back on her hands, mild surprise smoothing her features. "I'm so into this." She waved her hands in our direction. "Whatever this is, I'm here for it."
Jawbreaker (Four Point Universe Book 14) Page 34
