HeartFast

by Linda Mooney

  “What makes you smile this time, Terrin?” he breathed against her belly. He continued to love her with his mouth. With his tongue. Nipping her with his teeth, not hurting, but tickling. Teasing. His breath burned her as he continued downward.

  She started. “How did you know I was smiling?” she whispered.

  “I sensed it.” His hands were pushing her slip down past her hips with excruciating slowness. His mouth was making a pattern of kisses over her abdomen and lower belly, and now there was no way she could deny the building pain of needing him that was overtaking her. Every breath she dragged into her lungs was saturated with his overwhelming male, spicy scent.

  “What makes you smile, Terrin?” he repeated. His fingers lightly brushed her hips, and she lifted her body at his touch. When his tongue dipped into her navel, it scorched every nerve sizzling directly to her womb.

  “What you’re doing…”

  “Do you want me to stop?”

  “No … don’t stop.”

  “Tell me how you feel,” he urged.

  She tried to tell him, but all she could manage at that moment was a deep, dark moan. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She wasn’t supposed to fall apart at his touch, praying he would never stop.

  He was working down her body. The slip was over her hips and on its way to her knees, and Hunter continued to explore every inch of her. It was a torture of the most exquisite kind, where a feeling she’d never felt, but knew in her heart as desire, swirled inside her like a galactic whirlpool.

  When he reached her feet, the slip disappeared. Slowly, Hunter moved back up the side of the bed, stopping at her waist. His large hands cupped her breasts again, and started massaging them, teasing the nipples, keeping them stiff and pulsing.

  Suddenly, without warning, he released her. Star’s eyes flew open wide as she felt his hands reach between her thighs and gently spread her legs. Her hands shot downward, to be stopped by his careful grasp.

  “Udo…”

  “Trust me, Terrin.”

  His body moved from the side of the bed. Then there was a little jiggle coming from the foot, and she discovered he was kneeling between her thighs. This time she couldn’t stop the little whimpering sounds coming from deep within her as he stroked her skin, starting at her swollen nipples, and running down to the juncture of silky curls between her legs.

  It was building inside her, whatever this sweet, unbearable pain and pleasure was that he was bringing to her. His hands held more power in them than the brightest star in the heavens, and he was launching her headfirst into its molten core.

  “Don’t fight it, Terrin. Let yourself enjoy it. Find your joy,” his voice pleaded in the darkness.

  Her hands found his arms, and she sat up to find that chest she knew so well, knew it even without the dark brown material covering it. There were fresh tears on her face, but she had no memory of shedding them. “Udo … what are you doing to me?” The voice she spoke with wasn’t her own. It belonged to another woman who was feeling this raging need tearing her up inside. He was radiating heat, and suddenly she knew she had to feel him against her. Skin on skin. Body on body. Grasping his arms, she tugged on them as she lowered herself back down on the bed.

  He moved again, and with a loud gasp of pleasure, Star felt him lower himself along her entire length. A moan, the like of which she’d never uttered before, welled up inside her, and she clutched him tightly against her. He was as solid as forged metal, covered in suede-firm skin. Firm, yet soft. Such a contradiction of terms. As his chest meshed with hers, his nipples meeting hers to press against them, she tugged harder at his neck. Whatever he was doing, whatever they would accomplish tonight, it had to be something wonderfully unexpected. It had to be better than this slow, boiling liquid churning inside of her, threatening to explode.

  Hunter lowered his face into the valley between her neck and shoulder, and lightly licked the delicate skin. Slender fingers traced along his back and down his waist, stopping around his hips then moving up. He was a blanket of the most perfect warmth. A barrier of absolute strength. Her guardian Guardian. But more than that, he was a man bringing her something that was indescribable. Without any doubt, Star knew that what he was doing to her was more than what the HandFast called for or required. It was more. Everything more. More desire, more heat, more deliciousness than she could express. Thrusting her hips upward, she met his, and felt the rod of silk-covered steel between her thighs, seeking entrance. A rod that quivered, then—shockingly—lengthened and grew harder.

  Her whole body ached for something she couldn’t ask for because she had no idea what it needed to get rid of this burning, throbbing want that was centered between her legs and roiled in her lower abdomen with increasing agitation. Her nails dug into his upper arms and shoulders, silently letting him know she wanted more, and she trusted he would know what to do to cure her of this debilitating disease.

  “Udo … please…” The urgency was a plea, her undeniable need for release and the crashing climax her body was straining for.

  Kissing the moist skin under her jaw, Hunter positioned himself over her. Slowly, steadily, he started to press deep into her flesh—

  And found a barrier blocking his entrance.

  His body instantly froze, his head flying up and his eyes widening as the enormity of his discovery blasted back him into reality.

  No … No! No!

  His mind tried to argue with him, but his body could not dismiss or deny what he was feeling, despite her incredible wetness. Star writhed beneath him as she tried to pull him deeper into herself. Tiny sounds of her pleasure filled the room; her hands pressed against his hips, urging him to continue.

  “Terrin.” He kissed the little hollow where her neck and throat converged. He was breathing heavily as he fought the temptation to take his pleasure of her. His hips jerked slightly, as if they had a mind of their own. Demanding completion. Demanding domination. “Terrin, you’ve never had a man before, have you?”

  She tossed her head as her breathing quickened. In the darkness he could see the beads of sweat covering her face. Her breathing was shallow, her heart pounding at nearly twice its normal speed. “No,” she finally whispered back. “Why? Does it matter?”

  Oh, damn, damn, damn!

  He pressed his forehead against her cheek. Cursing himself for believing the tales. For accepting the word of a man he now knew he could no longer trust. He had promised her he would never hurt her, and he would have to break that promise. “Terrin,” he began again, lifting his face so that it was barely an inch above hers. “Terrin, forgive me,” he begged.

  She opened her mouth to ask him why when he suddenly thrust deep into her, breaking her barrier with his forced invasion. Star cried out with pain, and her body stiffened beneath him. He heard her sobbing at the violation, and without warning she started beating him about the head and shoulders with tightly clenched fists. Quickly, Hunter gathered her wrists together and held them just above her head, pressing them into the bed and keeping her pinned as she continued to fight him. If he kept his grip strong enough, she wouldn’t be able to levitate him without taking herself along.

  “Get off of me, dammit! You’re done, now get off of me!”

  “I’m not done, Terrin. We’re not done. It’s not over yet.” He spoke soothingly, trying to calm her as his own body cried for release. He was all the way inside her, and she was a fiery agony he’d never known before in his life. Like wet satin. Tight, wet, burning satin.

  Her shoulders shuddered, and she wept openly from the torment he’d wreaked upon her. “Why?” In a tiny voice, she condemned him. “Why would you hurt me like that?”

  “I’m sorry, Terrin. It couldn’t be helped. But I promise you, I’ll never hurt you like that again.”

  “Promise me? Oh, damn you, Udo Vosstien! Go ahead and finish. Do what you have to do, then go away. Leave me alone, do you hear me?” she cried bitterly. “Just … get it over with then go away!”


  He released her wrists, and was relieved when she didn’t try to strike him again. Taking the utmost care, Hunter repositioned himself over her before reaching back and lifting her knees at a slight angle. He’d hurt her in the worst possible way. Now it was up to him to make her forget he had done such a thing.

  Her body held an inner fire that burned him every time he sunk himself into her. Her virgin flesh trembled and molded around his stiffening shaft with untried muscles. She was more than perfection to the eyes. She was perfection to the nth degree.

  Steadily but tenderly he moved inside her, pulling out at a slower pace before diving deep and thick at a faster speed. His senses were tuned as high as he could make them as he sought her responses, sought her acceptance. He covered her. And filled her. Took absolute control and conquered her fears for her. And within the deepest recesses of her body she began to open herself up to him. Hands, which had struck him, reached up to clutch him and he responded to her unspoken passion by giving her more.

  Her skin was perfumed with her womanly juices, her sweat, and her musk. Tasting her, Hunter finally relinquished the tenuous hold he’d somehow kept on his raging hunger, placed himself in her hands, and he melded into her over and over and over. Her moistness was pure honey; her tightness was the most incredible suction pulling on him, draining him, keeping him iron-hard and on the edge of sanity.

  All thought left them. The demands of the HandFast were tossed to the solar winds, and right behind them they threw away the last of the restrictions that had kept them apart. She had been made for his love, and for his lovemaking. She fit him, as he fit her. Her curves to his angles. Her tender flesh to his skin. He had prayed for the chance to get to know her better, perhaps gain more than her friendship. By all that was holy, he was getting that wish—and more. Much, much more.

  Hunter pounded into her, steadily, then increasing in speed and pressure, urgently slapping flesh against flesh, taking her and loving her, and sensing her accelerating spiral into the heavens. Star was crying out now, but they were cries of her rising passion, of her imminent release, which was beginning to flood every part of her. She convulsed at the last desperate moment. A second later she went supernova, sending every particle of her body into spasms. Her body clamped down on him, squeezing and scorching him. Two more thrusts, and Hunter erupted, sending them both crashing headlong into oblivion. They flared like two heavenly bodies in the finality of their climaxes, and their bodies remained floating among the stars as wave after wave of the purest pleasure coursed through them. As he poured himself into her, he could feel her pouring out her trust and dependency into him. She needed him, now more than ever. Needed. And wanted.

  The first thing he grew aware of as sanity returned was that Star was weeping again, but now her face was pressed tightly into his chest, her hands and arms wrapped around his neck. He held her as he had done in the past, but now he did so with an undercurrent of emotion that threatened to shred him into little pieces. He wanted to keep going, to keep loving her. To push her over another orgasmic precipice, and then another, until her screams of release flooded the room. They could make love all night—Hunter shook his head as the thought hammered into his brain. Spending the night inside her. Taking her again and again until there was nothing left of either of them. He groaned as his body betrayed him and began to tighten in anticipation. There was no way. No way. Oh, but by the brightest heavens, a man could dream, couldn’t he?

  Kissing her sweaty forehead, he started to pull away. She hesitated for a second, finally releasing him so he could leave as she had ordered him to.

  Before she could open her eyes to face the overwhelming darkness, she knew he was gone. Transported out without a word. Or a goodbye.

  Suddenly the room felt cold. She felt cold. Without thinking, she reached out with her hands, only to encounter air.

  You told him to leave. Crossing her arms over her breasts, Star turned onto her side and curled up into a ball. You told him to go away.

  Yes … but how was I supposed to know? How could I have known?

  Udo was gone, and for the first time in her twenty-four years, Terrin DiLyric detested the fact that the other side of the bed would remain void. The sense of loss was too much to bear. He had taken his warmth and that incredible act he’d performed inside her, and removed himself … and it was all her fault. She was abandoned, once again all alone as she’d always been. But this time there was no one to blame but herself.

  Suddenly Star no longer found comfort in the darkness. Instead, she faced a long, empty night with the barest memory of momentary pain, and the lasting memory of the most wondrous gift she never knew existed. A gift of blinding desire and passion … and belonging…

  …to Udo.

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  Chapter 9

  Ache

  The alarm on her communications console awoke her. Slowly, threads of reality wove their way back into her brain, until the final tapestry of the night before was revealed to her. Moving carefully, StarLight raised into a sitting position and pushed her hair away from her face. She felt hollow, yet it was only an emotional emptiness. Her body felt the complete opposite.

  She was sore, but it was such a beautiful pain. Like a faint heartbeat centered between her thighs. As she started to move off the bed, her eyes caught the sight of dried blood on the sheets, and she froze.

  She’d bled? Or did Hun—Udo? Why was there blood?

  Star got to her feet and went into the cleansing room, to find further streaks of dried blood on her inner thighs. Her initial thought was that she’d started her flow, but she wasn’t due for another three weeks. In the bright light she examined herself for further signs of last night, but there were no bruises or other marks to prove what had happened. If it had happened.

  No. It had happened. She also had dried semen on her, and her skin seemed to bear the faintest traces of him where he’d licked and suckled all over her body. There was a warm throbbing deep in her lower abdomen, and her breasts were tender, her nipples so sensitive she could barely touch them. In spite of herself, Star smiled.

  So this was what it was like to have sex.

  No. She hadn’t had sex last night. What Hunter had done to her hadn’t even been remotely flat and passionless as plain sex. Without any doubt, she knew it as the truth.

  I’m going to make love to you tonight, Terrin, he’d told her.

  Make love.

  Yes. They had made love. Enough to fill the galaxy. With a repercussion that had to have shaken the planet on its axis.

  But was it supposed to be like this?

  Star walked over to the communications console, to stare at the testing device. Punching the button to turn it on, she quickly read the directions written across its display.

  Her body would produce a hormone every time she had sex. Her body would produce another hormone if she conceived. The tests would verify the first, and hopefully determine the second. By law, she had to prove she and Hun—Udo had performed their duty within each twenty-five hour cycle, or face legal ramifications. And it couldn’t be with another man other than her HandFast partner. Somehow the tests would show if it was his seed or someone else’s that was inside her.

  Placing her hand on the shiny metal plate, she felt it turn warm and hum, and then it shut itself off. The Hall of Magistrates would get a report soon, and both she and Hunter would get a readout on their personal monitors. If the readout was negative, he would be coming to her again tonight. But if it was positive…

  Star paused, her hand still resting on the metal testing plate.

  If it was negative, he would be coming to her again tonight. Before she was aware of it, moistness tickled between her legs, and the pulse in her womb grew heavier. Shivering, Star felt an echo of last night’s soaring ecstasy sweep through her, and she felt weak.

  If by some miracle she was pregnant, Hunter wouldn’t be coming back to her. But he had to. “He has to,” she barely murmured to herself in ec
ho. She had to have him again. She had to feel him cover her, warm her, and she needed to have him place himself back inside her so she could experience that unbelievable perfection again.

  But that was wrong, wasn’t it? Was she supposed to want her partner like this? Was she allowed to feel this kind of … oh, dearest heavens, what kind of feeling was she having? She couldn’t even describe it. All she knew was that it had brought her a happiness she’d never known in her life. A happiness that threatened to override all her senses.

  But how could she feel like this, when everything she’d ever read, and everything she’d ever heard about HandFasting never mentioned this?

  Was what she was feeling wrong? And, if so, why was being deliciously fulfilled and happy and wanting more of it wrong?

  Another thought hit her as she stepped into her uniform. What if Hunter couldn’t do it to her like that again? What if what they had shared last night had been it? And there was no more?

  No. No. She shook her head and jerked the body suit up over her hips. As the crotch snuggled up against her still slightly swollen flesh, Star trembled. All day long she would be reminded of last night. The suit would rub along her breasts and between her legs, and with each movement of the shifting material her mind would think back on his warm hands. On the way he’d caressed her. On the pressure and feel of his body.

  “Oh, dear heavens, how am I going to make it through today?” she breathed aloud.

  By the time she’d finished getting ready, there was barely fifteen minutes left to have a quick breakfast before the morning meeting began. And although she was known for being habitually late for the meetings, this was one morning where her being tardy would not be in her best interest. Everyone knew what she and Hunter had been doing last night, and they would have to face the stares of their fellow co-workers.