by Tina Donahue
His hand stopped stroking her back, resting instead on her naked ass, his long fingers dangling over her cheeks. “Do you mean aroused?”
Regina’s smile widened at his innocent question, the fact that he didn’t understand the nuances of her language. It endeared him to her even more. She wanted to teach him about her dimension, to watch the wonder on his face as he experienced feelings so deep they’d capture his soul or would make him mad as hell. Either way, they’d allow him to live. “Yes…very.”
He ran his fingers down the furrow of her buttocks. Tingles dashed up her spine. Legs wobbling, she pushed to her toes.
With mischief in his voice, he asked, “Am I arousing you now?”
“What do you think?” Her words sounded thick, throaty.
“I’m not certain,” he murmured. “I don’t want to do anything wrong.”
As if a man who was able to stay rock hard for hours could come close to disappointing her. Grounding her mound against his cock, Regina sighed deeply at the crown rubbing her thigh, its tip wet with pre-come, its remembered taste causing her to speak as she had before…in a way she’d never done with other men. “Fuck me, please.”
Nikoli kissed her cheek, then rested his against it, his stubble scraping her skin. “As I would on E2 or as the men do on your plane?”
There was a difference? Did it matter? “Either. Both.” Regina paused to swallow and catch her breath. Still starved for air, she continued on a strained sigh. “Whatever you want.”
Nikoli made an indistinct sound as though he was considering the matter. Not certain what he intended to do, Regina sank to her heels, then shot right back up to her toes at his fingers stroking her anus. A moan gurgled in her throat.
With a smile, he asked, “Then you have no preference?”
She tightened her arms around him, clinging to his hot, hard body for support, panting out her words. “As to what?”
“How I take you—fuck you.”
“Now would be nice.” She forced down another swallow. “Right this very second. All right?”
“That would be too quick. In my dimension, we move far more slowly.”
Regina heard the teasing behind his words and was about to argue with him when she had another thought. What if he wasn’t sated until well past dawn? Would she be able to tempt him into remaining with her, finding another way to defeat Andris and his followers, giving them both a chance to survive? She eased back to measure his expression.
Naked need flared in his eyes.
She was about to smile when Nikoli slid his hand down her arm, removing it from his back, the act contradicting the passion she still saw on his face. “What are you doing?”
“This.” Turning her hand, he exposed the inside of her wrist and suckled it.
At the intense heat of his tongue, Regina moaned, then blew out a sigh as he trailed kisses up her inner arm while his other hand continued to explore the furrow between her cheeks. On a hoarse groan, she slumped back into him, struggling to speak. “You enjoy foreplay?”
He stopped kissing her biceps. His lips remained on her as he murmured, “Is that the word you use for what I’m doing?”
She cleared her throat and grunted, “Uh-huh.”
“Then, yes, I do…I could taste you longer than you could ever imagine.”
Well beyond dawn? Giving them more time?
“And will you—” Regina’s words halted, followed by a gasp of pleasure at Nikoli slipping his arm behind her knees, sweeping her off the floor.
Cradling her to his broad chest, he brushed his lips over hers.
She couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think. Her arm snaked around his shoulders. She pulled herself even closer, her free hand cradling his jaw, her fingertips cautious of the scratches on his cheek.
“Will I what?” he whispered.
Pulling her attention from the cruel cuts, Regina saw flecks of hazel in his chocolate eyes and a need so deep it humbled and thrilled her. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Will I what?” he repeated.
The quiet rumble of his voice captivated Regina, turning her brain to mush. Shaking her head, she confessed, “I don’t know what you’re asking.”
“You started to question me about something, then stopped when I picked you up.”
Had she? Regina couldn’t recall. The moment was lost forever. “I forgot what I intended to say.”
“Tell me when you remember.” Easily, as though he found her weight inconsequential, he carried Regina to the far end of the sofa, lowering her to the chaise already in a fully reclined position. An ivory afghan covered its cushions.
Given the fabric’s downy quality, she judged it to be cashmere. Although exquisitely soft, it was no match for Nikoli’s fingers trailing over the backs of her thighs as he slid his hand from beneath her legs, releasing them.
While her mind registered the separation as temporary, her heart didn’t care. Not yet willing to let him go, Regina tightened her arm around his shoulders, holding him to her, nuzzling her face against his neck, recording his warmth and clean scent so that she’d never forget them.
Beneath her fingertips, Nikoli’s muscles tightened. “What is it?” he murmured.
Panic and dread returned at the thought of him dying to keep her safe from the vampires. She couldn’t allow it. No matter what it took, no matter how crazy the world had turned out to be, she wouldn’t let him fight Andris and the others alone.
“Regina.”
Composing herself, she lied. “Nothing. I’m just curious. How many orgasms can you have before you get tired and pass out?”
“Pass out?”
“Fall asleep.”
He chuckled. “Too many to count. You’ll fall asleep well before I. Lie back.”
Regina tightened her hold, her mind racing for a way to keep him here. “Don’t rush.”
“Before the night’s at an end, you’ll be begging for me to stop.”
At what lay ahead tomorrow, the impossible odds they faced, her throat tightened. “I doubt that.”
“We’ll see.” He removed her arm from around his shoulders and guided her back to the chaise. On his knees beside her, he lifted Regina’s arms above her head, holding her wrists in one hand.
Surprised at his firm embrace, the manner in which he displayed her nudity, she gave him a questioning glance.
The corners of Nikoli’s eyes crinkled with his grin, both playful and wolfish.
Something within her shifted, pushing worry aside. A pulse beat in her cunt, delivering a rush of moisture, lubrication for his cock. She turned her wrists, testing his hold.
His fingers tightened a bit more, telling her she hadn’t a hope of defeating his strength and getting loose.
A thrill, sudden and uncivilized, prowled through Regina. With Nikoli, she could be as uninhibited as she’d fantasized, knowing he’d never harm her. If her behavior really shocked him, she’d tell the truth, saying that was just the way it was on this side. Get used to it.
Eager to begin their carnal game, she arched one brow and murmured, “You’ve trapped me, Nikoli.”
“I have, Regina.” With a pleased expression, he continued, “You’ve given me no choice. I want to look at you.”
Not understanding, she asked, “Look at me?”
“Yes.” He regarded her mouth, nose, eyes, hair. There, he lingered, his expression growing distracted. “Never have I seen coloring like yours. It’s beyond compare.” He studied her face. “Your features are exquisite.”
Heat stung Regina’s cheeks. She’d never had a man comment about her looks. And certainly not in the way Nikoli just had. Surely he wasn’t all that clear on the description he’d used. “Exquisite?”
His smile faded, replaced by a measure of doubt. “Did I use the wrong word?”
“Not if you’re just trying to be nice.”
He appeared even more confused. “I don’t understand.”
More blood rushed to her face. “It’s okay, Nikoli. I k
now I’m not even close to being beautiful, all right?”
Shock crossed his features, and then he scowled. “By whose measure?”
Anyone who could see. Although Regina considered herself somewhat pretty, certainly enough to attract a bit of male attention, she knew she didn’t have Sazaar’s breathtaking features or perfect body.
Nikoli didn’t seem to notice. In him, she saw acceptance and gratitude for all that she was. Answering his question, she said, “You know what? It doesn’t matter.”
His smile returned. “Lift your leg.” He ran his free hand up her inner thigh, stopping just short of her curls.
She shivered at his casual yet expert touch.
Bringing back his hand, he added, “Bend your knee.”
Regina did as he instructed. Light from the fire glanced off her naked flesh, washing her pale skin in a honeyed tint. At the thought of his mouth, hands and cock using her, her nipples constricted, and a dull, needy ache settled deep within her cunt.
She widened her legs a bit more.
Her movement wasn’t lost on Nikoli. He wore an expression that said he approved as he took in her full length, his attention lingering on her reddish bush, her erect nipples. Finally, he looked at her and winked.
Surprised at the gesture, she smiled. “Where’d you learn to do that?” Surely, he hadn’t seen it on his side.
Nikoli’s manner was innocent. “What? This?” Swooping down, he settled his mouth on her nipple, latching on to the tight bud, drawing it between his lips.
Regina’s toes curled, then splayed, accompanying her choked cry. A moan followed at his fingers clasping her wrists, affirming his dominance, while he returned his other hand to the inside of her thigh.
Digging her heels into the leather cushion, she edged forward, pushing her mound toward him.
He suckled her nipple faster and harder, precisely as she liked. His fingers explored her cunt, damp with arousal, plump with need. Drawing his finger up her moist cleft, he reached her clit and stopped.
Regina bit her lower lip, waiting for more. When his finger remained poised on her nub, she blurted, “Why are you stopping? Rub it.”
Nikoli skimmed her nipple with his tongue, then released the hard tip, exposing it to the air. Though heated, it was no match for his mouth.
She frowned.
He pulled back and murmured, “I’ll rub it in time.”
“Now,” she argued. She’d spent a lifetime hoping for a man like Nikoli—honorable, kind, sexy as hell, and by God she didn’t want to wait a moment more to have him on top of her, inside her, loving her as Regina had never been loved before.
“In time,” he repeated, as one would to a wayward child or a woman who couldn’t control her emotions.
Screw that. Regina wasn’t about to hold back. A growl of frustration escaped her throat.
“Patience,” Nikoli advised in that same maddening tone.
Set to counter it, Regina opened her mouth, then gasped at his fingers entering her.
“You like that?” he asked, not bothering to wait for her answer as he worked two fingers deeper into her cunt, tunneling through her tight sheath, filling and stretching her for his cock.
Oh my God, what he was doing was nice. Freaking nice. Whatever irritation she’d experienced moments ago, it was forgotten beneath this. Her mouth watered at her memory of his impressive rod. Long, hard, thick with arousal.
Shuddering in delight, she relaxed her leg, allowing it to fall to the side, exposing herself even more to Nikoli’s touch and male lust.
With his fingers burrowed fully within her, he stroked her clit with his thumb, his pace measured and slow, just as he’d promised.
The man knew how to please. Shocks of pleasure pumped through Regina, quickening her pulse, destroying whatever restraint remained. Pushing into the chaise’s cushion, she lifted her chin to the timbered ceiling and cried, “Faster. I want to come.”
“In time.”
What? Damn him. She growled, “Fuck that, Nikoli. Now.”
“Very well.” He withdrew his thumb from her.
What the— Lowering her face, she frowned at him. “What are you doing? Don’t—”
He killed the rest of her complaint by positioning himself between her legs, snaking out his tongue and flicking it on her sensitive nub.
Her mouth sagged open. The back of her head hit the cushion with a faint tap. She squeezed her lids at the exquisite sensations rolling through her, tightening her inner thighs and throat, precluding speech but not sound. The noises Regina made were new to her—wonderfully wild, the music of a woman falling in love.
A conclusion she would have questioned as late as this morning, knowing that love couldn’t happen this quickly, especially with someone she barely knew. Then along came Nikoli, risking his life to protect her, wanting her as no man had before, changing her perception of how her heart worked. How foolish she’d been to believe she could master it.
No longer willing to try, Regina submitted to feelings that were wonderfully primitive. She relished how Nikoli eased his fingers from her cunt only to drive them back inside as he would his cock, his tongue flicking over her clit in concert with the movement.
Pressing her nails into her palms, Regina ground her teeth at the mounting tension between her legs, at once delightful and torturous. Her breath hitched. At last, she cried out, but didn’t come, fighting it now, fearing its end.
The same as morning, the thought of losing him.
No. She wouldn’t let that happen. Regina squeezed her fingers so tight her wrists jumped against his palm.
Still suckling her clit, Nikoli released his hold on her. He ran his free hand between the cheeks of her ass. The blunt tips of his fingers circled her anus, then probed it.
Gasping at his shameless touch, Regina scooted back on the cushion, withdrawing her body, unable to stand the added sensation.
Not allowing her retreat, Nikoli sought Regina’s tight pink ring, understanding what she required. In the coffee shop, her mind had recognized him as a man she wanted, her body yearning for his touch, her soul for his caress.
He teased her anus, licked her clit and sank his fingers back into her sheath.
It was far more than she could endure. Regina let out an unrestrained cry, surrendering to her climax, shuddering with its force and beauty. Currents of warmth sped through her. A strong pulse beat in her pussy, sucking at Nikoli’s fingers still burrowed deeply within.
She emitted a jumble of sounds—harsh sighs, a whimper that blossomed into a moan, disconnected words, each praising him.
Nikoli lifted his head, the ends of his hair tickling her thigh. Regina expected him to say something, but he didn’t, seemingly content to listen and watch.
Weakened and content, Regina made no attempt to temper her frank response or modify her suggestive pose. With Nikoli, she felt treasured and had no qualms about being imperfect and human. She swallowed. “Thank you.” Her words trembled with emotion.
“Then I’ve pleased you, Regina?”
She couldn’t help but smile. “Are you serious? Pleased can’t begin to describe what you’ve done. You were freaking amazing. No, you were beyond that. You were—” She stopped, struggling to find the right term.
He kissed the inside of her thigh. “The way you look tells me more than any words could.”
Her lids slid down. “And how do I look?”
“I believe the correct word is sated.”
“Not completely.”
“Very well, then, spent. You are tired, correct?”
With his question, the last of the heat seeped from Regina’s body, replaced by a new concern. Did Nikoli want her to drift off to sleep so he could continue with his plan to leave and go to Andris’s lair?
Driven to keep him at her side, Regina reached out blindly, tunneling her fingers into his thick, silky locks. Filling her lungs, she emptied them in a sigh, “Not at all. And enough of foreplay. I want you on top of me. Inside me.”
He licked her clit.
She let out a crude cry, jerking at the waves of pleasure rolling through her.
“You’re certain?” Nikoli asked, his breath skimming her damp cleft, warming it even more.
Snatching some much-needed air, she released it on a sigh. “Uh-huh.”
“But I haven’t finished tasting you,” he teased. He kissed her stomach, then circled her navel with his tongue.
Regina’s belly quivered. She forced out her words. “You can do that later.” Tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next. Crazy, she knew, but hope was all she had. “Please.” Opening her eyes, she ran her hand from Nikoli’s hair to his throat, making certain not to touch those scratches. “Don’t deny me. I swear, I’ll get violent.”
He regarded her with an amused smile, then pushed to his feet and bent down, his impressive size looming over her. Lifting her hands, Regina cupped his face in her palms and pinned him with her gaze.
Moments passed with the quiet broken by rain striking the windows, the noise no different than water spraying from a hose. Wind whipped past. A log crumbled in the fireplace, the wood hissing within the flames.
Their elevated breathing joined the other night music.
At the longing Regina saw on Nikoli’s face, she gave him a shameless smile. A flicker of doubt or concern crowded out his pleasure, this disquiet different from when he talked of the vampires.
Unnerved, she spoke quickly. “What is it, Nikoli?” Her thumbs stroked the bristly skin on his jaw. “Are you feeling all right? Did the atmosphere change somehow? Is it affecting you?” Would they have to return to E2 or go somewhere else?
“No. I’ve adjusted, just as I told you I would.”
Then what was bothering him when he was so close to mounting her, exactly as they both wanted? “Are you worried about making love?” she asked. “Is it done differently on E2 than here?”
His brows lifted in surprise. “No.”
Regina considered what else could be troubling him. “Is it your size?” Speaking before he could, she said, “There’s no reason for concern.” Lowering her hand from his face, she cradled his hard, thick cock in her palm. Its weight and heat made her shiver with desire. “You’re exactly who I want.”
