Hopping off the bed, Rhia grabbed her toothbrush from her suitcase and made her way to the bathroom. She started thinking of all the different breakfast dishes she could whip up for them to eat. Hopefully he wasn’t the typical bachelor with an empty refrigerator. If so, then she’d just grab a cab and run to the store for what they needed. Screw it. A trip in the Jaguar might be a treat. He’d already offered to let her drive it, why not take him up on it?
Smiling at her newly discovered devil-may-care attitude, Rhia turned the shower on to let it heat, and then started brushing her teeth. She hadn’t made three swipes across her mouth before she froze. Leaning closer to the mirror, she turned her face side-to-side, eyes widening by the second.
“What in the hell? That can’t be right.” Setting her toothbrush aside, Rhia rinsed her mouth and practically touched the mirror with her nose. Shaking her head in denial, she slowly reached up and traced along the side of her mouth and in between her brows.
“Where the hell are my wrinkles?”
Chapter 34
Shocked, Rhia couldn’t believe what was staring back at her from the mirror. She recognized herself, but it was an image she’d seen from many, many years before. Her skin was radiant, hair thicker, jawline smoother, waist narrower, and breasts perkier. What?
Reaching around, she grabbed her ass. Well I’ll be damned. It’s higher. She still had the build that Caelius had described as Jane Russell’s with the rounded, curvy hips and full breasts, yet now everything looked a little newer.
Rushing back toward the mirror, Rhia parted her hair and stared at her roots. She blinked a few times to make sure she wasn’t hallucinating. The gray was gone. Just yesterday she was lamenting the need to do another touch-up. Overnight, she’d lost ten, maybe fifteen years? Or was it more?
Sitting on the edge of the tub, Rhia tried to organize her racing thoughts. Not only had her mating with Caelius juiced her energy, it had obviously readjusted her age. But why? Was this part of the process for preparing her to live to be a thousand? Crap, it sounds insane just saying that. Tana said that when they mate, the Insedi shared their essence with their other half. She’d felt that jolt last night, so obviously something had entered her body and started doing its thing. Since he’s younger, maybe it had to sync her up with him? How in the hell is this even possible? Snorting, Rhia stood and turned the shower off.
“What the hell am I saying? I just merged energy with someone from another planet. Half of him isn’t human, so there’s no telling what that side is capable of manifesting. Quit trying to analyze it to death. It is what it is.” Smiling, she scooted in front of the mirror again and got a good look at the whole package with a calmer eye. Yep, younger. I’m not losing my mind. This was just too freaky. Caelius needed to see this. Maybe he’d understand and could explain it to her.
Slowly opening the door, Rhia stuck her head out and peeked into the bedroom. She was surprised to see that Caelius was already awake. She grinned when she saw what he was doing. He was propped up against a mound of pillows with one arm lifted in the air. He sported a huge satisfied smile as he dangled his glowing mating necklace in front of his face.
Rhia ran into the room and jumped up on the bed. She’d straddled his hips and wrapped her arms around his neck before he even had a chance to look over. His hand was trapped between their bodies, and she could feel the warmth of the tooth against her chest. She kissed his jaw and snuggled into his neck. It felt good when one big arm wrapped tightly around her.
“Hey, sweetness. I thought you were in the shower. I was thinking about joining you.”
“I’d love that, but first I need to show you something.” She grinned when his voice dropped an octave, and his hand flattened out against her breast. He gave it a little squeeze.
“I’d be more than happy to see it.” She felt his other hand slide slowly up her spine.
“Did you know that you’re the god damn fountain of youth?”
“What?”
“I want you to get prepared, Caelius. I’m still freaking out over this, so get ready.” His hand paused in the middle of her back.
“Now you have me worried, baby. What are you talking about?”
Rhia slowly sat back and stared at him with wide eyes. “I’m different. Look at me. I look like I did when I was around your age. I need you to pinch me so I’ll know I’m awake.”
Caelius’s mouth dropped open. He lifted his hand, and she felt his fingers slowly trace across her cheek. His eyes widened the more he looked at her.
“What’s going on?”
She snorted, grabbed his hand, and brought it to her lips. She kissed his knuckles.
“I was hoping you’d have an idea. I guess not. I’m thinking that when your energy poured into me, it regressed my age to sync up with yours in preparation of how long we’ll live now. Shit, I don’t know. I’m guessing here. Whatever the hell happened, it’s not hurting my feelings in the least. Your energy zapped the holy hell out of me, and I feel fucking fantastic.”
Caelius blinked a few times, lowered his gaze, and scanned every inch of her body. He shook his head and rested his palms on her thighs.
“I don’t know what to say. It’s you, but it isn’t. I need to tell Kallon about this. I think you may be right about the merge syncing our ages. You’re gorgeous, but then you’ve always been that way. It’s just different. Damn, this is weird.”
Rhia smiled and palmed the side of his face when he looked up. “You know what I love the most about you, Caelius?” His eyes widened in question.
“You looked at me just like you’re doing now when I had the body of a forty-eight year old. You’ve always made me feel like I was young and attractive. Many women never know if a man really loves her for what she really is, deep inside. Not once did I see hesitation in your eyes when you repeatedly told me what you thought of me. I finally get it. You really do love me, don’t you?” His lips lifted into a sweet smile.
“Always. You’ve never realized how beautiful you are, Rhia. I was perfectly satisfied with the way you were.” He ran his hand down her arm and let it drift back toward her ass. He gave it a little pop and squeezed. “You’ll not hear me complain about this new one. I’ll take you any way I can get you.”
His eyes grew serious, and he placed his palm over her heart. “What’s inside here is what made me fall in love with you, my bellula. What I see in your eyes is another. That hasn’t changed. Before I even knew you were standing in that room at the outpost, I was already making plans to come back and claim you as my mate. I didn’t care if my necklace ever worked or not. I knew you were mine. As long as you’re with me, that’s all that matters.”
Rhia felt her insides melt with every word that came out of his gorgeous mouth. She didn’t think it was possible to fall even more in love with him, but she’d been wrong. She leaned forward, softly kissed his lips, and then backed away before she got carried away.
“I’m so glad you scratched Maxim’s Hummer that day, Caelius. As soon as I finally get to meet him, I’m going to give him a big kiss for forcing you to cook for him.”
Caelius snorted, grabbed her waist, and rolled her to her back. She laughed when he slammed a big thigh over both of hers and locked her to the bed. He gave her a mock scowl.
“Hell no, you’re not. Those lips are mine.” He lowered his head, nuzzled her cheek, placed soft kisses to her upper lip, and then did the same to the lower. His words were hushed and reverent. “I love you Rhia Grace Meron.”
Rhia sighed and pulled his silky braid over his shoulder. Gently, she slid the leather tie from the end and smiled when his eyes widened. She liked the feel of his cock growing long and hard against her hip.
“I like the sound of that, Caelius Eaton Meron. It’s perfect, just like you.”
* * * *
“May I have your attention, please? Southwest Airlines Flight 286 Los Angeles to Austin direct has been delayed. I repeat. Flight 286 is delayed. Please remain in the boarding area a
nd we’ll keep you apprised of the situation. If you’d like to arrange for an alternate route, please bring your ticket to the customer service desk. We apologize for the inconvenience, and thank you for your patience.”
Maxim groaned and slumped back down in the uncomfortable plastic chair he’d been parked in for the last hour. Great, just what I needed. Let’s see how much more fucked up this trip can get.
Severe turbulence coming into Los Angeles had left his stomach in an uproar, and hunting down Richard Jimenez had been a chore. That male was a whirlwind of activity. If he hadn’t been in a meeting, he was out scouting new venues for his increasingly popular male revue group. When he did finally find him two days later, it was a dead end. Caelius had performed as scheduled, yet he was unable to accept their invitation of another appearance. He had no idea where he was. Maxim had been tempted to take Jimenez up on the offer of a guest spot at their next show, but figured he better get his butt home.
Peering out the wide glass window separating him from the plane he should be on right now, Maxim cringed when he saw shadowed bodies scurrying around the belly of the beast. Flashlights were swinging beams of light all over the ground and back to the underside of the wings. Fuck, did something fall off?
Shuddering, he hunkered back down in the seat and decided he might need to take an alternate way home. Through the night sky in a hurtling metal tube that may, or may not, drop pieces off while thirty thousand feet in the air didn’t seem like something he could stomach at the moment. He turned back just in time to see the guy sitting across from him coming to the same conclusion. They both grimaced and looked over to the customer service area. People were packed shoulder-to-shoulder and trying to jockey for position. Screw that. He’d just wait it out and get a refund.
Maxim sent out a mind-call to Cato and got nothing. The brother was locked down tight. Similar calls to Kallon, Petrus, Severus, and Drusus resulted in a complete black out. What the fuck? He was just about to try Nikos and Chiron when a round of raucous laughter drew his attention back to the customer service area. He couldn’t hear what was being said, but someone was obviously cracking up the airline staff behind the counter. Soon, the long line of people were craning their necks and trying to get a peek at whatever had everyone’s attention. Gradually, small smiles were lifting their lips.
Intrigued, Maxim leaned forward and finally got a brief glimpse of a woman standing at the counter. Her hands were flying around in the air and the golden brown, spiral curls that fell all the way to her waist were swaying and bouncing across her back. She wore a blue patterned broom skirt that fell to her ankles and a white, spaghetti-strap tank top. A tattoo of a three-phased moon graced her left shoulder blade. Her feet were clad in pretty, tan sandals, and he caught a glimpse of a glittering ankle bracelet before the crowd swallowed her up again.
Leaning back, he slipped his phone out of his pocket, dialed Cato, and got no answer. Kallon’s rang, but went immediately to voice mail. Well, hell. I guess everyone got invited to the party except me. Scrolling through the numbers, he selected Petrus’s and made it to the third ring before the phone drifted away from his ear. He was stunned.
The counter comedian was now gliding effortlessly through the parting crowd. She appeared to float along on a cloud. If her feet were truly hovering above the ground, he failed to notice. His eyes were riveted on the most stunning face he’d ever encountered. She was breathtakingly beautiful. It was her eyes more than anything else. They were as pale blue as a robin’s egg and circled with thick lashes.
Maxim couldn’t tear his gaze away. She’d stopped on the edge of the crowd and was asking a couple if they knew how to get to the bus terminal. Her voice was melodic and ethereal. She thanked them and turned his way. Realizing he was staring at her like an idiot, Maxim turned to the guy sitting across from him. Shit. Had his face worn that same ridiculous expression of adoration?
Unable to help himself, he glanced back to her and was shocked to see she was now staring at him. Her eyes were wide and her lips were parted as if she was surprised. The closer she drew to him, the higher her brows rose. He felt his stomach clench when she spoke. Tingles shot up his spine and he shivered.
“You.”
Frowning, Maxim glanced to the right. He was the only “you” sitting on this side of the row of connected chairs. When he turned back to her, he watched her mouth open in surprise as her foot caught the edge of a suitcase sticking out in the aisle. She lost her footing, and he leapt from his chair. Without thought, Maxim reached out to stop the inevitable plunge to the ground. The moment she clutched his arm, their eyes locked. He rolled to the side to give her something else to land on beside the hard tiles.
Back slamming onto the floor, Maxim felt the air rush from his lungs. Her generous breasts pressed heavily against his chest before she rolled away. An intense electrical surge rushed through his system and bent his spine to the point he thought it would snap in two. Agony and bliss warred with each other to determine which one would finally kill him. He heard shouts, but they sounded muted and far away. His mind tried to reason why someone was stabbing the hollow of his throat, yet running a soothing palm across his forehead at the same time.
Feeling a hard tug on his hand, Maxim freed whatever he’d been grasping. Gritting his teeth, he fought to stay lucid as whatever was destroying him decided to finish it or go away. Something snatched his other hand, and he latched on as if it was the tenuous thread to continued breathing. He opened his eyes and everything made sense.
Frightened, pale blue eyes bore into his before she looked up at the gathering crowd and frowned. He watched her beautiful lips moving as she shouted for everyone to back up and give him room to breathe. Her free hand was up and pointing for everyone to get away. She was fierce in her protection of him, despite bearing the red marks where his fingers had squeezed her wrist too tightly. She was his. This was his mate. Fighting for air, Maxim tugged on her hand until she looked down to him. Silky tresses caressed his arms as she leaned closer. He strained to push words from his throat before he either passed out or died from the thunderous electrical storm inside his body.
“Don’t leave me, mellis. Please don’t leave.”
THE END
WWW.CELESTEPRATER-ROMANCEAUTHOR.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I was born and raised in a small town between Dallas/Fort Worth and Austin. Wanting to see more than my small Texas town, I joined the Marines, which satisfied my craving to see more of the U.S. and my drive to see if I could be one of the few and the proud.
A firm believer in educating the mind, I have achieved several advanced degrees, the latest being a master’s of science.
My true love is writing erotic romance, especially about alien hunks that know how to treat their females.
Drusus, Severus, Cato, Lucien, Caelius, Maxim, and many more have swirled in my dreams until I had to bring them to life and allow them to find love within the pages of the Fueled by Lust book series.
For all titles by Celeste Prater, please visit
www.bookstrand.com/celeste-prater
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com
Fueled by Lust: Caelius (Siren Publishing Classic) Page 30
