“We’re agreed then.” Annika whispered, in between soft kisses against his neck. “Now hurry up and fuck me.”
Kieran grinned to himself at her words. Soft, then hard. She was so contradictory. Then he nudged at her entrance, reveling in the unique feel of his condom free erection. Her heat was almost scorching. Annika wrapped her arms around his waist and frantically pulled at him so he would enter her. He held back just for a few seconds, watching her desperately work to get him inside of her. He had wanted to go slowly but her frenzy caused him to lose what little bit of control he had and he slammed into her in one move.
Annika let out a gutteral groan and he thought her heard her say, “Oh, yes” but the blood was pounding in his head. He lost utter control and could do nothing but continue to slam back and forth into her body. For a brief second, some sanity returned and he was afraid he might have hurt her, but looking down at her now, she had pleasure etched all over her face. She even whispered “Harder” and he complied.
Putting both arms under her legs, he hiked them up onto his shoulders, providing for an amazing angle that was hitting her at her deepest spot. Pounding in and out, Kieran saw a tear leak out of one of her eyes. He immediately pulled back to a more leisurely pace but she shook her head vigorously side to side. “Don’t slow down. Keep going.”
Kieran growled a curse of appreciation over her stamina and picked his thrusts back up. He reached down between Annika’s thighs and pressed his thumb over her clit. Every thrust inside her caused friction between his thumb and her clit. Kieran watched as Annika held her breath for a few seconds then let it out in an almost agonized moan as she came for the third time. Watching her break apart was Kieran’s undoing and he let himself go. His orgasm shot hard and hot, and seemed to go on, wave after wave.
Kieran collapsed on top of Annika and then rolled to his side. He tried to take Annika with him but she resisted, remaining firmly on her back. They lay side by side, both of their breathing harsh.
“Sorry, but I don’t cuddle.”
Kieran raised his head slightly and looked at her with surprise.
“What?” Annika retorted. “Not all women are cuddlers.”
Kieran burst out laughing and rolled to his side to face her, propping his head up on his hand. “Most women are cuddlers, Annika. But I agree, you aren’t most women.” He grabbed ahold of her hand lying next to his and brought it to his mouth for a gentle kiss then he nipped one of her knuckles. “I promise, no cuddling. But stay in bed with me tonight. I’m not through with you.”
Annika smiled at him. “I don’t think I’m done with you either.”
CHAPTER 15
The next morning dawned early for Kieran. 6:30am sharp. He was lying on his stomach, face turned toward his nightstand. As his eyes opened, the preceding night came back in a rush. He was surprisingly awake, despite the lack of sleep he’d had. They had indeed not been done by a long shot.
He remembered their second time. He was slowly drifting out of sleep with the most erotic sensations playing over his body. He was lying on his back and he felt like he was on the verge of orgasm. It took him a second to realize Annika was working at him with her mouth. He could feel the silver ball on her tongue rolling up and down the length of him.
He opened his eyes and looked down to see her dark hair bobbing up and down on him. The light shining in from the moon made her skin seem pearlescent and he was entranced by what she was doing. He reached out and twined his fingers in her hair. She looked up at him with heavy eyes.
“It’s about time you woke up,” she purred.
Kieran watched as she licked him from bottom to top one more time then crawled up his body. Straddling his waist, she lowered herself onto him in one smooth move. He watched as the moonlight glowed over her body. Using nothing for balance but her strong thighs, she rode him slowly to orgasm, his release sparking one of her own. She then collapsed on his chest where she remained for a few seconds while he stroked her back. Then she pulled away, turned over on her side and fell back asleep. Kieran drifted off too.
The next time, Kieran awoke spooned up against Annika’s back. Despite her not being a cuddler, her backside was tucked firmly up against his erection and his arm was wrapped tight around her waist. His first thought was to just go back to sleep and he nuzzled her neck. But then she moved her rump against his crotch, and his erection doubled in size. He slipped his hand from her waist and brought it between her legs. He didn’t know if she was awake or not, but her hips reacted when he slipped a finger inside of her. Gently sliding his finger in and out, Annika’s hips ground back and forth and her breath kept hitching. Sliding one of his thighs between her legs, he removed his finger and angled his erection up against her core. Making small movements with his hips, he worked his way inside of her.
Once seated to the hilt, he slowly moved in and out, lightly nibbling on her neck and ear. He brought his hand back up and fondled her breast. He realized that he had not even tasted her breasts yet, but that would be for another time. For now, this position was incredible and she had never felt tighter to him.
He realized when she was awake when he heard her whisper, “Oh, Kieran” on a breathy sigh. He kept the pace slow and steady, rocking against her. Moving his hand back down, he firmly rubbed over her clit while his cock moved in and out. Once he felt her body clench and her muscles contract around him abandon, he let himself go inside of her. Exhausted, he fell off into sleep again, still nestled inside of her.
Now as he lay on his stomach, his first thought was that they definitely weren’t cuddling this morning. He rolled over and saw Annika was still in bed, lying on her stomach with her head facing away from him. The sheets were kicked around her ankles and his eyes skimmed over her lovely backside. He noticed a small tattoo at the base of her spine. It was black and he couldn’t quite make it out. Leaning up, he looked more closely. It was a small heart, with a wide crack down the middle. A shattered heart. The thought made him sad, then angry.
Leaning over, he placed a soft kiss on the heart and heard Annika sigh. He took his hand and ran it lightly down her back, trailing a finger between her ass cheeks. He chuckled as her muscles clenched around his finger.
“What are you doing,” she mumbled sleepily. “It’s too early.”
“It’s never too early,” he murmured in reply, laying feather kisses along her back. Moving down along the side of her ribs, he planted light kisses and nips. The sensations caused Annika to jerk and then she giggled out loud. Kieran sat back in surprise.
Annika Foss actually giggled. His face split into a grin. He leaned forward and started nibbling again. This time, she reached her hand back and tried to swat him away. He moved his mouth over one tight ass cheek and bit down. Annika squealed but he made things right by licking over the bite mark. She sighed in pleasure.
Kieran loved her responsiveness. Moving his hand back down again, he nudged her legs apart and lightly stroked between them. He could hear Annika’s breaths become more shallow and she lifted her hips off the bed in further invitation. Kieran took his time, stroking her lightly, rimming the inside of her core with just his fingertip. He enjoyed this light teasing but his erection was throbbing.
“Kieran, if you don’t fuck me now, I’m going to scream.”
Not needing to be told twice, Kieran rolled over onto her back, spreading her legs with his own. Reaching down, he grabbed both hips and pulled her up on all fours while he knelt behind her.
Smoothing his hands over her butt, he whispered. “What do you want Annika?”
She growled in response. “I want you inside of me now, you damned tease.”
Kieran laughed out loud but gave her what she wanted. Guiding his cock to her entrance, he pushed inside. He loved that initial feeling of seating himself inside of her. The feel of her tight muscles clenching him had his eyes rolling into the back of his head. He held still for a moment but Annika started rolling her hips. Kieran didn’t wait and started matching her rhy
thm.
They started out slow but steadily increased their pace, the thrusts and counter thrusts matching each other perfectly. Heavy breathing and the slapping of skin on skin were the only noises. On, and on, they moved and writhed, almost in perfect synchronicity. It was no surprise to Kieran when they both arrived at their climax at the same time, Kieran groaning and Annika giving a whimper.
Not wanting to scare Annika off with any unsolicited cuddling, he pulled out of her and lay back down on his side. She rolled from her stomach to face him.
“Hi,” he said.
“Hi back.”
They both smiled at each other. Kieran reached out to smooth a hand over her cheek but Annika pulled back and rolled out of bed. “I need to use the bathroom”.
Kieran sighed. In no less than twelve hours, they had both shared numerous, mind blowing orgasms. They had rocked their bodies back and forth. They had tasted each other in the most intimate places and yet Annika still pulled away at the first sign of tenderness.
None of this made sense to Kieran. First, he was not the type to want to show tenderness to a woman. Sex to him was sex. It was about satisfying carnal desires. Mutual pleasuring. Then you go your separate ways. As much as he wanted to think that is what it was with Annika, the truth of the matter was he had a singular compulsion to touch her with tenderness a bit ago. And she had pulled away. He should never have had the desire to do that and what’s worse, it shouldn’t have cut him a little that she did pull away.
Annika wasn’t playing hard to get. She had laid her body out to him and was willing for him to take it. But she wasn’t letting her heart get involved. So why should he? Was he? He wanted to bang his head against a concrete wall. He didn’t know what the fuck was going on. The one thing he did know is that it pained him when he saw that small tattoo on her spine. A small reminder that her heart had been shattered before.
***
Annika took a long, hot shower in her guest bathroom. Given her whole “when in Rome” attitude, she supposed she should just spell cleanse herself but she had become accustomed to the pleasures of hot water bathing her body. Besides, she wanted more time to think…longer than a spell cleanse would take. Standing with her head under the spray, she played through the previous night. She had never, in all her adult years, experienced such mind blowing passion. Kieran was insatiable. She was insatiable. Had they waited a few more moments before she got out of bed, they probably would have gone at it again. What was up with that?
She didn’t want to over analyze it, but there was definitely something different about Kieran, and it scared the hell out of her. Even now, her body yearned for him. Could he possibly be someone that she could have a relationship with? No way. Annika Foss wasn’t built for love. All of her hopes and dreams about having a happily ever after had been shattered.
Yet, she liked Kieran…a lot. Even now, she wanted to just be around him and talk to him. Maybe they could be “friends with benefits” but with an extra heaping of friendship. Something a little more than meaningless sex but less than a committed relationship.
Annika wished she wasn’t so fucked in the head. She remembered waking up last night, spooned up against Kieran. As she came out from her deep sleep, she first felt his body warmth then realized his arm was holding her possessively. She felt safe and secure. As she became more aware, she reveled in the feeling for a brief moment, but then panic set in. She felt trapped and almost bolted. But then Kieran’s skillful fingers had found their way between her thighs and all thoughts of flight were gone. She then just enjoyed.
While lathering herself in soap, Annika realized none of it really mattered. She was hiding secrets from Kieran that if he found out, he would never want to be with her anyway. And there was a good chance that he would eventually find out. Annika’s life of crime and compulsion to steal was going to be a sure turn off for him. If Kieran found out about them, he would hate her no doubt.
Still, she wouldn’t apologize for the way she was. Her upbringing had been brutal and had shaped her into what she was today. Cold, isolated and removed. She didn’t see that changing really for anyone. Not even Kieran.
***
Kieran ate breakfast with Carrick and Ava after making sure that Annika and Mary were taken care of. He was happy to see that Mary actually left her bed to eat breakfast in the kitchen with Annika. He left them there talking while he made his way over to Carrick’s apartment. He really didn’t need to eat breakfast with them, but he did want to see Emma for a little bit. Morning time was the best with her. She was happy, bubbly and full of energy.
After eating, Kieran told Ava and Carrick that he planned on leaving tonight to travel to Balvraine.
“What’s the rush?” Carrick asked.
“Mary is doing quite well and there is no sense waiting until morning. I figure if we can get there tonight and get some rest, we can get Annika into the palace in the morning.”
Carrick nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
“What are you going to do for the rest of the day?” Ava asked.
Kieran was on the floor with Emma, playing with building blocks.
“I was thinking about taking Annika for a ride.”
“Hmmmm….”
“Don’t ‘hmmmm’ me, Ava. If you have something to say, say it.”
Ava looked slyly at him. “It’s just, I don’t think I’ve ever seen you take a woman riding before.”
“That’s ridiculous. Of course I have,” Kieran sputtered.
“No you haven’t,” Carrick piped in.
Kieran shot him a murderous look. He knew he sounded snotty when he said, “Whatever. I don’t need to justify my actions to either of you.”
Ava and Carrick exchanged a knowing look, right in front of Kieran.
“Stop passing mental messages to each other about me and my love life.”
“Aha! So you admit you have a love life,” Ava proclaimed.
Kieran stood up from the floor after giving Emma a quick kiss. “I’m outta here. You two drive me nuts.”
“Oh, don’t be a spoil sport,” Ava called after him. He heard both Ava and Carrick laughing as he walked out the door.
CHAPTER 16
Annika didn’t need convincing to go for a ride. She was so thrilled that Mary had been out of bed, she was in a positively giddy mood. Kieran asked her thoughts about leaving for Balvraine this coming evening and she was all for it. This little ride would provide them both with a little relaxation before their real work began.
Kieran had a picnic lunch packed. He had also snagged some riding clothes from Ava and he had to say, Annika looked amazing. She was wearing tight twill pants with black knee high boots. She had on a white cotton button-up shirt that molded to her breasts and damned if she wasn’t braless. How in the hell was he supposed to concentrate on the ride?
Heading out on their horses by mid-morning, Kieran decided to take Annika to one of his favorite places in all of Vyronas. It was only a few miles away and because Annika had not ridden in so long, she was a little timid. Thus, he kept the pace slow.
The day was bright and the temperature perfect. Such was the way it always was in Vyronas. It never got higher than seventy-five degrees or lower than sixty-five.
Kieran led their horses into a thick cropping of trees. These weren’t the ordinary trees you saw in The First Dimension, but a species found only in Vyronas. Brilliant color abounded. Leedle trees with their bone white wood and deep blue leaves cast dappled color everywhere. Then they walked amongst the lovely Chappelle trees, very similar in size and shape to the Willow. Except the Chappelle leaves were purple, just a shade deeper than Annika’s eyes. During the night, the Chappelle bloomed with fragrant white flowers that permeated the entire night air.
But the trees weren’t what made this area special. A large rock wall rose from the ground, in front of which bubbled up a natural hot spring. The trees provided shade around much of the area, but part of the rock wall was in the sun. A thick and spong
y carpet of bright green grass lay in front of it. It was the perfect place to eat their picnic lunch.
During the ride, they had talked a lot. Nothing deep. Kieran asked Ava more about her nightclub and she gave him insight into the business side of things. When he tried to ask her about Saving Grace, she clammed up, saying it was nothing more than a passion she held. She wouldn’t elaborate further.
Most of the time was spent talking about the war that had been waged four years earlier against Ralina. Annika had heard about much of it, but Kieran told her first-hand accounts. She had been horrified at some of the atrocities that had occurred and he could tell by the look on her face that she was suffering some guilt that she had not been here to help.
When they reached their destination, Annika had stopped in mid-sentence with whatever she had been asking, and looked around in wonder at the beauty of the landscape.
“Kieran,” she said in amazement. “I don’t think I have ever seen a more beautiful place in my life.”
Kieran beamed. This was one of his favorite places and he had never shared it with anyone. He didn’t realize that he had been hoping to impress her and now that he had, his chest swelled with pride. Or male ego. Whatever.
“I’m glad you like it.” Kieran swung off his horse. “Come on down and let’s eat.”
Annika dismounted her horse and tied the reins to a low hanging branch of a Leedle tree. She walked to the edge of the hot spring and peered into the clear water. Calling over her shoulder to Kieran she asked, “Can you swim in this spring?”
“There’s only one way to find out.”
Annika turned her head, not liking the sound of that statement. Kieran was right there and gave her a mighty shove toward the spring. Annika had time to do nothing more than yelp before she fell in. She came up sputtering and to find Kieran lying on the grassy bank, holding his stomach laughing.
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