HeroRising

by Anna Alexander

  “Jesu. You’re so tight. Hot. Fuck me.”

  She whimpered and nodded, rocking back and forth in a silent plea for more friction.

  “Ari. Liera.” He pressed his sweaty forehead against the middle of her equally wet back and resumed his thrusting. “Words. No words.”

  By the side of her head his fist was planted into the mattress. The veins and sinew in his arms bulged under the strain as he bucked and moaned her name in what sounded like a multitude of languages.

  “Come again,” he panted hotly against her ear.

  “Don’t think. I can.”

  “Come!” He cupped her mound and speared three fingers into her clutching channel and worked his thumb over the swollen bud of her clitoris.

  Ari bit into the mattress and screamed as a tsunami-sized wave tore her asunder. Above her Bale bellowed and drove deep, pinning her to the bed as his cock flexed with his release.

  Spasms continued to erupt in her pussy and ass, radiating up her spine as she sobbed. Her visions blurred in and out until it narrowed to a pinpoint of light before winking out into complete blackness.

  Holy shit, she’d gone blind. Oh nope. Just crashed face-first into the pillow. She’d laugh if she had the strength, but sleep had latched on tight and was pulling her under fast.

  Lord have mercy on her soul, for she wanted to do that again.

  “Ari? Ari?” Bale lifted up, sensing his woman’s fall into unconsciousness. “Ariel?”

  Nothing. No response as he shook her shoulders and her head lolled upon her neck. His hands shook as he swept them over her body, feeling for her pulse and possible injuries. He had tried to be gentle, but once he was buried inside the velvet fist of her ass, his control had snapped. Anal intercourse was a taboo act, even on his home planet, and now he understood why after having experienced the most explosive orgasm in his life. If losing consciousness was a common occurrence, abstaining from such an act was probably best for the female’s safety.

  It didn’t matter that Ari had been more than a willing partner. Even now as he eased from the snug grip of her ass, her channel fluttered, keeping his staff erect. Did the woman have no self-preservation?

  He stumbled into the bathroom and discarded the brimming condom into the waste bin then quickly washed his hands and cock. Wetting a washcloth with hot water, he gathered another towel and dashed back to the bed to sit beside Ari’s prone form.

  As he sponged away the lubricant and remnants of their orgasms from her body, his frowned deepened as the bruises on her hips and thighs darkened. His powers picked up nothing but bliss and contentment but obviously he had been too rough with his lovemaking. The fact that Ari encouraged his behavior did not make it right.

  “Ari?” He untied her hands then brushed the hair away from her forehead, stroking her cheek again and again with his thumb. “Ari, please wake up. Open those pretty eyes and tell me you’re all right.”

  Beneath his ribs his two hearts beat once, then twice before kicking up a notch as her breathing quickened and her lashes fluttered. Her gaze darted around the room before coming to rest on his face. As slow as a sunrise, a smile stretched her lips as she settled deeper into the mattress.

  “That. Was. Awesome.” She sighed and closed her eyes.

  “Do you hurt anywhere?”

  She shook her head then frowned and shifted her hips. “Not really. Just sore.”

  “We shall never do that again.”

  Her eyes snapped opened. “Why not? That was great.”

  “It is too dangerous.”

  “For who? Didn’t you enjoy yourself?”

  Heat blazed across his cheeks. “Ya.”

  “Then we will be doing that again.”

  “Ariel.” He grunted and felt his nostrils flare. “Do not fight me on this. We will do nothing that causes you harm again.”

  The innocent blink and sweet smile set off his inner alarm. “For now.”

  Jesu. “You’ve been spending too much time with Amaryllis.”

  She giggled and crawled with uncoordinated limbs under the bedcovers. “I should brush my teeth, but my legs don’t want to work.”

  “That does not make me feel any better.”

  “That’s because you have issues. I wasn’t complaining.” Her smile faded and he sensed her sudden insecurity as she plucked at the fabric covering her pillow. “So. Do you have to rush right off?”

  Happiness infused his hearts as he read between the lines. “Are you asking me to stay?”

  She shrugged. “Only if you want to.”

  “Silly woman. Just tell me you want me to lie beside you.”

  “I don’t want to assume you have no other plans.”

  “I want—” He took a breath and voiced his secret wish. “I want you to need me.”

  “Oh Bale,” she sighed and held out her hand. “I need you to hold me.”

  He almost used his powers to dive under the covers. The effervescent, bubbling sensation of her laughter felt just as good against his skin as her warm flesh did where she was pressed along his side.

  “I love how warm-blooded you are.” She nuzzled his chest. “You make these cold northwest nights enjoyable.”

  Ari made all of his nights, and days too, more enjoyable.

  Just being with him, a slight weight on top of his chest, heart beating, the whoosh of her breath across his nipple. Her being there meant he was no longer alone in this new world.

  Of course Amaryllis would slap him upside the head if she knew he felt that way. She found great pride in the family unit she had created and made it no secret that she considered him part of her brood.

  But Ari was a treasure of his own. Her opinions were unfettered by any knowledge of the man he once was. The past, the future, nothing else existed but the peace each felt by being together in this perfect moment of the present.

  How many hours could he spend memorizing the shape of her spine with his fingers or luxuriate under the light caress of her fingertips as she traced the lines and dips of his torso? Perhaps days, maybe even weeks.

  “What happened here?” She skimmed the puckered line across his rib.

  He closed his eyes on a sigh, enjoying the touch. “First week of training when I joined the…military. I feinted right when I should have gone left. My opponent caught me with his sword. Lesson learned.”

  “You still use swords in the military?”

  “We were trained in all manner of weaponry.”

  “Hmm. See this scar here?” He opened his eyes to see her pointing at a faint tree-shaped scar on her forearm. “A shelf of liquor fell at work and glass flew everywhere. Caught a few shards in my arm. The bar patrons called me Tanqueray for a while.”

  “I never realized bartending was so fraught with danger. Besides that which comes from rude patrons.”

  “We all learn on the fly.” Her cheek bunched with her smile and her fingers resumed brushing butterfly-light touches over his chest.

  She cupped the cap of his shoulder, giving the firm muscle a little squeeze before trailing over the rough scar tissue of his biceps. “What happened here?”

  The breath froze in his lungs and his throat closed up tight. The gnarled flesh was another example of his talent at taking something beautiful and making it ugly. Once upon a time the symbol on his arm had been one of great honor and he had been so proud when he received his mark as a royal guard.

  Lucian and his family had been Llanos warriors for generations, dating back to the beginning of their kingdom’s recorded history, while Bale’s relations had always been farmers. Day laborers who earned their livelihood and muscles toiling the nearly impenetrable Skandavian soil. The monotonous cycle of planting, harvest, planting, harvest had been lost on a boy with Bale’s need to push harder, go faster and be more than a farmer.

  Joining the royal guard had been his ticket to adventure, to greatness. He had quickly moved up the ranks and been assigned to the king’s personal retinue after three years of service. The day the
crown had been added to his insignia was the day he met Natalia when his family had taken him out in celebration. She had been the quiet, calm port in the tumultuous sea of politics. The light to the darkness of his position and nature.

  Then the revolution erupted and his family was destroyed. The symbol of Llanos had been a reminder of all he lost. Blind rage and burning guilt had barely anesthetized him to the pain of slicing the ink from his flesh in a fit of misplaced rage.

  “I’m sorry if my question caused you pain.” Ari’s soft voice was as sharp as a fine scalpel slicing through the thick haze of his memories.

  “No.” He closed his arms around her when she tensed. “It wasn’t your question, rather the memories that hurt. I—uh, I had a tattoo removed quite barbarically.”

  “I’d say. It looks like it was dug out of your skin.”

  She was correct.

  “I didn’t have access to the proper technology at the time,” he lied.

  “Sounds as if you were in a hurry to have it removed.”

  “I was.”

  “Hmm. Well, I see you’ve kept this one here. It’s pretty,” she murmured, while lightly stroking the starburst tattoo in the center of his chest. “What does it say?”

  The innocently asked question struck him in the gut with the power of a sledgehammer. Beneath the Skandavia symbol for heaven he had imprinted Natalia’s and Emmaline’s names in his native language to help him keep his focus on his purpose. As much as he cared for Ari, he wasn’t near ready to expose those wounds.

  “It’s, uh… It’s the names of family I have lost. To remember them. I-I do not like talking about it,” he managed to stammer.

  “Oh.” She dropped her hand. “Okay.”

  A heavy silence fell between them and the invisible band around his chest tightened and hindered his breathing. A shift had occurred in their relationship just then. He couldn’t put his finger on what exactly or how, but there was a tension that vibrated between them even though they both lay quiet and still in each other’s arms. It was as if Ari knew he purposely withheld information and in return locked a part of herself away from him. The closeness of only a moment before no longer existed and he wanted to weep with the loss.

  “Ari,” he said.

  “Yes, Bale?”

  He opened his mouth to reply then snapped it shut. Truth was he hadn’t thought of anything else to say but her name. Meaningless conversation was not his style. Hell, he’d rather endure an uncomfortable silence than engage in inane babble. But this invisible wall that had suddenly erupted between them stole all the warmth and joy he normally felt in her presence and was a stark reminder of his solitary existence.

  Ari lifted her head to look at him when he didn’t answer. “Bale?”

  He licked his lips and laid his palm against her cheek, his thumb smoothing out the frown line near her mouth. “Ari, I—” He swallowed hard. “You frighten me.”

  Her brows shot up. “What?”

  “You make me want things I—” Don’t want. Don’t know how to care for. Don’t deserve. “I’m going to fuck this up.”

  “Fuck what up?”

  “This. Whatever this magic is that’s between us, I’m going to ruin it. It’s what I do. And that frightens me.”

  “Oh, Bale.” Her eyes turned liquid and the invisible wall crumbled. “Don’t you think I’m a little freaked out too? Since I met you I’ve felt like I’m on this rocket shot into space and eventually I’ll run out of fuel and crash back to Earth. It’s exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.”

  “Exactly.” Inside he laughed, for he had been in a rocket that crashed to Earth. Back then he hadn’t been half as scared as he was now.

  “Bale, can’t we just take each day as it comes? If I start thinking too far ahead, I begin to think about supposed-tos and not about just living for the moment. Can I just enjoy being with you and leave it at that?”

  “Yes,” he answered slowly as his own internal conflict waged war in his hearts.

  What in the seven hells was wrong with him? Here was this beautiful, sexy, adventurous woman offering him what sounded like a no-strings-attached relationship and instead of being ecstatic he wanted to howl with displeasure. Wasn’t this the perfect solution? No expectations beyond the night. No chance of breaking promises that were never made. One day at a time.

  However, the thought of being able to walk away with any ease burned a hole in his chest. Would Ari be able to leave him so easily if she wanted?

  He had no land, no name, nothing of real value to offer her and she deserved so much more, the least of which was a man who could tell her the truth about who, and what, he was. If he had any decency, he’d end this now and allow her the chance to find a man of her own kind before their hearts became too entwined.

  But he wasn’t decent. Pure selfishness kept him in the bed and drew her down for a possessive kiss.

  Yes, he had nothing to offer her. But pleasure.

  Since words often failed him, he’d have to use his other talents to convey how much Ari meant to him. He prayed they were enough to convince her of his sincerity.

  He drank in her purr of contentment as he skimmed his palms down her back and cupped the curve of her ass. Up and down, up and down he stroked her side, keeping the tempo slow when she tried to deepen the kiss. Her little growls of displeasure made him smile and more determined to love her on his terms.

  “Do I need to tie your hands again?” he teased as he rolled her onto her back.

  “No. I want to touch you.”

  “You are.” He ground his cock into her belly. “And you feel so good.”

  She responded by scraping the edges of her teeth along his shoulder. “I want more.”

  “You’ll get it. When I say so.”

  “You suck—”

  “As you wish.” He took her pink nipple into his mouth, lashing the tip with his tongue. He did love to deliberately misinterpret her curses.

  “Damn it, Bale.” She tugged at his hair. “I want you to ravish me.”

  “And I want to savor you.” He switched to the other breast. “You will not deter me on this, liera. Do not fret. I will do everything in my power to leave you satisfied.”

  “You always do.” She sighed with contentment. “What does liera mean anyway?”

  He froze with his mouth hovering over her skin then slowly lifted up. With a shaky hand he brushed the strands of hair off her face so he could look deep into her sparkling eyes. A lump formed in his throat but he pressed on and confessed.

  “Mine.”

  Against his ribs he felt her heart start pounding as she melted into the mattress. “Oh.”

  Millimeter by millimeter he lowered his head until their mouths pressed together in the gentlest of touches. The plump pillows of her lips were satin-soft. The slight rasp of her tongue tangling with his he felt down to his bones. Ari was a sweet and rich confection more decadent than any found in the finest bakery. All her inner beauty was wrapped up in a savory package he wanted to devour whole.

  When the last of her resistance dissipated and the mellow pulse of her desire engulfed him, Bale licked and nuzzled down the fine column of her neck, continuing to the swell of her breasts, teasing the undersides with his mouth. Every so often he’d look up to find Ari watching him with sex-drugged eyes and he smiled against her skin. The slow curl of her answering smile filled him with so much joy, he wanted to shout with the euphoria.

  This lovely creature was truly his, and with each sigh and low moan as his hands and mouth caressed her body, he sensed her submission through his powers. Her thighs parted at the slight brush of his fingers. Wherever he laid a palm, she’d press her flesh deeper into his hold, her body flowing like warm water in his grasp.

  “Bale. Please.” She pulled at his shoulders and wrapped her legs around his waist. “I need you.”

  He knew. More than she realized.

  Ari placed herself entirely into his keeping with an open heart, and the sensation
empowered him at the same time it scared him to death. Not even Natalia had placed such trust in him at the level he sensed from Ari. What if he failed her? What if he couldn’t be what she needed? The last woman to place such faith in him died. Dare he subject Ari to a similar fate?

  “Please, Bale,” Ari pleaded with a deep groan, her nails scoring lines up his back. Then she whispered in a voice so low, he barely heard, “Please love me.”

  Love.

  Was she aware she had spoken such a powerful word? Was it possible that she had developed such strong feelings for him already? Did he even want her love?

  Images of the last few years flitted through his mind. Long nights spent alone, always on the move to the next location. Days of never exchanging a single word, or a smile, or a glance with anyone. So much anger. So much sadness. Compared to the brief time he’d spent with Ari, those memories were as cold and heartwarming as a prison cell buried miles beneath the earth. Such extended isolation destroyed the soul.

  A connection to another. One person, just one, who cared whether you lived or died, who thought of you, who missed you, who knew your secrets and kept them safe. One person to trust. That was what had been missing his entire life. That was what he wanted. And he wanted it with Ari. Was that type of connection called love? Hell, he hadn’t a clue. He had thought he’d had love all figured out, then learned the hard way how wrong he had been.

  Perhaps Ari was right. Take each day as it came. Enjoy the time they had and worry about the rest later. What was that phrase he had heard? Do not go borrowing trouble. Ari wanted him to love her? Done.

  He left the bed for only as long as it took to retrieve a condom from the pocket of his jeans. As he knelt back onto the mattress, he made a great show of leisurely rolling the rubber down his hard length, reveling in the hot touch of her gaze as she watched his hand. For the first time he appreciated his inability to filter out human emotion. The bright and bold splashes coming from Ari were a drug, heightening all his senses while at the same time distorting reality until all that mattered was getting inside her heat and feeling her heartbeat.