Part 34 (1/2)
She knew it as surely as she'd ever known anything. James bent his head and kissed the top of a breast, and she shuddered. He kissed her in concentric circles, moving closer and closer to her nipple, and when at last he drew her nipple into his mouth a shock of pleasure exploded through her, and her knees gave out. She would have fallen if he hadn't caught her. He picked her up easily and deposited her on the narrow metal table he'd lain on earlier. Standing beside her, he stroked his hands over her b.r.e.a.s.t.s and through her hair. She leaned back and closed her eyes, savoring the feeling of being cherished.
The feeling of being loved.
She realized the metal table was too narrow and too high for them to lie down together, and almost suggested they move to the floor, but she quickly realized James had something else in mind. His long, strong fingers stroked her inner thighs with the skill of a violinist playing his instrument, sending rippling eddies of warm pleasure through her, then gently parted her legs. He bent toward her exposed flesh.
”James,” she objected, trying to push her knees together. ”Don't. I'm all sweaty.”
He held her legs apart with no effort. ”It's all right, Annie.”
”But I stink,” she said plaintively.
”No. You smell wonderful, as you always do.” He looked up and gave her a quick flash of his
lady-killing grin. ”I suspect you taste wonderful, too.”
Annie groaned, unable to argue, as his tongue slid gently between her thighs, finding her most sensitive
spot with unerring accuracy, setting her on fire. His tongue caressed her slowly, until she ached with need, until she moaned with pleasure.
”James.”
He lifted his head briefly. ”I was right,” he said hoa.r.s.ely. ”You do taste wonderful.”
The reminder that he found her attractive, no matter what, sent a stab of pleasure through her. She cried out as his tongue found her again. And then, a moment later, his tongue slipped lower and delved inside her. Feeling a rush of heat and warmth, she clutched at his hair and sobbed as he explored her in a leisurely, thorough manner.
At last James straightened up for an instant, unfastened his jeans, and took her legs, placing them against his chest, with her calves over his shoulders. The position made her feel naked and exposed, which she found oddly exciting. And the sight of his ma.s.sive erection, solid and demanding, sent a quiver of l.u.s.t through her.
She had never been so excited in her life.
Already she was soaking wet, and he slid into her easily. Annie had never experienced this position before'Steve had had a lot of good points, but he hadn't really been the innovative type'and she was astounded by how deeply James was able to penetrate. Despite the fact that she couldn't kiss him, couldn't put her arms around him, it was a shockingly intimate way to make love. She felt the hard, blunt head of his erection pressing against a spot that had never been stimulated before.
”Oh, G.o.d, that feels good,” she whispered.
”Yes,” James said softly. ”It does.” Opening her eyes for a moment, she looked at him, still standing, his big hands wrapped around her thighs, his eyes shut tightly as he thrust slowly in and out.
Every time he entered her, she could feel him hitting that spot, deep inside her, and then he retreated, almost to the entrance to her body, only to slide slowly into her again. He made love to her with slow, deliberate thoroughness, so that the ache in her lower body intensified with each movement, driving her to the point of insanity.
She desperately wanted to caress him, to kiss him, but she couldn't reach him, so she settled for placing her hands on top of his. James moaned slightly at her touch, and his hands flexed on her thighs, pressing her legs more closely against his chest.
She could still feel him striking that place inside her, and although he continued to move slowly, her arousal was rapidly soaring to an uncontrollable level. A tempest she couldn't restrain, didn't want to restrain, raged inside her, and her whole body throbbed with need. Abruptly the storm broke in a series of long, intense spasms shuddering through her, and she threw back her head and cried out.
As the ecstasy ebbed she opened her eyes languorously, to find James watching her with avid interest. He was still hard, deep within her, yet totally motionless. ”That was wonderful,” she said softly.
”I am glad you thought so. But we are not finished yet.”
”Oh.” Seeing the intensity in his eyes, Annie curled her hands over his. ”That's sweet of you, James, but I'm not generally the multiple o.r.g.a.s.m type.”
James grinned as he slowly withdrew, leaving only the tip of his erection in her body. ”I find that difficult to believe.”
She remembered the times they'd made love and blushed. James definitely had the ability to make her lose her self-control, more than any man she'd ever been with. ”Okay, every now and then, maybe. But I'm not usually like that. You'll just have to take my word for it.”
”I prefer to rely on my own observations,” he answered, and plunged into her again, so forcefully that Annie gasped. He began to drive into her, hard and fast, and so deeply that at first it almost hurt. But in a moment the discomfort faded, leaving her with a building sensation of pressure and swirling heat. She closed her eyes and sobbed with overwhelming pleasure as he thrust even harder and faster.
And then, just as the scalding heat reached an almost unbearable level, he stopped.
Her eyes popped open. ”James,” she said, aware that her voice was shaking. ”Please.”
His golden skin glistened with sweat, and he trembled all over. His eyes were clenched shut, his jaw tense, and she could feel him pulsing inside her in a fast, urgent rhythm. ”I want this to last, Annie,” he said softly. ”I want it to last forever.”
She had the distinct impression he was talking about something other than s.e.x. ”I know,” she whispered. ”But I need you, James. I need you now.”
Groaning, he gave in, moving inside her hard and fast, driving her right over the edge. She exploded in a violent maelstrom of heat and light, her body shuddering, her inner muscles clenching fiercely around him. She felt him pound into her, heard his voice raised in a hoa.r.s.e cry, felt the hot spurt of liquid deep inside her as he surrendered to his own ecstasy.
Afterward he pulled her up to a sitting position, put his arms around her, and held her against his chest without speaking, his face pressed into her hair. The gesture clearly expressed his love, and it warmed her. But she could also feel something else in his posture, something very like grief or despair, and she wondered what caused it.
But she was too tired to wonder much. Before long she'd fallen asleep against his chest.
It was much more pleasant walking across the desert at night, although it was definitely chilly. But at least the sun wasn't baking her already-peeling skin, Annie reflected as they made their way across the sand. Fortunately there was a full moon, so James did not have to engage his ' his headlights.
”So what's the plan'” she asked.
James looked grim in the moonlight. ”We are going to go back to the past.”
”We're thinking that might not be the best idea,” Annie said. ”It seems to us that the information the humanoids were interested in getting their hands on must have been about the time machine. What if they use the information to go back and try to change the past again' What if they're planning on doing something in the past that might hurt the humans in the cylinder cities'”
”I do not believe that is their intention,” James answered.
Annie paused and stared at him suspiciously. ”You said you didn't have any idea what they wanted. What makes you so certain that isn't what they intend to do'”
”I had a long conversation with Charles,” James said. ”He is not interested in changing this present.”
”How can you be sure he's not lying to you, James'” It occurred to her that she couldn't be sure James wasn't lying to her, either. She remembered his earlier despair all too well. But she put that thought aside. James wouldn't lie to her about this.
”He is my oldest friend, Annie. In this reality as well as my own. I trust him, and you must trust him too.”
”I don't trust him at all, James. He captured us in an illusion and tried to trick us.”
”What do you mean'”
Annie took a deep breath. She didn't want to hurt James, but he needed to know exactly what Charles had done. ”They showed us a town where there wasn't one, and used it to keep us occupied.”
”That is how they deal with humans. They endeavor never to speak with them face to face.”