Part 7 (1/2)
”That's two kisses you owe me, Blue.” He could feel the hard nubs of her nipples digging into his chest and his crotch jerked. Sliding one hand along her jaw into her hair and the other to pull her lower body against the hard ridge straining his zipper, Talon slowly lowered his head. The first kiss was little more than the brus.h.i.+ng of his lips against hers-an exchange of breaths. His second started by lightly biting her bottom lip before soothing the sting with his tongue. The hitch in her breathing pushed him closer to the limits of his control. Instead, he whispered against her mouth.
”We've done this before.” It was a statement, not a question, but the brief flash of guilt was all the answer he needed. He took his time, sliding his lips back and forth across hers before slipping his tongue inside to explore every delightful surface. There! He remembered that small round protrusion.
”What's on your tooth?” He whispered between forays into her warmth.
”A diamond. It's a gemstone on Earth used for ornamentation.” She pulled back until she could look him in the eye. ”It's been polished smooth so you don't have to worry about damage to....”
Her eyes dropped to the bulge in his pants and he groaned. ”Keep talking like that and this night will end way too soon.”
Shadow's aura spiked bright red before she ducked her head and drew a deep, calming breath.
”I started filling the tub but I wanted to wait until you got here before adding the hot water. It will warm you faster than sitting in front of the fire pit. When you finish, I'll get you something to eat.”
”I cleaned up at the well before coming here. Trust me, you didn't want me walking in here covered in mud and blood, and things even I don't want to know. Let me get into something dry and warm and I'll eat anything that doesn't bite me first.”
He reluctantly let her pull out of his embrace. When he reached the door to his room, she called his name. s.h.i.+t. She's gonna pull rank and tell me to p.i.s.s off.
”I don't bite.” She whispered and flashed a wicked grin.
He almost choked on his own tongue. His old eyes wouldn't have seen her smile. d.a.m.ned if she wasn't the s.e.xiest woman he'd met in...forever. He didn't know what changed between them but something broke through Shadow's carefully maintained control to free the woman she kept buried. He was in serious trouble and had no desire to change a single thing.
After hanging his wet clothes in the large, empty closet he pulled clean pants from his pack. With a wicked grin, he decided to go native and bypa.s.s any undergarments. They would just get in the way later. He grinned just thinking about her reaction when she slipped her hand beneath his waistband. For warmth, he chose a long-sleeved s.h.i.+rt made of spider silk. The material was thin, flexible, and almost as warm as a fur-lined jacket. The last time he wore the s.h.i.+rt-two years ago, at least-it hung loosely on him. Now he could barely pull the stretchy material over his chest.
”You're feeding me too good, Blue.” He walked toward Shadow and the warmth of the fire pit, grinning and pulling at the clinging material.
”You can't blame me for all of that.” She laughed, stroking his abs over the skintight s.h.i.+rt. ”It's all that cussin' and the extra pushups. Keep up the potty mouth and you'll be naked when you go after Draagon.”
Talon gripped her hand where it rested near his waist. ”If you don't want this to go any further, you need to tell me now.” If she said stop it would d.a.m.n near kill him but he didn't want any regrets tomorrow.
Shadow's gaze was steady, never leaving his face. With slow deliberation she lowered their hands until she covered the bulge in his pants. G.o.ds, if she squeezes me I'll c.u.m in my pants.
”How about as far as your bed?”
Where did that whiskey-rough voice come from? She could trigger an o.r.g.a.s.m just reciting the ingredients of her kava stew. He was torn between wanting to know what changed between them and pus.h.i.+ng her against the closest wall.
Why now? After all these weeks?
The part of his brain that lived south of his belt buckle didn't care. With a deep sigh, he silently vowed to make the night as memorable as possible-for both of them-in case she retreated behind her blue wall tomorrow.
”That sounds perfect, sweet lady, but I have no way to protect you. Are you willing to risk pregnancy?”
A blind man couldn't miss the flash of pain in her eyes.
”I can't have children so there's no risk at all; but first, you have to eat. Can't have you fainting from hunger on a down stroke, can we? It's on the table.”
Talon knew when a matter was closed and her rapid change of subject slammed a door on any questions he had. ”We could heat it up...later.”
”Not this time.” She walked her fingers from his waist up over his chest to his chin. ”Antic.i.p.ation can be a powerful element of foreplay.”
Okay. He could do this. How hard could it be to sit and swallow a few bites of food before dragging her to the nearest flat surface?
”A midnight dinner with a beautiful woman and I get to choose the dessert.” He held her chair before moving to the other side of the table.
He was discovering he really enjoyed food now that he could see what he was eating. Before Kierin's fix for his eyes he'd go hungry before eating in front of anyone. Humiliation was tough to swallow. Food had to be extremely hot for him to locate it on the plate. If he took a bite while it was hot enough for him to see it, he burned his mouth. Once it cooled enough to eat, he couldn't see where it was and ended up using his hands and shoveling whatever he grabbed into his mouth. He was no better than a farm animal.
”This tastes amazing. Is that a leaf you used to wrap the kava while it baked?”
”One of the first things I do when I go somewhere new is to check out the local herbs and flowers, especially if I'm going to be there long. A constant diet of plain roasted meat would get old. Add a few sprigs of a local herb and it becomes a meal-not just food.”
”This is just spicy....”
His brain shut down when Shadow picked up the kava leg, dripping with juice, and slowly ran her tongue along its length. When she grinned and pushed the six-inch length of bone and meat into her mouth, he stopped breathing all together.
”If you want me to finish this meal, you'll stop what you're doing. I don't have a problem with shoving everything to the floor and laying you out on the table.”
”I'm going to have to work on your staying power.” She whispered, placing her dinner back on the plate.
”Shadow....” Talon didn't recognize the growling noise as his voice. The woman would kill him if she kept this up.
”Okay, okay. I'll play nice. How did the hunt go?”
It took him several seconds to adjust. Gone was the s.e.xy flirt and Blue was back in control. He spent the next hour describing his ordeal with the eldorak. Laughing with her when he described slipping on the muddy trail and sliding the half-mile to the valley floor on his b.u.t.t. This was how he imagined couples spent their evenings-sharing their day while pa.s.sion simmered quietly, building slowly until time to retire for the night.
”I a.s.sumed you'd go for a string of kavas, since the little b.u.g.g.e.rs are hopping all over the place.” She wiped the tears from her face when the laughter stopped. ”Why didn't you cut it up and cache it in a tree until morning?”
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the knife. ”I wasn't prepared for big game. By the time I gutted it, this thing was practically useless.”
”So where did you leave the carca.s.s?”
”Tied to a rock in the pool at the edge of the artesian well. The water is cold enough to keep it fresh until daylight and deep enough to keep any predators from stealing it.”
A comfortable silence enveloped them. That small part of Talon from before he lost his sight and before Draagon destroyed his life craved this feeling. Craved home. He'd never have another home, but he could remember and store these memories to feed his dreams in the long years ahead. Shoving the feeling away, he focused on the woman sitting quietly across from him.
”What color are your eyes?” He asked, softly.
”Blue.” She tilted her head like she was trying to figure out what to ask next. ”What do you see when you look at me?”
”You mean besides a beautiful woman?” He shrugged. ”The whites of your eyes almost glow. The rest is a dark greenish grey.”
”No man has ever called me beautiful. It's ironic that the first one to do so is blind.”
”Not as blind as the men you've known. Is this the first time you've let your hair down?” Talon wanted to bury his hands in those soft strands again. He couldn't wait to see it spread across his pillow or brus.h.i.+ng his thighs. Just that fast, the semi-erection he'd managed throughout dinner roared to life.
”Just the first time since you could see me. I'm a mercenary, Talon. Soldiers don't take a woman serious if all they see is fluff.”