consumed (7 page)

“Depends.” Almost naked and vulnerable, the cool air sent goosebumps careening over her exposed skin. Only the silk pantalettes stood between her and full exposure. She squirmed as expectation spiraled through her pussy. “If your time is limited, don’t you think you should hurry?” Her breasts ached, and she pressed more fully against him for relief.

Sam didn’t answer with words. He dipped his head, taking a nipple into his mouth.

Ava hissed with pleasure. Heat swirled low in her belly as he sucked on the tip. When she moaned, he rolled her neglected nipple between his thumb and forefinger. “You have a perfect body, Ava. A body made to be worshipped by the right man.”

“Are you that man?”
Oh God, please say yes.
Wetness seeped between her thighs as her arousal grew. Every touch of his hand brought her closer to release.

“I will try everything in my power to be so.” He dropped to his knees before her. “I pray that I am.”

A response died in her throat as he stroked along her waist. Trembles swept over her skin, multiplying in quick succession while he drew her old-fashioned lingerie over her hips and down her legs. “Sam, please let me undress you.” She wanted to see his body, touch him everywhere he did her, taste his skin.

“In a moment.” He pressed heated kisses to her belly, abdomen, and hips. Everywhere fabric had once been, he explored with his mouth until she stood on wobbly legs. Clutching his shoulders for support, she tried to bring him up, but he shook his head. “Sit on the edge of the bed.”

“Sam.” When he placed a kiss on her curls, her knees buckled.

He guided her to the bed, gently pushing her down so her legs hung off the side, and she reclined on her elbows. “Remember, no loud noises. It shall be our little game, hmm?”

“Okay.” The threat of being found out by her benefactor added a thrill to their play. Her stomach flipped as if she’d plunged down a large rollercoaster hill. She stared back as he gazed at her while easing her legs apart. “Should I trust you?” Through it all, her wolf had remained silent, for which she was grateful. She couldn’t have sex with a voice in her head.

“Do you have a choice?” Before she could answer, he lowered his head.

The first swipe of his tongue along her slick folds sent heat rushing through her veins. The next stoked the heat into a fire that threatened to consume her. The moment he nibbled her clit and teased it with his talented tongue, she lost her mind to the white-hot sensations pulsing around her.

Her whimper of submission went unheeded. Sam continued his erotic assault. His tongue circled the bundle of nerves in ever-tighter designs. Ava clutched handfuls of the bedding as coils of need wound low through her belly, ready to spring.

“You taste as sweet as honey to me, Ava.” For one second, his gaze caught hers, intense, deep, shadowed with emotion, then he gave her a wink and returned to his work.

She jerked when he suckled her swollen nub. Another tickle of his warm, moist tongue along her folds sent her over the edge. She bit her bottom lip hard as wave after wave of pleasure crashed into her. The energy screamed along her skin like a heated tornado of sensation and she collapsed onto the mattress, her chest heaving and her channel contracting with her orgasm.

“You’re very good.” Ava wiped at tears in the corner of one eye. She sat up and gave him a shaky grin. Tiny aftershocks zipped through her body with every move. “It normally takes a much longer time to get me off.”
And I never cry afterward!

“Further proof that you and I have a certain chemistry.” Sam wiped his face with the edge of the quilt before he stood. “Thank you for giving me this honor. If you would like to talk, I am willing to give you answers.” Whispering couldn’t mask the complacency in his voice.

“Not a problem, as long as you let me multitask.” She patted the bed next to her. “Your turn.” Her mouth watered, knowing that in less than a minute she’d have it around what was probably a large, hard cock.

Sam’s chest rose and fell with a sigh. “I cannot guarantee you will have the results you desire.”

She rolled her eyes. Every man’s ego was the same. “Paybacks are a bitch.” As he lay on the quilt next to her, she instructed him to put his hands behind his head. “No moving them until I give permission.” Leaning over, she dropped a quick kiss on his mouth. A shiver danced down her spine when she tasted her own juices. “Now, why do you think you’re going to die?”

“A phoenix can only regenerate seven times in his life.” He shuddered as she worked his trouser buttons.

“Why is that a problem?” Once she opened his pants, she eased the fabric down and repeated the action with the thin boxerlike underwear. His penis sprang out, framed by a nest of red-gray curls. Not exactly as hard or long as she’d hoped, he was still impressive enough to have potential.

Sam levered up on an elbow. “Each regeneration takes a huge toll on the physical body. Once reborn, a phoenix ages at an accelerated rate.”

“You don’t look all that bad to me.” She straddled his calves and tucked her hair behind a shoulder. “I mean, you’re what, maybe thirty-five? A little hair color, and you’ll be good to go.”

“If I were a full human, I would be thirty-four.” His jaw clenched when she pushed the hem of his shirt up and skimmed a hand along his tight abdomen. “Since I am now on my last regeneration, I am almost ninety-nine years old. Each rebirth ages a phoenix fourteen years.”

“Wow. You seem to be in fantastic shape.” Ava wrapped a hand around his cock. “So, let’s take this baby out for a spin.” His length, once thick and extended, would fit nicely into her palm. Another rush of heat shot through her at the thought of it filling her. She pumped her curled fingers up and down his shaft. Silky, wrinkled skin slipped beneath her hand, but he didn’t stiffen.

“Ava, stop. There is something you need to know about my virility.” He reached for her, but she smacked his hand away.

“You’ll satisfy me, okay? Let me do this.” Men were such babies about their size and prowess. Leaning down, she licked him from tip to balls before taking him into her mouth. As she swirled her tongue around the head, she watched Sam’s face. Surprise gave way to enjoyment, then abject need. His eyes narrowed to slits. She licked at the underside, massaging the tender, less than firm flesh with both her mouth and hand. His cock jumped. Ava sucked gently, grinning when he hardened a bit. Desire coiled low in her belly. Almost time. She pulled away. “Someone’s getting happy. With a bit more playtime, junior will be ready to go.”

A strangled sound broke from his throat. “Damn it, Ava, I told you to stop.” Sam dislodged her from his legs and rolled onto his side, facing away from her. “I cannot please you in that way.”

“Okay.” Her stomach clenched. “I’m sorry I pushed you. My wolf side tends to make me aggressive, especially where sex is concerned. Some guys don’t like that.”
Great, I finally meet the one man I connect with, I take the lead, and he gets huffy.

Her wolf growled.
You’re wrong. He’s hurting.

Yeah, well, so am I. Rejection blows.
She crawled up the bed. “Feel free to leave.” She hoped he did it soon so he couldn’t see her tears.
When will fate cut me a break?

Chapter Six

Hellfire and damnation, the woman was crying. Sam alternately cursed the heavens, his aged penis, and his cowardice. For the first time in years he was in bed with a beautiful, willing woman, and he acted like a violated minister. Tucking his near-useless member into his pants, he worked the buttons and slid up the bed next to her. How did one apologize for being unable to provide sex? “Ava, forgive me.”

“Don’t bother.” She positioned herself so her back faced him, yet the long, creamy expanse provided as much temptation as her front. “I knew it was too good to be true.” The pillows muffled her words. “Just goes to show that the love-at-first-sight thing is total crap.”

His heart squeezed as if stuck in a vice. She struggled with the concept as well? “My having difficulty becoming aroused has no bearing on how I feel for you.” He smoothed a hand over her glorious golden hair, then lifted the length to his nose. Lavender and honey notes made him grin. “I am merely a victim of old age.”

“Guys in my time would kill to look like you do at ninety-eight.” A giggle escaped, only to be caught by the pillow.

“The irony here is I would probably kill for one chance at having sex without needing a woman to work on my aged parts for more than an hour.” The taste of her still lingered on his tongue, sweet and very intoxicating. Where other women had called him dissolute and scandalous for indulging in the act, Ava had not only welcomed it, she’d also sought to reciprocate. That tiny consideration lodged in his chest and glimmered with a hope he desperately wanted to grasp.

In her, he’d found the one woman who could match him in experience and temperament. Because of his fated days, he was in danger of losing her. It could not happen.
I refuse to allow it. I need her.

She flopped onto her back and held him immobile with a baleful glance. “I don’t believe that.”

He snapped his focus back to the conversation at hand. “Whether you believe it or not, these are the facts. I have not been a real man for some years now. As difficult as it is for you to accept, put yourself in my position. It is near impossible.” He struggled to his knees and pulled down the quilt. “Come, you will catch a cold. Get under, and I will tuck you in before I go.” The least he could be was a gentleman.

“I’ve changed my mind. Stay until I fall asleep?” She crawled beneath the bedclothes, clearly expecting him to do the same with her big green eyes searching his.

“You win.” He could no more deny her request than he could cease breathing on command. Once beside her warm, fragrant body, he drew the quilt around them and held her close. “It was never my intention to hurt you, Ava.”

“You didn’t.” She wriggled her backside against him. His member twitched but didn’t respond further. “I guess I’m sad. After everything else, I thought somehow if you and I could sleep together, this whole coming-back-in-time thing would make sense or give me a purpose.”

“I have found the longer I live, the less that makes sense. It is a matter of unlearning everything I knew before. This is especially true after meeting you.” He rested his chin on top of her head. “I am glad you came, for no other reason than the opportunity to meet you.”

“You’re too charming for your own good.” Though he couldn’t see it for confirmation, he heard the smile in her voice.

“Perhaps, but I am honest. You have brought light into my life where there was none. Spending my last days with you is quite delightful, despite my current difficulties.” Brushing his fingers over her breasts, urging her nipples into puckered flowers, he sighed. There was simply not enough time left to acquaint himself with her body as he’d like. “The life of a phoenix is harsh and exacting. It seems there is always a sacrifice involved.”

“How so?”

Sam felt the tremor that passed through her body. Despite her protests when he first met her, women were the more delicate of the species. He’d give up many things if granted the ability to remain alive and protect her, watch her do even the most mundane things, grow old alongside her. “Since there can only be one full-blooded phoenix living at a time, I never knew my father. If the stories are to be believed, he suffered from a malady of the heart and died the same day as my birth. This also happened to his father before him.”

“I’m so sorry.” Turning in his arms, she pressed her body against him, her arms around his waist holding him close. “Did anyone ever explain to you why?”

“No.” He stroked his fingers down her spine, enjoying the simplicity of feeling connected to a woman, able to lie in bed without the distraction of sex. “This is how the race works with no choice to the bearers. We are very much alone in the world.”

“What about your mother? Is she gone as well?” Ava’s whispered words tickled his ear.

“Unfortunately, yes. She was heartbroken when my father died. She managed to live for a few years more before she succumbed. I was her only child.” The customary sadness rolled over him from the premature loss of his mother. “One of my mother’s sisters took me in. When I attained my majority, I struck out on my own.”

“You came to Destiny?” She accompanied the question with the swipe of her tongue on his neck.

Desire shook his frame at the fleeting touch. “Some time later. I had to make peace with my fate first. I learned everything I could about my unique race from every library I could find. It would seem there is no set purpose for a phoenix, which is probably why the race is dying out. It is almost as if the Creator lost a train of thought and did not follow through.”

Her low, breathy laughter sent gooseflesh over his skin. “You never had the desire to reproduce?”

“Never through my adult life. One, I did not wish to give this lifestyle to another, and two, if I produced a son, upon his birth I would die.” He drew his palm down the length of her back, massaging the slight dip at the base of her spine. He loved that spot on a woman’s body. “Most of my life has been spent in selfish pursuits.”

“And self-preservation. It’s not a crime, Sam.”

“Perhaps.”

“You never wanted a child in your own image, someone to carry on the family name?”

“At times it is a delightful dream, I suppose.” Her scent lulled him into a sense of peace. “Until recently, I never found a woman I wanted to impregnate. Now, it is impossible, as you know.”

“But you slept with women before. There were no accidents?”

“No. Either I was very careful or fate was. I have no children.”

“Ah.” Her fingers furrowed his hair. “Do you have any regrets?”

Did he? In accelerated flashes, scenes from his extended life streamed through his mind’s eye. Blurry faces from the parade of women he’d been with danced through his brain, exquisite tastes from food fired his palate, passages from favorite books illuminated his brain, and snatches of music and conversation rang in his ears. Ah, there was much to miss, but did he have regrets? His sigh fluttered a few strands of her hair. “I have one.”

“Well, what is it?”

“I regret not being able to sleep with a woman again due to my weak member.”

She pushed away from him. Her eyes flashed in the darkness. “That’s it? Your one regret is to do the nasty with some random woman?” Her voice had risen with every word. “Get the hell out of my bed.”

“Is that jealousy I hear, my dear Miss Lesarris?” His reflective mood lifted to know he’d gotten under her skin so quickly. Before she could consign him to perdition, he pushed her onto her back and kissed her until she went limp beneath him. Levering off by scant inches, he asked, “Would you allow me to finish my thought?”

“Yes.” When she drew him down for another embrace, he temporarily lost all cognizant thought.

A shaky breath later, he continued. “I wish only to make love to one woman. If, by some miracle, this would occur, I want it to be with you, Ava. Beyond reason or explanation, I find myself falling for you. I cannot reason it out and neither do I want to. I merely wish I had more time.” Now that he’d stated his case, fear twisted his insides. Would she still demand he leave? Was his story too unbelievable?

“Oh, Sam!” She pulled him down and rained kisses over his cheeks, chin, and lips. “Why did you have to go and say something so sappy and romantic?” Wetness on his skin indicated she was crying. “You make me want the happily ever after, but how can I have it if you’re going to die?”

Deep sorrow laid siege to his heart. He settled more comfortably into the bed and pulled her tightly against him. “Enjoy our time right now. That is all we can do. It is all we have. We must make it be enough.”

An insistent knock interrupted more conversation. “Ava, are you all right? I thought I heard voices. Open this door!” Mrs. Altier’s command was more chilling than the air temperature.

Ava barely stirred from her position. Instead, she renewed her explorations of his body. “I’m fine, Mrs. Altier. Just having a deliciously vivid dream. Good night!”

* * * *

The next afternoon, Sam walked the streets of Destiny with dragging steps. He’d remained with Ava until she drifted off to sleep, then he’d left her bedroom by way of the window, climbing down a trellis. The dried grapevines and other detritus plant life left over from the summer aided his flight, and shortly afterward he’d collapsed, fully clothed, in his own empty bed. He should have stayed with Ava, but too many years of ingrained manners worked against him. No matter that he would quit this life on the morrow, she needed to retain a sterling image in order to have a decent existence long after he was gone.

That thought exacerbated his current frame of mind. Yes, he intended to spend the next several hours in her company. However, he also would try to convince her to forget about him and move on. He didn’t want her to mourn his passing. This would be a huge undertaking. Last night, she held him tight even in sleep, as if she couldn’t bear to part with him. While her regard made his heart glad, he refused to cause her greater pain. Thus, the urge to set her free.

Halfway down Main Street, Sam stumbled to a halt. For so late in November, Mother Nature had set the scene with incredible glory. Golden afternoon sunlight glanced off every surface and gilded windows, rooftops, and trees. Eddies of dried leaves rode invisible currents through the streets, the curled edges scraping daintily on the cobblestones. He lifted his face to the sun and felt a warm brush of air on his cheeks.

God, I am going to miss the tangible aspect of being alive.

The sharp scent of burning wood wafted to his nose, and he inhaled deeply. Birds chattered in the naked branches while masked in the woods and the lone call of a wolf carried through the town, answered moments later by its mate. Life would continue long after he was gone. He couldn’t change that fact, but he could make sure he was remembered by someone who cared for him.

And that was what he’d wanted all along, except he’d realized it much too late.

Shoving his hands into his trouser pockets, he started on his journey again only to come to yet another halting stop, this time from a vision in the street. His blood ran both hot and cold as he stared.

Ava stood gazing back, looking for all the world like every dream he’d ever had. The sun slanted through the trees and turned her upswept hair to molten gold. Rosy color stained her cheeks and lips, while the pale expanse of her décolletage beckoned from the dark backdrop of her deep-plum gown. The jet beads framing the neckline and sprinkled over the skirt sparkled in the sun, and a turquoise underskirt peeked out with every step she made.

“What are you doing here? I said I’d call for you.” He forgot how to breathe as he peered at her as if he’d never see her again.

“I couldn’t wait any longer.” She shook her head, her expression jumping between confusion, puzzlement, and wonder, much like he felt. The tendons in her neck worked with the force of her swallow. “I woke up this morning without you and didn’t like it. Don’t do that again.”

“I promise, from this moment forward, I will spend whatever time I have left with you.” He took a few steps toward her. “You realize that style of gown is worn strictly for dinner or an evening out.”

She nodded and smoothed the fabric at her midsection. “I do, but I thought you might like to make your last day over-the-top special. In these clothes, I think I nailed it.”

“I do appreciate your efforts.” Oh, how he wished for more time to grasp the meaning of her strange language. “I have one other regret.”

“Yeah, what’s that?” She met him in the middle of the cobbled street. Whatever footwear she’d chosen to wear put her nearly eye to eye with him.

His pulse thundered through his ears and raced through his veins. Blood went coursing straight to his cock. It hardened more than it had in recent days, but not enough to warrant dragging her into the woods. “I do not have years to spend kissing you. Damnation, Ava, I could waste a decade whispering sonnets to your beauty into your ear.” She didn’t need to know that he hadn’t a clue how to compose a sonnet. All he was certain of in that moment was he needed her like a drowning man needs rescue.