Prince of Luster (17 page)

He stared at her for a moment. “You miss him? Being with him?” For some reason, that thought didn’t sit well. He didn’t want her looking at him and being reminded of some dead lover.

“I miss everyone I lost.”

“What was his name again?” Marcos softly asked.

“Aeson.”

Marcos put out one hand and placed his palm against her cheek. “He must have been a very good man for you to have cared so much.”

She remained silent.

Marcos placed his index finger under her chin and forced her to look back again. “You miss having sexual relations. That would be quite understandable. You’ve been lonely a long time, Nova. I … I shouldn’t mind you staring at me. In fact, it’s only natural given the circumstances. After all, I’m much better now, and we aren’t exactly in the position of healer and patient any longer. Are we?”

“I understand all that. You just reminded me of something I’d rather not have remembered.”

He moved closer. “You can tell me anything. Whatever it is I’ll help if I can.”

For a long moment, Nova chewed at her lower lip and twisted the edge of her blanket in her hands. “I-I don’t think I can speak about it,” she quietly told him.

Something in her eyes worried him. He placed both his hands on her shoulders to get her to talk. “Did this man ever do something that made you uncomfortable? Something that maybe you weren’t ready for?”

She stared into his eyes. “No. He never did or would. It’s just very personal. And you’re right … from now on … y-you can put the cream on yourself. I should be getting some rest.”

Marcos watched her turn away, pull the blankets around her small body more closely, and reach for Una.

For a long time, he watched her lying there, knowing she wasn’t asleep. And while he finished smoothing the cream over his legs, time and the cold didn’t diminish his erection one bit. Sad for him, it began to itch too. Though only tiny spots of his genitalia had been exposed to the plasma, what
was
burned needed the comfort of the cream even more.

There was nothing to do but spread the stuff over his cock and balls. To do it, he needed to stretch out on his back.

While he’d always known the healing properties of an incubation unit would eventually put him to rights again—as a man—it was still good to know that he was responsive
now
. The emotional drain wasn’t nearly as bad as it could have been while wondering when he’d see rescue, a healing unit, or medical technician again.

He vowed that whatever happened under the blankets, after Nova fell asleep, would be his problem. He wouldn’t ask her about her man again unless she broached the subject first. There was something in her gaze that made him believe talking about him was painful for a number of reasons not having to do with his death.

Long after he believed she was asleep, Marcos stroked and smoothed the cream over his testicles and inner thighs.

He closed his eyes and relished the feel of his ministrations; the warmth, and relief at being able to enjoy this simple pleasure was wonderful. He couldn’t help a small moan that escaped his lips. The cessation of the burning and the effects of the cream were heavenly.

Too late, he realized that she wasn’t asleep at all. The woman was only lying there quite still, keeping her breathing even and steady so as to mimic slumber. But the slow rotation of her hips beneath the blankets gave her away.

He watched as she slowly turned to face him, but he didn’t stop what he was doing. It just felt too damned good.

“I … I can’t stand it,” she whispered. “I … I want to see you touch yourself.”

He slowly smiled and nodded. “It’s all right, Nova. If it pleases you, watch. If it pleases you
more
… touch me.”

She swallowed hard and crept on her hands and knees toward him. It was a small distance to cover but it seemed like such a long time until she was close to his body. Just a few inches more … closer and closer still …

Marcos’s heartbeat quickened. Nova’s beautiful amethyst gaze swept over him and steadied on that part of his anatomy jutting straight up. Molten passion lit her features. He’d never seen a woman’s eyes so hot with raw desire. All his previous encounters had been with women who easily chose their men on any random occasion. Nova, however, had been without any kind of male encounter for quite some time. At least that was the only conclusion he could glean from what she’d told him and from her current response.

He watched her move closer with excited expectation. In his heart he knew her caress would be different. Not only because of her enforced, lonely situation, but because instinct told him she wasn’t that experienced, or that someone, probably the man known as Aeson, hadn’t serviced her and seen to her needs in a way that captured her passion. He silently swore to do everything to satisfy her, and not just because she’d saved his life.

She had a strength to survive that intrigued him beyond any sexual interlude. She could make a home from a small cave and dare to dream. Her mind and heart held qualities that mesmerized him. He wanted to reach deep inside her and blend those qualities with his.

What he felt toward her was more than sexual need. It was a deep, intrinsic bonding he wanted. And he believed he could share it with no one else.

She’d seen him at his worst and still wanted him. He’d seen her at her best and now craved her. But more. He desired her respect and for her to see him as the new man he’d become. Gone was the self-centered egotist. That man had been burned away, and a new one had risen in his place.

He waited for the first touch of her small hands, and knew it’d be something special. He slightly thrust his hips up in expectation, but couldn’t help a small moan escaping as her knees grazed his thigh.

No heaven would be any better. So sure her first touch would be fantastic, he held his breath in anticipation.

• • •

Nova knelt beside him. Her breathing came in small gasps. A desire so deep overtook common sense. Even scarred and burned nearly to death, this man had summoned the will to live, and he was still every bit the warrior she’d seen face down that slug in the marketplace. The muscle, brawn, and carriage of a fighter were all there. The fire hadn’t burned that out of him. So many others she knew had never been touched by the plasma, but their will had turned to ash anyway. Not so with this man.

She’d long craved such a man but had given up hope of finding him among the sheep of Delta Seven. She now included herself among that lot. But the fear that’d kept her from speaking up, while watching him do so on everyone else’s behalf, vanished. He’d given her hope for the first time in a very long while. Next to her was the nearest thing to a god she’d ever seen. If others had been as inspired by his act as she, then what he’d done might spark a new revolution.

Instinct told her he wasn’t telling the truth—or all of it—but desire wouldn’t be quelled. Whatever or whoever he claimed to be, the man had his reasons. She no longer cared what they were, if he’d just stay by her side and chase loneliness away.

Death was just outside the cave entrance and all around them. If it should come tomorrow, she vowed to know this man tonight, in any way he wished. He represented strength, pride, gentle kindness, and caring. He was a man to trust. And what beguiled her most was the fact that his striking green eyes flared with the same desire she felt. He didn’t see her as so many had: just another scarred woman slinking about the fringes of society. He saw the real her despite the scars. And when he offered his hand, she eagerly took it.

She gently ran her palm up the inside of his leg. He briefly closed his eyes and nodded for her to continue. His words, like all his actions so far, were encouraging and tender.

“That’s it. Touch me however you will. I’ll do anything you ask, Nova. We’ve nothing to hide from one another. We can be one.”

She gazed into his beautiful eyes and saw his soul. Emboldened, she took the advice her mother had given so long ago when the facts of life had been explained.

She took his erection in one hand, and caressed the length of it. His hips rotated and lifted as her fingers explored his body. The soft moan escaping from deep in his throat emboldened her.

“I was taught the loving ways of my mother’s people. I’ve never had the chance to use that knowledge … never wanted to. Not even with the man I would have wed. And not even when he tried to entice me into loving him. But I want to now, Marcos. I want that more than anything.”

“Ask of me whatever you want, and it’s as good as done.”

She continued to slowly stroke him. “I … I want to mount you.”

“Take your time,” he whispered.

Nova took a deep breath, released his erection, and quickly lifted her caftan over her head.

“Your body is so small,” he murmured as his gaze wandered over her. “I swear to you I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my entire life, Nova.”

She smiled and blinked away tears. Then she slowly straddled his upper thighs, but just below his erection. He lifted his hands and palmed the outside of her calves. Her gaze never left his as she moved one of his hands toward the juncture of her thighs. Her head fell back when his fingertips touched the moist folds of skin there. Excitement claimed her, even as he gasped and his breathing quickened. She had to have him.

She felt his body shift as he sat halfway up. His palms were warm and soothing as his fingers spanned her waist. With her head back, the softest part of her throat was exposed to him. He leaned forward and greedily claimed that partially scarred area with his lips.

She moaned, and his hands moved to her back. He began a soft, slow stroking motion. With each kiss on her neck and each caress of his hands, her body grew more ready. She wanted to give him what she hadn’t given Aeson—something from her Wyrdan heritage that, when used, was said to drive a man nearly insane. But this special gift could only be bestowed on one man. When her body recognized the soul that matched hers, only then could that power release. Never could it be given to another; it was his for the rest of her life. She’d been taught to make very sure this power was released wisely. Poor Aeson had never captured her heart as this man now did.

“Creator’s blood!” he murmured against her throat. “You’re the smallest, sweetest thing I’ve ever seen. I don’t think I can stand much more. I have to have you, Nova.”

His breathy declaration thrilled her. But she had to make sure her body was ready for his gift. She looped her arms around his shoulders and pulled him into a full sitting position. “Kiss me.”

Marcos pressed his lips against hers. She accepted the hottest, most sultry kiss of her life. He moaned deeply as his hands grazed her body. Her mouth opened, and she met each thrust of his tongue with one of her own.

“No one else will ever have you. I swear it! No one. You’re mine,” he softly growled as he broke the kiss to murmur the words against her mouth.

The assertive vow was all she needed to hear. Her body prepared itself for the Wiccan mating. “Lie back quickly. Let me take you,” she commanded.

He did as she ordered, but his hands never left her body. She felt sweet, burning passion born of promise and something more. Something a lifetime of looking could never accomplish. She loved this man. And she’d love no other.

As he lay back, he stared into her eyes and spoke with barely contained ardor. “I mean it, Nova. I’ll never let you go. Never.”

She raised her body until the juncture between her thighs was directly over his erection. Then she carefully grasped it in one hand. “Don’t worry on that account, Marcos. I’ll make sure you won’t want to let me go. I’ll make very sure.”

• • •

Marcos placed his hands around her waist. Ever so slowly, she lowered herself onto his manhood. Tight heat surrounded, sheathed, and energized him. She moved his hands to her breasts. The silent but bold request wasn’t hard to interpret. She wanted him to massage her breasts deeply. As he did so, he used the pads of his thumbs to tease her erect nipples. A strange tightening sensation began around his cock.

He fixed his gaze on hers.

“Wh-what is that gripping … w-what’s happening?” he asked.

She didn’t seem capable of speech. Her eyes began to glow, and deep vibrating, coupled with harder gripping, rocked his cock from inside out.

His deep moan of satisfaction and fulfillment echoed off the cave walls. The sound was dragged from the very bottom of his lungs. He could no more stop it than he could stop breathing. And in that moment, he was sorry to have ever begged for death. How could he have wanted to die when such ecstasy existed in the universe?

He could no longer speak. Only feel. There was nothing and no one else in existence but her. The gripping, vibrating, and pulsing was almost too much. At one point, he knew his eyes rolled back, but the perfect union and all the sensations that went with it had to go on.

Finally, he was able to grasp her breasts, but feared the need to hang onto and caress them would cause pain. Instead, he gripped her hips and felt his own being drawn up to meet hers. The strength of her body was incredible. And the vibration that began as a soft tingling kept growing in intensity.

Deep clenching around his cock caused him to gasp for air. He could neither thrust nor withdraw. She owned him entirely. He dragged in air through clenched teeth, prepared to ride out this storm of sensuous pleasure to the end.

She cried out loudly, threw her head back, and grasped her own breasts once before running her hands over her body. Even with the overwhelming tightening and simultaneous stroking, he eventually found the strength to caress her body as she seemed to require. He focused on her breasts and gently pulled them toward his chest. She put her palms over his, letting him know his caresses were exactly what she craved.

Suddenly, Nova was literally impaled on him as his chest and hips arched upward. Her cries of unbelievable satisfaction joined his as he finally released, and felt her body suck his seed up and into her.

After the waves of rolling, gripping sensations left, she fell forward. Satisfaction couldn’t begin to describe what he’d just experienced. He wrapped his arms around her tiny body as she drew in great gasps of air.