Visions of Fire and Ice (The Petiri) (26 page)

“Don’t. Let me.”

But he didn’t. His mouth closed in on the exposed upper curves of her feminine softness, moisture sizzling over her skin as her body absorbed the cool wet kisses. He shouldn’t feel this good. Women were supposed to like heat. Yet everything Ramose gave her chilled her, just enough to drive her insane, her body firing with every touch, every kiss and every soft breath.

“
Neferhemet
,” he murmured.
Beautiful
.

His hand slid back downward, toward the apex of her thighs. This was it. The moment she’d wanted. The moment she feared. What if… she banished the thought before it was complete in her mind. She would not--could not--be afraid of Ramose.

His mouth teased her throat, before moving upward, his breath brushing against her ear a second before his teeth nipped her lobe. She groaned at the sensation just as a finger brushed against her feminine flesh. Tamara gasped and stiffened. Damn, that felt—awesome. Her heart fluttered with the speed of a hummingbird’s wings in her chest.

Ramose gave a soft, masculine laugh, his breath cooling the simmering skin along her ear. She bit her lip, wanting to laugh, wanting to cry, but most of all, fighting the desire to beg for more.

He touched her again, this time more firmly. Her body trembled. The cool of his winter’s night combined with the heat of her summer’s storm swirled inside her. What would happen if she lost control? Could his ice hold in the explosion? Or would the heat from her body burn Ramose? Damaging his body? She stiffened.

“It’s okay,
Kha-Ib
.”

“But, what if—”

“You can’t hurt me,” he murmured, nuzzling her cheek, the sharp edges of his beard sending her need even higher.

His arousal pressed against her body, and she yearned to have more. What would he feel like inside of her? Would he be hot, and hungry? Or would he be cold, sweeping away the erotic fires exploding inside her?

“We don’t know that,” she groaned, arching into the hand cupping her breast.

* * * *

For the first time in his life, Ramose was hot. Burning with an all-encompassing hunger for this woman. For his
Kha-Ib
. He understood her concerns, but everything would be perfect. For once, science would play no part in his life.
Elo
, his god, would never give him a
Kha-Ib
he couldn’t touch. Even if she melted the very ice he controlled, he didn’t care. His body absorbed every bit of her fire, swirling it inside him, his own icy cold core wrapping it in a cooling blanket. Each caressing blush of heat melted the sheen of ice surrounding his heart.

“But I do,” he growled. He caressed the sweet silk of her feminine core again, tensing when she arched into his hand, her body writhing against the pillows. His gaze glued itself to the sequined costume bra she wore. The soft, gentle curves of her breasts heaved with every breath, every gasp. They lay pillowed in the bra, the garment cupping the delicate globes like gentle hands, teasing him, hiding just enough to make his mouth water.

He ached with need. A hunger to touch and caress that sweet flesh all on his own, to tease and taste, rubbing his teeth against the hardened tips just to hear her sudden intakes of breath at the pleasure. He flicked open the front clasp, baring her breasts. Like an offering to the gods, they lay, waiting, the soft, gently curved mounds exposed to his hungry gaze. The rise and fall of her rose-tipped nipples taunted his dry mouth, begging for his tongue.

He swallowed, hard.

Nothing could have stopped his trembling fingers when he reached forward. Letting his knuckles graze the soft flesh, he ground his teeth when she jumped at his touch, a flush of pink surging across the exposed skin.

He caressed the delicate flesh, noting the shiver passing through her body. Stroke after stroke, he teased her, circling one hardened, pebbled tip still waiting for his touch. He wanted to give her everything she wanted, yet he wanted this to last forever. When she arched her body, pressing the softness harder into his hand, he nearly lost all control.

This moment was special. His first time with his
Kha-Ib
. He would take his time, control his own desire. He teased her sensitive feminine flesh between her now spread thighs, the other fondling the sexiest breasts on two planets.

With a sweep of his tongue, he tasted the salty sweat trailing between them. His eyes fluttered closed, and he relished the taste of her skin. Gods, this was what he’d waited for all of his life. He groaned, his tongue refusing to obey his instruction to wait. Instead, he licked upward, at last closing his lips over the object of his long-suffering desire.

The sound of her moan mixed with his own. She tasted of ambrosia. Sweet, with a hint of salt. With a light scrape of his teeth, he dragged his mouth from one breast to the other, feeding off her plumped, rigid flesh. The dull, throbbing ache in his loins intensified, and he knew he wouldn’t last much longer. She was too perfect. And that perfection was driving him to a precipice he wasn’t ready to reach just yet.

“Ramose,” she murmured as he shifted his weight.

She opened her legs, offering him the cradle of her thighs and hips. He tried to resist, but lust surged through his already heated blood, and he moved over her. The tip of his erection pressed against the center of her core. Her heat radiated outward, searing his determination. He needed to go easy. She’d suffered before. He would not make her suffer again.

With the thought fresh in his mind, he tried to hold back, but her hands grasped at him, pulling him forward. The nipple popped from his mouth when she shifted, and her fingers caught in his hair, drawing his head upward. The kiss she gave him tossed the last bit of his reserves straight into the fire, and he slid forward, searching for that one last source of heat.

Her feminine flesh opened for him, cupping him as though she’d waited only for him. Her eyes shot open, and she groaned into his mouth. Ramose trembled with the need to thrust and take, but he held back. Instead, he swallowed her moans, plundering her mouth.

For thousands of years, he’d waited, never expecting to find the woman meant for him. Yet here she was, in his arms.
Nanik
. A shudder of pure delight rumbled down his spine and into his loins. He inched further inside her. She was so tight.

She ripped away from his kiss, her body arched upward, her eyes scrunched closed. Gods above, if he hurt her, he’d never survive.

“Tamara,” he growled. “Look at me.”

Her eyes opened, their depths filled with a hunger, which burned as brightly as her soul. And, yet, he was sure there was a shadow of memory in those beautiful eyes.

“Don’t be afraid.” He brushed his fingers down her cheek, the gesture intended to calm her, and, yet, all it did was remind him of the softness of her skin, of the beauty in her heat.

“Not afraid.”

She arched upward, and he clenched his jaw at the effort to remain still. Her muscles tightened, squeezing him in her body’s grasp.

For the first time, Ramose wasn’t sure where he ended and Tamara began. His muscles trembled in effort.

“Ramose,” she whispered.

He leaned down, nuzzling the satin soft skin of her neck. Even here, the scent of lilies rolled off her, swirling into his lungs, blending with his blood. “Hmmm?” he murmured.

“Move,” she demanded.

He raised and met her gaze. Now wide open, her eyes sent the challenge. “I won’t hurt you. Are you sure?”

“Yes, damn it.” Her hips arched, lifting above the pillows.

Her words exploded in his mind, her movement sent a wave of powerful lust through him. His universe narrowed, constricting to the heated sensation in his loins. Never before had such heat burned inside him. It eclipsed the ice he’d known forever in his blood. It burned away his doubts and his fears. It warmed his soul as no other had done before.

He eased back, drawing away from her, loving the almost pained, erotic expression on her face. Tiny gasps of pleasure slipped past her parted lips.

“More,” she demanded.

“My pleasure,” he murmured. He shoved forward. Powerful heat exploded between them, her body arching. Her scream of surprise echoed about the room, destroying the last of Ramose’s tattered control.

He thrust in and out, living in the sensation of her heat, of her tight, powerful muscles. The feminine scent of her arousal mixed with the lilies, swirling through the air around them. He tried to remember to be careful, but his mind spun out of control. There was only Tamara. Her body. Her heat. Every stroke sent tremors vibrating through their bodies.

No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t stop. She bit her lip. Damn. He was hurting her. But it was too late. Even as his body exploded, he knew she wasn’t there. Knew he hadn’t brought her to climax. Yet, still, he couldn’t stop what was already in progress. The explosion began in his spine, spiraling in both directions, rending his emotions and control.

“Tamara,” he shouted. The pleasure ripped through him in waves, shattering the last of his thoughts. He released inside her, his body throbbing in time with her pulse, each wave sending pulses of cooling seed into her body.

She arched her back, surprise flitting across her face at what he knew must be an odd sensation. She groaned, her body arching upward, welcoming his seed. Welcoming him.

Ramose’s muscles relaxed. He lowered himself to the arms of his
Kha-Ib
. His mate. The woman he would want for all time.

Tamara smiled. A soft, pleasure-filled smile. Her skin was still warm to the touch, and he settled into the cradle of her body.

By the gods, she was pure pleasure. He nuzzled her throat, and she purred, the vibration going all the way through to his soul.

A golden light exploded around them, centering on the
Napshua’s
wrapped about their arms, blinding him. Tamara jerked, guarding her eyes with her hands.

“Look,” he said, staring above them. He’d heard of this. Of the times when
Kha-Ib’s
truly mated. Soft, golden metal swirled, reaching, touching. Caressing one another, the serpents’ tails intertwined, joined as one. He glanced at Tamara, and she stared, her eyes open in surprise.

Heat and cold twisted about him, joining him and Tamara in the same way the serpents united.

* * * *

Tamara gawked at the spectacle above them. The exact replicas of the snakes they each wore on their arms twisted and caressed above them, bathed in a soft golden light. The imagery was so clear that at first she thought it was the actual serpents from their arm bracelets. But, no, the weight of hers remained the same.

He brushed his fingers gently across her cheek, and she turned to meet his gaze. She looked into his liquid, green eyes. In that instance, nothing mattered. The sensations faded, and the asp and cobra separated, their images settling back into their positions on their respected armbands, as though their souls had returned.

With a gentle touch, he stroked the length of her
Napshua
. It purred. The vibration from the armband traveled through her blood. The small metallic creature twisted, settling its hooded head into his large, calloused palm.

“What…” She searched for words. “What happened?”

“It’s called the
Mer-Ib
,” he said. His voice was ragged, yet soft. She could swear he sounded as awed as she was. “It’s something which only happens when
Kha-Ib’s
connect deeper than the physical.”

Tamara smiled. Yes, that fit. The physical was amazing, but the emotional, that shook her to her very soul. He’d shared his secrets with her, opening himself to the chance of her rejection. His trust in her was something she knew she must reciprocate soon.

But the physical wasn’t half bad either. When he’d come, the icy cooling sensation of his orgasm, followed by an explosion of heat inside her. She hadn’t come. No, it wasn’t that. This was different. More on a cellular level, her body reacting to his seed, dragging it deeper inside her, preparing the two of them for something more to come. God, what would happen if she actually did orgasm? It might kill them both.

He met her eyes, his green orbs filled with concern. “But you didn’t—”

“No,” she said, cupping his cheek in her palm. He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. “But that doesn’t mean we didn’t connect. Hell, Ramose, if I had come, we’d have probably set fire to the furniture.”

He gave her a crooked grin. “Not possible. I’d just cool you down.”

“And you would,” she agreed. “I have no doubt of it. And, later, you can prove it.” She smiled. He didn’t look convinced. “Not every woman comes with her man the first time.”

Disappointment flared in his eyes an instant before he hid his emotions.

“Stop,” she said, her fingers on his lips. “I need you to hold me. I know you have questions, and I’ll explain later, but for now,” she fought a yawn, “I need you to cool the heat inside me. I need your arms to hold me.” No need in being shy now. She was satisfied, despite his concern, but her body still needed his cool touch to relax. To fill that last, burning need inside her. To complete her.

Without hesitating, he slid beside her, dragging her into his arms, her body flush against his. “Always,
Kha-Ib
,” he murmured.

Never in her life had Tamara felt more protected. Ramose’s chest pressed against her back, his arms keeping her flush against his body. A body that was already readying itself for another round.

“I never thought I would hold you like this.”

She smiled. “You never told me how is it you didn’t recognize me when we met?” She twisted in his arms to face him. “I mean, I knew you the instant I looked at you.”

He grimaced. “I had thought at first you grew pale that night because you realized your cousin had left you alone.”

“No, I knew exactly who you were right off.” Her finger trailed along his jaw. So strong and masculine. “If I hadn’t, when we had that argument in my hotel room, I’d have called security if you didn’t leave.”

A slow smile curved on his face, softening the otherwise harsh visage he always seemed to provide.

“Imagine their surprise if they’d come to see the broken mirror and all the melted candles.”