Hatshepsut's Collar (The Artifact Hunters #2) (45 page)

He stepped close, and began pulling the pins from her hair. As strong fingers roamed over her scalp, JJ bit back a moan. She never imagined having her hair undone would feel so good, so erotic. He massaged her scalp, as he pulled the thick locks loose and teased her curls down her back. The tingle ran all the way down her spine, making her thighs twitch and her panties dampen. She couldn’t remember the last time a man’s touch melted her knees, if ever.

Turning, she placed a finger on his full lips, before he could utter some inane comment. She held up the wrapper in her hand. “Using this is non-negotiable and no names, no conversation.” She didn’t want to shatter the illusion building in her mind and find out he only had one lone brain cell rattling in that handsome head.

A primal hunger flared in his eyes and her breath hitched. For a nanosecond, JJ wondered what she invited, then his lips were on hers and conscious thought fled her body. His tongue invaded her mouth, taking control of the kiss, as his body pushed hers back against the wall, caging her with his arms. His frame pressed against hers from chest to hip. She parted her lips, welcoming the contact. It had been so long since another human being touched her.

She drank up his weight; it didn’t oppress her, but made her ache deep inside, reminding her of all her body missed. Reminding her what it was to be a woman and to meld to a body that desired her. Her hands swept up his arms to his neck, pulling him closer, as desperation built inside her.

His chest rumbled, as his tongue plunged deeper into her mouth, exploring and caressing her hidden depths. His hands moved, one cupping the nape of her neck, his fingers working against her scalp, the other pulling her shirt free of the waistband of her skirt.

Skilled hands undid the small buttons on her top while she pushed the waistcoat off his broad shoulders. Without releasing her mouth, he tugged the blouse away from her arms, letting it fall to the floor as his hands claimed her breasts. Her nipples were barely covered by the cream lace of the demi-cup bra, and soon the expensive item hit the floor. Clothing discarded, they fought to touch naked skin against naked skin. JJ moaned as his thumbs flicked her nipples, arching her back into his caress, her body starved of the desire raging inside her.

Her fingernails scraped his flesh as she explored his torso and ran her hands over his warm muscles.
God, he’s solid. Everywhere.
She dropped her hands lower and fumbled with his belt buckle before unzipping his pants, pushing the fabric out of her way to free his cock. Thick and wide, it pulsed in her hand. Heat shot through her at the thought of taking something so large, of being pinned to the wall while he pushed deep inside her. His eyes closed. He groaned as her hand explored him, rimming the tip, before she slid the condom over his length.

His hand found the hook and eye closure of her skirt and pushed the fabric over her hips, leaving her in panties and stay up stockings. Calloused fingertips grazed under the elastic of her French knickers and pushed them down her thighs, leaving her to kick the fabric to one side when they dropped around her ankles. His mouth burned a trail of kisses down her neck, before sucking in a nipple.

JJ bowed against him, the cry of need becoming louder. Every cell in her body on fire, and burning for more. His fingers brushed over her trimmed mound and circled her clit on their journey. She gasped as he inserted a large finger and began sliding against the sensitive nerves. Her nails dug into his back, as she surrendered to his touch. The second digit he inserted threw her over the edge, her body starved of release and unable to hold on any longer.

She barely had time to complain when he withdrew his fingers, her body still fluttering with the sudden orgasm. With a hand under her bottom, he lifted her and pressed her higher against the wall. Her arms secured around his neck, her legs around his waist, as the thick tip of his cock nudged against her slick flesh. He let out a groan as he sunk into her in one fluid push. JJ bit the thick cord of muscle at his neck, holding back her scream, as her body stretched to accommodate his shaft.

He paused for a moment, before he drew his hips back to plunge into her again in a desperate rhythm. Both of them spiraled out of control, JJ trying to draw him closer, wanting him imprinted on her skin. Each deep thrust threw her higher. Pleasure ran through her body, shooting down her limbs. Her head fell back against the wall as stars danced behind her eyes. Her fingernails curled, digging into solid muscle, looking for an anchor in reality as she reached her edge. The orgasm slammed into her like a freight train, her eyelids fluttered as she clung to consciousness and the ecstasy exploded through her body.

The bartender groaned into her neck, burying himself deep into her, as his release tore from him. The spasms of his cock inside her triggered another eruption from her sensitized flesh. He held her tight, both of them breathing heavy as shivers rolled outward from her core. He kept her pressed to the wall for long moments, as though he didn’t want to release her.

Between a rock and a hard place
.

His solid body pushed her into the fuzzy wallpaper. When her heart rate settled, she unwound her arms from around his neck and moved them down to his chest. He withdrew from her as she dropped her feet back to the ground. Through lowered lashes, she noticed he was still hard as he pulled the condom away.

Maybe there are advantages to something dumber and denser in your life.

JJ shook her head, dismissing thoughts of going a second round, and picked up the discarded skirt and blouse. Her partner readjusted his pants, and then leaned against the wall watching her dress. Hunger burned in his gaze as though their quick release was a mere appetizer and he awaited the main course. She threw her clothes on, ignoring the rasp of fabric, like sandpaper against her skin. She shoved panties into her handbag and swept her hairpins in after the balled up silk.

Not trusting herself to look at his chiseled face without saying something vacuous, she avoided eye contact, unlocked the door and slipped back into the club. She took a deep breath, demanding her legs work. Her bones wobbled like jelly with the aftermath of the intense orgasms still rippling through her body. Her mind luxuriated in freedom and space, the constant pain tossed out.

Ariel leaned over the back of her booth and gave a frantic two thumbs up, and then made the international “call me” sign before winking and throwing herself at a blond surfer type sitting opposite her.

Jacob acted on instinct when he stood behind her. He had to touch her, smell her, to verify what a long dormant part of his brain yelled. When her cheek grazed his chest, and her skin touched his for the first time, his reaction was so intense, his heart nearly stopped. Mother Nature provided each of her Wardens with a Natural, the softness to balance their hard edge. He had waited so long for his counterpoint, he thought he would always be alone.

When she asked if anyone was in the VIP room, he didn’t think he would make it the six feet to the door. With his length buried in her tight heat, an inferno shot from his balls, up his spine and exploded, searing one word into his brain;
mine
. One fuck in the VIP room would never be enough. He wanted to spend years learning every curve and pore of her body.

It took him fifteen minutes to get his riotous brain under control before he could exit the room. As he made his way outside, he scratched at his left pec absently, and then his fingers froze.

The Cosaint. The mark to show a bonded couple.

Warden and Natural were marked with an identical symbol, to show they were paired. On the Warden, it appeared on the upper left chest, on the Natural at the base of the spine. Once fully formed, it resembled a tattoo, but one given by nature, not man. No two pairs had the same symbol and the elders amongst them dedicated centuries to examining the marks, to determine the underlying symbolism. They were ornate and complex, as unique and beautiful as the bond shared between the couple. Jacob never thought to feel one rising through his skin.

He gave a deep laugh, wondering when his attorney would get a similar itch. The emerging Cosaint proved their pairing, but she could still fight it. He would have to tread carefully with her. She was smart and strong. Not the sort used to a male taking charge and invading every aspect of her life. But he would. Gargoyles were dominant and he intended to take her over completely. He had eyes watching her all the way home and to the door of her apartment. Jema would never be alone again, not now she had pinged on his radar. He leaned on the cinder block wall, letting the chill of stone and night wash over him and cool his heated skin.

“You’re grinning like a dick.” Styx broke the silence.

“That’s because my dick is grinning.” He was still hard. Although, being crafted from granite, he was always hard. But this was different. The taste of her released a thousand years of longing and left him driving railway spikes through concrete hard.

“Shit, Jacob, in the club?”

“She was hurting pretty bad. What would you do if your Natural was in pain?” He threw the question to his second.

Styx gave a bark of laughter. “Offer her the best headache cure known to man.”

“Exactly.” The grin remained plastered to his face.

“The Watcher intel was right, then? She’s a Natural?”

“Yup.” And not just any Natural,
his
Natural. He scratched his chest again, wondering what design would appear on his skin; no one knew, the pattern always a mystery.

Thank the Mother Goddess, Jema Johnson was all his, every delicious, mouth-watering, spine-tingling inch of her.

She just didn’t know it yet.

J went back to her apartment and slept. For the first time in god only knows how many months, she got six straight hours of blessed sleep. She awoke at seven a.m. and rolled over. The sheet dragging across her nipples made her gasp. Her body still thrummed to remembered pleasure. Sitting up, she drew her hands through a tangle of hair, rubbing the back of her neck. The ache in her brain had gone, replaced by an itch lower down. One that would only be satisfied by a guy built like a Sherman tank who could pin her to a wall with his gun barrel.

“Not gonna happen,” she told her libido. “Too much work to do, and not my type.”

Her libido questioned her taste in men in return. The bartender had made her come so hard, she obviously needed to rethink her type.

Thirty minutes and a tepid shower later, she poured herself a coffee and padded to her war room. Her apartment had an open plan kitchen and living area. A small L-shape protruded off the lounge, jutting back alongside her bedroom. She used the odd space as a home office. Three walls of the nook were lined with built in bookshelves and jam packed with volumes of every kind. A large table dominated the space and served as a work surface. Her laptop sat to one side, while files, papers, photos, and reports lay scattered over the tabletop.

She dropped into her chair when the phone chirruped. A pixie face grinned on her screen.

“Morning, Ariel.” Cradling the phone against her ear, JJ dragged a coaster over for her coffee mug. Then she grabbed her yellow pad from the previous night with the outline of her argument, refreshing her dazed brain.