HeroRising (18 page)

She arched in response. “Please. Ahh.”

Yes. Her breath caught as he settled the head of his cock
where his fingers had been and pushed. The glide was as slow and steady as when
he had taken her pussy. Against the backs of her thighs his legs trembled, his
fingers dug into her flanks as he withdrew then pushed again. When his tight
ball sac kissed the lips of her pussy he released a deep sigh.

“
Jesu.
You’re so tight. Hot. Fuck me.”

She whimpered and nodded, rocking back and forth in a silent
plea for more friction.

“Ari.
Liera.
” He pressed his sweaty forehead against
the middle of her equally wet back and resumed his thrusting. “Words. No
words.”

By the side of her head his fist was planted into the
mattress. The veins and sinew in his arms bulged under the strain as he bucked
and moaned her name in what sounded like a multitude of languages.

“Come again,” he panted hotly against her ear.

“Don’t think. I can.”

“Come!” He cupped her mound and speared three fingers into
her clutching channel and worked his thumb over the swollen bud of her
clitoris.

Ari bit into the mattress and screamed as a tsunami-sized
wave tore her asunder. Above her Bale bellowed and drove deep, pinning her to
the bed as his cock flexed with his release.

Spasms continued to erupt in her pussy and ass, radiating up
her spine as she sobbed. Her visions blurred in and out until it narrowed to a
pinpoint of light before winking out into complete blackness.

Holy shit, she’d gone blind. Oh nope. Just crashed
face-first into the pillow. She’d laugh if she had the strength, but sleep had
latched on tight and was pulling her under fast.

Lord have mercy on her soul, for she wanted to do that
again.

“Ari? Ari?” Bale lifted up, sensing his woman’s fall into
unconsciousness. “Ariel?”

Nothing. No response as he shook her shoulders and her head
lolled upon her neck. His hands shook as he swept them over her body, feeling
for her pulse and possible injuries. He had tried to be gentle, but once he was
buried inside the velvet fist of her ass, his control had snapped. Anal
intercourse was a taboo act, even on his home planet, and now he understood why
after having experienced the most explosive orgasm in his life. If losing
consciousness was a common occurrence, abstaining from such an act was probably
best for the female’s safety.

It didn’t matter that Ari had been more than a willing
partner. Even now as he eased from the snug grip of her ass, her channel
fluttered, keeping his staff erect. Did the woman have no self-preservation?

He stumbled into the bathroom and discarded the brimming
condom into the waste bin then quickly washed his hands and cock. Wetting a
washcloth with hot water, he gathered another towel and dashed back to the bed
to sit beside Ari’s prone form.

As he sponged away the lubricant and remnants of their
orgasms from her body, his frowned deepened as the bruises on her hips and
thighs darkened. His powers picked up nothing but bliss and contentment but
obviously he had been too rough with his lovemaking. The fact that Ari
encouraged his behavior did not make it right.

“Ari?” He untied her hands then brushed the hair away from
her forehead, stroking her cheek again and again with his thumb. “Ari, please
wake up. Open those pretty eyes and tell me you’re all right.”

Beneath his ribs his two hearts beat once, then twice before
kicking up a notch as her breathing quickened and her lashes fluttered. Her
gaze darted around the room before coming to rest on his face. As slow as a
sunrise, a smile stretched her lips as she settled deeper into the mattress.

“That. Was. Awesome.” She sighed and closed her eyes.

“Do you hurt anywhere?”

She shook her head then frowned and shifted her hips. “Not
really. Just sore.”

“We shall never do that again.”

Her eyes snapped opened. “Why not? That was great.”

“It is too dangerous.”

“For who? Didn’t you enjoy yourself?”

Heat blazed across his cheeks. “Ya.”

“Then we will be doing that again.”

“Ariel.” He grunted and felt his nostrils flare. “Do not
fight me on this. We will do nothing that causes you harm again.”

The innocent blink and sweet smile set off his inner alarm.
“For now.”

Jesu.
“You’ve been spending too much time with
Amaryllis.”

She giggled and crawled with uncoordinated limbs under the
bedcovers. “I should brush my teeth, but my legs don’t want to work.”

“That does not make me feel any better.”

“That’s because you have issues. I wasn’t complaining.” Her
smile faded and he sensed her sudden insecurity as she plucked at the fabric
covering her pillow. “So. Do you have to rush right off?”

Happiness infused his hearts as he read between the lines.
“Are you asking me to stay?”

She shrugged. “Only if you want to.”

“Silly woman. Just tell me you want me to lie beside you.”

“I don’t want to assume you have no other plans.”

“I want—” He took a breath and voiced his secret wish. “I
want you to need me.”

“Oh Bale,” she sighed and held out her hand. “I need you to
hold me.”

He almost used his powers to dive under the covers. The
effervescent, bubbling sensation of her laughter felt just as good against his
skin as her warm flesh did where she was pressed along his side.

“I love how warm-blooded you are.” She nuzzled his chest.
“You make these cold northwest nights enjoyable.”

Ari made all of his nights, and days too, more enjoyable.

Just being with him, a slight weight on top of his chest,
heart beating, the whoosh of her breath across his nipple. Her being there
meant he was no longer alone in this new world.

Of course Amaryllis would slap him upside the head if she
knew he felt that way. She found great pride in the family unit she had created
and made it no secret that she considered him part of her brood.

But Ari was a treasure of his own. Her opinions were
unfettered by any knowledge of the man he once was. The past, the future,
nothing else existed but the peace each felt by being together in this perfect
moment of the present.

How many hours could he spend memorizing the shape of her
spine with his fingers or luxuriate under the light caress of her fingertips as
she traced the lines and dips of his torso? Perhaps days, maybe even weeks.

“What happened here?” She skimmed the puckered line across
his rib.

He closed his eyes on a sigh, enjoying the touch. “First
week of training when I joined the…military. I feinted right when I should have
gone left. My opponent caught me with his sword. Lesson learned.”

“You still use swords in the military?”

“We were trained in all manner of weaponry.”

“Hmm. See this scar here?” He opened his eyes to see her
pointing at a faint tree-shaped scar on her forearm. “A shelf of liquor fell at
work and glass flew everywhere. Caught a few shards in my arm. The bar patrons
called me Tanqueray for a while.”

“I never realized bartending was so fraught with danger.
Besides that which comes from rude patrons.”

“We all learn on the fly.” Her cheek bunched with her smile
and her fingers resumed brushing butterfly-light touches over his chest.

She cupped the cap of his shoulder, giving the firm muscle a
little squeeze before trailing over the rough scar tissue of his biceps. “What
happened here?”

The breath froze in his lungs and his throat closed up
tight. The gnarled flesh was another example of his talent at taking something
beautiful and making it ugly. Once upon a time the symbol on his arm had been
one of great honor and he had been so proud when he received his mark as a
royal guard.

Lucian and his family had been
Llanos
warriors for
generations, dating back to the beginning of their kingdom’s recorded history,
while Bale’s relations had always been farmers. Day laborers who earned their
livelihood and muscles toiling the nearly impenetrable Skandavian soil. The
monotonous cycle of planting, harvest, planting, harvest had been lost on a boy
with Bale’s need to push harder, go faster and be more than a farmer.

Joining the royal guard had been his ticket to adventure, to
greatness. He had quickly moved up the ranks and been assigned to the king’s
personal retinue after three years of service. The day the crown had been added
to his insignia was the day he met Natalia when his family had taken him out in
celebration. She had been the quiet, calm port in the tumultuous sea of
politics. The light to the darkness of his position and nature.

Then the revolution erupted and his family was destroyed.
The symbol of
Llanos
had been a reminder of all he lost. Blind rage and
burning guilt had barely anesthetized him to the pain of slicing the ink from
his flesh in a fit of misplaced rage.

“I’m sorry if my question caused you pain.” Ari’s soft voice
was as sharp as a fine scalpel slicing through the thick haze of his memories.

“No.” He closed his arms around her when she tensed. “It wasn’t
your question, rather the memories that hurt. I—uh, I had a tattoo removed
quite barbarically.”

“I’d say. It looks like it was dug out of your skin.”

She was correct.

“I didn’t have access to the proper technology at the time,”
he lied.

“Sounds as if you were in a hurry to have it removed.”

“I was.”

“Hmm. Well, I see you’ve kept this one here. It’s pretty,”
she murmured, while lightly stroking the starburst tattoo in the center of his
chest. “What does it say?”

The innocently asked question struck him in the gut with the
power of a sledgehammer. Beneath the Skandavia symbol for heaven he had
imprinted Natalia’s and Emmaline’s names in his native language to help him
keep his focus on his purpose. As much as he cared for Ari, he wasn’t near
ready to expose those wounds.

“It’s, uh… It’s the names of family I have lost. To remember
them. I-I do not like talking about it,” he managed to stammer.

“Oh.” She dropped her hand. “Okay.”

A heavy silence fell between them and the invisible band
around his chest tightened and hindered his breathing. A shift had occurred in
their relationship just then. He couldn’t put his finger on what exactly or
how, but there was a tension that vibrated between them even though they both
lay quiet and still in each other’s arms. It was as if Ari knew he purposely
withheld information and in return locked a part of herself away from him. The
closeness of only a moment before no longer existed and he wanted to weep with
the loss.

“Ari,” he said.

“Yes, Bale?”

He opened his mouth to reply then snapped it shut. Truth was
he hadn’t thought of anything else to say but her name. Meaningless
conversation was not his style. Hell, he’d rather endure an uncomfortable
silence than engage in inane babble. But this invisible wall that had suddenly
erupted between them stole all the warmth and joy he normally felt in her
presence and was a stark reminder of his solitary existence.

Ari lifted her head to look at him when he didn’t answer.
“Bale?”

He licked his lips and laid his palm against her cheek, his
thumb smoothing out the frown line near her mouth. “Ari, I—” He swallowed hard.
“You frighten me.”

Her brows shot up. “What?”

“You make me want things I—”
Don’t want. Don’t know how
to care for. Don’t deserve.
“I’m going to fuck this up.”

“Fuck what up?”

“This. Whatever this magic is that’s between us, I’m going
to ruin it. It’s what I do. And that frightens me.”

“Oh, Bale.” Her eyes turned liquid and the invisible wall
crumbled. “Don’t you think I’m a little freaked out too? Since I met you I’ve
felt like I’m on this rocket shot into space and eventually I’ll run out of
fuel and crash back to Earth. It’s exhilarating and terrifying at the same
time.”

“Exactly.” Inside he laughed, for he had been in a rocket
that crashed to Earth. Back then he hadn’t been half as scared as he was now.

“Bale, can’t we just take each day as it comes? If I start
thinking too far ahead, I begin to think about supposed-tos and not about just
living for the moment. Can I just enjoy being with you and leave it at that?”

“Yes,” he answered slowly as his own internal conflict waged
war in his hearts.

What in the seven hells was wrong with him? Here was this
beautiful, sexy, adventurous woman offering him what sounded like a
no-strings-attached relationship and instead of being ecstatic he wanted to
howl with displeasure. Wasn’t this the perfect solution? No expectations beyond
the night. No chance of breaking promises that were never made. One day at a
time.

However, the thought of being able to walk away with any
ease burned a hole in his chest. Would Ari be able to leave him so easily if
she wanted?

He had no land, no name, nothing of real value to offer her
and she deserved so much more, the least of which was a man who could tell her
the truth about who, and what, he was. If he had any decency, he’d end this now
and allow her the chance to find a man of her own kind before their hearts
became too entwined.

But he wasn’t decent. Pure selfishness kept him in the bed
and drew her down for a possessive kiss.

Yes, he had nothing to offer her. But pleasure.

Since words often failed him, he’d have to use his other
talents to convey how much Ari meant to him. He prayed they were enough to
convince her of his sincerity.

He drank in her purr of contentment as he skimmed his palms
down her back and cupped the curve of her ass. Up and down, up and down he
stroked her side, keeping the tempo slow when she tried to deepen the kiss. Her
little growls of displeasure made him smile and more determined to love her on
his terms.