Phoenix Rising I (38 page)

He smiled and threw his head back in ecstasy, fucking her with his fingers as he stroked his massive cock with his hand. She licked her lips, longing to take him into her mouth. But she was unable to move due to his position on top of her. When she tried to raise her shoulders, she quickly realized she was trapped beneath him. Spreading her legs wider, she coaxed him to explore further, to be rougher, to make her come, but he slowed his rhythm instead.

“I want to fuck your mouth,” he said, moving closer to her waiting lips.

“Yes,” she managed as she raised her head, taking his tip between her lips. Oh, God, her pussy clenched the second his cock made contact with her tongue. He was so large, her lips stretched to take him in, and still she was only able to fit the tip into her mouth. His hand, sure and steady, began stroking his cock once more as the other hand again moved to rub along her labia. This time, he avoided her clit and didn’t dip into her pussy. Instead, he rubbed her lips, occasionally, tweaking them between his fingers before releasing them again.

She felt an orgasm build deep within her womb. Without touching her clit, he managed to drive her over the edge, pressing his cock into her mouth, allowing her to lick the juices from his head while his fingers gently grazed against her tender skin. His stroking increased as she felt his muscles constrict. When he finally came, shooting his juices into her mouth, her pussy reacted, thrashing against nothing, longing to be filled with his cock, needing that contact with the man she had needed for so long.

He pulled his cock from her mouth and in one swift motion, filled her waiting pussy.

She clung to him, wrapping her arms around him, opening her legs as far as she could to allow him access as he began thrusting into her. She dug her nails into his back then moved lower to dig them into his fleshy ass, driving him to take her harder. With one hand, she pushed against his chest, raising him off of her to allow access to her clit. Already swollen, already soaked with her come, it instantly reacted to her touch. Familiar with her own body, she rubbed her clit, using tiny, light circles, rotating her hips beneath him, forcing him to fuck her harder as she came around him.

Wave after wave of orgasmic ecstasy slid over her as she continued to touch herself, reveling in the feel of her juices as they slipped over her fingers. Her pussy lips were swollen, stretched beyond their capacity on his thick dick. Her clit begged for just one more … just one more. Again, she made tiny circles on her skin, driving herself toward the edge, loving the way her hand felt when it came into contact with his rough pubic hair.

This was heaven. This was what a wet dream was supposed to feel like. She knew that if she ever woke up, she would need to use her trusty rabbit vibrator, the only one she knew that could imitate a real man. The orgasm built inside her again, this time coming out in a low scream as she tossed her head from side to side and ground her pussy into him.

“I don’t want to wake up,” she managed in spite of her lack of breath.

“Then don’t. Stay with me.”

“I can’t.” Chapter Six

Anna hadn’t answered her phone in days. She had called in sick to work, and she hadn’t left her bed since her past life experience. She realized now that humans weren’t meant to know what their lives were previously like. They weren’t meant to break down the barriers of time and space and experience that great other.

Anna knew what she needed to do. She needed to talk to Grey in order to make sense of all this, if she could make sense of it. Dragging herself out of bed, she steeped into the shower and jumped at the cold water. Cursing, she turned the warm water on, allowing it to soak her and calm her nerves.

She realized how crazy she was as the water poured over her. It almost felt like a lover’s fingers caressing her wet back as she leaned into the water. No place was safe from Grey.

Anna stepped out of the shower and dried her body and her hair. She didn’t feel any better, but she knew that it didn’t matter how she felt. She wanted answers and the only way to get them was to go to the source. She pulled on her jeans and a baggy sweatshirt before dialing the phone. Her fingers shook as she pressed the buttons, then she hung up before he could answer.

This was crazy. He was crazy. Surely there was an explanation for all this past life nonsense. Shaking thoughts of him from her mind, she vowed to go to work tomorrow. Work would get him off her mind for a change. Then she could return to what sanity she’d had before she met him.

* * * *

Grey lay in bed again, tossing and turning. There were no answers that lay outside of Anna. She controlled his destiny now. In fact, she controlled the destiny of an entire people. If he brought her back to his world and truly allowed her transformation, he would be breaking a sacred code. So much was already broken. His world had been shattered by Inoco, and he had passed into legend. The only thing that survived was his link to the Elani, and that link lived within Anna.

His powers had been weakened since their first encounter. Then, he could materialize and disappear at will. Now, he moved within a human body day and night, his hunger driving him as would a vampire’s thirst. It wasn’t blood he sought. What he needed from Anna was clear and uncomplicated. He needed her sex energy, her Kae. Without it, he would continue to weaken and Anna would continue to dream of a past well beyond his control.

To go to her would risk much, and his chance for anything beyond immediate satisfaction was slim. But he owed it to himself--and to her--to try and rebuild their fragmented world.

* * * *

Fate had decreed that Anna and Grey spend time together. As soon as she walked through the door of
Metal Alloy’s
building, she heard the buzz that the Morpheus CD party was still on. She still hadn’t had the nerve to call him even though he continued to haunt her dreams and silently stalk her during the day.

“Your dress came yesterday.” It was Becca, bubbly as usual.

“Dress?” What dress? Anna didn’t remember ordering a dress.

“You know. The one for the big party in M-town. The one you found on the auction page on the internet.”

Oh, that dress. “Where is it?” Anna had just walked into the building and hadn’t made it to her office yet.

“In your office. On your desk. What did it look like?”

“It’s off white with bead work on the bottom. It’s Renaissance style. You know, high empire waist, thick skirt. I think it’s quite stunning.”

“It sounds gorgeous. Why did you choose Renaissance?”

“I don’t know. I saw it and liked it. What are you wearing?” Not that she cared, but she just felt that she should ask.

“I’m going as Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”

“How cute,” she said, not really meaning it.

They were at her office door, and she could tell that Becca wouldn’t go away peacefully. She would want to see the dress first. Sure enough, she followed Anna into the office.

“You know, that Grey guy from the band has called here several times,” Becca began as Anna tore into the box.

“What did he want? To order more groupies?”

“Ha! No, he was asking about you. About your flight and all. I think he wants to meet you.”

“We’ve met,” she said, holding up the dress.

“Uh, Anna, I thought you said the dress was off white.”

Anna didn’t hear her. This dress wasn’t off white. It was gold. Gold brocade. No fringe, no beadwork. It was
the
dress! The one from her dream. She let it drop from her fingers as if it were on fire. Somewhere in the distance she could hear Becca’s voice, but it was being overpowered by the sound of a horse.

The horse was there, behind her. She couldn’t get out of its way in time. And Grey--Morpheus--his scream was ringing in her ears. What was he saying? Where was he? She couldn’t see him. All she could do was feel the ground beneath her. Her head hit something hard. There was blackness and then there was Morpheus, his face above hers.

“Anna!” Becca was shaking her shoulders.

“What?” she almost screamed the word.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Water. Get me some water,” she managed before sinking into her leather chair. It was no longer safe. It reminded her of Grey and Morpheus and death. She had to get out of here.

She ran through the hall, seeking out the elevator. Frantically pressing the button, she didn’t hear Becca call her from behind. When the door opened, she bolted into it, only to be stopped when she landed against a massive chest.

Grey looked down at her, reminding her of the eyes from her dream and how they had looked as she lay dying. She mumbled some sort of an apology and then moved beside him, stepping into the elevator as he stepped out. She willed the doors to close and they almost did, but then his arm reached into the elevator and caused the doors to reopen, leaving her vulnerable to his presence.

The door closed when he stepped through it. She was alone in the elevator with Grey.

“Why do you run from me?” his thick Brooklyn accent was heavily coated with German or Russian, she couldn’t remember which one it was supposed to be.

She was trying to get the nerve to speak. The words wouldn’t come out, and her voice was lost.

“Anna?”

She hated her name on his lips. It sounded too much like … something though she couldn’t quite place it. “What?” she finally managed.

“Why do you run from me? When I come to your office, you hide. You don’t return my calls. Why are you avoiding me?”

“I’m not avoiding you. I’m just busy,” she lied, hoping her eyes wouldn’t give her away. She inhaled deeply, but that was a mistake because now her nostrils were filled with his scent. How could she get away from him? It seemed as if the elevator had stopped. The doors were not opening, though. He must have seen the look of panic on her face.

“I pulled the emergency stop. You and I will not move until we talk.”

She pushed the lever back in, “There is nothing to talk about. I’ve been busy. Did you need something?”

“You. I needed you.”

She swallowed hard, willing herself to be strong.

“Why did you leave the club that night?”

“I needed air,” she managed.

“You looked ill. As if you had seen a ghost.”

“I don’t believe in ghosts,” she lied again. Why was she on the defensive with him?

“I never believed in them either. But I do now. And I do need you. Every day without you, I grow weaker.”

“I’m not here to save you.”

“You, you are. You feel it. Lie to me and tell me you don’t.” His arms encircled her waist, and she braced herself for the passion she was afraid to unleash.

Every nerve in her body was on alert and screaming when he slipped his tongue into her mouth. Her nipples hardened in reaction as her hand found its way to his hair. She could be his if she would only allow it. All it would take would be one motion, one sign.

“Please, save me,” he whispered against her lips as she clung to him, unable to let go.

“I can’t.”

“Build my army. Give me back my world, our world, our past.”

“Let me go.” She pushed away from him.

“I can’t let you go, Anna. Please stop running from me.”

“I can’t save you, Grey. I can’t even save myself. I couldn’t … I....”

“I love you. I have always loved you,” desperation filled his voice.

“No. You don’t even know me.”

“You are my soul. You are the reason I breathe.”

The door opened. She was saved finally. She sprang from the elevator, leaving him and his declarations behind her. She didn’t want to know anything about his soul. She prayed that there would be a way to avoid him in the future. She would do anything

to avoid running into him again unprepared.

* * * *

Grey followed her, though he didn’t let her know he was there. He watched her walk to her apartment and then stayed on the street trying to decide if he would go up or not. He had almost gotten the nerve to go talk to her again when the lights went off and she came back downstairs, luggage in hand. A cab had pulled up to the curb and was waiting for her. He heard her tell the cabbie to take her to the airport.

Where could she be going? There was only one place, the place where their souls collided: Memphis.

He smiled. He would go, too, since he had no other obligations and was due there in two weeks anyway. She would be easy enough to find.

He closed his eyes. They had only been together for a few minutes, but she had made her way into his system again. The tension coming off of her body was thick and real, almost as if it were another person standing in the elevator shaft with them. Still he wanted to go to her. He needed physical contact with her body. There was something about her that drew him to her and it was beyond thoughts of her flesh. It was … her soul. He wanted to be near her soul, her being. He needed her on so many levels.

He ran a hand through his thick black hair. No one would ever understand this nonsense. * * * *

Memphis was just as spooky as it had been the other dozen or so times that she had been there. Nothing had changed. Nothing except that now she felt as if she were being trailed by a ghost. Some distant phantom was on her heels with every step she took. She had the distinct feeling that it wasn’t really a ghost, though. She knew that Grey was here too.

She hadn’t seen him. Not with her human eyes, but her intuition had told her that he had come too. Just as she knew that he had followed her home. He was here, taking every step she took, stalking her, waiting for the chance to catch her with her guard down.

She turned another corner, hoping to rid herself of the feeling that he was there. He was still right on the edge of her memory, on the edge of her subconscious. And he was both haunting and taunting her. She turned around, expecting to see him standing in the shadow of the streetlight. The corner behind her was empty. No one was following her except for the demons from her imagination.

The bar was smoky, just like she preferred. No one would know her here; no one would even be able to see her for the smoke. She ordered a beer and found a back table. Peace at last. She would let the music take over as it always did. She would drown her sorrows in the alcohol and would let the band take her to that other place that she longed for.