Authors: Alicia Dean
“I have to. I have no choice.”
“There’s always a choice.”
“No. It’s the way it has to be. The natural order.”
She gritted her teeth in rage. “Fuck you and your natural order. You can’t take her.”
His expression turned stony. “I’m sorry.”
“If you do this, I'll hate you forever.”
He lifted a brow. “Yours or mine?”
“What? Yours or mine what?”
“Your forever or my forever? Because, if it’s your forever, it’s really not a big deal. Yours isn’t all that long, comparatively speaking. After all, you’re human.”
Tears filled her eyes, fury merging with terror for Sadie. “Yeah. I’m human all right, and you’re nowhere close.”
“You knew that from the beginning.”
“You can’t take a child,” she insisted.
“It’s her time.”
“She’s five fucking years old.” Her voice rose to a screech and she forced herself to lower it. “How can it be her time?”
“Death is no respecter of age.”
“You sound like some goddamned robot reciting philosophy. I don’t care about rules and nature and meant to be. You can’t take her. Please. For me.”
“You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“If there is anything human left in you, you won’t take this child. If you have any feelings for me at all, you won’t take her.”
“I have no choice.”
“I don’t believe that.” Something flickered in his expression and she knew she was right. “You do have a choice, don’t you? There’s another option.”
He let out a long sigh. “I can walk away. If the designated reaper isn’t here to take the soul, the person will live.”
Hope fluttered through her chest. “Yes. Then that’s it. You can go away. You don’t have to take her.”
“You don’t understand. There are ramifications, it’s just not done.”
“What? Because you’ll have another hundred years added to your sentence? You’ve risked yourself for less. This is Sadie, for God’s sake.”
“That’s not all. In addition to my punishment, failing to take an assigned soul screws with fate. Although we can’t know exactly what they’ll be, there will be consequences.”
“Nothing’s worse than losing Sadie.”
He seemed to consider for a moment, then gave a quick, jerky nod. “So be it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
“Thank you,” she whispered, then reached out as if to touch him.
He let her fingers hover near his chest for a moment, then swallowed and looked away. “Whatever happens, it’s on you.”
He turned and strode down the hallway and out the front door. Audra rushed to the glass to check on Sadie. She was still there. Awkward, not exactly sure-footed, but that snaggle-toothed smile was on her precious face. Sadie was fine. Nothing else mattered.
That night, Audra was slipping on a robe after her shower when she walked into the hallway and almost collided with Dimitri. She gasped, her heart knocking inside her chest, even when the fear subsided. He lowered his head, his eyes so intent, they seemed to be drinking her in.
“Dimitri. I’m glad you’re here. I didn’t thank you.”
He crossed his arms and stared at her broodingly. “Don’t thank me. We still don’t know what that decision will bring. That’s why I stopped by. I wanted to caution you to be careful. We have no idea what might happen now.”
“It will be better than Sadie’s death, I assure you.” She moved closer to him. “I’m very grateful.”
“I don’t need your gratitude. It’s not necessary.”
“But it is,” she whispered. The narrow hallway with its muted light provided a cocoon of intimacy, as if they were the only two people on earth. She stepped closer to him, savoring the delicious tingle his nearness brought. “You have no idea how much what you did means to me. I want to find a way to show you.”
He cocked a brow. “Are you offering sexual favors, Audra?” He attempted a derisive laugh, but the sound died in his throat. His eyes glittered as they stared into hers.
Desire uncoiled deep in her belly, spreading warmth and longing through her limbs. “If I was?” she murmured huskily.
“I don’t need you to…
repay
me.”
“It’s not that. I want to feel you, Dimitri. I want to really touch you.” She closed her eyes. “Please,” she whispered.
She waited breathlessly, afraid to move, afraid to open her eyes in case she found him gone. But he was still there. She could feel his cool sizzle.
Then, after a few seconds, she couldn’t. The sensation fled. She’d offered herself to him, and he’d declined. Her heart sank in disappointment. She opened her eyes.
Blinking rapidly, she frowned in confusion. “Dimitri?” He hadn’t left. Then why could she no longer feel the…
He lifted his hand, letting his touch rest on her cheek. A warm, rough, human touch.
Her eyes widened as she stared into the deep blue of his. “I can feel you.”
He stroked his forefinger over her bottom lip. “I’ve wanted to do this for so long,” he said. “Wanted to touch you.”
“Touch me, then.”
His lids shuttered his eyes, and his head swooped down, his lips claiming hers in a searing, knee-weakening kiss. She breathed out a sigh, wonder and joy moving through her blood. The kiss was masterful, glorious. At first, it was just lip to lip, then he coaxed her mouth open and his tongue slipped inside, tasting, plundering, sending shivers of longing down her spine. She lifted her hands, gripping his shoulders, squeezing and kneading the cool leather. A moan escaped her throat.
Dimitri pulled back and shook his head disbelievingly. “This can’t be happening.”
“What can’t be happening?”
“Us…this.”
She smiled. “I know. But it is.”
His eyes roamed over her face, and he tenderly brushed the hair back from her forehead. “Yes, it is.”
“How long do we have?”
“A thousand breaths.”
“How long is that?”
“Normally, about an hour, but the way you’ve got me panting, it will be half that.”
“Then we’d better hurry.”
His crooked grin made his dimples appear. “I’ve waited too many lifetimes for this moment. I don’t want to hurry.”
She stood on her tiptoes and planted a hard kiss on his mouth. “I can’t stand it another second,” she said against his lips. “I want you.”
He groaned, and his arms came around her, crushing her to him. Even through the barrier of their clothing, her sensitized breasts rubbing against his hard chest spiked her blood with desire. She pressed more fully to him, marveling at the feel of his erection against her belly. He wanted her.
God, yes.
He wanted her.
He broke away long enough to lift her, cradling her in his arms while his mouth devoured hers in a fierce, demanding kiss. He strode down the hallway and through the open doorway of her bedroom, then gently laid her on the bed. She rose to her knees at the edge of the mattress and ran her fingers over his chest.
He sucked in a breath. Dipping his head, he trailed kisses along her shoulder, nudging the robe aside to gain access to her flesh. She threw her head back while his warm, firm mouth explored the curve where her neck met her shoulder. She shuddered as his thumb stroked along her collarbone, then plunged into her robe to brush across her taut nipple.
“I can’t believe I’m here with you,” he whispered. “Of all the times I watched you…imagined touching you, I never dreamed it would feel this good, that your skin would be so soft…so alive.” He lifted his head, his gaze reverent as he worshipped her with his eyes. “I want to inhale you,” he ground out.
She put her hands the sides of his face and stared into the cobalt eyes that gleamed with desire. “Can you feel things fully when you’re human? Or is it like when you’re in reaper form and the effects aren’t the same?”
“Sensations are still dulled,” he told her absently as his hands continued to skim her flesh. He worked them over her ribs, sliding up to gather her breasts and gently massage. “Why?” he murmured as he skated his lips over her breasts.
“I want you to taste my breath.”
His exploration ceased. His head snapped up, the blue gaze alive with shock. “What? No. I can’t do that.”
“Please,” she entreated. “I know it makes you feel things more intensely. I want you to really experience it, to feel what I’m feeling now.”
Dimitri’s expression softened as he rolled his thumbs over her nipples again. His hips pressed into hers, his erection rubbing her just right. He let out a shaky laugh. “If I felt it any more intensely, I’d shatter into a million pieces.”
“Don’t you take my breath when we kiss?”
“It’s not the same. I need to actually breathe it in, take it inside me. And I won’t do that.” He touched his forehead to hers, his eyes glued to her mouth. “It’s not safe. I’m not sure I would be strong enough to stop.”
“You would. I know you would.”
“Trust me, sweetheart, being with you, even with the sensation filtered, is more than plenty. Just relax. Enjoy. Don’t worry about me. I want to please you.” Again, he pressed his hips forward, emphasizing his husky confession.
She bit her lip, but his mouth slanted over hers, and she forgot about wanting him to taste her breath, forgot about everything except the feel of him, the storm of desire brewing inside her.
She pulled back far enough to say, “Should we worry about...” then trailed off in embarrassment. Protection wasn’t likely an issue for the undead.
He cupped a hand to the side of her face. “Worry about what?”
“Uhm...birth control. Safe sex.”
He chuckled. “No need. I don’t have a disease. Couldn’t transmit it if I did. And I can’t get you pregnant.”
That thought brought on despondence, but she brushed it aside. She wasn’t in this for a fairytale happily-ever-after. She wanted whatever she could have of Dimitri. Now.
“Then what are we waiting for?” she asked.
His gaze delved into hers for a split second before he clenched his fingers in her hair, and fused his mouth to hers, snaking his tongue inside, plundering and stroking. A whimper started in her throat, but he captured it with his mouth. Shoving the edges of her robe open, he swept his hands down her side, along the curve of her hip. A tremor moved over her flesh, stirring hunger in her bloodstream.
He lifted his head to stare at her. “Audra,” he said brokenly. “You’re so….so…” His brilliant blue eyes shimmered. “…so beautiful,” he ended on a ragged sigh.
She stroked her fingers along his jaw. “So are you.”
He laughed softly, then bent his head. She moaned in ecstasy when his warm mouth latched onto her nipple, tugging as he flicked his tongue over the hardened peak.
Impatiently, she reached down and unfastened his jeans. “I want to feel you,” she whispered.
He hurriedly slipped off his jeans and shirt, while she opened her robe and tossed it onto the floor. Oddly, she was totally at ease baring herself to him. The room was dimly lit, but not dark enough that he couldn’t see her. And it didn’t bother her a bit. Especially when his gaze raked hungrily down her body and he went to her, taking her in his arms, gliding his lips over her skin, starting at her neck, working his way lower.
She sucked in a breath at the feel of him...his hot mouth on her sensitive flesh. He lifted a hand and kneaded her breast, his lips gliding along her neck, her shoulders. She reveled in the sight of the dark head bent to his task.
Her heart pounded so loudly, she was sure he could hear it as he journeyed tantalizing close to the hard peaks of her nipples. She waited...anticipating his tongue closing over them. When it did, she nearly came out of her skin. Sparks of desire shot through her, wrenching a heated response from between her thighs.
“Dimitri,” she panted. “I need you inside me.”
“I want to make this last,” he muttered against her breast.
“We don’t have much time.” She took his face in her palms, tugging until he was looking into her eyes. “I need this right now. Please.”
She saw surrender in his face, in the upward tilt at the corners of his perfect mouth. He eased her back onto the bed, then joined her.
His cock nestled against her feminine flesh. Hard. Hot… Perfect. Flames licked along her skin as moisture pooled between her legs. His touch elicited a need, tight and scorching, so strong it was beyond her control. Tremors vibrated through her, and she pulled on his shoulders, urging him to satisfy the craving he’d started.
He held her gaze for a moment, then his head lowered. His firm, full lips moved over her heated skin, trailing down over her breasts, lower...lower still. His lips and tongue danced across her stomach, and her muscles tightened in response. Tingles of anticipation thrummed between her legs as she waited, breathlessly, to feel his mouth
there
. His breath whispered along the edges of her inner lips, and she parted for him, allowing his seeking mouth access.
“I’m going to taste you now,” he said hoarsely.
She couldn’t answer, couldn’t speak. Her head nodded encouragement, and she reached down to grip his hair in her fingers. His soft chuckle vibrated through her core, and then his lips pressed against her. At first, he placed tiny kisses between the juncture of her legs, flicking his tongue along the lips of her labia. A rush of hot moisture shot through her. She writhed and undulated, needing release from the unbearable ache building deep within. Then, his fingers slid into her tender folds, and she nearly jerked off the bed. One. Then two. Stretching her. Filling her.
Sweet mercy.
Audra arched her back, craving more. Her fingers tightened in his hair.
His hot, rough tongue joined his fingers, laving and suckling, drinking at her soaking wet flesh.
“Oh—my—God,” she choked out.
He thrust inside her, pressing upward to expose her to his seeking mouth, working her G-spot while his tongue stroked back and forth, pushing her clit downward against his finger, then sucking it in between his lips.
Dear God...nothing had ever...how could he...
She couldn’t think, could barely breathe as he magically brought her to mind-numbing ecstasy.
Fierce, demanding, and urgently, he tasted her, eliciting sensations she’d never felt before. She could hold out no longer. A guttural scream started at the base of her throat, then tore from her mouth as an orgasm rocked her, pounding through her body in long, pulsating tremors. Her fists knotted in the sheets as she gave into the quaking explosion.
“Mmmmm.” He kept his mouth locked tight onto her as the tremors slowed and eventually subsided. He gave her a gentle kiss before lifting his head to stare into her face.
“Wow,” she breathed.
He moved upward and kissed her, deep and hard, his tongue darting into her mouth, sliding against hers. “I want to be inside you,” he murmured against her lips.
“Not yet,” she said shakily. “Your turn.” She wrapped her fingers around his cock. He felt like silk-encased steel as she slid her hand up and down his erection.
“God,” he bit out. “You don’t need to...” His protest died on a hoarse groan.
“I want to taste you, too, Dimitri,” she whispered.
Not waiting for permission, she walked her fingers up to the head of his penis and ran her thumb across the moisture beading there. “Lay back.”
Jaw tight as stone, eyes glinting with dark promises of exquisite retribution, he complied.
Kneeling beside him, Audra ran her lips along his scruffy jaw, down his neck and over his chest, flicking her tongue out, tasting his salty, masculine skin. His chest was somehow smooth yet hard, and she delighted in exploring it, delighted in his labored breathing. She took a nipple in her mouth and suckled, reaching down to stroke his erection as she did. Seeming to have a life of its own, his cock jerked at her touch. He groaned...long and deep in his throat, lifting his hand to finger her while her mouth worked its way down his body. She thrust her hips against his touch, using all her concentration to pleasure him, rather than give in to the longing to come once more against his probing caress.