For the First Time: Twenty-One Brand New Stories of First Love (61 page)

His computer was on his left wrist, so Arus lifted his arm and commanded, “Set the temperature to human comfort level.”

He spoke in Krinar, and he could see the girl turning pale as the nanomachines went to work again, speeding up the air molecules around them to create warmth. He wished he could explain about force-field technology and microwaves, but her people knew so little about science that it would take him months to teach her just the basics.

“I’m not going to hurt you,” he repeated instead, speaking her language. She didn’t look the least bit reassured, her eyes wide and panicky as she stared at him, and he realized there was nothing he could say to calm her down.

He’d have to come up with another way to soothe her.

Stepping toward the girl, Arus picked her up and sat down on the ground, holding her on his lap. She stiffened immediately, her hands pushing at him again, but he kept his grip gentle and nonthreatening, hoping she’d settle down when she saw he meant her no harm.

“Everything is fine. You have nothing to fear,” he told her softly, stroking her hair as she kept trying to wriggle out of his hold. The feel of her ass moving on his lap was arousing him further, which wasn’t helping matters. Thankfully, after a couple of minutes, she seemed to exhaust herself and her struggles eased, letting him settle her more comfortably against him.

“I’m Arus,” he said when she stilled completely and stared up at him, her chest heaving with rapid breathing. “What’s your name?”

“Ares?” She tensed, her eyes growing wide again. “You’re the god of war?”

“No. Ar-us, not Ar-es.” He repeated his name slower, letting her hear the difference. “I’m not the god of war, I promise you.”

Her slender throat moved as she swallowed. “What kind of god are you, then?”

“I’m not a god,” Arus said patiently. “I’m just a visitor from far away. Where I live, everybody can do what I do.”

She stared at him, and Arus knew she didn’t believe him. Rather than waste energy trying to convince her, he asked again, “What’s your name?”

The girl licked her lips in a nervous gesture. “I’m Delia.”

“Delia.” Good. They were making progress. “Are you from nearby, Delia?”

She nodded, still looking wary. “My village is to the east.”

“Right, I thought so.” Arus kept his tone casual despite his growing hunger. He couldn’t see much of her body under her shapeless dress, but he could feel its soft, slender curves, and his gaze kept drifting down to the throbbing pulse at the base of her throat. Now that they were out of the rain, he could smell her delicate feminine scent, and his mouth watered as he imagined tasting her all over. With effort, he wrenched his thoughts away from sex. “What made you come out in the storm today?” he asked, forcing himself to carry on the conversation that seemed to be calming her.

“I wanted to gather some mussels.” The girl—Delia—shifted on his lap, and he knew she had to feel his erection pressing into her ass. It didn’t seem to frighten her as much as his technology, and Arus realized he’d done the right thing by using his embrace to calm her. The best way to demonstrate his nonviolent intent was to hold her and let her get used to his touch, so she’d stop fearing it.

So she’d focus on him as a man, rather than a stranger with magical powers.

“Are you hungry?” he asked, resuming stroking her hair. Even damp from the rain, it felt thick and silky to the touch. “Is that why you had to go out in this weather?”

She blinked up at him. “No, I just always gather mussels in the morning. My family needs the extra food.”

“I see.” He’d already guessed that she was poor. Even by human standards, her roughly made clothes were quite primitive. “So your family sent you out in this weather?”

“No, my sister warned me against going, but I thought the storm wouldn’t be this bad.”

Of course. Arus had forgotten that her people didn’t have a way to track the storm and measure its strength. All they had to go on was the weather at the present moment and whatever experience their elderly had gathered over their short lifespans.

“Well, you’re safe now,” he told the girl, whose shaking was finally subsiding. Outside, the storm raged on, but inside their shelter, the temperature was comfortably warm. “Nothing can hurt you here.”

She looked up at the transparent bubble over their heads, and he realized how odd the force-shield walls had to appear to her. When she met his gaze again, he wasn’t the least bit surprised to hear her ask, “What are you? Where do you come from, if not Mount Olympus?”

“I come from another world, a planet similar to this one,” Arus said, though he knew the girl wouldn’t understand. “It’s very far from here.”

“Another world?” He felt a tremor go through her. “Like Hades?”

“No, not like Hades.” Arus stroked her back in a calming motion. “It’s beautiful where I live. Very green and bright.”

She gave him a puzzled look. “Why are you here then?”

“Because I wanted to see your planet,” Arus said, watching her lips. For some reason, that imperfect, delicate mouth of hers kept drawing his attention. “Your people fascinate me.”

“We do?” Her tongue came out to wet her lips, the gesture unconsciously seductive, and Arus felt his hunger intensify. Her body was now soft and pliant as he held her, and there was more curiosity than fear in her brown gaze.

Curiosity and a glimmer of feminine heat.

The realization that she wanted him—and the intoxicating scent of her growing arousal—made his groin tighten. The balmy air inside their shelter suddenly felt steaming hot, and his skin prickled as her hands shifted on his chest, her palms splaying on his skin without any attempt to push him away.

She licked her lips again, her eyes darkening, and Arus could no longer control himself.

Sliding his hand into her hair, he lowered his head and claimed that tempting mouth with a kiss.

C
aught in the
god’s powerful embrace, Delia felt like she’d been swept up by the storm. When Arus had first picked her up, she’d been too anxious to focus on his naked body, but as her fear abated, the unfamiliar ache between her thighs returned—and with it, an intense awareness of him as an attractive man.

A man who wanted her, judging by the large erection pressing against her bottom.

Delia was a virgin, but she wasn’t ignorant about the mechanics of sex. She’d watched many animals mate, and her mother had told her it was the same for humans. Delia also knew she shouldn’t mate with anyone but her husband. It was a rule she had always intended to follow—except it now seemed that her husband was likely to be Phanias. She couldn’t imagine so much as kissing the old blacksmith, and the idea of this exotic, powerful stranger taking her virginity was more than a little appealing.

So appealing, in fact, that when Arus lowered his head to kiss her, she pushed her fear of him aside and let herself simply feel.

His lips were surprisingly soft as they touched her own, and his breath was warm and faintly sweet, like he’d recently eaten a piece of fruit. His tongue probed at the seam of her lips, and she parted them instinctively. He immediately took advantage, his tongue sweeping into her mouth as his hand tightened in her hair, and the ache inside her core intensified, transforming into a peculiar pulsing tension. Her breasts felt full and sensitive, her nipples peaking as if from being rubbed, and a liquid warmth gathered between her thighs as he deepened the kiss, all but devouring her with his tongue.

He tasted both sweet and slightly salty, as if some sea water lingered on his lips. Delia’s head fell back, giving in to the pressure of his mouth, and she moaned, her hands sliding up to grip his strong shoulders. The heat inside her grew as he shifted underneath her, his arms tightening around her body. His erection was like an iron rod under her bottom, and the knowledge that he desired her so much both thrilled and terrified her.

She’d heard the first time always hurt, and she wasn’t looking forward to the pain.

Still, even that worry wasn’t enough to cool the fire under her skin. Everything within her craved Arus’s touch. The need for him consumed her, making her feel like a stranger in her own body. For the first time, Delia understood why Helen of Troy risked everything for Paris.

If this was passion, no wonder wars were fought over it.

Before Delia had a chance to dwell on that, Arus lowered her to the ground, stretching her out on the still-damp grass. She managed to tear her mouth away from him long enough to gulp in a much-needed breath, and then he was on top of her, his large body blocking out her view of the storm raging outside. She still didn’t understand how a transparent wall could protect them from rain and lightning, but as he resumed kissing her, she lost all inclination to care.

Whatever magic powers the god possessed paled next to the desire he evoked in her.

His hands were now traveling over her body, big, strong, and determined. There was skill and experience in his touch. He didn’t grab at her breasts like the boy who’d kissed her when she was sixteen; instead, Arus kneaded her small mounds through her dress, his thumb flicking back and forth over her hardened nipples as he held himself up on his elbows. At the same time, his knee parted her legs, wedging between them, and she felt his thigh press against her sex, putting pressure on a spot that made her feel hot and dizzy. The pulsing ache within her intensified, and she gasped into his mouth, her hands clutching at his sides as the tension in her core coiled tighter and tighter.

“Yes, that’s it,” he whispered, moving his lips to Delia’s ear. “Come for me, darling.” His thigh moved rhythmically between her legs, rubbing against her sex through the rough material of her dress, and the tension inside her worsened. She could feel the heat of his breath on her neck, and her heartbeat thundered in her ears, her vision dimming as a throbbing pressure built inside her. It felt like she was dying, like something within her was about to explode. Frightened, she cried out the god’s name—and then the explosion was upon her.

Every bit of pressure that built up seemed to release at the same time, sending intense pleasure blasting out from her core. Her inner muscles spasmed repeatedly, and her toes curled. Gasping, Delia lifted her hips, seeking more of the sensations, but the pleasure was already ebbing, leaving her dazed and breathless.

Before she could understand what had happened, Arus rolled off her, stood up, and pulled her to her feet. She stood, swaying on unsteady legs, as he pulled her dress over her head and dropped it on the ground, leaving her naked—and starkly aware of the large, aroused male standing in front of her.

“Wait,” she whispered, but he was already bearing her down to the ground and covering her with his powerful body. There were no barriers between them now, and Delia’s earlier fear returned as she felt the insistent hardness of his erection against her leg. Her heartbeat spiking, she wedged her hands between them, her palms pushing at his chest.

“Don’t be afraid,” he murmured, holding himself up on one elbow. He slid his free hand down her body in a soothing caress, and she saw that his eyes were as dark as a midnight sky, his beautiful features tightly drawn. “I won’t hurt you,” he promised roughly, spreading her thighs open with his knees.

Delia opened her mouth to tell him she was a virgin, but he was already touching her sex, his fingers unerringly finding the spot that made her so tense before. It was even more sensitive now, and she could feel a strange, warm slickness inside her. Embarrassed, she tried to move away before he could feel her wetness, but his fingers were already there, parting her folds and pushing into her body.

It was just the tips of his two fingers, but Delia flinched away, the stretching sensation both unfamiliar and painful. Instantly, Arus stopped, looking down at her.

“What is it?” He sounded worried.

“I—” Delia felt her face heat up with a flush. “I haven’t done this before.”

His eyes widened, and for a brief moment, she thought he would release her. However, in the next second, his jaw tightened, and she saw a muscle pulsing near his ear. “Never?” he asked hoarsely, and Delia shook her head, too embarrassed to say it again.

He stared at her, his gaze oddly intent, and she realized that his hand was still on her sex, his fingers poised at the entrance to her body. “So you’re all mine.” There was a darkly possessive note in his voice. “No man has ever touched you.”

Delia bit her lip. “Not—” She gasped as he pushed one finger into her. “Not like this.”

His nostrils flared, and then he was kissing her again, his mouth consuming her with savage hunger as his finger pressed deeper into her. The sensation was foreign, but not painful, and the now-familiar tension returned as his thumb found the sensitive spot from before. The slickness inside her eased the path for his finger, and after a moment, Delia forgot all about her initial discomfort, her hips rocking to the movements of his hand.

Maybe she got lucky, and her first time wouldn’t hurt at all.

D
elia’s pussy was
so tight around his finger Arus knew he was going to end up hurting her. The only way to avoid that would be to stop and leave her alone, but that was beyond his capabilities. The lust riding him was dark and visceral, more potent than anything he’d ever experienced.

He wanted to possess this human girl, to claim her in every way possible.

The primitive desire stunned him, but he couldn’t analyze it at the moment. His skin was burning, and his cock was so hard it hurt. He needed to be inside her, to feel her tight, wet flesh rippling around him. Her mouth was warm and sweet as he devoured her with his kiss, and the scent of her drove him insane.

He had to fuck her. Now.

Calling on every bit of his remaining self-control, Arus used his thumb to bring her to another orgasm, wanting her to be as wet and ready as possible. She cried out, her inner muscles contracting around his finger, and he used the opportunity to press a second finger into her narrow channel, preparing her for his possession. She stiffened under him, flinching despite her wetness, and he knew there was no way to avoid causing her some pain.