Goddess Sacrifice (3 page)

She had to touch him. She needed skin on skin and wasn’t sure how much longer the break on his control would last. She slid her hand down his back and under his shirt so she could grip him there.

He really liked that, his groaning approval making her lose all conscious thoughts. He was kissing her so eagerly and she was so wrapped up in him that she forgot why she was keeping her arm on her dress. She let go of her dress and slid her other hand around his back, needing him closer. Wanting him everywhere.

But Adin didn’t forget. As soon as she let go of the dress, his hands flew to her sides, grabbing the dress and keeping it up. That quick action made her gasp, breaking away from their kiss.

He rested his forehead against hers, panting. The thought of his hands being the only thing that kept her dress up messed with her mind and her heart—and not in a bad way. One move and she’d be almost naked before him. And he controlled that. For a chick who was going to be a powerful goddess, the thought of her love owning that kind of sexual control over her melted her insides. Oh yeah, she loved it. And she was going to revel in it. She slid her hands up his chest and into his hair, pulling his head back to hers.

“Ah, Legacy,” Adin whispered when their lips met. “I think—”

But she didn’t let him finish. She crushed her mouth to his, pushing his willing lips apart, and dove in. He moaned loudly, the sound vibrating against her as he gave her what she wanted. She moved her hands down his chest while they kissed, Adin having taken control back. When she reached his waist, she grabbed his shirt and started pulling it up. Touching his bare back hadn’t been enough. She needed to touch more of his hot flesh, but his shirt would only go so far since his arms were down around her body, holding her dress in place. She reached around and grabbed his arm to pull it off her, so she could take off his shirt.

Adin broke away from their kiss. “Legacy, if I let go, your dress will fall off.” He panted.

“Let it,” she whispered.

He moaned as he rubbed his lips against hers, barely touching. The change from him demanding her mouth to teasing her lips was driving her even crazier. But it felt as if he were deciding, so she would help him with that. She grabbed his shirt again and started pulling it up. While she did that, she traced his lips with her tongue, giving him a taste of the teasingly light touch, but with something more sensual that just her lips.

Decision made.

He let go of her dress and yanked off his shirt. Her dress fell to the floor as he wrapped his arms around her. They kissed briefly, and then he leaned down and picked her up, carrying her to the bed. Oh gods, it was happening. He placed her gently on the bed while they kissed and easily maneuvered his way on top of her. Feeling his supported weight above her heightened her arousal for him, and her fingernails dug into his shoulders as he angled his head and took possession of her mouth even deeper than before.

As they kissed, her hands roamed. Her fingers brushed his pecks and tweaked his nipples, causing him to thrust himself against the apex of her thighs. Heat flooded her, so she did it again. This time, Adin shoved his hand underneath her and grabbed her shoulders while he thrust against her, moans working their way out of him at the contact. Gods, that felt too good. She lifted her leg and rubbed it against his hip. Then wrapped her arms around him and grabbed his ass, encouraging him to do it again. When he moved against her that time, she gasped, and the sounds he made liquefied her. But she wanted more. She was ready for him. All of him. She let go of him, pushed against his chest, rolled over on top, and moved her lips down his neck, nipping at him as she slowly sat up.

Once she was upright, she looked down at Adin. His cheeks were flushed, lips wet and slightly swollen, beckoning her to taste them again. She could spend all day attached to his mouth. He gently stroked her knees with trembling fingers, the action belying the fiery gaze latched onto her. He was hungry for her, but he was waiting, watching. She rocked on him slowly, grinding herself against his erection. Adin squeezed his eyes shut and gripped her waist tighter, holding her against him as she did it, bringing them as close as possible with his pants and her panties still in the way. When she rubbed her hands on his chest down to the trail of hair below his belly button, he looked at her again, keeping his eyes on her face as she ran her fingers through the fine hair. Adin licked his lips and then slowly glided his hands up her sides to her breasts. He gently kneaded them through her bra, and her head fell back on a moan as she rocked against him again.

“Shit,” Adin groaned, and grabbed her hips again as he thrust up. She looked at him and their gazes locked. He bit his lip and watched her as he used his grip on her to move her on him. It felt so good, but so had his hands where they’d just been. It would’ve felt better without her bra, so she reached around her back to unclasp it, needing more of their clothing gone and wanting him to touch her without anything in the way.

Adin shot up, grabbing her hands behind her. “Are you sure, sweetheart?”

She moved her lips to his. “Yes,” she whispered against him, and kissed him while she slid her hands out from under his and into his hair. Adin slowly leaned back, keeping his arms around her and pulling her down with him until he landed on the bed. He kissed her deeper, but a little slower than before, seeming to take a little more time to savor her, but obviously no less turned on. Gods, he was so hard. The thin material separating them did nothing to hide it. “Do you want to take it off of me?” she whispered against his lips. It was both a test to see if he’d actually do it since his actions had slowed slightly, and her desire to have him undress her further.

“Yes,” he said without hesitation. They kept kissing while he slid his hands to the clasp. He moaned as he grabbed it, his hands hot and determined, her breasts heavy, aching. Just as he tugged on it to unfasten it, a noise drifted from downstairs. The front door.

“Legacy?” Lissa called.

She and Adin both shot up.

“Oh no!” she whispered, jumping out of bed.

Adin rolled off, grabbing his shirt and putting it back on.

“I’m up here,” she called out while she ran to her closet and threw on a shirt and some shorts.

Adin quickly turned on the TV and threw a pillow over his lap to hide the evidence of his arousal while she walked her dress into the closet.

“Hi, Adin,” Lissa said as she came into her room.

“Hey, Lissa.” Crap. His voice sounded so different. Lissa had to know what they’d been doing up here.

Legacy took a deep breath and hoped her skin wasn’t all red. Then she peeked out of her closet. “What’s up?” she asked as naturally as she could.

“Oh, nothing. I had a
little
too much to drink, so Bill drove me home.” She giggled. “You should come down and meet him,” she whispered, or so Lissa thought she was whispering.

Legacy relaxed a little. Lissa was never one to hold her liquor. “Oh, okay.” She stepped out of the closet and Adin followed her downstairs where they met this Bill guy and visited. Legacy caught Adin staring at her heatedly from across the room several times, and he witnessed her ogling many, many times. When Bill left, Lissa announced she was turning in for the evening.

When Legacy and Adin were alone downstairs, she walked over to him.

“I should go,” he whispered before she reached him.

“You should stay,” she whispered. She slid her hands up his chest and around his neck to pull him down for a kiss. He came willingly, and she took complete advantage of that. Adin wrapped his arms around her as he kissed her back, but then his lips forged a path to her ear.

“I would love,
love
to stay, but if I do, I know I’m going to pick up where we left off. And that’s not very smart with Lissa down the hall.”

“With as much as she’s had to drink, she’ll be out for hours,” Legacy whispered, and kissed his neck. She wasn’t giving this up without a fight. She didn’t mind playing dirty. She kissed her way up to his ear as he leaned into her and nibbled on it.

Adin moaned, holding her tightly. “Sweetheart,
please
. When we make love for the first time, I want to give you my undivided attention. I can’t do that if I’m worrying about interruptions.”

She pulled away from him and looked into his eyes. Gods, his control was incredibly maddening. But she sighed and said, “Okay.”

“Don’t look at me like that. Damn, Legacy, I want you so much. You have no idea.” Oh, she had an idea already. And she’d
felt
just how much he wanted her. Adin leaned down and brushed his lips against hers in a chaste kiss. Then he took her hand into his and walked to the door. He turned around and put his hand on her cheek. “I love you, Legacy, with all my heart.”

“I love you too, Adin.” She smiled at him as he opened the door. When he did, she felt how hot it was outside and cringed. “Ugh! I need to figure out how to stop the heat waves whenever we get worked up.” She laughed.

Adin chuckled and stepped up to her. “I’d love to help you figure that out.”

She laughed, and Adin kissed her softly. She pulled away and cocked her head to the side. “That could be arranged much sooner than later.” She winked at him to show she was teasing—but not really; if he said the word, she’d be game for jumping his bones right this second—and he bent over to kiss her before leaving.

After he drove away, she walked back to her room and stared at her bed, thinking about what had almost happened. After tonight, she knew it was only a matter of time before
almost
would no longer be the case. Gods, she was ready. There was no doubt in her mind, and from how responsive Adin had been, she knew he was too. Once everything fell into place, it was going to happen, and she couldn’t wait for that. For now, she’d just go take a shower.

A very cold shower.

Chapter Three

River’s big day. Legacy knew this day was coming, and now that it was here, it felt sorta surreal. After all the talks they’d had about her ascension, his seemed to come out of nowhere. Of course, she knew his birthday was coming up, but she hadn’t actually put the full weight of the meaning behind it. It was a big day for him, in more ways than one. Not only was he turning eighteen and attaining society’s standard of adulthood, but he’d also reach his godly status today. Did he feel any different? Was he aware when it had happened? Had it happened already or would it happen later today? She had no idea, but instead of wondering for her own benefit, she needed to just be his friend and be happy for him. She grabbed her cell and sent him a text wishing him a happy birthday.

Gods, she felt as if that wasn’t enough. She could call him and talk to him, but he was probably busy getting ready for his party, so the text would have to be enough for now. She’d call him later tonight after the party. She’d love to see him sometime today, if only briefly. She wasn’t sure how she’d manage to do that. No way could she go to his house since his mother was home, but she definitely wanted to see her best friend on one of the most important days of his life. Neither of them understood what all would happen on their eighteenth birthdays, so a large part of her wanted to be there even if only for moral support. She’d wracked her brain for a way to steal a few minutes with him, but nothing felt right. No, seeing him today wasn’t going to be an option for her. At least she could be with him in spirit…because she’d totally dropped the ball on one important aspect of today.

With Calli’s breakup with Zach, last week had been much more hectic than it should have been. Legacy had never made it to the store to buy River a birthday present, but she’d thought constantly about what to get him. He was loaded, and she really didn’t have any idea what to get when she’d first started brainstorming. She didn’t know what to buy a guy who had everything or had enough money to buy whatever he wanted. But as the week progressed, she realized that there was one thing River didn’t have that he wanted.

Her.

Obviously, she wasn’t available, so she tried to think of a way to give him some part of her in such a way that she could be thoughtful with his gift. She decided to have Lissa take a picture of her with the teddy bear he’d won for her at the fair. She was really pleased with how it had turned out, but she needed to get a frame for it before she wrapped it. Shopping for a frame would keep River in her thoughts on his important day.

She headed to the store and searched until she’d found the perfect one. She didn’t want anything cheesy or girlie and had planned on going to several stores until she’d found the one she’d wanted. Whatever that one might be. But it hadn’t taken as long as she’d thought it would. When her gaze lit on a stainless steel with a masculine look to it, she knew she’d found the one. It had the word, “Forever” engraved on it. She liked that because it didn’t have the word, “Love” to make him feel more hopeful than he should, and it didn’t have the word, “Friends” to give him the constant reminder that
that
was all they’d ever be. “Forever” was simple enough without having to elaborate on what the word meant to either of them.

When she got back home, she put the photo in the frame and wrapped his gift. She stared at it a few minutes, feeling a little sad that she wouldn’t get to give it to him today.
Tomorrow
. She was definitely going to see him tomorrow. She would not wait any longer. Getting the gift one day late wouldn’t be the end of the world.

A knock sounded on the front door downstairs. Lissa was out running errands and Olive had tagged along in hopes of dragging her shoe shopping, so no else was home to answer. Legacy went downstairs to get it. When she opened the door, Calli stood there. Legacy motioned her to come in and she followed her upstairs to her bedroom.

“What’s that?” Calli asked as Legacy moved River’s gift off her bed to give Calli a spot to sit down.

“Oh, that’s just River’s birthday present.”

“Good. That’s what I want to talk to you about,” Calli said as she took the newly cleared seat on her bed.