Kiss And Dwell (36 page)

“
The veil disappeared as you moved that sponge across your breasts. You were
thinking of me when you touched yourself, and you wanted me to see.
”

“
I was,
”
she admitted. He wore a black T-shirt and extremely faded jeans that
hugged his thighs tightly and didn
’
t do anything at all to hide the bulge
between his legs. She wanted him. And yet…

“
You
’
re crossing over, aren
’
t you? Tomorrow?
”

“
I believe so.
”

“
So,
”
she said, swallowing hard.
“
You
’
ve fulfilled the requirement?
”

He didn
’
t speak this time, but nodded.

Monique fought the stab of pain at that. He
’
d found love? With Celeste? And yet
he was here with her, and according to Inez, he
’
d been watching her today.

“
I don
’
t want to talk about that now,
”
he said, his voice thick with emotion.
“
I
didn
’
t come to talk about crossing.
”
He smiled slightly, grabbed two towels from
the shelf on her wall and placed them on the wet floor.
“
Here. Let me fix that.
”

While Monique stood spellbound, he reached in front of her and angled the nozzle
away from the floor, so Monique
’
s naked body still received a good portion of
the spray, but the remainder hit the tiled wall of the shower, instead of the
bathroom floor.
“
That
’
s better. If water started pouring through to the kitchen,
Nan might get upset.
”

Monique smiled at that. Nan would get more than upset, and she suspected he knew
it.
“
If you aren
’
t here to talk about crossing,
”
she said, watching as he backed
away from the shower, taking great care not to touch her in the process,
“
then
why are you here?
”

His hair was damp and wavy from the shower spray, and his upper torso was
drenched, but he didn
’
t seem to notice. Monique, however, did. His T-shirt stuck
to his beautiful frame and highlighted his biceps, pectorals and abs, almost
more than the luminous glow surrounding his body. He was breathtakingly
handsome, and he was making her burn deep inside. It
’
d been a long, long time
since a man had touched her there. And while Ryan had given her the best orgasms
of her life, he hadn
’
t been able to join with her completely, become one with
her, make her feel whole. She wanted that, and she wanted it with him.

“
I want—need—more than brain sex,
”
she said honestly.

“
I know. I do, too,
”
he said, still looking her over.
“
But the reason I came has
nothing to do with the rules, or with my crossing. I saw you, Monique. I saw you
crying, and I saw you stop what you were doing. You were nearly there, nearly
over the edge, and you stopped. Why?
”

Suddenly chilled, she backed up so the hot water sprayed her body like a warm
blanket.
“
I couldn
’
t do it without you.
”

He visibly swallowed, the beautiful column of his throat pulsing in the process
.

“
That
’
s what I thought,
”
he admitted.
“
And that
’
s why I came.
”

“
Why?
”

“
You couldn
’
t do it without me, but I
’
m here now.
”

“
You want me to—
”

“
Think of me touching you,
”
he said,
“
while you touch yourself. And,
”
he added,
again swallowing thickly,
“
let me watch.
”

Could she do this? Could she actually stand within this hot stream of water,
lather up that sponge and masturbate while he watched?

She blinked, saw the way his dark eyes had that intense heat, that wicked fire,
burning in their depths. Tomorrow he would cross, and she
’
d never see that

passionate fire again.

“
Won
’
t it—isn
’
t it hard on you? Watching? When I
’
m losing myself completely, but
I can
’
t help you do the same? It isn
’
t fair. I can
’
t do you that way. I mean,
brain sex won
’
t give us everything we want, but at least you won
’
t be left
unsatisfied.
”

“
Monique,
”
he said, his voice raspy.

“
Yes?
”

“
After I cross, you
’
ll still need this. You
’
ll still live a normal life with
normal desires, normal needs. Let me see you doing it this way, and I
’
ll
convince myself that this is the way you
’
ll find pleasure until I meet you again
on the other side. I
’
d rather remember this, than think of you being pleased by
someone else.
”

“
But I don
’
t want anyone else,
”
she blurted.

“
A lifetime, your lifetime, probably still has a way to go. You
’
ll find someone
else along the way.
”

“
But—
”

“
Let—me—watch. Please, Monique. Let me.
”
The words were spoken so intensely, so
powerfully, that they sounded almost like a command. He wanted this, truly he
did, and she wanted to give Ryan everything he wanted.

Starting now.

Monique reached down and picked up the
loofah
, squeezing away the excess water
and covering it with more peach-scented body wash. As before, she placed the
foamy ball beneath one ear and eased it across her throat to the other, but this
time, she didn
’
t imagine Ryan looking at her. She saw him, his chest rising and
falling slowly in an obvious attempt at control.

“
Tell me what you feel, Monique.
”
He took a step toward the shower, not close
enough to touch her, but close enough that the mist from the water made his
luminous aura blur at the edges.

Monique had never done anything in her life like this, but that didn
’
t mean she
wouldn
’
t do it, for him.

Only for him.

“
I feel your mouth, placing soft, wet kisses here,
”
she said, as the sponge
crossed her collarbone then edged toward her right breast. She turned the sponge
so the abrasive edge crossed her nipple, then she moaned and rubbed it back
across the burning tip. Back and forth, back and forth. Then she moved to the
other breast and did the same.

“
Tell me.
”

“
Your teeth,
”
she said, her own voice husky now from her aroused state,
“
gently
pulling at my breasts, taking my nipples between them and giving me the
sweetest, most delicious sensation. Nearly painful, but blissfully so.
”

He cleared his throat.
“
Monique.
”

“
Yes?
”

“
I can
’
t take much more,
”
he admitted.
“
I want inside you so bad it hurts. Come
for me. Let me see you come. Now.
”

Determined to grant his every request, she eased her legs apart, then slid the
foamy ball directly to her clitoris and began to rub it slowly, sensually.

“
Your mouth,
”
she whimpered,
“
sucking and biting and nibbling, while I feel my
insides whirling out of control. Deep inside, I
’
m aching for more, wanting your
long, hard length filling me so badly that I want to scream. You
’
re getting me
ready for it. You want me to come hard, fiercely, intensely, before you put
yourself inside, so you work my clit with your mouth. Kissing me there, then
sucking, then finally clamping down hard and—
”
Her body tensed turbulently, then
her climax claimed her completely, making her scream, making her cry out in
pleasure, while Ryan moved closer, those dark black eyes looking into hers as
she soared over the edge.

Monique
’
s eyes flickered closed for the briefest of seconds, and when they
opened, he was gone.

Thunder boomed
loudly and a slanting rain beat against Monique
’
s bedroom window
with maddening force, as though fighting to find its way inside. Lightning, trying to one-up its vigorous counterparts, crackled fiercely as it bore to
earth, splitting the sky in two and illuminating everything in its path, until
it collided with something close enough to make the big house shake. Close, but
not nearly close enough for Monique. She wished the biggest bolt of jagged
electricity would set its sights on her, come right through her window and take
her out of her misery. Send her to the other side.

Send her to Ryan.

Merely an hour ago, he
’
d been here, close to her, inches away, in fact, and
about to reach for her. Monique had seen it in his eyes, had welcomed it and had
made up her mind; she wasn
’
t going to stop him this time. She wanted him to
touch her, and she wanted him to do more, to do everything. More than that, she
wanted to touch him. And wouldn
’
t you know, the minute she mentally decided to
toss those rules straight out the window, he disappeared.

Why?

Had he sensed her resolve cracking? Had he known she was about to give up the
Vicknair
heritage for him? Or had someone, or something, pulled him away at
precisely the moment that Monique would have given herself to him?

She
’
d never know. Because—she glanced at the clock—in fifteen minutes, midnight
would come and go, and Ryan
’
s last day on this side would arrive. Would he cross
at midnight, or would he remain throughout the next twenty-four hours and cross
tomorrow night? Again, Monique didn
’
t know, and she probably never would.

Yesterday she
’
d vowed that if she ever got the chance to see him again, she
would try to find out as much as possible about the mesmerizing male. She
’
d
never wanted to know anything personal about ghosts before, but with Ryan, she
wanted to know everything.

What did he do when he was alive? What were his favorite hobbies? His favorite
subject in school? And the question that had caused her the most
contemplation—how had he died? But when she
’
d been alone with Ryan, she hadn
’
t
thought to ask him anything at all. In fact, the entire situation had revolved
around her, and that stung.

Monique leaned up and soundly punched her pillow. Maybe Pierre had had it right
after all. Maybe she was a tease. But she hadn
’
t meant to tease Ryan; she wanted
to give him everything, to make his dreams come true, assuming his dreams
included her. He
’
d said he believed the requirement had been fulfilled, but if
it had, why hadn
’
t he crossed? And if it had, why had he come here to be with
her, instead of staying with Celeste?

Chalk that up to yet another thing Monique didn
’
t know.

She punched her pillow again, then jumped when another bolt of lightning
collided with something nearby. A transformer? Probably not, since the red
lights on her clock showed the power was still on. Probably a tree. In any case,
the storm was showing Louisiana and the mighty Mississippi who was boss. Monique
only wished she had the authority to do the same. She
’
d love to tell the powers
that be what she thought of their rules.