Riss (4 page)

When her breast was exposed
, he leaned down and licked the tip. Her nipple felt as if he’d scorched her, and she had to look to see that he hadn’t. Pulling him closer again, she nearly cried out when he pulled her hard peak into his mouth and suckled. Then when he opened his mouth over her and took all of her into him, she wrapped her fingers into his hair and held onto him. Crying out when he rocked his hard length into her, Kala felt herself building up to the best orgasm of her entire life, she just knew it. Then someone said her name loudly behind her.

“
Kala, I know you’re in there. Open up.” The pounding on the door had her vibrating, and she moaned when Riss pulled away. “Kala Marrow, what the fuck are you doing? Open this door. I need to talk to you.”

“
Go away, Dan.” But it was too late, she saw. Riss was pulling away from her. When he pulled her robe closed and stared at her, it was all she could do not to beg him to take her right then and there. “Dan, you fucking prick, I hate you right now.”

“
Let me in.” She looked at Riss, who seemed not to just be stepping back from her but putting miles and miles of distance between them. Kala wanted to cry. She needed this man, and if his cock was any indication, he wanted her as well. He looked as if he was as thick as her wrist and at least nine inches long. She wanted to find out right now.

“
I said to go away.” Riss took another step back from her, and she turned to the door. There was no way she was going to stare at a man who had completely devastated her in such a short amount of time. “I’m busy right now. Come back later. Tomorrow, come back tomorrow. For dinner.”

“
I need to talk to you. Just open the damned door now.” She leaned her head against it and took several deep breaths, hoping that it would wash the scent of Riss from her. Kala barely heard Dan as he begged to be let in now.

“
Just come back at six tomorrow. I’ll fix dinner and you can tell me what you want.” He was quiet for a long while, and she turned to look at the man behind her. He still looked as shell-shocked as she felt, and his cock was as hard as ever. “I think you should leave, too, when he does.”

When he nodded
, she wanted to beg him to stay. There was something so…so very powerful about this man, and she found she wanted to explore him. Every single inch of him. Dan said he’d be back at six, and she waited until she heard the bell to the elevator sound and the noise that it was moving before she opened the door again. This time she didn’t look at Riss, but at the door as she held it.

“
I’m truly sorry that I’ve hurt you.” She didn’t try denying that he had, nor did she acknowledge that he’d spoken. But when he stopped in the doorway and lifted her chin with his fingers, she had no choice but to look at him. “There is no reason for you to harm yourself. You’ll be all right.”

It took her several seconds after he was gone to realize what he
’d said to her. For whatever reason, he’d known what she’d been about to do. Looking down the hall to tell him to explain himself, she saw that he was gone. Wondering if she’d missed the elevator coming up, she stared at the door when it dinged again that it had returned to her floor. Mrs. Taylor, who lived across from her, nodded as she left the elevator alone and hurried into her own home. Kala closed her door and went to her kitchen. There were strange things going on, and she was too stressed to deal with them.

Kala
sat at her table and tried to think about what had just happened. It had to be a dream. There was no way she would have thrown herself at a man, a stranger, so quickly. And the fact that he’d known that she was just seconds away from slicing open her own wrists was simply not possible. More than that, there was no way he could have made her feel so…so…so something in a few seconds. He’d been a dream. A stress-related dream that had her trying to get over the fact that she was going to be homeless in a few days. Looking around the kitchenette, she wondered how the hell she was supposed to get ready for all this in just two weeks. That’s when she noticed the feather lying on the floor near the doorway.

Getting up
, she moved toward it with trepidation. She had no idea why the sight of something so soft and harmless had her terrified, but it did. When she leaned down to pick it up, she hesitated, trying to think how it had gotten into her house. Lifting it to her nose, she sniffed it and found her body reacting to it as if Riss was still there and touching her. Going back to the kitchenette, she laid it on the table while she got herself a glass of water.

“
It’s a feather, Kala, you’ve seen them before.” Yeah, she told herself, but not as big as this one was. “So what? It’s a big feather. It has nothing to do with the dream you had. It’s a fucking feather. Get over it.”

But for some reason her head wouldn
’t let it go. The man with the file, just before she’d left him, he’d stood up, stretched, and he’d had feathers. Actually, he’d had wings, the kind that seemed to be made from large feathers like the one she had. Shivering, she picked up the snowy white feather and took it to her bedroom, where she put it in the drawer. Then she went into the bathroom.

“
I have to find a job today and a place to live. Not necessarily in that order, but today.” Letting out the water from the now cold bath, she stepped into the spray of hot water. Once she was out of the shower and dressed, she’d told herself that Riss wasn’t real and that the feather was from her pillow. A pillow that she had fluffed up when she’d made her bed that felt like it was made from foam. “It’s not really. I’m just stressed.”

Once out of the apartment
, she felt better…more alive, she supposed. By the time she was in her car and moving toward the newspaper office, she’d convinced herself that all of it had been a dream. There was no way she’d nearly had sex with a man in her living room, and the feather was just that. A feather. As she pulled into the side street to get a paper, she felt much better. And when she saw the help wanted pages, she knew this was going to be a good day. Going over each one, she found seven that she could do and four more she’d put on her list to send a resume to. Kala was going to be working by tomorrow. She just knew it.

Chapter 4

Riss was supposed to be with her right now
, but all he could think about was what he’d done. He’d not just interacted with a human, but he’d kissed one. And had her naked breast in his hand and mouth. Riss looked up from his table when someone sat down with him. Groaning to himself, he wondered how he could politely ask Arryn to leave him alone.

“
I heard you took over the duties for Miss Marrow.” Riss frowned. He’d only said he’d finish the day, not take over. “Thanks. The man I have now is sort of funny. I’ve had a good time with him today.”

“
I’m not her protector.” Riss looked around when he realized he’d shouted again. “I mean, I told Michael that I’d watch her yesterday. I never meant that I’d stay with her.”

“
You’d better clear that with him then. I’m working with another charge now, and your name is on as her protector.” Arryn leaned back in the chair he’d turned to sit on backwards. “She’s not like others, is she?”

“
What do you mean?” Riss picked up his tray of fruit that he’d not touched and stood up. “I’m going to talk to Michael and get this straightened out.”

“
I mean she doesn’t seem to be the kind that you and I usually watch over. Our charges seem to be quieter, reserved, and more…I don’t know. Softer I guess.” The thought of how soft her breast had been in his hand and the hard nipple had been in his mouth had Riss sitting down. “She also seems to be a woman who would crumble at the first sign of trouble.”

“
I didn’t see that.” Arryn cocked his head and Riss felt he had to continue for some reason. “She’s stronger than you think. I heard her arguing with herself just before I left her yesterday, and I think she is made of sterner stuff than most humans.”

“
How so? I mean the woman has lost her job, and from what I saw in her file, she will be homeless in a few days. The new owners were to bring the eviction papers to her yesterday. It was why I’d agreed to go to the new human, because I knew that you’d be with her when it came.” Riss wondered why he’d not been given her file but looked at Arryn when he continued. “She is going to have a hard time finding a place to live, because without a job no one will rent to her. And from what I saw, she doesn’t have enough money for a down payment on a home of her own either.”

Riss
started to say something when he felt something wash over him and had to let go of the tray to grip the table, he felt so unsteady. Getting up when the feeling didn’t go away, he staggered to the door and into the hallway ignoring Arryn, who was asking him if he was all right.

He felt…well
, it wasn’t really ill, but he felt as if he was overheated. More than that, he needed something. Riss felt as if he were on fire and his wings were burning to be set free to wrap around them…no, him, and fix this. He looked up when he realized that Tholan was speaking to him.

“
Are you unwell?” Riss shook his head, then nodded. “That is not at all helpful, Riss. Either you are not well or you are well. Which is it? I’ve a meeting to attend, but I will not leave you like this.”

“
It’s all right. I’ll be all right.” Riss hoped so as his friend moved down the hallway to the large conference room. Hanging onto the walls as he moved toward his chamber, the feeling of overwhelming need of something came over him again. He wondered briefly if it had anything to do with his missing part…the feather he’d realized was gone when he’d gotten up that morning.

He
’d heard from someone once that a missing feather was akin to missing an arm or a leg. Riss hadn’t believed that for a second, but right now he wasn’t so sure. The only way to settle this was to go back to her home and find it. Once it was back on his wings where it needed to be, he’d be well again. At least he hoped so. The best way to find out was to leave right now.

Before he appeared in her home
, Riss had an urge to take a cold shower. He had no idea where that came from, but he was aching so badly that he wanted to try anything. And his cock was hard. Never in all his years had it been so full feeling and painfully hard, not even when he’d been with her the day before. Kala had made him feel this way too. Moving through the portal that took him to Kala’s home, he ended up in the kitchen where she’d nearly fallen.

Riss looked everywhere, even in the trash bin where he thought she might have put it when she
’d found it. He had no idea where else to look when he realized there were noises from the other room. Not sure what he’d find, Riss made his way to the back of the house, and when he realized that the sounds were coming from her room, he went through the door and hoped he wasn’t walking in on her and a lover.

“
Oh my.” Riss felt his body flush hot again as she lay there naked. Her breasts were full and her nipples as pert as they had been yesterday when he’d taken them into his mouth. As he watched, she cupped one and pinched it hard between her thumb and finger, and Riss felt his mouth water. To taste her again, to suckle such a treat would be wondrous. When he looked down her body, he felt the thickening of his cock make his knees weak, and it was all he could do to stand and watch her. Her womanly parts were there for him to view, and what he saw made him want to free his hard cock and touch her with it.

Looking down her body
, he saw that her other hand was busy sliding in and out of her glorious womanhood. Taking a step toward her, he felt as if he’d run several marathons twice, and still, the feeling of need rolled over him. He was at the bottom of her bed before he could think that he should not even be in her room, and even more so, he wanted to join her in the bed. But when he looked at her slick fingers, he moaned, and everything she was doing stilled.

“
Come here.” He looked behind him and there was no one there. When she sat up on the bed, her breasts swaying to her heavy panting, he realized she could see him again. “I said to come here. I need you to finish me.”

“
Finish you?” She put her wet fingers into the top of his pants and practically dragged him over the edge. Protesting seemed to be something he should be doing, but all thought of stopping her left his head when she took his mouth.

Her tongue swirled with his, moving in and out of his mouth like her fingers had been over her womanhood. Riss put his hand on her shoulder to push her away
, but met with the heavy flesh of her breast. Her moan, loud and full of something he’d never heard before, had him cupping it as he’d seen her doing.

“
Please? I need you to make me come.” Riss moved his mouth down her throat, tasting her sweat-dewed skin. When her hard peak seemed to beckon him, he pulled it into his mouth and suckled hard. He had no idea what it was like to come, but if this feeling was anything near to what she needed, he would help her. Biting down once had her curling her fingers into his hair, and Riss opened his mouth wider over her and took as much of her creaminess into him. His cock hurt so badly now that he cupped it with his free hand to try to relieve the pressure.

“
I want to suck you.” He nodded, not really sure how that would work as he had no breasts as she had, but he was willing to try anything right now. When her fingers had his pants open and her hand wrapped around his cock, Riss hissed out his approval and rocked involuntarily into her tight hand. That’s when he saw his feather.

There in her hand was his missing part. Before he could ask her for it
, she took it to her breast and ran it over her. Riss cried out when he felt it over his own body and rocked harder into her hand. Whatever was going on between them had just gotten more intense, and he didn’t want it do stop.

Riss was turned and lying flat on his back when she freed his cock.
Embarrassed to be caught in such a state, he reached down to cover himself, but she wrapped her hands around his and they both began to slide up and down his shaft. The feather in her other hand moved over his tip. Again, it was as if they were connected though the part of him that had no business being used as it was. She moved it over her breast, and Riss threw back his head and moaned. But not seeing her as she moved over him wasn’t an option, and he looked down her lovely body.

Kala was soaking his thigh
as she rode her body over him. Riss found he wanted to taste her cream. Running his finger though her wet curls, he took it to his mouth and moaned at her taste. If there was anything better than this, he was sure he didn’t want to know. Her hand moved up and down him faster now, and he felt his wings tingle and his balls tighten. When she let him go, Riss whimpered, but nearly came up off the bed when she put her mouth to him.

“
Oh yes,” he cried out over and over. Each time she licked him from root to tip, he felt his eyes cross, and when she took him fully into her mouth and swallowed around him, Riss felt everything in him let go. Crying out, he knew his cock was letting go and his body was spilling into her. When she sat up suddenly, he was sure he had no more, but she wrapped her hand around him again and guided her over his still throbbing cock. When she slid down, taking him deep inside of her, Riss knew a moment of pure bliss.

Kala didn
’t move for several seconds but sat with him deep inside of her while she looked down at him. When she handed him his feather, Riss did the only thing he could think of and brushed it over her breasts. Her rolling her hips over him had him sitting up and putting his hand to her hip while he played his part of him all over her body.

Her nipples were so pink he wanted to taste them again and again.
When he brushed his feather over them, each tiny strain seemed to send a message to his own body, telling him more, it wanted more. Kala put her hand on his shoulders, and Riss rolled over. Being deep inside of her in this position gave him the perfect view of her face when he moved inside of her. Rolling his own hips to mimic her, he knew when he’d touched something inside of her that made her moan loudly, giving her more pleasure than he’d ever felt before. When she wrapped her legs around his waist, locking her ankles behind him, Riss rocked harder and faster into her until the same feeling he’d had before when he’d released began to build again. As soon as she screamed, her body milking his as she did so, Riss pounded deeper until he had his own release. Taking her mouth as he filled her, Riss wondered if he could do this again, move within her wet, hot body over and over until the feelings that he’d just had were to repeat until he couldn’t move.

Suddenly his release was upon him again
, and he threw back his head and roared out. Never had anything felt so draining and energizing at the same time. Dropping down onto her, Riss tried to catch his breath while his body seemed to feel it had come home.

Riss knew he was heavy
, but he couldn’t move, and even if he had wanted, it was all he had the strength left to do. Her fingers danced down his back, and Riss wanted to ask her if it was always like this with her, and realized just what they’d done. Lifting his head, he looked at her and tried to think of something profound to say.

“
You have my feather.” She nodded and grinned, and he felt foolish. “I came back to get it, and you were in here. I never knew such wondrous things could be done with something so small and soft.”

“
I felt you when I used it on my body. Don’t ask me how, but when I found it in my kitchen last night, all I could think about was coming with it next to my skin.” She closed her eyes and smiled. “I’m very tired. You’ve worn me out completely. I just need a quick nap and we’ll talk, okay?”

Riss watched her breaths become even and her body go lax beneath his.
Moving as slowly as he could so as not wake her, Riss got up from her bed and smiled. Then he looked at her and realized that he’d done something that he never should have. He’d had sex with a human. What had he done?

Gathering his clothing
, he moved back as far from her as he could go. Then when his back touched the wall behind him, he nearly cried out. Yanking on his clothes, Riss tried to think what he was supposed to do now. Moving through the portal again, he went straight to his bedroom and paced.

~~~

Kala woke feeling as if she’d slept for a month. Stretching her arms over her head, she smiled knowing that whatever she’d eaten before she’d gone to bed, she was having it every night. Then she felt the feather that she’d had clutched in her hand touch her cheek. It was then that the entire night came rushing back.

“
Riss?” No answer and she got up to see if he was in the bathroom. When she found the room empty, she grabbed her robe and went to the kitchen. No one was there either, and she sat down. “Sex. We had the most incredible sex of my life and he left me.”

Kala looked
around the room she’d started packing last night, and realized she’d been talking to herself a great deal lately…and answering herself. Standing up, she went to the bedroom to shower and change. Getting under the hot spray, she realized how sore she was and nearly smiled again. Christ love a noodle, she wanted that lovely dream again. And it had to be that. No way would she have had sex with a near stranger and enjoyed it so much. But she knew as surely as she was standing there that he was real and that he’d left her after they’d had sex, left without a word.

Kala
had planned to go back out and job hunt again. But yesterday had been a complete bust, and she needed to get herself in a better frame of mind before she could do that again. Not only had she not gotten a job, but no apartment either. The two places she’d looked at within her budget wouldn’t even let her put a deposit down because of the fact that she had no job. Fighting tears again, she got out the things to make a pot of chili, just remembering that Dan was coming over soon.