Stone Lover (26 page)

    Catching her lower lip between her teeth, she gazed up at him, worried, “Are you sure that this is what you want?”

    “Of course it is,” he answered without hesitation, swiveling his hips to bring her back to the present. “I never want you to think that I don’t want this.”

    “But, there was no time to consider all of the possibilities,” she protested, even as her eyes rolled back into her head when he nudged something deep inside of her. A low moan came from the back of her throat and she almost lost track of the conversation.

    “I considered them,” he assured her, his voice thick. Framing her face between his hands, he stared at her until she opened her eyes and met his gaze. Fire and determination burned deep within the golden orbs. “There is nothing – nothing – I want more than to be a part of you and for you to be a part of me.”

    “But, we’ve known each other for such a short time,” she offered feebly.

    He smiled, “We’ve known each other forever.”

    She grinned at such a ridiculous statement, even if it felt true in her heart. “I thought girls were supposed to be the mushy, romantic ones.”

    “Girls and gargoyles,” he teased, ending the conversation and doubts with a kiss. He slid his tongue along her lower lip before dipping it into her mouth, rubbing against her tongue. The familiar taste of spice and Vaughn filled her mouth, her head, her body. She would never get enough of him; he could kiss her when she was gray and old with one foot in the grave and it would be just as good as the first time.

    No, it would be better because they would have had a lifetime of love behind the kiss; a lifetime of love and laughter and memories. She knew that there would be tears as well; one cannot get through life without some heartache but with Vaughn by her side, they would make it through. Their love was only going to strengthen and their life together was going to be one of passion and joy, where the good times far outweighed the bad.

    “I love you,” she whispered, breaking the kiss as thoughts of their future swirled in her head. Reaching around him, she hugged him closer, her eyes misting with tears of absolute joy. He was giving up his life as a gargoyle to be with her and he wanted to do it! It amazed her that he was willing to give up so much to be with her. It was almost too much, too overwhelming; what did she do to deserve such an incredible gift?

    “I love you, too,” he whispered, kissing her softly on the cheek, her nose, her lips once more. “Now, no more doubts; let me make love to you.”

    She nodded her head, too overcome to speak out loud. He sat back on his heels, bringing her body with him until she was straddling his lap. Inhaling sharply, she felt him throughout her groin, the muscles of her thighs tight and trembling against his. Holding her in place, he lowered his body until just the first couple of inches of his cock were in her. Then he pulled her down as he oscillated his hips forward, pushing deeper and deeper into the depths of her body.

    Sweat slicked her body, his body, as he controlled their movements. Never taking his eyes from her face, he leaned back to see more of her, still holding her around the waist. Her breasts bounced heavily as he flexed his hips, shafting her with strength and skillfulness.

    “Life your hair up,” he growled, his hungry, golden eyes moving ravenously over her body, lingering on her flushed breasts, her swollen lips, where they were joined. She looked down, where chocolate brown hair met golden blond, where his cock was slick with her juices as it penetrated her body. It was so erotic, so beautiful she was lost, panting heavily in a haze of lust. “Your hair, Melanie.”

    With a seductive pout, she gathered up her dark, glossy hair, raising her arms up and thrusting her breasts out towards him. Groaning, he curved his body forward, taking a blushing nipple into his hot mouth and drawing hard upon it, making her moan. His golden hair danced over her skin in a sensuous caress as he suckled first one breast and then the other.

    He lost the control of only moments before, his hips jerking erratically even as his thrusts grew more powerful, and the uneven rhythm pushed her once more over the edge. With a gasp, she threw her head back and let the pleasure roll through her as it exploded outwards from where they were joined. Her body arched, grinding her pelvis against his, as her fingers twisted in her hair, yanking it until the pain mixed with the pleasure and she cried out. It was glorious.

    “My god, you’re magnificent,” Vaughn breathed, awe filling his voice and making her feel like a goddess. Her sultry smile was a bit shy when she tipped her head back and met his gaze. Unable to stop himself, he wrapped his arms around her, hugging her to him as he captured her lips in another scorching kiss.

    After several hours of sex and countless orgasms, Melanie was exhausted and sprawled across Vaughn’s glorious chest, idly playing with the light dusting of gold hair on his chest. His cock was still buried deep within her but his thrusts were slow, barely moving at all, no longer the energetic mating that had so far dominated the ritual. Instead, he was gently massaging her back, smoothing his hands over her vertebrae, her ribs, her shoulder blades. Every inch of her skin felt like it had been inundated with pleasure and a satisfying ache pulsed between her thighs. She knew that if it weren’t for the spell, she would have been very sore from the constant orgasms and shafting. As it was, she was just a bit tender; it was a wonderful feeling, one she relished.

    “Sleep now,” he whispered, carefully running his fingers through her damp hair, gently massaging her scalp.  She loved how his strong fingers moved through her hair, how they felt against her head, her body. Hell, she loved everything about him.

    “I don’t want to,” she grumbled, ruining her protest with a wide yawn.

    Chuckling, he kissed the top of her head, “Let me just hold you in my arms as you sleep; in a few hours I will wake you for the climax.”

    She smiled against his chest even as her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Still she fought the inevitable, enjoying the calm of just being in Vaughn’s strong arms. “I don’t want to miss a moment of this.”

    “You won’t miss anything,” he promised, still steadily rocking his hips. Kissing the shell of her ear, he crooned, “Imagine how nice it will be to wake up to me making love with you.”

    “Mmm,” she purred, her eyes giving up the battle to remain open. Still, she fought to stay awake. “That does sound nice.”

    “When you wake up, we’ll have the whole day to play.”

    “Won’t you be tired?” she asked softly, her words slurring slightly at the end.

    “No,” he shook his head, still moving his hands over her slender back. “I won’t be tired at all.”

* * * * *

    Vaughn watched as Melanie struggled to keep her eyes open before finally surrendering to much-needed sleep. Running his hands over the smooth skin of her back, breathing in her warm vanilla, feminine scent, he had to smile: she embraced sleep as she did everything else, by throwing her whole being into it. Her body was sprawled across his, her legs entwined with his, her arms flung around him, her hair a wild mass of silk sticking to her body and to his, her lush breasts pressed against his chest.

     Her snug sheath squeezed his cock, sending wave after wave of exquisite pleasure down his shaft and into his balls. If it weren’t for the binding spell, she would have pulled him under a dozen times already. Her passion complimented his and holding her while she slept was… it was like coming home. Little puffs of breath caressed his neck as she breathed and he would have been content to remain that way forever, just holding her in his arms.

     As much as it pained him to admit, he was glad that Peter, that bastard, had been Melanie’s boyfriend for so many years without demanding more from her. If the idiot had been anyone else, he would have known what a treasure Melanie was and never would have been able to let her go. If that had been the case, then Vaughn would never have met her, he would never have known someone so wonderful and that was something that was not even worth thinking about. Melanie was his; she had always been his.

     No matter what happened in the end.

     He was going to be spending so much time with her over the next month that she was either going to grow sick unto death of him or love him desperately enough to bind herself to him completely. He shuddered to think what was going to happen if it was the former; how would he gather up the pieces of his soul if she hated him?

     Armand had been livid about Vaughn giving up his nights for her, making his anger known by scowling even more than usual and storming around the apartment before dawn this morning. Well, as much as Armand stormed.  Even as he seethed, his older brother told him what to expect from the ritual so that there would be no surprises. But, Armand kept muttering that it was going to end badly, that Vaughn was going to end up with a broken heart.

     Where Armand predicted crashing and burning, Rhys only saw the soaring through the clouds and supported Vaughn’s decision whole-heartedly. His younger brother had always been a seize-the-day kind of guy, even if he had never felt this all-consuming devotion for another person. But in the end, his support made the jump easier to make.

    Though it nearly slayed Vaughn to think about it, if Melanie decided to not accept his gift, he knew that his brothers – both of them – would be there to pick up his shattered spirit. And he loved her; if she decided he was asking too much, then he would be content to know that her life was full of love and laughter, even if he wasn’t in it. She would have his heart and his protection no matter what she chose.

     Watching her as she slept, a small, satisfied smile curving her lips, Vaughn hoped she would complete the ritual and accept his gift; she was so very, very precious to him. He would give up anything to be with her, to keep her safe, even if it was just for a month. He knew the price and he was willing to pay it.

* * * * *

    Melanie slowly came awake from the most delicious dream; she was in Vaughn’s arms and he was thoroughly making love to her. His familiar spicy scent filled her nostrils and she wanted to sink back into the depths of her dream. But something was tickling her nose and it was distracting her. Absently, she swatted her hand and her fingers got tangled in something soft and silky.

    With a frown, her eyes popped open to see her hand twisted in Vaughn’s golden hair. Turning her head up, she blinked and saw Vaughn smiling down at her as he drew his finger along her cheek. “Good morning, sleeping beauty.”

    Memories of the night before, of why he was in her bed, of why his cock was still in her, flooded her and her body flushed in arousal. Vaughn was right: waking up to him making love to her was nice. Very nice. Sometime during her nap he switched their position so she was once more on her back and he was on top. Still gently moving within her, he was holding his body over hers so she was able to admire the bulge of his biceps, the swelling of his pectorals, the ridges of his abdomen. For the second time, she allowed herself the pleasure of watching their bodies where they were joined, the way his cock glistened as it slid out and then back in.

    With a sigh, she dreamily ran her fingers over the warm flesh of his chest, along his shoulders, into the soft gold of his hair. “Good morning; how long was I asleep?”

    “Only a little while,” he answered, flexing his hips with a little more vigor as she came more fully awake. “It’s almost dawn.”

    Her mouth fell open in shock, as she turned her head and looked out the window to the gray light of pre-dawn. “I can’t believe you let me sleep so long.”

    Laughing, he shook his head, his golden hair moving against his broad shoulders, “Honestly, it was only an hour or two and you needed your sleep.” At her scowl, he laughed harder, “I promise, you didn’t miss anything.”

    She harrumphed but her pique was short lived as he slid his hand up her stomach to her breast, cupping the weight in his hand. “At least, you didn’t miss much.”

    Tilting her head to the side, she looked up at him, at his teasing smile. Almost reluctantly, she asked, “What
did
I miss?”