Zurlo, Michele - Riley [Daughters of Circe 3] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) (8 page)

She reached up and tugged at the waistband of his boxers. “I just knew he wasn’t really there. I wasn’t afraid of him. It was like I knew him, but I don’t. Weird. Now, I’ve decided for option two, so get to work before nature takes over and I pass out.”

Soren frowned, and deep thoughts creased a line between his eyes.

“Oh, Soren, don’t overanalyze it.” Riley sat up to get a better angle with her hand. She slid it into his boxers, but he stopped her with one powerful hand on her wrist.

“Something isn’t right. You’re dismissing this too quickly. What did his eyes look like?”

Reluctantly, Riley gave up her attempt at seduction and flopped back onto her pillows. Soren abandoned his prime position between her legs to slide under the covers next to her. His penetrating gaze never left her face, no matter how much she wished he might penetrate her elsewhere.

With a resigned sigh, she closed her eyes to focus the image of the man in her kitchen. “Blue. They were clear, crystal blue. He had black hair. It was shorter than yours, but still kinda long. It went almost to his shoulders.” The image of him in her head included a backdrop of a sandy beach and a bright, sunny day. She opened her eyes and frowned. “It’s weird to know all of that stuff when it was dark in there and I could barely see him.”

He squeezed her hand, and for the first time, Riley felt the weight of his worry. “Did he scare you?”

“No, he didn’t.” She lifted his arm and wiggled closer. Resting her head on his shoulder and snuggling her body against his, she tried to reassure him with her touch. “He seemed as surprised to be there as I was to see him there. He’d never hurt me. He loves me.”

As the words fell from her lips, she knew they were the truth. That didn’t negate the shock running through her system. She shivered and burrowed even closer to Soren, seeking comfort from him as much as she sought to comfort him.

“How in the world could I know that?”

He stroked her hair and kissed her forehead. “I don’t know, honey. I just hope this doesn’t mean demons are close to finding me. Now that I’ve found you again, I couldn’t bear to leave you.”

Pain stabbed at her heart. She didn’t want him to have to leave, either. “Soren, this man isn’t a demon, and he isn’t after you or me. He’s a good person. He likes seafood, and he’s really good with plants. He’s kind and sensitive, and he’s the person our daughters go to when they need a shoulder to cry on.”

Panicked, she pushed away from Soren and sat up. The reading lamp he had turned on when he followed her into the kitchen cast the room with long shadows that seemed to jump out at her. She pressed the heels of her hands to her temples. Soren’s arms held her tight, keeping the shivers wracking her body to a minimum.

“What the hell was that? What’s happening to me?”

“I don’t know, Riley. I should be jealous that you’re talking about another man loving you, but I’m not. Maybe I should bite you, turn you into a wolf. It’ll give you extra senses to protect you against whatever this is.”

Riley shook her head. As much as the idea might appeal to some, she had no desire to become a shape-shifter. She clung to the thick arms banding her body. “I wasn’t meant to take your power like that.”

He held her for the longest time, rocking her back and forth in a soothing motion that eventually lulled her to sleep.

* * * *

Caiden waited in his favorite grotto. The sheer cliff walls rose on three sides, casting much of the space into shadow even during the brightest parts of the day. The sun was one thing for which he’d always been grateful. Circe might have damned him to this existence, but she had left him in a virtual replica of the paradise they had shared for so long. Sometimes loneliness overwhelmed him, but walking among the dwellings and trees where his family had once flourished helped him to keep them fresh in his memories. It brought him immeasurable relief to be here.

The waxing moon hung low in the sky, appearing much larger and brighter than normal. It seemed close enough so that if he reached out, he could run his fingers along the rocky surface. He loved the harvest moon for this reason alone.

Waves lapped the shore, drawing him into the open. He stared at the moonlight reflecting from the calm surface and wondered at the vision he’d encountered earlier. As if he’d conjured her, she appeared next to him.

Her bare toes wiggled in the sand, and the cold ocean water shocked a gasp from between her lips.

“Shouldn’t this be warmer?” She didn’t move away from the water. “Aren’t we in the topics?”

Caiden shrugged, struggling to hide the excitement urging him to throw his arms around her and kiss her senseless. “Not when the water is cold, my darling. This world you’ve created is always moving. It’s safer that way.”

She looked at him. He felt her eyes boring into the side of his face, demanding his undivided attention. Unable to deny her anything, he turned his head and met her gaze. She searched his eyes, her hazel irises glowing with an inner light missing when she assumed her human form.

Reaching out, he lifted her chin to angle her face into the moon’s light. The physical features he’d always loved had changed so much, and yet he saw no difference at all. Her kind eyes held a vast well of inner strength. She didn’t flinch away from the sparks of urgency and expectation wrought by their physical contact. He recognized her struggle to make sense of it all.

“I’m dreaming.”

Caiden shook his head. “No, my love. This is quite real. Your body can’t travel here, but your spirit can be denied nothing.”

She lifted a hand to caress his cheek. Caiden closed his eyes to focus the sensation. “I’ve caused you pain,” she said, her voice just above a whisper. “I’m sorry.”

His eyes flew open. “No, beloved, you did what had to be done to save us all.”

“How do I know your name, and why do I feel such love for you?” Her hand explored his cheeks and the slight dip on the tip of his nose before moving to caress his lips. “I don’t feel disloyal to Soren at all.”

Relief almost crippled Caiden. “You found Soren? That makes sense. He would have activated your powers. Oh, Circe, this is wonderful. The four of us will soon be reunited.”

Unable to contain himself one moment longer, he feathered his lips over hers, worshipping with his gentle touch and asking for admittance. She stepped into his arms and tilted her face for a better angle. Her lips parted, and her tongue darted out to lick at the tip of his, inviting him inside.

Heat exploded, and she melted against him. He tightened his grip, holding her firmly against his body. Her breasts pressed into his chest. His shirt, which he hadn’t bothered to button, flapped open, but she still wore the same cotton nightshirt she had been wearing earlier. The thin barrier was too much, yet he knew to rip it away would be too much, too fast. He’d waited three thousand years. Surely, he could take his time. After all, she didn’t quite remember him.

She broke the kiss, throwing her head back to gulp air. Her fragile body quivered, and her fingers dug into his arms. “Caiden, please tell me what’s going on. Why do I have such profound feelings for you when tonight is the first time I ever met you?”

He trailed kisses across her jaw and down her throat. “Circe, darling, we’ve been together since before man learned to sail the seas.”

A tiny moan escaped when he found a sensitive place near the hollow of her throat. This new body had different erogenous zones, and he planned to enjoy finding every single one of them. Her hands moved, and her fingers tangled in his hair.

“Make love to me. Help me remember.”

She ground her moist heat against the linen covering his thigh, and he realized she wore nothing beneath this gown. He lifted it slowly, watching as the moonlight revealed her smooth skin one inch at a time. He had once thought her the most beautiful woman in existence. Though her body was taller and her coloring was different, her breasts lighter and her hips not as curvy, he once again fell in love with the physical perfection of her flesh.

With the pad of one thumb, he grazed her nipple. It puckered into a hard peak his mouth watered to taste. He dipped his head and drew the pebbled point between his teeth. She hissed and moaned, pressing his head closer. The delightful perfume of her arousal drifted to his nose, aided by the breeze.

“You smell like the heavens, my love. Let me taste you.”

He didn’t wait for permission. His woman didn’t feel the need to command where sex was concerned. She might rule them all with an iron fist with regard to all other matters, but she left the bedroom decisions up to them.

As he expected, Circe widened her stance. Her woman’s dew already coated the unnaturally short hairs that barely covered her lips. Caiden frowned briefly, and then he dismissed whatever fad caused her to trim her pubic hair. He found it attractive and functional. His tongue darted out, licking away the first drops of her desire.

Musky and sweet, she tasted heavenly. He parted her lips roughly with his thumbs and licked with abandon. She moaned and thrust her hips against his face.

He lifted her, halting her actions, and laid her onto a soft blanket. She started and looked around, trying to orient herself to the changes.

“This world exists in my head,” he said. “If I want something, all I have to do is imagine it, and it becomes real.”

She glanced around again. Waves lapped nearby. “Can you imagine a whole bunch of white candles of all different sizes and shapes? I always thought that would be very romantic.”

Caiden blinked, and her wish manifested. His gaze swept the scene and agreed with her assumption. Candlelight mixed with moonlight, and the velvety darkness of the vast night sky blanketed everything. Very romantic, indeed.

She stared up at him, and her eyes misted over. She reached a trembling hand to touch his cheek. “You do love me.”

He nodded. “More than life itself.”

She gripped him hard, jerking his head down to crash his lips against hers. He hadn’t expected such an aggressive move from his sweet little Circe. Fire raged between them. He allowed her to control the kiss for a bit, and then he evened things out, giving as much as he received. She gentled, melding her body to his, lifting her hips to grind her sweet pussy against his erection.

Her hands explored his chest, tantalizing him with a touch that alternated light and rough. At last, she slid one hand between them and gripped his cock, stroking it through the thin linen of his pants. Caiden nearly exploded in her hand.

Wrenching her hand away, he pinned her wrists to the ground. He leaned all of his weight on them, understanding the battle of wills that would ultimately win in this plane of existence.

He peered down and read the surprise in her eyes. She didn’t struggle against his hold. Relenting a bit, he eased some of his weight away.

“I want to touch you.”

Caiden grunted. “Not yet.”

“You sound like Soren. Am I really so beautiful that you can’t control yourself when I touch you?”

“Beautiful, desirable, incendiary. Yes, Circe, you are all of those things and more. If we’re not careful, you’ll consume me whole.” Caiden kissed her hard to stop the flow of words. Soon, she would remember everything and discussions like this would become redundant.

* * * *

Riley felt as if flames licked the edges of her soul. Caiden’s kiss consumed her, mastered her will. She felt herself yielding to him, all the while knowing the submission was temporary. While it felt real, she knew it wasn’t. Only minutes ago, she had fallen asleep in Soren’s arms.

He kissed her cheeks and eyelids before trailing a path of fire from one earlobe to the other. She thrust her pelvis against him, trying to sate some of the need smoldering between her legs.

Caiden shifted his weight, moving her arms so that he could hold both wrists with one hand. His free shoulder dropped, and he caught her leg under her knee. With practiced ease, he shifted until he held her down by pinning her knees against her chest. This position bared her pussy to his gaze. He licked and sucked a path down her torso, pausing at intervals to nip and kiss her inner thighs.