His lips caressed and stroked hers, his tongue sliding into the waiting warmth of her mouth, filling her. His hands slid into her hair, freeing the mass to tumble around her shoulders. One hand dug into her hair, his fingers softly caressing her scalp, while his other hand dove down her back, cupping her rear and pulling her against him until she could once more feel the hard evidence of his desire.
Her breath caught in her lungs at the feel of him, then resumed on small, thready gasps.
He smelled like forests and wild winds, and her head spun from the heady assault on her senses, and from the knowledge that Zeeland, her beloved Zeeland, was in her arms at last.
He pulled away from her mouth and kissed her cheek, then dipped to taste her shoulder, sending shivers rippling over her skin.
“I’ve been wanting to do more of this all night.” His lips caressed her as his mouth moved into the curve of her neck, then slowly upward.
She tilted her head, giving him full access, reveling in the tingling sensations running over every inch of her body. Deep inside her, heat bloomed, warming and liquefying, making her legs weak. Making her quake with pleasure.
One of his warm hands moved, sliding over her shoulder, then down to cover her breast. Pleasure arced through her as his hand worked the soft flesh, plucking at her nipple. Every touch sent desire tightening inside her, his fingers playing her like a master musician. With those same deft fingers, he slipped the strap from her shoulder and brushed away the scrap of gown, uncovering her breast.
She watched his eyes darken as his thumb brushed the dusty rose flesh of her nipple, making her gasp for another trembling breath.
The low sound of pleasure deep in Zeeland’s throat sang through her veins. His head moved, dropping as if by gravity, diving for her flesh. His mouth closed around her breast, his tongue stroking, his lips suckling.
Julianne dropped her head back at the exquisite pull, cradling his head against her, loving him as he loved her body, bringing her incredible pleasure.
Finally, he pulled away, trailing kisses up her neck until his mouth once more covered hers. He kissed her thoroughly, one hand in her hair, the other covering her damp, tingling breast. Slowly, he pulled back, breathing like he’d run up and down the stairs two dozen times. But as he looked down into her face, a decidedly male smile lifted the corners of his gorgeous mouth.
“You look thoroughly ravished.”
She smiled, unable to do otherwise when he made her so happy just by being here, by wanting her the way he did. “Ravished?”
He brushed her cheek with his knuckles, a faint tremor in his hand. “An old word, from another time, young’un. But appropriate.”
“I’m not too young for you, Zee.”
“No, sweetheart. You’re not. Not anymore, thank the goddess. But you’re new to this, and I’m going to take it slow if it kills me.” He took a shaky breath and grunted. “Which it damn well might.”
Julianne pressed her hands to his chest, then slid them down and under his turtleneck, sliding her palms over the bare flesh of his torso.
He sucked in a breath. “Juli.”
“Don’t go slow, Zee. I’m melting inside. On fire for you.”
“I won’t hurt you again.”
“Last time hardly signified. I barely felt it. I was afraid of what was happening to me, of the Ilina power. Not of you. Never of you.”
He turned her around and pulled her against him, her back to his chest. “Then we’re going to slow down for me. I won’t lose control with you this time.” He held her to him, his arm around her waist while his other hand covered and kneaded her bare breast.
She dropped her head back and drank in the sweet touch of his hands, and the feel of his hard body at her back.
“While you got ready for the party, I did some more reading, Sunshine.”
She stilled. “About the Ilinas?”
“Uh-hmm. An Ilina’s natural state is spirit, but she can turn corporeal at will and stay that way for as long as she wants with little effort. Millennia ago, half-breeds and mixed breeds weren’t quite so rare. According to the account, few of them could enter the spirit state, but those who could, were almost never able to maintain it for more than short bursts of time.”
The arm around her waist loosened, his hand sliding down to her thigh. His fingers tugged and pulled, and she realized he was lifting the hem of her dress.
Her breath caught, her mind trying to remember the question his words had triggered. “So I can’t get stuck like that? In the spirit state?”
“No.” He kissed her hair. “Even if you turn to mist, you won’t stay like that.”
“Zee?”
His hand found the edge of her dress and slid beneath it, his palm splaying erotically against the warm flesh of her leg.