His voice was still breathless, hoarse, when he said, "I know that this may be the only time I get to do this. When I move, let me hold you for just a little while."
My own voice wasn't much better than his, "Since I can't move from the waist down yet, sure."
He laughed then, and because he was still inside me and partially erect, the movement caused me to writhe underneath him, tightening, setting nails into his back.
He screamed, and his hips ground himself against me again. When he could breath again, he whispered, "Oh, god, don't do that again."
"Then get off me," I said, voice almost as breathless as his.
He raised up on his arms, almost like doing a push-up, and drew himself out of me. Feeling him pulling out made me writhe again. He collapsed beside me, half-laughing.
When I could talk again, I said, "What's funny?"
"God, you're amazing."
"Not bad yourself," I said.
"Not bad?" he said, and gave me wide eyes.
I had to smile. "Fine, you're amazing, too."
"Don't say it if you don't mean it," he said.
I finally managed to turn onto my side so I could see his face better. "I do mean it. You were amazing."
He turned on his side so we lay there facing each other, but not touching. "If I never get to do this again, I wanted it to be good."
I had to close my eyes, to fight off another urge to writhe on the bed. I let out a long, steadying breath, then opened my eyes again. "Oh, it was that. I had a really good time, but are you always this vigorous? Not every girl likes to be pounded into the mattress."
"I've seen the men you've been sleeping with, Anita, I knew I could be as hard and fast as I wanted to be, and not hurt you."
I frowned at him. "Are you implying that you're small?"
"No, I'm saying that I'm not huge. I'm good sized, but some of the men in your bed are more than good-sized."
I blushed. I hadn't blushed the entire time we'd been making love, and now I blushed. "I don't know what to say, Jason, I feel like I should defend your ego, but..."
"But inch for inch I know where I stand, Anita." He laughed, and slid an arm under my shoulders. I let him bring me into the curve of his shoulder. I slid my hand across his stomach, my other arm underneath the small of his back, my leg sliding over his thigh. We cuddled, almost as close now as we had been earlier.
"You were wonderful," I said.
"I noticed how wonderful you thought I was." He raised his free arm up so I could see the fresh bloody scratches I'd put down his arms.
I widened eyes at him. "Does your other arm look that bad?"
"Yes."
I frowned, and he touched my forehead. "Don't frown, Anita, I'm going to enjoy every mark. I'll miss them when they heal."
"But..."
He touched fingertip to my lips, to keep me from finishing. "No buts, just amazing sex, and I for one want to feel the aches and pains of it as long as I can." He touched my arm where it lay across his stomach, raised it so I could look at it. There were nail marks, some of them seeping blood, some just red and raised. "These aren't my marks."
Of course, once I saw them, they started to hurt. Why is it that small wounds don't hurt until you see them? "Actually," I said, "they are your marks, or at least a sign of a job well done. I don't remember ever marking myself up this badly."
He gave that low masculine chuckle with an edge of laughter that was pure Jason. "Thanks for the compliment, but I know that whatever I did, it can't be half as wonderful as what Asher and Jean-Claude did a few hours ago. No amount of inches, or talent, will put a man in that league."
I shivered, hugging him. "That's not necessarily a bad thing."
"How can you say that? I've felt a fraction of what Asher did to you, and it's..." he seemed to be searching for just the right word, he finally said, "wondrous, mind-blowing."
"Yeah," I said, "the kind of pleasure you'd do almost anything to experience again." My voice sounded less than happy.
Jason touched my chin, raised me to look at him. "Are you thinking of not going back for more?"
I tucked my face against his shoulder. "Let's just say that I'm not completely happy about it."
"Why not?" he asked.
"I don't know exactly." I shook my head as much as I could pressed against him. "Truth, is that it scares me."
"What scares you?"
"Sex is great, Jason, but this... what Asher can do with his bite." I tried to put it into words, and knew that whatever I said would fail to describe it. "Asher feels like a Master Vampire in my head, his level of power, but he has no animal to call. He can do the voice trick like Jean-Claude, but that's a minor power. I was a little puzzled, I mean, he feels like a master, but where's his power?" I shivered again. "I found out."