Pursued(60)

“How did you get this?” Elise asked softly, hoping he wouldn’t mind the question. There were other scars on his big body—plenty of them. But this was the most obvious—and the most cruel.

“Got in a fight,” he said briefly. “With a male who hurt someone I loved.”

Elise felt her heart fist in her chest but she tried to ignore the sensation. After all, they were both adults. She couldn’t expect him to have never cared for anyone before her. “Oh?” she said lightly. “Was she pretty?”

“Beautiful. But I don’t want to talk about her now.” He sighed and pressed his head forward gently, nuzzling her hand. “Someday, baby, I’ll tell you all about my scars. When you’re ready to tell me about yours.”

“I see.” Elise stopped tracing his scar and moved her hand down to the strong cords of his throat instead. “I don’t know if that will ever happen,” she said softly, running one hand from his neck to his shoulder. “I don’t know if I’ll ever…ever be ready for that.” It was the closest she could come to acknowledging the vault and everything inside it. It wasn’t much, but Merrick seemed to understand and appreciate her effort.

“That’s all right. We don’t need to talk about it now. For now just touch me.”

Elise did as he said. Her hands slipped from his shoulders and down his muscular arms. She could feel his biceps and triceps tense beneath her wandering hands. With pleasure? Sexual tension? She tried not to think about it too much—or to consider the fact that while she was starting to feel better—less hungry as it were—she was still nowhere near satisfied.

An old song hummed briefly in the back of her mind, “I can’t get no…satisfaction…” What would it take to give her that feeling of emotional fullness—of complete satisfaction? What would it take to feed the hunger until it left her alone, for even a little while? Elise was afraid to consider it. Instead she tried to keep her mind blank and let her hands do the work her mind was too frightened to contemplate.

Merrick was half turned over now so that instead of his profile, she saw him more face on. Somehow, though, it didn’t bother her as it had before they’d started this little exercise. He was so big and warm that touching him—exploring him—was exactly what she imagined stroking a tiger would be like. Without all the fur, of course, but his size and the caged violence inside him—evident even in repose—put the image in her mind and she found she couldn’t forget it.

He made soft, deep sounds of pleasure when she stroked him, her hands wandering over his muscular chest and down his corded abdomen. She played lightly with the flat copper disks of his nipples, circling them with one teasing fingertip until Merrick made a growling sound of frustration.

This isn’t supposed to be sexual, she thought and hastily withdrew her hand…only to travel lower. His thighs and legs were powerful, lightly dusted with coarse black hair that felt ticklish under her palms. Elise stroked all the way down to his strong ankles and big feet before coming back up again.

She hesitated over the broad, plum-shaped head of his cock, protruding from between his thighs. It was even harder now, she saw, and there were droplets of clear fluid welling up on top. She wondered briefly what those pearly drops would taste like on her tongue and then pushed the thought away hurriedly. What was wrong with her? She never had thoughts like that—desires like that. And yet now, it seemed she did. Slowly, hesitantly, she let just her fingertips trail down, stroking lightly between his thighs, just where his shaft was. There seemed to be a swelling at its base—was that normal or just a Kindred thing? Honestly, Elise hadn’t seen enough naked men to know, not that she’d ever wanted to.

“It’s okay.” His deep voice brought her back to herself and she snatched her hand away.

“What?”

“I said, it’s okay,” he repeated. “Touch me however you want to, baby. However and wherever. I don’t mind.”

Elise wished briefly that she could allow him such free access to her body but even the thought made cold sweat break out on her forehead. “I thought you said it doesn’t…doesn’t have to be sexual,” she whispered through dry lips.

“It doesn’t,” Merrick assured her gently. “But it can be if you want it to be. If you need it to be.” Slowly, he arched his back, giving her greater access to his bound and naked body. “Go ahead, baby—do what you want. Take what you need.”

“I…I shouldn’t need to do that. To touch you there,” she whispered. Inside her head a little voice murmured, Don’t you mean you shouldn’t want to?