Accidentally...Over?(32)

           



       

Oh, gods, he's so, so delicious. Can't resist.

Why did kissing this man, a man she couldn't see, do this to her? He  melted away any spark of resistance and worry, any apprehension and  fear, with one lousy kiss. Okay. It wasn't lousy. It was, hands down,  the most elating experience of her life. Being touched by Máax was like  being touched by a …  by a …

A god?

Yes, her god. All hers.

"Please, Ashli," he whispered between kisses.

She slid her hands over the hard swells of his, well, perfectly defined  pecs, enjoying the sensation of him. Everything about Máax was so  fiercely male. He made her feel feminine and delicate, but strong and  sexy. But dammit, the man was so infuriating!

And sinfully male.

And so confusing.

And so heavenly!

And so dangerous. Yes, he was a danger to her soul. He was the kind of  man who could blind a woman with his raw masculinity, his control and  determination. But how could he be a threat to her when he also felt  like her center of gravity? Her home.

"Has anyone ever told you that you're a paradox?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied. "I am a god. Comes with the territory. Are you agreeing to my terms?"

She looked down at her feet. She didn't want to keep fighting with him.  It was like constantly trying to swim upstream. Jeez, how did salmon do  it?

Because they are swimming toward love, not away from it.

Love? They're fish, Ashli.

Good point. They are swimming toward hot sex.

Ashli, they're fish. They don't have sex.

Good point.

Oh, forget it!

"Yes," she finally said. "But I'm a salmon."

"Sorry?"

"Just swimming," she said. "Nothing more."

She imagined Máax was smiling and that it was a heart-stopping smile. If only she could see him.

"Would you mind if I remove my clothes for our swim? I happen to be partial to skinny dipping."

"Har-har," Ashli laughed. "Sure." Charming bastard.

An hour later, Ashli emerged from the tepid turquoise-green water  feeling a little less, well, like a living, breathing roller-coaster  ride. She'd swum out farther than she ever had. Was it her new body? It  didn't seem to tire at all. She'd even made it to the small sandbar  about a kilometer from shore where she'd gone snorkeling many, many  times but had always gotten there by boat. And yes, it was still there.  Just as it had been yesterday, only yesterday was twenty years ago.  Then, from the middle of the ocean, she'd gazed out across the hypnotic,  jewel-colored waves and magnificent field of billowing clouds. They  were no different than the ones she stared at for hours from her porch.  No. Not everything you adore is gone, she thought. And on the swim back,  she wondered if she hadn't been too hasty in her reaction.

Yeah. Maybe. But why can't I let go of the past? Why? She gazed up at  the late afternoon sky peppered with dollops of gold-and-white clouds  and savored the warm sand beneath her feet. The final rays of the sun  warded away a shiver as the wind picked up.

"Letting go isn't always easy," Máax whispered in her ear as he wrapped her body in a towel.

How did he know what she was thinking?

She looked to her side where the indentations of giant feet marked the sand. "Exactly how do people let go?"

"I'm over here," he said from behind her.

Ashli quickly turned toward the seductive, magnetizing sound of his  voice. "You scared me." Then her eyes saw him, the faint outline of his  perfect form-stacks of behemoth muscles, broad, strong shoulders,  chiseled cheekbones, and that square, masculine jaw. His brows glistened  with ocean water, and she saw their shape clearly. They were thick but  not too thick. And his lashes were longer and fuller than anything she'd  seen on a man. His wet, dripping hair hung past his shoulders. His  beard wasn't long, but she could tell he hadn't shaved for several  weeks.

Oh. My. Gods. She forced the air back into her lungs. He looked so rugged and wild. So virile. What she could see of him anyway.

Her brain went to work and filled in the missing pieces. His expression  came into focus, and she held back a gasp. He was so ethereal, so  beautiful, but the look on his strong face was subtly tormented. Gods,  he was striking, herculean. Yet he looked …  vulnerable. Like he was lost,  just waiting for someone to rescue him. To love him.                       
       
           



       

"My apologies. Perhaps it is time for that bell, after all," he said.

She laughed to mask the depth of emotions crashing into her. Nothing was as it seemed. Was it? Not even Máax.

Ashli continued to stare at that colossal man standing before her, and  it felt like she was opening her eyes for the first time, finally seeing  everything for what it truly was. Her past. Him. The world. It was a  life-changing moment. She realized a future existed, one with endless,  magnificent possibilities. The recent changes in her life were proof of  that now, weren't they? And she need only dare to dream, to hope, to let  go of the past and open her eyes if she wanted her life to change for  the better.

Yeah. She'd been too hasty. She wanted to be there. With him. Her god. Everything about it felt right. She could see that now.

So it was settled; she'd be staying. She'd give living in her new home with Máax a try. She'd make it work.

She let out another little laugh; this time, however, it was genuine. Real live joy.

"You should laugh more often, Ashli. It is truly a beautiful laugh." His  deep, powerful voice jarred her from her thoughts. "But then again,  everything about you is breathtaking. I am quite the lucky deity. The  Universe chose well."

She rolled her eyes and smiled up at him. "All right, big guy. You can lay off the charm. I want to tell you-"

"Charm? You think I'm flattering you? Can you not see what I see?"

When it came to her physical appearance, she was remarkably average. And  she was certainly no god. But it didn't matter, she was who she was.  "Guess I don't, but-"

"You, Ashli"-he pressed his body to hers and brushed her lips with  his-"are millions of years of evolutionary perfection. Your mind is  sharp and observant. Your will is fierce and determined like a champion  steed. Your body is a godsdamned work of art, a seduction machine built  for lovemaking, with a powerful god, of course. You have free will, free  thought, and a free heart, one designed to give without question or  judgment. Your skin and hair and eyes are the result of millions of  years of humans selecting that which they loved or, at the very least,  desired. So how is it possible that you see yourself as anything other  than perfect? You are the most beautiful woman I have ever seen."

"Wow. Well, that was one hell of a speech."

"I speak the truth, Ashli," he added. "You were a magnificent woman, and  now you are a magnificent immortal. You will do great things. I feel it  in my soul."

How was it possible he saw so much in her? How?

"Thank you." She looked away, feeling a little embarrassed. She wasn't  accustomed to someone saying those sorts of words to her. "For  everything," she added.

"If you really want to thank me"-Máax's warm hands cradled the sides of  her head-"close your eyes. I want you to feel something."

If that something was pressing against her stomach, she already felt it.  And heaven on earth, did she want it. And everything attached. Flickers  and sparks were firing off all over her damned body.

"I want you to open your mind. I want you to feel our connection."

They could do that? Sounded interesting, but in all honesty, her body  ached for another kind of connection. In fact, shouldn't they go inside  before someone spotted her shamelessly grinding her wet body against  thin air. Or worse! They might see the shimmering outline of an insanely  seductive, powerful-looking man with a very, very large erection.  "Let's go into the hou-"

His lips were on her, but he kissed her softly, only allowing the tip of  his hot tongue to gently glide over her lips. "Relax," he commanded in a  gruff voice. "I want there to be no secrets between us. I want to tell  you-"

"Shut up and kiss me," she commanded. "A real kiss."

"But I must-"

"Now."

She stood on her tippy-toes and reached for his neck. He bent down to  meet her halfway. At first, he kissed her slowly, passionately. But then  his scent began to work its way into her lungs. She instantly wanted  more. More of his heat, of his touch, of his smell. He was so  deliciously sweet and spicy, so male that it weakened her joints. And  then something else overpowered her senses. It wasn't a taste or a  sound, but an odd feeling. Like she was inside Máax's mind. But not in a  way where she could read his thoughts. She knew what was in his heart.  It was intoxicating and pure; it felt like being bathed in a warm light  filled with love.