She felt his hot mouth over hers and his hands quickly pulling up her dress.
He pushed her against the wall with his body, and in the dark, her mind filled in every blank: how he looked, the expression on his face, the hard lust in his eyes. It was as if she could see him through her senses. He cupped her breasts through her white lace strapless bra and massaged forcefully, grinding himself against her. No. She couldn't wait one second longer. She pushed him back just slightly, unhooked her bra, and kicked off her heels.
Máax quickly slid down her panties and had her up against the wall again. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist.
"Are you ready?" he asked, his voice gruff.
She'd never been so ready. "Yes. Yes. Ohmygod, yes."
He positioned himself at her entrance and thrust forward with one sharp movement, sliding deep inside her. His groan matched her own. His size and length created an erotic mixture of friction and pressure. She could feel every inch of him inside, pulsing and throbbing.
"Ohmygod, you feel incredible," she panted.
He pulled out and thrust his hips sharply forward again, repeating with a savagely brisk rhythm and equally savage grunts. His mouth ravaged her lips and neck and the tops of her breasts, moving at a frantic pace.
"I cannot hold on much longer." His voice was gravelly and sensual.
She had to admit the thought of him coming put her one thrust from tumbling over the edge. She gripped his shoulders firmly and moved her body against his, meeting him thrust for thrust.
Then she felt it happen, that coiling tension concentrated into one single point at her core. Before she could stop, it exploded, releasing crushing waves of wicked, erotic pulses. He leaned forward, pushing his thickset length into her, as deep as her body would allow, triggering another turbulent explosion. He released a loud, throaty groan, his entire body rock solid for several moments while he spilled inside her.
Without releasing her or pulling out, he carried her to the bed and lay her down beneath him. He began pumping himself, sliding with a leisurely rhythm, between her thighs. He showed absolutely no signs of flagging.
"Gods, Ashli, you are so beautiful, so sexy."
She covered his mouth with hers. No. She didn't want to talk. Then she might have to face the fact that being with him this moment was possibly the most rapturous, blissful moment of her life. All mixed with the kind of profound emotional connection only heard of in fairy tales.
Oh, crap. I really, really love him.
Dammit!
She let out slow breath and threaded her fingers into his hair. There will be time for thinking later, you idiot. Right now, just be with him.
She rolled him over and straddled him. The only thing missing from this moment was being able to look into his eyes. If only she could see him for real.
"I bet you're the most beautiful man on the planet," she said appreciatively. She felt his hands on her breasts and his hips prompting her to move faster.
"Not nearly as beautiful as you are, and tonight, I intend to worship every single inch over and over again."
"I hope I can keep up." She grinned.
He flipped her onto her back again and slid inside her. "I've never been with another woman, but the seventy-thousand-year wait for you was worth every moment of torture, Ashli. You've already exceeded every expectation."
Seventy thousand years? For her?
He kissed her hard and pushed deep inside, igniting her once again.
The next morning, Máax looked at Ashli's beautiful naked form snuggled next to him. He could not believe how perfect they were together. The way their bodies moved in unison, the way her soft sighs signaled what she liked and when she was ready for more. The way her soft hands pressed into his shoulders or ass when she wanted it hard. She probably had not realized yet that her immortal body was able to do things a human shell could not-go all night with a god, for example. They made love fifteen times, eighteen if he counted bringing her to orgasm with his tongue. Twenty if he counted the two times they'd showered and she had slid him between her soft, juicy lips, sucking him until his eyes literally rolled.
But now that he'd had this taste of her, of her love for him, he knew there was no way he'd settle for letting her go. He could not face the thought of an eternity without her, she without him. There had to be a way.
You know what you must do, then.
Yes. He could make things right for him and Ashli. Maybe. But it meant exposing the secret he'd sworn to keep. Yes, breaking his promise, betraying his sister would make him a liar for a second time in his existence. But so be it. This was no longer about saving his own ass; it was about saving Ashli from immeasurable heartbreak, too. It took last night to make him realize the truth.
He chuckled softly to himself and beamed down at her. And the human teaches the old god a new trick.
He wrote her a quick note and deposited it on the pillow next to her. "I will make this right, my love. I promise." He kissed her on the lips and savored their warmth.
"I love you, Máax," Ashli mumbled and then rolled over.
He smiled. "And I love you."
Yes, perhaps the end of the world had been avoided, but things were about to get ugly. He wasn't going down without a fight.
Ashli violently tossed and turned in her sleep. She dreamed of Máax falling into a dark pool of water. Over and over, he screamed, begging for her to save him. She grabbed at piles of ropes, but they were too short or too weak to hold any weight. "Ashli! Ashli! Help me!" he repeatedly yelled.
"No!" Ashli opened her eyes and sat up in the empty, cold bed.
"Máax?" The air in the room lacked his delicious scent and the strange energy that circulated about when he was near.
She slid from the sheets and checked the enormous bathroom-a complete mess from their crazy, wild sex. They'd had fun on the counter, in the shower, in the bath, and on every other surface available to them. It had been a night like no other because Máax had ignited something powerful inside her. A renewed sense of passion for life, something she'd never dreamed possible.
"Máax?" Perhaps he'd gone out for coffee and pastries. She'd bet this place had a really nice café because there was no possible way he'd leave without saying good-bye. Not after last night. Not after they'd finally clicked in a way that left her breathless merely thinking about it. Not after they'd somehow managed to channel all of that emotional intensity between them into the most rapturous, sinful lovemaking that it could only be described as a union of two souls. Transformational.
In fact, she'd already made up her mind to fight for him. Yes. She'd go see that crazy sister of his, Cimil. There had to be a price for this freedom. In her bones, she knew a solution existed, and she wasn't going to let him go down without a fight.
"Máax?"
She sat down on the bed, a cold thought coating her like a sheet of ice. What if he hadn't gone out for coffee? What if he'd already left to turn himself in without saying good-bye?
Had last night simply been a desperate man's attempt to sow his divine oats?
She threw on her clothes, grabbed her purse and heels, and headed out to the parking lot.
"No. Please … no." The car was gone. He'd left without saying a word and had even taken the car.
How could I have been so stupid?
Twenty
One day later
Why won't they leave me alone? Ashli covered her head with a pillow to block out the voices outside her door, but it did very little. They were so damned loud.
"Has she spoken to anyone yet, Brutus?" asked a woman.
"No. And she will not move from the bed or eat," Brutus replied.
The woman sighed. "What do you expect? Her heart's been broken. Dammit, Guy! What the hell is wrong with you people?"
"We are not people," said a male voice.
"Don't start with me," she said. "You know what I meant. This is lame. Lamer than lame. You need to fix this."
"I cannot, my love." The man's deep voice reminded her of Máax. "Our laws are constructed in such a way as to avoid any possibility of loopholes. Otherwise, the laws are meaningless; my brethren are much too conniving and devious to not twist them to their advantage."
"My turn to stand guard!" said another male enthusiastically. Was it Sentin?
"I just arrived," said Brutus. "Your turn is tonight. Now leave."