MayanCraving, page 11
“Shut up, asshole, and stop calling me that.” Asher lifted her up and pushed her, firmly but gently, back against the pillar. She gasped for breath and another orgasm racked her body. As it passed, she sighed in satisfaction.
Asher thought he might vomit. His stomach literally lurched at the idea that Mictlan was touching Nancy.
He heard Mictlan’s laughter in his head. The Lord of the Dead had won.
Half of his one-hour window had passed. He couldn’t take Nancy out of the cave and he had to set the charge before he could leave the cave. Who was he kidding? He’d never leave her behind. He sat down on the ground in front of her with the end of the extra-long fuse in his hand and pulled out his lighter from his jeans pocket.
He didn’t light the fuse right away. “Do you remember when we first started building the settlement, Nance? You and I were like oil and water. You wanted everything done your way. I think you would have built an old Southern mansion if Ian hadn’t convinced you that an adobe was more practical.” He laughed.
“You yelled at me all day, every day, until we finally got your little place built, and then you immediately started sweeping that dirt floor.” He looked up at her. “I already loved you then.
“Of course, you wouldn’t give me a second look. I was a scrawny kid and Ian seemed like a god to you and all the other women. I didn’t mind, though. I still got to watch you go through all those silly rituals of cleaning things that would never be clean.
“The day we got the aqueduct working, you looked like a little girl splashing in all that fresh clean water.” He looked around at the empty cave as if someone might be watching. “I can tell you this now. I had a huge hard-on watching you in that water.”
He shook his head. “I never thought I would hear you say you loved me. The last few days have been the best days of my life, Nancy.” He lit the fuse and looked up at her.
Her eyes fluttered. Then those big brown eyes looked down at him. Not staring off into nothing, but really looking at him.
He stood up, dropping the dwindling fuse. “Nancy?”
“Ash,” she said, her voice filled with desperation.
“Can we go now?” he asked.
Her head bobbed only slightly, but he took it as an affirmative. He grabbed her by one arm, crouched down and threw her over his shoulder before starting toward the exit at a run.
“Ash,” she cried.
“No time now, baby. We’ll talk later,” he called over his shoulder.
He practically tossed her to the ground, pushing her through the cave where it tapered to a crawlspace. When the ceiling climbed higher, he picked her up again and took off running.
The explosion inside the cave sent heat and smoke shooting through the winding passages. Asher lost his footing and they both tumbled to the ground. He pulled her to her feet. “You okay?”
“I think so.”
“Good.” He dragged her by the wrist.
She stumbled. He barely broke stride as he lifted her like a sack of potatoes and ran from the cave. Already outside, he kept running until he heard the loud explosion that, he prayed had collapsed the main cave entrance. Part of the rocks above them buckled and small stones tumbled across the sand at his feet.
Asher stopped, sat on a large boulder, eased Nancy from his shoulder and pulled her into his lap.
A moment later the silence of the desert was broken. “You think you’ve won something, humans. I have eternity to be reborn. You are only a fly to be swatted.” The voice became weaker and the last words barely made it out before Mictlan faded with it.
“Maybe,” Asher responded, trying to catch his breath. “But I think we’re more of a force than you counted on.”
“He told me you were dead.” Tears ran freely down her cheeks.
He hugged her tightly and brushed errant hairs away from her eyes. “Shhh, we’re both okay now.” He tried to comfort her but in truth his own stomach still roiled from the idea of how close they both had come to dying.
Nancy suddenly collapsed in his arms. “Nancy?” His chest burned with terror while she lay lifeless in his arms. He pressed his fingers to her throat, but her pulse felt strong and steady. “Passed out.” He sighed with relief and hugged her tightly, kissing the crown of her head.
A growl from the rocks above echoed down the side of the mountain. Asher placed Nancy gently on the ground and pulled the nine millimeter pistol from the back of his jeans. He held the gun out in front of him and watched for signs of movement. The jaguar leaped from the rocks. The animal was at least five times the size of a normal beast. It had its ten-inch fangs bared, and headed straight for Asher’s throat.
He fired. Electricity erupted. The giant cat flew through the air and dropped, smashing against the boulders.
Asher dropped to the ground to protect Nancy. When he looked up, Aileen and Ian were standing over him.
“You okay?” Ian asked.
Asher smiled and stood, lifting Nancy’s still unconscious body with him. “We’re both fine. Nice shot, Aileen.”
“The Eagle is dead too,” Aileen said. “We never saw the serpent.”
Asher shrugged. “Let’s go home. We’ve done all we can do here.”
* * * * *
Nancy woke up alone in Asher’s bed with no idea how she’d arrived there.
She stretched, ready to get up and go looking for him as she’d done the last time she woke up alone in his bed. Now, however, she found him sitting in a chair a few feet away, watching her.
“How did I get here?” she wanted to know.
“You passed out and slept the entire drive home. I carried you here.”
“How is everyone else?” she asked. Moving to sit up shot pain to every muscle in her arms, legs and back.
“Geoffrey, Marc, Jessica and Jim Drake didn’t make it. The others are fine.”
“What happened to Geoffrey?” she asked. Then she remembered. “The crash?”
“Yeah. He got busted up on the inside. I couldn’t save him.”
“He was a good man.” Her throat tightened.
Asher nodded. “Yes he was. They were all good people and they died for something they believed in. You and I almost did the same.”
Neither one spoke. For a long time she was caught up in her own thoughts and memories of the night at Chichen Itza and the Caves of Balankanche.
When she finally looked up, she saw something in his eyes that she had not seen before. Asher looked worried. He had always been the eternal optimist. What could have changed while she slept?
“What are you doing over there?” she asked.
He shrugged. “You’ve been through a lot. I didn’t know if you’d want me in bed just yet.”
“So you slept in the chair?”
“No. I was there,” he pointed to the space beside her in the large bed, “for a while, but you’ve been asleep for nearly three days.”
“No wonder I’m so hungry.”
He sprang up from the chair and rushed toward the door.
“Wait. Don’t go.”
He ignored her demand and closed the door behind him. A few minutes later, he returned with a tray of food. After placing it on the bed, he moved away again.
“Stay.” She patted the edge of the bed beside her.
Asher sat down on the bed while Nancy took a long sip of water and then tore a piece of bread from the small loaf. She spread butter on the morsel and ate quickly until Asher told her to slow down.
“How do you feel other than hungry?” he asked.
“Not bad considering,” she said honestly. She tested her twice-bitten shoulder. A large bandage had been wrapped around the wound while she slept. From the smell of herbs in the dressing, she guessed Doc had been to see her. It ached, but was bearable. She should feel much worse after all she’d been through, but when she thought about it, she really didn’t feel bad at all. Her limbs were stiff from sleeping so long and her stomach growled from hunger, but all in all, she and Asher were both alive.
“Nancy, Aileen told me not to ask, but I have to know, what happened to you.”
She moved the tray and sat up. “I ran toward where you crashed the Piper. Before I got there, Mictlan blocked my path. He held the serpent or maybe they were joined. I’m not sure.
“When he told me you had been killed, for a moment, I lost all hope. That tiny falter was all he needed to take advantage of my weakness. After that, I belonged to him. I knew what I should do, but he took away all my power to do it. After a few minutes I started to forget everything other than what Mictlan said.
“I have no idea how much time passed in the cave. I was part of the tree of life for what seemed like several lifetimes. I couldn’t remember not being part it. There was only Mictlan and then I heard you talking. You told me that you loved me and reminded me of all the reasons I loved you. Once I made the decision to disconnect from the Tree of Life, Mictlan no longer had any power over me. Free will is his weakness.”
“I didn’t think you could hear me.” He watched her.
“My heart heard.”
Asher took her in his arms while he rained kisses across her cheek, down to her ear and neck. When his mouth found hers, she could not help the sigh that rumbled in her throat. Her tongue danced with his. He tugged at her bottom lip with his teeth and leaned over pulling her under him. Already, she could feel the familiar stirrings between her legs. Her skin became more sensitive to every touch.
“Should I stop, Nance?”
“Why?”
“Mictlan.”
“He has no power here.” She tugged at the button of his fly.
The tray of food crashed to the floor, followed by discarded clothes. When he reached between her legs and palmed her mound, she cried out for a deity she wasn’t even sure she believed in. He slid two fingers between her sopping labia and squeezed her clit between them, at first gently but then harder. She trembled with pleasure as an orgasm began to bubble just out of reach. Her hips lifted off the bed and she gasped and called Asher’s name.
He stopped the steady motion that was driving her mad, forcing her to open her eyes. She watched as he adjusted to hover above her. His arms, ripped with muscle, trembling on either side of her head, with either exertion or expectation. Dark intensity shone in his eyes as he entered her in one smooth motion.
Their cries mingled in the room, and he held perfectly still for a long moment. Her body ached for more, but she could see the strain on his face and did her best to keep still. He closed his eyes, his jaw was tightly clenched, and his hair spilled around his face leaving him in shadow.
Mine, she thought and arched up to deepen his penetration. He pulled back and then slid forward until his body slammed into hers. Sweat beaded up on their skin. With each thrust, she felt her orgasm building and spreading.
“Tell me this is different than what he did to you.” Asher’s voice sounded strained.
She heard his words, but her climax was so close she couldn’t answer.
He stopped. “Tell me.”
Her breath was ragged and she looked up. She could see his fear clearly in his dark eyes. His face was etched with lines that had not been there before. She reached up to smooth the crease between his eyes. Her lack of faith had caused him this distress. Remorse tightened painfully around her heart. “This is nothing like that, Ash. The tree never offered love, only release.”
“Thank you.” His head dropped to her shoulder in relief.
Slowly he eased forward, filling her. He rocked back and forth. Each movement rubbed her clit, rekindling the fire of her orgasm. It was like hunger, starting small and spreading from her core. Then, at once, she burst with a rapture that shattered her. Nothing in the cave could compare to the explosion that spread out from her core and touched every nerve in her body. Asher covered her mouth with his to muffle her screams. Her orgasm stretched out, while he continued the rhythm until he too found release a minute later.
“We’re going to have to live at your house or learn to be quieter.”
A giggled escaped her lips and she could feel the heat of a blush flooding her cheeks. “Are you saying you want to live with me?”
He leaned on his elbows so he could look at her face. His expression indicated that he was surprised. His eyes narrowed and watched her carefully. “I’m saying that if marriage was still in fashion, I would get down on one knee right now and propose. In fact, I’m going to do just that.”
Her giggles turned into gales of laughter when he sprang from the bed, stark naked, and knelt down in milk soaked bread on the floor.
“Marry me, Nancy Lynn Jones. Make me the happiest man in the world and marry me.”
“Where are we going to find a preacher?”
“Is that a ‘yes’?” He smiled.
“Of course it’s a yes,” she said, still laughing.
He leaped back on the bed and started jumping like a child. A moment later, she joined him, until they both collapsed against the pillows.
“I love you.”
He breathed a deep sigh. “It’s about time, since I’ve always loved you.”
“Better late than never.”
About A.S. Fenichel
A.S. Fenichel adores writing stories filled with love, passion, desire, magic and maybe a little mayhem tossed in for good measure. Books have always been her perfect escape and she still relishes diving into one and staying up all night to finish a good story. Originally from New York, she grew up in New Jersey. She now lives in the southwest with her real-life hero, her wonderful husband. When she’s not reading or writing, she enjoys cooking, travel, history and puttering in her garden.
A.S. welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email address on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.
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Also by A.S. Fenichel
Mayan Afterglow
Ellora’s Cave Publishing
www.ellorascave.com
Mayan Craving
ISBN 9781419939181
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Mayan Craving Copyright © 2012 A.S. Fenichel
Edited by Briana St. James
Cover design by Caitlin Fry
Photos: Joshua Haviv, Curaphotography and Helga Chirkova
Electronic book publication May 2012
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A.S. Fenichel, MayanCraving
