Iszak (The Dragon's Mate Book 2), page 8
More than anything she wanted to see the chest that felt so hard against her, and she pulled back as her fingers undid one button at a time. Step by step, the fabric parted to reveal the strength and power contained underneath his smooth skin. The muscles in his chest and stomach could have been carved from marble, but when she pressed her lips against his flesh, it was warmer than any stone.
“You have me at a disadvantage.” His voice rumbled and his hands gripped her upper arms as he moved her a step back. He dispensed of his shirt with swift movements, and revealed himself from the waist up in all his glory.
There was power in that body of his, and yet when he reached for the hem of her sweater, his movements were gentle and unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world to divest her of her clothing. His hands skimmed slowly up the sides of her torso and a shiver chased his hands up her body. God, he needed to hurry up. If he took his time through this whole thing, she was going to melt into the floor as her desire overwhelmed her.
She lifted her arms, and finally her sweater was off and tossed aside. She reached back to undo her bra. It would be better if she did it, because he would probably drag in out into an eternity if left up to him.
“What’s your hurry?” The side of his mouth kicked up as she struggled with the clasp of her bra. It was like she had five thumbs on each hand. She felt like if she didn’t get her clothes off fast enough, something would happen that would make him change his mind. She was so ready for him, for this, that it would kill her if anything put a halt to it. He reached behind her, and stilled her hands. “I’m not going anywhere, if that’s what your worried about. Nothing is going to interrupt us and nothing is going to stop this.”
As he turned her around to face away from him, she realized that she always did this, rushed through physical encounters. It was as if her mind thought that if she didn’t rush, the intimacy of the moment would dissolve in a puff of smoke and reality would intrude.
“I don’t want this to be a dream.” That’s what it felt like, a dream that she could wake from at any moment. She would wake up and find herself at home, trapped in her father’s world.
“It’s not a dream.”
Her bra pulled tight and then relaxed completely as he undid the clasp. It floated down her arms, and his hands glided around her belly as he pulled her back against his chest. His skin was warm against her back, and she melted into him as he stroked her breasts and kissed the side of her neck.
His name was a whisper on her lips as her eyes drifted shut. His hands stroked a fire inside her, and her body grew fevered with longing. She wanted to kiss him again, needed to feel his lips on hers. She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck, stood on the tips of her toes and pulled his head down.
She kissed him with everything that was inside her, and for a second she thought her imagination was playing tricks on her. His body felt hotter against hers, as if the fevered desire that she felt inside her was inside him as well and it was triggering a physical response. One thing was certain, she wanted to feel more of his bare skin against hers than just his chest.
She reached for the waist band of his jeans and undid the button. She carefully eased down the fly and reached inside. He was hard with his desire, and she stroked her hand over his smooth flesh. He pulled his mouth away from hers with a growl, and she felt the power of her femininity rising inside her. Her touch was doing this, was making this strong man tremble, was making him groan with the pleasure she was inflicting on him.
She wanted him naked, and pulled her teasing hand away from him and pushed his jeans and underwear down his lean hips. He had the kind of body that needed to be on display. He was like a work of art showcasing the strength and beauty of the male form. She was glad that his flesh was being shown only to her, as a wave of possessiveness rose inside her. He was hers for however long this thing between them lasted, and looking was no longer enough to satisfy her.
Her jeans and underwear swiftly followed his to land on the floor, and she stepped closer to him. His flesh was only a fraction of an inch away, and yet it felt like a chasm when all she wanted was to be one with him. Her body was ready and crying out to feel him inside her, and she didn’t think that she could stand extended foreplay.
She took his hand and drew him over to the bed. The mattress was firm under her back, and his body was hard on top of her's as he settled between her thighs. She may have wanted to join with him right now, but he apparently had other ideas.
His lips drifted over her body, tempting and teasing her into a fever pitch. She was helpless to control what he made her feel, and finally she gave herself up to him, putting her pleasure in his hands. He made her flesh sing as he gave her the most intimate of kisses, and she sobbed his name. She felt empty and knew that only he could fill what was missing inside her. She’d never wanted anyone like this, never needed to feel the fullness of intimacy with another person like she was feeling with him.
He moved up her body so that his lips were on hers as he bound their flesh together, taking two separate people and turning them into one soul. It was like he was winding a cord of intimacy and love around them, and binding her to him with every stroke of his fevered flesh.
Her body climbed to the pinnacle of pleasure and she called to him as she went over the edge. She let go of everything inside her and fell headlong into orgasm, knowing that he would be there to catch her.
She clung to him as her ecstasy washed over her, and a low growl escaped him as he joined her in paradise. They lay together in a tangle of limbs, sustaining themselves on the pleasures of their flesh.
After what felt like an eternity, her heartbeat slowed, her breath softened and she drifted inside the world of satisfaction he’d created for them. Her mind was without thought, her body without bones, and the center of her universe was him.
Iszak’s arms tightened around Julia as she moved on the bed beside him. Making love with her had surpassed his expectations. It was a good thing he didn’t know how fantastic becoming one with her would feel, otherwise he would not have been able to hold himself back. He would have slept with her at the cabin, and risked driving her away. Even now, with her warm, silken skin next to him he was torn between pulling her closer and pushing her away. In a flash it came to him that making love with her had nothing to do with keeping tabs on her investigation into Kevin’s disappearance and everything to do with what meeting her had awakened in him.
He shoved aside the thought of what it could be. He had not been with a woman for centuries, that had to be what the emotions churning inside him was all about.
“We should get up.” Her breath caressed the skin of his chest as she spoke. He looked down at her as she cast her eyes up at his. He cupped her face, and felt the pull of her eyes. Apparently being completely intimate with her had not ended the power her eyes had over him. If anything, the pull toward her was stronger than ever.
“And why should be do that?” He pulled her on top of his body, so he could feel the weight of her flesh, the silk of her skin, against him. The plump pillow of her lips called to his, and he was powerless to keep himself from kissing her. He buried his hands in the dark strands of her hair as he cradled the back of her head. She sighed as his lips met hers, and angled her head so that he would have better access to the recesses of her mouth.
When he pulled back, her pupils had swallowed nearly all of her irises, and he knew it would not take much to convince her to stay right here.
“I should get my things out of the car, since I’m staying.” There wasn’t much conviction in her voice, and the corner of his mouth pulled up.
“The car isn’t going anywhere. I need you a lot more than your things need to be brought in.” He flexed his hips up to show her just how much he needed her. Her eyes widened for a second, then a smile crossed her face, one that women had been giving the men in their life since the dawn of time. It promised endless pleasure for him, perhaps more than he would be able to stand.
The scent of her hair was in his nostrils as she moved her head down so she could kiss his neck. Her breath was a sigh on his skin, and he closed his eyes as she used her mouth to travers a slow trail down his body. God, he didn’t know how much of this he could take if her tongue darting around one of his nipples send a shudder through him. He looked down as her when she got to his navel and the look in her eyes was wicked as she dragged her tongue around it.
A groan escaped him as he curled his hands into fists at his side. He felt harder than he ever had in his life, his hunger for her rising higher with each caress that she gave him. He told himself that this was good for his character, that it would teach him patience, but he wasn’t sure how much more he could take of her teasing.
By the time she took him fully into her hand, he was mindless with his need for her. Her ministrations were a delicious torture, the pleasure of her strokes on his flesh were so exquisite that he would have died happily in this moment if that was what was required for him. If it had been like this for all those dragons in the past, under the spell of a Robillard woman, no wonder they’d been unable to resist the pull of the siren’s call. A whole room full of dragon hunters could come upon him in this moment and he would not notice. He was oblivious to everything but this woman and what she was doing to his body.
The hunger inside him grew to such proportions that he would not be able to hold himself back much longer. More than anything though, he wanted her with him when he found his release. He reached down and took hold of her arms, pulling her up so her face was level with his.
“I want you.” His voice was a deep, thick growl that said everything she needed to know about how much he wanted her. She moved so that she straddled his torso but made no move to take him inside her body. He swallowed hard when it became apparent that she was not quite finished torturing him.
“Where do you want to be, Iszak? Down here?” She stroked a slow path down her body, and he was helpless to tear his eyes away from the arousing sight. Her hand found its place between her thighs, and she moaned as she stroked herself. “Feel how wet I am for you.”
She took hold of his wrist and directed his hand between her legs. He growled at her when he came in contact with the slick folds of her body, and he need not have worried that she was not yet ready to take him inside her.
“Put me inside you.” There was a command in his voice, and she moved to obey. She shifted down, put him in her hands and sank down on him. He grasped her hips, as his eyes squeezed shut. Thankfully she held still for a moment, as if she knew just how close to the edge he was. He wasn’t ready for this to end, he didn’t know if he ever wanted to separate from her. There was ecstasy to be found inside her, and he wanted to glut himself on every ounce of it.
He opened his eyes and looked at her astride him. Jesus, she was magnificent as she moved on him, with the dark curtain of her hair spilling over her shoulders and partially hiding the creamy fullness of her breasts. He’d never seen a woman more beautiful than she was at this moment, with the pleasure she took from his body evident in her face. Being with her like this roused something in him, it was the dragon that constantly slumbered inside him. It was woken by the need to claim her, to guard her like the precious treasure she was.
Soon any thoughts of why what was between then could not last was lost in the sweetness of her body. He reached between her thighs as he felt the tightening of his flesh that signaled his release was near at hand. He wanted her with him, and he knew she was close as he stroked his fingers on the small button of flesh at her center. Her breath came in tortured gasps as she moved faster on him.
“Iszak.” Hearing his name on her lips at the moment she reached her peak sent him over the edge. He pulled her down to fuse his mouth to hers as he slammed his hips upward twice more before spilling himself inside her body. As his orgasm was torn from him, she became the center of his world. It was like no woman had existed in his life before her and there would be no other woman for him after. If he’d been in his right mind, the notion would have alerted him to just how deep he was getting in with her. But he was far from lucid as he held her. He could only feel what being inside her did to him. His flesh was one with hers and he didn’t want to let her go, at least not yet.
The weight of her body was fully pressed against him as his heart finally slowed and awareness came back to him. He put his arms around her, held her as if she would disappear in a puff of smoke. For all his telling himself that this was temporary, that she could not be the one he claimed as his own, he was not able to move her away. It was the pleasure that he found in her body that pulled him to her. Even as he told himself this, a part of him knew it was a lie. But the truth could not be acknowledged, at least not now.
She moved to the side, and this time he let her go. They lay in silence for many long minutes, as if neither of them wanted to speak, lest they shatter the intimacy surrounding them. Finally she turned to him and pressed a soft kiss to his mouth. When she pulled back, he reached up to caress her face.
“I should go get my things.” Although it was not framed as a question, he could see her uncertainty in her eyes. It was as if she was afraid that now that they’d made love the invitation for her to stay would be rescinded. There was little chance of that happening since he’d not even begun to have his fill of her.
“You stay here and keep the bed warm for me.” He pulled a blanket up around her as he settled her deeper into his bed. A soft smile crossed her face as she snuggled down against one of the pillows, and he had to force himself to get up. He pulled on some clothes and went to the bedroom door. With one more glance at where she lay in his bed, a thought came to him that sent a chill down his spine. That he wanted her was without question, but what if it was more than just desire? What if the hunger for her that lurked inside him was one without end?
He turned away, telling himself that he could not let himself go down that road. He had secrets from her, not the least of which was his true nature. There was no way a woman like her would ever give herself willingly to a dragon. She was not the one to break his curse.
8
Julia shifted on the bed as early morning light flooded in through the window. Iszak lay beside her, sound asleep. She resisted the urge to stroke her hand down his body, to waken him so that he could make love to her again. They’d spent most of the night finding their pleasure with each other, so she let him sleep. She eased away, and grimaced when her feet hit the cold, wooden floor beside the bed. It took every ounce of willpower she had to drag herself out of bed. She would much rather spend the day cuddled up next to the big, peacefully sleeping man, but her brother wasn’t going to find himself.
She walked on silent feet to her duffle bag, which Iszak had brought up from the car yesterday. She grabbed the clothes she intended to wear, and went in search of the bathroom. It wasn’t that hard to find, and she hurriedly turned on the shower and got under its warm spray to chase away the chill the air in the room foisted upon her skin.
As she stood under the water she debated on what she should do. She’d already blasted through four of the seven days she had off from work, and with today being day five she could not afford to put off the search for Kevin any longer. Damn her brother anyway. If he turned out to be passed out on a friend’s couch like last time, she thought she might kill him.
As she stepped out of the shower and reached for a towel, she thought about the phone call she was going to have to make. So much of her time off had been eaten by the snow storm that it looked like she had no choice but to call her boss and ask for more time. The thought tickled the back of her brain that she could easily find Kevin in the two days left to her, but she shoved it aside. She wasn't ready to go back to her normal life and she didn’t want to look too deeply into the reason. If she did, she suspected that it would be more because of the man she’d just pulled herself away from.
She walked out to the living room and picked her purse up off the floor where she’d dumped it alongside her coat. She picked the coat up too and hung it on the hook. It came back to her, just how much she wanted him in the moment when he’d finally asked her to stay, not because she’d save money, but because he wanted her. She still couldn’t quite believe it, that he shared the same desire for her that she had for him.
With a small shake of her head, she went over to the sofa and sat down. She couldn’t let herself get distracted by thoughts of Iszak. She wanted to get this Kevin business over with, and to that end she pulled her cellphone out of her purse. Glancing down at it she saw that she had seven missed calls from her father since she’d put it in her purse upon leaving the cabin yesterday.
She was certain the three voicemail messages on there were from him too but she didn’t bother to listen to them. If her father wanted instant results, perhaps he should be searching for Kevin himself. Surely he could have looked for Kevin without involving the police, if that was what was behind his need to send her on this goose chase. Her father did everything he could to avoid interaction with the authorities, and she wondered what had happened to him to make him avoid the police at all costs.
With a shrug of her shoulders, she let it go. Her father wasn’t her problem right now. Once she found out what happened to Kevin, this was going to be the last job she did for him. It was time she put herself and her own needs first instead of last. As it was, she was going to have to call her boss and see if she could get her time off extended. A glance at her watch told her that while the restaurant would be closed right now, her boss should be in the office.
