JaguarintheSun (6 page)

Wherever this divine torture was taking her, she wanted to
go.

It took a moment for her to realize he’d stopped lapping at
her clitoris and for a few beats she continued rocking in tandem with the
rhythm he’d set. Impossible to interpret what she was feeling, for it was all a
jumble, the inferno inside her belly engulfing all sensibilities and leaving
her nothing but a column of caged longing, waiting for him to set her free. She
wasn’t sure how she retained her footing. Lethargy swamped her limbs, although
she felt anything but sleepy. The urge to slide down the door was overwhelming,
although Cassie couldn’t move, afraid to lose the contact between them.

“I have you, baby.” His voice came at her from a distance,
but still had the ability to both pacify and excite. “I’ll never let you go.”

Somehow she believed him, and that belief brought tears to
her eyes, while a shiver of anticipation traveled the length of her spine.
Xbal’s hands shifted, tightened on her flesh, intensifying the sense of safety,
of being exactly where she needed to be. Crazy to feel this way, to give in to
it, even as a part of her tried to say she shouldn’t, couldn’t take what he
seemed to be offering.

“Come for me now, sweetheart. Come for me.”

He barely touched her, his tongue soft again, slick and
gentle as it fluttered over her aching clitoris. Cassie jerked, all the heat
fleeing her limbs to settle in her core, her inner muscles clenching, the
tender assault pushing her toward ecstasy. She wanted him to increase the
pressure, but he didn’t, keeping the contact so light she strained to feel it.
Yet each touch was like experiencing the flick of a lash, the sensations
shocking in their intensity, pulling her outside herself and into a swirling,
crazy world of physical fulfillment unlike anything she’d experienced
previously. Even before her orgasm struck she was almost crying with
satisfaction, her overstimulated flesh soothed into accepting the release it
wouldn’t tolerate before.

It built, growing like a tidal wave within, then it struck
and the world went dark, leaving only the memory of Xbal’s eyes and the
awareness of having been flung out of what she’d always known and expected into
a new, thrilling, frightening place.

A place where Xbal the jaguar god, rather than Sol, her
deity, was the center of the universe.

Somewhere she had no business being, but couldn’t find the
strength to regret entering.

The place she wanted, more than anything, to stay.

Cassie was coming and coming, and Xbal didn’t want her to
stop. Covering her pussy with his mouth, he pulled at the smooth outer lips and
ran his tongue between them each time she started to descend from her orgasmic
high. Just slicking over her clitoris, now once more covered by its delicate
outer membrane, made another shock fire through her body and brought him a corresponding
shudder of pleasure. She’d wrapped her leg around his neck and was holding his
head clenched between her plump, strong thighs, as though she never wanted to
let him go. The scent and taste of her made him crazy for more and he kept
stimulating her, drawing her climax out as long as he could, holding her up,
knowing from the weight on his arm she’d crumple to the floor if he let her go.

And the sounds she was making—little whimpers and gasping
cries indicative of gratified need—by the Heavens, they were driving him mad
with lust.

She’d told him she didn’t moan or cry out during sex, and
knowing he’d broken through that barrier, given her an experience she’d never
had before, was like being crowned emperor of the Universe. In all his
centuries of existence he’d never derived such intense, savage satisfaction
from making love to another. Especially since he had yet to actually reach
orgasm himself.

It didn’t seem that significant. Of overriding importance
was driving Cassie to new levels of pleasure, feeling and hearing her achieve
them, savoring every second they were together.

“One more time,” he groaned against her, knowing she
couldn’t hear him but would feel the words rumbling into her trembling flesh.
“Come for me one more time.”

He took her clitoris between his lips and flicked it with
his tongue, lashing it fast and hard.

“Xbal,” she whispered, the muscles in her thighs going taut
and hard. “Xbal. Xbal. Xbal…
ohhh
…”

With each repetition of his name her voice rose, and his
need rose with it, for to hear her cry out for him with such abandon was almost
more than he could stand. His delicious, silent lover had, whether she realized
it or not, just given herself to him in a way he knew she hadn’t anticipated
and the jaguar within snarled triumphant.

Cassandra’s body jerked, muscles so tight they seemed set to
snap, and he gentled his touch, releasing her after one final tender swipe of
his tongue. As if she’d suddenly become boneless her leg began to slip off his
shoulder and he held on to it, lowering it to the ground. But he retained his
grip on her ass, using it to support her while he got to his feet. Dragging her
to his chest he held her tight, absorbing the last tremors of her orgasm,
taking her weight, trying to stop himself from tearing off the rest of their
clothes and thrusting into her wet heat on the floor right in front of the
door. Her breasts tormented his chest with each shuddering breath she took. The
scent of her perfume mingled with the tang of lust surrounded them, driving him
toward the edge of sexual insanity.

Using one hand and then the other, he eased the dress the
rest of the way down her arms, freeing her from the constricting garment. She
was still limp but her fingers fluttered against his thighs, as though trying
to find purchase, and her legs shifted between his, bringing her into closer
contact with his aching cock.

By the Heavens
, he wanted her, needed her with a
desire so voracious it was almost frightening. She’d said all she could offer
him was today. He was determined to make her change her mind. This kind of
passion, this kind of connection didn’t come along often—was usually a
once-in-a-lifetime experience—and he wouldn’t stop until she realized it.

Cassie sighed, the rush of warm air making goose flesh
prickle across his chest.

“You didn’t use magic?”

The husky rasp of her voice was glorious to his ears and he
tightened his grip on her, bending to touch his lips to her forehead.

“No.”

She leaned away slightly, lifting her head to look at him
and blinking slowly, as though awakening from slumber.

“Wow…”

He didn’t know how one such innocuous a word could make him
grin like a fool, even in the face of his still-painful arousal, but it did.

“Glad you enjoyed it.”

“I did.” Cassie’s answering smile made both his heart and
his cock ache, for it was a unique combination of sweet satisfaction and
continuing desire. “I can’t wait to see what you’ll do as a follow-up act.”

When she reached between them and began unbuckling his belt,
Xbal growled low in his throat and immediately undid first one cufflink and
then the other. He should take her to the bed, he knew, but with her leg now
hooked behind his, he also realized she had no intention of going anywhere just
yet.

“I’m sure I can come up with something,” he replied, earning
a soft laugh and a heavy-lidded look.

“I’m sure you can too.”

Shoving the cufflinks into his pants pocket, he quickly
shrugged out of the ruined shirt, toeing off one loafer as he did. Cassandra
was making swift work of unzipping his pants and he was vibrating inside with
eagerness to have her hands on his aching flesh. When she pushed both pants and
boxer-briefs down, he swiveled his hips to help her and was ridiculously
gratified by her little purr of appreciation when his cock sprang free.

“Mmm…” She licked her lips, skimmed her fingers up his
straining length, and he clenched his teeth as a shock of lust made his balls
tighten even more. “Beautiful.”

When her fingers closed around him Xbal realized he was
losing control faster than he ever had before. If he didn’t take the situation
in hand, he’d be coming in a trice and that just wouldn’t do.

He clasped her wrists, pulled her hands away from his body.

Cassie snarled, tugging against his grip. “Let go. I want to
touch you.”

He snarled right back, saw her eyes widen as he said, “If
you touch me any more my follow-up act will be over before I’m ready. When I
come, I want to be inside you. Want to feel you coming around me.”

Spanning both of her wrists with one hand, he held them
above her head, pinned to the door. As he toed off his other shoe, he lost
patience with undressing himself and magicked his pants away. Then he leaned
against Cassandra, letting the full length of his body settle on hers,
absorbing and savoring the soft press of her breasts and thighs, the way she
undulated against him in obvious pleasure.

Once he entered her he wasn’t going to last. His head was
already spinning with anticipation, his body strung tight and wired to explode.
Where was his vaulted control now? Why did it feel as though the lessons of
centuries had deserted him, just when he needed them most?

Yet, even knowing it might be over far sooner than he
wanted, there was no way to resist having Cassandra right here, right now.

Releasing her wrists, he reached down and around her thighs,
lifting her high against the door. Immediately her legs went around his waist,
and she made a sound of pure appreciation. A tilt of her hips caused the head
of his erection to slick between her pussy lips, and the sublimely erotic
sensation had Xbal growling with frustration. Cassandra laughed softly, rocked
against him again, but when he bumped her clitoris the laughter was curtailed
by a swift inhalation and she buried her face in his neck.

Hitching her a little higher, promising himself he’d go
slower next time and give her a long, unhurried fuck, he swiveled his hips
slightly, until the hot, wet flesh parted to welcome the tip of his cock. He
froze, just that first contact almost too much to bear, the intimacy and
perfection of it stunning in its beauty.

Cassie had gone still too, her ragged breaths gusting
against his throat, her arms locked tight around his shoulders. Somehow, for
all the glory of it, the moment was incomplete and Xbal knew why.

“Look at me, Cassandra.” He leaned his torso back, giving
her room to comply. “Look at me while I take you.”

She stayed where she was, her fingers digging into his back,
as though in an effort to defy him.

“Look at me,” he commanded again, even as his body cried out
for full penetration, for the release it so desperately craved.

Making a sound—almost a sob—deep in her throat, she tossed
her head back, fiery tresses whipping across his face before settling over her
shoulders and breasts, revealing the expression of stark passion on her face.
Heavy-lidded violet eyes locked with his and Xbal groaned her name, feeling the
connection between them strengthen into something infinite and unbreakable.

It steadied him, took him beyond the mere physicality of the
moment and into a place of almost spiritual joy. Stunned by the immensity of
it, Xbal slowly lowered her, feeling her body flower open to take him, her
inner muscles gripping as if to urge him inside. She was holding her breath,
her gaze reflecting the same shocked bliss he felt, and, as Xbal entered her
fully, tears gathered to pool against her lower lashes.

“Don’t cry,
querida
.” The sight of her undone in his
arms rocked him to his soul. “Please, don’t cry.”

“I never cry,” she choked out, even as a blink caused the
first drops to fall.

Xbal bent to sip the moisture from her cheeks, his body
trembling with the intensity of his need and emotions. Cassie turned her head,
her mouth seeking his, and as they kissed he began to move inside her,
withdrawing slowly and then driving back in.

Each thrust drew another sobbing moan from her throat, but
the way she moved to meet him, tilting her hips to take him deep, drove him to
withdraw and thrust again.

“
Querida
,” he groaned against her lips, holding her
as close as possible, filling her as much as he could, wanting her to feel the
way he did—utterly completed by their joining. “
Ah
,
cariño.
”

Cassandra arched, her hips rocking against him, her legs
gripping him harder, thigh muscles growing tight. Xbal caught the rhythm she
set and added a counter-motion that instantly boosted his own arousal to insane
levels. They were hardly moving, really, but each roll of their pelvises caused
the most sublime sensations—the twist of her inner walls around his cock, the
slide of her nipples against his chest—and Xbal knew orgasm was just a heartbeat
or two away.

He found the rushed pulse just beneath her ear, licked over
the vein, absorbing the frantic pace, evidence of her life force and
excitement.

“Xbal!”

As though that final touch was all she needed, she writhed
in his arms, grinding against him, fingernails digging into his back, her pussy
contracting and releasing with a beat as wild as her pulse. And, unable to hold
back even one moment more, Xbal came with her, wanting to shout her name, shout
triumphant at the bond he’d found with her, but incapable of forcing even one
sound out from his throat.

They shuddered together, locked tight in each other’s arms,
and the thought he was experiencing one of the most pivotal moments of his life
exploded in Xbal’s brain. The jaguar snarled in agreement and suddenly he knew
what had to be said, was able to growl it into her ear.

“Mine.
Only
mine.”

She was shattered, devastated by the emotion Xbal so
effortlessly brought out in her and the knowledge she didn’t want—couldn’t
afford—to feel the way she was right now. All she wanted was to stay exactly
where she was, wrapped in Xbal’s powerful arms, his words ringing in her ears
and giving her a sense of having found a safe harbor. Never had she felt more
alive—more completely herself and yet one with another—than she did in this
moment.

The worse of it was she
believed
what he’d said.

In her heart she’d felt it too, the soul-shaking certainty
that she’d surrendered everything she had and was to him, received the same
from him in return. Somehow what should have been just sex had morphed into the
most tender and loving experience she’d ever had.

The hard shell she’d so diligently built around her heart
had melted beneath Xbal’s passion, leaving her so vulnerable a newborn baby was
better protected from pain than she was right now.

It frightened her more than anything else she’d ever had to
face, made her realize just why she’d avoided getting involved with him. And
the surfeit of emotion pissed her right off too.

Thank Sol for that last part because her anger—at herself
for allowing this to happen, at him for being so open to it—gave her the
strength she needed.

Still holding her so tightly she could barely breathe, his
cock still firmly embedded in her body, Xbal was carrying her to his high,
four-poster bed. Cassie let herself savor the sensation of being his just for a
moment more, knowing everything was about to blow up. She had to get away. If
she didn’t, if she remained in his arms, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to
let him go.

And staying wasn’t an option.

As he climbed the two steps, bringing them up to the level
of the mattress, Cassie drew a deep breath, preparing for battle. He laid her
on the soft counterpane and, still standing on the top step, planted his hands
on either side of her shoulders, so he was looking down into her face.
By
Sol
, if having Xbal cradled between her legs and being surrounded by his
strength wasn’t enough to make her want to surrender, the tender heat in his
eyes was like a barrage aimed straight at her heart. There was no option but to
burst the bubble of intimacy surrounding them. Deny the bond she already knew
they’d forged.

“That was a good fuck.” She kept her voice level, forced
feigned amusement into the words. “You know your way around a woman’s body,
I’ll give you that.”

She expected surprise or anger from him, but the only
noticeable reaction was a sharpening of his gaze and his voice was soft when he
replied, “I’m learning my way around yours, finding a path into that fortress
you call a heart.”