Ashia (5 page)

Ashia hurtled towards the edge of all reason and sanity. She moved one hand up to sink in his hair and gripped it tight. His teeth grazed her nipple in response and she bucked beneath him again, allowing even deeper penetration. He mumbled around her breast and she shut her eyes, biting on her lower lip.

How much more of this could she take? She forced her eyes open and noticed that they were trapped in a vortex of whirling wind. Although a struggle, she brought her power back under control as Reid continued torturing her.

His strokes came faster and harder now. He captured her wrists with one hand and lowered his other down to slide under her left leg and lifted so her knee went over his shoulder.

“Oh…oh…hell…” she babbled, unable to find a single coherent thought.

“I could stay here forever.” He spoke into her ear, her tight nipples sliding against his chest as he continued to drive deep into her.

That idea was fine by her. She raked her nails down his skin as the first wave of pleasure hit her. Her muscles tightened around his shaft and she whimpered.

Reid growled low and moved faster. His thrusts shoved her, sliding her up towards the headboard with each stroke.

She came again, a wordless scream leaving her mouth as he stiffened and with a loud roar came inside her. Heart pounding and limbs shaking, he sank onto her. She moved her leg back to the side and wrapped her arms around him when he began to move.

“Where are you going?”

“I don’t want to hurt you by lying on you.”

“You won’t.” She flexed her internal muscles and he groaned again. “Stay just where you are.”

* * * *

Reid lay on his side and watched the woman in bed with him. Ashia still slept and he took this time in the early morning to study her. She was so beautiful. The sunbeams filtered through her sheer curtains and bathed her skin with golden light.
She is a passionate and giving lover
.

It had been over two weeks since they’d begun sleeping together and while not
all
of that time had been spent expending their carnal desires, they had spent a good chunk of it that way. And he had zero complaints.

Reaching out with one hand, he tugged down the ice-blue sheet covering her, exposing her full breasts. His mouth watered as he stared at the nipples he loved sucking. He slowly continued drawing the sheet lower and lower away from her treasures it hid.

Her flat stomach, real hips, which he loved gripping when he thrust into her from the front or pounded into her from behind. She had real curves and he loved every one of them. Her bare pussy finally came into view and he felt himself stir as he stared at it. Being inside her was his equivalent of heaven.

“What a nice thing to say,” she purred as his two fingers slid over her bare lips which still mesmerised him.

He jerked his gaze up to find her watching him with a hooded look. “Morning,” he replied, trying desperately to recall if he’d spoken out loud.
I would have sworn I said that in my head.

She rolled towards him and inched her way down his body. He grunted when her hand wrapped around his cock and began to slowly fist him. Repositioning completely on his back, he observed her as she moved closer. Her warm breath flowed against the head of his shaft and he wanted her to take him in her mouth. Wanted her sucking on him. Wanted his hands anchored in her hair as he thrust into her mouth until he came hard.

He jerked when her tongue snuck out and licked the tip then swirled around the crown. “Ashia,” he growled when she retreated.

“Hmm?”

“Don’t tease.”

“I’m not. I’m exploring at my own leisure.”

Again and again came her all too fleeting and tantalising touches. Her grip on his length was firm and wonderful but it was her mouth which was driving him insane. She sucked him in until her nose brushed against his skin. Then she retreated. Over and over she repeated until he was slick with her saliva.

He gripped her hair, holding her as his hips bucked. She cupped his balls, lightly scoring them with her nails. Tremors rocketed through him as she continued to suck, slide and caress. He tightened his grip on her and she purred in the back of her throat. The sound reverberated through his cock and goosebumps exploded along his skin.

Shit!
Much more of this and it would be over too soon. His control was already waning. The pressure increased and his hips arched, driving himself deeper into her waiting mouth.

“Fuck,” he groaned. “Ashia, baby, you have to stop or I’m going to—”

She took him all the way in, teeth lightly dragging down the shaft, and sucked hard.

He lost it. He thrust once more before releasing his seed deep into her throat. She never stopped sucking him until there was nothing left for him to give.

Watching him with a contented smile, she released him and moved up his body, kissing along his skin until she reached his chin and nibbled along that.

“Morning,” she whispered before sliding from the bed and padding to the bathroom and her large walk-in shower.

Reid lay there for a few moments, trying to gather the breath which she had sucked from him and still the pounding of his heart, then he followed her. After they’d showered, made love again, dried off and got dressed he sat at the kitchen table with her and ate breakfast.

“Will you let me update your computers, Ashia?” he asked around the bite of toast in his mouth.

She tossed her head and sighed. “Will it make you happy to do so?”

“Very much so.”
You need better ones.
“The one you have in the house as well as the ones in the clinic.”

A simple yet evocative shrug. “Go ahead then. You and Liv can stay here while you do. It doesn’t make sense for you to drive back and forth every day.” She turned those damn green eyes on him. “Unless you need to do this at your place.”

He shook his head. “Not at all. I can bring what I need to do here. I may have to run home for a few things every now and then but I can do it.”
Like I would stay away from you instead of being with you.

Reid had fallen for her, hard, fast and completely. Every bit of time he could spend with her he would. A relationship like this was a first for him and damn it all, he wanted it to continue. He’d not been a monk by any means but nothing where he’d felt so serious about the woman.

Her phone rang and he watched her from lowered lids as she moved with almost an ethereal grace to answer it. As he sat there staring at her, he knew the moment when the woman who’d become his lover vanished and the vet took over, for her body language changed.

She listened, talked and muttered, all the while making notes on a small pad. When she hung up, she faced him. “I have to go, I have an emergency coming in. Leave this stuff, I’ll get it later. You just go get your things and come back.” A quick kiss on his lips and she vanished to the bedroom where she re-emerged from in a short time, dressed similar to how she’d been the first day they’d met.

“I’ll see you later,” he said, getting to his feet and meeting her.

“Sounds good.” She vanished out of the door after planting another kiss on him, one which let him know her mind was focused on her incoming patient.

He watched her jog to her vehicle then vanish from view as she drove away. Reid sighed and went back to finish his breakfast. He cleaned up and went to her office to look at her computer.

“Damn, I was being nice before when I called this a dinosaur. I think this thing may be older than that. I’m surprised it even turns on.” Heading for the front door, he called out, “Come on, Liv. Let’s go.”

She appeared at his side and together they went out to climb into his Jeep. During the drive home he spent his time alternating between talking to Liv and making sure he had a completed list of what to bring with him. He knew which room he would use at Ashia’s place to build the systems, as he didn’t want to be in the way or have the dogs possibly mess something up while they were playing.

Liv played in the backyard while he loaded up boxes. He paused for a moment and watched his old girl.
I hope this won’t be too hard on her.
Yes, she got along with Ashia’s dogs but they were considerably younger than Liv and didn’t always play gently with her.
On the other hand, we’ll be staying with a vet, so if Liv does need anything, the doctor will be right there.

He didn’t understand why he was so nervous.
Because you’ve never stayed with a woman before.
Not like this. Yes, they’d been close and had spent the majority of time at one house or the other but this…this was different. This was moving clothing and a toothbrush in. Working and sleeping near her. Near her provocative scent.

Regardless that he’d been buried deep inside her earlier that day, his cock stiffened again in his pants as if it couldn’t get enough. He rubbed it and readjusted it to a more comfortable position as he whistled for Liv. Outside the front, he locked the house, and hastened to his vehicle.

“Reid!”

He glanced up to see his neighbour from across the street—Sherry Lincome—waving at him. A greeting he returned. “Hi, Sherry.”

“I’m sorry to bother you,” she said hurrying to his side. “But I have a problem with my computer and wondered if you could look at it really quickly.” A slight pause. “If you had time of course.”

He stared at the blonde and shoved his slight irritation back. She was a very nice woman. “Sure, just let me, um…put Liv back in the house.”

“No need. She’s more than welcome inside my house. I don’t have any cats or anything. Nothing really.”

“Okay.” He ignored her last comment.

They walked across the street together and entered her house. Similar to his own in layout, yet very different. She had some basic furniture but not a lot more than that. It had no personal warmth to it and he frowned as he realised he didn’t know much about her at all.

“I’ll be right out with it.” She vanished before he could say anything one way or the other.

So he waited. True to her word she returned in a very short time with her laptop. Putting Liv in a down, he set the computer on the coffee table before him and sat on the couch.

“Let’s see what we got.”

Two hours later, he walked out of her house with a wave. Sure, he was later than he’d wanted to be in returning to Ashia’s but at least he was finally on his way back to her.

Chapter Five

Ashia rubbed the back of her neck and smiled at Stacy, one of her vet techs. It had been a long day and for once all she wanted to do was hurry up and get back home to see Reid. Even now, her skin burned at the memory of his touches.

“Everything okay, Dr Leonard?”

“Fine, Stacy, thanks for asking.” Ashia put her hands in her lab coat pockets and stared at the clipboard on the counter before her. “I know tomorrow is going to be a busy day with the surgeries so you can knock off early if you want to. The day is very nearly done and we have no new clients coming in for the day. I can handle the rest.”

“That’s okay, I was just about finished up in the cat room for the day. I have to give Gizmo his insulin shot and Pansy her eye meds, then I’ll head to the kennel and help there.”

Ashia smiled. “You know that’s why we have kennel help, right?”

Stacy shrugged. “That’s where I started and I know sometimes for a new person it can sometimes get a bit overwhelming. I like Jackie and don’t want her to quit before she gets into a comfortable routine.” She lifted a shoulder nonchalantly. “I should get back to work.” Stacy walked off without another word and Ashia watched her leave the room.

Ashia took a deep breath. She never would have thought about helping out Jackie like that. Stacy was a great person, always helping others and never wondering what would be in it for her. Her passion was fuelled by her honest desire to help the animals.

She looked up when the front door opened and smiled.

“Devi. Good to see you.”

Rhodes walked in behind Devi. She liked him, he was good for her friend.

“Hey, Ashia.” Rhodes nodded in greeting.

“What’s up? You get a puppy, kitten or something I don’t know about?”

“No, nothing like that. I came to tell you we’re leaving for about a month.” Devi caressed her lover’s arm.

She frowned before she could catch herself. “
Everything okay?”
She sent them the question mentally.

“Everything is fine. We’re just going to take a vacation. I’m going to go visit an old friend.”

Old friend. To them ‘old friend’ meant a fellow god or goddess. “So you’re taking off a month?”

Devi smiled. ‘
Yes. While you’ve been at this for a shorter time, I’ve been working in this mortal place for a long time. And Rhodes as well. We need a break. Getting away from it all.’

Ashia understood but she didn’t want her to go, especially right now. Things had been so hot with Reid and she needed Devi so she didn’t make some other assumption as she had about the human take on dating. “Who are you going to see?” she asked, all nosy and not giving a damn.

“Saffron.”

The name didn’t sound familiar to her. “Don’t think I know her.”

“Dr Eshe.”

Eshe. That was a name she knew. One which was linked to the goddess Qetesh. She nodded her understanding. “And where is she?”

“Right now she’s over in Egypt with her husband. Since becoming immortal, Rhodes wanted to visit Kemet and experience it how I always have, so I thought it would be the perfect time to take him. Then after that we’re going to head to Montana and visit Kenric and Saffron’s ranch for a while. Then we’ll head back here.”

A month. Part of her was jealous about that, being able to go away for that time with the one who meant so much to you. She licked her lips and smiled. “Sounds like fun.”

Devi’s grin was like a brilliant star. “I think it will be. I haven’t seen Saffron in a long time. Too long. It will be great to spend some time with her.” She walked around and took a seat behind the reception desk. “Now, tell me about Reid. How are things going with the two of you?”