consumed (9 page)

“I have had some experience, almost as if it was all practice until you arrived.” He kissed her shoulder and increased the pressure on the swollen nub. “You are delightfully wet. I love that you desire me so much.” A finger slipped inside her aching pussy, plunging in and out in a gentle rhythm while he kept time on the bundle of nerves. “I want you more than any other woman I’ve ever had. You are the only one who matters.”

Her lips worked to form words, but none came. The coils of pressure in her belly tightened like an overworked spring, then with one stroke of his magical fingers, she lost control. With a tiny cry, she sagged against his chest, shaking as the orgasm consumed her in a cloud of heat and pleasure.

Sam’s deep chuckle filled her ear as he withdrew his hand from her panties. “Now that you are in a more relaxed frame of mind, I will take you to bed and begin the process all over again.” He stepped away from her in order to turn down the bedclothes.

“Finally.” She straightened and kicked off her heels. “You are a very big tease, Mr. Tremaine.” As quick as her shaking hands would allow, she removed both pieces of her lingerie.

“And you, Miss Lesarris, are gorgeous naked. You should always be seen like this.”

Ava squealed as he tossed her onto the bed. She landed amid a soft pile of down pillows and cool sheets. “I can’t go around in my birthday suit.”

“I suppose you will have to stay in here with me for the next several hours. In which case, I shall endeavor to exhaust you from pleasure.” Systematically, he removed the pins from her hair. They clattered to the floor. “I wish I had more time with you.”

“Shh.” She shook her head, pulling him close. His weight pressed her into the mattress, his scent surrounding her. “Not now.” If she thought about it, she’d start crying. No amount of drugs could keep an erection intact through tears. Holding his dark gaze, she tried to smile, but her chin trembled too much. “Make love to me, Sam. You’re all I need.”

It was true. Whether love at first sight, fate, or something designed in the heavens beyond her understanding, she knew he was special and worth any time she could spend with him. For the moment, the future had no bearing.

He kissed her. Long, slow, exquisite kisses that warmed her from head to toe. She met each thrust of his tongue with her own until the embrace deepened and her hormones guided her actions. Internally, her wolf panted, giving her approval. Ava pushed the image away. She didn’t want anyone else in her head.

A moan escaped her throat. Wriggling into a more comfortable position beneath him, she smoothed her palms over his shoulders. Warm and solid, she sifted her fingers through his chest hair, then pressed her lips to each patch of flesh she touched. His skin tasted of autumn spices, sweat and power; it was a heady combination that fed her need.

His mouth at her breast stole the air from her lungs. She gasped as he licked and nipped at the puckered tip. When he transferred his attention to the other breast, she arched against him while hot streaks of desire shot through her body to lodge between her thighs. Every touch of his hands, every bite of his teeth, every lick from his tongue sent her soaring, floating higher, faster.

“I need to feel you inside me.” Reaching between their bodies, she wrapped her fingers around his hard cock, his girth filling her palm. She gave a gentle squeeze and stroked his firm balls. Sam groaned, his breath ruffling the tendrils of hair that clung to her brow. “Show me how you feel about me.” Ava rubbed his cockhead along her folds, coating him with her wetness. That tiny swipe against her clit almost sent her over the edge. She fought the need.

“Gladly.” He captured her hands in his, lacing their fingers together and pinning her to the mattress. “Prepare yourself.” As he claimed her mouth with a deep, urgent kiss, he slid his cock fully into her passage, balls-deep.

“Yeah, baby.” She spread her legs and tilted her hips to better accept his length. “You feel so good.” Her fingers tightened around his. “Make me yours.”

Sam moved in and out of her pussy with a series of quick thrusts. Each one sent molten pleasure through her. Tiny contractions pulsed around him as he withdrew and reconnected time and again.

She held on to his hands as if they alone were her lifeline to sanity, though he was the cause of her crazy dreams. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she received his next stroke with a shattered cry. His thrusts grew longer and more frantic. Ava pried open her eyes and stared into his eyes, surprised to find him watching her. Muddled emotion blazed in his rich gaze. Warmth tickled around her heart, nestling it in a cloud of feeling greater than any she’d known before. It reflected in his expression, strong as the light of the moon on a clear night.

“I love you.” Her whispered declaration surprised her and caused her heart to lurch, but she knew it was the truth. She’d found her match in this man, across time and space. It didn’t matter that they’d only known each other for a few days. Her grip on his hands tightened. “I mean it.” After all the failed relationships she’d endured, she could finally say the “L” word to someone with genuine emotion behind it.

Sam grunted and continued to thrust with ever-increasing drives. Friction burned her skin, set her nerves on fire as desire danced through her being. She pushed back, met each stroke, demanding he give his all, taking everything. One last flex of his hips sent her into oblivion. Her world fractured around her in a flash of white light and a hoarse scream. As her vision dimmed, she saw wonder and incredulity color his expression before he, too, claimed his release.

Her pussy convulsed around his cock in an effort to bring him closer into her body. Hot streams of his seed shot deep into her passage and she tightened her legs around him, keeping him joined while he collapsed against her.

Sam’s fingers curled around hers, both strong and comforting. He nuzzled the place where her neck and shoulder met, then lifted his head and stared into her eyes. “I love you, Ava. Never forget how much.”

She couldn’t stop the tears escaping into her hairline.

He is ours
, her wolf whispered in sated satisfaction.

Yes, he is.
But for how long?

Chapter Eight

Sam rolled onto his side a few hours later with a sense of urgency weighting his chest. His time drew near, but he couldn’t bring himself to leave the bed or the woman spooned next to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist. Caressing her full breasts with gentle fingers, he grinned into her hair as her nipples pebbled. She stirred in her sleep and wriggled at his touch.

With the joining they’d shared earlier still fresh in his mind and his member clinging to the effects of her miracle pill, he eased a hand over her flat belly, along the soft curve of her hip, then downward to the juncture of her thighs. Finding the sweet hidden pearl, he tenderly stroked a fingertip over it, feeling it swell and harden from his attention.

A moan issued from her throat. She attempted to roll over, but he held her firm.

“Sam? What’s up?”

“Shh.” Hot arousal shot through his body and centered in his cock. “I wish to be permanently etched on your memories.” Staunchly refusing to think of his impending demise, he nudged her legs apart with a knee, propping her right leg on his. “Let me love you again.” He slid his fingers along her folds, pleased at how wet and ready she was for him, even now on the cusp of waking. “I will never forget you, Ava. I would happily endure the trials of a phoenix life all over again, merely to experience this short time with you.”

With his left hand, he played with one of her taut nipples as he used the other to prime his aching member, coating its head with her moisture, wanting to be as hard for her as possible. Then, placing his hand on her abdomen, he entered her slick passage from behind.

A gasp from her turned into a moan tinged with surprise. Ava wiggled her hips. She pushed back against him as he withdrew and thrust into her once more. Pleasure flooded him. Sam held her tightly to him, slowly filling her with long, steady strokes. Soon, they found a rhythm as if they’d been enjoying each other their whole lives.

His balls tightened, signaling his imminent release. He quickened his pacing and slid his hand again through her curls. A few teasing strums on her nub had Ava moaning his name. Her hips bucked as her need intensified. “Catch the bliss, love. I want to hear you.” Frantic now, he thrust into her inviting channel. He felt her stiffen seconds before her inner walls pulsed around his cock. When she sang out his name over and over, almost crying, he sighed and let the force of his release overtake him.

As his seed poured into her with each throb of his shaft, he relaxed and held her snug against his body. “Never doubt that for these last few days, I loved you as completely as any man has ever loved a woman.” How could he be expected to give her up, to walk out of her life to meet Death? Only now, in this fragile tick of the seconds that counted down his existence, did he realize how precious living really was.

She turned in his arms and broke their intimate connection. He slid free, but when she plied his face with tear-soaked kisses, he didn’t mind. “I feel the same way, Sam. I waited my whole life to come here and meet you. Now,” he heard, rather than saw, her swallow, “I have to let you go.”

“At least you still have the option of remembering. For me, there is only death.” Sam kissed away the tears on her cheeks. “Stay with me to the end.” He’d said everything he needed to say. There was nothing else. In the darkness, he waited, holding her in his arms until that primal urge told him he’d need to leave. As the floral scent of her hair lulled him into drowsy complacence, he smiled.

I have lived a good life and come full circle. I cannot ask for more.

Some time later, Sam opened his eyes. A quiet peace had stolen over his being, and though he felt old and tired, he rose from the bed. Leaning over, he pressed a kiss to Ava’s forehead and shook her shoulder. “Ava, it is time. I must go.”

“No.” Low and rough from sleep, the one word held unadulterated terror. She sat up, clutching the bedclothes over her breasts. “Sam, no! I need more time.”

The panic in her expression stabbed at his heart. “I am afraid that is a commodity we do not have.” He didn’t bother with clothing. After all, what would be the point when everything would burn? “I have chosen to meet Death outside. That way the house will not be damaged.”

Ava tumbled out of bed and wrapped the coverlet around her body. “What difference does it make? You’ll be gone.” She ran across the floor and grabbed his arm. “You’re talking about dying as if we’re discussing what to eat. How can you accept this without a fight? There has to be another way!”

“I have had many years to think about this moment.”

“Well, I haven’t, and it scares the hell out of me.”

He bundled her into his arms. “I am sorry. I did warn you about the peculiarities of my race when we met.” Leading her out of the bedroom and down the hall, he kept her close, thriving on the warmth from her body. “I have penned a new will leaving all of my property and money to you. Now, you will have means with which to live in Destiny. While not independently wealthy, you will not want for quite some time.”

“Take me with you.”

“Never. You have much to live for.” Fractures of pain eased through his peace.

“So do you!”

“Dearest, this is the fate of a phoenix only. You must accept it. There is no other way.” He led her through the dark, empty dining room, the equally quiet kitchen, and out a door to the backyard. His bones hurt. His heart labored in his chest. Placing his hands on either side of her head, he glanced at his skin. Wrinkled and lined with blue veins, he knew he had minutes. “Ava…”

What could he say that would make any of this better or more acceptable?

Tears sparkled in her eyes, then overflowed onto her cheeks. Behind her, sun barely broke the horizon, preparing for dawn. He smoothed the mussed strands of her golden hair for the last time. “I need to do this, Ava. It is my time to go. I cannot regenerate again, and neither can I linger.”

She nodded. Whether she understood or simply didn’t choose to comment further, he didn’t know. “I wouldn’t change one thing about our time together. At least I got to meet you and know you for a few days. That makes me luckier than most women.” A smile tipped the corners of her mouth but vanished before it took a foothold. “Thank you.”

Not knowing what else to do, he held her face between his palms and kissed her. Her soft lips welcomed him; her silky tongue met his if only to say goodbye. He put every ounce of feeling into that one kiss, hoping she would understand. When the agony around his heart grew unbearable, he pulled away. “It is time.”

“I won’t forget you, Sam.” She stroked a hand along the side of his face. “I love you. I always will.”

“Please, my last wish is that you don’t grieve long for me. Live your life.” Not able to help himself, he pressed a gentle kiss to her mouth. “Goodbye, Ava.”

* * * *

Ava huddled under the blanket as she shivered in the predawn air. Her breath condensed in small puffs while she watched the man she loved walk into the middle of the yard, stark naked and unashamed. All remnants of his red hair had faded into gray. Age spots dotted his once clear skin. Tears fell onto her cheeks, dripping to the blanket, cold in the morning chill. Desperation filled her chest as her heart hammered through the very real pain. He was leaving. Nothing would ever be right again. She dug her fingers into the blanket, unable to tear her gaze away.

You can’t let him go. He belongs to us!

She shook her head even though her wolf couldn’t see.
It’s the way of his kind. We already knew our relationship wouldn’t be forever. He told us going in.

Ignoring her inner beast, Ava took a few steps, following him. “Sam.” A shiver wracked her body. She couldn’t control the shaking. “I’ll fall apart without you.”

“You are stronger than that.” He turned and gave her the sexy-as-sin smile that melted her bones. Then, as he mouthed the words “my heart,” he covered that organ with his hands and glanced into the sky as flames began to dance around his body.

Ava put a fist to her mouth, biting the blanket to stave off a scream.

Inside the orange and red flames, Sam transformed. Brilliant red feathers covered his arms and chest. His legs morphed into bird legs, complete with sharp black talons. A long, sweeping tail sprouted from his backside while a hooked beak took the place of his nose and cheeks. Feathers filled in the rest of his skin, ranging in color from red to orange to yellow.

As he took to the sky, circling high above the yard with his beautiful plumage on display, the flames followed him, and when they caught him, Sam in phoenix form exploded. A shower of sparks fell to the ground. The main ball of energy streaked across the sky, trailing ash and embers like a comet.

Crying uncontrollably, Ava sank to her knees on the cold grass as despair and anger mixed through her body. “I miss him so much already.”

I guess we’re back to just you and me.

Even the wolf couldn’t comfort her.
I’ve never been so alone.

* * * *

The days following Sam’s death were some of the most difficult Ava had ever lived through. Ironically, Mrs. Altier was her biggest supporter. It had been the old battleaxe dragon who had found her when she didn’t check in the day of Sam’s burning. Once Ava had shared the story, the dragon had wrapped her in a motherly embrace and just held her, rocking her back and forth as if she were a small child.

For once in her life, Ava had been content to lean on someone else. Still stranded in 1899 Destiny, she had no idea what to do with her life. Mrs. Altier insisted Ava move back in, but relented once Ava explained that Sam had left everything to her in his will, which she’d found on his desk the next day. To make sure the document was legal, she’d brought it by the bank. After speaking with Sam’s distraught partner Jamison, and finding out the document was indeed legitimate and binding, she’d moved her clothes into Sam’s house and locked herself away for a few days.

Thanksgiving came and went. Ava celebrated the modern holiday in bed, dozing off and on with anger and sadness as constant companions. She didn’t even care that there was no television to watch the parade or no giant retail outlets or malls to visit the day after.

She simply didn’t care about anything. Sam had left a huge ache in her heart she didn’t know if she could ever fill.
I never thought I’d miss a guy so much.

He would have been a good husband and provider. But look at it this way: Had he lived, if you and he had produced a male child, he would have died anyway. This way, it’s only you—and me.
Always the commonsense one, her wolf had no sympathy for Ava’s mourning. To the wolf mindset, mates died. It was the law of the wild. Life went on.

Humans are a little different, wolf. We tend to get attached and the heart becomes involved. This hurt will take time to heal. Either leave me alone and shut up, or say something comforting and happy.
Ava had no patience for her animal half. How could she possibly understand?

You will get through it.
In her mind, her wolf laid down.
I’m here if you want to talk.

After that, the wolf voice went silent for a few days, presumably leaving Ava to her grief.

The question that chased around Ava’s brain almost every day was, “What do you do when the unexpected love of your life dies too soon and leaves you alone in a strange land?”

Find a way to survive. There is no other option.

This was her wolf’s opinion, and it mirrored what Sam had told her when they first met. Of course, they were both right. Ava couldn’t hide forever, and Sam would never have wanted her to be shut away due to grief.

She had her memories. It had to be enough.

One morning in early December, she decided to make a change. The hollow ache around her heart hadn’t lessened, but the first snowflakes of the season had begun to fly. They did more for rousing her spirit than any of the food Mrs. Altier had brought her. Missing Sam wouldn’t go away, yet the need for human companionship and real conversation grew overwhelming. Christmas would arrive soon. That meant folks would need help with baking, gift wrapping, and countless other things. There’d be carols to sing and eggnog to drink.

Maybe she’d finally be able to find her place in the town, and in doing so she’d be able to move forward.

Clad in a forest-green gown and soft, black shawl, she left her temporary sanctuary, intent on seeing Destiny with open eyes for the first time.