Eternally Bound: Paranormal Romance Boxed Set (10 page)

Justin broke the kiss and stared at a dreamy-eyed Delaine. All his attention was focused on her as he spoke in hushed tones.

“Hey, baby.”

“Hey, you,” she said breathlessly, worrying one side of her bottom lip with her teeth.

“Almost ready?”

“Uh huh.”

He grinned at her giddy, breathless expression and said, “I’m parked right out front, all right?”

“Sure.”

He straightened and Delaine visibly shivered as his fingers traipsed over her bare forearm. Then she seemed to remember to be polite.

“Oh. Justin, this is my good girlfriend Pam. Pam, this is Justin,” Delaine said, happy she had something to concentrate on, like forming words into coherent speech.

“Nice to meet you, Pam,” Justin said with a friendly smile. Delaine noticed it wasn’t one of the sizzling smiles he seemed to like laying on her.

Justin shook Pam’s hand and left something in it.

“That’s for her hair,” he said, and turned and headed back toward the door.

Pam unfolded the paper in her hand—a crisp fifty-dollar bill.

“But it’s only thirty-five for a wash and set,” Pam called after him.

“Her hair is beautiful. Consider the rest a tip.” He continued right out the door without breaking stride.

Pam and Delaine gaped after him, along with every other woman in the shop. Delaine snapped to her senses and hopped out of the chair.

“Girl, I’ve gotta go. Later, Ms. Pamela.”

She snatched her coat off the rack and pulled it on as she made for the door in Justin’s wake. She turned back to Pam to give her a hug and caught the strange shade of green in her friend’s eyes. She quirked her head and stepped back, her hands on her friend’s shoulders. “Girl, you all right?”

“Yeah, sure. Go enjoy your dinner. Put you down for an appointment in two weeks?”

“Yep. And I’ll call you this week so we can get together for breakfast too,” she said, kissing Pam on the cheek and flying out the door.

* * * * *

Delaine showed Justin to the kitchen and ran upstairs to change. She trotted back downstairs in a big tee shirt and pair of jean shorts to find him already busy cooking.

“What’s that smell?” she asked, striding into the kitchen. He stuck a pot under her nose and she pulled her hair back and stuck her nose into the saucepan while he continued to stir. She sighed in appreciation, “Mmmm, now that smells really good.”

“Homemade teriyaki sauce. I’ve got this covered, but do you mind helping me with the rest of this?”

“Sure. What do you want me to do?” she replied with a smile.

The twinkle in his eyes should have told her it was a setup. She gladly accepted the task to wash a head of lettuce and cut a few tomatoes for a salad. It took her forever to do those two simple things. And it was all his fault.

While Delaine washed the lettuce, Justin came up behind her to rinse green onions for the stir-fry. Then he needed to rinse the carrots and bell peppers, one at a time. Then he filled a pot with water and rinsed off the rice before setting it on the stove to steam. And each time he needed to use the sink, he came up behind her, pressed his chest against her back and reached underneath her arms to get to the spigot. The crook of his elbow teased the sides of her breasts as he moved whatever he was rinsing back and forth under the flow of water. Before he moved away to his side of the counter, he took a moment to breathe in the scent of her hair while pressing his stone-hard erection into the curve of her butt. Oh lord, she should have expired from his teasing at least twice over.

Her pulse pounded and a fine sheen of sweat broke out over her brow. Her fingers trembled and her hands were damp, and not from rinsing the stupid lettuce. By the time she was done with her small task, her breasts tingled unbearably, and she was uncomfortably wet between her legs. Here she was in an industrial-sized kitchen, with gourmet everything and more counter space than every display at Home Depot combined. But it was too small for just the two of them. She was so hot and bothered she could have skipped dinner and just had Justin for dessert.

Even with her arousal at a constant hum just beneath her skin, Delaine actually enjoyed their meal of chicken teriyaki stir-fry and fresh tossed salad with fresh balsamic vinegar dressing. Afterward, she led him into the living room where he left her sitting while he ran to the garage and hauled in a few logs for a fire. With a blaze in the hearth, they sat on the floor in front of the couch. Delaine paid no attention as one of her favorite classic action movies played on the flat screen plasma TV mounted over the mantle. She’d smiled when Justin pulled the DVD out earlier, but now she couldn’t care less that James Bond was in the middle of laying some whoop-ass on a nasty bad guy.

Delaine sat sideways in Justin’s lap, toes curled into the carpet as she snuggled into his big body. Her shoulder leaned lazily against his chest as he reclined against the couch. His masculine scent filled her lungs, enticing her to nuzzle into the crook of his neck while his fingers traced tiny circles up and down her arms.

Justin pressed light kisses on the top of her crown then dipped his head to plant light kisses over her forehead, her temples, her cheek. Her stomach flipped over when his soft lips traced the shell of her ear, blowing lightly. His fingers strayed to her shoulders and massaged the tense muscles there. Her breathing deepened at the insistence of his hard cock pushing up against her butt through his jeans.

His touch was tender and often, as if he savored caressing and arousing her. She took delight in the affection he lavished on her, even as her body heated and her blood simmered. His touch was magic. A deep, needy groan traveled up her throat when one of his large, strong hands traced the line of her neck, teasing each individual vertebrate as he worked his way down. His free hand slid across the quivering planes of her stomach and around to her waist to hold her tightly to him.

His growing erection told her how much he enjoyed touching her. It royally turned her on to feel him harden and stretch underneath her. Slowly, so slowly, her hips began to writhe, seeking more of the hardness pressing against her. Her eyelids drooped closed as body and mind accepted his sweet attention on a sigh.

Her breasts swelled and ached, the tips so tender she gasped with an erotic shiver when Justin’s forearm accidentally scraped against them on the way to wrap around her body.

Oh please, please touch my breasts, she willed him silently with each tormented breath pulled from her chest. As her body reached out for him, Delaine felt Sapa slip completely away from her. On the verge of panic at the sudden emptiness in her mind, the bond vibrated softly. Sapa was giving her privacy. Privacy to mate.

Delaine lifted her head from beneath his chin. Her tongue flicked out and tasted the sweet muskiness of his skin, salty from the sweat she hadn’t realized was there. His skin felt hot against her lips. She opened her mouth against his throat and allowed her tongue free reign. Licked and tasted with wild, carnal slides of her tongue along the column of his throat, smiling against the taut muscles of his neck when he leaned his head back with a moan and ground his hips up against her ass.

Justin leaned forward and whispered in her ear. “You feel so good in my arms, Delaine. You’re driving me crazy, baby. I can smell your heat and I’m trying really hard to keep my hands to myself.” His breathing deepened with each word.

She stretched sensuously against him and said, “I don’t want you to keep them to yourself.” Delaine reached for his hand splayed across her hip and placed it boldly on her breasts. She closed her eyes on a swift intake of breath as Justin proved he could more than take it from there.

Chapter Eight

Delaine was a starving woman, arching wildly into Justin’s hands as they closed firmly around her aching, tender breasts. She wanted him to wrap his fingers around them and knead them like fresh bread dough. She couldn’t hold back a long, needy moan as he found her nipples through her bra. He tweaked them, then smoothed insistent fingers over the stiff peaks. It didn’t take long before she needed more.

Her back against his chest, she wiggled down between his legs until she was on the floor between his thighs. Delaine reached back and slipped her arms around his neck, stretching into him like the sleek cat who shared her conscience. Her oversized tee shirt rode up to expose the smooth milk chocolate skin of her belly and she quivered as Justin slipped his hands underneath the fabric, his rough hands seeking, moving up her body to explore the ridges of her washboard stomach. Long, warm fingers skimmed over the goose bumps around her waist and teased the top of her pants. Her hips swiveled all on their own, seeking the thick ridge of his cock through his jeans. He nibbled and kissed his way around the back of her neck, making her hungrier. She felt the clasp on the front of her bra snap loose. The second her breasts spilled free, he lavished them with attention.

“Mmmm, your hands feel so good. Oh yes, touch me, Justin,” Delaine moaned.

Justin grabbed her underneath her arms and picked her up as if she weighed nothing, turning her around to face him. Settled her on her knees, her thighs straddled his and her hot channel came down directly on top of his straining erection. He took her mouth almost brutally, tasting her, pulling her into himself. He lifted her up again and his head disappeared under her tee shirt. The way she cried out when he took a delicious, dark nipple into his mouth made him want to wring that sound from her over and over again. Made him want to suck, feast and ravage her flesh until she trembled uncontrollably.

Every desperate sound she made evoked powerful feelings of possessiveness in him. When her cries became desperate, the need to be inside her right then and there raged through his blood without restraint. He released her breasts and wrapped his arms around her in a sensuous cocoon. He kissed her neck and along her jaw, grinding the steel bulge in his pants hard against her clit. Delaine held onto his neck as if she was drowning and he understood exactly how she felt. Leaning her back a bit, he buried his face between her breasts long enough to get his breath.

“Justin.” It was a whisper so heavy with passion, it made him feel so untamed he wanted to rip off all her clothes and take her right there on the carpet.

“I have to make love to you, baby,” he rasped through gritted teeth. “Tell me you want me.”

“Justin, please.” Delaine ground her hips against his hardness, needing to satisfy the throbbing between her legs. Oh, she wanted him, all right.

“Then tell me,” he hissed, sliding his large hands over her ass, fingers pressing up against her weeping slit from behind. She almost came on the spot.

“Oooh, Justin,” she wailed, “yes! I want you!”

“Stand up for me, baby.”

She rose on wobbly legs and reached for the waistband of her pants. She jumped when, quick as lightning, Justin’s hand shot out and pushed hers away.

“Don’t…move.”

His voice was hard, desperate. Delaine dropped her hands to her sides. He began to undress her. It was torture. Sheer, unadulterated, bliss-filled torture. His lips traveled over every inch of skin as he exposed it. Inching her shirt up, his mouth kissed its way up her stomach, gobbled up a breast on the way, then nibbled and licked a path up her neck, around her nape and down the other side. He found a sensitive spot where her neck met her shoulder muscles. He bit down gently and made her squirm and gasp as the knee-buckling sensations shimmied down her spine. Her shirt and bra hit the floor and he moved on to her pants.

Justin slowly moved the waistband of her shorts down a bit and kissed his way around her waist. Her stomach rippled when he licked her navel, so he did it again and again, worshipping her body.

He moved around behind her, nipped and licked the cheeks of her ass as he lowered her bottoms. Delaine shuddered when he gently raked his short nails over the sensitive globes. His teeth lightly grazed her flesh. Mmm, he’s a biter. Oh lord, that feels so good. The grazing of his teeth was replaced by the sweet suction of his full lips as his mouth settled on her left ass cheek. Next came hard, intense sucking. Her pussy clenched violently. Justin caught her when her knees buckled. He kicked her shorts out of the way, swept her up in his arms and headed for the stairs.

* * * * *

He set Delaine’s feet on the floor long enough to push the covers back. He picked her up again, laid her on the edge of her bed and leaned over her to tease and torment her with his lips and tongue. Nudging her thighs apart, he slid his fingers between her legs. He gave her a lopsided grin when he withdrew his hand and licked off the evidence of her arousal while gently easing the fingers of his other hand inside her slick flesh. She was a quivering mass of muscle and bone, but he was nowhere close to finished with her. He wanted to hear her scream. See her scratch the sheets off the bed. He wanted her so far gone, she would give him anything and everything he wanted.

He stood up to remove his clothes and Delaine bolted up in the bed.

“Don’t leave me!” she cried, her eyes full of longing while her body trembled uncontrollably.

For a second he wondered at the panic in her voice and was even more determined she would never have to worry or wonder about his need for her. Before the night was over she would feel beyond cherished. Then again, maybe he’d tell her that he needed her so badly he wanted to lay a hurtin’ on her pussy that would have her begging him to leave her alone. Instead he simply said, “I won’t leave you, baby, but I can’t wait another minute to feel my skin sliding against yours.”

Justin’s gaze never left hers as he peeled his shirt off over his head, exposing the wide planes of his body to Delaine’s hungry gaze. With each movement, her eyes followed the ripple of taut muscle. He’d never been stuck on his physique before, but now he felt a strong sense of pride and prowess as he watched Delaine admire the power of his honed body. She sat on the edge of the bed and ran her palms over his large biceps, then across broad sculpted pecs, savoring the feel of the downy soft, reddish-blond hair sprinkled there. Her eyes traveled down his chest to a chiseled, ripped stomach.