Firstborn (12 page)

“Beard!” she gasped.

Immediately apologetic, he pulled back and attempted to take more care until she grabbed the back of his head and pulled him against her body, moaning in pleasure when his rough cheek brushed her aroused peaks.  He continued to make her writhe by alternating gentle kisses with the scrape of his beard followed by a soothing caress of his tongue.  He moved down her stomach and paused to appreciate the amethyst jewel that decorated her belly button.  Placing a gentle kiss on that particular treasure, he stood up again, pressing against her so that she was both pinned between him and the cool appliance and so that he was nestled too comfortably between her legs. 

She captured his mouth again, rubbing against him and enjoying the feel of his sparse chest hair as it rasped against her already sensitive breasts.  She felt a throbbing need at her core and wanted him with an urgency she’d never experienced.

“Will,” she gasped between kisses.

“Oh, Jac.  I’ve wanted you from the moment you grinned at me in the rain.”

“Will.”  She needed to tell him that she was still a virgin, not so he would take more care with her but so that he wouldn’t feel sorry later.  “There’s something--” she cried out when he moved against her suggestively, imitating the act that she knew would bring them both more joy than they had ever experienced.

“There has been something from the beginning,” he breathed
in apparent agreement.

“I’m a virgin,” she blurted.

While he didn’t move away to remove the pressure of his body against hers, he did stop kissing her, still standing pressed against her with his cheek resting against her hair.  “Shit.  I’m sorry.  I didn’t know.  Here I am mauling you like an animal,” he berated himself. 

She wrapped her arms around him to keep him from stepping away from her.  “No.  Well, yes,” she chuckled.  “Don’t stop.  I don’t want you to stop.”

He looked into her eyes with care and regret, though whether he was regretting how he’d manhandled her or the possibility of not having her after all, she wasn’t sure.  To convince him of her sincerity, she moved her pelvis against him.  “I mean it,” she announced with certainty.

He groaned and leaned into her even more forcefully.

“I’m not completely inexperienced, Will.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure.  I wanted someone who mattered.  You matter, Dr. Archer.”

His hands fell to her side and she reached for him, lacing her fingers through his.

“Let’s go to the bedroom where I can make love to you properly,” he suggested as he turned to pull her out of the kitchen.

“No.”  Her sharp response stopped him, and he turned with resignation, knowing now that she had come to her senses.  Instead, she surprised him by grabbing the waistband of his pants and pulling him back to her.  She reached for his belt buckle and insisted, “We’ll try the bedroom later.  Right now,
you’d better get back to mauling me, Will.”

A moment of confusion had him hesitating before he
grinned at her and moved in for an all-consuming kiss.  While their tongues moved together, she maintained enough sense to concentrate on removing his belt and undoing his pants.  His hands were equally dexterous at slipping her pants down over her hips, not even taking the time to appreciate the pale yellow satin that she’d carefully donned underneath before leaving her home. 

Leaning over her, he suckled her breasts and ran his hands over her hips, sliding them up the inside of her thigh to test her readiness.  He kissed her hungrily while caressing her hot, wet middle, teasing her until she gasped desperately into his mouth.  And when she reached for him, he moved her hands away and surprised her by digging his fingers into her hips and lifting her so that she could wrap her legs around his waist.  She could feel his arousal pressing against her intimately and longed to have all of him.

When he pressed her against the counter, she arched her back, stretching seductively across the countertop while he stood between her thighs, poised.  He ran his hands over her body, pinching and caressing and bending over her to kiss her with a desperate longing neither of them had ever experienced. 

“Now, Will.  Make me yours now,” she urged.

And he obliged, attempting to hold back to ease her pain while holding back his own release.  She countered by digging her heels into his backside, taking him in and crying out in pleasure.  And as he drove them over the edge together, they both delighted in their shared ecstasy and fulfilled destiny.

***

Jac collapsed beside Will on the couch after they had each slipped into their clothes.  He was suddenly shy and a bit withdrawn.  In an effort to get him to snap out of it, she playfully leaned over and planted a smacking kiss on his lips.

“I’m an ass,” he responded.

She laughed and shook her head.  “My mind is racing with adjectives but let me check…nope, ‘ass’ is not one of them.  Spectacular, stimulating, fabulous, regal, ultimate, sexy, intelligent…definitely no ‘ass.’”

“I feel like a heel.”

“You should feel like a heel.  Knowing now that you’re such an incredible lover, I’m a little pissed off.  You’ve been holding out on me for weeks!  I’m almost offended.”

“I should have been more careful with you.”

“Shut up,” she laughed.  “You’re the man.  You’re supposed to light a cigarette, slap me on the ass, and lie about calling me as you swagger out the door.”

He grinned at the hands in his lap.  “How in the hell have you not been mauled before?  You are the sexiest woman I’ve ever met.”

She bit her lip and tried to be serious.  “It’s been hell trying to fight them off for all of these years.”

“Seriously.”

She giggled and leaned against his shoulder.  “It involves some of my pesky visions that make you all squirmy.  Are you sure you want the story?”

He swallowed thickly and agreed.

“I had a vision when I was a teenager.  Not a vision actually.  It was more like an overwhelming wave of emotion.  I felt loved and passionate and respected.  I was a cherished partner.  After that, I promised myself that I wouldn’t settle for less.  I wanted the vision.”

He sat in uncomfortable silence, as though waiting for her to profess her love.

“You’re freaking out.”

“I’m not.”

She smiled at him, knowing the truth.  “You’re allowed to freak out, Will.  I just see more in you than I have in any man I’ve ever known.  I’m not saying you’re my destiny.  I’m just saying that I have been selective in my past and I happen to think that you’re fantastic.”  She shrugged, knowing that telling him about her vision of his marriage proposal would cause him unnecessary stress.

“
If you believe in fate, then do you also believe that every person has one intended life partner?”

“Not so much.  I think that we are so extraordinarily unique, that we are truly compatible with very few people.  Throw in chemistry and it trims that number down even more.  But I don’t think there is only one soul mate for
each person.”

He nodded in surprise.  “A logical conclusion.”

“I’m full of logic, Doc.”

He laughed and stopped awkwardly when he saw that she was serious.  She grinned, indicating that she wasn’t offended. 

“When I kissed you outside the other day, you had a vision.”  It wasn’t a question and so she didn’t respond.  “Then I walked in the house and was attacked by Ray Walker.  You happened in moments later and shot and killed him.”

She nodded in agreement
, already knowing where this conversation was leading.  Standing outside his house that day, she had been forced to make a conscious decision to let him walk into his house, knowing that the danger she’d seen may befall him right at that moment. 

“The vision?”

“Yes,” she answered simply.

“Why didn’t you try to stop me from going into the house?”

She blew out a breath before answering.  “Past experience has taught me that I can’t change the visions.  I have to be prepared to respond.”

“But you didn’t know what he’d injected in me.  What if he’d killed me?  Wouldn’t it be better to warn me and keep me from entering the house in the first place?  Why not call Detective Wilson and sick him on that guy?”

She shrugged, certain he wouldn’t understand.  “I can’t undo the visions.  I can only respond.”

“Why not try, at least?”

“Because what if I go in first and he kills me first and then injects you?  Then I’m not able to respond and help you.  Or what if I call in Detective Wilson and he is killed.  Then I’m responsible for his death.”

“How can you be certain?”

“Have you ever read any Greek Mythology, Will?”

“Of course.  It wasn’t necessary for my PhD, but I enjoy cultural studies.”

She grinned at another PhD reminder.   “The Greeks would get prophecies from the oracles.  And so often, they would try to prevent the prophecy from being fulfilled.  But it never worked.  And in some cases, the consequences were even worse.  Have you ever seen any of the Final Destination movies?  They keep trying to out-maneuver Fate, but she’s a real bitch.  It’s better to let her make her move and then be prepared to counter.  That’s where I come in.  I’m the counter.”

“But you let me walk through that front door not knowing if that injection was going to kill me.”

“I knew,” she argued simply.

“How did you know?”

“There have been other visions, Dr. Archer.  Let’s leave it at that.”

He was silent for a few minutes, gently running his hands through her short hair and thinking things over.  She should have worried about him coming to grips with what she’d told him, but she knew he’d come around.  After all, he was going to propose to her eventually.

“You can’t trick Fate, Dr. Archer. 
Sarà quel che sarà
.”

“What?”

“Whatever will be, will be,” she sang.  “Sometimes you simply have to let Fate play her hand and work with the cards you’ve been dealt.”

“I thought that was
Che Sarà, Sarà
,” he corrected in his most authoritative PhD voice.

She laughed in response.  “Only if you’re Doris Day.  The rest of us simpletons cannot afford to use incorrect grammar.  Not even in Italian.”

He studied her curiously.  “You know Italian?”

His curiosity amused her.  “
Un pochino cara mia
.”

“Why do you know Italian?” 

She waved her hand in dismissal.  “I studied art for a while in Firenze.  Florence,” she added to intentionally patronize him.

“I know what Firenze means.  I’m a well-traveled PhD.”

She smiled to herself.  “
Imparare è un’esperienza; tutto il resto è solo informazione
.”

He nudged her away to study her face in newfound admiration.  “Did that mean something sexy?  It sounded sexy.”

She laughed and answered, “Learning is an experience; all the rest is only information.”

“Hmm.  It sounds sexier in Italian.”  He leaned forward and nipped her earlobe.

“Everything does, Dr. PhD.”

“I would recommend both some pyramid crystals and some crystal clusters,” Jac explained to a relatively new customer.  “The pyramids draw out negative energies.  If you’re looking to cleanse yourself of the negative energies from your ex-husband and your divorce, I would recommend this particular stone.”  She held her palm out to the woman with unnaturally red hair.  The stone was a black obsidian pyramid, one of her favorite pieces. 

“That’s beautiful,” the woman breathed.  She lifted her black-penciled eyebrows in wonder.  “What else?”

“Two options.  The crystal clusters are generally used to impact the environment of your home. 
An amethyst, for example, has a similar effect to the obsidian pyramid in that it also clears negative energies.  The egg crystals, on the other hand, are typically used to stimulate rebirth.  It is, after all, a time for new beginnings for you.  You might try the hematite for strength.”

“What about a combination of all three?”

Jac shrugged.  “More doesn’t necessarily hurt or help.  Sometimes more is just more.  Personally, I would recommend the obsidian pyramid and the amethyst clusters.  You seem to have plenty of your own inner strength.”

The woman smiled, pleased, and accepted the two stones that Jac held out to her.  Jac was directing her to the aromatherapy section of the shop when the bell above the door tinkled
and Aislin breezed through the door.  Jac greeted her with a wide smile, reminding herself to comment on having met her attractive bank manager boyfriend. 

The Irish woman distracted herself by combing through the new arrivals of crystal and mineral jewelry, waiting for Jac to finish processing the payment for the redhead’s order.  Two teenage girls came in, holding the door open for the divorcée on her way out.  They giggled and admired the jewelry and took the time to smell nearly all of the scented candles and incense wands.  Then the young blond waved the other one to the shelves with the body oils and bath salts.