Heir of Earth (Forgotten Gods) (38 page)

“I’d like to see it sometime.”

“And I would love to take you,” he said, scooping a fingerful of chocolate whipped cream off his plate and dotting it on my nose with a beyond naughty grin.

I giggled, relieved to have something lighten the mood. Our conversation had veered dangerously close to dark places, and I didn’t want to be all serious on our first official date.

“Ewww, get it off,” I said, with fake annoyance, fanning my hands out to the side like one of the super high maintenance girls that followed him around town might.

“Gladly,” he said, pulling me to him so I landed in his lap as he licked the whipped cream off my nose.

It was all the encouragement I needed. I had been behaving all night. No one was around to see us now. With all the joking gone from my face I turned to him, swinging my leg around so that I straddled him in the chair. His kisses left my cheek and continued down my neck, barely brushing against my skin, teasing me as they slowly moved down to my shoulder.

His progress was painfully slow. The blood boiled in my veins, needing him in a way that was entirely new to me. I felt like a starving, insatiable junkie, falling off the wagon of sobriety and loving and every minute of it. The power of my craving for his touch became stronger than the need to breathe and I pulled feverishly at his hair as our lips crashed together.

I sighed deeply at the feel of them—his soft, velvety, perfect lips. I pulled him to me, unable to get him close enough. He responded immediately. His strong arms pulled me closer still, his kisses harder, more urgent than they had been before. Hands ran all over me, wanting to explore the places they hadn’t been. The tips of his fingers were cool, pulling my skirt up until they were replaced by the heat of his palms on the bare skin of my legs.

The feel of his touch didn’t scare me like it should a girl who lacked any intimate experience, it only pushed the accelerator down further. Fear prickled somewhere deep in my stomach, but the fever of my desire for him overcame the fear. I knew what I wanted, and I wasn’t going to let the fear of inexperience get in my way. I kissed his neck, his ear, anything I could get my lips on. I pulled at the buttons of his shirt. They gave little protest, opening easily, exposing the warmth of his chest hidden below.

He was in overdrive, too. The plates from the table scattered to the floor shattering in a million pieces at our feet as he cleared the way with a single sweep of his hand. He stood up from the chair, holding me against him, my legs wrapped around his waist, unwilling to let go. He leaned over, laying me on the table where the remains of our decadent dinner had sat seconds ago. He pulled away for a second, ripping the unbuttoned shirt from his body and tossing it to the floor beside us.

I felt him pressing against me. My legs wrapped around him, pulling him closer. The heat of his body radiated against the coolness of my skin. I tore at the straps of my dress, trying to free myself of the clothes that separated us. His hands were everywhere, in my hair, down my side, under my skirt, pulling it up so I felt the roughness of his blue jeans against my leg. His lips left mine and began to make their way down my neck again.

His body arched away from mine as his kisses moved further down my chest. I took advantage of the space and reached down with my hands, straining for the belt buckle he always wore. My fingertips found the cool metal and I began pulling against it, trying to free it from his waist.

His body tensed. He grabbed my hands and pulled them back, pinning them beside my head. He hung over me, breathing heavily, catching his breath, his head buried in my hair. The damp heat of his breath was in my ear as my own chest rose and fell with the panting breaths of interrupted desire. I wiggled under him, trying to free my hands, wanting to finish what we had started, but his hands were locked like handcuffs around me.

“Faye, no.” His broken words were as difficult for him to say as they were for me to hear.

“Why?” I asked, confused by his sudden change of mood.

“Because Faye, tonight’s not the night. It’s not going to happen like this.”

“What does that mean?” I shook my head against the table at my back with wide eyed wonder unable to believe he had the strength in him to resist me as I so obviously offered him whatever he wanted in the position I was in.

“Have you thought about the consequences of this, Faye? If I make love to you, right here on this table, have you thought about what might happen?”

“It’s not a big deal,” I said, craning my neck to kiss his lips, hoping to reassure him I was ready for this. He turned his head to duck my kiss, and I fell back against the table in disbelief.

“It is a big deal, Faye. It’s a very big deal, and I’m not going to let you make some rash decision because your body has gotten ahead of your mind.”

“Dayne, most girls my age have already done this.” My hands fluttered like detached puppets from where he still held them tightly at my shoulders.

“Well, you’re not one of those girls, and I’m not one of those guys.” He released my hands, bending down to retrieve his shirt. “Virginity is sacred to me. It’s what my kind was created to protect, remember. I’ll kiss you all night long, Faye. But until there’s some kind of commitment between us, it goes no further.”

I pushed him away and sat up, smoothing my hair back into place while I thought. I suddenly hated Danu for protecting virginity, even if it did make me feel better to know Dayne was saying
no
because he was bound to, not because he wanted to. That still didn’t keep me from being totally humiliated in the process. What was worse? I was beginning to realize that I was some evil temptress trying to lure him into sin, and that made me feel dirty all the way to my core.

At the same time I couldn’t help but hear him say
until there’s some kind of commitment between us
which implied something MUCH bigger than I was ready to deal with. It was all totally confusing and not at all how I had pictured this night ending.

“I’m ready to go home,” I pouted, so embarrassed I couldn’t even look at him.

“Well, I’m not ready to take you,” Dayne said, tucking the tails of his unbuttoned shirt into his pants and walking around to face me. He took my chin in his hand and tilted it so that I had no choice but to meet his eyes.

“I’m not saying no to you, Faye. I’m saying no to this happening so…unprepared, so unromantic.” He waved his hands in the air around us, pointing to the sterile surroundings of the industrial kitchen we sat in.

“It will happen, Faye. I promise. And it will be beautiful. But it’s not going to be on our first date, on a table in my kitchen.” He found his way back between my legs as I sat slumped on the table and tilted my head up. A kiss landed on my forehead, but I kept my eyes closed.

“It’s going to be special. It’s going to be a moment worthy of us.” His hands in my hair felt divine, as if he had never touched me that way before. My eyes couldn’t help but open and the embarrassed anger of earlier fell away with each stroke of his hand. A smile twisted his lips and he shook his head, tracing his finger down the bridge of my nose.

“If all I wanted was sex, I would have never left LisTirna. That’s all a Sidhe woman offers. I’m not like that. I guess I’m really old-school in that respect.” He laughed at himself then and shook his head. “Danu’s blood still flows in my veins, and I would never take from you the one thing I am vowed to protect. Not until it’s meant to be mine.” He was serious now. The playful smile was gone from his face and I knew one day we would finish what we had started on his table, and then some. The pit of my stomach leapt up with an unexpected jolt of anticipation, and maybe a sprinkle of fear, now that my hormones were back in check.

I hated to admit it, but he was right. The fever had subsided in my veins, and sex on a dinner table didn’t sound like the best way to lose one’s virginity anymore— even if it was with Dayne. I didn’t really know what to say so I wrapped my arms around his waist and rested the side of my face against his chest, hoping he understood my unspoken apology for pouting with him like a little child.

We stayed that way for a while before he broke away.

“Come on,” he finally said, brushing my hair back and taking my hand. He led me outside to the ancient Range Rover parked in the driveway.

“Are you taking me home?” I was ready to argue, the disappointment clear in my voice. I hadn’t really meant what I said about going home a few minutes ago.

“No. We still have time,” he said reassuring me that the night wasn’t coming to an end.

He turned on the radio and rolled the windows down. The first notes of “Into The Mystic” drifted through the night air to where I stood. Dayne closed the door and walked over to me, taking me by the hand and leading me down the crushed stone path to the little garden at the side of the house.

With an audience of old ivy covered statuary and bright red roses blooming in the moonshine, he pulled me to him and we began to dance. Our bodies pressed together, swaying in the night to the rhythm of Van Morrison as he played the soundtrack of our lives. So in love, so happy to just be near each other. That was enough for me. Tonight at least, all I wanted was to be in his arms and know we were exactly where we were supposed to be.

I wondered what would have happened if that bus had never crashed. Would I ever have known how blissfully happy life could be?

The perfection of the night was ripped from me, replaced by panic, when my imminent future flew back in my face.

“Dayne, what’s going to happen when I have to go back home?” I pulled away from him as we danced, needing an answer, needing him to tell me it would all be okay. I couldn’t lose him, not again.

He was quiet for a while. His hand guided my head back to his shoulder and we continued dancing in the night.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” he finally said. “How would you feel about going to college in Ireland? I could probably pull a few strings to get you accepted on late admission.” His lips never left my head, my hair muffling his words.

“That could work,” I said, not wanting to accept too quickly, and seem too needy. I couldn’t stand the thought of a single day away from him. A year at college would be unbearable.

That was all we said. I knew he wanted me with him, and he knew I wanted to be with him. We didn’t need anything else. We danced quietly in that little garden until he had to take me home. He held me close to him, spinning me out and pulling me back in randomly. We laughed at our silliness and he kissed me softly every time I returned to his arms.

The moon shone down on us, giving everything a silvery glow in the darkness. In the distance, the sounds of the forest called out in the night. The colorful faces of the flowers in the garden danced with us. I loved Dayne DeLaney, and there was nothing that would keep me from him.

It was late in the afternoon the following day. The horses were happily munching hay in their stalls. I had just swung the last saddle onto its rack when Dayne appeared in the tack room doorway. He leaned heavily on the frame, his thumbs hooked on his front pockets, looking like an advertisement for something so delicious everyone would want it.

“A…A…ACHEEW!” I sneezed at the cloud of dust the saddle kicked up. Phin was a horrible housekeeper.

“What is that?” Dayne asked as a smile danced on his lips.

“A sneeze…?” I asked, looking at him in confusion, thinking the answer was way too easy.

“I know what you call it. But what
is
it?” He asked for clarity.

“When something tickles your nose you sneeze to get it out.” I offered the first explanation that came to mind as I put the cloth cover over the saddle and turned back to him. I was surprised by the look of contemplation on his face. “Don’t you sneeze?” I reached for the stack of bridles and began hanging them in their proper place.

He shook his head. I bet he didn’t burp or have any other unpleasant bodily functions either. Totally not fair.

“Well, everyone else does, and if you’re going to appear to be a normal human being, you should start saying ‘God bless you’ whenever someone does it,” I said as I hung the last bridle in place.

“God bless you?” The words sounded ridiculous coming from him. He chuckled under his breath as he continued to watch me with an amused grin on his face. He was so fascinated by the tiniest of human moments. I was amazed he had been able to keep his secret so long.