Lost Paradise (21 page)

Lash shuddered, then pushed back from me. He
went to the doors and with a well-aimed kick, sent them crashing
open. Returning for me, he led me into the main room at Davy’s. In
the blackness of the early dawn hours, nothing was visible, not
even Lash beside me. I stood still and let my eyes adjust, afraid
if I moved I was going to stumble over something. Lash gave my hand
a squeeze, then began walking towards the yawning deeper blackness
of the back room. I followed him slowly, suddenly angry that my
night vision that had once been so enhanced had not returned with
the recent influx of Devlin’s blood. But the fire in my veins
turned to desire as I was led though the dark by Lash, the
knowledge of where he was leading me, and what he would do to me
when we got there intensifying my arousal with every cautious
step.

Lash paused in the back doorway as if getting
his bearings. A dim emergency light above the bar revealed two pool
tables and a couple tables with a few chairs around them.
Everything else was in deep shadow.

I was frantic by now with need, tremors
wracking my body. “Please,” I whispered, running my hands up, then
down his arms. “Please, Lash. I need you—”

He made no answer, only grabbed my hand again
and started walking. When we reached the furthest table, he lifted
me in his arms, setting me on the edge. With a swipe of his arm, he
sent the pool cues and the balls behind me clattering to the floor.
The noise of their rolling disappeared as Lash kissed me
insistently, his long tongue twining with mine as he parted my legs
and pulled my hips hard against his straining jeans, letting out an
eager hiss. I clung to him, my mouth devouring his, even as I
reached down and unzipped his pants.

Lash hissed, then grabbed my arms, stopping
me, and pushed me backwards down on the table. I watched his
shadowy form as warm hands pushed my nightgown up, then parted my
legs all the way open. Those hands ran down my belly and over my
hips, then stroked my thighs softly.

I moved involuntarily under his hands,
trembling hard. “Please!”

I tried hard to hold still in sweet
anticipation, waiting for a hard thrust. Instead came the sensation
of his tongue licking at my vagina, then his fangs brushing my
skin. Even in my lust, I felt a sudden shiver of fear.
Involuntarily, my legs tried to close. His hands clamped down
around my thighs tightly, holding me still. I went to stop Lash,
drawing breath to cry out. Instead a sigh escaped my lips as his
warm tongue curled up within me, and began stroking gently.

A few seconds later, I was jerking for him,
moaning as he stroked me over and over. My hands went into his
hair, kneading and grasping. Lash knew what he was doing. I had
never felt anything like this, not with anyone else, ever. With his
long forked tongue, he could do movements that couldn’t normally be
done, creating unbelievable stimulation when he’d kissed my mouth.
What he was doing to me now made those kisses seem like
nothing.

Waves of utter pleasure hit me. I jerked
beneath him, crying out over and over with every touch. Lash kept
stroking me, kissing me, the pressure building until I felt I was
going to die if it went on much longer. Then I erupted, screaming
in climax as I arched up off the table into him. He held me fast
with his hands, still moving relentlessly, wresting every last
tremor of my orgasm from me.

Panting, I relaxed back onto the table. There
was the whisper of falling cloth, then the light abrasion of skin
on skin as Lash leaned onto me, almost undulating, kissing my skin
as he worked his way upwards. Taking my nightgown in his hands, he
ripped it down the front, then pushed it to either side. With a
wooden creak, he easily boosted himself onto the table, laying
between my legs. As the pool table groaned again under our combined
weight, I went rigid, worried it was going to collapse beneath
us.

“Shh,” Lash hissed. “It will hold us.”

Holding himself up on his elbows, he kissed
me again, harder this time, sliding his erection back and forth
over my thatch. As I tasted myself in his kiss, I groaned, feeling
the sudden slipperiness as my body told him I was ready. Preparing
to guide him in, I eagerly put my hands on his chest and felt warm
scales beneath my fingers.

Lash went motionless.

This was what he had been afraid of me
feeling that last time we had been together. But my breaths were
fast from excitement, not fear. I liked the feel of him under my
hands; I wasn’t afraid he was different. I slid my hands over his
chest, caressing his scales a few times, then reached my hand down,
pushing his erection into position to enter.

With a grunt, Lash drove himself in, bringing
a cry from me. He lowered himself onto me, kissed my throat, and
then there was a prick as his fangs slid in. I convulsed at the
sensation, and Lash made a muffled groan as I tightened up,
squeezing him. At once he began moving in and out of me in rhythm,
his mouth fastened on my neck, sucking gently.

I clasped him to me, barely registering the
slight pain. All I could hear was his heart beating fast, much
faster than mine, and my own gasps. I ran my hands over his back,
his ass, loving the feel of his muscles contracting under my hands,
loving how he was driving so deep with each thrust.

Suddenly, I was there. As I took a breath to
scream, he covered my mouth with his hand tightly. I shook hard in
the throes of my orgasm, screaming into his hand, my muffled cries
quiet in the stillness. Lash’s body stiffened as he drove himself
into me deeply with a soft hiss.

His body gave a few spasms on mine, then
relaxed. Giving me a chaste kiss, he pulled out quickly and eased
down on his back by my side. We lay there for a while, not
speaking, as our breathing calmed. Lash made no sounds, except soft
hisses of pleasure, as I slowly came back to myself.

As I did, I began to shiver. It wasn’t fear
of him, but fear of myself: I’d rarely felt so sated in my life,
even after hours of lovemaking. What he had done to me that first
time, it had been like no oral sex I’d ever experienced. It had
been a goddamn epiphany…

A wave of guilt hit, telling me I was wrong
to have enjoyed his touch so much. Anxiety followed; Lash had said
he didn’t like being with women who weren’t weresnake, as he was.
But Devlin hadn’t given him a choice, he’d just told Lash what
needed to be done and expected him to just do it. Given another
option, Lash wouldn’t have touched me in a million years. It was a
safe bet he hadn’t had an epiphany, only a pleasant day at the
office.

I knew what it was, not to have a choice. I
let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry—”

“Don’t apologize after,” Lash hissed sharply.
“Don’t make more of this than it is.”

Tears flooded my eyes. That he was right
didn’t matter. I’d used him to slake my lust, just like the slut
Elle had accused me of being. Worse, he wasn’t mellow or sated like
me; he was angry and unfulfilled. I turned my back to him, trying
not to make any noise.

With a hiss that sounded like a sigh, Lash
put his arms around me, and pulled me close to him. “Shh,” he said
softly. “Don’t cry.”

“I’m sorry I made you—”

“You didn’t make me do anything but come,”
Lash hissed in my ear. “Don’t be sad about that or regretful.
That’s all I meant.”

I turned to face him, then touched him gently
on his chest, again stroking his warm scales. They were leathery
and smooth to the touch, the ridges where one overlapped another
just noticeable under my hands. “Is there a pattern on them?”

“Of course,” Lash said mockingly. “I’m not an
albino cottonmouth. I thought you were a big animal lover.”

Not sure how to answer, I put my hand over
his heart. The beats were still coming fast, though his breathing
had quieted. Lash’s chest was hard beneath my fingers, his wiry arm
muscles like steel bands around me as I stroked his scales.

“It’s the potion I take,” Lash hissed after a
moment. “I can’t come all the way back to human form anymore. But
it’s better than dying.”

He was embarrassed his body wasn’t fully
human for some reason. Was he worried I’d recoil?

“I don’t mind,” I whispered. “I’ve always had
a fondness for snakes.” I kissed him gently on his chest, putting
my lips to his scales.

Lash let out a sharp hiss and pushed me back
gently from him. “Unless you want to go again, stop that.”

I hugged him, and didn’t reply, taking
comfort from his nearness.

Lash shifted slightly. “We should get back to
Hayden. Dev will be back soon.”

As he moved, he brushed my hip gently, his
erection thick and solid. The Lust came roaring back, possessing me
completely. I reached down and took hold of him with one hand,
sliding it down over his shaft, squeezing gently.

“Not so fast, Lover.”

Lash whipped his head around, then relaxed
back on the table, pulling me astride him. I worked his penis in my
hand rapidly, as he groaned and contracted his hips. Lowering
myself into position above him, I teased him, rubbing my body on
his. Lash reached up and grabbed my hips, bringing them down
quickly to receive him, his hiss of pleasure loud in the silence.
His mouth devoured mine, his hands gripping me hard as he began to
thrust.

The Lust ruled me, my lips whispering to him
to kiss me, to take me, to fuck me. But despite my impatient
demands, Lash took his time, his hands caressing my breasts,
curling his long tongue around my nipples as he suckled them, his
gentle bites not breaking my skin. I rode him relentlessly, my body
sweaty and starving for climax.

“Deeper,” I hissed at him angrily. “Do
it!”

“I’m in you to my balls,” Lash hissed back,
then groaned, moving my hips on his faster.

My muscles tightened as the first tickles of
orgasm hit me. “Come,” I commanded harshly. “I want you to—”

“You come,” Lash commanded, then rolled over
onto me, his organ driving into me furiously. I came at once, my
scream muffled as he quickly covered my mouth with his hand, his
movements jagged as he orgasmed.

Lash lifted his upper body on his forearms,
his eyes glimmers in the heavy gloom. “Are you done?” he hissed
softly. “Do you need it again?”

He was saying he was only done if I wanted it
to be done. I reached up and caressed his scales, then rested my
hand on his chest, The Lust slowly abating as the minutes
passed.

Lash shifted, his still-hard penis
withdrawing slightly. I breathed in abruptly, blinking rapidly to
clear my head of The Lust’s influence. “I’m okay, I think.”

Lash quickly pulled out, then rolled onto his
back beside me. I lay there, trying to think of what to say as the
silence stretched. I wanted to tell him how good he’d been, but I
couldn’t seem to get the words out. Not only was I embarrassed, I
was wondering why the hell I’d come without him biting me.

“You’re heart is racing,” Lash hissed softly,
his tone teasing. “Lover.”

My pulse shot up. I looked over at his form
with just my eyes, watching as his hand slowly reached over and
caressed my pubic hair. I shifted uneasily the moment he touched
me, then began to writhe, The Lust engulfing me again as his
skilled fingers worked their way deeper, his mouth closing on my
breast.

I grasped his head, pressing him to my chest.
“Slide in,” I whispered seductively, spreading my legs, my hips
pushing upwards. “I want you to—”

“No.” Lash pressed me flat to the table with
one hand, the other rubbing my clit. “I want to see you come.”

“You bastard,” I snarled, reaching for his
throat. “Take me or I’ll kill you.”

“Don’t threaten me,” Lash hissed, grabbing my
wrists as he maneuvered on top of me. “Don’t ever threaten me—”

I wriggled under his body, moving from side
to side. “Get off me!”

Lash shifted his hips back and forth, then
suddenly bore down hard, penetrating me. I gave a jerk, then began
moving frantically, trying to dislodge him. He trapped me under
him, his hands on my wrists, his hips moving fast on mine. I fought
him, pushing at him with my hands, kicking and cursing until the
moment he bit down into me. At once compliant, I relaxed back to
the table, moaning and sighing.

Lash drank and made love to me as I
luxuriated beneath him. Then he stiffened, thrusting deeply, his
hiss of pleasure bringing a gasp of sudden ecstasy as I clasped his
ass, kneading as the familiar surge of pleasure washed though me.
Sated, I finally went limp, my chest heaving.

Lash pushed up from me, then waited there
above me, watching.

I shuddered under him, coming back to myself,
ashamed of how I’d acted.

Lash waited in silence, unmoving, tense as a
coiled spring.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, wiping at my eyes.
“It’s…it’s like that sometimes.”

Lash rolled onto his back again with a sigh
beside me and didn’t answer.

I stayed quiet, too, my mind working
furiously. Lash’s refusal had brought out the worst of The Lust.
But why was it raising repeatedly over and over after being sated?
Maybe it had needed him to drink some blood like he just had? More
important, how were we going to get home if it rose every time he
touched me?

“I should’ve just done what you asked,” Lash
hissed, letting out a breath.

“It’s not important,” I answered
absently.

“You didn’t scream.”

I looked over at him, wondering what he was
talking about.

“If you’d have screamed for me to stop, I
would have,” Lash added. “I thought what I was doing was okay.” He
touched his fingertips to my arm just perceptibly. “I didn’t meant
to scare you.”

“You didn’t,” I assured him, then paused, the
sudden urge to tell him how much I’d enjoyed the first two times
undeniable. I wrestled with my conscience a few seconds, then
decided screw it, he’d been fucking amazing, and after making me
feel like that he deserved to know it. “What you did to me…it…it
was wonderful. It was amazing.”