Tell Me What Is Priceless (Siren Publishing Classic) (8 page)

“How long does it take to get the test back?”

“We would have the results for HIV the same day. I have a greedy but honest doctor.”

“So you have been tested STDs before?”

“Yes, and it was negative. If I’m going to die, I don’t want anyone else’s life on my head. Are you going to come down here and kiss me or stay up there and glare at me?”

She slid up beside him, rolling to her side to look at him. Zar put his hand around the back of her head and urged her into a kiss. His lips were soft, and his tongue relayed lust. A small voice in Blaze’s mind strained to warn her that what she was doing was insane. It was a voice lost to her desires. Blaze had been living in illusions for far too long. Her body wanted the feel of reality and the warmth of sex. It was what she wrote about and dreamed about, and now she needed it. Her hand floated over the muscular grooves of his chest. His skin was warm and covered with a light coating of hair which tickled her palm. Zar was slowly slipping his hand down her side, his fingers caressing her skin like a soft, warm breeze. His tongue was dancing around hers, a wet embrace that seemed to sizzle in her mind. Blaze was lost to the sensations as she rolled over him, staring into his magnificent blue eyes. His abdomen was beneath her, caressing her inner legs. It was a wondrous sensation that she had missed immensely. “Am I going to hurt you if I’m on top?”

Zar slowly shook his head, a slight smile playing on his lips. “Not at all,” he replied in a sultry voice.

The look in his eyes was seductive, the feel of his hands upon her legs enticing. Zar was encouraging her with his gaze, and it was an expression she had long since forgotten the truth of. Blaze felt the swell of his dick against her ass and lifted her body, sliding down over him. She mewled softly, small spasm pulsing within her. She leaned forward, flexing her hips slightly as she ran her tongue over Zar’s lips. He plunged his hands into the back of her hair, his tongue thrusting into her mouth. Blaze remembered the sensation it invoked, warmth flowing from the kiss down into her groin. All hesitation was gone, and she rocked over him and then leaned back to place her hands upon the mattress. Zar sat up slightly on one elbow, watching her as he parted her pussy lips and began to stroke her clit. Blaze was struck by a feeling of wanting, her muscles grabbing his dick as she rocked over him. The friction was heating her nerves and sending her higher into oblivion. Zar grunted, the sound deeply enticing, and Blaze heard herself crying out softly. The sensation built as the spasms came harder and faster until the feel of his dick inside her was everything. There was nothing else but the need for climax. She was panting for air, his finger caressing her clit as the pulsing sensation swelled and her muscles exploded around him. Blaze heard herself screeching as if from someone else’s mouth, the eruption of throbbing nerves blocking everything else from her mind. In a distant place she heard Zar snarl, his hips crashing into her thighs as he joined her in release.

Zar grabbed two sections of hair that had fallen over her stomach and pulled her forward. Blaze caught herself with her hands to either side of his head, staring deeply into his eyes. “I can honestly say I forgot what that felt like. Oh shit!”

Zar released her hair and ran his palms up her sides and into her scalp. “I have to admit that was incredible.” He urged her down into a gentle kiss, making it last for an extremely long time before he flipped her over. It was Zar’s turn to straddle her, and he leaned on his elbows, drawing tiny circles on her cheeks with his fingernail. “Didn’t you say something about forgetting how to do that? You are full of shit, lady. You move like silk, and I don’t believe how flexible your legs are. That didn’t hurt your knees?”

“No, I can put my knees up on my chest if I want to. It’s not my favorite position though. I wanted to feel your body moving against mine, and it felt great. I’m tired all of a sudden.”

“Me, too.” Zar pushed back a strand of her hair and then sat up, pulling the throw blanket off the bottom of the bed. He tugged it up over them and then lay down on his back. “How do you like to sleep?”

She leaned up, kissing him and then rolling to her side. “I have a slight problem with breathing on occasion, and I always sleep on my side. I snore, by the way.”

“Oh, how cute. So do I.”

She snuggled back into him and urged his arm up over her. Zar caressed her face, enjoying it as she sucked his fingers into her mouth.

Blaze brought her hand up, lacing her fingers through his and then kissing his knuckles. “I hate you, Zackery Andrew Russ. I don’t want to like you so much. I wanted some hot sex and then to go back to my life.”

“The best-laid plans often go asunder. I’m glad to know that you hate me. It means I have a chance that you might come to love me. Close your eyes and dream of us.”

Blaze sat up feeling startled and jumped as Zar put a hand to her back. “Bad dream, Blaze?”

“No,” she said, shaking her head. “I don’t think so, anyway. What time is it? I gotta call and see if Nan took care of the dogs. Shit, if she went out, they are starving and…”

“Whoa, stop. I called her a couple of hours ago. The dogs are fine. She fed them and let them out. She has a term paper do, and she is doing some reading. She will hang out with them and keep them company this weekend. Nicky has a gig in Vermont and won’t be back until Tuesday. She said to make sure I told you that
Star
is really warped, and she is going to be needing your pink pal.”

Blaze burst into laughter, dropping her face into the pillow. “What an ass that child is. If my mother only knew, she would have never suggested that Nan come live with me. I’m going to kill her when I get home.” She turned to look at him, her momentary embarrassment gone. “What are you doing on the tablet?”

“I was checking on some stocks. Why did you turn scarlet? What’s star, and what’s a pink pal?”

“
Star
is one of the later books in my series that may or may not get published. I told you that Amber gets involved with Margon’s brother. In this book, she is with both of them at once. Something I saw on one of the porn sites that David was so good at finding. I told Nan that she couldn’t read it because it wasn’t finished. I take it that she decided to read it anyway. I really have to put a pass code on my computer.”

“Is that a fantasy? Two men at once?”

“I don’t know. Maybe? It was something new in the progression of sexual things the characters get into.”

“Do you get turned on while you are writing?”

“Yeah, usually. The more turned on I get, the more elaborate the scenes. Sometimes I really get into it, and I sit with my eyes closed while I type. I envision what it feels like and write it. It’s a one-time thing, and if I go back and read it afterward, the physical result isn’t the same.”

Zar set the tablet to the side and slid up behind her. She leaned back slightly as he began to massage her shoulders. “So what’s the pink pal?”

“This is embarrassing. It’s a gel replica of a man’s anatomy. I was washing it one morning, and Nan caught me. She breaks my balls about it even though she has three or four of her own.”

Zar tickled her, making her jump and squirm in his grasp. “So why are you embarrassed? Vibrators obviously have their advantages. They are not usually as good as the real thing, but they relieve an ache.”

“You don’t need to be eighteen to buy an aspirin, but you have to be an adult to purchase a sex toy. What world did you grow up in where sexual deviance isn’t taboo?”

“I grew up in a world with a single mother who often supplemented our income with prostitution. If you quote me on that, I’ll deny it. She was very discreet in the men she dealt with. She was also very open about her sexual ideas. It’s part of the reason I’m a wealthy man. I found myself growing up around some very powerful and influential men. When I needed help getting my business started, they helped the wheels of life grind a little quicker. I didn’t abuse their generosity, and they supplied the keys to unlock the needed doors. Once I built up a reputation, my business grew on its own. I was also left with some different views on what’s proper. If you really feel uncomfortable about me knowing that you have a vibrator, then look in the bedside table. As I said, they serve their purpose.”

Blaze turned her head to look at him, her eyes wide with surprise. “After David passed away I found this pink plastic replica of a female vagina. You don’t have one, do you?”

“Yes, I do. It’s pink flesh tone and made of the same gel, just in a different shape.”

“Didn’t you say that you have a twin brother? Did you grow up together?”

“Yes. We also have a sister. She lives in Dakota with her husband and their two children. My brother lives up in Massachusetts. He is the black sheep of the family and usually calls me when he wants money or help. I can’t turn him down. He’s my blood. I just wish he would get his life together. I haven’t heard from him in about six months, and he is due. Do you have any siblings?”

“My brother, who, unlike me, remembers the abuse my mother shelled out on him. Maybe fifteen years ago, he caught her hitting his son. He sold his house and moved out. I e-mail him on occasion, but I’ve been sworn to secrecy. He said that if I ever tell my mother that I’ve spoken to him, it will be the last I hear from him. It puts me in an odd position, but I respect his request.”

“You don’t remember anything?”

“No, not really. I have one very clear memory that my mother adamantly denies ever happened. I don’t know what I did. My mother made me stand in the center of the living room, and she was walking around me in a circle screaming at me. I don’t know if she was hitting me or not, but I think she was. It’s a vague memory at best, and the only thing I know for sure is that by ten years old, I had the ability to shut out reality. I would go into my mind and lose touch with everything real. I suppose maybe you would call them blackouts in an adult. During my first driving lesson, the teacher was yelling, and I almost got us both killed. I simply zoned out to get away from his voice, and if he hadn’t had a set of controls on his side, we would have gone headlong into a tree. Somehow that knowledge makes me leery of finding out what did or didn’t happen. If something pushed me to a point of being able to slip away from my flesh, it must have been traumatic.”

“That’s a scary thought. How could anyone be cruel to a child? I have never understood that. My mother was the best. She very rarely yelled at us for anything. I think that as my brother got older it really upset her. She was forever bailing him out of trouble. My sister and I tried to keep an eye on him, but it was not easy. Did you ever want children?”

“That is a hard question to answer. David was always like a child. He liked expensive toys and his freedom. He worked, and we were reasonably well off, but I didn’t see a place in our lives where children would fit in. I wasn’t ready to take on a child by myself, and that is what would have happened. David would have resented the child for taking up all of my time. I didn’t want a child that badly. It’s something I’ve regretted as I got older. Now I’m too old to think about bringing a child into this world.”

Zar wrapped his arms around her, sliding up close against her back. “I wish I could help, but obviously I can’t. I wanted kids so much. I suppose I could adopt one, but it would be unfair to the child. I travel too much, and it wouldn’t be a stable life. I suppose this is as good a time as any to mention this. I have to go to Upstate New York on Monday morning. I’ll be gone for a couple of days at least. There are some problems with a mall that my company is designing and building. No chance you could go with me, is there?”

She leaned her head back, kissing him and then shaking her head. “I can’t. Nan is great, but it would be a lot to dump the dogs on her with no warning. I have a book to finish and a signing on Wednesday in Bridgeport. As a matter of fact, I had twenty things listed on eBay that were due to close sale this morning, and they are hanging with no invoices sent. I have a good reputation for fast replies and shipping. I hate to leave twenty sales hanging until tomorrow night.”

Zar leaned back and handed her his tablet. “Type away. I’m starved. I’ll go see if there is anything to eat besides cheese and chocolate-covered fruit. Do you like coffee, and if so, how?”

“Very light with no sugar. I have got to get one of these. This tablet is excellent.” Blaze typed in her password as Zar slipped off the bed. She smiled up at him, her fingers still floating over the keys as he headed toward the door. “Hey, Zar.”

“Hey what?”

“I hate you. I feel incredible with you. You are a very special man.”

“The feeling is mutual,” he replied as he walked back over and put his fingers to her chin. She raised her face to him, and Zar kissed her greedily.

Blaze whined as he pulled away and, with a snort, walked from the room. She yelled after him, “You have a gorgeous ass,” and then went back to her typing as she listened to his laughter.

Her hands flew over the keyboard as she copied and pasted the same sender’s message into every invoice. When they were completed, she checked her e-mail and replied to a few inquiries. She shut the browser down and flipped the screen to create a drawing pad. The scent of freshly brewed coffee drifted into the room as she sketched. “Hey, Zar, what’s taking so long? My stomach is groaning from the smell of the coffee.”

He appeared at the door and smiled. “You could come out and help me. What are you doing?”