The Wanting (D'Shar Men) (6 page)

He was dressed down in a pair of worn dark denim pants, a black tank top, and his favorite pair of black Converse. A black baseball hat had been an afterthought to help conceal his identity. The walk from the parking lot had been too long once he caught her scent on the wind.

“She said they had a red blanket positioned between the trees on the hill side,” Bastian said.

“I know exactly where they are,” Phelan whispered. His eyes locked with hazel as Zasha looked up from her conversation with Taye and froze.

The tension was palatable as sparks of electricity coursed through his body. His lids lowered with lust, and he bit the inside of his cheek. If he went after her like some caveman, she would only run again. The sun had begun its descent into the horizon, peachy-purple water-colored sky, the perfect back drop to the scarlet button down dress that encased Zasha body. Her toned legs seemed to go on forever in the red and white polka dot espadrilles with a bow on the top.

Her thick locks had been tamed into a ponytail that caressed her back. Her eyes were wide with shock in her oval face, and the white teeth that bite down on her lush lips made him choke back a moan.

“You okay, bro?” Bastian asked.

“Yeah, let’s find a place to sit.”

Phelan led them to a cluster of trees about a hundred yards away from where the girls sat. It was a struggle to maintain his conversation with Bastian, but he managed. The feel of her eyes on him, a burn he rejoiced in. If her stare was any indication, Zasha wasn’t as unaffected as she made out to be. He’d worried that the biological response might be different for a human. But now he could see it was stubbornness. The first strains of the
Swan Lake
symphony weaved a spell of romance, and he sent a silent thank you to the Northern Kentucky orchestra when he saw her stand from the corner of his eyes. Her stroll was brisk as she ate up the distance between them and lowered her body to sit next to his.

His eyes remained on the orchestra as he did his best to act as a human would. Her proximity had kicked the
Wanting
in to third gear, and he was grateful for the dark. Because it hid the way his amber eyes had turned black. Another side effect of the
Wanting
.

The darkness settled over them and wrapped them in its embrace like a blanket. The false intimacy it created along with their position between the trees concealed them from prying eyes. That knowledge made him bold.

“Tell me what you want me to do,” he said. His large hand slid up to free her hair from its constraint.

The heavy weight wrapped around his fingers. The contact between them served as a balm to the frayed nerves worn with each day that passed. Before they were civilized, his people’s behavior was deplorable. Public mating rituals were performed in front of the pack to prove their claim to all, and a fight to the death over the woman of their choice was considered normal. Much of the behavior had been bred out, and what was left was usually controllable. Her reluctance to admit their bond pushed him to the brink of his limitations. He’d never felt as alien as he did this past week.

“Relief, I need relief.” Zasha’s voice had gone husky with need. Her slim fingers wound in his hair as her body trembled.

“Okay,” he said.

Phelan bent to take her lips with his own. The sweet flavor of peaches danced along his tongue as her nails scrapped his scalp. Her full lips were pillow soft against the gentle nips she administered turned aggressive as they moved from his mouth to his neck and back again. Tiny white teeth marked their territory, and he loved every moment. Zasha’s urgency was a delicious torture that overrode rational thought as he lowered her body down to the soft blanket below. Under the concealment of night they were nothing more than two lovers ensnared by the romance found in the classical chords.

“God, Phelan, I’ve missed this. I’m so cold when you’re not around.”

“Then let me warm you,” he whispered into her ear.

His tongue traced the delicate shell of her ear before he indulged in the column of her neck. Zasha’s content sighs and the feel of her nails on his back beneath his shirt spurred him on. His hips ground into hers, the hardness between them unmistakable.

“Phelan,” she moaned. Her long legs spread as wide as she could manage in the pencil skirt fit of her dress.

“Shh, you have to be quiet.”

The corners of his mouth twitched upward at her hushed protest when he rolled off her and propped himself up onto an elbow. His lips dipped to cover hers once more as he eased up her skirt. His hand skimmed beneath the crisp cotton of her dress and ran along the damp cloth barrier. Her cream had soaked through her panties and rolled down her thighs.

“I love how wet you get for me, Zash.”

“Phe.” The sound of his name shortened on her lips made his cock twitch. The unconscious familiarization made him growl. A flick of his wrist popped the elastic band off the cloth that barred his entrance. Thick digits drove inside her flooded tunnel. Her slick walls tight around his fingers as she rocked her hips.

“That’s right, Zash, take me inside you.”

Her vagina fluttered in response. She liked it when he told her what to do. When he took the control from her and pushed her boundaries. He added another finger and titled his thrust to hit the sweet spot inside her.

“Come all over my fingers, baby.”

He took her cries into his mouth as she convulsed, her pussy a vise grip around him as her cream overflowed. Phelan removed his hands and smoothed her skirt back down before he sucked his fingers into his mouth. The salty sweet flavor a tangy taste he relished as she slowly came back to Earth.

“Is that better, Zash?” he asked, voice strained as he adjusted his painful hard-on.

“Yes.”

Zasha voice had gone soft, and he could feel her mental retreat. He hooked an arm around her waist and eased her to set beside him as he tucked her beneath his shoulder. Damned if he’d let her run again so soon.

“Because it’s too much too fast! I don’t know you, and I sure as hell don’t trust some alien biology I’ve never heard about before.”

“What do you want from me, Zasha? The
Wanting
will become painful if we continue to ignore it. You don’t want to come together in a blinded lust. It’s too dangerous for you.”

“I don’t even know you,” she whispered, shaking her head.

“So take the time to get to know me, Zash. I can do human courtship.”

“I don’t know that you can. Every time we’re together we end up like this. Look at what we did in the middle of the park. They arrest people for what we did.”

A heavy sighed was pushed from his chest as he grew silent. The gears in his head churned as he sifted through solutions.

“We’ll try it your way, Zasha, push the physical contact off as long as we can and date.”

The words sounded strange on his tongue. It was a concept foreign to him. On his planet, once you found your mate it was like being married.

“You would do that for me?” she asked. The disbelief in her tone made his heart ache. She had so much to learn about him and his people.

“That and more, my Zash, now let’s enjoy the rest of our first date.”

****

“I can’t believe you brought me to the Festival of Lights,” Zasha said. A wide grin stretched across her red lips as they waited in line at the Cincinnati Zoo.

“Is this not acceptable form of entertainment on a date? “ Phelan asked. Dark head tilted as he frowned lightly. His apprehension was endearing, and she placed a hand on his shoulder to offer comfort.

“No, it’s perfect. It’s just not something I’ve done in years.”

The memories of trips made with her mother rose and caused an ache that was bittersweet. The last week had been one hell of a ride. Along with her acceptance of Phelan in her life, she had aired out the past she’d long avoided. She had done herself a serious disservice when she boarded up her history: lock, stock, and barrel. There was plenty of good she had shut out that way. That was all in the past, because now was a time for a fresh start.

She twined her fingers with Phelan’s and gave a shy smile as she peered at him through her lashes. Since that night in Devou Park, he’d been a model of good behavior. Hands, lips, and dirty words had been kept to himself. She knew it was at her request, but damn did she miss her naughty alien with black eyes and skin that glowed blue.

“Where are your thoughts, Zasha?” he asked.

Amber eyes aglow with knowledge as his lips curved into a smug smile that proved to be too much temptation to resist. Her high-heeled boots provided enough height for her to lean in and capture his soft pink lips with her own. The gentle caress of his mouth was all she allowed before she stepped away. Her face felt like it was on fire as he grinned, and she refocused his attention elsewhere.

“Look, the line moved.”

A tug of her hand put them into motion as they made their way to the booth, and he paid. She’d never asked him where he got his courtship knowledge. But it was definitely old school. He held doors, paid tabs, and gave compliments with an ease that made her melt. She never thought she’d be one for traditional roles. As an agent, she went out of her way to make sure her gender was unnoticed. Maybe that was why the change of pace felt so good.

“I’ve never been to the Festival of Lights.” Phelan admitted as they stepped through the gates into the spectacle of tiny blue Christmas lights that adorned the archway they walked beneath.

“Yes, we had night, and it was the same indigo that you have, but our stars are much larger, and brighter than the ones you see here.”

“I would love to see it.”

“I would love to show it to you. We have many holo vids, perhaps our next
date
could be spent viewing them with popcorn?”

“Smooth, Phelan, are you sure you haven’t done the courtship thing before?”

“No, but my youngest brother, Marsden, has spent many years on Earth, and he’s helped me, get the hang of things, as you’d say.”

The sound of the slang on his refined palate made her throw her head back and laugh. She enjoyed his company more than she should. But Zasha was honest enough to admit this courtship was nothing more than a delay of the inevitable. If they weren’t surrounded by a group of impressionable children with their parents, she’d have pulled him into a dark corner and snogged him senseless. She was way over her head, and they both knew it.

Warmth flowed inside of her and chipped away at the ice that encased her heart as they paused to take in the winter wonderland created by the PNC bank. A man who kept his word when it cost him was one she could trust in.