Until Time Stands Still (8 page)

 "But you can't trust me with your heart.” He said.

            She pressed her lips together. It says something when your first date is spent hiding from the hit man trying to kill you, and it says even more when you find yourself enjoying it, simply because of who is with you. If she was totally honest with herself, she was really starting to like him. Maybe it was a bit of hero worship, but then again…it could be more. Finally, she nodded. “I trust you.”

            “Good.” He whispered. “Because I loved kissing you.” She thought he was going to kiss her again, but instead he stood up. “We need to get this shelter built before it gets any darker.”

            “Oh.” She was slightly disappointed there wouldn’t be any more kissing. His lips on hers were soft, gentle and made her ache for more. The simple touch sent fire through her, waking up the passion she had never felt for her husband. Or anyone else ever. 

            They worked together to build their shelter. There was long heavy branch that Mykel leaned into a fork in a nearby tree, so that one end was taller than the other. They leaned the other narrow logs along both sides of it, to build walls. Together they weaved long cedar branches through it and layered even more on top of the makeshift frame. Mykel crawled into the tiny shelter and made a bed of the remaining cedar branches. Then he opened his bag and pulled out a large rolled up tarp. He laid it down on top of the makeshift bed and spread it out so they could cover themselves with the half of it they weren’t laying on. She was pushing leaves and other debris up against the bottom edges of their shelter, to help block the cold like he taught her.

            “Well, I’ve slept in worse.” He said, pronouncing it liveable. “Get in here before you freeze.”

            She crawled in next to him, backing into the shelter on her hands and knees. “There’s not much room in here.” She said, apologetically. She nearly kicked him in the face. He caught her foot and chuckled.

            “That’s so that our body heat will warm our shelter and we won’t have to build a fire.”

            “Oh.” She hunkered down next to him.

            “Gods woman! Your feet are freezing!” He howled.

            “Sorry.” She was freezing.

            “Here, take my extra socks and put them on.” He dug around in his pack and pulled out a pair of wool socks. They shifted around so that she could sit up and pull them on.

            “Get over here and let me warm you up.” He said.

            She eyed him suspiciously.

“You’re still cold; we need to warm up your body temperature. The best way to do that is to cuddle up and let my body heat warm you.” He explained with a big grin.

            “Where did you learn all this stuff?” She asked. “The military right?” She sat next to him.

            “Something  like that.” He said, lying back down. He pulled her into his arms and began to rub her arms and back briskly.

            “Tell me about your life.” She said. “Do you live in the city?” She asked shyly. He threw the tarp blanket over them both, and pressed her into his chest.

            “No. I don’t.” He said. He cringed, cursing at himself. For some reasons, he found that he couldn’t seem to lie to her as easily as he could to other people. What the hell was that about?

            “Well, where do you live?” She asked.

            “I’ve lived everywhere.” He finally said. In every time.

             “Which place is your favorite place?” She asked.

            “Right here, with you.” He confessed. He found himself surprised that it was so true. He really didn’t want to be anywhere, in any time, but he wanted her. Every instinct called to him to stay with her, and protect her, and to make her his forever. He frowned in the dark. Forever wasn’t very likely, unless he could convince her to go back with him.

            “Oh.” She breathed.

            “Here is pretty damn awesome.” He kissed her again, softly, gently, gauging her reaction. When she leaned in for another, it was as if a dam broke between them. The kiss turned passionate, almost frantic as their tongues duelled. He couldn’t stop kissing her.

            Damn, the man can kiss. He tasted like musk and cedar. His kisses made her feel lightheaded, dizzy almost. In an instant her whole body was alive with electricity, every nerve on fire. He kissed down her neck to a hollow at her collarbone and she hissed in pleasure as he licked it, arching her whole body into him. He rolled them, so that he was on top of her. He stared down at her, both of them gasping.

            “Do you want this?” He asked, hoarsely.

            She nodded slowly. God help her, she wanted him.

            “Say the words.” He said, lowering his head down to her lips, so he breathed the words into her. “Be sure. Tell me you want me. Here, now, in this moment. No matter what else happens.”

            “This…us…I need you more than I've ever needed anyone before. It scares the hell out of me. I’ve never done anything like this, because no one has ever made me feel…anything…the way you do.” She confessed.

            He stared down at her, stunned. It was as if she was looking back into his soul, searing him with her eyes, capturing his heart with her words. “I think you’re perfect for me.” He whispered, and then lost himself in her kiss. Just the touch of her hand on his shoulder and her fingers at the nape of his neck made him burn for her. He settled down on top of her, sinking into the kiss and letting it take them both away, lost in the moment.

            Mykel was breathing heavily, eager to have this woman in the most intimate way but refusing to rush the moments of the first exploration. She was gorgeous, and he wanted to savour every inch of her skin as they kissed and she undressed him. He knew this was the woman he had been looking for and he would do anything to make sure they had every night after this first moment. Finally naked, he drank her in, as she did him. She didn’t blush or try to hide her body from him, but smiled gently up at him. That was all the encouragement he needed.  He wrapped her in his arms, kissing her deeply and passionately as he ground against her, "You are so beautiful," he murmured into the kisses.

            “You’re pretty studly yourself.” She gasped, when his mouth lowered to her breast to tease her. Desperate to touch him, she moved her hand down between their bodies. The simple movement of her exploring him, her soft hand against him nearly made him burst. He groaned and nipped at her shoulder.

            “You’re playing with fire, baby.” He gasped, grabbing her hand. He would lose his last shred of gentlemanly self-control if she kept that up. She pouted and he laughed and bit her lower lip. “You little minx.” He growled, pinning her wrist above her head.

            She gasped when he lowered his head to suckle her nipple. Sparks flew when he scraped his teeth over it. Everything low in her belly tightened and she burned. Ached for more. She had never felt so alive, so wanting in her life. She could hear her heart skip a beat when his wicked mouth moved lower, teasing her bellybutton. She moaned when he licked all around it. Need pooled at her core and she couldn’t resist opening herself to him. Offering herself.

            He chuckled and took the hint, kissing slowly downward, teasing her, nipping at her tender skin, licking away the sting of it. His mouth hovered over her, breathing in her special scent. Gently he blew on her, and she arched up to him, like an offering to the gods. He lowered his mouth to her hot core and partook, teasing and tasting, while her body shook and she writhed in pleasure, the soft purring sounds she made quickly turning to passionate cries for more. He growled softly when he felt her hands come down to his head, her fingers in his hair, holding him to her. “Don’t stop.” She whispered. “It feels so good.” He lifted her hips and ate from her like a starving man, driving her up higher, and higher, suckling and swirling his tongue, until she arched her back and screamed her pleasure into the night, her whole body shaking and trembling. It was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen in his life.

            She was still trembling, gasping for air when he moved up between her legs. “Open your eyes, sweetheart.” He whispered. She struggled to do as he asked, still quaking, trying to remember how to breathe.

            “I need you now. Are you ready for me?” His voice shook with need.

            She nodded, and gasped when he slid inside her for the very first time. He took her slowly, letting her adjust. “Oh, you feel amazing!” He gasped, sliding a bit farther into her tight channel. “Give me all of you.” He sank slowly into her, feeling her tighten rhythmically around him, pulling him into her, until he could go no farther. For a split second, he thought he would burst right then and there.

            He was like hot steel inside her, burning her. No. Branding her, from the inside out. In that moment, she knew…she belonged to him. Liquid fire raced through her as he began to move, slowly at first, then faster and harder, each movement sending her higher and higher, the dance between them as ancient as time itself. They stared into each other’s eyes, lost in the moment, in each other. The intensity of his eyes only made her ache for more, burn hotter for him. She could feel the wave building, taking her over the edge again and again while she clung to him, desperately trying to hold onto something, anything. He held her tightly as she shook around him.

Mykel was in heaven as her body writhed beneath him, the pressure on his cock milking his own orgasm from him. He growled low in contrast to her howl as they both came and he collapsed on top of her, trying not to crush her as he held her close, both their hearts beating frantically. He laid his head on her breasts as she held him, both of them shaken to the core at what they just shared. After a few minutes, he rolled off her and he pulled her with him to half lie on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her, and trailed his fingers gently over her shoulders and back as he held her.

“Please tell me this isn't a dream.” She whispered. “It can't be a dream. My dreams are never that beautiful.” He said, hugging her to him. He was never, ever going to let her go.

"Mykel " Her voice trembled.

"Yes," He answered in the stillness. “I don't have to be alone anymore, do I?" She asked.

"No, sweetheart," he said softly. "You’re mine now. No matter where I am, or where you are. Always know you belong with me. You are mine. I’ll always be yours.” He vowed.

He’d had other women before her, sure, but it had never been like what he had just shared with her. No one had ever made him lose himself, his monsters, and just be. She rocked him to his very core, crawled inside his blackened heart, and lit a fire in it. She took a part of him that he didn’t even know he had, and that terrified him. He was pretty content with who he was, the bad things he’d been forced to do. The choices he made. But there in that moment, holding her in his arms, as she slept, he found himself wanting to be a better man. Not because she didn’t accept him for exactly who he was, but because she deserved better. Needed better from him. For the first time in his existence, his heart did more than just pump blood. For the first time, his heart was fully alive, and he was terrified.

***************

            The sound of a branch snapping woke Mykel. His eyes shot open and he immediately searched for his weapon, laying alongside him. As gently as he could, he moved Isabelle away from him and began to crawl out of their hidey hole.