What a Goddess Wants (12 page)

Several
lucani
howled at the bright moon, the wolves a sleek gray or midnight black, while a
strega
bent over a moon bowl set on a tree stump and her male companion held an athame in his hands.

In his peripheral vision, Cal saw Tessa take a seat on one of the benches closest to the altar. He felt her gaze follow him as he circled the room, checking for any other access points. He found only the entrance they’d used, and he walked back to that door to flip down the solid iron bar that acted as a lock. Probably wouldn’t do a damn bit of good if someone really wanted in, but still…

Finally, he walked back to the altar. The top slab was as wide as a twin bed and as slick and shiny as glass. He’d probably slide off the damn thing.

Christ, was he really going to go through with this?

He reached up to scratch the nagging itch at the back of his skull.

“So… what? You want me to just strip down and spread myself out here?”

Her laughter sent a wave of lust so fucking hot through his blood, he thought he’d come right then.

He turned to find Tessa standing only inches from him, smiling up at him. “I think we have time for a little foreplay, unless you’re really that eager to get down to business.”

He crossed his arms across his chest so he didn’t grab her, strip her, and spread her on the altar so he could worship her with his mouth. “So why don’t you tell me how this is supposed to work, Tess.”

“Well…” She walked over to run her hand along the top of the altar and circled until she was on the opposite side from Cal. “The idea of a sacrifice is to offer something to the gods in order for them to hear your plea. In this case, I’m hoping the energy we create by having sex will give my plea the necessary power to reach the Involuti. Uni, in particular, since this is her temple, and, theoretically at least, she should be monitoring what goes on here.”

“The Involuti have been gone for centuries. You can’t tell me someone hasn’t tried this before.”

Her brows lifted as she faced him across the altar. “Are you trying to find out if you’ll be the first sex sacrifice on this altar?”

He shook his head. “I wasn’t born yesterday. I’m sure this table’s seen more action than a by-the-hour hotel. But that’s my point. No one’s heard from the Involuti. Not since they left. What makes you think you will?”

Doubt crept like ice through Tessa’s veins, making her shiver.

And that’s the problem, isn’t it?

She had no faith that she’d be able to reach Uni, much less convince the Great Mother Goddess to listen to her.

Why would Uni hear Tessa’s plea when she’d not answered anyone else’s in all the centuries since Uni and the rest of the founding gods of the Etruscans had returned to Invol and hidden the gate?

“Shit, Tessa.” Cal sighed, his expression one of self-disgust. “Look, forget I said that.”

Shaking her head, she gave him a brief smile. “No, you’ve got a valid point. I just don’t know what else to do.”

“Then we’ve got nothing to lose.”

So true. She’d already lost so much that she was obsolete. And really sick of feeling sorry for herself.

Maybe, just maybe, she could find a way to make this work. Especially with Cal by her side. Or on top. Or beneath.

Yes, sex with Cal was much more pleasant to contemplate than failure.

She let her gaze eat him up from head to toe. The man truly was a prime specimen of masculinity. Definitely not one of the pretty boys she typically found to amuse herself.

No, Cal wouldn’t bow to her every whim or fawn over her beauty. Not that she needed to be fawned over. Well, maybe a little fawning would be nice.

It always made her feel… loved.

Of course, Cal didn’t love her. She still wasn’t sure why he’d agreed to protect her. He hadn’t seemed to like her very much in the beginning, though he did seem to be warming to her.

Or maybe that was just the sex. The sex was really good.

As her lips began to curve in a smile, his gaze narrowed. Before she could say anything, though, he beat her to it.

“So, how do you want to do this?”

Her smile grew. “The normal way, I suppose. Unless you have a few more kinks that I don’t know about. Would you like me to conjure up some rope? Or would you like me to tie you down this time?”

Was that curiosity she saw flash in his eyes? She’d bet her last ounce of power that the man had never been anything but the dominant one in bed.

He crossed his arms over his broad chest. “Got a secret fetish, Lady?”

Did she? “Can’t say that I do. Although I must say I enjoyed having you tie me up.”

“Then maybe you should conjure up those ropes.”

Oh, the man simply took her breath away when he decided to turn on the dominant charm. And she did mean dominant.

Even though he stood across the altar from her, he still loomed over her. She wasn’t tall and leggy like Turan. She was petite and curved, and she’d never had any complaints from her lovers. Not that they would dare criticize her to her face, but most of her bed partners had seemed genuinely happy to bed her. In fact, they’d been so genuinely happy that most of them would have bent over backwards to please her.

Which had gotten old more than five centuries ago.

“What are you thinking, Tessa?”

Cal’s soft query refocused her attention on him. Those beautiful gray eyes had a laser focus on hers.

“I’m thinking you should be naked.”

“Maybe I’m thinking the same thing.”

Now this was more like it. This wasn’t dire consequences and end-of-the-world gloom. This was fun.

Her heart pounded in a steadily increasing rhythm as her sex moistened and clenched. She swallowed and let her lips part to draw in much-needed air. His gaze dropped to her lips and suddenly she couldn’t breathe. There just wasn’t enough oxygen in the room.

“Take your clothes off for me, Tessa. Start at the top and work your way down.”

Her stomach clenched with desire at the heat in his voice. She had her hands on the first button of her sleeveless white cotton top before she realized she’d reached for it.

No, she needed to slow down. They had hours before daybreak, when they would need to be back at Salvatorus’s house. And this time she was determined to make the man sweat.

Without releasing his gaze, she slowly worked each button through its hole. They gave up without a fight, but she made sure the shirt didn’t gap open and reveal too much before she was ready.

She wanted him to beg for her mercy.

When her fingers reached the last button, Cal finally let his gaze slip south. She swore she felt his gaze like a physical caress against her skin, trailing heat wherever it touched.

The shirt had only parted a few inches but she was naked beneath it, and she knew he could see the hint of curved flesh in that gap. Brushing her fingertips along her plump curves, she watched his eyes narrow and his cheeks flush to a ruddy hue.

With deliberate motions, she allowed her fingers to slip beneath the shirt to find the pebbled tip of her breast. She sucked in a breath at the shiver of sensation that coursed through her at the touch, the tug that tightened and moistened her sex.

Her eyelids fluttered, wanting to close as her fingertips rimmed her areola, sending shivers of electricity through her to her clit. Stroking down, she cupped the mounds and marveled at the softness of her skin on the underside of her breasts and at the way Cal watched her every move through slitted eyes.

She swore she should be able to see steam rising between them. The air itself felt heavy and hot as she drew it into her lungs, having to work harder for each breath. With one final stroke to the underside of her breast, her fingers started down, brushing against the skin of her stomach, zings of electricity piercing straight to her clit.

Her pussy heated and moistened, her sheath contracting, begging for him to fill it. She imagined the sense of fullness, the ecstasy of his possession, and her muscles clenched in anticipation.

Her lips parted to draw in air and she watched him do the same.

As her fingers reached the catch on her thin denim skirt, he blew out a hard breath, the harsh sound adding to her own arousal. Her abs tightened at the metallic hiss of her zipper releasing, and her breasts ached for his touch.

She imagined Cal putting his lips around them and sucking them into his mouth, flicking at the pebbled tips with his tongue.

The man had such a talented tongue. Just the thought of it made her weak with lust, made her lips part and—

“Push it off, Tessa. Now.”

She gasped as her eyes shot open to stare up into Cal’s, now directly above her. She hadn’t realized she’d closed them while she taunted him and herself. She’d gotten lost in sensation, lost in expectation.

And Cal had taken the opportunity to round the altar. He stood right next to her, only inches separating them.

She gazed at him through a haze of sexual hunger, noting how lust made the muscles in his jaw clench tight and throb beneath the skin. How his gray eyes grew stormy and dark.

And how much rigid strength he held in his body. So much control. She wanted to break that control, wanted him to reach for her and tear the clothes off her body.

Her muscles quivered with need, her stomach jumping with anticipation.

Still, this was fun, too.

With her thumbs hooked in the skirt’s waistband, she wiggled her hips from side to side to get the tight denim down her legs. Okay, maybe she didn’t need to do the little shimmy, but Cal certainly seemed to enjoy it, if the muscles jumping along his jaw were any indication.

When her skirt fell to her ankles, it got caught on her wedge-heeled sandals so she kicked those off and stepped out of the skirt.

Now he really did tower over her, and every feminine atom in her body lit up like fireworks on the Fourth of July.

“Take the top off now.”

She cocked her head to the side as she reached for her shirt but stopped short of actually touching it. “I think it’s my turn to ask for something.”

One side of his mouth curled up in the most mouthwatering way. “And what makes you think that?”

“Well, I have taken off my skirt and shoes.”

“Fine.” He reached for his belt, unbuckled it, and withdrew it from the loops of his pants with a slither. Folding it in half, he held it in his hands, giving it a slight snap that made her wonder what it would feel like tapping against her skin.

“Shirt,” he said. “Now.”

Ooh, the growl in his voice sent a blast of heat directly to her sex.

Shrugging her shoulders, she let the shirt slide down her arms and puddle on the floor at her feet.

Now his gaze dropped to her chest and she felt the weight of it like a physical caress against her skin. Her nipples tightened even more, if that was possible.

“You have the most beautiful tits.”

She couldn’t help herself. She had to laugh. “You’re such a charmer.”

He shook his head, his gaze stuck on her breasts. “Never said I was tame, baby.”

She gave another wiggle, making sure the mounds bounced just the tiniest bit. She didn’t wear a bra. Gravity didn’t mean much to a goddess. She was as she would always be. Exactly one hundred and fifteen pounds and five feet two inches, a perfect C-cup with absolutely no sag, and with a flat stomach and rounded hips.

“Tame is for dogs and accountants.”

“Gods damn, you really are fucking beautiful.”

Pleasure suffused her from head to toe. She’d always known she pleased men with her looks, but never had that meant more than it did at this moment. With this man. Whose cock bulged and strained against his zipper in the most tempting of ways.

Her mouth dried with wanting.

She had to swallow before she could speak again. “I think I deserve a little more than your belt.”

Lifting his gaze from her chest, he stared into her eyes for several seconds before setting the belt on the altar at his side, still within reach. Then he grabbed the hem of his shirt and whipped it over his head.

And her mouth became as dry as the Sahara. Oh, Blessed Goddess, the man should have been a god himself.

He had a truly magnificent chest, broad and hard and so well defined. Even though he couldn’t be in the sun, his skin held a slight tan that appeared even darker in the light of the oil lights. The muscles of his pecs bunched and shifted beneath that skin, though he wasn’t flexing or showing off. He merely had to move his arms, the biceps bulging with strength, to make his body respond in beautiful ways.

Her lips longed to suck on those flat brown nipples, peaked and hard. She wanted to taste him, bite him, and when she’d done that, she’d move down to the ridges of his abs, so clearly defined.

He had a faint sprinkling of dark hair over his chest that narrowed to a line that disappeared into the waistband of his black pants. She wanted to let her tongue follow that line as her fingers worked the button on those pants. She wanted to get her mouth on his cock again, to suck on him until he came in her mouth.