Night Embrace (Dark-Hunter #2) - Page 5
Sunshine pulled back, startled by Talon's frankness. But more than that, she was stunned by how much she she wanted the same thing from him, a man she barely knew at all. And yet there was no denying how much she wanted to make love to him.
How much she ached to caress every inch of that divinely powerful masculine body.
Her lust didn't seem wrong to her. It seemed oddly right and only natural. In a strange way it felt as if she did know him. As if they were supposed to be much more intimate than just strangers who had collided by happenstance out on a dark street.
She wanted him on a level she didn't comprehend.
"You don't beat around the bush, do you?" she asked flippantly.
"No," he said, his jet-black eyes burning her with their heated potency. "I don't."
The power of his desire rolled over her, captivating her. He was so intense, so mesmerizing. And she found herself inexplicably drawn to him.
He reached out and touched a lock of her hair. Desire coiled through her veins, making her throb.
Nowhere else did their bodies touch and yet she swore she could feel him with every single cell of her body.
She quivered with need.
With heat.
With desire.
He bent down and whispered in her ear, his breath tickling her skin. "I've always been a firm believer in seizing the moment. In taking what I want when I want it. And right now, Sunshine, I want you. I want to taste every inch of your body. To feel your breath on my neck while I make love to you. To take my tongue and explore every part of you until you beg me to stop."
She shivered at the way he said that. "Life is short, I suppose."
He gave a short laugh at that as he nuzzled her cheek with his lips. His whiskered skin teased hers and she shivered at the manly feel of him. "More so for some than for others."
Sunshine drew in a deep breath as seriousness settled back over them both. The mood of the room wasn't just serious, the air between them was rife with salacity.
With sexual electricity.
Talon moved his mouth dangerously close to hers.
Slowly.
Seductively.
Time was suspended as she waited for his lips to claim hers. As she waited to taste his passion again.
Then, he took her into his arms and kissed her so possessively that it made her breathless.
Sunshine moaned as she tasted him with her lips and with her heart. He invaded every sense she possessed. His muscles bunched and flexed under her hands as his tongue swept against hers. She heard him growl low and deep in his throat like some uncaged beast.
She shivered again.
She brushed her fingertips against the warm nape of his neck, playing with the soft, tender skin there before she ran her fingers upward, through the golden strands of his hair, letting them wrap around her flesh.
How she liked the way this man felt in her arms. The scent of leather and Talon invaded her head and made it reel. He surrounded her with the strong hardness of his body.
She felt his desire for her as his erection pressed against her stomach, and it ignited her own, making her ache for his body, his touch. She wanted him inside her so desperately it stunned her. Never in her life had she wanted a man like this.
He lifted her up in his arms, supporting her weight as he deepened his kiss. Effortlessly, his strong hands held her bottom against his hips so that his bulge pressed against her core. She moaned at the intimate contact with leather and man.
Kissing him back as hard as she could, she wrapped her legs around his waist.
She felt his satisfied laugh rumble out of his body. It made his stomach caress her between her legs, his chest brush against hers, enflaming her even more.
Oh, hon, what are you doing?
Sunshine heard her reasonable voice in her head. She hadn't had a one-night, or in this case one-day, stand since college. The one time she'd done it, she'd felt so sleazy afterward that she had sworn she'd never do it again.
And here she was on the verge of repeating that fiasco.
Good grief, she knew nothing about this man.
Not even his last name.
But for some reason, none of that mattered. The only thing she could focus on was how good he felt as she held him. How wonderful he'd looked in her bed, and the fact that she really liked him. More than she should. More than what made sense.
Right or wrong, she wanted to share her body with him.
No, she needed this. It was what she wanted deep down in her heart. And she'd always followed her heart-wherever it led her.
There would be no regrets about this. No second-guessing.
He slid the hem of her dress back, over her thighs. She shivered at the feel of the cool material crawling up her skin, followed by the heat of his hands. He glided his palms up the backs of her thighs until he cupped her bare bottom. He growled in pleasure, the sound deep and primal.
Needful.
"I like the way you feel, little Sunshine," he breathed against her lips.
Sunshine couldn't think straight with his large, strong hands on her naked skin. He dipped his head to her neck where his lips burned her. His teeth scraped her skin as he nipped it tenderly.
She was about to comment on how sharp his teeth were when he delivered a hot, shivery lick to her skin.
Her thoughts scattered.
The man was simply too delectable; she couldn't let him leave without sampling that lean, hard body. She pulled his T-shirt over his head and ran her hands over his chest and tattoo. Oh yeah, she wanted this!
She wanted him.
Talon gave her a tight-lipped smile as he saw the raw hunger in her dark brown eyes. He was going to savor this woman.
Every last tiny inch of her.
What with her passion and zest for living, he could only imagine how good a lover she would prove.
It had been a long time since he had found a woman who fascinated him. As a Dark-Hunter, he had chosen his lovers randomly, knowing he'd never see them again.
For centuries, he'd contented himself with one-night stands. With wanton women who wanted nothing more from him than the few hours of pleasure he could give them.
He had met them all in the dark of night.
Never in the light of day.
After minimal conversation to placate them, he had screwed them wildly, and in the end, they had gone their separate ways. Most of the time, he hadn't even bothered asking their names.
But in the back of his mind, he knew something was different today.
Something was different about Sunshine.
He couldn't count how many centuries had passed since he had last shared a real laugh with a lover.
And this woman made him laugh. She made him crazy.
Best of all, she made him burn.
Sunshine had stumbled into his world and turned it upside down. She'd touched the emotions he'd buried long ago. Made him feel strangely alive again, which for a man who had died fifteen hundred years ago was quite a feat.
She gave him feelings he didn't understand. He felt like a kid on Christmas morning, overloaded with sights and smells. His senses were overwhelming him with need.
With desire for her.
Licking his lips in anticipation, he ran his hand over her silken thigh, up to her hips. This woman had the finest ass he'd ever caressed. He pushed her dress up to her waist while she locked her ankles behind his back.
His head spun at the feel of her wrapped around him like this. The heat of her inner thighs burned his waist as he felt her wetness against his stomach.
Returning to her lips, he carried her to the bed and laid her down on the mattress. Without breaking his hold, he lay down on top of her and kissed her fully, deeply, as he ground his swollen groin against the part of her he couldn't wait to bury himself into. He sampled the warmth of her mouth and listened to her moans of pleasure.
Closing his eyes, he inhaled her unique scent and let it wash over him.
Sunshine wanted to weep at how good he felt on top of her. The leather of his pants caressed her intimately as his lips tormented hers. His braids tickled her neck with every movement he made. And his hands felt wickedly wonderful as he ran them over her body, seeking out every part of her.
She almost whimpered in protest when he moved away.
He pulled her dress from her and tossed it to the floor.
She felt more than just physically naked in front of him. For some reason she felt spiritually bare as well. It was as if he could see deep inside her somehow, as if he knew things about her no one else knew.
As if they were connected on a level that transcended their physical bonding.
At least she thought so until he returned to lie on top of her. Then her thoughts scattered again and she became one with the moment. It was strange, really, this sensation of him.
Sunshine hissed at how wonderful he tasted. All that lush, tawny skin made prickly by his masculine whiskers. She so loved the taste of a man's jaw.
No man had ever tasted more perfect.
She brought her hands around his waist, to his fly. His bulge was huge. Pulling back slightly, she watched his face as she opened his pants and touched him for the first time.
He closed his eyes and growled deep in his throat as he rocked himself gently against her hands. Oh, she liked the feel of him there. He was so hard and ready for her.
She laced her fingers through his short curls, moving her hand lower until she could cup the soft heat of him in her palm.
Talon moaned in pleasure. It felt so incredibly good to have her holding him like that. He'd had sex more times than he could count and yet there was something new about this experience.
Something fresh.
She pulled his pants down lower so that she could tuck her toes into them and pull them off. It wasn't until she frowned that they both remembered he still wore his boots.
"Oops," she said with a smile.
Talon chuckled, kissed her deeply, then rolled over to remove his boots. She rose up on her knees and leaned her naked body against his bare back, making him tremble from the feel of her breasts against his spine.
"I just love this tattoo," she said as she slowly traced it down his back with her tongue.
"I love when you do that," he said, tossing his boots and pants into the corner. He gripped the edge of the bed as she explored his back with her mouth.
"Does it have any special meaning?"
He closed his eyes as she returned to tracing the marks with her tongue. "They're Celtic symbols for protection, power, and longevity." Talon clenched his teeth at the irony. His uncle had had no idea what was awaiting his nephew when he had placed those markings on his skin. Just how long his life would be.
She gave one long, warm lick, then pulled back. "I can't believe your uncle did this. My father had a cow when he saw mine."
Talon looked at her over his shoulder. "You have a tattoo?"
She wrapped her left leg around his waist and showed him her inner ankle. It was a very small, stylized Celtic sun with the jagged symbol for creativity.
Smiling, he ran his hand over it. "Very nice."
"Yes, but it hurt for days. I can't imagine how much worse yours must have been."
She had no idea. Especially since his had been performed long before the days of sterilized needles and machinery. His uncle had meticulously tapped the design into his body over a three-month period. Some of it had gotten infected and only Nynia's herbal abilities had spared his life.
"It wasn't so bad."
"Ooo," she said teasingly, wrinkling her nose. "Mr. Tough Guy."
"Would you rather I say it hurt?"
"It never hurts to admit that you feel pain."
"Baby," he said gently. "I don't feel pain. Ever."
She looked at him in surprise. "Really? Not even a little?"
He shook his head as he clamped his emotions down. He didn't dare allow himself to feel the pain of all he'd lost. Even after all these centuries, it would destroy him.
"It's a waste of time and energy. It also drains the mind and makes it weary."
"But without pain, you can't have joy. It's the balance that makes us appreciate the extremes."
Now that was a deep concept. Very deep, considering they were sitting bare-assed on her bed. "Do you always philosophize while you're naked with a man?"
She nipped his shoulder impishly with her teeth. "It's rather hard to find a man who's willing to do that."
He dropped his gaze down to her breasts. "I imagine it would be a lot easier if you didn't look so damned good without your clothes on."
She moaned as he dipped his head and took one of her breasts into his mouth. She lay back on the bed, drawing him with her.
Talon sighed at the feel of her puckered areola under his tongue. He brushed his hand down the curve of her hip, over her soft thigh, and through the moist tangle of curls until he could touch the part of her he craved the most.
She groaned and shivered as he carefully separated the tender folds until he could tease her cleft.
Oh yeah, he wanted this part of her. Wanted to see her head thrown back against the pillows and hear her scream out loud while she came for him.
Sunshine clutched his head to her breast as she opened her legs wider, giving him access to her body. She ached and throbbed at the feel of his hand stroking her. And when he plunged his fingers inside, she cried out.
Her body burned for his in a most unbelievable way. It was hot and fierce and made her tremble with need. She'd never wanted a man as much as she wanted this one. She wanted to pull him close to her. Closer and closer until they truly melted into one being.
Unable to wait any longer, she reached down between their bodies so that she could guide him deep inside her.
They groaned in unison.
Sunshine arched her back, drawing him in even deeper.
He was so hard and hot, so full. She'd never felt anything better than him filling her.
He sat back on his legs and pulled her hips so that he could slide into her, slowly, deeply. It was a rolling rhythm that made her writhe from the intense pleasure of his intimate strokes.
She stared at him as he watched her with a tender look on his face.
"You are beautiful," he breathed, rolling his hips against hers and thrusting himself even deeper and harder inside her.
"You too," she said as she clutched at his knees.
His eyes darkened as he watched her and he gave himself over to their union. She'd never had a man make love to her like this. It was as if he were nothing but sex. As if he could feel nothing but her body.
He had such a way with his hips as he slid himself in and out, hard and deep. He teased her with his hands, his fingers stroking her in time to his thrusts. The pleasure of his touch permeated every fiber of her being.
And when she came, the orgasm was so intense that she screamed.
Talon growled at the sound of her ecstasy as her body clutched his. Crying out, she reached up and pulled him down on top of her.
Then, she did the strangest thing of all… she nuzzled his neck and face, raining kisses all over his cheek and shoulder.
Talon froze.
Her arms held him tight against her as she wrapped her entire body around his. The tenderness of her touch and actions pricked him, breaking through the chokehold he kept on his emotions.
It was as if she really cared for him. As if he meant something to her. As if she were making love with him.
Only one woman had ever held him like this…
He could barely breathe. For the first time in fifteen hundred years he actually felt as if he were making love to a woman, not just satisfying a primitive urge.
No, this wasn't meaningless sex.
He felt her. Felt connected to her. Felt as if they were something more than strangers with no ties to each other.
Her lips scorched his skin as she continued to nuzzle his neck and thrust herself against him. He held her tight and closed his eyes. His senses and emotions reeled from the pleasure of the moment.
When he came in her arms, he shivered to the core of his battered and weary heart.
He lay there, vulnerable and panicked.
No, he couldn't have felt that. He couldn't have felt her. It wasn't possible.
He was mistaken. What they had was sex. Incredibly great sex, but nothing more than that.
Sex.
Simple.
Basic.
Uncomplicated.
And he was going to prove it to himself one way or another…
Sunshine lay in complete satisfied bliss, breathing raggedly, drifting slowly back into herself. That was the most incredible orgasm she'd ever experienced. She couldn't believe the way he'd felt, the way he'd touched her.
She held his head close to her heart and felt his ragged breath falling against her breast. She cradled him with her entire body and just soaked up the warm masculine weight of him.
Used to men who quickly dosed off after they came, she was completely unprepared when he rolled over onto his back and pulled her to lie across his chest.
"You didn't think I was through with you, did you?" he asked in her ear.
"Well, yeah."
He laughed. "Lady Sunshine, I've only just started."
To her delight and awe, he proved those words well over the course of the next few hours.
They made love on her bed, on the floor, on her sofa. He took her in so many different positions that she felt as if he were reenacting the entire Kama Sutra.
Finally, they ended up in the kitchen where he set her up on the counter and then made slow, tender love to her.
Oh heaven, the man felt incredible! He had more stamina than an entire team of athletes and was completely shameless when it came to making love to her. She'd never been with a man and felt so at ease with her body and his expectations.
A man like this was all too hard to come by.
After they had finished with the counter, which she would never be able to look at again without blushing, Talon stood naked, looking into her refrigerator with his two braids tucked behind his ear as he searched for food.
He was still breathing heavily from their last go-round and Sunshine wondered idly if she'd gone bow-legged at some point from this afternoon's marathon.
Still, he looked scrumptious as he moved containers around in his quest for nourishment. His bare backside was a feast for the eyes and when he bent over to look into her bottom drawer, she couldn't resist running her hand up his muscular thigh, between his legs, to cup and fondle him.
He sucked his breath in sharply between his teeth and straightened.
Sunshine gave him a mischievous grin that garnered her a quick kiss before he returned to searching her fridge.
"My lady, do you own anything made of meat?"
Sunshine ran her hand across his back, smoothing down the red marks where she'd sunk her nails in during her last orgasm. "I have soy burgers, and I did pick up some granola bars, wheat germ, and oatmeal while I was out."
He actually whimpered.
"Sorry. I'm a strict vegetarian."
He sighed. "And I'm a strict carnivore."
She licked her lips and smiled as she remembered his playful nips and bites on her flesh. "I noticed."
He turned toward her and gathered her naked body against his. He kissed her lips as if he were still able to savor her even after all they had done this afternoon. Then, he pulled back. "As much as I want you again, I have got to have something more to nourish me than your hot, lush body."
He grabbed her soy cheese from the top shelf and the whole wheat crackers she had on the counter.
Sunshine started to warn him about the cheese, but thought better of it. He did need something other than her to nibble on, though to be honest, she liked being his chew toy.
The man was insatiable, and best of all, he was the champion at what he did.
She watched curiously as he grabbed his Snoopy Pez dispenser from her counter, then went back to the living room.
Sunshine picked up their glasses of water and followed him to the Art Deco coffee table.
Talon sat down before it and sliced the cheese, then placed it on the crackers. He fed her one. "So tell me, if I wasn't here, what would you be doing today?"
She laughed. "I'm sure I would probably be sitting more comfortably, for one thing."
His face amused, he dipped his head to nuzzle at her neck. "Can I rub anything to make it feel better?"
She hissed at his deep, sensuous voice. "Your rubbing it is what got me into trouble."
He ran his tongue over her collarbone, then he pulled back and ate a cracker.
He choked.
Sunshine handed him the water.
Talon drank it down fast and scowled at her. "How old is this stuff?" He checked the expiration date on the cheese and his scowl deepened. "Soy?" he said as he finally recognized the package. "You let me eat soy cheese?"
"It's good for you."
"It's nasty."
"Oh," she said, as if she were talking to a child. "You poor baby. I'm so sorry."
"No you're not."
"Not true. I am sorry I don't have anything a big he-man like you can stand."
Talon sat back and shook his head at her. He should have had Kyrian bring him a burger along with his clothes. Even so, he had thoroughly enjoyed the day with her.
Even if it did mean eating things that should be classified as toxic waste products.
Cringing, he reached for another cracker, more prepared this time for the disgusting taste of it. By sheer force of will, he downed six crackers with cheese, though they barely took the edge off his hunger.
Thank the gods he had his Pez. Grabbing Snoopy, he quickly popped three Pez cubes into his mouth to kill the taste.
"How can you eat that?" she asked. "It's nothing but flavored sugar."
"Yes, but it's good sugar."
She wrinkled her nose at him.
Talon gave her a wicked grin. "You know the best way to eat these, don't you?"
She shook her head.
He pulled Snoopy's head back and took the small square out with his fingers. He held it up to her lips. "Bite down gently on it and hold it between your teeth."
She hesitated, then obeyed.
For a full second, Talon watched her sitting there naked with the cube between her teeth. Then, he leaned forward and used his tongue to pry it loose.
Sunshine moaned at the taste of him combined with the sugar. Opening her mouth, she gave him a long, hot kiss. "Now, that was nice."
"Worth polluting your system for?"
"Umm-hmm," she breathed, running her fingertip along his jaw.
Once all the Pez were gone, she picked up the Snoopy dispenser and looked at it. "This seems so out of character for you, Mr. Tough Man. I find it hard to believe a guy who can fight off six criminals single-handedly would haul around a Peanuts Pez."
He brushed her black hair back from her shoulder and let his hand linger in the strands. "Actually, I collect the dispensers. This one is a vintage 1969 one."
"Really?"
He nodded.
She looked at it again. "Is it worth much?"
"A couple hundred dollars."
"No kidding?"
"No kidding."
"Wow. And I almost fed it to the washing machine."
He laughed at that. "I'm glad you didn't. Me and Snoopy go way back."
He took Snoopy from her hands and set it on the coffee table. When he turned back to face her, the gleam in his eye was one she'd become quite familiar with.
"Are you really sore?" he asked.
All things considered, she should be, but his touch was so gentle that she wasn't. "I'm not. You?"
"Never better."
He leaned back on the floor and pulled her across him. Sunshine straddled him and moaned at how good his steely abs felt against her.
To her amazement, he was already hard again. "You don't ever wear out, do you?"
He cupped her face in his hands and gave her a dark, serious stare. "It's you, love. Definitely you. With anyone else, I would have been curled up and sleeping hours ago."
"You mean that?"
He led her hand to his swollen shaft. "What do you think?"
"I think I should have taken more vitamins this morning."
"And I'm thinking there are still several positions we haven't tried."
Talon woke up in Sunshine's bed just as the sun set. He smiled in sleepy pleasure as he smelled the scent of turpentine and patchouli on his skin.
Sunshine.
She was still nestled in his arms, sound asleep. To his amazement, he felt his body starting to harden again.
After this afternoon, he should be sated for at least a day or two, if not for a full week.
For that matter, he shouldn't be able to move.
Yet he wanted to take her again. Right now. He wanted to feel her arms and legs wrapped around him, holding him close as he lost himself to the sensation of her flesh sliding against his.
Only Nynia had ever made him feel like this. He had been completely insatiable with her. To look at her was to burn for her.
He'd never thought to find another woman so appealing. And yet all he wanted to do was spend the rest of the night inside Sunshine. To feel her breath against his neck as he buried himself in her moist heat over and over again.
But he couldn't. He was supposed to meet Acheron at Jackson Square.
Not to mention that there were Daimons on the street ready to kill, and he had innocent people to protect.
"Talon?"
Inwardly, he cringed at the sound of her sleepy voice. He'd hoped to make a quiet exit while she slept.
How he hated messy exits.
"Evening, love," he murmured, kissing her brow.
She smiled a smile that dazzled him. "Are you leaving?"
"Yeah, I have to go meet someone."
"Okay," she said.
She got up from the bed, and wrapped a sheet around herself. "It was really great meeting you, Talon. Thanks for a wonderful day."
She left him alone then.
Talon frowned. This was normally the part where his lovers begged him to stay, at least for a little while longer. Where they told him he was the best lover they had ever known and then cried at the thought of never having him again.
But Sunshine seemed completely fine with his leaving. She didn't seem to be the tiniest bit sad.
What was this?
He scooted out of bed and left the room to find her in the kitchen, holding a rice cake between her teeth while she poured herself a cup of pink juice.
"Sunshine, are you okay?"
She took the rice cake out of her mouth and looked at him. "I'm fine."
Her face paled a degree. "Oh Lord, you're not going to get possessive or weird on me now, are you? Please tell me you're not one of those guys Trina told me about who gets a little sex from a woman and then thinks he owns her."
A little sex?
A little sex!
Talon was dumbstruck. He was used to leaving his lovers, but this had to be the easiest time he'd ever experienced, and he found it strangely disconcerting.
Unsettling.
Humbling.
Especially given the way the two of them had carried on. This had been the best marathon of sex he'd ever had. She had met his passion and stamina in a way that was unbelievable.
Now she was fine with him just walking out the door?
"Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again.
"Look, it's cool, okay? I knew when I agreed to this that you wouldn't be hanging around afterward. I'm not stupid, you know. I'm a big girl. You're a really big guy and I'm sure you have a life to get back to." Panic drifted through her eyes. "Oh God, you're not married, are you?"
"No, I'm not married."
She let out a relieved breath. "Then, no harm, no foul."
She crossed the short distance to her fridge to return the juice jug.
"Sunshine?"
She paused to give him a peeved stare. "What, Talon? You're not having separation anxiety, are you? Today was fun and it was worth it, but I've got to get back to work. I have a ton of stuff that I need to do tonight."
"Yeah, but…" He didn't finish the sentence. He refused to.
"But?"
He clamped his jaw shut. Fine, if she wanted him gone, he was gone.
He shouldn't have spent the day with her anyway.
This close to Mardi Gras, he couldn't afford any distractions. Never mind one that came in the form of a dark-haired temptress.
"Nothing," he said.
She looked relieved. "Since you have to meet someone, you go ahead and shower and I'll make us some dinner."
Talon took her up on the shower, but when he was finished, he declined eating her tofu salad and soy steaks.
"Thanks again, Sunshine," he said as he shrugged his leather jacket on over his T-shirt. "I had a really good day."
"Me too," she said with a smile while she nibbled her salad and flipped through an art magazine.
He still couldn't believe how well she was taking his leaving her. Damn.
A part of him continued to expect her to at least beg him to call her.
Ask for his e-mail.
Something.
But she didn't.
Man, how he hated the twenty-first century.
She looked up as he headed for the door. "You take care of yourself, Talon. And in the future, please try and stay out of the way of runaway Mardi Gras floats, okay?"
Talon lifted both brows in stunned shock. "Excuse me?"
"Don't you remember last night when you got mowed down?"
Talon nodded hesitantly, unable to believe that that was what had slammed into him. "I was hit by a Mardi Gras float?"
"Yeah, it was Bacchus."
Now that was adding insult to injury. Jeez. He only hoped Nick didn't find out about it. Ever.
Nicholas Ambrosius Gautier had come into this world with not a lot of prospects. Born the bastard son of a career felon and a teenage Bourbon Street stripper, he wasn't exactly the most law-abiding of folks. In fact, his junior high guidance counselor had once voted him Most Likely to Get the Death Penalty.
But one night when Nick had made a stand against the gang he ran with, fate had changed his life and sent in a Dark-Hunter guardian angel who had taken a smart-mouthed kid, cleaned him up, and given him a real future.
Now, nine years later, he was a pre-law student, and instead of playing penal roulette like his father, he was almost a respectable citizen. Almost being the operative word.
All thanks to Kyrian of Thrace and Acheron Parthenopaeus.
There was nothing he wouldn't do for them and that was why he was sitting in his car, parked in a vacant field just after sunset, instead of being off with his latest girlfriend, putting a really big smile on her face.
Even with the car running, it was cold out here. That damp, frigid cold that could go deep into the bones and make them ache. His thermos of coffee all gone, Nick just wanted to get back home and thaw out.
Instead, he was waiting for Talon's Mardi Gras reinforcement to be