Unending Desire: Outlawed Realm, Book 1 (14 page)

“Regina.”

Composing herself, she lied. “Nothing. I’m just curious. How many orgasms can you have before you get tired and pass out?”

“Pass out?”

“Fall asleep.”

He chuckled. “Too many to count. You’ll fall asleep well before I. Lie back.”

Regina tightened her hold, her mind racing for a way to keep him here. “Don’t rush.”

“Before the night’s at an end, you’ll be begging for me to stop.”

At what lay ahead tomorrow, the impossible odds they faced, her throat tightened. “I doubt that.”

“We’ll see.” He removed her arm from around his shoulders and guided her back to the chaise. On his knees beside her, he lifted Regina’s arms above her head, holding her wrists in one hand.

Surprised at his firm embrace, the manner in which he displayed her nudity, she gave him a questioning glance.

The corners of Nikoli’s eyes crinkled with his grin, both playful and wolfish.

Something within her shifted, pushing worry aside. A pulse beat in her cunt, delivering a rush of moisture, lubrication for his cock. She turned her wrists, testing his hold.

His fingers tightened a bit more, telling her she hadn’t a hope of defeating his strength and getting loose.

A thrill, sudden and uncivilized, prowled through Regina. With Nikoli, she could be as uninhibited as she’d fantasized, knowing he’d never harm her. If her behavior really shocked him, she’d tell the truth, saying that was just the way it was on this side. Get used to it.

Eager to begin their carnal game, she arched one brow and murmured, “You’ve trapped me, Nikoli.”

“I have, Regina.” With a pleased expression, he continued, “You’ve given me no choice. I want to look at you.”

Not understanding, she asked, “Look at me?”

“Yes.” He regarded her mouth, nose, eyes, hair. There, he lingered, his expression growing distracted. “Never have I seen coloring like yours. It’s beyond compare.” He studied her face. “Your features are exquisite.”

Heat stung Regina’s cheeks. She’d never had a man comment about her looks. And certainly not in the way Nikoli just had. Surely he wasn’t all that clear on the description he’d used. “Exquisite?”

His smile faded, replaced by a measure of doubt. “Did I use the wrong word?”

“Not if you’re just trying to be nice.”

He appeared even more confused. “I don’t understand.”

More blood rushed to her face. “It’s okay, Nikoli. I know I’m not even close to being beautiful, all right?”

Shock crossed his features, and then he scowled. “By whose measure?”

Anyone who could see. Although Regina considered herself somewhat pretty, certainly enough to attract a bit of male attention, she knew she didn’t have Sazaar’s breathtaking features or perfect body.

Nikoli didn’t seem to notice. In him, she saw acceptance and gratitude for all that she was. Answering his question, she said, “You know what? It doesn’t matter.”

His smile returned. “Lift your leg.” He ran his free hand up her inner thigh, stopping just short of her curls.

She shivered at his casual yet expert touch.

Bringing back his hand, he added, “Bend your knee.”

Regina did as he instructed. Light from the fire glanced off her naked flesh, washing her pale skin in a honeyed tint. At the thought of his mouth, hands and cock using her, her nipples constricted, and a dull, needy ache settled deep within her cunt.

She widened her legs a bit more.

Her movement wasn’t lost on Nikoli. He wore an expression that said he approved as he took in her full length, his attention lingering on her reddish bush, her erect nipples. Finally, he looked at her and winked.

Surprised at the gesture, she smiled. “Where’d you learn to do that?” Surely, he hadn’t seen it on his side.

Nikoli’s manner was innocent. “What? This?” Swooping down, he settled his mouth on her nipple, latching on to the tight bud, drawing it between his lips.

Regina’s toes curled, then splayed, accompanying her choked cry. A moan followed at his fingers clasping her wrists, affirming his dominance, while he returned his other hand to the inside of her thigh.

Digging her heels into the leather cushion, she edged forward, pushing her mound toward him.

He suckled her nipple faster and harder, precisely as she liked. His fingers explored her cunt, damp with arousal, plump with need. Drawing his finger up her moist cleft, he reached her clit and stopped.

Regina bit her lower lip, waiting for more. When his finger remained poised on her nub, she blurted, “Why are you stopping? Rub it.”

Nikoli skimmed her nipple with his tongue, then released the hard tip, exposing it to the air. Though heated, it was no match for his mouth.

She frowned.

He pulled back and murmured, “I’ll rub it in time.”

“Now,” she argued. She’d spent a lifetime hoping for a man like Nikoli—honorable, kind, sexy as hell, and by God she didn’t want to wait a moment more to have him on top of her, inside her, loving her as Regina had never been loved before.

“In time,” he repeated, as one would to a wayward child or a woman who couldn’t control her emotions.

Screw that. Regina wasn’t about to hold back. A growl of frustration escaped her throat.

“Patience,” Nikoli advised in that same maddening tone.

Set to counter it, Regina opened her mouth, then gasped at his fingers entering her.

“You like that?” he asked, not bothering to wait for her answer as he worked two fingers deeper into her cunt, tunneling through her tight sheath, filling and stretching her for his cock.

Oh my God, what he was doing was nice. Freaking nice. Whatever irritation she’d experienced moments ago, it was forgotten beneath this. Her mouth watered at her memory of his impressive rod. Long, hard, thick with arousal.

Shuddering in delight, she relaxed her leg, allowing it to fall to the side, exposing herself even more to Nikoli’s touch and male lust.

With his fingers burrowed fully within her, he stroked her clit with his thumb, his pace measured and slow, just as he’d promised.

The man knew how to please. Shocks of pleasure pumped through Regina, quickening her pulse, destroying whatever restraint remained. Pushing into the chaise’s cushion, she lifted her chin to the timbered ceiling and cried, “Faster. I want to come.”

“In time.”

What? Damn him. She growled, “Fuck that, Nikoli. Now.”

“Very well.” He withdrew his thumb from her.

What the—
Lowering her face, she frowned at him. “What are you doing? Don’t—”

He killed the rest of her complaint by positioning himself between her legs, snaking out his tongue and flicking it on her sensitive nub.

Her mouth sagged open. The back of her head hit the cushion with a faint tap. She squeezed her lids at the exquisite sensations rolling through her, tightening her inner thighs and throat, precluding speech but not sound. The noises Regina made were new to her—wonderfully wild, the music of a woman falling in love.

A conclusion she would have questioned as late as this morning, knowing that love couldn’t happen this quickly, especially with someone she barely knew. Then along came Nikoli, risking his life to protect her, wanting her as no man had before, changing her perception of how her heart worked. How foolish she’d been to believe she could master it.

No longer willing to try, Regina submitted to feelings that were wonderfully primitive. She relished how Nikoli eased his fingers from her cunt only to drive them back inside as he would his cock, his tongue flicking over her clit in concert with the movement.

Pressing her nails into her palms, Regina ground her teeth at the mounting tension between her legs, at once delightful and torturous. Her breath hitched. At last, she cried out, but didn’t come, fighting it now, fearing its end.

The same as morning, the thought of losing him.

No.
She wouldn’t let that happen. Regina squeezed her fingers so tight her wrists jumped against his palm.

Still suckling her clit, Nikoli released his hold on her. He ran his free hand between the cheeks of her ass. The blunt tips of his fingers circled her anus, then probed it.

Gasping at his shameless touch, Regina scooted back on the cushion, withdrawing her body, unable to stand the added sensation.

Not allowing her retreat, Nikoli sought Regina’s tight pink ring, understanding what she required. In the coffee shop, her mind had recognized him as a man she wanted, her body yearning for his touch, her soul for his caress.

He teased her anus, licked her clit and sank his fingers back into her sheath.

It was far more than she could endure. Regina let out an unrestrained cry, surrendering to her climax, shuddering with its force and beauty. Currents of warmth sped through her. A strong pulse beat in her pussy, sucking at Nikoli’s fingers still burrowed deeply within.

She emitted a jumble of sounds—harsh sighs, a whimper that blossomed into a moan, disconnected words, each praising him.

Nikoli lifted his head, the ends of his hair tickling her thigh. Regina expected him to say something, but he didn’t, seemingly content to listen and watch.

Weakened and content, Regina made no attempt to temper her frank response or modify her suggestive pose. With Nikoli, she felt treasured and had no qualms about being imperfect and human. She swallowed. “Thank you.” Her words trembled with emotion.

“Then I’ve pleased you, Regina?”

She couldn’t help but smile. “Are you serious? Pleased can’t begin to describe what you’ve done. You were freaking amazing. No, you were beyond that. You were—” She stopped, struggling to find the right term.

He kissed the inside of her thigh. “The way you look tells me more than any words could.”

Her lids slid down. “And how do I look?”

“I believe the correct word is sated.”

“Not completely.”

“Very well, then, spent. You are tired, correct?”

With his question, the last of the heat seeped from Regina’s body, replaced by a new concern. Did Nikoli want her to drift off to sleep so he could continue with his plan to leave and go to Andris’s lair?

Driven to keep him at her side, Regina reached out blindly, tunneling her fingers into his thick, silky locks. Filling her lungs, she emptied them in a sigh, “Not at all. And enough of foreplay. I want you on top of me. Inside me.”

He licked her clit.

She let out a crude cry, jerking at the waves of pleasure rolling through her.

“You’re certain?” Nikoli asked, his breath skimming her damp cleft, warming it even more.

Snatching some much-needed air, she released it on a sigh. “Uh-huh.”

“But I haven’t finished tasting you,” he teased. He kissed her stomach, then circled her navel with his tongue.

Regina’s belly quivered. She forced out her words. “You can do that later.” Tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the next. Crazy, she knew, but hope was all she had. “Please.” Opening her eyes, she ran her hand from Nikoli’s hair to his throat, making certain not to touch those scratches. “Don’t deny me. I swear, I’ll get violent.”

He regarded her with an amused smile, then pushed to his feet and bent down, his impressive size looming over her. Lifting her hands, Regina cupped his face in her palms and pinned him with her gaze.

Moments passed with the quiet broken by rain striking the windows, the noise no different than water spraying from a hose. Wind whipped past. A log crumbled in the fireplace, the wood hissing within the flames.

Their elevated breathing joined the other night music.

At the longing Regina saw on Nikoli’s face, she gave him a shameless smile. A flicker of doubt or concern crowded out his pleasure, this disquiet different from when he talked of the vampires.

Unnerved, she spoke quickly. “What is it, Nikoli?” Her thumbs stroked the bristly skin on his jaw. “Are you feeling all right? Did the atmosphere change somehow? Is it affecting you?” Would they have to return to E2 or go somewhere else?

“No. I’ve adjusted, just as I told you I would.”

Then what was bothering him when he was so close to mounting her, exactly as they both wanted? “Are you worried about making love?” she asked. “Is it done differently on E2 than here?”

His brows lifted in surprise. “No.”

Regina considered what else could be troubling him. “Is it your size?” Speaking before he could, she said, “There’s no reason for concern.” Lowering her hand from his face, she cradled his hard, thick cock in her palm. Its weight and heat made her shiver with desire. “You’re exactly who I want.”

He watched as she eased her thumb over the slit in the crown, using his pre-come to lubricate the cap. His shoulders bunched at the sensations Regina knew were rushing through him. He spoke on a prolonged sigh, his words halting. “I won’t hurt you. I’d never hurt you. It’s just that…”

Regina worried at his obvious uncertainty. Her first thought was to ignore it and simply give him all the pleasure she could. The look on his face, his aching doubt wouldn’t allow it. “What?”

“I need to tell you something.” He glanced away as though it pained or embarrassed him to continue. “Before I begin, I want you to know it doesn’t affect my performance in the least.”

“What are you talking about? What doesn’t?”

He kept his profile to her and spoke impersonally as if they were strangers. “On E2, I’m not allowed to breed, so there’s no reason for you to fear that I’ll—”

“Nikoli, stop.” Pushing up, Regina wound her arms around his shoulders, cradling him in her embrace, her heart aching at the thought of him never having a child to love and cherish. She whispered, “What did they do to you?”

He shook his head, his nose rubbing her shoulder, his words muffled by her body. “It’s not what you think, nor is it permanent. The government can reverse it when the individual earns the right to breed.”

Earns the right?
Regina’s skin crawled with outrage and disgust. She couldn’t imagine him existing in such a place…or returning to it, living out his days without love, emotion, pleasure. Warning herself not to say anything harsh about E2 or beg him to stay on this side, she murmured, “I’m not worried about a child, Nikoli, or anything we do. I want you inside me.”