Catching the hair at the base of her skull, he tilted her head back and opened his mouth over the pulse in her neck. Heat surged through her blood stream. Dizziness followed. She clutched his shoulders for purchase. "Don"t," she said shakily.
He lifted his head, stared at her for a long moment. "You want me," he said harshly.
She did, desperately, but she feared she would be consumed by him and never be the same again.
Moistening her lips, she swallowed with an effort against her dry throat. "No," she lied.
Releasing her arm, he placed his palm above her pounding heart. One dark brow rose. "Non?"
Samantha bit her lip. "In my heart, no."
He paled slightly and she felt the jolt of shock that ran through him. Abruptly, his face hardened. "I"ve no need of you heart, cher. Only your body," he said harshly, dipping his head and covering her mouth with his own. The hunger of his mouth was consuming, pulling forth sensations she was reluctant to feel, that she tried her best to suppress. It was useless. The battle was lost the moment she felt the heat of his mouth upon hers, the rake of his tongue along her own in an intimate caress that plundered her depths.
Her fingers clenched, dug into his arms as her body seemed to grow weightless and heavy at the same time. Her flesh became hypersensitive almost with his first touch. Each slightest brush of his body against her own as their breaths mingled and their breathing became labored with need created ripples of exquisite sensation that was drugging in its lure. Moisture gathered in her s.e.x, pooled, dampened her panties as her body, regardless of her will, readied itself to receive him.
She struggled to close her mind to the temptation to yield to him. She couldn"t be only a warm body to him, couldn"t bear to think it meant no more to him than that. Regret filled her with the realization that she could not simply enjoy their joining as pure animal l.u.s.t.
He released her so abruptly that she stumbled back. To her surprise, she encountered the yielding surface of a mattress. Disoriented to find herself in her own room, weak from his kiss, she felt backward onto the mattress, staring at Gerard in surprise.
His face a grim mask of both anger and barely suppressed pa.s.sion, he discarded his jacket and loosened the ties of his shirt. Jerking the tail of the shirt from his breeches, he pulled it over his head and tossed it aside.
Recovering her presence of mind, Samantha rolled onto her stomach. Before she could either push herself away from the bed or climb across it, he caught her. One hand like a manacle across the back of her neck, he held her against the bed and reached beneath her to unfasten her jeans. Samantha slapped at him, but she could do little, pinned on her stomach to the bed. Despite her efforts, he jerked her jeans and panties down.
She went still as she felt his palm skate over her b.u.t.tocks. His fingers found her cleft, traced it until he discovered the heart of her pleasure. She moaned as he ma.s.saged it, uncertain of whether she most wanted to evade his touch or move toward him. He leaned over her, teasing her c.l.i.t, delving a finger inside of her and discovering the creamy moisture that beckoned his possession. Gasping, Samantha squeezed her eyes tightly shut, feeling her body succ.u.mb to his persuasion despite her will.
When he ceased to torment her and reached to unfasten the closure of his breeches, she began to struggle to free herself once more. Something hard and rounded parted her b.u.t.tocks, slipped along her cleft and pressed into her. Samantha bit her lip, holding onto the moan of pleasure that threatened to escape. Panting, she lay perfectly still, fighting the urge to push back against him, closing her mind to the building desperation to feel him forcing his turgid flesh deeply inside her.
Need won out. She parted her thighs wider, pushed back against him, moaning as she felt his c.o.c.k stretching her.
The heat and weight of his body settled over her as he leaned forward. Slipping one arm around her waist, he slid a palm over her mound, parted her flesh and rubbed her c.l.i.t. Her belly clenched with need. A moan sc.r.a.ped past her throat as it jolted her.
Panting, he pressed more deeply inside her, stretching her to her limits. She shuddered in intense gratification as he filled her completely and withdrew slowly until only the head of his c.o.c.k remained inside of her. When he thrust again, he slipped more smoothly through the juices her body had produced for him. Grinding his hips against her, he pulled away once more.
She stretched up on her tiptoes and he pressed inside of her again, aching, needing to feel him deeper, deeper. Her body began to hum with electric shocks of intense pleasure.
Abruptly, he withdrew completely. Scooping her up, he tossed her fully upon the mattress and followed her, burying his face against her lower belly. Catching the edges of her pants, he tugged both jeans and panties down her legs and off her feet and then tossed them aside. Catching her ankles, he pushed them up the bed until her knees were bent, her feet flat on the bed. He dug his fingers in the curls of her pubic mound, his eyes gleaming as he smoothed the hair away and studied her c.l.i.t, teasing it. "Mine," he murmured with satisfaction, then glanced up at her. "You are mine."
Samantha swallowed convulsively. Before she could decide whether she would or would not dispute his claim, he leaned forward, covering her mound with his mouth. His tongue teased her as his finger had, but far more devastatingly. Samantha gripped the sheets, her back arching, her hips lifting to meet him. Struggling for breath, she lost it as he sucked her c.l.i.t. Her heart seemed to jolt to a halt. It began to pound frantically as the pleasure intensified with each stroke of his tongue, the suction of his mouth.
He lifted his head, sucked the tender flesh at the top of each thigh and then moved up her belly, sucking a string of love bites across her quivering flesh.
Samantha reached for him, desperate to feel him inside of her once more. Instead, he moved up her belly, shoving her shirt upwards until he"d uncovered her bra. Pushing the thin fabric aside, he scooped a breast into each hand, suckled first one nipple and then the other.
Samantha arched met him, digging her head into the pillows, crying out.
She could stand no more. She reached for him, slipped her hands beneath his clothing and cupped his b.u.t.tocks. He ignored the silent plea, teasing her nipples until she was writhing, until the pain of need wrestled with the pleasure that continued to build and build inside of her. She slipped a hand between them, grasping his c.o.c.k, ma.s.saging it. Gritting her teeth against the exquisite pain/pleasure of it, she rubbed the head of his c.o.c.k back and forth against her c.l.i.t.
He gasped, let out a sound that was part growl, part groan of sweet agony. Brushing her fingers aside, he grasped his turgid flesh and guided it into her once more. Lifting her hips, she thrust, gasping as she felt him filling her, slipping deeply inside her with agonizing slowness.
"Gerard," she gasped. "Please."
Slipping a hand beneath her hips, he drove deeply inside of her. She raked her nails lightly down his back and gripped his b.u.t.tocks, demanding. A shudder ran through him and then he began moving, thrusting hard, deep, almost painfully so. She welcomed it, urged him with counter thrusts, licking and biting his shoulder and neck and throat.
Release caught her unaware, explosively. She felt her body convulsing around his, clutching his c.o.c.k like a ma.s.saging fist, milking him of his seed. His c.o.c.k bucked, tugging against the mouth of her pa.s.sage, jerking as her body brought his own culmination upon him.
The effort sapped every ounce of strength and will from her. Her arms and legs, too heavy to move, went limp even before the last echoes of pleasure dissipated. She lay still, struggling to catch her breath.
Gerard, sated, lay limply on top of her. The urge to caress her lover was nearly overpowering.
Samantha ignored it.
He wanted her body, not her love, and only that because it was a handy vessel. He"d made that clear enough.
Moments pa.s.sed. Finally, he gathered himself and rolled off of her. Samantha lay as she was for some moments and finally turned on her side, giving him her back. From no where, the urge to cry welled inside her. Ignoring it, she focused on the room, wondering now that her mind had begun to clear of the haze of l.u.s.t, how she "d come to be here.It wasn"t her room, she realized.Sitting up abruptly, she looked around. "Where am I?""In my own private h.e.l.l."Samantha glanced toward Gerard. She saw that he had rolled onto his side and was watching her, hishead propped in one palm. His breeches were around his hips, his sated c.o.c.k wresting against one thigh.It seemed obscene, suddenly. She glanced away, faintly embarra.s.sed by his half dressed state and herown. l.u.s.t wasn"t so pretty in aftermath. With no tender emotion to tie them together, and no pa.s.sion toblind one, it became nothing more than a sordid tryst between two strangers."I don"t feel like playing riddles," she said tightly, scooting off the bed and searching for her discardedclothing. The stickiness from their lovemaking felt suddenly repellent. She glanced around, feeling theneed to shower. "Where"s the bathroom?"He gestured toward a door near the head of the bed. Samantha moved toward it but discovered, to hersurprise, that she couldn"t grasp the k.n.o.b. She stared it, stared at her hand in disbelief. She turned tolook at him, wide eyes with dismay, her heart beating fearfully in her chest. "I don"t understand."His lips tightened. "Don"t you?"Samantha frowned, trying to remember how she"d come to be in the room with Gerard. She shook herhead."I am not without power.""What is this place?" Samantha demanded, fighting a sense of panic.
Gerard shrugged. Rising from the bed, he adjusted his breeches. "A dimension between two worlds?" he hazarded. "You are as I am, neither living, nor dead."
"That"s ... that"s not possible."
"Unfortunately, mon cher, it is."
Samantha stomped her foot. "Stop calling me that! I am NOT your dear! Why would you do this to me?"
He frowned. "I have needs."
Samantha stared at him. "So my own needs ... my wishes, are of no importance?"
He crossed the room, catching her chin in his hand. "I gave you pleasure, mon cher. You may lie if you wish, but your body betrays you. You want me as much as I want you."
Chapter Seven.
A cold finger crept along Samantha"s spine, sending a shiver through her. Slowly, she shook her head.
"You can"t give me what I want. You don"t have it to give."
Something flickered in his eyes. "I am a cold blooded monster, oui? I could almost believe you truly were Elise, Contessa de Moyer, incarnate."
Anger suffused her, chasing the chill away. "I am Samantha Lancaster! No one else. Don"t seek her inme. You won"t find her. You won"t find your beloved Juliette either!""Then I will just have to make do with Samantha Lancaster," he said coolly.Hurt surged through her at the callus remark. She slapped his hand away. "I won"t stay."His eyes narrowed. "If you are neither Juliette, nor Elise, then you have no choice, for you have not the power to deny me."
Turning abruptly, he strode from the room---pa.s.sing through the wall as he always had. Samantha
frowned. "It made sense that he could do that in my plane of existence, but if this was the plane where heexists, then how could he do it here?" she muttered, confused."The house does not exist here. Nothing exists here, save me ... and now you."Samantha looked around, but she couldn"t see him. She glared at the ceiling. "The bed exists."He chuckled. "Only because I willed it."If that was true, and he wasn"t simply playing some sort of mind game with her, then she should be able to pa.s.s through the walls too. Taking a deep breath, she walked toward the door. At the last moment, her nerve deserted her. She closed her eyes and took another step. When she opened her eyes once more, she saw that she was in the corridor.
She turned slowly, looking around. The bellhop Antoine was striding toward her. He pa.s.sed through her and continued down the corridor. Samantha gasped, pressing a hand to her pounding heart.
It was true then.A deep melancholia filled her. She hadn"t realized how much life meant to her until now. If he had caredfor her, she thought she would have stayed gladly, but he didn"t. He couldn"t.
She wandered aimlessly around the chateaux for a while and finally, drawn by the sunlight she could see
flooding the terrace, she went outside, lifting her face to feel the sun"s heat.She felt nothing ... not the warmth of the sun, not the breeze she could see ruffling the leaves of the treesand shrubs. She found she could not move beyond the terrace.
Time had no meaning. She didn"t feel its pa.s.sing. As she watched the light dimmed and stars took the place of the sun in the sky and then it was morning once more. Fascinated, she watched the cycles again and again, saw flowers bloom and die.
Days pa.s.sed. Weeks? Finally, she turned and entered the chateaux once more. Without quite knowing where she was going, she returned to the room where Gerard had made love to her---had given her pa.s.sion, she corrected herself, looking around.
Gerard, she saw, was propped against the wall near the window, studying her, his expressionunreadable. She moved toward him, stopping when they were toe to toe.He swallowed convulsively, his gaze skating over her face. "Don"t look at me like that," he said harshly."How?" she asked quietly.He shook his head. "I can not bear the sorrow in your eyes.""Why would it matter to you?"His face twisted with anguish. "Leave me! Go!""I can"t.""You can," he said angrily. "I release you! Go!" Grasping her arm, he thrust her away from him.
A wave of blackness washed over her. Samantha clutched her head in her hands, fighting to keep her balance. When she opened her eyes, she found that she was standing in the corridor before the painting. Simulation pounded at her from every direction, it seemed, at once, sound, light, the caress of air. She shivered, so confused that it was many moments before she realized that she felt ... her own world.
He truly had released her, thrust her back into her world. Why? The question pounded against her temples in time to her pounding heart. She turned to look up at his portrait. "Gerard," she whispered. Lifting a hand, she touched the cool canvas with shaking fingers. "I love you. Take me with you."
Beneath her fingers, she felt the warm clasp of his hand. She stepped closer, needing to feel the warmth and closeness of his body.
"I love you far too much, cher, to live with your unhappiness."
She shook her head, leaning into the warmth of his embrace. "That"s all that I wanted, all I need."
"Pardone, Messiure, Madam. You are guests?"
Irritated by the untimely intrusion, Samantha glanced toward the man who"d spoken. To her surprise, she saw that it was Antoine.
Surprise etched itself on his face, as well. "Madam Lancaster? But .. this is incredible! You have
disappeared, leaving all behind, and now you come back?"Samantha stared at him. Slowly, she pulled away from Gerard. "But I didn"t ..." She remembered thenthat she"d seen the days pa.s.sing. "How long was I gone?"
He frowned and finally shrugged. "Many weeks. Will you and the gentleman be staying with us?"
Samantha glanced at Gerard as Antoine"s words slowly sank in. Gerard, she saw, was white faced.
Cautiously, he lifted his hand and slid it across the wall behind him. A look of wonder crossed hisfeatures, but was followed quickly by confusion. "I don"t understand."Samantha felt faint with the excitement coursing through her. "The spell, Gerard!"She glanced at Antoine, who was looking at them as if he suspected they"d lost their minds. "We"re not staying. I just .... Brought my friend to see the chateaux."
Taking Gerard"s hand, she tugged him behind her as she headed for the stairs. He pulled her to a stopwhen she reached the door and dragged him outside. "I do not understand, cher. You broke the spell?"Samantha laughed. "You broke the spell! We broke the spell! I don"t know. I don"t understand and I don"t care." She practically danced down the steps and onto the walkway. After a moment"s hesitation,Gerard followed her."It is true then."Samantha threw her arms around his waist, hugging him tightly. "Tell me again."He pushed her a little away and captured her chin in his hand. "I love you, cher."She smiled up at him. "I love you. Let"s go home."His brows rose a look of doubt surfaced. "Home?"
She tilted her head to one side. "You want to stay here?"He shuddered. "I will be happy if I never see this place again.""Good. My place it is. I have to warn you, it"s not nearly as grand as this.""You are not worried, cher, that I am a fish out of water? I do not know this world of yours."She snapped her fingers. "You"re a warlock. I think you"ll handle it just fine."
The End.