Anya Bast - Witch Heart

It was time she started trusting someone.

At any rate, it felt good. Like she'd oiled some rusty hasp on the box containing her secret self. Now she could open it easier and share the contents if she chose.

She watched Adam clean away the pizza box and turn the bed down. He'd taken off his shirt, so she watched with interest the way his muscles flexed as he moved.

Adam seemed deep in thought about what she'd told him and didn't notice her staring. He knew he was gorgeous, though. Adam was a man who understood the effect he had on a woman and used it to his full advantage.

Well, with all women but her anyway.

He looked up at her. "I guess we're sharing the bed tonight?"

Damn it. He sounded resigned .

Claire looked away from him. "Yes."

"We have no toothbrushes, nothing to sleep in but our clothes. In view of the situation, not knowing if the Atrika will track us here, we should probably sleep fully dressed." He spread his hands. "We don't know if they'll show up in the middle of the night. We don't want to be caught with our pants down. Literally."

She sighed. "Look, Adam. I can take care of myself. As I must keep pointing out, I'm stronger magickally than you or Theo. I need you two mostly to guide me through life here, not really to protect me from the Atrika. Houses, I'm strong enough to do that myself. Anyway, I'm fine with sleeping in the car—"

Adam was in front of her within the blink of an eye. He pulled her to her feet. "You're staying in this room. With me. Tonight. Don't give me any bullshit about me not being able to protect you." He paused and his lips twitched. "It offends my male arrogance and stirs up all my testosterone."

"Adam—"

The trace of amusement faded. "No. Really, Claire. All joking aside."

She tried hard not shiver at the touch of his hands, which now rested on her waist. "You just seem so reluctant to touch me." Claire did her best to keep the note of pain from her voice, but she couldn't manage it totally. "I thought I would spare you."

He glanced away and swore under his breath. "Claire, you're killing me. You know that? You're totally fucking killing—"

He kissed her.

His mouth came down over hers with such heat and possession that it pulled the breath right out of her. He didn't coax her lips apart, he demanded. The first touch of his tongue on hers was like a brand and it sent tremors of sexual need rocketing through her. He owned her mouth, every inch of it. With this kiss he made all question of his desire vanish.

Adam pushed her backward, onto the bed, and followed her down, still kissing her. He crawled up her body, sliding his hand beneath the hem of her shirt and up to cup her breast through the material of her bra. She gasped into his mouth.

"Claire, I want you. I'm fucking taking you this time, too."

"Finally," she whispered against his mouth and then nipped his lower lip. "I want you, too."

He shuddered and nipped back. "I have no condom."

"I'm an earth witch at the core and very familiar with my body's rhythms. I won't get pregnant tonight."

He kneed her thighs apart and pressed his cock against her through their clothing. "I guess we won't be staying fully clothed after all."

"It could be dangerous when we fall asleep."

He dragged her lower lip between his teeth. "I don't think we'll be doing much sleeping," he drawled in a honeyed voice. He slipped his hand to the waistband of her pants and unbuttoned them. "Let's get rid of these." Adam had them off her in a matter of moments.

She kissed over his chest as he worked her shirt up and over her head, leaving her clad in only her bra and underwear.

Her hands slid over his skin as she undressed him — over his shoulders and down his arms — velvet pulled tight over sinuous steel. Bit by bit, his clothes dropped to the floor, revealing his mouth-watering chest, his narrow hips, and— finally —his long, wide cock.

It was beautiful.

Claire closed her hand over it at the root and stroked upward, running her fingers over every delectable vein up to the smooth crown. Adam jerked and groaned against her mouth, dragging her lower lip between his teeth.

Pressing her backward, Adam braced himself above her on the bed and kissed her mouth, along her jaw, and the sensitive spot just below her earlobe. Then dropped to the swell of her breast.

Claire arched her back and her breath hissed out of her. Her fingers curled into the short strands of his hair when he drew her bra down low enough to lave her nipple. Ripples of pleasure shot through her as he explored the peak thoroughly — every ridge, every puckered valley. Her legs closed around his hips and he ground against her while he did the same to the other nipple.

What he did excited her whole body, clouded her mind with want. Her entire world became his hands on her skin, his lips trailing down her stomach, teeth nipping as he went.

Five small licks of heat flared against her skin — two on either side of her hips, two on her shoulders and one between her breasts. She glanced down and saw that he'd stripped her of her bra and panties using fine, controlled bursts of fire.

He nipped the curve of her waist. "I'll buy you a whole new wardrobe tomorrow if you want." His gaze flicked over her bare breasts and his voice took on a tone of reverence. "Gods, you are so beautiful, Claire." Kneeing her thighs apart, he dropped his head to her inner thigh and laid a kiss high on her leg. "And you taste too damn good to resist."

"Adam!" she yelped as his hot mouth closed over her. It was the last word she was able to utter for a while.

He laved her clit until she couldn't see straight, until the pressure to climax had her arching off the bed. Yet, he didn't let her tip over the edge. With his skillful tongue, he kept her suspended in the delicious space right before an orgasm. Claire moved her hips, trying hard not to beg him. She wasn't sure she could form the words anyway.

Adam slid one finger within her, then added a second. Deliberately. Methodically. Diabolically. He began to thrust.

The pent-up, withheld energy of the orgasm exploded through her. Claire fisted the blankets and cried out as it washed over her. Adam rode her through it, extending it, until Claire's body went boneless and her knees were weak.

Adam climbed up her body and found her mouth, kissing her deeply. His knee slid between her thighs and parted them, his hips settling in the cradle of her spread legs as though they'd been made to fit there. The head of his cock pressed against the entrance of her sex and she rolled her hips, trying to force him inside.

"Hush, Claire," he whispered against her lips. He stared down into her eyes. "We have all night." Holding her gaze, he gathered her wrists and pressed them down onto the mattress on either side of her.

Just like in her dream.

"I've been waiting a long time, Adam," she murmured.

He held her gaze steadily, his expression serious. In his eyes roiled dark emotion, but his body was taut with lust — desire — for her.

"What's wrong?" she asked, frowning.

Adam shifted his hips, bearing down on her wrists at the same time, and thrust the wide head of his cock inside her.

Claire's eyes widened. It had been so long since she'd had a man inside her. The fact he held her gaze as he came within her made the moment that much more intimate. Her muscles stretched as he worked himself slowly within — inch by mind blowing inch. Her breath caught once he was seated root-deep within her. She felt possessed by him, filled up by him… and she liked it.

"Claire," he murmured.

Her name sounded so full of emotion that it momentarily pulled her out of the sensuality of the experience and brought a lump to her throat.