Pia Does Hollywood (Elder Races, #8.6)

Her thinking was destroyed. All she could do was hang on to him, while erotic images and impressions ran through her mind.

All the times they’d had sex. Rutted like the animals they were. Made love with gentleness and emotion. She knew the look in his eyes when she came, the combination of tenderness and intense male satisfaction. She knew how he looked when he came, feral and often inhuman, transported out of his own self-containment. There in the darkness, she saw all of his faces in her mind’s eye, and they were all the face of the man she loved.

He bit her harder, fucked her harder. She could feel his teeth pressing on her skin and knew he would leave marks. The small pain combined with the pleasure, and drove her forward into yet another climax. This time she had no breath. All she could do was whine softly, a shaky, raw sound.

Then he paused, buried to the root inside her. She felt him begin to pulse and knew her own moment of intense female satisfaction. Whomever he had taken as lovers before in his very long life, now he was hers, entirely.

She had to say it to him. Licking swollen lips, she whispered, “You’re mine. Mine.”

He wrapped one arm around her, gently encircling her throat with his hand, taking total ownership of her with the gesture. Rocking against her pelvis, he murmured into the nape of her neck, “Until I take my last breath, and beyond.”

Usually he was the one who descended into declarations of possessiveness, and she relished it every time. But whenever she felt the need to claim him as she had just now, he always gave himself to her, unreservedly.

Full of emotion, she reached up and behind her to cup the back of his head. He turned and pressed a kiss to her fingers.

“I don’t want you to go in the morning,” she complained softly.

Pulling away, he stretched out on the bed and pulled her into his arms. Her muscles felt like jelly, and she went down to him gladly.

As she settled against him, he wrapped his arms around her. “It’s only six more days now, and I’ll be nearby. And our night’s not over yet. We’re just going to take a little breather for a few moments.”

“Sounds good,” she said, face planted into his shoulder so that her words came out muffled. She didn’t think she could sit up straight, let alone do something as sophisticated as walk to the bathroom. Light flooded the room, and she flinched with a gasp. He had turned on the bedside lamp. “Why did you do that? The dark was cozy.”

“I have a present for you,” he said.

She lifted her head to squint at him. “When on earth did you find time to get me a present?”

One corner of his hard mouth lifted. “I have my ways.” He reached one long, bare arm to a pile of red and white that lay in a jumble by his cell phone. As he shook out the first piece, she realized it was a necklace. And oh lord, what a necklace! Fiery ruby red and sparks of light flowed over his long fingers.

Turned out, she did have the strength to sit up after all. “Oh my God,” she breathed. As she held out her hands, he let the necklace settle into her grip. She examined the firebird. “This is breathtaking. Where did you get it?”

“A shop on Rodeo Drive,” he said, his gaze resting on the brilliance lying in her cupped hands. “There are earrings too, and a bracelet.”

“It’s stunning.” At first, when he gave her such extravagant gifts, she had felt uncomfortable, but he got such transparent pleasure out of it, she had set her own discomfort aside a long time ago. Now she simply reveled in the beauty of the necklace. Leaning forward, she kissed him. “I love it so much. Thank you!”

“My pleasure. Here, put it on.” Sitting up, he helped her fasten the necklace. The firebird rested at the base of her throat. When she turned to face him, a smile creased his face. “You’re as beautiful as I knew you would be, wearing it.”

She knew his penchant for making love to her when she wore jewels and she gave him a grin. “Is this on your list of things you wanted to get to, before morning?”

His smile widened. “You know me so well. I’ve been looking forward to it this whole hellish day.”

At the mention of what had happened earlier, her expression darkened, but only for a moment. Reaching for his hand, she twined her fingers through his. “We dealt with it.”

He squeezed her fingers. “And we’ll continue to do so. The universe can bring it. We’ll deal with whatever may happen together.”

Something deeper than happiness took her over. Fulfillment, perhaps, along with a rush of love so deep for him, it made her eyes shimmer. “We always do.”

With a tug, he pulled her down to him and kissed her. In the middle of the kiss, he rolled so that she lay on her back, and he sprawled across her. Lifting his head, he looked down at the firebird sparking against her skin, and his expression turned purposeful.

He said, “And now to get to the next item on my list.”