Somewhere in the daze of sensual pleasure, Heather realized he'd taken charge. "Hey." She gasped as he tugged on her nipple. "I'm supposed to be seducing you."
"You were wildly successful. Consider me seduced." With one arm, he lifted her out of the water and sat her on a corner of the tub.
Wow, super strength came in handy. Goose bumps prickled her body as cool air caressed her skin and her back came in contact with a cool marble column.
"Hold on." He eased her hips to the edge of the tub.
"Like this?" She raised her arms overhead and grasped the column. She gasped when he buried his head between her legs.
Oh God, that mouth of his. That tongue. She pressed her fingers against the marble. Her heels dug into his back.
He stroked and nibbled till she was panting and writhing with tension. Just when she was ready to explode, he pulled back.
"You're beautiful," he whispered. Then he twirled his tongue around her, and she shattered.
Her body was still shuddering when he pulled her back into the hot, bubbly water. The swirling currents pulsed against her sensitized skin and sent another wave of tremors through her body.
"Oh God." She fell limp against him. "I should seduce you more often."
"Every night, chérie. Hold on."
Everything went black for a second, then Heather felt herself falling back onto his bedspread. He must have teleported them straight to bed.
He zoomed back to the bathroom. She sat up to see him zipping back to her with a towel.
"Here." He dried her back, then pushed her gently onto the bed so he could dry the front of her body.
"Wait!" She pointed at the camera.
He zoomed to the bedside table and grabbed the remote. "Don't worry. The guys are out looking for Lui. No one's seen you." He turned off the surveillance camera, then jumped on the bed.
He leaned over to kiss her br**sts, then winced. "Wait a minute." He moved to the other side of her so he could prop himself up on his left arm.
"I have a better idea." She shoved him flat on his back. "You're the injured hero. So just lie there and take it like a man."
His mouth twitched. "You're cute when you're bossy."
"Cute? You think this is cute?" She cupped his balls and lightly squeezed.
He moaned. "I take it back. You're an incredibly erotic seductress."
"That's more like it." She sat beside him and ran her fingers over his body. This was the first time she was getting a good look at him naked. He was lean and muscular. A few scars marked his pale skin. She traced them, realizing they had to be centuries old, dating back to his days as a mortal. Curly black hair shaded his upper chest. She traced the thin line of black hair down his torso to the thicker patch surrounding his erection.
She stroked the shaft and it twitched. "It's alive!"
He gave her a wry look. "I need inside you."
"All in good time." She leaned over and kissed the soft tip.
He winced. "I really need inside you."
"We have all night." She dragged her tongue up the shaft, then took him in her mouth.
He groaned. "Take me inside you. Now."
She swirled her tongue around the tip, then released him. "Hmm, yummy."
"Dammit, woman!" His eyes blazed red. "Ride me."
She blinked in surprise. "Oh. You're so cute when you're bossy."
"I'm not bossy. I'm dying." He pulled her on top.
She straddled him, then tried to position him in the right place. "I'm not very experienced in this - aagh!" She gasped when he shoved himself into her and pulled her down at the same time. "Okay, that'll work."
She settled down on him, letting him fill her completely. "You feel so good."
"So do you," he breathed. He caressed her br**sts. "Love me."
"I do." She rocked on him slowly, then leaned forward to kiss him.
He pulled down on her hips, urging her to go faster. She did, feeling the tension coiling tighter and tighter. He reached between her legs to rub her clitoris, and she went frantic. Somewhere, in the back of her mind, she realized she'd never behaved so wildly before. It was liberating. It was glorious.
He tweaked her as she came down hard on him. Convulsions shook her, and her body went limp. She fell beside him. He rolled with her, then grasped her bottom as he drove into her. He groaned, grinding his hips against her as his climax shuddered through him.
Slowly their breathing returned to normal, and they lay on their sides, gazing into each other's faces.
"Wow," Heather breathed.
"Indeed." The red in his eyes slowly faded.
She touched the curls on his head. "I love you." She felt tears crowding her eyes. "I love you so much."
"Will you marry me?"
Before she could answer, he sat up and continued, "I promise to get rid of Lui. You won't have to live a life of entrapment. We'll be able to travel and enjoy life. And we can - "
She put a finger on his mouth. "The answer is yes."
He grinned and kissed her finger, then kissed the palm of her hand.
She shivered. "Let's get under the covers."
He pulled back the bedspread, and they snuggled between the sheets. He winced when she accidentally bumped against his injured arm.
"Oh, I'm so sorry." She kissed the shoulder.
"I'll be out of pain in a few more hours."
"When the sun comes up?"
"Yes. Heather, will you leave before I go into my death-sleep?"
"It doesn't scare me, Jean-Luc. I've seen Ian that way every afternoon."
"I know. But I want our first night together to be perfect for you. I don't want your last memory of it to be my dead body."
"All right." Maybe with time, he wouldn't feel embarrassed about it. She kissed his cheek. "I love you just the way you are."
Heather woke around noon in her bedroom upstairs. She stretched, smiling as memories of lovemaking replayed in her mind. After an hour of rest, Jean-Luc had suggested they find another position that didn't put any weight on his injured arm.
They had rolled around, laughing, till she ended up sitting in his lap, facing him as they kissed and fondled each other. They rolled around some more. Eventually she found herself on all fours while he stood beside the bed and entered her from behind. He reached around to stroke her with his fingers while he drove into her, and the combination sent her over the edge.
Exhausted, she fell asleep in his arms. He'd nudged her awake with kisses about five-thirty A.M., and she put on her nightgown to sneak upstairs. She took a long hot bath to ease sore muscles. Then she put on her pajamas and climbed into bed next to Bethany.
She vaguely recalled Bethany trying to wake her up sometime later. She'd mumbled something, and Fidelia had chuckled.
"Your mama's worn out, little one. And about time, too. Let her sleep."
Now Heather rested in bed, half asleep, thinking about Jean-Luc. She'd agreed to marry him! Her fears that it wouldn't work out had been cast aside.
She dressed and went downstairs to the kitchen. Ian and Phil had moved the furniture back. She greeted them and gave Bethany a hug.
Fidelia hefted herself out of the recliner and waddled into the kitchen. "Come have some breakfast."
Heather followed her.
Fidelia grinned as she took a box of cereal from the pantry. "So how was it?"
Heather snorted. "It was very private."
"That good, huh?" Fidelia poured the cereal into a bowl while Heather fetched the milk.
"I had a bad dream last night." Fidelia lowered her voice. "The red glowing eyes and gnashing white teeth."
"We already know what that means." Heather poured milk into the bowl.
"I'm not so sure." Fidelia frowned. "I'm getting a real sense of danger. And then there was this stone building. Ruins. An old church, I think."
"Interesting."
Fidelia sighed. "Ian told me they still haven't found Louie. They'll go hunting again tonight."
And Jean-Luc would be fit and ready to fight tonight. Heather's breath caught when she realized he'd be risking his life again. She stared at the bowl of cereal, her appetite suddenly gone.
"There's a car coming up the driveway," Ian announced.
Heather followed Ian and Phil to the front door.
Phil peered out the window. "A woman driver. She looks like one of the models from last night."