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When he pulled back to look down upon her, she grew determined to erase all traces of the agony from his eyes. She accepted him as he was by giving herself over to him completely. No more doubts were going to get in their way.
Even if he was an immortal, a Watcher, he was something honorable rather than destructive. If she was just going crazy by accepting it all, she was going to choose to go with it anyway. He was better than anyone else she had ever experienced before.
While she could not change the past or get around the uncertainty of their future, Ahti’s advice struck her.
Without asking why, she would be in the present where he crushed her body against his. She would deal with the future when it came. In the meantime, she was determined to make a few memories. She tried to recall what it was her Mammie use to read to her from one of her favorite books.
“Be with yourself just the way you are... Know you have enough...You know enough...You are enough.” She smiled at the words. Her Mammie would be thrilled to know they had not only stuck with her, but were going to serve her. “When you finally accept all that you are and all that you have in the precious present, you will be truly happy.”
“Where did that come from?”
“Mammie used to read it too me. She was always stopping as she read to share the wisdom she gained with Poppie and me. That particular book she reread a lot. I think it was simply called, The Precious Present. I guess it is what Ahti was telling us.”
“Yes, I used to understand the concept perfectly, and couldn’t understand why everyone else didn’t choose to live the same way, too. Now, I get why it was so easy for me. My past had been erased, and my future was clearing The River. It was a simple existence mentally and spiritually to some degree, with only empathetic feelings to deal with and no fear of death.”
“So that you could do your job the best you could, they took away all of your emotional baggage from the past and any worries as to the future. Your only aspirations were to fix the present.”
“I guess so.”
“There is nothing wrong with that. What you do is an amazingly honorable job. Instead of whatever peace there is to be found in death, you have worked through yours. But, do you wish you had never met me? I mean, I messed up the whole emotional part for you. When you go back...” She hated the fact her voice broke. Determined to be the strong woman he loved here in this moment with him for however long it lasted, she did not want to hurt him in the time they had left. “When you go back, you will have to forget, or at least overcome, your pain of losing me to have access to the positive energy your job requires.”
“I cannot think of it now. It will be a problem for then. Can you live only for the way our two bodies fit together in whatever short period of time we have? Can you live with the pleasure I can give you in this moment?”
“Yes, I can.” Or I will die trying.
He lifted her chin with one hand, allowing the other the freedom to run down the inviting curve of her neck. His lips caressed her skin and made her blood throb through her veins under it. Her flesh thrilled under the burn of his hands. A sweltering urgency pumped through her to learn of all the glorious pleasures he had just alluded to. She tightly shut her eyes and pushed against him.
“I didn’t think a man like you existed for me.”
“I am not a man.” His voice had quickly taken on a forlorn, warning tone. However, she chose not to heed it.
“You are a man in the present moment, the one you just told me to live in with you. I love you, here, now.”
She decided to see what power she could yield over his physical longings, hoping they would push aside his biased conscience. Fisting the silky waves of his hair on the back his neck, she brought his lips to hers. With a persuasive thrust of her tongue, she found her way into his mouth. She let her hands fall to his shoulders, where she felt his every muscle to be tight. Loving the sturdiness of her valiant warrior, she showed it by lashing at his tongue with hers. She prayed it would be an inescapable diversion to rid him of any moral influences still lingering in his head. There was a time when she would have found his staunch morals to be as alluring as his muscles, but enough was enough. This moment was about nothing other than reuniting two old souls who had long ago been torn apart. This was about rectifying centuries of wrongful separation.
Sneaking her fingers between them, she found the front of his trousers. A feral groan escaped him as he grabbed for her wrists.
“You said you were going to live in the present with me,” she complained.
“I am, but I also want to make it last. Therefore, I need to remain restrained or it will be over much too soon. So, my plan is to get you naked in the present first.”
He pushed up on his knees beside her. His solid form lulled her body into a provocative curl of arms and legs. He yanked her shirt over her head, revealing her silky, white bra. When he clenched his teeth together and she felt a shudder seize his body, she looked down upon herself proudly to the two hardened nipples that hinted a blush of color through the material.
“You could not possibly comprehend what you are doing to me.” With fluent actions, he divested her of the bottom half of her clothing, too. The rush of the moving fabrics over her flesh left her tingling. She followed his gaze to the shadow of curls at the apex of her thighs. A surge of longing moistened her core
He stroked his fingers through the hair, letting the tight rings fall over her moist folds. Lowering his head, he placed a whisper of a kiss on her sex. As she was inundated by her senses, his tongue found her. It was gentle and persistent in its assault, persuading her to push herself against his mouth. A robust, haughty laugh of passion shook him as he met her advance by pushing his tongue into her quivering opening. She suddenly found herself upon a mercurial precipice. The throbbing inside her was overcome by a wave of trembles. A wash of heat made her tighten and then relax her inner walls, and she thrust against his mouth with each wave of her orgasm. When she opened her eyes again, she found him peering up at her. His eyes were all she could see above her mound. Lowering her back to the bed, his robust smile shined with the telltale signs of her need.
She watched as he swiftly removed his clothing. Thanks to the light left on beside the bed, the taunt muscles of his shoulders, abdomen, and thighs rippled before her. She thought him just the picture a hero should be. When he reached down to brush his hands over her erect nipple, a shock of lightening seared through her. A primitive instinct made her lift her hand to the hardness that appeared to reach for her from its position cradled between his thighs. With a ferocious moan, he fell onto her with the gentleness of a lover, despite his solid mass.
Feeling the weight of his need on the sensitive skin of her thigh, Kamillia arched up against him in response. The flutter in the pit of her stomach was volatile. Any lingering, whispered warnings had been finally shrouded by her desires. She no longer wished to be sensible, or even slightly realistic, if she could not be with this man.
She was surprised by the gentle kiss he gave her at first, until he fisted his hands into her hair and sought entry into her mouth. Each sweep of his tongue met with hers, and she felt his body tremble. Feeling the muscles ripple where his abs pressed against hers, she opened her thighs in invitation. He settled between them with his shaft lying along her wet folds. Her moist flesh shivered in the prelude to joining, causing the muscles in her stomach to clench.
It was not long before she couldn’t take just kissing him any longer, and she thrust upward. His erection touched the delicate skin that lead up inside of her. Her body relaxed in places, while it tensed in others. A bundle of nerves and need. He pulled away from her mouth, leaving her breathless and wanting.
Yet, she didn’t have to wait long before her hero’s hardness entered her, filling her entrance. He used his arms to brace his upper body to hover above her, allowing himself to slide deeper into her slick, heated channel. She glanced down to see the point where their bodies mingled. Dragging her tired legs up over his sturdy muscles, she pulled him fully into her, the fullness making her breath hitch.
He leaned over her, pulling her into his full embrace and letting his face rest beside hers, his mouth cradled at the side of her throat. His breath came in hot pants, moistening her neck. With each thrust, her inner walls clenched around him, begging him for more.
“I love you, Kamillia.”
She felt the tears burn her eyes. The flush of total relaxation, which comes from two lovers becoming one, heated her entire body. She felt the waves of her release as she shattered around the last of his movements.
