Rebirth Ch. 03

Outside, the wind howled, tapping the windows with steady thumps. Aiden lay on the couch staring into the flames of the fireplace.

He could not get his mind off the woman upstairs. Punching the pillow, he shifted and exhaled an unsteady breath as he tormented himself with visions of her allure. Like the way her skin flushed in excitement turning a strawberry pink shade that made him wonder how far that ruddiness extended. Or the way her eyes portrayed her every emotion, arousal turning them the color of honey. Just thinking about the generous curve of her lips made him hard. Harder, actually. He had not lost his erection since the moment he saw her. What would it feel like to have that luscious mouth wrapped around his cock, her heat surrounding him? He imagined it would be nothing short of earthshattering, just as the promise of sinking into her body would be.

The sweaters she wore left much to the imagination, clinging one moment, hanging loose the next but he always had a vivid one and now the mental visuals were aided by the rich curves he'd felt pressed against him. Her nipples had poked him through her clothing, stabbed his tongue and there was nothing he would not give to see them, no barrier between them and his greedy mouth. Would they be creamy pink or dusty rose?

Her steady breathing told him she had fallen asleep and he thanked Ra. A few more minutes of listening to her toss and turn, of smelling her growing arousal, of hearing her short breathing and he would have catapulted up the stairs, consequences be damned.

The evening had been simultaneously a blessing and a torture session as he savored her nearness, hearing every beat of her heart, every breath she took yet restraining his need to close the distance between them.

She did not seem to notice how powerful the effect she had on him though, the innocence she radiated so very rare. She was unconscious of her sensuality but it was there in every move she made. Despite whatever experience that placed the shadows in her eyes, her core remained untainted, shining with a virtuous light. The jaded part of him scoffed at such obvious naivety but the optimist he longed to bury was fascinated by her, by the way her mind worked.

What's more, he felt comfortable with her and the fact made him realize that he never fully let his guard down with anyone before.

She knew what he was yet it seemed the furthest thing from her mind. She treated him as though he was just a man. Not the phoenix so many were fascinated by. Not the famous author that so many wanted a piece of. Not a meal ticket. He was just Aiden with her and the novelty of just being, no pressure to keep up pretenses was addictive.

He could sense her confusion at the strength of her reaction to him, to them but how did he explain their connection without scaring her? He wished he had the time to romance her, wine and dine her, to show her just how special she was to him.

He was adjusting his position once more when the terrified whimpers reached him. Instantly he was up the stairs. Mac thrashed, fighting the weight of the covers. Tears were streaming into her hair, the pained sounds that came from her making his heart ache and his anger spike. At his command the lamp at the bedside table burned brighter.

Sitting next to her, he said her name, trying to hold her lightly. She turned on him, fists and nails aiming for his face. He pulled her against his body, easily restraining her efforts. Her body stiffened as she fell into consciousness. All fight left her and she sagged against him, sobs welling out of her chest. He held her, making soothing sounds, slightly awkward in his position as comforter. Thankfully that she did not shy away from him, he stroked her back in comforting circles.

His body reacted on its own accord, reaching for the press of her soft curves against him. He shifted subtly to hide his erection. She wore a simple white cotton nightgown. It looked virginal and innocent in its simplicity. The soft light filtered through the material and he could make out the silhouette of her body. He gritted his teeth, fighting to control his cock and focus on consoling her.

At last her cries were reduced to sniffles and she looked up at him, tears turning her eyes into shining jewels. He smoothed her hair away from her face, thumbs catching the wetness on her cheeks. "Tell me. You need to get it out, Mac," he said.

With his eyes he begged her to trust him. Trust him to bare her soul without consequence. Trust him to help her put the pieces back together if she fell apart. She shook her head, burying her face in his neck. Long minutes passed before she began, low and shaky against his skin, the muted words barely reaching his ears. She paused frequently and he waited for her, letting the beat of his heart steady her. With every word his rage and disgust grew. He worked hard to keep his breathing even and his hand gentle.

He looked down at her. She was so soft and womanly, everything he was not. In spite of the traumas of her life, she retained a goodness that was rare. She was like a ray of sunshine on a cloudy day, bringing hope of better to come. Despite his own need for violence, he admired her. She was fighter, a survivor, strong in spite of her fear.

"I kept going over all the things I could have done differently that night. I shouldn't have walked out there alone. I sho-"

With a ferocity he could not curb, he grabbed her head, startling her into meeting his gaze. "Never blame yourself for that sick fuck's actions. Do you understand me, Mac? You did nothing wrong."

She searched his gaze for something. Thankfully she found whatever it was because she nodded. She took a breath and continued, "My hair. It's what made him notice me. I have worn it short since then." She touched the short strands. "I felt so dirty, Aiden. I had panic attacks. They would come out of nowhere and I could not breathe. I felt trapped all over again. I feel so broken, like I will never be able to put the pieces back together. I want to be whole again, Aiden. Make me feel whole again."

She leaned forward and touched her lips to his. Her breath mingled with his and a shudder tingled his spine at the exquisite contact. She pulled back to give him the most heartbreaking look. His core shattered into a million pieces and he knew they all belonged to her. "Be sure, Mac."

"Please, Aiden." She grasped the hem of her gown and pulled it over her head. Peaches and cream skin covered her from head to toe, soft and radiant. Her lovely thighs enclosed his hips and the image of them over his shoulder as he repeatedly thrust into her waiting heat did not help the painful fullness of his cock. Generous hips flowed naturally into a tucked waistline. Higher, his gaze was drawn to her ample bosom. As if she lost her nerve, she crossed her hands over her chest.

He gently uncrossed them and feasted his eyes on her flesh. "You're beautiful, Mac. Inside and out."

Like beacons her nipples called to him; a call he had no desire to resist. So he did not. Laying his palm over the twin peaks, he marveled at the contrast, her skin so translucent underneath his darker coloring. Her hands settled on his shoulders, nails digging into his skin. Her breasts were nicely shaped, perky with large nipples the color of a freshly bloomed pink rose. He traced their softness and encountered a soft seam.

She flinched and tried to scramble away. Placing one hand at her back, he held fast although he kept his hands gentle. In the faint light he made out the slightly raised ridges of teeth marks.

"Please, let go." Her face was turned away as she hid behind the short clumps of blond hair.

He ignored her request, instinctively knowing that letting her retreat now would be a big mistake. He could not let her go back to the bitter defeat that surrounded her. "What did he do?"

"Let go, Aiden." He relished the thread of steel that crept into her voice.

"When you answer me."

Her eyes met his with a sharp, angry movement. "What the hell do you want from me? Do you want me to point out every single scar? Because we will be here all night. Do you want to fuck or have this sick heart to heart." He watched her with a steady stare until she answered. "He bit me, Aiden. Is that what you what to hear?" She pushed at his shoulders. "Let me go," she screamed.

He pulled her sharply against him and his cock grazed her through her underwear. She gasped and her fingers tightened over his skin. "Are you going to let him keeping winning, Mac? You hide up on this mountain. You've left all you've known behind. He has taken your life away from you and you're letting him. When are you going to stop hiding?"

She froze, then exploded into motion, her small fists aimed at his face. "How dare you? You know nothing about what I've been through."

He rolled and pinned her beneath him. Her nipples rasped his chest with her harsh breaths, their tips harder than before. Her hips cradled his and his cock jutted into her softness insistently. There was no fear on her features and he realized she did not need soft and gentle, she did not need to be coddled or protected from her trauma. She needed to be forced out of the shell that she'd wrapped herself in. "You're right. I have no idea what you went through. But I do know that you're being a coward. I do know that you've given a dead man power over you. I do know that you're stronger than you let on." He cupped her sex through the cotton, pressing his palm hard against her clit. "I do know that this pussy has been denied long enough."

Before she could respond he caught her nipple between his teeth. She arched sharply, her nipple pushing further into his mouth. He engulfed the pert globe, sucking aggressively, his tongue flickering over the tip.

"Damn you, Aiden," she cried out, her fingers lacing in his hair and pulling on the strands as she pulled him closer, pushing her flesh into his mouth. Her eager response fueled the burn in his blood. He curled his tongue around the protruding flesh, pulling it deeper into the recesses of his mouth.

He released the globe with a deliberately loud plop and holding her gaze, grabbed it with his teeth once more. She held his stare with a subtle challenge that made him smile as he soothed the abused flesh with a quick lick. Kissing a path to the other globe, he gave it the same treatment, sucking on the succulent flesh, latching the hard bud at the roof of his mouth, stroking it with his tongue. He loved the mewling sounds she made.

Releasing her nipple, he rasped his tongue over its temptation. Pleasure arched her back, her hands pulling harder on his hair. Letting go of her sweet berry, he watched her shiver. He climbed over her until their noses touched and let her see him. He was not a gentle knight in armor. He was rough around the edges and with reason would be his enemy's worst nightmare. But for her there was gentle caring that tampered his savagery. For her he was better than he ever thought he could be and that part of him refused to let her light be diminished by evil.

She did not shy away from what she saw in his eyes, her gaze unblinking. Holding his stare, she lifted her head off her pillow and touched her lips to his. Her teeth nipped his lower lip. "I'm not afraid of you, Aiden," she said, surprising them both, making him realize that he had been expecting her to flee from the darkness that was part of him.

"Then kiss me, vixen. Show me the real you. The real Mackenzie. Show me the steel beneath all that softness."

Her tongue slipped into his mouth and he allowed her to explore. Her kiss was a mixture of innocence and brazen sexuality. Building in intensity, the kiss grew bolder, wetter and wetter, more and more carnal. Her tongue enticed his, tempting him into a sensual dance until their tongues curled over and around each other.

He explored every hill and valley, tasting the explosion of tangy sweetness that was unique to Mackenzie. With every swipe of his tongue the memory of her was imprinted in his brain. Every move she made. Every sound that whispered through her soft lips. The touch of her tongue against his. The feel of her beneath him. His body could not help its reaction as his hips pressed against hers seeking relief.

He licked at her upper lip and she tried to recapture his lips, her teeth snapping as he kept out of her reach, licking, then retreating. She moved against him, enticing him with her soft curves.

He pulled away from her lips before he completely lost his mind. Placing licking kisses along the graceful line of her neck, he trailed his fingers softly over her belly, learning the slopes of her breasts. Muscles quavered in the wake of his touch, soft sighs signaling her enjoyment. "You taste so sweet. Like a forbidden treat. And I can't get enough," he said, wanting her to know exactly what she did to him; his mind, his body and his soul.

His eyes swept her length and she blushed, the flush covering her cheeks and chest. The stiff peaks of her breasts thrust into the air, proud, tightening further below his gaze. Her skin glimmered with reflected light.

He felt her reserve return, her hands once more coming up to cover herself. The animalistic sound breaking free without his consent, he growled, "Don't fucking hide from me. Never cover what is mine. Ever."

Aiden groaned internally, sure she would kick him out now. The need to mark her in some way, to brand her as his tightened his skin as he fought the possessive aggression. She surprised him though. Instead of objecting to his dominant behavior she tightened her thighs around his flank and cupped his chin in a tender caress, placing a soothing kiss on his lips.

She humbled him. Eyes far older than her years reflected an understanding that baffled him. He was mythical healer yet she was the one healing him, healing wounds that were only now becoming visible to him. With a sudden realization, he thought maybe they were supposed to heal each other, that their two broken pieces fit together to create a better single being. His hands covered her breasts, kneading. He pushed the two globes together, kissing their tips lovingly. "This is not just sex, Mac."

Neither agreeing nor disagreeing, she answered, "Love me."

And he realized that he indeed did. His heart swelled with the foreign emotion. Her eyelids lowered as she shied away from whatever she saw in his eyes and he decided to leave the words unvoiced for the time being. Instead he would let his body speak for him.

Starting at the line of her panties, he kissed and licked a path, her skin soft beneath his lips. She sighed. Heat rose off her and her scent bathed his nostrils, placing every sense he had on high alert, thawing years and years of loneliness away. He discovered the scars that marred her skin and replaced the injustice of their existence with memories of them together, wholly harmonious. His tongue dipped into the well of her belly button and she pressed against his mouth, the little sounds she made in the back of her throat super sexy. "More, Aiden. That feels so good."

Her voice was liquid sex and his cock throbbed with a steady beat, needing to sink into her heat. "Open your eyes, Mac. Let me see you."

Her lids lifted and he drowned in their depths. He trailed his hand lower, his lips following. Placing a kiss over her mons, her aroma went straight to both his heads. Her stiff bud called to him through the fabric and he swiped his tongue over it, sucking on her through the cloth, pulling gently. This enticed an, "Oh", then an, "Mmm" from Mac as she leaned into his mouth, flowing with his movements. Her fingers latched onto his hair yet again. "Oh God!"

Needing more, he striped her panties away and lifting her hips, he French kissed her slippery lips. He tasted heaven, pure and simple. A combination of flavors hit his tongue. Salty, sweet, tangy, fruity. None overpowered the other, the balance just right. Sipping on her, he groaned, feeling her body shudder with the vibrations. Flattening his tongue, he drank from her addictive nectar, swallowing every molecule of her cream. More came to replace what became his favorite treat.

"Cream for me, Mac. Give me your sweetness. Ah, that's a good girl!" Spreading her delicate softness, he teased her, skirting her clitoris. She undulated under his actions.

"Please," she cried, her eyes pleading with him but he neatly hedged the organ time and time again. "Aiden, it hurts. Please take the ache away."

"How? Tell me what you want. Whatever it is, I'll give it to you. Just tell me." His voice was thick, dripping with his desire.

Her head thrashed back and forth. "Make me come. I need to come."

He pushed a wet finger into her tight slit. Her muscles grabbed him, unbelievably snug. Her back arched off the bed. She cried out and a rush of moisture dampened her cleft further. "Do you like that, baby?" he asked, massaging her walls. He slid his finger back and forth, stroking her g-spot.

"Oh yes, Aiden. More!" A gargle sound poured from her mouth as he forced her tiny hole to accept a second finger. The slap of his finger against her wet, slushing pussy grew increasingly loud as he sank the two digits into her repeatedly.

With his other hand her spread her nether lips once more. He sucked on the tiny bud. She whimpered, her thighs trembling around his head. He sucked and licked and prodded, branding her. Her erect bud on his tongue, he felt the contracting of muscles signally the approach of her orgasm. She froze before bellowing his name on a lust drunk scream.

He rode the waves with her, keeping her still beneath his mouth as she simultaneously fought him yet pulled him closer. "Oh God! Oh God! Ahhh! Aiden!"

Pushing her pussy against his face, her thighs gripped his head with skull-crushing strength, fingers removing a few hair strands. He minded not one bit. He would willingly be shot, stabbed and ran over by a semi for the splendor of her climax. He lapped up her honeyed dew, groaning roughly, his ears roaring as his cock cried out for release.

He gently petted her as she came down from her high, putty in his hands. Her thighs and fingers loosened and he reluctantly left his prize. He kissed a path up to her lips.

"Taste your goodness," he said, sharing her taste with her.

****

Aiden leaned over Mac, his magnetism pulling her in. They had only known each other for little more than a day but she felt like she knew him, knew his heart, knew his soul. Just as he knew hers. Edged with a ring of black, his intense azure eyes burned over her as his hand swept her with desire and gentleness.

Fear was still there, never too far away but desire was a strong opponent, growing and growing. For the first time in years she felt something other than terror, other than barely leashed anxiety. For the first time in years she desired the comforting weight of the male form blanketing her. She longed to feel the hard drive of a cock throwing her into oblivion. Her hands brushed over the rippling muscles of his back and she knew that not just any cock would do, not just any body. Only his body would do. Only his cock. Only Aiden would do.

"What are you thinking, Mac?" His breath caressed her cheek as he continued to pepper her skin with kisses. She sucked in a rough breath, her sex tightening with remembered pleasure and wanting more. His finger tipped her chin until their eyes met.

Instead of answering, she pushed at his shoulders. He rolled and sprawled below her, arms outstretched. Heat scorched her bare breasts as they tightened from the lusty attention of his gaze. She almost crossed her arms again but the look in his eyes stopped her. He did not see her scars, only the woman beneath. With a heady rush she realized she felt beautiful. How could she not under the force of that searing look?