Inferno by Cara Bristol

 

Chapter Ten

 

After dinner at an Italian restaurant in Coeur d’Alene, Inferno took Geneva to her bungalow.

“I can’t thank you enough for ferrying me around today—and for asking Edwin Mysk to take a look at Wanda. Are you sure he wants to?”

“Positive. He’ll have an answer if she’s fixable, in a couple of days.”

Night had fallen, and the scooter hovered under a yellow streetlight. She was reluctant to see the evening end, but maybe he needed a break? She touched his shoulder. “Um…would you like to come in, or do you need to get home?”

White teeth flashed in a broad smile. “I’d hoped you’d ask.”

Warmth spread through her chest. “You can park the scooter in the garage.” She zapped the door with the remote, it rolled up, and he guided the scooter inside.

Tingling with tactile awareness of his presence, she led him in through a small mudroom emptying into the kitchen. “Would you like a drink? Beer? Pop? Water? Coffee, tea?”

He shook his head. “No, I’m fine.”

“Well, then. Good.” The tiny kitchen shrank with him in it, making her more conscious of his size and how good he smelled. Riding on the scooter, hugging his muscular form, inhaling that musk had been delicious torture. Arousal had hummed through her all day.

Now what? Car shopping probably didn’t qualify as the world’s most romantic date, but the last time she’d gone out with a man had been Trenton, and to say she was rusty would be an understatement.

“I’ll, uh, have a glass of water.” She filled a tumbler from the tap and took a big gulp to wet her dry mouth. Nervous much? Why did his company seem momentous all of a sudden? “Let’s sit in the other room.”

She switched on a few lamps in the parlor and gestured to the couch.

He sat, taking up half the space on her small sofa. “Your living quarters are very homely.” He nodded appreciatively.

“I think the word you’re looking for is homey.”

“Isn’t that what I said?”

“Close.” She smiled.

“Your place is a lot like you.”

“Homely?” she joked.

“Pretty. Colorful.”

“Oh,” she said, surprised. “Thank you. It’s a one bedroom, but there’s only me, and the rent is affordable.” She’d saved for six months to buy the gray microfiber modern but comfortable sofa, the sole item she’d purchased new. The coffee tables, bookshelves, and dining set she’d acquired at garage sales and refurbished. She brightened the neutral scheme room with colorful pillows and inexpensive vibrant artwork. “I moved in without any furniture. I let Trenton have it all.” Their belongings would have reminded her too much of the betrayal—and she’d never liked their décor. “He’d chosen everything anyway.”

She and Trenton had had different decorating styles, and in the beginning, she’d been so besotted she’d deferred to his wishes—and ended up with a black-and-steel industrial bachelor pad. She’d never felt comfortable in her own home. A symptom of a larger problem, she realized.

“Trenton tended to make the decisions. I should have spoken up, but I didn’t. It was easier to go along with—” She twisted her mouth. “Sorry. You don’t want to hear about my ex.”

“I can think of other things I’d like to discuss.”

“Such as?”

“Such as this.” He pressed his lips to hers.

Turmoil and uncertainty stilled, and simmering desire flashed hot as his spicy exotic taste and smell enflamed her senses. With a moan of capitulation, she pressed closer to him, reaching up to tear off his hat, stroke his hair and his horns.

He growled as she rubbed them from base to tip. She smiled and fondled them some more then gasped when he palmed her hypersensitive breasts through her top. They’d been aching all day, her nipples hard, longing for his touch. Her head lolled to the side when he trailed his mouth from her jaw to the slope of her neck. He tugged her shirt collar aside to kiss her shoulder before seeking her lips again.

Her stomach clenched with anticipation. This is heating up fast. She’d never been swamped by such sudden, strong desire, priding herself on her rational, reasoned approach to life. Surrendering to the whim of passion was so tempting. She was a mature woman, and, if she wanted to have sex with a sinfully handsome extraterrestrial, why shouldn’t she? Inferno had a heart—hearts—of gold. He was crazy about her. She was over-the-top attracted to him.

As they kissed, she realized his intoxicating taste had grown stronger. “You taste good.”

“It’s the mating gland. It releases pheromones. Besides the ones in my throat, I have a gland in my mouth.”

“You’re full of surprises.” She slipped her hands under his shirt to palm his muscular chest. His smooth, firm skin felt feverish. “You must have a furnace inside you,” she joked.

“Almost.”

“You’re not going to spontaneously combust or anything, are you?”

“It’s nothing I can’t control.”

That didn’t sound like a denial, and she raised her eyebrows, but then they were kissing again, and nothing mattered except getting closer to him. When he tugged at her shirt, she let him pull it off but then suggested, “Why don’t we go into the bedroom?”

“You have the best ideas.” He grinned.

They scooted down the short hall. She switched on a bedside lamp, eager to see him in the flesh, and when she turned around, he already had his shirt off and danced around to toe off his shoes. She giggled. “I like a man of action.”

She undressed while watching him strip. His erection was as big and red as the rest of him, and, at the base of his cock, he had a short spur. She widened her eyes, and then his tail snapped around.

Heat curled in her belly. He was amazing. She quickly shed the remainder of her clothes.

He cupped her face and rested his forehead against hers. His hard-on nudged her abdomen. Whoever coined the phrase, heat-seeking missile hit the nail on the head.

“Every night since meeting you, I lie awake and think about you. You are more beautiful than I envisioned,” Inferno said.

“Have you been picturing me naked?”

“Yes, but I suffered from a lack of imagination.”

She never could have dreamed up anyone like him. Feeling a caress against her leg, she glanced down to see his tail winding around her thigh. Her stomach fluttered, but even nervousness couldn’t quell the flames of passion.

She palmed his hot chest and lifted her chin for a kiss. Groaning, he covered her mouth, his rumble and touch further stoking her need. His hands—and tail—seemed to be everywhere then, and she went exploring, too. They crashed on the bed in a tangle of limbs.

Mouths meshed in hard, deep kisses that sent waves of fire rolling through her. She fondled his horns, relishing his low growls of desire and encouragement. She kissed his neck, feeling the swelling in his glands, then trailed her lips across his wide shoulders.

She smoothed her hands over his taut abdomen to close around his cock. His tail thumped against the bed as she stroked his hard-on and the small appendage at its base. “What does this do?”

“It is designed for a woman’s pleasure.”

“I like the sound of that.”

He growled and pressed her against the mattress. “I want to know all of you.” With hands and lips, he awakened her erogenous zones—the sensitive slope of her neck, her breasts, her ticklish tummy, the backs of her knees, and her sex—and teased her to an apex of need.

When she was gasping and writhing, she broke away and rolled toward the bedside table. In haste, she yanked the drawer completely out. Contents went flying. Condoms, hand lotion, lip balm, and her vibrator scattered across the floor.

Face taut with desire, he groaned. “What are you doing?”

“Getting a condom.”

“Why?”

“For safe sex.” She leaned too far trying to snag the box and fell off the bed.

“Are you all right? Sex is safest when you don’t fall off the bed.”

“I’m fine.” She snagged a rubber and surreptitiously rolled her battery-operated boyfriend under the bed as he extended a hand to help her up. She tore open the packet.

“What is that for?” He frowned.

“We put it on your, uh, your cock.” Her face flamed with embarrassment. It was easier to engage in intercourse than deliver a safe-sex talk. “It protects against STDs.”

“STDs?” He looked more confused than ever.

Note to self: Next time, initiate this conversation sooner. “Sexually transmitted diseases—illnesses you can contract through sex.”

His eyes widened. “That’s a thing on Earth?”

“It can be. But I don’t have an STD,” she assured him. “I haven’t slept with anybody since my ex.” Way to kill the romance—bring up STDs and my ex-husband in the same sentence.

“’Topians don’t carry sexually transmitted diseases—and if we got one, our med pod would eradicate it.”

“Well, then. Guess we don’t need these.” She tossed the condom over her shoulder onto the floor. She was protected from pregnancy, so that wasn’t an issue. “False alarm. Where were we?” She scooted close to him. “My bad. Sorry about that.”

She wound her arms around his neck and rubbed her breasts against his chest. “I prefer to feel you, all you, and just you.” He’s maintained his erection one iota during the sex-ed talk, so all was not lost.

He kissed her, and, after a few intimate caresses, urgency consumed them again. They joined, Inferno pushing into her with smooth strokes. Even though it had been a while for her, she was wet and ready, and there was no discomfort, only satisfaction. Bliss. She wrapped her legs around his hips, rocking with his thrusts. He groaned. “I’ve waited so long for you. All my life.”

“Mmm,” she agreed, seeking his kiss.

With every thrust, the vibrating spur teased her clit, driving her desire higher and higher. Muscles in his neck tautened, and a sheen of sweat coated his body. The rose quartz he wore swung like a pendulum, and his thrusts synced with the rhythm of his two hearts. His scent infused her, and his growls filled her head. Stars detonated, rocketing her into an incendiary orgasm.

His hips swiveled and thrust harder and faster, and, when his cock convulsed, she combusted again.

Afterward, he pulled her close. She rested her head on his shoulder, and he stroked her mop of damp curls. Replete, content, and sleepy, she drifted off.

* * * *

Something tickled her nose, and Geneva brushed it away.

It came back. She swatted.

A chuckle rumbled in her ear.

She opened her eyes to find Inferno holding a strand of her hair. “Hey,” he said, and kissed her.

“Hey, yourself. How long was I asleep?”

“About half an hour.”

“Did you sleep?”

“I dozed.”

Lazily, she caressed his chest, toying with the rose quartz pendant. He’d had it on every time she’d seen him. “Does this have special meaning for you?”

“It’s supposed to bring love.”

That sounded like something Mandy Ellison would say. “Did you get it at the Inner Journey?”

“Yes.”

“I have a bigger one of these on my coffee table. I bought it because pink is my favorite color and I thought it was pretty.” She didn’t ascribe any mystical properties to crystals. As she released the pendant, she squinted at his throat and jaw. “Your neck is thinner.”

“Yes, now that I’ve mated, the swelling has subsided.”

“Was it painful? The swelling, I mean?”

“Sometimes.”

“Will you swell up again?”

“Not the mating gland in my throat.” He leered.

She giggled. “Okay, then. We’re all good.”

His gaze earnest, he brushed her hair away from her face. “We are very good. To have bonded with my life partner means everything to me. I promise to protect you and care for you for the remainder of your days. Whatever you desire, I will strive to give you.

“We are mated for life, but I understand many human females also wish to bless their union with an Earth marriage ceremony. All my brothers’ mates did so. Would you also wish to get married?”

Oh. Oh. Oh. Whoa. Seriously…whoa. He could not be talking about marriage already. She sprang up, pulling the sheet over her breasts. “Inferno…you’re moving a little fast.”

“It is not moving fast for me. I have waited my whole life for you.”

“We met a little over a month ago.” For most of the time, she’d avoided him. “We haven’t gone on a real date.” She didn’t count looking for cars and grabbing a bite to eat afterward as a real date. Falling into bed had given him the wrong idea. Most men would have treated this scenario as a casual sexual encounter. Except he wasn’t most men. ’Topians didn’t share the same culture or belief systems, which provided another reason to proceed slowly.

“Where would you like to go?”

“You’re not hearing me!”

“I don’t understand.”

Oh, this was hard. She hated to hurt him, but she couldn’t allow him to assume his dreams were being fulfilled, when they weren’t. Maybe at some point in the future, who could say? But right now? She needed time to process, to adjust. Panic fluttered in her chest. This was moving way too fast.

Sure, she’d dreamed of meeting her soul mate—and maybe this hot, sexy Luciferan was him—but it was too soon to tell! She liked him, had been attracted to him right from the start, and even as panic began to rise, so did desire. Staring into his handsome, sincere, adoring face, her body responded automatically. However, she made the decisions, not her hormones!

She couldn’t risk repeating the same mistake or making a worse one. She’d believed she’d known Trenton, and he’d thrown her a curve ball.

Of Inferno, his background and his people, she knew little. All she had were a few basic facts, that he seemed attentive and gentle, and he was hot as heck, but infatuation and sexual attraction weren’t enough to guarantee a relationship would endure. She couldn’t commit to a lifetime because of an incendiary sexual encounter.

This conversation might have been better delivered if we weren’t lying in bed naked.

She squeezed his hand. “I like you. We have potential—but we need to let it play out as it’s meant to be.”

“What are you saying?”

“Don’t build castles in the air. My castle requires a foundation. It has to be grounded on something solid.”

“You want to live in a castle?”

Frustrated, she said, “We can’t get serious yet!”

“We already are. Our genetics have bonded us.” His undeterred gaze was gentle and warm as he caressed her hand, causing her stomach to flutter with an attraction that couldn’t be denied. He tempted her to ignore her inner caution and common sense and plunge head first into passion and sensation. But feelings had led her astray before. She’d been wrong about Trenton.

About Inferno, too. She couldn’t forget how she’d leapt to conclusions, reverting to old programming the first time she’d seen him. She’d mistaken him for the devil, and she didn’t believe in Satan! Even after she’d realized her error, she’d dodged him, refusing to accept he’d come from outer space. She couldn’t rely on her own judgment anymore, and if she couldn’t trust herself, how could she trust him? Her head needed to be screwed on straight before she could commit to anything.

She used to assume if she met her soul mate, the truth would shine like a neon sign on the Vegas strip. It would resonate irrefutably in her soul, for lack of a better word. The fact she had doubts threw everything into doubt.

She doubted her doubts! Surprisingly, one thing that didn’t bother her was that he was an extraterrestrial. Once she’d opened her eyes to the truth, acceptance had come lightning fast.

“Listen. It’s not you, it’s me—”

“You’re breaking up with me?” Alarm raced across his handsome face.

“No! Why would you think that?”

“It’s-not-you-it’s-me is what one says when one is breaking up.”

In fact, Trenton had uttered those very words to her when he’d told her he intended to file for divorce. Of course, he’d meant the opposite. It had been her. He had fallen out of love with her—if he’d ever been in love.

“My bad. Poor choice of words.” She canted her head. “I didn’t think genmates could break up. Didn’t you say they bonded for life?”

“We do. But ’Topians do have sexual relationships of convenience beforehand.”

An unexpected and unwarranted jealousy soured her stomach as she pictured him with somebody else. What is wrong with me? He says he wants me, and I tell him to slow down, and now I’m getting jealous of somebody he might have slept with in the past?

“I like you. I’m attracted to you, but I need to examine my feelings and get to know you better before I commit to anything serious. We all move at different speeds. Can we please take this moment by moment?”

A shutter came down over his eyes, and she’d felt like she’d kicked a puppy. “All right. If that is what you want.”

“It’s what I need,” she said.

Wasn’t it?