The Steam Room

STORY EXCERPT

The kitchen in which he found himself wasn’t at all familiar. Short rows of cabinets sat on two walls. At a sink overlooking a window, he spied a woman. Moonlight spilled through the lace curtains, barely illuminating the darkened room enough for him to see her outline. A large shirt or a short gown fell around her body, the extra fabric folding in waves to hide her form. Somewhere around her thighs, it fell into shadow, leaving him uncertain where the garment ended.

Water whooshed from the tap, captured in a glass she eventually raised to her lips. The water disappeared as she greedily gulped it down.

Caiden wanted to say something, but he had no idea who she was or how she had called him. To his knowledge, he only had the souls of two daughters wandering the Earth. The rest of them had asked to be released from their obligation, the pieces of their souls scattered in the universe, which he had done. If they didn’t find Circe this time, he had no plans to ask Torrey and Desiree to try again.

She turned and the glass slid from her grip to shatter on the floor. No scream issued from her, but the color did drain from her face until she glowed eerily in the pale light of the moon. One hand rose and she reached for him, her hand hovering tentatively as if she couldn’t believe he was actually there.

“Caiden.”

The whispered word drew his attention to her lips, dark against her white skin. Light flooded the room, but Caiden didn’t look to see who had joined them. The incandescent bulb’s yellow glow showed healthy color returning to her face.

She was tall, easily the same height as his daughters. She would be able to rest her head against his shoulder if he could hold her in his arms. Golden strands threaded through light brown hair, evidence of time spent in the sun. Her light brown eyes lit from within, and her body shimmered with suppressed energy.

The enormity of the moment swamped Caiden’s consciousness. He held his hand out to her, wanting and needing a physical contact he knew wasn’t possible. Her name escaped his lips. “Circe.”

Everything faded and Caiden found himself back in the nothingness that made up his home.

* * * *

“Riley? Honey, are you okay?”

Riley stepped forward, but Soren’s hand shot out and clamped onto her shoulder. She turned her head to peer up at him. The vague, unreal quality that had permeated the room only seconds before had vanished, leaving a confused mess swirling through her head.

He dipped his head closer to her. “Are you sleepwalking?”

“I kinda feel like it, but no, I’m awake.” Only now did she remember dropping the glass. She looked down at where she had come close to stepping on one of the shards. “At least it broke into big pieces.”

He bent down and gathered the pieces, placing each into the bottom half of the glass, which had remained intact. Riley backed away from the mess and headed to the pantry for a paper bag.

When she returned, she held it open as Soren placed the pieces inside. “I’ll put this into the recycling bin. You get a broom and sweep for smaller pieces.”

By the time he returned, she had finished. The small kitchen made it a small job. He lifted her into his arms. “I knew I should have gone with you. See? You need protection even if you’re only going down the hall.”

She snorted even as she relaxed into his embrace. Ever since she had arrived home to find him making grilled cheese and home fries, he had harped on her about her adamant refusal to let him accompany her to work. “Just because I’m tired and klutzy doesn’t mean I need a bodyguard. It means I need sleep.”

In his strong arms, she felt light and small, two things she wasn’t all that used to feeling. She rested her cheek against his chest and let her hand rest just below the pulse ticking on his neck. Breathing deeply, she inhaled his scent. It filled her senses, and she sighed contentedly.

He kissed the top of her head and tossed her onto sheets that still held heat from their earlier activities. “I guess I should leave you alone so you could you get some sleep.”Instead of rounding the bed to climb in from the other side, he rolled to hover just above her body. Heat smoked his eyes, darkening their color. His lips teased close to hers, sending her pulse racing, but he didn’t deliver. “Or I could make you so exhausted you can’t stay awake.”

Amused and sleepy, she smiled an invitation anyway. “I’m already so tired I hallucinated a man in the kitchen.”

Every one of Soren’s muscles tensed. He raised his body, lifting his head to better use his wolf senses. “I neither smell nor hear anyone.”

This time, she laughed and ran a hand up his thigh. Cords of muscle rippled beneath her fingers. “I said I hallucinated him. I even knew his name. It was Caiden.” She wrinkled her nose as the memory slowly focused in her head. “He didn’t know my name, though. He called me ‘Circe.’ You’d think my own hallucination would know my name.”

He sat back on his heels, kneeling on either side of her legs, and frowned at her. “Why are you so sure it was a hallucination?”

She reached up and tugged at the waistband of his boxers. “I just knew he wasn’t really there. I wasn’t afraid of him. It was like I knew him, but I don’t. Weird. Now, I’ve decided for option two, so get to work before nature takes over and I pass out.”

Adult Excerpt

Lifting her head, she realized the cause of Soren’s enjoyment. Teigh’s amazing tongue licked Soren’s length, greedily lapping up her juices. Then he opened his mouth and slid Soren’s entire cock inside. Riley’s brows rose. Though she knew Teigh’s mouth could fit around Soren’s girth, she honestly didn’t think he’d be able to swallow the entire thing. If Soren didn’t have such a firm hold on her, she would have foregone the promised orgasm to scramble off him so she could watch from the sidelines. She consoled herself the loss by promising there would be time for voyeurism later. As Soren neared climax, his hips rose, thrusting into Teigh’s mouth and carrying Riley’s hips upward in the same motion. The erotic distraction kept her own orgasm at bay but not for long. Tension coiled tighter, and she submitted to it, welcoming the coming release. She and Soren shouted at the same time.

Teigh didn’t give Riley a chance to catch her breath. Rising to his feet, he grabbed for Soren’s fingers, still lodged inside Riley’s pussy. He brought them to his mouth and licked them clean. Riley watched, fascinated, as one lover cleaned evidence of her orgasm from another lover’s fingers. Teigh treated Soren’s other hand the same way, and then he leaned over their splayed bodies, inhaling the aroma of passion.

“You both smell so good. It’s been too long since I’ve tasted you, baby. Too long since I’ve been able to drink your sweet nectar.” His hot tongue laved her swollen tissues, lapping gently until he’d cleaned away most of her juices.

Riley quivered and shook as he prolonged the aftershocks of her orgasm.

Then he lifted her from Soren’s body, his grip almost reverent. She felt weightless and safe in his arms. He set her down next to Soren and pushed her legs apart. In one swift motion, he both changed his position and entered her body. He hovered over her, motionless, his face painted with rapture.

“Oh, baby, you fit me so well.”

Struck speechless, Riley couldn’t put together a coherent thought. She had expected him to make love to her, but she hadn’t expected him to sheath his cock without a kiss or a warning. He did fit nicely, stretching and filling her deliciously. The desire so recently slaked by Soren roared to life. She lifted her hips to encourage him to move.

He held her down with one hand on her pelvic bone. His chocolate gaze penetrated the haze of her desire. “Wait, baby. I haven’t had you in three thousand years. If you don’t give me a minute, this isn’t going to take very long.” The corners of his lips lifted in a positively salacious smile. “And I know how much you like it to take a long, long time.”

Marathon sex was a completely new concept to Riley. Some of her lovers had taken their time, but nothing ever lasted more than a half hour. Soren liked to repeat his performance, driving her to a minimum of three orgasms each time. Adding Teigh to the mix definitely tested the limits of her stamina.

She tried to return his smile. The rising need he created demanded to be sated, so she didn’t know whether or not it came off as desperate. “I have to go to work soon.”

Teigh chuckled, the sound vibrating deep in his chest. “Babe, when we’re finished here, Soren and I are going to pack you up and take you to see our girls so they can undo this curse and the four of us can finally be together again. You’re finished with your job. No woman of mine is going to work for someone else. You’re the one who holds us all together. That’s enough of a job.”

Riley didn’t care for the way he seemed to think he got a say in her life, not that she loved her job or necessarily wanted to continue doing it. Before she could protest, he withdrew and thrust back into her. The quick, sharp motion sent liquid heat traveling through every capillary in her body. Her protest came out as a moan. She grabbed his shoulders, holding on for dear life.

He thrust several more times, playing her body as if they’d been making love for years. He knew just how to angle his thrusts and just how much force to use. Riley rocked with him, too weak to wrap her legs around his waist the way she wanted.

The effects of her last orgasm had yet to fade, and Riley wasn’t all that close to coming again. Teigh pried her fingers loose from his bicep and kissed them. Then he moved her hand down to wrap her fist around Soren’s cock.

“Make him hard, baby. Get him ready while I take care of you.”

Soren’s silky skin caressed her palm as she teased him. He rolled toward her so that she could adjust her grip, and he kissed her hard on the mouth. Teigh lowered his head to kiss her breasts, his soft lips grazing the undersides before paying attention to the pebbled peaks. Together, they swept her away in the rising tide. If she listened hard enough, she could hear the distant sounds of Caiden’s beach.

Riley’s task was easily accomplished. Soren’s cock throbbed in her hand. Gently, he extricated himself from her grip and rolled away. She heard the sound of the drawer where she kept her vibrator opening and closing. When Soren knelt behind Teigh, she realized he had found the lube.

Teigh froze, and she didn’t protest. Peering over his shoulder, she watched Soren squirt the gel onto his palm. He massaged it into his cock, and then he squeezed more onto his fingers. They disappeared from view, but she knew from Teigh’s moan that Soren’s lubricated fingers explored the tight ring of Teigh’s ass. Jealousy flared briefly. She wanted both of them inside her.

But then she tamped it down. Soren loved this strange man as much as she did. It stood to reason he wanted to make love with Teigh as much as she did. She relaxed her neck and let her head drop back to the mattress. Teigh’s gaze locked to hers, sharing the wondrous sensations Soren evoked as he sank into their lover’s warmth.