"My shoulder is fine. And as far as doing this goes, I definitely want it." I grind my hips up and into him, urging him on. His bulge pushes back in response. He presses his hips in farther. Spreading my legs, I dry hump his erection, getting off on his animal-like moans. The heat between us intensifies. My mind is a muddled haze of want, need, and lust.
He gazes at my shoulder a little longer and moans, seeming to make up his mind, accepting this is happening. His lips find mine. I’m filled with burning passion, roaming over my mouth, my face, and my neck. Settling on my ripened buds straining against the material of my bra, he pushes the barrier to his desire over my breasts, freeing them, and sucks my nipple into his mouth.
His tongue is flat at first, then the tip teases my nipple; his teeth lightly scrape the flesh around it. I ride my urgent need against the friction between us, escalating to a new height. He undoes the zipper to my jeans, and his fingers find their way through to my wet mound, slipping between the folds before gliding back over my sensitive bundle of nerves. It’s been so long, my body quivers and trembles beneath his touch, and I’m rocking to my first climax.
In seconds, he removes all his clothes. We’re two sweating, gasping, groping bodies, merged at the hip as he rocks my world. He’s snug and hot inside me, thrusting back and forth, dipping deep and hard with every motion. I buck and grind against him using my thighs to crush him closer, inviting him deep inside. Before long, I manage to brush off the negative thoughts, hoping this moment won’t be a bittersweet memory, haunting me for all eternity.
My insides clamp shut around him, molding him into me. I don’t ever want to let him go. I ride the wave of sensation after sensation gripping my being, sending sparks of sheer pleasure up and down my spine. Tingling all over, I scream my release as he comes too.
He doesn’t withdraw but stays tucked inside me, wrapped in my arms and legs. His breath is coming as fast as mine, as we slowly come down from the most intense sex we’ve ever had. Fast, hungry, and raw, full of emotions. We’re saying with our bodies the words our mouths appear too afraid to voice out loud. Too, I can see it in his eyes. Neither one of us want to let go of this moment, but we must. There are things we have to discuss which I sense will change my life forever.
Chapter Seven
I wish I could stay like this, snug and warm inside her, still semi-hard, her flesh massaging my shaft, making me want to do it over and over again. But I resist. Every second we don’t have to fight is a luxury. Our existence is in danger, and I’ve been selfish in satisfying my own needs for long enough. We have a mission to complete, and Winter’s a big part of what we need to do to win.
It takes every ounce of willpower to slide from between her thighs and roll over beside her. I gather her to me, and she lays her head on my chest as my stomach knots.
“I’m sorry, babe, but we need to get dressed. There’s work to do. And I promised you an explanation. There’s so much I have to tell you, and I’m struggling for a good place to start.”
She gazes up at me and gives me a wry smile, sighs, then pushes off my chest and starts to put her clothes on. I delay putting on my own, so I can watch her dress.
“Why don’t you start by telling me why you left me without a word of goodbye. I’d love to hear your explanation.” Her voice is bursting with sarcasm and hurt.
I’d hoped our lovemaking would change her feelings about my past wrongdoings. Perhaps I was na?ve, and our actions were a desperate need to satisfy our own cravings.
Swallowing hard, I push past hesitancies. I owe her this and so much more. If we’re to move forward, we can’t have secrets.
“I was recruited by Trinity at Paranormal Realms, the virtual reality company.”
“That leggy brunette who looks as if she’s just stepped out the pages of Vogue. Is that the Trinity, you mean?”
I nod, and her face hardens as she jerks up her jeans. I think it’s time for me to put my clothes on too. The look she gives me has me fearing castration, and by her hands.
It’s best I cover up before she acts on her feelings.
“I can see why it was an offer you couldn’t refuse.”
“It wasn’t like that and besides, she has nothing on you.” It was the truth but maybe I should have kept the last part of that sentence to myself. Winter’s the only woman I see. And at times, I wished others couldn’t. I hated the looks men gave her when we were out together. It took a lot to remain in control and not allow my temper to get the better of me.
“Save your flattery, Roman, and get on with it.” She’s aggravated, and I get it.
“I apologize for making a comparison. But just to be clear, it’s true. Anyway, it’s linked to the rest of what I need to tell you. You might find it hard to believe, but people like us, you, me, Soraya, Caleb, and Rose—we have deep ties to this realm—the realm of the paranormal and supernatural. The things the other realm sees as fantasy really exist here. This place is our reality, and we’re a part of it. I’m speaking of the here, where we’re standing now. You’ve crossed over as well.”
“Crossed over! As in I’m dead?” Her eyes widen, and her mouth hangs open a little.
I chuckle and almost immediately wish I hadn’t. She narrows her gaze and purses her lips. If I want her to understand the urgency of what’s going on, I have to be serious which means having a better delivery.
“Sorry, no. You’re alive. I meant cross over to the other realm, an alternate parallel universe, not so much the one for the dead. Although they do have their own realm and certain entities can pass through to ours. What I’m talking about is an existence that confirms entities other than humans exist. Were-people, vampires, wendigos, succubus, incubus, shifters, witches, and warlocks, and more—they’re real. You and I are proof of it. The stuff nightmares are made of are all here.”
She backs up against the wall and slides down. Running her hands through her hair, she grabs a handful. The entire time, her gaze holds mine. Not wanting to push her, I wait for her response.
She frowns. “Are you shitting me?”
“Soraya and Caleb have both changed before your eyes and you still need proof? Just think about it…your life, especially your childhood. Those ghosts you used to see, Winter, were real, everything you experienced then was real. You were just starting to come into your powers and were a conduit for this realm. Which brings me to my next bit of news. Rose suspects you’re a vessel. She says you’ve communicated with the dead. This makes you highly desirable to anyone wanting to cross over from different realms and even the world of the dead.”
I pause in my story to pull my T-shirt over my head and to let what I’m saying sink in. She blinks a few times before resting her head against the wall and raising a questionable brow. I think she’s taking it all fairly well. At least she hasn’t run screaming from the room.
“The malevolent beings have a tougher time passing through to the other realms. There are rules to keep them out, and they can only be invited in. So, they use children with an ancestry from this world, who don’t know any better, as a portal to what we call ‘the real world.’ That’s why Rose had your powers capped. You’re one of the most powerful, in a legend of legendary super witches from your ancestry born to the real world, in centuries.”
“Well, if you’ve been traveling back and forth, what changed? Why were you recruited?” Fully dressed, I sit back down on the bed.
“Paranormal Realms was created by an ancestor of this world, for the real-world beings to live out their fantasies. He was born with virtually no powers to affect anything; but had a strong desire to explore life beyond the realm. Through Paranormal Realms, and with a high IQ, he was able to create a way for both worlds to be explored without the two crossing over. Beings from each world considered the other a myth.