Читать книгу Masters of Desire - Layla Chase - Страница 9

As night neared, Rafe made his way toward Siren’s Cove, promising himself he would complete his mission. If the Obeah woman wouldn’t give him the potion to cure his curse, he’d kill her and hope that by killing the old woman, his curse would reverse.

Dusk had melted into the darkness of night as he neared the shore. To avoid Melodie’s enticing music, he’d taken the precaution to plug his ears with candle wax before he set out. He moved in silence just beneath the surface until his serpent’s belly scraped against the sandy bottom. Popping his head above the surface, he realized he’d unwittingly returned to the same rocky point where he’d made love to Melodie. He should have taken the more direct route, entering Siren’s Cove under the cover of dark when the witch’s magic couldn’t hide the entrance.

The shoreline stood empty, the rocks casting dark shadows in the light from a million stars. He willed his change back to human form, his gaze rising to the boulder where he’d originally found Melodie.

From where he stood, waist deep in the surf, he couldn’t see her. Why hadn’t she come to lure him away again? Not that she could with the wax firmly in place inside his ears.

Despite his decision not to stop and dally with the beautiful siren, disappointment flared in Rafe’s gut. Had their lovemaking been nothing more than a brief interlude free of emotion or longing for more?

Rafe realized he’d secretly hoped for another encounter with the amazing Melodie. He could almost see her as she’d been the night before, tied to the rocks, her dusky skin a smoky blue in the starlight. Her breasts…ah her breasts.

His cock grew long and hard and Rafe moaned.

An answering moan sounded from the top of the rock.

“Melodie?” Fear sliced through him as he scrambled up the monstrous boulder. Was she hurt or ill?

When he reached the summit, he discovered his fair maiden lying with her hand tucked beneath her cheek, her hair in a wild tangle around her.

Dropping to his haunches, he bent his head close, his lips hovering over hers until he could feel the warmth of her breath against his cheek. Not until then did he let loose the breath he’d been holding.

The temptress was sound asleep. He could have laughed at his own panicked reaction, but the fear for her life only made him more confused about his obsession with this woman.

She wore the same white wrap she’d worn the day before. In her sleep, the folds had parted, displaying a considerable amount of her thigh, one rounded hip and a hint of the soft curls at the juncture of her thighs.

Rafe drew in a deep breath and let it out. Breathing did not ease the strain on his cock. Only sliding it between the siren’s legs would satisfy his need.

Before he could stop himself, his hand reached out and gently lifted the wrap, letting it fall to her side.

Now he could see the golden brown triangle of curls covering her mound.

Melodie rolled to her back, one knee falling to the side, opening her to Rafe’s view.

That was all the invitation he needed. He had to have her, had to taste her, feel her and fuck her once more.

His fingers skimmed the silky skin of her inner thigh, running from her knee upward until he brushed against her sex.

Her own hand lifted, fluttered and fell to her belly, inching downward to delve into her mound and find that hard little nub at the center of her pleasure.

Careful not to fully awaken her, Rafe dropped to his belly between her legs and parted her folds, kissing her fingertips aside.

“Ummmm…” Her ass wiggled against the cool stone surface, her pussy rising toward his mouth.

He accepted her slumberous offer, intent on bringing her fully awake and aroused at the same time. Slowly, so as not to startle her, he dipped his tongue into her pussy, licking the entrance in a sensuous circle and then tracing a pathway in an upward glide to her clit. He stroked her once, leaned back and blew a warm stream of air over her moistness.

“Oh please,” she moaned, her knees drawing up, her heels pressing against the hard surface of the boulder. She raised her ass up moving her pussy closer to his mouth. Her fingers combed through her curls, one hand dipping low to press into her center. “More.”

When Melodie touched herself there, heat exploded in Rafe’s groin. He should be entering Siren’s Cove and locating the Obeah woman. But not until he’d fucked this beguiling siren long and hard. He couldn’t get himself off that rock in the state he was in, much less walk.

More determined than ever to have his way with her, he flicked her fingers with his tongue, urging them away from her cunt so that he could replace them and bring her to the edge of insanity.

Her hands moved to her folds, parting them that he might touch her clit.

Rafe slid his hands under her ass, lifted her to his mouth and drank of her pussy, sucking and licking with a ferocity matching his passion.

She dug her fingers into his hair and pulled him closer. “Rafe, tell me this is a dream, that I might never awaken,” she gasped.

To Rafe, her words were but a whisper of muffled sound. But he understood and lifted his mouth from her long enough to answer. “’Tis no dream.” Then he reached out with his tongue, teased and toyed with that swollen nub he knew would bring her the greatest pleasure.

Her ass clenched in his hands and she pressed upward, a cry rising from her lips. A cry he could hear even through the wax still in his ears. “Rafe!”

While she still rode the wave of her passion, Rafe climbed up her body and fit his cock between her legs, pressing the aching tip to her hot and moist cunt. “Sing now, sweet siren.” Then he plunged into her, ramming his cock in until his balls slapped against her buttocks.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her heels digging into his ass.

Staring down into her now opened eyes, Rafe rocked into her again and again, reveling in her slick, tight pussy. He’d never known a woman so fiery in her passion, so wanton in her abandonment. The more he had of her, the more he wanted.

With each thrust, she moaned, urging him on, demanding his passion and ultimately his release. He peaked in an explosion of sensations, shooting his seed into her womb in a long shuddering thrust. When the tremors subsided, he collapsed over her, exhausted.

Her wrap had fallen away, leaving no barrier between them. Rafe took pleasure in the silkiness of her breasts pressed against his chest.

“I didn’t think you would come.” Her breath stirred the hairs beside his ear.

“Even without your song, I could not stay away.” He pulled the candle wax from his ears and tossed it into the sea. Easing over, he rolled her to her side and lay next to her, without breaking their intimate connection.

She hooked her leg over his hip anchoring herself more firmly on his cock while her fingers trailed across his chest to pinch a nipple. “Is it always so volatile…making love?”

“I find you inspire such recklessness.” He bent to flick his tongue over a turgid nipple.

Melodie’s back arched, pressing her breast closer for him to take full into his mouth. Her body shifted and wiggled, as if she wanted to get closer than skin against skin. Her warmth burned against him, making him hard again.

When he’d has his fill of one luscious orb, he moved to the next, lavishing his attention on it with equal diligence. “I believe it will always be volatile when I make love to you.”

One moment she swayed and moved to his hands and lips, the next she pushed against him, pulling free of his strengthening desire.

“What is it?” His gaze darted around for the source of her withdrawal.

“I have to go.” She stood, wringing her hands, a frown pressing her brows together. And were those tears shimmering in her eyes?

Rafe climbed to his feet and grasped her shoulders, forcing her to look at him. “What did I say?”

“Nothing.” Her voice choked on the word and she stared at his chest, not into his eyes. “I have to go.”

“No. Not until you explain.”

“Please.” She jerked out of his grip and clambered down from the rocks. “Just leave me alone.”

Before Rafe could leap to the ground, Melodie dove into the sea.

He watched the waves, waiting for her to surface to know which way she’d gone, but she never did.

Damn. He stared up at the stars. What had he done to disturb her so?

Rafe dove into the sea, knowing he had no chance to find her after his last attempt had failed. How she swam so fast, he couldn’t begin to understand. Perhaps he’d been right in assuming she was a witch, and she just disappeared.

He wanted to find her and wring the answers out of her, but dawn would soon be there and he still had a mission to fulfill. Transforming to his serpent form, he swam along the coastline using the starlight to guide him. The entrance to Siren’s Cove could only be seen at night from the sea. When he’d about given up hope, the shoreline disappeared and an opening appeared leading into a spacious, protected cove.

He’d found it.

Far from the elation he should have felt, all he could muster was quiet determination. He had to make Busara understand how important it was for him to be human and resume governorship of the island. If she didn’t, he had no recourse but to kill her in order to break the spell. If Braithwaite continued on his course of destruction, Busara would lose her cove and the Carib peoples their freedom and lives.

As he entered the warm waters of Siren’s Cove, he dug deep within himself to change back into a man so that he could complete his task. Not always did his concentration affect the change. To his relief, it worked this time.

As his tail disappeared and legs took their place, swimming became more difficult. He surfaced to breathe and tread water.

Ahead a figure emerged onto the shore. By her supple shape and movement it had to be Melodie.

When he opened his mouth to call out to her, something feathery brushed against his legs. He jerked to the side and stared into the inky waters. Then something grabbed his big toe and yanked down.

Unprepared for the sharp tug, Rafe went under, water filling his nostrils.

He surfaced, coughing and sputtering.

Was that a child’s laughter he heard? Without waiting to find out, Rafe struck out for shore. As he swam he felt as if tiny little fingers were pinching, poking and pulling at him.

What was the Obeah woman hiding in Siren’s Cove? A new kind of miniature monster she planned to use to infect the sea?

He swam faster until his feet hit bottom and he ran the rest of the way up the shore onto dry land. The tinkling sound of giggles followed. He didn’t have time to explore the source because several yards ahead of him, Melodie entered the edge of the forest.

If he wanted to catch her, he must hurry. On bare feet, he raced across the sugary sand, closing the distance before she disappeared down the twisted trail. He was upon her before she heard him and, to keep her from sounding the alarm, he clamped a hand over her mouth and one around her waist.

She jabbed her elbow into his gut, but he held on. He carried her kicking and squealing down the path, eventually emerging in front of a ramshackle hut he recognized as Busara’s.

The old woman stepped through the door carrying a small, glass vial in her hand. “I expected you sooner.”

He set Melodie on her feet, removing his hand from her mouth, but not the one from around her waist. “Then you know why I’ve come.”

Melodie twisted in his arms and beat against his chest, tears streaming down her cheeks. “You can’t kill Busara, I won’t let you.”

Rafe clasped both her hands and held them. “That’s completely up to the old woman.”

Busara sighed. “Killing me will not be necessary. I have what you came for.” She held out a dark brown vial. “Take dis and leave Siren’s Cove. When you return to your ship, swallow all of what’s inside. But you can not return to de sea before dawn of de second day, or de potion will not work and you will forever be what you are today.” When Rafe took the bottle from her, the old woman waved her hands. “Now leave.”

“What is it?” Melodie grasped Rafe’s hand.

Instead of answering Melodie, Rafe focused a steely-eyed stare on Busara. “If this is a trick, I will return and then I will kill you.”

“No tricks. You have proven your worth to de island. Perhaps I was not fair wit’ de young governor. Take de potion and be gone.” She spun on her heel and disappeared into the darkened doorway.

Rafe didn’t trust her. Not after what she’d done to him. If he had any other choice he’d have taken it, but with Braithwaite poised to claim the cove the following evening, he had to trust that the old woman wasn’t lying.

He turned to the beauty standing beside him.

She stood proud and naked, unconcerned by her nudity. Her light mocha skin glowed in the light from the torch burning at the edge of the hut. Her luminous brown eyes glistened with moisture and her lips quivered.

He ran his free hand through her silky golden hair and captured the back of her head, drawing her close. With his lips hovering over hers, he promised, “I’ll be back for you.” Then he touched his mouth to hers, his lips claiming hers, his tongue delving in to taste tangy sweetness.

She pressed against him, her nipples tangling in his chest hairs, her hips grinding against his.

His cock filled and swelled, pressing against her belly, eager to take up where they’d left off back at the boulder.

“I want to come with you,” she said against his mouth.

Her words brought back all the reasons he’d sought out the crafty, old Obeah woman to begin with. “No.” He broke the kiss and held her away from him, drinking in her beauty one last time. If the potion didn’t work, he couldn’t come back for her. He couldn’t make her wait for him to return. He left her standing by the old hut and strode down the path to the cove, his pace quickening the farther away he moved from the sweet siren. Before long he was running, his lungs near bursting by the time he dove into the cove’s warm waters. As fast as he could, he swam toward the sea, his body changing into the monster Melodie could never see. With luck, he’d return as a man.