Love and Brimstone Read online

  He nodded and pulled away, rubbing his temples. “Oh my God. I had no idea you were that strong.”

  She put a hand on his shoulder. “I couldn’t hear your thoughts.”

  He nodded, his eyes still closed. “But you could see through my eyes.”

  “Yes.”

  “And you could control the bison. Through me.”

  “Yes.” He still wouldn’t look at her. “Matthias, what’s wrong?”

  “You latched on to me, and I was just there for the ride.” When he looked at her, she saw his eyes were bloodshot. She reached out to him, and he caught her hand, kissing it. “It’s okay. I probably shouldn’t have started with something complicated like that. It’s my fault.”

  He tried to stand, stumbled, and she caught him. He regained his footing and kept her hand in his. “Come on. Let’s go get dinner.”

  It was nearly dark, she realized with surprise. How long had they been there?

  The others were relieved when they reappeared. Albert and Robertson sensed something happened but didn’t ask.

  Taz squeezed Matthias’ hand and was pleased to feel him return the gesture. She sat across from him at dinner, talking with him and the others. When she stretched her foot under the table, he pushed his close and they sat like that, touching, for the rest of the meal.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  The others sensed their shift in behavior and followed at a discreet distance back to the cabins. Inside, Taz leaned forward to kiss Matthias. He gently pushed her away.

  “Not yet.”

  He made sure the door was securely locked. He kicked off his shoes and sat, cross-legged and fully dressed, on the double bed. He patted the bed in front of him. “Come here.”

  She sat, kicking her shoes off first.

  “Relax,” he whispered. “Lean against me.”

  She did, finding it easier to trust him this time.

  As he put his arms around her she resisted the urge to reach out to him with her mind.

  “It’s okay, go ahead. I want you to. Gently, please.”

  She tried, remembering how she’d looked through his eyes earlier. Maybe she could use the same imagery.

  “Why can’t I hear your thoughts?”

  “Because you haven’t figured out how, yet. You’re still afraid to open up to me. You should be able to hear my thoughts, as powerful as you are.”

  In her mind she stood in the darkened room, looking around. The windows were before her, revealing the inside of their cabin. She turned to a door at the far end of the room in her mind and made her way to it. It was large and heavy, the doorknob old and ornate.

  He read her thoughts. “Open it,” he whispered.

  In her mind she reached for it. She hesitantly traced the handle, then wrapped her fingers around it and pulled. A blazing glow too intense for her to look at flooded her mind.

  Her back arched and she cried out, but felt his arms around her, holding her.

  “It’s okay, Taz. It’s all right. You’re safe.”

  But that wasn’t in her ear—it was in her mind.

  She backed out of the doorway and slammed it shut, heart pounding. She couldn’t do this.

  “Yes, you can,” his voice whispered in her ear. His arms still held her, protecting her. “Trust me, Taz. You have to learn how to trust me.”

  He was right and she knew it. She reached for the door handle again. He wanted her to do this, and he wouldn’t have her do something dangerous. Robertson trusted him, and he would never let her come to harm.

  She had to learn to trust him.

  She closed her mental eyes against the glare and opened the door, feeling the warmth of his thoughts against her face.

  “It’s okay, Taz. I’ve got you.”

  She felt his strength and couldn’t take it, closing the door again. This time controlled, gently.

  “That’s a start,” he whispered. She collapsed against him on the bed, spent, drained.

  How does he do it? How does he touch my thoughts without going crazy?

  He pulled her to the bed with him, rocking her as she trembled. “It’s okay,” he soothed. “It’s okay…”

  She must have slept because when she opened her eyes, his arm was protectively draped around her, and he’d pulled the sheet over them. They were both still dressed.

  “Hey,” he whispered. “You okay?”

  She nodded, instinctively pressing herself against him. His body seemed to fit perfectly against hers. “That was intense.”

  “Yes, it was.”

  “Is that what it felt like when you started reading my thoughts?”

  “I’ve been doing it a lot longer. Not just yours, but I can read yours easily because of…what you did for me.”

  “You said you didn’t know if I could read minds.”

  “I didn’t, not for sure. Not until tonight. After I realized how powerful you are, I assumed you could. I needed to see if you could do it without an established physical…connection.”

  She rolled to face him, eyes closed. She kissed him, hoping he wouldn’t pull away.

  He didn’t.

  She thought about how warm his emotions had felt, knowing a lot of that was about her, his intense feelings. And she wanted him.

  Really wanted him.

  Pressing against him she kissed him harder, moaning when his hands worked under her shirt to the waistband of her jeans.

  She helped him remove his shirt while he parted her from hers, and they kissed, bare-chested, exploring with lips and tongues, passion so strong both could barely breathe.

  “I want you, Matthias,” she thought, trying not to make it a command. “I really, really want you.”

  He smiled. “Anastazia, your wish is my command.”

  They slipped out of their pants. She thought he would take her then, but didn’t. Instead, he ran his hands over her body. He felt smooth and strong, and his fingers explored every contour and curve as if he’d known her his entire life.

  She gasped when his tongue traced delicate circles across her belly. He trailed lower, working his lips down her flesh, his breath hot on her skin. He gently pushed her legs apart with his hands. Softly, he blew on her clit, making her whimper.

  She wanted him. Needed him.

  “Please,” she whispered. “Don’t stop.”

  She felt the heat of his breath on her just before he flicked his tongue up and over her clit. She closed her eyes and moaned. This was better than she’d ever imagined it could be.

  And she’d spent plenty of nights before all this happened imagining what Matthias Hawthorne might be like in bed.

  He lazily circled her clit with his tongue, making her throb and sending a flood of heat to her pussy. She wanted more from him.

  She didn’t care if he was reading her mind or not when he sucked her nub between his lips and lightly sucked. At the same time, he slipped two fingers into her wet cunt and fucked her with them. An explosion ripped all conscious thought from her. She plunged her fingers into his hair, holding on as he relentlessly drew her orgasm out, made it seemingly last forever.

  Taz gasped for breath as she recovered. Before he could do anything, she pushed him back to the bed, turned around, and straddled him. She moaned as she went down on him, her lips swiping across his cockhead. She enjoyed the salty taste of his precum and teased his slit with her tongue, trying to coax more out of him.

  Matthias wouldn’t be outdone. He clamped his hands on her hips to keep her firmly in place and buried his face in her cunt. She moaned around his cock and took him even deeper into her mouth as he fucked her pussy with his tongue. She tried to hold back, but couldn’t against his relentlessly skilled tongue. She deep throated him as orgasm after orgasm washed through her.

  And still, he held himself back.

  When she couldn’t take it anymore, she pushed up and escaped him. “I can’t,” she gasped. “Please, fuck me!”

  He laughed and rolled on top of her, teasing her, kissing her. He pre
ssed the head of his cock against her swollen, drenched pussy lips, not quite entering, and whispered in her ear, “Do you really want me to?”

  “Yes,” she begged. “Please!”

  He kissed her again. “I want you to taste me. I want you to have all of me.”

  “But I tried and you wouldn’t—”

  He snickered. “Not that.”

  Her eyes flew open. “What?”

  “Fair is fair,” he said, kissing her again.

  Suddenly, she knew. As she closed her eyes and kissed him, she knew she was more powerful, even though he was older. She knew what he was offering.

  And she wanted him—all of him.

  Propped on one elbow, he used his other hand, gently guiding her. He tipped his head to the side, his lips near her ear, positioning her mouth against his neck for the best access. She felt his warm breath against her cheek. Between her legs his cock pressed so firmly, tantalizingly close, but not entering. She wanted him inside her, to become one with him. He resisted her attempts to thrust against him. He cupped the nape of her neck with his hand. She flicked out her tongue and lapped at his shoulder, enjoying the salty taste of his flesh.

  “Just feel it,” he whispered. Then he thrust his cock hard and deep into her, drawing another moan from her. He felt so large, so hard inside her she bit down at the base of his neck where it gave way to his shoulder.

  He pressed her mouth firmly against his neck as he gasped, “Harder,” and thrust again. She did, feeling his flesh give way beneath her teeth. She tasted him, and he moaned in her head as he thrust—

  “Do it—oh, God, Taz, take it all from me, you don’t know how long I’ve wanted—”

  —his cock deep inside her pussy. Her head spinning, his blood tasted like warm, red wine. She wrapped her legs around his waist and dug her fingers into his back, trying to become one with him as his cock fucked deep inside her, deeper than any man had ever gone. As she met each thrust, she drank, Matthias moaning as he slid deep again, and for a second she thought there was no way she would climax again. She never had before, like this—

  “Don’t stop, oh please don’t stop, Anastazia!”

  —and his thoughts echoed in her mind along with a staccato tempo she instinctively knew was his heartbeat—

  “I belong to you, Anastazia. I am yours, only yours, and I love you—”

  —and she climaxed, her cunt walls massaging his cock as she bit even harder to stifle her scream.

  His entire body stiffened. He thrust one last time, and she felt more than heard his cry as he exploded inside her. Eventually his breathing slowed, and he wrapped his arms around her, rolling to his side, taking her with him. Exhausted and spent, Taz fell asleep in the safety of his arms.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Matthias’ voice came to her from a long, shadowy hallway.

  “Anastazia.”

  She searched for him, knowing he was there, wanting to find him, needing him.

  “Here.”

  In her mind she turned and found him behind her. Taz opened her eyes, and Matthias smiled down at her, propped on one elbow in their bed. She started to speak, but he gently put a finger to her lips, then replaced it with his mouth.

  “My love.”

  Her eyes widened.

  She could hear his thoughts. Without effort. It wasn’t a dream.

  Her fingers trailed along his neck where she’d bit him. Chewed on him it felt like, but there wasn’t a mark, not even a bruise.

  “Yes, it happened,” he spoke aloud.

  She looked at him then kissed him. Her hands traveled below his waist and wrapped around his cock. He instantly responded by stiffening in her hand and rolling on top of her. She gasped as his cock easily slid in, filling her pussy. She threw her legs around him and thrust to meet him.

  Reaching out with her mind, Matthias met her in the shadowy hall of their passion. It wasn’t quite six in the morning, but she wanted to spend all day in bed with him. Every stroke of his cock inside her hit her clit perfectly, in a way no other man ever had. She pushed the cliché out of her mind, enjoying having her brains fucked out.

  Do this for the rest of her life? Hell, yes.

  At one point she rolled on top of him, slowing their tempo to a steady, sultry rhythm while his fingers slipped between her legs and his thumb drew tight, sensual circles around her clit. When she came, he rolled on top of her and picked up speed, thrusting his cock deep and hard into her, his eyes boring into hers—

  “I love you, Anastazia.”

  —and she smiled.

  “Take me, big guy,” she whispered. With another hard thrust he came, collapsing on her, his body trembling.

  She wrapped her arms around him, and they slept again.

  * * * *

  The knock on the door almost sounded polite. “Matthias, Anastazia, are you all right?” Albert managed to sound concerned and amused at the same time. Matthias lifted his head and glanced at the clock. “Oh hell,” he whispered. “It’s after eight.”

  “They’re hungry.”

  They both giggled. He kissed her, rolling off her.

  “We’re okay, Albert,” he called out. “I’m sorry we overslept. Go ahead. We’ll meet you at breakfast.”

  “Very well.”

  She wrapped her arms around Matthias. “Not if I have my way,” she whispered in his ear.

  He responded then pulled away. “We have to eat. Come on, let’s see how many vampires can fit in a phone booth.”

  The shower was a tight squeeze. It wasn’t made for two, but they had fun trying. They held hands as they walked into the dining room. She watched Albert and Robertson exchange smiles.

  “Fine, say I told you so and get it over with,” she snarked as Matthias pulled out her chair for her.

  “Taz,” Robertson said, “I prefer not to. I’m just glad the war is over.”

  She felt hungry, starving, ravenous. The food looked and tasted great, better than it had any other day. Colors and aromas were even more vivid. She paused at one point, her forkful of eggs halfway up to her mouth, and looked across the table at Matthias.

  He smiled, watching her, his elbows on the table, hands clasped, food untouched.

  “What?”

  The other men watched her. She’d plowed through half her breakfast like a starving linebacker, and they hadn’t touched theirs yet. “What?” she said again, trying to control her irritation.

  Matthias shook his head. “Nothing, dearest. You seem to have quite the appetite this morning.”

  She nodded. “I feel like I haven’t eaten in a week.”

  Albert and Matthias exchanged amused looks. Taz put her fork down. “Spill it. Come on, I’m tired of this. Next thing you know you guys will be trying to spell things behind my back.”

  Matthias reached across the table and touched her hand as he looked into her eyes.

  “We’ll talk after breakfast, Anastazia.”

  She heard him clearly then looked at the others. They were now eating and hadn’t heard him.

  She looked at Matthias, and he smiled. “Oh, the talks we can have, Anastazia.”

  “Who said I want to talk?”

  He grinned and grabbed his fork. “That too, my love.”

  * * * *

  “Especially now, so early in the learning process, you are expending a lot of energy,” he explained as they walked, hand in hand, to the car. “If you didn’t eat, I’d be very worried because you would literally burn yourself out. It would kill you. Eventually, you’ll get to a point where it doesn’t exhaust you so much or make you so ravenous once you learn to control it.”

  “I won’t end up looking like a friggin’ buffalo, will I?”

  He smiled and pulled her to him, kissing her. “No chance of that, cara.” He ran his hands down to her backside, seductively grinding his hips against hers. “You are beautiful, perfection. Built like a woman should be.”

  She wrapped her arms around him, gasping at the feel of his breath
in her ear and his hard bulge pressing against her.

  “That is what you do to me, Taz. That’s what you’ve done to me from the first time I laid eyes on you.” He finally released her, leaving her dizzy and breathing heavy, and helped her into the Rover.

  He wouldn’t tell her where they were going and wouldn’t let her read his mind. She suspected she could force her way in, but she didn’t want to.

  They headed east, alone. He pulled into the parking lot at West Thumb Geyser Basin and led her down the boardwalk to the lakeside. There were only a few scattered tourists, most enthralled by the features like Abyss Pool, Fishing Cone, or the paint pots. Matthias wanted to show her the lake.

  There was a handrail at one section. He stood behind her and placed his hands over hers on top of it. She tried not to think about how the bulge now pressed against her lower back felt when he was inside her.

  “Concentrate, Taz,” he silently teased.

  “What do you want me to do?”

  There wasn’t anyone close enough to hear them. “Look at the lake. Then I want you to close your eyes and see it in your mind.”

  “Through your eyes? Like I did before?”

  “No, through your mind. I don’t mean imagine it. I mean reach out with your mind and see it. Not through me.”

  “How?”

  “I can’t tell you that. Not that I don’t want to, but I don’t know how to tell you. I have a feeling there are things you can do that I can’t.”

  That was a comfort.

  Not.

  She closed her eyes and felt his hands protectively covering hers on the handrail.

  Leaning against him, she tried not to think about his warm breath on her neck. Instead, she tried to revisit the darkened room in her mind. She was two for two on imagery, so why screw with what worked?

  He didn’t say or think anything, or else he was keeping his thoughts from her. She pictured the darkened room in her mind and walked over to the windows. The shades were drawn, but behind them it looked dark.

  In her mind, she pictured a grey light dawning behind the shades. She reached out with both hands to raise the blinds.

  Light fought its way through a thick, grey fog. How long would this take? She took a deep breath and smelled the lake, fish beneath the surface, and the sulfur from the hot springs behind them. The air felt cool, wet, like the lake, and even more than that. Blowing over the cold water from the east, she smelled things on the breeze from miles away, scents she couldn’t identify but instinctively knew bore down from the mountains beyond the lake, even perhaps from the Shoshone forest to the east.