Hot Blooded

demanded relief. He
kissed his way from her mouth to her throat, laved the valley between her
breasts before stopping there, lavishing attention while he brought her body
more fully into his.
    Juliette twined one leg around him, aligning their bodies so the head of his
penis was pressed tightly into her wet, welcoming entrance. "I don't want to
wait anymore," she said, tugging at his hair. "I want to feel you inside of me."
    He stroked her nipple with his tongue. "When?"
    "Right now, this minute."
    She tried to impale her body on his, but he moved, his mouth pulling strongly
at her breast. With each strong pull a wave of liquid heat pushed over the head
of his erection and trickled down the shaft.
    "Are you certain?" When she squirmed again, he abandoned all pretense of
teasing, caught her bottom in both hands and lifted her up onto him.
    She cried out, sliding over him, fitting like the proverbial glove,
contracting her muscles around him to hold him to her. She moved with him,
meeting him stroke for stroke, urging him to move into her harder and faster.
Her breath came in ragged gasps, but pleasure burst through her like a rainbow,
beautiful after what seemed like endless darkness. She wanted their ride to be
wild and abandoned and to go on forever.
    Riordan, so tuned to her, drove into her body, going deeper with each stroke.
He urged her hips into the rhythm of his. Juliette went unexpectedly over the
edge, her body shuddering with pleasure, the intensity of her orgasm shaking
them both. Riordan slowed the pace, heightening her enjoyment, drawing it out so
that she had a series of strong orgasms. She moaned softly then cried his name,
her nails digging into his shoulder. He allowed himself to go over with her,
exploding with passion, riding the wave of pleasure until for the moment he was
somewhat sated.
    They clung to one another, her head on his shoulder, their arms around each
other, as close as they could get. It took a few minutes before they could make
their way to the inviting coolness of the pool, slipping into the water.
    "I love this place, Riordan. Do you? Do you want to remain here in South
America, or do you long to travel back to the place you were born?"
    His white teeth flashed, robbing her of breath. It was always so unexpected,
her reaction to his genuine smile. "I love this land. It has become my home,
Juliette. And I would never take you far from you sister and cousin. You forget
I am in your mind and can read your fears."
    She grinned at him, looking mischievous, but obviously relieved. "What am I
thinking now?"
    His entire body tightened. "What you are thinking is anatomically impossible,
but we can try variations."
    She laughed at him, fully aware of his growing fascination with her. She
hoped it would continue to grow for all eternity.
    "It is obsession, not fascination," he pointed out.
    She turned over to lie floating on her back, drifting with the small waves,
staring up at the stars glittering over her head. "I'd like to think that
somewhere out there is a man for Solange and another one for Jasmine. Good men."
She turned her head to look at him as he paced slowly beside her.
    Riordan scooped her up in his arms, unable to bear the melancholy in her
voice. He wrapped her up tightly, holding her against his body, wanting to
protect her from everything evil in the world.
    Juliette brushed back his hair to look into his eyes. "Someone like you,
capable of loving them no matter what. Someone capable of understanding what our
lives have been like and the trauma they've been through. Do you think that will
ever happen for them?"
    "It really will come out right," he whispered, burying kisses in her hair.
"Everything will be all right."
    "I almost feel as if it will never be right again," she said and buried her
face against his shoulder.
    "They have us, Juliette. It will not happen overnight, but we can help them
rebuild their lives. They are my family now, too. And they are under the
protection of the Carpathian people."
    She turned her mouth blindly to his, nearly sinking them beneath the lapping
water. He responded, kissing her over and over again. His hands stroked her
hair. "It will be all right, Juliette. I promise you, and I take my promises
very seriously." He rested his cheek on the top of her wet hair, nuzzling her,
making every effort to console and comfort her.
    Juliette snuggled deeper against his body, tightening her hold on him. "I