"Baby," he said gently. "I don't feel pain. Ever."
She looked at him in surprise. "Really? Not even a little?"
He shook his head as he clamped his emotions down. He didn't dare allow himself to feel the pain of all he'd lost. Even after all these centuries, it would destroy him.
"It's a waste of time and energy. It also drains the mind and makes it weary."
"But without pain, you can't have joy. It's the balance that makes us appreciate the extremes."
Now that was a deep concept. Very deep, considering they were sitting bare-assed on her bed. "Do you always philosophize while you're naked with a man?"
She nipped his shoulder impishly with her teeth. "It's rather hard to find a man who's willing to do that."
He dropped his gaze down to her breasts. "I imagine it would be a lot easier if you didn't look so damned good without your clothes on."
She moaned as he dipped his head and took one of her breasts into his mouth. She lay back on the bed, drawing him with her.
Talon sighed at the feel of her puckered areola under his tongue. He brushed his hand down the curve of her hip, over her soft thigh, and through the moist tangle of curls until he could touch the part of her he craved the most.
She groaned and shivered as he carefully separated the tender folds until he could tease her cleft.
Oh yeah, he wanted this part of her. Wanted to see her head thrown back against the pillows and hear her scream out loud while she came for him.
Sunshine clutched his head to her breast as she opened her legs wider, giving him access to her body. She ached and throbbed at the feel of his hand stroking her. And when he plunged his fingers inside, she cried out.
Her body burned for his in a most unbelievable way. It was hot and fierce and made her tremble with need. She'd never wanted a man as much as she wanted this one. She wanted to pull him close to her. Closer and closer until they truly melted into one being.
Unable to wait any longer, she reached down between their bodies so that she could guide him deep inside her.
They groaned in unison.
Sunshine arched her back, drawing him in even deeper.
He was so hard and hot, so full. She'd never felt anything better than him filling her.
He sat back on his legs and pulled her hips so that he could slide into her, slowly, deeply. It was a rolling rhythm that made her writhe from the intense pleasure of his intimate strokes.
She stared at him as he watched her with a tender look on his face.
"You are beautiful," he breathed, rolling his hips against hers and thrusting himself even deeper and harder inside her.
"You too," she said as she clutched at his knees.
His eyes darkened as he watched her and he gave himself over to their union. She'd never had a man make love to her like this. It was as if he were nothing but sex. As if he could feel nothing but her body.
He had such a way with his hips as he slid himself in and out, hard and deep. He teased her with his hands, his fingers stroking her in time to his thrusts. The pleasure of his touch permeated every fiber of her being.
And when she came, the orgasm was so intense that she screamed.
Talon growled at the sound of her ecstasy as her body clutched his. Crying out, she reached up and pulled him down on top of her.
Then, she did the strangest thing of all... she nuzzled his neck and face, raining kisses all over his cheek and shoulder.
Talon froze.
Her arms held him tight against her as she wrapped her entire body around his. The tenderness of her touch and actions pricked him, breaking through the chokehold he kept on his emotions.
It was as if she really cared for him. As if he meant something to her. As if she were making love with him.
Only one woman had ever held him like this...
He could barely breathe. For the first time in fifteen hundred years he actually felt as if he were making love to a woman, not just satisfying a primitive urge.
No, this wasn't meaningless sex.
He felt her. Felt connected to her. Felt as if they were something more than strangers with no ties to each other.
Her lips scorched his skin as she continued to nuzzle his neck and thrust herself against him. He held her tight and closed his eyes. His senses and emotions reeled from the pleasure of the moment.
When he came in her arms, he shivered to the core of his battered and weary heart.
He lay there, vulnerable and panicked.
No, he couldn't have felt that. He couldn't have felt her. It wasn't possible.
He was mistaken. What they had was sex. Incredibly great sex, but nothing more than that.
Sex.
Simple.
Basic.
Uncomplicated.
And he was going to prove it to himself one way or another...
Sunshine lay in complete satisfied bliss, breathing raggedly, drifting slowly back into herself. That was the most incredible orgasm she'd ever experienced. She couldn't believe the way he'd felt, the way he'd touched her.
She held his head close to her heart and felt his ragged breath falling against her breast. She cradled him with her entire body and just soaked up the warm masculine weight of him.
Used to men who quickly dosed off after they came, she was completely unprepared when he rolled over onto his back and pulled her to lie across his chest.
"You didn't think I was through with you, did you?" he asked in her ear.
"Well, yeah."
He laughed. "Lady Sunshine, I've only just started."
To her delight and awe, he proved those words well over the course of the next few hours.
They made love on her bed, on the floor, on her sofa. He took her in so many different positions that she felt as if he were reenacting the entire Kama Sutra.
Finally, they ended up in the kitchen where he set her up on the counter and then made slow, tender love to her.
Oh heaven, the man felt incredible! He had more stamina than an entire team of athletes and was completely shameless when it came to making love to her. She'd never been with a man and felt so at ease with her body and his expectations.
A man like this was all too hard to come by.
After they had finished with the counter, which she would never be able to look at again without blushing, Talon stood naked, looking into her refrigerator with his two braids tucked behind his ear as he searched for food.
He was still breathing heavily from their last go-round and Sunshine wondered idly if she'd gone bow-legged at some point from this afternoon's marathon.
Still, he looked scrumptious as he moved containers around in his quest for nourishment. His bare backside was a feast for the eyes and when he bent over to look into her bottom drawer, she couldn't resist running her hand up his muscular thigh, between his legs, to cup and fondle him.
He sucked his breath in sharply between his teeth and straightened.
Sunshine gave him a mischievous grin that garnered her a quick kiss before he returned to searching her fridge.
"My lady, do you own anything made of meat?"
Sunshine ran her hand across his back, smoothing down the red marks where she'd sunk her nails in during her last orgasm. "I have soy burgers, and I did pick up some granola bars, wheat germ, and oatmeal while I was out."
He actually whimpered.
"Sorry. I'm a strict vegetarian."
He sighed. "And I'm a strict carnivore."
She licked her lips and smiled as she remembered his playful nips and bites on her flesh. "I noticed."
He turned toward her and gathered her naked body against his. He kissed her lips as if he were still able to savor her even after all they had done this afternoon. Then, he pulled back. "As much as I want you again, I have got to have something more to nourish me than your hot, lush body."
He grabbed her soy cheese from the top shelf and the whole wheat crackers she had on the counter.
Sunshine started to warn him about the cheese, but thought better of it. He did need something other than her to nibble on, though to be honest, she liked being his chew toy.
The man was insatiable, and best of all, he was the champion at what he did.
She watched curiously as he grabbed his Snoopy Pez dispenser from her counter, then went back to the living room.
Sunshine picked up their glasses of water and followed him to the Art Deco coffee table.
Talon sat down before it and sliced the cheese, then placed it on the crackers. He fed her one. "So tell me, if I wasn't here, what would you be doing today?"
She laughed. "I'm sure I would probably be sitting more comfortably, for one thing."
His face amused, he dipped his head to nuzzle at her neck. "Can I rub anything to make it feel better?"
She hissed at his deep, sensuous voice. "Your rubbing it is what got me into trouble."
He ran his tongue over her collarbone, then he pulled back and ate a cracker.
He choked.