Twice Upon a Time (Lovers' Leap 2)

“Apparently you don’t need them to give me pleasure.”

“But what about my pleasure?”

Lara lifted her head to look at him. “Oh baby, I’m sorry. You must be suffering.”

“Oddly, I’m not. I’ve been hard for quite a while now, but my nuts don’t ache at al .” Lara cringed. “That make

s me feel even worse for you. Is there something I can do for you? You’ve been pampering me for hours.”

“You could agree to marry me.”

“I thought I already said yes in the future,” she said.

He was quiet for several minutes, his hands unmoving on her lower back. “But you don't remember it,” he said quietly.

“Then tell me about it.”

He sighed and dumped more oil on her lower back. “I've been thinking. Maybe it's best to make new memories. Ones we both remember.” He leaned over and kissed her shoulder. “What do you think?”

She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I think that's a good idea.” He smiled so brightly her heart faltered. “So, you'll marry me?”

“Hmm,” she said. “Keep doing what you're doing while I think it over.”

“Tease,” he accused, shifting back and kneading her lower back again.

She sighed contentedly. His hand moved lower, caressing her buttocks now, thumbs rubbing erotic circles along the cleft between the gently rounded cheeks. Lower still, until his thumb brushed over a circle of puckered flesh and she tensed.

“Easy,” he whispered, lowering his head and drawing his tongue over the same area.

She groaned. Was that supposed to feel that good? No one had ever done that to her before. She lifted her hips off the bed and he suckled her sensitized flesh until she cried out. He kissed his way up the center of her back and she felt him hard and ready against her thigh.

“Are you ready for me?” he whispered. “I don’t know if I can come, but I do know that I have plenty of sensation in my cock.”

She strained against him, wanting all of him. Now. He bent one of her legs to give himself better access and then slowly entered her from behind. There was an explosion of pleasure between her legs and she cried out.

“Ah, Lara,” he whispered and withdrew before thrusting into her again.

His arm wrapped around her waist, his fingers moving between her thighs finding the bit of flesh that gave her the most pleasure. He stroked her as he thrust into her, and she was crying out his name within seconds, quaking and quivering, sobbing with ecstasy as she rubbed her face against the covers beneath her.

“Are you okay?” he asked, giving her no reprieve even when the aftershocks of her climax settled. He was still stroking her, stil thrusting into her with perfect rhythm. The pleasure was building again already. “Do you want me to stop?”

“God, no,” she breathed.

He didn't listen. He withdrew completely and crawled to the head of the bed.

Confused, she lifted her head to watch him. He took a mass of pil ows and propped them against the wall before sitting comfortably among them. “Come here,” he beckoned. “We'l find your spot.”

“My spot?”

He nodded. “You'll like this.”

There was more? she thought. Impossible. She crawled towards him, her damp hair caressing her shoulders as she approached.

“God, you look hot, sweetheart,” he growled.

He took her by the waist when she was within reach and moved her to straddle his lap. He guided himself into her again and she sat down, taking him deep. He planted his feet on the bed and she felt his thighs against her lower back.

“Lean back,” he whispered.

“What?”

“I've got you. Lean back.”

She leaned back against his thighs, and he steadied her with one hand. “Now, work your magic.”

She began to move. Her head fel back, her hair tickling her back and brushing against his thighs as she buried him within her time and again.

“Not quite,” he murmured, shifting his hips slightly.

He rubbed something inside her just right and she cried out.

“There it is,” he said, “your spot. Take it as far as you can.”

“Oh, Reece,” she cried. “Right there. Yes. Oh, yes.” She was riding him hard and he watched her, letting her get as close as she could on her own.

“Faster,” she panted, moving faster against him. Something was building.

Something different than on the other occasions. And then it stopped building and stayed just beyond her reach.

“Let go, sweetheart,” he said. “Just let go.”

“I can't,” she whispered, frustrated with her body for withholding her pleasure.

“Lara, don't hold on. Let go.”

She concentrated on the aching sensation deep inside. Wanting the pleasure it hinted at. Needing it. Everything but that sensation drifted away and she rubbed the head of his cock against that spot inside until she finally let go. A spasm gripped her so hard that her legs buckled and she col apsed. Pleasure unlike anything she could have even imagined coursed through her body and she shuddered against Reece, her mind going numb to everything but the bliss. Reece’s fingers gently stroked her bel y as she slowly drifted back to reality. Oh my… She was nearly unconscious when Reece rolled her onto her back.

“That's my lady’s favorite spot,” he whispered before he took over to find his own pleasure. She watched him through half closed eyes as he thrust into her repetitively.

Sweat beaded on his forehead as he concentrated on finding his release, his jaw-length hair sticking to the side of his face. He bit his lip, fingers digging into her hips as he rocked against her, grinding into her deeply before withdrawing. He groaned a protest against his own motion before thrusting into her again. He paused, grinding against her and holding himself deep. He urged her thighs further apart and pushed deeper stil . Her back arched and he gasped as he slid deeper still. He held that position for a moment, gently rocking his hips, savoring the joining of their bodies as if reluctant to separate from her deepest recesses for even a second. He withdrew slowly and pressed deep again, and then found a steady rhythm of penetration and withdraw. She watched his face, fascinated with expressions of ecstasy. His mouth fell open as his thrusting intensified—faster, deeper, harder. A muscle at the corner of his eye twitched and then when she was starting to wonder if he’d ever be able to let go, he shuddered, his breath coming in sputtering, jerky gasps. He opened his eyes to find her watching him and a moment of intense connection—both physical and emotional—passed between them before he collapsed on top of her.

“So you can come,” Lara said, stroking his hair gently.

“Thank God,” he whispered. “Took long enough. I never thought I’d get there.” She kissed his temple and stroked his hair tenderly. “I didn’t mind.” He chuckled, warm breath tickling her ear. After several moments, he rol ed off her and collected her in his arms. “I told you that you had a spot.” She chuckled, drowsily, her heart warm just because he was near. “I'l never doubt you again.”

Chapter Four

Reece moved from the bed, allowing Lara to sleep. It would be a bad situation if they were caught together—a princess and a eunuch guard. Apparently, Farima belonged to another, but Reece felt that she and Nasir had been intimate on more than one occasion. He just wasn’t sure if that intimacy had occurred before or after her marriage to a powerful governor. Reece bent over the bed and kissed her shoulder, before he covered her with a sheet. He was fairly certain that Maisha knew Nasir and Farima were lovers, but wasn’t sure if anyone else did. He had to protect her. Those were his feelings as well as Nasir’s. He definitely saw eye to eye with his host in that regard.

Lara smiled in her sleep and nuzzled her pillow.

He watched her, guilt churning in his gut. He’d told her that a religious cult had been responsible for her murder in the future. Not his stupidity. He knew he should tell her the truth, but didn't want to risk losing her. Not when things were going so perfectly between them. If she knew that he was responsible for her death, she’d never trust him again.

She might stop loving him. He couldn’t abide the thought. Even though it was what he deserved.

His pants were still damp, but he retrieved them and put them on. He then went to the bathing pavilion and cleaned up the items

they'd used. He found the amulet amongst her discarded clothes and put it on. They didn't want to lose it. They had to stay ahead of Carl. In addition to wanting to return Lara to the present to meet her destined demise, Carl was certain to tell her all the things Reece wanted to hide. And not just how he’d unthinkingly activated the amulet and inadvertently offered her as a sacrifice, but other unforgivable things in his past. Things he wasn’t proud of. Things he wished had never happened. Reece rubbed his face with one hand. If only he didn't feel so damn guilty for lying to her in the first place.

He heard a thud come from the princess's bedroom and then a scream that was quickly stifled. Reece's heart froze in his chest. He was running before the shock had even registered. The ebony-skinned man straddling Lara's body on the bed had one had wrapped around her throat; the other held a knife poised over her chest. Both of Lara's hands were gripping his wrist to keep the blade from plunging into her heart as she tried to suck air beneath her assailant’s hand. Her arms trembled as her strength waned. The knife inched downward. Reece barely had time to register the man's serene expression before he sprang onto the bed and kicked the assassin in the side of the head. The man fel sideways and tumbled to the floor, but quickly climbed to his feet, shaking his head to clear his senses.

Reece reached for Lara. “Are you okay?”

“Look out!” she screamed.

Reece moved just in time to avoid a heavy fist to the side of the head. He used the momentum to drive a punch into the other man's stomach, catching him off guard, and then took the attacker by the back of the head and drove his face downward onto his knee. The man fell to the floor unconscious. Reece bent down to take the knife from the man's hand. He was sorely tempted to shove it between his ribs, but he no longer solved his problems that way. Not since Lara had come into his life.

Reece went to check on Lara who was sobbing uncontrol ably. She crashed into his chest as she sought comfort. He drew her near, stroking her soft hair.

“He tried to kil me,” she gasped. “He was so strong. I couldn't stop him.”

“You're safe now,” he said, dropping a tender kiss on her forehead. She'd almost been killed right in front of him. He hugged her. He could not al ow anything to happen to her. He wouldn't be able to live through her death more than once.