© Cyndi Friberg, September 2007
All Rights Reserved

Charlotte snuggled into the warmth enveloping her. She splayed her fingers to better absorb the heat, and curled her toes. Her skin tingled and her mind swam within a sensual haze. She was aware of the sensations, but coherent thought was just beyond her grasp. Her face was buried against something warm and solid. Long arms encircled her back, molding her body against another body -- a hard, heated body. Her legs tangled with other legs -- muscular, masculine legs. Pressing her breasts more firmly against the solid wall of muscle in front of her, she arched into the heat. It felt strange. It felt wonderful. But it felt wrong.

There was no man in her life. No lover to keep her warm.

She had just begun to sort through the confusion when his mouth touched hers. Gently, he pressed his lips over hers, caressing her, luring her. She parted her lips, responding instinctively to the velvety slide of his mouth against hers. The tip of his tongue touched hers and she groaned. It had been so long since she reveled in the intimacy of a deep, passionate kiss. She offered her mouth and accepted his tongue.

Her hands clutched his broad back, and her legs moved against his until her sex made contact with one thick thigh. Aching heat flared within her, making her wild. She arched and undulated, her hands tangling in his long hair -- impossibly long hair.

Charlotte dragged her mouth away from his and forced her eyes to open. His hot, seeking mouth moved to her throat, but she didn't need to see his face to know who held her. His embrace was strong, demanding, and his silky hair was stroking her entire body all at once. It was the most erotic thing she had ever felt. Like silk fringe or the fur of a Persian cat, the strands moved over her skin, circling her limbs and caressing her flesh.

She couldn't think, couldn't struggle. Heat and liquid desire rolled through her body. She tried to disentangle herself from the silken web, but he only rolled with her, dragging her beneath him.

His weight pressed her into the bed and his face hovered above hers. She stared up into his otherworldly eyes, panting and rigid. He was a stranger to her. She didn't even know his name.

He wasn't human!

He spoke in a hushed, tender tone, but his words were as alien as his eyes. She could still feel his hair wrapped around her, clinging to her, caressing her. “What do you want from me?” Her voice broke and tears gathered behind her lashes.

He spoke again and she closed her eyes. He was trying to soothe her, but his otherworldly eyes, combined with their sexual position, terrified her. His warm palms skimmed up and down along the sides of her body, and his hair continued to slide against her skin. Charlotte fought against the stimulation. She couldn't let herself be seduced. But, boy, did it feel good!

This couldn't be happening. Why was this happening?

“I will not hurt you.”

She gasped and opened her eyes. An odd accent flavored his words, but they were clearly English. “Who are you?” she asked. “Why were you kissing me?”

“I must have more of what I took from you on the mountain.” He spoke slowly, as if searching for each word. “This will not harm you, but it will restore me to health. Do you understand? My levels are low -- no, not just low. I am dangerously weak. If I do not have more energy, my essence will disperse.”

“What you were doing a minute ago is different than what you did on the mountain. On the mountain you only ...” She gasped and squirmed, as she realized just how much of his warm skin was rubbing against hers. “Why the hell am I naked?”

“Do you have a mate?”

“If this exchange involves something I would ordinarily do with my mate, forget about it.”

He shifted his weight, touching her face with his fingertips. “A full body joining would afford me the highest concentration of energy, but it is not necessary.”

“Glad to hear it, because I'm not doing that with you.”

He chuckled and nuzzled the side of her neck. Charlotte tried to push him away, but he moved again, rolling them onto their sides, facing each other.

“May I touch you?” he whispered near her ear.

Charlotte's head began to spin. “Touch me how? What exactly is necessary for this exchange?”

“I must give you pleasure.”

Did he mean ... surely, he didn't mean she had to have an ... “And if I refuse to allow this? Will you simply take what you need?”

“The exchange is tainted when it is forced. As weak as I am, it would do me no good. I need this desperately, and it must be soon, or it will be too late.”

She trembled. He meant every word; she could see it in his otherworldly eyes. If she didn't allow him to touch her, he would die. Could she really be so selfish?

“I have so many questions. Once you're restored, will you answer my --”

He must have taken her phrasing as consent; he cut off her words with a quick, urgent kiss. One arm slipped beneath her neck, and his hand moved to her hip, pulling her more tightly against him.

This isn't sexual. It's medicinal.

She tried to relax, to accept the warm pressure of his mouth, but fear kept her stiff and unresponsive. He deepened the contact, coaxing her lips apart, but he refused to penetrate her mouth. He seemed to want her to come to him. Tentatively, Charlotte touched his tongue with hers.

He groaned, the desperation returning full force. Slanting his mouth over hers, he took possession. His lips molded and moved, his tongue traced and stroked and finally delved deeply. She arched into his embrace and returned his kiss with an eagerness she didn't fully understand. She wanted to taste him and wanted him to taste her. She needed to touch him, needed to feel his hands moving across her skin.

Tingling sensations erupted all over her body. She could feel it happening again, like it had on the mountain. He was gathering something within her, only it was different this time, more acute, more powerful. She was trapped by his arms and tangled in his hair. Her breasts swelled and her nipples tightened painfully, while the sensations focused and coalesced. Scalding heat radiated out from her feminine core, until even her toes felt hot. Consumed by the heat, she surrendered to the storm.