West of Want (Hearts of the Anemoi)

She gasped every time he passed over her entrance. “Don’t tease me. I want you.”

  Zephyros didn’t need to be asked twice. He pushed in, inch by hot, tight inch. Ella gasped and pressed back, encouraging him to go deeper. Wrapping her in his arms, Zeph moved his hips in a slow, steady rhythm. He thought to tell her how exquisite she felt, how much her generosity of spirit meant to him, how scared he was that he was falling so hard, so fast, but the incredible pleasure of physical connection stole his words, and nearly his breath.

  And the connection wasn’t just physical. As his flesh joined with hers, his soul sung, his psyche eased. When he was seated all the way in her, he paused, savored. He’d had his share of partners, but this felt different, full of some unnamed promise. Perhaps it was his healing energy within her, or her own special calming aura surrounding him. Perhaps it was her honesty and forthrightness—so different from the way his divine brethren behaved. Good gods, he wasn’t sure who was claiming who here. But now that he was in her, he couldn’t imagine ever leaving.

  Unbidden, the memory of Eurus’s threat slammed into his brain. The challenge to his line was one thing, the implicit threat to Ella—first with Eurus’s visit, and then with his command to leave her—was something else altogether. A sharp spike of pain ripped through Zeph’s chest. He held Ella tighter. Words in his native tongue spilled from his lips against the soft skin of her neck. Promises. Vows.

  Ella gripped his arms, embracing him back in the only way she could, and turned to offer her lips. Zeph groaned and kissed her, so pleased to see the light back in her eyes.

  “So good,” she panted around his lips.

  Oh, gods. “Yes,” he breathed, stunned and overwhelmed by the feel of her, and grateful for this experience down to the marrow of his bones. He moved then, easy dragging strokes that stoked the fire burning within him. In his arms, her body was soft and warm, with curves everywhere a woman should have them.

  “God, you’re amazing,” she said. She rocked her hips back into his, arching within his grasp and urging him to move faster.

  “Oh, Ella,” he rasped, pressing a kiss to her shoulder. “I can’t get enough of you.” His body demanded that he go harder, faster, deeper, but he wanted her immersed in pleasure, too. Wanted her boneless and sated. And he wanted to be the one to make her feel that way.

  One arm still curled under and around her, he explored her body with his free hand. Her breasts filled his palm, the tips both soft and hard against his skin. He teased her there, loving her little gasps and whimpers, before plucking her with his fingers, small squeezes that pulled from her throat more of those sexy utterances.

  Caressing over the soft curve of her belly, Zeph played with the curls his fingers encountered below. Ella’s body jolted with his first touch there, and he was overcome with an instinctual need to elicit that response again and again. Finally, his fingers found the swollen nerves at the top of her sex just as his cock slid deep into the slick grip of her core.

  Her head craned back into his shoulder and she cried out. “Oh, God. Touch me, Zeph. Don’t stop touching me. Please.”

  Masculine satisfaction roared through him. The need in her voice owned him. In that moment, he would’ve done anything to please her. He swirled his fingers against her clit, firm and fast, wanting her to fall apart in his arms, wanting to know he’d been responsible for sending her heart into a sprint.

  Zeph stilled his hips to concentrate on making her come for him. “Yes, love, yes. I’m going to take care of you,” he whispered against the shell of her ear. His heart squeezed. What would it be like to do so not just now, but forever? To have someone who depended and counted on you? To have someone who turned to you first above all others to share the joys and sorrows of life?

  “Oh, God, oh, Zeph.” Ella sucked in a breath, held it.

  Around his cock, Ella’s body went tight and wet. Zeph groaned in appreciation.

  Ella released her breath on a strangled, pleasured shout. Her muscles gripped and milked him until he could hold still no longer. He surged within her, faster and harder than before, as he gave in to the physical need gathering and intensifying deep in his gut.

  …

  Ella’s head was spinning. And there wasn’t much oxygen in the room. And every nerve ending in her body was alive and sensitized.

  But yet she was grounded by the strength and caring and attentiveness of this incredible man. He surrounded her with an all-encompassing presence. His body holding and penetrating her was all she could feel. His taste was on her lips. His scent, combined with hers, filled the air. When she reached out, her hands found hard, masculine flesh, smooth skin over cut muscles. It was a maddening combination, all of it, and the most sensual thing she’d ever experienced.

  She was torn between wanting to encourage him to go harder, faster, so that he could achieve the kind of earth-shattering release she’d just had, and wanting him to slow down so this could last the night. Forever.

  Her mind tried to pull her out of the moment. Is this a one-time thing? Will I be able to have him again? Why would a god want me when Craig didn’t? How can this work out? How can this even be real?

  But Ella shoved it all away. Because all her senses couldn’t be wrong. And after so much pain these last months, she deserved this. In the great balancing sheet of the universe, she was due for some good. And Zeph was good. Really good. Great, even. And she wanted him.

  Not to mention, sex had never before been like this for her. She enjoyed it because of the closeness and connection it brought. But this…this was so much more. Intense physical pleasure with a soul-deep need for the feeling to go on and on—not for the feeling itself, but because of the person with whom she was sharing it. Everything that drove her wild, he repeated. Against her ear, he uttered a stream of encouragement and affection. His words and touch reached into her chest, and planted within her the incontrovertible belief that she was right where she was supposed to be, and with the man she was supposed to have.

  It was a ridiculous feeling, and she knew it. And it was dangerous, too, this slippery slope of falling. She wasn’t sure her heart could survive again the kind of betrayal she’d experienced before.

  But something in her told her to believe. To risk. To want.

  Zeph’s arms tightened around her. “Oh, gods, Ella,” he groaned. His thrusts quickened. Inside her, his cock swelled, creating more of that delicious fullness and pressure. The drag of his hard length within her was so damn good, and set her body on edge again.

  Ella turned her head, wanting to watch him, to see him. His eyes were brilliant, glowing and serene in his desire, like he couldn’t want anything more than her in this moment. Wishful thinking, probably, but even the possibility that a man like this would be so affected by her made her heart flutter and her stomach flip-flop.

  Words flew to the tip of Ella’s tongue. Intense words. Ridiculous words, given how long they’d known each other. It was her loneliness talking, clearly. But that didn’t stop her from feeling the need to release them into the world, into his heart, and hope he returned them.

  Before she made a stupid mistake, Ella lifted her head and kissed him. When their tongues met, Ella sucked and stroked, pouring these crazy, bursting emotions into the intimate touch of their mouths.

  Zeph groaned. His hips moved faster, less steady in their rhythm. Ella arched her back and broke their kiss, but her new position gave him more access, deeper access. He took full advantage, gripping her and hunching his body around her. Words fell from his mouth in that foreign language, and though she couldn’t understand them, they wrapped around her nonetheless.

  The desperation in his voice reverberated down her spine and settled into the nerves between her legs. She stroked herself, drawn by her need to share this orgasm with him.

  “Oh, yes. Come with me, love. I can’t…I have to…fuck.” Zeph’s grip tightened as his orgasm poured into her in pulsing spasms. He moved through it, and it went on and on, pulling incredibly sexy noi
ses from deep in his throat.

  Ella sucked in a breath at the masculine power of his body, at the unabashed pleasure of his release. White-hot energy spiraled and built in her belly, traveled lower, then detonated where they were still connected. She cried out, sure she couldn’t handle the intensity of it, and then went limp and breathless against the bed.

  Awareness came back to her in starts and stops. Zeph’s arms still held her. Small kisses rained down on her shoulder and back. His cock moved within her, languid strokes that were infuriatingly arousing and tender at the same time.

  He chuckled and his breath puffed against her skin. “You with me?”

  Ella laughed softly. “Jesus. I think so.” She grinned over her shoulder at him. For a long moment, she soaked in the expression on his face. Even in the dimness of the room, she could only describe what she was seeing as adoration and affection. She’d been loved before, even if it hadn’t ended well, and she was sure she was seeing what she thought she was seeing, and not just a figment of her imagination.

  Her heart squeezed in her chest. She wanted this, whatever it was or would be, so much. And it was happening so fast. But could she trust it?

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Ella didn’t know the answer to her own question. She only knew how she felt, how Zephyros looked, and what she wanted. She might pay for the leap of faith her heart and soul were telling her to take, but something deep and fundamental insisted this man, this moment, was the beginning of who and what she was supposed to become.

  “I want to face you,” she whispered.

  Instantly, Zeph withdrew, a warm smile playing around his lips.

  Ella’s gaze raked down his body to the hard length of his cock. She knew he’d come. She’d felt it. Heard him. Maybe his ability to be erect again was a god thing? Well, who was she to argue? Besides, her body needed his, like magnetic forces deep in her chest pulled her to him on some metaphysical level.

  Biting her lip, she reached out, inviting him with open arms to come to her, hold her, lie with her. If he was game to go again, no way she was saying no. It had been a lot of months since she’d had sex, and eons since she’d had sex for the pleasure and joy of it and not for the chore of babymaking. At least, that’s how it had felt toward the end.

  “Are you sure?” he whispered, nuzzling her neck.

  “Yes.” She raked her fingers through his short hair, earning a satisfied hum from deep in his chest.

  He pushed into her and she closed her eyes at the goodness of it. “I don’t know how to explain it,” she said, eyes still shut, “but this feels so right. Being with you. Like it was meant to be.” Her eyelids flashed open.

  Zeph’s eyes flared as she watched, the blue almost violet in its intensity. “I feel the same way. I can’t get enough of you, and I don’t want this feeling to stop.”

  She embraced his shoulders and pulled him down. His shaft slid in and out of her in strokes that were both gentle and powerful. His hips rolled over her pelvic bone, setting her body ablaze.

  Again, he whispered those little encouragements in her ear, showering her with acceptance and desire and appreciation. The combination of his words and his cock shattered her control, and she came. Though softer, this release was no less intense for her heart to weather.

  When he came moments later, she held him in her arms as he trembled and her name spilled from his lips.

  Jesus, being with him felt so intimate. The feeling played tricks with her mind. Made it seem as though, surely, she’d known him for much longer than a calendar or clock would show.

  It was exhilarating. Confusing. Exhausting. She covered her mouth with the back of her hand as she yawned. “I’m sorry,” she said.

  He chuckled. “Don’t be.” He rolled off her, but didn’t let her go. “Ella?”

  She turned on her side within his embrace. “Yeah?”

  He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I don’t know what this is between us, but it’s like nothing I’ve ever felt.”

  Warmth rolled through Ella’s whole body, making her hair stand on end and her toes curl. “I know exactly what you mean.”

  His big fingers stroked her hair off her face. “You do?”

  “I really do.”

  He smiled and kissed her forehead. “Thank the gods for that. Are you tired?”

  “A little.”

  He grinned. “You’re a terrible liar. I wore you out.”

  She glared at him. “Good to know you don’t have an ego to go with that whole god thing.”

  He threw his head back and laughed. “Well, maybe just a little.”

  “More than a little.” Shaking her head and smiling, she snuggled into his chest and sighed. “I love the sound of rain. So calming. One of the reasons I love March,” she said, burrowing in closer.

  Zeph’s arms tightened around her. “It’s like you were made for me.”

  The words were so quiet, she had to strain to hear them, but she did. And they thrilled her very soul. Uncertain how to respond, she said simply, “Maybe I’ll rest a while.”

  “Yes.” He kissed her hair and settled down next to her. The weight of a soft but foreign blanket fell over them out of thin air. Ella gasped and cut her gaze to Zeph’s. He shrugged. “I’m too comfortable with you for either of us to move. Think you can get used to it?”

  “The poofing?”

  The corner of his lip quirked up. “I told you. I don’t poof.”

  “M’kay, well. Whatever you call it, I can try. And it’s very handy, so there’s that.”

  He chuffed out a small laugh and pulled her tighter against him. “Sleep, love. I’ll be right here.”

  …

  “All right, Ben. Thanks for the news.” Ella paced the kitchen, phone in hand. “Yeah, I’m doing okay.”

  Zephyros walked in, fresh from the shower. Ella wondered in passing where he got the new set of clothes. More poofing? She managed a smile as he kissed her cheek.

  “Sorry,” she mouthed, hand over the receiver.

  “It’s okay,” Zeph whispered.

  Ben’s voice drew her attention back to the phone. “I’ll call ya when the parts are in, but Ella—True Blue’s gonna be in dry dock for a while.”

  “I know.” She sighed. “I appreciate your handling this for me.”

  “I’d say ‘any time,’ but I hope to goodness never to see you the way you were that day.”

  Ella’s throat went tight. She really liked Ben and had known him for years. He reminded her of the Gorton’s fisherman and it always cracked her up. The gruffness in his voice touched her. “I know, Ben. Me neither.”

  After quick good-byes, she disconnected and tossed the handset to the kitchen counter. “Good morning, er, afternoon,” she said, turning to Zephyros.

  “Hi. Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Well, no.” She rose on tiptoes to kiss his neck. “Got some bad news about my boat, but it wasn’t anything I didn’t expect.”

  Zeph stepped back and frowned. “I’m sorry.”

  Ella shrugged. “Not your fault. And it can be fixed.”

  He crossed his arms over his broad chest. Cautious, blue eyes bored into her. “But it is my fault.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “What?”

  “Your boat, Ella. Your injuries. All of it.”

  “I don’t…” A voice flashed into her thoughts. His voice. Muffled and distant. “I don’t understand. How could it be your fault?”

  “I was upset, and not paying attention.”

  Ella’s heart beat faster in her chest. “Still not following you.”

  “The storm.”

  “Yeah.” She pressed her body into his, reached up and cupped his face. “Whatever you’re trying to say, just say it.”

  “I was the storm. I was in my elemental form. I behaved carelessly and recklessly. And you got caught in the middle.”

  The image of those roiling black clouds flashed within her mind’s eye. She shook her head, her brain struggling to process. Fi
nally, she asked, “It was you, or you caused it?”

  His brow furrowed. “Both.”

  “Wow,” she said. Multiple reactions coursed through her. Remembered fear and new anger competed with awe and wonder. She’d nearly lost True Blue, and that would’ve killed her. She dropped her hands from his skin and stepped back.

  “I’m sorry,” he said, tracking her retreat with a sharp gaze.

  Ella nodded and rubbed her lips, her brain chugging along with this incredible information. But she couldn’t make some of the pieces fit together. Her gaze cut to his. “When did we first meet, Zeph?”

  His eyes were wary, but still he gave her the respect of meeting her gaze. “When I pulled you out of the water.”

  Ella gasped. “You?”

  “Like I said, it was my fault. So I had to make it right.”

  Fingers pressed into her eyes, Ella shook her head. “You saved me?” She’d asked it as a question, but the truth of it flowed through her veins. She knew it on a fundamental level. Deep gratitude welled up in her chest. “You saved me.”

  Zeph shifted feet, like he was uncomfortable with the pronoun-cement.

  But then the other part of what he’d said sunk in. I had to make it right. Ella’s heart dropped into her stomach. Oh no. Was that what this was? “Well, I’d say that evens out for damaging my boat.” The words came out more bitter than she’d intended, but learning she was some god’s pity project did that to a human. She turned and braced her hands on the counter.

  “And I’d disagree.” His voice spoke from right behind her. “Your being in jeopardy was my fault. So helping you was my duty.”

  She sighed and her shoulders sagged. “I’m all better now, so I think you’ve done your duty.”

  Fingers gently pulled her hair back, then his lips pressed to her ear. “Duty is why I helped you, but it is no part of why I’ve stayed. And why I want to stay, with you.”

  Hope expanded within Ella’s chest, made it hard to breathe. Ironically, as Zeph’s arms wrapped around her, the pressing sensation eased and her whole body relaxed. “Then why?” she whispered.