He made a sour face, ignoring her hesitation. "I see what you mean. Not a whole lot of excitement in this neighborhood. The closest dance club is hours away, in Cairo, or Luxor. Kinda hard to show a pretty lady a good time, unless you're into camels."

"So," she pursed her lips in a s.e.xy pout. "If you were going to show a lady a good time, what would you do?" She leaned forward. The very tip of her tongue brushed her lower lip.

"Uh." Sean found himself thinking only of her full red lips. They looked so soft and succulent. So much for having his libido under control. "I, uh, well there's a candlelight dinner."

"We're off to a good start. Candlelight breakfast, at least." She grinned, and leaned closer.

"Champagne." Sean tore his eyes from her mouth and focused on her incredible features. He struggled for self-control. Her eyes were pools of dark female mysteries.

"Which I had last night. Delicious, by the way." She moved a little closer.

"Yeah, and then dancing," he said softly and realized that her lips were only inches away from his. He could smell the rich exotic fragrance of sandalwood and amber laced with cinnamon and warm excited woman. Desire blazed a wildfire through him. Suddenly he could smell his own naked desire. His erection was uncomfortably tight in his jeans and thrumming in time to his pulse. He shifted to ease himself.

"And?"

Her breath stroked against his mouth. "Kisses," he murmured, focused on the red ripeness of her lips.

"I like kisses." she whispered, then pressed her rich red mouth to his.

His mouth opened in surprise and her tongue slid in to brush his. He opened wider to taste her. Warmth. Heat. She tasted of cinnamon and sugar. Need and carnal hunger hammered at him. As he sucked on her lower lip, she nipped him. The copper taste of blood bloomed briefly in his mouth.

s.h.i.t. Forgot about the fangs,he thought vaguely.

He felt her soft hand on his thigh, gripping almost painfully hard. She pulled his legs apart, making room for herself. She surged between his legs, pressing those magnificent b.r.e.a.s.t.s and hard nipples to his open shirt and bare chest. He felt her hips, then her mons shifting against his restrained erection. All thought ceased. His body was a ravenous inferno for this incredible woman in his arms.

He wrapped his arms around her and hooked his legs around hers, trapping her heat against his. She moved against him, and he groaned with the delicious friction. He felt her tug the shirt from his pants, then off his shoulders. Her small hand touched his stomach, sliding up to his chest. She tugged on his chest curls, sliding her palm over his nipples. Her fingers dug lightly, and he could feel her nails scoring him. He moaned into her mouth, and felt her answering moan.

He leaned forward, sitting up and taking her with him. His hands came up and cupped the globes of her a.s.s. He dug his fingers in, to feel her muscles clenching. One hand followed the back seam of her jeans down and under to the fragrant heat of her feminine core. His fingers felt for the soft plumpness that hid her c.l.i.t beneath a layer of denim. He pressed his fingers against her rhythmically. She writhed against his fingers with a small gasp, then arched her neck back, breaking their kiss. His lips sought her throat. Using his tongue and his teeth gently, he tasted and nibbled.

He opened his eyes to see a smile on her lips as he nibbled. He brought both hands up her smooth back to burrow under her shirt. He leaned forward, pressing her back against the cool floor. Limber as a gymnast, she folded back with her knees splayed and her heels by her sides.

He folded his knees under and swept his hands under her shirt, shoving it up. He squeezed and dug his fingers into their softness. Her b.r.e.a.s.t.s were perfect; the exact size to fit his hands. The need to taste her nipples took him and his mouth closed on her breast, tasting, licking, and sucking, first one, then the other. Her arms closed on him as he feasted. Her moans of pleasure acted as spurs. He caught one nipple in his teeth and tugged. She whimpered, then grabbed his head to pull him closer.

Without thought, he slid one hand down to the b.u.t.ton of her jeans and tugged it open. He found her zipper, drew it down, then reached into her open jeans. His fingers delved into softness.

"d.a.m.n, baby, you shave," he said in wonder. Her dew dampened his fingers.

"Do you like?" she whispered in a throaty moan, writhing as his fingers found her excited and swollen bud swimming in a pool of liquid warmth.

"Oh G.o.d, ahem...G.o.ddess, yes!" He pressed her c.l.i.t gently and she gasped deliciously, opening wider

to his explorations.

Encouraged, he burrowed two fingers into her moist heat, seeking that sensitive place deep within. He found the soft ma.s.s of nerves and stroked. Her mouth opened wide as she arched her back in delight.

She grabbed his wrist to hold him in place, pressing his mouth to her breast as she took her pleasure.

He scissored his fingers, increasing the speed and pressure within while brushing his thumb against her

swollen, excited bud relentlessly.

He felt the violent tremors of her o.r.g.a.s.m ripple through her. Her pearly essence slicked his palm, and she keened loud and long with gratification. With a grin, he pulled his hand from her pants, then licked his palm and sucked her desire from his fingers.

"Mmm. I love a considerate man," she said with a definite purr. She leaned all the way back, then

stretched luxuriously on the floor, like a kitten.

"Let's get these jeans off." He pulled her legs straight so he could tug off her boots. "I want to really taste you."

"Tell you what, I'll let you take off mine." She chuckled and then sat up. "If I get to take off yours, and I get to taste you."

"It's a deal!"

"But first, why don't we make ourselves comfortable?"

"I still have the air mattress set up," he offered, looking over to the wilted mattress and its rumpled blankets on the stone floor by the flickering camp-stove.

"I have a better idea." She took his hands in hers. "Close your eyes, Sean." Sean felt the hair on his neck rise. He squeezed his eyes shut.

* Danse *

Sean felt a warm wind, and abruptly, he was falling. He landed b.u.t.t-first on something incredibly soft and resilient. His eyes snapped open just in time to catch Lilli as she landed on top of him.

"Whoa, hey!" They were rolling in what seemed to be, a mountain of heavily embroidered pillows of every size, shape and description. "You sure know how to get around!" He struggled to sit up. The huge, heavy framed, black marble bed they were laying on was carved with lions and owls. Sheer white silks draped and canopied the towering monstrosity.

"Well, what do you think?" She grinned as she straddled his hips.

Leaning up amongst the mult.i.tude of pillows he looked around. "Will 'wow' do?" he asked, his eyes wide. "I mean, this is incredible!" He sat all the way up on the glittering pillows to take in the entire room.

The huge bed they sat on was centered in a gigantic room with tall Egyptian archways leading to a dizzying array of smaller rooms and small alcoves. The ceiling overhead was a dome of gleaming black gla.s.s inset with gold and glittering gems. Blazing torchiers were stationed in the corners of the room and the leaping flames gleamed on huge framed mirrors. Pre-Raphaelite paintings and huge medieval tapestries graced walls made of huge blocks of polished, white marble. Squinting, he thought he could make out an old Beatles poster in one of the smaller rooms.

Scattered about the corners of the rooms were ma.s.sive wardrobes oozing with clothes in exotic colors and fabrics. Comfortable chairs upholstered in velvets were grouped with other chairs so delicate, they looked as though they would shatter if you sat on them. Ornate tables and sculpted dressers were scattered with a dizzying array of statues, nick-knacks and trinkets from countries and cultures from all over the world and from every century.

"Hey, is that a computer desk over there?" he asked, pointing into a small room off one side.

"Oh, you got me!" she laughed. "I'm a chat-room junkie. I told you, I like to keep in touch."

"What have you got it plugged into? I mean it's not as if there's power or phone lines way out here." He glanced over to see her look of amus.e.m.e.nt.

"I'm on AOL: Asgard On Line. Oh, and Atlantis Internet, and then I've got an account with Heaven Link."

"Oh, that's right," he said dryly. "You're a G.o.ddess."

She rolled her eyes and threw her arms around his neck. "I just knew you'd figure it out." She smiled and pressed her cheek against his breast, rubbing her body against his in warm invitation.

"Wait a minute," he said softly. She smiled as he took her hand and lifted it to his lips for a soft kiss. "Isn't there something we're supposed to be doing?" he asked, then leaned over and lightly explored her lips with a finger. Her onyx eyes were gleaming and lovely with their exotic tilt.

"Doing?"

She opened her mouth and Sean dipped the tip of his finger in. She wrapped her lips around his digit and sucked, clamping her teeth. He groaned with the sensual feel of her damp tongue swirling suggestively against his finger.

He smiled. "Yeah, doing." She released his finger and he leaned over to kiss her mouth. She opened beneath his lips and her fingers burrowed under his shirt to dig her nails into his bare shoulders. "Like, getting naked?" she asked against his lips. "Oh, yeah," he said softly. He suddenly deepened the kiss, pushing her back to sit among the pillows, ravenously devouring her lips and tongue as he slid his hands under the back of her red t-shirt. Sitting up, he caught the fabric and pulled it up over her head, baring her perfect b.r.e.a.s.t.s to his eager gaze. Her fingers busied themselves stripping the shirt from his shoulders, then tossing it to the end of the huge bed. His fingers hurriedly opened her jeans, then slid inside and around to cup his hands around the firm globes of her a.s.s.

His hungry mouth took her lips once more, then he nibbled down her jaw, stroking his tongue across the pulse throbbing under the tender skin of her throat. He knelt, then swirled his tongue damply around the pale rosy nipple of her breast where he laid claim, sucking with lips and nipping with his teeth.

Her fingers worked his belt open and his fly down. He hissed in pleasure as she slid her cool hand within and found him, then softly explored his heated flesh. She leaned forward and nipped at his small and painfully erect nipples, then shoved him onto his back to pull his jeans down to his knees. His swollen c.o.c.k stood at attention aggressively. He hissed as her fingers closed on him and explored his shape and length.

She chuckled. "What a very fine, um, instrument you have here."

Unconsciously, his c.o.c.k pulsed in her hold, and a glistening drop of moisture formed at the tip.

"I'll be happy to play any tune you like with it," he said, groaning. He climbed up onto the bed and she

released him reluctantly. Grinning lasciviously, he helped her struggle from her jeans, then tossed them to

the end of her bed.

She fell back on a mound of bright pillows with her knees splayed wantonly. The pink petals of her intimate female flesh glistened with dew. Her feminine perfume was warm and intoxicating.

"Ah ha!" he grinned as she smiled up at him. He pressed his lips to her bare mound and darted a tongue into her moist and fragrant core. She was sweet and silky on his tongue.

She sighed heavily, then gripped his hair and suddenly pulled him away.

"Hey!" he yelped, then licked her sweet essence from his lips. "I was enjoying that."

"I want you naked." Her smile was feral and hungry. "And I want it now."

He smiled ruefully, rubbing at his nearly uprooted scalp. "Your wish is my command." He tugged his jeans the rest of the way off, tossing them on the end of the huge bed. "Better?"

She nodded. "Much. Now come over here."

He crawled toward her, on his hands and knees and reached for her.

She took both his hands to hold him still. "No, don't touch me," she said softly. "I want to touch you."

He sank back among the pillows and her long nails made red lines on his stomach. He sucked in a breath. The slight sting was strangely exciting. She mused for a moment, then gave him a serious look. "Sean, I've been thinking." "Uh, oh." He gave her a playful flinch; partly from her long nails on his skin and partly from her sober demeanor. "Am I in trouble?" "Could be." She looked up at him from the corner of her eye. "It has been a very long time since I've been with a man who knew me for what I truly am." "Meaning, a very long time since you've been with someone who knows that you're a G.o.ddess?" "Yes." She pressed a light kiss on the red welts she'd raised. "It's been even longer since anyone deliberately came seeking me." She pressed her cheek against his bare chest rubbing against the marks she'd made. "I want to gift you with my full immortal ardor." She frowned thoughtfully. "I think I said that right."

"You want to make love with me as a G.o.ddess?" He frowned. "Isn't that what we're doing now?" "Not really." Lilli tilted her head and nibbled her lower lip. "I want to make love to you in my true form." Sean swallowed. "You mean wings and um, claws?" She nodded. "Yes, but only if you're willing." s.e.x with a G.o.ddess, in her G.o.ddess form,he thought.Cool! Then, he thought some more. There were lots of stories about mortals that died seeing G.o.ds in their true forms, and most of the fatal tales were about mortal men hopping in the sack with G.o.ddesses. He wanted to ask if it was going to hurt, but he was afraid that he already knew the answer.s.h.i.t! Never mind the pain, will I survive?

"Oh yes, you'll survive." She chuckled as he flinched, answering his unasked question, but her eyes were very serious. "And yes, it will very likely hurt." "Okay, I get it, telepathy too." He gave her an amused glance.

Lilli bit her lip. "Well, I am..." "Yeah, I know, you're a G.o.ddess." He took her face in his palms and looked deep into her onyx eyes. "Look, I believe you already, okay?" He dropped a gentle kiss on her lips, then wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "Look, if it will give you pleasure, then I am yours to do with as you please, and hey," he added as he grinned down at her, "I get a chance to have s.e.x with an actual G.o.ddess, the most perfect woman imaginable! So I get a few permanent scars from the experience." He shrugged. "As long as I get to live to tell the tale, I figure, so what?"

"You agree?" "Do I get to call youMy Immortal Beloved like Beethoven?"

"Oh, please! He was a great musician, but he was a pompous a.s.s, too."

He choked. "Don't tell me! You and Beethoven?"

"Look..." She grinned and shook a finger at him. "I won't ask about your ex-lovers if you don't ask about mine, okay?"

"It a deal!" He really, really didn't want to know anyway.

Lilli grinned impishly. "And for the record, he only suspected, he didn't know for sure." Her expression grew serious. "Are you really sure you want to do this my way?"

"h.e.l.l, woman, when do we start?"

"Take my hand." It was a command, not a request.

He took her outstretched hand and felt eldritch power rippling through her fingers and up his arm as though he handled live electricity. A wind of tingling vibrancy swirled violently around them both and he watched Lilli's eyes become pits of starlit darkness. Wings of light unfolded from her shoulders.

She tugged him into her embrace. His hands gripped her winged body, brushing feathers. He felt clawed fingertips dig in.Oh, yeah, this is gonna hurt, he thought.

"Our journey begins with a kiss," she whispered.

His mouth opened to hers, and he felt the sharp p.r.i.c.k of long incisors against his tongue. Her tongue captured his, then the copper taste of fresh blood flooded his mouth.

Taste of my blood,she whispered directly into his thoughts,that we may share more than your body might normally withstand, my love.