"That's two kisses you owe me, Blue." He could feel the hard nubs of her nipples digging into his chest and his crotch jerked. Sliding one hand along her jaw into her hair and the other to pull her lower body against the hard ridge straining his zipper, Talon slowly lowered his head. The first kiss was little more than the brushing of his lips against hers-an exchange of breaths. His second started by lightly biting her bottom lip before soothing the sting with his tongue. The hitch in her breathing pushed him closer to the limits of his control. Instead, he whispered against her mouth.

"We've done this before." It was a statement, not a question, but the brief flash of guilt was all the answer he needed. He took his time, sliding his lips back and forth across hers before slipping his tongue inside to explore every delightful surface. There! He remembered that small round protrusion.

"What's on your tooth?" He whispered between forays into her warmth.

"A diamond. It's a gemstone on Earth used for ornamentation." She pulled back until she could look him in the eye. "It's been polished smooth so you don't have to worry about damage to...."

Her eyes dropped to the bulge in his pants and he groaned. "Keep talking like that and this night will end way too soon."

Shadow's aura spiked bright red before she ducked her head and drew a deep, calming breath.

"I started filling the tub but I wanted to wait until you got here before adding the hot water. It will warm you faster than sitting in front of the fire pit. When you finish, I'll get you something to eat."

"I cleaned up at the well before coming here. Trust me, you didn't want me walking in here covered in mud and blood, and things even I don't want to know. Let me get into something dry and warm and I'll eat anything that doesn't bite me first."

He reluctantly let her pull out of his embrace. When he reached the door to his room, she called his name. s.h.i.t. She's gonna pull rank and tell me to p.i.s.s off.

"I don't bite." She whispered and flashed a wicked grin.

He almost choked on his own tongue. His old eyes wouldn't have seen her smile. d.a.m.ned if she wasn't the s.e.xiest woman he'd met in...forever. He didn't know what changed between them but something broke through Shadow's carefully maintained control to free the woman she kept buried. He was in serious trouble and had no desire to change a single thing.

After hanging his wet clothes in the large, empty closet he pulled clean pants from his pack. With a wicked grin, he decided to go native and bypa.s.s any undergarments. They would just get in the way later. He grinned just thinking about her reaction when she slipped her hand beneath his waistband. For warmth, he chose a long-sleeved shirt made of spider silk. The material was thin, flexible, and almost as warm as a fur-lined jacket. The last time he wore the shirt-two years ago, at least-it hung loosely on him. Now he could barely pull the stretchy material over his chest.

"You're feeding me too good, Blue." He walked toward Shadow and the warmth of the fire pit, grinning and pulling at the clinging material.

"You can't blame me for all of that." She laughed, stroking his abs over the skintight shirt. "It's all that cussin' and the extra pushups. Keep up the potty mouth and you'll be naked when you go after Draagon."

Talon gripped her hand where it rested near his waist. "If you don't want this to go any further, you need to tell me now." If she said stop it would d.a.m.n near kill him but he didn't want any regrets tomorrow.

Shadow's gaze was steady, never leaving his face. With slow deliberation she lowered their hands until she covered the bulge in his pants. G.o.ds, if she squeezes me I'll c.u.m in my pants.

"How about as far as your bed?"

Where did that whiskey-rough voice come from? She could trigger an o.r.g.a.s.m just reciting the ingredients of her kava stew. He was torn between wanting to know what changed between them and pushing her against the closest wall.

Why now? After all these weeks?

The part of his brain that lived south of his belt buckle didn't care. With a deep sigh, he silently vowed to make the night as memorable as possible-for both of them-in case she retreated behind her blue wall tomorrow.

"That sounds perfect, sweet lady, but I have no way to protect you. Are you willing to risk pregnancy?"

A blind man couldn't miss the flash of pain in her eyes.

"I can't have children so there's no risk at all; but first, you have to eat. Can't have you fainting from hunger on a down stroke, can we? It's on the table."

Talon knew when a matter was closed and her rapid change of subject slammed a door on any questions he had. "We could heat it up...later."

"Not this time." She walked her fingers from his waist up over his chest to his chin. "Antic.i.p.ation can be a powerful element of foreplay."

Okay. He could do this. How hard could it be to sit and swallow a few bites of food before dragging her to the nearest flat surface?

"A midnight dinner with a beautiful woman and I get to choose the dessert." He held her chair before moving to the other side of the table.

He was discovering he really enjoyed food now that he could see what he was eating. Before Kierin's fix for his eyes he'd go hungry before eating in front of anyone. Humiliation was tough to swallow. Food had to be extremely hot for him to locate it on the plate. If he took a bite while it was hot enough for him to see it, he burned his mouth. Once it cooled enough to eat, he couldn't see where it was and ended up using his hands and shoveling whatever he grabbed into his mouth. He was no better than a farm animal.

"This tastes amazing. Is that a leaf you used to wrap the kava while it baked?"

"One of the first things I do when I go somewhere new is to check out the local herbs and flowers, especially if I'm going to be there long. A constant diet of plain roasted meat would get old. Add a few sprigs of a local herb and it becomes a meal-not just food."

"This is just spicy...."

His brain shut down when Shadow picked up the kava leg, dripping with juice, and slowly ran her tongue along its length. When she grinned and pushed the six-inch length of bone and meat into her mouth, he stopped breathing all together.

"If you want me to finish this meal, you'll stop what you're doing. I don't have a problem with shoving everything to the floor and laying you out on the table."

"I'm going to have to work on your staying power." She whispered, placing her dinner back on the plate.

"Shadow...." Talon didn't recognize the growling noise as his voice. The woman would kill him if she kept this up.

"Okay, okay. I'll play nice. How did the hunt go?"

It took him several seconds to adjust. Gone was the s.e.xy flirt and Blue was back in control. He spent the next hour describing his ordeal with the eldorak. Laughing with her when he described slipping on the muddy trail and sliding the half-mile to the valley floor on his b.u.t.t. This was how he imagined couples spent their evenings-sharing their day while pa.s.sion simmered quietly, building slowly until time to retire for the night.

"I a.s.sumed you'd go for a string of kavas, since the little b.u.g.g.e.rs are hopping all over the place." She wiped the tears from her face when the laughter stopped. "Why didn't you cut it up and cache it in a tree until morning?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the knife. "I wasn't prepared for big game. By the time I gutted it, this thing was practically useless."

"So where did you leave the carca.s.s?"

"Tied to a rock in the pool at the edge of the artesian well. The water is cold enough to keep it fresh until daylight and deep enough to keep any predators from stealing it."

A comfortable silence enveloped them. That small part of Talon from before he lost his sight and before Draagon destroyed his life craved this feeling. Craved home. He'd never have another home, but he could remember and store these memories to feed his dreams in the long years ahead. Shoving the feeling away, he focused on the woman sitting quietly across from him.

"What color are your eyes?" He asked, softly.

"Blue." She tilted her head like she was trying to figure out what to ask next. "What do you see when you look at me?"

"You mean besides a beautiful woman?" He shrugged. "The whites of your eyes almost glow. The rest is a dark greenish grey."

"No man has ever called me beautiful. It's ironic that the first one to do so is blind."

"Not as blind as the men you've known. Is this the first time you've let your hair down?" Talon wanted to bury his hands in those soft strands again. He couldn't wait to see it spread across his pillow or brushing his thighs. Just that fast, the semi-erection he'd managed throughout dinner roared to life.

"Just the first time since you could see me. I'm a mercenary, Talon. Soldiers don't take a woman serious if all they see is fluff."

She stood and started clearing the table until Talon pulled her down onto his lap. "That can wait until tomorrow."

She slid her arms around his neck and snuggled against his chest. "I've got news for you, slick. It was tomorrow when you got home...I mean, back."

"Is the fire banked for the night?" He waited for her nod before standing with her in his arms. "Then I declare dinner officially over. Let's go to bed, Blue."

Chapter Sixteen.

Shadow shook with need. The last time-the only time-they shared a bed Talon was in the throes of detox deliriums and didn't know what was happening. Guilt still rode her hard over that but she had no choice then. He was wracked with fever and chills and so cold. The only way to warm him was skin-to-skin. His reaction was nothing more than basic animal nature. She could walk away then because he didn't remember. There would be no walking away this time and not just because he was conscious.

"You still with me, Blue?"

She smiled against his neck. "Where else would I be?" She whispered. "Why do you call me that?"

"What? Blue?" She nodded as he stood her beside the bed. "You wouldn't tell me your name and I had to call you something. With my old vision, you had a constant blue sh.e.l.l around your body. I still want to know how you have such total control over your emotions."

"I never knew my control turned colors." She slipped her hands beneath his shirt and pushed the material up to reveal his remarkable body. "Enough talk, a.s.sa.s.sin, you mentioned something about dessert?"

Talon pulled the shirt over his head and tossed it aside before reaching for the b.u.t.tons on her shirt. "Is your skin tanned or pale?"

"I'm fond of sunbathing in the nude."

"Sweet mercy!" He jerked the shirt open, sending b.u.t.tons bouncing across the floor. "What the h.e.l.l is that...thing...you're wearing under the shirt?"

Shadow laughed at his outraged confusion. "It's a binding cloth to keep my b.o.o.bs from flopping around. I'm not a flat-chested woman." She unwound the cloth, wincing as the blood rushed into her flattened flesh.

Talon gently lifted the twin globes, tracing the creases in the skin from the folds in the cloth. "I can't believe I felt your nipples through all of that." He placed gentle kisses on each pebbled peak.

Sliding her arms around his waist brought her against the evidence of his desire for her. "I'm not made of gla.s.s, Talon. You won't break anything if you get a little rough."

"Let's get one thing straight, Blue." He grasped her head in both hands, tilting her face up to him. "I follow your orders outside; but in here...or anywhere else where we're just one man-one woman...it's a mutual undertaking."

Before she could tell him how special he made her feel or how wet her pants were, his mouth closed over hers in a dominating kiss. He declared himself the victor and she melted in surrender. His tongue pushed between her lips in rapid simulation of what his body would do later, daring hers to join the dance. Only the need for air made him break the kiss, both of them gasping but unwilling to slow down.

Running his tongue around the whorls of her ear had her squirming against his erection. "I want you naked. Now." He bit down on her earlobe before kissing his way down her neck to her shoulder.

Her hands trembled so hard she fumbled with her pants. She finally managed to free the b.u.t.ton but the zipper was stuck. "Screw this!" She mumbled before grabbing both sides and yanking. The zipper head joined the b.u.t.tons on the floor. She shimmied out of her pants and panties, not remembering she still wore boots until everything tangled around her ankles. Tears of frustration and need clogged her throat.

"Shhhh, baby. Let me." Talon lifted her in his arms and laid her on his bed.

"I wanted this to be special and I'm s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g it up!" She wasn't this awkward her first time. As bad as she wanted the man currently unlacing her boots, she would die of humiliation if she looked at him and saw disgust or-G.o.ds forbid-pity.

"You're special, Shadow. Don't ever doubt that." He lifted her foot and slid the tangled clothing free, tossing them to the floor. "Besides," he placed a kiss in the arch of her foot. "I think you're kinda cute when you get fl.u.s.tered."

"I'll show you fl.u.s.tered, you son of a...."

Her brain quit working completely when Talon stepped out of his pants. Dammit, he had sense enough to pull off his boots before he made an a.s.s of himself. She'd seen him naked before and not just the first time they had s.e.x. His arms bulged with newly strengthened muscle and perfectly complimented the well-defined pecs and rock-hard abs. The light covering of hair across his chest tapered to a mouth-watering treasure trail leading straight to his groin. He was impressive-long and thick and already glistening with that early drop of moisture.

"Like what you see, Blue?" Talon asked, still holding her foot against his chest. "I certainly like the view from here."

Her gasp was all the answer he needed. Every muscle in his body was tight enough to shatter as he fought the need to thrust into her in one mighty push. He kissed his way from her ankle to her knee, grinning when he found a sensitive, erogenous spot in the crease.

"Please...," she whispered, her hands clenched tightly in the blanket.

"Easy, sweetheart." He whispered against her soft skin. "I bet I could bring you to climax by focusing just on this spot but I'll save that for another time."

His b.a.l.l.s were pulled up tight warning him that his playtime was about to come to an end. He could see the wet sheen of her arousal and wanted desperately to feast on that bounty but he was too close to the limits of his control. Soon, he promised himself, he would devour her until she screamed his name.

Just thinking about how she would taste made his c.o.c.k twitch in warning. "Blue, this first time is going to be quicker than either of us expected, but next time...."

Talon moved up her body, pausing to place a wet kiss in her belly b.u.t.ton and on both b.r.e.a.s.t.s. He wanted to feast on those fruits as well-another time. Her lips were swollen from his kisses and he couldn't resist another deep penetration of her mouth with his tongue. Her legs circled his back and her arms grabbed his shoulders. He slid into her wet core. Holding perfectly still, he wanted to remember this perfect feeling of her tight channel gripping him for the rest of his life.

"Move." She demanded. "Talon! You're killing me."

He tightened the grip on his control. He would give her everything she wanted if it killed him. Pulling slowly out until only the head remained; he pushed in just as slowly. He repeated the motions several times, keeping the tempo slow.

"Harder. I'm so close." Shadow whispered against his neck.

He couldn't hold back any longer. His strokes became hard and deep. She arched her back, giving him the angle he needed for an even deeper penetration. Sweat covered both their bodies as he pounded against her willing body.

"Talon!"

She screamed his name, her body convulsing, her internal muscles milking every drop of his climax.

When both their tremors slowed and breathing became almost normal, Talon rolled to his side, bringing Shadow with him, still held firmly in her core.

Her fingers traced patterns in the hair on his chest. When he softened enough to slip from her body, she kissed his cheek and pulled out of his arms.

"I'll be right back." She headed toward the bathroom and Talon could hear her cleaning herself up.

He processed all of that with one small portion of his brain. The majority of his mind was totally focused on the last few seconds before Shadow's climax. Her blue aura disappeared in an explosion of light and color so brilliant it literally burned his eyes to see it. In the two years since his accident, he had never, ever seen such a glorious display of emotion. Every color ever seen or dreamt burst through her control.

"Do you want me to stay here or go back to my room?" She asked softly from the door. He hadn't heard her leave the bathroom.

"You don't sleep anywhere but here from now on." He slid over giving her plenty of room. When she snuggled against him, he pulled the blanket over them and gathered her in his arms.

"I'd like that." She mumbled. "At least until you leave."

He didn't like the sound of that. Didn't like it worth a d.a.m.n.

If she thinks we're just going to be f.u.c.k mates until I go after Draagon, she has another think coming. No way in h.e.l.l am I letting this woman get away.