ZenithRising (6 page)

He groaned aloud as she sucked him back into her mouth and
scraped her teeth along his length as she eased back again. “No words,” he
gritted out. “That calls for action.” In a flash he pulled away from her grasp,
raised her to her feet and bent her forward with her hands braced at the edge
of the mattress.

She had to wait a moment while he put on a condom, but she
didn’t dare move. Her patience was rewarded when she felt his sex slide between
her thighs as his hands moved to the front of her body. Fingers slid over her
pussy, using her own wetness to prepare her vagina for his entry. But she
couldn’t wait another moment. Widening the spread of her thighs, she reached
through and guided his erection into her opening. The relief of having him
inside her and at such an angle was nearly overwhelming. It was also possibly
the best sensation she’d ever felt.

Until he moved. Almost out. Most of the way in. Deeper. And
deeper still. At the same time, his fingers continued to play with her pleasure
button, building her hunger to a mindless distraction. Her stance prevented her
from assisting but as his cock moved faster in and out of her slick canal, it
was clear she was giving him everything he needed.

He was so close and yet he wanted to make it last, for her and
for him, but with his aching cock so deep inside her juicy cunt and her ass so
beautifully poised for his pleasure, holding back was an impossibility. She had
such a tight hold on his sex as he slid in and out, he was completely surprised
by the sudden clench of her vaginal muscles. He felt the explosion building
inside and increased the pace of his finger massage on her clit to match the
fevered pitch of his arousal. At her first moan of release he let himself go.
And go. And go. The pulsing seemed to continue well after the ejaculation was
complete. If he could he would stay inside her forever.

Somehow that thought didn’t surprise him at all. Not with
her. With his Maggie he always knew it would be like this. He’d been honest
about the condoms. If she hadn’t blatantly demonstrated interest in him, she
would never have known how prepared he was. He had never doubted for a moment
that his attraction for her would still be there. In his mind he had run
through dozens of scenarios aimed at seducing her. Fortunately for him, none of
them had been necessary. It had all happened very naturally. Well, maybe there
was just a little supernatural involved. But it happened exactly as all magical
things should.

He eased out of her body and led her into the bathroom for a
quick cleanup. The totally sated look in her eyes made him feel like a
superhero. Despite being completely drained himself, that look was enough to
get blood flowing to his lower regions all over again.

Instead of taking her right back to bed however, he swiftly
wrapped her in the robe, making sure she was snugly covered from chin to
ankles, then redressed himself. “Believe me when I say it is taking all my
exceptional work ethic to do this. But I need to get started on the book.”

“Oh, of course. I’ll be ready to head out in a minute.”

He had mixed feelings about how quickly her expression
switched to work mode. “Wait.” She stopped in the middle of the living room and
he closed the distance between them in three strides. He pulled her close and
gave her a slow, seductive kiss as his hands ran down her back and palmed her
buttocks. “Okay,
now
I’m ready.” She smiled and turned toward her room
but he tugged her back again. “Maybe just one more.” They were both chuckling
too much for their mouths to properly come together. “Hey, I don’t call you
Sugarlips for nothing.”

She poked his chest with her index finger. “You
promised
not to call me that at all.”

“Really? I don’t remember making that promise.”

She gave him a playful shove and slipped away.

Maggie’s body continued to tingle with pleasure as she
dressed, brushed her teeth and hair and applied her speed version of makeup.
Knowing they would be outside in the heat, she chose a lightweight sundress and
flat sandals. Not certain what all she would need on their walk-around, she
removed the hotel property map from the informational notebook. She packed
that, her pad, several pens and a few other items in a shoulder bag rather than
carry a purse. When she returned to the common room, Noah was on the couch,
skimming a local glitz magazine. Her breath caught as though it were the first
time she’d ever seen such a devastatingly masculine creature.

He stood as soon as she approached. His gaze slid over her
and his smile broadened. “You are temptation personified. I think I need to add
something to your job description. From this moment until I order you
otherwise, it is your responsibility to keep my mind on work and my hands off
you. Okay?”

Relieved to have him set such a practical rule, she fixed a
stern expression on her face and saluted him. “Yes sir. Until you give me a
counter-order, you and I are strictly author and assistant.” She patted her
shoulder bag. “I think I have everything I need except for the recorder you
mentioned.”

He reached into the chest pocket of his t-shirt and
extracted a palm-sized, black device. “It’s voice activated so there’s really
nothing for you to do as far as recording. But maybe you could glance at my
pocket once in a while to make sure a light comes on when I’m talking. The
built-in battery is supposed to be good for years but just in case…”

“I’ll have my pad and pen ready to leap to the rescue.”

He nodded. “That’s right. I knew I was bringing you along
for something besides your sweet—”

She quickly hushed him with her fingers on his mouth.
“Work-related only.”

He pretended to pout before going on. “When we get back here
you just need to connect it to my laptop and the computer will convert
everything to text. The program isn’t perfect though so I will need you to skim
it and make corrections if needed then print it out for me.”

“Cool.” It was the only word that came to her.

“Yeah. I like gadgets.”

They checked the map on the way to the lobby and confirmed
they had toured every foot of the ground floor of the main building the evening
before. Noah said he needed to repeat that walk and check out the three towers
of rooms but decided to cover the outdoors before the temperature and humidity
hit the daily high.

Even at midmorning it felt as if they walked out of the
hotel and into a steam room. But as Maggie took in the clear blue sky, gentle
salt-air breeze and white-capped ocean waves breaking on the sand, the heat was
easy to ignore. They meandered along the beach and paused at the outdoor
swimming pool with the island bar in its center. Noah got virgin piña coladas
from one of several freestanding tiki huts and they sipped them while strolling
along the golf-cart path that led to the individual bungalows. The exteriors
were made to look like beach huts with thatched roofs. She knew from the
brochure these units were fully equipped apartments leased out on a seasonal
basis and always had a considerable waiting list.

Noah stopped in front of one with lime-green shutters and a
yellow rocking chair on its narrow wooden porch. “Something about this reminds
me of those fairy-tale tents that seem small on the outside but are huge and
elaborate inside. Might be something I can do with that.”

It was the first story-related comment he’d made and Maggie
glanced at his pocket as he spoke to make sure the recorder had lit up.

A little beyond the last bungalow was a sign indicating the
beginnings of three nature trails. The entrances were barely visible between
the thick foliage and she wondered if anyone ever took advantage of them. Her next
thought was on the creepy-crawly things that made themselves at home in this
sort of environment.

Noah picked the one on the left and she followed closely
behind. He was being totally polite but didn’t seem to be having any problem
keeping his mind focused on work. She was glad for that…and maybe just a little
disappointed. It might have been a lot less scary to walk along the narrow path
holding hands.

He stopped so abruptly she bumped into him. He held up a
finger to signal her to wait. She stepped back and watched him cautiously slide
the device out of his pocket and hold it up to his eye. Realizing he was taking
a picture, she followed his line of sight and had a silent moment of panic.
Directly in their path was a huge, incredibly intricate spider web and its
builder was about to snack on a fly it had caught. The spider’s hourglass body
was black with blue stripes and at least three inches long. Its eight stick
legs increased its size by several inches more.

Noah nudged her around and whispered, “The big guy had no
problem with my taking pictures but he isn’t going to let us pass without a
fight. It’ll make one hell of a cover.”

“What does a giant spider have to do with Hotel Hellgate?”
she asked as they returned to the path entrance.

“Nothing. But you’ve heard the expression a picture is worth
a thousand words. That one is worth at least fifty thousand. I’ll write a story
to fit it.”

“Wow. I could never do something like that.”

Noah lifted her chin with his bent index finger and frowned
as she met his gaze. “Why do you do that?”

She tried to circumvent his question with a tease. “Do I
need to remind you about the no-hands-on-Maggie rule?”

“I hereby order a temporary hold on the rule.” He brought
her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckles. “Most people don’t see a monster
spider and think about writing a book around it. But I’m sure most people can
do a lot of the things I can’t. You may not think you have any special talent
but I know you’re wrong. We just haven’t identified it yet. So I don’t want to
hear anything like that come out of your mouth again.” He gave her a quick
kiss. “Mind you that doesn’t mean you can’t compliment my brilliance anytime
you recognize it.”

She couldn’t help but smile and rose on her toes for a
longer kiss, but he held his hand up between them.

“Oh sorry, time’s up. Back to work.”

She rolled her eyes but followed him obediently onto the
middle path. They walked for quite a while in silence without any primitive
beasties blocking their way. Then, quite unexpectedly, the hair on Maggie’s
arms stood straight up then the hair on her head lifted as well and she stopped
in her tracks. “Noah?”

He turned and gaped at the sight of her electrified hair.
“What is it?” he asked as he retraced his steps to her.

“I’m not sure. Something…weird.”

“More words please.”

Maggie took several steps back and the hair relaxed. She
came forward again, stopping exactly where she had before and the hair raised
again. “It feels as though there’s a wall in front of me.” She put up her palms
and found where it seemed to start. With conscious effort she had no difficulty
passing through but her whole body felt as though it were tingling.

Noah narrated what he was watching for the sake of the
recording. “I am now walking back beyond the point where Maggie is standing and
testing the field myself.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before
stretching out his arms and walking forward again. This time he stopped right
beside her. “It’s an energy field. Like the one you felt coming off the
amethyst in the bar. Only this one is a whole lot more powerful. Even still, I
didn’t notice it until I focused on it.” He scanned the area. “I don’t see any
rocks or boulders, just plants and trees. Are you willing to see how far it
goes?”

She smiled. “If I didn’t run screaming from that spider, I
think I can handle a little force field.” Still, she accepted his hand when he
offered it and let him lead her for about twenty feet before she abruptly
halted again. Like she saw him do, she closed her eyes and took a breath. She
wanted to give him a good description of what she was feeling. “Whatever it is
just got even stronger right here. It’s almost like an electrical current is
running from the arches of my feet up my body…ooh, my fingers are really
tingling…”

“I feel it now too,” Noah said. “Only it came from your hand
to mine and, oh my god, this is one of the coolest creepy things ever.”

She laughed as she saw how his hair was sticking out. “It
reminds me of static electricity only it’s continuous. There’s no specific spark
or discomfort.”

“Quite the opposite. It sort of tickles.” He chuckled then
laughed out loud as though the current had just reached an especially sensitive
spot.

Maggie realized the feeling was not so different from how
she felt when he touched her sensitive spots. If she stood there much longer,
she wasn’t sure what the weird energy might make her do. She tugged his hand.
“Let’s see how far it goes.” They walked about another twenty feet and the
effect lessened as they went until it was gone completely.

Noah looked back at the perfectly straight line they had
just walked. “Did you notice how the path was winding before the field then
curves again from here? And it looks like that spot we were standing in was
halfway, like an epicenter.”

“I think I need to make a confession,” she said abruptly. He
arched a brow. “I skimmed the little background piece in the hotel’s notebook
last night. Something bothered me but I didn’t know what until just now. It
said the island was named after the crystals in the Amethyst Cave but Robert
Davenport would have named the island when he bought it, before he started
construction. It also said he never revealed where he got the big rock
formations.”

He narrowed his eyes. “And you don’t think it’s just a
mistake.”

She shook her head. “I’m thinking the crystals were here.
And we just walked over a large deposit.”

“An undiscovered underground cave?”

“Maybe Robert discovered it and decided to keep it a secret.
There’s definitely something powerful coming through. But wouldn’t someone else
have noticed it?”

“Maybe no one has ever walked across it with your ability to
sense the energy.”

She narrowed her eyes at him. “Are you just saying that
because—”

“No. You saw me walk through and I’m more aware of such
things than most people. And I didn’t feel that electrical flow until it came
through your hand to me. I hate to tell you, love, but I think you’ve got a
unique talent after all.”

A few hundred butterflies took off in her tummy when he
called her
love
. She knew he said it offhandedly but it pleased her
anyway. She made herself focus on the other part of his statement. “So the only
thing to do now is figure out what one might do with such a
useful
ability.”

He squeezed her hand. “All things in good time. Now let’s
see what’s behind door number three.”

The final path took them to a lagoon filled with big orange,
white and gold carp. A man-made waterfall had been added on one end and there
was a container of fish food available at a quarter a handful. Obviously this
was the trail recommended to the tourists.

It was after noon when they got back to the hotel’s pristine
beach so they had a cold lunch at the outdoor Quartz Café.

“What’s next?” Maggie asked as they finished.

“We still have the towers. I want to take a walk on each
floor, twenty-four in all. But after the energy field thing I’m rethinking my
insistence on not reading any of the material ahead of time. So I thought maybe
we could go back to the room and do a little…
research
.”

“Hmmm, I think a little
research
with you would be
very nice,” she said, adding a lascivious eyebrow wriggle. “But I just
remembered something. I’m supposed to check in with Human Resources. Something
about filling out forms. Would you mind getting started without me?” She felt
herself blush. “I mean with the research, the
book
research.”

He grinned. “You’d better go before you dig yourself a hole
I won’t let you out of.” She rose but he caught her wrist before she could walk
away. He drew her close then scanned the area around them. Holding on to her
wrist, Noah lowered his other hand to her ankle and very slowly slid up her
inner calf then continued beneath the full skirt of her dress. When she tried
to move he tightened his hold on her wrist. “Stand still.”

“Noah!” she whispered. “Someone might—” Her next words were
lost as his fingers continued their leisurely trip up her inner thigh and found
their way beneath the crotch of her thong. She could barely breathe let alone
move as he scraped his fingernail back and forth over her clit then slipped his
fingertip into her opening and swirled it around.

A moment later he removed his hand and, holding her gaze,
sucked that same finger. He had shocked her but she wasn’t beyond
reciprocating. She leaned down with her lips close to his ear and eased her
hand over his zipper. When she found his erection she molded her fingers around
it and whispered, “You will pay for that.”

She straightened up slowly, making sure he got a close-up
view of her cleavage and smiled. “That history book I mentioned is on my
nightstand in case you want to look at it. You have my permission to enter my
personal space anytime, as long as it goes both ways.” Then she walked away
with an emphatic hip wiggle.

* * * * *

Maggie was practicing her patience but it was getting
thinner by the minute. She wanted to get back to the suite. To Noah. The
research.
Noah.
Every time she recalled what he’d done to her at the
café, she got aroused all over again and she couldn’t stop herself from
recalling it. She needed something else to think about but she was being kept
waiting without anything to distract her.