Read Online Immortal Heat by Lanette Curington - Free Book Online Page A

a wonderful laugh, so deep and rich. You should do it more often," she said between gasps for air.
     
     He didn't want to spoil the moment by telling her that he'd never had much to laugh about. In truth, he couldn't remember the last time he'd laughed. Aphrodite had never made him laugh or laughed with him. Only Aglaia.
     
     "You aren't hurt?" he asked when he'd caught his breath.
     
     "No, not a bit. I was only teasing you." She rose up on her elbows, the headband slipping from her hair. "I'm sorry—"
     
     "Don't apologize. It was a fine trick, and I should have suspected."
     
     "No, you shouldn't have. That's what made it a fine trick."
     
     Hephaestus reached out to straighten the headband, but his hand touched her brow and swept back over her flame-red hair, catching her at the nape. He found himself moving in closer to her, so close their lips touched. Aglaia's neck bowed and her lips parted against his, warm and inviting. He felt her arm glide to the back of his neck, her fingers tangling in his hair. He closed his eyes and lost himself in her kiss.
     
     When they parted, Aglaia ran the tip of her tongue over her lips as if to savor the last taste of him. The simple yet provocative act drove him wild and would have brought him to his knees if he wasn't already there. He throbbed with desire.
     
     Her eyes opened lazily, their dusky luster mirroring his own need. "Mmmm," she murmured and licked her lips again. "I'm so glad you did that. Could you do it again?"
     
     "If I do, I won't stop at a kiss," he warned huskily.
     
     She smiled sweetly. "Good. I was afraid you might."
     
     Hephaestus caught her up closer to him, their lips sliding together urgently. He thrust his tongue into her mouth and hers darted against his until he captured it and suckled gently. She moaned, deep in her throat and pressed closer to him. He freed one hand and unfastened the clasp at her shoulder so that the drape of her chiton slipped down. He cupped her breast, and the hard peak jutted into his palm as if seeking his touch.
     
     Aglaia moaned again and arched into him, and he thought he might burst through his underlinen if he didn't have her now.
     
     "Here?" he whispered against her luscious lips.
     
     "And now," she demanded.
     
     He laughed. "The bed would be much softer."
     
     "But it would take forever to get there," she whimpered, running her hand over his chest, stopping at the hard tip of his breast. Her busy fingers further enflamed his desire.
     
     His head bent to place a kiss at her throat as he lifted her into his arms.
     
     "I want you in my bed," he rasped between kisses over her petal-soft skin to the generous swell of her breast. She tasted sweet, as if her skin were glazed with honey. "I plan to keep you there a long time."
     
     "I—I—" Aglaia gasped with every kiss. "I've been in your bed for several days now."
     
     "But not with me," he said before his mouth surrounded the rosy tip, his tongue flicking it into a finer point.
     
     Aglaia's hand clenched in his hair, and he raised his head to see the glow of passion on her face.
     
     "You'll have me in your bed, I promise. In your bed as many times as you want. But now..." She buried her face against his neck, and her tongue traced delicate, delightful trails over his skin. He could hardly remain on his feet, much less carry her to the caves, and he couldn't concentrate enough to aetherize a flea. He barely made it to the thick tufts of dry grass, bent flat by the wind, at the base of the cliff. In this sheltered spot, no stones were embedded in the sand.
     
     Hephaestus laid Aglaia on the grass and kissed her as he slid the skirt of her chiton to her waist. He wanted to devour her, consume her, but he knew all he really wanted to do was bury himself deep inside her and never come out again. He would, though, but only so that he could do it all over again.
     
     She pushed the drape off his shoulder and he pulled his arm