VIII
She felt lightning in her veins. It was not an altogether new feeling, but she could not recall it ever being this intense or powerful. She felt powerful. And not from her magic this time. Her body and her heart and her very being hummed to an exultant zenith.
Jonathan's hands trembled as he untied the laces on her bodice. Her hands in turn shucked off his coat and tunic and smoothed over his chest with reckless abandon. She let out little moans as her mouth covered him with wet kisses.
He lowered his head to bury in her neck, his lips and tongue moving over her pulse like the sweetest torture. Her knees were going weak. But she could also feel the heat of his body and the excitement she inspired within him, and that kept her upright. Besides, she would rather die than part from him now.
They stumbled out of their clothes and back to her bed, falling on top of it and landing side by side. She pulled back just enough to catch her breath and gaze at him. His blue eyes sparkled as he grinned up at her. She giggled, feeling giddy at the prospect of what was to come.
The sound of her laughter was the sweetest music. A throaty, gorgeous sound. He vowed to himself that he would endeavor to cause a repeat of that beautiful laugh whenever he possibly could.
But then she leaned in and started kissing him again and her tongue delved into his mouth and he was utterly lost.
She settled herself on top of him. Only her thin slip covered her body now. His hands traced up her legs, feeling the soft flesh and strong muscles on either side of his hips. She rocked against him, heightening the arousal for them both.
For all her strength and power, Jonathan was stronger in body than she. He shifted his weight and rolled them both over so she was on her back, cradling him between her thighs, and he hovered over her. And then he paused.
"Are you sure?" he asked softly. He was very close to losing all his senses. Getting caught up in passion was something he had done many times in the past, and he had never been too worried about it. But he did not want to lose himself to her. Not just yet. Not at the expense of her. Never with her.
She looked up at him and trailed her fingertips over his brow to push his hair off to the side. "You are a sweet man," she said. "But you must know you wouldn't be here like this if I weren't sure."
He had no doubt that was true. She likely could have a heavy gust of wind pick him up and carry him away if she wanted. But she didn't want that. She wanted him here with her, just like this. The confirmation of her interest spurred him on.
The last vestiges of their clothes were tossed aside quickly as they settled under the covers together, hot skin on hot skin. It seemed neither could stop touching the other. Hands and mouths moved over bodies in a whirlwind of sensation.
She could not recall being touched like this before. Or if she had, it hadn't felt like this. Similarly, she hadn't wanted a man the way she so desperately wanted this one. He was gentle and virile and playful and passionate all at once, and she reveled in it.
When he entered her, the feeling of fullness practically knocked the air out of her lungs. Her fingers clutched the thick muscles of his arms as she desperately held on to ground herself to him. She wrapped her legs around his waist to draw him in deeper and closer.
Jonathan felt as though he'd gone to heaven and found a true home for the first time in his life. She was otherworldly and yet somehow familiar to him. He had felt that with her from the start and making love to her only increased the feeling. She was pure magic. Even if she were not a sorceress, he would have thought so.
Outside the castle, the sky cracked with lightning. There was hardly a cloud in the sky. It was the middle of the afternoon. But the lightning shocked the sky with electric light and deafening sound.
Inside the tower of the sorceress, she felt the lightning in her body as Jonathan brought her to climax again and again until he finally jerked his hips in a staccato syncopation and finally came to rest.
They both struggled to catch their breath, but she held onto him. She held him in her arms and refused to let him go.