She licked the base of his cock, then kissed the length of him, swirling her tongue around the tip before taking him in, and while she did, Dax kissed her intimate center, then licked, nibbled and kissed his way to the sensitive nub that he knew would give her what she needed. He concentrated on each sound she made, the moans that told him where she was the most receptive of his touch, and the sharp gasps that said she was ready to soar. Those, as he’d learned last night, were produced each and every time he flicked his tongue over her clitoris, so he did it again and again, then reveled in the tightening of her entire body, and then the pulsing convulsions and sweet juices produced by her orgasm.
She’d long since forgotten tasting him, her senses apparently completely absorbed in what he was doing to her, which was just as well. This time, he wanted to come…right here. He licked the very spot, and then was welcomed with another gasping climax.
Another kiss to her center, and then he asked, “Do you think you’re ready to take me now, Celeste?”
He didn’t have to ask twice. This time, when she moved down on him, to Dax’s delight, she eased him all the way in, her center slick and hot and right. Then she looked at him, and her eyes had moved beyond charcoal into a carbon color that was way too close to the black he was dreading. “Celeste, we need to-”
She braced her hands on his chest and lost herself in the rhythm, moving up and down his length with exquisite friction, her gasps and moans escalating with every push, every pull, every clenching of her intimate walls. “No,” she said. “I can’t stop. I want to feel it-when it happens-and when you fill me up completely. Let me-have it all. I want you inside of me, coming inside of me. Let me feel it. Let me have-you.”
Her words pushed away his reserve, and the spiraling tension built higher and higher, hotter and hotter, until Celeste tossed her hair back, thrust her breasts out and yelled his name.
The sight of her, the woman he’d wanted more than any other, losing complete control-with him-and giving him everything she had, everything he’d wanted for so long, sent Dax over the edge. “I love you, Celeste,” he said, desperate to tell her now, desperate to make sure she knew. “I-love you.” His orgasm rocketed through him, and through her, and then the illumination of her spirit blinded him, and her black eyes bore into his soul. She screamed his name once more…and was gone.
13
CELESTE COLLAPSED on the cold stone floor and closed her eyes. She was drained, emotionally and physically. He’d made love to her and it’d been the best thing she’d ever experienced, so wonderful, so magical, that she hadn’t been willing to let him stop, even though she could feel her spirit being pulled away. She’d wanted to be with him so much, just once, that she’d given everything she had. And now she had nothing left. No way to fight the pull of that light.
Or could she?
She lifted her head from the floor and glanced at the doorway to Dax’s world, closed solid, and she knew better than to expect Adeline to open it for her anytime soon. Besides, even if it were wide open now, Celeste didn’t think she had even enough energy to crawl through, much less walk. And what about the light?
She looked toward that middle wall and half expected the big, golden door to open and swallow her up, but amazingly, it remained closed…for now. She shut her eyes again and hoped it stayed that way, long enough for her to rest and to get back out of here, back to Dax.
How long would she have to rest this time before she could make it back through? Or would she ever be able to go back again?
Tears trickled down her cheeks, but she didn’t bother wiping them away. She was too tired for even that. She was so cold. Her body shivered, and the coolness of the floor against her tear-dampened cheek seemed to intensify as she lay there, wallowing in her misery. She’d had Dax, and she’d lost him.
“I love you, too,” she whispered, but she knew he couldn’t hear her.
Would he ever?
Celeste heard laughter, then sensed a hint of warmth in the room. She opened her eyes to see Angelle, giggling as she watched the pinprick of light on the middle wall grow.
“Look!” she exclaimed. “It’s nearly time!”
Like before, the light grew bigger and bigger, until Celeste’s cold spirit was bathed in blissful warmth. It felt so good that she couldn’t stay away, and she inched closer to it.
“I thought I’d see you at my program, but Dax said you were gone. He looked really sad,” the little girl said. “Hey, are you hurt? Do you need help going in?”
Celeste blinked. Did she need help? Yes, she did, though not the kind of help the sweet girl was offering. She wasn’t ready to go into that light, not yet, no matter how good it felt. And Angelle had seen Dax at her program. Celeste was supposed to have gone to the play with Dax, or she had planned to, but she hadn’t been able to resist the temptation of truly being with Dax in order to stay longer.
More tears fell, and she let them.
“I’ll help you.” Angelle walked toward Celeste, then moved behind her and wrapped her arms tightly around Celeste’s chest. “I’ll get you there,” the little girl said, slowly pulling Celeste backward toward the evergrowing light.
Celeste tried to drag her feet and slow Angelle’s surprising progress, but she was so weak, and the little girl was suddenly very strong. “No, Angelle,” she whispered. “Don’t-want-to go.”
Angelle loosened her hold, but they were already so near to the light that Celeste could feel the pull of its warmth, and another draw, one that was so forceful that she was having a very difficult time fighting its allure.
But she would. For Dax.
“I can’t go in yet,” she whispered, then she turned to see Angelle’s face, and gasped.
Several children’s faces had formed within the light, and they all smiled and reached for Angelle.
“You should come with me,” Angelle said. “They say it’s amazing there. We’re going to go play. Isn’t that awesome?”
“How-how do you know them?” Celeste’s voice was so weak that she could barely hear herself speak, but Angelle heard.
“From the hospital. We all knew we were coming here one day, and we promised to help each other when it was time to go. Now they’re here to take me inside. Don’t you want to come?”
Celeste shook her head. “No, sweetie. Not yet.”
Angelle eased Celeste back to the floor. “You sure you’re going to be okay here? I really do think you’re supposed to come with me, you know.”
“I’ll be okay.” Celeste assumed that was the truth. She really didn’t know whether she’d be okay or not. Would she languish here in this room forever because she was fighting that light?
“Okay.” Angelle squatted next to Celeste and hugged her. “Thank you for everything. And you know what?”
“What?”
“I’d have liked you for a teacher. You’d have been a really good one.”
Celeste’s eyes watered, and she nodded, not knowing what to say.
Angelle stood, and Celeste watched several of the children in the light reach out and touch her arms, then pull her inside. “Bye!” she yelled, then her glowing body joined the light, and all of their faces disappeared.
But the light didn’t go away, and Celeste soon saw why. Another hand reached out and moved toward her face, and she was too weak to even back away. If it pulled her in, she’d have to go. She simply had no more strength to resist.
“Not yet,” she whispered. “Please, not yet.”
The glowing hand came closer and slowly pushed her hair away from her face, then one finger tenderly brushed a tear away, then another. The palm moved to her forehead, then gently smoothed down the length of Celeste’s hair.
She knew that touch, could almost picture the man who’d always caressed her hair that way.
“Granddaddy?”