ZenithRising Read online

  “You have nightmares?” Maggie’s eyes widened. “I read the beginning of one your books last night. If I hadn’t been so distracted afterward I probably would have had some scary dreams for sure.”

  He leaned over and gave her a quick kiss. “You’re welcome.”

  She tapped him on the nose. “I was referring to the girl in the bathroom mirror. Your contribution was…something else entirely.”

  “Hmmm. Something else. I don’t think I’ve ever had such high praise.”

  She tore off a bit of the cinnamon toast she was eating and threw it at him. He picked it off his shirt, swallowed it and gave her another kiss.

  As expected, everything was very good, but the shrimp Mornay omelet deserved a second helping all by itself.

  As soon as Maggie had the last forkful in her mouth, Noah began clearing away the bed picnic. For a while she had forgotten she was supposed to be working. “Oh my,” she said. “I didn’t realize I was taking so long. I’ll be dressed in a minute.” She practically bolted from the bed but he stepped into her path.

  “I don’t think so,” he said with a crooked smile and untied the cord holding her robe closed.

  She was held captive by the raw desire in his eyes as his fingers slipped beneath the collar of her robe and slowly eased it off her shoulders. The plush fabric slithered down her back and off her arms to puddle at her feet and leave her standing naked before him.

  “Since you had trouble describing how I helped distract you last night, I thought you must need a little reminder. So tell me, Maggie, what would you call this?” He held her shoulders as he angled his mouth over hers and made love to her with his lips and tongue until her knees grew weak. He kissed his way across her cheek and nipped her earlobe and neck and licked the hollow of her shoulder blade.

  When more than a second passed without further attention, she opened her eyes to see him looking at her with a questioning expression. “Oh, I, uh, I’d call it…intoxicating.”

  “I like that word. How about this?” His hands grazed down her arms to her fingertips then traveled up her thighs and stomach to her breasts. He lifted one mound in each hand and lowered his head to kiss her soft flesh from one side to the other before taking one peak into his mouth, swirling his tongue around the nipple and giving it a strong suck. When he released the one and moved to the other, Maggie had to grasp his forearms to remain standing.

  He withdrew his mouth. “And that?”

  She sighed. “I think…bewitching.”

  He chuckled. “That one’s very good too but I bet you can still do better with the next one.”

  She knew where he was going even before he knelt at her feet and clutched her bottom. She gasped as his mouth tickled and teased the lips then nuzzled between. Lolled into his lazy pace, she gasped when he ravenously attacked her cunt. He gave her no chance to prepare for the rapid flicking of his tongue against her clit. And yet her body welcomed his assault with a gush of cream that he greedily lapped up and delved for more.

  “Dear god, Noah, please…”

  “Call it,” he mumbled against her pussy.

  “I…I call it…ecstasy. Need. Hunger. And if you don’t fuck me in the next minute, I just might be calling this whole thing off!”

  Laughing, he rose and let her undo his jeans as he kicked off his shoes and yanked off his shirt. The instant his pants were off she dropped to her knees, took his balls into her hand and his penis into her mouth. Two can play the assault game, she thought and released him long enough to ask, “And what would you call that?”

  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.

  Chapter Five

  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 somethin
g 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.