More Than a Fantasy by Bernadette Gardner Read Free Book Online Page B

surged once more. He filled her, pulsing into her and rocking her into the depths of the soft bed.
    “I’ll never leave you, Mara,” he repeated over and over until she slept again.
     
    * * * *
     
    At twilight, Tiran chased Mara into the surf. He caught her in the swirling breakers and swung her up into his arms. She struggled to get away, kicking flecks of foam into the purple sky and laughing as she beat her fists against his back.
    “I’m not finished with you, woman!”
    He turned toward shore and knelt in the wet sand. While she lay panting beneath him, he waved his hand over the ground, which rose up under her to form a wide cushion that held her above the water. Like the bed inside their shelter, he used the molecules on hand and formed them into another substance such as the soft, pliant material of the bed.
    With a dark grin, he rolled her onto her stomach and straddled her, pushing his erection between her legs as she rose up to meet him.
    “I’d rather be facing the water,” she said.
    He sighed. They held on and rode the flowing material of the bed until it reformed so Mara could face the surf.
    “Is that better?” he asked, his lips against her ear as he impaled her.
    She nodded and groaned, eager to feel him again. They’d played for hours on the beach, and each time they made love, Mara felt the tingling anticipation as if it were the first time. “Yes — ah!”
    She bucked beneath him as he rode her, pushing backward to meet him each time he surged forward. When she came, she screamed his name and urged him to take her harder. When he climaxed, the rush of heat made her body tremble with fulfillment.
    The beach lay dark around them, the moonlight only a silver arc across the waves. Their bed formed into a wide chair. Tiran positioned himself so that Mara rested against his chest. He held her, brushed his fingers through her tangled hair and kissed the salty skin of her shoulder.
    “Tomorrow, I will take you back to your island prison.”
    She stiffened in his arms.
    Sensing her fear, he kissed her again and soothed away the worry. “So that you can speak to your father and reassure him. Then we’ll choose a place—anywhere within my power to take you—and we will go there.”
    “What about your world? I’d like to see where you come from.” She looked up at him, her stormy eyes wide.
    Tiran shook his head. Regret tightened his chest. “It’s not within my power to take you there.”
    “Oh…because I can’t breath e underwater?”
    “No. I could change your molecules and reform your lungs to be able to live in my world. It would be painless, but it would require a recovery period.”
    “I’m willing. I’m sure it’s safe there. I’d never have to worry about my father’s enemies finding me.”
    “I would take you there if I could, but it’s forbidden. My father has denied me permission to bring you to live among us. Besides…Poseidon would be there. Would you want to live in his world?”
    “I suppose not. Would you like to try my place?”
    Tiran laughed. “You have a place?”
    “New York. It’s a big city.”
    “Is it near the water?”
    Mara made a face. “Near enough. Of course, the ocean there isn’t like this. It’s…colder and not as clean. You probably wouldn’t like it.”
    “I’d give it a try, if it’s where you’d like to go.”
    Mara sighed and nestled deeper into the crook of his arm. “Actually, I like it right here for now. Do we really have to leave?”
    “It would be wise to move on…but there are so many other places like this. We can decide later. For now, let’s enjoy the moonrise.”
     
    * * * *
     
    Mara stretched across the bed, sated and sleepy, but strangely alert. In the dark, she reached for Tiran, but felt only the smooth surface of the bed. Her fingers slid into the heated indentation left by his body. He’d only just left.
    She rose, led by curiosity more than concern. She imagined catching him in the act of making another