Mayan Afterglow Read online

  Chapter Five

  She seemed more like a little girl than a woman when she emerged from the apartment. Her wet hair hung down past her waist. The fluffy white robe enveloped her like a pastry around sweet filling. The thought of tasting that filling shot blood between Ian’s legs and his cock immediately came to attention.

  He’d found a bottle of Jack Daniel’s and poured a glass. He held up the glass and asked, “You want one?”

  She inclined her head and sat down on the floor next to him. Her back rested against the couch just as it had been earlier. The fire still crackled and sizzled from the damp wood.

  He handed her a glass. She downed it in one swallow and then gagged and coughed.

  “Easy there, champ. They call it sipping whiskey for a reason.”

  “I’m a little nervous,” she admitted.

  He put his glass down and took hers away too. “I would never hurt you. If you want to change your mind…” He paused and closed his eyes, trying to push down his arousal. “It’s okay.”

  Turning into him she brushed his hair off his forehead. “I don’t want to change my mind, Ian. I want this night. I want you.”

  Her words set fire to his groin and his chest tightened with something he’d never felt before. Lust, yes, but he felt more than just a desire to possess her body. He yearned for her. His heart ached with passion for this woman. His preoccupation with body parts a couple of feet lower pushed all those other ideas from his head.

  He took her hand and kissed the palm before moving it down to where she could feel his arousal. Her eyes opened like large blue saucers. For a moment he thought she would run away but she tugged gently at the tie to his robe until it fell open. Her small hand gripped his cock and stroked him slowly from base to head. Her fingers were warm and soft and her featherlike stroking rippled to every nerve ending in his body.

  Try as he might he could only take so much of her gentle ministrations. Moaning her name, he picked her up and placed her so she was straddling his lap. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. Her tongue was cool and fiercer than he had expected. Her hands continued to work on his cock. Still kissing her he gripped her ass and gathered her closer.

  She released him and pulled the tie on her own robe. Ian stopped kissing her and watched as the giant robe loosened and exposed a strip of milky white skin from her neck down. His eyes traveled down to the patch of hair at her pussy.

  He rubbed his knuckles over the soft hairs.

  She gasped.

  He looked up. The blue of her eyes was so bright they disarmed him.

  “I haven’t done this in a long time,” he said. “I hope I don’t embarrass myself.”

  She smiled brighter. “I think you’ll be okay.”

  He moved his hands to her hips just inside the robe. Her skin was soft and warm and she vibrated with his touch. Sliding his hands up to her waist caused the robe to open farther. One breast exposed, he leaned forward, took the perfect morsel into his mouth and moving his hands to just under her arms gave the other breast the same treatment. His cock jumped in response to the sound of his name on her lips. It sounded like a prayer.

  It wasn’t enough. He wanted more of her. He was starving and she was manna. Pushing the robe down her shoulders, he kissed her neck, her collarbone and her chest between her breasts.

  “Aileen, I’m sorry. I can’t wait.”

  “Then don’t.”

  Her voice rasped with the same desperation he felt.

  Lifting her up, he moved down just slightly. Her hand reached between them and she guided his shaft inside her as he lowered her onto him.

  He cried out so loudly that he had no idea if she also called out. She tried to move up but he held her in place for a minute.

  “Are you okay?” he heard her ask.

  “You’re like heaven, Aileen. Wet and silky, and if you don’t hold still for just a minute I’ll come before we even get started.”

  She laughed. The sound was deep and full and he felt it vibrate around his cock.

  He groaned and then drew one perfect nipple into his mouth and sucked hard. She cried out and rose up on her knees before plunging down again around him. He reached between them and gently rubbed her clit as she moved up and down.

  “Ian.”

  She rose again calling his name over and over again. His gentle manipulations grew faster and more intense as did the pace of their fucking. Her head thrown back, she rose and descended while screaming unintelligibly and calling his name. He could feel his climax building with an eroticism he’d never before experienced. She sank down one last time and collapsed forward against his chest. His cock was deep in her pussy as her body pulsed around him. She clutched him so tightly she might have bruised his shoulders.

  Without letting his cock slide from her gushing pussy he moved her to lie on her back. His body covered her and he slid forward and back in tiny strokes. They were both covered in sweat. Her round breasts rubbed against his chest tantalizing him. Every inch of her body slid against his. He wanted to hold back, make it last all night but she was too tight, too sweet. Suddenly he lost control and pumped into her harder and faster until the orgasm racked his body and he arched his back, pressing forward one last time. She screamed and he felt her come again as his seed filled her.

  Rising up on his elbows again, he gazed down at her. “Are you okay?”

  Her eyes opened and she smiled. “I’m good. You?”

  He grinned down at her. “You’re a whole lot better than good. You’re amazing.”

  “Mmmmm,” she purred and eased him down on top of her again.

  He rolled to one side wrapping his arms around her but taking his weight off her slim body.

  She shivered.

  The fire was down to embers.

  Ian got up, covered her with one of the robes and moved to the hearth. He added several pieces of wood before stoking the flames back to blazing. It only took him a couple of minutes but by the time he came back to her she was asleep. He made a place for himself under the robe that covered her and leaned her back against his chest. She wiggled her behind to perfectly fit against him.

  He smiled and wondered at his own happiness. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d been so thoroughly satisfied, so content. The tightness in his chest bordered on painful. Breathe, he told himself, but exhaustion took care of his worries.

  * * * * *

  The lodge glared with the dark red of a new day when he woke up and realized he was alone. His first instinct was to rush out and find her but he knew she was near. Somehow, just as he’d known she was in danger the day before, he knew she was still at the lodge.

  The fire had gone to ash but with a little prodding, a flame flickered to life and Ian added two logs. He yanked on his jeans, flannel shirt and boots and walked out onto the porch.

  It was warmer and the icicles hanging from the roof dripped steadily. The snow covered the wheel wells of the Chevy. It was day but as expected there was no sun so the melting snow did not glisten. She was sitting on a bench swing, dressed and wrapped in the other bathrobe. Across her lap lay the rifle.

  “Aren’t you cold?” he asked.

  “Shhhhh.” She pointed to a spot just off the parking area where the snow had drifted away and a patch of bare soil hosted a bright red cardinal. The little bird pecked at the soil and then scratched with his pronged feet and pecked again.

  Ian stood perfectly still watching. Finally the bird plucked a small worm from the ground, swallowed it and disappeared into the trees.

  “I haven’t seen a bird other than crows in months,” he said moving to sit next to her. He wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close against him.

  She settled in like she belonged there and the pain in his chest returned.

  “Neither have I, but things are changing, Ian. I can feel it.”

  “What do you mean?”

  She turned in his arms and peered up at him. Her eyes’ watery depths made his breat
h catch. In another time he would have liked to keep her with him always. In another time she probably would not have given him a second look.

  “The house where you found me is the house where I was born. It was where I lived my life. In fact before the End of Days I had not traveled much farther than New York City in my life.”

  He thought about the changes she had endured over the last ten months but asked, “What does that have to do with this change?”

  “After December I was pursued by Mictlan almost immediately. I ran, but he found me. He cannot come into this world without help. He tried to use my gift to break through and would have succeeded if you hadn’t come.”

  “How did he capture you before?” Ian feared the answer but asked nonetheless.

  “Somehow he can track me. He has help like that creature yesterday. All of his minions don’t look so hideous but the smell is always there. They fester because they should not live in our world. One of them trapped me and brought me to him.”

  “When was that?”

  Her eyes filled with tears. She shook her head. “May, maybe June.”

  He tightened his hold on her. “And where did he keep you all these months?”

  She shrugged. “The place is not solid so it’s hard to describe.”

  “Did he hurt you?”

  “Almost constantly.”

  He cradled her head in his hand and held her to his chest. Kissing her hair, he said, “I’m so sorry.”

  “What do you have to be sorry about, Ian? None of this is your fault.”

  “Yet I feel as if I should have come for you much sooner. I know it sounds nuts. I didn’t even know you existed until a few days ago, but I should have come to you.”

  She pushed away enough so that she could look him in the eye. “It’s all part of the journey, Ian. I have to go to Mexico, stand on the Pyramid of the Sun, look down the Avenue of the Dead and face Mictlan on the Pyramid of the Moon.”

  “And what will happen?” he asked, frowning.

  She shook her head. “I don’t know.”

  He moved away from her completely and stood up from the bench so fast that it swung back and forth and she had to grip the arm to keep in place.

  “You don’t know, but you’re willing to travel thousands of miles to stand on some ruin. Are you some kind of virgin sacrifice? I can assure the ‘powers that be’ that you are no virgin.” His anger flooded out with the words.

  When he turned back he expected to see hurt or anger in her eyes, but she just smiled sadly.

  He turned away.

  “Ian, look at me,” she said, more like his mother than his lover.

  He obeyed.

  “Why did you come to Lake George?”

  He threw his arms out to the side. “I told you already. I don’t know. It was a coincidence.”

  “How did you know that I needed you yesterday in the bedroom?”

  His mind reeled thinking about how his heart had begun to race while he built a fire. She was still upstairs when he’d known she was in trouble and he had to get to her. “I just knew,” he said.

  Amused, she asked, “And this morning, did you search the entire house for me or come directly here?”

  “I knew you were here,” he admitted in a voice barely above a whisper.

  She stood up and crossed the porch. Her head on his chest, she wrapped her arms around him. “I have to go to Mexico, but you don’t. You will be safe if you stay away from me, and I want you to be safe.

  “I have no idea what will happen. I could very well be some kind of human sacrifice. I only know that I have to go.”

  He kissed her hair and lifted her until she wrapped her legs around his waist. She was smiling and looking down at him. He shrugged. “It should be warmer in Mexico. I’m getting a bit tired of the cold,” he said, his gaze never leaving hers.

  He thought she would be happy but her sorrow was palpable.

  He leaned against the house feeling stricken. “You don’t want me to come with you.” It was not a question.

  She took his face in her hands and kissed his lips. “I need you but at the same time if you left me I would know you were safe. I want you with me, but I fear that staying with me will mean your death. I don’t want to watch you die, Ian.”

  “I’m not that easy to kill.” He grinned and she couldn’t help smiling, too. He continued, “But if you wanted to try screwing me to death, I’m willing to risk it.”

  She giggled and the vibration against his chest made him think of her laughing while he was inside her and he was instantly hard.

  He backed into the house with her still wrapped around him. He didn’t put her down until they were inside, and then he sat her on the reception desk and pushed the robe from her shoulders. He kissed her breasts through the cotton tunic she wore and then blew on the moistened material.

  She groaned and arched her back giving him better access. She hadn’t tied her boots and they fell to the floor. Ian tugged at her leggings until they slid over her legs and feet.

  Cupping her ass in his hands he lifted her slightly. She leaned back on her elbows as his mouth came down between her legs.

  Her screams and moans echoed through the house. The closer she came to completion the harder he was. His cock pressed painfully against the fly of his jeans but he wanted her pleasure, needed it. The taste of her was like nectar. He licked the inner tissue and sucked that tiny bud until she screamed out in satisfaction.

  Slowly she came back to herself. He picked her up and walked to the couch where the fire was still burning. He undid the buttons of his fly, releasing himself from confinement. Before he could climb on top of her his cock was wrapped in her delicate hands. She leaned forward and took him in her mouth. He cried out with delight.

  “Aileen, you don’t have to…”

  She licked him from base to the broad head along the vein and then she smiled up at him. “This is pleasure, Ian. I want to share it with you.”

  Her mouth closed around him and his head rolled back. Eyes closed, he groaned with the ecstasy of her sweet mouth. Her hands caressed him and her lips brought him so near to the edge that he pulled away and quickly buried himself inside her.

  She cried out and met each thrust with one of her own. His climax was building and he was helpless to control it. Reaching between them he pressed his thumb against her clit and rubbed that sensitive bud. When he felt her tighten around him he thrust one last time, filling her.

  He rose on his elbows. She was smiling like a cat that had just finished a big bowl of cream. He smiled, too.

  “Hungry?” he asked.

  “Famished.”

  Slowly he slid out of her. She moaned and closed her eyes. Kissing her nose, he got up and buttoned his jeans. “I’m afraid it’s stew again. This place must not have had a cook on the staff. The pantry is stocked full of canned beef stew.”

  She laughed. “It’s better than starving.”

  Nodding he made his way toward the kitchen.

  Chapter Six

  Ian was already outside when Aileen made her way through the snow to where he was standing.

  He had disconnected the bike trailer and now shook his head inspecting the destruction the werewolves caused.

  “Sorry about your bike,” she said.

  He shrugged still looking at the gash across the fuel tank and the twisted rear wheel.

  “Did the Ford start?” she asked.

  “No. I’m going to swap the batteries and see if it will turn over. Then we’ll see what other issues we need to deal with.”

  He went back to their truck and said, “I have something for you.”

  “Oh?” She watched him rummage through the supplies in the extra large cab. She had expected a gun or knife to add to her already heavy pack.

  When he returned he dropped a dark blue velvet pouch into her hand. “What is this? You don’t need to give me anything.”

  “Open it. It’s not really a gift. It’s yours.”

&
nbsp; Most gifts were given with joy but it was not joy she saw in Ian’s face. His eyes were downcast and his skin red. He looked ashamed.

  She loosened a delicate gold cord that secured the pouch and plucked gently on the top of the bag. She looked down at the treasures inside. “Oh God,” she cried dropping to her knees.

  He was beside her in an instant. “I didn’t know you, Aileen. Please try to understand. It’s what I do. It’s how I’ve survived.”

  She drew a string of pearls out of the pouch. Her mind flooded with memories of her mother dressing for an evening and her father clipping the pearls around her slim neck. He would always kiss her shoulder after performing the ritual. Aileen closed her eyes against her tears.

  Diamond earrings, a ruby brooch and several other treasures brought back similar memories.

  Finally she turned toward him. She touched his cheek. “They were my mother’s. Thank you, Ian.”

  His eyes opened with surprise. “You’re thanking me for stealing your mother’s jewelry?”

  “If you hadn’t it would be lost to me.” She beamed as tears continued to roll down her face.

  “Women are very strange,” he said helping her to her feet.

  Drying her eyes on her sleeve, she agreed before tucking her treasures away.

  * * * * *

  The melting snow presented a new problem. Even with the Ford running, the weight of the dense snow made it harder to plow. Every hundred feet or so Ian had to push it to the side of the road and then reverse the truck and start again. It was late afternoon by the time they made their way back to the gas station in town.

  Like the lodge, everything was decorated for a Christmas that never came. She thought about the people of the little hamlet. Had they felt pain at the end or was it just over in an instant and they felt nothing? Had they gone to Heaven or Hell? Were they at peace somewhere, or like her and Ian, struggling to find a life after the end? She suspected it was the latter. “As above, so below,” she muttered.

  “What?” Ian asked, stopping the truck about fifty feet past the pumps.