28- You're Mine

28- You're Mine
Imset could have cried from relief at hearing her words. He kissed her again, wrapping her legs around him. His body wouldn't be denied, hardening in anticipation of her. He could hardly think straight as the bond between them strengthened, driving him nearly to the edge of his discipline.

It wasn't a formal ceremony. It wasn't something declared for all gods to see. That would come later when she claimed her immortal life. Her natural magic. For Imset, however, the private acceptance was enough. Aisha moved against him when he hesitated, urging him to seal their final connection. She took his lips, using her thumb to pry his mouth open as she took control to sweep in her tongue. Such sweet, soft heaven.

His tongue met hers as he slowly pulsed against her opening. Imset worked himself past the tip, then deeper, focusing his entire existence on going slow. On being gentle. When his instincts begged him to fully seat himself, to thrash recklessly as he claimed what she had offered.

"Aisha," he begged, but for what he didn't know. A lifetime? A grateful end to the tortured existence he'd come to know. The scent and taste and feel of her?

Aisha gasped and cried out, already too stimulated, "I-Imset..."

He didn't know what she intended to say, but the sound of his name on her lips was ecstasy... He slammed his hand against the wall, dragging his immortal fingers through the tiles that crumpled around them in a mess.

The pressure built inside Aisha completely before a small sharp feeling came. For a moment, she was tense, feeling the strange sense of aching where her skin had parted. But as Imset pulled back to delve deeper, she felt the warm, friction of pleasure. Small murmurs of discomfort died in her throat as he claimed her lips harder. They breathed into each other. He started to move faster, thrusting fully with every stroke. She squirmed and clamped down around him, wanting more, needing everything he had to give.

The motion made him crazy. The press of her softness around him, the feel of her breasts sliding in a slick path against his chest. He gripped her hair, no concern for the tile dust now littering his fingers as he leaned her neck back as far as it would go. From that angle he could forcefully press her down on his thickness, pushing himself into a tighter fit. He took one nipple in his mouth, sucking and skimming it with his metal sheath as she writhed.

Imset pulled away to growl something incoherent.

"What?" she panted, matching his hunger with her own, gripping his steadying wrist on her hip.

"F-feels," he gasped, licking up her neck with crazed passion, "Feels like heaven--" a rough, low sound from him, a harder grip at her hip, "Worth. The. Wait." He barely got the words out before he met her lips again, hand wrapping over her shoulder to force them harder together.

Her ego would never recover, Aisha smiled to herself. Hearing a god say those things to her… no other declaration would ever compare.

It was as if she weighed nothing in his arms, one hand alone, supporting her full body weight. Every press of their skin left her breathless, aching, and wild. She couldn't feel him deep enough, couldn't take the kiss far enough, couldn't close their distance fast enough. Did it feel like this for him too? His breathless sounds said it did.

Imset kneaded and pressed into that hip he held, quickening his pace and deepening his angle. He groaned loudly, building past the point of reason. He suckled her nipples harder, then moved his mouth to her collar, her neck, her shoulder, her lips. Biting and kissing and licking. He found himself desperate to taste all of her. To consume and be consumed as she gripped him so perfectly with each stroke. An earth-shattered climax ripped through them like an explosion, leaving them both floating, nothing but waves of pleasure to anchor them.

Aisha felt her body giving out, the rollercoaster of emotions in the day leaving her exhausted until she slumped against his chest, kissing him again. This time, she wasn't drunk on sexual tension. It was slow and gentle-- beautiful as his soft, warm lips gently parted for her tongue.

"You're mine," he sucked at her bottom lip, "Forever." Aisha nodded, feeling her energy drain through her so fast she didn't feel their bodies parting. He set her down, leaning her against the wall in an oblivious haze to everything except the nerve endings still firing along her skin. He might have washed her. Might have rinsed and drained her hair. Might have kissed her mouth and cheeks and neck, whispering sweet things she couldn't comprehend. Her body and mind were no longer useful.

Aisha didn't feel the shower turn off, or her own body as it was carried and dried and laid against soft sheets. Or the firm warmth behind her, a hand draped over her waist. She tried to move one last time, to say something... anything.

"Don't," Imset soothed behind her, "Just rest. There is magic between us now and it will take its toll." Aisha nodded drunkenly as if she understood any of that. As if his words made sense.
__________________________________________________________
I didn't do anything to Aiko! N-nothing she didn't want. Josh's words rang in her mind like the reverberation of a gunshot. Anger so raw and sharp she swore it sliced her from inside as it built in her chest.

You're lying, Imset growled, I can see it in your aura. Try again, human. Then the sound of skin splitting open, the spray of something wet along Aisha's arms and neck. Josh screamed. A wild, scrambling thrash of his limbs. And silence-- such silence in her own head.
__________________________________________________________
Aisha's eyes snapped open from the memory, awakening to the sensation of not knowing where she was. She groaned, stretching her sore limbs and rolling on the soft, cotton sheets she'd become tangled in. The bed was large enough for her to roll twice and not fall off. Instead, she smacked right into a very firm body behind her. A hand immediately reached out to hold her in place.

She turned to find Imset's eyes were closed as if he slept but his hand kept her hip firmly pressed against him, so she knew he was awake. At the feel of his warm hand on her, Aisha was aware of herself once more, and the new sensations of her body. What they'd done the night before hit her like a train. She studied his calm face, noting all the painfully handsome features up close. That mouth had been on her own. She instinctively touched her lower lip.

Aisha inhaled sharply. Those lips had touched other parts of her as well. Feeling the full ache of her newly opened self, Aisha couldn't stop the embarrassment. Her cheeks heated. What happened now? The idea of him rejecting her or returning to the way things had been, made her stomach lurch. The things he said in the heat of the moment couldn’t be trusted, could they?

She drew closer, would he do that? Push her away as if last night had never happened? Slowly, Imset's eyes opened and she felt nothing but heat spread across her. Felt tingles shooting through her, an awareness of many things at once, most clearly, that she wanted more.

He studied her face for a long moment as if seeing her for the very first time in ages and Aisha felt her nipples harden without explanation. Please don't see it. Please don't see it. This wasn't the half-drunk state of lust from the night before. This was the very sober, very vulnerable morning after. And she was liable to shatter into a million pieces if he didn't react well. His eyes flicked down, missing nothing. The smirk that appeared on his face was not sexy-- well it was sexy-- but she could tell it wasn't meant to be. He leaned in, barely brushing her lips with his, "Get up."

Get up? Her mind raced, her heart was doing cartwheels as her stomach bottomed out.

There was just no way for her to wrap her mind around his attitude. He didn't say any of the things that would have made her feel secure. All he said was get up. Aisha pushed her disappointment down as deep as she could muster and sat straight.

Whatever he'd seen on her face made his expression change and he snatched her wrist, tugging her back down into bed, "Sorry.Wait...  I--" he searched her eyes, his own softening, "I-I meant to say get up because you have class in ten minutes... it's Tuesday..." he mumbled, drawing closer to nuzzle her neck, "But if you'd rather stay in bed... I... I'm out of practice with being..."

"Not an asshole?" she rolled her eyes, not even bothering to stop the pout on her face as he pulled back and kissed her neck, "Not mean or dismissive?"

He grunted, kissing slower along her jaw, to the dip of her throat as she continued, "Not rude? Or grumpy or hurtful or--" Aisha gasped as he dragged his tongue along her breast, pulling her nipple into his mouth as his hands moved along her thighs.

"I'm sorry, Aisha," he sounded pained and sincere, pressing her legs open so he could settle between them. Suddenly she realized they were still very much naked and it was hard to stay focused on riding the high ground. She'd much rather ride...

"This--" he kissed her breast, moving to the other as he flicked his eyes up to meet hers, "Is not what I expected..." he sucked hard then released, while she fisted the sheets, mouth parting, "It's an adjustment for me."

He kissed up her stomach, back toward her mouth, "I never want to hurt you. Not your feelings. Not your body. Not your heart." His words left her defenseless, slipping straight through the cracks of her walls to the heart that had dared to hope for something like this. That he might say the things that would confirm this was real. That he might look at her in the daylight and say he had not changed his mind.

Imset paused above her, "You're crying?"

She laughed, wiping the stray tears, "I'm happy?"

"You don't sound sure," he frowned, leaning down to her mouth, "I'll have to try harder."

"No!" she squealed, turning from his kiss to offer her shoulder at the last minute, "Morning breath!"

His chuckle skirted along her back, as did his lips, "You have little faith in my power if you think I couldn't solve that issue in my sleep." Tugging her backward, he took her lips, pushing them open for him as he settled back between her legs, "Winterfresh," he mumbled a laugh. After a moment he pulled away so she could see his sincerity.

"I want you happy. Not unsure about whether you are or aren't. Anything you ask, I would give," he pulled her hand up to kiss her palm, "Be patient with me?"

He sounded so... earnest? Honest? Different. It was as if she'd never met this man before.

"Okay," Aisha whispered, sweeping his dreads out of their faces, surprising herself with the intimacy of the moment, "If you're sure?"

Imset drew his weight to one arm, giving them both a bit of air, "If you're asking me if I regretted last night, I don't. Not what you asked me to do in the pyramid or what we did together. I didn't take it lightly and if I wasn't sure... it wouldn't have happened. We aren't a mistake."

She started to respond but he wasn't finished, "I meant it when I said I wanted you. Not just the things we did… But your attitude. Your sarcasm. Your eyes and your smile. You’re my consort, Aisha. If that wasn't clear enough last night. Soon there'll be a ceremony. Something official so everyone will know but what we shared already is enough for me. Unless you're having doubts?" His voice dropped.

"NO!" she leaned up into his space, "No."

He smiled. Pecked her cheek, "Good. So what's it to be? Class or bed?"

Aisha groaned. Why did this have to be a school day? She really, really wanted to be irresponsible. But, in her senior year, she couldn't afford to let her GPA drop. She kissed him, "Tuesdays are short days for me. After class, how can I reach you?"

"Just say my name and the bond between us will do the rest," he promised, smoothing her hair, "Shower. Clothes are behind that door." He pointed to what must have been his closet.

Imset sighed deeply as soon as she was out of view. This was bad. Or good? He was scared. Shit, how hard was it to admit that fact? He was scared of the small spunky woman he couldn’t get off his mind. Where were all his defenses? Centuries. He’d spent centuries reminding himself how this turned out and why he was destined to be alone.

She was going to drive him insane. He thought about what he’d felt seeing her as soon as he opened his eyes. Did she just wake up like that? How could anyone be so perfect as soon as they opened their eyes in the morning? Messy hair, eyes honeyed in the sunlight, lips parted slightly as she touched them. He shifted his leg over his twitching reaction and grumbled. He was falling hard and fast. All his life he'd pushed down his need for companionship. But here it was. And he had nothing to protect himself.

He rolled his face into the pillow and stifled his groan. And now he had to let her go to school? Why had he even brought up the idea? Fear. Truthfully, waking up next to her had scared him enough that he blurted out the first thing he could think to force them apart. He’d been a heartbeat away from kicking her out, to hell with the consequences. But her face, gods, her face had dropped so fast he regretted it immediately. Imset sat up in bed listening to the water running in the other room. This was real, he told himself. All he had to do was stop himself from ruining it.