Touch of Flame

She opened her eyes to see why he moved away. The smoke in his eyes had covered the fire; now they were purely silver and glistening with a playfulness that made her stomach bubble with something unknown. The thought of undressing was still in the back of her head but not so strong to come forward and replace what was in her mind now.

His face, his hair, and his bronzed skin. He looked absolutely enticing in the dim light. His fingers reached under her chin, brushing forward and she followed his movement to his lips as if spellbound. He still didn’t give her all that she needed. There wasn’t the wildness he had just a moment ago. This was a way to inflame her and then leave the fire burning.

“Is that all you want, Darcy..?” he rasped against her lips.

God, no!

She got up on her knees, looming over him slightly, her hands went into his hair and she tilted his head back and kissed him with all her might. It almost scared her that she was like this but it shouldn’t surprise her. She had been yearning for him for quite a while now. All the holding hands, kissing, hugging, and casting heated glances had left her with a need that grew with each passing day. She even found herself going to bed, still thinking of him, of kissing him and allowing more. Only the more she knew from stories she heard from other female members of the phantom.

She never understood the appeal or why someone would even bother with such thing but now she understood. The fire that she had been trying to distinguish only burned hotter the more she denied herself and now it burned her sanity away.

A deep guttural sound came from Ephraim’s lips, which she found strangely thrilling. Her heart thumped even faster interpreting the sound as approval.

Darcy wasn’t sure if she pushed him back or if he was the one pulling her down with him. He fell onto the bed and she was on top of him. Startled she pushed herself away slightly with her hands on his chest and looked down at him.

Her breath hitched. He lay under her on the black satin sheets that blended with his dark hair and smoldering eyes were on her, the fire inside burning again and chasing the smoke away. His body was inviting and she could feel the heat of him under hand palms. He was pure temptation. Yet being on top, she became hesitant. She didn’t know what to do.

He lifted his hand and cupped her cheek then watched intensely as his thumb brushed over her lips. Darcy lost her breath. Her lips remained parted while her hands traveled up his chest to his shoulders. She pulled herself up, brushing her body against his. He groaned before she took his lips and she realized why soon.

The hard length of him pressing against her pelvis startled her at first but then slowly excited her, especially whenever she shifted and he made a sound that caused the slow and rhythmical throbbing in her body travel lower and lower. His hand skimmed down her back, over her bottom, and grasped her thighs, making her straddle him and rocking her into his arousal.

A moan came from her lips, the pulsating beat now settling between her legs. She complied and ground her hips into him. The ache turned into an urgency, like a knot twisting tight inside of her. She dug her fingers into his chest, the need in her became too intense that she stopped kissing him. She was unable to focus on two things at the same time.

She wanted the clothes between them gone. She wanted… something but she wasn’t sure exactly what. She felt as though she was losing control over her body so she stopped, frightened by this sudden sensation.

Before she could catch her breath, Ephraim rolled them over and pinned her under him. His lips found her neck and his hand skimmed down her throat to her chest. She arched from the bed when he cupped her breast, kneading it through the fabric of her dress and brushing his thumb over the hardened tip.

Darcy moaned and clasped her legs together tightly, the throbbing between her thighs intensifying. His lips kissed along her jaw and took her mouth again as his hand continued to tease her.

She grew more and more frustrated by the lack of direct contact. Ephraim pushed one knee between her legs, preventing her from soothing the ache between them. She clutched at him frustrated, still attempting to clasp her legs together when he pushed into her.

Another sound came from her lips and she couldn’t help the urge to rub against him. Her gown fell up but she didn’t care and his hand found her thigh, slowly teasing its way up and sliding under her dress. At this point her head was spinning and all she wanted was to find relief.

“Touch.” He whispered against her lips, his hand going to the inside of her thigh.

“Yes,” she breathed.

“Here?” He touched her where she ached and her back rose from the mattress. She felt as though she should be embarrassed but all she wanted was for him to continue.

“Ah…”

He licked her exposed neck and down to her chest as his fingers deliciously rubbed her aching flesh. His tongue laved the swell of her breast and then he kissed them through the fabric. She could feel the heat of his mouth that made the tips of her breasts stiffer and more sensitive to the friction of the fabric. Another moan came from her lips.

“I want to lick them,” he rasped and her insides clenched in response. She twisted her hips and he changed strokes of his fingers between her legs.

“I want to claim every inch of your skin with my mouth,” he continued.

Darcy could only clutch onto him, her mouth open in a silent cry, her hips moving to the tormenting strokes of his fingers. “And then I want to claim your flesh, to bury my body in yours. Like this.”

He inserted a finger in her and her eyes rolled back in her head. The muscles in her thighs tensed and she dug her fingers into his arms as he pulled his finger out and inserted it again.

God, what was he doing to her?

She clenched around him, her body growing tighter with tension that kept building. He sucked at her lips and her moans.

“More?”

She writhed in response and he inserted another finger into her. She felt a slight discomfort but not more than the pleasure. Her body welcomed the intrusion and the rhythmic thrusts. Her insides grew tight, her toes curled feeling the tension building to a frightening height and now she was only waiting for the fall. Then a wild tremor went through her, prickling alone every nerve in her body. She cried against his lips her body still quivering. Ephraim placed soft kisses down her cheek and jaw while shallow breaths left her lips.

He pulled back to look at her. Her cheeks flushed and he caressed her face gently. He shifted so that both his legs were now between her thighs and she noticed he was completely naked. She wasn’t sure when he removed his pants but having him naked between her bare thighs aroused her. Her stomach bubbled with nervousness when his thick length brushed against her hip as her gown continued to fold up.

She had heard the first time was painful. No wonder, if this was the size of men’s equipment but she wasn’t worried about pain.

Ephraim ground his hips into her mimicking what he would do once inside of her. Darcy reached for the straps at the front of her dress with a staggered breath. She didn’t want anything between them now. She pushed it down her shoulders and he coated them with his lips. Then down her chest, anticipating his mouth to follow and he did. He kissed the swell of her breast, licked a tip, and took it into his mouth as soon as she released it.

A deep guttural sound she never heard before came from her throat and she couldn’t focus on removing her gown anymore. Ephraim punished both of her breaths with his mouth, licking and sucking until they were aching. She writhed and whimpered not paying attention to anything else than his mouth that moved down to her belly, kissing the curve of her hips where he stopped and waited for her to lift them.

Darcy lifted her hips and he slid the dress further down, his lips following to cover the exposed skin, and just like that she was naked. Naked and inflamed. His lips took the same path up and met hers. “You are beautiful,” he husked. “And all mine.”

Oh, yes.

“Look at me Darcy when I claim you,” he said.

She opened her eyes almost faint from the tension. His flaring gaze didn’t help her at all and as he slowly pushed into her she couldn’t keep her eyes from fluttering. She waited for the pain and it came but it wasn’t what she expected. It was a good kind of pain, like a sweet sting, and her back arched as he sank deeper and deeper.

The fingers felt good, but this felt better. She felt complete.

“God, Darcy. You feel perfect.” He said, shuddering.

She was too breathless to respond and then became mindless when he began to rock his hips into her. She let go, allowing him to take her to heights of pleasure she never knew existed.