I opened my eyes and blinked back tears that came out of nowhere. In Hunter’s own way, he was a making a promise I knew he would die before he broke. There was so much I wanted to say, but all I could get out was, “I love you.”
Hunter went incredibly still, and then he was clasping my cheeks. His mouth was on mine again, the kiss deeper and longer. I swayed into him, clutching the front of his shirt as his tongue swept over mine, staking claim on what was already his, only his.
He helped me out of my shirt; so gentle that those damn tears became ever harder to hold back.
“Again,” he said, dropping onto his knees in front of me. He unbuttoned my jeans and tugged them down. “I find myself wishing for something I never thought I would.”
“What?” I stepped out of my jeans and then watched him rise.
He reached around, unclasping my bra. “I wish I were a Luxen.” Sliding the straps down my arms, he let the material fall to the floor. Then he bent and kissed a sore spot on my shoulder. “I wish I could heal you with my touch.”
Moved by the admittance, I placed my hand on his cheek. He kissed my palm and then hooked his fingers under my panties. A second later, they joined the rest of my clothes. I helped him out of his, nowhere near as graceful as him, because every time my fingers brushed his bare skin, I lost a little bit of myself.
We stepped into the steamy stall, under the steady pour of water. I ran my fingers along his smooth jawline. Our eyes met, and my throat tightened with emotion.
He dipped his head as his hand slipped down my throat, between my breasts and further down, over my stomach, stopping just above my core. “I would do anything for you, Serena. You know that, right?”
I lifted my head, brushing my lips against his. “I know.”
His hand moved another inch south, and hot, sweet darts of fire sped through my blood as his hand slipped between my thighs. He kissed me and then pulled back. His tongue slid over my lips, then inside, matching the slow, languid thrust with his fingers. Tremors started in my stomach. Muscles quivered. He tormented me until I moved my hips against his hand. A small, keening whimper escaped me as my release came out of nowhere.
Hunter pulled me to his chest as my body shuddered. Water slicked his skin, muscles taut and rigid from holding back. And then he turned me around, placing my palms on the tile wall. He circled an arm around my waist as he used his thigh to separate mine.
“I thought I lost you when they showed up at the post office.” His cool breath danced over my cheek.
I closed my eyes. “You didn’t. I’m here.”
“It doesn’t change the taste of fear.” He cupped my breast with his free hand, running his thumb over my hard nipple. “I’m never going to let you out of my sight now.”
My breath was coming in quick, short bursts. “That’s kind of hard.”
“Not impossible, though.” Hunter slowly slid into me, inch by inch. Moving so deep that I felt like I’d come apart in a shower of sparks. The steady friction sent my body blazing. Slow and steady strokes soon became not enough. I moved back against him, and his low growl had my blood pressure skyrocketing.
“Harder,” I whispered. “Please.”
Hunter thrust into me, each stroke harder and faster than the one before. Every rocking movement mounted my pleasure and deepened my cries. Powerless to do more than wiggle against him, I tossed my head back against his shoulder and let him take me. The arm circling my waist was like a band of steel, holding me where he wanted, keeping me in place to receive the long, delicious strokes. And when my body started to spasm around him, he caught my chin and forced my head back, claiming my mouth with his as he spent himself.
I don’t remember much of the shower after that. I was lost in the heady buzz of pleasure that only sparked alive again when he took his time drying me off afterward.
Somehow, we ended in the bed, his large body poised over mine. I was ready for him again, hot and achy.
He ran his thumb over my cheek in a feather-light touch, but I stirred restlessly. Lust pricked my skin. He moved his fingertips down my throat, over my shoulder. A small sigh escaped me. “Want to know a secret?”
“Depends.”
He chuckled. “It’s about the moment I knew I wanted you, that you’d be mine.”
Slowly, he moved his hand to the swell of my breast. “That I’d fall in love with you.”
Hearing him say that affected me deeply. It took a moment to speak. “When?”
“Sooner than you’d think.” Using his thigh, he parted mine, and then lowered himself, moving against me in a slow, undulating grind.
“When?” I asked.
“The first day you were in my cabin.” He rocked his hips again. “When you threw the statue at my head.”
My hips tipped up as surprise washed over me. “That soon?”
“That soon.” He lowered his head, moving his lips across my cheek. “I didn’t realize it then.”
“I didn’t throw the statue at your head.” I spread my thighs, cradling his.
“My bad.” His other hand slid up the flare of my hip, up my stomach. He stopped just below my breasts, his thumb brushing over the swell. My breath caught as his kisses reached the corner of my mouth. I turned my head slightly. Our lips brushed and it was electric. “It was my thigh.”
A giggle escaped me a moment before he lowered his head to the space between my neck and shoulder. Sliding his hands to my hips, he nuzzled my neck. He let his hand stray higher, nearly reaching the peak of my breast.
I wanted him to move faster and yet keep this slow, torturous pace. “I have a secret to tell you, too.”
“You wanted me the moment you saw me in the parking garage?”
My laugh was cut off when he cupped by breast. “That wasn’t it.”
“I bet that’s the truth though.” His eyes remained latched to mine as he teased my nipple. I moved my hand down his chest, and my stomach muscles tightened. “I wanted you then, too. Wanted to strip you bare and fuck you on the hood of your car.”
His words sent a dark shudder through me. “Wow.”
He chuckled deeply and then lowered his head, flicking his tongue over one pert nipple. I moaned as both of my hands flattened against his lower stomach, and his muscles bunched. “So what was it?”
“Huh?” I had no idea what he was talking about.
He pressed down, moving his hand to my other breast. His tongue swirled over the nipple. “You said you had a secret.”
“Oh. That.” My head went back as my breath came out in short gasps. He drew the rosy peak into his mouth as he caught my other nipple between his thumb and forefinger. “God,” I moaned. “Hunter…”
“Focus.”
My lower body started to move in tiny circles. “I was totally turned on when you threw me on the bed.”
“Knew it.” His mouth tugged on my breast and his tongue rasped over the tip, driving me insane.
“It was hot.” My hands slipped over rock-hard abs that dipped and rippled.
Masculine perfection. My hips rocked against the thick muscle pressed against me.
“You are hot.” His voice was thick, smoky; his lips moving against my breast. “You turn me on. You make me care about things I never cared about before. You make me think. You make me warm.”
He caught my nipple between his teeth as he shifted his hips forward, sliding deep inside me. I cried out, thrusting my fingers into his hair as he moved slowly, deeply. It felt like I would burst into flames as he sank into me, again and again. I wrapped my legs around his hips and we met each other, thrust for thrust. His mouth was everywhere, trailing kisses down my throat. His hands cradled my hips, holding me still as he grinded against me. He whispered something in a language I didn’t understand as he buried himself over and over again.
Something was different about this time. Each touch seared me and seemed to break him. I realized slowly that we were making love. It didn’t mean that the other times meant any less, but this time, this was what making love felt like.
Lost in the blinding pleasure, I looked down when he lifted up far enough that I could see where we were joined together. The sight of him moving in and out of me was erotic and intimate, but no more powerful than what the act symbolized. Higher and higher I went, until I threw my head back. Spasms rocked through me.
My gasping moans quickly escalated, and once again his lips were on mine, silencing my hoarse screams as
