dilating, Galen knew he had made a dreadful mistake, but it was a mistake he couldn’t regret.
This craving, this hunger was too strong to walk away from, and whatever might happen, Galen would endure it. He would endure it because he had to know what she tasted like, had to know what it felt like to stroke her creamy skin and hold her.
It had been so long since he’d had contact with a woman that he was almost afraid to touch her. But he had come this far. There was no turning back now.
He moved closer until he had her backed against the tree. The sensual melody only added to his desire, exciting him, imploring him. Teasing him.
Reaghan was his for the taking. He could see it in the way she watched him with wide eyes, her lips parted and her pulse beating rapidly at her throat.
Galen leaned toward her, but before he could allow his hands to touch her, he slammed them onto the tree. The bark bit into his flesh, but he felt nothing through the haze of his desire.
He let himself sink into Reaghan’s silver gaze and allowed her magic to encircle him, stroke him. It was as beautiful and fascinating as she was, and it proved to him that he would never encounter another woman like her for the rest of his days.
When he was breaths away from kissing her, he paused, steeling himself against the images and feelings that would assail his mind as soon as he touched her.
His body shook with the need to taste her. His breathing was ragged, harsh. Every part of his body was attuned to Reaghan. Her gaze dropped to his mouth, and that’s all it took to send him past the point of no return.
He placed his lips on hers in a quick, hard kiss and waited for the inevitable deluge of images and feelings. Only there was nothing. No visions, no voices, no emotions.
Shaken to his core and too afraid to rejoice, Galen kissed her again, this time longer, softer, his tongue sliding past her lips to delve into her mouth.
She sucked in a startled breath. Her tongue hesitantly touched his before she moaned and returned his kiss. It left him reeling, his body ablaze with need.
Galen was sinking. Spinning. Reeling.
He deepened the kiss as a low, satisfied moan rumbled within him. He needed more of her sweet lips, more of her exciting, fascinating taste. It had been so long since he’d felt something besides another’s emotions or thoughts when he touched them that he never wanted to let her go.
His hands sank into her curls, awed at the cool, soft texture of her hair. Her arms wound around his neck, bringing her body closer so that her breasts rubbed against his chest.
Galen moaned, his balls tightening in response. He ached to pull her against him, to grind his arousal into her softness. Pleasure swam through his veins, begging for more. Demanding more.
He couldn’t deny it, didn’t want to. He let his hands wander down her back to her trim waist and the swell of her buttocks. He tried to be gentle, but his hunger was too great. She was his at that moment, and he would take all she had.
His arms tightened around her, jerking her body against him. Their kiss was wild, reckless … exhilarating. She offered all of herself, holding nothing back. She was everything that was innocent, but a profound, enduring passion smoldered within her.
When her body rubbed against his throbbing cock in time with the music, Galen could think of nothing else but having Reaghan. He wanted to lick every inch of her, touch every part until she trembled with need. Burned with it.
He kissed down her neck, bending her back over his arm. Her breasts thrust forward, her nipples straining against the material of her gown. Galen scrapped his teeth over a hard nub and smiled when she sank her nails into his neck.
“Galen,” she whispered, her eyes closed and her lips swollen from his kisses.
She looked more stunning than ever. He never stopped to wonder why he couldn’t see or hear her thoughts, he was just delighted for once that he had control over his power.
He put his hand beneath her knee and pulled her leg up against his side. He tugged at her skirts until his hand touched the bare skin of her thigh. He marveled at the feel of her warm, smooth flesh. When her skirts were bunched around her thighs, Galen sank to his knees and then leaned back on his calves. Her legs instinctively wrapped around his waist.
Galen groaned and licked the side of her neck. She fit snugly against him, her hot sex pressed against his cock. He shifted his hips so that his arousal rubbed against her sensitive flesh. A soft cry fell from her lips as her eyes widened.
“Don’t stop,” she begged. “Please, don’t stop.”
“Never,” he promised.
How could he when his hunger demanded so much more and there was also her magic and the music? It was all too heady to resist. And he certainly didn’t want to resist Reaghan. Not now. Not ever again.
He cupped a breast and pinched her nipple while he continued to grind against her. She whispered his name, the sound as amazing as the siren in his arms.
No one had ever made him feel so alive, so desired, until now. Until Reaghan.
There were no thoughts of tomorrow, no worries about the artifact or Deirdre. Only Reaghan and the passion that held both of them enthralled in its flames.
NINE
Reaghan’s body was on fire. Every place Galen touched, kissed, caressed set her ablaze. She was excited, and eager to discover more of the thrilling passion Galen created.
She threw caution to the wind and pressed herself against him. Her mind spun as the wondrous feel of his rigid arousal teased and stimulated her sex. Each time his rod stroked against her, an astonishing new sensation stirred within her, centering low in her stomach and tightening, making her limbs heavy and her breathing ragged.
No man had ever touched her like this, but she knew the release, when it came, would be glorious. How she understood what to expect she didn’t know. And at the moment she didn’t care.
She wanted more of Galen, more of his hands, his mouth, his hard, muscular body against hers.
His fingers fondled her breasts, tweaking her nipples until her hips were moving against him in a rhythm that was as old as time itself.
The music drummed in her ears, the cadence enchanting. Just like Galen. Arousing. Exhilarating. Stimulating.
She never wanted this night to end.
His large hand splayed against her bottom and held her still as he ground against her. She moaned, and his lopsided grin was all pleased male.
It made her heart skip a beat. She lifted her face and kissed him. She loved the taste of him, his scent of pine, of the forest.
“God’s teeth, you feel so good,” Galen whispered in her ear just before he nipped her earlobe.
Reaghan shivered against him. “I’ve never felt anything like this.”
“There’s so much more.”
“Show me.”
His stunning cobalt eyes caught and held hers. He gazed deep into her eyes, as if he searched for something. “I should no’ be touching you at all.”
“Maybe not, but tell me if this doesn’t feel right to you. Tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll leave.”
His fingers dug into her skin as he clutched her tighter. “I’m afraid I willna ever be able to let you go.”
“Then kiss me. My body is on fire, and I need more of you.”
