Cold Blooded

The grass felt like velvet beneath my back and the cool air brushed deliciously against my naked skin.

I knew we were safe and protected, even if it was just for the moment.

Rourke broke the kiss and hovered over me anxiously, his eyes filled with the same longing as mine. “I haven’t cared about another living soul in longer than I can remember. I want this to be exactly right.”

“It will be.” I smiled.

Rourke arched one perfect eyebrow down at me and grinned. “It better be, or my manhood will be in serious question.”

“I don’t think your manhood will ever be in question.” I laughed, feeling his hard, and very adequate, length against me. “You’ve got that department all shored up.”

“When we finish this bonding, it will mark us both.” His chest pressed tightly to mine, and as he spoke the vibrations sent delicious currents dancing through my body. “Once it’s over we will be connected. Forever.”

“That sounds like heaven to me.” I ran a hand behind his neck and pulled him down, murmuring into his lips, “And just so you know, I think we should do this bonding thing over and over again, just to make sure it sticks.” I wiggled beneath him to show him my body was more than ready.

His breath hitched, and he grabbed on to my hips, rocking them forward in his grasp as he tilted his head up to the sky and roared. His fierce call echoed through the trees, and I was certain every animal in the forest turned tail and ran.

Mine.

He took my mouth again with a savage snarl. His kiss held so much intent, my libido skyrocketed, flushing my body with liquid heat. His intensity made me insane with need, and I plunged my tongue against his, lapping and tasting and biting. He broke the kiss with a moan and ran his hot tongue over my jaw, down my neck, nipping and nibbling as he went.

My back arched and I groaned.

He took one of my hard peaks into his mouth, sucking hard.

I yelled as my hands shot to his hair again, grabbing thick handfuls, pressing him down against me as far as he could go. He snarled with pleasure and took more of me in his mouth, his fingers seeking the other tip, rubbing and pulling deliciously.

“Oh.” My spine bowed backward until it felt like it would break in half. But I didn’t let go. I wanted him closer—needed to feel him everywhere.

He obliged by pressing us together as he devoured me, his mouth greedy, his hands just as skilled.

Sensations I’d never felt swept over me, threatening to overload me. Nothing in my life had prepared me for something like this. As we moved together, our energy mingled, combining and weaving itself into one. The intensity mounted, climbing quickly.

Mine.

His hand slid down my stomach, lingering for a moment before he teased open the inside of my thigh. Once there, a single fingertip feathered its way in, circling slowly. I thrashed, barely stifling a scream. At my reaction, Rourke slid his hand back up my thigh.

“No … please, you can’t stop,” I moaned. “Rourke, I know you want to take it slow, but maybe that can be round two … or three?” My eyes sought his, my pupils struggling to focus. “There’s no way I can do this slowly. I need you, and my body isn’t going to play nice.” I panted, shifting my legs toward his hand. “If you don’t want me to be early to the party, we need to move now.”

Without hesitation, Rourke reared up, grabbing on to my waist and rolling us both in one motion. He swung me into a sitting position on top of his rock-hard abs as his back hit the grass. His eyes locked onto mine the entire time.

I couldn’t break my gaze from his even as his hardness pressed against my backside. Anticipation raced along every nerve ending in my body and I panted. “I’m sorry.” My breath hitched. “I’d love to take this slow, but I’m a newborn and it’s too—”

“Shhh.” His palms ran over me, caressing my stomach, my breasts, and finally my lips. His thumbs traced over my jawline; his fingertips spread along the back of my neck. “I wasn’t going to be able to wait either. If you had touched me in any way, I would’ve exploded. I just wanted to make sure you were happy.”

“I’m so incredibly happy.” To prove it, I took his thumb in my mouth, surprising us both. I sucked, pulling hard, and we both growled in pleasure. I turned my head to taste the other one before he slid them both down and ran the wet tips back and forth across my aching nipples. My head fell backward and I moaned, arching my head up, lost.

“Gods, you feel so good,” he murmured. He ran his hands up and down my sides, each of his fingertips sending tingles of energy pinging into my skin.

His touch was threatening to overload me on every level.

My eyes were fully dilated. Rourke was talking to me, but I couldn’t decipher his words. Instead of trying to understand, I rocked my hips, rubbing myself over the tip of his hardness.

He gave a strangled yell as our heat met.

I bent forward and angled my hips up, readjusting myself, bracing my knees along the length of his body. I splayed my palms across his hard chest and broke contact with his skin for the first time. His hands shot to my waist. “Yes, Jessica, just like that.” He guided me upward, the rumblings of his voice making me shudder.

In the moment before we connected, I lowered a hand between us and caressed his length softly all the way to the base.

“Jessica! My gods, do it now!”

“Glad to see I’m not the only harlot around here.” I arched up and guided him into me, stroking my hand down his length as my body took him fully.

The moment his tip broke through my barrier, everything changed.

Energy and power swirled around us, engulfing us in a fog of magic. Every touch we exchanged was electrified, every connection point heightened. I seated myself on him, rocking forward, absorbing the moment, my head tilted up toward the sky, my hair streaming down my back.

“Jessica,” Rourke whispered. “Look at me. Please.” He moved beneath me and I cried out.

I brought my head down slowly, arching over him, my hair falling onto his chest. I ran my hands across his shoulders, my fingers stopping to cup the back of his neck, the cool grass contrasting my searing heat.

He growled, eyes pinned on mine. At once he shifted his weight and eased himself up into a sitting position. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he moved, my arms winding tightly around his neck, and in one swift motion we were connected completely, every one of our body parts aligned.

He leaned up, his mouth covering mine, his tongue thrusting deep.

I moaned into his lips as we started to move together. His hands slid around my thighs, his muscles deftly angling me up and down in a rhythm that made me cry out. My hands sought his shoulders tightly, my nails sinking into his flesh, every inch of me on fire.

Intensity mounted with each stroke, making me frenzied. I rocked my hips harder against him with each thrust. I couldn’t believe I hadn’t climaxed yet, but the passion and energy kept building, needing to reach its absolute peak before the final crescendo.

“We come together,” he said through gritted teeth.

“I’m so close,” I panted. “But it feels so good … I don’t want it to stop.”

Rourke’s grip tightened; his chest strained against my stomach as the strokes came harder and harder. My hands fisted into his hair. It was almost there. I lowered my gaze to meet his, my eyes blazing violet. His emerald stare consumed me, his features crushing me with their need. I leaned down, connecting our lips right as I reached my release. I latched on to his mouth as I came, my body contracting hard.

“Jessica,” he shouted, right behind me.

As the shudders came, one after another, a blast of energy raced through our bodies, connecting us, binding us together.

My eyes shot open as the last of the currents of pleasure claimed me, my arms encircling Rourke’s neck, my cheek to his. “Did you see that?” I murmured. “Was it my imagination or did we both just light up like Christmas trees?”

“You definitely had an inner glow going on for a beat or two,” he said. “That was intense.”