“I didn’t mean me. What happened to you?”
“Oh. Your power came back in a burst and knocked me across the room.”
“What?” A sharp pain lanced through his middle. “What?” he asked more gently. “I did this?”
“You had no idea what was going on, so I’m not going to hold a grudge. Seriously. Don’t worry. I promise I’ll only remind you of the pain I suffered on holidays and anniversaries.”
She made light of it, and he wanted to hug her for it, but he wasn’t sure he would ever be able to forgive himself. “I’m sorry, princess.”
“Don’t be. I mean it.” She traced her thumb across his jaw. “You’re on the mend and that’s all I care about.”
He held her gaze for a long while, wishing he could do more. He would rather be stabbed every day for the rest of his life than do anything to hurt her. “How’s Solo?” he finally croaked.
“He’s already up and around.”
Good. Something to be relieved about. “Give me a few hours. I’ll be up in every way that matters, too.”
He wanted her to grin. She didn’t. She merely blinked at him, saying, “How about I give you a few days? You only got out of surgery yesterday.” Then she dropped away from him, flopping into a chair beside the bed.
Light from a side lamp spilled over her, allowing him to see her more clearly. Glistening tears cascaded down her face, and her teeth . . . her teeth were chattering. The air was frigid, he noticed, and he frowned.
“Come here,” he said, patting the mattress beside him.
She shook her head, and his frown deepened. “I don’t want to accidentally—”
“Come here,” he repeated more sternly.
This time she obeyed without hesitation, stretching out beside him and curling into his side, being careful of his wound.
Her skin was ice, and he didn’t like it. He wrapped himself around her, willing his warmth into her body as she shivered. “Why are you so cold?”
“Remember when Dallas told us he was healed by the Arcadian king? Well, I called Dallas and told him I’d cut off his man junk if the king failed to give me any pointers. He told me open wounds heal better in frigid temperatures. Apparently, your planet is a frosty one.”
Blue hadn’t known that. He’d always lived here. “If you get sick because of this, I will finally give you that spanking you so richly deserve. And I won’t let you give me one in return.”
She humphed. “You wouldn’t be able to stop me.”
“Want to bet?”
“Darling, did you hear the part about speaking to the Arcadian king? I also asked him where your most sensitive parts are so I could have you on the ground crying for your mommy in seconds.”
He swallowed a laugh. “All you’re doing is turning me on.” He loved waking up to this woman. Loved holding her. Loved comforting her as she comforted him. He just flat-out loved
Totally, madly, deeply. Weren’t those the words she’d used?
Somehow, she had become his everything.
Challenges rocked. He’d always preferred the missions and games he’d had to work hard to win. And Evie had certainly made him work for every milestone. But, oh, when she surrendered a few yards, there was nothing sweeter.
“I believe I’ve noted the fact that everything turns you on,” she said.
“When you’re involved, yes.”
She chuckled—but the humor soon morphed into gut-wrenching sobs.
Reeling, he held her close. He had never seen her break down like this, and it tore him apart. “Pooh bear?” he asked the moment she calmed enough to hear him. “What’s wrong?”
“I’m sorry,” she said, sniffling, wiping her tears away with a shaky hand. “I’ve been running on adrenaline, and now you’re awake, and, well, it’s crashed, and my emotions are getting the better of me.”
He kissed her temple, relieved. “Thank you for taking care of me.”
She nodded, her cheek rubbing against his chest, the friction sending a lance of pleasure straight to his groin. “I would do it again in a heartbeat,” she said, “I really would, it’s just . . . I’m coming to need you too much. If you had died . . . I wasn’t sure what I would have done without you.”
The words . . . yeah. He wasn’t going to let himself get emotional about her declaration, but . . . yeah. This woman.
She loved him, too, totally, madly, deeply, whether she realized it or not.
“What I feel for you scares me, too,” he admitted. “I’ve never felt it before. Obsession and addiction, as if my identity is now forever tangled up in yours.”
“You don’t mind?”
“No. You are such a self-contained woman, it’s difficult to get past your barriers. But I made it, and I
A pause. Then: “You’re really right there with me?”
“I am.” And he wouldn’t change a thing.
“Blue,” she whispered, kissing his chest just above his beating heart.
“I want you, baby.
“We can’t.”
“We aren’t. You are.”
“Well, well. I like the thought of that. Finally, I’ll be the one to do all the hard work.” She gently pulled at his pants, stripping him. Then she sat up in the bed and discarded her own garments.
As golden moonlight spilled over her, she straddled his waist.
The contact electrified him, wet heat pressing against his length.
“I love seeing you like this,” he said. “You are the most beautiful creature ever created, Evangeline Black.”
“No. That would be you.” She cupped her breasts and leaned down to him, offering him a taste.
He licked one, then the other, then blew on both, watching the nipples pearl. “Love these little darlings.”
“Mmm,” she moaned. “Love them more.”
“With pleasure.” He flicked his tongue over a beaded tip, then sucked, then licked again, always savoring. She gave another moan and ground against the long, wide length of his shaft. “So perfect, baby, so perfect.” He reached back and curled his fingers around the bars of the headboard. “I will never get enough of you.”
She turned her attention to his mouth, kissing him, feeding him passion and pleasure, nipping at his lips while sliding up and down along his erection—so warm and wet—her hands all over him, learning him, driving him insane, her hunger feeding his own, already an undeniable force, and peeling away all sense of self.
There was no Blue without Evie.
“You ready for me, baby?”
“So ready.”
“Then take me.”
She rose to her knees and placed him at her entrance, then, slowly, she sank down. He had to fight the urge to surge up, going deeper, all the way.
“Feels so good,” she groaned.
“Someone needs a vocab lesson. It feels amazing.”
A smile lifted the corners of her lips, a powerful smile, feminine. “Oh, yeah?”
He practically vibrated with a hunger only this woman could induce. “Yeah.”
“Tell me if I hurt you.” She lifted before she’d worked herself all the way down, only to slam back with all of her strength; his hips arched automatically.
“Again,” he rasped. “Please. I can take it.”
She did, harder and faster, and she didn’t stop. She found a rhythm and rode him, lost, wild, taking all that she wanted, all that she needed, and he loved every moment, always rising up to meet her, uncaring about any momentary pain, giving her all that he was, all that he had; and when she screamed with the force of her release,
