"No, watch me," he ordered.
Her eyes flew back open, wide and startled. Then, she smiled and wrapped her arms around his neck. Her hips began to rise and fall with him as she found, and matched, his rhythm. He watched her fixedly as his hands fondled and caressed her. Passion parted her lips, caused her breath to quicken and her body to quiver. He knew she was nearing release by the flicker of surprise crossing her face.
He slid his hand between her thighs to stroke the quivering bud begging for his attention. Soft cries whispered from her, and she enthusiastically met his fierce, pounding rhythm.
"Now," he commanded as he drove into her. "Come for me now, Isabelle!"
She cried out loudly; her body clenched around him as the force of her spasms ripped his orgasm from him. The strength of it tore a bellow of satisfaction and delight from him. Never had he experienced anything as wonderful or fulfilling. He hadn't thought it could exist.
He nearly collapsed on top of her but managed to catch himself in time. Instead, he wrapped his arms around her and rolled her to the side as small tremors continued to shake her body. He remained inside her as her head settled on his shoulder. His breathing was still rough and ragged, and he was pleased to note hers was too. Their bodies were coated with sweat as he pulled her against him, a feeling of utter contentment stealing through him. This was where he belonged, he realized.
"You left me," she whispered.
He nuzzled the top of her head. "I'm sorry."
"Don't do it again."
"I won't," he promised.
"Good."
She snuggled closer to him and was instantly asleep. Stefan smiled as he held her against him, savoring in the scent of their lovemaking and her delicious body against his. He knew he should be concerned about how much he cared for her and the evil inside him. However, for the first time in his long existence, he felt at peace. He was never going to let her know about his past, never going to look back again. He savored in the feel of her as he drifted to sleep.
Chapter Seventeen
Isabelle instinctively nestled closer to Stefan's warm body when she woke the next morning. His arm tightened around her as he drew her closer. "Good morning," he murmured in her ear.
She smiled as she rolled over to face him. His hair, tousled from sleep, fell across his forehead with a boyish appeal that warmed her heart. Her smile deepened as she brushed the hair off his forehead. A small smile played at the corners of his mouth. The impact of his smile was enough to make her melt.
"Did you miss me while I was gone?" he inquired.
"I barely even noticed," she lied.
His smile deepened. "Really?"
Isabelle’s body quickened in anticipation as he caressed her hip and came back up to circle her breast. Her nipple hardened as his finger traced around it. "Maybe a little," she whispered breathlessly.
His smile was wicked as he bent and licked her taut nipple before pulling away from her. "Just a little?"
She bit her bottom lip as she stared into his gleaming eyes. "Did you miss me?" she demanded.
"Did I miss being avoided, run away from, tortured, and sexually frustrated?" Isabelle scowled at him as he smiled down at her. "Yes, I did."
She laughed as she wrapped her arms around his neck.
"More than a little?" he growled.
A small thrill shot through her at the feel of his hair-roughened chest against her sensitive breasts. He slid his leg between hers and nudged her thighs apart. Isabelle's breath froze in her lungs as his hand slid down and he began to stroke her. A small gasp escaped as his finger slid inside and her hips began to move slowly with the pace he set.
"More than a little?" he murmured against her lips as his other hand leisurely fondled her breast.
Isabelle could barely think through the pleasure consuming her, let alone speak. His hand slid away from her. Isabelle groaned her protest as she wiggled closer to him. Chuckling, he nibbled on her bottom lip. He grabbed her hips, pulling her against him and rubbing the tip of his erect shaft teasingly against her aching, wet center. Isabelle opened her legs to accept his invasion, but it didn't come.
"More than a little?" he demanded.
Her lips parted as he continued to rub against her. She couldn't take any more of the sweet torture he was putting her through, she would have conceded anything to him. "Yes!" she cried.
He smiled as he slid into her. Isabelle slipped her arms around his neck and dragged his mouth down to hers. The world fell away as his body moved over her, enveloping her with his strength, security, and warmth. He caught each of her sighs with his mouth as he leisurely explored, tasted, and made love to her. She touched him everywhere, relishing in the feel of the strong muscles cording his back, chest, thighs, and ass as they grew slick with sweat.
Her hands dug into his back as he drove her closer to the brink of ecstasy he’d pushed her over last night. He was her only anchor in the sea of pleasure engulfing her. He grasped her hands, dragging them above her head and pinning them down as he drove more aggressively into her. Isabelle's legs clenched around him as she eagerly met his increasing movements. He held her wrists in one hand as he reached between their bodies to rub against her quivering nub. She screamed as waves of ecstasy rocked her.
He drove into her, spilling everything into her as her body contracted around him. He collapsed, his breathing ragged as he
