‘So…’ he repeated.
She raised her chin and looked at him. ‘Just sleep with me, Nathan. Just, give me something to cling to.’
*
She was beautiful, the most stunning woman he had ever set eyes on, and here she was, offering herself up to him. In extreme situations, people took comfort from anything they could, and she needed comfort. He could do that without getting emotionally involved. He’d done it dozens of times before. He couldn’t fight it anymore.
He tugged her toward him and met her mouth with his, kissing her without any doubt to his intent. Her mouth opened wider to let him in, and he kissed her, one hand at the back of her head, the other removing his shirt.
He felt her rip open the buttons on his pants, and he pulled her over, rolling on top of her on the sand.
‘I want to feel safe,’ she begged. ‘Make me feel safe.’
He regarded her as he hovered over her, one hand in the sand, the other in her hair. Her eyes were closed, her lips slightly open, moist from their kiss. Her creamy skin laid bare for him, the whole of her body, there, waiting. Waiting for him. Wanting him. He closed his eyes and took a breath, the essence of something from his past flowing over him. He was hesitating, thinking, still, even now, when Autumn was naked, exposed, and the need in him was pretty close to boiling point.
*
She bucked her hips slightly, making contact with him, letting him know how desperate she was for this closeness. She had never felt such longing. She pulled at the waistband of his boxers, making absolutely clear her intention, easing the fabric down over his hips, revealing the part of him she craved inside her.
She watched his eyes close, and she reached up to cup his face in her hands, her fingers tracing the line of his jaw, down to his mouth. He opened his mouth and touched her fingers with his lips, so gentle.
And then he nipped the edge of one finger with his teeth and she let out a small cry. Not because he had hurt her, because she wanted more.
‘You want me?’ he whispered the question. Very slowly, inch by inch, he led a path with his fingers from her hair, across her shoulder, and down over her breast.
‘Yes! God, Nathan, yes,’ she breathed. His touch was burning her, each inch his hands traveled was igniting a dormant desire that had almost been completely extinguished by the partners she’d chosen in the past. Fake people, soulless people, people who’d made her feel nothing.
She wrapped her hands around his neck and buried her head into his shoulder, urging him downwards, wanting to feel him, hot and hard.
He caught her head with one hand and locked eyes. He pressed his chest against hers, holding on tight.
‘Who do you see… when you look at me?’ he asked, his breath coming out in bursts.
‘I see someone true… and loyal… and strong.’
She let out a gasp as she felt him enter her, just a little, enough to make her whole body contract with need.
‘What you see is what you get.’
‘I know.’
She clung to him, her fingers digging into his skin as he pushed himself a little deeper into her.
‘I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want you… right here… right now,’ he growled.
‘Oh God, oh God, please, Nathan… please,’ she begged.
*
He couldn’t wait any longer. He couldn’t stop. He didn’t want to stop. He clasped one arm around her waist and drew her toward him as he deepened his thrust, all the way inside her. All the pain, all the fear, all his memories were pushed to the very back of his mind as he let his body release everything he’d been holding in for so long.
He rocked her, long, slow movements at first, then quicker, more intense. He felt her match his rhythm, her breath warm and wet in his ear. This beautiful woman, this gorgeous, broken and vulnerable woman wanted him to make her world better.
‘Do you feel it?’ he asked her. He was right on the edge of the crest of that wave, holding back as hard as he could.
‘Yes, don’t stop… please don’t stop… I’m right there… I’m there… I’m… oh my God… oh Nathan.’
That was it. He was gone. His heart burst apart, he fell headfirst off the wave and everything fell from underneath him as that hot, sweet flood of release left him.
*
She pulled him tighter, aching to feel him contract against her as her head filled with flashes of ecstasy. She was trembling. She felt weak. Her heart was pounding, echoing Nathan’s that beat so hard against her chest. The tremors still came, each one bringing another delicious sensation, another wave of heaven rolling up through her body.
This man, this man she had despised had opened the floodgates to so much. He had pulled her apart physically and emotionally, and she needed it. She needed him.
He took her face in his hands, shifting a little but leaving them connected, bringing her lips to his. He kissed her, deep, wet, and tender, and she entwined their hands, moving her fingers in between his.
‘How do you feel?’ he asked. His voice nearly failed him. His body completely sated.
She replied at once, with conviction. ‘Safe.’
Twenty-Six
Autumn woke with a start, clutching hold of the sheet and sitting up. She couldn’t catch her breath. She’d been in this terrible dream, running from someone, being chased. It took her a few seconds to separate the dream from reality, and for the events of the previous evening to come back to her. Her father wasn’t dead, her mother had come back to the house, and she and Nathan had…
As that last thought filtered through her mind, she noticed him. He stood by the bedroom window, looking out. He wore pants but no shirt.
‘Morning,’ he greeted, turning to face her.
‘Morning,’ she replied with a smile.
‘We need
