“About what?” Clelia asked, even if she had a good idea. When Joss didn’t answer, she said, “You were supposed to kill me.” She scrunched the blanket in her fists. “What do you think will happen?”
He dragged a hand through his hair, messing it up. “As my wife, you’re protected. He won’t lay a finger on you.”
Her stomach clenched. “But?”
“He may ask me to quit the force, and then neither of us will be protected.”
Open targets. “He can’t do that. This is my fault. Oh, Joss, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m not, no matter what happens.”
There were so many things that could happen, bad things, but now wasn’t the time to dwell on whatifs. “Lupien?” She had to be sure.
“Ashes. Couldn’t find his remains in the debris. Even the walls are ash.”
“Snow?”
“Cain took him to the vet. His wounds are only first-degree burns. He’ll stay on pain medication until he’s recovered enough to come home. We’ll go see him later.”
She exhaled in relief. “How did the dogs find us?”
“Siril said they came sniffing around the castle, cornered him inside, and then took off. They must’ve followed your trail after we visited the cottage.”
She inspected his arms and chest for burn wounds, but there were only the rough edges of his muscles and the smoothness of his golden skin. “Did Lupien hurt you?”
“No.” His jaw tightened. “But what he wanted to do to you… When I saw you there in that house with him I died ten times over. What it did to me, I can’t even begin to describe. I can’t go through anything like that again, do you hear me? You’ll never put yourself in danger.”
“It’s over.”
His expression darkened. “It’ll never be over.”
Yes, she knew that, but it wasn’t a truth she wanted to think about right now. The other, much bigger truth, the one that had hit her when she’d seen Joss trapped in the flames, made her wrap her arms around his neck and pull him close.
“What are you doing?” he asked in a husky voice.
“I realized something today.”
She traced the seam of his lips with her tongue, sucking his bottom lip into her mouth. He watched her through hooded eyes, wary and … uncertain. Joss was uncertain of her. For the first time since she’d known him, he looked vulnerable.
“I realized that I didn’t want to lose you,” she said.
He searched her eyes. “Do you mean that?”
“Would I say it if I didn’t?”
“No. Not that it would’ve changed anything. You’re mine today just like you were yesterday, and you’ll still be mine tomorrow.”
She leaned back to stare up at him. “Are you ever going to change?”
“I doubt it.”
She smiled. “Good.”
“You mean that too?” he asked in husky voice, pushing her down.
“I already told you.”
His hair fell around her face. “Say it again.”
“I want to stay.”
Stretching out over her, he covered her body with his. “Why?”
“Because nothing about how I feel has changed.”
A smile plucked at his lips. “You’ll still be my stalker?”
“Probably until forever.”
“Mm.” He lowered his mouth to hers. “I think I can live with that.”
When he pressed their lips together, it was desperate, a reminder they were both alive. Cupping her face, he tangled their tongues. His breath tickled her ears and her throat, his teeth staking claims as he marked her skin. She moaned when he shifted down to kiss her nipple. His mouth was hot and wet, his fingers deft as he parted her folds. Without warning, he slipped two fingers inside, making her inner muscles clench around the intrusion.
“I should wait,” he said.
“Don’t.”
He pulled out his fingers slowly and slid them in fast, a rhythm that soon had her crazy with need. She gripped his hair when he moved down her body and buried his head between her thighs. She couldn’t wait either. His tongue joined his fingers to drive her into a frenzy of desire. It didn’t take long for her orgasm to build. She kept his gaze, showing him what he was doing to her.
“Please,” she whispered.
He obliged by scraping his teeth over her clit. She came around his fingers with a gasp, her lips parting in a silent moan. The release was instantaneous, over too quickly.
Satisfaction blazed in his eyes when he brought his fingers to her lips. “Taste yourself, how sweet you are.”
She opened, letting him slide two fingers inside her mouth.
His gaze turned dark. “Suck them for me.”
She flicked her tongue around the tips, gently biting down on the pads. His eyes changed to that mercurial color that meant delicious trouble. In a second, she was flipped onto her stomach. He lifted her hips, positioning her on her hands and knees.
He stroked his palms over her back in an impatient caress before taking her hands and placing them on the headboard. “Hold on.”
Gripping her hips, he held her in place. The head of his cock nudged her entrance. The crest parted her wet folds. He slipped in easily, moving in shallow strokes that made her turn even slicker.
“Take a breath,” he said, tightening his fingers on her hips.
She’d barely filled her lungs before he plunged forward, giving her all of him, taking everything.
The pleasure was overwhelming, exquisite, almost too much. He pulled back and drove home, over and over, until she thought she’d pass out from the intense sensations that blinded her vision. He yanked her to him as he slammed his groin against her ass, his breathing fast and uneven.
A second orgasm built even faster than the first. She came with a cry while he pivoted his hips faster. Her knees gave out. She collapsed onto the bed as he gave a final, hard thrust that made her back arch. His groan was raw and primal. He convulsed, pushing deeper, keeping himself locked inside her until both their bodies went slack. He fell over her, keeping his weight on his arms, his breathing hard and his lips warm on her neck. She felt complete. She didn’t want him to move. She didn’t want the perfect moment to
