They had little time left to talk about her behavior as they were scheduled to board Steel’s private jet, ready to head to Wales. There was too much at stake. She couldn’t afford to back down or take a breath. The Morrigan held Nate in her clasp, and she didn’t know whether she would be able to save her son.
“Stop this, Ella. Being distant won’t help anyone. We’re a team. Let me in. I can help. This isn’t just your battle to face. The Morrigan has our son.”
She groaned. A pain squeezed her heart so tight she almost collapsed to the floor, but Marcus slipped his arm around her waist, holding her, until the warmth and strength of him caressed her.
“I don’t think…I can bear it…if anything…”
Marcus placed his fingers over her mouth. “Shh…we’ll get Nate back, and deal with the Morrigan.”
Marcus kneaded her shoulders and the tension receded a little. When he dropped light, soft kisses along her collarbone, a moan escaped through her lips. In that instant, all the pent-up frustration and anger dimmed, as a light tingling erupted low in her belly, fanning outward. She wiped her lips with her tongue, craving his touch, and lifted her head, gazing right into Marcus’s dark, broody gaze that rested on her. As the fluttering in her belly grew louder, an aching awareness exploded, and she couldn’t ignore the desire for Marcus.
Staring at him, she bit her lip, unsure and unable to find words. They didn’t have time for such intimacy, but as she ran over all the reasons she shouldn’t make love to Marcus, her hands smoothed their way over his hot skin. She pressed into his firm chest, which lit every nerve ending and caused a blaze of wildness to take over. Ella ran her hands down his chest, feeling the hard planes of his abdominal muscles until she gripped the zipper of his pants.
Marcus grabbed the bottom of her light sweater and within seconds, a furious waterfall of clothes was strewn across the room. Neither could hold back any longer. He cupped her breast and rubbed her nipple back and forth, driving her crazy. The frantic need for him to fill her blotted out the pain and fear.
“Don’t let me go, not even for a moment,” she said.
The heat between them soared and the friction of skin against skin inflamed her desire. The bed was only a foot away, but as he groaned against her ear, she knew they wouldn’t make it.
“I won’t, ever,” Marcus said.
There wasn’t time for softness. He hoisted her up into his arms and pushed her back against the wall as she wrapped her legs tight around his waist. She arched herself as his arousal teased her silky wetness and dove right inside her heat. The urgent mating of their bodies thrusting and slapping against each other drove her crazy with need as she clawed at his back. The feeling of belonging, of being home, and surrounded by him had her riding every thrust he gave. He rocked back and forth, possessing her, and digging his fingers into her skin as if he needed her to feel everything.
And she did. As waves of passion swam through her veins, she kissed his cheek, running her hands up his shoulders and through his hair, gripping the unruly strands and tugging them. He was hers, and she clung to him like a finger monkey not wanting to let go. Biting and licking his skin, she savored his salty taste, trying to absorb him until they were one. Marking him. When he gripped her neck and pushed her chin up, forcing her to meet his gaze, as he thrust deeper inside, their eyes stared longingly into each other, the connection bone-deep. Her muscles throbbed with the need to take all he could give. As they clung to each other, a wild clashing of frantic lips commenced—a thrusting and dueling of tongues.
The ripples of ecstasy consumed her like wildfire that she never wanted to stop. Marcus worked her body to bring the maximum response and she yielded, sinking into the bliss they created together. He set the pace and she followed, meeting each urgent thrust until she cried out when she came, unable to stop her cries as he rammed deep inside before groaning out his own release. Ella savored the euphoric waves of pleasure that washed over her, not wanting to move, lost for a moment in the bliss—not wanting it to end. She kissed his shoulder and snuggled against his warm chest, listening to the furious pace of his heart for a moment, waiting to return to earth.
When he lifted his head, Marcus cupped her cheek. “Are you all right?” he asked, breathless from the exertion.
She nodded.
“I’m sorry. I wish we had more time...”
Pressing her fingers over his lips, she quashed the flow of words from him. “I’m sorry too. You always steal my breath and make me throw caution aside. You’re in my blood. In every beat of my heart. My soul is entwined with yours. I will not lose you. But she has our son, and she’s killing me, piece by piece.”
Ella knew her need to save Nate and destroy the Morrigan was driving her in impossible directions.
“Take a breath. Lashing out won’t win this war. We need to be calm, despite how we feel inside. We both need a clear head and to be united in our objective. Can you do that?” He rubbed her cheek.
She glanced at
