He closed the door. “What is it you want?”
Alannah grinned at him, settling onto the only proper bed they had at The Hart’s Rest. Frames, mattresses, and pillows were too expensive to have in every room. “I want to see those muscles of yours,” she told him. “I was robbed last time.”
“As my lady wishes.” He wiggled his brows playfully, taking his shirt off and tossing it unceremoniously onto the floor.
Her breath caught. All the training he did each day showed in every sculpted plane of his body. Alannah’s fingers itched to touch them all.
He stalked toward her, his eyes clouded and his lips parted. His glorious body covered hers, his lips claiming her as his.
The last time they’d lain together, Alannah’s body had wanted him. But now it was something much deeper, a part of her soul, that craved him. As he pulled her tunic over her head, Alannah realized that she didn’t just want one night anymore.
She wanted every night.
Finally, her hands roamed his smooth chest, wandering across the ridges of his stomach and savoring every incredible inch. She’d tried so hard to stay away from him, to put enough distance between them that her heart wouldn’t be at risk. Yet somehow she’d still ended up right back in his bed. By the timeshe reached the hem of his trews, she burned hotter than a blacksmith’s forge.
“Not so fast.” His callused palms cupped both her breasts. “I, too, was robbed.”
Alannah’s back arched of its own accord as first Conan’s hands, then his mouth played with her sensitive nipples. The wet, warm heat of his lips, his tongue only fanned the growing flames. A breathy exhale escaped her as she dragged her hands across his shoulders.
All thought fled her. Only a coiling desire, an unquenchable need to fill the emptiness opening in her core remained. The very air around her pricked her sensitive skin.
Conan moved lower, his lips tasting her stomach, her hips, her thighs. When he reached the heat of her, he sucked and licked until she ached for him. His fingers joined his mouth, teasing her until she thought she might explode with need.
“Conan,” she pleaded, just as she had that first night. She felt him smile against her.
“Always in a hurry,” he chided, finally relenting his sweet torment and moving back on top of her. His lips found her neck as he entered her.
He moved slowly, languidly. The pressure of him inside her pleasured her at the same time as it teased of something more. He filled her so completely, so perfectly, that Alannah had no doubt that she belonged with Conan. He was her other half, in body and in spirit. How was she ever going to let him go?
But she was in no mood to be teased any longer. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she pulled him deeper inside her.
That proved his undoing. He moved faster, driving into her over and over. The intoxicating scent of leather and spice andhim, stole what remained of her senses. It was just Conan and her and the feel of them together as the pressure inside her continued to build.
As before, his fingers found their way back to her core, swirling and rubbing until everything went dark, stars filling her vision and warmth pooling where his fingers worked their magic.
His cock tightened inside her as he thrust harder and deeper. He lowered himself onto her, their bodies pressed together, as he found his own release.
Alannah knew that this changed everything about their relationship, but that idea no longer scared her. That he might be leaving someday soon, however, had her heart racing in panic. Wrapping her arms around him, Alannah closed her eyes, determined to soak up every minute of her time with Conan.
“Hello?”
Somewhere within the depths of her haze, Alannah registered the call from the main room.
“Is anyone still awake?”
“Damn,” Alannah muttered under her breath, shifting so that she could move out from under Conan. She’d nearly fallen asleep. “I don’t think Emer’s back yet.”
Conan roused quicker than she expected, considering her own drowsy state. He moved to let her up, grabbing her clothes and handing them to her before gathering his own.
“Wait for me,” he ordered, his eyes dancing as they watched her dress. “It concerns me that someone’s getting in so late.”
“You and me both,” she grumbled. This wasnotthe ending she’d had in mind for the night.
Conan’s warmth covered her back, his arms wrapping around her belly as he kissed her neck. The movement was so tender, sending a shiver rippling through her. It was the sort of thing a lover would do.
Was that what they were now?
Alannah’s reservations weren’t entirely gone, but she had to admit she liked the sound of that. She liked the way it made her feel even more. Turning in his arms, she pulled his face to hers, giving him a quick kiss before hurrying across the courtyard and into the common room.
