Even though I growled and writhed—he’d promised to wash me first!—I couldn’t bring myself to complain. And Melek…
Melek turned from a growling, teasing, bull, to a groaning mate with one kiss.
That kiss made me sigh. Made me want to sob. Far from the mischievous, sly words a moment earlier, this was all tender touch. As if the moment to play had passed, and now we faced down the impending battle—by diving into each other.
His hands shook when he touched me, and his touch was slow. Awed. Gentle… As if he feared I might break if he gave too much.
He’d forgotten how strong I am, apparently.
With a low growl of disapproval, I dug my fingers into the back of his neck and skull, and pulled him down until he pinned me to the earth from chest to knees, until I could barely breathebecause of his weight on me—but I could feel his heartbeat slamming against my ribs, and his breath thundering in my ear.
He groaned as he kissed me, his touch soft in my hair, tightening when I tried to move. He tipped his head and kissed his way down my jaw to my throat, teasing the delicate skin there with his tongue, as his busy hands made scant work of my buttons and leathers.
He pulled back only long enough to yank his own shirt off his arms and throw it to the side, then pressed me down again. I clung to him, scratching nails down the backs of his shoulders, letting my fingers play in the lines of his muscles, whimpering into his mouth.
As the kiss deepened and his breathing got ragged, I couldn’t stop touching. I let my hands play up and down his back, his sides, his neck, into his hair, then down again, following the dip of his spine, even grabbing handfuls of his ass and pulling him against me as I raised my hips.
Melek groaned again when I arched, and rocked his hips, his arousal pressing between my legs, sliding against me so that I thought he’d take me.
I almost swore when he didn’t, but he retreated instead. As I grasped at him, he broke the kiss and raised his head, braced hands on either side of my shoulders and arched his back, threatening to take me even as he stared down at me, his hair messy from my hands, scattered over his forehead and eyes, his warrior’s length tangled and twisted as it fell over his shoulder and stuck to his neck.
Then he flexed his hips again, pressing, drawing himself up until that thick steel slid against me, sending jangling sparks of pleasure through my whole body.
My jaw dropped, and I grabbed for his shoulder, my hand slapping as he drew away, then pressed against me again in a parody of what we both really wanted.
“Melek,” I gasped. “Please—”
I let my palms lay flat on his chest, sliding them all over his body, tenderly tracing his scars with my thumbs, watching his muscles ripple and flex as he teased my most sensitive flesh again and again.
I couldn’t speak.
The power in his body was breathtaking.
The driving pleasure there left me breathless.
“I’ve missed this,” I whispered, reaching up to grab that length of hair and wrap it around my hand and wrist, pulling him closer. “I’ve missed you, Melek,” I breathed.“My mate.”
He shuddered, and one hand left the grass to slide under my neck, his fingers curling into my nape, his palm circling until his long thumb pressed at the sensitive skin of my throat.
“Mine,”he snarled, then dove for my mouth, pulling me into the kiss so I was bowed, my hips pinned by his, my back arched, as he delved my mouth with that delicious tongue.
Throwing one arm to hook around his neck and hold myself into his kiss, I’d expected another onslaught. Expected to be devoured. To beowned.
Instead, his hand slid up to cup the back of my skull, his fingertips trailing against my scalp, and his tongue, though urgent, was soft. Sweet. Tasting.
My breath grew ragged when he tilted his head and deepened the kiss, and he began to shake. But even though I arched my back, and rolled my hips to meet him, he still didn’t press into me.
Instead, he slid a hand under my lower back and picked us both up, carrying me slowly to the water’s edge, then down into the heated pool, so I became more weightless with every step, the soft heat tickling and embracing my bare skin.
Urging me to wrap my legs around his waist, he sank into the deep pool, then held me there, my hair fisted in one handas he drew his other down my body—fingertips raising trails of goosebumps from my neck to my breast—until he found my nipple, and groaned when it was already pert and hard.
I sucked in when his callouses teased that sensitive tip, and my hips bucked.
Melek chuckled, but he was breathless when he raised his head to stare down at me at the same time he rolled his hips and drew his hard length against me,almosttaking me again.
The water rippled with our movement, but Melek refused to be hurried, no matter how I wiggled or pulled him closer with my heels. So, I gave up. I sighed and closed my eyes, let my head tip back into his hand, and just let myselffeel.All of him. His warmth. His strength. His tenderness. The pleasure he evoked from every part of my body.
I arched back, my chest coming out of the water, and dropped one arm back to let him take my weight.
