Not tonight.
He ripped the sheet out from between them.
Now it was skin against skin. Her quim slick and hot against his manhood. She lifted onto her knees, sliding along him, pulling a groan full of ache from him. If he stated his preference—if anyone were to ask—he would prefer making love with Artemis in the full light of day, so he could appreciate her in every way. Butthis—making love in the shadows—it had its benefits. Without the distraction of sight, one was singularly open to the sense of touch and able to give wholly over to it.
The feel of her supple skin beneath his hands, the heady substance of her.
Somehow, without sight, the act felt more pure.
“I need you now, Bran,” she breathed into his ear, as she reached between them and took his shaft in hand.
His eyes drifted shut, his entire being became centered on the hot, firm feel of her fingers wrapped around him.
He could spill now.
That was the truth.
All it took was the mere promise of her warm, slick cunny, teasing against the crown of his cock.
He resolved not to spill—and held that resolve as,slowly, she lowered onto him, her breath caught in her throat.Lowershe slid, now a long groan pouring from her. Soft and tight, her sex took him in, inch by inch.
Sensation cascaded through him in ripples of light.
This was pleasure.
The pleasure of abandoning one’s mind and giving over to the demands of the body.
As she moved on him, he held her hips, steadying her. His mouth couldn’t decide where it wanted to be as he kissed her lips … her neck … the valley between her breasts … took one nipple into his mouth, then the other … her mouth again … It was all almost too much—and all not enough.
Possessed by this feeling, his hands tightened around her hips and he pushed deeper inside her, rooting them into each other. His tongue caught the taste of salt on her neck and followed the bead of perspiration along her clavicle. Her hips moving of their own accord, he wrapped his arms around her back, fully encircling her, their bodies so tight against each other, it was impossible to distinguish one from the other. And really, there was no need. Physical boundaries no longer existed for them.
Tighter, she clung to him, and he knew she was close … climax teasing her just out of reach. “Slow down, my love,” he rumbled into her ear. “Give in to the feel ofslow.”
Slower, deeper, she moved on him, and all that sensation began to bear weight on him and tighten within his sex. Release was nearly upon him.
He returned his hands to her hips. Now it was him guiding the movement—guiding them toward climax. The ripples that had been cascading through his veins suddenly coalesced into a single bodily intention, the feel of her so …damn…goodaround him as it built and drove him … nay,them… toward the edge, and as one, they crested the rim and tipped over into release, their bodies … their souls … into freefall, as he shouted into her neck and she cried out toward the ceiling, his cock spilling into her, her quim pulsing around him. Hearts racing as one, lungs gasping for air, they hung onto one another, only a slick of sweat between them.
As they drifted through the ether of release, belief solidified inside him.
This was the beginning.
Theirbeginning.
He trailed kisses up her throat, feeling her rapid, precious pulse beneath his lips. He reached her mouth and took it in a long, slow kiss. His cock, still inside her, pulsed, suggesting a willingness to return to life. An idea he supported, but he must say something first.
He drew back slightly, his mouth breaking from hers. Through the darkness, her eyes met his in question. He answered it with a question of his own. “Do you know what truly binds me to you, Artemis?”
She bit her bottom lip between her teeth and gave her head a slow shake.
But her eyes told a different story.
They shone with understanding—and something else.
Could that behopehe saw in those endless brown depths?
“My love for you,” he said.
She swallowed as opaque emotion passed behind her deep brown eyes. “Bran …”
