Jesus, he’s strong.
His teeth bite down on my earlobe as his hips thrust his cock inside me. The sensations force me to bury my face against his ribs to muffle my screams.
He’s right. This is what heaven feels like.
As he finishes, his weight settles on me, pressing down. It takes less than a minute for me to feel smothered, in the best sort of way.
“Viking?” I mumble against his skin.
“Hmm?”
“Move just a little, baby. So I can breathe.”
He shifts so more of him rests on the bed than on my body. His left thigh is still between my legs, and I curl mine around his calf.
My voice is low and faint, like breath in the wind. “I love you.”
His hand slides under the arch of my back. “Same. And more.” He kisses my temple.
My fingers play with the damp strands of his hair. “What’s more?”
His broad shoulders shrug. “The rightness of you and me together hits me all the time. And nearly losing you…” He lowers his head and rests his forehead against mine. “All I could think was… you’d better find her or that’s it. There are wildernesses all over the world. But there’s only one girl who feels as good as breathing wild air.”
45
ERIK
Arya falls back asleep as though making up for hundreds of sleepless nights. When I hear noise at the front door, I climb from bed, dress, and come out to see who it is.
Declan’s eyes host a spiderweb of red capillaries, testifying to his exhaustion. He rubs his eyes wearily.
Reynolds on the other hand looks none the worse for wear, despite being out all night. “Erik, you won’t believe it. Emily Halverson was found alive. It took all night to reach her because the agents in the tunnels came across four bombs that had to be disabled. Who knows how many explosives he planted. It’ll probably take weeks to find them all.”
“How’s the girl?” I ask.
“Emily?” Reynolds says. “Lucky to be alive. And grateful to be out of there. But also… not good.” We exchange a meaningful look.
“Camrynn,” Declan interrupts. “Let’s go to bed.”
She turns and gives him a sheepish smile. “Hey,” she says softly, stepping forward to hug him. “Go to sleep. You went above and beyond last night. Thank you.”
“Come with me. You need sleep, too.”
“I will. I really will. I just need to go over some things with Erik, so we can get to press with this story first. We’ve got exclusive content—”
“How long?” Declan says impatiently.
“An hour.”
“Promise me you won’t leave the house. Not for any reason.”
“I swear,” she says, putting a hand over her heart. “I love you.”
“I love you, too.” Declan rubs his eyes as he walks toward the stairs.
As soon as he disappears up them, she grabs my sleeve. “Come to the kitchen. There’s so much.” Reynolds has definitely chosen the right profession.
Apparently, Shane hears our voices because he emerges from the second bedroom off the main hall. He’s wearing a gray t-shirt and rumpled jeans that look like they spent the night on the floor.
