“God above, Juliette,” he gasped. “You’re killing me, lass.”
“Should I—should I stop?”
“I would die a happy man, just like this,” he admitted. “Don’t be stopping, unless you’re wanting to.” He reached down to touch her cheek. “I am yours to do with as you will.”
She cupped him with one hand and took the head of him into her mouth. His hands clenched into fists, and a dark groan spilled from him. “Christ in Heaven, aye. That’s it, love.”
It startled her to realize that pleasing him was deepening her own arousal. As she took him in her mouth, she was growing wetter, imagining him inside. She was stroking him in a rhythm, tasting the salt of him as he strained against her. And when she sucked against him, he abruptly lifted her away from him and laid her flat on her back, reversing their positions.
With his hands, he lifted her knees, kissing the flat of her stomach before moving to her inner thighs. “It’s my turn now, Juliette.”
His turn for what?
Ohhh… She nearly came apart when she felt him spread her apart, his tongue tasting her intimately. The fist of pleasure gripped her hard as he nibbled and tasted. “Do you like it, lass?”
She couldn’t grasp a single thought.
“You’re so wet,” he breathed against her. The vibration of his voice against her made her tremble. He explored her folds, licking and sucking until he found the nodule that made her cry out.
“Did I hurt you?”
“No. More of that, please,” she begged, guiding his mouth to her sensitive place. As he took her higher, he invaded her with his fingers. Over and over, he pressed the rhythm, until she was shivering, so close to the edge. She reached for his erection, fisting him in her hand at the same pace.
More. She needed him to give himself to her. Despite the erotic thrill of his touch, it still wasn’t enough. Keeping him tightly in her hand, she moved his hand away from her, and guided him inside.
He slid easily, with no pain. And when he was buried within her, he went motionless. “We can’t do this, Juliette.” He started to pull out, but she raised one leg over his waist and pulled him back. The sensation was every bit as wonderful as she’d imagined it would be. With Paul, there was no degradation. Lovemaking was a way of joining them together.
Her mind cried out that it was too grave of a risk. He could make her pregnant, and this time, a baby might end her life.
But was it any life at all, to live with a man she loved and not give him this part of her? She was his wife now, and she did love him. He was the man who had been there for her, all these years.
“I won’t risk you,” he said.
She locked her ankles around him, refusing to let him go. “You’re going to fight Strathland, aren’t you?”
He nodded, and when she moved against him, he shut his eyes, as if struggling for control.
“I don’t want you to die,” she whispered.
“And what do you think this is, Juliette? You said another child could kill you.”
“It’s a risk I’ll take. Especially if you’re planning to endanger your own life. If this is the last moment I’ll have with you, then I want this. No matter what the price.”
He opened his eyes, and the intensity of the blue mesmerized her. Inside her body, he was iron hard, his shaft fully sheathed within.
“Why?”
“Because I love you,” she whispered. “And I always have.” She relaxed the grip of her legs and pushed forward against him.
He pressed down upon her, using his arms to balance his weight. “There is a way… with less risk.” He was fighting against his words, and he gritted out, “If I don’t finish inside you.”
“Be with me,” she pleaded. “Give me this memory.”
Paul was lost. He wanted Juliette so badly, the slightest motion was going to send him over the edge. Her slick heat and the tightness of her body were clenched around his shaft. He was a selfish bastard for letting things get this far.
But in her eyes, he saw the mirror of his own feelings. “I love you, Juliette.” And he didn’t want her to sacrifice everything for this.
She began lifting her hips to him in gentle penetrations. Sweet and innocent, she was giving so much. And when her arousal shifted higher, her breath coming in short gasps, he lost it. His body took over with instinct, and he sank inside her.
