“I’ve been so scared I lost you for good.”
“Lady, you’ll never lose me. These past weeks…” His mouth set in a grim line. “It was hell. I don’t want to live without you.”
“Oh, Connor.” She threw herself at him, and he caught her, hoisting her legs around his middle with minimal effort. They kissed, hard and long, exploring each other’s mouths as if it was the first time.
In a way, it was. No kiss with Connor had ever been so free of emotional baggage. She didn’t think of Lloyd, and she didn’t worry about labeling what they had. She just kissed him, tasting his love and his misery. The chains that bound her seemed to slip away as he caressed her, breaking into pieces. Somewhere in that embrace, Elaine emerged whole and happy and new.
Sparks exploded into light behind her closed eyelids.Hiss. Boom. Crash.
Connor was her mate, and she’d never been so ecstatic to see him.
He lowered her to the ground, setting her on a bed of ivy. He touched a finger to her breast, as if marveling at her existence. “Please tell me this isn’t a dream.”
“It had better not be.”
That smile. It grew. Suddenly she was smiling too. “Connor, please. Don’t make me wait.”
He lay atop her, grinding her into the foliage below. She rocked her hips against him, desperate to feel him inside her. Palming her breast, he nipped at the left side of her neck.
“Yes.” She groaned. “Mark me.”
He stopped kissing her and looked her in the eye. “Are you sure?”
She cupped his cheek and gave his beard a playful tug. “You’re my mate. I don’t want to be without you for another second. Mark me.”
His hand slipped between her legs, testing her readiness. There was no need. She was wet, and her entire body expressed her need, tightening and relaxing all at once.
Connor pistoned into her in one smooth thrust. He felt so good stars erupted before her eyes. She tightened her legs around his waist and guided his mouth back to her neck. He groaned as his carnivore teeth descended, but the sound was muffled against her skin. There was a stinging pain, followed by a dull throbbing, but then the most sinful warmth spread through her body. Her pleasure hit new heights as he continued to fuck her. As her body quaked under the dual invasion at her core and at her neck, a merciless orgasm whipped through her. It tore her apart, leaving her in tatters but so grateful to be alive.
She was alive with her mate.
Connor finished on a violent spasm, burying his fingers in her hair. Their bodies stilled, and their breaths mingled. He remained impossibly hard inside her, and she wriggled beneath him, wanting more.
She would never stop wanting more.
His heart pounding so hard she could hear each beat, he withdrew and sat up. Her seam was wet with his moisture. A trail of it dribbled down her thigh. She didn’t care. She wanted to bathe in the stuff.
“Here.” He pulled her to sitting and brushed her hair off her shoulder. “Let me look at the damage.” Inspecting his mark, he frowned. “It must hurt like a sonofabitch.”
“It does, but it’s good.” She smiled. “I love you, Connor.”
His eyes widened. “You do?”
“I do. I want to come back. Will you have me?”
“Jesus. What a question, woman. You’re all I want.” His brow furrowed, and he gnawed the inside of his cheek. “Elaine, I love you.”
She crawled atop his lap. His cock twitched against her. Her nipples stiffened against his chest. She wanted him and wanted him and wanted him again, as many times as he would have her.
As she leaned in for a kiss, he stopped her. “I don’t want to rush you.”
“I’m good. I promise you, I’m good.”
As he took her again, claiming her body on the forest floor, Elaine knew her words were gospel. She’d needed that time away, if only to understand what she had with him. Yes, Connor brought her comfort, but he also challenged her in a way no one ever had. Lloyd had been her white knight and had treated her like a princess, but Connor had ushered her into another world, one where fairy tales gave way to sweet reality. In joining her in her grief, he’d taught her a new truth.
Death wasn’t the end.
For them, it was a beginning. It had wrenched their souls apart, driving them down a dark path, but they’d found light among the shadows. Would Elaine have survived Lloyd’s death without Connor? Who knew?
