“Yes! Yes! Faster!” She jerked her hips. He churned his own in a disjointed beat as her own orgasm ripped through her.
The climax hit her like a freight train, stealing her breath and her vision and every coherent thought. She shattered around him, crying out his name as wave after wave of pleasure rolled through her.
He let out a roar that seemed to shake the air molecules.
A hard banging on the wall made them both jump.
They froze, and his eyes cleared in a blink as he assessed the situation. Not a threat.
“Fucking neighbors.”
She huffed a laugh. “Fucking thin walls.”
He buried his face against her neck and vibrated with amusement that sent a smile stretching across her own face. Foreign to her and yet…tapping into a part of herself she forgot existed.
The laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep inside, genuine and unguarded, and she felt the rumble of his own against her chest. When was the last time she’d laughed after sex? When was the last time sex had felt like more than just a transaction or a way to scratch an itch?
Never.
The answer was never.
After a few minutes, he flipped her on top of him with an easy strength that didn’t surprise her but pleased her far more than she would ever voice.
He held her through the aftershocks that followed their wild lovemaking, his hands stroking up and down her spine in a soothing caress that left her boneless.
She sprawled across his chest like a cat in a sunbeam, her limbs heavy and satisfied in a way she couldn’t remember feeling before. His arms came around her, one hand sliding into her hair while the other settled at the small of her back.
He tucked her close, and she rested her cheek against his chest, listening to his heart hammer beneath her ear. The steady rhythm gradually slowed, matching her own, and that synchronicity made her throat tighten.
“You okay?” His voice rumbled through his chest.
“Yeah.” She traced idle patterns on his skin, following the lines of muscle and scar tissue. “You?”
“Better than okay.” His fingers combed through her hair, gentle and unhurried. “That was…”
“I know.”
Because she did know. There weren’t words for what had just happened between them—at least none that wouldn’t sound inadequate or overdramatic. It was more than just good sex. It was connection. Recognition. Two damaged people finding safety in each other.
He brushed his lips over her temple. “You’re not going anywhere.”
A shiver of emotion rippled through her. This time she didn’t bother to hide it. She didn’t care if he saw her face or felt her reaction to him.
She pressed a light kiss to his chest. “Neither are you.”
His arms tightened around her, and she felt him brush another kiss to the top of her head. “Damn straight.”
And for the first time in her whole life, she felt like she existed.
She felt like she found home.
TWELVE
Sinner emerged from the shower in a cloud of steam. The extended-stay hotel might not be the best place he’d ever stayed in, but it had plenty of hot water.
After quickly drying off with the flimsy towel, he tossed it over the shower bar and turned to the vanity. He reached for his toothbrush and paused at seeing Opal’s resting next to his.
He stopped a faint noise in his throat. His chest shouldn’t feel so damn raw at the sight of her toothbrush, but whatever had connected between them the night before hadn’t stopped at his body.
