Page 57 of Heir of Honor


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Her eyes filled with tears.

“Ah, hell, I fucked something up.”

She shook her head. “No, no. You did something completely right. I love you, Talon. I fell in love with your words, with your heart, and with your humor. Make love to me.”

She laughed when he sprang to his feet and swooped her off the couch. It only took three steps to get to the bedroom, but in that time, her laughter shifted to need as his lips descended on hers, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

After he laid her on the bed, they spent time touching and learning each other. She unbuttoned his shirt and pushed it aside. His chest was muscled, and the tan lines from his neck to his chest were her first focus. She kissed the curve of darker skin as he worked her shirt off, only stopping for the moment it took for him to pull it over her head before she found his lips and pushed his shirt off his shoulders.

The fire heated in equal measure to the amount of skin bared. What she thought had been an electric chemistry the last time they’d kissed was nothing compared to the nuclear energy plant that had developed under her skin.

She was hypersensitive to his every touch. She reached down and unfastened his jeans. As soon as she unzipped them, she cupped his cock with her palm. He jerked into her touch and broke their kiss.

His voice was gravelly and sexy as hell. “Careful, beautiful. It’s been a long time. I’m working with a hair trigger.”

Stroking him, she purred, “So am I. I want you. Now.”

He pulled away to remove his jeans, and she stripped out of hers just as quickly. Talon settled over her. “Shit. Condom.”

“You don’t need them. I’m on the pill, and I don’t have …” She blinked. “They didn’t …”

He put his finger over her lips. “They aren’t welcome here. You’re mine. You’re beautiful and a precious gift.” He lowered his lips to hers, and she let herself fall into his kiss and his touch. When they finally came together, it wasn’t just need. It was a year of longing fulfilled. It was an answer to that quiet ache of wondering if he was as invested intheir unusual relationship as she was. It was physical, and God, the way he felt when he entered her was almost magical. Tight, hot, and so wonderfully perfect. She arched up, and he settled deep inside her.

His forehead dropped to hers. “Babe, you feel so good.”

She moved her hips, and the base of his cock put pressure against her swollen clit. She moaned, and her fingers curled, her nails digging into his skin. He arched his back, and his hips moved. The sensations grew so big. This was more than a physical act. Dropping his hand between them, he found her swollen nub, and she gasped as his fingers moved. Her body convulsed, her core clenched, and she rolled through the wave of unbridled sensation. His hands anchored her, grounding her, while every movement unraveled the distance they’d survived over the last year. She clung to him. The sound he made when he came was the thread that kept her from disappearing completely and floating to heaven. His forehead against hers, she felt the steady rhythm of his breath, the way he held himself off her so she could breathe and the effort that took.

She reached up and touched his cheek. His vivid green eyes opened, and he stared down at her.

“I love you,” she whispered. They were reverent and real, almost too precious to say aloud.

Lowering, he kissed her. “I love you,” he answered, kissing her again and again. “I’ll be right back.”

He lifted away and headed to the bathroom, coming back a moment later with a warm washcloth to wipe her clean. If it had been in any other situation, any other circumstance, the intimacy of his act would have been too much, but as he dropped the cloth and got back into bed, pulling her closer, she reveled in that closeness.

As they laid together, the world narrowed to the hum of the camp generators outside, the cool cotton of the sheets beneath her, and the weight of his arm across her waist.

She drifted in that quiet, her head on his chest, feeling his heartbeat slow beneath her ear. “You’re staying, right?” she murmured.

“Hell yeah,” he said without pause, his voice low and certain. “I’m staying.” She smiled and relaxed against him. He was staying.

The soft gray light against the blinds pulled her awake first. Then the warmth. Talon’s heat wrapped around her from behind, his breathing deep and steady against her shoulder.

She didn’t want to move. Not yet. She wanted to memorize the feel of his arm heavy across her waist, the scent of his skin, the quiet peace that wasn’t something she got to keep often.

But then he shifted, his lips brushing her temple. “Riley. Time to wake up, babe.”

She made a soft sound and burrowed closer. “Too early.”

“Always is,” he said, but she could hear the faint smile in his voice.

Her eyes opened reluctantly. “You’re leaving.”

“SRF scenario starts at 0700,” he said, already sitting up. “I’ve got a team to break in half before breakfast.”

A laugh slipped from her before she could help it, soft and fond. “You sound so proud of that.”

“Not proud,” he said, pulling on his jeans. “Necessary.”