“Here I thought you would offer to sleep on the floor like a gentleman.”
Was she teasing him? It was difficult to tell.
“I would if that’s what you want,” he said seriously.
Her lips tipped up at the corners. “That is not what I want.”
Thank Christ.
He brought her even closer.
She whispered, “Your arm—”
“You took care o’ it,” he said huskily. “Now I’ve other aches that require tending to.”
Six
This was probably a mistake, but Pearl couldn’t bring herself to care. Maybe because it was the season for folly. Or because Hawker had taken a bullet protecting her and the idea of losing him—that soul-chilling moment when she’d seen him bleeding—had put things into perspective. In her life, happiness had been rare; why not grab hold of it while she could?
Their talk during the drive had allayed some of her worries. He hadn’t spurned her because of her lowly origins. True, she hadn’t told him all the ignominious facts about her past, yet his response had given her hope. And knowing that he, himself, had once belonged to a gang—that he had demons just as she did—made her feel closer to him.
We’re survivors. And we’re together right here, right now. That is enough.
The recognition gave her courage to tip her head back farther. Hawker took her invitation, covering her mouth with his. The kiss was tender and sensual, picking up where they’d left off last Christmas. No man had ever kissed her the way he did: courting her mouth with gentle pressure and slow sweeps of his tongue as if she were a gift to be savored. His unique male flavor ignited her senses. She parried his licks with her own, clutching his shoulders, needing more.
“Easy, love.” Hawker’s chuckle warmed her lips. “This ain’t a race.”
“I’m aching. And I thought you were too.”
He nuzzled her ear, giving her a nip that made her intimate muscles flutter.
“The greater the ache, the greater the relief that follows,” he murmured.
“Did you steal that line from one of your philosophers?”
He fisted her hair gently, tugging her head back and exposing her neck. His beard rasped the arch of her throat, sending tingles over her skin. Her nipples stiffened and pulsed.
“That’s experience talking, not books. I’m going to take my time with you, Pearl.” His tongue flickered over her pulse. “Been dreaming o’ tasting you, o’ being inside you, for months. I plan to enjoy every moment.”
Hawker’s intensity melted her insides. His brawny shoulders gleamed in the firelight, the bandage around his wound emphasizing the powerful bulge of his biceps. She ran her hands over his chest, savoring the leap of hard-paved muscles and scrape of wiry hair. His heat and strength thrummed beneath her palms. When she reached his waistband, the prominent bar of his arousal sparked a reckless hunger in her.
Holding his gaze, she brushed her fingers over his erection. “What if I want to taste you?”
“Then I’d say I’m a bloody lucky fellow.”
The growl in his voice fed her confidence. She took his hand, his fingers engulfing hers as they went to the bed. She reached for the fasteners on his trousers, and he helped her, stripping off his remaining clothes. Distracted by his bold splendor, she didn’t scold him for tossing the garments onto the floor. He stood with his feet planted apart, relaxed and comfortable in his own skin. And why shouldn’t he be? He was virility personified: a mountain of rugged, hair-dusted muscle, his erect cock swaying like a weighty branch between his tree-trunk thighs.
Her pussy dampened at his unapologetic masculinity. At the prospect of being stretched and filled by his enormous member, the thick length girded with veins.
“You are magnificent,” she breathed.
A wicked smile slashed through his beard. “And you’re overdressed.”
Together, they made short work of her clothes. Although she was not shy about her body, Hawker’s heated expression brought a flush to her cheeks. She’d never had a man look at her the way he did. With lust, yes, but also something else. Something new and astonishing…and slightly terrifying.
He pushed her loosened hair behind her shoulders, and she shivered as his long fingers trailed along her shoulder and down her collarbone. He cupped her breast, which looked so small in his big palm. He thumbed her nipple, teasing it into a rosy-brown peak.
“Didn’t think it was possible,” he said hoarsely. “But you’re even more beautiful than I remember.”
