“Gareth—” I let out a little sob.
“You need me inside you,” he said hoarsely, his breath hot against my ear. “Is that it? You need to feel just how much I want you. You need me to help you come.”
The low rumble of his voice, so rough with desire, painted my skin with goose bumps. I was close to finishing right there against his hand, my body flushed all over and trembling, and neither of us had even bothered to take off our clothes.
“Hurry,” I whispered. I kissed his temple, tasted sweat and skin. “Need you now.Gareth.”
He moved quickly, twisting so that his body was half on top of mine, pinning me to the mattress. I reached down to draw him out of his pants, and when my fingers closed around him—gods, he was hard, and scorching hot—his hips jerked against me, and he tugged my pants down to my knees, and then he was inside me, and the sensation of him filling me so completely, the shaky heat of his breath twining with mine, was like the feeling of coming home that had always haunted my dreams.
I touched my brow to his and closed my eyes, focusing on his warmth, his scent, the simple goodness of his hands on my body.
“I thought I’d lost you,” I whispered, fresh tears thick in my voice.
“And yet you’re still here,” he said gently. “That threat of loss didn’t scare you away.”
“Not this time.”
“Not ever?”
Not ever.The words were right there on my tongue, but I couldn’t quite say them. “I’ll try,” I whispered. “That’s all I can promise right now.”
He tilted up my chin, prompting me to open my eyes. His smile was so sweet that I could hardly breathe. “I thank you for that promise, Mara Ashbourne,” he said quietly, “and I will do everything I can to honor it.”
Then he bent low and kissed me, and as I held on to him, meeting each of his kisses with one of my own, he began to move, slowly, deeply. With each delicious thrust, he drew himself completely out of me, then waited for the slightest beat, hovering at my entrance, before sliding back into me, inch by aching inch, until I was full and complete once more.
My body hummed from head to toe. I wrapped my arms around him and held on tight, my fingers digging into the muscles of his back as his thrusts grew faster, driving me closer and closer to the edge with each press of his hips. A hot wave of pleasure was building inside me, spilling like sunlight down my arms and legs, and when it crested, sharp and sudden, it took my breath away.
I cried out, not caring who heard me, and clung to him, and as my body clenched around him, he moved in me again and again, his breath coming in hard bursts against my neck until suddenly he choked out my name and shuddered against me.
We lay like that for what felt like a lifetime—a long, slow, golden lifetime in a world made only for us. He nestled against me; I stroked his hair. His slowing heartbeat drummed against mine, and when we were calm, we finally moved apart and lay among the scatteredblankets in drowsy silence. He lightly dragged his fingers down my arm, watching my goose bumps with wonder. I traced the shape of his face until I knew every line of it by heart.
“I’m so glad you’re here with me,” I said at last. I couldn’t look at him after that, too embarrassed by the words I hadn’t said.
You’ve come back to me.
I’m so glad you’re alive.
He seemed to understand anyway. He pulled me close and kissed my forehead, and I fell asleep listening to the precious sound of his breathing—steady, sure, and warm.
Chapter 26
The next morning, we all gathered in the cabin’s front room after breakfast to hear what Mother had to tell us.
I could hardly bring myself to care.
My night with Gareth held me in a golden haze. We’d spent hours in each other’s arms, loving each other to pieces and then back whole. And now I was expected to move through the world and think of anything else? Truly absurd.
As Gareth settled into the chair beside me, I tried not to let my thoughts veer toward darkness. But they dipped their toes into it nevertheless:
This is why love is a bad idea—this distraction, this restlessness.
Every time Gareth moved, every time he spoke, my body leaned toward his.
You’ve made a terrible mistake.
He glanced over at me, bumped his knuckles against mine with a smile.
How could you let this happen?
