“Enough?” he whispered.
She shook her head, shocked by the idea that he would give her this and never demand more. But she wanted more. “More. All of it.”
He crawled up the length of her body and settled between her thighs, taking her mouth, letting her taste her own release. The kiss was slow and gentle, a tasting, a connection rather than a claiming. She sank into it and into him, reveling in his warmth and yes, his safety.
Would she ever have imagined that this overwhelming man could be her safe place?
No, she wouldn’t think of that. She focused back on his taste and the way he was shifting his hand between her legs, rubbing the head of his cock across her wet entrance. She lifted against him and took him an inch. He broke the kiss with a shuddering cry and rested his head on her shoulder. He took more, farther, slowly, gently. Like he was reveling in her. She flexed around him and he grunted, his gaze flitted to hers.
“You know me too well,” he whispered.
She nodded. She did know him, or at least his pleasure, just as he knew hers. He began to roll his hips against her, still so gentle, so slow. He bent his head and kissed her deeply, and she was lost once again in sensation. There was nothing but this, nothing but them, joined like this. Nothing but pleasure building between them, powerful and beautiful.
They rode the waves together, rising and falling as one, building toward release. She clung to his shoulders, loving how he trembled as they built higher and higher, knowing that she moved him just as he moved her.
He ended the kiss at last, burying his head in her shoulder, increasing his pace just a little, rolling his hips even more precisely. And once again the dam broke and she was lost to this and to him. She gripped him, her legs tightening around his thighs, her body lifting beneath him.
He was gritting his teeth, trying to give her all the pleasure before he took his own, but she could feel the strain in every muscle in his body. At last he withdrew and came, the heat of him splashing on her skin, as he called out her name in a long, helpless wail.
She wrapped her arms around him, keeping him against her, smoothing her hands along the lines of him to learn them. To keep this in her memory forever. This moment where she could convince herself that this was not just gentle, not just safe, but something more. Something she’d have to learn to lose soon.
CHAPTER15
Theo cradled Etta against his chest, tangling his fingers through her dark hair and measuring every breath she took. What he was feeling was something he would have claimed impossible a week ago, a month ago, a year ago. But every moment he spent with this woman, the depth of the love he felt for her increased.
Or perhaps that was the wrong term for it. He’d discovered more about it, but realized with startling clarity that it had always been there. He’d fallen in love with her when they were hardly more than children, every time they’d seen each other and his heart raced. Every time she’d fished or ran with the other children and he’d sought her out amongst the crowd. He just hadn’t recognized it. He’d been in love with her every time he saw her since and dismissed it. He’d rekindled and deepened his love for her when they’d been thrown back together by Callum and Valaria’s relationship.
He would thank his best friend forever for that shove he hadn’t realized he was getting.
Now he so desperately wanted to connect with her beyond the physical. He wanted totry. Had he ever in his empty life wanted to try before? He couldn’t recall. So this was another gift she gave him, because this purpose made him feel stronger and more complete.
“Why are you looking at me that way?” she asked as she glanced up at him.
He laughed. “How did you know I was looking at you?”
“I can feel it,” she said, and the smile she flashed was false. She slipped out of his arms and his bed and moved away from, creating distance, as always.
He frowned and watched her look around for her clothing. “I sent it away,” he said. “The gown was torn and soiled, possibly beyond repair, though I’m sure my servants will do their best.”
She pivoted back, gloriously naked and wide-eyed. “Then what will I wear today?”
He looked her up and down, taking in every lush curve with hunger and adoration in equal measure. “The most wicked part of me wants to know why you have to wear anything, but I suppose you have a valid question. And I have a simple answer.”
She held up her hands. “Which is?”
“This morning I sent a request to your home for your maid to bring a gown for you today. She should be here by the time we eat this lovely breakfast my staff prepared.”
She shifted with discomfort and then nodded slowly. “I suppose Molly has already guessed what I’m up to. And she’s discreet.”
“Good.” He motioned to the food he’d long forgotten when he had the choice of eating her instead. She blushed as if thinking of the same thing, but then looked at the spread of food.
“Iamhungry,” she admitted. “But what will I wear while we eat?”
He got out of the bed and picked up the dressing gown he’d discarded earlier. “This will do.”
She took it and hesitated a moment before she slipped it over her shoulders. It was worlds too big for her, of course, but she looked delectable in his clothing. Like she belonged to him. Or he belonged to her. What a dream that was.
“But what willyouwear?” she asked.
