“Good.” He kept his administrations gentle. This was about comfort. Period.
She turned then, her cheeks rosy. “You went for a run?”
“Yes.” He washed soap off her shoulders.
Her teeth played with her full bottom lip. “Had to get away from people for a while?”
He stared into her eyes. Clear and focused. Good. “Yes.”
“I’m sure you’re tired of speaking and need a break.” She took the soap from him and frowned at the small amount of ink still on it. Leaning over, she washed the darkness away, leaving only the white. Then she ran the bar across his upper chest.
Pleasure spread from her touch as well as how easily she read him. How well she knew him. Sometimes solitude was not only necessary but crucial for him. But he’d give that up—he’d give anything up—for her. “What happened, it is my fault.” He’d force words out for her.
“No.” She washed his chest and shoulders before sliding the soap down his good side. “That bandage will need to be changed.”
He sucked in a breath, trying to control his body’s response to her. “It is my fault.” Madison had been able to read him since day one, and she knew what Noni meant to him. Fuck. She knew him. They shared genetics. She knew what marking Noni, what scaring her, would do to him. It was a psychological attack of a kind he couldn’t describe, even if he wanted to try.
Noni stepped flush into him, her skin against his. With deliberate slowness, she slid the soap back onto the ledge before planting her hands on his upper chest. “Neither of us is to blame for what’s happening. We’re the solution, Denver.” Levering up, she feathered a kiss across his lips.
Desire liquefied through him, washing over nerves. Heating them. “What are you doing?” he asked, his abdomen clenching.
She blinked away water and shook her hair away from her face. “Stealing a moment. I’m so scared. You’re so angry. There’s nothing we can do right this second.”
He knew that. Those facts, those very same facts, are why he’d gotten into the shower with her to offer comfort. He slid a wet piece of hair away from her cheekbone, marveling at the softness of her skin. She deserved gentle and sweet, which were two things he’d never be. Especially right now. Right now he was furious and murderous. “We should go back to work,” he whispered.
“To do what?” she asked, her hands sliding lower. “Watch the computer output?”
Well, yeah. She reached his dick with her soft hands, and lightning ripped down his spine. “Noni.” It was a warning. His control was an illusion. “This isn’t a good idea.”
“I know,” she said softly, the steam rising around her stunning body in an image he’d never forget. “But I don’t care.” Stroking him base to tip, she used both of her hands. “Take me out of here, Denver. Just for a few minutes.”
At that plea, at those soft words, his control snapped.
CHAPTER
32
She’d meant to make him lose control. His mouth took hers, hard and rough. Even so, she could feel him try to remain gentle.
When he’d washed her clean, when he’d taken that ink from her body, he’d done it as a way of claiming. He tried to hide it, but she could feel his possessiveness. His absolute fury that somebody had hurt her in order to hurt him. His anger was going to get him killed, and she needed him to be clearheaded so he could survive. So they’d all survive.
More than that. After the terrifying night she’d had, after getting lost in the snow and not knowing her own name, she needed to escape.
If there was nothing they could do right now by the computers, then she’d take this moment. She’d help him and ease his pain. In doing so, she’d calm her fears, so she could plan. So they could be settled and strong.
His tongue swept inside her mouth, and he kissed her like she was the only thing holding him to the world. That quickly, she stopped thinking just to feel.
His hands gripped her, wandering everywhere, his tongue becoming demanding. Not letting her hide or hold back. She moved even closer into him, her belly cushioning the long line of his erection. He growled into her mouth, and the entire sound, the vibration, rolled down through her body to make her core clench with need. With want. With an ache only he could satisfy.
“I knew you’d come for me last night,” she whispered when he finally released her mouth.
He murmured something, kissing a trail to her ear and licking down her throat. A nip to her jaw and then he moved along her sensitive neck, nipping and kissing. “Mine,” he whispered, kissing her chin and then taking her mouth again.
The one word shot a pang through her heart.Mine. He’d never said anything like that before. Not once. Oh, it had been in his eyes. Even his touch. But never on his mouth.
His hands gripped her hair, and he partially bent her back, his kiss turning forceful. She allowed him to bend her, knowing he wouldn’t let her fall.
“Need you,” he muttered against her mouth.
