With a sigh, her thighs parted, and Lucien came over her, the tip of his cock breaching her soft core. One hand cupped under her bottom, he thrust hard, filling her to the core. Ianthe gasped.
"Gods woman, I can never get enough of you." Lucien nipped her chin, then soothed the small ache with a kiss. "You feel so fucking good."
And so did he. Every inch of him burned within her, his weight a welcome... Every inch. Her eyes went wide.
"Stop!" Ianthe's hand pressed against his chest, staying him.
Faint light from the fire warmed the sharp line of his cheek and lit those devilish eyes. "What's wrong?"
"It feels too good," she whispered, "because we forgot the sheath!"
Lucien groaned and buried his face in the pillow beside her ear. "I forgot." His hips gave one last tiny, yearning thrust. "Not that I would regret it. Lady's choice, however." Resting on his forearms, he began to withdraw.
"Wait," she whispered.
Their eyes met.
Ianthe couldn't quite find the words.
"Are you going to torture me all night?" Suppressed emotion strained within his muscles as he sighed. "Ianthe? Do you want me to get the sheath?"
Every little move rocked him within her. Ianthe swallowed, her fingers curling over his shoulders. "Did you mean it?"
"Mean what?"
"That you would not regret it?"
Their eyes met again. Something seemed to shift in Lucien's expression. Yes. With a soft shudder of his hips, he thrust within her again. Slow. Steady. Taunting. His decision, at least, had been made. Ianthe shifted beneath him, her inner muscles locking tight around him. Her palms softened on his shoulders. Her heart was full to bursting; this decision had consequences.
But he had asked for her trust. He had asked for marriage. If there were to be consequences from this, then a little part of her welcomed them.
A baby. The thought both terrified her and exhilarated her. The phantom ache in her heart, the part of her that had never nursed her daughter, desperately wanted a second chance to prove herself.
"If it happened, I would welcome it," Lucien whispered, his breath warm against her ear.
"What will be, will be." This time, she would not be alone. This time, she was not so frightened. She could do this, if it happened. She felt closer to Lucien than she'd ever felt before.
Tucking her knee over his elbow, he shifted her position, so that his next thrust took her by surprise.
"Oh, my goodness!"
Lucien smiled his devil's smile. "Like that, do you?" He fucked her again, nice and slow, a hint of strain tightening his jaw.
His cock rasped over something deep within her. Ianthe shifted restlessly. "Yes. Yes!"
"More?"
"More!" she gasped. "Oh, Lucien! Lucien!"
The kiss took her by surprise, his mouth seeking hers in the warm dark, his tongue plunging within to tangle with her own. Hips pistoning within her, he shifted the angle until his cock rasped over something deep within her. Ianthe came apart with a gentle cry, her fingers clenching in his sweaty hair, her face screwed up in ecstasy.
Lucien came with a soft grunt, the muscles beside his spine trembling beneath her hand as he flexed within her. The spill of his seed wet her, and then with a gasp, he collapsed on top of her. Hot breath burned her throat, and the press of his weight left her breathless before he rolled to one hip.
One thing became clear in the quiet room as they caught their breaths together.
Their heartbeats were echoing as one.
The bond was intensifying.
