It was humbling. He’d told her he loved her so many times and in so many ways. All with no expectation for her to say it back. Perhaps not even believing that she might ever feel that way. He’d been prepared to offer her his love entirely without demands, freely and openly.
“I love you, James,” she murmured again as she slid her fingers through his hair, brushing it back from his forehead. “Not because my Shadows chose you, but because you are genuinely good and trying to be better. I trust you. You’re a loyal, dedicated friend. You would go to the end of the world for the people you love. And I’m honored that I’m one of them."
“You love me,” he murmured. No longer quite a question. As if he was trying the words for himself.
“I do,” she agreed, her voice husky. “I love you,” she said again, watching as her words finally began to truly sink in. Feeling the heat rise through James as he started to truly believe. Soaking in the way his Shadows flared around them.
His eyes gleamed too brightly and his fingers tightened on her back as if her words were almost too much. She didn’t want to overwhelm him, not now, when he was still so raw and vulnerable. So, she grinned up at him and added, “Of course, it helps that you’re ridiculously good-looking. And frankly, the things you can do with your Shadows should probably be banned.”
James’s lips twitched into a small smile, his hand slipping under her shirt to trace small circles on her lower back. “Mmhmm.” He pressed a slow kiss to the soft skin below her earlobe. “Are there any in particular uses of my Shadows that you had in mind?”
She chuckled breathily as he dipped his head lower, dragging an open-mouthed kiss down her neck, a hint of teeth and tongue tracing the tendon to her shoulder. “Surprise me.”
He shifted away just for long enough to help her pull off her shirt and tug away her bra, his eyes moving slowly over her exposed skin. Tendrils of his Shadows brushed against her, raising goose bumps in their wake.
His gaze tracked up to her lips, lingering for a moment before moving to her eyes. One of his hands settled high on her waist, his thumb drifting slowly along the underside of her breast but not quite touching. His eyes were dark, the pupils blown wide as he watched her; every part of him completely focused on her.
Her nipples pebbled, aching, and he turned the fingers of his free hand and pulled a vibrant sky-blue Shadow into his palm. Slowly, as if it were fine jewelry, he guided his Shadow to the tight buds, tugging and twisting, attaching the Shadows, leaving them to circle and tease, a constant thrum of building pressure.
She shoved at his shirt, needing his skin, and James pulled it over his head and then leaned down to press his lips to hers. His mouth was warm and firm as he kissed her, his tongue sliding against hers in a slow dance of growing desire. And his Shadows continued teasing and torturing, holding her nipples erect against his chest while the rasp of his hair over her breasts added yet another layer of sensation.
The ache low in her belly spread as she softened against him, needing him. Wanting him even more than she could have thought possible.
His fingers twisted once more, and suddenly her jeans were sliding down her legs, pulled by strands of his Shadows.
She stepped out of her boots, allowing James to pull her jeans and panties away until she stood completely naked, held by his slow perusal and the reverence in his eyes.
A sky-blue Shadow coiled around her possessively. James grunted, concentrating, and suddenly she was lifted. Weightless. Half reclining. Sunshine fell over her body, glittering over her dips and curves and the Shadows that held her.
He tugged his Shadows, and she let her legs slide open in their hold as he lifted her arms and pinned them securely over her head. Her breathing picked up as she floated, completely naked and open, her entire body exposed.
She shivered as the warm breeze drifted over her flesh, the Shadows at her breasts never pausing in their attention. She was aware of her body as she never had been before. Her skin was alive with sensual pleasure, building higher with every moment as the fire in his gaze licked over her.
James dropped to his knees, one big hand coming up to grip her thighs as he nuzzled into the heat of her groin, teasing at the soft skin at the juncture of her legs. His other hand slid lightly over her mound, his fingers drifting through the tightly curled hair, and she shuddered, desperate for more pressure. But she couldn’t move. She had no leverage. She was held, suspended in the air, entirely at his mercy.
She whimpered, trying to arch, sending her own Shadows in flights of jade green to flick his nipples and coil around his waist. But James was not distracted. He was utterly focused on her.
Hot air danced over her mound as he breathed her in. He growled low in his throat, and she lifted her head to watch as he slowly—ever so slowly—licked her.
“James?” God. She needed him.
He looked up at her. “Shh. I’m busy with your surprise.” And then he licked her again.
At first, he took only tiny tastes as he flicked his tongue over her clit, then longer sweeping glides through her slit as if he couldn’t get enough of her.
Her Shadows swelled, expanding out in a billowing wave, and Riley used them to cling to James, to hold him as he consumed her. More of his Shadows wound through her hair, lifted her breasts, played along the flesh of her arse… touched hereverywhere, but she hardly noticed in the growing storm.
A finger joined his tongue, teasing around her entrance, and her hips pushed forward, desperately seeking more. “I’m ready,” she whimpered. “I’m ready now.”
James chuckled, low and as breathless as she was, but he didn’t disagree. He pushed a thick finger into her. God. Finally, he was inside her. One finger, then two, seeking that swollen, desperate part of her. He fucked into her with a steady rhythm even as he continued to taste her. Stroke her. Own her.
“There it is.” He whispered against her. And it was. Sparks glittered over her vision, and she lost control of her Shadows. She could only feel.
His fingers curled. Everything inside her tightened, but he didn’t stop. He’d found the rhythm that made her voice catch, drove her pants higher to frenzied gasps, and then kept it. On and on. Driving her higher and higher as her hips shuddered forward, searching, searching. Until the bubble burst in an explosion of pleasure.
She screamed as she came, calling out his name even as he dragged her from the air into his arms, carried her to the bed, and lowered her gently.
He stood for a moment, tugging off his jeans, and she watched him, feeling utterly content and slightly stunned. His muscles were long and lean, and his abdomen rippled as he bent and straightened. His eyes were a vibrant, clear blue beneath the gold of his hair.
