Catching hold of his hair with one hand, she bit at his earlobe, her mouth turning up in a smile as his fingers tightened on her hips, his cock twitching where it pressed hard against her stomach.
She pulled harder on his hair, forcing his head back as she licked down his throat, using her other hand to trail her nails over the thick muscle of his shoulder. Tall as she was, he was nearly twice as broad, and she relished the feeling of being enveloped by his strength as she pressed her breasts against his chest, feeling his heart thud against hers.
For a moment, Ahnna remained where she was, struck with a sudden fear of what it would be like if she couldn’t feel his heart. As though to prepare herself for that eventual pain, her heart stuttered,and it felt like it was tearing itself apart in her chest. Tomorrow, he would leave. Tomorrow, he would go north.
Then James’s arms closed around her, pulling her tight, and as he said, “There is no tomorrow. There is only right now,” Ahnna realized she’d spoken her thoughts aloud.
“I’m afraid,” she whispered. “I want to break my heart now so that I don’t have to worry about protecting it.”
“I’ll protect it.” He kissed her. “In this life, and in every life.”
He was the only person in the world she trusted with her heart, so Ahnna gave it over to him. Kissed her way down the hard planes of his stomach until she reached the trousers clinging to his hips, and pushed them out of her way. He kicked away boots and clothes, weapons thudding against the floor.
Ahnna took a heartbeat to drink in his naked body, an ache building again between her legs because never in her life had she seen such masculine beauty. Like a statue carved by an artist with talent beyond measure, except life pulsed through his veins and burned in the amber eyes that looked down at her as she took his cock in her mouth, drawing him in deep.
He groaned, and she felt it in her core as he said, “Stars, woman, I’m not going to last if you do that.”
James caught hold of her arms, trying to pull her up, but Ahnna only dug her nails into the hard muscle of his ass and drew him in deep enough that her throat spasmed. He stopped fighting her, his fingers tangling in her hair as she showed him what her words could not tell him, the taste of him driving her wild.
He moaned her name, repeating it like it was sacred, then his fingers tightened on her hair. “Not like this. I need to be in you.”
It was his turn to plead. There was a desperate edge to his voice, and it was not one she intended to deny.
She didn’t resist as he pushed her back onto the bed, the sheets silken against her oversensitive skin. James pressed down on her, the weight of him alluring, and she parted her legs wide. Lifted one overhis shoulder, watching his gaze darken as he traced a finger down her thigh, then pressed the tip of his cock against her.
Ahnna cried out his name, her back bowing as he drove into her, inch by merciless inch until they were entirely joined. James leaned into her, burying his face in her throat, his fingers locking with hers. His breathing was ragged against her skin as he said, “I want you to come for me, Ahnna Ashford. I need it.”
He was the only man alive she would accept claiming her like this. Claiming her in every possible way. “Then don’t stop.”
His fingers tightened, and his hips moved. He thrust deeper and harder, the bed slamming against the wall. Ahnna clung to him, one leg still around his shoulders and the heel of the other digging into the muscle of his ass, because she wanted all of him. Needed him to lose himself in her as she’d lost herself to him.
Every muscle in her body was tense, her breath so rapid that her head spun, her climax rising as she sensed him losing control. “Don’t stop.”
He caught hold of her other hand, lifting her arms above her head, cheek pressed to hers. Her heart was a riot in her chest, and closing her eyes, Ahnna let all her walls down and gave him everything.
The force of the pleasure stole her breath, her sight, her voice, but she heard him howl her name. Felt the force of her husband’s control finally coming undone and spilling into her. He collapsed against her, and with her now-free hands, Ahnna wrapped her arms around his neck, breathing in the scent of him, their hearts slowing and allowing words to form.
But Ahnna didn’t speak, only allowed James to curl around her body, her head tucked under his chin and his arm around her waist. In the faint light, she looked at the cut on his palm from their vows, the words they’d spoken repeating in her head as James’s breathing deepened with sleep.
Dawn was a long ways off, but she felt the slow march of time, and the fear of what would come with tomorrow came with it. In the silence, she swore her own vow. “No matter how far this war takes you from me, I’ll find you. Whether it’s in this life or the next.”
70
Ahnna
A knock sounded at thedoor, and Ahnna jerked awake, lifting her head off James’s chest. He’d woken as well, and she did not fail to notice when he extracted a knife from beneath one of the pillows, every bit as tense as she was.
“Who is it?” she called out, reaching off the side of the bed to retrieve James’s shirt.
“Lara.”
Her sister-in-law’s familiar voice did nothing to relax Ahnna as she buttoned the shirt and padded to the door. Flipping up the latch, she opened it to find Lara standing in the hallway with a stack of folded clothes and a pair of worn boots in her arms. There were shadows beneath Lara’s eyes that suggested she had been true to her word and hadn’t slept, but there was no time to express gratitude, for she immediately said, “Mara has arrived, and the rest are just exiting the bridge.” She handed Ahnna the clothes. “They are Lia’s, so they should fit you well enough. We’ll gather in the dining room. You should both come as soon as you’re ready.”
“We’ll be there.”
Shutting the door, Ahnna went to the window, swinging the glass pane inward before opening the heavy shutters that protected it from storm debris. It was raining, and though the first rays of dawnilluminated the clouds, heavy mist made it impossible to see more than a dozen feet away. She inhaled the wet scent of the jungle even as she built up walls in her heart to shove every emotion behind, transforming herself into the commander she’d once been.
And needed to be again.
