“Wait,” I whisper. “I’m sorry, I’m being too aggressive—”
He stills for just a moment, dark eyes clashing with mine. “It’s fine,” he says quietly. “I want this. That’s the difference. I always want you. I never want her.”
My heart squeezes.
He pulls his hand away, positions himself, and I gasp as he presses against me. “Look at me,” he commands.
I do. My eyes lock with his hazel gaze, dark and burning in the firelight. He fills me slowly, inch by inch, a relentless, breathtaking stretch that steals my breath.It’s a perfect, overwhelming fullness that borders on pain.My fingers clutch at his bare shoulders, the muscles there tense with the effort of his restraint.
“Okay?” he asks, his forehead resting against mine, our breath mingling in ragged puffs.
“Yes,” I gasp.More than okay. I’m drowning.He’s all I am. All I can feel.
He moves then, setting a slow, deep pace. Each thrust is almost worshipful. Our fingers lace together above my head, pinning my hands gently to the sleeping bag. His mouth finds mine in soft, open kisses that deepen with every slow, rocking drive of his hips. The world narrows to the heat of his skin against mine and the occasional cool gust of ocean wind.
My body begins to coil.It’s too much. It’s not enough.I can feel every ridge, every pulse of him inside me. I whimper against his mouth, my hips lifting to meet him, begging for more without words.
“I know, baby,” he breathes, his voice thick. He releases his grip on my hands to cup my jaw, his thumb stroking my cheek as he looks down at me. His rhythm changes, just slightly. His thrusts become deeper, more angled, and he brushes a spot that makes my vision blur.
“Jude—” My voice breaks.
“Let go, Emma,” he whispers against my lips, his breath smelling like mint and something fruity. “I’ve got you. Just let go.”
The pressure inside me snaps. I cry out as the orgasm detonates. My back arches off the sleeping bag, my body clamping around him in frantic, pulsing waves. I feel him lose all control. His thrusts turn hard and ragged, pounding into me, chasing his release. He buries himself with a final, brutal drive, groaning as he pulls out and comes on my stomach.
He collapses onto my chest, face buried in my neck. For a moment, the fear goes quiet. For a moment, he’s here. Mine.
But quiet is dangerous.
Panic slams back into me. So I press at his shoulders until he rolls onto his back with a soft, startled grunt.What am I doing? I can't stop.
Chapter twenty-seven
JUDE GRAVES
I’m taken by surprise when she moves to straddle my hips. My breath punches out of my chest. Her thighs clamp tight around me, and I forget how to think. I don’t even get a chance to say her name before she sinks down on me in one perfect, devastating motion. My eyes roll as she takes my entire length again. I curse under my breath, lost in sheer fucking ecstasy.
“Emma…” It comes out like a desperate whimper. My hands find her hips automatically, thumbs digging into bone because I need something solid to hold onto.
She starts moving faster. It’s needy and frantic, and it makes me feel conflicted. Her body rises and falls over mine, firelight catching on her skin, andfuck, I feel feral under her.
“You’re not leaving,” she whispers, her voice trembling, and it sounds like both a threat and a plea.
And I can’t breathe.
She kisses me desperately, and when she gasps, “I love you,” it feels like she’s slapped me across the damn face.
She thinks she’s the one losing control, but it’s me.
It’s always been me.
I let out a low, broken sound and grab her ass, dragging her down harder onto me. I meet her pace with sharp, driving thrusts. I’m slipping, giving hereverythingI’ve been fighting to keepburied. Damn her. Damn my love for this woman.
I’ll die loving her.
“Say it,” she pants, voice cracking. “Jude, please. Say it.” Her eyes are glassy and locked on mine.
And I can’t tell her no. Not when she’s looking at me like that.Goddammit.I was supposed to end it with her. And now here I am, balls deep in her again.Fuck.
