“It’s just a headache.” I winced when my skull throbbed. Okay, so it was a bad one at that, but I didn’t want him to feel guilty for my pain. “Besides, it was my choice. I couldn’t very well let you bleed out all over the floor.”
I pressed my hands harder against the rug when a new wave of pain shot through my skull. Shivers followed soon after, engulfing my wet skin. Rourke frowned when he saw me shaking, and he was by my side within an instant, cradling the back of my head.
“You need to rest,” he said, more insistently this time. His eyes flicked over my body as he frowned. “You’re shaking. Are you cold?”
“Well, we did get caught in a downpour,” I tried to joke, but the words came out through clenched, chattering teeth.
“Right. We need to get you out of those clothes.”
My cheeks flushed, though that did little to chase away the chill. “Do what now?”
His hand trailed down my neck and pressed against the damp shirt that was clinging to my skin. “Your clothes are soaked through. It’s only making it worse. We need to get you out of these clothes and wrapped up in one of these pieces of burlap. I can try to add some more fuel to the fire. Heat things up in here.”
“No.” The word popped out of my mouth before I could stop it. “I’m…embarrassed.”
Rourke’s eyes softened, and he shifted closer to me. “Norah, you don’t need to be embarrassed in front of me.”
“I just…” I blushed, hating that my thoughts were betraying me like this. “What if you don’t like what you see?”
His palm cupped my cheek. “Is that what you worry? Oh, Norah. There is absolutely no chance I would ever not like what I see, not when it comes to you. You are the most breathtaking female I’ve ever seen in all my years in this realm. No one has ever caught my eye before. No one has ever made me constantly imagine ways in which I can get her alone.”
He took my hand and pressed it to his chest. Beneath my fingertips, I could feel his heart beating wildly, almost as fast as my own.
With gentle fingers, he reached down and lifted my shirt from my damp skin, pulling it over my head and tossing it into the corner of the building. I shivered beneath his gaze and at the heady spark in his eyes. He smiled and traced a line down the center of my chest, making me tremble at the strange ache that began to grow within my core.
He stood and motioned for me to follow. Swallowing hard, I pressed up from the floor and held my body still as he slid my pants down my legs. Next came my underwear and my bra, and then he removed all his clothes, until there was nothing between us but air.
My chest heaved as I stared up at him, my mouth suddenly, achingly dry. I could barely think straight from the heat I saw in his eyes. Rourke had always held himself away from me, but now, his walls were dropping, crashing around our feet.
“Like I said,” he said thickly. “I very much like what I see.”
My heart thumped, and my voice came out barely a whisper. “I do, too.”
In fact, everything about him was perfect. His glistening skin that shimmered in the dull light. The corded muscles of his chest. That golden hair that fell haphazardly into his matching eyes. He was breathtaking.
Rourke’s hands slipped around my back. One finger trailed up my spine and hovered there before dipping back to my ass. I sucked in a sharp breath, my body frozen, my heart rampaging wildly in my chest. Heat tiptoed through my core.
He cupped my ass, yanking me to his chest. A low growl rumbled in his throat.
Desire shot through me like a comet. I let out a soft moan and leaned against him. His lips caught mine, and the heat of him almost took my breath away. Our limbs entwined as his tongue explored my mouth, teasing me and tasting me and driving me wild with a need I’d never felt in all the years of my life.
My core clenched tight, the need inside me building into an almost impossible crescendo.
With a heavy groan, he pushed me back onto the burlap and pressed his slick body on top of mine. I spread my legs, hooking my ankle around his thigh. The hard length of him pressed against me. He was so close, so agonizingly close. I arched my back and pressed myself harder against him. The ache continued to build inside me, reflecting how painfully I needed this beautiful fae.
The scent of dirt rose up around me as he dropped his kisses to my chest. His tongue curled around my peaked nipples, shooting another round of aching desire through my core. Moaning, I arched into him, desperate for more.
“Please. I need you,” I whispered, shaking, not even caring how much dirt now clung to my body. In fact, I revelled in it. Deep, damp earth was Rourke. It smelled like him, it felt like him. I wanted more of it. I wanted to writhe my body against it and feel it cling to my skin.
With a shudder, Rourke pulled back and gazed adoringly into my eyes. “Are you certain this is what you want, Norah?”
“I’ve never wanted anything more,” I breathed.
He shuddered again, and then pressed his hardness against my slick thighs. He went slowly and carefully, keeping his eyes locked on mine, as if he wanted to make sure that I enjoyed every second of this moment with him. Suddenly, his hard length speared me, stretching me wide. I was almost blinded by the sparks that filled my eyes.
Our hips began to rock together. We crashed into each other, the power of our need growing with each passing beat. As my pleasure began to build, all of the tension in my body began to melt away. My moans grew louder, and my movements faster. I wrapped my arms around Rourke’s golden body and dragged my nails down his back. I was losing myself to him, letting all my inhibitions drop away so that I could experience the full pleasure of Rourke.
He thrusted harder. An animalistic growl built in his throat as our frantic movements kicked up dirt all around us. I gasped as it surrounded us, like a whirlwind of a storm.
