Her hips flared beneath his hands as he slid them down to the tie that held the last bit of clothing on her body. He loosened it, dropping the silk away and slipping his hand between her legs.
So soft.
So wet.
He’d never imagined he could want something like this, hadn’t thought his body was capable of longing so sharp.
Sean needed to hear her cry out, wanted his name moaned from her lips, yearned for her aching and begging and scratching his skin to get closer.
Her head fell back, eyes fluttering closed. When she opened them again, the light burned brighter, the blacks of her eyes blown out with desire.
“I barely know you,” he whispered against her mouth.
“You seem to know me pretty well,” she replied, the words hardlymore than a breath as her knees weakened, and she slid her arms around his shoulders to hold her weight.
And he did know her. Or her body, at least. He’d never touched a woman this way, but he knew exactly where to slide his fingers, precisely how to stroke and when to slip deep inside. Her gasps became frantic, and Sean kissed her shoulder, her neck. He let her tug apart the buttons keeping him from her.
His thoughts blurred.
Her legs wrapped around him…his hands held her weight…and heat encased him.
Pleasure shot up his spine.
A violent release of memories exploded in his head. The floodgates of magic opened, and whatever Meléan had forged between them yanked tight and cut deep, sharp as diamond.
Terror and relief clawed for control, but the pleasure overrode it all, and a little voice whispered in the back of his mind.
You should have waited.
His entire life bent toward Isobel, every molecule reached for her.
You can never go back.
Her fingers scratched lines into back, her kisses healing the damage as it occurred.
You’re hers now.
She melted in his arms, her legs clutching around him to press him deep.
This isn’t right.
That last thought dissolved as she cried out. His name echoed through the damp space and drew forth his own release. Breathing hard, he held her while her fingers threaded through his hair.
“Did—Did we just do that?” Her words were slurred.
Memories flooded—her bare and spread before him, on her knees, straddling him. He’d been inside her, on top of her, beneath her. Touched her. Tasted her.
“I think we’ve been doing that for a long, long time.” Sean looked into her eyes, torn by conflicting desires topull her close and push her away. What was happening to him? Why did everything feel sliced down the middle?
Right versus wrong.
Love versus magic.
Autonomy versus destiny.
None of it made any sense.
Her mouth tugged into the slightest of smiles before she kissed him again, and his brain wiped clean of doubt.
