Sweetheart. Kate’s foolish heart clenched at the careless endearment. “Daniel and I were just beginning to become friends.” The enormity of her betrayal was sinking in, the guilt no less powerful for having been delayed.
“You can still be friends. He’ll be happy for you.” He kissed her again, this time on the bridge of her nose.
“I should get out of here.” He sat up and swung his long, bare legs over the side of the narrow bunk. Naked, he strode to the pile of clothing he’d discarded last night.
The dim, dawn light poured in through the round porthole and gilded his powerful body. Her gaze was drawn to the muscled perfection of his thighs and backside as he bent and grabbed his pants.
He turned toward her and pulled them on. She stared, transfixed by the part of him she’d never gotten a clear look at last night. He was still huge and thick with need, and when she thought about how he’d filled her, how he’d moved within her, her face grew warm with embarrassment.
He hesitated, pausing without fastening his pants. “I still want you.” His voice was low and intense. “No matter what happens in the future, I want you to know these past few hours have been the most beautiful moments in my life.”
“Mine, too.” Her dwindling hopes were refueled by his passionate words.
Then he was in her arms again, kissing her with overwhelming urgency and hunger. For a moment, she was too stunned by his passion to react, but then she responded with the same sense of desperation. She brushed his hands away, shoving his trousers down his thighs.
She touched him, learning every inch of his powerful frame, daring to run her hands over the smooth, beautiful curves of his backside, cupping him closer while he suckled her breasts.
He groaned and laid her down on the bed, kneeling above her, his erection jutting from its nest of dense, dark curls. “Touch me,” he breathed, his blue eyes burning. “I want to feel your hands on me.”
She knew what he wanted and was shocked at herself for wanting to give it to him. Tentatively, she lifted her hand and traced the tip of him, gasping at the heat, the unexpected silky texture.
“Yes.” His voice was rough and broken. “God. Just like that.” He closed his hand over hers, showing her how to please him, his beautiful face drawn with passion.
She stared at her pale hand, dwarfed by his large, callused one, amazed by what she was doing and even more so by how wonderful it felt. She liked having him at her mercy, liked knowing she had the ability to bring this fierce, gentle man to his knees.
“I love you, Talon. I love you so much.” She couldn’t control the words, couldn’t hold them back. She wanted to chant it over and over for the rest of her days.
“Kate. Oh God, Kate.” He moaned and thrust her hand away, moving over her, covering her with his powerful body, pressing her into the mattress. She clutched his back and wrapped her legs around his lean hips as he thrust deep inside her.
This time there was no pain; there was nothing but pleasure. Waves and waves of it building in intensity as she reached for something just beyond her grasp.
“Come with me,” Talon breathed, reaching between them, rubbing his thumb against a tiny bud of sensation as he thrust harder and faster.
Her entire body tensed then shattered in a mind-numbing, brilliant explosion.
Talon whispered her name, his hips jerking, his mouth hot and damp against her throat as he, too, found release. She held him, drifting in the aftermath, her eyes brimming with tears as she faced an unavoidable truth.
Someday very soon, this man was going to break her heart.
