An oath she doesn’t fully understand.
She shivers at the weight in my words, but she’s too far gone to ask questions.
I strip her slowly, coaxing her up to peel the tank from her body. Tugging her shorts down trim, long thighs. She helps, eager now and breathless. When she’s finally bare beneath me, I stare, clenching my jaw against the wave of need that slams into me. My eyes drink in every inch of skin that I already know by heart.
“You’re perfect,” I whisper, voice thick with need, with emotion. With longing.
She reaches for me, needy and impatient, her hesitance dulled by the drinks she had at the bar. “Please,” she whimpers.
I kiss her again — deeper, more demanding. My hand slips between her legs and she gasps as my fingers slide through her wetness. I groan, growl, at the feel of her — hot, slick. So ready for me.
“Always,” I murmur against her throat, slipping a finger inside her. Her body remembers me, even if she doesn’t.
Her hips buck as I add another finger, curling them in the way I know she likes, working her open until she’s panting, moaning my name, fucking my hand. Her hands claw at my back, nails scraping skin, setting trails of fire down my spine.
I undo my jeans with one hand, freeing myself from the tight confines of the denim. When she feels the press of me against her naked thigh, her eyes widen.
“Yes,” she breathes. “Please — now. I need you inside me.”
I don’t make her wait. We’ve both been waiting for so long already. I guide myself to her entrance and slide in with one long, slow thrust as she takes me, inch by inch. Her body clenches around me like it remembers the shape of me, of how I fit, of how I fill her completely.
She clutches at me and I still, giving her body time to adjust. It’s been so long for both of us.
When I feel her relax again and squirm with the need for movement, for friction, I move. And gods, it’s all I can do to not lose myself immediately — the heat, the tightness, the feel of her, the way she wraps around me like a second skin. Even the noises she makes.
I set a rhythm, deep and slow. Grinding into her with each thrust, hitting every spot that used to make her scream. Make her beg. She’s louder now, wilder, her nails digging into my back, my hips, her legs wrapped around my waist. She’s unraveling beneath me — and I’m falling apart above her.
She moans, desperate and broken — and it’s my name on her lips, like a promise, a vow. And when she comes, she shatters beneath me, writhing, gasping, pulling me down with her.
I follow, burying myself as deep as I can, spillingmyself inside her with a groan that feels torn from my soul.
As our hearts slow and our bodies cool, I hold her tight, pressing my lips to her temple as she drifts off to sleep.
“You’ll remember one day,” I whisper. “You’ll save us all. And when you do, you’ll know I never stopped loving you.”
She’s sleeping, beyond hearing me, but she nuzzles closer, content.
Maybe some part of her already knows.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
On our next day off, Flint wakes me with a smile. Not that he really has any other default, at least not that I’ve seen here, at home. He hands me a cup of coffee and watches, expectantly, while I shift enough to brace my back against the headboard and take my first life-giving sip.
His smile is so big it seems like it is about to split his face. He reminds me of an overly eager puppy, doingeverything he can to stop himself from jumping on a visitor. What the hell?
“Morning,” I say, warily. Why is he looking at me like that?
‘Morning,’Calida sings into both our minds. At least I assume it’s both, since Flint turns to look at her. She’s standing on the couch, like she too is waiting for something.
“What’s up with you two?” Maybe it’s nothing and enough caffeine hasn’t made it past the blood brain barrier yet.
‘Flint has a surprise.’
I blink, and look up at Calida, then shift my eyes to Flint.
“What sort of surprise?”
“A good one,” Flint answers, turning away and making his way to the bathroom. A moment later, I hear the water running for a shower. “You should go get cleaned up. We’ve got things to do.” He says, coming back out.
