He wanted more of her. Pulling away, he switched positions again so that he could sink himself deep inside her. She hissed the instant he did and scoured his back with her nails.
He'd barely started thrusting before she came so fiercely that she almost threw him out. Alexion laughed in her ear as he took joy in the sound of her pleasured cries. It sounded as if she were singing.
Danger wrapped her body around his as he continued to thrust against her. Each thrust went through her, heightening her orgasm even more. She pulled his lips to hers and kissed him fiercely as he moved even faster. She loved the sensation of having him inside her. The intimacy of holding him like this. He was incredible.
She felt him tense an instant before he drove himself in deep then shuddered in her arms. Smiling, she held him close as his climax claimed him. When it was over, he collapsed on top of her and held her tight.
Danger brushed his hair back from his face as they lay there lost in the aftermath of their passion. It was quiet and still in the house. But her heart ached with the thought of his leaving her. All too soon he would be gone and her life would go on for eternity without him.
"Is there any way you'll ever be able to visit me after this assignment?"
He tensed. "No." She heard the regret in his tone.
"Why not?"
"Because even if I did, you wouldn't remember me." He pulled back to look down at her. "It's the way it has to be."
Tears gathered in her throat, but she refused to let him see them. "That's not fair to you. You can never make any friends."
"No, I can't. This is all I have." He sighed wearily. "It's all we have."
"I don't understand how you can be so nonchalant about it. Don't you ever get mad over these stupid rules?"
He looked away and yet she saw the hurt in his eyes. "No, Danger. I don't. Believe me, this is far better than the alternative. At least this way I have moments of muted happiness."
She turned his head so that he could look at her. "Tell me the truth, Ias."
He sighed wearily. "Yes, there are times when I would give anything to be able to have one chance at being normal again. To have one moment when I was human and could eat and feel. But I'm just grateful that I have this time with you right now. You make me feel almost human. At least closer to it than I have been in a long time."
She kissed his whiskered cheek, savoring the feel of his rough shadow against her lips. "I wish this could last."
"I know, but it reminds me of a term Acheron uses a lot."
"And that is?"
" 'Regret management'. You try to mitigate the regrets with the pleasure the moment brought to you."
"Does it work?"
Alexion snorted. "Not really. At least not for me. Although Acheron seems to do well with it. At least he appears to cope with his regrets most days."
She frowned. "What does Ash have to regret?"
"You'd be amazed."
"And what about you?" she asked, needing to know the answer. "What is your greatest regret?"
His gaze burned her with its intensity. "That you weren't born nine thousand years ago."
Tears welled in her eyes at words she'd never thought to hear from him or from any man. "I wish we'd met when we were both human," she whispered.
"Yeah, but you would have probably killed me then."
Huffing at him, she was offended by that. "How do you figure?"
His green eyes teased her. "You've stabbed me twice since we first met. That seems to be a bad record with me." He shook his head. "There must be something really wrong with me that all the women I love want to kill me."
Danger wasn't sure which of the two of them was most stunned by his words. "What?"
He pulled away immediately and started to get out of the bed.
Danger stopped him. "Talk to me, Ias."
"Don't call me, Ias, Danger. I'm not that man anymore."
"No, you're the man I let into my bed, and believe me, that's some feat. There haven't been many who've made it past my front door." She held him to her side even though he was trying to pull away. "Now you finish what you started."
"It doesn't matter what I feel. Or even what I think. Time is limited for both of us."
"No, Alexion, it matters to me. I want the truth from you. I deserve it."
Misery knitted his brow. "What good is the truth? Really? What good does it do us?"
But she didn't agree. She needed to know if he'd meant what he said. "Do you love me?"
He looked away and she had her answer.
Releasing him, Danger sat there with a knot in her throat as emotions swirled through her. She'd never thought to have another man say that to her. Never.
But what surprised her most was what she felt for him in return. It was warm and overwhelming and it filled her with both joy and fear.
She pulled him against her and laid her head on his shoulder. "I love you, too, Alexion."
She felt his jaw tic against her scalp.
"This is an impossible relationship. You know that, right?"
"I know," she breathed. "And when the time comes, I will kiss you on the cheek and bid you good-bye. I won't beg you to stay and I won't make this hard on you. I promise."
Alexion ground his teeth at her words. But that wasn't what he wanted.
He wanted…