“No more secrets, remember?”
She felt her temper stir. She wanted to cuss him out, to rail at him, to tell him to mind his own business. She wanted to push him away to a safe distance, physically as well as emotionally. But he’d held her, soothing her after the dream. And she remembered the night of unimaginable intimacy they’d shared after Gideon had shimmered them back to the plantation.
She couldn’t do it. She couldn’t shut him out, not now. Not anymore. He’d possessed her body, time and time again last night. And, somehow, when she wasn’t paying attention, he’d staked his claim on her heart too.
A fact that left her every bit as horrified as it did giddy.
“It’s always the same,” she began, her voice not nearly as steady as she would have liked. “I don’t have the dream very often, but when I do, it’s always the same.”
He waited patiently, a slight crease between his brows. Her palm rested just over his heart, and she counted each beat, letting them soothe her. One hand smoothed up and down her naked back, the other traced the delicate carvings on the silver cuff she wore.
“The night Randy…came to my room. I hid in the shadows in the corner. Stuffed pillows under the sheets to look like I was still in bed. I could hear his footsteps. I could smell him. Stale sweat and old liquor.” She worked hard to quell the shudder but didn’t quite succeed. “I had the knife. It was so hot that summer, and that trailer held heat like an oven. I was sweating. I was so afraid I was going to drop that knife…” Her voice trailed off, and she shook her head, shuddering at the memory. “I always wake up as soon as I stab him. As soon as I feel his blood gush over my hand.”
She made to push up and away from him, but he caged her, refusing to let her go free.
“I can’t—” She shook her head, fighting down the hysteria. “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”
“You don’t have to. Come here,” he rumbled, cuddling her closer. Then his voice took on a new edge, one that made her shiver. “You don’t ever have to be afraid of that bastard anymore. I swear to you. He’ll never hurt you again. I’ll never let anyone ever hurt you ever again.”
God, what was it about him that centered her? He was like a rock, something solid and unmovable that she could hold tight to and never lose her way.
Even as she thought that, she chided herself for being a fool. She counted on herself. Others counted on her. She didn’t rely on someone else, and certainly never for her own emotional well-being. But, dear Lord, how he tempted her. Oh how she wanted to believe him.
“I know.” Anxious to dispel the pall that hung in the air around them, she leaned up and whispered, “Kiss me, Gideon. Make me forget.”
She didn’t have to ask again. Tenderly, Gideon reached up and laced his fingers through her hair, drawing her face down to his. His lips brushed hers, once, twice, and then his tongue slipped past her teeth. In one smooth motion, Gideon rolled, sweeping her beneath him.
His thigh slipped between hers, his hands began to explore. He’d spent every moment of last night touching her, learning the taste and texture and scent of every inch of her body. As if committing them to memory in case he woke in the morning to find his curse had returned.
As such, she was sure he knew her body better than he knew his own. She certainly knew his. She’d refused to be denied, and had explored him as well. The only place he wouldn’t let her touch was his back, and the unspeakable scars where, as she’d correctly surmised, his wings had been torn from his body.
She’d asked if, after all this time, they still hurt. He’d refused to answer, simply changing the subject by kissing her senseless. Even now, as her fingertips brushed over his shoulders, sliding dangerously close to those scars, he was quick to capture her wrists and force them above her head as he moved his mouth to feast on the column of her neck.
Slowly, leisurely, he began working his way down her body, leaving a trail of fire in his wake. He lavished attention on her breasts before kissing his way down each of her ribs. He grinned wickedly against her skin, knowing full well what he was doing to her. Maggie tunneled her hands through his hair, savoring the way it twined softly around her fingers. Gideon paused to dip his tongue in her navel, making her shiver deliciously. He edged lower, and Maggie caught her breath in anticipation.
The moment his lips touched her lower abdomen, Gideon froze. His entire body went rigid. Frowning, she glanced down, peering at him in confusion. He’d reared his head back. His wide-open eyes stared hard at her stomach, a look of stunned shock etched on his face. But it was the audible swallow that stirred her concern.
“Gideon?” she asked, pushing up to her elbows.