Her hand was upstretched near her head, and mine was holding her wrist, toying with the small flowers there as I waited and breathed against her neck. Her fingers stroked slowly over my back, and she nuzzled against my ear, humming warmly. “You were my flower too,” she whispered. “My warmth in the cold, my beautiful thing in all the ugly. You don’t have to be afraid of this.”
I nodded even as I kept my face against her neck and touched those fucking little flowers on her wrist. And then I humped gently. It was slow at first, and her free hand continued to coax me as it ran over my back, finally moving up to clutch into my shoulder. She held me tight as my hips moved, driving my cock deep into her and then retracting. She gasped the quietest sweetest sound with every invasion, and as I listened, my need to fuck with abandon grew.
It was a very Kant-unapproved drive that was building within me. I was losing myself in her. But her hips were rising up to meet mine, and as my thrusts sped, she reached both hands down to my bottom. Her nails dug harshly and painfully into my cheeks, and she pulled me against her. One of my knees was wedged up higher under her thigh, as though I was practically trying to crawl within her with every thrust.
I gripped the top of the mattress just beyond her head, and then I pulled back, looking down on her face. I paused for a half a second, and she stared at me as her chest rose and fell rapidly. When her nails dug into my ass just slightly deeper than they had been, I hissed and then I fucked. I pounded, snapping my hips hard between her legs and listening to the sound of skin on skin as my body smacked into hers.
Her eyes were open, so open and alert, and I studied them as I slammed into her over and over and over again. I was gritting my teeth against the need to come, and I set my body loose the very second I saw her start to wilt. She cried out, her nails practically piercing my skin as she clutched at me, and I stilled deep within her, spasming and grunting through my orgasm as she trembled underneath me.
“I love you, Hell,” I whispered against her ear.
“Stop calling me Hell,” she whispered back.
I laughed as I pulled back to look at her. She smiled, and she reached for the tie that was still around my neck. Her fingers stroked over the material, and I reached for her forehead, brushing her hair back. I stayed there inside her, looking down at her face, and when I finally pushed myself up, I dropped down beside her on the bed. I pulled her into my arms, and I sighed as I relaxed. I wasn’t going to fall asleep though. I wasn’t going to give her up for even one second before I had to go. But she looked so tired, and I yawned at the sight.
She kept opening her eyes wide as she fought to stay awake, and eventually she lost the fight and I did too. Her breathing slowed as mine did, and I watched her lazily and tried to soak her in. Her eyes would open randomly as she still fought sleep, and she moaned in frustration.
“It’s okay,” I whispered.
And then I was asleep.
Chapter Forty-Three
Helene
I felt my body being lifted, but when I started to struggle, Kane’s lips touched my ear, and he shushed be gently.
“It’s okay, baby. It’s just me,” he whispered.
I wrapped my arms around his neck, and when I opened my eyes there was nothing but darkness around me and a faint glow coming from somewhere ahead of us. As we got closer I could see he was carrying me down the hall toward the bathroom, and the dim flickering light was coming from within.
I hadn’t seen the bathroom since he’d redone it, and when he entered the room, I looked around. It was stunning. The old dingy clawfoot tub was a gleaming white, and the tile was all new. Water was already running in the deep tub, and he set me gently down in the warm water. There was a candle lit on the bathroom counter, and he closed the bathroom door before he turned back to me.
I watched him loosen and pull the tie from his neck, dropping it to the floor. He climbed in behind me, his legs on either side of mine, and he slipped the corsage from my wrist, dropping it to the floor as well. When he slid down lower in the water as he leaned back, I turned toward him, laying on my stomach between his legs and resting my cheek on one of his hard pectoral muscles. He sighed, and he ran his hands down my back.
“What time is it?” I lifted my head and rested my chin on his sternum.
He smiled gently. “Early. Only five. You can go back to sleep if you want.” He winked. “I won’t let you drown.” He watched me for a moment. “There are a couple more things we need to talk about, though. Now or in a while when you’re ready to wake up.”
“Now. I don’t want to sleep any longer.”