She had to fight to remain upright and not fall forward onto him, and in doing so, her internal muscles clenched along his hard length.
His eyes turned molten. “You’re stunning, Zara.” Keeping her gaze captive, he ran his thumb across his tongue and then reached out to rub her clit, his thumb rough and worn. He scraped across her delicate tissue, caressing and rubbing, giving no mercy. She moved against him, so close but nowhere near enough. Little tremors cascaded inside her, catching on his shaft.
He grinned again. “I could do this every day for the rest of my life.”
She chuckled. “It would kill me.” She couldn’t get her balance enough to lift up and down, having to satisfy herself by gyrating against his hand.
“Then the world would become too dark for any of us.”
Sometimes he was so sweet she didn’t know what to say. So she remained in place, trusting him with this new level of…them. He was fun in bed even while torturing her so perfectly. Maybe she did trust him completely. When had that happened? “This is different, right?” It wasn’t just Ryker… It was them. Vulnerability assailed her for the briefest of moments.
His gaze darkened. “Yeah, baby. This is just you and me… It’s better than anything else in the world.” He played with her breasts again, his hands rough but his hold nearly gentle.
Her heart thumped hard. Yeah. It was them. No matter what happened, they had this, and it was special.
“What do you want, sweetheart?” He reached around, grazed down, and grasped her buttocks, separating them just enough to give her pause.
Hunger clawed through her. “You. All of you.”
“You have me.” A quick flick of his wrists, and he unleashed her hands. She barely had time to move them in front of her before he grabbed her waist, flipped them both so she lay on her back, and pulled out only to hammer back in her. Hard.
She arched against him, her breasts brushing his chest. How could anything real feel so good? “Oh God.”
He kissed her, his tongue diving in, his mouth stealing every bit of her. Finally, he lifted his head. “Zara. Feel me,” he whispered. A muscle twitched in his cut jaw, and determination of the dangerously masculine kind was stamped hard on his features. Tension, dominant and hot, swelled through the steam. Need. She could see that he needed her. Way more than want…and it was a gift.
His cock pulsed inside her, every damn ridge filling her. Oh, she felt him, and not just in her body. He knew it, too.
Her body thrummed to the point of pain, right on the edge. Her heart turned over, so she gave him what they both wanted. She knew what he wanted, what he perhaps needed. Maybe she could make him whole, too. “I feel you, Ryker Jones. All of you,” she said softly.
His entire body stilled, and his eyes flared a heated green through the blue. He slid an arm up her back to grasp the nape of her neck in an unrelenting hold. His other hand anchored her hip, and her hands were trapped against his chest.
She. Couldn’t. Move.
She gasped, and a fine tremor shook her. So much need.
“That’s my girl,” he said. Then he started to move, fast and deliberate, increasing in speed until there was nothing but his body inside hers.
She curled her fingers into his skin, completely open to him. He moved her where he wanted her, hammering inside her, unerringly hitting her clit with each hard thrust. A live wire uncoiled inside her, sparking out. She detonated, her body stiffening, raw fire catching her unaware. She cried out his name as the waves took her under.
He pumped harder and then jerked with his own release.
Finally, he dropped his head to the crook of her neck. A lazy swipe of his tongue made her tremble. He lifted up, his expression one of satisfied male. Then he frowned and glanced toward the still-running shower. “I think the hot water is gone.”
Humor bubbled up inside her, and she threw back her head and laughed.
Was this what happiness—the real kind—felt like? One last chuckle and she lowered her chin, seeking those bluish green eyes. God, this was happiness.
Suddenly, reality and the world crashed in. She couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t lose this. Not now.
Chapter
20
Ryker drove Zara and Greg back to his place first thing in the morning. While they’d have to sleep at her house for now, he wanted them near his offices during the day. After a breakfast of blueberry pancakes, during which he could almost forget the danger stalking them, Ryker desperately tried to concentrate on Greg and how Dr. Madison tied into Ryker’s own past.