She relaxed against him, her body melting into his as he entered the bedroom and pushed the door shut behind him. He didn’t release his hold on her until he eased her down on the bed and then he stood above her for a moment, hating to separate himself from her even for the few seconds it would take to collect one of his oversized T-shirts for her to sleep in.
He returned and slowly, so as not to alarm her, began undressing her. She swallowed, a small gasp escaping her sweet, puffy lips, and color stained her cheeks as she quickly wrapped her arms around her chest to cover her breasts.
“You never have to be shy with me, Jenna. You’re so fucking perfect. So beautiful you make me ache. I need to get you in something more comfortable to sleep in. The girls brought over clothes and shoes for you, but tonight you’ll sleep in my shirt so you know who you belong to.”
Her cheeks flushed again, this time pleasure making her eyes shine, and her earlier sadness evaporated as she stared at him as though he were a goddamn hero. Like he was the only man in the world, and as long as he was the only man in her world he could manage to breathe without the ever-present panic of losing her, of her disappearing from his world and taking every shred of goodness and light with her.
He knew she was his entire world, that no one else existed for him, but he had to ensure himself an equal place in her world and future. There was nothing he wouldn’t do to make her his, to bind her so tightly to him that there was no hope of escape for either of them.
With shaking hands, he pulled the shirt over her head and slowly dragged it down her body, his knuckles softly grazing the swells of her breasts. They both exhaled sharply and her pupils suddenly covered nearly all of the pale blue, leaving only a thin ring around the dark orbs.
Her chest heaved as though she struggled to breathe, but then he hadn’t taken a single breath since he’d bared her delectable curves in order to dress her for bed. His chest burned with the need for oxygen, and only when she was fully covered once more did he find it possible to suck air into his starved lungs.
“You need to rest, sweetheart,” he said as he tucked her beneath the covers. “Tomorrow’s going to be a long day and this might be your last chance to get a good night’s sleep for a while.”
Her expression suddenly became anxious, her eyes troubled, and she looked like she was about to ask him something but hesitated.
“What is it, honey?”
“Where will you be?” she asked in a low voice, her gaze skittering toward the windows on the opposite wall.
“I’ll be wherever you want me to be,” he said simply. “Do you want me to stay? Do you want me to sleep in the bed with you?”
She licked her lips nervously, sadness flaring in her eyes for one brief second. “I want you to hold me,” she said, her lips quivering. What was going on in her head? What could she possibly be thinking? It made him crazy that he couldn’t just make everything all right for her and wipe away every worry, fear or sad thought just by willing it to be gone.
“There’s nothing I’d love more than for you to sleep in my arms,” he said, tucking a finger beneath her chin and nudging it upward so he could claim her mouth in the way he truly wanted. He wanted her taste permanently burned on his tongue and her scent to fill his nostrils until all he could smell was her every minute of the day.
It took every ounce of restraint he possessed to break the seal of their fused lips. He wanted to make love to her so badly he ached with need. But she deserved to be worshipped and taken slowly, with care and reverence, when they had all the time in the world and not when they could be interrupted at any minute because their security had been breached.
Soon, though. As soon as they moved her to a safe place tomorrow, a safe haven so isolated and fortified that no one would be able to get within a mile of the veritable fortress without hell being unleashed on them from all directions. Once again he had Sterling to thank, and not for the first time Isaac reminded himself that Sterling was not at all what he appeared to be. He was a wild card who played by no rules except his own, and he took his wife’s protection very seriously and now had extended that offer of protection to Jenna. Isaac wasn’t too proud to accept all the help he could get as long as his angel wasn’t touched by danger or violence. And once they were safely ensconced in Sterling’s impenetrable compound, Isaac would claim what was his and he’d bind Jenna so tightly to him that she’d never be free of him.
He stripped down to his boxers, nearly smiling at Jenna’s shy gaze, full of curiosity and feminine appreciation. Her innocence enchanted him. He’d never put much stock in virginity. He didn’t have a double standard when it came to women having as much sexual experience as men. But knowing he would be Jenna’s first—and last—lover, the only man to ever possess her and be given such a precious gift, instilled in him a fierce surge of possessiveness.
His inner caveman came grunting and snarling to the surface, and he felt the urge to beat his chest and mark his territory. Repeatedly. He didn’t even want another man’s eyes on her, much less any other part of him. He’d never considered himself a possessive man but when it came to Jenna, the idea of anyone but him ever touching her nearly made him insane. And he didn’t give a fuck how it looked to others or what anyone thought. The only person he was concerned with accepting his complete takeover of Jenna’s well-being, protection, care and happiness was the woman nestled tightly in his arms, his much larger body dwarfing and completely encompassing her tiny frame.
“Go to sleep, baby,” he whispered against the shell of her ear, watching as tiny chill bumps erupted over her skin and danced down her neck. “Dream the good and dream of me.”
“They’re one and the same,” she whispered back, her breath sliding like silk against his neck. He gripped her tightly—too tightly—overcome by the sweetly spoken words. Words that gave him hope that one day she would feel the same savage need for him that had taken over him, heart, body and soul. But, until then, until she came to accept all that she was and would be to him, he had enough love, desire and determination for both of them and nothing in the world would ever make him let go of this precious gift he’d waited a lifetime to cherish.
“Kiss me one last time,” she said in an aching voice that unsettled him and immediately put him on edge. Something about the way she said it nagged at him and his gut clenched, a sure sign that something wasn’t right. But what?