“But you come from the planet of warrior poets. It shouldn’t be a challenge for you.”
“So I’m told.” His amber eyes shone, catching the light of the lamp. His gaze snagged on my lips. He was thinking of kissing me. The realization sent electric shivers through me. I bit my lip. His breathing quickened.
“About that sonnet,” he said.
“Yes?” It felt like my whole life depended on what he would say next.
“I love you.”
That was all I wanted to hear. I didn’t even know until now how much I wanted him to say these words to me. He’d said it before, when I was under, but it was different then. Now it was everything.
“I’ll never leave you,” Sean said. “If you want to stay an innkeeper, I will be one with you. If you want to do something else, I will do that with you. Whatever comes next, I’ll be there, because I want you more than anything I've ever wanted. That’s it. That’s all I’ve got.”
I took a step and closed the distance between us. His strong arms closed around me. He bent down and kissed me. He’d kissed me before, but those times paled before this one. He didn’t just touch his lips to mine. He drank me in, seducing, compelling, conquering my mouth. It was an full-out assault, all or nothing. He was offering himself to me and he wanted to know if I was his. I melted into it. I had never wanted anything more.
His hands tightened around me. A shiver ran down my back. His fingers slipped into my hair. I put my arms around him, trying to get closer to the heat of his body. He made a low masculine noise that drove me wild. I fumbled with his T-shirt. He pulled it off, revealing a hard chest corded with muscle, and then he caught me into his arms. My towel slid to my hips. My cold nipples pressed against the heated wall of his chest. I felt so hot, like I was on fire. His hands roamed my body. He made that noise again, that hungry male noise that made me lose my head.
My towel slipped to the floor. He let me go for a breath and then he was naked. We stared at each other in the moonlight slipping through the small window of my bedroom. The silver light slid over him, playing on his broad shoulders, his powerful chest, the ridges of his stomach, and lower, where his hard length made it obvious just how much he wanted me. His eyes glowed like liquid amber, heated from within by intense need. There was no softness in him, just dangerous, lethal strength. He was my wolf, half in the light, half in the shadow. I loved him so much.
I opened my arms. He came to me and swept me off my feet. I kissed his lips, his stubbled jaw, his neck… He dipped his head and nuzzled my neck, his tongue hitting just the right sensitive spot. The burst of pleasure dragged a moan out of me. We landed on the bed. The platter with wine went flying and the inn caught the bottle before it shattered. His mouth slid lower… His tongue grazed my nipple, painting heat over it, the sensation so intense, my whole body tightened in response. An insistent, impatient ache built between my legs. I wanted him to make love to me. The anticipation was killing me. I sank my fingers into his hair and wrapped my legs around him.
“Do you need me to slow down?” he asked, his voice a ragged growl.
“No, I need you to speed up.”
“I can do that.”
He looked into my eyes and thrust inside me, into the liquid heat. Pleasure swept through me and I cried out, thrusting my hips up to better meet him. He kissed me and thrust again, straight into the center of my ache, turning it into bliss. He moved inside me in a smooth rhythm, each thrust stoking the fire until I couldn’t stand it anymore. My body shuddered and waves of pure pleasure swept through me. His body tensed, clenched, and I felt him empty himself inside me with a hoarse groan.
*
I lay my head on Sean’s chest and rubbed my foot along his leg. He was smiling in the moonlight. It felt so good to lay next to him. Like nothing in the galaxy could hurt me. So that’s what happiness felt like. I'd almost forgotten.
“Should we get dressed?” he asked, sliding his thumb along my shoulder.
“It’s our inn. They’ll wait for us.”
They would wait, but others wouldn’t. I raised my head and looked at him.
“What is it?”
“The Assembly summoned us.”
“Are we in trouble?” He grinned at me.
“Yes.”
He pulled me closer, his arm around me.
“I don’t want tomorrow to come,” I whispered.
“Why?”
“All the problems will come back tomorrow. The Assembly, the ad-hal, the corruption…” I was so happy right now. I wanted it to last a little longer. Just a few more hours.
“You won’t have to deal with your problems alone,” he said.
I hugged him tighter.
“We’ll look for your parents together,” he said.
I kissed him. A light sparked in his eyes. He pulled me on top of him. His mouth closed on mine— Beast scratched at the door.
“Aunt Dina!” Helen called. “Mom said…”
I collapsed on Sean’s chest, face down.