Tempted & Taken (Men of Haven #4)(86)

Groaning into her mouth, he shifted his weight back and slipped his arms beneath her, one banded low on her back and the other behind her shoulders. He straightened, taking her with him as he went so she straddled his hips as he thrust deeper inside her. From this angle and the power behind each buck of his hips, his glans brushed the sweet spot inside her and his pelvis ground unrelentingly against her clit. Lips close to hers and hearts pounding chest to chest, he fisted her hair at the back of her head and growled, “Now. Take it. Come for me. Make me whole.”

She couldn’t have stopped her release if she wanted, not with the feel of him and his sweet words pooling in her heart. Her sex clenched, the intensity behind it drawing pulses from the very soles of her feet and billowing out in all directions. She cried out against his mouth and squeezed her arms around his shoulders, the metal of his tags digging into her flesh even as her core milked his shaft.

His mouth crashed against hers and his hips surged to the hilt, burying himself inside her and pressing his hand at the base of her spine so there was no way to move. No escape from his cock jerking and jetting his release inside her.

No escape.

The idea would have terrified her with Ruslan, but with Knox she welcomed it. Savored the precious shield his claim created. The protection and love that came with it. Because after this, there was no doubt in her mind. Knox loved her. With everything in him—every action since she’d uttered her feelings and shared her past until this beautiful moment—he’d shown it. Given her all of him, heart and soul.

His kiss eased along with his thrusts, what had been wild and desperate before calming to languid, savoring strokes. Keeping one arm cradled around her back, he cupped the side of her face. He rested his forehead against hers, his breaths wafting soft and warm against her face.

She opened her eyes and nearly wept at the vulnerability reflected back at her. Even with his eyes closed, he was completely bared to her, a gift she had no doubt he’d never given anyone in his mostly solitary life. She framed his face with her hands, utterly safe in the knowledge he’d hold her close. “You love me,” she whispered.

His eyes opened. With just the moonlight streaming through the window, they seemed even more lustrous than in the brightest light. A foggy and mystical gray that reflected the magical moment. “If love is the strongest word there is to describe what I’m feeling, then yes. I love you. With everything in me.”

Tears welled from out of nowhere and emotion clogged her throat so thick she could hardly speak. “Thank you for honoring me with that. For giving me you.”

He smiled, the brightness of it outshining the moon and filling her heart to the point it ached. He leaned forward, keeping her supported with one hand even as he caught them both with the other, and eased her to the bed. “Told you I’d give you everything. Not much of a man if I can’t own up to what’s real.”

And just like that, he leveled them out. Eased them into a comfortable space where they could simply enjoy the moment and linger in the delicious afterglow. One forearm anchored in the mattress beside her and his cock still nestled inside her, he smoothed her hair away from her face and traced the line of her jaw. “You want me to clean you up, or are we staying close?”

It was a question they’d experimented in finding the answers to in the week since they’d stopped using condoms, the change in circumstance being one neither of them had any experience in handling before they’d agreed on the deeper intimacy. Sometimes they showered. Sometimes he saw to her. Sometimes they merely let things be what they were.

Tonight she was going for the latter. “I’d rather not be away from you.”

His quick grin warmed her. “No complaints from me.” He rolled them to their sides and his shaft slipped free, drawing a sad whimper past her lips. He drew her leg over his hip and slid his thigh between hers. Every night they fell asleep this way. No matter how they woke, they started nose to nose and chest to chest, their breath mingled as sleep took them. “You going to be able to sleep?”

She took her time studying his face, letting the moment imprint deep on her memory. “With you, I think I can do anything.”





Chapter Thirty-One

Knox stared up at his bedroom ceiling. Since sunrise an hour ago, he’d watched the buttery glow of another summer morning slowly stretch across the white surface, Darya’s comfortable weight and the sweet press of her naked body against his the only thing stilling his need to take action. Not that his mind was inactive. For the first time since he’d brought her home, sleep had eluded him and he hadn’t minded one bit. Some of his best ideas had come to him in the quiet hours before dawn, and right now he needed every slick inspiration his mind could dole out.

Snagging his phone off the nightstand, he checked the time.

7:53 a.m.

Which meant Ninette and Sylvie were probably up and around already, and with a little luck, Danny and Beckett were either back already or at least on their way with news on if anyone was watching Darya’s house.

He slid the phone back against the nightstand’s rich mahogany surface and rolled to his side, wrapping his woman up tight. Another benefit to a sleepless night was watching her sleep. Letting himself drink his fill of her classical face and burn every detail deep. He’d also figured out she liked having someone play with her hair. Whether she’d registered the contact in her sleep or not, he wasn’t sure, but every time he’d taken to slicking his fingers through the silky strands, she’d almost purred and snuggled closer.