Whispers in the Dark (KGI #4)(79)

She sighed and melted against him, going soft in his arms. God, he loved the way she felt.

He nibbled the sensitive skin just below her ear and then kissed his way down the curve of her neck to her shoulder. Her breathing ratcheted up and she arched into his mouth.

Her taste. Her scent. The feel of her. They all drove him wild. Made him insatiable, a man always teetering on the edge of control. In many ways she settled him, but when it came to wanting her, there was no help for the desperate, edgy need that lived inside him.

Shea kissed his neck, inhaling his smell and taste as he traced a similar path down hers. It felt as though it had been an eternity since they’d last made love when in reality it was such a short time ago.

Anxious to see him, to be able to touch him, she pushed gently at him and then rose to stand in front of him.

“I’ll undress for you if you’ll undress for me,” she murmured.

“Deal.”

Their gazes locked, never once breaking away, they began to undress, keeping that connection between them all the while. Shirts, jeans, even socks went sailing across the room until finally they stood naked before each other.

Drawn to the lean hardness of his body, she placed her palms at his sides and then smoothed them upward, trailing over the crisscross pattern of scars that marred the smoothness of his skin.

She knew it discomfited him when she acknowledged them in any way, but it was important to her that he know she accepted him and every single one of those scars. They were beautiful reminders of his endurance. They weren’t ugly. Far from it. They were a testament to his courage. To his unflagging resolve.

“You’re so beautiful,” she breathed.

He cocked one eyebrow. “And you’re nuts.”

She laughed but then sobered again. “You are, Nathan. I’m so in awe of you. You have so much courage and so much character. I can see it in your family. It’s reflected in each and every one of them. The Kellys are special, but you…You’re extra special.”

“You make it so there’s nothing I can say,” he said hoarsely.

“Good,” she said, smiling up at him. She leaned up on tiptoe to brush her mouth across his lips. “All you need to do is listen and accept. You call me your miracle, but Nathan, you’re mine as well, and you need to know that.”

He lifted his hands, pressed them to her arms and then slowly slid them upward to her shoulders. He spread his fingers and brushed his thumbs across her collarbone before going lower to graze across the tips of her br**sts.

Then he cupped the mounds in each palm, lifting slightly before bending down to take one nipple in his mouth. He sucked lightly until the soft peak became a rigid point. He moved to the other, ran his tongue over the sensitive, puckered flesh before sucking it between his teeth.

“You are so f**king beautiful inside and out, Shea Peterson. I’ve never known anyone more beautiful.”

Her heart tugged at the sincerity in his voice, the raspy edge that told her how hard it was to voice his feelings aloud.

She moved in close, until their bodies pressed against each other, heated, bringing her to instant awareness.

His erection was cupped against her belly and she slid her hand between them to gently encircle it. With her other hand, she reached down to cup his sac, caressing him intimately as she stroked over his length.

“Take me hard, Nathan. Hard and fast. We could spend all night touching and kissing, but what I need tonight is you. Just you. Nothing else.”

“Ah hell, baby,” he groaned.

He swept her up into his arms, his eyes so dark that it sent a shiver down her spine. It was as if she’d unleashed the beast or at the very least given him permission to lose control.

He crawled onto the bed and put her down in the middle. He loomed over her, his features tight and strained. Even though she’d told him what she wanted, she knew he held back. He didn’t want to hurt her. Didn’t he know he couldn’t?

She reached for him, wanting, needing him so much. Only he could fix the empty ache in her heart. Only he could erase the fear that seemed such a permanent fixture in her life.

Only he could keep her safe.

“Please,” she whispered.

His palms hit the bed on either side of her. His knee nudged impatiently at her thighs and then he was over her, inside her in one breath. Deep. Hot. Hard.

Her back arched upward to meet his thrust. Her hands flew to his shoulders, her fingers digging deep as pleasure exploded through her body.

Not that endless foreplay wasn’t very nice, and Nathan certainly had talent in that area, but this instant, explosive coming together was electrifying.

It felt primal. It was primal. Claiming and taking. Possession. He covered her, thrusting, hovering protectively over her even as he demanded his due.

Oh God, she was never going to last and she wanted it to go on forever.

His eyes bore into hers, dark and fiery. His jaw tightened with each thrust and he watched her closely even as he drove deeper into her body.

She started to close her eyes, but he stopped, embedded tightly.

“Look at me.”

She refocused her gaze on him, saw the love and also the edgy need burning so bright in those velvet brown eyes.

“Look at me. Stay with me. Always.”

He slowly withdrew and then thrust powerfully back into her.

“Is this what you wanted?” he strained out. “Is this what you need?”