In The Darkness (Project Artemis #1)(38)

Nick was her protector, her savior, and now the one man she’d give everything to have inside her.

Gently, he placed her on the bed and stood perfectly still for a moment at the foot of the bed staring down at her. Persephone worried the past haunted him as he said nothing but didn’t move toward her.

Extending her hand, she reached out to show him this time wasn’t like the last. His gaze slid down her arm to where her fingers stretched to touch him, and then he took her hand and slowly lowered his body down onto hers.

He took care not to let all his weight fall on her and gently kissed her as his hand slid down over her hip. She sensed his worry that he needed to atone for their first sexual experience, but that’s not what she wanted.

She wanted the man she knew he was to take her for his own.

Placing her palms on either side of his face, she looked into his eyes and saw that worry in them. “You don’t have to treat me like I’ll break if we do this. I’m not going to break, Nick.”

His expression hardened for a moment, and then he kissed her long and deep again like before. It made her head swim from desire and need, and she arched her back to feel the hardness of him against her.

Their hands tugged and pulled at the clothes that separated them until they lay skin to skin, bare to one another. Persephone ran her hand down over his chest to his ribs and abs, letting her palm linger on the muscles that led down to a sensual V near his hips. Hard and firm, they made her want to feel more of him.

Nick pushed her legs open with his knee and settled in between them. Looking down at her through half-lidded eyes hazy with need, he pushed his hips forward and filled her slowly until all of him nested inside her. She’d felt him before like this, but now he filled her completely, making her gasp.

She lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. Pressing her heels to the small of his back, she urged him to keep going. He took the hint and moved his hips back and forth, easing in and out of her so slowly it nearly made her lose her mind.

His right hand cupped her breast, and he pinched her excited nipple between his thumb and forefinger, sending a jolt of electricity straight to her core. He began thrusting faster and harder, inching her toward a climax she not only wanted but needed from him.

He kissed her, his tongue snaking over her lips to tease her tongue, and with each thrust into her body, he brought her closer to satisfying her in a way she’d never felt before. Faster and faster he pumped into her, making her body race toward that one moment when she completely surrendered to him.

“Persephone,” he groaned as his mouth slid from hers down over her jaw to her neck.

The touch of his lips sent a rush through her, but she needed something else. Something more. Finding his hand, she guided it to her neck and closed her eyes as his fingers instinctively closed around her tender skin.

She didn’t know if he realized this simple act of his hand on her neck was the only remnant of their previous time together she yearned for. She just understood somewhere deep inside that his hand there had been the only thing that had made it all bearable, allowing her to drown out the noise around them and feel his strong hand powerfully holding her and refusing to let go.

Tilting her head back, she reveled in his control and felt her desire and need overwhelm her. She came hard, her hand holding him there around her neck as her release tore through every inch of her body.

Seconds later, he stilled inside her, and she felt the rush of warmth fill her. Looking down at her, he lay there silently staring at her neck where his hand remained covered by hers.

“I didn’t hurt you, did I?” he asked in a low voice that sounded like he dreaded the answer to his question.

Persephone smiled and tilted her head to kiss him softly on the lips. “No. I wouldn’t call that hurting me.”

He gave her a smile and pushed her hair off her face in a gesture of sweetness she loved. For all that they’d been through, none of it could hurt her as much as not having him right there next to her now.





Chapter Thirteen





Nick slid his hand down between her breasts as Persephone’s hand fell away from its hold on him. He stared at the pale skin and saw marks where his fingers had squeezed her tender neck again. He’d wanted this first real time they were together to be sweet, but his body had taken over and before he knew it, he was on top of her thrusting like a savage animal.

Like he had before.

“Please talk to me,” she said softly, clearly picking up on how he felt about what he’d just done.

“I didn’t mean for it to be like that,” he said, avoiding meeting her gaze.

“I couldn’t imagine it being any better,” Persephone said with a tiny chuckle that made him look up at her.

Her smile seemed genuine, even though their sex had been rougher than he ever wanted it to be. He didn’t know how to feel about that. For him, being with a woman always ran along the edge of rough, but he didn’t intend for it to be like that with her.

Especially after what happened before.

“Nick, listen to me. I’m not going to break. I told you that, and I meant it. Being with you like that was exactly what I hoped it would be.”

“But I didn’t mean to be so rough with you,” he said, trying to explain but not finding the right words.

She simply smiled and touched his cheek. “You weren’t rough. You were exactly what I wanted. And from the point on, you should know I love the feel of your hand around my neck like that.”