25
Stripped to the skin, laid out in the middle of the gym, J. J. struggled to catch her breath. An impossibility. Wick refused to let up. Or give her a break. He pinned her to the exercise mat instead, driving her toward pleasure and the pinnacle waiting at its summit. As she gasped, begging for release, he growled her name. Showed her no mercy. Spread her thighs wider. Thrust deep only to retreat and come back, making her moan as he pushed her beyond reality into a world fueled by passion. By devastating delight and—
Oh God. Ecstasy times a million.
He moved like a dream. Felt unbelievable in her arms, and she wanted more. More of his scent on her skin. More of his taste on her tongue. More of the pleasure he fed her.
But only if he let her come. Right now.
“Wick…”
“Mmm, baby.”
“Now… please, now.”
“Not yet.” Planting one hand beside her ear, he palmed her knee with the other, drew it up, pushed it out, opening her wider. He stroked even deeper. Her breath caught, bliss unfurling fast, the fury of it driving her closer to the edge. Wick raised his head. Shimmering gold eyes met hers. He snarled at her. She sobbed, so ready to come she clenched hard, the pleasure-pain making her writhe beneath him. “Not until I say.”
“No fair.”
“No one said it would be fair,” he rasped, chest brushing over hers. “No mercy, vanzäla.”
“Why?”
Dipping his head, he licked over her nipple. “I still smell him on you.”
“What… oh Jesus,” she gasped, losing her mind as he sucked, drawing on the sensitive peak. He nipped the tip, then moved on, lavishing its mate with equal treatment. God help her. He was going to kill her… with rapture. Normally not a problem. She wanted to die happy, but as heat spread, setting a blaze beneath her skin, need turned to desperation. “W-who?”
With a growl, he upped the pace, rocking her hard, punishing her with pleasure. A bliss-filled cry left her throat. Beyond pride, she arched, grinding her hips into his. Sensation spiked, then spiraled on a jagged wave. Catastrophic. Desperate. Beautiful. Desire turned incendiary.
His breath hitched.
J. J. pressed her advantage.
“It’s mine. Mine… do you hear?” Fisting her hands in his hair, she pulled his head down and licked into his mouth. He groaned. She took it up a notch and sent her hands searching. Caressing his back, she pressed her palms to the base of his spine. He bucked in her embrace. She sucked on his tongue and… yum. He tasted like exotic lands and spiced rum. A deadly combination, one that made her bold. Breaking the kiss, she bared her teeth. “I want it. Give it to me. Now!”
An order given. A message received, and… oooh, baby. Did he deliver, stealing her breath, circling his hips, pressing so deep he rubbed just… the right… spot. She tittered on the brink a moment, unable to breathe as Wick dipped his head. The heat of his mouth touched her skin an instant before the sharp edge of his teeth scraped her throat. He nipped her pulse point, and ecstasy arced, lashing her with white-hot pleasure. Suspended in glory, J. J. screamed his name. Wick shouted, muscles tensing, body throbbing, coming deep inside her.
As he twitched against her, she wrapped him up and held him close. He sighed and settled warm and heavy against her—hips pressed between her thighs, strong arms around her, his face tucked against her throat. Trusting her completely. Giving J. J. her due. Relaxing into her embrace as he drifted into the heated curl of afterglow.
So amazing. Unbelievable. It was beyond anything.
J. J. hummed in satisfaction. She loved making love to him. But holding him in the aftermath? Having him in her arms, skin-to-skin and heart-to-heart? Pure heaven. And as he murmured her name, she whispered back, her heart so full she could hardly contain it. Beautiful man. Incredible in so many ways, and as repletion drew her into relaxation, she pressed a soft kiss to his shoulder, so very thankful he belonged to her.
Or at least, he would… when she got done with him.
Too sated to move, Wick lay in the shelter of his female’s arms. Still deep inside her, unwilling to leave the warmth of her body, he breathed her in, loving the richness of her scent along with the fact she no longer smelled of another male. Ridiculous, he knew. Unconscious from blood loss, Forge hadn’t touched her. No sex involved. Just the touch of her hands, a connection that allowed Jamison to share her life-saving energy. Exactly what his brother-in-arms needed to heal and rebound.
Knowing it, however, didn’t make it any easier to bear.
He hadn’t been able to stand it. Had needed to wipe all trace of Forge from her skin by replacing it with his own. Stupid. Possessive. Irrational. But there it was… his dragon half out in full force, being bitchy even in the face of his comrade’s need.
But it was over, and now she lay in his arms. His for the taking. His for the loving. His in the here and now… in a very public place. Wick grimaced. Fucking hell. He’d made love to her in the middle of the gym. Under the bright lights, on an exercise mat, in the shadow of a basketball net where anyone might open the door and see them.
Not the smartest move.
Then again, he hadn’t been thinking straight at the time. And right now, he couldn’t bring himself to care. She felt too good against him, and as he nestled in, Wick took another breath. His mouth curved against the side of her neck. Cinnamon and spiced candy. It never failed. Her natural essence suited her. Called to him. Made him yearn and commit it to memory, imprinting it on his senses and in his heart. He needed to remember everything. Every last detail. How she tasted, the way she smelled, the softness of her skin, and how well she fit in his arms… so delicate yet oh-so-perfect.
Small things. Big impact.
Each one must last him a lifetime. Endure years without fading. Tide him over and bridge time, allowing him to remember her with perfect recall. He knew it would come to that… to disappointment and the inevitability of good-bye. She would leave. A female of her caliber would never choose a male like him. Wick accepted it with certainty, but instead of making it easy, doing the right thing and pushing her away, he hung on tight. A few more minutes. Maybe an hour if he got lucky. After that, he’d find the strength to let her go. To allow her the life she deserved instead of the one he could give her, and then learn to survive.
Without her.
It wouldn’t be easy. He mourned her already. Losing her would hurt like hell. It would be easier to ignore the truth, but Wick refused to lie to himself. There was no going back. No chance of erasing the last few days. He didn’t want to anyway. Jamison made it impossible to regret meeting her. Instead, he felt grateful. Such a short amount of time, and yet, her impact on him was undeniable. Irrefutable. Incredible too. He hadn’t believed himself capable of loving a female. But fact didn’t allow for fiction. He loved her deep, loved her true, craved her in ways he didn’t understand yet somehow knew to be right.
A bitch of a thing. Especially while faced with the prospect of leaving her.
Fingers stroking through the soft strands of her hair, Wick pressed his mouth to her pulse point. A gentle kiss against her skin. A tough good-bye said in silence. An excellent reminder of what he must do. Taking a fortifying breath, he raised his head and lost his heart all over again.
Fuck, she was pretty.
Lifting his hand from her hair, he traced her eyebrow with his fingertip. She sighed as he drew a gentle circle on her temple, then drifted down over the curve of her cheek. Eyes closed, relaxed in his arms, she accepted his touch, turning her face into his palm. So trusting. Too vulnerable. Beyond beautiful. Unable to resist, he leaned in and brushed his mouth against hers. She hummed in welcome, allowing him to play, one hand caressing his nape while the other moved over his shoulder. Her touch made him needy. Her taste made him kiss her again, long, slow, and sweet. As he tangled his tongue with hers, Wick called himself a fool. Nothing good would come from putting off the discussion. Best to get it over with, instead of prolonging the unavoidable. But as he drew away, she opened her eyes and met his gaze head-on.