“Are you scared?”
She hesitated, then said, “Not as long as I’m with you.”
He could see the fear in her eyes, but maybe she hadn’t lied because he felt better able to cope as long as she was with him.
“Make love to me,” she said, running her hands over his back.
How could he not when he ached so much to do just that? He kissed her, his tongue stroking hers, feeling the heat, the need that rippled through her at his first touch. Knowing that he could make her tremble was a heady feeling. He wanted to make her do more than tremble. He wanted her to cry his name. He wanted her to need him as much as he needed her.
He cupped her breast, teasing the nipple, taking it into his mouth. She gasped, pulling his head closer. He picked her up and carried her to waist-deep water, then lifted her to the edge.
“I want to see all of you, taste all of you.” He parted her legs. She covered herself. He nipped at her hands, and she jumped. “Lie back. Please.”
She cast a wary gaze upon him. “I’m not sure I can,” she said.
“Please,” he repeated.
She hesitated, then lay back, but her hands still covered what he most coveted. He began to place tiny kisses on the insides of her thighs while his fingers lightly stroked her hands. He knew the minute she relaxed. He eased her hands away.
The light from the pool cast her body in a warm glow. By the gods, she was magnificent. He lightly brushed his hands through her curls, then ran his thumb over the fleshy part of her sex. He scooped up a handful of water and let it drizzle over her. She gasped.
He wanted her to feel more, and she did when his mouth covered her, stroking with his tongue instead of his finger. Loving her, tasting her musky scent, sucking her inside his mouth.
She cried his name, her breathing becoming labored. When her body trembled, he opened the small package she had brought and sheathed himself, then took her hands, bringing her into the water with him. He nuzzled her neck as he slid inside her. She wrapped her arms around him.
“Yes, I need you now,” she cried out.
“You’re beautiful,” he said close to her ear as he thrust inside her. He braced himself against the side of the pool when she wrapped her legs around him. He sank deeper inside the heat of her body.
In and out he plunged. Her body was hot, caressing him with her moist heat. He growled from low in his throat as the fire began to burn hotter inside him.
She cried out, clinging to him. Water splashed around them. He stiffened as spasms shook his body to the very core of his being.
When he could catch a breath, he leaned back and looked at her face. Tears ran down her cheeks. “Did I hurt you?’ he asked, fear filling him. Had he been too rough?
She shook her head. “No, I’ve just never felt like this with anyone else.”
Before his grin could form, his gut clenched. “Ahhh,” he cried out, grabbing his head. The humming was even worse than the last time they had mated. It grew stronger within him and it was all he could do to fight it.
“I am a part of you!” the voice screamed. “Do not fight against me! Accept who you are!”
“No, leave me be!” Surlock cried out.
He sank beneath the water. The noise inside his head eased, but he knew he would have to surface soon. He’d hoped the voice had only been part of his dream. But he wasn’t dreaming now.
The next thing he knew, Darcy was in front of him, stroking his hair. Somehow he knew everything would be all right. They came up for air, then went under again. They held each other, lightly caressing, letting the other know they would get through this.
And when the humming eased, they went to the guest house and curled up on the bed. They had gone through something together and survived.
The sun streamed into the room the next morning, waking Surlock. He stretched and yawned as the last vestiges of sleep drifted away, and remembrance of the night before came flooding back. He’d had a dream that he was running, but it hadn’t felt so much a dream as a memory. The humming in his head had gotten louder, becoming a voice.
He sat up in the bed, glancing around the room. He and Darcy had made love in the pool, and once again, he’d felt as though something had tried to possess him.
Darcy had stayed with him. If not for her, he didn’t know what would have happened. But now she was gone. Did she regret agreeing to help him?
Nothing would drive him closer to the edge of losing his mind than if Darcy decided he wasn’t worth the effort. He scraped his fingers through his hair. He had to remember. He closed his eyes and concentrated on the moment before Darcy had hit him over the head.
There’d been a wolf. Darcy had said so. He remembered a wolf—vaguely. The humming grew more intense. Rather than fight it, he let it come. Colors and sounds swirled inside his head. He felt as if he was suffocating.
“Surlock.”
He stilled. Someone had spoken to him. This wasn’t the voice in his thoughts.
“Surlock, are you awake?”
His eyes jerked open. Had he only heard Darcy’s voice? Or had he heard another’s?
“I’m awake,” he called out.
The door opened. She grinned. “I told Ms. Abernathy we were going to have a breakfast picnic. You should have seen her scowl of disapproval.”
“Picnic?”
“I have everything set up on the private patio.” Her gaze lazily drifted over him. “Join me.” She opened a drawer in the dresser, tossing him a pair of lightweight pants. “Just in case we get interrupted, you might want to wear some pajama bottoms.” She left the room.
He could get used to waking up to her smile every morning. She made him feel whole. He grabbed the bottoms and slipped them on before making use of the bathroom. There was another set of French doors that led to a private patio. He walked out to it. She had breakfast laid out on the table.
“Better hurry, I’m getting hungry.”
“As am I.” But he barely glanced at the food. He would much rather look at her. When she raised an eyebrow, he assumed she had more than mating on her mind.
“We have a lot to do today,” she said.
“What would that be?”
“We’re going to re-create the scene where I hit you.” Excitement practically bubbled out of her.
He wasn’t too sure about getting hit over the head again. In fact, he was certain he didn’t want a repeat performance.
“Don’t worry. You won’t get hurt this time. I promise.”
He breathed a sigh of relief.
Her eyebrows rose. “Did you really think I would hurt you again?”
“No, of course not.” He picked up a piece of the food she called bacon and bit into it. It had a smoky flavor that he found pleasing. Darcy had shown him a lot in just a few days time. Yet, it all seemed unfamiliar.
He watched as she filled their plates. She smiled and laughed, her eyes twinkling with mirth as she flirted with him. Did she know what she was doing? He thought maybe she did a little. He liked that she found him worth seducing.
He thought he could probably be content to live the rest of his life here with her and never remember who he was. It didn’t matter that he might have family. He didn’t miss what he couldn’t remember.
Darcy said she’d had the humming in her ears when she was young but suppressed it until it finally went away. Maybe he could do the same. He was starting to feel that the only thing that mattered was being with her.
CHAPTER 8
Darcy had a hard time keeping her gaze on the trail in front of her. Surlock was way too tempting. Every time she remembered the night before when they had been in the swimming pool making love, goose bumps popped up on her arms. It was all she could do to concentrate on the matter at hand.
What was it about him that made her want to draw closer? There was a definite connection between them. He’d felt it, and so did she.