After the Storm(132)

            Such exquisite torture. Inch by delicious inch, he consumed her. Pushing, stretching, until he was all the way in, his body pressed tight against hers.

            She lowered one arm, cupping his jaw in her palm. It was rigid beneath her touch. Teeth clenched together as sweat beaded his forehead.

            “Why are you torturing us both, Donovan?” she asked softly. “I know what it’s costing you. And me. Don’t be afraid of hurting me. I want this. I want you.”

            With an agonized groan, he withdrew and then rocked forward, forcefully planting himself deeply within her. She gasped at the fullness, overwhelmed, shocked. Pleasure splintered through her body, jagged, sharp and yet so beautiful.

            He thrust again, harder, deeper. He arched over her, thrusting again, sliding into her with ease even as her body clutched at him like a greedy fist.

            Her eyes glazed over, her vision dimming as ecstasy blazed like an inferno. Tension coiled, low and almost vicious in her belly. But it was a delicious bite. An edge of pain that led to the most mind-bending pleasure she’d ever experienced in her life.

            “Am I hurting you?” Donovan demanded, his voice hoarse and thready with his own passion.

            “No, yes, God no. I don’t know. But please don’t stop. I’m so close, Donovan. So close!”

            “I’m with you, honey,” he said as he pounded into her again, shaking them both, the bed rocking with their movements. “We’ll go over together.”

            “Yes,” she whispered. “Together.”

            She closed her eyes, arching upward, into him, closer to him. Melting against his body even as she grabbed onto him, her anchor in the sudden, violent storm. The tornado she’d survived had nothing on this. She lost all sense of herself. Of everything around them or even where they were. All she could do was feel. And she never wanted to lose this moment. This sensation. Knew she’d never feel it quite the same as now. It would be different. Perhaps better in the future. But never like this.

            And then she broke free of her constraints. She simply floated away, weightless, a dreamy haze overtaking her. It was like being intoxicated. Drugged. All rolled into one. But if there was ever a drug that mimicked this, there’d be no hope for it. Everyone would be hooked, doing whatever they could to get their next fix. And she’d be right there in line.

            After a moment, a minute, an hour, she had no idea of how long, she became aware of Donovan’s weight pressing her into the mattress. His heavy breaths against her neck. The loose, sated feeling in her limbs. The blankness in her mind. And the overwhelming sense of rightness.

            Peace.

            How long had it been since she’d truly felt peace? Her brow furrowed as she tried to muster the mental energy to think back to when she’d ever felt so . . . safe. Cherished. Had she ever?

            “What are you shaking your head at, love?”

            Donovan’s gentle question brought her focus back to the present and she found him staring down into her eyes, his own thoughtful as he studied her.

            She smiled. “Nothing. Nothing at all. I was just being fanciful and a little silly. And who could blame me after . . . that. I don’t even know what to call it. Surely there aren’t enough words in the English language—or any other language, for that matter—to adequately describe what we just had.”

            There was a note of wistfulness even she heard. Donovan’s features softened, his eyes going warm and so very tender. He stroked a finger over her cheek, his weight still blanketing her, warm and so very reassuring.

            “I think what it was is wonderful,” he said simply.

            She nodded her agreement and then he pushed himself up and off her, pulling free of her body. She shivered the moment he left her to discard the condom. She already missed his warmth. His touch. The void left her aching, however short the distance was.