Damn. The side of her face throbbed hotly.
She spun around and searched the space with manic eyes. Nothing. The domicile appeared empty of anyone but her and Adam. What the hell?
He lay in the middle of the bed, his body coated in sweat, head thrashing from side to side on the pillow. The sheets had long since been kicked off.
A nightmare. He was having a nightmare. His arm lay across her half of the bed.
“No!” he suddenly bellowed.
“Adam.” She crawled back onto the bed, wary of his waving hands. “Adam, wake up.”
With eyes shut, he shuddered, mouth gaping, gasping in air as if he were choking. As if all the oxygen had been sucked from the room.
“Adam. Baby, wake up. Look at me.” Louise straddled his chest, pinning down his thick shoulders with her hands. Muscles flexed and strained beneath her—he could easily hurt her again without knowing. His big hands gripped her shoulders painfully and his blue eyes stared at her without comprehension.
“Hey. It’s all right. You’re safe,” she crooned, ignoring the pinch of his fingers digging into her. “It’s okay. You’re home in bed with me. Look at me, Adam.”
He blinked, rapid-fire. “Princess?”
“Yes. It’s me.”
Adam sucked in a breath through clenched teeth and his hands fell from her, back onto the mattress. “Shit. I’m sorry.” His body tensed beneath her. “I’m all sweaty, I’d better go—”
Louise tightened her thighs against his hips and bent over him, pressing him back onto the bed. “Don’t even think about it, buster.”
He made a noise in his throat. It sounded vaguely aggrieved. Too bad.
“Shhh.” She kissed the side of his face, set an elbow by his head and kissed him some more, nuzzling the strong line of his cheek and jaw. The salty sweat on his skin soon coated her lips. “Just relax.”
Slowly, slowly, his breathing eased. The gentle push of his rib cage against her breasts calmed.
“That’s it,” she whispered.
He skimmed his hand up her arms, gave her a friendly, dismissive pat. His face remained the picture of unhappiness. Even with all the bruising, there could be no mistaking his frown. “I’m okay. I’m sorry I woke you.”
“I don’t suppose you want to talk about your nightmare?”
“No. Thank you.”
“So polite,” she said. “Do you get these nightmares often?”
He looked at her in the low lighting, blue eyes like the sky after a storm or something equally poetic. She didn’t have words for how wonderful she found him. Nor could she tell him that she understood. That she used to have nightmares too. Lying to Adam left a bad taste in her mouth. It coated her tongue and slid down her throat. Someday soon it might choke her. She hated it.
“Adam?”
No response. Fine, he didn’t want to talk. So she kissed him again, the side of his mouth, the corner, brushing her lips over his, carefully avoiding the cut on his lip. She moved on to the curve of his jaw and the hollow of his cheek before returning to his mouth. “Everything’s all right.”
Again and again she kissed him, gentle and soft and sweet. His mouth was firm and his breath warm. He breathed out and she breathed in, his lips opening the smallest amount to her.
“I’m all right,” he murmured. His cock bumped at her inner thigh, tenting his soft sleeping pants. “It was just a bad dream. It’s not a big deal.”
“Okay,” she said. “We don’t have to talk about it.”
“Princess…” He sighed, opening his mouth fully to her, letting her tangle her tongue with his. Oh yeah. She canted her head and kissed him deeply, thoroughly. Gave him all the love and care she had in her. Every ounce of warmth and affection and deep and abiding lust he inspired in her, she returned to him tenfold. He was so potently male. Her hormones hit hyper-drive at the mere scent of him. She wanted to rub herself all over him, touch and taste every part of him. It was kind of scary how much he got to her. But this remained the physical, the down and dirty. No problem—she could keep her secrets separate from this. Not her heart—he already had it. But the secrets would stay safe. They had to. His life depended on it.
He pushed up her tank top and his fingers found her stiff, aching nipples and teased them just right. Everything inside her pulled tight. Only Adam got her this hot this fast. She ground herself against his erection. Sex had always been a good thing, but only with Adam had it had become great. Earth-shattering. Heavenly. He knew exactly how to touch her and how to read her subtle cues.
Things spiraled out of control and became more frantic.