Shadowed(139)

“Reddix,” she gasped. “Oh, God, Reddix.”

“That’s right, sweetheart,” he told her. “Work for it. You’re so close—work for it hard.”

Nina let out a low wail and clutched at his forearms, digging her nails into his flesh as her body went rigid. Suddenly, he felt her clenching around him, her inner muscles squeezing him like a hot, wet velvet glove. Finally, she was reaching her peak. At the same time he felt the cum building in his balls and knew he was going to fill her very soon.

“Come for me,” he growled, loving the feel of her milking him. “Come for me, sweetheart. Want to feel you come on my cock while I fill you up.” And then he let himself go, let the orgasm take him as hot jets of cum spurted deep inside her, filling her pussy at last.

Nina seemed to like the feeling of him coming inside her. She writhed against him, her fingers tightening on his arms and her breath coming short.

“Yes…Reddix…yes, yes.” She was nearly crying now, her voice breaking on his name as she called for him, begging and moaning, saying…

Saying…

Suddenly, her words came into full focus, and he looked at her more closely.

“What?” he asked hoarsely.

“I love you.” Nina’s eyes were as bright with tears again, her chest heaving and body trembling with the aftershocks of the orgasm he’d given her. “God, Reddix, I can’t help it—I love you.”

Without waiting for a reply, she pushed him off her—out of her—and rolled away. Before he could say anything, she got off the bed and left the room.





Chapter Thirty-six



“Nina?” He followed her into the living area but kept his distance because she so obviously didn’t want to be touched.

She was standing across the room from him, beside the couch. She was still naked with her arms wrapped protectively around herself. He couldn’t help loving the view she presented—her full ass and hips with the tiny dimples just below her waist. He wondered if she had any idea how beautiful she was, how desirable.

He wondered if she’d meant what she said.

“Nina,” he began in a low voice.

“I shouldn’t have said that,” she said, still not facing him. “Shouldn’t have let myself feel it, and I sure as hell shouldn’t have said it. Never in a million years.”

“Yes, you should,” Reddix murmured. “Because I needed to hear it. And because…I want to say it back to you. Want to say I love you too.”

“Don’t.” She half turned her head, meeting his eyes briefly before looking away again. “Don’t. It only makes it worse.”

Reddix felt like his heart was in his throat.

“I’m sorry. So Goddess damned sorry I can’t give you what you need…can’t be the male you need me to be,” he told her in a low, choked voice.

“All I ever wanted was to heal you.” She looked down at the ground, her hair sweeping over her shoulders like a long, dark shawl. “I felt it from that very first dream we shared—felt that you needed something, something maybe only I could give you. Even Mehoo-Jimmy’s message to me made me think it. ‘Heal the bear’—that was what she said.”

“Nina…”

“But in the end, I couldn’t even heal myself.” Her soft voice was bitter and so filled with hurt he ached just to hear it. “Couldn’t stop myself from loving you or heal my heart when leaving you broke it.”

Reddix yearned to take her in his arms, to feel her soft form pressed against his both giving and receiving comfort. He wanted to stroke her hair and whisper in her ear that everything would be all right. That he would love her forever even if they couldn’t do anything about it. But he was frozen in place, paralyzed by the knowledge that she didn’t want his touch, that she didn’t need to be hurt any more than he’d already hurt her.

Still, he wanted to caress her so much, even in a small way. If he could just sweep the curtain of hair away from her face and see her expression.

If he could just touch her…

* * * * *

Nina felt his fingers brushing feather-light against her temple, stroking the hair from her face and sliding gently down her throat.

“Don’t,” she whispered, not looking at him. “Don’t do that—don’t touch me.”

“I’m nowhere near you.”

Nina had supposed he was right behind her, but surprisingly, his voice seemed to be coming from the other side of the room.

Turning, she stared at him. “Then what was that I felt?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know—what did you feel?”