She was free, able to move on.
Jessie’s heartbeat slowed and her breathing regulated to a normal rhythm. She stayed bound to Blake’s strength, listening to his soothing words of comfort, feeling him stroking her back.
She needed the shelter he provided. The place that existed within the sweet surrender of shared intimacy.
Jessie kissed the base of his throat, tasting him as if for the first time. Here was where she belonged. Here was where she needed to stay. And here was where her desire melded with a yearning to remain forever connected.
She caressed the rough stubble on his jawline. “Blake,” she whispered. “I need you.”
Somehow he lifted her from the couch, cradled her in his strong arms. “You have me,” he said, fusing his mouth to hers.
Molten heat swirled low, filled every crevice. An exquisite ache pulsed between her thighs. She moaned against his lips, opening them wider, kissing him.
Blake carried her to the bedroom and lowered her to the duvet’s soft cover, then stretched his body over hers. He framed her face, grinding against her in fluid, sensual movements.
Currents flowed through her, and she arched. “Blake, I want…”
“You’ll have all of me,” he said. “I promise.”
He pressed a kiss at the base of her throat. Her pulse leaped, making her feel more vulnerable, exposed. And adored.
Blake slid his hands to her hips; passion flared in his dark emerald eyes as he tugged her shirt free. Reverently, his hand glided under it, pulling it over her head with a gentle sweep.
“You’re more than I ever expected,” he said.
Her heart dipped into a pool of hope. This was more than sex, more than giving and taking pleasure. “So are you,” she replied, trusting him.
Wordlessly, they finished undressing each other until they lay skin-to-naked-skin, rediscovering each other. Intimately, exquisitely losing themselves in the physical connection.
Not rushed. Not frantic. Not frenzied.
She explored his body, loving the feel of his skin, the taste of his unique flavor of man on her tongue. Loving the warm slide of his palms on her bare torso, the heat of his mouth tasting her breasts. And loving the velvet-covered steel of his erection pressing against her, pulsing with desire, wanting her.
Jessie wanted to savor every touch, every nuance, every moment. To bottle every sensation and emotion welling inside her. To drink from the precious memory of his body’s claim. “Blake,” she whispered, circling his arousal and drawing him near.
He produced a condom, sheathed himself. “I’ve got you.” He slid into her, filling her.
“I believe you.”
His face was etched in fierce lines as he thrust into her again and again. Jessie’s heart cracked open a little wider, letting him claim her. Brand her as his.
…
Blake moved inside Jessie, her inner walls enveloping him, surrounding him with her silken, wet core. With each long thrust into her depths, he could feel her climax building, her orgasmic spasms drawing him deeper.
He locked his eyes on hers, stroking in and out of her warmth, quickening his pace. “Lose yourself with me.”
“Only for you,” she said, raising her pelvis in perfect sync with his.
On this bed, loving Jessie with his body, was where he belonged.
Blake buried himself to the hilt, his shaft pulsing and driving him to the brink of insanity. “You’re mine.” He drove in again as the first gathering waves of her orgasm shuddered around him.
“Blake,” she screamed.
He flew over the precipice with her, his release slamming through him, his own cry answering hers. And when he soared into the oblivion, his heart followed.
Blake collapsed on her, panting, waiting for his breath to return before rolling to one side, pulling her with him. “You all right?” he asked.
“Better than all right. You?”
Outside the window, the moon glowed and silver lined the dark clouds. He could hear the wind whistling through the trees, a branch tapping on the roof. Coldness settled deep in his lungs. They had precious few days left, and the thought of not having this spunky woman in his world twisted his stomach into knots.
He tightened his hold, reached for a blanket at the foot of the bed, and pulled it over them. “You paralyzed me,” he said.
She tipped her chin up, her slate-blue eyes on his. “That’s a temporary condition, I hope.”
His member stirred to life. “Very temporary.” Better to concentrate on the physical side of their relationship than the dangerous emotions building between them.
Minutes later, Blake replaced his condom and lost himself in her warmth again.
After they’d cleaned up and ordered room service, Jessie and Blake sat on the couch. She swirled a French fry into a dollop of ketchup and took a bite, considering him with her steel-glinted eyes.