Whispers in the Dark - Maya Banks [54]
She went slick around him, liquid silk. Her fingers dug into his shoulders as she lifted her hips to meet his every thrust. His fingers slid around to cup her buttocks and he helped her, lifting as he pushed and rode harder, deeper.
“Tell me you’re close. Can’t last much longer,” he gasped.
Instead of answering him, she kissed him. Hot and breathless, her tongue licking over his. He was lost. So very lost.
He was spilling into her before he could even think to make sure she was with him. Mindlessly he thrust, each glide releasing more of himself into her. And through it all she touched him, caressed him, made soft sounds of acceptance and pleasure.
He slipped his fingers between them once more and found her heat. He thrust again as he stroked the taut nub of flesh. He wouldn’t leave her until she’d gained as much pleasure as he had.
She cried out as he thrust again. And then again, all the while gently stroking her clitoris. She went hot and liquid around him in a rush. She strained upward, every muscle in her body rigid.
“That’s it, baby. Come for me.”
She writhed uncontrollably, her behind lifting from the mattress. She cried out again and then touched his hand to stop his gentle manipulation. He withdrew and then lowered his body to hers and rolled to the side so he could hold her close.
She lay against him, naked, her limbs twined with his. Her chest rose and fell rapidly and her breath huffed out over his neck. And he thought that, in this moment, he’d never experienced something so perfect. So fucking beautiful that it made his teeth ache.
This wasn’t sex. This was something so deeply emotional that he couldn’t even find words to describe it. He’d missed her with every cell and now she was finally here. A part of him. Linked so intimately with him that nothing could come between them.
He stroked her back, enjoying the feel of her skin against his palms. Then he kissed and nuzzled her neck, just wanting to inhale her sweetness all over again.
“Did I hurt you?” God, don’t let him have hurt her. He never should have pushed her into this, but he’d been helpless to stop it.
She kissed his shoulder and snuggled deeper into his embrace. “You were perfect, Nathan. So very perfect.”
CHAPTER 18
PAIN splintered through Nathan, and he came awake with a gasp. For a moment he thought he was having another dream, reliving his captivity. But he felt it again, a thin blunt object smacking his flesh.
He made a grab for his arm and breathed away the sensation and in the process bumped into Shea’s sleeping form. She lay beside him, curled into a protective ball, the sheets in a tangle at her feet.
She flinched and made a low sound of distress and it was then he realized it was she who was dreaming. She who was reliving her captivity, and he was still so closely linked to her that he felt everything she was experiencing.
His gut tightened in rage and his throat knotted at what she’d endured. His hands shook as he turned and pulled her into his arms.
“Shea. Baby, wake up.”
When he got no response, he called to her with his mind.
Shea. I’ve got you. No one can hurt you now. Wake up and look at me. Feel me. I’m right here. I have you.
She came instantly awake. No gradual climb to consciousness. Her eyes flew open and her breath exploded from her lips in harsh puffs.
“Grace,” she croaked.
Nathan frowned. “Grace?”
She scrambled to sit up in bed. Her hands shook. Her entire body shook. She raised her hands to wipe away her hair but then buried her face against her palms and rocked back and forth.
Distress radiated from her like a beacon. Her shoulders started to twitch and he realized with alarm that she was crying.
Her mind was a chaotic mess. He frowned at the images of her captors and then he saw a beautiful, dark-haired woman. Taller than Shea. Toned and tanned. Just as quickly as he caught the image,