She stepped gracefully out and kicked the material, along with cute pink panties, to the side.
He tried to look above her shoulder, but her ass was perfect, curvy and full. His hands itched to touch. A scaly looking black book came unstuck from her thigh and fell to the floor with a loud thud. She reached for it and tossed it onto a spare cot. “It’s the other half of the dragon-scale book.”
He grinned, amusement taking him despite the danger facing them. The raw desire coursing through him wasn’t going anywhere. Hundreds of years from now, even if he were half-dead, he’d still want her with the same intensity. “You hid half of an ancient book in your panties?”
She dropped the bodice and reached for a blanket to wrap around herself before turning to face him. “Yes. Drake didn’t want me to have it, so I stole it.” She met his gaze directly. “The book can wait. For now, I don’t need the archaic ‘mine’ language.” Her chin was up and her eyes a deep blue, while her wet auburn hair was beginning to curl around her bare shoulders. The woman looked like a sprite trying to be a warrior. A beautiful one.
“That’s unfortunate.” He cupped the side of her face and leaned in to kiss her before rubbing his thumb along her full bottom lip. She tasted like oranges and vanilla beans. It was a miracle. His miracle. He didn’t deserve her, but he was keeping her. Forever. “You chose me. It’s done.” Then he took her mouth the way he wanted, full and deep, for the first time not holding anything back.
She moved into him with a soft sigh, her mouth so soft beneath his. The woman had stolen his heart eons ago with a simple kiss, and it beat just for her. Hard and fast right now.
He slid his arm inside the blanket and flattened his palm across her entire lower back. Her skin was so soft it almost drove him to his knees. Pulling her even closer to his body, he bent her back, taking and pouring as much of himself into her as he could. He caressed her waist and didn’t miss the little tremor that ran through her.
Her skin was so soft, he closed his eyes and just let himself feel her for a brief moment. He’d always been gentle with her because he knew the second she gave him the go-ahead, he would take full advantage. The decision had to have been hers, but she’d made it.
Whether she understood that completely or not was a moot point now.
He deepened the kiss, flexing his fingers and showing a hint of aggression. She gasped in need and pressed her body against him. Yeah. She was exactly perfect for him.
Blood roared in his ears, and then he calmed, needing her more than he would’ve ever imagined. He clasped one hand in her hair and pulled her head back, his gaze on hers. Her eyes were soft and sleepy with desire. “Tell me you want this,” he ordered. He had to be sure.
She needed to be sure.
She blinked. Wariness filtered into her eyes, a soft hue of vulnerability that was all Hope. “I do want this.” Her voice trembled. “Whatever happens next, it isn’t going to be easy. For either of us or our people.”
“I’ve never wanted easy,” he murmured. “I’ve only wanted you.”
Her eyes flared and softened. “Pax.”
“I won’t hurt you,” he promised.
Amusement tilted her lips. “I think it will hurt a little bit.” And then she smiled—so damn sweet.
His heart rolled right over. So he gave her the absolute truth, needing to know she understood him. He was no longer the easygoing kid she’d known, and there was no way he could pretend to be anything other than who he’d become. “I cover and protect what’s mine. You need to know that, Hope.”
She steeled her shoulders in true Hope fashion and let the blanket fall to the floor. God, she was beautiful. From her little toes to the top of her head, he could spend an entire lifetime worshiping every inch. In fact, that sounded like a good plan. “I trust you, Pax.”
The words hit him hard, and he took them in. He pressed his index finger against her clavicle and traced down between her breasts to her hip bone. She gasped as he did so, her pupils dilating. Her breasts were high and full, with pink nipples that he’d see in his dreams for the rest of his life. He couldn’t help himself. He leaned down and tasted one. She ran her hands through his hair and tugged. He smiled, nipping at her. Her stomach sucked in, but she pushed into his mouth.
Yeah. She liked a little bite with her love. Good. So did he.
There had never been another female for him, and he had known it. He kissed her again. She was the one who reached for the shredded remains of his jeans and shoved them off him. He was hard, and he was ready, but he needed to be careful with her.
He spun her around and bit her shoulder. She laughed, and fire tore through him. He was aggressive and he was dominant, and he’d hidden those aspects from her all these years. But she knew him well enough to know that he’d never hurt her. Her ass was perfect, and he gave it a quick slap.
She jumped and turned around, pushing him in the chest, pink across her face. Her nipples were hard pebbles, and her thighs were damp. “Paxton.”
Yeah, this could be fun too. He knew it. “You’re so fucking perfect, Hope. You always have been,” he rumbled, his body on fire. It was true. Even when she was being stubborn and hadn’t seen that they were meant to be, she’d been his everything.
He’d loved her his entire life, and he’d been willing to sacrifice his very existence to save her. Still would—in a second. But he wanted to live to protect her. To love her and maybe see her swollen with their child, playing with their children. Forming a family.
There was no clear path for them to follow now, and he had no idea what their next step would be after he took care of the danger threatening her. But none of that mattered any longer.
She deserved a good life, a great life, and he’d find a way to give her happiness and peace. She’d bucked nations, fate, and maybe her own life to give herself to him, and worthy or not, he was accepting her gift. He was going to take Hope and make her his forever.
He held up his hand, showing the mating mark that was burning a hole through his palm. “Before we get carried away, where exactly do you want to wear this?”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Hope faltered, so much need coursing through her she could barely stand. His mark darkened in front of her eyes, and for a moment she paused. This was for real and this was forever.
Then she looked up into his silvery-blue eyes and smiled, her heart stuttering. “Over my heart.” Where he’d always lived, even when she’d pretended otherwise.
His eyes flared. Yeah, he liked that answer. He kissed her again, an edge to him she’d never tasted before. He was more aggressive than she had thought, but she liked it, or at least her body did. She was wet and ready for him, and she wanted to wear that marking more than anything in the world.
When she’d made her choice, she’d done so with her eyes and heart wide open. She could’ve gotten them both killed, and she’d known that at the time. But he was her choice in this lifetime and in any other, and that moment needed to be recorded for fate, and more importantly, for Paxton.
He kissed her again, one hand around her waist as he backed her onto a cot, laying her down. They were tall cots, but not very wide, not that they needed to be.