Harley stiffened, the unexplainable panic once again looming.
“Don’t say stuff like that.”
“That you’re a miracle?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s freaking me out.”
“Harley.” Reaching up, he grasped her face between his hands. “What’s going on?”
Well, that was the question, wasn’t it?
She licked her dry lips, trying to put her vague fears into words.
“For the past thirty years you’ve been the monster in the closet that gave me nightmares.”
“Merda.” The golden eyes flashed with outrage. “You think I’m a monster?”
“Of course not. My point is that Caine made me believe his lies. He controlled and manipulated me, and I was too stupid to realize it.”
His expression remained grim. “Not stupid. You were young and vulnerable, and the bastard took advantage of you.”
“I let him take advantage of me.” She unconsciously squared her shoulders. “That’s never going to happen again.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“I barely know you.” She rolled her eyes as a smirk curved his lips. “Sex doesn’t equate to knowing someone.”
Chapter Twenty
Salvatore was careful to keep his possessive instincts hidden behind his taunting smile.
This woman was his mate.
And nothing, not even Harley herself, was going to keep him from claiming her.
But he hadn’t been born yesterday.
Or even a century ago.
He might not fully understand Harley’s hovering panic, but he did know that a display of blatant machismo would push her over the edge.
It was a moment for finesse, not force.
“You know me.” He placed his hand just above her breast, savoring the jump of her heart at his intimate touch. “Here.”
Her eyes darkened with awareness of the bond forged between them, but she stubbornly shook her head.
“This is happening way too fast.”
Salvatore allowed his gaze to dip to the perfect curve of her br**sts. There was no point in arguing. Not when she was obviously in the mood to assert her independence.
Eventually she’d learn to accept their bond.
And until then, he had a perfect means of passing the time.
“Very well, cara. I can do slow,” he promised, his hands moving to cup her br**sts. He growled deep in his throat as her ni**les tightened into tiny nubs and the air was scented with her arousal. “As slow as you want.”
Her eyes darkened with ready passion, but her expression remained leery, no doubt sensing she was being deliberately distracted.
“Salvatore…”
“Harley, we just escaped from a demon lord,” he protested, his fingers lightly circling her ni**les. “Surely we deserve a few hours before we go searching for more trouble.”
She shivered, her back arching beneath his caresses. “I don’t have to search for trouble when you’re around.”
“So cruel,” he teased, lifting his head to replace his fingers with his lips.
“You think you’re so damned irresistible,” she complained, even as her fingers threaded through his hair and she guided his mouth to her other breast.
He gently nipped her creamy skin. “I’m more interested in whether you think I’m irresistible.”
“You’re…” She groaned as his tongue flicked over the tip of her nipple. “Passable, I suppose.”
His wolf stirred at the direct challenge. Without warning, he flipped her onto her back and covered her with his larger body, pressing her into the mattress.
“Passable?”
“Hey.”
“My turn on top.”
She was insanely beautiful with her golden hair spread across the pillows and her cheeks flushed, but it was the sensual anticipation that glittered in her eyes that made his muscles clench in painful need.
“Don’t get used to it,” she husked.
“We’ll see.” Her lips parted to argue, but her words faltered as Salvatore sank his c**k deep into her wet heat, her low moan of pleasure filling the air. “There’s an endless number of possibilities,” he whispered, “and positions.”
She sank her nails deep into his back, drawing blood as he slowly pulled back and then thrust forward. The pinpricks of pain only added to his pleasure, and pumping his hips in a slow, steady rhythm, he bent his head to capture her nipple between his lips.
“Yes,” Harley breathed, wrapping her legs around his waist. “Don’t stop.”
Stop?
Madre del dio. There wasn’t a force in heaven or earth that could make him stop. Not when her slick heat was clamped around his erection, her hips rising to meet his thrusts with the hungry demand of a female Were.
Muttering soft words of encouragement, Salvatore shifted to bury his face in the curve of her neck, the mating bond roaring through him. The sense of Harley was not just physical, but branded on his every emotion.
She was a part of him.
For all eternity.
Feeling the gathering power of his orgasm, Salvatore grasped the tender flesh of her neck between his teeth, gripping her hips as he drove into her with rapid strokes.
His entire body tightened with a fierce joy.
Si. This was what sex between mates was supposed to be.
Intense, thrilling, and wild.
With a sharp cry, Harley reached her climax, raking her nails down his back as she convulsed around him.
The sensation was enough to catapult him over the edge, and tilting back his head, Salvatore roared in pleasure, allowing his seed to pour deep inside her.
For a breathless moment, he remained poised above her, then with a shuddering sigh he collapsed beside her, gathering her tight in his arms.
“Admit it,” he murmured, tenderly tucking a damp curl behind her ear.
“Admit what?”
“You find me irresistible.”
She snorted, shifting so she could meet his teasing gaze. “I find cheesecake irresistible, but that doesn’t make it good for me.”
“Cheesecake.” He studied her with a wicked smile. “Hmmm.”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“I was just imagining how delicious cheesecake would taste served on this decadent skin.” His fingers traced a path up the curve of her back. “What else do you find irresistible?”
She smiled with faux sweetness. “A loaded Smith and Wesson .357.”
“Sexy.”
Her eyes widened, then without warning, her choked laugh echoed through the vast room.