That single movement seemed to flip a switch inside her and she began to move. She rode me like I was a wild mustang and she was the only one who could tame me. Her hips grinded against me so hard that I began to sweat. Tension coiled in my gut, like an angry snake ready to strike. I knew my orgasm was going to destroy me… and I was going to love it.
Frantically, we moved against each other, the pace picking up with each stroke. Finally, Honor made a desperate noise and bore down on me. I grasped her hips to keep her from moving, and I sat up, clutching her around the waist. Her arms and legs wound around my back and she buried her face in the hollow of my neck.
I knew I needed to slow down. Her ribs were in no condition for this kind of activity. I gentled my hold around her waist and started to lower back down onto the mattress.
Honor tightened her arms and legs around me, lifting her head to pin me with a pleading stare. “Don’t stop.”
“Your ribs…”
“I don’t care about my ribs.” She pulled me closer and I went because the feel of her grinding against my lap was just way too much to resist.
We moved together, the lower halves of our bodies grinding in perfect rhythm until the friction was almost too much to bear.
“Nathan,” she cried, her voice strained and pulled taut.
With one last thrust, I started pulsing inside her and then she toppled over the edge. Honor moaned and sank her teeth into my shoulder. A great shout ripped from the back of my throat as my release went on and on and on.
I hugged her close, trying not to crush her ribs but unable to gentle my hold. I couldn’t let her go. She was mine.
I was keeping her.
An hour could have passed; I had no concept of time. When our hearts finally returned to normal and I felt like I could breathe, I peeled her off my chest and looked into her flushed and relaxed face.
“I’m so glad I didn’t die that night,” I whispered, the words ripping out of me from someplace so incredibly deep. They were painful to say, but in that pain there was joy. Joy that I was finally learning to feel something other than guilt about being alive.
She made a soft sound and her eyes turned into liquid pools. Her hands cupped my face and she rested her forehead against mine. “Thank you for coming home. I’ve been waiting for you forever.”
She reached between us and picked up the dog tags I always wore but seldom ever noticed. I’d been wearing them for so long it was like they were just another part of my body.
I watched as she brought the twin silver tags up to her lips and press a kiss to each one. She replaced the tags against my chest and then cupped my face once more, this time to kiss my lips and tilt my head down so she could kiss the edge of the scar on my cheek.
Something inside me cracked.
The wall of isolation and despair that I so painstakingly built around my heart fractured and completely tumbled away.
31
Honor
Holy hot mama. I felt like a kid who caught Santa putting presents under the tree on Christmas Eve and realized the jolly man in red was actually real.
Nathan was real. He wasn’t perfect. He was a man who had seen many hardships, a man who faced death and war. He was scarred (inside and out), and he would likely always battle with some sort of inner demons.
It’s what made him so remarkable. There were some people like him that might collapse under the weight of all they carried. But he didn’t. Yeah, I could see in his eyes and hear in his voice there were times he stumbled, but he kept getting up.
I didn’t want a knight in shining armor. Knights with shining armor were posers. Everyone knew that the really good knights were the ones whose armor bore chinks and scratches from a battle they were strong enough to survive.
I was still collapsed across his chest and my body still trembled with the after effects of making love to him, when I heard a little ruff from beside the bed. I smiled and pushed myself off him to peek over the side of the mattress. Lucy wiggled her tail, her entire back end twisting with it.
I laughed and scooped her up to snuggle her against my chest. She licked my face and then wiggled free, climbing on top of Nathan’s exposed chest. He opened his eyes and looked at the puppy and smiled.
Lucy plopped her butt down right in the center off him and looked at him expectantly. A chuckle rumbled from his throat and he reached up to scratch behind her oversized ears. I lay down beside him, scooting close to his side, and rested my cheek against his shoulder.
We lavished attention on Lucy and every so often, Nathan would turn and kiss my forehead. I’d never felt so content in all my life. I felt like I was exactly where I belonged, and I couldn’t be more grateful that Nathan (and Lucy) came into my life.
It seemed silly to feel so much so fast. If this were a book, my reviewers would be screaming “insta-love” all over their reviews. But it didn’t matter what anyone else thought, not really. No one else could tell me what was in my heart. Besides, I wouldn’t be confessing my undying love for him anytime soon. I wasn’t in a hurry for that. I wanted to take my time with Nathan. I wanted to know everything he wanted to share. I wanted to explore his body until I knew every single detail, and then I wanted to start all over again.
“You’re awfully quiet over there,” he said, running a hand up my back. “Where’d you go?”
“I haven’t gone anywhere. I’m still here, with you.”
“No regrets?” he murmured, grazing the very tips of his fingers down the center of my spine.
I pushed up, propping my chin on my forearm and staring into his face. “None.”
Nathan lifted his head off the pillow and brushed his lips over mine gently. But it wasn’t enough and the kiss deepened instantly, our tongues colliding in endless, consuming affection. He felt warm and moist. His lips glided against mine effortlessly, like they knew exactly where to go and how to extract the most pleasure from me with just the right amount of contact. I felt my fingers curl into his chest, and I made a small sound of pleasure. Feeling emboldened, I sucked his lower lip between my teeth and nibbled at it. He gripped my bare butt and shot sparks of electricity throughout my body.
“You better put those teeth away unless you want to start a fire,” he murmured, pulling away.
“Maybe I do,” I purred.
He groaned. “Don’t tempt me. I don’t want to hurt you. Your ribs are probably feeling what we just did. You breathing okay?”
How could I breathe when he left me breathless?
“I’m fine.”