Damien slowed her hand with his and ran his lips along her jaw. "Marley. This has to be the last time then. The absolute last time."
"I know." She brought his mouth back to hers and buried her hands in his hair.
Damien pushed her back onto the ground and they yanked at clothes, clawed at each other, hot moist mouths sliding together, bodies grinding.
Marley heard her panting, felt the warm air on her skin, embraced the deep wet ache between her legs. The night was sharp and clear around them, the swamp humming with insects, and she felt bruised, smacked, but alive, and appreciative of that fact. It amazed her that she could feel anything any longer, yet she did, even more so, everything stark and sharp and pricking, like she'd been dunked in ice water and pulled back out, dripping and shivering.
Damien's tongue moved over her, stretching the neck of her tank top down and tasting her br**sts, his knees kicking and shoving and maneuvering her thighs apart while she worked his jeans down.
It wasn't pretty or tender or slow, but desperate, hard, demanding, her head pressed down in the hard-packed grass, expensive clothes shoved away brutally as an inconvenience. This was what she wanted, to feel him, ferocious and primal, their frustrations bursting out as they pounded their bodies together.
Damien was hot and possessive as he shoved her skirt up, yanked her thong to the side, and for the moment he was hers, only hers, regardless of the past, ignorant of the future. When he pushed inside her, she cried out, the power of his motion skidding her on the grass. Wrapping a leg around her, he rolled them, until he was on the ground, Marley on top of him.
She spread her thighs farther, eyes half closed, swarming in sensations, wants, the agony of knowing now was it, all there was ever going to be. Skirt caught between her leg and his hip, Marley yanked it out of her way, balanced her knees in the grass, and started to move on him. Each slide up was a delicious tease, each push down a soothing ecstasy.
Shoulders tense, hair falling in her face, damp with sweat, Marley took Damien into her over and over, until they were both panting, thrusting, slapping together with all the urgency they felt. Her teeth tore into her bottom lip, Damien's fingers dug into her waist, rubbing her flesh raw. When she forced her eyes open, looked down at him, she let herself go, sinking into the pleasure, wrapping it around her, holding on to her tight, agonizing orgasm as long as she could.
Damien gripped her forearms and flipped her onto her side with more ferocity than finesse. Marley blew her sticky hair out of her eyes, lightheaded and blissfully exhausted. Prepared to lay back and let him do all the work, Marley was shocked when he shifted her hip up, so one leg crossed the other. "How…"
The question died on her lips when he pushed forward into her, intense and determined, touching everywhere, tripping off a whole new buildup.
And as they climaxed together, Damien stared down at her in the dark and said, "I love you. I love you."
It was more than she had expected. Yet it could never be enough.
Chapter Eighteen
Marley leaned into Damien, his arm around her waist as they walked back down the path, her muscles sore, body satisfied, mind empty, heart full for now.
"Will you spend the night in the garçonnier with me?"
"I thought you said that was the last time." Not that she was going to object to a sleepover.
He nudged her hip. "It was. I just thought you'd be more comfortable with me than alone in the house."
"Yes, I would. Thanks." Marley smiled up at him, then stopped walking when she heard a snort of disdain.
Rosa was in front of them, hands on her hips. "I wondered where you were hiding tonight. Nice grass stains. Let me guess, you've been doing a little midnight gardening."
"How did you know?" Damien drawled. "Those oleander bushes needed trimming."
His answer clearly irritated Rosa. She crossed her arms over her chest, which was barely covered in a gold bikini top, body jewelry wrapping around her waist and attaching to her belly button ring. Her peasant skirt glowed white in the moonlight. "I want to talk to you, Damien. Now. Alone."
"I'm sorry, it will have to wait. Marley is leaving in the morning, and we're spending some time together." Damien pressed her waist, urging her forward, clearly intent on passing Rosa on the path.
Marley didn't like the look on Rosa's face. She thought Damien was making a mistake in disregarding her. "It's okay, I can go ahead."
"No."
"Listen to your little girlfriend, she's obviously smarter than you. I want to talk to you right now."
But Damien just strode on past her. "You sound like a three-year-old, Rosa. I'll speak to you tomorrow."
Marley heard Rosa gasp, glanced at her over her shoulder and saw her screwing her hands into fists, saw the rage on Rosa's face. Then suddenly Marley felt a whoosh around her ankles, felt heat licking her legs.
"What the hell?" Startled, she jerked back, looked down, and saw the hem of her skirt was on fire. "Damien!"
She looked around frantically, not sure what to do. The heat from the flickering flames was stinging her skin, and she bent at the knees so the skirt would hit the ground and she could swat at it.
Damien swore and stomped on her hem with his bare foot. The fire died, and the fabric smoldered. "Rosa, that is not f**king funny."
"What?" Rosa sniffed, studying her fingernails.
As Marley stood back up, she felt the back of her skirt lift like a wind had caught it. "Oh, God!" Now the seat of her skirt was smoldering. There were no flames, but the fabric was darkening, making crackling sounds as it smoked and spread out in a circle. She felt the heat on her backside and froze in panic.
Damien smacked her hard, preventing a flame from springing up. Marley stumbled forward from the blow.
"Look, if you're into spanking, that is your business, but I could do without seeing it." Rosa looked to be fighting a smug smile.
Marley was suddenly afraid of that smile. Rosa had powers she didn't understand, and she clearly saw Marley as the enemy. Skirt still hot to the touch, Marley started to turn around when the whole hem burst into a colorful fire ring. She screamed, and Damien yanked her skirt down to the ground and pulled her out of it.
"Dammit, it, that's enough," Damien told Rosa, seriously annoyed with her. She was scaring the hell out of Marley and he really didn't like that.
She glared at him. "Don't mess with me. I'll set her on fire like a human Molotov cocktail if you don't show me some respect."
"You'd never do it." Damien tossed Marley's skirt a few feet away from them and stared down Rosa. She looked serious, but he had never known her to be truly malicious. Mischievous, yes. But cruel, no.