Embrace the Night

17

Whatever had remained of boyhood was gone from Alex’s eyes. A threshold had been crossed, and it couldn’t be uncrossed. Far too early, the boy had become a man, the last of his childhood stripped away.

Chloe ached to see that knowledge in his gaze, but the pain was tempered by the understanding that events could have turned out so much worse than they had. She had survived and so had Alex. Even Tess, for al the pain she had to deal with, was alive and would recover someday. She had a life ahead of her, even if it wasn’t the life she’d expected.

As Chloe and Mil ie stepped further into the wolf’s hospital room, Chloe watched him hang up the phone, and pointedly didn’t let herself think of the stil absent Merek and Luca. Every day that passed with no word made her heart hurt.

Mil ie caught her hand, somehow sensing she needed the supportive gesture. It had been an eventful week since Chloe had been discharged. Ophelia and she were staying at her aunt’s mansion in Upper Queen Anne for the time being, and Mil ie’s bodyguard / chauffeur Philip insisted on driving Chloe anywhere she needed to go. Al of it was more for her aunt’s peace of mind than anything else. If this nightmare had proved anything to Chloe, it was that she was resilient enough to cope with whatever life threw at her.

“Excuse me.” A nurse pushed past them both to check Alex’s charts and draw a vial of his blood.

He gave the woman a tolerant stare while she stuck him. He’d had to deal with more needles in the last week than anyone should have to in a lifetime, but since he was the one person who had ever received Chloe’s treatment for ful moon madness, he’d become an instant science project. Desmodus Industries had offered Chloe her old position back, at twice the salary and research funds, so she was careful y monitoring everything the hospital was doing to Alex, but enough was enough. She was taking him home in the morning.

Ushering Mil ie into a chair beside the wolf’s bed, she waited for Nurse Needle to take herself off. Alex brushed at his arm, the smal puncture already fading to nothing. “From Desmodus intern to Desmodus lab rat.”

“Please. We both know you only took that internship with me to be closer to your dad.” Chloe crossed her arms on top of the bed railing, ignoring Alex’s slight flinch at the mention of his father. “We need to talk.”

“About what?” His voice clearly said he didn’t care, which both worried her and made her want to shake him. It would take time, she knew, but she hated seeing him so shut down.

“The future, young man. Your future, to be precise,” Mil ie snapped tartly. She plopped her purse in her lap and reclined in her chair. “What we’re going to do with you.”

He frowned at the older woman. “I don’t understand.”

Chloe opened her mouth to explain gently, but Mil ie beat her to speech. Her tone managed to be both kind and acerbic. “Your parents are both gone, and as far as we know, there are no other relatives to claim you.”

Bleakness entered his gaze, and he focused on the wal across from him, cleared his throat. “No, there’s no one.”

“Okay.” Chloe caught his hand in hers, squeezed until he looked at her. “I’ve already had Aunt Mil ie’s lawyer start taking care of the paperwork so I can adopt you.”

“You . . . What?” For the first time in days, she saw real emotion cross his face. Stunned was a good word for it. He blinked, shook his head. “You’ve been looking out for me the last few weeks, yeah, but adoption is permanent.”

“Thanks for that news flash,” she replied.

He snorted. “You know what I mean.”

“Yeah, I do.” And it hurt that he’d assumed after al they’d been through that she’d just let him be lost in the foster care system. The damage Ivan had done to this boy was inexcusable, making him believe he was so disposable. In his obsessed drive to assure that his son didn’t die like his wife, Ivan had missed out on the only years he would have had with his child. So much ugliness and grief, and in the end it had al come to rest on Alex’s doorstep.

“It’s not real y kosher for a non-wolf to adopt a wolf.” His words were a protest, but he tightened his grip on her hand to an almost painful degree, his desperation so clear it made her want to pick him up and hug him like she had when he was a toddler.

“I’m your godmother. Your parents named me your guardian if anything should ever happen to them. And something happened to them.” She tossed her head. “So, fuck ‘kosher.’ ”

“Wel , al right.” His free hand lifted to rub his nose. “If you’re sure.”

“I’m one hundred percent sure.” She nodded firmly, wrapping both her hands around his.

“What about Merek?”

She twitched her shoulders in a shrug, not meeting his eyes for the first time. “I don’t know. He’s off doing his cop thing, and I haven’t seen or heard from him.”

“He’s cal ed me a few times, just to check in.”

“Ah.” That piece of news just twisted the knife already lodged firmly in her heart. “Wel , then. I’m guessing that means he’s not part of a package deal for adoption. It’s just you and me, kid. I’m sure he’l keep in touch with you, though.”

Alex looked pained, but didn’t reply, and Chloe was grateful for the silence. There real y were no words to make this better. Nothing could.

The boy cleared his throat twice, glanced away, sighed and then managed to meet her eyes.

“Merek . . . ah . . . asked me to tel you that Smith was kil ed today. It’s over.” Alex tried for an encouraging smile, but didn’t quite make it. “He’l be back home soon.”

“Wel , that’s a relief.” Mil ie spoke up; her hazel eyes had a steely glint that should have worried Chloe, but she was too deep in heartache to care.

Chloe knew Merek had contacted his partner, Alex, and Mil ie in the last week, but not her. That answered a final question, didn’t it? She wanted to track the man down and beg him to give them another chance, but then wanted to beat herself for her own neediness. He knew better than anyone else except her aunt how damaged she was and how that made her reach for comfort in the middle of the night. He knew if he stuck around she’d turn clingy and pathetic.

He’d walked when he’d had the chance at a clean break, and she couldn’t even blame him.

With his control issues, watching them be kidnapped and almost kil ed while he was shot and unable to do anything to save them would have been his very worst nightmare come true. Again.

If anyone understood that, it was her. Even with al she’d been through, she was stil uneasy with the dark.

She didn’t think she’d ever conquer that. If Merek was there, it was bearable, but he wouldn’t be ever again.

The sooner she accepted that, the sooner she could get back to coping with the normalcy of her life.

It hurt. Gods, but it hurt worse than anything she could ever have imagined. She wanted to curl into a little bal and scream with the pain of it. If she had thought it would help, she might have done it, but it wouldn’t.

Nothing would. Like al the other tragedies in her life, she’d just have to endure. Someday it would get better.

It might take years, but it would get better. If she didn’t believe that, she might just col apse from the agony eating away at her soul.

Focusing on something else would help. She had Alex to distract her. Tess’s recovery. Work, with its ongoing research. Even Mil ie and Philip and Ophelia would divert her. Surviving the nights alone in her bed would be her own cross to bear.

She offered Mil ie and Alex the best smile she could. “I’m going to head over and get my house ready for us. Alex wil be released in the morning, and I think it’s past time we both went home.”

The house was pristine, Alex’s room was ready for him, Ophelia had settled in like a queen, and Chloe was about to crawl the wal s. She had to get out. Twelve hours of darkness and alone time stood between her and when she went to pick up her godson. She thought about using her research as an excuse and going down to the hospital to check in on Tess and him, but they’d both know something was wrong.

Because she was the biggest masochist on the planet, and because she needed some closure on her relationship with Merek, she put on a slinky dress and took a cab to Sanguine. The place where she’d met her warlock. It seemed a fitting place to say good-bye.

She cal ed Alex and Tess on the way to say good night, then cal ed Mil ie to let her know where she was headed just in case she was needed for something. Plus, she was going out alone, so it seemed like a good idea to inform someone.

Closing her cel phone, she slipped it into her evening bag and walked into the noise and music that was Sanguine. Dropping her purse on the bar, she slid onto a tal stool and crossed her legs. The place was just as she remembered it, dim lighting, scarred wooden bar, lots of Magickals dancing, drinking, and looking for some play. She nodded when the bartender approached. “What can I get you?”

Just to torture herself a little more, she met the other woman’s gaze and asked, “Got anything with honey in it?”

The bartender tilted her head, considering. “I can do a Honnessey or a Honey Bee for you.”

“What’s the difference?” Not that Chloe cared. If it had alcohol and she could toast to her shattered heart, she was game. At the moment, she was more than ready to drown her sorrows. Tomorrow was soon enough for her to be strong and responsible and parental for Alex.

“One has Hennessey; the other has rum. Twist of lemon, little bit of honey.” The bartender flashed a fanged grin. Vampire. “Pick your poison.”

“I’l take the Honnessey.” And, because Chloe real y intended to earn her masochist stripes tonight, she said, “Put a little more honey in it than usual.”

“Coming right up.”

She dropped a twenty on the bar. “Thanks.”

“No problem.” The other woman scooped up the bil , went to the cash register, and brought back change.

“I’ve seen that look before. Worn it a time or two myself.”

Chloe’s grin was weak, but at least she managed a smile at al . She tried to tel herself every day would get better, get easier, but she didn’t think it would be that simple. She’d always been so careful in her relationships to not get in too deep, to not need too much. Now that she’d fal en and fal en hard, it was going to take a long time to recover. She couldn’t even imagine a relationship after Merek. It made her stomach cramp to consider it.

The bartender slid a drink in front of her and then kindly left her to her misery. Closing her eyes, Chloe took the first sip, let the honey rol over her tongue along with the sharp bite of alcohol.

Gods, just the flavor of it warmed the pit of her bel y, and stil managed to make her insides ache with longing. She sighed, her breath ruffling the surface of the liquid. Taking a couple of deep chugs, she welcomed the burn. A final toast. To her great fal . It had hurt when she’d crash-landed, but she’d survive.

She’d survived a lot lately, so she knew this wouldn’t kil her. She’d pick up the pieces and move on, but for a long, long time this would be a gaping wound within her.

The chorus of voices in her head began to murmur. Merek. merek. MEREK.

As if she needed her clairaudience’s reminder of why she was here. Ignoring the mental noise, she took the final swig of her drink and looked up to motion for the bartender. “Can I get another one?”

“Actual y, she’s just about to leave, so she doesn’t need anything.” Merek’s sub-bass voice managed to cut through the din of music. “Can you close out her tab?”

The vampire shook her head, flashing a wary look at Merek. “That was her first drink, and she paid cash for it.”

“Great. Thanks.” He closed his fingers around Chloe’s arm and tugged her off of her stool; the neon lights emphasized the angles of his face and the harshness of his expression. He didn’t appear at al happy.

“Come on, Chloe.”

Looked like she wasn’t going to avoid the Dear Jane talk. He’d just wanted to dump her in person instead of over the phone. She sighed and left a generous tip on the bar. “Thanks for the drink.”

“Come back any time.” A bit of sympathy shone in the other woman’s gaze as she glanced between Chloe and Merek.

“I wil .” Though she knew she wouldn’t. After tonight, she’d never be able to come back here. It would remind her too much of Merek, and after the closing discussion they were about to have, one more reminder of him would just be too much for her.

The bright streetlights outside il uminated his face better than the neon inside. He looked like hel . His eyes were red-rimmed and bloodshot, and though he appeared clean and healthy, his clothes were ripped and stained with things she didn’t even want to identify. He looked like he hadn’t shaved in days, and lines of exhaustion carved grooves beside his eyes and mouth.

He was the most beautiful thing she’d ever seen.

And he wasn’t for her. Not anymore. She looked anywhere except at him as he escorted her to his car and helped her in. The moment he slid into the driver’s seat, she rushed into speech. “Alex and Tess are doing wel .”

He cleared his throat. “I know. I cal ed.”

“Alex said you’d checked in on him.” The words were stilted, painful. He hadn’t cal ed her, hadn’t cared to find out if she was al right. So, why did he have to put her through this? The answer would splinter her into a mil ion unrecognizable pieces, and after al the upheaval of these last weeks, she just wasn’t brave enough to ask. It wasn’t like him to be cruel, but he’d want to make sure it was okay to stay in touch with Alex. Her stomach clenched into a hard knot. That was something Merek would do—he was too good a man to lead her on or to abandon a boy who worshipped him.

He control ed the car with his characteristic quiet competence as he navigated the streets on the way to her house. “Alex said you’re adopting him.”

“Yeah.” She stared out the windshield, but managed a smal smile. “I sicced my Aunt Mil ie’s evil lawyer on the Al -Magickal Council to get it pushed through as soon as possible.”

“The adoption people aren’t going to know what hit them.” Listening to him in the dark was so familiar, so sweet and good she wanted to cry. Instead, she straightened her spine and clenched her fingers around her evening bag.

“As long as I get what I want, they can have a little tailspin hissy fit over it.”

He snorted. “Why am I not surprised?”

“I’m a Standish. Why would anyone be surprised?” A sigh of relief eased out of her when they pul ed up to the curb in front of her house. Thank the gods. She could escape soon.

“Are you going to look at me?” His deep voice was low and strained.

She hummed in her throat because she had no idea how to answer that. The fact that he hadn’t cal ed her was like a spreading bruise inside her, so she chose silence over accusations or tears. How could they have been together for weeks yet he didn’t care enough to check in with her? Selina or Alex or Mil ie or even the hospital staff would have told him she was alive, but that wasn’t the same as talking to her and finding out how she was real y doing.

Sucking in a deep breath, she focused on his hands on the steering wheel because she couldn’t meet those gray eyes. “Okay, here it is. I’m adopting Alex, but I want you to feel comfortable being involved in his life. I know you love him, and he adores you, so even though this—” she waved a hand between them “— isn’t going anywhere, I don’t want you to think I’m going to try to keep you and Alex apart. I wouldn’t do that.”

“I know you wouldn’t.” He swal owed twice, his knuckles white as he gripped the wheel. “I guess . . . that answers al the questions I had then.”

“Wel . . . good. I’m glad we got that settled.” She fumbled for her door handle, her bel y twisting so hard she thought she might puke. That confirmed that, didn’t it? Game over. Al he wanted from her now was Alex. She was safe; his duty was done, so this thing between them was done, too. She tried to tel herself it was what she’d expected al along, that she was ready for the pain, but she was wrong. It was crippling, blinding.

“Settled . . . yeah.” He turned off the car, let go of the wheel, got out, and came around to open her door for her. She leaped away from his helping hand and scurried along in front of him as he walked her up the steps to her door. The last thing she wanted was for him to touch her. She’d break down and just lose it al over him.

She straightened her shoulders, unlocked her front door, and tossed her purse on the smal table in the entryway. Turning to face him, she stood in the open door so it was clear he wasn’t invited in. They could finish this little chat outside. She just prayed her voice didn’t shake when she spoke. “Was there anything else you needed before you left?”

There. That was good. Polite, calm. She could do this for Alex, no matter how it pained her.

“You,” he said softly. The color of his eyes was the deep gray of the sky before a storm. “I need you. No matter how hard I try to run away from that fact, I can’t escape it. I’m always going to need you.” His voice was a grating rasp, and he set his hands on her shoulders, gripping so tight it hurt. “I fucked up, in so many ways, but I love you, Chloe, and I’m sorry I hurt you.”

“You . . . you love me?” Somehow hearing him say the words was like taking a swift blow. It bowled her over, left her reeling. She’d been so sure he would never come for her. She was safe, and he could escape his nightmare. The end. A tear spil ed over her lashes, and she dashed it away, a sob hitching her breath.

“B-but you didn’t cal m-me. You c-cal ed to check on Alex, but you didn’t bother to do the s-same for me.”

Gods, it sounded so needy and whiny. Pathetic. She closed her eyes. Tears continued streaking down her cheeks, and she fought hard to keep from total y breaking down.

“Don’t cry, sweetheart. I know I total y fucked things up between us.” Merek eased her into his arms, cradled her against his broad chest. He tilted her head back, wiping the moisture from her cheeks with the pad of his thumb. “Please don’t cry. I wanted to cal you, but I couldn’t.”

A watery laugh huffed out of her. “Yeah, that’s what I told myself, too, until Alex said you were cal ing him.”

“That’s not what I meant.” He rested his forehead against hers, rocking her gently. She could see deep into his eyes, read every emotion there. He didn’t try to hide anything from her. “I didn’t mean I was physical y unable to cal you; I meant I had some personal shit to work through. A lot of personal shit.”

She leaned back a little and searched his face, but even without the open expression, she’d have known.

“Because you couldn’t see to help us and save us from al the bad stuff.”

A chuckle rumbled from him, and he kissed her temple. “You know me too wel .”

“That’s not going to change, I don’t think.” She swal owed, wishing she didn’t have to remind him, wishing she could just take what he said at face value, but she couldn’t bear it if he walked away again. She had to know he’d stick it out even if it meant living with his worst fears every day. “You’re not suddenly going to wake up tomorrow and be able to see our future. I don’t even want you to.”

“I know.” He sighed, lifted his hand to cradle the back of her head and burrow his fingers into her hair.

“That was the shit I was working through. Once I got my head on straight, I drove like a bat out of hel to get to you.”

“So you’re fine with it?”

“No, I’m not.” His smile was rueful. “I’m never going to be, but I’m a lot less fine with walking away from you and Alex because I can’t protect you like I want to be able to. I thought it would be better for you if I left, but I couldn’t do it. I didn’t want to. I want to be with you. I want to help you with the kid. I want al of it. I know it’s a risk to love people, and there’s always a chance something wil take them from you, but I’l take that risk with you. I have to.”

“I want al of that, too. I’m wil ing to take the risk.” Letting out the breath she hadn’t been aware she was holding, she cupped his face in her palms. His eyes closed, and he leaned into her touch, a fine tension she hadn’t noticed before easing from his muscles. She mapped the lines of his face with her fingers. “I thought .

. . I thought you might also have some doubts because”—the words caught in her throat, but she forced them out, needing to have everything clear between them—“because I need you too much, and since my mom died, I tend to hold on too tight to the people I love. I cling.” She flushed, and she knew he’d see it in the bright beam of her porch light. Every light in the house was on. “I mean, you were bleeding out and al I could think was don’t leave me alone. Gods, I’m so sorry. ”

“Shh. No. None of that.” He pul ed in a slow breath, his gaze steady, his touch so tender it made tears prick her eyes again. “Sweetheart, did you ever think that of al the people in the world, Alex and I are two who could real y use someone who holds on and refuses to let go?” He stroked her hair, her shoulders, her back. “I don’t want to leave you alone, and even if that’s al you were thinking when I was shot, you stil managed to pul nine bul ets out of me. You saved my life.” He brushed his mouth over her lips, and she fisted her fingers in his shirt to keep him close. “Need me as much as I need you. Love me so much it feels like you can’t even breathe. Hold on tight and never let me go.”

A sob bubbled out of her, and pure joy broke through. Yes. That was what she wanted with him. Every day for the rest of her life, as long or short as that might be. “I love you, Merek. Everything about you. Dangerous job, control freak, and al . Even if that dangerous job takes you away from me, I wil always be grateful for the time I had with you. I love you just the way you are, because you love me the same way, with al my baggage in tow.”

“You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me.” He hauled her up on her tiptoes, pressing her flush against him, and slammed his mouth over hers.

A moan ripped loose from deep down inside her. She knotted her fingers in his hair and shoved her tongue between his lips. His hands cupped her ass, ground her against the hard arc of his erection. Her skin flashed hot and her sex went wet, her head spinning after days and days without him. Gods, she wanted him. Needed him, craved him, loved him.

She tugged him backward, pul ing him with her inside the house. He didn’t break the kiss as he shut the door and locked it, engaging the security spel s. That made her smile against his lips, and then shove him against the closed door.

Jerking his shirt from his pants, she pushed it up until he had to release her mouth to get it over his head.

He groaned when her hands skimmed over his chest, her fingers circling his smal nipples. “I love your hands on me, sweetheart. I’ve missed you so fucking much.”

“Good. I want you to miss me.” She flicked her nail over one nipple, and he jerked and chuckled at the same time. Then he hissed out a breath when she licked the flat brown disc, sucking it between her teeth to nibble. Her fingertips toyed with the other nipple, rol ing and pinching it until he groaned for her.

Then she used magic.

A hoarse cry wrenched from him, and he shuddered, his big hands biting into her ass. “Fuck.”

She let his nipple loose, flicking her tongue over it to tease him. “We’re getting to that.”

He bent and scooped her into his arms, which made her squeak and grab for his shoulders. “We’re a hel of lot closer than ‘getting to that,’ sweetheart. I haven’t had you in days. You can play with me later.” His teeth flashed in a white smile. “Much, much later.”

“Hurry.”

The room sped by as he moved toward her bedroom. He set her on the bed, and Ophelia uncurled from the end of the mattress, trotted over to them, and purred. Merek chuckled and scooped the cat against his chest, stroking her as he walked away. “Sorry, sugar. This is a human-only reunion.”

He dropped her to the floor outside the bedroom and kicked the door shut as he came back to Chloe.

She propped herself up on her elbows, watching him. Her breath caught when she noticed the puckered scars that now marred his torso. She sat up, brushing her fingers over them when he drew near, searching out al of them on his chest, side, and back. How close she’d come to losing him. Her throat closed at the thought.

“It didn’t happen, sweetheart.” He caught her hands, drew them to his lips to kiss. “I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”

She nodded. He was right. They’d had a lot of close cal s lately, but they were stil here. They just had to hold on as tight as they could for as long as they could. Starting now. She bent forward and flicked her tongue across a scar that sat just above waistband of his pants. She kissed her way across the taut skin and hard muscles of his lower abdomen.

“Chloe,” he groaned, sliding his fingers into her hair when she worked his belt and fly open. Her body tightened with longing as she moved her hands over his flesh. She wanted to savor, but it had been too long.

Shoving his pants down, she waited for him to toe off his shoes and socks and step out of his jeans. She stuck her finger through a jagged hole in the heavy fabric. “Rough day?”

“Rough week.” He chuckled and dropped to the bed beside her, pushing her flat and leaning up on one elbow to gaze down at her. He slid the pants from her grip and tossed them on the floor. “I’l tel you everything you want to know later. Right now, I need you.”

She kicked off her heels, her heart thrumming in her chest at the look in his eyes. “Wel , then. I’m al yours.”

“Mine. Yes. I like that.” He smiled, leaned forward, and brushed his lips over her col arbone. “I also like this dress. You look like a felony waiting to happen.”

Shrugging delicately, she let the strap fal off one shoulder. “I clean up okay.”

“You’re beautiful.” He reached for the zipper on the side and slid it down. She arched her back to help him drag the shiny garment over her head. His grin turned feral when he gazed at her bare breasts. “Beautiful . . .

and mine.”

“Mine,” she whispered. She let her fingertips drift down his torso until she could swirl one around the head of his cock. He was wet with pre-cum, and she brought the pearly fluid to her mouth to taste.

His pupils expanded until only a thin rim of silver remained as he watched her. He stopped breathing for a moment, and then he sprang into action. He wrestled her panty hose and underwear down her legs, and she was naked in seconds. He settled on top of her, his thighs shoving hers apart.

Wrapping her arms around him, she pushed her feet against the mattress, lifting herself in offering. He groaned, reached between them, grasped his cock, and rubbed it up and down her slit, circling the head on her clit. Moisture gushed from her sex, excitement coiling with each brush of his hot flesh against hers.

“Please, Merek,” she gasped, shudders running through her body. “Inside me. I need you.”

“I need you, too, sweetheart. Always.” He guided himself to her entrance, pumping in one slow inch at a time. She wrapped her legs around his waist, thrusting her hips up hard to take al of him. Patience was beyond her.

They both groaned when he was seated deep within her pussy, stretching her channel. She cupped her hands on his strong jaw and urged him down to kiss her. She had to taste him, honey sweet and al Merek.

Masculine and perfect and hers. Perfect for her. He licked her lips before shoving his tongue into her mouth.

His hot, sensual rhythm matched the tempo he set with his hips, working his cock into her slick sex.

Magic flowed so easily between them, twining and melding together. Every movement brought a new wave of pleasure spel s skating over their skin. Magic skipped and sizzled, pure carnal energy. Love.

“I love you,” she moaned, sliding her hands over his shoulders and back, down to palm his ass and pul him tighter against her.

“Yes.” His breath sighed out, and he plunged deeper into her pussy, harder. Faster. “Say it again, sweetheart. Don’t ever stop.”

When he ground his pelvis into her clit, she sobbed it. The words became a litany born from her soul. “I love you. I love you, Merek. I love you so much.”

She arched beneath him, the hair on his chest scraping over her nipples. They tightened to points, and she sighed at how good he felt. He slowed down his thrusts, and she moaned a protest, but his hard penetration every time he entered her made tingles explode over her skin. He braced his arms straight out on either side of her, which changed the angle of his thrust and pushed him deeper between her thighs.

Gasping, she tightened her legs around his waist and tugged lightly at the hair on his chest. The smile he gave her was wicked, and he rol ed his hips against her, sending a flood of magic right to the core of her.

Her pussy flexed around him, and she sucked in a shocked breath. “Oh, gods. ”

“I love you, Chloe.” Harsh breaths bel owed in and out of his lungs. Sweat gleamed on his face and chest, and he shuddered over her. The way he clenched his jaw and groaned every time he pushed his cock into her sex told her how close he was to orgasm. As close as she was.

The intensity of the spel s pouring over her sensitized skin made her writhe. Every inch of them that touched was electrified with it. Power. Pleasure.

He lowered himself until he could suck the tip of her breast into his mouth, his teeth and tongue working her nipple. Then he bit down, and she burst into a thousand pieces. Her pussy spasmed on his cock, her inner wal s clamping down on him in strong pulses. He released her nipple with a moan, and he thrust hard and fast into her sex, riding her with fierce intent. His gray eyes sparked molten mercury, swirling with the energy racing back and forth between them.

She arched into him, sending a sizzle of magic down his skin. “Come for me, Merek. Now.”

A shout erupted from him, and he froze over her, his cock buried deep. His fluids pumped into her, and he shuddered, his gaze locked with hers as they rode out the storm together. Then he sighed and sank down on her. She wrapped her arms and legs around him, cradling him close. They both shook with the aftereffects of their loving, hearts pounding against each other, sweat sliding down their heated skin.

“I love you, Chloe. Gods, how I love you.” He crushed her to him, rol ing them onto their sides, but staying deep inside her. Enough love to last ten lifetimes shone in his eyes. He stroked her hair back from her face, his voice and touch reverent. “Only you.”

“I love you, too. Only you.” She shook her head, tears shimmering in her eyes as she smiled at him. Only Merek had ever made her let down her guard enough to love, to need without fear or shame, to give everything. Her heart and body and soul. Only Merek could bring her through her worst nightmares and stil make her feel safe, cherished, loved. Hopeful that their future would be far brighter than their pasts. Bright enough to keep the darkness at bay.

Only Merek.

APHRODISIA BOOKS are published by

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Copyright © 2011 by Crystal Jordan

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ISBN: 978-0-7582-3831-3