Chapter 32

Bruisingly, he kissed her with violent tongue strokes and enough pressure to cause suction. She hummed and matched his every lash with one of her own. She tried to roll her hips as if seeking relief, but he trapped her to the wall with his, aligning every delectable inch of her with him and crushing his raging erection into her belly.

She'd wanted him to come undone? He was there.

Tearing his mouth away, he glared at her. Vibrating, he struggled with the last tether containing his willpower. "This wasn't the smartest move you ever made, baby."

"Promise?" Her lids lifted slowly, nailing him with cornflower eyes drenched in lust with a defiance chaser.

His pulse tripped out of control. He stared at her, giving her a last silent warning.

She merely looked back in challenge.

Gaze on hers, he let go of one of her wrists to dip his fingers into the waistband of her panties. And ripped them clean off with one swift jerk.

Her breath hitched and she arched against him.

Discarding the lace over his shoulder, he worked his hand between them and parted her folds, finding her slippery and wet and ready. And so, so hot. Her teeth sank into her lower lip as her eyes begged him for more. For everything.

Releasing her other arm, he shoved his sweats to his ankles, kicked them aside, and bit the foil open. Her wide, interested gaze lowered to his erection as he rolled a condom down his length. Desire coiled with anticipation and a trace of concern in her depths. He'd take care of all three right now.

He grabbed the backs of her thighs, spreading them and lifting her so she had no choice but to wrap her legs around him. Then, he pinned her in place with his chest and held her ass to keep her steady. All but panting, she searched his gaze and dug her fingers into his neck like a brand.

Christ. He didn't think he'd ever wanted something or someone so badly in all his life. She'd been rattling his cage since their first encounter. The push/pull of animal versus man warred inside him, stalked his skull, and he gave up. Beast for the win.

He crushed his mouth to hers, searing her with a kiss that detonated reason and obliterated thought as he knew it. When he couldn't take the tension any more, he aligned himself and thrust inside her. Hard. Fast. And almost collapsed as her tight, hot, supple walls fisted him.

The fit was pleasurably....excruciating.

Her cry shot into his mouth, her nails sinking into the flesh on the back of his neck.

He froze. "Did I hurt you?"

She shook her head in a vicious denial.

One hand on her ass, he slapped the other to the wall for balance and brushed his lips against hers. Her eyes were pinched tightly closed and her uneven breaths mingled with his.

"Olivia, baby, look at me." Hand to God, he'd slice open an artery if he found any sign of pain in her eyes.

Her lashes fluttered and her lids lifted to reveal...

Desperate. Blinding. Need.

"Don't stop," she breathed. "Please." She flattened her hands on top of his head. Her gaze wandered over his brow, cheeks, mouth, and back to his eyes. Her gorgeous auburn strands were already a chaotic mess and loose around her face. "Please, Nate."

His lungs stalled. No one had ever said his name during sex, and hearing it from her lips sent his pulse into sporadic meltdown. Something lodged in his throat. His heart, perhaps. She'd had it in her slender, capable fingers since the first time he saw her.

Watching her, he pulled out slowly. As if to fight him, her walls gripped him tighter and cold sweat formed on his skin. She issued a fraught noise and held his face, her body vibrating against his. Halfway, he stopped. Her breaths soughed while his quit altogether.

"You, baby." His eyes darted back and forth between hers. "You asked what I wanted and it's you." Damnation forthright, but there was the honest truth.

Then, he thrust into her with enough force that she slid up the wall a few inches.

And nothing, nothing had ever or would ever feel as fantastic, as right, as being inside her. Safety and anarchy. Balance and instability. Sweetness and sin.

"Yes." She spread her arms and slapped her palms to the wall in a save-me version of holy order. As if unsure how to handle what he was doing to her body, she clenched his shoulders. "Nate."

Knowing what she needed, he gripped her wrists, stretched her arms high overhead, and laced their fingers together. Caging her face with his biceps, he drove inside her. Over and over. Again and again. Their stomachs slapped and their chests grazed and her scent of rain swirled around them.

She rolled her hips with each plunge, moaning, seeking. His muscles strained, struggling to keep the pace, a delicious burn he felt from head to toe and every nerve path in between.

He kissed her with all the control of a buoy in a hurricane and then dipped his head to suck on one of her rosy, erect nipples. The hard little bud puckered in his mouth and she squeezed his fingers, indicating she enjoyed it. Moving to the other breast, he repeated the motion, in awe of her.

Responsive. Passionate.

She had more strength than most people he'd encountered, but her appearance belied the personality. Petite. Slender. Even her breasts were small enough to fit in his hands and still leave room for more. And she was utter perfection.

Tingles coursed down his spine and wrapped around his balls. He pistoned faster, determined to set her off before he blew. Judging by the way she dug her heels into his back and her flushed cheeks, she was nearly there.

"Come on, baby." He nipped her neck and flattened his tongue against her thumping pulse, loving the sheen of sweat and salt on her skin. "Christ, the things I want to do to you."

Repeatedly. Forever.

She trembled, her fingers a death grip. If possible, every part of her wrapped around every part of him, even though they were already so entwined a crowbar couldn't have pried them apart.

Throat tight, dick pulsing, muscles burning, he drove into her with everything he had. Each shallow withdraw of his hips made him more greedy to return. The over-sensitization was unbelievable. And each thrust home had her tight, hot flesh cushioning him, welcoming.

It seemed like eons passed the longer they rode the current. Her needy, breathy whimpers of encouragement and his grunts of sheer bliss. Pain and pleasure unlike anything he'd ever known. Yet it didn't seem like enough. No amount of time buried inside her would ever be enough.

"Nate..."

A careening cry, and she shuddered. He crushed his mouth to hers and swallowed the sound while she fell apart in his arms. She contracted around him, milking him, killing him with agonizingly sweet torture. She threw her head back, his lips dragging across her jaw.

Halfway through a string of muttered curses, he opened his mouth wide against her cheek and slightly adjusted his stance to keep them upright. While aftershocks rippled through her and against him, he came with a guttural, primal roar that locked his jaw. Stole his oxygen. Punched his heart.

"Holy..." He jerked, bucked, and died right where he stood.

Jarred to the bone, he heaved air and released her hands. Her arms fell limp at her sides and she dropped her head to his shoulder like he'd screwed her unconscious.

Christ. He'd killed her, too.

Using the last amount of energy he had in reserve, he shoved off the wall, wrapped his arms around her, and stumbled into the bedroom. He collapsed on the center of the bed, her under him, and forced himself into the bathroom to dispose of the condom.

When he returned, he halted dead in his tracks in the middle of the room and...

Died a second time. Or third?

Arms and legs sprawled, she laid with her eyes closed and shallow breaths pushing her breasts toward the ceiling. Stubble burn abraded her cheeks, her neck, and a blush was fading on her chest. Her pale, long lashes left shadows under her eyes. Her skin was as fair as the white sheets, but the small triangle of auburn hair on her mound matched the strands on her head. A fire and ice combination meant to cut him off at the knees.

The strange lump wedged in his throat again. His heart ticked a maddeningly rapid beat and something caused his sinuses to sting.

She moaned. "I feel like I should say the power of Christ compels you or something witty like that."

He tried to swallow and failed. "What?"

"It's from The Exorcist." One eye peeked open. "The movie?"

"I've seen it." He was only slightly more surprised she could quote the film than the fact she'd compared him to demonic possession.

What they'd done slammed through his mind. Rather, what he'd done to her. Shoving her against the wall. Holding her down. Driving into her with brutal strength. He was a monster who never should've touched her. His chest hitched.

He rubbed a shaking hand across his jaw. "Did..." Christ, his voice was gravel. He cleared his throat and tried again, barely managing a whisper. "Did I hurt you?"

"Lord, no." She turned her head and smiled, oblivious to his distress. "How are you still standing? Moving my eyes is too much effort."

He had no idea, but he sat by her hip and ran his gaze over her. Carefully, he lifted her arm and skimmed his fingers across her wrist, not finding any redness or marks. He leaned sideways and did the same with her other arm, then checked her hips. By the time he got to her throat and face, his hands were shaking uncontrollably.

She stretched. "What are you doing?"

"I..." He sighed. "Checking for bruises." Of all his sins, and there were many, this was the absolute worst. "I'm sorry, baby."