“You aren’t ready for me,” he said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”
She shook her head, shifting her body restlessly beneath his. She was ready. More than ready. She needed his ownership. For him to reclaim her body in the most primitive way a man could claim a woman.
“I’m ready,” she insisted. “Please, Drake. You said I’d never have to beg for anything.”
She parted her thighs, spreading herself open to him, and then she looped her legs around his waist, feeling his erection bump and prod at her opening.
His face was a wreath of strain and it was evident he was at war with himself over whether to give in to her plea or practice more restraint out of fear of hurting her. Finally his instincts overrode all else and he positioned himself at her entrance, and after only a brief hesitation, wherein he searched her expression intently, he thrust forward in one powerful motion.
She cried out and he lowered his head and then buried his face in her neck as his body heaved, his breaths coming in ragged bursts. Her nails dug tightly into his shoulders, and she closed her eyes as the beauty of his possession surged through her veins.
It was like coming home. After so many days of grief, desperation, sadness and loss, she was back where she most wanted to be with the man she most wanted to be with. She couldn’t ask for more than this right here, right now.
“Why are you crying, Angel?”
She blinked and realized that Drake had pulled his head up and was now staring down at her, concern and worry reflected in his eyes. She hadn’t realized she was crying but now she registered the warm trails slipping slowly down her cheeks.
She gave him a shaky smile. “I’m happy,” she said simply. “You have no idea how horrible the last five days have been. I thought I’d lost you forever.”
Guilt darkened his eyes and he briefly looked away as if to compose himself before he once more locked gazes with Evangeline. He slowly withdrew and she moaned as he rippled through her delicate tissues. Then he surged forward again, burying himself as deeply as he could go.
“Never again,” he vowed, holding her gaze fiercely. “The entire world will know what you mean to me. Anyone who fucks with you, even tries to fuck with you, will be signing their own death warrant and they’ll know it.”
She fought off the surge of unease, determined not to give way to anything but the here and now and the beautiful sense of homecoming she felt in Drake’s arms.
“Love me,” she whispered, arching up against him, demanding more.
There was no hint of the dominant lover Evangeline had come to crave over the course of their relationship. This was a man making love to her with reverence. There was tenderness and apology in every kiss, caress and stroke in and out of her body. It was a side of Drake she hadn’t seen. Oh, he’d been gentle and loving during their lovemaking. It wasn’t always an exercise in dominance and kink, but there was an emotional side to him that brought tears to her eyes and a deep-seated ache to her soul.
She craved his dominance—needed it—and yet she realized she needed this too. It gave her reassurance that before she wouldn’t have thought she needed, but in the aftermath of that horrible night, insecurity had taken root and bloomed. Now? She needed both. She needed the harder edge, but she also needed this softer touch. She needed his . . . love.
Would that be something she could ever hope for from him?
She pushed that discomfiting thought from her mind and gave herself completely to the beauty of their lovemaking, surrendering heart, body and soul to the powerful release that swelled and built until she could bear it no longer.
“Drake!”
“I’ve got you, baby,” he said tenderly. “Come with me. Let go.”
He thrust powerfully, rocking his hips against hers until no part of him wasn’t buried deeply within her. His face blurred in her vision as euphoria flooded her body and she began to spiral out of control, unraveling faster and faster until she was panting to catch her breath.
Drake growled and then gathered her tightly in his arms. He rocked into her one last time and then buried his face in her neck as they both fell over the edge and into oblivion.
For a long moment he let his weight rest atop her and then he rolled, holding her tightly against him so their positions were reversed and she lay sprawled atop him on the bed. His big, strong hands caressed the length of her spine and she snuggled her face into his chest, nuzzling and offering tiny kisses to his sweat-dampened skin.
“Don’t leave me again,” she softly whispered.