Slowly, my sobs quieted until they were occasional hiccups, then just hitched breathing through a raw throat. And just as slowly, I finally drifted off to sleep, the rhythm of Tri’s breath against my back.
Light behind my eyelids drew me out of the darkness of sleep. My eye fluttered open to find the sky was a steel gray, the stars gone, and a large ribbon of light hanging on the eastern horizon. Enough to light the world in grays and soft tones.
My eyes and throat felt thick and swollen, and tears still crusted my cheeks. The explosion of emotion had left me feeling empty and raw, as though it had created a gaping wound that had barely scabbed over, but anything could open it again.
I stiffened at movement behind me, suddenly very aware that there was a large, warm body pressed up against my back, all thoughts of my crying spell forgotten. I turned slowly, only to find the Navy SEAL looking back at me.
In all our time together, I hadn’t had a chance to look at his face. What I’d glanced had been handsome, something even in the chaos of the previous day or the frantic happenings of the night I hadn’t failed to notice. But it had either been too treacherous or too dark for me to truly see him. But now, with our faces only inches away, I could.
He had a face that reminded me of many of those painting of Cyrillic men from Russia’s past—oval face, strong jaw, defined lines and angles instead of round or vague curves. His hair was close-cropped but soft when I ran my hand over it, the stubble on his cheeks and jaw the same muted blonde. And his eyes were blue, much bluer than I remembered, a sort of soft, cornflower blue I swear I had seen in some stained glass in a Moscow church.
His lips were full and soft and warm when I pressed my own against his. The kiss was simple and sweet, a thank you for the comfort he had given when my strength had failed me.
When I pulled away, his eyes widened, and he was watching me, something in his gaze I couldn’t name. But then I heard his breath hitch, and his eyes suddenly lit with something I could recognize. My heart stopped for a moment and then sped up as my body warmed to him, images of our previous night flooding my brain along with rising hormones.
Was it for him, or was it a distraction? Did I want to do this again without knowing?
As I felt the heat rising from his body and his hand tracing its way along the outside of my thigh, I realized I didn’t know and didn’t care.
If nothing else, we were free to do what we wanted without anything walking in on us or hearing us. The thought was freeing, and I reveled in the touch of Triton’s hand as it moved from the outside of my leg to the inside. A shiver ran up my spine, a delicious twinge of excitement for what was to come.
He inched closer, closer, moving up the inside of my thigh until my breath hitched as well, the fingers on my skin feather light. But then he stopped, and I looked up at him. He’d risen to one elbow to lean over me and peered into my face.
“You sure about this?” His voice was a scratchy morning rumble in his throat.
“Are you?”
He barely hesitated a moment. “Yes.”
“Then me, too. What else are we going to do on a deserted island while we wait for rescue?”
His low chuckle was the first laugh I’d heard from him, and I smiled as I laid down on my back, moving my leg to allow better access.
Tri’s hand tickled up my thigh until it came to rest on the apex between my thighs, resting there for just a moment before he parted the curls nestled there and then my waiting flesh and dipped a single finger inside.
I gasped, my back and hips rising towards his hand, my eyes falling closed as he began to stroke, from one end to the other, far more delicately than I would have thought possible from a rough, gruff SEAL.
But he knew what he was doing.
A second finger joined the first, hooking under and tickling before working back again, his thumb working the nub at the top in slow circles.
My heartbeat sped up, my nipples tightened until they were almost painfully hard, and my head fell back. My skin was on fire, even the touch of the rough blankets beneath me adding to my pleasure as my hips began to rock, following the motion Tri set. When he lowered his head to mine, his kisses were hot and urgent, his tongue stroking mine even as he stroked inside me, drawing me further and further into an insane bliss.
I’d never felt this way before, never had my body respond to anyone this way before. It had never responded with such desperate, immediate need, as though every nerve in my body was crying out for him, crying out for what he could give me.
He was working me into a frenzy, every stroke and flick hitting a spot that hadn’t been touched before until I was shocked by the words and sounds coming from my mouth between kisses. I managed to open my eyes and found a feral grin on his face, as though he was enjoying driving me insane.
Tri withdrew his finger for a moment, and I gasped again, but this time from the sudden lack of stimulation.
“More. I need more.” I grabbed for his hand, but he fended me off easily. I’d never begged for something like this in my life, but I had to have more of what he had been giving me. I’d never felt anything like it.
Instead of replying, he used a large fingertip to trace the lines of the outside of my outer lips before plunging inside. Then he pulled out again and repeated the gesture.
The sensations between my legs were almost too much, sweat beading on my forehead to drip down my cheeks and neck. I wanted so much more, but at the same time, I didn’t want him to stop. The pleasure was too exquisite.
My orgasm built until the pleasure was all I could see and hear and feel, until my head was whipping back and forth, my fingers buried in my hair, as I moaned and cried out. He must have sensed the tightening, the crest rising towards me, because he dipped his fingers inside again, stroking quickly as though to hasten the end.
The word contracted, then exploded out along with my cry, my back arching as I shook with my orgasm.