“Chose not to take care of her child? Or chose not to love you?”
“Both.”
“That is not possible.” Alex shifted so that he cradled me in his arms and leaned down to rest his forehead against mine. “You are impossible not to love, bonded one.”
Two seconds and the tears were rolling from the corners of my eyes into my damp hair. “But, I told you I loved you and you didn’t… you… never mind.” I was not going to say it. I’d begged my mother for love and affection too many times and learned my lesson. Asking for love and not getting it hurt a hell of a lot more than being ignored.
“Is that what your tears are about? Words?”
I licked my dry lips. “Words matter. They matter a lot.”
He kissed me softly, his lips gentle but his arms around me strong and steady.
God, I loved him so much. I was in so much trouble here.
When he pulled back, he lifted one hand to wipe the tears from the corners of my eyes. “I will fight for you, kill for you, lie, cheat, and steal for you. You know I speak the truth. I did all that earlier. For you.”
I nodded. He had. He’d come to my rescue. He’d saved me. He’d saved Nave and Trax, too.
“I will die for you,” he continued. “You are my heart and soul and life, Jamie Miller. I love you. If you need to hear the words to believe this truth, I will tell you every hour of every day until you tire of hearing them.”
I couldn’t help the smile that pulled at my lips. Butterflies filled my chest. “Okay.”
He grinned and my heart melted. “You wish to hear me say I love you every hour?”
I bit my lip and nodded. “Yes, I think I do.” My heart felt lighter than it had in years. No, ever. “At least for now.”
“Well then, Jamie Miller of Earth, I love you.” He leaned down and kissed me, all gentleness gone. He tugged the towel from my body and rolled so I was beneath him. He removed the towel from his hips. “Your furry childhood companion is about to be scandalized. I suggest Mr. Snuggles”—Alex pulled the bear from my arms and placed him gently on the small table next to the lamp—“sits this one out.”
I laughed as Alex moved the bear so his eyes faced the bathroom door. Satisfied that Mr. Snuggles would not watch our escapades, he turned back to me and arched a brow at my reaction.
“Do you have something to say, bonded one?”
“No.” I reached for him, wrapped my arms around his neck, and changed my mind. “Actually, yes. Hurry up. I want you.”
He dropped his head to kiss me breathless, and I arched beneath him, feeling every hard inch of him, urging him to hurry with deeds as well as words. “I thought you loved me.”
“That, too.”
Alex moved to cover me completely, his hips settling between my legs as he kissed me over and over again. He shifted his hips so that his hard length rubbed along my clit and between my wet folds, driving me to distraction. With his hands beside my head, he hovered over me. Giving me enough of his weight to revel in our differences but not enough to be smothered. My nipples brushed against his hot skin and hardened. I wanted him inside me, stretching me, filling me. Now.
“Alex!” I tried to tilt my hips to take him inside to no effect. He shortened his strokes, his cock getting wetter and wetter with each pass. His pace quickened over the most sensitive part of me, pushing me toward orgasm.
He got me hot so fast, it was like a record. He made me uninhibited. Wild. Free.
He waited, kept my body on the edge, kissed me over and over and over until I was panting and breathless and begging. “Aaaalex.”
I locked my ankles around his thighs and held on with every ounce of strength I possessed.
Alex stilled. “Open your eyes.”
I did so, looking up into an expression I had never seen from him before.
Trust. Desire. Need. Love.
“I love you, Jamie.” With those words, he moved at last, thrusting hard and deep, filling me. Stretching me.
It wasn’t the first time he’d taken me, but it felt like we were finally—finally—truly a bonded pair. We’d been through hell and back. Together. It had been hard. Painful. Scary as hell. But with Alex by my side, I knew we could conquer anything.