“He may be right,” she whispered.
“I’m betting he’s wrong. The progress you made with Brett today will be applicable to the next robot, right?”
“Yes, it should be.”
“Then as sad as Brett’s death is, at least some good came out of it.”
He saw the knowledge settle into her, and though he knew it wouldn’t fix everything, he hoped she would be able to let herself breathe.
“What can I do?” he asked quietly. “What can I do to help you?”
Jenna took a shaky breath and looked at him. “I don’t want to think,” she said. “I want to get out of my own head. I want us to continue what we started on the plane today.”
He stared at her, gauging her seriousness. Jenna was everything he wanted, but like hell was he going to do something she would regret later. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.” Those honey-colored eyes were clear. Earnest.
Closing the distance between them, he kissed her, and it wasn’t gentle. Internally, he thanked the tiny arrogant part of him that had hoped this might happen and thought to pack condoms. “Okay.”
He pulled away long enough to retrieve one, and when he returned to the bed, Jenna was peeling out of her shirt and wiggling out of her pants. For one miraculous second, he was struck dumb, seeing more of her skin than he ever had and feeling the way she looked at him, with both weight and heat.
His mind was running wild with all the possibilities of what he wanted to do to her. With her. Anything and everything.
He wanted to take her against every surface in this bus, and more besides. Lay her out on those same gym mats where they sparred and worship her until she forgot all her fear and even her own name.
Pulling off his shirt, he tossed it aside and enjoyed the way her gaze trailed over his chest. She’d seen him shirtless before, but it was different now.
Reaching out, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her to the edge of the bed, putting everything he wanted within his grasp. Mark leaned down, brushing his mouth across her belly. “Tell me what you like.”
A shivering gasp rushed out of her as he kissed across her chest. “I can’t even remember.”
“Liar,” he said, smiling into her skin. “Don’t be afraid, Jenna. If you want this and want me, trust me. Tell me how to drive you wild.”
She sank her hands into his hair and pulled his mouth to her. “Tonight? I just don’t want to think about anything. I don’t want to answer questions, I just want to feel. Feel you. Feel us.”
“I can do that.” There was nothing he wanted more.
Running his lips over her skin once again, he touched her, easing his hands up along her ribs until he reached her bra and removed it. If she wanted to feel, he would make her feel. Take some time—not all the time he wanted, that would be all night—but time to explore her the way he’d been craving for so long.
When he knelt before her at the edge of the bed, he felt a little like a man come to worship, and he didn’t mind it for a second. If anyone deserved to be worshipped, after everything she’d been through, it was Jenna.
He removed her underwear, parted her legs, and consumed her, listening to the sounds she made and the way she breathed, guiding her toward pleasure.
Long and slow, he devoured her, taking his time, enjoying the feeling of her fingers in his hair, dragging his mouth closer and wordlessly asking for more with moans and sighs. When her orgasm came, it wasn’t explosive—she was too emotionally and physically exhausted. Instead, it was a sigh that had her body arching and shaking and finally relaxing. So when he stripped off the rest of his clothes and fit himself against her, the only thing Jenna was thinking about was him. He saw it in her eyes.
They both groaned as he pushed in, and it felt like more than just sex. It felt like the connection they’d both been needing and not been able to admit. Jenna’s eyes were only for him, and he didn’t look away.
Firm and steady, rolling his hips, he did all he could to hold on and make it last. They didn’t need any words between them now. It was just them and the sensation of being the only two people in the world.
Mark kissed her, clinging to control by a thread as she shuddered underneath him, whispering his name into their kiss. Hearing it from her lips made him let go, pleasure raging through him like a storm.
They came to stillness together, breathing each other’s breath and not daring to move, neither wanting to break the tiny spell that had been woven around them.
But eventually, they had to move. Mark finally saw the exhaustion taking root in Jenna. Gently pulling away, he cleaned himself up, and her, before lifting her higher onto the bed and wrapping them in blankets. Jenna didn’t resist, turning into his chest, her breath slowing. He thought this might be the most relaxed he’d ever seen her.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “You don’t ever have to thank me for this, Jenna.”