Page 20 of Whispers of the Water

Rune offered a bittersweet smile. “They are. I wish I was able to be here for them more.”

“Maybe you can one day. Maybe Myra can change for the better, and you’ll be able to be a family again.”

Rune’s lips quickly fell, and a sense of doubt seemed to weigh his shoulders down. “We’ll see.”

He shook off the gloom that had clouded the air between us and finally pulled a matching pajama set from his belongings. As he walked toward the bathroom, he yanked off the tags.

“Rune,” I called.

He stopped and looked back at me.

Pointing at the garments, I asked, “Did you buy new pajamas for this trip?”

He glanced at them and gave me a sheepish grin. “Yeah. I don’t own pajamas, so since we’re sleeping in the same room, I bought some. I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

I swallowed hard, heat pooling in my lower abdomen. “What do you normally sleep in?”

The innocent grin he wore suddenly changed with a playful and mischievous tilt. Without missing a beat, he held my eyes and answered, “Nothing.”

His answer along with the memory of his bare skin made me want to see it again. I wanted to feel his body, run my hands along his broad shoulders, and press against his chiseled torso with my own. I’d made a promise to myself to go for what I wanted without fear or worry or embarrassment, and now was that moment.

“I don’t want you to tiptoe around me. I’m fine. I want you to sleep how you normally would.” My voice came out surprisingly confident and steady, despite the heavy thumping of my heart.

His golden eyes held mine, and the smile on his face slowly seeped away until he regarded me seriously. It was a dare from me, a challenge. I was throwing him the bait to give into what I wanted, and despite his denial, I was fairly confident he wanted it, too. The choice was his, and I held my breath as I waited for him to make it.

Without breaking my gaze, he tossed the new pajamas aside, where they fell somewhere to the floor. I was too busy watching him to track their final destination. He still wore the black button up shirt from earlier, and my breath hitched as he slowly unbuttoned each one. It was agonizingly delicious, watching his skin become exposed little by little until the dark garment fell away to the floor. The deep, sharp V of his abdomen disappeared beneath the waistband of his pants, and my mouth watered as he slowly pushed the trousers and his boxers to the floor. His gaze never once left mine, even as he stood back up to his full height.

The brief glimpse I got of his naked skin before had nothing on seeing him fully exposed, and I unapologetically drank him in from head to toe. His broad shoulders gave way to a hard chest and sculpted stomach that was formed from centuries of combat. My heart tripped over itself when I reached his length, which had hardened under my visual caress, and I tried not to think about all the ways he could love me with that impressive shaft.

Ever so slowly, my eyes worked their way back up to his, where I found deep longing blazing in those amber depths. Face flushed, I forced out my words despite my strangled breath. “Good. As long as you’re sleeping with me, I want you to do it how you always would.”

Smirking past his obvious desire, he tilted his chin down. “Yes, ma’am.”

I slid across the mattress so Rune could get in. My nerves were shot, and need pooled in between my legs. Rune climbed under the covers, the warmth from his naked skin radiating around me beneath the sheets. I was on my back, staring at the ceiling when he got settled. The yellow-tinted bedside lamp cast the room in a soft glow, and once he was firmly on his back, I rolled onto my side to face him.

“You never slept like this when I stayed over all last week,” I said, referring to when I’d stayed at his house leading up to this trip. “Why? You’re not shy.”

The corner of his mouth tipped up as he tucked his well-formed arm behind his head. “Correct. I’m not shy. But, again, I didn’t want you feeling uncomfortable coming into the living room if I were still sleeping.”

My eyes trailed down the planes of his chest, down his stomach to where a trail of hair disappeared beneath the sheet draped over his waist. My cheeks heated, and I rolled onto my back once more as I fought to catch my breath. Liquid fire spread in my core, and I squeezed my legs against the sensation as I mumbled, “I’m uncomfortable.”

He was still for only a moment. One minute he was lying next to me, and the next, he hovered over me. An unmistakable heat lit his eyes as his intense stare held me firmly in place against the bed. He sat back on his heels, taking the covers with him. The new position gave me a close-up view of the entirety of his nude body, which spurred the mounting inferno inside me. He gently grabbed behind my knees and pulled my legs up and apart until he was nestled in between them.

“What do you normally sleep in?” he asked. His voice came out deep and seductive, and he cocked his head to the side as he peered down at me. My eyes stayed locked on his as he lifted my butt effortlessly and guided my pants down my legs.

Swallowing hard, I forced out my words. “This. Normal pajama pants and a t-shirt.”

“Hmm. You should try shedding some clothing. Maybe that will make you more … comfortable.”

His knuckles grazed up my calves and thighs until he reached the waistband of my panties. My heart beat heavily against my chest, but I didn’t stop him. My body craved this. My heart sang for him. My very being came alive under his caress.

I wanted more.

So much more.

He pulled the panties down my thighs, taking care to do so slowly, no doubt trying to make me even hungrier for him. It worked, too. His eyes finally left mine to look down at my legs spread before him, and while my first instinct was to cover myself, I didn’t. Being looked at and touched in such an intimate way was new for me, but there was no one I would rather have doing it. This was the man I trusted. This was the man who held my heart in his hands. Because it was Rune, I kept my arms at my sides and let him look his fill.

And look his fill he did.

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