Page 86 of Escape Velocity

“Because, I am a fugitive.”

“And we’ll take care of that.”

She wanted to tell him it seemed less and less likely, but she wasn’t going to waste this time with him by laying out her fears. Instead she cupped the back of his head, bringing her lips to his as they swayed in the middle of the room.

This time was different from the others. The first time she hadn’t known what to expect. And in the cargo bay their passion had been fueled by Max’s anger and the aftermath of her shame at attacking Rafe.

But this time was slow and sweet—a celebration of love between a man and a woman. She couldn’t tell him it was love. And maybe that wasn’t what he felt. But if she had a lifemate, this was the way she would want him to show her his true feelings.

As they kissed, he reached for the buttons at the front of her shirt, slipping them open, fumbling a little. He had no shirt, and as he pushed the sides of hers out of the way, she laid her hands against his chest, stroking him as he was stroking her. But she could only do it a little because his skillful touch on her breasts made her dizzy with desire.

She wanted Max with a strength she would never have believed possible. She wanted him now. Yet at the same time, she didn’t want this magical time to end. So, she let him play with her breasts, closing in on the aching crests, drawing smaller and smaller circles around them, then sliding a finger along the side of each erect nipple.

The sensations made her gasp. And when he bent and sucked one peak into his mouth, she gasped again.

“I can’t stand up any longer,” she managed to say.

“I’m with you.”

They made their shaky way to the bed. Lying down, she eased over to make room for him. He came down beside her, half covering her body, his erection wedged against her thigh.

When she reached to clasp it, he moved her hand away.

“You’ll push me over the edge,” he said in a gritty voice

“I want to push you. I want you inside me.”

“And I want to feel this charged up for hours.”

“Could you?”

He laughed. “I don’t know.”

She laughed with him, just for the pleasure of doing one more intimate thing together.

Then she began to caress and kiss him, avoiding the part of him he had told her not to touch. She sucked on his earlobe, stroked her hands along the muscles of his arms, and then switched to his chest, drawing circles around his nipples as he had with her, inching inward, finding they had tightened to hard points.

He groaned, levering himself over her. And this time, when she took him in her hand, it was to guide him to the warm, wet, welcoming place between her thighs.

He plunged into her, then went still, looking down at her as though trying to commit this moment to memory.

And she did the same, staring up into his taut face.

She wouldn’t push him. She would only go where he led. And when he began to move, she did the same, her hips rising to meet each of his thrusts.

The intensity couldn’t last for long. They exploded together in a burst of rapture, and she felt him come down on top of her.

She clung to him, knowing that something beyond her imagining had happened between them.

He rolled to his side, and she adjusted herself to him as he cuddled her in his arms. Closing her eyes, she pressed her cheek to his sweat-slick chest, breathing in his scent. She had thought her life was going to be a disaster. It still might. But she would always have the memories of this man.

They lay together for long moments. After their breathing returned to normal, she wanted to say they should start giving each other pleasure again, but she sensed that he had put a little silent distance between them.

“What?” she murmured.

“I want to stay here with you, but I can’t leave Rafe down there alone. I need to help him keep guard—or let him get some sleep.”

She longed to protest, but she knew he was right. Rafe had given them this private time, and she couldn’t make him take all the responsibility for guard duty.

“You get some sleep,” Max said as he climbed out of bed and reached for the pants he had discarded. She got up, too, and found the long shirt she had been wearing.

Sure she wouldn’t sleep, she made a quick trip to the bathroom, then came back and straightened the sheets before climbing between them.

But the long day and the dangerous tramp through the swamp had taken its toll. Her eyes closed, and she was soon lost to the world.

She wasn’t sure how long she slept, but when she opened her eyes, she saw weak sunshine streaking in through the broken window. Still, the light hadn’t woken her. It was the sound of loud voices coming from the floor below. And from outside, the barking of dogs.

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