Page 45 of The Gathering Storm

She smiled and tucked a hand under her head. “You have.”

His fingers found the hem of his shirt and tugged. Over his head it went, only to be dropped on the floor at his feet. “You’re sated, then.”

Unaccountably, his words stirred fresh desire. She shifted her legs against the rug, rubbing them together in a sensual slide of skin on skin. “I would have the pleasure of your touch again.”

“As you wish.”

He shucked the rest of his clothes, left them in an untidy pile, and she marveled at his beauty, the symmetry of his form, the muscles stretching under golden skin, the dusting of hair on his chest arrowing into a line leading straight to his manhood.

Sig sucked her lower lip into her mouth. For all his impassiveness since his arrival, she would never have believed it possible for him to be aroused, yet there the proof was, jutting away from his body in a hard erection.

He knelt between her thighs, braced himself above her. The tip of his erection prodded her pussy, and she welcomed him gladly, surrounding him with her touch.

He rocked into her, slowly filling her, ever so gently seating himself deep within her. “Does this please you, lover?”

“It does, Will,” she murmured, and only then did she realize how much she must have hurt him with her coldness when he’d walked in the door. How could she tell him that? How could she beg his forgiveness for lashing out at him? How could she plead for a return of his warmth when he was giving so much of himself?

How could she have let her jealousy of another woman’s touch, a simple and possibly innocent touch, drive him to close off his emotions?

Oh, Will. What have I done to you?

She cupped his face in her hands and forced him to look at her. “You please me, dearest Will.”

A faint smile curved his lips. “Not finished yet.”

And so she gave in to him, moving with him as he drove them both higher and higher until they fell over the edge together, holding tight to him and the pleasure he so willingly gave her.

Will slid off of Sigrid and curled up behind her, reluctant to let her go in spite of the fatigue dogging him. Blessed Ki, what a week, and it was only the beginning of the work facing him. That fact should’ve depressed him. There was still so much to be done, so many people to help, so many more coming in, if rumor held true. Nobody wanted to miss out on the action, whatever that action was. Immortal Daughters were always up for a good challenge, especially if weapons were involved.

He mustered enough energy to nuzzle the side of Sigrid’s throat, breathed in her scent. “You should’ve made me take you to bed before letting me ravish you.”

A breathy laugh huffed out of her. “Did I give you the option?”

“Honey, there’s always an option.”

He skimmed a hand down her long flank, relishing the sheen of sweat covering her soft skin and the hitch in her breathing. To know his touch affected her did wonders for his ego and the futile hope clinging to his heart. Would she ever submit to him, or was sizzling hot sex the best he could hope for?

Not that he was complaining. The sex was great. Awesome, even, but it wasn’t the be all, end all of his dreams, not by a long shot.

She half turned toward him, her eyes downcast. In the flickering light thrown across them by the remnants of the fire, her expression was soft, accepting. Womanly. Desire stirred in him, incredible after the amazing release she’d given him, and the two he’d given her. Would it always be this way between them? Would he always be this desperate for her?

“Stay the night.”

Her voice was low, gentle, and underscored by a note Will had never heard before. A plea? An apology? He turned her face toward his and kissed it away, savoring the heady heat rising within him.

She wrapped her hand around his wrist and eased away from him, her blue eyes shadowed. “Will you?”

“Stay with you? Yeah, planned on it.”

Her eyes swept up to his, and what he saw there wasn’t the look of the haughty ice queen everyone thought her to be, but that of a woman unsure of her way. “Did you?”

“It’s Friday. You don’t have to work tomorrow. I do, but not early.” He brushed a stray strand of hair away from her face, kissed the tip of her nose. “I brought my own soap in case all you have is the girly stuff.”

Her lips twitched into what might’ve been a smile. She slid her leg over his, opening her core to him, and scratched her fingernails lightly over his chest. “Would you consider moving in with me?”

He propped up on an elbow and gazed down at her, perplexed by the very un-Daughter-like request. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. Why?”

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