Page 42 of Easton’s Claim

When he did, he had a feeling it would destroy him, and he wanted to be looking into her face as it happened.

His breathing was rough and fast as he eased his grip on her hip, let go of the sheet he’d fisted and slowly withdrew from her body. Sweat stood out on his forehead, each square millimeter of friction sheer torture until he pulled free.

She moaned in protest, opened her eyes a little and reached back for him. He was way past the ability to speak at the moment so rather than verbally reassure her, he gently rolled her onto her back and braced himself above her, taking a moment to smooth the hair back from her face with an unsteady hand.

She sighed and looked up at him with such trust that his heart clenched. Her eyes were drowsy, her expression satisfied. He’d put that look there. He’d made her writhe and cry out from the pleasure of his touch, made her come so hard she was too tired to move.

In the quiet with that soft, trusting look on her face, Piper raised a hand to cradle the side of his. He closed his eyes and nuzzled her palm, took a deep, shuddering breath as the need to come faded. He’d imagined this moment thousands of times and he’d be damned if he rushed through it.

As though she sensed how on edge he was, she leaned up on one elbow and drew him down to kiss her. Her arms wrapped around his shoulders and her legs twined around his hips, holding him close.

Easton moaned into her mouth and went willingly into her embrace, lowering his weight onto her. His cock rubbed against her slick folds, making his muscles twitch.

The burn in his gut spread to his groin, then throughout his entire body. He’d meant for this to last a long time, had planned to let her rest and give her another climax before seeking his own release, but the way she held him, the feel and scent of her, was too much.

Breaking the kiss, he levered his weight onto one hand and reached down to position his cock. Those hazel-green eyes glowed up at him in the moonlight, dragging him in deeper into the whirlpool of desire.

He braced his hands on either side of her head and rocked forward, slowly pushing back into her slick heat. She made a purring sound and arched her lower back, drawing him deeper. The feel of her closing around him, that sweet, aching friction all along his swollen cock, sucked all the air out of his lungs. He fought for breath as searing hot pleasure tore through him.

Heat and pressure gathered at the base of his spine as he buried himself inside her. But the way she gazed up at him with total love in her eyes was his undoing. Piper was everything he’d ever wanted and she was finally his. He squeezed his eyes shut, pulled his hips back and surged forward.

A deep, feral sound came out of him, somewhere between a growl and a cry as he buried his face in her neck. He was all animal, gave his hunger free reign as he plunged in and out of her body, desperate for relief from the agonizing pleasure that was at once too much and not enough.

Her inner muscles squeezed him, stroking the entire length of his cock, and knowing he was buried balls deep and about to come inside Piper after all these years finished him off.

He shoved his arms beneath her back and crushed her to him, holding on like a drowning man as the brutal pleasure peaked and exploded, sending him hurtling into oblivion. His shout of release echoed in his ears along with his thundering heartbeat.

When at last it faded he sucked in a shuddering breath and relaxed his death hold on her, but couldn’t move. He lay there in her embrace, destroyed.

Piper drew him closer and stroked his back, her lips skimming over his jaw, his cheek. “I don’t ever want to let you go,” she whispered.

Her words undid him. She hadn’t saidI love you, but it was close enough for the time being.Then don’t, he answered silently, his brain still functioning enough to hold the words back.

“Mmmm,” she murmured drowsily, and ran her hands over his damp back. She traced the muscles along his spine, followed them down to his ass and squeezed once before reversing direction and coming up to rub between his shoulder blades.

Completely wrecked, he groaned and nestled closer, soaking up the contact and intimacy of the moment.

Shit, the condom.

With effort he dragged his arms out from beneath her and pushed up onto his elbows. His arms trembled slightly as he dropped a kiss on her sexy mouth and got to his knees to ease free of her body.

His legs were weak when he stood up and went to the bathroom to deal with the condom. When he came back a minute later Piper was curled on her side waiting for him, the sheets pulled up to cover her nakedness as she watched him, an expression of pure contentment on her face.

The sight of her like that just slayed him. He wanted her in his bed every night with that exact same look on her face.

By the time he headed back to Alexandria at the end of the week, he vowed to have dispelled every last one of her insecurities about her naked body and prove to her beyond a doubt that he loved her.

He slid in next to her and immediately pulled her into his arms. She snuggled up to him with her head on his shoulder, one leg tucked between his and one arm slung around his waist.

Skimming a hand over the silken curve of her spine, her heart beating steady against his, Easton took in a contented breath and released it on a satisfied sigh.

“In case you couldn’t tell, I really enjoyed that,” Piper murmured against his skin.

He smiled into her hair. “Me too.”

“No, likereally.”

A low chuckle escaped him. “Yeah, me too.”

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