Page 268 of At the Edge of Surrender

The burn and the need and the comfort.

The joy and the hope and the peace.

He shifted around to face me.

The moonlight spilled over him, and the warm glow illuminated his defined jaw and the harsh cut of his brow.

The first time that I saw him, I thought his face was a carved sculpture of fierce, unnerving beauty.

And that’s what he always left me.

Unnerved and shaking.

One glance and a tumble of desire rushed through my veins.

A shockwave of that energy pounded between us. There was no chance of me not being completely swept away by it.

I didn’t care any longer.

I no longer wished to fight it.

Because I now understood why it was him. Why I was drawn, that connection so powerful.

Relentless.

Unstoppable.

Because that’s exactly what we were.

“Is that where you want me, baby? On my knees?” His voice was a low, guttural rasp as he leaned in close.

Heat brushed across my flesh.

Mine dipped to a whisper. “No, Kane, the only place I want you is with me.”

He dragged his fingertips down the side of my face, then gently traced them over my lips. “Good thing because I don’t plan on ever being anywhere else.”

We were nearly at the top, and he kept backing up the trail, tugging me with him until we crested the summit.

Kane guided me out ahead of him, and the breath escaped my lungs on a gush.

At the awe-inspiring beauty stretched out in front of us.

We were near the edge of the cliffs, boulders all around, the lake appearing like silvered glass from the glow of the moon that hung just over the peaks of the mountains in the distance.

“It’s gorgeous.” It was a wisp of wonder.

“Told you that you needed to see it.” He lifted my ponytail and murmured it at the sensitive skin at the nape of my neck.

Shivers raced.

In it was an intense bout of emotion. Joy and thankfulness. “You’ve helped me see so many things, Kane. I thought…I thought I’d live my life alone. A prisoner to what had happened to me.” A scrape of a disbelieving laugh left me. “I thought I wassatisfied. That it wasenough. But you made me shine.”

I released each word like a prayer. Exhaling, he pulled my back against his chest and wrapped those strong arms around me.

Lifting me.

Supporting me.

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