Page 207 of Primal Bonds

His lips curved in a wicked smile. She’d removed his shoes the first day to make him more comfortable. Now he slowly and deliberately undid the button of his jeans.

She drew a sluggish breath. The air in the cavern felt heavy, thick.

His smile disappeared. They stared at each other as he slid down his zipper and stepped out of his jeans. His socks followed, and then he stood before her in dark knit boxers tented with an impressive erection.

“Now you.” He stepped closer to undo her cargo pants. Dropping to one knee, he helped her out of each leg in turn, leaving her naked except for her black briefs. He caught her hips and nuzzled her belly, rubbing his night beard over the tender skin.

She inhaled in pleasure, taking in his arousal, a hot, salty spice overlaying the grassy green. He pressed a kiss to her mound—and then blew warm, moist air against the material over her clit.

Heat licked up her spine. She grabbed his shoulders and made a low sound, half cat, half human. He nipped and sucked at her sex through the cotton, stoking the heat, getting her good and wet for him.

He gave her a last kiss and lifted his head. “Bath first.”

She blinked down at him. “No…”

“Yes. Believe me, you don’t want me close to you right now.”

And despite her grumbling that she’d been “close” to him for two days, he helped her out of the briefs and rose to his feet.

His gaze tracked down her body in one searing look, and then he dragged her into his arms. “If you knew how fucking much I want you…”

“Same,” she managed to say before his mouth covered hers.

It was a deep kiss, involving tongues and teeth. A kiss that demanded she meet him halfway. He’d stopped being careful with her, and she loved it.

She twined her arms around his neck and rubbed her breasts against his bare chest, reveling in the feel of his wiry hair against her nipples. His erection pressed against her belly through the knit boxers. He palmed her bottom and squeezed, muttering hot, sexy things about how he’d wanted to see her naked since the very first day in the pub, how he’d fantasized about her ass.

This time, it was Marjani who broke the kiss.

She walked the few steps to the pool. “Coming?”

His gaze swept over her body again. She had time to see his eyes darken and then she did a shallow dive into the pool, coming up at the opposite end. She swiped the water out of her eyes and watched as he shucked his knit boxers.

His cock was long and hard. He wrapped his hand around himself and looked down at her as he stroked himself.

She moistened her lips, enjoying the view—and then gulped.

Something about the way he stood above her, legs apart, playing with himself…and the bad memories coated the back of her throat, sending fear skittering like a spider up her spine. She set a hand over her jumping heart.

“Jani.” He released himself. “Don’t.”

“Don’t what?”

“Don’t think.” He stepped into the pool and gave her a lopsided grin. “Thinking is way overrated. Ah…that feels good.” He sank down on a ledge, the steamy water up to his chest, and stretched his long arms out along the edge of the pool.

She swallowed hard. Gradually, her heart slowed as she realized he was waiting for her to come to him. No coercion here, just a beautiful man who wanted her as much as she wanted him. She let out a breath and removed her hand from over her heart.

You got this, Jani.

If she stopped now, no one would judge her, not even Fane. She’d survived a gang rape. Fane might not know the details, but she knew he had a pretty good idea of what had happened.

But she didn’t want to live the rest of her life celibate. Sex was good, a pleasure she refused to let Corban and those warped, feral river fada steal from her.

Fane rested his head against the ledge. His eyes drifted shut.

She frowned. How the fuck could he be so relaxed? Then she shook her head at how ridiculous she was being, and somehow she was moving, crossing the pool in a few strokes to take a seat on the ledge beside him.

She tipped her head back and let the hot water do its magic on her muscles. Fane touched the back of her head, and when she murmured in pleasure, began stroking it. Her tension eased. She moved her head against his palm, seeking more.

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