Page 17 of Raven's Claw
She placed her hand over his, waiting until he raised his gaze to hers.“Those are my past.”
He traced along some of the more prominent ones.“I’m more worried, they’ll become your future.”
“It’d be nice if they didn’t.”
“I’m going to hold you to that.”He tugged her toward him.“C’mon.I owe you a shower then another shot at getting this right.”
Getting it right?She wasn’t sure what he thought he’d done wrong, but she wasn’t going to argue if it meant he’d love her like that a second time.
Damn.She’d used that word, again, even if it had only been in her mind.
Kash guided her into the shower, blocking most of the spray as he backed her against the wall — kissed her as if he’d already forgotten the way she tasted.She hadn’t forgotten anything.Not a second.A kiss.How he’d made her feel safe for the first time in her life.Even before she’d ended up at that group home, she’d never had any sense of security.Had been an afterthought most days.So, lying there on that stupid ottoman with him staring down at her, what looked dangerously like the inklings of love gazing back…
It had changed something inside her.Filled a hole or maybe healed a wound she hadn’t realized was still festering.The kind that infected every other aspect of her life.
Until now.
Jordan kept him close when he would have stepped away, resting her head on his chest.Allowing herself to just be.To drink in the pure scent of his skin.Savor the strong weight of his arms wrapped around her.And for a moment, that future he’d talked about seemed almost real.
Kash held her tight, drawing easy patterns on her back until she exhaled a long slow breath.Then, he smoothed a bar of soap across her skin, doing the bare minimum before shutting everything down — stepping out.
He had them both fairly dry and heading back to the bed before her head caught up as he placed her in the middle of the mattress, fanning out her hair before claiming her mouth.Taking her to the brink from the kiss, alone — the way he smiled once he’d straightened before moving lower.
She closed her eyes, pushing her head into the sheets as he kissed his way down her body, licking and sucking every inch until she practically vibrated.At some point, her hands landed in his hair, all that thick mass wrapped around her fingers a moment later, the damp strands adding another layer of sensation.
Was this normal?
The way her heart couldn’t decide whether to speed up or stop dead.How her skin burned beneath every swirl of his hands.Or the sobering realization that the more he loved her, the more she needed him.
Because she’d spent twenty years preparing for any possible scenario…
Except him.
Kash hummed against her skin, drawing a strangled moan from deep inside her.The same guttural plea he’d made when she’d been touching him.He took that as some kind of sign, dipping lower, then swiping his tongue along the length of her.
“Christ.”The word tore free.Raw.A testament to how far he’d pushed her.
He repeated the motion, teasing her with a bit of penetration.Nearly sending her over as all the heat billowed up through her core.She moaned his name, arching into the next pass — all but grinding herself on him.He placed one massive forearm across her hips, holding her still, drawing a growl, this time.
He eased up, snapping her back from the precipice a moment before she soared off.“Someone’s got their claws out.”
Jordan managed to pry her eyelids open and push onto one elbow.“I swear to god, I’ll use every skill at my disposal if you don’t freaking finish this.”
He merely arched a brow.“I thought women were all about foreplay?”
“Well, this woman’s about to kick your ass if you leave her hanging like this.”
A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.“Has anyone ever told you that patience isn’t your strong suit?”
“A few, but they didn’t live long enough to regret it.”
That smile he’d held back flourished.“Damn, I’m crazy about you.Fine.Relax.I’ll give you what you need.”
She fell back on the bed, promising to get revenge as soon as she could string together a thought that didn’t start and end with his name.That didn’t feel like the beginning of forever.
Kash held true to his promise, lowering his head and taking her back to that edge a second later.Licking and sucking and something that had her fingers fisting in his hair — her eyes rolling.She fought against the surge of heat, everything closing in around her.Cutting off her ability to breathe before her muscles clenched tight, holding her captive as she teetered on the brink…
She broke.
