Page 44 of Hunted Hearts
He swept his thumb along her cheekbone.
“You sure about this?” His voice was gravel.
She forced her boneless arms to move and wrapped them around his neck.
He leaned in and claimed her mouth in a soft sweep of lips that was so far from the kisses that got them to the place that her mind was tumbling to understand the shift in him.
Then he suddenly broke the kiss. With slow, deliberate twitches of his hands—forearms bulging with each move—he stripped off his clothes. She drank in the way he closed his fist around the base of his cock until the head swelled purple with need.
His jaw flexed. The condom in his other hand trembled as he brought it to the tip of his throbbing cock.
“Hands shaking, Malone?” she teased again, her lips curving despite the catch in her voice.
His wicked grin felt like a slash across her senses. “Still not nerves. Just…impatience.”
In one quick jerk of his hand, he rolled it over his shaft.
She reached for him, pulling him down on top of her, her lips meeting his neck.
Theo’s restraint shattered. He claimed her mouth again, his kiss deeper, harder. She arched beneath him, curling her fingers into his shoulders as their bodies aligned. Heat sparked everywhere they touched.
Nothing stood between them but the heady warmth of skin on skin.
She issued a soft moan as his mouth traced the line of her collarbone and his hands moved over her sides, mapping every curve and hollow like he intended to memorize her. The mix of teasing and hunger between them only made it hotter, every stroke of lips and fingertips pulling them deeper into the storm.
When he finally eased into her, her thoughts stuttered. She grazed the broad muscles of his back with her short nails, and Theo buried his face against her shoulder for a beat as if steadying himself before lifting his head to meet her gaze.
The connection that surged between them was almost overwhelming, sparking like a live wire as he began to move.
Their rhythm built slowly at first, a steady cadence of breath and touch, teasing waves pulling them higher. Juliette’s soft gasps mixed with his low groans, their mouths finding each other between every shift, every brush of skin.
He rolled his hips, and she rose to meet him. The dark pressure deep inside her seemed to flood higher, moving up from her belly to some small space in her chest.
The teasing gave way to desperation. The need coiled tighter, every movement driving them closer to the edge. Theo slid a hand to the small of her back, lifting her just enough to bring them even closer, his mouth catching her cry as she arched beneath him.
His whispered “Juliette!” was what undid her. The sound was raw and vulnerable, gritty with need. It tipped her over the edge.
Her insides gripped. His cock thrust deep, urging the need inside her to a fury. The feel of his muscled body wrapped around her lifted her higher until the tight string of lust reached a snapping point.
Their release came like a wave, all-consuming. She clung to him, riding him with a cry that he swallowed with his kiss. She flipped her tongue over his and gathered his groan of answer.
For long heartbeats, they continued to rock against each other. When they collapsed, they were both trembling and panting. It seemed to take an eternity before her mind drifted back into her body, and she grew aware that she was tangled in the heat of him and soft sheets.
Neither spoke, but his gaze penetrated, deep and powerful. Theo rolled just enough to keep his weight off her but left his arm draped around her waist, their legs still entwined.
Juliette rested her hand on his chest, tracing idle patterns over his skin as their breathing slowly evened out.
Lying against Theo, with the slow, steady beat of his heart beneath her cheek, she was so aware of just how rare this was. Like opening up an old trunk and finding a priceless Stradivarius violin inside, just waiting for someone to bring it to life.
She struggled to wrap her brain around that thought. Her life was filled with creativity but she also analyzed every small move of her fingers on the strings, each note before it was played. Practicing pushed her creativity and made it blossom in new ways.
With Theo, she let the questions pounding at the back door of her mind fade away, leaving only the whisper of feeling between them.
He stroked a smooth path from the base of her spine to her nape, making her skin ripple under his touch. She turned her lips against his chest and reveled in the glow spreading through her.
Right now, in this very minute, she didn’t have to worry about schedules or threats or even how to pick up where her tour left off.
Chaos churned just beyond the walls of the ranch—threats she could almost feel pressing closer but didn’t want to admit to sensing.
