Page 36 of Raven's Nest
He died.
Right there on his bed, Saylor wrapped around him,rasping his name in his ear. Three more strokes, and he surrendered, jerking through his release. Emptying what seemed like a lifetime’s worth into the damn condom.
Saylor clung to him, her fingers digging into his back, her body plastered to his. He finally regained his senses god knew how long after, his chin resting on her good shoulder, his arms cinched around her back. He smiled against her skin, easing away when she shook her head.
“Not, yet.” Her voice sounded raw, as if she’d been shouting for hours. “I need you to hold me a bit longer.”
He chuckled. “I plan on holding you all night.”
She lifted her head — met his gaze. “Not sure that’s long enough.”
“Then, we’ll continue, again, tomorrow night.”
“That’s a start.”
It took a few tries to untangle their limbs before they finally just rolled to one side so she could flop over. He laughed, dropping a hard, wet kiss on her mouth before scooting to the end of the bed.
He looked over his shoulder at her. “I’ll be right back.”
She barely nodded, already looking as if she’d drifted off, as he made his way to the washroom — took a few minutes to clean up. He touched the small blemish on his shoulder, then shook his head. If the guys saw the hickey, they’d never let him live it down.
Seeing her curled against his sheets made everything else seem unimportant. Had him grabbing an extra blanket from the closet before helping her under the covers.
He curled her into him, her head nestled on his chest as her arm fell across his waist. “You, okay?”
She smiled against his skin. “Way past okay. That was…”
He nudged her. “Mind blowing? Life altering?”
“Apocalyptic.”
“Sounds like I’ll really need to up my game if I’m going to beat that performance, later.”
“Not sure it’s possible for us to survive it, but I’m game if you are.” She drew her fingers across his chest, then blew out a rough breath. “Thank you.”
He chuckled. “Pretty sure I’m the one who should be thanking you.”
She lifted her gaze to his. “For not making me feel like a freak when I tensed.”
“You’re not a freak. You’re a warrior. Because that’s what you faced. A war.” He brushed some of that silky hair off her face. “I still can’t believe you fought him off after being drugged.”
“Like I said, it wasn’t much of a fight.”
He huffed, rolled onto one elbow, then leaned over. Not enough he thought she’d feel trapped, but enough he eclipsed her view. Got that blue-eyed gaze locked on his. “You held your own. In a perfect world, he’d pay for what he did.” He smoothed his hand along her cheek. “Was this the first time you’d been with someone since?”
Her chin quivered, her eyes glassing over. “I’m sure it’s no surprise that I haven’t trusted anyone enough to let my guard down… to make myself vulnerable.” She winced when a couple tears slipped free. “Until you.”
“I want to tell you that I’ll never let anyone hurt you, again. That anyone gunning for you has to go through me, first. Hell, my team, too. But that makes me sound like a controlling, overprotective asshole. While I won’t fully dismiss the overprotective part, I know you can hold your own. That you don’t need me, it’s just…”
How could he say it stemmed from the fucking love trying to claw through his chest? That imagining his life without her in it messed with his head. Hurt him far more than living with the guilt of not stopping Stein and Adams from launching their attack in the chopper that night. From watching Sean die knowing Rhett was only a breath away.
That she meant more to him than anyone else ever had.
More tears, then her dragging him down for a soul-searing kiss. The kind that reignited all that heat. Had him wanting to roll on top — love all the shadows away.
She nuzzled against his hand when he wiped the moisture away. “Tell me, again.”
“I’m not going to let anyone hurt you.” He lowered his head until his forehead rested on hers as he focused on just breathing her in. “Is this too much?”
