Yet, she’d shown up on his doorstep. Asked him why he hadn’t kissed her. And was now totally naked in his arms. Spread open, both physically and emotionally. And he hadn’t even been honest with her about why he was in Whisper Lake. He didn’t deserve her trust. He didn’t deserve her.

“Axel?” Brynn’s fingers ran along his jawline as concern tinted her voice. “What’s wrong?”

The tenderness in her touch and her voice got him like an arrow through the heart. He needed to tell her who he really was, why he was really there.

“Brynn, I need to—”

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a soul-stealing kiss that lasted just long enough for him to forget who he was or why he was there.

When she broke it, she whispered against his mouth, “Tonight, I just want to feel.”

Her hips rocked against his latex-covered erection as she emphasized the word.

If that’s what she wanted, that’s exactly what he’d give her.

Using the leverage of her back against the wall, he tilted her hips up and lined up the throbbing tip of his rock-hard shaft between the delicate, pink folds of her sex. He inhaled as he guided himself inside of her, slowly. He wanted to freeze the moment in time as he watched her body accept the engorged crown of his shaft. A groan reverberated in his chest as he pushed past the resistance of her tight canal.

Sweat formed on his brow and the back of his neck as Brynn’s nails dug into his shoulders. Between them, her breasts rose and fell as she took in shallow breaths. Her inner muscles resisted before molding to him. He stared down to where they were intimately joined and shifted his weight so that his legs were braced. His fingers tightened around her hip as he eased her down with excruciating care, stilling each time her body resisted his advance.

“Yes. More. Yes.” Her raspy whispers of encouragement and the grinding of her hips urged him to go further.

His hand was still wrapped around his heavy erection as he drove into her so deep that the side of his hand brushed her sex. Instead of removing his hand from between them completely, he continued holding himself and circled his thumb around her swollen clit, careful not to touch the sensitive nub.

Her body responded immediately, arousal coated the roughened pad of his thumb and his dick was enveloped in her warm, contracted inner muscles.

“Oh…yes…” she whimpered as her fingernails scraped his shoulders. “Oh…fuck…yes…yes…”

Hearing Brynn curse was a whole other level of hot. The sound shot straight to his balls that were tingling uncontrollably with barely restrained release.

He couldn’t believe that he was already feeling the telltale signs of an imminent orgasm. He’d never had a problem with longevity before. But the past didn’t matter. Only the present did; and in the present he knew it was only a matter of moments. His only hope was to bring her with him for the ride.

Once he knew that her body was ready, he began thrusting in and out of her. Within a few pumps his climax was speeding toward him like a runaway train. There was nothing he could do to slow it down. His last coherent thought before it overtook him was that he wanted to be kissing Brynn when it made impact.

So that’s exactly what he did. He captured her mouth in a punishing kiss as white-hot pleasure exploded inside of him. Fiery passion spread through him as he sank into the velvety warmth of her sex and her mouth. The release was the hottest, most intimate, soul-claiming, animalistic experience he’d ever had.

When it began to subside, he realized that his legs were unable to stand beneath the weight of what they’d just shared. Not willing to lose their connection, Axel held Brynn tightly against him as he flipped their positions and lowered down to the ground. His back was leaning against the wall and Brynn was on his lap. She snuggled against him, panting heavily against his chest as her entire body went limp.

While he caught his breath he ran his fingers through Brynn’s silky hair. The beat of his heart thudded against his chest as he held her close to him. Having her in his arms like this was the closest thing to a spiritual experience he’d ever had. He felt like he was exactly where he was supposed to be and doing exactly what he was supposed to be doing. For the first time in his life, he felt like he belonged. Like he was home.

There were so many emotions warring inside of him but an overwhelming sense of needing to protect her exceeded them all. He knew that he needed to tell her who he was and what he was really doing in Whisper Lake, but he didn’t want to break the magic spell that surrounded them. Still, he knew what he needed to do. He took a deep breath as he prepared to say what needed to be said. But before he exhaled, he heard her speak.

“Wow. This was so much better than breakfast in bed,” she whispered as she caught her breath.

“What?” His eyes lowered to the top of her head.

“Earlier, at Lanterns, that’s why I was emotional. Ethan brought Jess breakfast in bed. No one’s ever done that for me and I was sad. But this was so much better that I don’t even care anymore.” She chuckled lightly as she snuggled against his chest.

She sounded so happy, so calm, so relaxed.

Tomorrow. He’d tell her tomorrow.