Page 119 of The Gods Only Know

I could feel Daphne’s breathing deepen under my palm.

“Then on that balcony,” I said, the memory crystal clear. “You told me my eyes were the color of the sea. The first compliment you ever gave me. At least I took it that way. Then we talked about fish. And you listened. I could almost see you absorbing each word. Your mother interrupted before I could hear you say my name, which was the only thing that could have made that moment more perfect.”

Daphne was doing the same now, looking at me like she took care with each word. Turned it over, inspected it,understoodit before filing it away in her memory.

“I remember meeting you,” I repeated, pushing through the gravel in my voice. “And yet it feels like I’ve loved you longer. Loved you my whole life.”

There was a pause. A heavy, deep breath before Daphne launched herself at me. That was the right word for it. The force with which she sprung toward me, straddled me, and wrapped her arms around my neck in one smooth motion.

She buried her head into the side of my throat, her breath coating the juncture between my neck and shoulder. My hands found their way around her body, pulling her in close and flattening her to my chest.

I’d been hard as nails since the second I woke up and found Daphne still in bed with me. Having her poised above me, almost perfectly aligned, wasn’t fucking helping.

But I’d be a right idiot if I dared move her.

Daphne lifted her head, moving her hands from the back of my shoulders up to grip my face. Her nails scraped my beard lightly and I felt my cock grow impossibly heavier.

“You sure know how to wake a girl up,” Daphne said, our foreheads almost touching. Our noses pressed together.

I knocked her hands off my face just to have the room to cup the lean lines of her jaw. “Is that a demand? You want a declaration of my love each morning?”

Daphne snaked her hands in between my arms, up to settle back on my beard. “I wouldn’t be opposed.” With a little push of her elbows, she pulled my hands away from her face, winning back the reins. “But I’ll settle for waking up next to you.”

“That’s ancient history, baby,” I said, placing my hands over hers where they rested on my jaw. I grabbed them quickly, moving them away and gripping her face. Also her neck, seeing as my hand spanned the width from her jaw and around. The little minx wasn’t winning this game. “We need something new.”

Daphne’s eyes sparked with challenge. Minx was the appropriate term for her because she moved her hips down in a rolling motion, finally acknowledging the fact that my very hard, very insistent length was pressed between us.

I let go of her face and gripped her hips, forcing her closer so that her clit pressed against my erection harder, the way I learned she liked.

“Luke,” she whimpered.

“Put me in,” I half growled. “And watch.”

Daphne nodded frantically, reaching down to wrap her hand around the base before positioning it at her entrance. At the first brush of her, my hips jerked forward on their own, desperate to get inside her. Daphne slid down slowly, lighting a fucking wildfire in my veins with each inch she took me in.

“You’re fucking perfect.” There were no other words when I was staring at where we were joined, fitting together like we were made for each other.

Daphne’s eyes were on the same spot, a blush covering her neck and cheeks. “Maybe that’s what being Fated means. That we fit—”

I cut her off with my mouth and a hard thrust upwards. She couldn’t just bring up the fact that the fucking Fates had decided she was mine and expect anything different.

I pulled back, just to look at her, wrestling control back so that I could hold her hips in place and drive into her. Daphne leaned forward, finding the perfect angle so that every time I moved, I got one of those breathless, sweet moans from her mouth.

Fuck, I was done for.

“Luke.” Daphne was begging and I knew what for. Still keeping my hand steady on her hip to hold her in place, I moved my thumb to her clit, doubling down on the sensations she was already getting from the base of my cock.

I caught her gasp in my mouth, sliding my tongue in. The kiss grew sloppy as we both barreled toward release, Daphne’s nails dragging across my back and shoulders.

Every pulse of her body made me feel like a trigger-happy maniac, ready to come at any second. After another forceful thrust, the pulsing grew stronger and Daphne fell over the edge, coming hard.

I followed a second after, emptying myself into her. Another blessing bestowed upon the gods. No pregnancy until you wanted it. I could feel her with nothing in between.

Daphne broke the kiss but kept her forehead close to mine, breathing like she couldn’t get enough oxygen. “I love you.”

My heart squeezed like someone was strangling it. “Not used to hearing that yet.”

Daphne laughed and my heart burst. “Well, you better get used to it. I plan on saying it a lot this week.”

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