Page 49

Heat seared his cheeks against the frigid water at the knowledge the very woman he jerked off to sat in his living room. God, how ridiculous that he couldn’t control his desires around her. How pitiful hehadno control around her, resorting to fucking his hand in hopes of keeping himself in line.

His scar pulsed with pain that quickly fled as a surge of relief preceded his climax. An ache started in his jaw as he clenched his teeth tighter, squeezed his eyes harder, and rode the waves of release. Jet after jet until all that was left was a few remaining drops and shaky legs.

Despite his best efforts, fire continued to lick up through his cock, burn along his lower belly, and threaten to devour him in a desire-infused madness.

“This is ridiculous,” he groused, lathering himself from head to toe with soap. The cold barely penetrated the residual heat stirring in his gut. Even his cock refused to rest. They may be century-old soul mates, but still. He didn’t care to look like a damn adolescent unable to control his libido at the very sight of her.

After washing his hair and rinsing all the soap from his skin, he cut the water, snatched the towel from the hook beside the shower, did a quick wipe down, and tucked it around his waist. He rolled his eyes when he saw his counter empty of a fresh set of clothes. He ran a comb through his hair and ducked into his bedroom.

Came up short.

Rihanna rose from the edge of his bed, the chill seemingly gone. Her violet eyes shimmered with an inner light, her skin so milky smooth and stunningly perfect. The slightest blush touched her cheeks, but otherwise not a mar, not a blemish. Pure perfection.

Bryce tried to swallow the sudden knot in his throat, but his mouth had gone dry. He stood just outside his bathroom, the fabric of his towel igniting his hunger all over again as his cock rose. Each slow saunter toward him stole a little more air from his lungs. By the looks of it, the effect was reciprocated.

Her pupils swelled, her lips parted, her stiff nipples outlined by the silky top she wore. Not something he’d expect a woman to don in winter, but damn, it looked right on her. Deep purple with gold stitching, pieces swaying light as air around her legs. Long, slender legs encased in supple leather. He’d been so concerned about her freezing to death that he’d missed the bespelling woman’s arsenal beneath the layers of winter clothes.

His heart thundered as she stepped up to him and stretched a hand to his chest. Cool fingertips slid over his damp skin, teasing his nerves. A gentle taunt, or so he suspected until his gaze lifted from where she traced the curve of his pec to decipher the yearning expression that warred with hunger. Her touch stole his thoughts, strippinghim of sensibility as they slid along the curves of his ab muscles and came to a sudden halt at his towel.

The soft rose that tinted her cheeks turned deep red. She pulled her hand away, stepped back, eyes snapping up to meet his. He couldn’t determine the swirl of emotions riding those amethyst irises.

“I-I…”

She twisted.

Bryce caught her delicate wrist and brought her back around, drawing her flush against him. As he peered down into her eyes, into her soul, no words could be spoken to express the magnitude of what he felt. He finally understood what it meant to be whole, entire, and alive.

Rihanna was his everything.

“Like a dance, little bird.” He sank his fingers deep into her hair, molding his hand to the base of her skull. She tilted her head up, her eyelids heavy. “One we’ve waited decades to share.”

Half a breath escapedher lips before the excruciating wait was over. The fumbles, the trips, the caution. Gone.

Her beloved Bryce possessed her mind, her heart, her mouth. Reclaimed all he once had as his own.

Rihanna glided a hand over his thick shoulder, the sinewy muscle flexing as he guided her backward. Cold drops of water splattered over her hand from his wet hair, but the heat that intensified inside her body dissolved it immediately. Aye, his kiss consumed her in ways she remembered from all those years ago. His skin, familiar as if he hadn’t been brutally taken from her after a single time together.

Aye, ’twas a dance, one her soul recognized and her body fell in step with. A sensual and ravenous dance she’d dreamt of, grieved for, and desired to experience once more. Just once.

At last, Bryce was here, with her, warm, strong, solid, and she knew one time would never be enough.

’Twasn’t enough in his last life. ’Twould never be enough in this life.

Bryce lowered his mouth, his breaths shallow as he kissed a path over her chin. His finger hooked around the strap of her sleeveless silk top, gently slipping it off her shoulder. His wicked lips followed his fingertips, grazing her shoulder, tasting and swirling until her legs weakened and that sweet burn between her legs intensified.

“With you here, ’tis like all this time of suffering never existed,” she whispered.

“Mmm.” His fingertips crossed her back, his touch so light that her skin rose with goose bumps at the tease. As he slipped the strap off her other shoulder, he lifted his gaze, meeting hers with raw desire ablaze in his eyes. “You’ve haunted my nights for so long I feel as if we’ve only parted a few hours each day. Everything about you is familiar. Everything about us feels like it’s picking up where it left off.”

Her shirt fluttered down, weightless. She let it fall, revealing her breasts, the flat plane of her belly, the cinch of her waist where the leather belt flashed with gold adornments. The delicate fabric caught on the simple gold hilt of the small dagger she wore tucked in her belt, drawing his attention.

Bryce’s pupils swelled and his nostrils flared. She licked her lips, tasting the man before her. A long-awaited delicacy she could no longer deny herself. Goddess, she hoped he felt the same way.

Slowly, she gathered his scarred hand as he reached forthe dagger, turning his palm toward her. She fingered the spell-imbued bracelet, then brought his palm to her lips. She closed her eyes, allowing her breath to caress the scar, creating a wild pulse of anticipation deep within her chest. To renew their blood bond would reconnect that broken golden rope that once tied their souls together. The fibrous essence of the old connection resonated, but to have the full bond again…

Bryce caught her chin in a tender pinch, tipping her head away from the scar and up to face him. “I remember what the blood bond means. The weight of the promise that comes with it. I’ll give it to you again, now. Right here.”

He twisted his scarred hand, breaking free of her light grip, and grabbed the dagger from her belt. She started to step back, but he released her chin and caught her about the waist, connecting them hip-to-hip. Not once breaking their gaze, he flipped the dagger over, offering her the hilt.