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Straddling him, she pressed her hands on the centerof his chest. She clung to him as if he were the oxygen she breathed. She’d never wanted anyone as badly as she wanted him. She took his length as if she were made only for him.
Not that she’d ever thought of herself as a possession, but she wanted to belong to Keaton. For him to belong only to her. It made no sense at all. She felt a fierce protectiveness of what they had. Of who he was. Of what they could be together.
The world outside his cabin was in chaos. Someone had tried to kill her, and one of her best friends was missing.
It felt so utterly selfish to be with him like this right now, but it’s exactly what she needed.
Keaton touched her as if trying to commit every inch of her skin to memory. His fingertips danced across her body like finely tuned instruments playing their favorite melody. Her response was visceral, every nerve ending coming alive. They moved together—two bodies in perfect sync—in an unspoken understanding that no one but them would ever comprehend.
His fingers tightened on her hips momentarily before loosening again, a silent promise that he wasn't going anywhere. She knew then that she wasn’t alone in this sentiment—that this strange mix of lust and affection wasn’t just one-sided. She felt it in his fingers as they roamed her body and heard it in his gasps as she touched him in return.
Her climax came hard and fast, and she hadn’t expected it when it slammed into her body. She criedout his name so loudly that she was sure she woke the alligators deep in the Everglades.
He gripped her thighs. His body tensed, and he thrust deep into her, spilling his orgasm.
He curled his fingers around her neck, pulled her lips to his, and kissed her like a delicate flower.
Or perhaps, his princess.
He broke off the kiss, palming her face. “You’re so beautiful.” He smiled. “And wicked.”
“Wait until I’m out of this sling.” She winked. “You don’t know how wicked I can get.”
“If I wasn’t scared before, I’m utterly terrified now.”
She stared at him for a long moment, soaking in his sexy gaze. She loved the way he looked at her and how he wasn’t so quick to want to get out of bed. Or stop cuddling. How he genuinely enjoyed the lazy part of being intimate.
She traced his cheekbone. His jaw. His lips. His chin and neck.
Then she fingered the tattoo. The reminder of his lost love. Immediately, her hand went to her midsection. He’d lost someone special. Something she vowed never to ask him to forget.
Tears stung her eyes. It was strange to think she’d lost a child. She’d miscarried during the fifteenth week. It had been hard, and what she mourned was the idea of a child, not her child.
He glanced at her hand over her belly, and then his gaze smacked hers like the sun's warmth.
“Oh, Trinity,” he whispered with so much emotion. Too much. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t know.” He cradled herin his arms, bringing them both to a sitting position. He ran his hands up and down her back. Her arms. He kissed her temple and stared into her eyes with…love.
“Know what?” She blinked. Her world turned upside down in a flash. This perfect moment was tainted with the thick memories of a fist to her face. A boot to her gut. A visit to the ER. “What are you talking about?” Her body grew rigid, and she could hear the defensiveness in her voice.
This was not something she talked about.
Occasionally, her father could get her to muster the courage. But he’d been there. He’d picked her up at that hospital. He’d brought her home. And he would have killed Charlie if given the chance. Now, all her dad wanted was for her to be whole. For her to live her life and love again.
“Trinity?” Keaton lifted her chin with his thumb. “Open your eyes and talk to me.”
She had no idea she’d even closed them. Tears rolled down her face.
He brushed them away.
“I’m sorry. It’s just that when you placed your hand on your stomach, well, I know what that means,” he whispered.
“How on earth could you know that?”
“My sister lost two babies,” he said softly. “I know the gesture, and there’s another reason. But we’ll get into that one in a second.”
“No, tell me.” God, anything to not have to tell him what happened. “I want to know.”
“All right.” He lifted her from his lap and set her onthe other side of the bed, covering her body. He swung his feet over the side, found his jeans, and hiked them over his hips. Standing tall, he walked across the room and leaned against the wall, staring at her with a strange look. One that she hadn’t seen before.