Page 139

“Seriously?” His whisper held wonder and disbelief in equal measure. “Oh, baby…”

Nash took over, rolling her onto her back and covering her mouth with his. He plowed past her lips, barreled through the fragility of the moment, smashing any defenses she had left. She opened to him, winding her arms around his neck, and allowed him deeper than he’d ever been.

Reality shifted until there was only them. Her head whirled. Need surged. Euphoria soared. Her heart took wing as he caressed a possessive hand down to her waist before pulling her impossibly closer.

Time lost all meaning as she fell into his kiss. Every brush of his lips tasted of hope. Every sweep of his tongue was flavored with his passion. Every beat of his heart against hers brimmed with devotion.

For the girl who’d grown up believing that love was a fairy tale, that promises were for suckers and that forever was a scam, she felt so humbled and blessed to be wrong.

Beneath him, she spread her legs and arched, silently begging him to give himself over to their silent vow of tomorrow.

Nash didn’t hesitate. Without breaking their kiss, he settled into the cradle of her thighs with a sound caught between pleasure and reverence. The weight of him, the heat of his skin against hers, felt like coming home. She hadn’t voiced the words burning in her throat, hadn’t confessed the truth threatening to crush her chest…yet somehow, he understood that she was laying her whole heart bare before him. She wanted everything in return—not just the solid strength of his body or the heat of his desire, but his unwavering dedication, his fierce protectiveness, his steadfast soul. Most of all, she craved the heart she’d been too afraid to fully accept until now.

“Take off your shirt,” she murmured.

He broke the kiss to stare into her eyes, scanning, looking for something… Their gazes locked. He threw open the shutters around his soul, letting her see completely inside. The moment was painfully honest, beautifully intimate. More tears stung her eyes and fell.

Nash thumbed them away before he reached behind him and tugged his T-shirt off, then tossed it across the room.

Haisley lurched up, planting her face in his chest, inhaling his musky pheromones and pressing her lips to the solid slab of his hair-roughened pecs in a worshipful gesture. Above her, he tangled his hands in her hair and kissed the top of her head as if he was determined to shower her in his love and devotion.

The gestured buoyed her heart. She skated her lips up his neck and across his jaw before she fused her lips with his. He delved inside again, reassuring her. Every sweep of his tongue was like throwing gasoline on her rising desire.

Before Nash, sex had been a lot of things—fun, awkward, a great diversion from real life. But it had never had real meaning until him.

Suddenly, he wrenched away from her and stood, powerful chest heaving. “You mean it.”

The wonder in his voice had her tearing up again. “I’ve never meant anything more.”

“Now.” Nash reached for his fly. “I want you naked. Bare yourself to me.”

Haisley lurched to her feet and set about exposing every part of herself. She fell into his hot stare as she slowly lifted her brief little sundress from her body, then peeled off her bra and underwear. She wanted him to see her naked—both inside and out.

He toed off his shoes and shoved down his pants. Then, breathing hard, they stood completely exposed in front of each other. Haisley felt the moment all the way to her heart.

“Beautiful,” he said hoarsely, cupping her neck and pressing his forehead to hers.

She closed her eyes, drinking in his sincerity, before he swept her into his arms and carried her back to the bed, slinging covers and pillows aside until nothing lay between them but the profundity of the moment.

“You are, too,” she whispered, her words nearly lost in the rumble of thunder.

He nodded, his expression so intense it stole her breath. As if in this moment nothing and no one else existed in his world but her. “No going back.”

“Ever.” The promise fell from her lips as he covered her body with his. She welcomed his weight, his heat, his strength. Here, now, only Nash existed. Only their love mattered.

“I’m all yours,” she whispered, meaning those words with every fiber of her being.

Need twisted his expression before he captured her lips in another dizzying kiss. Her heart revved. Their breaths mingled as they exchanged another glance full of unspoken feelings. Then his eyes darkened and he made his way down her body, his mouth lingering at her breasts, nipping and sucking her swollen tips.

Sensation flowed over her like warm honey as she arched to be closer to him, whimpering for more when her nipples became tight and sensitive. Back and forth he dipped from one breast to the other until her ache grew unbearable. She shifted restlessly beneath him.

“Patience,” he muttered against her skin as a smile tugged at his lips.

He’d always loved reducing her to a beseeching puddle of aroused female. But today wasn’t strictly about pleasure, but connection. About beginning their tomorrows…as many as fate allowed them.

“Haven’t we waited long enough?” she murmured as she spread her legs beneath him.

Nash’s eyes turned black as he made his way up her body wordlessly and pressed another reverent kiss across her lips. Then he wrapped possessive hands around her hips and tunneled his way inside her gently but insistently.