Page 140

Haisley wrapped her arms around him with a gasp, absorbing the bliss and naked honesty in their joining.

Slowly, he pressed in, then eased back, over and over, inching deeper each time. As insistent as he seemed to bury himself inside her, he seemed equally determined to make their lovemaking last forever.

Finally, he slid home completely, something between a groan and a growl falling from his lips. “Baby…”

She welcomed him with a fluttering sigh. The sight, the sensations, the purity of the moment made her head swim and her heart swoon.

He finally inched back and drove deep again in slow, smooth strokes. God, she’d never felt anything like this—her heart linking up with her body to produce a dizzying sensation. It was heady, euphoric. Enrapturing.

This was more than mere sex. They were making honest, pure-hearted love—maybe for the first time. Haisley clung to the moment, committing it to memory as she gave herself over.

Desire soared. Need climbed and clawed until she craved the ecstasy he heaped on her. As the power and pace of his thrusts picked up, his stare never wavered. She fell into his eyes as he gave his all to her body.

They rocked together. He grabbed her hands, lacing their fingers together above her head. Time seemingly stood still, as if the universe knew this act, spurred on by their two hearts beating as one, was sacred.

Danger still lurked, but Haisley committed to this moment with him. She lost herself in their shared pleasure, in the promise of the future she hoped they had the chance to spend together.

Nash filled her in every way—his hard shoulders under her nails, his manly scent in her nose, his salty taste against her lips. Their stares fastened and fused. He began chanting her name.

Pleasure spiraled up, spinning her toward a whirlwind of bliss like nothing she’d ever felt. Her heartbeat surged, pounding in her ears like the quickening beat of a primal drum.

He rocked against her, shuttling in and out, filling her with slow, powerful strokes. Blood raced. Bliss gathered. Everything in her life seemed to narrow to this moment where there was only him and her and their love.

Her body tightened as her climax coiled. She drowned in his stare, biting her lip to stop herself from crying out his name.

“Come for me, baby,” he gasped, his voice a desperate growl.

“Come with me,” she begged as the electricity in the room flickered.

“Fuck. Yes.” The rasp came from deep in his chest as the power surged on again. “I can’t stop it.”

She couldn’t, either. Her every sense reduced to him, her entire being alive and breathing for this man alone. The ecstasy wrenched her sensations into more than the culmination of pleasure. It exploded, and the wave of rapture took her heart with it into something beyond orgasm. Nothing mattered except him and the love they shared. This moment and this man had changed her life forever.

And as he shouted her name, erupting inside her, the power flickered off again, plunging them into darkness.

* * *

As thunder boomed outside their window, Nash held Haisley, savoring the cataclysmic satisfaction of their lovemaking. She felt so right in his arms, as if she’d been made to fit there.

The power cutting out left them in near darkness, save for occasional flashes of lightning that illuminated her beautiful, tearstained face. She’d cried after her climax, and he’d held her tight. No, she still hadn’t told him her secret, but she was going to. He’d seen that in her face, felt it in her touch. Somehow, the last wall between him and her heart had fallen, and he wished like hell they were anywhere else so he could hear what had been weighing on her. So he could finally understand what had torn them apart.

Nash tried to think of a time in his life when he’d been happier. He couldn’t think of one. Yes, shit waited for them outside these four walls, but this evening, this moment, was theirs alone.

He didn’t want to move—ever. Slowly, he brushed damp strands of hair from her forehead and pressed kisses to her warm cheeks, reveling when she closed her eyes with a happy sigh, punctuated by a content little smile tugging at her lips.

“Happy?”

Her lashes fluttered up, and her stare was a two-ton brick to the chest, especially when her smile widened. “Hmm.”

“You look beautiful.”

“You don’t have to say nice things, hot shot. You already scored.”

He laughed. Haisley was always as witty as she was unpredictable. “That’s never going to stop me from saying them.”

“When we first met, I was convinced you didn’t have a charming bone in your body.”

“I probably didn’t.”