Page 160 of A Bond so Fierce and Fragile

I do care, Frelina.His words were as slow, as cautious, as his kiss.I do care about you, and I am so fucking sorry for what I said.

She tried to hold back. She really did. But when Raine retreated, his lips leaving hers, she couldn’t.

Melting into him, she wound her arms around his neck, and he groaned as he found her mouth again, fusing them together as if that was the one thing in the world that could save them.

I don’t want to hurt you.

She could tell he was being sincere: the worry was as clear as the yearning brimming under his skin, building within him, which made the hands running up and down her back twitch as he restrained them from exploring every bit of skin they could find.

Then don’t hurt me, Raine. I don’t ask for promises or commitments. I only… I only ask that you don’t push me away when you’re hurting—that you treat me like you would a friend.

His tongue sought access, and when she opened for him, pressing her body harder against his own, he growled into her mouth.

It won’t happen again.Raine’s thoughts came choppier now, a fiery hint to them that told her he was on the edge of giving in entirely to his desires.I’m so sorry.

I know.Frelina unwound one of her arms around his neck, slid it down his broad chest, and tentatively sought out what she’d been so curious to touch.

Raine stood entirely still as she cupped his hard length, letting her fingers squeeze and explore until something deep rumbled in his chest and his forehead fell to her shoulder, leaving her mouth as he drew deep breaths.

Fuck, little Rantzier, if you continue, I am going to come in my trousers, and I haven’t done that since I was an adolescent.

She giggled at that, even as his words made heat shoot between her legs, that wetness Raine had coaxed out of her last time flooding her.

Raine sniffed the air, and his cock became impossibly harder under her fingers as he groaned, “You smell so damned good.”

Lifting his head, even as Frelina began moving her hand faster, realizing that the friction of her hand on the fabric was driving him insane, Raine found her gaze, and her pulse thrummed at the look in his eyes.

Raine chuckled quietly as he pressed a thumb against her neck, feeling her racing pulse. “Are you sure? Even with everything I’ve told you? With everything I’ve done?”

She nodded, suddenly breathless as she responded, “It’s only battle nerves, right?”

Raine swallowed, his eyes moving across her face as if to find any sign of hesitation or uncertainty.

I’m sure.She let him in fully again, allowed him to see that she didn’t want anything more from him than company, than for him to settle the fire he’d started deep inside her.Just battle nerves, Raine.

“Right,” he mumbled, the corners of his eyes creasing and something she couldn’t quite read flashing across his features.

Frelina shook her head before she stood up on her toes and crashed her mouth against his.

I want this, you dumb bastard. I want you.

She bit his lip until one of those guttural growls rumbled against her.

I want you, too, little Rantzier.

She smiled at him as his hands became more assured, and when he noticed it, he closed his eyes for a second before swooping her up in his arms.

It was as if they’d come to a mutual agreement because when Raine carried her over to the bed, clumsily shedding their clothes on the way, they left their minds open, letting the other see precisely what they wanted—what they were feeling.

He really did want her.

Frelina didn’t think it was possible to be more desperate than she’d been last time, but seeing the images forming in Raine’s mind, feeling how his mouth dried as his eyes roved over her naked body, from her breasts down to her pussy, which he’d noticed was already wet, made her wild.

Her nails dug into his scalp as he settled her on the bed, and she knew he allowed it, but she pulled him with her, forcing his hard body to press down on her own until his cock slid between her folds.

She moaned as he began rubbing it against her, moving over her clit and down again, coating it in her wetness.

The sounds alone were almost enough for her to come, and she tugged at his hair to make him move faster, push down harder… anything.