Page 29

Zeke’s arms were warm around her, his touch reverent. Celine could feel the slow, steady beat of his heart against her cheek, and it was almost enough to lull her into believing that nothing else existed. No island, no danger, no ghosts from her past.

Just Zeke. Just this.

His fingers moved in gentle circles on her back, and every pass of his hand stirred something inside her. Not just desire, though that was certainly there, but something deeper. Something that tugged at the core of who she was.

When he kissed her again, her whole body reacted.

There was nothing hurried in the way his lips moved against hers. No pressure. Just heat and tenderness and that simmering pull between them that never really let up. It had started the first time she’d seen him and had only gotten stronger since. More persistent. More imperative.

Her wild heart stirred restlessly inside her, more alert than it had been in a long time. It liked him. Trusted him. Recognized something in him that felt…right. Familiar.

Celine slipped her hands under his shirt, needing to feel his skin under her fingers. The warmth of him, the strength. He made a sound low in his throat, letting out a soft growl that sent a delicious shiver down her spine.

Zeke broke the kiss long enough to look at her, eyes searching. “Can we do this here? It’s very exposed.”

She smiled up at him. “This is the local trysting spot. Not that there are that many women on the island, but there are a few, and we shifters are not known for our abstinence. There’s a signal rock that I moved into position before you got here. We’ll have privacy.”

He grinned, his gaze going speculative. “You were that sure of me, eh? What if I didn’t want to put out?”

She couldn’t help it. She giggled. His humor appealed to her on every level.

“Well, I thought I might be able to convince you. Especially if I asked really nice and said pretty please.” She walked her fingers up his chest, teasing him with the slight pout of her lower lip.

He leaned down and nipped at her lip, then turned it into one of the hottest kisses they had shared yet. Oh, boy. Did somebody turn up the heat?

When he drew back, his expression had grown even hotter. His gaze was downright smoldering.

“We don’t have to rush anything,” he said, though his actions went somewhat against his words.

She was breathless as she met his gaze. “We’re not. We’re exactly where I want to be.”

Relief and something fierce and protective flickered in his expression before he lowered his head again, kissing her deeply, his mouth almost worshiping hers. His hands slid down to her waist, then lower, moving her around and onto his lap until her thighs straddled his.

She gasped softly at the sensation of him beneath her. He was so strong, solid, and more than a little aroused. Heat bloomed low in her belly, and any last remnants of hesitation melted away.

She leaned in, trailing kisses along his jaw, savoring the slight scratch of stubble against her lips. He tasted like salt and heat and Zeke. Her soldier, her rock, her incredible man with impossible gifts. And somehow, despite everything, he felt like hers .

His hands roamed her back, slow and possessive, until they slid under her shirt, fingertips brushing bare skin. Every touch lit her nerves on fire. She arched into him, her body fully awake now, fully alive.

Before last night, it had been so long since she’d felt anything like this. Desire, yes. But also joy. Hope. The ache of wanting more.

More of him. More of this. More of them .

Zeke pulled back slightly, resting his forehead against hers. His breath was ragged, his hands firm on her hips as if anchoring himself.

“I can’t stop thinking about you,” he admitted. “Even when I try my hardest.”

She cupped his face in her hands and met his gaze head-on, feeling sexier than she ever had. “I like your hardest .”

Something in his expression cracked wide open. He laughed low in his throat, and even that small sound made her tingle. She loved that she could laugh with him, even during sexy times.

“That’s good, babe, because you make me that way damn near every time you look at me.” His voice was a sexy growl that set every last one of her nerve endings singing.

She was powerless to resist him. Not that she wanted to.

She moved closer, and when their lips touched again, the renewed kiss wasn’t tentative or teasing.

It was hungry. Certain. A claiming as much as a promise.

The surf shushed behind them, the stars twinkled overhead, and Celine gave herself to the moment—to the man—and to the bond she thought she could feel wrapping itself around her heart like a warm tide.

The world around them had disappeared for long moments out of time as he touched her with gentle reverence, as if he was memorizing her body.

She responded with equal intensity, her fingers finding the opening of his shirt, sliding beneath to trace the warm skin over his ribs, the hard lines of his back.

He was a fortress made of flesh and soul, and he let her in without hesitation.

They parted only long enough to tug off layers of clothing, breath coming faster, eyes never leaving each other.

The night air kissed her bare skin, but she wasn’t cold. Not with him.

Zeke eased her down onto the soft sand, their discarded clothing making a sort of nest beneath them. He propped himself up, half over her, one hand braced in the sand while the other cupped her cheek.

“Do you want me?” he murmured, voice husky with restraint.

Celine nodded, her answer already in her eyes. “I want this. I want you .”

His mouth found hers again. His kiss ignited a new level of desire. Each kiss that followed mapped a new part of her as he moved over her naked body until she was shaking beneath him, not from fear or nerves, but from the overwhelming rightness of it all.

He spent time on her breasts, licking her nipples and rolling them with his fingers gently, but firmly, just the way she liked.

Then he kissed his way down her torso, revealing hitherto unknown ticklish spots on her abdomen.

He spread her legs and brought his mouth to the apex of her thighs, kissing and licking the part of her that seemed neediest for his attentions.

Her breath came in shallow gasps as he brought her to the precipice of pleasure again and again before finally lifting up and moving over her.

When he reached for the condoms he had in his pocket, she stopped him. Her hand was gentle but firm on his arm.

“We don’t really need those. Shifters neither catch nor carry diseases like that and even with our true mates, it’s not easy for us to get pregnant. In fact, the only time it really happens is with true mates and then, only a few times in a lifetime. We should be safe enough.”

“Seriously?”

The stunned expression on his face amused her. She nodded, reaching up to kiss him, reigniting the passionate flame between them that had never truly dwindled. He positioned himself between her legs and broke the kiss, looking deep into her eyes.

He held her gaze as he slid inside her welcoming body, his thick length making the possession powerful as he went slow, to give her time to adjust. The intensity of his gaze and his mastery of her response stole her breath completely. And then, he began to move.

They came together slowly at first, like a tide rolling in nearby.

Inevitable, steady, and powerful. She opened to him with no hesitation, no barriers left between their bodies.

He filled her completely, and it wasn’t just about bodies.

It was about hearts. About souls. About finding something she hadn’t even known she was looking for until the moment she looked into his eyes and knew . He was hers. And she was his.

The rhythm they found was gentle at first. Slow and deep and filled with emotion.

But it built steadily, a shared fire kindled by whispered promises and breathless moans, by fingers grasping and lips seeking and hearts reaching across the void between two wounded people who had finally found something real, with each other.

When release came, it did so with a shuddering wave of sensation that left her trembling, breathless, and utterly undone.

She felt him tense as she did, muffling his groans in her neck as she did her best to stifle the scream of pleasure that wanted to erupt from her lips.

They had privacy in the small grotto of the tidal pool, but sound still carried, and shifters had sharp hearing.

Zeke held her close as they both came, crushing her to his chest. Then, he continued to hold her for long moments as they both came down from the high. He kept his arms around her, his lips brushing her temple, his chest rising and falling against hers.

Neither of them spoke right away. They didn’t need to. But after a long moment, Celine tilted her head and looked at him.

“Babe, you rock my world,” Zeke said as he lifted her to lay over him, draping his body with hers.

“Right back at you,” she murmured, rubbing her lips against his chest, over his still pounding heart.

“Does this feel as special to you as it does to me?” he asked, surprising her with his tentative words.

“It’s definitely not ordinary,” she quipped, trying to keep things light.

She had a lot of thinking to do before she could figure out what was really going on here. Her inner seal wanted to play with him, but was that enough?

Zeke’s gaze was clear and steady when she raised her head to look into his eyes. “Do you think it’s possible for a gorgeous selkie girl to fall for a guy like me?”

She smiled, heart full. “I think it’s a definite possibility.”

There. She’d said that much. It was enough for now. It was a big step, and she’d probably have more to say to him, but she had to think first and figure out what she was feeling. There was one more thing though, that she could do to help her figure things out…