Page 46 of His Ruthless Match (Below #3)

I wasted no time to scoop her into my arms. She let out a delighted laugh as she twined her arms around my neck.

I carried her out of the kitchen, the path to her bedroom familiar enough by now that I didn’t need all my senses to find it.

She placed fervent kisses on my jaw, and I had to grit my teeth to maintain focus.

I practically tossed her on the bed. She bounced slightly on the plush mattress, hair splaying out around her. The sight of her naked, flushed, breathing heavily, and staring at me with anticipation was enough to make my heart skip a beat.

I couldn’t resist a bit of playful bravado. With a grin, I took a few steps back, then did a running jump onto the bed beside her, making her laugh in surprise. She turned on her side, her giggles dissolving into a warm smile.

“That was ridiculous,” she said, but her eyes gleamed with want.

I propped myself on one elbow and brushed a thumb over her cheek. “You liked it, though.”

She moved closer, pressing her bare body to mine.

“I did,” she admitted, leaning in to kiss me softly.

There was something different about her smile.

It was more unguarded than I was used to.

Seeing her so open made me feel simultaneously powerful and vulnerable.

My chest constricted with a foreign emotion I didn’t dare name.

I slid on top of her, planting my hands on either side of her head.

Her hair fanned out beneath her as she wrapped her arms around me and scraped her nails lightly down my back.

The electricity between us felt like it could power the entire city.

We sank into a deep, lingering kiss that only grew in intensity.

Every inch of her felt like it was made to fit against me.

“Don’t you dare hold back,” she warned in a whisper against my lips.

I tried to respond, but the words tangled in my throat. Instead, I let my hands roam across her waist, up her ribcage, pausing to take in every subtle shiver. When she parted her legs in invitation, I felt dizzy. My entire existence narrowed to this moment, to the promise in her gaze.

Something had shifted. It wasn’t just mindless lust anymore.

The way Eva looked at me, so soft and open, unlocked a part of me I didn’t even know existed.

This was far more reverent, more emotional, than I’d anticipated.

A voice in my head told me this was dangerous territory, that letting myself feel anything deeper was asking for trouble. But I couldn’t bring myself to care.

My cougar stirred, growling with desire. He wanted this just as much as I did. Maybe even more.

We kissed again, slower this time, drawing out every sensation. I let my lips wander along her jaw, down her neck to the curve of her breast.

The anticipation nearly shattered me. With careful deliberation, I nudged her thighs further apart and slid into her. The sensation was so overwhelming, I genuinely forgot to breathe for a second. A choked groan ripped from my throat, and I heard a breathy gasp from her.

“It’s okay,” she murmured, cupping my cheek. Her eyes were tender, her expression unguarded. It made me want to curl into her soul. “Just… just stay with me.”

I nodded, though it felt more like my entire body was trembling in agreement rather than my head. Slowly, we found a rhythm. I pressed my forehead to hers, our noses brushing, our breaths mingling.

The closeness was intoxicating. We locked eyes more times than I could count, fingers clutching, hands roaming.

I realized I was holding her hand at one point, our fingers laced together above her head.

She squeezed me back, her gaze darting between my eyes and my lips as if she couldn’t decide where to look.

I was lost in her, in the sheer rightness of this connection, fleeting though it might be.

“Am I hurting you?”

Eva moaned. “No. You’re just a lot.”

I laughed. “Are you saying you approve of my size, Delgado?”

She arched beneath me, and I laced our fingers together again, pressing her hand into the sheets. My other hand slipped between our bodies to tease her clit, wanting to bring her to that teetering edge again. She moaned, and I found myself watching every flicker of expression on her face with awe.

“God, Jareth,” she panted.

Time became elastic. Minutes could have been seconds or hours. All I knew was the growing heat that wound tighter and tighter with each thrust into her until it threatened to consume me. Eva’s breathy whispers urged me on, and she rose to meet my every thrust.

I murmured her name, murmured a promise as I thrust deeper and harder, unable to contain myself any longer. She felt so fucking good, and her gloriously perfect breasts bounced in time with her movements.

“You’re driving me insane,” she whispered, her voice barely more than a rasp.

“You’re one to fucking talk,” I countered, trying to steady my breathing. My heart felt like it was going to pound straight out of my damn chest.

She trembled beneath me, that unstoppable quake that preceded release, and a sob of pleasure escaped her. It was beautiful, and I realized I was also shaking from the sheer intensity of watching her come apart in my arms.

When the wave finally crested, it crashed over me so powerfully that I cried out.

An electric burst of sensation tore through me, leaving me momentarily weightless, like my soul had broken free of my body.

Eva’s name slipped through my lips in a raw, broken whisper as I finally gave in to the swell of pleasure.

She locked her arms around me, pulling me flush against her, anchoring me in that moment as I spilled into her.

I swore I heard myself purr—a deep, rumbling sound I couldn’t remember ever making before. The intensity was startling, and yet it felt natural with her. My limbs shook. By the time I could manage coherent thought, I was utterly spent, breathing hard as though I’d just run a marathon.

With what felt like monumental effort, I rolled off her so I wouldn’t crush her.

Eva cupped my cheek, then brushed a strand of hair away from my forehead.

The expression on her face held a softness I hadn’t let myself dream of seeing there.

My chest tightened, and I teetered between fear and wonder.

I forced out a small laugh, though my voice was hoarse. “That was… quite something.”

“Yeah?” She smiled contentedly. “I’m glad you think so.”

I stroked her cheek with the back of my knuckles. “I think I might have gone deaf for a second,” I confessed, remembering that moment of thunderous release.

“I’m that good, huh?”

“Don’t let it go to your head, Delgado.”

She just laughed again, that light, melodic giggle that made my stomach somersault. It was the hottest thing I’d ever witnessed: Eva, naked on her back, her hair tangled, her cheeks flushed as she laughed.

I wrapped an arm around her waist, and she slid her leg over mine. We both smelled of sex, and the cool air from the open brushed our damp skin. Yet, I couldn’t imagine feeling more comfortable. More satiated.

More in love.

Why am I thinking about love? The word hovered there, dangerous and thrilling in equal measure.

I tried to brush it aside. This was supposed to be a straightforward, no-strings-attached romp, right?

Just an old-fashioned shag, as I’d told myself earlier.

But the way my heart refused to settle into its normal rhythm told me we’d crossed some unseen boundary.

Eva looked at me with half-lidded eyes that held a question I couldn’t answer. I tried to smile reassuringly, but I wasn’t entirely sure what reassurance she might need.

“You’re incredible,” I murmured.

Her eyes softened. “So are you.”

I let out a quiet huff. “You’re just saying that because you?—”

She silenced me with a gentle kiss that made my heart skip a beat. When she pulled back, her eyes traced over my features like she was committing them to memory. That kind of scrutiny usually made me uneasy, but under her gaze, I felt oddly safe.

“Stay,” she whispered, a hint of vulnerability creeping into her tone. “At least for tonight.”

I brushed my thumb over her lower lip. “I’m not going anywhere,” I promised, and I meant it in more ways than one.

As long as threats lingered outside her door, I’d be right here, making sure no one harmed her.

But I also couldn’t deny that a part of me wanted to stay in her bed for more personal reasons—reasons that had nothing to do with my bodyguard duties.

Satisfied, she let her eyelids droop. It was late, and we’d had more than a few drinks earlier. Coupled with the intensity of what had just happened, it was no wonder she was seconds from sleep. I pulled her closer, and she curled against my chest.

I considered getting up to do a security check—lock the windows, make sure the alarm was set—but then Eva sighed contentedly, and the weariness hit me all at once. Just for one night, I let myself trust the locked door would be enough. Let the outside world keep its distance.

The gentle weight of Eva’s body against mine and her warm breath on my neck lulled me toward the brink of sleep.

My mind drifted, replaying flashes of the night: her laughter in the hallway, her voice urging me to lock the door, the way she looked on the kitchen counter, the unstoppable flood of emotion as we came together.

Each memory brought a surprising surge of tenderness that warred with the cynicism I’d used as armor for so long.

In the hush of her bedroom, with the faint glow of the city lights seeping around the curtains, I realized how foreign it felt to simply be at peace.

My life was all about survival, stealth, and strategy.

Now, here I was, lost in the embrace of a woman who was so much more than she seemed.

Eva had awakened feelings in me that I wasn’t entirely ready to confront.

But I pushed those worries aside. Right now, her even breathing was all that mattered. The tension in her muscles eased as she slipped deeper into sleep. I could tell the moment she crossed that threshold because her arm relaxed across my chest, and a soft sigh fell from her parted lips.