Page 23 of Mending Fate
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“Evanne!”
I jerked awake at the shout, confusion fleeing the moment I remembered who was in my bed and why.
“Evanne!”
His body twisted as he yelled, limbs coming free as he threw the covers off. He thrashed, muttering other things that I couldn’t quite make out. What was clear, however, was that he was caught in a nightmare.
“Alec.” I grabbed his arm as it came toward me. When he yanked it back, I held on, nearly falling on top of him. My hands landed on his shoulders, and I shook him. “Alec! Wake up!”
“No!” Alec bolted upright so fast that our heads almost collided. His eyes were wide open, but for a few seconds, he didn’t seem to see me or anything else.
“Alec, wake up.” I shook him again.
He blinked and then frowned. “Lumen? What–?”
“It’s okay. You were having a nightmare.”
A shudder ran through his entire body, and pain twisted his features. “Evanne. She accused me of abandoning her. Said she hated me.”
“Shh.” I put my hand on his cheek. The hurt on his face was breaking my heart. “It wasn’t real.”
“But it could be.” He closed his eyes, leaning into my hand. “What if she comes back and hates me because I couldn’t find her? What if she thinks I dinnaewantto find her?”
I leaned forward and brushed my lips over his. Not a kiss driven by physical desire, but one meant to stop him from continuing along that self-destructive track.
“She knows you love her,” I said firmly. “Evanne knows that you would do anything for her. She’s a smart kid, and she loves her father very much.”
His eyes opened, and they locked with mine. Clear and completely open for the first time, I could see into the depths of him, see the vulnerable parts that he tried to hide. I’d seen pieces of him before, this man who wanted nothing more than to take care of his family, but this was the first time I was seeing all of him. Maybe it was the alcohol or maybe the nightmare – more likely a combination of both – but his guard was down.
“I feel like the world is crashing down around me.” He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck. “As if I have nothing to tether me here.”
His thumb moved back and forth behind my ear, heat spreading out from his touch. I didn’t think he was even aware of doing it. It seemed more like he needed to touch me, as if the feel of skin on skin soothed him. As ifIsoothed him. As if he neededmein a way that no one had ever needed me before.
He leaned toward me, and I knew I had the chance to stop him if I truly wanted to, and that should have been what I wanted. Except all I could think about was how sad he looked right now and how much I wanted to take that expression off his face.
As his lips met mine, I had to admit that he wasn’t the only one who needed this. After everything that’d happened these last few days, I craved his touch too.
I reached for him, making the sort of noise that would’ve been embarrassing if I’d taken the time to think about it. My palms slid up his chest, bare skin hot under my hands. His tongue slid into my mouth, thoroughly exploring as his hands dropped to my waist. He pulled me onto his lap, fingers fisting the fabric of my t-shirt. I raked my nails down his chest, earning a growl as they scraped his nipples. His fingers tightened, digging into my waist before moving down to tug at my leggings.
I leaned back, breaking the kiss.
“Mhurninn,” he protested, desperation in the word.
“Pants.” I didn’t bother trying to be sexy about it, my gut saying that it wouldn’t take much for the mood to be lost, and the last thing I wanted was for this to be as insanely awkward as was inevitable. If I was going to be uncomfortable later, at least I could get an orgasm out of it.
Once I had my leggings off, I went back to his arms, letting him pull me back onto his lap. His mouth crashed into mine, hands palming my ass over my panties. He nipped at my bottom lip, and I rocked against him, moaning at the feel of him hardening under me.
His mouth moved across my jaw and down my throat. I shifted to give him better access, little tingles of electricity following the path of his lips. The majority of my attention, however, was focused somewhere else. I reached down between us, cupping him through his boxer briefs. His cock swelled even more, and I gave him a squeeze.
“Fuck,” he groaned, fingers kneading my back. “Need you.”
I couldn’t agree more.
It took me only a few seconds to pull him out and move aside my underwear. Then I was rising up, positioning myself over his cock. I gasped as I sank down, the stretch almost painful as my body struggled to adjust. His hands slid over my ass and down my thighs, wrapping my legs around him.
“Shit, Alec.” I closed my eyes, the new angle putting pressure and friction in all the right places. My muscles trembled with the intensity of the sensations coursing through me.