squat down in front of her. "Two more minutes. Forgive me for this." He scooped up a handful of snow and sprinkled it over the blanket and her exposed shoulder. "Close your eyes."
She shivered and closed them. Cold, wet flakes fell on her face, clinging to her lashes.
Snow crunched as he stepped back. "Keep 'em closed, baby. One more minute. Look asleep. You're dreaming of sweet nothings, sexy romps. Fun."
Holding her breath, she imagined his expression when they saw the whale fin from the boat, how happy he'd seemed. Picturing what she'd like to do to him inside the sleeping bag by the fire, she held as still as possible.
Click, click, click, click, click, click, click??/p>
"Let out a very gentle exhale, baby." Click, click, click, click. "Got it. Hold this." He set the camera on her belly and scooped her into his arms. Trudging up the hill, he pulled her tight to his body to keep her warm. "You did so great."
Setting her down in the sleeping bag inside the cave, he reached for her discarded socks and slid them on her feet. Too cold to do much more than watch, she shivered violently when he stripped off his clothes and lay over her, zipping them inside a cocoon.
Brushing his nose with hers, he whispered against her mouth. "That was better than my fantasy, baby. That position, you lying as if in a nocturnal state, was damn brilliant. If you let me, people will look at that photo and wonder what made you so sleepy, wonder what you're dreaming about. Or whom."
Between the fire, the thermo sleeping bag, and Noah's body heat, she was warming up nicely. She relaxed as desire kicked in. But first, she needed to clear the air.
She wrapped her arms around his back, holding his gaze. "You can display the pictures you took today to the public, if you like. Maybe at your opening in a couple weeks." She relented because the photos obviously meant a lot to him. He was proud, why deny him? "And??
He kissed the corner of her mouth. "And what, baby?"
"I'm sorry about freaking out. Don't sell the island. Let's get through the trial and then we can build a house." Our house. She waited for her heart to pound or the air to constrict, but it never came.
God. He'd bought her an island. On a whim and a prayer, he'd purchased a dream for a future together.
He swallowed, gazing down at her through tender eyes and with wonder. "I love you." Leaning in, he kissed her before she could respond, coaxing her to open for him.
There was no frenzy or rush in the kiss, just sweet, deliberate torment. He made love to her mouth, unhurried. Sliding his arms under her back, he crisscrossed them to pull her closer, one hand cupping the back of her head, the other splaying between her shoulder blades. Her hard, sensitive nipples grazed his chest before they crushed between their bodies. He urged her legs apart and nestled his hips between her thighs.
Breaking the kiss, he gazed down at her, breath fanning her cheek. "I love you." Without breaking the gaze, he shifted his hips and aligned himself at her opening.
When she closed her eyes at the blissful contact, he demanded she open them. Rocking his hips forward, he entered her with such slow, measured intensity that her throat tightened.
"Feel me." When rooted to the hilt, he shuddered out an uneven breath, pupils nearly swallowing his irises. "I love you with everything in me, Raven. See me, feel me, let me in."
Her breath caught in her throat as he rolled his hips. There wasn't an inch where they didn't touch, where they weren't connected. He held her to him tightly, rocked between her thighs with gentle strokes, and stared at her as if searching for all the dark corners where her fear was trapped. In and out, he thrust. Unhurried.
"I love you," he rasped again, as if she didn't know, as if she didn't believe him. "I'm not going anywhere. I'm not going to let you down. I love you."
Helpless to do anything but feel, she sank deeper. Her chest swelled. Her eyes misted. It was as if he intended their joining to be a contradiction and a negotiation. Not a battle of wills or rush to the finish line, but?? mating. An assault of her senses.
The thickness of his shaft gliding in and out of her pulled a tremor from deep within. The way his