Grace and Glory (The Harbinger #3) - Jennifer L. Armentrout Page 0,92

I felt his gaze on me from behind. There was a tightening all over.

Zayne’s head dipped once more, his chin grazing the side of my head as his mouth found its way to my ear. “I am not worthy of you.”

“That’s the farthest thing from the truth.”

“It’s not. You’re brave and strong. Fearless. You’re intelligent, kind and loyal.” His large hands slid to my hips. “You’re breathtaking.” He kissed my neck, and I shuddered. “I want you, now and always.”

Heart thumping as instinct guided me, I took a step back, allowing our bodies to come into full contact. He made a raw sound, and heat lit up my veins.

His hands spasmed against my hips. “I already wanted you badly, but now I feel like I’m coming out of my skin,” he said, and I could feel him, all of him, and there was no doubting the truth behind his words. “But I know things are probably weird for you right now, so that is why I’m going to wait until you leave and then turn this water ice cold.”

A heady riot of sensations skated over my skin as I turned in his arms. I didn’t let myself overthink what I was doing. I looked up, blinking the wetness off my lashes. He stared down at me, his jaw clenched and his gaze filled with stark need. The glow behind his pupils was more vibrant. I placed my hands on his chest. “Kiss me?”

“Trin,” he rasped, the word more of a growl than anything I’d ever heard from him. I shivered as his hands tensed around my hips. “I want to do that more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my life, but I’m quickly learning that I feel things a bit more intensely than before. I’m trying to do the right thing. You need time, and if I kiss you, I...I don’t think my restraint is what it used to be. I don’t want to—” He groaned, body shuddering as I slid my hands down his stomach. “I don’t want to be that kind of person who loses control.”

My gaze drifted over the harsher lines of his features. “You could never be that person. Right now is proof of that.”

“The pool was proof of exactly the opposite.”

“Not true,” I insisted. “I know even then, if I hadn’t wanted to do anything, you would’ve stopped. I know.”

His lips thinned as he stared down at me. “You think too highly of me.”

“I think just right about you,” I corrected, and his eyes became liquid, heated sapphire. “The bruises and stuff barely hurt now. I don’t need time. Nothing is weird for me. Is anything weird for you?”

He shook his head no.

“Good, because what I do want is you, Zayne, now and always.” I felt my cheeks warm. “Key emphasis on the now part.”

For a moment, I thought he was going to refuse, and at that point, I planned on just jumping on him. I hoped he kept his footing on the slippery tile, but then he did move.

He lowered his head, and when his mouth touched mine, I realized that I had in no way experienced all his kisses, because this one was everything. Both infinitely tender and wholly demanding, he kissed with a sense of urgency and yet in a way that made me feel like we had all the time in the world.

And this kiss...it flipped and twisted my insides into a heady mess. Sensations raced over my skin and through me. My heart surged and the feeling unfurling in my chest was just as intense as the throb of grace. He kissed me as if he sought to erase the endless hours and days we’d been apart.

Under my hands, I could feel his muscles flex as he lifted me in his arms. I wrapped my legs around him as the arm around my waist kept me tight against him. His mouth never left mine as he turned us. I had no idea how he managed to shut the water off, and I didn’t even know exactly when we’d left the shower. There were moments in the bathroom when he stopped, and I was pressed between him and the wall. Then we were moving again, and it wasn’t long before my back hit the rumpled blankets on the bed. We were together, our bodies slippery, our wet hair soaking the sheets we quickly became tangled in, and then we were wrapped up in one another. His hands were everywhere, the