Heart of Fire (Blood of Zeus #2) - Meredith Wild Page 0,77

yellow, as if summoning inspiration from the netherworld itself, but I can’t think of her as anything except my beautiful, carnal angel.

She’s so much more now.

Especially after the words. My admission. Then hers. Not exactly traditional confessions but better in so many ways. Better because they’ve come from pure places in us both. Places I wasn’t even aware of until this extraordinary woman changed my world with her smile and her touch…

A touch that moves me even more in this moment.

That lights me up, just like the tiny sparks that dance along her face, as we explore each other with deepening wonderment. The light gets even better when she yanks another blanket off the pile and spreads it out, ensconcing us in a velour cocoon. Stars dance between our fingers as we touch again, and when Kara leans down for a new kiss, a miniature solar system lights up between our mouths.

While the entire galaxy explodes through my spirit.

Just like that, I finally understand Dante’s obsession with one woman. Why he made her his divine guide, his ultimate purpose. His never-ending love.

We press more urgently into each other. Quickly, we’re devouring each other’s mouths, but the kiss still doesn’t feel deep enough. She fills me, but I crave more. I’m her sponge, taking in every drop of her passion. I’m her mountain, ready to surround her with shelter and lift her to new summits. Most of all, I’m her convert, pledging my worship for the rest of my existence. Ready to exalt her in every way she’ll let me…

“Fuck.” I force it out after twisting my lips free from hers with a tormented groan. “Oh, fuck. Kara. Kara.”

“I know,” she rasps into the base of my neck, blasting a firestorm of fresh lust through me. I swear, she can read more than my emotions. How else does she know every perfect way to touch me, every spellbinding way to talk to me? “I know,” she repeats in a whisper, trailing her entrancing mouth down the center of my torso, undoing my shirt buttons as she goes. “I know…I know.”

“Ah…I’m not sure you do.”

She can’t possibly understand these flames in my veins, this pressure from every beat of my pulse. And the agonizing battle of holding it all back from my groin.

“Maximus.” Her every syllable is a study in soft agony. When she raises her head and our gazes meet, I know for sure that she does get it. There’s no way not to know it, as the blazes in her irises keep flaring higher…and brighter… “Maximus. I’m burning up…”

“Oh, I know.”

Fortunately, my sarcasm is good for us. Giving in to light laughs is what we both need to fill up our lungs and uncross our eyes. But—surprise, surprise—my little demon is twice as gorgeous now, seeming to actually pout as she rests her chin above my navel. It’s as if she’s debating which direction to go but refuses to let me in on the dilemma.

Keep going.

Don’t keep going.

“And now I’m burning up.” I direct the desperate growl to myself as much as her.

She gets the nuance, if her cocked head and quirking lips are telling the truth. “Misery does love company,” she murmurs while pushing aside more of my shirt to expose the breadth of my chest. “Though I’m not sure if this helps or hurts.”

“If it’s hurting you, it’s gone.”

I’m not sarcastic about it this time. Not a note. “Kara. I’d cut my own heart out if its beats caused you pain.” I form my hands over hers, bringing them back up to the space at the center of my sternum. “In a world where I’d have to exist without you, no knife would cut deep enough anyway.”

At once, she pushes up and atop me. The blanket falls away from her. Her stare matches the moon for wide, stunned brightness.

“I love you, Kara. Truly,” I whisper, grateful that the sound isn’t swept away by the wind.

She smiles. Aside from the jewel of her heart, I can’t think of a more incredible gift.

Though I admit, her glistening tears come close. Then her words top everything.

“And I love you too. Truly.”

Before I can pull some needed air into my lungs, she scoots all the way up to recapture my lips. I take greedy advantage, sweeping in to possess her mouth just as she possesses my soul. She tastes like blissful tears and beach salt wind. She feels like a dream and torments me like a maddening sea siren. Her kisses. Her