“We both know that there is no danger. The people searching aren’t going to find anything. I know you’re as tired as I am. Why don’t you lie beside me? You can keep your sword nearby as long as you don’t accidentally cut me.” The words were out of her mouth almost before she realized what she was going to say. Her hands twisted the blanket in her grip.
“Are you sure? You know what happened between us the last few times we got close. I don’t think either of us is so tired that we’re going to be able to ignore it.” He raised a brow and didn’t move from where he stood.
She took a deep breath and tossed the blanket onto the foot of the bed just to get it out of her hands. Conflicting desires warred inside her. She wanted him close and she needed to keep him at a distance. Fear of change battled with the mate attraction.
Honesty forced her to admit that the current situation was the one she’d always feared. It couldn’t become worse. Not anymore. They already knew the truth. She couldn’t persuade them that they were wrong. The thought of his arms around her and the feel of his body next to hers only made doing the smart thing harder. Knowing that denying herself wouldn’t alter his beliefs, she came to a decision. She wasn’t going to deny herself the pleasure she knew he could offer.
“I’m sure. I want you beside me and what happens will happen. It would probably happen anyway. I want to be near you.” She shrugged and smiled slightly.
He nodded and she saw a slow smile curve his lips. “You’re probably right. I’ve wanted to hold you since the moment I saw you near the door. I don’t want you to regret this later. The only thing holding me back was the fear of losing the trust you’ve given us.”
“I won’t regret it. I sometimes wish we could do things differently at times, but this won’t be one of them.” She held out her hand in invitation.
He nodded and started over to her. “I’ve thought that myself over the last few days.”
He walked over to join her beside the bed and placed his sword on a small chest within reach. Clasping her wrist, he drew it to his chest. “I’m not certain exactly what you fear, but we’re not going to change our minds. We’re men, not boys. We know what we want.”
“You knew what you wanted before.” She wanted to take the words back the moment they slipped from her lips, but she couldn’t.
She saw him flinch a little and felt bad about throwing that remark at him.
“We were searching, even Colm, although he wouldn’t have been able to say exactly what he was looking for. He was trying to find something special.” Linc shook his head. “At the time, we were satisfied with what we had.”
She believed him. At least about his own way of looking at it, and she wasn’t going to say anything more. She really didn’t want to get into an argument with him about it. What she’d said wasn’t really fair. She was coming to see that, although she wasn’t sure why she felt that way. It was going to take time to go through everything that had been said and what she felt to discover what had started the change of mind.
“Let’s lie down.” She tugged his hand and drew him onto the bed. “I want to kiss you.”
“I’ll give you a kiss any time you want. All you have to do is tell me.” He slid onto the mattress beside her and drew his fingers across her shoulder.
“Give me a kiss now.” She took him at his word and she enjoyed the opportunity to give him an order for a change.
He scooted closer and brushed his lips across hers. The caress wasn’t tentative, but it was soft and patient. It drew her into thrusting her tongue against his and nipping his lips. She needed to know he hungered as much as she did. Her hand slipped around the back of his neck and pulled him closer.
She seized control of the kiss, claiming his lips and pushing him onto his back. Now that she had the opportunity, she indulged in the urge to touch. Her hands spread across his bare chest savoring the warm skin there. She scraped her nails over the wide, muscled plane and smiled as the move drew