and warm, her nipples large and light beige. “Exquisite.” He grazed them with his thumbs and hummed with pleasure when the tips became more prominent.
“Ivar.” She threaded her fingers through his hair and pulled him closer. Smiling, he took one pert bud in his mouth and sucked. His erection tented the front of his pants, but he wanted to taste her first, hear her cries of pleasure as she came.
He’d almost lost her.
If he’d been a second later…
“Stop thinking.” She dug her fingers into his shoulders, massaging the tense muscles. Standing, she shimmied out of her pants and underwear. Gloriously naked, she reclined on the bed and opened her arms.
He scrambled up beside her and kissed her. Delphi wore no perfume, used no scented soap, but smelled better than any woman he’d ever known—fresh and clean. They were breathing heavily by the time he pulled away. Her eyes were closed, her head slightly tilted back as he worked his way down her neck, leaving biting little kisses along the way.
Palming her breasts, he shaped and licked and sucked until she was writhing beneath him. Control shredding, he left off and kissed a path down her torso before settling between her thighs.
“Look at me,” he ordered. She raised her head, her eyes slightly glassy with desire. “See me.”
“Only you.”
His balls squeezed, his dick throbbed. This was a woman whose word was golden, her honor deep. He could trust her, now and always. She’d always put his safety above her own, which was a problem. But since he planned to watch out for her from here on, he figured it evened out.
He licked the spicy essence from her core. Her hips arched up and she moaned. His scalp burned when she tugged on his hair. He’d have to grow it longer to give her something to hold on to.
There was so much they still didn’t know about each other. The joy was in the discovery.
She was wet when he pressed a finger deep into her sheath. Her sweet moan had him clenching his jaw to keep from coming. He pressed the flat of his tongue against the bud at the apex of her thighs, smothering a laugh when her knees pressed against his head, locking him in place.
It only took a few more strokes of his finger, flicks of his tongue. She cried out, frantically pumping her hips.
Ivar shoved down his pants and surged up and over her, fitting the head of his cock at her opening, and thrust forward. Her sheath rippled around his shaft. His eyes rolled back in his head.
Sucking in air, he held himself still, torturing himself with the final contractions of her orgasm.
Her slow smile was that of a well-satisfied woman—sleepy and pleased. She twined her arms around his neck, wrapped her legs around his flanks, and tilted her pelvis upward. “What are you waiting for?”
Like a laser fired from a blaster, he exploded. Hips pumping, he drove deep and hard, sliding in and out of her wet, warm core. She moaned, her fingers digging into his nape. “Yes. Harder.”
The slap of flesh against flesh, low gasps, and long moans sang in the air. Now! He drove home one final time. His release shot from his cock. They’d made love before, but this was more intense. This time he knew exactly who he was, exactly who she was.
“Kismara,” he groaned, thrusting a few more times before collapsing. Lungs heaving, he managed to roll off her, but pulled her with him, keeping her tucked into his side.
Peace settled over him, something he’d thought he’d never have again. He owed it all to the woman beside him. Not only had she rescued him from prison, but she’d also filled the empty voids in his life.
He pushed her damp curls from her forehead and pressed a kiss there. “You okay?”
“Mmm.” She snuggled closer and sighed.
Ivar smiled and drifted off to sleep with the woman he loved in his arms.
****
Delphi slipped from beneath Ivar’s arm and padded to the bathing chamber. She stifled a yawn as she entered. She had no idea how much time had passed, how long she’d slept, but she felt better than she had in days.
She was also sweaty and sticky. A quick turn in the gel-cleansing unit took care of that. Refreshed, she grabbed a cleansing cloth and went back into the sleeping chamber. Ivar was sprawled across the bed, still sleeping soundly.
He really was a superior specimen. After only a short time, he was looking