. . . found her. She was a refugee of a war. A . . . real one.” He looked away for a moment. “Isaac Driscoll used her. She was wrong too. But for some reason, I can’t hate her. She gave me what she could.”
Harper regarded him, considering his innate goodness. His gentle heart. Him. “I’m glad you’re getting answers, Jak. You deserve them.”
His eyes met hers, vulnerability filling his expression. “Everyone gave me away. No one kept me.”
Her heart stuttered, squeezed. “I’ll keep you,” she whispered, the words that had spilled from her lips making her feel shy suddenly. She looked down.
He nudged her chin up with his hand so her eyes met his once more. “Promise?” he asked.
She nodded, their gazes holding. And she knew she would. No matter what the future held. No matter whether he decided to keep her or . . . not. He would remain part of her. Forever. She’d keep him. She’d never let him go because she wouldn’t know how.
They stood at the window for a few minutes longer, living in the shared moment of vulnerability, looking out at the dark night. He traced her fingers, his hands moving up her arms, the heat of him all around her. Yes, she wanted him. Wanted every minute of the coming night.
She turned, kissing him slowly and he groaned, pressing himself toward her, their bodies meeting, her softness molding to his hardness so they became one—two perfect parts of a whole. Their tongues tangled and danced, and she pulled away, laughing, and yanking at his scarf. “I know you like this, but if I’m going to kiss you properly, you need to take it off.”
Harper had never seen a scarf come off so quickly.
Her laughter was cut short by his mouth.
They kissed and kissed, their hands roaming, both wearing far too many clothes. Harper felt the proof of his desire and rubbed herself against him. He hissed out a sound of tortured arousal, his lips breaking from hers.
She ran a finger down the scar under his cheekbone, gazing at him, beautiful and fierce and for a moment—but only a moment—she was fearful of the deep need she saw in his gaze. He wanted to take her, to claim her, to mate fiercely and with wild abandon. She saw it in his eyes, in the set of his jaw, but then his expression gentled and the fierceness in his eyes diminished. Her breath came easier, her heartbeat slowed, but something deep inside had spiked in response and then dipped as it faded. She didn’t know what to call it. All she knew was that she wanted him too.
“Take me to bed, Jak,” she murmured. “I want to be with you.”
His eyes widened, and he took one small step back, as if he needed to be able to see her better, to read the expression on her face to know that she meant what he thought she did. “Make love to me,” she clarified.
“Yes,” he said, and the simplicity of his answer when his eyes burned so bright and his body trembled, made her smile.
He raised his hand and then dropped it. “Where . . . where should we start?”
“Removing our clothes is probably a good place to start.”
His smile was sweet and unsure. Boyish. But he raised his hands and pulled off his shirt, exposing his beautiful chest to her, his scars standing out white and raised in the dim light. She leaned forward, trailing her tongue along one, and then another. He pulled in a breath, bringing his hands to her scalp and dragging his fingers through her hair. She made a purring sound, raising her head and trailing her fingers down his sides.
“Harper,” he moaned, a note of desperation in his tone.
“Yes,” she said, “I know.” This wasn’t going to last long. But after this time, they had all night. The muscles between her legs clenched at the thought.
“This might . . .” He swallowed, seeming suddenly unsure, gathering his control. “We might have a . . .” His brow furrowed and her breath paused. “Offspring,” he finished.
Oh. She exhaled, her heart filling with tenderness. She shook her head. “No. I’m on, uh, I take something so that won’t happen.”
He regarded her quizzically for a moment but then nodded, his eyes heating once more as she began to undress.
She removed her clothes as he watched, his eyes devouring every part of her as it was revealed, his breath releasing in soft pants.