The Wind's Call (The Broken Lands #4) - T.A. White Page 0,125

her suddenly, his warm mouth covering hers. Lips softer and warmer than she would have thought moved against hers.

The kiss was sweet. Poignant. Until it wasn't. Until passion rose like an inexorable tide sweeping them up in its wake.

Every frustration, every missed opportunity came to bear. The fire she'd felt from him in the courtyard and the mist came back.

"Be sure," he whispered against her lips.

She wrapped an arm around his neck and pulled him down to her. "I am."

They didn't do much talking after that. Their hands explored each other in the silvery moonlight. This was different than the last and only time she'd done this. It wasn't heated fumbling followed by a quick coupling that left her strangely unsatisfied.

Tingles trailed in the wake of his touch. There was heat, but it wasn’t preceded by quick, unsure fumbling. Caden was precise, as focused now as he was when he wielded his sword.

Eva panted at being the focus of all that intensity. It made her feel powerful. Wanted. Needed. It was an aphrodisiac to someone who'd rarely felt any of that.

Tomorrow they might revert to being uneasy allies, but for now, for this moment in time, she was the center of his world, as he was hers.

His gaze holding hers, he reached for her shirt, drawing it over her head with slow movements. Her breath shuddered as the shirt cleared her head; all that separated her from his gaze was a thin band over her breasts.

His lips parted as he drew one finger along the top of one mound, the calluses catching on the soft flesh, rough yet gentle. Eva drew in a shuddering breath as tingles spread.

He frowned, his expression serious yet wondering as he caressed her soft skin. When she could bear the slow exploration no longer, she reached out, grasping the edge of his shirt and pulling it over his head.

Her breath caught.

Even in shadow and moonlight, his body was hard perfection. Chiseled, each muscle rigidly defined as they created a topography her fingers itched to explore.

Scars dotted his chest. Most small, but a couple long. One in particular drew her notice. She traced its edges lightly. The scar tissue was thick and a hairs breath from being directly over his heart. Whatever had made that scar had nearly claimed his life.

Her throat tightened at the visible proof of the life he'd led.

Tomorrow he'd go back to leading it. An existence where tomorrow wasn't promised and where danger and death were courted on a regular basis. A life very different than the one she'd planned to choose for herself.

His hand covered hers, the look on his face vulnerable. "It was a long time ago when I was much less experienced and dumber than I am now."

She made a small sound, but didn't comment further.

Love was a choice you made over and over again. You could close yourself off from it as Eva had for as long as she could remember, or you could embrace it.

She didn't think what they felt for each other was quite love yet. It was too soon for such things. But she had a feeling, if she let it, it could blossom into something epic.

"You didn't come to talk about old wounds." She slid him a look from under her lashes.

His smile when it came was decadent. "No, I didn't."

He moved then, picking her up as easily as if she was a feather.

Her legs wrapped around his waist, his palms on her ass as he found her lips with his. Never breaking the kiss, he stalked across the small room and lowered her onto the bed.

Each touch sent them higher until they were a naked tangle of limbs, his body heated and hard against hers.

He kissed along the curve of her neck before moving lower, his hands slow and methodical as they danced along her body. He found every sensitive spot and exploited them. The stretch of skin just over her hip bone, the spot along her ribs, and the one on the side of her breast.

Need rose fast and soon she was twisting to reach more of him, rising every time he withdrew. His chuckle was warm and dark in her ear.

Soft moans escaped her as his hands brushed along her belly and then her thighs before finding the wet heat of her. He played, his touch gentle as he continually missed the spot where she really wanted him.

Finally fed up, she reached down, her hand closing around the hard length of