A part of her felt like she might burst into flames from frustration if she didn't satisfy the itch inside. The craving burning ever brighter with each touch.
It left Eva feeling restless, a touch violent. The urge to possess and conquer making her uninhibited as Caden hooked a finger into the collar of her sleep shirt, pulling it to the side. His head dipped as he took the muscle there between his teeth, closing down just enough to let her feel their edge but not enough to cause actual pain.
Eva dug her fingernails into the skin of his lower back as punishment.
A husky laugh sounded.
Caden jackknifed into a kneeling position, lifting his shirt up and over his head to bare a chest that even veiled by darkness could only be considered exquisite.
It was full of hard planes and chiseled lines that begged for her touch. Eva stared, too caught up in admiring its beauty to pay attention to the satisfied look on Caden's face.
Unable to resist, she reached out, her touch butterfly soft as she caressed the smooth muscles.
Caden had led a violent life and it showed in the scars that decorated his skin. Each one only adding to the attraction.
They were a road map, telling the story of a man who survived.
Almost by habit, her touch found the newest of his scars. The edges raised and slick, the scar tissue still relatively new.
Sorrow pushed aside some of the desire. He'd come so close to death. If not for the Kyren, he would have slid over the edge. A secret she couldn't share with anyone. Not even him.
Caden's hand came up to flatten hers against him, understanding on his face. "It's over."
Eva didn't respond, her gaze still locked on the spot where she knew the scar was.
He touched her chin. "I'm fine now."
Eva closed her eyes. Yes, he was. And he was going to stay that way.
"You should show me just how fine you are," Eva challenged.
Wickedness replaced Caden's concern.
He yanked Eva's shirt over her head before she could react, toppling her back to the bed. Eva held his face as she pressed her lips against his again, fighting to distract herself from her dark thoughts.
All that mattered was him. This moment and the blaze they created between them.
Caden met her fury with his own, the kiss ripping away the last of her barriers to leave her vulnerable. Her weaknesses exposed.
It would be so easy to devastate her. All it would take was a word. A look.
That was what love did to you. It ripped your chest open, leaving your heart exposed and hoping your partner would take care of it. Not crush it for their selfish needs. That they were the person you thought them to be.
Caden had proved himself worthy a thousand times over.
"It'd be worth fighting a thousand armies to live this moment with you," Caden said, lifting his head to stare down at her with desire and need.
"Careful, my commander. People might start to think you're a man of words rather than action," Eva warned.
Caden lowered his head, his lips trailing along the upper slope of her breast. His mouth closed around her nipple, a sharp zing shooting to Eva's center.
Eva's back arched as her skin flushed with need.
This time it was her control being tested.
And test it Caden did. His touch skated across the sensitive crease where her legs met her hips, making Eva jump and eliciting a number of sounds from her. None of them understandable.
In warning, Caden nipped the underside of Eva's breast. Eva forced herself to remain still, breathing deep as his fingers found her center.
They dabbled there, drawing circles around the spot she wanted him most.
Eva hummed, the fleeting touch only seeming to feed her need. Drawing it tighter as her legs stirred restlessly.
Finally, Caden gave her what she wanted, one finger dipping in before sliding out to swirl around the bud of nerves at the apex of her sex.
Eva hissed. Anticipation only heightened the experience. Every touch. Every sigh and moan building their desire.
Sensation bolted through Eva as Caden lowered his head. As he had with every step of the way, he took his time, nibbling around her clitoris.
Eva felt almost drugged when his mouth closed around her, his tongue lashing at the bundle of nerves there. She almost came off the bed as he speared his finger into her.
Need built, black spots dancing around the edges of her vision as she forgot to breathe. Her body tightened.
She could feel her climax roaring down on her. Glorious devastation that promised to be so sweet.
Before she could crest, Caden pulled back, ignoring her growl. He reached for her and sat back, lifting her over him, his strength on full display.
He aligned their centers. Eva's nails dug into his shoulders, her mouth falling open on a cry as he plunged into her.
From this angle, he felt big. He didn't even have to move. The feeling of fullness almost overwhelming.
Eva's toes curled as his grip tightened on her hips, lifting her so only his tip was inside.
A breathy moan left her, the feeling of emptiness after being stretched by his width ramping up the need even further.
A groan came from his throat as he lowered her back onto him.
Eva squirmed, her climax hovering just out of reach. The promise of it making her wild. She needed more friction. More him.
Anything that freed this brutal desire burning her up from the inside out.
Eva sobbed as she fought him for control.
His tight grip didn't budge, his pace as slow as before as Eva lost her mind. Utterly and completely. Descending to her most base self.
She leaned forward, closing her teeth on the same muscle he had hers. Caden's body jumped, the first sign that his control was teetering.
His strokes picked up.
Finally.
Eva licked the place she'd just bitten and was rewarded as he plunged deep, faster than before.
A cry was ripped from her as the coiled tightness inside exploded. Her inner walls gripped him as she came apart in his arms.
Caden snapped.
In the next moment Eva was flat on the bed, her legs wrapped around him as he lost himself in her, rutting like a beast.
Eva held on, nearly dizzy as her body started to crest again. This time her orgasm was deeper, riding the fine line between pain and pleasure.
Caden came with a low roar, his back damp from his exertions.
He buried his face in her neck as he held himself still inside her. Eva fought to catch her breath, running her hands up and down his back as she stared unseeing at the ceiling.
That was—
Whew.
Her heart was still pounding. Thunderous.
Much louder than a heart should ever be capable of.
Caden's head lifted at the same time she realized that sound wasn't coming from either of them.
Their gazes met as a roar ripped through camp, at first low, almost inaudible, but growing in volume with every second until it turned deafening.
Chills raced up and down Eva's back.
It was a sound that tapped into the most primitive and base instincts a human possessed. Ones that had evolved to ensure their survival. Instincts so old and forgotten that most didn't even know they existed. At least until a beast's roar grabbed them by the throat and forcibly reminded them.
"We're under attack." Caden withdrew from Eva, a blur as he reached for his weapon. He didn't even take the time to dress before he was up and out the door.
Eva scrambled off the bed, taking a scant second to grab her sleep shirt and throw it over her head.