He put his arm out when she slid in next to him, fitting her silky body to his. She’d purchased some pretty little gowns on their first night in Orlando. He didn’t know why she’d done so, but he did love the sight of her in the skimpy things. He loved even more stripping them off, while she writhed beneath him, the scent of her arousal filling the air.
With a wordless hum, he skimmed one hand up her firm thigh and over her hip. “You’ve no need to worry about any man but this one,” he growled, and took her mouth in a kiss so possessive that there could be no doubt as to his claim. She was his, and no other’s.
His cock hardened when she moaned into his mouth, and he slid his hand around the curve of her body to cup her ass, pulling her even closer, so she could feel the weight of his erection.
“Dragan,” she whispered, her arms lifting around his neck as she squirmed beneath him, trying to get closer.
“Mae,” he murmured. “My Mae.”
Her breath hitched. It was slight, barely there. But he heard it, felt it against his neck. And that was the final straw. Pulling the gown over her head and off, he tossed it to the floor. But rather than taking her as she expected—and as the damn goddess knew he wanted—he pulled her up, until she was stretched out on top of him, and cupped her face in both hands. “What is it, sweet? Why are you sad?”
She blinked quickly, clearing eyes cloudy with passion. “Sad?”
Most other men would have fallen for it, but Dragan knew better. He’d studied her as closely as he had everyone in his life, experience having taught him to doubt the motives of every person he met. He didn’t doubt her, not any longer. But he did know her every expression, could read every emotion in her beautiful eyes. And he knew when she was hiding those feelings from him.
“Sad,” he repeated firmly. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“It’s stupid,” she said, and tried to pull away. But he wouldn’t let her.
“What is it?” A thought occurred to him, unbidden and unwanted. He was so confident, so sure of her affection. What if . . . by the goddess, he dreaded to think it. But what if she didn’t want him? What if now that she’d not only freed him, but delivered him to Nico, she wanted to get on with her life? Without him. “Damn it, Mae,” he said, taking her arms so he could slip out from under her sweet body. “If you want me gone, just—”
“Gone?” she demanded, plastering herself against him to forestall his attempt to push her away. Her weight was so light that he could have lifted her bodily, if he’d been willing to bruise her. Which he wasn’t. “Gone?” She glared at him, more furious than he’d ever seen her. “Have you seen those other women? Grace and the others? Casey and Hana?” She was shouting now, her eyes shining with angry tears. “I’m waiting for the moment you realize you can have a woman like that. That you belong with someone like that. Sophisticated and smart and beautiful and—”
“Hush.” He gathered her wild hair in his hands, pushing away the few strands that were stuck to her tear-dampened cheeks. “I have a woman like that. She’s smarter than any of those, more beautiful. But even more, she’s compassionate and loving enough to fret over the feelings of a statue, for fuck’s sake.”
“You weren’t just a statue,” she muttered, avoiding his gaze. “I always knew there was something more inside. I know it doesn’t make sense. But I knew.”
“And you didn’t care that it made no sense, because you believe in yourself. And that’s more beautiful than the finest profile, the softest cheek. Though you possess those, as well. Have you not looked in a mirror, Mae?”
“That’s the problem. I have. I know what I am. I’ve known my whole life. I’m the skinny geek girl who makes the boys feel stupid, because she’s too smart. The one doesn’t know how to dress or do makeup, because she’s always in the computer lab. Even my cousins make fun of me.”
He rested both hands on her ass, holding her in place. “That’s on them, sweet. And I don’t care about them. I care about you, and no one else.”
She pressed her forehead against her clasped hands, hiding her face from him. “You’re beautiful, not me,” she murmured, barely loud enough to hear. “And you have wings. I don’t even have wings.”
He laughed. “They’re more trouble than they’re worth, and they hurt like hell. Come here.” Not waiting for her acquiescence, he gripped her arms again and pulled her up his body until they were face to face. “I love you, Mae. No one else. And when this is over, I want a life with you. A real life, with children and grandchildren. I want to grow old at last. With you.”
Fat tears were pouring from her eyes so fast that it was a wonder she could see when she looked up and met his gaze. “You’re not just saying that?”
He scowled. “I rarely lie, and never to you.”
She frowned back at him. “But you do lie?”
“Of course. To save a life, mine or someone else’s. Any man who says he wouldn’t . . . is lying.”
“You’re telling jokes now?”
“Kiss me, sweet Mae.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, lip trembling with emotion.
Smiling, he rolled, taking her with him, her eyes going wide when she suddenly found herself under his heavy body, her legs spread around his hips as he thrust his cock inside her. “Does this feel like I’m sure?” he murmured, leaning down to take her mouth, his hunger for her urging him to do more than kiss, to bite and mark her pale skin, so that every other man would see she was his, and no one else’s. Her heart was thundering against his chest, her breath warm against his cheek. “Answer me,” he growled. “Is my cock hard enough for you? Does it want you like I do?”
“Yes,” she gasped, sucking in another breath as if she couldn’t get enough oxygen.
He began moving, slowly, because her entrance was still so tight. So fucking deliciously tight. And his cock was achingly hard, wrapped in the delicate muscles of her sheath as they caressed and stretched around his width. It tested his control as nothing ever had. He wanted to shove her knees to her chest and fuck her so fiercely that her hot little body would burn with an unquenched fervor, until she begged him to release her from a need that threatened to burst from her pores. But as stiff as his cock was, as much as he yearned to hear her scream his name, he didn’t want to hurt her, didn’t want her to feel anything but loved, wanted. Because he wanted more than just her tight body and silky skin, he wanted her heart and soul.