“Again, hallelujah.”
“My girl likes getting fucked,” he said, mischief in his eyes. “No surprise. You’re a sweet little piece, McGilvery.”
She blinked. “Did you just call me a sweet piece?”
“Aye.”
“I’d hit you…if I could lift my arms.”
His mouth curved. “I wore you out.”
She stifled a yawn. “Mm-hmm.”
“Sleepy?”
“Seven orgasms, cowboy,” she said, about to lapse into a coma compliments of Kruger’s sexual prowess.
“What?” he asked, laugher in his voice. “I let you sleep between rounds two and three.”
He had, giving her an hour’s rest before rousing her. Fingers stroking featherlight between her legs. Teeth scraping over her throat. Strong thigh pushing hers apart, forcing her knee up and out. A great memory. His touch, the heat in his eyes when she opened hers, was something she’d never forget.
A delicious shiver shook her. “You plan on treating me to a fourth?”
“Aye, but not now,” he murmured, brushing his thumb over her lips. “Later. After you get some more sleep. Figure you got three, maybe, four hours before I’ll need tae taste you again.”
“Seriously?”
“New tae me, lass. Haven’t gotten my fill.”
“You’re a machine.”
“Best get used tae it, Fergie. The way you taste, how you like tae fuck, I’m not ever gonna get enough.”
“Are you for real?”
“Real as it gets, lass.” Dipping his head, he kissed her softly. “Best get used tae that too.”
Tendrils of uncertainty crept back in, coiling around her like barbed tentacles. Ferguson felt the cut and slice. She could see the pain coming. The sudden need to run away grabbed hold. Old habits really did die hard. Case in point? Lying beneath Kruger, surrounded by his warmth, aware of his acceptance, and still, she wanted to escape. His razor-sharp focus stripped her bare, leaving her nowhere to hide. She needed to backtrack and find safer ground before things went bad. Before she ended up hurt. Again. Like she always did after opening up and trusting.
History didn’t lie. The past repeated itself, over and over…and over, again. Nowhere to hide. No place to run. Just the jaws of bad decisions closing around her.
Needing space to collect her thoughts, she pressed her hands to his shoulders and pushed. He didn’t budge. She turned her face away. His fingers flexed on her jaw, putting on pressure, bringing her back, refusing to allow her to avoid him.
Battling panic, she squirmed. “Listen—”
“You scared?” Kruger asked, gaze skimming her face.
“Well…” An empty word, nothing but a stalling tactic. A necessary one as the reasons to push him away gathered inside her head. Sorting through the jumbled mess, she stayed silent, working up the courage to be honest, afraid to share too much. A stupid reaction, given she’d just spent the last four hours in bed with him, and Kruger didn’t miss much, if anything. Especially when it came to her. “You’re a little scary.”
“I know.”
Her brows popped up. “That’s not very reassuring.”
“Not gonna lie tae you, Fergie. I’m a dragon warrior who commands immense magic. More powerful than most of my kind. I am scary. Should be too, tae everyone but you,” he said, doing what he always did, giving it to her straight. “Natural for you tae have doubts. Be a little unsure. New place. New people. The emergence of yer magic and true calling. You wanna protect yerself. Like I said, natural, baby. I’m new tae you too, and we didnae start out in the best way.”
The understatement of the year. Still…
“Straight up, I acted like an arsehole. No excuse for it, except seeing you for the first time…shite, lass. Strong. Spirited. Energy sparking all over the place. So fucking beautiful, I lost my wits for a while. I insulted you, threatened you, yelled at you, instead of doing what I should’ve the second I saw you.”
“What?”
“Got you naked and fucked you on your desk.”
Her eyes widened. “Fucked me on my desk?”
“Mm-hmm. I’m thinking that’s my next move.”
“Kruger—”
“I insulted you, baby, put pain in yer eyes. Never gonna forgive myself for that.”
Tears tickled the back of her throat. Ignoring the itch, she stopped trying to push him away. She hadn’t expected him to bring it up. God, an apology. A weird one, but with Kruger she’d take what she could get. “Good thing for you I’m more of a peacemaker. I don’t hold grudges.”
“Something else we need tae work on.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Fergie, I said some bad shite, hurt yer feelings, and instead of scorching me where I stood, you offered me a scotch.”
Scorching him where he stood?
Seriously?
“I don’t know how to do that yet.”
“Lucky for me. Otherwise, I’d be little more than a dark stain on yer carpet,” he said, smiling as she laughed. “But my point stands. You’re the innkeeper. You donnae take shite from anyone. Me included. If someone gets in yer face, you hammer him first, ask questions later. Leave the scotch in the fucking cabinet.”
Wonder crept in. She stared at him, struggling to wrap her brain around his awesomeness.
He grew impatient. “We clear?”
“Kind of,” she whispered.
“What needs clearing up?”
“I’m just… Everything’s… It’s a lot, Kruger. The Parkland, the guests, the inn talking to me, the way I feel about you. It’s happening too fast…so fast, it’s confusing.”
“I know that too. But I’m patient, and you’ve got time, Fergie. Time tae settle in, tae sort yer head and come tae terms. Though best you understand now, yer confusion willnae keep me out of yer bed.” He flexed his hips, nudging sensitive places. Pleasure burned through her. Her breath caught as she tightened around him. “I’m planted deep in more ways than one. I need you. I want you. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Kruger?”
“Right here, lass.”
“I can just say…”
“What?”
“You can talk to me too, you know?”
“About what?”
“Whatever’s bothering you,” she said, hesitating, unsure whether she should bring it up, but avoidance never made for a good game plan.
Still, cornering Kruger was a crapshoot, one not many would survive, but she couldn’t let it stand. She might be confused, but he was hurting, worried, hiding in plain sight. Maintaining a mirage instead of letting his true self shine through.
She felt the weight of it, sensed the burden he carried without being told it was there. The bond she shared with him clued her in. No details included, but…man, it was heavy. So effing heavy. Weighing him down, causing deep anxiety to invade the energy humming around him, and her antennae to twitch, making it impossible for him to hide from her.
“I’ve got you in my arms,” he murmured. “Nothing’s bothering me, lass.”
“Don’t lie to me, Kruger.”