Chapter Twenty-Eight

Jarrah snapped open his eyelids as his groping fingers found nothing but empty sheets. No soft curves, no taut muscles, no evidence his dream woman ever existed except for her scent lingering on his skin and the ache in his chest that had only intensified with every day they’d shared.

The predawn breeze drifted over his naked skin as waves caressed the shore. Instead of calming him, the Great Barrier Reef’s rhythmic heartbeat thundered in his head as it counted off the precious seconds they had left. He held his breath and extended his senses into the night only to be answered by the gentle rustle of the palm fronds brushing the villa’s thatched roof and the Coral Sea’s relentless countdown.

He sprang out of bed and scanned the beach with his heart thudding against his rib cage and his body coiled so tightly he could barely breathe. What air remained in his lungs gushed out his mouth as his gaze locked on the ghostly figure shimmering beneath the moon’s glow in the high tide’s wash. He was moving before he’d even drawn in breath. He didn’t need oxygen; he needed her.

She stood naked, facing the horizon as if she was waiting for the inevitable sunrise to signal the end of their walkabout and their return to the real world. The Valkyrie who’d invaded his world had disappeared. In her place stood a translucent angel looking so fragile he feared the ocean lapping around her calves would wash her away as easily as a child’s sandcastle. Wading into the water, he wrapped his arms around her and held her to his chest.

She stiffened before a sigh gushed out of her and she melted against him. “What kept you?”

Her voice had his body reacting the same way it always did. Only his racing heart and twitching muscles had way more to do with anxiety than lust. He pecked the top of her head and nuzzled her neck. He wasn’t sure whether the gesture was meant to comfort her or himself. “I was too busy staring at your arse.”

She chuckled and pinched the arms he’d locked around her before hugging them to her chest.

His feeble attempt to disguise his nerves hadn’t been a complete lie. Even as he’d half run, half stumbled down the beach and through the wash toward her, his traitorous mind hadn’t failed to appreciate the impact of the moonlight illuminating her body. The spell she’d cast over him had transformed him in a little over four weeks. And judging by the lack of blood reaching his brain and the cock stiffening between her butt cheeks, that wasn’t changing anytime soon.

“How did you know I’d choose the red M&M?” She delivered the question as if she was strolling in the park beside him instead of grinding her butt into his groin.

He cupped her breasts and caressed her nipples with his thumbs. “I was half expecting you to eat both before I even opened my mouth.”

She bit his shoulder before pushing back into his groin and wiggling her hips just enough to have him groaning out a curse. “What would you have done if I’d eaten the blue one?”

That very same thought had run through his head as he’d surrendered to Charlie’s interrogation and begged her for help with his harebrained plan three days ago. Given the tiny window he’d had to work with, there had only been one answer. He slid his hand down her belly, through the narrow triangle of soft hair leading between her thighs, and pulled up just short of mission control. “Abduct you.”

She moaned and rubbed her butt up and down his rigid cock in rhythm with the water swirling around their calves. “I thought you’d be sick of me by now.”

He fought his rabid hunger, but he’d played a game he couldn’t win. And the woman trapped in his arms sure as hell knew that as well. He folded like the infatuated amateur he was before her wandering fingers had even come close to their intended target. Scooping her into his arms, he waded up the beach as her fingers tangled in his hair and her tongue danced with his. Laying her gently on the sand, he pinned her body with his and allowed the Coral Sea to lap at their feet.

He’d never get sick of her. That single undeniable truth struck him like a kick to the gut. Her compassion, her intelligence, her spirit, the way she set him ablaze with just a touch, and those damned eyes he’d willingly lose himself in for eternity. He inhaled every whispered moan as she spread her thighs and invited him into her body.

He froze the instant the head of his cock brushed the folds of her sex. “Condom.”

Partway between a groan and a curse, the word ground between his clenched teeth. He pushed up only to have her arms tighten around him and drag him back down. He’d lost count of the times they’d made love, but he’d always been sheathed when he’d lost himself inside her. She was on the pill, and they’d both had enough experience with the sexy times to know how to protect themselves and their partners. Yet that thin layer of latex had provided a lot more than just physical protection. Without it this crazy adventure was no longer a holiday fling and they were no longer just friends with benefits.

He stilled and stared into her searching eyes. “You sure?”

She slid a hand between their bodies while pecking his still lips. “Get in here, cowboy.”

With one hand locked around his manhood and the other caressing his cheek she raised her hips and engulfed the head of his cock. Despite her reassuring smile, she knew exactly where she was taking them and looked almost as nervous as he felt. Like gravity, she drew him in until there was only her. Surrendering, he eased inside her and joined their bodies.

She tightened her embrace, locked her legs around his waist, and trapped him in a world he never wanted to escape. Easing his arms free, he captured her face in his hands and stared down at the woman who’d changed everything. She stilled beneath him as she finally saw what he could no longer hide from her or himself.

Everything suddenly makes sense. Nothing else matters. Because there’s only her.

Ryder’s words drifted through his head as he gazed at the woman he loved.