Hidden Embers (39 page)

Her hand slipped between them, massaged his cock. “I’d rather give you a ride.”

Quinn gave up, letting his absolute joy in his mate—his beautiful, healthy, alive mate—swell through him. Then he pulled her hand back up to his mouth, where he used his tongue to stroke from her wrist to the top of her palm, lingering for long moments over her chained and broken life line.

She’d had a rough time, this mate of his, but now she was his to protect. His to care for, and he would do whatever it took to make sure that she had what she needed to be safe—and happy.

Jasmine gasped at the feel of his tongue on her, going perfectly still. And for a moment—just a moment—she was soft and pliant, her body his to command.

He pressed himself against her, savoring the feel of her soft, lush curves against the hard planes of his own body even as he made sure not to rest his weight on her injured ribs. Then her arms were around him, pulling him down to her, and everything he wanted to say to her, everything he wanted to promise, simply faded away as desire—harsh and all-consuming—took over.

Jasmine sighed as Quinn pulled her even more tightly against him, until she could feel every part of him pressed to every part of her. His arousal was hard as a brick between her thighs and she delighted in it. She moved restlessly in an effort to feel him more fully against her.

He accommodated her, shifted his strong hands until they were cupping her ass. Then he was lifting her, shaping her, molding her body to his as he thrust against her.

“Put your legs around me,” he growled against her lips, and she did. The pleasure—the sweet, soft, incredible pleasure that came from the movement—made her gasp in delight.

He took instant advantage, his tongue slipping between her parted lips with all the subtlety of a conquering army. But as he stroked it against the top of her mouth, ran it in one glancing caress over her own tongue, Jasmine couldn’t bring herself to care. Not when his invasion sent frissons of delight through her whole being. Not when she’d been so certain that she would never feel him like this again.

The thought sent need spiraling through her, and she rocked against Quinn, desperate to have him inside her where he belonged. Desperate to feel him anywhere and everywhere as he claimed her.

It was a strange feeling for a woman who had spent her life running from emotional entanglements—and from alpha males who expected her to bend to their every whim. But she didn’t mind Quinn’s dominance anymore, not when she knew she was more than capable of standing up to him.

Not when she knew that he would never force or bully her into doing anything she didn’t want to do.

And not when she knew how very much he loved her—enough to give up his life for her. It was the same way she loved him.

As she pulled him down to her for a kiss that went from sweet to wild to hotter than hell, she thanked God for giving her this beautiful man. For showing her a way to have him and be true to herself as well. It was more than she had ever guessed was possible.

“Jasmine, baby, you’re killing me.”

“I’m not doing anything,” she answered, even as she nipped at his full, gorgeous lips.

“Fuck,” he whispered. It was a curse, a prayer, a statement of intent, and she was more than willing to go along with him for the ride.

“Quinn,” she gasped, his name suddenly the only word she knew.

He bucked against her, his cock growing harder still. Then he was kissing the corners of her mouth. She waited, lungs burning, body on the brink of an explosion, for him to continue.

But suddenly he was the one moving slowly, his tongue tracing every curve of her lips before he nibbled his way across her cheek, down her chin to her throat. She arched, tilting her head to the side to give him better access, moaned as he licked at the pulse beating crazily at the hollow of her throat.

Heat sizzled along her nerve endings, burst into flames that seared her from the inside out. She pulled him closer, so close that she could feel his heart beating wildly beneath the firm muscles of his chest. So close that the fine sheen of sweat coating his neck mingled with her own.

Pushing against him, she rolled them over yet again, so that she was once more on top. She ran her hands over his pecs, toyed with his nipples through his T-shirt, reveled in the involuntary surge of his hips against her own. She lifted and lowered herself, riding the hard ridge of his erection as she would if there were no clothes between them.

He groaned deep in his chest and went from teasing to dominating in an instant. Claiming her, he bit her lower lip, sucked it between his teeth and brushed against it with his tongue. He delved deeply into her mouth, so deeply that she couldn’t remember what it was like to breathe without him there.

His tongue caressed hers, circling, playing, turning her inside out with each touch. He tasted so good—of limes and the desert and hot, burning passion—that she knew she’d crave the taste of him for the rest of her days.

“Quinn,” she moaned again, sliding her hands up to the cool, wet silk of his hair. Tightening her fingers until she knew there was a pin-prick of pain. Tightening them more until he erupted with a growl.

Then he was devouring her, his hands squeezing her ass while his denim-clad cock slid back and forth between her thighs. His mouth was everywhere,
everywhere
, moving down her throat to nudge aside the neckline of her tank top so he could trace his tongue over the swell of her breasts. Nuzzling the curve of her breast as his tongue swept over her lace-covered nipple with small, velvet strokes that had her burning hotter than ever.

She was on fire, her body aching and heavy and desperate for the feel of him within her. His fingers dipped beneath the waistband of her pants, stroked her skin until all she could feel was him, all she could think of was him.

Once she would have regretted this, would have hated letting him see her so vulnerable and needy. But none of that mattered now, nothing mattered but him and having him inside her now and for the rest of her life.

Then Quinn’s teeth scraped against her nipple and she forgot her own name, let alone any reservations she once had about being with him. She had never wanted anything the way she wanted him, her entire body tightening until the need to come was a screaming agony within her.

Her hands clutched at his hips and urged him closer. Urged him to take them all the way. His laugh, low and seductive, brushed against her painfully hard nipple right before he pulled it into his mouth and began to suck.

She moaned, arched her back, pressed her breast more firmly against his mouth.

“Take me,” she murmured, as he skimmed light hands up her arms, over her back. She was adrift, all of her concentration focused on this man and his carefully controlled caresses. “Please take me.”

The words were out before she could stop them, a plea she hadn’t known she was going to utter.

“I will,” he answered, sliding his lips along her throat, and she didn’t know if she should be relieved or disappointed at his easy acceptance of the physical meaning behind her words.

Then her gaze met his and she knew he hadn’t taken anything lightly. His eyes glowed electric green, and they were filled with so much love and desire and possessiveness that she felt her own fill with tears.

This is what it is like to be loved
, she thought, as he licked his way down her neck and shoulder.

This is what it is like to be wanted
, she realized, as he nipped at her breasts and arms.

Then suddenly, he picked her up, shifted her so that her back was against his chest, and walked her slowly across the room. “What are you—”

“Trust me,” he said, his mouth hot against the curve where her shoulder met her neck.

“I do.” She was exactly where she wanted to be—in Quinn’s hands, and she wasn’t ever going to take that for granted.

Before she knew what was happening, Quinn positioned them in front of the mirror. She waited for the nervousness to come, but felt only need. For her lover. For her mate. She was in Quinn’s hands and she knew he would never hurt her.

“What do you see?” he murmured, as he slipped her shirt over her head, then did the same to his own. His hands went to her breasts, cupped them from behind, and his thumbs played gently over her nipples.

“I see you,” she answered, and it was no less than the truth. Here in the dim light of his bedroom, she did see him—all of him. The strong, powerful body. The wary eyes. The gentle heart that beat beneath the rough, domineering exterior. She saw the man who would walk through hell to keep her safe and who would expect her to do the same for him. It was more than she had ever dreamed possible.

“You are so unbelievably beautiful,” he whispered into her ear. “I can’t believe how beautiful you are.”

She tried to turn, wanting to wrap her arms around him, but he held her fast, one large hand splaying across her pelvis to lock her in place.

“I want you to watch me take you,” he murmured. “I want you to see everything I do to you as you feel it. I want you to watch as my hands and lips and body take yours.”

Heat spiraled through her, had her pushing her back more firmly against his chest. His muscles rippled at the strong contact, his cock growing even harder and longer against her back. She reached behind her, cupped his ass through his sodden jeans and held him tightly against her. She needed to feel him, to anchor herself in the press of him against her—otherwise she would simply spin away, her body and heart and soul no longer hers to control.

Nothing in her whole life had ever felt as good as Quinn did at that moment. The feel of his body behind her, the touch of his hands as they glanced over her body again and again. She grew wetter, hotter, lust building with each touch of his fingertips.

She moaned, her hands clenching on his ass as she demanded more from him. But he merely laughed. “Don’t be so impatient, sweetheart,” he murmured against her ear, as he slowly slipped her wet pants down her legs. “We’ll get there eventually.”

“I need you now!” It was a whimper, a plea for mercy.

But Quinn had no mercy, and as she watched his eyes darken to forest green, she knew she was in for it. Today, this moment, Quinn would be satisfied with nothing but everything she had to give.

He groaned, his breath coming in hot pants against her cheek for long seconds before he pulled away to yank off his own clothes. “I need to make you crazy, need to hear you scream my name as you come. I came too close to losing you. I need to know that you’re safe and healthy and here with me. Forever.”

Her legs trembled, but she locked her knees in place, determined to give Quinn everything he asked.

He caught her eyes in the mirror and for endless seconds there was nothing else—just that one hot, elemental connection. For a moment she wanted to jerk away, wanted to close her eyes. It was too personal, everything she felt laid open to him in one blinding instant. But his eyes held her, trapped her, made her spellbound, and all she could see was him. All she wanted was him—and the life they could build together.

Then he was moving, his hard fingers cupping her aching breast. She jerked, arched into the sensation, melting as his fingertips swirled around and around her nipple, each circle bringing him closer to the aching bud, though he never touched it.

It was a double shot of sensation, to watch and feel those long, elegant hands touching her. Heat, rapid and all-consuming, built in her, raced down her nerve endings into every part of her body.

“You have the most beautiful breasts,” he said softly, as he raised his left hand and cupped her other breast. “Look how pretty they are, Jasmine.”

“Quinn.” It was a protest, one he had no trouble ignoring.

“Your skin is such a gorgeous shade of ivory, with just the barest touch of rose. And so soft—you’re so incredibly soft here, like the most expensive silk. And these—”

Finally, his hand glanced across her nipples and she moaned, arching into the contact, every cell in her body focused on that one brief touch.

“These are incredible. Sweet, responsive—” Again he ran a finger across her nipple; again she arched against the contact, seeking more. “And so damn sexy I could spend my life right here, loving them. Can I do that, Jasmine?” His breath was hot against her cheek, his words even hotter. “Can I suck these gorgeous nipples for hours? Can I slide my cock between your breasts and into that hot little mouth of yours? Can I come in your mouth, on your breasts? On your stomach? In that hot little ass of yours?”

“Quinn!”

His breathing was coming heavier, his big body shuddering against hers as his words wound their way around them both, chaining them more tightly together. “Can I, Jasmine? I need to be in every part of you, need to know that I’ve marked you, branded you. Claimed this hot little body of yours until all you feel is me.”

His fingers tugged on her nipples and she screamed as fire whipped through her. “Until all you know is me. You’re mine and I’m never giving you up.”

“Yes,” she gasped, her head thrashing back and forth against his chest as she tried to get closer to him. She wanted to take him every way she could, needed him in every part of her.

He leaned down, bit her neck, and she whimpered, her body going into sensory overload. But he didn’t give her time to process her feelings. Instead, he kept moving, his tongue and lips and teeth trailing hot kisses over her shoulders and upper back even as his fingers continued to squeeze and flick and rub against her sensitized nipples.

It was too much, the heat rushing through her body. The lust clenching at her womb. Her eyes drifted closed as she savored everything Quinn could do to her body with such little effort.

“Look at me!” he barked, and her eyes flew open, electricity sizzling along her nerve endings.

He laughed at the heat in her eyes, sliding a hand down her stomach to her sex, shoving two long fingers roughly inside of her.

She cried out, her body bucking wildly against his as need—raw and overwhelming—stripped away everything but the desire to be underneath this man as he took her any and every way he wanted to.