Chapter 19
Sage stared into the most wonderful blue eyesshe had ever seen. There was a connection between Marcus and her that made her entire body come alive. His nearness was overwhelming, making her heart hammer in her chest. She wanted to kiss his lips again and again.
He brushed his fingers down her cheek to her jaw.
His skin grazing hers sent searing heat through her body. She wanted him to find her desirable. She wanted him to see her as beautiful as well as smart. She was trembling with want.
Yet, he didn’t move. His gaze skimmed over her face and every spot it touched tingled until she could take no more. The need to touch him, the desire to kiss him, was so strong that she flung herself forward to kiss his lips.
He caught her, welcoming her kiss with open arms.
Desperate, they came together.
He took her mouth with a savage intensity that ignited flames of passion through her. Blood pounded through her mind in cadence to her beating heart.
She wanted to see him. She wanted to feel his power. She wanted to stroke his strong body. Eagerly, she grabbed the hem of his tunic and lifted it over his head, tossing it aside.
He was magnificent. She pulled back to look at his torso. She had seen men shirtless before. But not like this. Not like Marcus. She reached out and grazed his hot shoulder with her fingers, gasping softly. He was hard—all hard planes and ridges. She ran her hand over his shoulder and down his arms. He had muscles everywhere, muscles she had never seen in a man before. His arms were large and strong. When he lifted them to rest his hands at her waist, she felt his biceps flex. He was amazing.
Trembling, she touched his chest and let her fingers trail down his ribbed stomach. Firm planes lined his stomach and ribs. Her mouth dropped open in awe.
He claimed her lips again, pulling her close, wrapping her in a tight embrace.
Urgency built in her with every sweep of his tongue, with every touch of his hands. When she realized he was undoing the buckles on her armor, her breathing increased, and her breasts swelled. Impatiently, she undid the buckles he had not reached yet and shrugged her armor off.
The half-chemise she wore beneath it was the only barrier between their skin. She wanted to have him against her. She lifted her chemise over her head and threw it to the ground.
Marcus’s gaze moved slowly and hungrily over her.
If she weren’t so ravenous for him, she might have been embarrassed at his stare. But she wanted to feel him. She raised her arms to embrace him, but he caught her wrists and slowly lowered them to her sides. His fingers brushed her lips, trailing a searing path over her jaw, down her throat, over her chest to the outside swell of her breast. She inhaled sharply as his thumb brushed her hardened nipple. His hand engulfed her small globe, his fingers moving around and under and over. The gentle message sent currents of desire sweeping through her. Her breasts surged at the tenderness of his touch.
He lowered his head to her, and his lips skimmed her taut nipple, sending waves of exhilaration through her. His hands dropped to her curved hips as she threw her head back, arching into his teasing touch. Spirals of desire and want crested over her until she believed her legs would no longer support her where she knelt before him.
He grasped a blanket from where he had planned to sleep and opened it, spreading it over the ground. Then he wrapped his arms around her, lowering her to the ground. As he lay over her, kissing her lips again, her breasts pressed against his bare skin. Their arms entwined, their torsos touching skin-to-skin. His hand glided over her rounded hip to her long legs.
She gasped lightly between parted lips. She had never known... Willow had not told her how... She gasped again as he kissed her neck, floating a trail of light caresses down her throat.
His hand moved across her flat stomach to the ties of her leggings. He tugged the string impatiently, and she reached down to pull the strings open. She was so wet. So very ready for him. He lay on top of her, and she opened her legs for him, instinctively nudging her hips to his. She could feel his excitement, his readiness, and she reached down between them to untie the strings of his leggings.
“Sage,” he gasped.
She had never heard her name whispered with such want, such desire.
He leaned his head into her shoulder, dragging in breaths. Then he looked at her. “Are you certain?”
She stared at him in disbelief. She pressed kisses to his lips, whispering, “Yes. Oh, yes.”
He touched her at her most intimate spot, sending swirling passion pounding through her. It was as though his stroke soared her to the heavens. She couldn’t help but cry out for release.
And then, he eased himself into her, slowly filling her. She gasped as the world shifted. When he began to move, she matched his rhythm, building and climbing higher until she shattered into a million floating stars. The world erupted around her, and she returned to Earth, cushioned in his arms.
He stared down at her, his gaze drifting over her face. He kissed her lips. He kissed her cheeks.
When he shifted his gaze to her again, she said, “Do it again.”
A soul-wrenching smile came over his lips. He began to move his hips, leisurely at first, gliding in and out of her body. Filling her, then retreating. She drove up to meet him, their bodies moved together in harmony. He groaned softly, matching her thrusts. Then, he stiffened and pulled himself out of her. His seed splashed across her stomach.
Her mind analyzed what he had done. Saved her from becoming pregnant. It was a selfless act. And she should have considered it. What would her family say if she had come back to them fat with child? Still, she had not considered the possibility, and it annoyed her. She had been so...involved, so full of feeling, that her mind had not worked as it normally did.
