Page 71

"I wouldn't recommend an alliance with the Lobos."

"Okay." His lips brushed the sensitive part of my ear. "If you say so."

"I'm serious, Gunnar. Don't trust my mother."

"I won't."

"Good."

"I trust you."

Three little words shouldn't have hurt. They slipped between my ribs, found a soft place, and twisted. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed, pressing myself as close as I could get.

"You can trust me," I promised. "I will never hurt you. And I will never let anyone else hurt you either."

I shifted against him, my ass pressed to his groin. To his no longer soft groin. Gunnar went still behind me.

I did it again, deliberately this time, pressing back into the solid warmth of his body. His breath changed against my hair, deepening as his arm tightened around my waist.

"We shouldn't."

"I want you."

"You've had me."

"I want you again."

His forehead dropped against the back of my head with a groan. Still, he didn't move. So I turned my face toward him as much as I could.

"Please. Don't make me run away this time. I don't want you to chase me. I want to run to you."

I was a manipulative bitch, but for good this time. For good from this moment on. I was going to seduce the fuck out of my husband every chance I got.

Gunnar's mouth found my shoulder, then my neck, his kisses slow and unbearably tender. He parted my thighs, lifting one leg over his hip. Then he put just the tip in.

There was none of the wildness from the woods. No predator. No prey. Just Gunnar wrapped around me, moving with me in a slow, unhurried rhythm. There was nowhere we needed to get to. We were together, side by side, moving as one.

I listened to his breathing deepen behind me, felt his heartbeat against my back and his hand spread over my stomach, holding me close. Every unhurried movement had the same thing to say; I trust you.

The pleasure came differently this time. Not an all-consuming wave that dragged me under, but a gradual, gentle gathering until it filled every hollow place inside me. Gunnar shuddered against my back, my name breaking from his lips. My own release followed, long and deep and soft enough to make my eyes burn.

I thought we were done, and I was drowsy enough to fall immediately into a deep sleep. But our bodies had a different plan. I shifted to release his thick length, but his cock did not give my body back. Because his knot began to swell.

All my life, I'd thought freedom meant escape. Getting away from my mother. Away from the Lobos. Away from every hand that tried to move me where it wanted me to go.

I'd become very good at running. Even with Gunnar, I'd run because I loved knowing he would follow. But lying there with his arms around me, joined so completely that neither of us could simply walk away, I finally understood.

This was what I'd been chasing. Not freedom from someone. Someone I could run toward. Someone who could hold me down and not let me go.

That's what was happening between us as his knot grew impossibly large, making space inside me where none existed before. It pressed against my G-spot, keeping me in the longest, deepest orgasm of my life.

We both shook for long moments, clinging to each other. So full that neither of us could get out a word.

I have no idea how long the swelling lasted. I can't even remember when he finally slipped from my body and released me. Because I didn't run. I didn't move from him.

I covered Gunnar's hand with mine and threaded our fingers together. I'd spent my whole life looking for a way out. I'd found him instead.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN