She was the softest, most beautiful thing he’d ever touched. There was a reverence to his caresses. He didn’t feel worthy to touch her but he wanted it more than anything.

She let out a sweet sigh as his hands coaxed back up her body to her breasts. She swayed atop him, her eyes closing as a dreamy smile glowed on her lips.

“Like that?” he murmured.

“Oh yes. I love to be touched.”

“And I love touching you. I wonder if you even realize how much I’ve dreamed about this. Having you right here in front of me. Me holding you. Tasting you. So deep inside you that you realize we won’t be apart again.”

Chill bumps raced across her chest and shoulders. Her fingers tightened on his arms and her breathing sped up. Her pulse jumped in her neck, and as he pulled her closer, he could feel the rapid fire of her heartbeat against his chest.

“Inside you,” he whispered. “Deep. Hard. Over and over.”

Her breathing became shallower and her eyes glazed. She licked her lips, which were already swollen from being ravaged by his. The image of her mouth around his cock exploded into his mind. Sweat broke out on his forehead, and he had to work to keep from ejaculating all over her belly.

Smooth. Real damn smooth.

She smiled then. A wicked little smile that should have been a warning but he was too dumbstruck over having her naked and in his arms, her luscious breasts pressed tightly to his chest.

Carefully she pushed away, leaning down to kiss a scar across his chest. She swiped her tongue over the puckered flesh, and he groaned both in protest and sheer pleasure. She wasn’t the only one who liked to be touched. He could sit here for hours if only she’d put her hands on him and caress him, pet him, touch him. Just touch him.

She placed both palms at his shoulders and then glided downward, stroking and petting, not missing an inch of his flesh as she wandered down his body.

When she got to his groin, his cock got even harder, and he hadn’t thought it was possible. He was about to split apart at the seams. Moisture beaded at the tip of his erection, and if he so much as moved, he was going to come.

And then she stuck her tongue to the base and licked all the way from bottom to top.

He bolted upward, his ass coming off the bed and tightening so hard that his muscles screamed in protest.

“Oh shit. Shit. Shea, baby, stop. Just for a minute. Oh God, I’m going to come.”

She smiled and carefully wrapped her fingers around his cock before licking just the tip. His fluid gleamed on her tongue and then she closed her lips over the head and carefully lowered, taking him entirely into her mouth.

Ah hell, she’d been in his mind. Of course that was it. She saw what he’d fantasized about. Guilt crowded in. She was only giving him what she knew he wanted. He felt selfish and about two inches tall.

Stop thinking so much, Nathan. Just relax and enjoy it. I love pleasing you. I love that you want me so much.

So beautiful. So damn beautiful and sweet. Your mouth, Shea. My God, your mouth. I’ve never felt anything so good.

She smiled around his erection and continued her sensual assault on his senses. He threw back his head as his orgasm roared through him like a freight train.

He raised his hips, wanting deeper, desperate for her silken heat. Harder and deeper. He slid over her tongue, butting against the softness of her throat. And she took him all, never complaining, never pulling back.

Desperation clutched at him. Pleasure, razor sharp, almost pain. Faster. Harder.

His mind went completely and utterly blank. And then it was filled with her. Only her. Her face. Her smile. Her angel’s voice. Her scent. She rushed through him like she’d been injected into his veins. It was heady. He was drunk. Drunk on her.

He gasped aloud when the first jet of semen hit the back of her throat. He worried that he’d appalled her, that he’d gone too far. He should have had more restraint. He never should have taken it this far or allowed it to happen.

He felt the warm squeeze of her mouth around him, felt her drink of him and swallow as she continued to suck him deep.

He had no defense against her. None. He didn’t want any. He was hers. Absolutely hers.

She laid her head against his thigh and let him slide from her mouth. Her hair spread out over his lap and her sleepy blue eyes were trained on him, watching him as he gathered his shattered senses about him.

He was gut shot.

She trailed one fingertip over his lessening erection, captured a drop of semen and then tucked her finger into her mouth, licking the tip.

His body roared to life. His cock jumped and hardened. Lust powered through his veins, shocking him with its ferocity. How the hell could he want her again so quickly?

Need grabbed him by the balls and had a choke hold on his dick. He hauled her up and then rolled her beneath him, his body already straining toward her, wanting to bury himself inside her sweetness.

Dear God, what she did to him. He felt like some kind of superhuman. Not bound by normal limits. All he knew was that he had to have her. Had to brand her, possess her, make her his.

He slid into her welcoming body, felt her gasp of pleasure and of acceptance. He stared down into her eyes, willing her to see what he saw, that she was his. That no one would ever take her away from him again.

This time would be for her. He wanted to give her back the pleasure she’d so selflessly given to him.

Touch me, Nathan. Let me feel you. Love you touching me.

The words floated erotically through his mind. Oh yes, he’d give her what she wanted.

He began a gentle exploration of every inch of her body. No part of her was left untouched as he caressed, petted, kissed and licked his way up and down her skin.

He eased out of her when he went lower, and then when he worked his way back up, he thrust into her again, keeping himself a part of her as much as he could while he lavished affection on her.

The sensual haze in her mind was seductive and alluring, like the most potent aphrodisiac. He could sense what he did to her and it made him feel ten feet tall. This gorgeous, delicate woman enjoyed his touch. Craved his touch. Beauty and the beast. It was so appropriate.

He was scarred and ugly. She was perfect and beautiful. And yet she looked at him with wonder. Thought of him as her hero. Wanted him to love her. And he did. God, he did.

His body arched over hers, covering her protectively even as he pumped in and out of her body. He tried to hold back his strength, afraid of hurting her, but she was having none of that.

She urged him on, whispering in his mind to take her, own her. Until he stroked in and out, mindlessly, pleasure consuming him and her.

He felt her orgasm as soon as it crept over her. Her entire body tightened around him, gripping him and holding him as he thrust deeper.

Only when she relaxed and melted into his arms, her breathing hard and ragged, did he allow himself to fall over the edge once more.

She held him, murmuring against his ear, stroking his back and just hugging him close as he emptied himself deep inside her body. And afterward, she held him there, refusing to let him move, though he feared he was too heavy for her.

But she held him tight, so he settled down over her, molding to her flesh and pressing her into the mattress. She let out a contented sigh and nuzzled her face against his chest.

Finally he moved to the side, pulling out of her warm clasp. He arranged her just so because he couldn’t bear to be separated from her yet. Then he kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tight.

Shea lay in Nathan’s arms and let calm blanket her. She felt protected. She felt safe.

It hadn’t even crossed her mind that the whole situation was bizarre. That she’d for all practical purposes just met this man a few hours before and she’d had sex with him the same day.

She’d known him so much longer. She’d lived in his mind. He’d lived in hers. They’d experienced more together than any other couple ever would.

She turned into the crook of his neck and kissed the pulse point. He responded by pulling her tighter into his arms and caressing her bottom with one large hand.

She sighed. She loved his touch. Loved how he touched her and the way he looked at her.

“I didn’t use anything. Either time. I’m sorry, Shea. It was stupid and irresponsible of me.”

There was clear aggravation in his voice. And regret.

She smiled against his chest. “I don’t care.”

“But I should have protected you better. Are you on anything? Is the timing right for you to get pregnant? I don’t have any diseases, I swear. I haven’t had sex in a damn long time.”

She squeezed him and kissed his collarbone. “I know. We’re fine, Nathan. I’m on birth control and I’m safe too.”

“I’ll buy condoms,” he said gruffly.

She smiled again. He wasn’t even attempting to say that they wouldn’t have sex again. No remorse. No regret for what they’d shared.

It was clear in his tone that he had every intention of making love to her at every opportunity. An assumption she didn’t mind at all.

“If you do, fine. But if you don’t, I’m perfectly okay with not using them. I’d actually prefer not to. With anyone else, I’d insist. But you aren’t just anyone. I hope you know that, Nathan. I’ve never felt this…this connection to anyone else.”

He went quiet for several long moments. She could feel the thud of his heart as his mind worked through a tangle of thoughts.

“Then why did you leave me after my brothers came for me in Afghanistan?”

The quietly voiced question made her heart squeeze. How he must have felt abandoned. It had killed her to go so silent, but she hadn’t any more to give.

She wrapped her arms tighter around him, wanting to ease the gruff hurt in his tone. “I had to. I was too weak. Maintaining the connection for as long as I did had rendered me helpless.”

“Was I the reason they caught you? Were you too weak to escape because of all you did for me?”

She heard the snarl in his voice. He was angry that he could be at fault. She shook her head. “No, Nathan. They didn’t catch me until much later. I moved frequently. I changed my hair color often. Blond to red, back to blond. Brunette, dark and light brown, back to blond. I even wore colored contacts. I tried to change vehicles as often as I could, but I was running out of money and I was scared to hold a job for too long in the same location, which meant keeping the same car. It was how they found me. They tracked me to California. They ran my car off the road, knocked me out, and when I regained consciousness, I was in the hotel room I’d rented.”

He stiffened and then kissed the top of her head as he continued to stroke her body. “How long was it before you escaped?”

“I don’t know,” she said honestly. “What day is it today?”

“June first.”

She couldn’t conceal her sound of dismay.

“What?” Nathan demanded.

“I was with them over a week,” she whispered.

He cursed and buried his face in her hair. “You should have called for me immediately.”

“I tried. I did. They drugged me. They kept me drugged. They would allow me to become lucid only for short intervals so they could question me.”

“I want to kill those sons of bitches.”

“So do I,” she murmured. “Grace isn’t safe. They’ll step up their efforts to find us both now that I’ve escaped.”

“I don’t want you to worry, baby. We’ll work this out, okay? Right now I need for you to know you’re safe and that I’m going to protect you.”

She nodded again. He leaned away and kissed her forehead. “It’s getting close to dark. I’ll need to go out and get us something to eat. I’m not leaving you alone, so that means you ride with me. I wanted to wait until dark so the chances of you being spotted were fewer.”

“And then? What do we do then?” she asked anxiously.

He settled her against the pillows and then swung his legs over the side of the bed, reaching for the boxers and T-shirt he’d discarded hours earlier.

“We need to talk about our options.”

It was the way he said it that made her go tense. Almost as if he knew she may not agree with his plan.

“Okay, what are our options?”

He hesitated a moment and then turned his head to her. “Let’s get you something to eat and then we’ll talk.”

She sat up and pushed her hair from her face. She didn’t have a thing to wear and she wasn’t putting on the same pair of ripped-up, stinky, dirty clothes she’d run all over California and Oregon in.

When she put her plight to Nathan, he frowned as if he hadn’t considered the issue of clothing. He rummaged in his bag for a moment and then pulled out a pair of sweatpants that looked at least a foot too long for her and a pullover white T-shirt that looked like it hit the bottom of her knees.

She wouldn’t win any beauty contests, but they would work until she get could get something else to wear.

As she pulled on the clothing, Nathan stashed his gear into his bag and removed the chair from the door. He did a quick check of the room to make sure they weren’t leaving anything and then he stood by the bed waiting for her to finish.