Page 70 of To Dare the Devil

She made a sound of approval, sinking her hands into his hair as he nuzzled and licked, toying with the delicate flesh until she was dizzy, her blood fizzing in her veins.

“What do you want?” he asked again.

“You,” she said urgently. “Please!”

“Where, where do you want me? I’ll do anything you ask, my love, only tell me.”

She murmured a rude word, and he chuckled. “Kathy, love, stop holding back. It’s me, there’s nothing you can say to shock me, I swear.”

“Inside me! I want you inside me!” She almost shrieked the words at him, clutching at his shoulders.

“Thank God,” he murmured, finding his place between her thighs. “Because that’s just where I want to be.”

Kathy held her breath as he nudged inside her, staring up at him.

“Kathy?” There was a question in his eyes, in his voice as he pushed inside.

“Yes,” she managed. “Yes.”

With one hard thrust, he filled her. Kathy gasped, holding on tight against the strange sensation. Too full, too much. Max paused, limbs trembling with effort, until she released the breath again, her body relaxing with the exhalation, and she closed her eyes on a sigh.

“More?”

“Mmm,” she replied, nodding. Her tension melted away under his clever hands, hands that touched her tenderly, that moulded her anew, turning her into something other than her usually earthbound body. She felt ethereal and wondrous, floating in a daze of pleasure, as he loved her with such reverence. Her hands coasted down over his broad shoulders, following his powerful back to stroke his flanks. He was so warm, his skin soft, the muscles shifting beneath her hands as he moved, thrusting into her. The scent of him filled her, masculine musk, spice and sex, and it was intoxicating. Kathy revelled in it, in her power over him as he groaned and made a primal sound of pleasure that thrilled her. She slid a hand down his front, over the hard ridges of his abdomen, to the place where their bodies joined, feeling the strength of him, the force behind each push of his hips.

“Christ,” he groaned. “So good. I love you.”

He ducked his head, kissing her before she could reply, but he knew it already.

The world narrowed, shrinking until nothing but the two of them existed. It grew darker and wilder, and Kathy lost herself in it, in him and the pleasure he took in her. Though she’d not thought such another explosion of joy possible, she felt the exquisite tugging at her core again and impatience filled her. His pace grew faster, more erratic, and she sensed the same desperation in him too, a reckless race to the glittering pinnacle combined with a reluctance to ever let this end. His breathing was harsh and uneven, his hot breath coasting over her skin until he shuddered, and his fractured cry delighted her so much that she went too, tumbling into happy oblivion to float in some place only they could go to.

Max eased away from her and rolled to the side before reaching for her, gathering him to her with her back to his front. He held her close, his breathing still too fast after the effort he’d expended on loving her.

Kathy sighed, her arms settling over his and feeling safe and warm, sleepy and dazedly content. “Thank you, Max,” she said with a sigh.

He chuckled, nuzzling her neck. “The pleasure was entirely mine, I assure you.”

“Not entirely,” she countered, making him laugh.

“I’m glad. I wanted it to be good for you.”

“Good? Heavens, any better and I might have died from it.”

He laughed again, and the sound rumbled through her, making her smile.

“I’m so happy, Max. Thank you.”

He propped himself on one elbow, leaning over her and Kathy shifted to look back at him, sighing with contentment at the sight of her handsome husband. “Thank you, my love,” he said, his expression grave. “For forgiving me, for daring to give me this extraordinary chance. I won’t ever take it for granted. I won’t let you down.”

“I know,” Kathy said simply, seeing sincerity in his eyes, and the desire to be everything she needed. “You’re mine now. My sweet devil, my Max. Whatever comes, we shall face it together. I will always be by your side.”

“Keeping me on the right path,” he murmured, bending to steal a kiss.

Kathy shook her head. “Not that. You don’t need that. You see the path clearly now. I shall be there because I want to be, because there is nowhere else on earth I would rather be.”

Max smiled at her and kissed her again, and proved to her, as if proof were needed, exactly why that was.

Epilogue