Page 141 of The Nightmare Bride
Goddess, I needed to touch him. “Take off your clothes.”
He did—shirt first, then breeches. When it all lay on the floor, I drank him in, every line of him like nourishment. “My beautiful husband. You are one unbelievably gorgeous work of art.”
His grin made my skin pull taut over my throbbing bones. He took me in his arms and eased me onto the bed. He anchored his elbows to either side of my neck, palming the back of my head, kissing me again. My legs curled around his hips.
He wasn’t in any hurry. But the slower he went, the higher the flames inside me danced. He traced my curves with rough hands, then explored me with his mouth, his fingers. His tongue circled each nipple. He trailed touches up the inside of my thighs, teasing me until I whimpered and writhed. Until I had to press my fists into the mattress in order to keep from reaching for him.
Finally, I could stand it no longer, and I grabbed at his shoulders, hauling his face toward mine. “If you don’t fuck me right this second, I’m going to scream.”
His smile was full and white in the darkness. “I thought you wanted me to make love to you.”
“Yes. Whatever. Just...do it now. Please.” My words all piled atop one another. I sounded desperate, like some crazed addict.
“You greedy little thing.” Kai hooked a hand behind my knee, pushing my leg up and outward, spreading me open and settling his hips against mine. “I like it when you beg.”
I reached down and took him in my hand, earning myself a long, low sweep of his lashes. I guided him toward my entrance, but he held back, hovering on the brink of giving me what I needed, but refusing to cross that last distance.
A needy whine gathered in my throat. “What’re you doing?”
“Trying to remember,” he said, eyes still closed.
“Remember? Remember what?”
“Just give me a second, will you? Use it to beg some more, if you like.”
“Please,” I whispered. When he still didn’t move, I raised my head and lapped at his birthmark, trying to coax him into continuing. He shuddered at the contact, then opened his eyes, flooding me with the heat of his regard. The hand behind my knee tightened, his body nudging at mine.
“Harlowe Hollander,” he said.
My head thunked back down against the bed. “What?”
“Your name. Not ‘just Harlowe.’ Not anymore. You’re Harlowe Hollander.”
A sting stabbed my eyes, even while my body cried out for him. “That’s my last name?”
“Yes.”
“You were trying to remember your own last name?”
He chuckled. “No. I was trying to remember what I told you. Before. So I can tell you again. Because this time, the words are mine.”
I lost myself in his eyes. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I would let him say anything he wanted, as long as it convinced him to get inside me already. “So say it.”
“I will. But don’t worry. You needn’t say it back.” He tilted his hips, sinking into me, inch by torturous inch.
Oh, thank goddess. I ran my hands up his back as pleasure thrummed along every nerve.
A tormented sigh bled out of me as he seated himself. Gods among us, but the fit was exquisite. He found a slow rhythm, one that saturated me with sensation.
“In the sacred embrace of the swamp,” he said, “here under the watchful eyes of Zephyrine, I pledge my heart and soul.”
My eyes snapped open, and...wait, when had they closed?
His starry gaze locked on mine, as if he were mapping every reaction sparked by the joining of our bodies. Molten pleasure pooled along my spine.
“I vow to forsake all others and seek refuge in your arms.”
“What?” I whispered, although I’d heard him clearly. I just didn’t understand.
