Page 20 of Falling for the Recluse

“Gavin.” I slide my hand over his arm. “I went through extreme cold weather training before I came here. I knew what I was getting into. That’s why my layers insulate, ventilate, and protect me from the wind. You approved my clothes, remember? Well, except one, but we won’t tell anyone about that.”

I nudge him with my elbow, hoping for a smile or gleam of amusement. His features are set, his jaw rigid. I shift to face him and settle my hand on his chest.

“In training, they said skin-to-skin contact is one of the best ways to warm up,” I remark.

That elicits a slight huff, though he’s still frowning.

“Skin-to-skin contact will do more than warm us up,” he mutters roughly. “We’ll fucking combust.”

My heart slams against my ribs. “That’ll certainly take care of any lingering cold.”

He slants his gaze to me, his eyes narrow. “You’re getting yourself in trouble here, little girl.”

“About time.”

I slide my hand down his chest to his abs, my heartbeat kicking into gear at the sensation of the hard muscles under his shirt. “I’m tired of being a rule follower.”

He clamps his hand around my wrist so fast I startle. A muscle jumps in his cheek.

“It was my fucking fault.” He speaks through clenched teeth.

I shake my head. “The storm? Of course it wasn’t.”

“I didn’t see it coming,” he snaps, shoving my hand away from his chest. He pushes to his feet and strides to the windows, which are blocked by sheets of swirling ice. “I should have. I’ve been coming to Antarctica since I was a teenager. I’ve been living here almost exclusively for five fucking years. I always pay attention and know the signs of a storm. Iseethem coming. I know exactly when and how to get to safety before they hit. But this time, I didn’t. And do you know why?”

He turns. His glare slices through me, pinning me to the spot.

“Because ofyou.” He stalks toward me slowly, like a predator after a defenseless prey. “I was too obsessed with watching you and those goddamned penguins. I couldn’t take my eyes off you—how happy you were, how much you loved taking pictures of them, how you kept writing every little observation in your notebook, the way you were setting up the cameras, how mind-blowingly beautiful you are out on the ice, like you fuckingbelonghere.”

I can’t breathe. My whole body is hot. He’s so close now I can see the feral glint in his dark eyes, the muscle still pulsing in his jaw.

He stops in front of me, his mouth twisting. He reaches out and grabs a fistful of my hair, tugging my head back so I’m forced to look up at him.

“That’s why I didn’t see the storm,” he hisses, lowering his face to within inches of mine. “Because of you. Because you blocked out the ice and the wind and every inch of this godforsaken frozen continent. Because your light is fuckingblindingme to everything but you. Because all I can think about is how badly I need to bury myself deep inside you, even though I’ll never want to leave. Because half the time, I want to fuck you into the next century, and the other half, I want to wrap you in cotton so nothing and no one can ever hurt you, least of all me.Thatis why it’s my goddamn fault.”

His breath rasps through his chest, and his eyes are burning. He tightens his grip on my hair. My scalp prickles. My heart is pounding so hard I hear it in my head.

“Dr. Stark…” I dart my tongue out to lick my dry lips.

His gaze snaps down to follow the movement. “You’re fucking killing me, Josie.Killing me.You know that, don’t you? No, of course you don’t. You wouldn’t know how to tease a man if your life depended on it. You’re a sweet little girl who still sleeps with her stuffed penguin, and if anything had happened to you out there, I’d—”

His voice breaks off, like glass snapping in half.

“Something did happen to me,” I whisper. “Youhappened to me.”

He stares at me, his breath rasping against my lips. I swallow hard, distinctly aware of the deep throb low in my body. The heat coursing from him and into me burns away any remnants of the cold.

“It’s been that way since I stepped onto this island.” I lift a shaking hand to touch his cheek. “No, long before that. I’ve been thinking about you ever since I learned I’d be living with you. You’ve beenhappeningto me for months now. I don’t want you to stop.”

The air thickens. He’s already hard; I see his erection pushing against his pants. I squirm, trying to ease the growing ache between my legs. The one only he can ease.

“If I kiss you right now, and I will,” he mutters, inching his fist up closer to my scalp, “then nothing—not a blizzard or a volcano or a fucking asteroid crashing to earth—will stop me from ripping your clothes off and fucking you right here. Hard. Deep. You’ll open up your sweet pussy and take every inch of my cock. Over and over again.”

My mind is so dazed with lust I can’t even speak. But I don’t have to. He pulls me to him and crashes his mouth down on mine.

Heat explodes inside me. A muffled moan rises to my throat. Oh, he feels and tastes incredible—all musk and spice and pure, intense male. He brings his other hand to my nape, angling my head before urging my lips apart and sliding his tongue into my mouth.

God in heaven, I’m already throbbing. I had no idea it was even possible to crave someone this much. I didn’t know this need for him could become actual physical pain.

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