Then he reached for Lissa and she came down to him, to the bed, to his arms.
He kissed her.
She wound her arms around his neck and he tumbled her beneath him, lost in the wonder of her. The softness. The taste. The hot liquid brilliance of her desire burning against his hand as he cupped her.
She cried out against his mouth.
He couldn’t last much longer. He was a man who’d always prided himself on his control, in bed and out, but need for her, for this one woman, was roaring through him, obliterating everything but blind instinct.
He swept his hands under her backside. She sobbed his name, parted her thighs, arced toward him and he moved between them, rose on his knees…
Pain rocketed through his leg.
A cry burst from his throat. He bit it back, but it was too late. Lissa had heard it, and she froze beneath him.
“Nick?”
He shook his head, fought against the knife-sharp pain.
“Nick! Wait—”
“No!” he said. “Goddammit, no!” He clasped her hands, held them tightly in his. “We’re not going to stop—”
Lissa tugged her hands free, put one finger over his lips.
“Just lie back.”
Her voice was soft. Her lips were curved. He hesitated, and then he fell back. She rose above him, bent and kissed his mouth. Then, slowly, slowly enough to make him groan with ecstasy, she lowered herself on his rigid length.
“God,” he said thickly, “oh God…”
Lissa caught her breath.
He was big.
So big, so hard that for one breathless second, she wondered if she could take all of him inside her. But she could. Yes. Oh yes. She could.
Her head fell back. Her lashes drifted to her cheeks.
Oh, the slick, heavy feel of him! All that power. That strength.
His hands clasped her hips as she rode him.
He was claiming her. Consuming her. Taking her to the edge, the edge, the edge…
Lissa cried out. Sobbed Nick’s name.
“Come for me,” he said, “come for me, sweetheart,” and she felt herself sliding down the long, glorious path to release.
Lights exploded behind her closed eyelids. A long, wild cry of pleasure burst from her throat and as she came, he let go and gave himself up to the night, to the whirlwind.
To Lissa.
* * *
She lay in the hard, encircling curve of his arm, her face buried against his throat.
He gave her a long, lingering kiss. Then he told her he’d be right back.