“But you haven’t…”
“Not yet.”
“Why?”
“Because you were drifting in euphoria. And I want you to remember this. With perfect clarity.”
She touched his rough cheek. “I could never forget this.”
“Me either.”
“Only because you had to work so hard for it.”
“Nope. Because you’re so damn beautiful.” He pressed deeper still and grimaced with pleasure. “And because you feel so good. Now that I’m here, and I know just how sweet you are, I want to make it last. But damned if I can.”
A second later, he was sheathed completely, his fingers were entangled in her hair, and his breathing was loud and ragged against her neck. Sliding his hands under her ass, he tilted her up and pushed into her as deep as he could possibly go.
“Jesus, Bellamy.” He hoped that with that guttural moan he’d made her understand just how tight and hot and incredible she felt.
Because when he began to move, he was quickly lost.
“Hey, you? A.k.a.? Are you asleep?”
Bellamy snuggled against him and sighed with contentment. “No. Just thinking.”
He had gathered a strand of her hair and was sweeping the ends of it across her nipple. “The way your hair brushes against them? Sexiest thing I ever saw. Drives me crazy. But I think I told you that already.”
“That’s driving me crazy,” she said as he continued the idle whisking.
“Good crazy?”
“Wonderful crazy.”
He tilted her head back and they kissed. When it finally ended, he asked, “What were you thinking about?”
“I was afraid of this because I didn’t want to be compared to my sister. But I don’t believe you were thinking about her at all.”
He didn’t say anything for several beats. Then, “You had a sister?”
She laughed and pressed her face against his chest. Her hand trailed down to his navel. “You’re not wearing the bandage anymore.”
“My back’s okay. Stings a little sometimes.”
“And these?” She leaned up and kissed the cuts on his face.
“They’re gonna need a lot of that.”
“And where’s your gun?”
“I didn’t think I should tote it to the funeral.”
“Good thing you didn’t. You might have shot Jerry. Although that’s not his name.”
“We’ll talk about it later. Right now…” He pulled her over on top of him and when they were settled belly to belly she asked where he’d gone flying after leaving the reception. “Did you fly the senator’s plane?”
He shook his head. “When I got out to the airfield, a buddy of Gall’s was there. He has a Stearman. Know what that is?” When she shook her head, he described a vintage biplane that was originally used as a military trainer but was now popular for flying aerobatics in air shows.
“Ever since Gall told me about this guy and his plane, I’ve been wanting to go up in it. He took me for a spin, then he landed it, and we switched seats.”