He sinks into me, pressing me firmly into the mattress. Mikael is a man of action, not flowery words, and I like that. I do. I really do. Words are unimport—the seal between our mouths breaks. I blink at him in confusion.
The tender look is back. “I’m not an expert on love, and I do think actions speak louder than any collection of words I can say, but I do love you, and by that, I mean that when we are apart, I long to be by your side. When you sleep, I like watching you, knowing that you feel safe with me. When you are awake, I want to feed you, clothe you, protect you. My thoughts are consumed by you. Before you entered my life, I existed, and now I have a purpose. I live to make you happy, to see you content. I think that is what love is, and if it is not, then you can teach me to love you better.”
I melt. “Oh, Mikael, I can’t teach you anything. You’re already an expert.”
A wide grin spreads across his lush mouth. “Good, and since I’m better at doing things, let me prove to you my love.”
“I thought I was too sore,” I tease.
“I’ll be gentle.”
“I hope not.”
His eyes light up with an unholy glee. We don’t talk again. Not for a long time. And he’s gentle because I am sore. His tongue works me over in heavenly ways. His cock strokes me slowly, bringing me to the edge again and again before sending me over the edge into the blissful ocean of ecstasy. And, at the end, when he’s spilling himself inside me, he whispers in my ear of his lasting love for me. Until the end of time, until the seas and deserts are one, until there is nothing on this earth but you and me and even then, my love will endure.
His words are perfect. He is perfect. What happened by chance turned into something beautiful. I never knew I could have a man like this, but now that I do, I’m never letting him go.
EPILOGUE
AURORA
MANY YEARS LATER
“You want it here or lower?” Mikael moves the frame down an inch.
I scrunch my nose.
“Here?” He moves it two inches higher. The action hitches up his T-shirt enough that I can see a sliver of his golden skin. A pang of want zips through me. After all these years, I am still turned on by a little show of flesh.
“Maybe higher,” I say, wanting to see more of him. With good humor, he obliges. I could stand here all day and tell him to move the frame by single degrees around the wall, and he’d never lose patience. Every day he’s shown me how much he loves me in every little action from picking up my dry cleaning to bringing home chocolate-dipped strawberries every week made only on Tuesdays at Crissy’s Candy Shop.
I let my gaze slide down from his slightly bulging biceps to his trim waist, coming to rest on his firm butt. I’ve been known to dig my nails into those cheeks.
“Are you staring at my ass?” he asks without turning away from the wall.
“Yes. How did you know?”
“My cock is getting hard, so it’s either the wall is turning me on or you’re staring at me.”
“Your little head can see what’s going on behind you? I knew he had special powers, but I didn’t realize they included that sort of thing.”
He drops his arms and sets the frame on the floor before advancing on me with a particular glint in his eyes. “Babe, we both know my cock is anything but little.” He slaps one hand beside my head and places the other over my rounded belly. “I’d be happy to remind you of his size right now.” The hand on my belly curves downward, and my sex muscles clench involuntarily.
A long time ago, after Mikael took care of some business that involved a bad man trying to hurt me, he taught me some basic self-defense moves. I learned how to block a blow to my face, break a nose with the base of my palm, and even how to hip check and throw a body. I could evade Mikael’s loose grasp if I wanted to, but the circle of his arms is the only place I ever want to be.
Besides, there’s another weapon I can use against Mikael. I lean forward, and in a swift, unexpected movement, I capture his lips in mine. His eyes flare in surprise, and then his lids fall. His mouth opens, and his tongue swoops out to duel with mine. The hand beside my head shifts to grip the back of my skull, angling me backward so that he can delve deeper.
I lift his shirt and place my fingers along that perfect patch of skin just above his waistband.