Midnight Rising (Midnight Breed 4)

"Oh, my God," she whispered tightly, her breath panting. "Oh, Rio...yes..."

She said his name again, not just the nickname everyone knew him by, but his true name. The one that sounded so right on her lips. She screamed his name as her orgasm overtook her, and it was the most beautiful thing he'd ever known.

Rio wanted to hold her, but his need was too great now. His cock was ready to explode, and he wanted to be inside her - needed to be - the same way he needed breath and blood to survive.

He stood up and smoothed the wet hair from her face. "Turn around," he rasped. "Put your hands against the tiles and arch your back, like you were when I first came in here."

With a pleasured smile, she obliged him, planting her palms wide and putting that beautiful backside right in front of him. Rio caressed her flawless skin, letting his fingers trail into the cleft between the round cheeks, and into the slick mouth of her sex. She drew in her breath as he spread her open and played the tip of his cock against the swollen, dark pink folds.

"This is what I wanted to do to you when I saw you in here, Dylan."

"Yes," she whispered, trembling as he stroked her so intimately.

He pushed inside and felt the hot walls of her womb grip his hard flesh. He withdrew, shuddering all the way from the sheer bliss of it. Holy hell, but he wasn't going to last long like this. Nor did he care if he did. He needed to lose himself inside Dylan's warmth, surrender all he had to her, because he knew in his heart that their time together was fleeting.

She would be going back to her world before long, while he remained in his.

Rio wrapped his arms around Dylan's body, holding her as close as he could bring her as his climax started to break over him. He shouted with the sudden blast of his release.

And even after it was over, his arms remained tightly wrapped around the woman he knew he couldn't keep.

Chapter Thirty

Dylan wasn't sure how many hours had passed since Rio took her to his bed. They had toweled each other off then made love again, more slowly the second time, as if to memorize every nuance of the moment and hold it close.

As much as she didn't want to think it, Dylan knew she couldn't stay here with Rio much longer. She had a life in progress back in New York, and not being near her mother at a time when she needed Dylan the most was tearing her up inside.

But God, it felt good to lie in Rio's arms like this.

With her cheek resting against his bare chest, Dylan stroked his soft skin, idly tracing the elegant flourish of one of his dermaglyphs . The markings were just a shade darker than his olive skin tone now, but as she touched them, color began to infuse the intricate patterns, making them blush with a color she was learning indicated waking arousal.

Still another indication of his interest was starting to rouse as well, nudging hard against her belly.

"Keep that up, and you may never get out of this bed," he drawled, his deep voice vibrating against her cheek.

"I'm not sure I want to get out of this bed any time soon," she replied. When she glanced up at him, Rio's eyes were closed, his sensual, wickedly talented mouth curved in a satisfied smile. "I can't remember ever feeling this happy, Rio. It feels like a dream, being with you like this. I know I have to wake up sometime, but I don't want to."

His lids lifted and Dylan basked in the warmth of his dark topaz gaze. "What's happening between us has been...very unexpected, Dylan. Until you walked into that mountain cave, I thought my life was over. I knew it was, because I was prepared to end it myself. That very night, in fact."

"Rio," she whispered, heart twisting at the thought.

"Nikolai left me with a cache of explosives when the Order first discovered the hidden crypt in February. They all returned to Boston, but I stayed behind. I was supposed to seal the cave so no one else could find it. I promised I would, and told Niko I would go home to Spain for a while, once I had carried out my mission." He exhaled a short sigh. "I never intended to leave that mountain. All I had to do was set up the C-4 and detonate it from inside..."

"You were going to trap yourself in there?" Dylan asked, horrified. "My God, Rio. That would have been a long, terrible, lonely way to die."

He shrugged. "I didn't care. I thought it would have to be better than living like I was."

"But you were there for several months before I found the cave. You must have found some hope to keep you from going through with your plans."

His bitter chuckle seemed to scrape in the back of his throat. "I delayed at first because I didn't have the balls to finish it. Then my headaches and blackouts started up again, so bad I thought I was losing my mind."

"Your blackouts - you mean, like what happened to you last night by the river?"

"Yes. They can be pretty bad. I wasn't feeding anymore by then, so starvation only added to the fun. At some point, I lost track of all time."

"Then I came along."

He smiled. "Then you came along." He lifted her hand and kissed her palm, then the pulse point at her wrist. "You have been so very unexpected, Dylan. You bring me a happiness I've never known either."