“Now. Come for me,” he said against her lips.
She gave him what he wanted, triggering his own release. It was so powerful he tilted back his head with a deep groan. He only allowed himself a second before he looked back at her. He loved watching her face when she climaxed for him. Her eyelashes fluttered like butterfly wings, and her cheeks flushed red like Paradise apples. Her lips were swollen and the tangle of her hair said she’d been well-loved.
Holding him to her, she kissed his temple. His breathing was ragged. An aftershock rippled through her body. Together, they caught their breaths. Her body still shuddered underneath him long after he’d emptied himself in her. He loved coming inside her. He wanted to prove to the world and himself that she was his.
Forcing himself not to think of the future he’d fucked them into, he turned them on their sides. He didn’t want to break the contact. He kissed her lips and tasted her tongue. He wanted to see those blue eyes, how they darkened with passion, but she kept them closed, and soon her breathing turned even.
He watched her face for a long time, and finally, he had to pull out, because he was becoming hard again, and there was a life growing inside her that needed her energy too.
Kat was dreaming. She was back at the convent, in Lann’s bed, and he was waking her with a soft kiss. It would be early morning, and he’d take her before starting his day.
She stretched and rubbed against a hard, warm, muscled body. Opening her eyes, she looked at Lann. He lay on his side with his head resting in his hand, watching her with a smile.
Everything came back in a flash—the clinic, the hotel, and the castle.
Lann touched the tip of her nose. “Sleep well?”
He’d told her he loved her last night, but what else could a man say to a woman pregnant with his baby, who was going to die?
His expression darkened. “Don’t think sad things.”
“Who said I was thinking sad things?”
“I know you.” He kissed her. “I know that look on your face.”
He cupped her breast, and her body responded to him instantly.
“It’s still early,” he said, rolling her nipple between his fingers, “but Eve needs to start tests today. You can’t eat until after, and I need to feed you.” He frowned. “You’ve lost weight.”
She gasped as he increased the pressure of his fingers, but he abandoned her nipple to drag his hand lower, down to where she was aching with need.
When he traced her folds and discovered her wet for him, his eyes widened slightly. He teased her clit with the pad of a finger, but instead of giving her the pressure she craved, he eased up.
She stared at him. She needed him. What was the point of fighting it? He was right. Suddenly facing a truth as harsh as death, a lot of things—such as her pride—seemed unimportant. She took his hand and moved it back to her sex.
He brushed his lips over hers. “I’m not sure this is a good idea.”
“Why not?” She guided his finger inside her. “You’re not superstitious about having sex with a pregnant woman, thinking it’s bad for an unborn baby, are you?”
“Nothing like that.” He clenched his jaw when she moved his finger. “It’s wearing you out I’m worried about.”
That was the least of her worries. She thought she was going to die a horrible death last night when those lizards or whatever they were had found her, and then she thought about being chained up for the remainder of her pregnancy while some cruel gift lord waited to steal her baby. But she was alive now, and safe, and unless Eve performed a miracle, she was dead too. There were two ways to look at it. Either she could give in to her fear and depression and make the remaining eight, maybe seven, months of her life a living hell, or she could accept the decision. So, even if Lann didn’t love her, even if he was here out of duty, she still turned him on. The erection pressing against her hip was proof. He was growing thicker even as he lay there telling her all the reasons why they shouldn’t be doing this right now.
She pulled his hand free and, holding his gaze, kissed his fingers. His eyes went from yellow to gold in an instant. She easily pushed him down. He didn’t resist. He watched her from hooded eyes as she straddled him and braced herself with her hands on his chest.
“Katherine, you should save your strength.”
Positioning herself, she took all of him in one movement.
Air hissed through his teeth. His chest expanded with the breath he held. She rocked slowly, smiling inwardly with victory when Lann homed in on her breasts with a hungry expression. Then he wiped that invisible smile away by pushing up onto his elbows and changing the angle of his penetration. She barely swallowed a gasp. How did he always know what she needed? He lowered his head, kissing one nipple and then the other. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she tried to draw him deeper and to get closer. He cupped her waist and lifted her higher into his lap, at the same time leaning back. That was as much as he gave. He left the pace up to her.