Immortal (Fallen Angels #6)(37)
Author: J.R. Ward

On that theory, this one should have been made out of a big, fat Burmese ruby.

He didn’t knock. Just opened the way in and slipped inside, and in the darkness, the first thing he smelled was shampoo. It was different from the stuff he and Adrian shared, and he was willing to bet it had come from that Target trip.

“Sissy?”

When she didn’t immediately answer, an injection of pure panic went right into his cerebral cortex, but then he heard rustling from in between the sheets. Going across to where she lay, he put out his palm for a second time.

Willing a soft glow to emanate from his hand, he found her curled on her side facing him, her blond hair splayed out across her pillow, her eyelids down, her lips parted slightly.

For the longest time he stood there, watching her sleep. Funny, seeing her at rest, being there to protect her … turned out to be just as good as the prospect of sex. Felt more right, actually.

After all, people had a way of making bad decisions after life-and-death drama. It didn’t mean they were weak—quite the contrary. It meant they had survived and were glad to be alive.

He’d done a lot of that kind of thinking in the past himself.

And hell, if she wanted to use him? He was more than willing to do whatever she needed, be whoever she wanted him to.

Except in the light of the morning, she might well have a different take on shit. And who could blame her if she did.

So, yeah, a little breather to recharge and realign was probably a good thing … but he didn’t go back to his own room. He walked around the foot of the bed, lifted up the sheets and the blankets, and slid in beside her. He intended to just lie there and listen to her even breathing, but almost immediately, she turned to him like she knew he was there, and snuggled up close.

Holy shit, she was extremely naked.

But that didn’t change his plan.

Arranging her in his arms, he tucked her head under his newly shaved chin and closed his own eyes.

He was asleep on the next heartbeat.

Chapter Eighteen

Sissy woke up to one hell of an alarm clock: warm, broad male hands were caressing her hip, her waist … moving up and around to her—

She moaned as her bare breast was captured, and the arch that she pulled next put her up against something hard and hot.

Jim’s erection.

Popping open her eyes, she stared out at a bright spring morning. Jim was behind her, and pressing in, and yeah, that was a great eclipser. She suddenly didn’t see anything, hear anything, feel anything but him.

Turning to face him, she went to say something, but he was clearly asleep. His eyes were closed, and he started to mumble something that she couldn’t understand.

“…Sissy…”

The sound of her name made her smile. “I’m right here—”

Talk about wide awake on a oner. Instantly, Jim was fully conscious, his blue eyes alert, his muscles tensing—like maybe he’d had some wake-ups in the past that hadn’t been of the benign beeping variety.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hi.” He moved his hips back a little. “Ah … good morning.”

“You should have woken me up last night.”

“I liked watching you sleep.”

The blush that hit her cheeks ran all the way down her body. “It was the sherry. I’m not a big drinker.”

“I got no regrets.” He moved a strand of her hair out of the way. “How you feeling?”

“Horny.”

As Jim coughed like someone had goosed him in the ass, she had to laugh. “Sorry. I’m into being honest.”

“It’s good.” His eyes went to her lips. “Very good.”

His face became super-clear to her, everything about his eyes and his mouth and the intense way he stared at her burning into her brain. Reaching up, she stroked his jaw, then his hair.

That halo of his, that nearly unnoticeable circle of golden light, shimmered around his head.

“You sure you want this?” he asked in a deep voice.

She had to smile. “You’re such a gentleman.”

“No. Not at all.”

Sissy wound her arms around his neck. “Well, I think you are, and yes, I’m sure. Everyone should be with an angel for their first time.”

“I’ll make it good for you,” he murmured as he lowered his head. “I promise.”

His kiss was soft and slow as he plied her mouth, and she let the sensations of heat and a drugging intoxication run through her body. He took his own sweet time, his tongue licking over her lower lip before dipping inside … and then he was back to just kissing her.

For, like, ever. Until, as much as she was into it, frustration started to war with the enjoyment.

But he was onto her. Just as she was about to say something, one of those hands of his slipped around and caressed her back, her shoulders … her arm …

When he found her breast, she was starved for the contact he gave her and she arched against him once more, rustling the sheets—and finding his erection. Greedy to know him, she did some exploring of her own, moving her touch down to his hips.

He took her hand away from his body, planting a kiss in the center of her palm and rolling her over.

“But I—”

Jim covered her mouth with his own and cupped her breast. Then he licked down her neck to her collarbone. “Feel good?”

“God … yes…”

He sucked her nipple in, and the lust that shot through her jerked her chest up, forcing her breast further into his mouth. With an erotic shift, he rode the wave of her body with his big palms, finding his way down to her thighs. Spreading her legs, she wanted him back where he’d been the night before—and he didn’t disappoint her.

His fingers swept up to her core, and the instant he touched her there, another release, even bigger than the first one he’d given her, threatened to take her over.

“Please,” she breathed. “Please…”

The rubbing down there, the sucking at her breasts, the sense of his own need brought her to the brink. But instead of sending her flying, he held her in place, backing off when she got close, inching her forward so she didn’t lose the cut of the desire.

She dug her nails into his heavy shoulders. “Jim … I can’t hold on…”

His mouth covered hers once more and he kissed her—again with the long and the slow. “Shh, baby, I got you.”

That was when he finally shifted over her. She was so dazed she wasn’t sure what he was doing when there was a pause. But then she realized he was pushing his jeans down.