Demon Night

desperately at his tongue. Ethan’s need was there, like a deep, grating cry; his arousal, a separate harsh note.
    Her body shook, tightened around his, but she fought to keep her mind from falling into that sweet numbing bliss, to ride through the crash of her orgasm. He’d pushed that onto her, too, taken her choice—another loss of control he’d never allowed himself before. What did he want so badly? What could she give him?
    Why do you need me?
    She cried out into his mouth. So slow. Always so slow. That question wasn’t about her need, but his. And she could only hope that the answer he was seeking was the one she had to give.
    She dragged her lips away to the sound of his despairing groan.
    It swelled up and burst through. “I love you,” she rasped, but it wasn’t enough, she’d held it in too long, and she chanted it to the slowing tempo of his body, projected it, throwing it wide. His hold on her slackened.
    His voice was sharp with disbelief. “Charlie?”
    She couldn’t stop. “Love you.” He wasn’t moving; she did, turning and pushing him over, taking him inside her again. “Love you.” She kissed his chest, his neck. “Love you.” She had to lift herself off of him to reach his mouth. Her tongue touched his, softly. He moaned against her lips before she slid back down.
    She closed her eyes against the exquisite heat and pressure, her flesh so sensitive she thought she might explode, even without blood. Felt all of her might explode with the sweeping joy and release of simply telling him. “Love you,” she said again.
    And when she looked at him, her heart skipped its beat; her breath lost its rhythm. His gaze was on her, but his eyes were glazed and unfocused. And his need was there for her to see in the tight angle of his jaw, set yet tilted to expose his throat. In the hard curve of his mouth, taut but open for her kiss. In the way he strained toward her and held himself back, all at once.
    Ethan was utterly, completely naked.
    And so amazing. She rocked forward, watched him clench and lift toward her. Hiding so much, and she hadn’t even known he’d been concealing it.
    Did he realize he was revealing it now? Or was he completely lost to this? Heat surrounded her fingers as he pulled them into his mouth and began sucking; a groan rumbled from him as she rippled her inner muscles.
    She was heading there, too. His heart thundered under her palm when she braced herself, took him hard and fast, afraid a controlled pace would give him a chance to hide again. Her gaze never left his face, not until he arched up beneath her, pulling her down to his neck. Until his breath caught on a guttural moan.
    She lay against him as he settled back to the bed, her hands smoothing his heated skin. Aftershocks trembled through him, and she absorbed each one with her mouth, her flesh.
    And when he quieted, she remained still, unwilling to disrupt the silence that fell. She didn’t know if it was cowardly; if so, Ethan proved himself braver than she was.
    He lifted the sweaty tangle of her hair from her cheek, then rolled her beneath him. His brows were drawn, his expression closed once again; but she thought some of his need lurked in the movement of his gaze over her face, in the softness at the corners of his mouth.
    In his voice, still rough and seeking. “I don’t—” He swallowed, glancing away from her for an instant before trying again. “I don’t have words, Charlie. I wasn’t expecting that you’d give me so much.”
    No words, but he wasn’t projecting anything, either. And she’d told herself not to expect a declaration in return, but she must have been hoping for one. It was a struggle not to let her disappointment and anxiety show.
    Her smile felt lopsided. “What were you expecting?”
    “Maybe something about my irresistible scars, or my manly form, or how tasty I am.” He touched her lips, and her smile leveled beneath his hand. His matched hers, before it fell away and he buried his face in her hair. “God Almighty, Charlie. I’ve never been so scared as lying there and hearing Sammael coming toward you.”
    The words were ragged, and she wound her arms tight around his neck. Forcing away the memory of his broken body wasn’t as easy. “It was close, but we’re all right,” she said fiercely. “And I’ll slay him for you. Jane can just get over it.”
    She heard him draw in a deep breath through his nose; the humor in his tone sounded forced. “I suppose that