Ghostwalker 05 - Deadly Game

every stroke of his finger, he felt the ripple of response in her stomach, her muscles clenching beneath the small caresses. He could barely breathe with the intensity of his desire. The roar in his ears grew louder. He shuddered with the effort to keep his mind away from the thought of her naked under him. He might need it, and he sure as hell could make her need it as well, but hot sex wasn't what was best for her, not right at that moment.
    There was a part of him that detested the way lust intruded, so sharp and terrible that he could taste her on his tongue. He was beginning to crave her like a drug he was addicted to.
    He wanted to comfort and soothe her, to talk about things that mattered to her, but his cock throbbed and burned for her, stretched to the bursting point, an urgent reminder that he was alive and was more than an infinitely normal man.
    Maybe it was the need to show her that beneath the mask he wasn't all monster – that for her he could push aside his baser animalistic instincts and be a better man. She had nearly died. Technically, although he didn't think of her as a prisoner, she was one, and that made her vulnerable. He wanted to think about that – had to think about it, in order to keep from climbing on top of her and fucking the brains out of both of them. Once he started, he wasn't altogether certain he'd ever stop.
    "Ken?" Mari's fingers moved in his hair, massaging his scalp and sending a shudder of awareness down his spine.
    "Why is it that whenever a man is doing his best to be noble, his body goes into overdrive and he can't think with his brains?"
    "Has it occurred to you that I might not want you to be noble? I almost died. I have to go back to an existence I don't even want to think about. This might be my one chance – my only chance – to be with a man I choose."
    "Here? In this lock-down laboratory that is a constant reminder of everything you've never had? In this narrow, hard bed? I want you someplace where I can spend hours – days

    – exploring every inch of your body. Somewhere beautiful with the fire roaring in the fireplace and waterfalls out the window."
    Her breath hitched again, the smallest of reactions, but he caught it. She didn't believe she would ever have those things, and in that moment, he resolved to make certain she did –
    that she would have everything he could give her.
    Mari shifted again, her breasts brushing his shadowed jaw. Ken's body nearly went rigid, every muscle tight and hot, contracting into hard knots. His breath fanned the temptation of her nipples. He needed her more than he needed the air in his lungs, but once he touched her, once he claimed her, there would be no walking away.
    "Mari…," he tried again, his face, of its own accord, moving that scant inch so that his tongue could dip lower and take one delicious lick along her nipple.
    Mari jumped beneath him, her hips moving restlessly, her breasts rising sharply with her indrawn breath, arching into him, into the dark, hot cavern of his mouth. His hand cupped her breast, kneading, as he suckled, using his teeth to sharpen her desire, his tongue to tease and draw out her pleasure.
    She made a single sound, a gasp of shock, her hips bucking, her hot mound sliding over his thigh in an effort to get some relief. At once, he dipped his fingers lower, to find a furnace of heat. His teeth closed on her nipple with a small bite of pain, as his fingers found her slick entrance, testing her response to his need for a little rougher play. A fresh wave of her heady scent rose and his fingers were damp with her welcome.
    Mari's moan was so soft he barely heard it – but he felt it vibrate through his entire body.
    His cock jerked, rubbing against the material of his jeans, swelling to a breaking point. He had to have some relief before he shattered. He switched to her other breast, suckling strongly as his hand slid to his jeans, working them open, sliding them over his hips so his enormous erection could spring free. He couldn't stop himself – his hand sliding over the thick, hard pole, feeling the ridges, squeezing tightly in an effort to create sensation. Hell, he didn't even know if his equipment really worked anymore.
    Teeth teasing the nipple, keeping her pleasure sharp and edgy, he dragged his jeans from his hips. He shifted back, lifting his head from her soft, perfect breasts, to look at her. Mari lay on the cot, her eyes glazed with desire, lips parted, with her breath rising