Iron Seas 03 - Riveted

inside me where you have no escape.”
    “Annika.”
    There was more than a bulge now. She finally looked up. “I don’t feel at all like a rabbit, David. I feel like a wolf. Does that frighten you?”
    He dropped the pack and strode toward her, his gaze feral. In a swift movement, he caught her wrists in his hand, pushed her back down on the bed. His legs trapped hers. He stretched her arms up over her head, his body rising over her, inhaling her scent up the length of her neck.
    His voice was a growl against her ear. “Does this?”
    He flipped her over onto her stomach. Annika gasped. Strong hands gripped her hips, hauled her up to her knees then pulled her back, grinding the ridge of his erection against her soft flesh. Need ripped through her, pulsing deep and hot.
    “I think of this, Annika. Of simply taking you.”
    Rough fingers dragged her drawers over her bottom, baring her to his gaze. She heard the buckles of his trousers releasing, then he rocked forward, his thick shaft thrusting into the channel created by her closed thighs. She cried out, her cheek against the mattress, her fingers clenching.
    Slowly, he drew back. “I dream of pushing myself deep inside, telling you that you’re mine, mine, mine .”
    He pounded against her with each “mine,” shattering strokes through her slick folds, his shaft riding against her clitoris—and then stopping, his hips hard against her backside, his erection clamped between her thighs and her need-swollen flesh.
    Empty, aching, all but sobbing with desperation, Annika pushed up on her hands, tried to rock back against him. The grip on her hips held her fast. She bowed her head, frustration screaming through her.
    “Inside me, David. Please. Now. ”
    With a curse, he dropped his forehead against the back of her shoulder. The tiny movement nudged him deeper, settled him more firmly against her sex. His ragged breath shuddered over her skin, and he gave a tortured moan before slowly pulling away. Though she knew he was right, Annika cried her denial, pushed her hand between her thighs, trying to ease the ache.
    David turned her onto her back again. A long, lingering kiss only deepened the sense of loss. He lifted his head, and she saw the same agony on his face.
    His voice was tight. “You’re all right? Not frightened.”
    “No.” Just dying of need. “Only of how much I want you.”
    He gave a short laugh, nodded. “I know.”
    Both of them dying. “Can we finish like that? Not inside. Just…rubbing against me.”
    A wry expression lifted the corner of his mouth. “I couldn’t for very long. It’s difficult to kneel. But I’ve mastered the crouch.” He brushed her hair back from her forehead. “I’ll figure out some way. Bending over farther, so that I can put more weight on my hands. Or we’ll try it standing. But for now…”
    Sliding down the bed, David pushed her legs apart, draped her thighs over his shoulders. Oh, yes. Anticipation lifted through Annika, rolling her hips.
    He looked up, his gaze locked with hers. Slowly, he lowered his head—and before his mouth took her, he growled a single word.
    “Mine.”
    He’d never be satisfied.
    Throughout the morning, the realization distracted David from his study of di Fiore’s survey maps. All of his life, he’d made an effort to concentrate on things that pleased him, and to be content with what he had. He wouldn’t be able to do both with Annika. At the beginning, he’d thought that he could be happy with anything she gave him.
    Now he realized that he’d always want more. That he’d never be content until he had all of her.
    Not simply making love, though he wanted that so fiercely it ripped through his guts. But whether she took him to her bed or not, David wouldn’t be satisfied until he had her heart.
    Even then, he wanted more. He wanted her for the rest of his life. And on his dying breath, he would still want another second with her, another hour, another lifetime.
    Falling in love with her had capsized him again, turned another part of him over. Looking at himself, David wasn’t certain if he liked the new view. He’d promised himself that if she ever left him, he’d let her go. Now, David didn’t know if he could. If she left, he feared that he’d break that promise and chase after her.
    He prayed that he’d never have to.
    “Shall we play this one again?”
    David looked up. The suit lay across Paolo’s work table, abandoned. The older man had been sketching