Sea Haven 02 - Spirit Bound

the matching heat there, the need every bit as strong as his. Maybe she was a little less sure of what she was getting herself into than he was, but he read the hunger every bit as deep as his own. Very slowly she let her arms fall, hands catching the hem of her tee. His heart rose to his throat, threatening to choke him. She pulled the offending material over her head and tossed it onto the nearby table, shaking her hair out so that it fell around her like a living cape of black, shiny silk.
    His breath refused to leave his lungs. The lacy cups of her bra slid from her body, leaving her full, high breasts as an offering. Her nipples were already hard, a dark entreaty, her breasts already flushed in anticipation, rising and falling with her labored breathing. God, she was beautiful, more beautiful than he’d imagined her to be.
    He dragged her to him simply by curling his hand around the nape of her neck, his mouth once more descending on hers. There was no way to resist her. Judith, surrounded by the evidence of her brightness, was pure seduction to a man as lost as Stefan. He kissed her over and over, long drugging kisses, while his hands moved over her skin, cupped her breasts, thumbs teasing her nipples, feeling each stroke ricochet through both of them like a whip of a lightning.
    Stefan kissed his way to her breast, drawing the soft flesh into the heat of his mouth while his hands dropped to the button of her jeans. His knuckles brushed her firm body as he tugged the front open. Hooking his fingers on the band riding low on her hips, as well as the silky thong, he pulled the material down, his mouth following the path to her belly button while she stepped out of them.
    His hands gripped her hips while his body throbbed and demanded. “How experienced are you, Judith?” His voice had gone hoarse.
    “What difference does that make?” Her voice was edgy, ready to retreat.
    His eyes met hers steadily. “I don’t want to hurt you and I don’t think I’m going to be gentle, not the first time.”
    Heat blazed into her eyes. She moistened her lips. “I haven’t been with anyone in over five years, and then only twice.”
    He groaned. It wasn’t what he wanted to hear and yet he couldn’t help but be pleased. Judith was his alone. Twice didn’t count. She may as well have been a virgin. He rested his forehead against her soft belly and took a deep breath to regain a semblance of control. He’d never been without control—not until Judith. He’d never allowed his body a will and mind of its own—until Judith.
    “I want you with every breath in my body , moi padshii angel , but this might not be a good idea right now.” He knelt, arms around her waist looking up at her. “I don’t know how much control I actually have and that’s another damn first for me.”
    Stefan Prakenskii was baring his soul to his woman and Thomas Vincent could stay damned. If this was going to happen then it was going to be all Stefan and all truth here in this room of joy and beauty, here with this woman who he knew with certainty belonged to him.
    “If we do this, you have to promise me you won’t end it there. I want to know that you’ll look me in the eye and know you wanted this as much as I do and we won’t end our chances. Say it, Judith, while I still have the strength to stop.” He had to know that she wouldn’t try to walk away.
    Her hand dropped into his hair, fingers curling through the thick strands. Her dark eyes met his, so mysterious, filled with desire for him—for Stefan. He’d given himself to her, that small piece of him that was left, that his instructors hadn’t beat out of him. It seemed a little thing, but he’d never allowed another human being to even know Stefan Prakenskii existed. Prakenskii lived in the shadows, no more than a phantom some whispered about, but never really knew for certain of his existence. Even the dead could not positively identify him.
    He held that small piece of humanity as close as possible, deep and hidden where no enemy could ever strip it from him. It was the one thing that made him vulnerable, the only thing he had left of his mother’s love. His loyalty to his brothers was part of that, and it was very, very fragile.
    Judith saw him. She might not know his name, but she saw him. They stared at each other, Judith stripped naked, bare and open to him, Stefan fully clothed but more naked and vulnerable than she could possibly imagine.
    Judith moistened her