“You’re so hot,” he said.

  “I want you inside me. Please.”

  He stretched her with his fingers, pushing them even deeper inside her. “Wet.

  Mine.”

  He thrust his hips faster, the ridge of his sex sliding between her buttocks until the head pounded against the small of her back. She ought to turn, drop to her knees, and take him into her mouth. But if she did, she’d lose the pressure of his fingers inside her.

  Then he brought his thumb into play, rubbing it at her nubbin. If she’d had a thought of pleasing him, all that disappeared as her own need built. She would climax soon. Blessed be she could hold on long enough for him to join her.

  She bit her lip and did her best to breathe. Resisted the fire between her legs. She tried watching the sea, but the lapping of the waves against the rocks reminded her of how his tongue had felt against her bud. The sun seemed to burn hotter, glowing brighter as her climax threatened.

  Fight. Breathe. Wait. Wait for him.

  His fingers pushed her, now making wet sounds as they moved in and out. His thumb circled the seat of her desire. His cock continued moving against her. Mad-dening. Every image left her brain except for it sliding up into her moist core. One magnificent inch at a time until she’d taken all of it.

  No use. She couldn’t wait. He’d pushed her too far.

  Before she lost control, he shifted his position, sliding his cock between her legs.

  She brought her feet together so that she could grip him between her thighs.

  He growled and thrust. Savage movements that brought the head of his cock between the lips of her sex. Yes. He’d climax now.

  She reached down to where his hardness emerged at her front and guided the tip to her bud. Now as he moved, his cock touched her there. As his thrusting became more savage, he rubbed over her. Harder and harder.

  Now she could give in to her need, and she did. It coiled and then struck, and she shrieked as the currents flowed through her sex.

  He shouted too and his body went rigid. The sperm gushed out of him, hot liquid spraying into the hairs that covered her sex. Their essences mingled as their spirits became one.

  “Ah, Elsbeth,” he murmured when it was over.

  Her name. He’d never said it before. Now that she’d heard her name from his lips— so full of passion and completion— nothing else would ever sound as sweet.

  Her breath caught, and her throat tightened. Raelen, I love you. Saints, how I love you.

  He lowered her skirts and backed away, his hand leaning heavily on her shoulder. “You’ll want to wash.”

  She nodded but didn’t look back at him. “You’ll come to me now? Fully?”

  Then his hand dropped, too. “I’ll send you something else to wear.”

  * * *

  The something else to wear turned out to be a robe like Raelen’s own but crim-son in color and embroidered around all the hems in gold. She found it draped over the bed when she awoke after a nap. Next to it lay a sleeveless underdress of silky material the color of ivory. She’d never seen anything so fine. Did she dare to wear them?

  Well, it was either this, her lace sleeping gown, or her own dress. She’d blotted it as best she could, but Raelen had sent her gifts, and when he next saw her, she’d be in them. Not without cleaning herself, though.

  She visited the garderobe again and then stood at her dressing table to wash herself with fresh water from the basin and ewer. She even found soap and a clean

  cloth.

  The air had grown so warm that she didn’t chill in the least when she stripped naked. Raelen making himself young again? The climate had become more pleas-ant almost by the hour since he’d touched her the first time. The wildflowers, the budding trees, the calm seas. Back home, her father and the other fisherfolk could cast their nets and bring home enough food to last into the winter once the extra fish had been salted and dried. Winter itself would be mild. Babies would grow fat and happy. All because she’d sacrificed herself.

  Sacrifice. She had to chuckle at that. For the first time in her life, she was truly happy. And in love.

  She dipped the cloth in the water and then worked up a lather with the soap.

  Washing her breasts became a sexual act, not just one of cleanliness. They seemed to have swelled, and the nipples stood stiff. Her skin glowed as she moved the cloth lower over her ribs and belly. Though she normally would never touch her sex, she’d have to now to make herself ready for her lover. The lips there remained sensitive even hours after her last climax. She moaned softly when she rubbed the spot he’d teased with his thumb. How she needed him. All of him. He wouldn’t make her wait much longer, would he?

  She finished bathing and then reached for her brush.

  For the first time, she looked at herself in the glass. A near stranger gazed back at her. She had the same unremarkable brown eyes and sloping shoulders. The brunette of her hair hadn’t changed, but the locks were thicker and had a sheen to them. Her lips were full and rosy. But the main changes showed on her body. Instead of nothing but angles and gangly limbs, she now had lush breasts and hips.

  She’d become a woman. Had Raelen done that too?

  She set down the brush and walked to the bed. The fabric of the underdress begged to be touched, so she ran her fingers over it and lifted it in front of her body.

  It seemed a perfect fit. She slid it over her head and let it fall around her almost to the floor. The nearly invisible material hid nothing and felt like a whisper against her skin. Another new sensual experience.

  The robe itself weighed more, especially at the hems, heavy as they were with the gold embroidery. She shrugged into it and fastened the hooks. They went from her throat to her knees, leaving a gap below for the underdress to show through.

  She took a few steps, and the whole ensemble rustled even more grandly than Raelen’s did.

  The sun was starting to set behind the sea when Raelen finally came. It cast red light up into some clouds and bathed her room in warm colors. When the door

  opened, she turned to watch him enter.

  He held a lighted candle in his hand and wore normal clothing, something the wealthy men of her village might own. Breeches that showed off the muscles of his thighs. A silky shirt opened to the waist. Younger now, he made a glorious male specimen.

  “Where’s your robe?” she asked.

  “I thought you’d like to see me as a man.”

  “How odd. You’re dressed like a mortal, while I’m the god.”

  “I’m not a god.” He walked to a standing candelabra at one side of the bed and lit all the tapers there.

  “There’s quite a bit of daylight left,” she said.

  He circled the bed to the other candelabra and lit those candles, too. “I plan to take my time.”

  A shiver raced through her. He’d make this slow, would he? “You want to make me beg?”

  “I want to make you ready.”

  “I’m ready.”

  He stuck his candle into an open spot on the candelabra, turned, and smiled at her. “Eager?”

  “Yes,” she said. “And a bit frightened.”

  He walked to her, took her face between his palms, and stared into her eyes.

  “Nothing scares you.”

  Slowly, he lowered his head toward her. Unable to look away, she watched as his lips approached hers. When they touched, the contact felt like the underdress against her skin. Soft, innocent and sexual. His image blurred as she responded, so she closed her eyes and swayed into him. Her hands brushed his chest, and she ran them under his shirt into the curling hairs. He had such strength, and yet his mouth took hers with so much tenderness that a stone would weep at it.

  She took a step, bringing herself against him, and he lowered his arms to pull her into an embrace. His hands roamed over her back as he tilted his head to kiss her with more urgency. Soon they were leaning against each other, lips and tongues ex-ploring. Her knees went weak and breath threatened to leave her lungs. How could a kiss—even one as incendiary as this one—claim her, body and soul?

  Because she loved him, and tonight she’d give him every part of her.

  Groaning, he broke off and tucked her head under his chin. His heart raced in his chest exactly as hers did.

  “You humble me,” he said, his voice strained.

  “Lord Raelen, humble?”

  “With you, I’m just a man. I almost wish—”

  She looked up at him. “Wish what?”

  “Nothing.”

  “What do you wish, Raelen? Please.”

  He kissed her forehead. “I wish I were inside you.”

  “That isn’t what you were going to say.”

  He stepped away from her and took her hand. “Come.”

  He wasn’t going to answer, obviously, and he’d sounded so sad. As if she could give him what he most wanted in the world, but he wasn’t allowed to ask. He’d given her people so much over the many years he’d protected them. He’d given her so much with his touches and kisses and smiles. If he needed something, she’d give it to him, but he had to tell her what.

  Right now, she could only follow him as he led her to the bed. He released the top hook on her robe and then followed it with more, moving slowly downward.

  “The clothes are so beautiful,” she said. “I almost hate to take them off.”

  He smiled. “You’ll wear them again.”

  “Thank you for them.”

  He continued with the hooks, parting the heavy material as he went. When he had them all open, he pushed the robe over her shoulders and then bent to lift it from the floor. After folding it and laying it across the foot of the bed, he turned back to her. His eyes widened as he let his gaze roam over her. “Gods, I want you.”

  Low and rich, his voice held a hunger that reached out to her and settled in the pit of her stomach. She glanced at the front of his breeches. As she’d expected, a thick ridge pressed against the fabric from the base of his torso upward. His cock, rigid and ready to enter her. Her own sex responded with a dull ache. A current of recognition. She’d been made for this, to take this man inside her and complete them both.

  He reached out and cupped one of her breasts in his palm. The smoothness of the underdress combined with the strength of his fingers made his touch master-ful and tender all at once. He stared at his hand as if it didn’t belong to him as he worked her flesh. Already hard, her nipple became extra sensitive and a ribbon of excitement went from there to her core. He lavished the same attention on the other breast and then let his touch wander over her belly toward her sex.

  If he rubbed the cloth between her legs, it would grow wet with the moisture pooling there. Rather than soak the beautiful garment, she bunched it up to take it off.

  “Let me,” he said.

  She dropped her hands and allowed him to finish undressing her then waited, almost trembling, as he laid the underdress on top of the robe.

  When he turned back to her, he reached out his arms to pull her into an embrace, but she held up her hands. “Let me undress you first.”

  He bent to remove his shoes and hose and then stood, his hands on his hips. A devilish twinkle entered his eye.

  “You think I won’t do it?” she said.

  “You’ve never seen a naked man.”

  “I’ve seen your cock. If that monster didn’t frighten me, nothing else is likely to.”

  He laughed, that deep rumble that made her heart sing. Later, he would give her his shout of completion as he climaxed. But only if she got him naked first.

  She started with his shirt. As the front was already open, she only needed to pull the tails from his breeches and push the cloth over his shoulders. When she did, his broad shoulders and the muscles of his chest lay exposed. She rubbed a thumb over one of his nipples.

  “Are these as sensitive as mine?”

  He closed his eyes and let his head fall back as his expression went soft with pleasure. She licked the other nipple, still toying with the first. Moaning his approval, he stroked her hair as she switched to give the first nipple equal love.

  Blessed be, she could please him the same way he did her, take him to the same heights he’d shown her.

  She straightened and reached to the buttons of his breeches. With his hardness straining at the material, she had to rub it—even if by accident—with every movement of her fingers. He sucked in a breath and stood there. No doubt, he’d rather do this himself and get it done with quickly, but he let her take her time.

  Finally she had all the buttons undone, and his cock stood free of restraint. She stroked its length. “Beautiful.”

  He laughed, but the sound came out choked. “Are you going to undress me?”

  She bent and pulled his breeches over his hips and legs. He stepped out of them, and she sat back on her heels to look at him. Every inch of him.

  What a magnificent sight he made. A male at the height of his strength and power. Muscular legs, slender hips, broad shoulders, brown hair. And of course, there was his cock. Long and thick, livid with his arousal. The tip practically begged for her mouth, so she grasped the shaft and guided it between her lips.

  “No,” he shouted. “No, Elsbeth.”

  She moved her mouth but kept her fingers around him. “But I want to.”

  “I’m too close. I’ll lose control.”

  “I don’t want you to control yourself.”

  “If I climax, it’ll all be over.”

  “Oh,” She released his cock and stood. “Then you’d better make love to me before you lose control, hadn’t you?”

  He gestured toward the bed. She lay down and stretched out her arms toward him. Immediately, he came to her, took her in his arms, and surrounded her in his warmth.

  For a moment, she did nothing but reveled in the feeling of his body against hers. Firm muscles lay under soft skin. He held himself up on his elbows so that she didn’t have to bear his full weight and gazed down into her face.

  A warm breeze gusted through the room, bringing the sound of rustling leaves and the herbal scent of impending rain. The light dimmed until she needed the candlelight to see his features. Then the sounds of rain spattered off the stones of the castle walls.

  “A storm?” she asked.

  “Some rain,” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Your nightrose needs it.”

  “You made that for me.”

  He smiled. “Do you like it?”

  “I love it.”

  At that exact moment, the perfume of the rose filled the room. Could anything be more perfect? Lush scents, candlelight, the soft plop of raindrops outside, and the most wondrous man in the world in her arms.

  Then he kissed her, and everything else retreated to the back of her mind.

  He’d kissed her before, but now his entire body pressed against hers while he did it. While his lips captured her mouth, his chest rubbed against her nipples and his cock pressed against her pelvis. He lit a fire inside her that moved outward, heating her skin. She ran her arms around his shoulders to anchor herself in a sea of feelings powerful enough to drown her. She loved this man, and soon she’d have him in an act so sacred it would claim her heart and soul.

  Moving from her mouth, he let his lips trail over her neck. As he moved lower, his flesh slid over hers and created friction everywhere it passed. She arched her back, stretching as he continued. He grasped her breasts and sucked each nipple until she couldn’t hold back a moan of need. And then he went lower, his hands stroking her sides and raising her to his mouth.

  She knew now what he’d do, but the knowledge did nothing to lessen the shock

  when his mouth closed over her sex.

  She gasped. “Saints!”

  He parted her lips and found the swollen bud. When he teased it with his tongue, her world went white-hot with hunger. She needed this, craved it. And yet he could give her so much more.

  “Please, Raelen. Inside me. Please,” she cried.

  He didn’t stop. He continued using his tongue to make her wild, and then he slid two fingers into her, pushing her to the limit of endurance. She’d climax in a moment. If only she could have his cock inside her when she did.

  “I’m ready,” she said. “Now. Please.”

  Finally he stopped. He moved upward, leaving her poor sex ready to explode.

  Surely now he’d take her. He must.

  “Open for me,” he said.

  Yes! She parted her legs, reached between them and found his cock. Her fingers grasping the shaft, she guided the head toward her wetness.

  He groaned as he pushed into her an inch and then stopped, trembling above her.

  “Tight,” he gritted.

  “More.”

  “Don’t want to hurt you.”

  She pounded his shoulder with her fist. “More.”

  He moved his hips to press deeper inside her. Welcoming his bulk, her sex stretched to take more of him. And still it wasn’t enough.

  “More, Raelen. Saints, I can’t bear it.”

  He hovered over her, the muscles of his arms straining, and took huge, gasping breaths. Then staring down into her eyes, he thrust his hips forward and embedded himself fully inside her.

  She cried out her joy. Nothing had ever felt like this.

  “I hurt you,” he said.

  “No. It feels wonderful. You feel wonderful.”

  He smiled. “My brave Elsbeth.”

  “There’s more, though, isn’t there?” She contracted the muscles of her sex tightly around him.

  His eyes squeezed shut. “Gods, you’ll kill me.”

  Before, she would have feared she’d caused him pain, but now she knew the look of his pleasure. He’d pushed her to the brink and made her ready to shatter.

  She’d do the same to him now.

  His eyes still closed, he began to move. Slow, even thrusts, stroking her inner

  wetness. For a moment, she kept her own eyes open. This was the greatest moment of her life, and she’d record every detail so she’d never lose it.

  Full darkness had descended outside, and the flickering light of the candles softened his features. The rain still fell, and the rose still filled the air with its perfume.