Fumbling with one hand, I wrenched aside my belt and jerked down my jeans and boxer-briefs. The clothing had come courtesy of Flaw, along with a lift back to Hawksridge, sworn silence, and a note to deliver to Jasmine.

My cock leapt from my trousers, rippling with need and sticky with pre-cum. Fisting the base, I rocked against her, desperately trying to find her entrance.

Her fingers clawed my shoulders, tugging me closer but holding me away at the same time. “Wait—wait—”

“I can’t wait.”

“But you were shot…you probably shouldn’t—” Her hands dropped, stroking my naked hips, digging her nails into my flesh. “Are you okay to do this?”

I kissed her again. “I’m going to show you how okay I am by making love to you.” I thrust against her.

She shook her head. “Wait!” Her attention shot to my torso, seeking wounds. I had no intention of taking my t-shirt off and showing her the bandage hiding the stitched area or mentioning my broken rib.

Didn’t she get it? None of that fucking mattered as she was the best painkiller around.

I’d never felt so good having her in my arms, trumping death, defeating the impossible.

“You argue with me again, and I’ll make you come apart over and over until you believe me.”

“But—”

“Stop it.” Pressing a finger over her lips, I silenced her. “Quiet.” The tip of my cock found her tight heat. “If you stop me from taking you, I’ll die. I’ll literally have a heart attack.”

Her head fell backward as I teased, hovering so close but not taking her. Pushing up the tiniest bit, we trembled with pleasure. My head bowed, pressing against the stall behind her as I did my best to stay in control. My thighs bunched as every instinct bellowed to drive inside her. “I need you so much I can scarcely breathe.”

Her emotions ran crazy, battering me from all directions.

Lust.

Fear.

Questions.

Love.

“Quit thinking so hard; you’re distracting me.” Looking into her eyes, I traced her cheek, soothing her rioting thoughts. “All I want to feel from you, Nila, is desire. All the other stuff…we can talk about it later.” I kissed her softly. “Now, be quiet, stop thinking, and let me fuck you.”

She shivered and obeyed.

Her emotions switched to one thought: wanting me to take her.

It would be my pleasure to comply.

Bending my legs, I drove upward.

Her back arched as I slid inside her liquid heat. Higher and higher, stretching her.

“God, Jethro—yes!”

I gathered her close, holding her tightly as I climbed deeper. Only once she fully encased me did I thrust.

Our lips glued together, and we rode each other.

It wasn’t rhythmic or sensual.

It was purely animalistic and primal.

“I won’t last—I can’t last.”

“I don’t care.” Her pussy tightened as I drove faster. “Just prove to me you’re alive.”

“That I can do.”

It didn’t take long.

My body had no endurance and time spent apart meant everything about Nila bewitched me into exploding far too fast.

With each thrust, the pleasure turned catastrophic; my balls tightened.

“Oh, fuck…” Lightning shards shot up my cock, spurting inside her. “Hell, yes.”  Waves of release crippled me as I splashed inside the woman I wanted forever. I bit my lip as my legs seized, my cock impaling her over and over again.

The last spurt left me lightheaded, but it’d been the shortest, sharpest, and most rewarding orgasm I’d ever had.

“Goddammit, it’s good to see you.”

Having her in my arms, coming inside her, knowing we were together again, helped wipe away my worries and just be.

“Where’s Moth and Wings?”

Nila’s voice wrapped around my satisfaction, dragging me back to her. The chill of the stables faded thanks to the heat lamps I’d turned on above.

I rolled over to face her; my unbuckled belt and jeans clinked.

Somehow, after I’d orgasmed, we’d stumbled down the corridor of the stables and collapsed on top of one of the hay bales in a spare stall. Nila had lost her shoes, and her black jacket was rumpled and dusty from rubbing against the wall but she’d never looked more beautiful. She still hadn’t removed her hood though, and strange emotions trickled from her—hidden and quiet—scaring me more as minutes ticked past.

I was exceedingly aware of her every thought and also intimately mindful that Nila hadn’t come.

I mean to rectify that.

Her mind raced, sending flickers of ideas and questions in every direction. I let them wash over me, not wanting to focus on reality just yet.

This might be the only time we get to steal perfection like this before it’s over.

I meant to indulge as long as I could.

“They’re in the paddock behind the chase. If they’re not needed for regular riding, they’re turned out.”

She relaxed. “Oh, that’s good. I had a horrible thought that they might’ve hurt Wings—because you’re de—well…” She smiled. “…you were dead.”

Gathering her close, the sweet smell of clean hay threaded around us. “I still am dead according to my father. Kes, too.”

My forehead furrowed thinking of my brother. He has to wake up. Being away from the hospital went against my desire to watch over him, but I had to trust that Doctor Louille knew what he was doing. That eventually, once Cut was dead and things had been dealt with, Kes would wake up and I could rib him for sleeping through all the hard work.