He’d shaved.

How did he shave?

I hadn’t noticed.

How did I not notice?

Probably because I was more in love with him rather than what he looked like. I saw past physical and saw only spiritual.

I adored him no matter what fashion statement or wardrobe he wore.

“I love how wet you are for me.” He hovered over me, his arms bunched with his weight. “I love everything about you, Estelle.” His tongue swept into my mouth, sharing my flavour, telling me animalistically that he owned me now and I couldn’t do a thing about it.

Not that I would argue.

Ever.

“Will you let me tell you now?” I stretched, taking advantage of being pampered like a queen.

Galloway’s eyes dropped to my chest where my nipples indented the gold silk of my nightgown. “Tell me what?”

“Tell you that I love you.”

He sucked in a harsh breath. “You’re not just saying that?”

“I’m not just saying that.”

“You love me?”

“I love you. I’m in love with you. I fall more for you every day.” I fanned myself dramatically. “And after that...well, I think you own my heart completely now.”

His face shattered. That was the only way I could describe it.

He stole my lips, kissing me with ferocity and kindness. Brutality and tenderness. He accepted what I said but doubted it at the same time. “You’ve just made me complete, Stel...but...do you think we’re stupid? Stupid falling in love here, now, with no idea what our future holds?”

I blinked. “You’re saying falling for each other is...inconvenient?”

“No, I’m saying it’s the only thing keeping me sane.”

“Well then, I think it’s a perfect time.”

His eyes turned to furnace-hardened sapphires. “I’ll never hurt you. Ever.”

“I know that, G.”

“And I’ll never stop loving you, now that you’re mine.”

“I’m holding you to that.”

He kissed me again, teasing me into temptation where I forgot how to speak or move. However, I grasped a tiny bit of coherency to reach between us and rip open the Velcro of his shorts. Grabbing his hard heat, I stroked him.

I wanted to repay the favour.

I wanted to taste him.

But something delicate and fragile existed now. Almost as if he struggled with accepting my heart and desperately wanted to claim it forever. Even if our circumstances weren’t ideal.

Some might say finding love in disaster was doomed for failure.

I believed it only made us stronger.

And besides, he didn’t have a choice.

I was his.

I think... I’ve always been his.

“I want you inside me, G.”

His gaze was so intense it hypnotised me. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“And you trust me?”

“I trust you.”

“I promise I’ll pull out. You don’t have to be afraid.”

“I know.”

Nodding as if accepting my conditions, he sat up and ripped off his t-shirt. In the same fluid movement, he shoved down his shorts and kicked them away.

Naked.

Galloway was a beautiful man. His height, his bearing, his face and smile and body, even his intensity was mesmerizing.

But naked.

He was as sublime as a god.

My eyes drank him in as he reached for my nightgown and pulled it up my body. I didn’t say a word as he waited for me to arch and help him slide it over my arms.

Once the gold silk was tossed to the side, he bit his lip and gently rolled me onto my stomach. “You’re so beautiful, Estelle.” His mouth landed on my shoulder blades, kissing each bead of my spine.

The first suspension of my bikini top around my neck untied, followed by the one around my ribcage. Leaving the slaughtered triangles on the ground, he rolled me back to face him, capturing me in his gaze.

His large hands drifted from my collarbone to my breasts.

Cupping both, he breathed heavily as I moaned beneath his touch.

He touched me hesitantly, but somehow, it was perversely erotic, as if he were a virgin touching a woman for the very first time.

I knew differently. I knew by the mastery of his tongue and magicianery of his kisses that he wasn’t inexperienced. And yet, he shed every inch of his past to meet me unencumbered and pure. Giving himself completely to me.

His gaze turned heavy-lidded as I pressed more of myself into his touch. His hair hung around his face, looking piquantly provocative and as wild as the island that’d become our home.

The longer I stared, the more I noticed the shadows in his eyes had faded. Whatever haunted him couldn’t find him here...with me. I would protect him from his pain.

“God, I want you.”

I placed my hands above my head, offering myself to him. “So take me.”

“How can I get used to this?” His fingers twisted my nipples before cascading down my noticeable ribcage. “How can I hope to breathe after inhaling you? How can I hope to taste after licking you?” His nose nuzzled my throat. “How am I supposed to live after having you love me?”

I trembled with the weight of his admission.

Sex had never been so potently heavy for me before. So intrinsically weaved with emotion as well as bodily satisfaction.

This wasn’t sex.

This was love.

Pure, untainted love.

“You’ll never have to find out.” I licked my lips. “Galloway...I need you.”