Ravyn sighed. If she were smart, she’d reconsider her decision to deepen their relationship and run for the hills. Well, figuratively. He waded out of the lake then, completely naked and too gorgeous for words. And she knew it was already too late to play it safe.
She watched the water stream from his body and wished the lake were a bit closer to the windows. She couldn’t quite see as well as she would have liked, but that didn’t stop her body from reacting. When he reached for a towel and started drying off, she realized she was ogling him and shook her head. The man deserved his privacy, she thought and crossed to the bed.
Pushing the blankets down a bit, Ravyn settled herself against the pillows. She sat with her legs crossed and tugged the thin night slip down as far as it would go. She was decently covered, but barely.
The sunlight seemed to play off the obelisks, sending prisms of color throughout the room. Ravyn looked from crystal to crystal. Aquamarine for knowledge, rose quartz for love, green tourmaline for abundance and citrine for optimism. She cocked her head and considered those four qualities. Images flashed through her mind in a dizzying kaleidoscope that had her planting her hands on the mattress for balance.
Nothing she saw made sense to her, but when the visuals stopped, she knew the characteristics of the gems were important tenets of the society that had lived here. Ravyn shook off her disorientation. She knew one other thing. This room belonged to the leaders of the Old City, a man and a woman who had loved one another beyond reason.
She looked up at the sound of the door opening and smiled at Damon. “Hi,” she said.
“Hi yourself. I see you’re finally awake. How are you feeling?”
“Great.” Ravyn couldn’t take her eyes off him. One hand held the gun, the other the straps of the pack. All he had covering him was a towel tied around his waist. Suddenly she felt more than a little warm. God, she was so shallow, she thought unrepentantly. Instead of admiring him for his intelligence or his honor and integrity, she was drooling over his body. But what a body.
Hmm.
“You sure?” he asked.
“I’m sure,” she said. Her voice had a breathless quality to it that had her blushing, but at least she wasn’t panting. Yet.
“Let me check that arm now that there’s enough light in here to see something.” He looked pointedly past her, his tone dry, but he didn’t comment on the see-through wall.
He bent and put the pack aside, leaning it against the wall. Ravyn noticed then that he was wearing his boots with the towel. She couldn’t quite suppress a laugh at the sight. He grinned back at her. “I know, I look ridiculous,” he said. “I just couldn’t see putting on dirty clothes again.” Since the boots weren’t laced up, he stepped out of them easily. “Better?”
Ravyn nodded, not trusting her voice. His towel had parted as he’d removed the boots and she had gotten an eyeful.
He advanced toward her, all masculine grace and power. She loved the way he moved, loved the sight of all that bare, tanned skin. She loved his strong face, his dark hair falling over his brow where it had started to dry. But most of all, she loved the way he looked at her. Not just with desire, but with tenderness.
Damon put the gun down on the stand next to the bed. She sat in the middle of the enormous mattress, just out of his reach. “Slide over here so I can get a look.”
Ravyn shook her head. “You come here,” she told him, her voice thicker than usual.
He raised both eyebrows, but didn’t argue. When he sat facing her, he softly clasped her arm. Ravyn watched him study the wound, noticed his brow scrunch in puzzlement. She knew what he saw, she’d examined it herself after she’d showered this morning.
Damon looked up at her. “Your arm has healed so much, that if I didn’t know better, I’d swear it’s been at least a week since you took the barb.”
“I know. Maybe we should put some of that salve on your injury too.” It stunned her that she sounded halfway normal.
He reached out with his other hand, his index finger tracing a circle on her skin around the wound. The hardness of his hands, their strength, contrasted with the gentleness of his touch and Ravyn shuddered.
“Did that hurt?”
“No.”
His eyes found hers, his gaze sharpened and then he smiled. His hands moved to her legs, his thumbs rubbing the inside of her knees. Ravyn could feel her world narrow to this man and the bed they shared. She leaned into his chest and whispered a kiss across his mouth. Damon turned his head, keeping the contact and tightened his hold on her.
His taste, his scent, his heat surrounded her. Ravyn took his hands, moved them so that she could go up on her knees and get closer to him. She gasped against his lips as his callused fingers trailed across the nape of her neck. As close as she was, it still wasn’t near enough. She shifted again so she straddled his thighs. His hands slid to her hips, squeezed briefly and then he went still.
Damon’s grip tightened, keeping her from her goal. He broke their kiss. “Ravyn, no.”
“No?” she asked, surprised.
Ravyn opened her eyes and looked at him. Damon wanted her, she had no doubt about that. His skin held a flush of arousal; his eyes were dark and hot. A surreptitious glance downward told her just how excited he was. He’d left her hands free and she slid them from his shoulders to his pecs and flexed her fingers.
“Stop that,” he said, sounding anything but resolute.
She stilled, but didn’t move her hands away from his chest. “Why, Damon?”
“You know why. I can’t let you make this decision while you’re caught up in the moment.”
It was then, her eyes locked on his, that Ravyn stopped fighting her emotions and let herself fall all the way in love with Damon. Later, she told herself, she’d worry about the ramifications, but for now, she just allowed herself to feel.
“Honey,” she said, “I decided before I got hurt. But you’re right, I don’t want to do this if you aren’t sure. We both need to go into this with our eyes open.”
He growled, there was no other word for it and Ravyn found herself on her back, Damon beside her. Startled, she laughed before his mouth covered hers. “Trust me, sweet pea,” he said when he finally let her up for air, “I’m very sure.”
“But,” she started, stopping when he put a finger over her lips.
“It’s always been up to you. I made my choice before we ever talked about birth control. So, if you’re sure...”
Ravyn smiled. “Anyone ever tell you that you talk too much?”
He laughed, she presumed at the absurdity of that statement coming from her. After all, she’d been the one to press him to talk more. His chuckle cut off when she reached for the knot in his towel. She, who had never been bold with any man, found herself taking the lead. As soon as she loosened the towel, he tossed it off the side of the bed. Ravyn stared, transfixed at the sight of him. Suddenly she felt self-conscious, unsure. She looked up at Damon, her eyes holding a mute plea.
“It’s okay,” he assured her, his voice quiet. “I’ll take care of you. I’ll take care of everything.”
His kiss was gentle, his tongue stroked the inside of her mouth lazily, as if they had all the time in the world. She could feel the restraint he exercised, realized how difficult it must be for him to take it slow, but she trusted him absolutely. Ravyn let herself relax into him.
She wrapped her arms around him, held on tight. He burned her wherever their skin touched, but she wanted that heat, craved it. She ran her hands across his back, tracing a path over his shoulder blades and spine. One heavily muscled thigh nudged between her legs and slid upward, taking the skirt of her night slip with it. Ravyn gasped, breaking the kiss, as he pressed against her core. Her eyes opened at the gentle stroke of his fingers against her jaw. It took a moment for her to focus. She darn near dissolved at the look of untempered need on his face.
“Okay?” he asked.
“Yes. Don’t stop.” Ravyn slipped her hands beyond his waist and tugged him closer.
His thumb traced her bottom lip and Ravyn opened her mouth, pulling it in, laving it with her tongue. She smiled as she felt Damon shudder. He pulled free, planted a quick, hard kiss on her lips and then his hands swept down her sides. He came up underneath the thin night shift, cupped her bare bottom, pressing her even more tightly against him.
Ravyn rocked against him, his hard length hot against her belly. Suddenly even the thin material of her nightgown was too great a barrier. She wanted it off. She reached for the fabric bunched at her waist, but couldn’t move it, not with his body so close to hers. “Damon,” she said impatiently, knowing he would understand what she wanted.
He smiled slightly and eased back so he could help her draw it up and off. The slinky cloth caressed her sensitive skin and she caught her breath. When she would have squeezed herself against him once more, Damon held her away. Ravyn’s murmur of protest died in her throat as he raised his eyes back to hers. There was such reverence in his gaze that she felt tears gather.
“Do you have any idea,” he said slowly, “just how beautiful you are?”
Ravyn would have shaken her head in denial, but she couldn’t doubt his sincerity. She brushed a kiss to his chin and her heart seemed to expand until she thought it would burst from her chest. She watched him as he continued to drink in the sight of her. In a detached sort of way, it amazed Ravyn that she didn’t feel self-conscious as he looked his fill. It aroused her to know she pleased him, to know he couldn’t tear his gaze from her. A part of her wanted to take the time to study him as well, but the awe she saw on his face held her mesmerized.
His hand trailed up her rib cage, cupped her breast. For a moment they were both still and then he ran his thumb over her crest. Ravyn tightened her hands in his hair before pulling his mouth to hers. She nibbled at his bottom lip, nipping, then soothing with her tongue.
Ravyn lost herself in sensation. His hands and mouth seemed to be everywhere at once and she couldn’t keep her own hands immobile. She touched every inch of his body she could reach. Well almost. There was one part of him shyness kept her from stroking. She didn’t realize how crazed that made him until he raised his head from her body.
“Damn, Ravyn. Touch me.”
“I am.”
He growled. Taking her wrist, he guided her to where he wanted her caress. He stopped short, releasing her within a hair’s breadth of his goal. “Please.”
As much as he needed to feel her touch, she knew he was leaving it up to her. That he wouldn’t force her to do anything she was uncomfortable with even if it killed him. She closed the gap he’d left, running the backs of her fingers up his length. His body shook by the time she reached his tip. She turned her hand, curling her fingers around him, and glided back down.
His groan started deep in his chest and rumbled to the surface. It amazed Ravyn that arousing Damon raised her own level of passion. She gave him a small push and he took the hint and lay on his back, one arm behind his head so he could watch her. Ravyn knelt beside him and tried different amounts of pressure, different ways of touching him. He had a smile on his face as she experimented, and she realized he took almost as much pleasure in her discovery as in her caresses. She continued to gauge his reaction to everything she tried until she felt she had a good idea of what pleased him most.
She could see the sweat on his body, feel the tenseness of his muscles and Ravyn knew he kept a tight leash on himself for her. It humbled her to know he cared so much. She smiled back at him and leaned forward, brushing her hair across his groin. She heard him suck in a breath and her smile widened. The thick curtain of hair hid her from his view, and he jumped in surprise when she pressed her lips to the crown of his erection.
“Stop,” he ordered, reaching for her.
“You didn’t like that?” Ravyn had been sure he would.
“Too much, sweet pea, too much.”
He guided her over his body. Ravyn gasped at the heat of him between her legs and arched back. His hands on her hips kept her from doing more than subtly rocking. With a groan he choked off before it could fully emerge, Damon loosened his grip, and sliding his arms up her body, pulled her down to his chest. Kissing her, he rolled until she was on her back and he was above her. For a moment, they froze, staring at each other. His eyes were so dark with arousal that she could see only an outline of green. She brought a foot up, sliding it from his ankle to the back of his knee. The coarse hair of his leg tickled her toes.
“I can’t wait any more, Ravyn.” His voice was soft, gentle despite the gruffness, the huskiness.
She knew he was giving her one more chance to change her mind and love for him surged through her body. “I don’t want you to wait.”
The feel of him slowly entering her left her gasping. Ravyn gripped his biceps and tried to remain relaxed. She’d led an active life, she doubted she still had a physical barrier for him to breach, but the strangeness she felt as he sank deeper had her fighting the need to tense. She heard him murmuring reassurance as he inexorably joined their bodies.
When he stopped, her gaze flew to his in surprise. His eyes were tightly shut and sweat all but dripped from his brow. Some instinct had Ravyn bringing her legs up and wrapping them around his hips. With a groan, his entire body went rigid. “Damon?”
He rested his forehead against hers and looked down at her. “Just don’t move,” he grated out.
Okay, she thought, she could do that. But as the minutes passed, the only sound the raggedness of their breathing, Ravyn began to wonder how much longer he wanted to wait. The minor discomfort she’d felt had dissipated, leaving her burning for him. It became more and more difficult for her to remain still.
She pressed kisses to his chin and jaw line, her legs tightened around him. “Honey, please,” she urged, “please.”
Ravyn watched him study her, then his lips quirked up at the corners and he rocked just a little, as if testing the waters. He must have been satisfied with her response because he didn’t hesitate any longer. He stroked into her, his pace measured and unhurried. At first, his hands guided her into his thrusts, but, as she caught his rhythm, he let go.