The Devil May Care (Brotherhood of Sinners #1) (47 page)

* * *

After they were finished, Sebastian had to give his vision time to come back into focus, and his limbs time to remember where they ended and Rachel’s began.

Her breathing was as ragged as his, and he could still feel her shuddering and clenching around his cock. They were both utterly spent. Nonetheless, he kissed her long and deeply, savoring the sweetness, savoring the warmth of her naked body against his. In the aftermath of pleasure, on the verge of sleep, no barriers existed—some essence of each of them was passing freely back and forth, her soul and his mixing and merging in their commingled breath.

She was stroking his hair, making contented noises, running her feet along his calves.

He wasn’t sure he ever wanted to move again, but he couldn’t very well just stay here, crushing her into the tabletop forever. When at last her breathing settled, he lifted her in his arms and carried her over to the bed, settling her back into the already-rumpled sheets.

He drew her against him, sheltering her in his arms. She was his now. And he loved her.

They lay like that until the sun was nearly down, and violet light stretched across the walls around them. She hadn’t fallen asleep, though—she was drawing little shapes with her fingertips against his chest.

“What are you doing?” he asked her.

“Writing,” she said.

“Writing?” he echoed with a laugh. “Haven’t you had enough of that? You’ve been scribbling out transcriptions all day.”

She chuckled and pressed her lips to his collarbone. “Oh, this is something much nicer. I’m writing out that poem by Catullus.
Da mi basia mille
.”

“Ah, yes. Give me a thousand kisses.” He gazed into her face, which was half in shadow, half streaked with light by the last rays of the sun, in tones of violet and pink like the lining of a seashell. She was lovely, beyond lovely. They’d found a magical place here, leaving the real world and all its ugliness far, far behind.

“But I forgot a line of it before,” she said. “The opening line. Just two words:
Vivamus. Amemus
.”

“
Let us live
,” he said. Lord, it seemed such a long time since he had really wanted to live. The months since Sal died had been an eternity of grief. And he supposed it had been a very long time before that since he had so fully felt alive.

He felt alive now.

“
And let us love
,” she said, completing the phrase. With her fingers, she brushed back the hair from his forehead, then stroked her knuckles gently down the length of his cheek. “What else could matter in this world? Nothing else matters. You and I, only. I love you, Sebastian.”

“And I love you.”

Her mouth came against his once more—just one of what he hoped would be many, many thousands of kisses.

“Yes,” she whispered urgently, though he hadn’t asked a question. “Yes.”

He understood what she meant.

“Yes,” he whispered back, and drew her once more—and forever—into his arms.

Author Note

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About the Author

Lara Archer is a multi-award-winning author of historical and contemporary erotic romance.

Whether you love handsome dukes in lavish ballrooms, or hunky forest rangers on redwood-covered mountains, you’ll find stories that warm your heart and fire your desires!

Other Works by Lara Archer

Available Now:

Bared to the Viscount
(The Rites of May Book 1)

Wild at Heart
(Walk on the Wild Side Book 1)

The Devil May Care (Brotherhood of Sinners Book 1)

Coming Soon:

Bared to the Heiress (The Rites of May Book 2)