He rolled her to her back. His gaze locked with hers as he slid inside her. He paused. There was more than sexual pleasure in the warm, brown depths of his eyes. He lowered his head and kissed her. Some unnamed emotions, raw and powerful, poured from him. He filled all the empty spaces inside her.

“More.” She tilted her hips to take all of him. Her legs wrapped around his rib cage. He synced his rhythm to the movements of her body, driving her higher, until the air locked in Hannah’s lungs and the arches of her feet cramped.

“Please.” She didn’t recognize the breathless plea as her own voice.

Brody surged, his thrusts shifting from controlled and deliberate to instinctive. Harder. Faster.

Watching him lose control pushed her higher. Hannah bowed back, her hips fusing to his as the tension inside her broke. She pulsed around him, still hard and thick inside her, drawing out her orgasm.

His body went rigid. He seated himself deep inside her and shuddered. He lowered his chest and buried his face in the side of her neck.

Hannah concentrated on breathing. Her lungs craved oxygen. The wave of emotions building in her chest tightened her breaths, a potent and heady mixture of fear and elation.

This was happening too fast, and yet there didn’t seem to be any way to stop it. She needed time to process the day. The week. The year.

She poked him in the ribs. “I can’t breathe.”

“Sorry.” He rolled to his side, his chest still heaving.

Sweat coated Hannah’s skin. “I need another shower.”

He grinned down at her. “We only had the one. I wanted to make it count.”

Her heart swelled.

Brody threw his head back and laughed. “I’ll buy a case tomorrow.”

“Good idea.” Happiness bloomed inside Hannah. The emotions felt strange, as if it had been a very long time since she’d experienced it. So long she barely recognized it. She held it close. In her life, joy was rare and elusive. Not that she was an inherently unhappy person, but Fate had a way of snatching happiness just before she had it in her grasp. She was more familiar with suffering, determination, and fortitude than joy. Barretts barreled over obstacles, and they didn’t stop to appreciate their triumphs. Another impediment always lingered on the horizon, waiting to be overcome.

“How can you be so calm after all that happened today?”

“Maybe today made me realize I need to appreciate every moment of happiness. Life is uncertain. Bad things will happen, and that makes the good times all the more precious.” And with that he kissed her, as if she were the most precious thing of all.

“I’ll be right back.” Brody got up and strode into the bathroom. Watching him, she drank in the sight of his naked body.