He eased down behind her, his thighs spreading to flank her hips. Arms circling her, he leaned her back into his warmth. “Then do so, Nesta, but first kiss me.”

He turned her enough so their mouths could meet, and claimed her with a savage kiss that contained all of the night’s emotions, both harsh and loving.

Releasing her, he moved her body. Rising on his knees, he eased her forward and pressed her head to the pillow so her back arched and her bottom rose. The vulnerability sent a shocking thrill of anticipation through her.

As if he sensed how the position tantalized her, he let her wait. She felt him there, right behind her, looking at her, and imagining what he saw only made it worse.

He touched her where she pulsed, and she thought she would faint. It was the first caress of the night, but her body was so anxious that it almost undid her. Intense pleasure streaked through her.

Another touch, more deliberate. A moaning sigh escaped her.

“That is right, Nesta. Let me hear your desire. Making you want me gives me great pleasure.”

With slow, masterful touches, he forced madness on her. Delicious, mindless need consumed her. He made her want him until the sounds of her own cries floated in the fog of her mind.

Holding her hips, he joined them with a slow, deliberate penetration. The sensual chaos in her consciousness calmed with the welcome fullness. It felt so wonderful. Hard and complete and connecting.

He withdrew slowly, and the exquisite sensation made her throb. A hard reconnection turned the pleasure feral. She looked back to where he rose behind her, strong and controlling, his body astonishing in its masculine beauty. His gaze met hers in the instant comprehension they had always had of each other when it came to passion and desire.

Welcoming this special submission, she let him take her into ecstasy.

“Stealing these tastes of heaven with you has also meant knowing a lot of hell.”

His quiet voice broke the stillness as they lay together on the pallet beneath the window, letting the brisk night air cool the heat of their bodies. It was very late. She should have returned to her chamber long ago, but their lovemaking had not ended until long after the household had retired.

She lay sprawled on him, her ear to his chest and her thighs flanking his hips. This last joining had not been furious like the first, but so soulful and sweet that her heart had wanted to break. As his hold had guided the rise and fall of her hips, she had been able to see his face in the moonlight, and the way he looked at her, and the times his gaze had slid to the sky behind her head.

That was where he was looking now.