Page 19 of Night Fall
A tiny smile graced her face. “No, unless it will bother you this way?”
“It never bothers me,” he breathed. “I have an obsession with your hair. I like how long and wild it is.” He ran his fingers through her curls, bunching and twisting them between his fingers before gently sweeping them over her shoulder.
She blushed, happy he could not see her expression as he wrapped his arm around her. Mya intertwined their fingers and pushed back closer to him, wanting to eliminate any space between them. She bent her knees, and he followed the movement, tucking his legs behind her, but as he moved, she felt something hard against her buttocks. She wiggled, trying to understand what it was, when suddenly Erik gripped her hips.
“Stop moving,” he said, his tone a warning.
“But what is that?”
“The reason why I said you would be uncomfortable.”
“I do not understand.” She tried to move back again, to feel the hardness once more, but he held her still.
“I have an erection, Mya.”
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped into an ‘O’ before she stammered, “Oh, but, well … why? W-We have not done anything.”
He laughed, each breath hot on her neck. “We do not have to do anything. Being near you is enough. It will settle on its own.”
His words, his body against hers, and the knowledge that her presence was enough to rile him did something to her. Her nipples became erect, her throat dry, and she had to force herself to swallow multiple times. Then she licked her lips and whispered, “Should I assist you?”
The arm under her head tensed, her only forewarning before he grabbed her by her throat and gripped her hips tight enough that it would have left a bruise if she were human. The move only served to excite her more. She bit her lip, trying to stop the moan before it left her, but he heard it, just as she knew he felt her tilt her head back further to offer him more of her throat.
“I told you not to test me further, Mya. This is the last time I will warn you,” he growled, his lips touching her ear with every word. Then he relaxed and withdrew his hand from around her neck, leaving her whimpering at the loss.
“Sleep,” he ordered.
She did not think she would be able to, but after several minutes of feeling the rise and fall of his chest and the rhythm of his heartbeat behind her, she fell into a deep, peaceful rest.
When Mya awoke, her head was on Erik’s chest. Her arm rested on his stomach, and their legs were intertwined. She lifted her head to watch him as he slept, then gently ran her fingers through his hair. She took in his features, looked over his light golden, almost silver eyebrows, the long pale eyelashes that surrounded the orbs she loved to gaze into, his straight nose that narrowed at the bridge before widening in a perfect triangle at his nostrils. She scanned the hairs of his beard, itched to scratch them with her fingernails—
“Are you finished staring at me?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin when her eyes caught his. “I thought you were asleep.”
“I was until you woke up.” His large hand spread along her back as he stretched, but he made no effort to move away from her. “Did you sleep well?”
She nodded and smiled shyly. “Very. I believe that may have been the best sleep I have ever had.”
He met her smile with one of his own. “I am honored to hear that.”
Mya hesitated, then decided to take advantage of their position. She gently ran her fingertips through his beard, earning herself a soft moan from him. She did it again, gently scratching the area.
“How did you sleep?” she asked.
“Incredibly well, thanks to you.” His eyes closed as she continued to scratch him, and a soft, satisfied rumbling noise started in his chest.
She loved the sound, loved being able to touch him freely like this, so close, so intimately. She wanted this to happen again, every night, forever, and she could not stop herself from speaking her wish out loud. “Perhaps we could do this again?”
He grabbed hold of her wrist and kissed her hand, but the look in his eyes was pained, forlorn. “You know we cannot,” he said quietly.
She averted her eyes from his, so he touched her cheek. “Mya…”
A strength borne out of frustration of the unfairness of it all blossomed inside her, and she turned back to him, eyes set ablaze. “I heard what you said. I listened to your story. I understand what you feel, even though your strength of character amazes me.”
He opened his mouth to speak, but she refused to hear him deny her.
“Erik, I love you. I have always loved you in the way a woman loves a man.”
