Page 51 of Fuse

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Several hours later, after I’ve carried her home from the canyon and gotten her into a shower and bed, I still can’t stop staring at the woman. And yeah, unbelievably, attempting to blame it on the sorcery of the summer winds and the crystalline moonlight instead of the truth that barely tries to hide itself at the forefront of my psyche.

I’ve never been deeper in love with her.

And have never been more terrified of losing her.

What I did with her out in the canyon…

What I did to her…

Before I can help it, a grunt rips up the lining of my throat. By the time it hits my clenched teeth, the sound makes barely a dent on the air, but with my pillow crunched next to hers and my chest bracketing her left arm, it’s enough to make her stir and fidget.

“Sssshhh.” Another sound that barely brushes the air. “Sleep, my Velvet.” My miracle. My love.

“Ummmph.” She purses her lips and furrows her forehead but doesn’t open her eyes. When the space above her eyebrows doesn’t even out, I skim my mouth across that creamy plane with mist-soft care, listening to make sure I don’t wake her again. There are times when the woman can sleep like the dead, but then she’ll have a night like this, barely tiptoeing around the REM cycle, resulting in me getting too growly and protective of her.

Like now.

“Damn it,” I mutter as soon as I lift up, seeing that my tender midnight care has been as effective as a bull sneaking through a china shop.

“Well, hi there yourself.” She’s already back to flinging as much sass and sardonicism as she did in the canyon. Trouble is, cocky Bunny 2.0 is just as sexy and cute as the first version.

Despite the admission, I’m unwilling to give up the cautious handling. It feels good—right—to treat her like a blown-glass treasure. My treasure. “Go back to sleep,” I urge in a whisper. “You’ve still got a lot of hours.”

She strokes a couple of soft fingertips along my jaw. Asks in just as sibilant a voice, “Did you finally get in touch with the mayor?”

I dip a fast but tight nod. “About an hour ago. Troy’s holding up well, considering the circumstances.”

“And the city?”

“Not so well.” My lips are tight, and my head throbs with fresh tension. “Death toll’s shockingly low, since so many took off early for the holiday, but the structural damage is severe. He’s calling an emergency city council meeting later tomorrow—well, today—and has asked me to be there.”

She hums in quiet approval. “You need to go.”

“And you need to get some more sleep.”

“Pssshhh. I’m fine.”

“Velvet…”

“Pssshhh.” She punches more fervor into it though backs up the gentle rebuke by rolling to her side and curling an elbow under her head. With her free hand, she strokes down the middle of my chest. “I was barely sleeping, and you know it.”

“Says the woman barely holding back her yawn?”

“Says the superhero’s girlfriend who’s been dealing with the universe’s most unique…hammer…knocking at her stomach?”

I narrow my eyes as she rewards herself for the humor with a soft giggle. “Says the bunny taunting the wolf when he’s trying to keep the hammer in his pants?”

“Says the wench who’s asking why?” Her sweet little whine penetrates where her sarcasm didn’t: the core of my cock. I swallow hard, ordering the damn thing back to a reasonable status. Barely. “The bunny enjoys this wolf, remember? Besides, a wolf wielding a hammer isn’t something a girl sees every day.”

The little minx finishes that doozy by openly palming the hump between my legs. Before I can contain it, a moan tumbles off my lips. My sweats are as effective as rice paper for blocking the spell of her touch, especially as she strengthens her spell by looping one thigh up and over my hip. Dear fuck…this temptress. After the shit shambles of what went down in the canyon tonight, I’d have bet both my balls that she’d want nothing to do with them ever again, but here she is with her soft strokes, her clean scent, her hypnotizing warmth, and her husky breaths…roaming all of them over me until I’m clenching and shuddering beneath her kisses and touches. Until my fingertips are gently sparking and I start doing the same to her.

For long minutes, we explore each other like that. Igniting every shadow of the room with the magic of our connection. Turning the night into an electric day with the ignition of our fusion. Caressing and sighing, discovering and revealing, arousing and awakening…

Until she inserts her amazed whisper into the few inches between us. “You’re so beautiful.” Then seals in her truth by lifting her mouth to mine, tracing her tongue across the seam of my lips. “Never more so than now.”

“Damn.” My amazement isn’t as eloquent as hers. Doesn’t feel that way, at least. I concentrate harder, forcing more relevant words into existence. “What’s…beyond beautiful?”