Page 135 of An Oath at Midnight

Then everything went black.

CHAPTER 33

Magnolia

“Bram!” I spun around.

He lay slumped on his side, face gray, chest deathly still. With a cry, I shoved him to his back, pounding my fists against his chest, once, twice. “Bram,” I screamed.

He gasped, his eyes flying open, and sat up. He was shaking hard.

I quickly tried to back away, terrified if I touched him he’d stop breathing again, but his hand shot out, locked on to my arm and he hauled me against him.

“No…wait…”

He rolled me to my back and took my face in his hand.

I blinked up at him, afraid to move, to freaking breathe.

A grin curled his lips. “I’m touching you. You’re touching me. I’m still breathing.” He pressed his forehead to mine, then he kissed me hard, gripping me tight to him. “You’re mine, Maggie. For eternity, you’re mine.”

A tear streaked down my face, relief and happiness overwhelming me.

He pressed his face against my neck and breathed me in as he ran his hands over my body. “Finally,” he said against my shoulder, then lifted his head. He swiped the tear from my cheek. “I’ve missed you, Mags. Fuck, I’ve missed touching you so much.”

“I’ve missed you too.” We held each other for a long time, just running our hands over each other, reveling in it while we breathed in the other’s scent.

Finally, Bram lifted his head and tucked my hair behind my ear. “You okay? Did I hurt you? Your scars? Any pain?”

“No, no pain.” I shook my head. “Not anywhere.”

He released a relieved breath. “Don’t move.” He got off the bed and strode into the bathroom. When he came back out, he was holding a washcloth. He carefully spread my thighs, wiping me clean, and when he looked up at me again, his expression was impossibly hot. “I know we don’t have much time, but if I don’t taste you again, Mags, right the fuck now, I think I’ll lose whatever grip I have on my sanity.”

“Well, we don’t want that,” I said, as desperate for him to touch me again, to be with me any way he wanted to.

He tossed the cloth aside and came down on top of me, brushing my hair back from my face. “It’s gonna be you and me forever, Mags.” His body trembled against mine. “An eternity of loving each other, because fuck, I love you, Magnolia, so much,” he said, staring into my eyes.

“I love you too.” My heart raced wildly.

His eyes grew heavy, and he took my mouth in a deep, hard kiss that literally made my toes curl. Then he was kissing his way down my neck, not caring about the dried blood streaking my skin, and sucked a nipple into his mouth with a moan. I shoved my fingers into his thick hair and squirmed beneath him.

He looked up at me. “I can’t take my time like I want to. But fuck, I want to worship every inch of this beautiful body.”

He sucked and kissed his way across my breasts, toying with my nipples, then down, over my ribs, my belly. His strong hands slid between my thighs, and he spread them wide as he shifted farther down. Then, holding my gaze, he dragged his tongue through my pussy, wringing a cry from me. His lids fluttered and a deep, rough groan rolled from him.

Wrapping his arms around my thighs, he gripped me tight to him, and I arched against the mattress when he used his tongue and lips, tasting me, pleasuring me while he snarled and groaned. His fingers flexed against my thighs, digging in when he slid his tongue deep inside me, his growl vibrating through my body, and I was so sensitive already, I couldn’t hold back.

I fisted his hair harder. “Bram, oh shit, I—I’m going to—”

One moment he was between my thighs, the next he was looming over me. “I want to feel you come while I’m inside you again.”

I nodded, rolling my hips against him. “Please.”

He kissed me once more, then lifted to his elbows. “Fuck,” he said as he looked down between us. We both watched as he gripped his cock and rubbed the head through my slickness before notching himself at my opening. “Ready?” he said, his obsidian gaze smoldering.

“So ready.”

He rocked his hips forward, pushing inside me, and we both groaned. He stayed there for long seconds, panting hard. “Fuck, you’re so hot and tight.” With another moan, he eased out, then thrust back in, all the way this time. His hiss as he ground against me set off tingles all over my body.