Chapter 48

Iwant you as mine. Stefan shouldn't have said the words. He'd monitored Nicki's emails closely since they'd returned from Olympus. He knew she was in conversation with the American windsurfing instructor. He knew she'd responded to his overture for work. And she was aware of his knowledge, he suspected, since she knew the protocols for email monitoring on the mission. It didn't change the truth of things: she was already planning her exit from the shores of O?ros, and from him.

Without ever knowing that she'd bargained with Hades…without ever knowing what she'd said.

"You know, I'm never going to be completely out of danger," Nicki said, her eyes wide, searching his. "That's not who I am. If I can't do the things I want to do without breaking, then what's the point? Like now." She leaned forward and kissed him again, then whispered against his mouth. "Stop worrying over me, Stefan. We don't have to think about the future, only this minute, nothing more. And this minute, I want you. Only you."

Stefan went very still, every muscle on high alert. "Nicki—you're supposed to be resting."

"That's true." She pulled back and grinned at him. "But I have it on very good authority that what I have in mind frequently happens while the participants are lying down. So really, you'd be doing me a favor if you lay down with me, say—on your bed. And since we wouldn't want to mess up your clothes…"

She stood and stepped away from the table, and Stefan shook his head. Even as he did so, however, his resolve weakened. "I don't think this is a good idea," he said, but Nicki pulled him into the stateroom, then immediately turned and headed for the interior cabin.

"Well, I'm taking off my clothes and climbing into your bed. You're more than welcome to join me. If you prefer to stand watch outside, that's also fine."

He watched, startled as she stripped off her tee shirt and shimmied out of her khakis before she reached the bedroom door. Without pausing, she reached for her bra-strap…

Stefan was behind her in three long strides. "You really shouldn't exert yourself unduly," he said, gripping her shoulders in his hands.

Her hands fell to her waist as he unhooked her bra. "In fact," he murmured. "I'm pretty sure you should let me take the lead from here."

She gave the faintest protest as he leaned down and lifted her into his arms, but her smile was wide as she gazed up at him. "No wonder they picked you as team lead. So strategic," she said, but he wasn't fooled by the wry humor in her voice. Equal parts relief and need shown in her eyes, and he leaned down to kiss her softly on the forehead. She was so fierce, and wanted so much to be strong, that showing vulnerability was nearly impossible for her. She had to be in control, had to be active, had to take charge of the situation.

But right at this moment, he knew, more than anything, that she needed something more. She needed to know that someone craved her. Needed to know that someone saw her not as an invalid, but as someone who was powerful, desirable…intoxicating.

She was all that and more.

"I'm going to forego tossing you, if only this once," he said as they stepped into the cool confines of the room. Nicki laughed, but her expression sobered as he laid her carefully on the bed.

"I'm not going to break, Stefan," she said. He leaned down, kissing first her collarbone, then her cheek, and then softly, gently, he pressed his lips against hers, his gaze resolute. She must have seen something of what he was thinking because her eyes widened in surprise.

He rose, his mouth slanting into a soft smile. "You're not the one I'm worried about breaking anymore." She blinked, and he stood again, pulling off his shirt before shimmying out of his trousers. He freed the condom packet from his pants pocket and tossed it on the bed, then stripped off his shorts.

Nicki reached for her own clothes, and he lifted a hand. "Don't move."

"Stefan, I can?—"

"That's a direct order," he murmured as Nicki froze, but he didn't give her long to puzzle through his intentions. Reaching up, he slid her panties down her legs.

"You missed a spot," Nicki said, hooking her thumb into her bra strap.

"I missed nothing," Stefan said. He knelt on the bed between her legs and traced the curve of her functional bra down its sleek lines, sliding his fingers under the soft swells of her breasts. Nicki's breath caught, and her pulse jumped in her neck, but her eyelids drooped, and she sighed as he teased her nipples through the fabric.

"I think you should have a new supply of lingerie as part of your payment for this job," Stefan said, and her gaze flicked to him, sharpening with focus.

"Lingerie?"

"You tend toward serviceable gear—which I appreciate—but I can't help but imagine you in something a little less…practical."

Nicki's snort of laughter cut off abruptly as he snaked his hand behind her back, loosening the catch of her bra. He slid it over her shoulders and leaned down, following his progress with his lips as he traced kisses down over her trembling skin. While he drew his tongue over the peak of her left breast, he allowed a hand to close around her right breast in synchrony, the dual pressure causing Nicki to arch off the bed.

"Yes," she muttered, and the soft urgency in her voice was the only motivation he needed. Pulling back from her, he sheathed himself quickly, then returned to her body, leaning down for a kiss.

To his surprise, Nicki held up a hand. "Permission to take the lead?" she asked, and when he nodded, she reached up, pushing at his shoulders until he rolled to the side, then onto his back.

He quirked her a bemused glance. "You were supposed to take it easy."

"This position improves oxygen flow," Nicki said, but what she was doing was decidedly damaging the flow of oxygen and blood to his brain, that was certain. She straddled his body, naturally coming to rest over his shaft. The compression as her body settled made his jaw tighten, but he couldn't take his eyes from Nicki's face. She was so intent, so beautiful—her expression focused, her eyes clear, and the soft smile on her face something he would never tire of.

She slid over him and his attention fractured. He had the vague sense of her expression growing far more triumphant.

"Better?" she asked, with a twist of her lips, throwing his own words back at him. His breath escaped in a tight hiss, and he lifted his hands to her hips, seating her more firmly against him as her body rocked. He found his gaze darting everywhere, her breasts, her face, the tight knot of her abs as she flexed to hold herself in place—and then further up, to where her precious heart lay safely beneath skin and bone. An unreasonable tide of possession surged inside of him, and the message traveled straight to his groin.

Nicki's gaze riveted on him as she felt the difference. "Oh," she breathed, and he grimaced.

"Yes. Oh." He tried to loosen his grip on her hips, but then she lifted her chin, her body stretching taut as she dropped her head back. He watched as her eyes drifted shut while she absorbed the complete experience of him—and the sheer joy of her expression added exponentially to his enjoyment. They moved with increasing speed and strength, her body flexing, tightening around him until there was no way to tell where she ended and he began. The symbiosis of their movement was as timeless as the sea and filled with laughter, light, and sunshine, like the smile on Nicki's face.

The sudden orgasm rushed up on him so quickly that he growled. Nicki's eyes flew open as she fell forward, her hands bracing on his chest, her lips parting as he bucked with sudden, frenzied need beneath her. She cried out, too, with sudden, unfettered happiness, and he gripped her even harder, wanting to hold her, keep her, and make her his far beyond this moment, far beyond this day. Within that moment, they shared thoughts, they shared emotions, they shared sensations, they shared all. In a flash, Stefan knew the truth: that was the gift and the curse of their connection; that was the future he faced. Whether they stayed together or he let her go, Nicki would remain linked to him…as long as she lived.

How could he let her go, knowing that?

With a great, gusting sigh, Nicki rolled off him, sprawling onto the jumbled sheets, her body appearing as boneless as his felt.

"See?" she murmured, curling against him. "That wasn't stressful at all."

Their quiet, shared laughter flowed easily into the sea-bright sunshine.