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  Her face colored. “Of course I noticed.”

  “Could have fooled me.”

  The words stung. “Why did you stop asking me out?”

  He gave her an incredulous look. “Why do you think? Because I finally figured out you were never going to say yes.”

  Kendra remembered all those times he’d asked her out and she’d blown him off. Her heart hurt to think about it. God, she’d been such a fool. “I know it won’t help to say I’m sorry, but I am. I was stupid. Really, really stupid.” Tears blurred her vision and she blinked. “Crappy timing, huh? I finally get my head screwed on straight enough to realize how stupid I was, and you decide to move on.”

  He draped his arms over his knees. “Yeah, well I may have decided it was time to move on, but that doesn’t mean I was able to.”

  Her breath hitched. “What are you saying?”

  “I’m saying that I’m still hung up on you,” he muttered. “I don’t know why. Maybe I’m a masochist.”

  Hope surged inside her. Could there still be a chance for them? She pushed herself up on her knees and moved a little closer to him. “Maybe because you knew I’d come around.”

  Declan raised a brow. “Come around?”

  He wasn’t going to make this easy on her, was he? Not that she blamed him.

  “It took me a while—okay, years—but I’ve finally realized the man I’ve been looking for my whole life has been right here in front of me the whole time,” she said softly.

  Declan didn’t say anything, and as the silence stretched on, she thought he wasn’t ever going to. But then he reached out and gently cupped her face in his big hand. “You don’t know how long I’ve waited to hear you say that. What made you figure it out?”

  She smiled. “I guess I was just waiting for you to sweep me off my feet and steal me away to the perfect romantic locale.”

  Declan chuckled at her lame attempt at a joke, but there was still a sadness in his eyes. As if he was afraid to open up and let her in for fear of being rejected again.

  Kendra covered his hand with hers. “Declan, I’ve spent more time with you in the past three days than I have in the past seven years. You’re exactly what I’ve always wanted in a guy: brave, strong, warm, gentle, caring…romantic.”

  He looked embarrassed. “I don’t know about the romantic part.”

  “Well, I do. And you are.” Her lips curved. “And, if you don’t mind me saying so, you’re damn easy to look at—especially sitting there in just your underwear.”

  He laughed, and if possible, looked even more embarrassed.

  “Can we put the past seven years behind us and start fresh?” she asked. “Forget about Marissa and Clayne, and all the times you asked me out and I said no?”

  She knew neither of them could forget it entirely, but if he could forgive her for all the wasted time, maybe she could forgive herself, and they could both move forward.

  Declan didn’t answer. This close to him, it was impossible not to focus on his lips. Knowing there was never going to be a better time than right now, she leaned closer, fully intending to kiss him before he could stop her.

  She never got the chance. He moved faster, his mouth closing the distance between them and coming down on hers.

  The kiss was soft and tentative at first, seeking confirmation. She gave it by sliding her fingers into the thick tangle of hair at the back of his head, pulling his mouth against hers harder.

  The tentativeness disappeared and Kendra almost gasped when she felt Declan’s warm, wet tongue slip into her mouth. He threaded a hand in her hair with a soft, sexy growl. Her whole body hummed with pleasure. She was pretty sure she’d have found goose bumps on her arms if she’d checked.

  This was what had been missing with Clayne and every other man she’d ever been with. That zip—that spark—that convinced her she was finally with the guy she was meant to be with. The realization was so sweet, she almost cried.

  Declan must have felt her surprise because he pulled back to give her a worried look. “Is everything okay?”

  She laughed. “Everything is perfect. I’m just mad at myself for waiting this long to kiss you.”

  Heat flared in his eyes, warming her all over. “Then I suppose we’ll just have to make up for it.”

  He pulled her close, covering her mouth with his again. She closed her eyes and moaned as one sensation after another flooded her senses—the taste of his tongue, the roughness of his scruff against her chin, the feel of his strong fingers in her hair. All of those came together in an intoxicating blend that made her dizzy.

  Almost with a will of their own, her hands slid down his neck, stopping momentarily to squeeze those powerful shoulders before continuing across his muscular chest. She let her fingers trace back and forth across his rippling muscles, enjoying the feel of so much strength and power there.

  Declan pulled back with a throaty growl, effortlessly pulling her on top of his chest as he lay down. She let herself go, knowing he wouldn’t be doing this if he didn’t feel they were safe in the cave.

  As she positioned herself comfortably astride him, she felt something nice and firm poking her in the tummy. “Why the hell did we wait so long to get to this point?”

  He gently brushed her lower lip with his thumb. “Let’s stop worrying about all the stupid things that got in our way and just focus on the fact that we’re finally here.”

  Hadn’t she just said the same thing a few minutes ago? So why wasn’t she doing it? She smiled and nibbled on his lower lip. “I can do that.”

  He kissed her, his hands once again tangling in her hair, holding her close. She found his tongue with hers, moaning at how good he tasted. She rocked against him, unable to help herself. The friction of his hard-on pressing against her through his boxer briefs had heat pooling between her thighs, and she had to drag her mouth away from his to catch her breath.

  Declan tilted her head back, nibbling his way from her mouth, along her jaw, and all the way to her ear, bringing sighs of pleasure from her. How did he know she liked to have her earlobes played with? He caught the right one firmly in his mouth as if to hold her in place—like she would try to get away—then let those big, warm hands roam up and down her body.

  She groaned. “Let me take off my shirt. I need to feel your hands on my skin.”

  He released her long enough for her to sit up and whip off her T-shirt. She dropped it onto the poncho beside them, then made quick work of her sports bra. She really wished she were wearing something sexier for their first time together, but Declan didn’t seem to mind. The moment she bared her breasts, his eyes began to glow. Between the cool air in the cave and the undisguised hunger on his face, her nipples were practically throbbing. Then he licked his lips, which only made her poor nipples tingle even more.

  She sat back a little to give him a better view, and immediately noticed that his cock had hardened considerably since she’d stripped down to her panties. She could feel it wedged firmly between her thighs, rubbing perfectly along her panty-covered pussy.

  If it felt this good already, what would it feel like when they were both completely naked? She glanced down and saw that he was almost there anyway. His underwear could no longer contain his erection—several inches were already peeking above the waistband. The part she could see was thick, long, and beautiful. She bit her lip to keep from moaning out loud. It was as if he’d been built just to please her.

  She rested her hands on her thighs and wiggled back and forth on his cock, watching the dim light coming from the mouth of the cave play over his strong, muscular body. It was crazy that she was getting so hot already—they’d just been chased by hybrids only a couple of hours ago—but now that she’d figured out he was what she wanted, she wanted him badly.

  He ran his hands along her inner thighs, causing her to shiver. “Do you know how beautiful you are?”

  She snuck a finger down and traced it along the ridge on the underside of his exposed penis. “After a w
eek in the jungle without a bath, makeup, or my straightening iron, I have to wonder about your judgment. But if you want to keep telling me, I certainly won’t mind.”

  She teased the tip of his shaft with her fingertips as she continued sliding herself up and down his hard length. She was already imagining about how good he was going to feel inside her when he interrupted her daydreaming.

  “I really hate to bring this up, but I think one of us has to,” he said. “I didn’t bring any condoms with me, so unless you did, this isn’t going to lead to anything more.”

  Kendra stilled her fingers. Yikes, she hadn’t even thought of protection. That showed just how much she wanted him. Thank God Declan still had enough wits left to think about it. But not having any protection didn’t necessarily mean they weren’t protected.

  She caught her bottom lip between her teeth. “I haven’t had unprotected sex with a man in…well…ever, so I know I’m clean. How about you?”

  “No. I haven’t had unprotected sex with any woman since…in a really long time. I’ve been checked since then, so I know I’m clean. But that’s only half the issue here. There’s that little matter of pregnancy to consider, too.”

  She stopped teasing him and slid forward, pressing her breasts to his bare chest. Her nipples immediately tingled on contact. “I’m on a long-term birth control. I can’t get pregnant.”

  He looked confused for a second, then his eyes widened. “Long-term?”

  She nodded. “I never knew when I would find Mr. Right, but when I did, I wanted to be ready.”

  He reached around to cup her ass. Her bottom felt so small in those big hands of his. He squeezed her cheeks and she whimpered.

  “So, are you saying you’re ready for Mr. Right…right now?”

  She kissed him long and slow. “That’s what I’m saying. Just you, me, and my long-term birth control—if that works for you?”

  He tightened his hold on her ass, pulling her down snuggly against him. “That works for me.”

  She smiled, kissing him again as she went back to grinding against his erection. If she kept doing this for a while longer, she might just come from the foreplay alone.

  But as she got hotter and hotter, she realized she didn’t have nearly the control Declan did. Ultimately, she was the one who broke first and came up for air. “Maybe we can get the rest of our clothes off now?”

  Declan slid his hands around from her ass, along her sides, and up to cup her breasts. He gave her a wicked grin as he tweaked her nipples. “I don’t know. I think I could stay like this, touching you all over, for hours.”

  She gasped as his fingers sent shock waves through her sensitive nipples. “As much fun as that sounds, I’m a little worried it might drive me insane. I’m not sure I can wait any longer.”

  He chuckled softly. “Well, we can’t have that.”

  Kendra reluctantly climbed off his lap to peel off her soaking wet panties, then watched in anticipation as he stripped off his underwear. The big reveal was everything she’d hoped for and more.

  She would have immediately dived down to get her lips wrapped around his beautiful penis, but he caught her hand and urged her on top of him into the same position she’d been in before. She couldn’t complain too much. What woman wouldn’t want to straddle a gorgeous hunk like Declan and slowly slide down on that long, perfect shaft?

  She sighed audibly as her wet pussy came into contact with his hard cock. She wasn’t sure how she did it, but somehow she managed to control the urge to take him inside her and instead went back to the gentle rocking she’d been doing before.

  Declan lightly traced a finger along her cheek. His touch was so gentle, it almost brought tears to her eyes.

  “You don’t have any idea how long I’ve waited and dreamed about this moment, do you?” he whispered huskily.

  She turned her face into his hand, kissing his palm. “If you say you’ve been dreaming about me since the day we first met, I’m going to start crying.”

  “Please don’t.” He pressed his mouth to hers. “I don’t ever want to make you cry.” He said something else, but it was lost as he trailed hot kisses along her jaw and down her neck, then up to her ear again.

  “God, I love when you do that,” she breathed. “It makes me shiver.”

  He nipped at her ear. “I do love to make you shiver.”

  Kendra was so focused on what he was doing with his mouth that she didn’t even realize he’d moved a hand down to her ass until he slid her up his body and positioned the head of his cock right at her wet opening. She pulled back so she could see his face, and their eyes locked as he paused, on the edge of sliding in.

  “Are you ready?” he asked softly.

  Her whole body quivered from this tiny touch. She might just die if she couldn’t have the rest of him. “I’m more ready than I’ve ever been in my life.”

  He slid his other hand down to her ass, squeezing and rocking her against his thickness. “No screaming, okay? We don’t want to be in the middle of this when the hybrids hear you and come running.”

  She gave him a teasing smile. “You think you can make me scream in pleasure, huh?”

  He squeezed her derriere even tighter. “I guess we’ll find out.”

  Kendra didn’t scream, but she sure let out one hell of a groan as he spread her wide and slid in deep. She was soaking wet from all the foreplay, but he was so big that she still felt every inch of him as he entered her. She buried her face in his warm neck as he rocked her up and down, going a little deeper each time.

  Maybe she was going to scream. Nothing was supposed to feel this good. And he hadn’t even started thrusting yet. She slipped her hand under his shoulders, getting a good firm grip as Declan started to pump into her gently.

  She tried to thrust back onto him harder, wanting to drive his cock all the way inside her at once, but the tight hold he had on her butt wouldn’t allow that. He completely controlled the pace and the depth of her movements.

  “Faster,” she demanded. Tingles were already spreading out from her pussy to envelop her body. “Please.”

  He chuckled softly in her ear. “Not yet. Be patient. We just started.”

  His length speared her a little deeper, making her groan even louder. “You might be just starting, but I’m already halfway there. You better catch up.”

  He laughed again, deeper and huskier this time. “If you think you’re halfway there, sweetheart, you’re in for one hell of a surprise.”

  That’s when Declan finally took pity on her and really started thrusting. Not hard yet, but definitely deeper. And when that big, perfect cock of his bottomed out inside her, she knew with even more certainty that the two of them were meant to be together. No man had ever felt this good inside her.

  She grabbed more tightly onto his shoulders and pushed back, urging him to take her faster, but he refused, instead driving slow and deep into her, making sparks fly with every thrust. One hand stayed on her ass, controlling her movements, but the other slid up her side to massage one breast and tweak the nipple in time with his steady pumping.

  Tingles were racing all over her body, and her pussy was clenching so hard she thought she might go insane. She was so close already. All she needed was a little push.

  She lifted her head to gaze at him. “Stop teasing me,” she begged. “Please.”

  He didn’t reply, but he did move faster, pumping into her harder and harder.

  Kendra dropped her head to his shoulder and bit down on the muscles. It was either that or scream as she went over the edge. Declan wrapped his arms around her, holding her close as he growled his pleasure. When she felt his warmth pour into her, she exploded.

  There were no words to describe how hard she came. She’d never ever experienced anything like it, so she had nothing for comparison.

  She only knew it was magical.

  When the cave stopped sparkling and spinning, Kendra opened her eyes to find her cheek resting on Declan’s broad chest, his
arms around her, keeping her warm. He was still inside her, though not nearly as hard and rigid as he had been. It felt good, though, and she had no interest in letting him go anywhere.

  She pressed a kiss to his chest. “That was beautiful.”

  He ran his fingers gently through her hair. “I wasn’t too…rough?”

  “Of course you weren’t too rough. You were amazing.” To prove it, she lifted her head and kissed him on the mouth. “Better than amazing, even. You were perfect.”

  Declan grinned. “Perfect, huh? And to think, we’re just getting started.”

  She quivered as she felt his cock harden inside her. Mmm, this is going to be good.

  Chapter 9

  Angelo frowned as Derek wrapped layer after layer of bandages around Landon’s left forearm. The four scratches weren’t too deep, but they were ragged and going to leave some serious scars. Ivy crouched beside her husband as he leaned against his rucksack, concern in her eyes.

  Landon had gotten his latest collection of conversation starters when six hybrids hit them from behind while Clayne and Ivy had been out in front, trying to get a bead on Declan and Kendra’s trail. It hadn’t been a chance encounter with a bunch of scouts like the previous attacks. No, these damn hybrids had lain submerged in a muddy stream along the path until Angelo and the others had moved past, then had come at them in a flat-out kamikaze ambush meant to take out as many of them as possible before Ivy and Clayne could get back to help. The first part of their plan had worked to perfection, and they’d come damn close to accomplishing the second part as well.

  Angelo ground his jaw. There wasn’t a single one of them that wasn’t bleeding from somewhere on their body. Derek’s medic bag was practically running on empty as he tried to patch everyone up and get them back into fighting condition. Thank God Tanner, Gavin, and Carter had shown up, or they’d all probably be dead right now. If the eleven of them could barely fight off a pack of hybrids, how the hell was it possible for Declan and Kendra to still be alive?

  “How far did the locals make it before the hybrids caught up to them?” Ivy asked Carter as Derek applied antiseptic cream to the sergeant’s ribs.