The Hero Within (Burned Lands Book 3)

by Bec McMaster

  And it had been a long time since he'd needed one.

  Three or so years, right before a village in the badlands sold him out to slavers and made him realize he couldn't trust anyone.

  Eden's hands clasped at the back of his neck. "I had my injection a couple of months ago. I'm safe for another month at least. And I'm clean."

  Johnny sank to his knees, his hands cupping her ass. The second he hit the furs he pushed forward, spilling her onto her back. "So am I."

  Just one more benefit of being a warg.

  "Are you sure about this?" he gasped, a single moment of hesitation rocking him as he knelt over her. "Because you're not going to be able to pretend this didn't happen in the morning...."

  Eden grabbed the amulet around his neck and hauled him down. "Shut up and kiss me."

  Sounded good to him.

  Johnny captured her mouth again.

  Her heated hands slid up his chest and over his shoulders, nails raking down his oiled skin. Johnny worked his way down her throat, trailing his tongue along her pulse.

  Eden's bra was black cotton, and he delved beneath her with one hand as she arched her spine. Then it was off, and he dragged it aside, capturing her nipple with his heated mouth.

  "Oh, God!"

  Laving attention across her breasts, he somehow managed to get the straps off her arms without breaking his kiss. "You have the best fucking tits," he breathed, suckling hard. "You don't know how much I've wanted to get my mouth on them."

  "Jesus, Colton." Fingers dug into his hair as she lifted her head off the fur. "I want you. Now."

  Before she could reach for his jeans, he reared up onto his knees. "I'd like to oblige, darlin', but I've been dreaming of what I'm going to do to you for days."

  He undid her belt, even as she ran her pale hands up to cup her tits. Fuck. He bent as he jerked her jeans open, kissing the smooth skin of her abdomen. The wet, musky scent of her cunt drew him to her, and he dragged her panties aside and nuzzled into her pussy, barely able to get a taste. He needed her jeans all the way off.

  "Oh, God," she moaned, her fingers curling in his hair.

  Tugging her jeans down her long legs, Johnny threw them aside, and then hooked both thumbs under the hem of her panties. Half tempted to rip them off, he dragged them slowly out from under her bottom, revealing the thatch of brown hair between her thighs.

  "Are you wet for me, angel?"

  He couldn't resist any longer.

  Wrenching them down her thighs, he buried his face in that hair, breathing her in. The second he got her panties free, her thighs parted and Johnny tongued her wet slit, getting his first full taste of her. Eden cried out, her spine arching and her thighs clamping around his head. Forcing them wide, he settled in to feast, smelling the soap she'd used earlier.

  Hate fuck or not, he didn't intend to rush a damned minute of this.

  Eden McClain had haunted him for years.

  He wanted to imprint every second of this encounter in his brain, until he couldn't remember their hateful past, only this. New memories to replace the old, an encounter forged out of the forgiveness he desperately needed from her.

  Tilting his head, he suckled hard on her clit, alternating that with the slow, heated lap of his tongue. Every gasp that came from her lips felt like victory, and he teased her as the pressure built within her, tracing slow, lazy circles, flicking his tongue lightly against her when her fingers dug into his scalp and her body silently begged him to lick hard.

  "Colton," she breathed as he thrust his tongue between her slick folds. A soft scream broke over her lips, and she arched in response, her thighs clamping around his head.

  Nothing had ever tasted better than the slick wetness of her desire. Nothing had ever sounded as good as her soft cries of ecstasy as she came.

  I could spend all day eating Eden McClain out.

  But her fist was in his hair, dragging him insistently up.

  And as much as he wanted to prolong this, he also knew he was getting dangerously close to the edge himself. Jerking the buttons of his jeans open, he kissed her throat again, shoving her hips wide.

  "Ready?"

  "Yes!"

  He thrust into her wet heat, his jeans still half-on.

  Eden cried out, flinging her head back as her spine arched.

  Johnny buried his face in her throat, fucking her with short, ferocious thrusts. Her body sheathed him like a glove, molten with heat. A good thing he'd worked her over, for he could sense the warg within him climbing to the surface. It wanted to fuck. Hard and fast, and brutal. The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her, so he ground his teeth together, fighting back against the rush of blood through his veins.

  It was as if she felt him trying to rein himself back. "Harder," she breathed, nipping at his lip and digging her heels into the back of his thighs. "I want to feel it tomorrow. I don't mind the bruises."

  So be it.

  She'd called it hate sex—he'd even been the one to jokingly suggest it—but there was nothing of hate in this. Only pure, rapturous pleasure. The chance to worship her body with his, to take what he so desperately wanted from her.

  Pinning her wrists to the fur, he gathered them in one hand and slid the other down to drag her knee up between them. The angle made her cry out.

  "That's it, angel." Burying his face against her throat, he bit his lower lip as the pressure in his balls began to mount. "Come, mi alma."

  Her body clenched.

  "Eres una mujer hermosa y obstinada," he whispered hotly, in her ear. "Eres hermosa. Eres mío. Mi dulce sabor del cielo...."

  "Sweet Jesus," she breathed. "What are you saying?"

  He gasped against her throat. She liked that. Every inch of her clenched around him until he was seeing stars.

  "Scream for me," he panted, arching his hips to ride over that spongy little spot deep inside her. "Scream my name, darlin'."

  Can't hold on much longer....

  Fuck. He gritted his teeth together, his thrusts slowing. Eden's spine arched, her breasts meeting his chest as he pinned her wrists down and told her how fucking much he loved this in Spanish.

  "Oh, God," she breathed. "Oh... my... God. Colton!"

  The word burst out of her in a rush as her body gave a spasm around his. Johnny captured her scream with a kiss, feeling his own orgasm hit him like a lightning bolt. Pinning her beneath him, his spare hand fisted in her hair, he bucked into her as heat swept up the back of his spine and he came.

  Thousands of nights alone.

  Thousands of blood-soaked days beneath a blistering sun.

  And for one perfect moment, it was all worth it for this one glimpse of heaven. Johnny collapsed atop her, sweat slicking both of their skin as he gasped for breath. Boneless. Empty.

  At peace, for the first time in years.

  And whether she hated him or not, for that one moment her hand clasped the back of his neck as she dragged him into her embrace, and Johnny Colton finally knew what it felt like to not be so alone.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  MORNING CAME. Johnny could feel it tingling in his veins, even deep beneath the rock, as if the warg subsided within him like a contented cat.

  Or maybe that was just the aftereffect of finally getting rid of some of this sexual tension between them.

  Movement shifted, a soft body wriggling against his as the sheets lifted. He'd taken her again last night before they both collapsed in a sweaty mess and he'd curled around her. Eden had fallen asleep before she could move, and he'd buried his face in the back of her neck and pretended this was real.

  But with morning came all those thoughts he was refusing to think of, and the fact this had actually happened between them last night.

  He could feel stiffness stealing though her warm body as she slid away from him like a thief in the night. So that was the way it was going to be. Couldn't say he was surprised.

  Pretend to be asleep and let her sidle out of here as if nothing had ever happened? Or take
a chance?

  Johnny cracked open one eye.

  Eden shrugged from the bed of furs, the curve of her spine a shallow canyon in the topography of her back. Her hips flared wide and he caught a glimpse of the undercurve of her breast as she reached for her tank and panties.

  Damn.

  He was hard and aching in a second, remembering the feel of her beneath him, the taste of her pussy on his tongue. Johnny shifted, his cock aching as memory teased him.

  Eden tugged her panties up her long slim legs, bending over just enough to taunt him, before the scrap of black cotton hid the white globes of her ass and her wet pussy from view.

  Johnny lunged across the pile of furs and snagged an arm around her waist. "Where do you think you're going?"

  Eden gasped, then shivered as he kissed the slope where her shoulder met her neck. "It's morning."

  "So it is," he murmured, brushing another kiss just behind her ear.

  Her spine arched as her head fell back to allow him better access. The thick tangle of her curly hair fell over him, smelling of the soap she used. Eden didn't push away, but tension lingered in her spine, even as the rest of her began to surrender.

  Inch by softening inch.

  A sucked-in breath....

  The hardening of her nipples.

  "It was one night, Colton." Her voice roughened, though he could scent her brewing desire. "I scratched your itch. You scratched mine. Let's not pretend it was anything else."

  Morning after regrets. Wasn't that a punch to the throat? One he should have seen coming....

  "If you think my itch is scratched, then you have another think coming." Johnny kissed his way across her shoulder. He could almost feel her slipping through his arms, like a dream that scattered upon waking. A part of him wanted to grab hold with both hands and never let her go.

  "I want to fuck you again," he whispered.

  Funny how she didn't protest the use of that particular word in this instant, as if it somehow distanced them.

  "Quiero hacerte el amor," he murmured, kissing the flickering beat of her pulse, suckling there. His right hand slid lower, cupping the weight of her breast. "Quiero ahogarme en ti y nunca dejar ir."

  Eden gasped as he nuzzled in against her neck, his erection pressing hotly into her bottom. "Colton!"

  "Say my name," he breathed, sliding his roughened palm down the smooth slope of her waist and over the curve of her bottom. "I want to hear it on your lips."

  "Johnny."

  He urged her forward onto her hands and knees, his palm teasing the edge of her panties. Trailing his tongue down her spine, he felt her rock back into him, and then his questing fingers were delving beneath the edge of her panties and sliding down between the smooth curves of her ass.

  Reaching for her wetness....

  She was still slick with his cum from last night, and he had two fingers inside her before either of them realized it.

  Johnny dragged the cotton aside, liking the way it made this feel a hundred times naughtier. Then his fingers found the soft pad of her clit and Eden shivered as he began to stroke her.

  He dragged her panties down to her knees, revealing the heated flush of her pussy. Another taste. Too hard to get exactly where he wanted here.

  He bit her ass, delving deep with his fingers and stroking her.

  Nudging her thighs apart, he tugged her panties off her lower leg and then forced her hips wide. Eden's fists curled in the sheets as he nudged against her with the tip of his cock. Slipping in an inch, withdrawing. Another inch. Teasing her with slow, shallow thrusts until she was begging him for more.

  Hissing out a breath, he drove himself slowly within her, feeling her body yield to him until he was seated deep inside her. Resting there.

  "Fuck me," she whispered, reaching back to squeeze his hand.

  That word again.

  The muscles in his spine tensed at the sound of it on her lips. He loved that word—had dreamed of her saying that exact combination to him—but the second he heard it from her lips, he knew she kept saying it so this couldn't turn into something else.

  "Please."

  Not like this.

  Spilling her onto her back, Johnny resettled between her thighs, grinding his cock against her clit. Resting on his forearms, he smiled as he met her dazed eyes. "Maybe."

  She gripped his upper arms, rubbing up against him as he mercilessly ground against her. Johnny pulled back every time he felt that quiver run through her, and frustration danced through her eyes.

  "Damn it. Are you trying to torture me?"

  Yes. "If you want to get off," he whispered, "then you know the rules."

  Her gaze sharpened.

  "My name, Eden. I want to hear it on your tongue. Tell me how much you want me."

  She turned her head away with a moan. "I hate you so much right now."

  He took the hit, flinching a little. She didn't mean it. Not that way. But it echoed in his ears, a full body slam, and he finally had to admit to himself how much he cared about her response.

  "Fine." Johnny withdrew, lifting up onto his forearms and knees, and Eden's eyes went wide as she realized he meant to roll off her.

  "No!" She locked arms and legs around him, dragging him back against her. "I want you inside me so badly. Please, Johnny." Her voice softened. "Please."

  Desperate to earn some sort of reaction from her, he captured her mouth slowly. Eden yielded, her body opening like a flower as he pressed inside her with a slow thrust.

  He made love to her mouth, his hips moving against hers with slow, rocking thrusts. Sliding his fingers between hers, he pinned her hands to the furs, rubbing over her clit, grinding the base of his cock there until he could feel her body clamping around his.

  She came with a soft sob, sinking her teeth into his shoulder. Pleading with him. More. More. But he wasn't going to break, not this time.

  Johnny let himself feel every inch of her, imprinting her on his skin, his memories. He knew this would end—there was no future for them, not with the weight of the past between them and her brother looming like a stark, imposing figure in the background.

  But, just this once, he let himself make love to her.

  It would be very, very easy to want to stay here, in her arms, forever.

  A hand locked over his shoulder and then Eden pushed him. "Over," she whispered.

  "Still wanting to be on top, angel?" Arching his hips, he gave a taunting thrust, searching for her G-spot. "Maybe I'll let you, if...."

  "If?" Eden tried not to react, but he could see her eyes losing their focus as her attention turned inward.

  Another slow thrust. He felt her shiver, her body locking around him like a glove again.

  "Say my name," he encouraged again, brushing his lips against her ear. "Tell me how much you love the feel of me inside you."

  Her eyes narrowed.

  He smiled and kissed the tip of her nose, then slowed his pace to something glacial, barely moving. Say it, or I'll make this go so slow you'll be begging me....

  Eden bit her lip, arching against him, trying to push him faster.

  He slid his hand up her hip, rocking into her with devilish slowness. Eden McClain might be as stubborn as a rock, but he was about to teach her just how patient he could be. He brought her hand to his mouth, kissing her fingertips, suckling one inside his wet mouth, and staring into her eyes.

  Her lips parted. "You are an evil man," she breathed.

  "I like being on top." He gave her another nudge, a tiny little rock of his hips. "I guess it depends how much you want to ride me, mi alma."

  Eden kissed his cheek. "I love the feel of you inside me, Johnny." She licked his ear, sucking the lobe into her mouth until the ache of it went right through him. "What do you want me to say? That I can't resist you? Even though I probably should? That last night was the best sex of my life? Well, then I'll say it. I can't resist you. I tried, but I wanted you too damned much."

  Good enough. He felt breathles
s. Grabbing her by the hips, he rolled them both.

  Straddling him, she sank down, taking his full length. Johnny's lip curled. Fuck, that felt good.

  "Ride me, angel. Show me what you've got."

  It was meant to be a game—he recognized that immediately.

  She wanted to repay the torture, to drive him as crazy as he'd been making her, but what she didn't realize was that she'd already done that. Being with her, knowing this was most likely all he'd ever have of her was torture enough. If he'd wanted to punish himself, he couldn't have come up with a better means than tasting Eden, just once, before she walked out of his life.

  He shoved himself upright, hugging her close so his mouth could find her tits as she rode him. Eden moaned, her hips canting against his.

  He told her how much he wanted her, the Spanish tripping from his lips with ease the more he used it. It had been forever since he'd spoken the language, and it brought with it a feeling of belonging, a reminder of all he'd lost. A home. A family. Love, even if it was familial. He could hide here in the words, knowing she didn't understand him. Knowing he could reveal himself, splay his heart wide open, and she'd never, ever know.

  They came together, his arms still around her and a kiss on his lips.

  It was the best fucking moment of his life.

  Eden wilted over his chest as he collapsed back, breaths shuddering as her pussy tightened around him in hot, tight pulses of aftershock.

  Johnny slid a caressing hand up her spine, scraping her hair out of the way. He stroked it gently, enjoying the feel of it. Eden lived and breathed control, but her hair had a mind of its own. He buried his face in it, breathing in her soap, loving the fact they were still joined. Closing his eyes in pleasure as her fingertips grazed the stubble on his cheek, as she unconsciously petted him.

  He wanted to press her hand to his cheek and pretend this moment would last forever.

  Slowly she lifted her head, lashes fluttering over dazed eyes. "I think I have a new appreciation for hate sex."

  Like a dash of ice water to the face, the dream was broken.

  Johnny froze.

  "Mmm." That wasn't what had just happened, and they both knew it. "Speak for yourself."