“Do you think you can stand the peace and quiet?” Aidan asked Rhianna as they stretched on the grassy bridge overlooking the waterfall. It was a warm day for late October, and the sun shone high overhead. The perfect day for a picnic.

“Oh yeah.” She laughed. “I’m finished with excitement in my life.”

He smiled. He and Rhianna were finally alone on the island once more. Seth had left the minute they’d returned, and while it had taken them four days and multiple trips to get everyone off his island, they were all gone.

Dillon had even agreed to cancel the TV show and had relinquished all footage to Aidan. Given what they had been through, Dillon didn’t even bemoan the loss of the money he’d already spent, and he hadn’t seemed in too big of a hurry to begin another “adventure.”

“I’m taking a vacation,” he’d told Aidan and Rhianna as he boarded the yacht they’d managed to retrieve. The coast guard found the vessel floating unmanned in the pacific.

Rhianna hadn’t quite decided her next course of action. She only knew she needed time to think, time to explore her feelings for Aidan without the threat of death hanging over them, time to decide what, besides her grandfather, was truly important to her.

When they were in Riam, everything had been so intense, so black-and-white.

“What do you think happened to Theodora?” she asked, rolling to her side.

He shrugged. “Who knows. As far as I can guess, she will remain in that universe forever. Alone.” He had stored the ring and scepter deep within the Divine Tree where no one would get it.

She looked into his eyes and smiled. She had fallen in love with him. There was no denying it now.

Takeshi took a running leap over both Aidan and Rhianna. “Hey, you almost knocked me down,” she squealed as the dog ran into the woods. “I don’t need grass in my teeth.”

Aidan stretched over her. “Let me see.” He pretended to examine her mouth and then zoomed in for a kiss. She giggled.

“I like it when you laugh,” he said. Then he leaned in and kissed her again.

His lips were firm, and he tasted like the oranges they’d eaten. Rhianna snuggled closer, gravitating toward his warmth and running her hands over his solid, muscular shoulders. She kissed him back, harder and more demanding. She wanted more of him, all of him.

He pulled back, and they both caught their breath. “I believe we have a promise to fulfill,” he said.

“That’s my understanding,” she whispered, leaning into him. There were many things she wanted to forget about their experience in Riam, but the sultry kiss they’d shared in the Falcon station wasn’t one of them. When they’d vowed to love another day.

He slid his hand under her top and smoothed his fingers across her ribs. She purred, and he groaned. That one delicious touch was all it took to start clothes flying in all directions.

He shoved the picnic items aside and gently guided Rhianna down onto the blanket in just her bra and panties. “You look so delectable. And I’m a very hungry man.”

“Just a man?” she teased, looking at him from beneath her lashes.

“Okay . . . a shape-shifter,” he corrected in a reluctant tone.

“Immortal,” she said with pride.

His brows came together, and he pulled back. “Maybe we shouldn’t . . .”

She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him to her. “I love everything you are.”

His frown faded, and he stood up. Without fuss of fanfare, he stripped off his pants. She swallowed, barely stifling a gasp.

Wouldn’t you know it? He’s a commando man.

Her heartbeat raced at the sight of his magnificent body, sleek and muscular. He was a warrior. Her warrior.

With a tiger’s grace, he knelt and ran his fingers along her jaw, down her neck, and over her breasts, pausing to admire her. She loved the intensity in his hazel eyes, the way they turned several shades darker as they flashed his longing for her. He slipped a finger along the smooth edge of her shirt and eased it down, exposing one of her breasts. She hissed in a breath, and he growled.

He glanced up, meeting her eyes. “You are incredibly beautiful.”

So was he. She undid the front clasp of her bra, and his gaze followed her hands. As her breasts fell free, he wet his lips.

“I love you.” She paused, hoping he felt the same and his earlier declaration hadn’t just been the stress of the moment. “I want you so much.”

* * *

He pulled back. Her words were so much more than he had ever hoped for. That someone would want him, maybe even want to end his loneliness . . . It was almost more than he could process. His heart squeezed with the desire that it would be so.

His hunger for her stirred, and his beasts seemed to be waiting at the corner of his heart to see if she would really give herself completely to him. A shape-shifter. An immortal. A misfit in her world.

The move had to be her choice. He would not force her to live in his isolated world. He cared about her too much for that.

As if sensing his hesitation, she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Don’t pull away from me.”

He had no more defenses against her. The dam in his heart burst, and he covered her mouth with a scorching, passionate kiss. Her breasts, soft and giving, pressed against his bare chest. He moved his hand to her ribs, then waist, and rolled so she was on top of him.

Barely breaking the kiss, she straddled him, taking control and delving her tongue deeper. Sitting up, she guided him, allowing him to kiss and suckle her gorgeous breasts. She moaned and rocked her hips. He slid his hand between them, finding that sweet spot beneath her panties, and rubbed his thumb there. She threw her head back with a moan.

Jesus, she was hot and ready for him. He couldn’t wait a second longer. He smoothly rolled her onto her back again, slid her panties off, and positioned himself above her. She touched him, to help glide him into her. His body trembled; every sensation was nearly too much.

He moved inside her, and she wrapped her legs around his hips, pushing deeper, driving him crazy as he set a rhythm to take her higher. His jaw tensed with control. He wanted her pleasure to come first. He wanted to meld with her, to touch her soul as she had his.

Damp with perspiration, she groaned deep in her throat as he thrust into her. Her sweet body pulsed around his cock, sending him over the edge to climax with her.

As they clung to each other in exhaustion, Aidan allowed the thought to cross his mind of how good his life would be if she were in it. He rolled onto his side, holding her tight and taking her with him.