Garrick hissed a sharp breath through clenched teeth, as Anna’s fingers stroked his cock in a tight grasp.

She gave him a reprimanding look. “I’ll be the judge of who’s a bad influence.” Blood surged back into his cock, and his balls tightened in anticipation. Trapped by the hypnotic rhythm of her movements, he thrust his hands into the soft mess of her hair to keep her close.

“I didn’t think there would be any more good times,” she said in a low voice, her breath tickling his skin. “I’m glad you proved me wrong.”

He cupped the smooth contours of her cheek reading it by touch. He wanted to believe, to lose himself in all her voluptuous curves. He’d never spoken about Tom out loud before, and his words hung in the air, fragile and full of love for his brother.

“Everyone’s been through hell, Garrick. We’ve all been pushed to and beyond our limits, and done things we regret.” Thoughts and secrets flitted across her face. “I’m only starting to realise we can lose ourselves in that, or we can find a way out. Choose something else.”

He nodded in agreement, letting her words sink in. “And you?”

“I never knew my real parents. I was fostered.” After a shaky breath, she shrugged. “Men have told me I have intimacy issues.” Her face dipped avoiding his eyes briefly, but her voice remained steady. “Maybe I do.”

I can help you with that.

He groaned in pleasure as her hand continued to tease his cock, urging him on. He rose against her, pressing her down into the folds of the blanket, tracing his hand down the finely sculpted bones of her face. “I’m not who you think I am, Anna. I don’t know if I can be what you need.”

She didn’t flinch from his words.

“I know what you are. There’s darkness there, but that’s part of all of us now. The Chittrix brought that with them, and it’s not going away. We need to learn to live with it. Otherwise, we may as well go offer ourselves up to them.” Looking him straight in the eye, her face was serious. “Neither of us is going to do that. Besides, I like what I see.”

She reached for him with a force that took him by surprise and pushed him back onto the rough blanket, her thighs pinning him beneath her. She cupped her breasts and pinched her nipples lightly, entrancing him. Her pupils dilated with lust, she shifted above him, her sleek entrance sliding the length of his shaft in a silken caress. His fingers pressed into the yielding flesh of her backside, holding her close.

“God. You’re like honey,” he murmured, his head dropping back on the blanket. She continued to rock along the length of him, tipping her pelvis so the tip of his cock brushed her clit.

Liquid energy coiled in his groin, her gentle but insistent movements bringing him close to the edge.

He lifted her hips and slid his jutting cock between her velvet folds with exquisite slowness. She gasped as he filled her, her slick walls stretching to accommodate his girth. Her motion creating delicious friction as she clasped him with her body.

She captivated him. Watching her graceful rhythm as she lost herself in him; her head thrown back, delicate throat exposed, was the biggest rush. He wanted the memory to sustain him, to know that he had this time here with her, this woman who believed he was enough for her. Watching her rock above him, full with his hardness, was exquisite. Her head suddenly dropped, the breath knocked from her lips as she ground against him, her muscles curling in an erotic spiral, gripping his cock as she found her release. The motion of her body slammed through him and as she grasped his hands his own release took over, rushing him over the dark edge of pleasure with her. Breathless, she collapsed on him, completely undone, her limbs hot and heavy on his chest.

“I need you,” he whispered.

The words surprised him. Joined with her, skin on skin, this woman touched him in places he hadn’t even known existed.

He inhaled her scent, burying his face in her neck, eyes shut tight. Sleep beckoned at the corners of his mind, the exhaustion of the last few days threatening to send him over the edge. He never wanted this to end, but when he woke up it would, and he’d need to suit up. But he still had a few hours of her all to himself, hidden away from the world.

His thoughts scattered with fatigue as he held Anna safe in his arms, until finally sleep pulled him down into its indigo depths.