It was all Reaper could do to keep himself from crushing her tiny frame beneath him, splayed out like a goddess on the grass. A tiny part of him had been afraid he’d break her, but she’d taken his size just like she was built for him. The first thrust had almost been enough to make him come right then and there, the fit like a tight glove. Her soft cries of pleasure were music to his ears, and then she surprised him by turning into a fierce tiger, clawing his back. He dropped his head into the grass next to hers, keeping the bulk of his weight off her so she could breathe. A smile tugged at his lips. Caroline Cotter might be the daintiest creature he’d ever seen but there was no denying she had claws.

Their heavy pants mingled and his cock remained well inside her. She’d been a virgin, and he sure as hell hadn’t been expecting that, but then again, he hadn’t planned on taking her either. This had started as another mission for him, and he’d forced himself to see her as nothing but the source for his teammates’ survival. Now, every instinct inside him screamed for him to protect her and cherish her. He needed to be with her. He needed to hold her in his arms. He needed her.

Her warm, wet folds clenched around him, the aftershocks of her orgasm still milking him. A shudder worked down his spine and it was all he could do not to begin thrusting inside her again like some animal.

This reaction he had to her wasn’t normal, but nothing between them had ever been normal. He needed to make sure he hadn’t hurt her too badly, tend to her, and then check his wound. But God help him, he didn’t want to pull out of her wet heat. He wanted to stay joined with her like this for the rest of his life.

“Caroline, are you okay?” Reaper lifted his head.

Her eyes were closed in a dreamy smile that curled up the corners of her mouth. She practically hummed out a yes.

Reaper brushed back a strand of hair stuck to her cheek, looking for any excuse to continue to touch her. “I hurt you, didn’t I?”

Caroline opened her eyes, their bright blue gaze entrancing him. “You could never hurt me. I loved every second.”

Her honest answer put another chink in his resolve to use her. While it was obvious Caroline would do anything he asked, there was something inside him that she’d awakened that completely objected to the idea of causing her any hurt. Even if she willingly volunteered.

And that previously nonexistent part of his soul was exactly what he feared the most. He couldn’t think straight with their bodies joined as one. He couldn’t think about anything but her.

“Let’s get you cleaned up,” he said a little too gruffly. And then he quickly pulled himself from her before he changed his mind. There was blood on her thighs. His too.

The surge of primitive pride and concern took him completely off guard. He had taken her and possessed her as his own, something no other man had ever done. A masculine pleasure thrummed through him. She belonged to him now.

The sun was shifting to the west, and although it was still high in the sky, it would begin its descent. They couldn’t begin traveling today, which meant he had the entire rest of the afternoon and night to cherish with her.

He’d think about his responsibilities tomorrow.

Caroline pushed herself up onto her elbows, her semi-dried hair a wild, tangled mop, her lips still flushed and swollen from his kisses. She was the sexiest thing he’d ever laid eyes on. Heat bloomed in his chest and erupted across his sternum, an unfamiliar sensation.

“Let me check your wound, I’m sure after all of that—” she blushed appealingly, “—you’ve reopened your stitches.”

She reached for his bandage, and he sat there on his haunches and let her check his wound, using it as an opportunity to study her up close. There was a slight smattering of freckles across her nose he’d failed to notice before, and they left him enthralled. She bit her lip, something he noticed she did a lot when she was worried or concentrating, and peeled the tape back from his shoulder.

“Oh my God, Reaper, your wound, it’s . . . almost closed up.” Caroline pulled the bandage the rest of the way off his shoulder.

He glanced down, not surprised to see that he was close to fully mended. The constant serum injections over the past year had not only enhanced his senses, it had also enhanced his healing rate. His entire team mended much faster than normal, which was an extreme advantage when wounded in battle. Not only that, they were able to keep going farther and faster even when severely injured.

Although he hated to admit it, the severe side effects from the experiment were partially outweighed by the benefits. A gunshot wound like the one he’d received would have killed a normal man. He’d recovered in a day.

A day—that was even faster than normal, even for his enhanced abilities. He knew because his teammate, Hawk, had taken a bullet in the thigh halfway through their experiments and it had taken him a full forty-eight hours to heal enough to resume normal activity.

The far-reaching implications of the drugs must have gone beyond the initial build-up in the plateau. Dr. Winters admitted the serum had attached to his DNA and changed it. Wasn’t it possible it was still morphing? That he was still adapting and becoming stronger?

But that didn’t make sense. Anytime he went too long without a dose of serum, he became weak and severely ill, like a drug addict on withdrawal. Yes, he’d had his one allowed shot before passing out, but that still shouldn’t have restored him to this degree.

He’d tried to be careful while taking her, but that much movement should have reopened his wound, or at the very least caused him some weakness and soreness from internal tearing. Reaper flexed his neck, moving his arms and testing his body for pain. He didn’t even feel a twinge.

It was as if making love to Caroline had boosted his body and soul. He felt stronger, more alive than ever.

“Reaper, there’s no way your body should heal that fast.” Caroline gently prodded a few inches around the wound as if testing to see if he was real or not.

Not wanting the reality of their situation to intrude on them just yet, Reaper captured her hand and took it to his mouth, kissing the inside of her wrist. “I don’t want to talk about me right now. I want to talk about you.”

He continued at a leisurely pace, working his way up to the bend of her elbow and then on to the soft skin on the underside of her arm. “How is it you taste so good?”

She giggled and his stomach clenched. Damn, these physical reactions he had to her slightest response were hard for him to parse.

“At least one of us smells good. I think it’s time you had a bath, sir.”

Caroline rose to her feet and held out her hand. Reaper stared at it for a full minute before accepting her help up. Everything about her was so different than what he was used to. There were no rough and gruff edges to this woman, only tenderness and caring.

No one had ever actually cared about him before . . . at least not like this.

“Hey, why the serious face?” She cupped his jaw, her liquid blue gaze drawing his attention from the darkness of his life.

“I was just thinking that no one’s ever cared about me before.” Had he really just said that out loud?

She must think him a complete fool for blurting out his deepest thoughts. Only weak men felt things like self-pity. And only the weakest shared that feeling with others.

It shocked him—and then dazzled him—when a brilliant smile spread across her lips, lighting up her entire face. “Well, I’m sorry to hear that I’m the first, but you should know that I care deeply about you. And I’m not going to stop.”

The weight of her words nearly made his knees buckle. He did not sense an ounce of dishonesty in her tone; all he felt was her warmth and her joy. His throat closed up.

“All right, enough girl stuff. Let’s get cleaned up.”

Because he sure as shit didn’t know how to handle the heavy weight of the emotions she was bringing out in him.

Caroline’s smile didn’t falter; in fact, it grew almost mischievous. “You haven’t heard someone tell you that they care about you before—but I’m about to fix that problem. I’ll tell you those words every day.”

If he didn’t get her to stop saying things like that, he was going to do something stupid, like take her in his arms and profess his feelings to her out loud. And he wasn’t ready for that yet, so he did the only thing he knew. He captured her lips in a soul-scorching kiss that left them both shaken.

She must’ve sensed his unease because when they broke apart again she didn’t say anything else. She just wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him close, laying her cheek against the hollow at the bottom of his chest. Reaper’s arms went around her as naturally as a bullet went into a gun.

And he knew right then, if she wanted to stand there like this for the rest of the entire day, he would be more than content to oblige.