Chapter 16
Chloe melted into the kiss, her hands coming up to frame his face.
She could feel the faint roughness of evening stubble, the heat of his skin, the way his jaw worked as he deepened the kiss.
This was different from their previous kisses.
Those had been careful. Controlled. He always pulled back before things escalated too far. But now he wasn’t pulling back.
His hand on her belly shifted, sliding down to her hip, then around to her lower back, pressing her more firmly against him.
His other hand tangled in her hair, tilting her head to give him better access.
She felt the subtle shift—the slight lengthening of his fingers, the broadening of his palm. Hyde was emerging, slowly but surely.
Instead of fear, warmth bloomed in her chest. This was him. Both of them. And they wanted her.
She arched into him, a soft sound of surrender escaping her lips.
His response was immediate and possessive, his grip tightening fractionally.
The kiss went from desperate to devouring, his tongue sweeping into her mouth with bold certainty.
He tasted like coffee and mint and something uniquely Victor.
Something she could easily become addicted to.
A small, detached part of her brain noted this was a terrible idea. He was her doctor, emotionally repressed, and actively fighting his own nature. The rest of her brain told the small part to shut up and enjoy this.
When he finally pulled back, they were both breathing hard.
His eyes blazed green, bright as evergreen needles in the firelight.
His face was still human, but barely—the line of his jaw sharper, his cheekbones more pronounced.
Beautiful and dangerous and all hers, if she was brave enough to claim him.
“Chloe.” Her name was a raw, broken sound. “I should—” He stopped, his gaze dropping to her lips, then back to her eyes. “I need to go.”
“No.” She tightened her grip on his shoulders. “Stay. Please.”
“I don’t trust myself.” His hands flexed on her body. “One more kiss and I might not be able to stop.”
Her heart hammered against her ribs, a wild, exhilarating rhythm. “Then don’t stop.”
He searched her face, his expression a war of desire and fear. “You don’t know what you’re asking.”
“Yes, I do.” She slid her hands from his shoulders to his chest, feeling the hard planes of muscle beneath his shirt. “I’m asking for you. All of you.”
He made a sound like a man in torment. Then he kissed her again, and this time there was nothing held back.
It was more than a kiss. It was a claiming.
His mouth was hot and demanding, his hands roaming her body with an almost worshipful reverence even as his touch grew more confident.
She could feel the changes in him—his shoulders broadening, his muscles thickening, his scent deepening into something wilder and more primal.
Hyde was rising, not in a violent surge, but in a slow, deliberate unfurling, and she was here for it. She wanted it.
His hands found her breasts, cupping them with a new weight and size that made her breath catch.
His thumbs brushed over her already tight nipples through the thin layers of her sweater and bra, and she arched into his touch in a silent plea for more.
He answered it with a growl that vibrated through his chest, a sound of pure masculine satisfaction that sent heat pooling low in her belly.
When he broke the kiss this time, his eyes glowed like emeralds in the firelight, his face fully transformed into the sharper, more angular features of his Hyde. He was larger, more imposing, and undeniably dangerous-looking to an outside observer. To her, he was simply… beautiful.
“Are you afraid now?” he rumbled, his voice deeper, rougher.
She shook her head, reaching up to trace the strong line of his jaw. “No.”
He studied her for a long moment, as if searching for any sign of deception, any flicker of fear. He found none.
“Chloe,” he breathed, and bent his head, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
He didn’t bite, didn’t mark her. He just breathed her in, his hot breath sending shivers down her spine.
His lips brushed against her pulse point, a soft, reverent kiss that was somehow more intimate than anything that had come before.
She threaded her fingers through his thick, blonde hair, holding him close. His body was a warm, solid wall of muscle against hers, and she had never felt so safe. So wanted.
“I should stop,” he murmured against her skin, the words a lie even as he spoke them. “We should stop.”
“Maybe,” she whispered back, tilting her head to give him better access. “Or maybe we should see what happens.”
His response was a low groan, a sound of a man fighting a losing battle with himself. He pulled back just enough to look at her, his green eyes dark with an emotion she was only just beginning to understand.
“If I hurt you—”
“You won’t.” She said it with a certainty she didn’t know she possessed. “I trust you, Victor. Both of you.”
His control finally, irrevocably, shattered.
He lifted her as if she weighed nothing, settling her more firmly in his lap.
His mouth reclaimed hers in a kiss that was pure possession, and she met him kiss for kiss, her body humming with a desperate need she hadn’t even realized she was feeling.
His hands grew impossibly large, one spanning the small of her back while the other cradled her head, his fingers tangling in her hair.
He kissed her like a drowning man and she was more than happy to be his salvation.
“I’m still here,” she whispered into his mouth, and he shuddered against her.
His fingers traced the hem of her sweater and she responded to the silent suggestion, pulling it up over her head.
He went still at the sight of her plain white bra, a flush of heat spreading across the sharp planes of his face.
His gaze was reverent, a stark contrast to the wild energy pulsing from him.
He reached out, his huge hand covering her breast, his thumb stroking the sensitive peak through the thin cotton. The touch was both possessive and impossibly gentle, and her nipple tightened instantly, aching for more. When he finally worked the clasp of her bra and freed her, his breath caught.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful.” The words were a low growl, more Hyde than Victor, but the wonder in them was all him.
He dipped his head, his warm mouth closing over her nipple, and pleasure shot through her, sharp and sweet.
She arched into him, her fingers digging into his broad shoulders, a soft cry escaping her lips.
He lavished attention on her breasts, his mouth and hands learning her, worshiping her.
Her breath was coming in soft pants and Hyde rumbled in his chest, a sound of pure masculine satisfaction.
His mouth shifted lower, pressing soft kisses to the swell of her stomach.
As if sensing the connection, the baby kicked a lazy greeting against his head. He froze.
A low sound came from him, something between a laugh and a sob. He pressed his cheek against her belly, his eyes closed, his expression raw with an emotion so powerful it stole the air from her lungs.
“Hey,” she whispered, her hands cradling his head, her fingers stroking his silky hair. “She’s just saying hi.”
“Hi,” he murmured in response, before his expression shifted again. “I need…”
“I know. I need you too.”
He groaned, and then somehow she was on the couch completely naked, and he was on his knees in front of her, his big body wedged between her legs.
“Beautiful,” he growled again and then bent his head.
His mouth was hot and demanding and impossibly clever.
She cried out as his tongue found her clit, licking and teasing until she was shaking, her fingers tangled in the blankets, her hips moving in a desperate rhythm.
He pressed her knees back, opening her completely to him, and when he slid a thick finger inside her, her entire body clenched.
He was huge, and the thought of him filling her should have been intimidating, but all she felt was a desperate, greedy want for more.
He didn’t make her wait. A second finger joined the first, his mouth never leaving her, his tongue doing wicked, wonderful things.
The pressure built, coiling deep inside her, a sweet, sharp tension that demanded release.
He found a spot inside her that made her see stars, and she shattered, her orgasm washing over her in waves of pleasure that left her breathless and trembling.
When her vision cleared, she saw him watching her.
His eyes were still burning green, but they were full of satisfaction and a tenderness that made her heart ache.
She reached for him just as an enormous yawn escaped.
His face immediately softened and he returned to the couch, wrapping a blanket around her before cradling her against his chest.
“But what about you,” she protested weakly.
“You’ve had a strenuous day. You need to rest.” The firm tone was one hundred percent Victor.
She wanted to argue, but her body hummed with satisfaction and her eyelids were already threatening to close. She snuggled closer instead.
“I’ve never let myself want this,” he said quietly, his hand covering her stomach again. “A family. Someone to come home to. It seemed cruel to even imagine when I knew what I was. What I might become.”
“And now?”
“Now I’m terrified I’ll wake up and discover this was just another dream. That you’re not real. That this feeling isn’t real.”
She shifted enough to look up at him. His face was drawn, vulnerable in the firelight. Those blue eyes—no longer glowing but still intense—held a world of longing he’d probably never voiced before.
“I’m real.” She pressed her palm flat against his chest, right over his heart. “This is real. What you’re feeling—what we both are—that’s real too.”
He covered her hand with his, holding it against him. “I don’t know how to do this. Be what you need.”
“You already are.” She smiled. “You came running when I called. Checked on me and the baby. Made sure I drank water and rested. Held me when I needed it.” Her thumb stroked across his knuckles. “That’s all I need, Victor. Just you, showing up. Being here.”
“That simple?”
“That simple.”
He exhaled slowly, gently stroking her hair. The gesture seemed almost unconscious, as if he were soothing himself as much as her.
“May I stay,” he whispered. “Please. I know I should leave and give you space to rest properly. But—”
“Stay,” she said immediately. She settled back against his chest, letting her eyes drift closed. “I’ll sleep better with you here anyway.”
His arms tightened around her. “So will I.”