37
Darana
Camila is sitting on the edge of the bed, her hands resting on the mattress and her back perfectly straight.
She’s wearing a white tank top, and her eyes—those catlike eyes that analyze the world as if it were a handful of numbers—are fixed on me.
She doesn’t blink. I think she’s even forgotten to breathe.
I hold her gaze with a roguish smile fixed on my lips—one of those smiles that I know full well triggered a million things inside her the moment she saw me.
I’m almost naked, except for my boots, and my wide-brimmed hat is tilted to one side, hiding half my face in the shadows cast by the room’s light.
The skin on my chest rises and falls to the rhythm of my rapid breathing, driven by adrenaline and the fire that’s been burning inside me ever since Camila Bennet arrived here in her beloved Viento.
I take a slow step forward, dragging the tip of my right boot. And as I do, I know the effect I’m having on her. I know that seeing my naked body bathed in the orange light drives her wild.
“What’s up, scientist?” I ask in a hoarse whisper, tilting my head. “Didn’t your sensors predict this storm?”
Camila swallows hard. I see her jaw tense and her fingers dig deeper into the sheets.
“Darana…”
In response, I raise my hands and grip the brim of my hat.
With a slow, feline movement, I take it off and toss it onto the desk chair, letting my hair fall messily over my shoulders.
I feel a twinge in my muscles, but the truth is, right now, being careful is the last thing I want.
What’s happened has taught us that good things simmer slowly, yes, but also…
that I can burn her alive before the night is over.
I move to the rhythm of invisible music, swaying my hips as if I were at La Espuela de Plata.
I spin around, letting her take in the curve of my back, my ass, the muscles of my legs disappearing into my boots, and the scars crisscrossing my left side.
That rough skin—the map of the fire that nearly cost me my life—glows in the light like a war trophy.
I’m not ashamed of the scars; they’re a reminder that I’m made of iron, that I survived the fire once, and that I’m ready to burn again if it’s in this woman’s arms.
When I’m facing her again, I lean forward slowly.
I rest my hands on my thighs, just above the leather shafts of my boots, and lower my torso while maintaining eye contact.
Her eyes drift down to my chest, fixed and devouring me, and I feel the air between us begin to sizzle.
The tension is so intense that I can barely breathe, but the power I feel from seeing her like this—completely speechless and at my mercy—sets my blood ablaze.
“You said you wanted to test the strength of the materials…” I tease, taking another step that brings me within a few inches of her knees. “Start here.”
Camila can’t take it anymore. Her self-control goes straight to hell in a second.
She lets out a moan, reaches forward, and grabs my hips with brutal force, pulling me toward the mattress.
I fall on top of her like a tidal wave, trapping her between my legs as my boots hit the sides of the bed.
The impact leaves us mere millimeters apart, our breaths mingling and our hearts racing in unison.
“You’re an unbearable tease, Calloway,” she whispers against my lips, her eyes ablaze.
“And you’re impatient, Bennet,” I retort just before pressing my lips against hers.
We’re two forces of nature colliding in the middle of the night.
I bite her lower lip brazenly, drawing a hoarse moan that vibrates directly against my chest. My hands go straight for her tank top, slipping beneath the fabric and seeking the scorching heat of her skin.
Her back is so damn smooth, and she responds to my caresses by arching urgently, seeking more contact.
Camila grabs the back of my neck, her fingers tangled in my hair, forcing me to deepen the kiss until we’re both running out of breath.
With a sudden movement, I rip off her tank top, flinging it into a corner of the room. Her body lies bare beneath my weight—pale, beautiful, and radiant. I sit up slightly, resting my knees on either side of her ribs, and look down at her.
“God, Darana… you’re gorgeous,” she murmurs, stretching out her arms to cradle my cheeks. Her thumbs tremble as they trace my cheekbones, but her eyes shine with a devotion that burns deep inside me.
“Shut up and bite me,” I demand.
Camila obeys. She sits up on the mattress, wrapping her legs around my waist, and sinks her teeth into my neck, right where my pulse beats. A wild moan escapes my throat as her hands slide down my back, squeezing my buttocks and pulling me back down until we’re lying in the middle of the bed.
The encounter turns into a power struggle in which neither of us is willing to back down.
Her fingers trace my ribs, following each of my scars with agonizing slowness.
Far from hurting, her touch heals me from within, transforming the memory of the old fire into a new blaze—one we chose ourselves and that consumes us from head to toe.
I slide down her body, kissing her abdomen, savoring the salt on her skin as she throws her head back and digs her nails into the pillows.
“Darana… please,” she begs for more in a desperate gasp, completely losing her composure, her hands searching for my hips to guide me.
I don’t keep her waiting. I sink into her with an intensity that steals both our breaths at once.
Camila opens her eyes wide, locking them on mine and clinging to my shoulders with a force that leaves marks on my skin.
It’s a delicious pain, an anchor in the midst of the storm that nearly devoured us.
Every thrust is a demand, a way of telling each other that, despite the disasters and the ruins, we’re still alive and we belong to each other.
I grab her hands, interlacing my fingers with hers against the mattress and forcing her to hold my gaze as pleasure crashes over us like a wave.
Camila moans my name over and over, her voice breaking as she buries her face in my shoulder when the intensity completely overwhelms her.
I feel her spasms ripple through her body, and that completely shatters what little control I have left.
I let myself be carried away by the current, clenching my teeth and thrusting into her pussy one last time with all the strength in my body until the whole world turns bright red behind my closed eyelids.
“You’re… incredible.”
I collapse on top of her, exhausted, my chest pressed against hers, listening to our breaths as they try to return to normal amid the silence of the night.
Camila wraps her arms around me lazily, running a hand through my damp hair while I bury my head in the crook of her neck, savoring the scent of victory hanging in the air.
“Definitely,” she murmurs after a moment with a stifled laugh, kissing the top of my head and caressing my still-sore shoulder. “Your endurance is a case study worth documenting, Calloway.”
“I told you so, scientist,” I reply, planting a wet kiss on her skin before settling down beside her. “In this desert, I always beat the fire.”