This Time Around (Sequel to All Over Again)

Chapter Forty-Five

CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE

The only sounds were the rumble of the plane's engines and the soft whir of pressurized cabin air. McKenna's eyes were closed, but she wasn't asleep. Loki's head rested on her left breast and her fingers skimmed gently over his hair. His breath came warm on her skin, slow and even, and she smiled as he murmured, "I love you."

"Mmmm... I love you, too, Loki," she whispered. He sighed and nuzzled her breast, his lips brushing the inner curve. It was only the lightest of kisses, but it sent a rush of tingles skittering through her. Her fingers went still against his soft hair, but only for a moment before she resumed her gentle stroking. The only light came from the desk lamp on the far side of the room, but it was enough to glance off his dark hair, to highlight the swell of muscle along his left shoulder and down that side of his back. When he moved that shoulder, the muscles bunched beneath his smooth skin and she couldn't resist skimming her other hand along the bulge of his triceps, up to his shoulder.

He lifted his head, his eyes heavy-lidded and sleepy. "I thought you might have fallen asleep. You're so quiet."

"Not yet. Just feeling very relaxed." She slid her hand up over his shoulder, up the side of his neck, and curved it against his cheek. "You work some serious magic, you know."

He smiled. "I try."

"You succeed."

He shifted slightly, aligning his hips with hers again and she couldn't help her sharp breath. "Again?" she whispered.

He braced his hands on either side of her shoulders and lifted himself off her and her eyes closed as he bent to nuzzle the curve of her neck. "Darling girl," he murmured, his lips grazing just below her ear, "don't you know by now, there is nowhere else I would rather be than right here?"

She bit down on her bottom lip as he kissed down over her shoulder, over the rise of her breast. His lips were teasingly light, his hair brushing against her skin in its own silken caress as he moved down over her stomach. The muscles in his shoulders, in his upper arms, rippled, then smoothed as he worked his way down along her body.

He was so patient, in no hurry as he kissed along her ribs, then down along the side of her belly. Those caresses felt so delightful, leaving her breathless as desire flared deep inside her once more. She had to touch him, had to feel his smooth, warm skin beneath her fingertips, to thread her fingers through his silky mass of thick black hair. To somehow show him exactly how she enjoyed his attentions.

His teeth were equally gentle as he nipped her just to the left of her navel. She sucked in a sharp breath, hard enough that he lifted his head to murmur, "Too hard, love?"

"Just fine," she whispered back, brushing several dark wisps away from his face.

His eyelids lowered as her fingers brushed his cheek before sweeping his hair back behind his ear, and then he sighed softly and dipped back to her stomach.

The tingles returned, swirling through her with each brush, each playful nip, each flick of his tongue against her skin. He brought her body to life inch by teasing inch, raining kisses down over her belly, nipping a little harder each time she tugged on his hair or each time she sucked in her breath.

"Loki..." she whispered, stretching her fingers to curve them about the firm muscles of his shoulders, to let them dance over the swells of muscle in his upper arms, down over his equally chiseled forearms, until he was out of reach. His hair swept against her sensitive skin, along the curve of her thighs, and she bit down on her bottom lip as she sank her fingers into it, twisted and held on. It was the only thing keeping her tied to this realm, and she wasn't shy about her need to touch him.