I stroked his cheek, suddenly uncertain. I’d meant to ask him... I didn’t even know what. He’d talked about when I wanted to walk away, whether I wanted to be with him, which left me absolutely zero insight into whathewanted. Was he just using me for sex, and didn’t have any issue fucking as long as I was interested because he had nothing to lose? But he’d said something about me making him want to try to have a relationship. Or had he meant something else entirely?
Dodge searched my face for some sign. “Thinking awfully hard up there, babe.”
“That makes it sound like I’m using you,” I whispered. I didn’t want to be callous with his heart and his feelings. I didn’t want to be another of the women he had a fucked up relationship with, something that ended badly.
“I’d love for you to use me,” he murmured. His eyes glinted with what I thought was amusement or lust or... who knew. The wolf, maybe? “Baby, use me all night.”
“That’s not what I meant,” I said. “I don’t want to be – like that.”
Dodge lifted himself so he could lean up and plant a kiss on my lips for once, and his mouth opened until his tongue teased mine. His words came out gruff, but still managed to sound tender. “I know what you meant, Persephone. And I know exactly what I meant. Let’s just focus on tonight. We can figure the rest of it out in the morning. Okay?”
“Okay,” I said, since it sounded like the best plan I’d heard in days. I worked my hands into his hair and dragged his mouth back to mine. “Then kiss me.”
He chuckled and dipped his head, breathing against my lips until I lifted my chin. “Yes ma’am.”
He did exactly that, and I got lost in the soft warmth of his mouth, the hard lines of his body, the strength of his hands as he gripped my knee to lift my thigh up and out. I closed my eyes and exhaled all the worry and fear that had gripped me, and the last remnant of uncertainty from the nightmare slipped away. I concentrated only on Dodge, only on that moment. He was right. There was no guarantee we’d get tomorrow, so maybe it was better to leave all those worries to the morning. I lifted my hips into the caress as his hand returned to its mischief around my panties and whispered encouragement as Dodge’s free hand helped pull off my shirt and laid me bare.
I hoped morning didn’t come for a long, long time.
Chapter 24
Dodge
Dodge almost made himself walk away a second time. That way there wouldn’t be as much for him to regret when, inevitably, Persephone went back to her normal life. But the thought of not having a single night with his mate drove the wolf and the man crazy. He could deal with the consequences. His heart would be shattered and his soul ripped in two, but at least he’d always have the memory of a night with her to give him comfort.
Her heart beat rapidly against her ribs in a hummingbird flutter that told him she was still nervous, regardless of how inviting her body looked. He meant to take his time, to savor every moment. It was a good thing she’d napped most of the afternoon, because neither of them would be getting much sleep that night.
Dodge stripped off her shirt and bra so he could appreciate all of her. Persephone tugged at his shirt at the same time. He obliged and took it off, bracing for her to recoil from his scars and maybe the generous chest hair. It seemed like women enjoyed the waxed man-scaped look, but he’d never considered letting someone rip out his hair. The wolf thought it a ridiculous conceit.
For her, though... If Persephone liked it bare, he’d go bare.
She ran her nails lightly down his chest, playing with his chest hair, and bit her lower lip. Dodge swallowed a groan and the urge to flip her onto her hands and knees so he could finally have her.
He wrestled control back from the wolf and turned his attention back to Persephone. He wanted to see her at the height of passion, flushed and moaning. He wanted to taste every inch of her body, to learn how she reacted to each touch and kiss.
He stroked the inside of her thigh, her skin like silk under his fingers. He couldn’t get over how delicate and soft all of her felt. It just reminded him how much he needed to protect her from the rest of the world. He would cherish her, coddle her, go out of his way to make sure she never faced anything ugly or rough or dangerous again. He’d make sure her world was clouds and puppies and feather-soft everything.
Dodge kept teasing around her slit, building the anticipation until her legs moved, then slipped one finger under the damp cotton. He bit back a groan to feel how wet she already was. The moment he stroked her skin, Persephone gave a hushed sigh that almost unleashed the wolf. It sounded like the pleased ‘hmm’ she’d made earlier when she tasted something delicious.
He went back to teasing around the waist and legs of the panties, glad his jeans kept his own lust under wraps for the time being, and leaned down to flick his tongue over her nipple. She sucked in a breath and gripped the sheets, her heels digging into the mattress. Dodge repeated a quick taste, then breathed on her breast so the moisture cooled and her nipple hardened into a perfect pink point. He loved her breasts: small but enough for a handful, natural, soft and giving against his palm and his mouth.
He slid his hand into her panties and pressed the heel of his hand against the top of her slit, not quite touching her clit, and eased the tip of his middle finger into her opening. Another delicious sigh escaped as she arched her back, offering up her breasts. Dodge wasn’t about to overlook an opportunity. He laved first one nipple, then the other, all while keeping up a shallow, slow in-and-out with the tip of his finger. He watched Persephone’s reactions to learn what she liked, what made the flush rise from her breasts and up her throat to her cheeks.
He growled with pleasure as a low moan escaped her throat. She gripped his wrist and encouraged him to go deeper or harder, and when he continued to take his time, she made an irritated sound and scrambled to rip off her panties. Dodge chuckled and helped her remove the scrap of fabric, though it wreaked havoc on his self control as he gazed down at all of her, every beautiful inch, splayed out on his bed.
She squirmed a little under his attention, then reached for his belt. “It’s not fair that I’m the only one naked.”
Dodge caught her hand before the grazing, fumbling friction of her touch drove him insane with need. He kissed her palms and then lifted her arms over her head, planting her hands on the headboard. “Hold onto this.”
“But I want –“
He kissed her hard, waiting until she melted and relaxed before breaking away, and wrapped her fingers around the smooth wood. “Come on, baby. Keep your hands up there and let me do what I do.”
She eyed him sideways but her hands stayed where he put them. “You’re going too slowly.”
“I like to take my time.” He turned his attention lower and teased by moving his fingers closer and closer to her clit, drifting around it, and she groaned in anticipation. Dodge loved watching her reactions. She liked firmer pressure, a little roughness in the way he touched her and sucked her nipples. She almost came off the bed when he sank his fingers deep into her, and held onto the headboard as she lifted her hips to seek out more.
He could have watched her all night, even though ignoring his hard-on grew more and more difficult with every sigh and moan wrenched from her. Persephone’s thighs clamped around his wrist as she sought release, almost desperate, and Dodge couldn’t deny himself any more. He moved down her body until he lay between her legs, draping her thighs over his shoulders, and breathed against her slit.
