Page 31 of The Outsider
He made a sound between a chuckle and a groan.
“I’m dying here, baby.”
He covered my mouth with his again, exploring my wetness with his fingers, and I gasped against his lips. I almost cried out in disappointment when he abruptly pulled his hand away and stepped back. He flashed me a wicked grin.
“I’m gonna warm you up again, real fast,” he said, low and husky.
Before I could react, he grabbed the waistband of my pants and dropped to his knees, bringing the pants with him. The early October chill rose goosebumps on my skin, but the sensation was quickly replaced by the shock of John’s mouth between my legs, gently raking my innermost thigh with his teeth.
“Oh, fuck,” I groaned, and he laughed.
He pressed me hard against the door, spreading my thighs apart so that he could tease my clit with the tip of his tongue. His groan on contact was low and primal, sending more heat through me. I moaned helplessly as he moved in to devour me more thoroughly, holding me firmly in place. I leaned back against the wood, surrendering to his eager tongue, pleasure alive in my veins.
“That’s it, gorgeous,” he murmured. “Let me pleasure you.”
He teased a while more before sliding two fingers inside me, making me give a soft cry as he pressed against the ridged spot on my inner wall. His fingers were demanding, almost aggressive; his tongue was gentle, almost tender. The dueling sensations drove me wild, and my knees would’ve buckled if John hadn’t held me up. I looked up to the starry sky and shattered with a hoarse cry.
A moment later, John stood, wiping his mouth on the back of his hand with a grin. I pulled him into a kiss that tasted like me and moaned again. I stroked over the hard bulge in his pants, and he made a strangled sound against my mouth. He broke away and gazed at me with naked desire.
“I know this isn’t the most romantic place,” he said huskily. “Once we’re home, I’ll take you to bed—do it right. But for now—”
“For now, this is what I want,” I replied, unfastening his belt and freeing him. I gave his shaft a couple pumps, enticing him, and he groaned as if in pain.
He sucked in a breath. “I don’t think I can be gentle.”
“I don’t want gentle,” I insisted. “I want you.”
John exhaled heavily, and then it was as if a switch flipped. He hiked my leg up high on his hip, crushed me against the door, and entered me. I muffled another cry against his jacket as he thrust into me roughly, again and again, grunting with each impact against the wood.
“I love you,” he ground out breathlessly, burying his face in myhair.
He came to me all at once, pinning me against the door and groaning against my hair. I held him against me, even as my leg ached from the unnatural position. He eventually came back to himself and pressed his lips to my forehead.
“I love you too,” I whispered.
He gently lowered my leg.
“You’re everything to me now,” he murmured, his lips still against my forehead as he stroked my cheek with his thumb. “It scares me.”
I stilled. “Why?”
He pulled back so I could see his expression, which was equal parts tender and grim.
“Because there’s nothing I wouldn’t do—nothing I wouldn’t risk—for you. I’d fight, kill, die, if it kept you safe and happy.”
“You say that as if it’s a weakness,” I said quietly.
He looked away.
“Out here, it is.”
“Not a chance,” John said, his arms folded. “I’d have to be an idiot to say yes.”
It was the morning after our midnight tryst against the door. I hadn’t wanted to ruin the sweet, peaceful afterglow of our lovemaking, so I hadn’t brought up Asha. I’d fallen asleep in John’s arms by the fire. Now, though, the time for us to leave was imminent—especially since Kimmy had finally awoken, fever-free, just a couple of hours before. The medicine had done its job; the wound was healing, and the infection was on its way out.
I gave him a frosty glare. “She has no one, and nowhere else to go. We’d be condemning her to death by leaving her here.”
“And how is that our problem?” he shot back. “Look, her situation is shitty. Nobody is denying that. But she’s figured it out on her own till now. She’ll adapt.”
