“Pain?”My name was a sweet breath on her lips.She said it like a prayer and a question all at once.
I cupped her face gently, my thumb tracing the curve of her cheekbone.The tears were still glistening but were no longer falling.Instead, she gazed up at me with something like wonder.It made my chest tight in a way I never thought I could.
“I’ll never hurt you, Nadine.I’ll protect you with my life.”
She nodded.“Yeah.”
“You with me, sweetheart?”I asked, my voice rough with need.Not really a sexual need, though there was plenty of that inside me.It was so much more than simple lust.I needed this woman with me.I needed her beauty.I needed her compassion.Most of all, I needed her to always look at me like I was her hero and could make all her demons flee in terror.
She nodded, the tip of her tongue darting out to wet her lips.It was a quirk of hers I’d noticed.But now?Now, that simple moistening of her lips was driving me crazy.I wanted to kiss her like I wanted my next breath.
“I’m with you,” she whispered, and it was like a punch to the gut, how much I wanted to believe her.The problem was, she might think she was with me, but she didn’t know me.Not really.She also didn’t know I meant she was with meforever.
I leaned in slowly, giving her every chance to pull away.Nadine met me halfway, her lips soft against mine.Her touch was tentative at first, barely more than a graze.I wanted to deepen the kiss, to pleasure her until she was stupid with lust and only wanted…me.My body.My cock.
But I couldn’t.She needed to make the choice.Consciously.She might be OK with me pleasuring her a little, but she wasn’t ready for sex.If I were honest with myself, I wasn’t ready for sex either.Not because I didn’t want to fuck Nadine.The woman had fueled my dirtiest fantasies since the first day I met her as an adult.Before I made her mine, I needed her to believe in me.That I would always be with her to protect her.She wasn’t ready for that.And I wasn’t sure I could survive the rejection.
“This okay?”I murmured against her mouth.
She nodded, pressing closer.“Yes,” she breathed.“More.”
I brushed away the last traces of her tears with my thumbs as I deepened the kiss.Nadine sighed into it, and I felt the exact moment something… shifted.Her initial hesitance melted away, replaced by a hunger as ravenous as my own.
She fisted her hands in my shirt, tugging me closer.I knew that, if I took us there, if I tried to have sex with her, she’d willingly follow me.I also knew she’d regret it later.That doesn’t mean I wasn’t torn between wanting to slow down, to savor every second, and the need to consume her entirely.
“Nadine.”I whispered her name like a fucking prayer, pulling back just enough to look at her.Her cheeks were flushed, eyes bright with a mix of desire and something deeper that I was afraid to name.
She looked up at me, a small furrow between her brows.She tugged on my shirt, pulling me closer to her “Don’t you dare stop now, Ford Raven.”
I couldn’t help but chuckle.“Wouldn’t dream of it, sweetheart.Not until I’ve tasted you.”Nadine’s eyes widened, her mouth parting as she sucked in a breath.“Oh, you like that idea.Don’t you.”
Her skin was soft and tempting as I slid my hand under her shirt to spread my fingers across her back.Her bra seemed to mock me as the clasp dug into my palm.I loved that her breath hitched and she was passive in my arms, letting me kiss her.Touch her.
She arched into my touch, her breath coming faster as her hips shifted restlessly against mine.I could feel the heat of her through our clothes, and it was driving me insane.
“Need you,” she whispered.
“I know exactly what you need,” I murmured, capturing her mouth again as my fingers traced the clasp of her bra.With practiced ease, I unhooked it, feeling her soft gasp against my lips as the tension released.My hand slid around to cup her breast, thumb brushing over her nipple through the thin material of her shirt.
She shuddered against me, her head falling back with a soft moan that shot straight to my cock.I trailed kisses down her throat, savoring the way her pulse jumped beneath my lips.When I reached the curve of her breast I rubbed my chin over the sensitive skin.
“God, yes,” she breathed, fingers tangling in my hair as if she couldn’t decide whether to push me away or hold me close.
When I moved back to her mouth, she darted her tongue between my lips first with a little moan.Nadine pressed her body against me, moving her hands to the waistband of my pants and tugged my T-shirt out, sliding her hands up over my abdomen to my chest.Her nails dug into my skin in the most delicious kind of pain.
I stood, taking her with me.Her legs wrapped around my waist instinctively, and I carried her to the bedroom.I might not be able to actually have sex with her tonight, but I was going to give her so much pleasure she’d never forget it.Hopefully, I could make her come to crave it.
When I set her on the bed, Nadine whipped her shirt off, dropping her bra from her arms and putting her shoulders back.It was like she was daring me to judge her and find her anything but perfect.Well.That would take a stronger man than me.
“I’m gonna eat you up, baby.”I reached for the band of her pants, cupped her sides at her waist, and let my hands span as much of her as I could.“Stop me if you don’t want my mouth on your pussy, Nadine.Stop me now.”
“Are you fucking kidding me?Don’t you dare stop!”
Her words were like gasoline on a fire.I groaned, my control hanging by a thread as I tugged her yoga pants down her hips.She lifted herself to help, and I pulled them off completely, leaving her in nothing but a tiny pair of panties that made my mouth water.
“Christ, Nadine.You’re perfect.”I traced my fingers along the edge of the lace, watching her breath hitch.“So fucking perfect.”
She reached for me, trying to pull me down to her, but I caught her hands and pinned them gently above her head.“No, sweetheart.This is about you.Let me take care of you.”
