Alphas of Red Moon Ranch(54)

“Did I hurt you?” he asked guiltily. Concerned.

“Yes.” She smiled and she felt her cheeks burn with blush. “But I want more.”

He laughed suddenly, a throaty, barked noise. “Am I gonna have to tame you now?” he teased, giving her sore rear a pat.

“No,” she said and turned around fully. She sat up (even the soft fabric from the couch felt rough on her sore ass) and slipped her hands to his shoulders. He cupped her face in his hand and she felt his thumb wipe a line of tears away she hadn’t known were there. “You’re going to give me your Beast. Every time you feel it coming on, just…” He started to pull away, so she put her hand on his chest, over his heart. She felt it pound, strong, under her palm. “Let me in. Let me help carry this. You can’t do it alone.”

Those words seemed to ring sharply in his ears, because his mouth crumpled into a frown. “You’re right,” he said and laced her fingers in his. He pressed a kiss to the back of her hand and murmured, “I can’t do this alone.”

He looked so soft, so vulnerable suddenly, opening up to her—the first time he’d admitted failure to anyone, probably. Holly rewarded him with a kiss, cupping side of his face. His wiry beard scratched her chin and he sighed once, as though his chest had just physically expanded now that he’d dropped his troubles onto her and he finally had room to breathe. He deepened the kiss and tasted her, hotly, as though he were exploring her mouth for the first time. She whined into his mouth, overwhelmed suddenly with gratitude. Grateful that he’d opened up to her, finally, and given her a part of him that no one else had. Something that was truly hers.

Holly’s kiss became more frantic, needing him to be closer, as close as possible. Her desperation fed his and soon he was kissing her back just as ferociously, his hands gripping her thighs hard enough to leave marks on her pale skin. But then, just as suddenly, he pulled back. She felt empty—more than empty—without his lips and a whimper fell from her mouth.

His eyes were dark and intense as they took her in. Predatory. He unbuttoned his shirt, unhurried, one button after the other, revealing his chest covered with dark, curly hair, and she watched it rise and fall with quickened breaths. Holly didn’t dare move, as though she were caught in a trance, hypnotized by his eyes and the languid movements of his hands. When his hand moved to his belt, unlocking it with a click, she squeezed her thighs tighter together, longing painfully for what lay underneath.

“Get up,” he told her, his voice thick like dark honey. “Turn around.”

She obeyed, standing and turning her back to him. Her heart fluttered like a hummingbird in her chest and she wondered if he was going to spank her again. She wasn’t sure she could take much more. Instead, she felt his rough hands move to the hem of her shirt.

“Lift your arms,” he said. She did and he began undressing her, delicately tugging the thin fabric of her shirt over her head. His hands then moved to her pants and he pulled them all the way down and let her step out of them. Her panties fell next so she was fully naked in front of him. She felt him press a kiss to the stinging skin on her ass and Holly gasped.

He must have stood again, because his voice was at her ear when he murmured, “Go to the rug and get on your knees.”

Holly stepped over to the soft woven rug in front of the fireplace and folded her legs underneath her. The fireplace warmed her naked skin, but she already felt as though she was burning.

Jacob stood in front of her, his denim jeans hanging low on his hips, and he slipped his fingers through her long hair. She could see the shape of his cock underneath the denim, thick and upright, and Holly couldn’t help it—she stared and wet her lips.

“Is this what you want, princess?” he said, his voice low and dark as he used his grip on her hair to pull her closer, until her face pressed against the tenting denim. Holly’s fingers wrapped around his legs and she nuzzled against the bulge in his pants, craving it, wanting to worship him from here.

“Answer me,” he growled, snapping her out of her daze.

“Y-yes,” she stammered. “Please.” She felt a blush blossom in her cheeks, embarrassed to have to beg for it while his erection was pressed against her face. Yet she also felt strangely safe here and his fingers raked through her hair soothingly.

“God, you’re beautiful when you blush,” he told her, which only made her blush more. Emboldened by his clear need for her, she shifted in his grip so she could look at him. His eyes locked on hers then and, innocently, she flicked her tongue once over the threatening-to-burst seam of his pants.