“I want you to stay for breakfast,” she whispered.
“I won’t be any good at this.”
She leaned down and kissed the burn on his throat, then whispered in his ear, “Make me come slow.”
“Fuuuck,” he said on a sigh, pupils dilated. Stretching up, he kissed her.
His lips turned soft in an instant and molded to the shape of hers. His thumb drew little circles just under the hem of her knotted up shirt, and when he pressed the palm of his hand upward and against the flat plane of her back, she gasped and arched toward him. His touch brought fire in its wake, igniting her nerve endings. She’d always been sensitive to touch, but with Dade, it was different. It was more.
He pulled her hips closer until she hovered at the edge of the mattress, until his taut torso pressed against her sex. Rolling her hips gently, she bit her lip as her clit brushed against her jeans.
She’d pulled her hair back in a ponytail earlier, but now Dade reached behind her and tugged the hair band from her locks, freeing them. He lifted the hem of her shirt, then tugged it over her head and unsnapped her bra with a practiced snick of his fingers.
She closed her eyes for a moment, hoping he would like what he saw. For years, she hadn’t been bare in front of a man, asking them to enjoy her body. And even then, it had been Jay, who she’d known for years. When she opened her eyes, Dade was drinking her in with a stunned gaze that settled her thumping heart. The corner of his lip turned up slightly, then fell as he lifted his eyes to hers. “You’re perfect.”
She traced a moon-shaped scar on his shoulder and whispered, “So are you.”
He cupped her head and kissed her again, slowly this time, gently sucking her bottom lip before easing back and then kissing her again. She loved him as he was, wild and on edge, but Dade like this, tender and affectionate, plucked at her heartstrings and attached them to him, one by one.
He trailed soft kisses down her throat as his hand gently pressed her lower back until she bowed closer to him. His taut chest was warm against her. Lips soft, he pulled her nipple into his mouth and lapped at her gently. She ran her fingertips through his hair and watched his jaw move as he brushed his tongue against her sensitive skin, his sensual affection pooling wetness between her legs. When he looked back up at her, the fire had died from his eyes, and only adoration remained. Slowly, he unsnapped his jeans, then pushed them down until they joined their shirts on the floor. Taking his time, he pulled at her shorts, careful they didn’t touch the scars that should’ve been painful if Dade hadn’t saved her from the burning. Her panties tickled her ankles just before he pulled them off. Tiny kisses brushed the inside arch of her foot as he worshipped her. Soft bites trailed up the inside of her leg, and when he reached her scars again, he touched his lips to the fevered flesh on both legs, soothing the burn with his attention.
Outside, the crickets and cicadas sang a quiet soundtrack for this moment that was shattering all the walls she’d erected around her heart. Dade ran his fingertips up the sides of her legs. His short whiskers tickled her stomach as he pressed his lips on the soft area right above her hips. He seemed as thirsty for her skin as she was for his, exploring her with his mouth and touch. She understood. She couldn’t stop rubbing the skin of his back and running her fingers through his short hair. Petting, adoring, discovering her mate in that slow way that drew her heart into her throat and made her feel like she was falling all at once.
Eyes on hers, Dade stood slowly and settled her back against the mattress. The nervous flutters in her stomach washed away as he covered her with his body, skin warm down the length of her. She rubbed her leg against his, and a soft rumbling noise rattled from his chest.
“Sorry,” he whispered, as if any volume to his voice would break the magic of this moment.
“Don’t apologize,” she said, matching his quiet tone. “She pressed her hand against his chest, just over his heart as the sound rattled him again, softer this time. “I like that you can be yourself with me. We’re the same now, you and me. No more hiding.”
Dade searched her face and nodded. “No more hiding,” he repeated.
The swollen head of his cock brushed her wet seam, and she spread her legs instinctively, ready for him. “Please,” she begged as he eased back. “I want to feel you.”
With a helpless noise in his throat, Dade cupped the back of her neck and pushed a strand of loose hair away from her face. With a slow, powerful thrust of his hips, he slid into her, gaze never letting her go.
He filled her, stretched her, made her feel whole and steady in ways she hadn’t experienced before. “I’m falling,” she whispered.