Worth the Risk(70)

He was healing her even if he didn’t know it. With every caress. Every kiss.

Finally, he took her nipple between his lips and sucked so hard it brought a rush straight to her core. Her breath quickened and his hands moved over her in a rush. Everywhere they touched, her body hummed, everywhere he kissed sang. Until all those places blended together and her entire body was a mass of sensations. Until she was vibrating with it.

Just when she felt one touch from igniting, he stopped, caught her face in his hands. His lips hovered a breath away and fierce, dark eyes searched hers. “Are you afraid of me?”

Her heart raced. She thought of the party. Her dreams. The dark. “I’m afraid of everything. I’m—”

“Are you afraid of me?” he repeated, his voice almost pleading, and she shook her head.

“Say it.”

“I’m not afraid of you.” And she wasn’t. She was hot and burning for this man. Just Stephen.

He shifted. A package crackled, tore, and he settled between her thighs. Her body thrummed with tension, uncertainty giving way to need. Then with their eyes locked, he laced their fingers and slowly entered her inch by inch.

“That’s it, baby. Relax around me.” His voice was thick as he eased back, then forward again.

Even with her body wet and ready for him, there was pain and pressure as her body stretched to accommodate him. Streaks of fire charged along every nerve ending.

“Okay?” He stilled, waiting for an answer. His body trembled, beads of sweat gathered at his temples.

Her heart swelled at the question even as she nodded. She wanted this, to be closer to him, as close as she could be. He stretched one hand above her head and held it, dove the fingers of his other into her hair. And with their bodies joined he kissed her like he never had before. Without finesse or control until she couldn’t breathe. Until she couldn’t think and her mind and body gave in to his slow, sure strokes.

Her arms came around him, pulling him closer as their bodies moved, skin on skin. He pulled her thighs high up on his hips, moved faster and harder. Hunger rose to desperation. Pleasure built, gathered, and grew to that one final point when the world seemed to stop. And she had the thought there were places inside her she hadn’t even known were empty until Stephen filled them.

Then she hung at the top on a long, timeless second before her orgasm crashed over and through her violently. His name screamed in her mind though she had no idea if any sound came out.

He thrust deep again and again, drawing it out, keeping her on the wave. Then once more, pressing his face into her neck before he followed her over.

Time passed with nothing but their ragged breathing and the beating of their hearts. His big body covered hers like a blanket, pressing her into the cloudlike mattress. Her mind felt sluggish, emotionally spent, but strangely alive at the same time. He tensed to move away and she tightened her hold. “Stay.”

“Too heavy,” he murmured and rolled, reversing their positions.

Okay, this was nice, too. Her body draped over his. His heartbeat strong against her ear while his hand made a lazy run up and down her back. It was perfect and she drifted, knowing she’d been sheltered her entire life but never felt entirely safe.

Until now.





Chapter 30


Waking up next to Hannah was like…he wanted to say like waking up to the sun, but that sounded ridiculous. But watching her sleep, sprawled on her stomach, one arm bent under her pillow, angelic face turned toward him…it didn’t seem so ridiculous.

The covers had slipped down to her hips, revealing enticing dips and rolls leading to her very perfect ass he’d kissed just hours ago.

With his head on his own pillow, he swept back a long piece of hair lying across her cheek. Combed his fingers gently through the silky strands and breathed in her scent. The scent of them together.

He stroked one finger over her feathered brow, around the delicate shell of her ear. She had no idea how perfect she was. How perfect she’d been last night. The way she’d taken him into her body, come apart under him and around him, crying out his name. The way she opened to him like she did for no one else, it did something to him. Knowing he was her first, that no other man had ever touched her, kissed her…it mattered.

His hand cruised midway down her back. He hadn’t seen this side of her last night. Instead, he’d faced her, watched her eyes go wide with surprise, seen the initial shock until they softened with desire.

And without a thought beyond Hannah, looking right into her eyes, he’d slipped deeper. Wanting to see her and her to see him. To remember this and picture his face. And more than anything for her not to be afraid.