I wanted to tell her that was impossible, but the moment she snatched a lock of my hair and gyrated her hips closer to my mouth, I released all my reservations. I kissed her inner thighs, working my way slowly toward her pussy, but as I got close, I’d back away and start the tease all over again. After the fourth time of working her up, she yanked on my hair with a frustrated groan, but all the action did was delight me.
“Please, Jax,” she whispered, pushing my mouth closer to where she wanted me. This was the first time she’d called me Jax instead of Jackson. The slight variation of my name pleased me more than I thought it would.
I gently swiped my tongue through her excitement, and she bucked her hips. I traced her lips with the tip of my tongue before pressing against her clit, blowing on the sensitive bundle of nerves before doing it again. And again. Tender. Slow. Just enough teasing to drive her wild.
Her soft moans were the sweetest sounds, and as I repeated my torture, I pinched her nipple. I wanted to manhandle her but was afraid she’d be thrown into the memory of what happened, so I kept my touch gentle but firm.
The more she writhed beneath me, the closer she came to exploding. I pushed two fingers into her at the same time that I fluttered my tongue over her clit. Up and down. Back and forth. Slow circles.
“What… what are you…? Oh… Jax.” She released my hair and gripped the covers, her breathing becoming sporadic. “Just like that… don’t… yes,” she whimpered, slowly rotating her hips, her body matching the rhythm of my tongue.
She took a deep breath and slammed her eyes closed at the same time that her mouth fell open. Every muscle in her body seemed to lock up at the same time. Her inner walls clenched against my fingers as I continued to stroke her. Only once her breathing had slowed and she unclenched her fists did I remove my fingers, gliding them through her contentment one more time before dipping them into my mouth.
“Addictive,” I mumbled, the taste of her hardening my cock for another round.
I removed a condom from the drawer of the bedside table.
“Are you ready, or do you need more time?” I asked.
“I’m ready.” She pinched her nipples and widened her legs, her throaty groans sending a shot of possessiveness through me.
After sheathing myself, I pressed inside her, careful to go slowly in case her body reacted to her past trauma. I studied her face, looking for any signs she wasn’t sure, but I didn’t see any. I watched the way her body moved with mine, conscious of every flinch, every tremble. I picked up the pace, confident she was enjoying this as much as I was.
But when I moved her hands into one of mine and held them above her head, the widening of her eyes made me stop moving.
“Are you okay? Because we can stop if you need—”
The look that crossed her face could only be described as annoyed. “Jackson, I love you, and I appreciate you being cautious, but you don’t need to be. I won’t break.”
I couldn’t focus on anything she said other than those three words.
“What did you say?” I asked, desperate for her to repeat them.
“Nothing,” she hurriedly replied, her cheeks flushing the sexiest shade of pink.
“No, you said—”
Her brows nearly hit her hairline. “I… I… I didn’t mean that the way it sounded… I don’t know…”
I tilted my head. “You don’t love me, then?”
Sophie’s eyes searched mine as if she was looking for the right answer. But I wanted her to speak from her heart.
“I do.”
“You do what?” I needed to hear her say the words once more.
Her hesitation was evident in her brief silence, but a moment later, she finally gave me what I craved.
“I do love you. And I’m exposing my heart right now, so please be gentle.”
“I promise.”
I wanted to shout those same words back to her and to tell her that since she’d come into my life, I had hope for a future I didn’t believe existed before her. But while my heart swelled with a love I’d never felt before, my voice failed me. It was as if the intensity of the moment rendered me speechless.
After all, how could three simple words encompass the depth of my emotions?
39
