Just like that, she took away every selfish inclination he had. She melted him with her resilience and strength. Her loyalty. And that sexy combination of innocence and siren.
Gorya gave her a mock-stern look. “We have rules. Steps. An order we agreed to follow.”
A little frown flitted across her full lower lip—the one he was tempted to bite. “We already skipped a few of the steps. What’s a few more?”
“You really don’t like rules, do you? Or authority figures.”
“No. And I don’t acknowledgeanyoneas my authority figure.”
That was a challenge if he ever heard one. Amusement sliced through him. Genuine amusement. She’d given him that when he’d never had such a thing. She meant him. He was not going to be an authority figure to her. He didn’t want to be. He wanted to be her partner. Her lover. The one man in the world she trusted with the real Maya. But he had to earn that privilege.
“So you think we should skip a few more steps.”
She nodded. “I think it would be a good thing, Gorya. We have theentirerest of the night, and you could maybe think of ways to make me not so afraid of... um...”
He raised an eyebrow. “Me touching you? You touching me? You’re touching me now. How does it feel to touch me? Do you like it? You washed my entire body earlier. Did you like that?”
Maya once again used her thumb, this time to trace the rim of his cock’s head, sending shivers of heat and flames racing through his veins and down his spine. It was a lesson to him how much she did trust him and how innocent she could be about pleasing a man even though she’d had sex countless times.
Rape wasn’t making love. Fucking wasn’t beautiful intimacy, not unless done with one’s partner in an intimate, loving way. Maya didn’t realize that every touch of her hand, no matter how feather-light, inflamed him even more. She had no idea that a man in love with his partner wanted to spend hours exploring her body, learning how to bring her the most pleasure possible. That just the slightest touch from her could set his body off the way no lap dancer ever could. He knew because this was all new to him as well.
“Maya,” he encouraged. “We should talk about this. The more you’re able to communicate with me what you need or want, the easier it will be for me to give you those things. And I want to. I want to take us there.”
One finger traced little patterns on his thigh, betraying her nervousness. He covered her hand with his to give her courage. She’d been so brave and trusting so far. They were making huge strides far faster than he’d ever dared to hope. His woman.
Her eyes met his again. “I loved feeling like I could touch you without being afraid when we were in the shower. Sleeping next to you is one of my favorite things because I can feel your body wrapped around mine. I don’t want to be afraid of you. Afraid of what happens or how I’ll react when we come together.”
“Are you afraid I will hurt you?”
A little frown drew her eyebrows together, and he rubbed at the tiny lines to erase them.
At once the tension eased from her soft features. “I told you I loved you and I meant it. I tell you I trust you and I mean that too. I love when you kiss me. I want to be able to kiss and touch you freely. I’m not afraid of you; I’m afraid of the door in my mind that creaks open and ruins what we have when something—and I don’t know what that something might be—triggers it. That’s what scares me the most. Me ruining everything for all of us.” Her voice dropped so low that even with his acute hearing he could barely discern her words. “Me losing you.”
Gorya’s heart fluttered in his chest. He unwrapped his fingers from around hers, releasing her hand, albeit reluctantly. His cock felt bereft, but he shifted his weight so he lay on his side, his body partially covering hers without putting weight on her. He knew that was important—not to hold her down. She couldn’t feel like a captive. She had to feel as if he was protecting her, not caging her in.
“You’re never going to lose me, Maya.Never.I’d find my way back from hell to get to you.” He meant that too. “You’re always going to have triggers. I’m going to have triggers. You saw them yesterday. You saw them in both Rogue and me. That monster is never going away, baby.”
Her gaze softened even more. Rings of silver circled the blue of her eyes as she looked up at him with so much love he had to press a hand over his heart.
“There isn’t one part of you I don’t love, Gorya.” There was sincerity in her voice. In her mind. Her lips curved into that slow, mischievous smile that sent his heart into overdrive. “Although sometimes I want to smack you in the head with a wet towel.”
He leaned down and nipped at her full bottom lip, unable to resist, while one palm slid over her right thigh, urging her to part her legs for him. “Awettowel?”
Maya’s eyes darkened with desire at his touch, but she followed the silent command he’d given her. “It really stings when you snap a towel and the tail hits bare skin. If it’s wet, the sting is even worse. When I was living at my friend Lexie’s house in Houston, she showed me how to snap towels.”
“What else did she show you?” He kept his voice low and mesmerizing. Slightly teasing, distracting her from feeling fear at what was happening between them.
“Pillow fights. I didn’t know how to play. She taught me how to have fun. It was a foreign concept to me.”
Gorya bent his head again, nipping her earlobe with his teeth—a tiny sting that made her gasp, her eyes widening with shock. He flicked his tongue out and licked away the sting until she took a shaky breath.
“I love how you’re so soft everywhere, baby,” he murmured, nuzzling her neck. He blazed a trail of fire from her ear to her throat with small kisses and nips. He had a primitive desire to leave his mark everywhere on her. A claiming. He wanted her to look in the mirror the next morning and know she was his. She was loved.
“Do we want to jump all the way to step seventy or stay in the sixties?” he asked, his voice muffled against her skin. He licked at her chin. Bit down. Kissed his way up to her mouth and then simply brushed his lips over hers.
He didn’t give her the satisfying kisses she sought; he had other things in mind. She gave him a frustrated sigh and her brows drew together, but she didn’t protest because once again his palm had slid around to the inside of her thigh. He began to slide his hand up and down her leg in a long caress, bringing the nerve endings to life.
The tip of Maya’s tongue made her lips glisten. She began to pant, her breathing ragged enough to lift her small breasts up and down, drawing his heated gaze. Her nipples had peaked, coming to attention. Good signs her body was coming to life for him.
