And I believe her, but I’m not sure if it’s because my dick is the closest it’s ever been to the heat of her without fabric as a barrier or because I’m still reeling from hearing her say she’s mine. Either way, I don’t have a lot of time to figure it out, because Sloane is trying to take matters into her own hands with another tiny rock of her hips. I have to pin her to the bed with a firm hand at her waist.
“And you’ll have me, but I need you to slow down. Let me take care of you, okay?”
“Okay.” She’s pouting, but she’s listening, which is good, because it gives me time to think. Time to absorb the fact that this is happening. After years of waiting and wishing and struggling to focus on the worldspinning around me when all I want—all I’ve ever wanted—is her. In my arms and my bed, to finally make sense of the place she’s always held in my heart.
Pulling myself away from her body is the last thing I want to do right now, but I do it anyway because I need to get every stitch of clothing off of her so I can feel her skin against mine when I finally claim her. I kneel on the floor in front of her.
“Sit up.”
Sloane reaches for me, and I take her hand, pulling her up off of the bed into a sitting position. My heart threatens to beat right out of my chest when she looks up at me with those half-lidded eyes.
I pull in a deep breath, steadying myself before I touch her. When I’m sure I won’t bruise her or shred the little clothing she’s wearing, I reach out, brushing my knuckles over her cheek before sliding the sleeves of her dress off of her shoulders. Her bra and garter belt are next, followed by the lace cuffs circling her thighs. I drop all of the fabric onto the floor and take her in.
Holy shit.
This isn’t my first time seeing her naked, or even my first time stripping her down, but it is the first time I’ve done it with the anticipation of being inside of her pounding in my blood. The air between us is thick, charged with lust, desire, and the scent of Sloane’s arousal. I run one hand up her leg and watch as every inch of her skin pebbles with goose bumps. She’s so fucking responsive, arching instinctively into my touch and letting little moans escape her lips when I get close to her pussy.
“Have you ever used a safe word, angel?”
I draw a light circle on the inside of her thigh, and she releases a small sigh as she shakes her head. Some part of me knew the likelihood of her ever having used a safe word was slim, but relief still floods me when she gives her answer. The selfish, most possessive part of me rejoices in beingable to take yet another one of her firsts.
Leaning forward, I capture one of her nipples in my mouth, pulling on the flesh until it’s a hardened peak. I sit back and smile at my handiwork, the brown skin tinged with redness from the light drag of my teeth.
“Well, I need you to pick one. Right now.” I hold her gaze, seeing the worry and hint of annoyance flaring there. “Just so I can be sure you’re okay, without having to ask you if you are. You said you’re tired of me conducting mental assessments. This means I won’t need to.”
Because it’ll be up to her to let me know if it’s too much, and I trust her to do that. Sloane looks thoughtful for a moment and then she nods slowly.
“Fine.” She runs her hands down my chest, making a beeline for my dick. I grab her wrist to stop her from going any further. “Are there any rules about what it can’t be?”
I thread my fingers through hers. “No, as long as it’s not something you’d usually say during sex. There can’t be any confusion about whether you need me to stop or not. Pick something that reminds you of…”
“Noir.”
The word pops out of her mouth and brings my sentence to a grinding halt.Noir.As in the club where I saved her and got to touch her for the first time in years. The place where my hands remembered what it was like to hold her and my heart decided I could never go back to a life where I couldn’t. It was the first place where I dared to dream of more than an adversarial relationship with her. Where I thought of, but didn’t dare hope for, nights like this one.
I stare at her with wonder and amazement, marveling at her ability to make everything, including choosing a damn safe word, fraught with meaning and a thousand unspoken wishes.What does it mean for her though?I try to keep the question from shining in my eyes, but she sees it.
She gives me a shy smile. “That night in the club, you made me feellike nothing in the world could touch me as long as you were there shielding me. And then when you brought me home and waited for me to turn on a light before you pulled off… It might sound weird, but you made me feel safe and cared for.”
My dick throbs impatiently, spurred on by the emotion in her words. “It doesn’t sound weird, angel. Not even a little.”It sounds perfect. Like your heart knew just like mine did that there was no turning back.
All of her features light up in response to my words, and she bites her lip like she’s trying to keep herself from saying something else. I raise a brow, letting her know I see her holding back.
She shakes her head. “You don’t have to know everything going on in my mind.”
“Yes, I do.” I release her hand and push her back on the bed, covering her body with my own before her back hits the mattress. Her legs are still spread, and the heat from her core is making it hard to focus. “Tell me.”
I’m not the only one having trouble focusing. Sloane’s breathing has turned shallow. Her pupils are blown, and underneath me, her hips are churning involuntarily. I rock into her, letting the tip of my dick get coated in her moisture.
“I was just…” She exhales on a ragged breath, curling her legs around my hips. “My safe word also means black. I was thinking about how it’s kind of our color.”
I stare down at her, waiting patiently for her to continue even as my heart pounds in my chest and my dick gets impossibly stiffer at her words. Everything she says tonight is a perfectly poised dagger, piercing my heart and sealing her fate. How can she think I’ll ever give her up when she says shit like this?
“You know,” she continues, running her hands down my back. “Black like your eyes when you look at me like…well, like you’re looking at meright now.”
Like I love you so much I can’t fucking breathe? Like I might rip the world apart with my bare hands if my plan doesn’t work and you walk away from me when this is over?
I know exactly the look she’s talking about. It’s the same look I’ve spent the past twelve years replacing with scowls and sharp words. The one that’s been in hiding so long, it doesn’t know how to do anything but flash like a neon sign whenever I’m with her, close in ways I never thought I’d get to be. I press my lips to hers and kiss her until I’m sure I won’t ask her whatshethinks the look means.
