I search his face for doubt. For any sign he’s going to realize this is too much and walk away.
I don’t find any.
“Alec.” I shift closer, my hand sliding up his chest. “I need to feel something other than scared right now. I want this. I want you.”
His eyes darken. “Are you sure? After everything?—”
“I’m sure.” But something must show on my face, because Alec pauses.
“What is it?”
I drop my gaze. “I’m scared. Not of you. Of how much I feel. How fast this is.” My voice drops to a whisper. “I’ve never let anyone get this close.”
Alec cups my cheek, tilting my face toward his. His dark eyes are impossibly soft.
“I’m not going anywhere. I swear I’ll take care of you—the scared parts and the brave parts and everything in between.”
Something breaks open inside me. The last of my walls crumbling.
“Yes,” I breathe. “Please.”
When I climb into Alec’s lap and straddle him, there’s no hesitation. Just heat. Just need. Just him.
I gaze down into his beautiful dark eyes, my body blazing to life. The internal flames reach higher and higher.
I hover my lips over his and then brush them across his skin. They’re so soft, just like his tongue. It hits me—not for the first time—that so much of this protective man-for-hire is achingly soft against his hard edges.
Gorgeous contradictions.
The subtle touch suddenly disappears as Alec crashes his lips against mine, hauling me into his arms. Our tongues dance together as I work to get his shirt over his head.
I can’t believe I’m doing this. I don’t care. This... Alec... it’s all I’ve ever wanted.
The fabric slipping over his head forces our kisses to halt, and I admire the stark curves of Alec’s muscles, covered in a scattered array of tattoos. His stubble rubs against my skin, and then his hands are at my waist, pulling my turtleneck over my head.
I’m wearing a simple black bra, but one that’s much nicer than my typical choice. Alec’s eyes devour me as his fingers find the clasp at the back.
“So fucking beautiful,” he murmurs, unclasping the hooks. The bra falls away, and he stares at me like I’m something holy. “Every inch of you. Mine.”
His hands cup my breasts, and my head falls back on a moan.
“I need to touch you, Claire.” His thumbs sweep over my hardening nipples, and electricity shoots straight to my core. “I need to be inside you. Need to make you mine in every way.”
“Yesss,” I hiss, grinding down against him. I can feel how hard he is beneath me, straining against his jeans, and it makes me dizzy with want.
“This body belongs to me now,” Alec growls against my throat, kissing and nipping. “Every curve. Every sound. Every perfect fucking inch.”
I’m getting wetter by the second, soaking through my underwear, and I’m desperate for him. I want this gorgeous, complicated man who’s promised to protect me to claim me completely.
In a flurry of activity, we strip each other of our remaining clothes, flinging them to the floor. Alec scoops me up into his arms as he kisses me, and I wrap my legs around his waist. The head of his cock brushes against my pussy, and I gasp.
He carries me to the bedroom, kicking open the door and laying me down on the bed with surprising gentleness. Then his mouth is on me, trailing hot kisses down my stomach until he reaches my center.
“Alec—”
“Let me taste you first, darling. Need to get you ready for me.”
His tongue slides through my folds, and I cry out, my hips bucking off the bed. He eats me like a man starved, licking and sucking until I’m trembling, until an orgasm crashes through me in mere minutes.
