“When Melissa called today and told me to come back to DC, the only thing I could think was that I didn’t want to leave you. I know you said we should wait. And I know Ellie told me not to do anything until I was certain about how I felt about you. I’ve been trying to be patient and responsible and smart about all of this.”
“Sloane—”
“But I’m certain.” My voice cracks slightly. “I’ve been certain for a while. I’m just scared.”
“Certain of what? Scared of what?”
“Of how much I want you. Scared of how fast this happened. Of the fact that my editor wants me in DC and my whole career is there and I don’t see how this works long-distance and I can’t—” I stop. Take a shaky breath. “I can’t do another long-distance relationship. I can’t be three thousand miles away from you. I was able to do that with Ryan only because I didn’t actually love him. But I can’t do that this time, Jonus. I can’t be apart from someone I love.”
The word love hangs between us like a living thing. I said it. I didn’t plan to, it just came out, and now it’s out there and I can’t take it back. I don’t want to take it back.
A sound rumbles through his chest. Not a growl—something deeper and warmer.
“Also,” I add, “I’m extremely aroused and have been all day and I know you can smell it and I’m going to lose my mind if something doesn’t change.”
He shifts beneath me, angling his body so he can look at my face. Those dark eyes are tender and intense. “I told you we would wait to mate,” he says, his voice low and deliberate. “I meant that. I won’t fill you with my seed until you’re ready for everything that means and the danger has passed.”
“I know, but?—”
“But there are other things I can do for you that don’t cross that line.” His hand comes up to cup my jaw, his rough thumb tracing my cheekbone. “It is my duty and honor as your future mate to bring you relief. If you’ll let me.”
My breath catches. “What are you saying?”
“I’m saying let me take care of you, Sloane. Let me touch your clit and bring you to orgasm.”
“Yes.” The word comes out instantly. No thought required. “Yes, please.”
His hand slides from my jaw, down the column of my neck. Slowly. Deliberately. Over my collarbone, the swell of my breasts through the thin fabric, the curve of my thick waist. Each inch of contact leaves heat in its wake. He’s giving me time to change my mind.
I am not going to change my mind.
When his fingers reach the waistband of my pajama shorts, he pauses. “Tell me if you want me to stop.”
“If you stop, I will actually die.”
A huff of laughter against my hair. Then his large green hand slides beneath the fabric. I spread my thighs for easy access. When his rough orc fingers find me, I gasp. I’m soaked andswollen, have been all day, and the first brush of contact is almost too much. My hips buck against his hand involuntarily.
“You’re so wet.”
“Because of you. This is what you do to me every single day.”
Jonus moans and continues to move his fingers, exploring me. Two fingers stroke through my slick heat, finding the spots that make me whimper, circling my clit with a touch that’s gentle and devastating at the same time. He pays attention the way he pays attention to everything about me—like I’m the most important thing he’s ever studied.
I’m pressed against his chest, my face buried in his neck, breathing him in with every gasp. His other arm holds me tight against his body, anchoring me while his fingers work. His luscious erection prods against my hip.
“You’re beautiful,” he says, low and rough in my ear. “You’re mine and I will always take care of you.”
His rough finger rubs against the side of my clit and I cry out against his neck. My hands fist in the sheets. Dear God, he knows exactly where I need to be touched like he’s psychic or something.
“Right there. Don’t stop.”
He’s moving his finger faster, and I can feel something huge building much too swift. My thighs clamp around his hand and then the orgasm crashes through me so hard it’s almost painful. “Jonus. Oh god, Jonus.”
He holds me through it. His arm tight around my waist. His fingers slowing but not stopping until the last aftershock rolls through my body and I collapse against him. For a long moment, the only sound is my ragged breathing and his heartbeat under my ear.
“What about you?” I manage eventually.
“Tonight was for you.”
