“I’m—”
“Don’t,” I tell her. Emotion sweeps over my heart. “I never want to hear you turn away a compliment I give you. I never want to hear you deny what I know about you. I see you, Claire. I see the love you have for your baby.” I shove the bra straps off her shoulders while I talk. “I see the care you have for me. The respect you give everyone.” I lean forward and plant hot kisses on her shoulders. “When I tell you you’re beautiful, I want you to believe me. I want to make you forget every man who made you doubt that.”
Both straps are down, and I tug the top of the fabric low enough that the tops of her breasts are exposed.
I was right to save Claire. To take her away from Mad Dog and the Hellfires and all the other shit that she went through in her old life. I’m also right to be careful what promises I make. What I give of myself. I’m damaged, and while some wounds heal, scars never go away. I’m not her hero, but I can help. That’s all I can promise anybody. That’s all I can promise her.
Her eyes flutter closed, and she has a sweet smile on her lips. I lay her back against the pillows and thank the heavens my ribs are healing day by day. I position myself beside her, fighting through the discomfort.
“Today was tough?” I ask, shoving the top of this one-piece outfit thing to her waist.
She squirms a little when her nipple hits the air. “My day is getting so much better now,” she sighs.
I was wrong about Claire. Seeing her lying here, her eyes closed, her long hair tangled over the pillows, her nipples erect, and a small smile on her lips… She is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. I’ve dated a lot of women, but I’ve never known someone’s story, understood their past, and learned what matters to them before I took pleasure in their body.
Somehow, caring about Claire before we did this, seeing her so exposed, the vulnerability and the intensity all wrapped up in one stunning package, makes me so much harder.
It’s like I want this woman on levels that I’ve never experienced before, and it’s terrifying. Yet I’m powerless to stop it. I see her lips part, and the tip of her tongue darting over her lower lip to wet it sends my blood into a frenzy. All thought leaves my brain.
I lower my mouth to her breast and kiss my way around her hard nipples. I hover my palms over those tender peaks, not touching them, but teasing her with the heat of my hands and the hot flicks of my tongue along the fullness.
Her hands find my shoulders, stroking my skin while I kiss my way across her ribs. I breathe hot kisses against her belly, then reach my fingers back up to pinch her nipples and knead the flesh between the pads of my fingers.
She moans, and I work my mouth up to her neck,thanking my ribs for cooperating with every pivot and shift of my body.
I kiss her neck, inhaling the combination of sugar and flowers, memorizing it. I move my hands from her breasts and grab her face, angling her toward me so I can kiss her lips.
She grabs my head and fists my hair, and we tear into each other’s mouths, our breaths hot and fast, our lips pressing and brushing as we feast on each other with greedy need.
When I pull my mouth away from hers, I’m breathless.
I get off the bed, shove off my briefs, then climb back onto the bed, only for Claire to get up.
“Your turn,” she tells me. She points at the pillows, so I lie back, my erection on full display.
She looks at it and smiles, then runs the palm of her hand along the side of my shaft. “You’re the beautiful one,” she says shyly.
She touches the underside of my cock, and a thousand white lights blast behind my eyes as pleasure rockets through me. Her touch is gentle until I feel her grasp the length of me. She nudges my legs open, then lies on her stomach between my legs, my dick in her hands.
I can’t open my eyes, because I feel her hot breath against my cock and if I open my eyes and see her lips near my dick, I don’t know that I’ll be able to hold back.
My resolve is tested the second her lips press featherlight kisses along my erection. I feel her moutheverywhere. She caresses my balls in her hand and cups them with the perfect amount of pressure as she laps her tongue along the head of my cock. I suck in a breath and suppress a stream of curses.
She feels too good and too right.
She is unhurried, flattening her tongue along the sensitive underside. She strokes the surface of my balls, lightly scratching patterns against the skin, and I feel like I’m on a speed train to fucking ecstasy. I see light behind my closed eyes and feel every sensation as though it’s the first time anybody sucked me off.
It’s not, of course, but fuck, the way this woman takes her time. She acts like the only thing she has to do all night is lick me and suck me, and I’d be okay with that plan.
When she finally brings my entire cock into her mouth, she leans over me, her bare nipples hard, her hair hanging down, and I have to watch now.
As much as I want to get lost in the pleasure, to shut my eyes to everything in the world but this feeling, the more she sucks and the deeper she takes me, the closer I get to that cliff.
“Claire,” I grit out. “Claire…”
She pulls her mouth from me, reaches toward the bedside table, and grabs one of the condoms I bought.
“Safe.” She smiles and tears open the packet. She rolls the condom down my wet cock. She meets my eyes, her chestnut hair falling over one breast, a wicked, playful smile on her lips. “This is the very best way toend a rough day.” She angles herself over me and then lowers herself inch by brutal inch.
