Page 52 of A Matter of Time

It was a revelation. And I wasn’t stupid—I knew there was more to my attraction than normal. He’d been around, somehow turning up in odd places at opportune moments, and each of those times had opened the door to more and more feelings. Combined with the safety I felt, the desire to be close, my physical reaction to such a big, strong, beautiful man had blindsided me. My body could be counted on to crave touch and desire intimacy, but my heart wanting someone, craving a specific man, was a whole other thing. That had never happened before, and I was a bit drowned in a newness that wasn’t altogether welcome.

When I tried to pull back, his hand was on the back of my neck so I couldn’t. He sucked on my lips, the bite that followed not a surprise. The man was possessive, and that only sent heat running over every inch of my skin. I shivered hard.

Even when he rolled me to my back, his mouth never left mine as his hands went to my thighs, spreading them so he could settle between them. When I wrapped my legs around his hips, he grunted and broke the kiss, panting as he smiled down at me. The smug smile I had always hated on others melted me. I realized then that I didn’t care that he saw my desire, saw my heart. That was all right.

Wrapping my arms around his neck, I eased him back down, and he kissed me again, mauling my mouth. When he reached between us, taking my length in his hand, I arched under him, having to turn my head, gasping out a breath.

His smile was lazy as he pushed up off me, untangling my legs before he rolled forward and lifted them to rest over his broad shoulders. He ran his hands from my thighs up my calves to my ankles, first gently, then harder, his fingers tightening, the knuckles white. He was going to leave bruises on my skin.

He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it fast, brows furrowed.

“Talk to me,” I begged him, angling myself so the wide head of his shaft notched against my entrance, needing him inside.

“You are so beautiful, and I didn’t know if that was okay to say.”

“That’s the perfect thing to say,” I murmured, reaching up to take his face in my hands and ease him down to me so I could retake his mouth.

His loud groan made me smile, and I answered with my own as he pressed inside of me. I was still stretched, and the lube allowed for the slide to my core as my fingers dug into his skin, wanting him closer.

“I hurt you the first time,” he whispered.

“No…and yes,” I breathed out, tightening my muscles. “But not now, not anymore.”

“You should see your eyes.”

“Concentrate now,” I scolded him. His grin made his eyes glint, and I could not stifle my whine.

“Yessir,” he teased, before he slid back and then snapped his hips, thrusting deep.

I yelled his name, and he delivered the pounding I wanted, craved again, moving one leg off his shoulder and gripping my hip tight, leaving the other ankle where it was as he drove in hard. I slipped my hands over the edge of my mattress and held on, orders spilling from my lips that he should not stop, never ever stop.

When he stilled, I wasn’t ready. So close, and he came inside of me. I nearly growled at him, but then he gathered me up, lifted me off the bed, and sat. I put my knees on either side of his thighs and lowered myself over him. He was still so hard, and the new angle made me gasp with the pressure.

“Good?”

“Oh yes,” I whispered, grinding on his dick, writhing, lifting up, only to shift to get him in deeper.

“Jory.” My name sounded like a prayer. “What can I do?”

“Take me in your hand.”

His grip was perfect, and I couldn’t quite catch my breath as I felt my orgasm tightening my balls, breaking me out in goose bumps.

Like the easy rise and fall of a wave, I was fluid in his arms, his fingers tracing down my spine, one hand sliding over my cock, anchoring me to him, and his mouth sucking and licking down my chest. He was touching me like I was a revelation, a gift.

“Open your eyes,” he ordered.

I didn’t remember closing them. Gazing into the slate blue of his eyes, I realized he wasn’t rushing me or trying to get away. He wanted everything slow.

“Jory…kiss me,” he breathed out, one hand sliding up my throat, cupping my face, touching my hair. When my mouth covered his, he parted his lips for me, and I kissed him deeply, thoroughly, exploring his mouth again, sliding my tongue over every inch of his, tasting him, devouring him. I heard the catch of his breath as I pulled back.

“Detective, I⁠—”

“Sam. Just Sam from now on.”

“Sam,” I said slowly, liking the sound of his name on my lips.

“You’re brand new,” he said, and I understood what he meant. To him it was a whole new world of discovery, my body just waiting for him. “Come now.”