Twenty-two
Natalia
It was time.
Technically, it was probably long past the time for me to take this step.
I needed this. Deserved it. And Reid had proven to me that he was a man I could trust with something so precious.
Maybe that was a strange thought to have. It wasn’t as though I was a virgin and this was my first time. But in some odd way, this felt like a much bigger deal than that.
Because I’d been hardened by my past, numbed to the idea of a relationship, and Reid had convinced me that it was okay to try. That I would be safe.
And this was good. We’d barely gotten things started, and there was no hiding how it was all making me feel.
I was burning up for this man. Of course, I recognized it had been a while since I’d felt anything even remotely close to this, and understood I was feeling things I hadn’t experienced in a long time. But I believed it was possible that time was only a very small part of the equation here.
If I were honest, I was convinced that all the responses and emotions I was experiencing had everything to do with who I was here with.
Reid.
God, Reid had turned out to be far better than I could’ve ever hoped for in a man.
The way he cared for me was unparalleled. He’d been so patient and understanding, and he hadn’t been afraid to work hard to prove I could put my faith and trust in him.
While there was no question that I could’ve easily spent hours thinking about all the things that made Reid the right man for me, all that was happening now made it nearly impossible.
From the moment Reid pulled me into his arms, kissed me, and took us down to the bed, I was a bundle of emotions and nerves. But with the way he kissed and how he held me, those nerves vanished and were quickly replaced with budding desire and heat and pleasure.
We’d spent weeks now doing plenty of kissing.
Reid had made it clear; he didn’t prefer going without access to my mouth for an extended period.
If too much time passed at work, he’d seek me out for the opportunity to have just one kiss.
And between all the stolen moments like that at work and the unhurried occasions at his place or mine, it wouldn’t have been a surprise if I’d grown accustomed to this, to having his mouth on mine.
But there was something different about it now. Something that was far more intense than it had ever been before. The feel of his lips, the weight of his body, the strength in his arms… all of it had me feeling feral for him.
Maybe it was that before tonight, I hadn’t decided to take this next step. Now that I’d communicated as much to Reid, informing him I was ready for it, a sense of desperation had washed over me.
My fingers had worked at his tie and fiddled with the buttons on his shirt before pulling it out of the waistband at his pants. His hands journeyed up my thighs and slipped beneath the hem of my dress to cup and squeeze my ass.
Having his hands on my bare skin stole my breath.
We kissed.
God, we didn’t stop.
If Reid’s lips weren’t on mine, they were peppering kisses along my jaw and down the front of my throat.
The sensations that moved through me were unlike anything I’d ever experienced before, and all it seemed I could do was rest my palms against his bare chest and press my fingertips in firmly.
“Reid,” I rasped when his hand dipped between my legs and narrowly avoided the one spot that I needed him to touch.
“What is it?” he asked, his voice indicating he was barely holding on to those final few shreds of restraint.
My eyes met his, and I could have sworn I saw the same desperation in his gaze that I felt inside. Like he was silently pleading with me to tell him what he needed to hear.
“Please touch me,” I begged.
His lips quirked. Then he touched me. Through my underwear, he flattened his hand against me and applied just a touch more pressure with two of his fingers right where I needed it.
The moan that escaped was not from this world. My head dropped forward, and my fingers curled around his biceps.
“Do you like that?” That deep voice with just a hint of amusement would be my undoing.
“Reid, please,” I whimpered.
With what felt like no effort, Reid flipped me onto my back, tore his shirt the remainder of the way off his arms, and dropped his pants. Then he wasted no time getting my dress off my body.
I was still caught up in precisely how amazing he looked. The man’s body was absolute perfection.
Reid happened to be doing his own assessing, and from the way his eyes darkened, it was safe to say he liked what he saw.
“You are exquisite.” He curled his fingers around my underwear at my hips and dragged it down my legs, his mouth roaming over nearly every square inch of my thighs. Tossing the underwear aside, his eyes dipping between my legs, he shared, “I’ve had two months of fantasizing about these legs.”
“That’s not so long,” I teased.
His eyes shot to mine. “That’s because you’re not the one being tempted by them at every opportunity. Trust me, it’s been an eternity.”
Reid was taking too long to appreciate the view that I said, “Well, you certainly aren’t acting like a man who’s been tortured by them for so long. I would think you’d do something about it now, if that were the case.”
A lazy smile spread across his face. “Oh, I’m going to do something about it. Because the first thing I’m going to do with these legs is get them over my shoulders. I need to taste what’s between them.”
I shivered, desperately wanting what he’d just promised, but unsure if I was prepared for it.
Reid didn’t give me the chance to consider it. He spread my legs, positioned himself on his stomach—like he intended to be there for a while—and tossed my legs over his shoulders. Then, he only pressed two kisses to my left inner thigh before he was tasting me.
My back immediately arched off the bed, my hands fisting the blanket beneath me. “Oh, God,” I moaned.
The movement didn’t deter Reid. Evidently, he’d been waiting long enough, and he wasn’t going to allow anything to stop him from living out this fantasy.
I didn’t mind.
I loved it.
His mouth, his tongue. They were just as perfect as the rest of him. He built me up slowly, his tongue flicking over my clit in a way that told me he planned to give me more than I ever thought possible.
And when he groaned against me the moment I began moving my hips and riding his face, the sound only served to propel me faster to that point of no return.
“Reid,” I called out a warning. “Oh, please, don’t stop.”
The man did not stop. He went at me harder.
And the next thing I knew, my legs were trembling on either side of his head as Reid worked me through to the end.
I was there, sated and trying to catch my breath, as Reid finally stood and removed his underwear. I licked my lips, wanting to return the favor, but he stopped me with a kiss on my mouth before I could even prop myself up on one arm.
“I want to be inside you,” he whispered against my lips.
There was nothing I wanted more. “Please hurry,” I begged.
Reid fished out a condom, rolled it on, and positioned himself. Then, he took his time and pushed inside, inch by inch.
When he was buried inside me, unmoving, I lifted my hands to his face and allowed my eyes to roam over his handsome features. Reid stared back, and something passed between us. Something that told me this was far more than just sex for the both of us.
I couldn’t speak for Reid, and maybe it was crazy to feel this way after knowing him for only two months, but I was confident I’d fallen in love with him.
He groaned, kissed me, and said, “I need to move.”
And that was it.
That was the last thing that needed to be said, because we both got lost in all that happened next.
Reid moved, and it was the most beautiful experience of my whole life. For as harsh or brash as he’d been when I’d first met him, he was now the opposite. His strokes were gentle yet powerful. His kisses were sweet yet claiming. And his touch was tender but possessive.
We rolled in the bed several times—him on top, then me, then him again. As wonderful and tempting as it was to see ourselves through to the end, it seemed we were both just as interested in prolonging it, in drawing it out for ourselves.
Our hands roamed. Mine were on his shoulders and arms. His were on my breasts and thighs.
Our skin was warm, covered with a sheen of sweat, and our breath mingled throughout.
I wanted Reid to have everything he wanted. After all that he’d done for me, after how he’d cared for me and made me feel special, he deserved to have it all.
“I want you to come with me, Natalia.”
I nodded my understanding, my hips meeting and matching the increased pace of his thrusts.
Our breathing picked up, my fingertips pressing in deeper. “Reid,” I moaned as it built quickly.
“Are you going to come?”
“Yes.” The word was barely audible.
A moment later, it happened.
Reid’s deep groans of pleasure and my cries of ecstasy filled the air around us as our orgasms tore through our bodies. I could only hold on and try to breathe through it.
When it left us, Reid collapsed on top of me for just a beat before rolling to his back, taking me with him.
We stayed like that for a bit, simply trying to regain control of our breathing.
And in the midst of it, my mind drifted.
All I kept telling myself was that I was the luckiest woman to have met Reid, to have him show this interest in me.
What he’d done for me, what he’d shown me I deserved to have, meant the world to me.
So, it was no surprise I had to work to blink back the tears before they fell.
“Let me get rid of this condom and get you something to clean up with,” he urged me with a light squeeze on my ass.
“Okay.”
Lazily, and with a bit of help from him, I rolled off Reid, so he could get out of bed. Then he tossed the condom and got me something to clean up with.
Reid joined me in the bed again, scooting close and draping his arm over my side. I nuzzled his chest, inhaling his scent as something warm washed over me.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice gentle.
I tipped my head back to look up at him and smiled. “I’m the best I’ve been in a very long time, Reid.”
His features softened, his eyes shining. “Good.”
“Thank you.”
“I can’t imagine what you think you need to thank me for after what we just had,” he retorted.
My fingertips drifted lightly over his chest. “You didn’t push me for this. You allowed what we had building between us to move at a pace I was comfortable with, and you never made me feel bad for it, even when I know you had nights that probably left you feeling wildly unsatisfied.”
“Natalia, I don’t?—”
“I know you don’t see this the way that I do,” I assured him.
“But that doesn’t mean you didn’t give me precisely what I just said you did.
It’s easy to assume I’d be able to jump right in, particularly when I’ll dive right into conversation with anyone.
But that’s not how this worked for me. I’m glad you gave me the opportunity to see the real guy, the one beneath that grumpy exterior. ”
He held me close, his fingers drifting lightly across my skin. “And I’m thankful you were gracious enough to give me more chances than I deserved to get my head screwed on straight about you.”
I kissed his chest. “I think it might be one of my better decisions.”
Reid laughed. “I’m not sure I ever thought I’d hear that after the way I came into this place two months ago.”
Turning my attention to his face, I said, “We’ve both come a long way in that time, don’t you think?”
He smiled at me. “I do. And what we had tonight might be my favorite part of it.”
“I probably could have guessed that, especially with all those fantasies you mentioned having.”
“True. But that’s not why I said it.”
“What do you mean?”
Reid’s fingers drove into my hair, and he lightly scratched my scalp.
“The physical aspect of this was phenomenal. God, you’re amazing.
You feel absolutely beautiful. But I loved this tonight, because I know it wasn’t easy for you to get here.
I’m so relieved to know that you trust me enough to take this step. ”
I smiled. “I feel like I keep saying this every time we do something together, but this is now the best day I’ve ever had.”
He laughed again. “I can’t say I disagree, but I won’t promise not to try to top it again.”
“If it gets better than this, I might have to chain you to my bed.”
His eyes darkened. “That could be fun.”
In the physical sense, I was certain it would be. There was no question it’d be a great time to be the one in charge, teasing Reid to my heart’s content.
But the way he’d taken those words hadn’t necessarily been the way I meant them.
We were two months into this six-month stint.
Feeling what I did for him now, how was I going to let him go at the end of it? And just how easy would it be for him to walk away from me and return to his old life?