Chapter 11
brAND
Having her on my lap is the best feeling, but I have no control over how my body reacts to the close contact. My cock is aching and hard, begging me to move against her to give it the friction it needs.
"Am I hurting you?" she asks, her eyes wide, and I know she's caught on to the problem at hand.
Or not at hand, exactly.
"You are perfect. I'm fine. Happier than I've been in a long time."
She shifts, drawing a pained groan from me, and there's a teasing grin on her face.
"Careful or I might think you like me in spite of all the sexy glower you have whenever I'm around."
My brows raise in happy surprise. "So now I'm sexy? Good to know. Because you, sweetheart, are the only thing I can think about. It's dangerous how sexy you are. Complete distraction."
Her eyes go wide, her mouth parts, and I drag my thumb across her lower lip. So soft and I want to know what she tastes like.
"I'm dying to kiss you."
She nods, tipping her mouth up toward mine, and it's the permission I need.
My lips land on hers, hot and possessive, ready to explore and devastate.
She gasps against me, and my tongue darts into her mouth.
She's tense in my arms for a second, then she melts against me.
My hands skate up her back and I thrill at the way she shivers in response.
When we finally break apart, we're both breathing heavy and she's turned until she's straddling me. Heat pours off her and I want more. All of her. Every moan, scream, cry she has to give. I want to swallow it all down and save the memories of her pleasure forever.
"Lydia," I manage to get out, my brain forcing out words before my body overrides my caution. "You owe me nothing. So don't kiss me because you feel like you have to. Anything we do or don't do, it's completely up to you. And only if it's what you really want."
She smiles, and it's a luminous thing. Like being locked in the dark for too long and finally seeing the sun again. Bright and pretty, warm and full of life.
"Fair enough. For the record, though, I want you doing all kinds of things to me. With me. Clothes on. Clothes off. Since we're being honest and all."
Joy fills me, and I bury my face against her neck. Breathing in the scent of her, it eases the pressure in my chest.
"Good, because I'm dying to taste every inch of you, love." I surge up to my feet, supporting her as she wraps her legs around my waist. With every step, my hard cock bumps against her center, and she makes helpless little sounds every single time.
By the time we've made it to my bed, I'm ravenous for her. Our clothes disappear in a rush, and I promise myself there will be a next time. And I will torture her with how slowly I strip her naked. But for now, I need to see her laid out for me.
"Damn, you're beautiful." My voice is reverent, even to my ears, but it's not a lie. Her curves are perfection, her hair spread around her like a halo and the way she's reaching for me makes my heart skip.
I don't resist when she pulls me down, and this time our kiss is less exploration and more hunger.
Our tongues clash, her teeth nip at my bottom lip, and I'm lost in a haze of need and desire.
I work my way from her mouth down the sensitive skin of her neck, marking her with proof of the passion between us.
Her breasts spill out over my hands when I hold them both, and her nipples form perfect hard peaks when I suck each of them into my mouth.
Her hands land in my hair, tugging on the strands as I continue learning her body, following the curves and lines until I'm at her very center. She's glistening and pink, and when I draw my tongue over her core, she arches and pants out my name.
"You are delicious. So good. I could eat you for every single meal.
" I tease her clit with flicks of my tongue, loving the way she moans and shakes as I build up a steady rhythm.
And when I slip a finger inside her, her hips buck up, allowing me even more access, and I can feel her walls starting to quiver already.
A few strokes in and out, keeping time with my tongue and the woman I love breaks apart beneath me.
It's the best feeling in the world, being able to give her that kind of pleasure.
My body is aching with the need to be inside her, but I don't want to rush her.
Except that Lydia apparently wants it all now and waiting any longer isn't part of her plan.
She tugs me up until I'm braced over her and smiles. "I need you. All of you. Right now."
I hesitate for a second, pulled between desire and protecting her. She guesses the dilemma correctly.
"I trust you, Brand. And I'm on birth control. All clean and ready to go. I want you to come inside me."
The dirty words are enough to make me press my cock against her, rocking against her clit as I draw out a cry from her.
"You're a dream come true. Everything I've wanted since the first time I saw you. You're everything."
Her eyes are locked with mine as I slide inside her. I take it slow, giving her time to stretch and accommodate my size. My body wants to pump in and out, to stop holding back, but this moment is all about her. Giving her what she needs, what she wants. Because then I get what I want, too.
When the tension in her body relaxes, I pull back and then thrust forward. Each stroke takes me deeper and deeper, until I finally hit the end of her. Her eyes are glazed with feeling, her skin is flushed pink, and her fingernails are digging into the skin of my back as she urges me on.
She feels so good, her body warm and tight around my cock, and I'm holding on to my control by a thread.
As I pump into her, faster and faster, she clings to me and cries out as her pleasure builds up.
I can feel it, her inner walls starting to flex around me, tightening like even the most intimate parts of her don't want to let me go.
Primal satisfaction swells in me when she cries out my name, her hips lifting up and her body shaking beneath mine.
I bury myself inside her, as deep as I can go, and then unleash the shred of restraint still holding me back.
Tension builds at the base of my spine, spiraling out until I can't hold back and my release comes, flooding out of me and filling her full.
We come down from the height together, holding each other close as I roll onto my back, cradling her against my chest. I'm still inside her, sweat is cooling on her skin, and there's no place else I ever want to be.
I flip the quilt over us, shielding her from the cold, and brush her hair over her shoulders so it doesn't get caught between us.
After a few minutes, she lifts her head and looks up at me.
"What's wrong, sweetheart?" Fear fills me for an instant, worry that maybe she's regretting what we've done, the connection between us that I know is the turning point in my life.
She shrugs, and smiles, tracing a pattern on my chest. "I was wondering. Will you be my date to the Mistletoe Ball? I know it's going to be full of people, but there will be good food and I promise to wear a pretty dress."
I laugh and a bubble of happiness fills me. "I will tolerate the crowds to see you in a pretty dress. As long as I get to be the one to take it off you after."
"You've got a deal."
She snuggles into me, and I wrap her close. We haven't solved all our problems, but we've solved the ones that matter for now. The rest we'll face together.
We fall asleep like that, no longer alone.