6. Chapter 6
Chapter 6
“Thank you again for driving me home.” Valentine stood at her door, feeling weirdly nervous. “Do you…want to come in?” Did it sound like she was inviting him in for more than tea? Yep.
“Sure.” Bear’s dark blue eyes were heated, or maybe she was seeing what she wanted.
After she dropped her keys twice, he took over and let them in, then said, “I’m going to check your place even though you’ve got a security system.”
“You don’t need to do that,” she murmured as she turned it off then slipped her boots off by the front door.
“I think I do. It’s clear that someone upset you tonight. And I will find out who.” The words were a grumble as he stalked off, heading into her living room first.
She decided not to tell him that she wasn’t all out of sorts because of tonight, but because of him. She really, really liked him and it scared her. She didn’t do relationships—not anymore. In fact, she couldn’t remember her last date. After a string of bad first dates, she’d given up on them completely and focused on the things that made her happy in life: her art, the kids at the community center, and her eclectic group of friends. She loved her life, had intentionally carved out a lifestyle she wanted after almost marrying the wrong man.
Then Bear had busted into her world and she found herself wanting so much more. She’d been fantasizing about a different kind of future that included him, and nope, she wasn’t going there. She couldn’t. Because it would hurt too much when it didn’t work out.
“Your place is safe. And I like it, for the record. There’s so much art and color everywhere, it’s like walking into a hug.”
She smiled at his description, then laughed lightly when his cheeks flushed. Clearing her throat, she tried to find her voice, wondered if she should just ask him to stay. But she didn’t trust herself to actually get the words out. She might be bold in some ways, but Bear intimidated her.
“I’m sorry if I ruined your night,” she finally blurted as she leaned against her kitchen countertop. Then she internally winced. That was not the transition she’d been going for to get to the point where she asked him to stay.
“You didn’t ruin anything.” His deep, rumbly voice was a balm to all her frayed edges. “I’m glad you called, even if I don’t like the reason for it.”
“You didn’t miss going to the cirque show?”
He blinked in surprise. “I gave the tickets away.”
“Oh.” Now she blinked. “I thought maybe…you took someone else.”
He moved across the kitchen toward her, his steps silent on the tile. “I didn’t want to take anyone else but you .”
“So…you were asking me on a date?” The question came out as a whisper.
His gaze fell to her mouth, hot and hungry.
Oh, yep, she had her answer.
“Absolutely.”
Unable to find her voice at all now, she stared at him, found her own gaze falling to his mouth. She really, really wanted to kiss him, to see if she could make the cool and calm contractor lose control for her. Suddenly she realized how close he was.
She gently rested her hands on his chest, felt the rapid beat of his heart under her fingertips. “Do you want to stay?” She was moving waaaayy faster than she normally did. Light-years faster. But she knew that if she didn’t ask, she’d always regret it.
He swallowed hard, his eyes on her mouth again. “I do, but you’ve had a rough couple days. I don’t want to take advantage.” His hands were on the countertop on either side of her, essentially caging her in. He must have realized that, because he suddenly unclenched his hands and took a step back.
Or tried to, because she grasped onto his shirt, holding him in place. “You’re not taking advantage if I’m asking you.”
“Valentine…”
She wasn’t sure what he was going to say. Didn’t even care at this point. She just knew that she liked it when he growled her name. “I won’t beg you to stay…unless you’re into that.”
He groaned again, pushing her up against the countertop. “You don’t ever need to beg me for anything.” Then he kissed her, just completely took her breath away as he crushed his mouth to hers.
Arching into him, she slid her fingers together behind his neck, savored the way he teased his tongue against hers, playfully nipped her bottom lip. The sounds he made, as if he would die without kissing her.
She felt it all the way to her core. No one had ever gotten her so worked up before, had made her feel as if she could crawl out of her skin just to get closer to him. She’d worn a long, high-waisted, gray wool skirt tonight and a colorful turtleneck, and right about now she was glad she’d opted for a skirt.
As if he read her mind, he lifted her onto the countertop. Hiking her skirt up, she spread her legs to accommodate his size and wrap them around him as he pinned her in place.
“You say stop, we stop,” he growled against her mouth, his voice raspy, unsteady.
“Yes, yes, okay.” But she wasn’t going to tell him to stop.
Not while he was reaching under her skirt, pulling her panties off. It was clear what he intended and she was definitely here for it.
“Is in the kitchen okay?” he asked even as he stroked a finger along her already slick folds.
She sucked in a breath at the gentle contact, leaned into his kiss as he slid a finger inside her. She nodded against his mouth, maybe made a somewhat coherent sound as he slowly dragged his finger back out.
This man was going to completely undo her. He seemed intent to tease her slowly, way too slowly, but when she reached between their bodies and felt his reaction, she knew he wasn’t unaffected.
“I need to taste you before we go any further.”
It took a moment for her brain to catch up to his growly words, and by the time it did, he had her skirt shoved all the way up to her hips and his head between her legs.
Leaning back against one of her appliances, she dug her heels into his back as he began teasing her, stroking with that wicked, wonderful tongue.
“You’re so perfect.” His words were clear enough as he focused on her clit, used the right amount of pressure to make her crazy.
She couldn’t find her voice, couldn’t think about responding as he teased her, slid two fingers inside her in concert with his tongue. His mouth. Oh god, she was so close, and when he sucked on her clit she let go of the last shred of her control.
Arching off the countertop, she came against his face in a sharp, unexpected burst of pleasure.
By the time she was coming down from her high, she found herself blinking into dark blue eyes as he scooped her off the countertop. “I’m taking you to your room.”
Breathing unsteady, she managed a nod. “Yeah.” Okay, good for her, she could talk. Sort of.
Once in her room, she was back to herself and unbuttoning his shirt with trembling fingers. Not because she was nervous, but because she was so desperate to see this man naked, to feel him skin to skin. “Stupid buttons.”
Laughing lightly, he took over with much more finesse than her, so she took the opportunity to strip her top and bra off—and felt absolute pleasure in the way his expression darkened at the sight of her mostly undressed.
Stepping back from him, she reached behind herself, unzipped her skirt and slowly let it fall down her legs to pool around her feet.
And in that moment, she felt like a goddess with the way he was watching her, as if he wanted to get down on his knees and worship her again. She had a feeling this man was going to be addicting.
“Remember, if you say stop—”
“I don’t want to stop.” She was reaching for the top of his pants but he stilled her, his big hands covering hers.
“I want to taste you again.”
Oh god, he was the perfect man. And she was so screwed because yep, she was already addicted. “How about later?” Did she sound desperate, because she sure felt like it.
He gave her a slow grin as he pushed her back onto the bed. “I like how impatient you are.”
“Just with you.” She arched up into him as he covered her with his body. She loved the feel of his weight on her, the way he just seemed to take up all the space around him. She’d never thought she was into big guys—and she wasn’t, but she was into Bear. Way more than she ever could have imagined.
He closed his eyes, his jaw tightening once as he seemed to struggle for control. So she took advantage and slid her hand down the front of his pants, and rubbed over a very thick length.
“Valentine.” A low, needy moan.
Oh yeah, totally addicted. “Pants off. Now.” The words didn’t come out as an order so much as a plea, but he didn’t seem to notice.
And thankfully, he did as she said, leaning back and stripping off his pants and boxers and— Oooh, wow.
She pushed up on the bed, her inner walls already tightening at the sight of him. The man was built like a god, thick and gorgeous and oh… Thankfully he had a condom because she wasn’t thinking clearly right now.
She watched as he rolled it over his length, looked up as he crawled back onto the bed and she realized he was watching her.
“You’re gorgeous,” she whispered, taking in all of him. His body was hard and honed from all the labor he did and the smattering of tattoos on his arms and chest… he’d gone to a real artist that was clear. And she found herself a little jealous of whoever had been given the pleasure of getting to ink him.
He paused slightly, his hand wrapped around the base of his cock. “No, you are. The most stunning woman I’ve ever seen.”
She spread her thighs wider for him as she wrapped her arms around him, pulling him on top of her because he was still going too slowly. And the compliment had her off guard, vulnerable.
Thankfully he didn’t seem to notice as he slowly, slid inside her.
And then she couldn’t think at all as he began thrusting inside her, filling her up, stretching her in the best way possible as another orgasm built.
She kissed him, stroked her fingers over his back, his ass, anywhere she could touch as he continued to fill her, until her control snapped again.
This time her climax hit hard, pleasure punching out to all her nerve endings as he hit that sweet spot over and over.
He growled something she couldn’t understand and she realized he was coming too, burying his face against her neck as she arched into him. Her breasts rubbed against his chest with each continuing thrust, her already sensitized nipples pure pleasure points as her climax seemed to go on forever.
She wasn’t sure how long they came together or how long they lay together afterward, both boneless, but eventually she nudged him, making him laugh, the deep sound reassuring as he rolled off her.
“Give me a few minutes.” His voice was slightly drowsy as he got up to dispose of the condom, and when he came back from the bathroom, the light from it illuminating him, she knew she wanted him to stay all night.
“Will you stay tonight?” They’d just had sex, not made any sort of promises. But she didn’t want to let him go. Not yet.
“I hadn’t planned on leaving.” He slid onto the bed again, the mattress dipping under his weight as he crawled on top of her again, already at half-mast.
She blinked down at his growing erection. “I’m going to need more than a few minutes,” she said as she stroked her fingers along his shoulders.
“We’ve got all night.” His words were a delicious promise.
One she hoped he kept.