Chapter 21
SHEPHERD
My breath hitches as Sutton’s palm grazes over my cock through my shorts, the heat radiating through the thin fabric.
Fuck, does it feel good to have her hand on me.
My brain short-circuits, caught between what I want and what might be right…
like a quarterback throwing a Hail Mary while getting sacked.
I want this. God, do I want her hands on me, but I need to make sure she’s okay.
That she doesn’t feel like she owes me anything.
“You’re sure?” I thread my fingers through her damp hair, searching her eyes for any hesitation. “Please don’t feel like you owe me a damn thing because you don’t. I am happy to hold you for the rest of the night and just sleep if that’s what you want.”
She leans in and presses her lips to mine, and it’s all I can do not to moan inside her mouth. “I’m sure,” she breathes when our lips finally part.
The conviction in her voice unravels something in me, and I nod, unable to form words. I kiss her one more time and then lock her eyes with mine. “Then I’m all yours, sweetheart. Do whatever you want. Whatever you need.”
I roll to my back with my hands behind my head and watch as she slips her hand beneath the waistband of my shorts. She wraps her fingers around my shaft and I’m a puddle for her.
“Fuck,” I breathe, my eyes rolling back and my hips instinctively pressing into her touch.
Her grip is gentle but confident as she strokes me, thumb swiping over the tip where I’m already leaking. The sensation is almost too much. I’ve wanted her for so long that even this simple touch threatens to undo me completely, but more than that, her touch means something to me.
“Is this okay?” she asks, her voice a whisper in the darkness. Her need for approval making my chest hurt.
“It’s more than okay, Sutton,” I manage, my voice strained. “It feels amazing.”
My eyes flutter closed for just a moment before I force them open again.
I want to see her. No, I need to see her face as she touches me.
Her hand moves experimentally, exploring the weight and feel of my cock.
There’s a curiosity in her touch that’s both innocent and devastating.
I’m already so worked up from touching her that it’s entirely possible I might blow my load and embarrass myself.
“Show me how you like it,” she whispers, her lips brushing against mine.
I cover her hand with mine, guiding her into a rhythm that has me gritting my teeth against the pleasure. “Like this,” I manage, my voice strained feeling the subtle tremor of nerves and excitement running through her grip as she matches my movements. “Just like this.”
She’s a quick study, her grip tightening slightly as she finds a rhythm that makes me want to beg her for more. Her touch grows bolder, more confident, as she watches my reactions; the way my jaw tightens, how my breath catches, the involuntary flex of my hips.
“You’re so big,” she whispers, and I nearly lose it right there. “I can barely get my hand around you.”
My laugh turns into a groan as she twists her wrist on the upstroke. “Jesus, Sutton.”
She leans down to kiss me again, her lips soft and pliant against mine. When her tongue slides into my mouth, I’m completely lost. Her hand never stops its rhythm, pumping me with increasing confidence, learning what makes my breathing hitch, what makes me moan into her mouth.
“Is this good?” she asks against my lips.
“So fucking good,” I manage, my voice barely recognizable. “You have no idea what you’re doing to me. How long I’ve wanted you.”
Her eyes widen slightly, something vulnerable flickering across her face before it’s replaced by determination.
She shifts her position, sliding down my body until she’s eye-level with my cock.
My breath catches in my throat as I realize her intent.
The sight of her dark hair falling around her face as she studies my cock makes my heart slam against my ribs.
Her tongue darts out to wet her lips, and I can’t stop the groan that escapes me.
“Sutton,” I breathe, my voice ragged. “You don’t have to—”
But it’s too late. Her lips close around the head of my cock and I nearly come undone.
The wet heat of her mouth is a revelation, making my eyes roll back and my hips buck involuntarily.
I force myself to stay still, to not thrust up into her mouth, but it takes every ounce of self-control I possess.
“Fuck, Sutton,” I groan. “That feels…incredible.”
Her mouth is hesitant at first, testing, exploring. Then she hollows her cheeks and takes me deeper, and I swear I see stars exploding behind my eyelids.
“Sutton,” I groan, one hand moving to tangle in her damp hair. “Fucking…Christ, it’s too good.”
Her tongue darts out, licking a long, slow stripe up the underside of my cock and the sensation is so intense, so unexpected. “Fuck,” I hiss through clenched teeth. “I’m sorry.”
“No need for apologies, Shepherd.” She looks up at me through her lashes. “Do you have a condom?”
Do I have a…
Holy fuck…
She wants…
She really wants this?
My mind goes completely blank. Is she asking what I think she’s asking? The sight of her between my legs, her lips still wet from taking me in her mouth, has short-circuited my ability to form coherent thoughts.
“I…” My voice is barely a whisper. “In the nightstand. Top drawer.”
Sutton slides up my body, her movements graceful and purposeful, reaching across me to pull open the drawer.
The lightning illuminates the sky, the light catching the curve of her neck, the delicate line of her collarbone beneath my borrowed shirt.
She’s so fucking pretty and I want to memorize every detail of her in this moment.
She finds the box easily, withdrawing a foil packet with steady hands, our eyes meeting as she tears it open.
Lying here watching her, I’m struck by the contrast between the woman who ran from me into the storm earlier this evening and the sexy confident one before me now, so certain of what she wants.
“Are you sure about this?” I ask, my voice hoarse with desire but steady with concern. “We don’t have to—”
“I’m sure,” she says, cutting me off. The certainty in her voice makes my chest tighten. She slides out of the sweatpants I gave her and drops them to the floor. “I want to know what you feel like inside me.”
The words land heavy in my chest, my body responding instantly.
My cock throbs in her grip as she rolls the condom down my length, all while I watch her in awe.
I’ve fantasized about this moment since the first time I saw her at the Alley Tap, but nothing in my imagination compares to the reality of Sutton straddling my thighs, her eyes dark with desire.
“Let me,” I whisper, reaching for the hem of my shirt that she’s wearing.
She nods, lifting her arms as I pull it over her head, revealing every inch of her to me.
The moonlight filtering through the rain-streaked windows paints silver patterns across her skin, highlighting the gentle curves of her breasts, the dip of her waist, the constellation of freckles across her collarbones that I want to trace with my tongue.
“You’re breathtaking,” I tell her, and this time she doesn’t flinch from the compliment. Instead, she smiles—a small, shy thing that hits me harder than any tackle I could ever take.
She rises onto her knees, positioning herself above me, one hand braced against my chest while the other guides me to her entrance. I hold my breath as the first touch of her heat against me nearly shatters my self-control.
“Take your time,” I tell her. “There’s no rush.”
Sutton’s eyes lock with mine as she slowly lowers herself onto me, her body stretching to accommodate my size. Her breath catches, lips parting on a silent gasp, and I fight every instinct to thrust upward because mother fuck…
Her pussy is squeezing my cock like the tightest vise and it is Every. Fucking. Thing.
“You okay?” I ask, my thumbs tracing soothing circles on her hips if for no other reason than to give my mind something to concentrate on other than prematurely exploding inside her.
Breathe, Haynes.
Breathe.
“Yes.” She nods, sinking down another inch. “You’re just…a lot to take in.”
I smile despite myself. “We can stop—”
“Don’t you dare,” she interrupts, determination flashing across her face.
I do what I know will relax her body and reach up to palm her breasts, my thumbs sliding across her nipple.
“Oh, God,” she moans and sinks down completely, taking me to the hilt. The sound of her moan vibrating through her body all the way to my cock.
Fuck me.
I’m struggling to breathe, to think, to do anything but feel the exquisite pressure of her around me.
She’s so tight, so perfect, and the sight of her above me—head thrown back, hair cascading down her shoulders, my shirt discarded somewhere on the bed—is enough to make me question if this is actually happening or if I’m having the best fucking dream of my life.
“You’re incredible, did you know that?” My hands steady her hips, my thumbs pressing into her soft skin. “You’re so fucking perfect.”
She stays still for a moment, adjusting to the feel of me inside her. Her inner muscles flutter around my cock, and I have to grit my teeth to maintain control. When she starts to move, lifting herself slightly before sinking back down, I nearly lose my mind.
“Shepherd,” she breathes, finding a rhythm that has us both gasping. “You feel so good.” She smiles down at me, a real smile that transforms her face and makes my chest ache in the best possible way.
I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s a goddess above me, powerful, beautiful, taking her pleasure with a confidence that steals my breath. My hands roam from her hips to her thighs, feeling her muscles flex as she rides me. I’m completely at her mercy, and I wouldn’t have it any other way.