Chapter 9 #2
"Juliet, do you need to use your safeword?" The concern in Nate's voice unraveled the knot inside me, and I began to cry in earnest.
I shook my head vehemently, determined to endure this punishment. My actions had earned me a harsh spanking. The least I could do was take it.
A thud on the carpet behind me told me Nate had dropped the belt. He sat on the edge of the bed and drew me upright, turning me toward him. Without thinking, I crawled onto his knee and pressed my face against his chest.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," I wailed as he patted my hair soothingly. This was the second time I'd fallen to pieces in his arms. Was I really such a pampered princess that I couldn't stand a few lashes with a belt?
"There's not a damned thing wrong with you, Juliet," Nate assured me. "You're overwhelmed, that's all."
Needing to get myself under control, I breathed in deeply. I wiped the tears from my eyes with the back of my hand.
"It's okay now," I said. "We can carry on."
"No, honey." Nate wrapped his arms tighter around me as I moved to climb off his knee. "We're done."
I pulled back so I could see his face. "But I didn't use my safeword."
"Doesn't matter. It was too much for you."
It heartened me to know Nate was watching out for me, but I couldn't help feeling I'd let him down.
"Are you disappointed in me?"
Nate shook his head. "Of course not. You took as much as you could bear, and you did it with grace. Everyone has different levels of pain tolerance. Yours will build over time."
"Does that mean you intend to punish me again?"
"I don't know." His voice was light, teasing. "Do you intend to break my rules again?"
"Probably." I looked up at him from beneath my lashes and smiled softly.
Nate's hand came up to brush the hair back from my face. His thumb trailed along my cheekbone. As we stared at each other, neither of us speaking, the air around us grew increasingly charged.
Nate's gaze dropped to my mouth as I darted my tongue out to lick my lips.
"Tell me to go." His voice was almost a whisper.
"No."
Nate stood, bringing me to my feet with him. My legs were unsteady, but he anchored me with a hand around my waist. When he was sure I wasn't about to collapse in a heap on the floor, he stepped back and studied my face.
"You're so beautiful, Juliet."
I'd heard that compliment a thousand times before, but it had never meant as much as it did coming from Nate. I wanted to tell him that he was beautiful too, but I doubted he'd enjoy that description of himself. Instead I reached for him.
As I wrapped my arms around his neck, he kissed me again as he had at the dance, in that slow, unhurried manner.
It was like we had all the time in the world.
I pressed myself against him. He broke the kiss and stepped back, leaving me bereft.
Was that it? Was it over before it had even begun?
One glimpse of the lust burning in his eyes told me he was far from done with me.
"Strip." The one-word command sent a flutter of desire straight to my core.
With trembling hands, I reached for the buttons of my shirt.
Nate's eyes never left me as I slowly unfastened each one, then slipped out of the shirt.
Reaching behind me, I unhooked my bra. Though there was nothing seductive about the way I stripped, my actions clearly had an effect on Nate.
The desire in his eyes deepened as I removed my white lace bra and dropped it on the floor.
I hesitated for a second before pushing my jeans and panties the rest of the way down my legs and stepping out of them.
As I stood before Nate, hiding nothing from him, my cheeks heated.
Though it wasn't the first time I'd been naked in front of a man, there was something about this moment that felt different, more significant.
Nate's gaze exposed me in a way I'd never experienced before.
I didn't want to examine what this new sense of vulnerability meant.
My breath caught at the back of my throat as he stepped forward and kissed me, softly but firmly.
He traced the seam of my lips with his tongue then pushed it into my mouth.
One of his hands moved to wrap lightly around my throat, his thumb stroking the sensitive skin over my pulse point.
I brought my hands up to his chest so I could feel the reassuringly strong beat of his heart.
It struck me, as I flattened my palms against him that while I was completely naked, Nate was still fully clothed.
Pulling back from our kiss, he rested his forehead against mine.
"Are you sure?" he asked.
"Yes."
Straightening, Nate broke the contact between us. His hands moved to my shoulders, and he walked me backward until my legs hit the side of the bed. I hissed as I dropped to the mattress, my ass landing on the cool sheets.
"Lean back and spread your legs," Nate ordered.
I had to fight a moment of embarrassment before I did as he asked. He stared down at me, then dropped to his knees on the floor. He placed his hands on my knees then slid them up to my inner thighs. A tremor ran through me as he caressed the hypersensitive skin there.
"Open wider," Nate said.
I took a breath, then moved my feet farther apart, revealing more of myself to him.
Nate came closer and pressed a soft kiss to my stomach that made me shudder with anticipation.
He trailed kisses lower, until he reached my feminine mound.
His breath whispered over my intimate flesh, and that was almost enough to make me come apart.
He looked up at me then, his eyes locking with mine. The question in them was clear. Did I want this?
My thoughts were so scrambled that words eluded me, so I answered with a slight nod.
The first touch of his tongue against my clit was light, teasing.
I gasped, my hips jerking involuntarily.
Nate tightened his grip, holding me in place.
His tongue swept along the length of my pussy, a little firmer this time, but he was still in no hurry.
My patience didn't match his, and I whined in desperation.
"Patience, honey." Nate chuckled.
He slid his hand up and slowly pushed one long, thick finger inside me.
I clenched around him. He groaned, the low vibration sending a fresh wave of pleasure through me.
Pumping his finger in and out, he fucked me at a languorous pace that matched the unhurried circles his tongue traced around my clit.
"Nate, please," I begged, needing more.
He added a second finger, stretching me as his tongue continued its sensual assault, pressing harder against the throbbing bundle of nerves. I gripped the sheets between my fingers as an exquisite pressure built inside me.
My breaths grew shallower. "Nate, I'm…"
He didn't let up. He curled his fingers inside me to stroke that spot that made me see stars.
The coil in my stomach sprung open, and I cried out as a powerful climax crashed over me.
Arching off the bed, I convulsed helplessly with the force of my release.
When it was over, I was left trembling, breathless.
Nate gentled his touch, easing me through the aftershocks of my orgasm with soft, deliberate laps of his tongue and the careful caress of his fingers.
Nate stood and quickly removed his clothes.
He paused for a moment, allowing me to examine him.
His wasn't the physique of a man who spent hours in a gym.
Those muscles had been earned through hard work on the vineyard.
His skin was tanned, his chest lightly dusted with hair.
My breath hitched as I took in the long, thick erection jutting proudly from his body.
"Move back," he urged as he knelt on the bed, then crawled over me.
He propped himself up on his elbows, then reached up with one hand to gently brush a stray hair from my cheek.
I turned to press my lips to his palm. He responded by lowering his head and kissing me again.
This was nothing like before. There was an urgency to it.
His tongue stroked mine, and I tasted myself, a musky yet sweet flavor that was incredibly erotic.
I curved my hand around the back of his neck, trying to bring us even closer.
"Nate," I murmured as I drew back from the kiss. "I need you."
He propped himself up and stared down at me, his gaze a heady mix of raw desire and tenderness. He positioned himself at my entrance, the thick head of his cock nudging my slick, sensitive folds.
My breath caught as he pressed inside me, one tantalizing inch at a time. His eyes never strayed from mine as he filled me completely. He paused for a moment, giving me a chance to adjust to the stretch.
Then I lifted my hips, and his control snapped.
He moved quickly, pulling almost all the way out before slamming back in again, his pace fast and furious from the start as if he'd been holding himself back too long.
I wrapped my legs around him, crossing my ankles at his back.
With each determined thrust, his cock dragged against my throbbing clit.
I gripped his shoulders, digging my nails in until he hissed loudly. The pain only spurred him on.
As he fucked me with ruthless determination, his mouth fell on mine once more for a desperate kiss. Each time he drove deeper into my welcoming body, my pleasure intensified. His thrusts became erratic as he too reached the point of no return.
His hand snaked between our bodies to find my clitoris with unerring accuracy. Already close, it took a mere brush of his fingertips to send me over the edge. I shattered as a blissful surge ripped through me. Vision blurring, I cried out as my body quaked. My pussy clenched, milking Nate's cock.
We lay there in the afterglow for several long seconds, entangled in each other, before Nate carefully pulled out of me and rolled to the side. He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, drawing me to him.
I rested my head on his chest and listened as his heartbeat slowed. He stroked my back.
"We didn't use a condom," Nate said eventually. "But I'm clean. It's been a while since I was with anyone."
"Me too, and it's okay; I'm protected." This was something we should have discussed before, but I'd been too caught up in the moment to consider practicalities, and I was sure Nate had been too. "I can't believe we didn't think of that."
"Nor can I." He pressed a kiss to the top of my head. "Are you okay?"
"Yes, Nate. I'm more than okay."
Closing my eyes, I felt the truth of those words deep inside me. For the first time in as long as I could remember, I was not only okay, I was at peace.