Chapter Forty
Josh
Klein’s words settle over me. Her eyes shine as she gazes at me with a soft smile. Several heartbeats pass, but somehow the moment doesn’t feel real.
All my life, people have called me capable, smart, cold, intellectual and calculating. But nobody ever said that I was okay, that my struggles were human and natural. Klein’s eyes glow with sincerity, her smile slightly tremulous as she awaits my reaction.
I’ve been too much of a chickenshit to make myself truly vulnerable to her until now.
How counterproductive I’ve been. The breaths I take seem easier because she sees who I am as a person.
I told her I liked her, but I realize that’s not the right word.
This tight, achy, hot, painful feeling in my heart can’t possibly be something as mundane as mere liking.
It’s more like…love—the kind of love that fills your soul rather than steals it as a prideful keepsake.
The kind that makes you feel whole and motivates you to be a better person so you can be worthy.
The knot that started in my throat when she began talking thickens, and I can’t get the words out to tell her how I feel. My heart throbs at the sweet acceptance and affection in her eyes. So I do the only thing I can.
I cradle her beautiful face and kiss her. She moans against my mouth, her fingers digging into my shoulders.
She tastes sweeter than any nectar, and I delve deeper into her—reveling in her light and sharing my soul with her. Our breaths mingle. She pulls me closer, like she can’t bear to let go. My head spins. I fist her overflowing, cloudlike curls, amazed at the impossible softness.
I wrap my arms around her. She immediately puts hers around my neck, her legs around my pelvis.
Our mouths fused in hunger, I carry her up the stairs to the bedroom, then carefully place her on the soft mattress.
I prop myself on my hands and study the soft lines of her face, the brilliant light of her violet eyes. Her fingertips trace my cheeks and jaw.
Her eyes on mine, she undoes the buttons on my shirt, pushes it out of the way—and it feels like she’s baring my soul. Vulnerability wraps around me, until she smiles like I’m the most amazing thing in her world.
All the walls around my heart crumble. She makes me feel weak and powerful at the same time. Shaking, I shrug out of my clothes, letting the custom-tailored garments fall in a heap on the floor. Her trembling desire overheats my blood.
I push her shirt up and pull it over her head. The sight of her already pointed nipples fuels my lust. I lift my eyes to hers, wanting her to see the raw desire in their depths.
Her smile grows playful and confident, like a woman who knows she’s special to the man sharing the bed with her. “Like what you see?”
“Yes,” I manage before placing a soft kiss on each of her eyelids, then pulling her nipple deep into my mouth.
She rewards me with a throaty moan as she arches her back, pushing her nipple closer. I adore her greed for what I can give her. She’s wanton with only the skirt around her hips, slickness pooling between her legs as though she didn’t come three times less than an hour ago.
But the moment feels different. Before, I wanted to lose myself in her and feel whole again in her presence.
This time I want to be one with her to show her how much I love her.
I long to show her gratitude for seeing me in ways that I never did, for understanding me in a way I never thought possible.
She runs her warm hand along my shaft, lets out a hum of appreciation, then looks up at me. “I want it.”
“It’s all yours.” I glide my cock between her folds. Hot liquid drenches me.
My heart pounds in my head, screaming, I love this woman, I love this woman, I love this woman. She grinds against me. The movements are designed to torment me and make her feel good.
She grips my cock. I grow harder and bigger, anticipating the pumping motion of her hand.
But instead, she holds my cock tight and moves her hips, rubbing the opening of her pussy along the cockhead teasingly.
I watch satisfaction and lust play on her pretty face, then bite back a curse.
The sensation of her dripping pussy is too much. She is going to be the death of me.
“Now,” she says, “it’s my turn to punish you for carrying around such terrible thoughts about yourself. I don’t ever want you to think that you aren’t worthy of love—or of all the amazing, beautiful things you have in your life.”
“You don’t think you’re punishing me right now?”
She laughs. “Not even close.”
Her hands slap against my shoulders, and I let her push me onto my back. She gets rid of the skirt, then straddles me. She looks powerful as she gazes down, her eyes narrowed to glittering violet slits.
She takes my cock again, this time gently moving her hand along my shaft. The slow pace winds me up as anticipation pounds in my veins.
Her leg muscles flex as she raises her hips and positions herself over my tip, then slowly lowers herself. I watch, mesmerized as she takes me agonizing inch by agonizing inch. A little more, a little more, a little more…
She stops, biting her lip. Her brow furrows, then she raises herself. Although she’s dripping wet, taking me in all the way in one motion might be too much.
I reach out to run my hands over her thighs. She shakes her head. “No.”
“Don’t you want to feel good?” I reach for her again. “Let me help.”
“No,” she says again. “You’ll just take it. I know what you’re trying to do.”
“What am I trying to do?” I ask, desperate to have her move faster, to take more inside.
“You just want to get me hot and bothered so you can avoid the punishment.” She cups my face and gives me a beautiful smile. “You’re perfect the way you are. Nothing can change that.”
Despite the sexual frustration building inside, I have to smile. “Yes, ma’am.”
“That’s better.” She moves over me slowly and leisurely, taking her time. Her breasts bob up and down with every bounce, one nipple still glistening with saliva. I’m dying to pull the other one into my mouth.
“Let me suck your other nipple and make you feel good.”
There’s a spark of interest, but she shakes her head. “I don’t know if you deserve it.” She cocks a teasing eyebrow. “That seems more like a reward for you.”
“I’ve learned my lesson now.” I try to sound humble. From her throaty laugh, I don’t think I succeed.
She leans over me, her curls falling over us in a cascade, creating an intimate cocoon. She dips her head, her feathery breath grazing the side of my neck. It’s all I can do to not push my hips upward, thrust myself into her slippery warmth.
There’s a sudden pain on my neck. Her teeth close over my skin, but not hard enough to break it. The sting makes me expel a rough breath. She sucks the spot long and hard, then licks as though healing it.
“That should do it,” she says with a satisfied smile. Then she frowns. “Is it going to upset you if there’s a mark on your neck? I should’ve thought about that before…”
I run my fingers through her curls. “It’s fine if it’s your mark.” Lust and affection rush over me, wresting control out of my already tenuous grip. “Let everyone know I’m taken every time they look at me.”
Then I grip her hips and brace my feet and start to move both of us, bouncing her and thrusting forward, driving deeper inside her. She’s so hot, so perfect.
She throws her head back. “Yes!” Her chest shudders with each shallow breath.
“You’re mine,” I grind out, unable to stop myself.
“And…and…” she pants, but then loses herself in her rising orgasm.
It doesn’t matter. I know what she wanted to say—and I’ve been hers all along without realizing it. I wrap my arms around her, taking her mouth, and explode into the sweetest oblivion I have ever experienced in my life.