Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
L ily
Ethan tightens his grip around my waist, lifts his hips, and thrusts inside me, each movement deliberate and powerful. I’m perched above him, straddling his lap on the couch. He’s so damn strong, he’s been able to do most of the work—lifting me up and down like he’s using my weight to do squats.
His gaze is locked on mine, fierce, almost predatory. “Am I being too rough?” he asks through clenched teeth.
A gasp escapes me as pleasure jolts through my core. “No,” I say.
His fingers dig into my skin, pulling me tightly against him, sending arrows of heat through my limbs. I move against his body in a rhythm that has become achingly familiar already.
He likes soft, rolling motions in my hips. I figured that out during our last fucking session against the kitchenette.
This man is insatiable, as if he’s trying to quench an endless thirst. This is now our fourth time, and purple morning light is starting to creep into the room.
I should have known. Not only is this Ethan’s first night of sex, but he’s a star athlete. His endurance is almost infinite. Each time he’s lasted longer than before.
He was apologetic over coming so quickly our first time. He didn’t know how flattering it was. The last time I was touched, I was treated like a faceless object of pleasure. A vessel to fulfill the needs of a man who never saw me as a whole person.
Ethan looked at me like he was seeing a sunrise for the first time. He was dazzled, reverent.
It’s also remarkable how well he’s been able to learn my body given his inexperience. He seems to read my thoughts with his intense, dark-blue gaze.
He thrusts harder, and my body bounces on his lap. He slides his hand down my lower back, wrapping his fingers around my ass before delivering a tight squeeze. One finger slides between my cheeks and slips inside my tight hole.
The shriek I let out is a mixture of shock and pleasure. “Holy fuck, Ethan.”
“Sorry.” His body grows still, and concern flashes across his features.
“Don’t be sorry,” I pant. “I liked it.”
“Good,” he grits out. “You have a beautiful ass. So pretty and round. I want to lick it later.”
Breathless laughter vibrates from my chest. “I can’t believe you. You’re ravenous.”
He halts his thrusts, searching my face. “Is it too much?
My chest swells with tenderness. He’s been checking in with me since we started, clearly anxious that I’m thinking about the last time I had sex.
The truth is those memories hold no power over me. They haven’t intruded my brain or hijacked my body’s instincts. It’s like Ethan is able to erase them when he touches me.
It’s because I trust him. This unfailingly principled man would never hurt me.
I lift my hand to his cheek. “No,” I whisper. “It’s perfect. Almost…healing.”
He searches my face. “So you don’t mind if I get a little rough with you?”
“I’d love it.”
Ethan’s response is a growl, feral and hungry, and then he’s moving. With our bodies joined, he carries me around the side of the couch. He pulls me off his cock, sets me down, and bends me over the armrest. “Hands down,” he commands. “Bend as far forward as you can.”
I hesitate for a moment to process his words. My brain is foggy from staying up so late. Crazy that I used to live in this state all the time.
A loud slap resonates through the room, and a sting settles over my ass, like tiny needles pricking my skin.
“Move, Greenwood.”
I smile. He’s been using that stern coach voice with me on and off throughout the night.
Fuck, it turns me on.
Which is why I’ll stay exactly where I am. I peek over my shoulder at him. “No.”
He frowns at first, as if confused, but then understanding seems to dawn. The corner of his lips curl into a devilish grin.
“Well, then.” His voice is soft and smooth. “I guess you’re asking for that spanking over my lap.”
An almost hysterical giggle bubbles from my chest. How is it possible that I’m about to get spanked in the nude by my overbearing protector Ethan Harrington?
“I think you’ve always wanted to do this,” I say. “Every time you got mad at me.”
“You’re damn right I did.” He grabs me by the waist and scoops me into his arms. “It’s about time, too. You’ve been begging for this for years.”
He flips me over his lap, and my stomach presses against his hard thighs. His hand brushes over the skin on my ass. “Beautiful,” he mutters before giving me a pinch so hard it makes me squeal. “I can’t wait to see what it’ll look like all red.”
My whole body grows tense. “Oh my God, Ethan. You’re killing me. Just do it already.”
He laughs darkly. “No, not yet. I’m savoring the moment.” He rubs circles over one ass cheek. “It’s going to hurt, my sassy girl,” he croons, “but it’s for your own good.”
I laugh breathlessly. “My God, you are kinky for a virgin.”
He pinches my skin again. “I’m not a virgin anymore. Alright, here we go.”
His palm leaves my skin suddenly, and I brace myself for impact.
It doesn’t come.
“You’re torturing me,” I say.
“I sure am.”
A moment later, his hand lands hard on my right cheek, and a jolt of pain shoots through me. I yelp, my hands flying to my stinging ass. “Holy shit, that was hard.”
“Are you okay, baby?” His voice is as gentle as an ocean breeze, a sweet contrast to his sternness moments before.
“Yes,” I gasp, warmth filling my belly. “I liked it.”
“Good, because that was…” He groans, his hard cock jerking against my belly. “Real fucking satisfying for me.”
He slaps me again, even harder this time. “That was for taking all your clothes off in my frat.”
SLAP!
“That was for all the guys you’ve kissed right in front of me.”
SLAP!
“And that was for being so goddamn tempting all these years. Torturing me with that sassy mouth of yours.”
My ass is on fire, and liquid seeps from my pussy. I whimper. “I want more.”
“No. You’re going to ask for my forgiveness for all the years you made me hard against my will.”
Arrows of heat shoot through my veins. Oh God, why couldn’t we have done this years ago?
“I’m sorry, Ethan. Please forgive me.
He runs his fingers through my hair. “Not like that. It’s time for you to apologize with your body.”
My tummy flips over as he picks me up and strides over to the wall. After pressing my back against the cool surface, he shoves himself inside me in one piercing thrust. His hips drive into mine with renewed intensity.
“Fuck, you’re so perfect,” he hisses, shutting his eyes tightly as if in pain. “I’m about to explode after spanking that gorgeous ass.”
“Let go, big guy,” I whisper.
“Not yet. I need you there, too.”
I shake my head, my muscles trembling. “I can’t. It feels so good, but…I think I’m spent.”
His eyes flash. “We’ll see about that.”
I want to laugh at his determination. I was so right about what he would be like in bed. He’s as intent on my pleasure as he is about every other goal in his life.
He slides his hand down the curve of my belly until he finds my clit. “Show me how you like it,” he rasps. “Quick.”
His command sends a jolt through me, reigniting embers in my belly I thought had burned out. After grabbing his fingers, I guide them up and down against my clit.
I’m not sure if it’s the heat of Ethan’s eyes or the sensation of the rough pads of his fingers against my clit, but the fire in my belly is building to a blaze. His hips are moving fast, pushing my body up the wall. My eyelids flutter closed, and pleasure coils tighter.
“You’re so beautiful,” he says. “I swear, just looking at you could make me come.”
His words make stars flare against the blackness behind my eyelids, and then it hits me, an eruption of pleasure seizes my body in a vise. My back arches against the cool wall, and I cry out as waves of ecstasy ripple through my whole body.
Distantly, through the haze, I hear Ethan’s own groan of release. It’s a guttural sound. A hot rush of liquid fills my insides.
My limbs slacken, and Ethan collapses against me, but his hold on my hips is as firm as ever. We stay against the wall for who knows how long, the world blurring as my breathing begins to steady.
“I love coming inside you,” Ethan says.
I’m pulled out of my languid daze, craning my neck to look at him. His face is flushed, and sweat is beaded on his brow. “You do?” I ask.
His chest rises and falls against mine. He lifts his gaze to meet mine. “I don’t quite understand it, but I love filling you with a part of me.” His eyes darken. “It makes me feel like you belong to me. I know it sounds crazy.”
I smooth a lock of damp hair away from his forehead. “It’s not crazy. I like feeling like you belong to me, too.”
He searches my face, his eyes intense, the fierceness from earlier softened into something more tender, more vulnerable. “Am I pushing you too hard?” he asks. “I’ve been fucking you all night. I don’t want you to feel like…it’s all about me. Tell me what you want.”
I lift my hand to his cheek. “Tonight has been perfect. You’ve made sure of that.”
He doesn’t say anything, but the relief that floods his face tells me everything I need to know.
This man prioritizes my needs. Even when he’s ravenous for sex after years of deprivation, he can’t stop thinking about what happened to me six months ago and what I might be feeling and might need.
I don’t think I’ve ever met a man like him before. My God, have I accepted the bare minimum from men all my life because I’ve never known any better? I’m not the type of woman to let a man treat me like shit. So why does Ethan’s sweet treatment make me feel like I’ve stepped into another world?
Ethan lifts my spent body from the wall and carries me back to the bed. After laying me down gently, he strides over to the kitchenette.
I marvel at the sight of him. That firm ass and those rippling muscles on his back. I never thought he’d be so relaxed in the nude, but then again, he must know he’s a beautiful physical specimen.
He grabs a towel from the counter and turns on the faucet.
“Ethan,” I say. “I don’t need to be cleaned up.”
He shakes his head as he turns to me and starts walking back to the bed. “My come is dripping down your thigh.” His lips quirk. “As much as I love the sight of it, it’s got to be uncomfortable. Plus…” He sits down on the bed, and the mattress dips under his weight. “I like taking care of you.”
The affectionate glint in his eyes warms my whole body. It’s a look that says he would do anything to ensure my comfort. His touch is careful and precise as he cleans me up. It’s endearing, so characteristically Ethan. When he’s finished, he bunches the towel into a ball and sends it through the air like a rocket. It lands in the center of the laundry basket at the other end of the room.
“Show off,” I murmur, my eyes starting to fall shut.
He climbs into the bed and pulls my face against his chest. “If that was showing off, I’m in serious trouble. I thought I fucked your brains out tonight. I hope you weren’t faking those orgasms.”
“Fucked my brains out,” a soft voice says. “Yes. It was the best…ever.”
“Really?” someone murmurs.
In the next moment, I drift into peaceful oblivion.