Chapter 36
Words clungto my throat as I tried to figure out what to say to him.
His scars were just as bad as mine. My heart ached. The last thing I expected coming to his home tonight was this—that we were similar. We both swam in misery in our life.
I placed my palm on the crisscrossing lines. I pressed my palm into it, wanting to absorb his pain.
“Who did this to you?” I asked, placing a kiss on his back the way he had mine.
It sounded strange, but something had lifted from me when he’d pressed his lips to my scars. I didn’t expect that tendernessfrom the powerful, and magnetic man he presented to the world—the man I had initially feared would break my heart.
When he didn’t reply, I wrapped my arms around him, my body pressing into his back. This gesture was more intimate than any sexual encounter I’d ever experienced. He had touched a part of my soul tonight. But I wasn’t going to share that.
I kissed the side of his face. “Whose butt do I need to kick for you?”
Laughing, he shifted and somehow dragged me onto his lap easily. I was cradled in his arm while completely naked.
But I wasn’t even insecure about it. Something shifted between us tonight. Maybe it was because we both saw each other’s darkest wounds. Nothing else could measure up to that.
He looked down at me. Emotion swirled in those irresistible gray eyes that seemed to tell me an entire story of his life.
“Would you do that for me?” he asked, brushing strands of hair from my face.
“Yup.” I ran my fingers along the light stubble on his chin. “I need a name and an address. Then I’ll start my attack plan.”
His smile widened. “Using what?”
“Haven’t you read the Art of War?”
His eyes gleamed with amusement. “You’ve read it?”
“Let me tell you a secret, pal.” I lowered my voice. “The comic book version is fabulous.”
His laugh roared through the living room. His body shook with me still cradled in his arms.
“Didn’t know there was one. I read the English translation of the book when I was in the Navy.”
“The comic book version is out of print. But the strategies and philosophies are still the same. You just have to apply it to modern contexts. People don’t ride horses into battle anymore.”
“No. We use cars, planes, and other advanced technologies.”
I poked him in his abdomen. “So . . . who gave you those scars?”
It should feel strange that we were having this serious conversation in the nude. Minutes ago, sexual energy thrummed in this room. But right now, a rare intimacy—even friendship—stirred between us.
I cherished it more than he could ever know.
I wasn’t into wars or war strategy, but I was interested in how people survived during turbulent times. My kung fu master had given me the comic book version a long time ago when I first started learning self-defense. It was probably inside some box in storage.
“I’ll crush yourenemy with my snake attack. I’ll even add in a few crane pecks into his eyes. Then another two pecks on his heart meridian that governs all his organs. He will know extreme pain and?—”
His mouth met mine, and I was flat on the couch with his weight over me, his cock growing hard, hot, and throbbing against my skin. I loved how he kissed me tenderly this time. Our mouths sought each other as though we were trying to travel deeper to find out more about one another.
This wasn’t the ferocity he’d shown me earlier. This was delicate, meaningful, and penetrating.
His tongue caressed mine, and I returned the favor. It was as though we were telling each other love stories with our senses.
He drew back and looked down at me, his eyes full of emotion.“Time to fuck you all night, Tulip. Any objections to that?”
“No objections here.” I smiled, opening my thighs wider for him.
He shifted, reached for the condom pack on thefloor, ripped it open, and put it on. I didn’t remember him getting the pack. But my focus had been on more important things, like the sexy man who looked like he wanted to possess me.
Heat pooled at my core again, and he glanced at it. A wolfish grin stretched his face.
Growling, he sat on the couch, bent toward my sex, and licked me again. “You’re so fucking ready for me.”
He shifted so his knees were on the couch and dragged me closer as he positioned his thick cock at my core. My heart jolted from the flood of warmth in his eyes.
When he slid into me, he looked at me, and I knew this union was different.
This was special.
I wished I could wrap the sacred look and raw emotion into a precious box where I could cherish them forever. Where I could take it out to remember this moment.
My breath hitched as he drove deeper into me.
“Fuuuck. You’re so tight,” he crooned.
He felt so good inside me, so full. So perfect. He pulled out and slammed into me again and again. I moaned with each powerful thrust.
I pulled his face to me and kissed him all over—his lips, his jawline, and his forehead. I couldn’t get enough of him.
He pumped harder and harder, and my body thrummed for release. His body tensed, and I knew he was on the edge too.
“Look at me.” He panted. “Come with me.”
“Arrow!” I cried as the powerful orgasm ripped through me, blinding me, but not before I saw the grin on his face.
“You’re mine. Remember that.” He groaned, and I felt the shockwave of pleasure inundate his body.He fell onto me, bracing one hand so he didn’t crush me.
I bit into his shoulder, loving the scent and taste of a satisfied man. Seconds later, he removed himself from me, went to wash up, brought a towel to clean me up, and resumed his position next to me on the wide couch.
We stayed like that for a while and wallowed in bliss and relaxation. I couldn’t remember what we talked about because I dozed off.