Chapter 9 #2
It was intimate. More intimate than it should have been, charged with warm tension that I could feel between us. But I'd done it so gently, with such obvious care, that it felt natural. Like touching her this way was always meant to happen.
She made a little sound—not quite a gasp, not quite a sigh. Her eyes were still on mine, darker now, full of questions and answers and something that looked like want.
"Wade," she whispered, my name on her lips like a prayer.
I didn't respond with words. I just kept holding her, watching her watch me, feeling that empty space in my chest fill completely with her presence, her trust, her absolute beauty.
She lifted her hand from where it had been trailing in the water and brought it to my face, her fingers gentle against my jaw, wet and soft and trembling slightly. She traced my cheekbone the way I'd traced hers, her touch exploratory, like she was learning me through her fingertips.
Then she pulled herself up slightly in my arms, closing the distance between us. Her eyes asked a question, but she didn't wait for my answer.
She kissed me.
Soft and tentative. Her lips were warm against mine, the touch barely more than a brush of contact, like she wasn't sure if she was allowed, wasn't sure if I'd pull away or push, or do any of the thousand terrible things men had probably done to her.
I let her take it, let her control the kiss completely. I didn't deepen it or tighten my hold or do anything that might make her feel trapped. I stood there in the water holding her, letting her kiss me with that sweet, uncertain pressure that made my heart swell.
She pulled back slightly, her eyes searching mine. Looking for rejection or disgust, or whatever reaction she'd learned to expect when she reached for something she wanted.
"Again," I urged quietly.
This time, when she kissed me, there was less hesitation. Her hand came up to my jaw, fingers trembling against my skin, and she pressed her lips to mine. Her mouth moved, learning the shape of me, testing what I'd allow.
I let her explore for exactly ten seconds.
Let her think she had control; let her feel that this was hers to take at her own pace.
Then I tightened my arm around her back, tilted her head with the hand at her cheek, and kissed her the way I'd been wanting to since she'd grabbed my shirt and asked for help.
Her mouth opened under mine, and I took the invitation and deepened the kiss slowly, showing her what it felt like to be kissed by someone who knew what they were doing. Someone who was fifteen years older than her.
Her fingers tightened in my hair, nails scraping against my scalp, sending heat straight through me. She kissed me back harder, desperate and hungry, like she'd been starving for this and finally found permission to take it.
No hesitation now, no uncertainty, just raw need that she poured into my mouth like it was the only thing keeping her alive.
I kept it controlled. Kept the kiss deep but careful, dominant but not overwhelming.
I let her feel my want without drowning in it, let her understand that I was choosing to give.
My thumb stroked her cheekbone, a gentle contrast to the way my mouth claimed hers, the way my tongue explored every inch of what she was offering.
She whimpered, and the sound went straight to my groin.
It made me want to carry her back to the estate and show her what it meant to be wanted by Wade Easton, but she was healing, fragile, and trusting me.
That meant I needed to be the one with control, even when she was kissing me like she wanted to live inside my skin.
I gentled the kiss, pulling back enough to let her breathe. Her eyes were closed, her lips swollen and red, her breathing uneven. She was so beautiful in her vulnerability and strength all wrapped together.
"Wade," she breathed against my mouth, and hearing my name in that wrecked voice made primal possessiveness surge.
"I've got you, darling." I kissed her again, softer this time, sweeter. A kiss that promised safety and everything she'd been denied for five years. "I've got you."
She made another sound, softer, and buried her face against my neck. Her body was trembling, from cold, emotion, or leftover adrenaline, I wasn't sure. Maybe all three. But she clung to me like I was the only solid thing in a world that had been unstable for too long.
I held her there in the water, one hand stroking her back, the other still cupping her face. I let her take whatever she needed—comfort or connection, or just the physical proof that someone wanted her without wanting to hurt her.
"I don't understand this," she whispered against my skin. "I don't understand you, or why you're helping me, or why kissing you feels safer than anything has in five years."
"You don't have to understand it right now." I tilted her face up, making her look at me. Those dark eyes were full of questions, fear, and soon, trust. "Just know that you're safe with me. That I'll keep you happy, and that no one is going to hurt you again."
“For real?” Her voice was small, vulnerable, and made me want to destroy anyone who'd ever made her feel this uncertain.
“For real.” I kissed her forehead, her temple, her nose. Gentle touches that sealed the vow. “I’m going to prove it by saving those women. By making sure everyone who hurt you pays for it. I’m going to give you everything you need to feel safe again."
She searched my face, looking for the lie, for the crack in the facade. For whatever hidden agenda she'd learned to expect from men who said pretty things.
She wouldn't find it because I meant every word I’d said with Easton conviction.
"Okay," she whispered finally, and then she kissed me again. Slow and achingly sweet, like she was starting to believe that this was real.
I let her kiss me until she was satisfied, until her trembling stopped, until the fear in her eyes was replaced with warmth. Then I carried her out of the water, across the sand, and back toward the estate where my team was waiting and plans were being made.
She fell asleep in my arms before we reached the door, her face pressed against my neck, her breathing finally even. I held her tighter, cherishing this beautifully strong woman who'd kissed me in the ocean and trusted me with herself.
She thought we had twenty-four hours to rest, to prepare, but I wasn't waiting. Tonight, while she slept safe in my bed, I was going to burn her nightmares to the ground.
And then I'd have the rest of my life to earn the trust she'd just given me. To prove that kissing me in the ocean was just the beginning of everything I wanted to give her.