39. Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Emma
My lips are sore from Dacre’s kisses, but every second that I wait while he rummages around in his nightstand, I’m assaulted with a maddening urge in my skull to kiss him again and again until he finishes what he started. Or did I start this?
Doesn’t matter. Either way, I’m ready to continue it.
Dacre loves me, and I actually believe him.
“I’m on the potion. I started it today, but the nurse said it would work.”
“This is for something else.”
I grip the sheets as that mind numbing urge rushes through me again. It’s so much worse when he isn’t touching me.
“Can you hurry?” I whimper.
His fingers dig into my thigh as he emerges, now wearing a mask on his lower face. I still see his emerald eyes and his hair, but a mask now hooks around his ears and covers his nose and mouth.
My heart kicks as he towers over me, his bare chest and muscles all perfect and glistening in the light. He’s so rigid, as if it’s difficult to hold back.
This must be the protection he was talking about. It’s . . . hot.
“I’m right here, Em.”
I almost forget about the aching pain in my abdomen, thinking instead of licking his abs.
“Dacre?” I hook a finger in his hair, then another, as he leans in closer.
“Second thoughts?”
“I . . . was thinking about how much I want this.”
He presses a palm against my face. “I’m going to take care of you, Emma. I mean it.”
My cheeks burn as I take another breath. The three words I want to say are on the tip of my tongue till he tugs me forward to the edge of the bed. He probably doesn’t think I’ll say it back.
Now that his mouth is covered, he’s feeling more with his hands, tracing the curves under my breast and along my nipples. His pupils are blown out to a proportion that makes him look like a crazed animal.
“Dacre. I can’t wait. I need—”
The warmth of his hand skims my belly. Then I feel him, inch by inch, as he moves inside me. It doesn’t hurt, but it’s tight pressure.
I stop him by placing my hand on top of his. “That’s a lot.”
He squeezes my hand, rubbing his thumb across the top. “We’ll go slowly.”
Our fingers intertwine as he inches deeper. I shimmy, slowly opening to the new sensation. It’s not until he’s fully inside me that relief washes over me.
“Oh, stars,” I moan.
“I’m here. I’m not going anywhere.”
It’s as if he knows my deepest fears and wants. When did all that anxiety and resistance fall out of me? My confession at the door? Maybe it was the minute his lips hit mine. I grab at his arms and his chest, anything to get his skin on mine.
Or maybe it was all the way back at initiation. The night his voice was in my head changed everything. I think I knew then that I was in trouble, but I refused to admit it.
The rhythm of his hips pulls sounds from me I’ve never made before. That aching pain melts into pure bliss with every thrust inside me.
“I love you.”
Something I thought I’d never say.
He stops, and then I know it’s true.
Because if he rejects me now, I don’t think I can take it. I don’t want to be separated from him. I want this. My person. Today and tomorrow and the next day. And forever.
Warm fingers caress my cheek. “You don’t have to say that. I didn’t expect you to, after everything.”
“I do.”
I rock my hips back and forth till a growl leaps from his throat and he pins my hands beside me, and I gasp as he sinks deeper.
“You love me?” he says in disbelief.
He wraps my head into his arms, and somehow, he’s even deeper than before.
I stutter as he keeps up the careful, slow movement of his hips, and another moan escapes me, almost a sob.
Dacre has always seen me. Through the fog of who I pretend to be and who I desire to be, I’ve been lost, hidden in the shadow of the pressure I’ve placed on myself. But he always knew.
How could I ever feel alone under his watchful gaze?
There’s a natural shift. His fingers dig in harder, pulling at my hair. There’s so much pressure. But it’s all good, all welcome as I spread my legs wider.
It’s so . . . easy. The pleasure mounts so fast.
The shock of my orgasm is so intense that I claw my fingers into his back. He holds me while he rubs the back of my head.
He cocks his head to the side. “I need you to do that again because I want to watch.”
Dacre rams into me. I grab his hand again. Now I see how steady he is and how much I need that stability.
I get it now. Once I find a position that works, I let go of all other senses. I need to come again. I need him to come, too.
“Such a good girl, Em. You’re so perfect for me. Do you know that?”
Oh, that’s new, too. I want more of that.
“Does it have to end?” I’m so close that I can’t hold on to my resolve any longer.
He chuckles. “We have a lot of time. I want you to feel better.”
Dacre grips the headboard, slowing his movements, while the pleasure becomes almost unbearable. Placing a hand on my thigh, he spreads my legs open wider.
My orgasm bursts, and he tenses. A soft moan leaps from his throat, and my head tips back while relief floods over me and warmth spreads in my abdomen.
It soothes all the pain lingering in my body and the urge is finally gone.
I pull his hand to my chest, and he never lets go. After a few minutes, I feel the gentle rub of his thumb. He’s right. There’s nothing that can keep us apart now.
“Feel better?” He removes his mask, and I feel his gentle kiss on my cheek.
“So much better.”