24. Grace
24
GRACE
I lay on the bed, spent, happy, relaxed, and feeling like I could conquer the world. Who knew speaking the truth to Brian would relieve me of my fears? His caring and easygoing attitude and his attentiveness to my needs had opened up a chest of fears that I thought I would never divulge to any man.
Brian crawled off the bed and swiped a hand over his messy blond hair, seemingly nervous as he watched me watch him. I found it odd that he seemed anxious. The man wasn’t afraid of anything. He dealt with morally gray and dangerous people. He’d run a drug empire for the cartel. Yet he stood like a statue, highlighted by only the trickle of the city lights spilling in from a crack in the curtains.
His green eyes were filled with emotions, too many to identify. The scruff on his jaw only made him look sexier, and then he took off his shirt. I’d only had a glimpse of his abs in the hotel room. His upper torso was ripped—bulging biceps, dips and valleys of abs, broad chest, and that happy trail that led to a yummier part of his body.
“In this room, it’s only you and me,” he said as if he knew a small part of me was still frightened.
In a way, I was. I wanted all of him. I was ready. But I had no idea how I would react when he entered me.
“Tell me you understand,” he commanded, shucking his jeans. “Tell me if you don’t want to go through with this.”
I inhaled deeply. “I want you, Brian. I won’t lie. I’m still scared, but I know you’ll be gentle. I trust you.”
The intensity in his gaze gave me goose bumps, even more so when he removed his boxer briefs and his cock sprang free.
I let out a soft gasp.
Holy hell! I fixated on a body that belonged in Esquire magazine. The men I’d seen naked before now had big guts and flabby muscles.
Stop thinking about the past, girl. You’re ruining the moment.
I silently scolded myself as I threw out any memories of that horrific time. In this room, it was only him and me. I silently repeated that a few times.
He stroked his erection once again then opened the drawer of his nightstand and pulled out a condom.
“I’m on the pill,” I felt compelled to say. It wasn’t to prevent a pregnancy but to regulate my periods. “I hate condoms too. Reminds me too much of the past.”
A weak grin emerged on his face. “Are you sure?”
“Absolutely.”
He stilled for a moment.
I scooted farther into the middle of the bed, unable to tear my eyes away from the most beautiful dick I’d ever seen. Then I opened my legs, giving him the permission I felt he needed.
He didn’t move toward me but pumped his massive dick, and on the upstroke, he winced. Then with slow, casual steps, he came toward me, the tip of his erection glistening.
As he approached, his powerful body moving with a predatory grace, my body was on fire, my heart aflutter, and my breath caught in my throat.
He paused at the edge of the bed, his eyes roaming over my body with undisguised hunger, yet beneath all that I could see he was as anxious as I was.
“You are everything I wanted but thought I would never have.” His voice was low and husky. “With me, baby girl, I want you to let go. Free yourself and know that I got you. I will always put you first.”
I flushed but relaxed at his words, which felt like a warm blanket on a cold winter morning. I had an overpowering desire to feel him inside me. I wanted to make him feel loved and worthy of having a happily ever after too.
He climbed on the bed, his weight shifting the mattress as he positioned himself between my legs.
I could feel the heat radiating from his skin as he hovered above me, his lips feathering over mine.
I threaded my fingers through his hair then pulled him toward me. “Kiss me like I’m not fragile. Love me like I’m the only girl left on Earth.”
He grinned against my lips. “You are the only woman on Earth for me, Grace Hart. I’m so fucking in love with you that my heart can’t slow down.”
Tears pricked my eyes. “No man has told me that. Ever. I guess crushes can be true love because I never thought in a zillion years I would be with the man who called me vanilla bean, who made me giddy, and made me feel again.”
I kissed him with all I had—wet, wild, and fucking wonderful. He tasted like home and felt like freedom. Freedom from the chains of my past, of the demons that had buried my soul.
Our tongues tangoed, and I didn’t even register him entering me until my walls clenched around him and he froze.
“Do you want me to stop?”
I brushed my hand through the scruff on his face and shook my head. “Never.”
He began to move, slowly at first, his hips rocking against mine in a gentle rhythm.
I mewled at the sensation, the friction stimulating as my hands roamed over his back and I felt his muscles flex and tense.
He groaned, burying his nose in my neck. “Fuck, you feel like I died and went to heaven.”
I arched into him, meeting his movement, loving his words, wanting to be closer to him.
As our pace quickened, the sounds of our passion—soft moans, deep grunts, rhythmic breathing—filled the room.
He rolled us over without breaking the connection. “Is this okay?”
I nodded, moving effortlessly along his cock, my hands pressed into his chest as he played with my nipples.
“I love you, Brian.” The words tumbled out before I could stop them, but I didn’t want to stop them. I meant it with all my being.
He grasped my waist, thrusting his hips upward, groaning. “Say it again.”
“I love you,” I repeated, closing my eyes, feeling as though I were soaring like a bird high in the sky. I was on the precipice of an orgasm that was building up to be better than the first one, if that was even possible.
He rolled us again, his pace faster, quicker, taking us higher and higher.
“Let go, baby girl,” he urged, his voice strained. “I’ve got you. Always.”
And I did. Waves of pleasure crashed over me, my body clenching around him.
His kiss was fast and furious as he bucked once, twice, three times, stiffening as he pressed his hands into the mattress on either side of my head, looking sexier than ever as his orgasm hit him.
I squeezed around his cock and drew a loving smile from his lips, and after he rolled off me, we lay there, a tangle of limbs, our breathing heavy as he peppered my face with soft kisses.
The music we created, the love that poured out of us, was more than I had expected.
I turned on my side to face him and tucked my arm beneath my head. “Thank you for showing me what it feels like to make love and to be loved.”
He slid closer to me on his side, moving sweaty hair off my face. “I’ve only begun to show you the best times of your life.”
Tears shot free, happy ones. Every fear and every insecurity, along with ten years of demons, were pouring out of me, and I couldn’t wait to see what else he had in store.