Chapter 23
Iwoke with a start. It was early. The room had lightened a little, but it was still what I would call dark. Clearly too early to get up. Cy lay sleeping beside me, and Zeppelin was lying on my feet, snoring.
Cy was on his side, facing me, his chest rising and falling with each breath, and his lips slightly parted. He looked peaceful.
Last night, he’d agreed to share the bed with me, but to my disappointment, he’d only given me a chaste kiss good night, then rolled over and gone to sleep.
Now, at least, I had the chance to study his face while he slept. His cheek looked so smooth before it disappeared into his beard, I could barely resist the urge to trail my finger over it. Even without being able to see the beauty of his eyes, I was still struck by how handsome he was. His cheekbones were sharp, his face angular. His nose straight and strong. His features were classically perfect, even if his long hair was messy.
How had I not seen how handsome he was from the very first glance? Had I been blind? Or blinded by prejudice?
Truth was, now I’d gotten to know his caring, capable nature, that was what I mostly saw. The physical things—like how his eyes could be the color of ice water yet warm me to my core, or how mouthwateringly wide his shoulders were—those things were a bonus. A very nice bonus, sure. But the thing I most appreciated was how determined he was to protect me. Nobody had ever stepped up for me like that before.
And there was the way he made mushrooms seem fascinating. Mushrooms! I mean, how ridiculous to be interested in mushrooms, yet when he’d compared them to music, I’d been in awe of him. He was quietly clever, not a show-off like Eric. Cy had a whole lot more substance.
He was the type of man I could fall hard for, and honestly, I was more than halfway there already.
The blankets weren’t far above waist level. And as Cy must have rolled over during the night, the T-shirt he’d worn to bed had twisted, pulling tight around his biceps and chest. Even relaxed in sleep, his muscles were impressive. His large, capable hand was curled below the pillow.
I tugged my feet out from underneath Zeppelin’s solid weight, and the dog lifted his hand and thumped his tail on the bed a couple of times, probably hoping that I was about to get up to let him outside. But I had other ideas on my mind.
I moved closer to Cy, compelled by an overwhelming urge to breathe his air. By moving to the very edge of my pillow, our faces were only inches away. But it wasn’t enough. I shifted my head onto the edge of his pillow so our noses were almost touching.
Cy’s eyes fluttered open. My breath stopped at the sight of his pale irises, his eyes ringed with dark eyelashes. A slow smile lifted his mouth as his eyes focused on me. His hand uncurled and he shifted it up so his fingers brushed my chin.
“Morning,” I said softly.
“It doesn’t seem like morning yet. It’s still dark.” His voice was a sexy rumble, rough with sleep.
“Well, I was forced to wake you, seeing as you were snoring so loudly, you were scaring Zeppelin.”
His lips quirked. “I don’t snore. But I’m not going to argue seeing as you’re such a nice sight to wake up to.”
I inched my face a little closer. “You’re not so bad either.”
“Was that a compliment? Careful, Brooklyn. Don’t get mushy.”
“Never.” I put my palm against his beard and kissed him softly.
He slid his arm over my back, pulling me against him. I snuggled into his warm bulk as he deepened the kiss.
He let out a low groan, and all at once the kiss became a whole lot hotter. Pulling me hard against his body, he nipped at my lips, then took my tongue with his, his mouth firm and demanding.
An overwhelming need for him surged in me as his erection pressed into me. He was barely contained inside the boxer briefs he’d worn to bed, and he felt like hardened steel. He shoved my T-shirt higher with urgent hands, as though his survival depended on caressing my bare skin.
I realized I was making embarrassing panting sounds, but I couldn’t bring myself to care. I clawed at his T-shirt, desperate to have it out of the way, to be able to touch him everywhere. With an impatient grunt, he yanked his shirt off in one quick movement. Then he grabbed mine and pulled it off me, tugging it over my head as though it were on fire.
And oh God, it was so much better without all that fabric. Ever since I’d seen him shirtless, I’d been dying to run my hands over the hard ridges of his muscled body. He had a smattering of dark hair across his chest and I pushed my hand into it, loving the rough, manly feel of it. His burliness was such a turn on. I loved his hard slabs of muscle and washboard abs. He was all male and total perfection.
His hand went to my breast, cupping and pinching and soothing. Then his mouth was on my nipple. His tongue swirled over my peak, making me gasp with pleasure.
“I want you,” Cy growled against my skin.
“Yes, yes,” I moaned breathlessly, before a sliver of reason forced itself into my brain. “But what about Gemma?”
“She’ll be asleep. We have to be quiet.”
“Quiet. Yes. I can do that.” He could have said we’d have to make a blood sacrifice, and my answer would have been the same. My need was overwhelming. The ache between my thighs was driving me beyond reason, making me mindless.
I pushed my hand into his boxer briefs and my hand closed around his erection. He made a sound of pleasure, a groan on an intake of breath, and I stroked down his length. He was thick and long. Silky smooth skin over iron. More perfection.
His cock was magnificent. And I was overwhelmed by a sudden urge to taste him. Sliding down his body, I yanked his boxer briefs down.
“Mags.” He made as though to pull me back up, but I was determined. I wanted to feel him on my tongue. To take him into my mouth and give him the same pleasure he’d given me.
I pulled the blankets off as I traveled down, exposing us both to the chilly morning air. With one hand wrapped around the base of his cock, I licked its tip with the flat of my tongue. He groaned and I looked up at him. His eyes were hazy, his expression raw as he gazed back at me.
“Mags,” he said softly. “I want to be inside you.”
“You will be,” I promised. “In a moment. First, I need to...” Instead of finishing the thought, I took him inside my mouth.
His fingers dug into my hair, and the tortured-sounding moan he let out made the ache between my legs more insistent. I slid my lips as far down his shaft as I could go, then pulled back up, swirling my tongue around the head of his cock as I went.
“Fuck,” he hissed. His face contorted as though he was in agony, and a thrill shot down my spine. I loved seeing him so turned on. I wanted to keep going, to drive him to the edge of orgasm...But the tightness between my thighs was all but unbearable. I needed him inside me.
I sucked him into my mouth as far as I could take him twice more, then licked his length from base to tip as though I was licking an ice cream. When I finally moved back up his body, to kiss his lips, his breathing was shallow and his eyes dark.
He shoved my panties down as though he was desperate for me, spreading me and driving his fingers roughly into me. It was such a relief to feel them, I cried out with pleasure, but he covered my mouth with his, kissing away my cries.
“I’ll get a condom,” he said in a strangled tone, his mouth still on mine, his fingers plunging into me.
Up until now, I’d always used a condom and never considered going without. But I couldn’t bear the thought of him moving away from me, even for a second.
“No need,” I panted. I couldn’t wait long enough even to explain that I was on birth control. I just rolled him on top of me, wrapping my legs around his hips.
He didn’t argue, just fumbled for a moment, positioning himself at my entrance. Then he pushed inside me, filling me completely, and the sensation was so incredible, I thought I might die from the pleasure.
“Fuck, Mags.” He bit my shoulder, my neck, driving his length in and out of me, punishing me with his size in the best possible way.
His teeth and tongue savaged and devoured my skin while I clawed at his shoulders, pulling him down onto me. I couldn’t get enough. I wanted him closer. I wanted him deeper. I wanted all of him inside me as far as he could go.
Without pulling out, he scooped me up and flipped us both over so he was sitting on the bed, and I was straddling him. Then he put his arms around me, pulling me hard onto his cock. Helping me grind myself down onto him.
The position rubbed my most sensitive parts against his body, driving my pleasure higher. The sensation built rapidly, swirling and growing like the clouds above a forming tornado. When I felt his cock swell in me, I knew he was close too. The knowledge drove me over the edge, and I exploded in orgasm. I came so hard and so furiously, I was no longer flesh and blood, but for an endless moment, I was nothing but light and pleasure and pure sensation.
When I finally came back to myself, I was whimpering, my body jerking over his, rocking with the intensity of my climax. Cy made a sound that was half growl, half groan, and thrust upward, harder and faster, until he was coming too, his cock pulsing as he filled me.
Afterward, he kissed me gently, his eyes warm and cherishing. I lay on his chest and listened to the strong, steady beat of his heart. I felt close to him, surrounded by his warmth. Protected, safe, and loved.
But slowly, as my glorious mindlessness began to ebb, my anxious thoughts returned. Despite the sanctuary of Cy’s bed, danger still lurked outside. Somewhere out there, Spike was looking for me. And no matter how firm Cy was about not turning me away, I’d thoughtlessly put Gemma in danger by coming to his house. If Spike managed to track me down, or discover my connection to Cy, he could threaten her.
As secure as I felt circled inside his arms, I felt guilty, too.
The hard truth was that I shouldn’t have come here and put my problems on Cy’s shoulders. And the only way to rectify my mistake would be to do what Cy wanted and go to the sheriff.
I could only pray that didn’t make everything worse.