31. Henley #2
Embarrassed to agree out loud, I simply bob my head. “Carson always made me feel insecure. He constantly made jabs about my body, among other things. We stopped, because of me. The idea of being naked in front of him made me terrified.”
“Are you terrified of being naked in front of me?” Em asks calmly. “Like I said earlier, we can stop anytime. I want you to be comfortable.”
“That’s the thing, I am comfortable with you. I-I’m just afraid that all of this”—I gesture over all of me—“may not live up to your expectations . . . just like I couldn’t live up to his.”
A low growl vibrates from his chest, and I feel the weight of his chest over mine. “Look at me, sweetheart.”
When I do, I immediately feel ridiculous for being nervous. He looks at me with such adoration, that my heart aches.
“You’re beautiful, inside and out. I’m so sorry that you’ve been with selfish assholes that made you second-guess that. I’m including myself in that group.”
He sighs, a few strands of his hair sweeping against my nose as his head droops between us.
“I want to worship your body in every way that I possibly can. Erase every hurt, every doubt, every moment that made you feel like you were never enough.”
A tear slides slowly down my cheek, and Emerson captures it with his lips.
“Let me show you how much I love you. Replace all those years of doubt with hope. Fill you up with so much light that your eyes roll back and your toes curl. Let me make you feel just as good as you make me feel. Every. Damn. Day.”
Emotion swells in my throat, and I swallow deeply to try and push it down.
He just told me that he loves me.
Three little words I have been waiting to hear for so long. And no matter how hard I try to push the words back out, they are frozen on the tip of my tongue.
“Let me show you why you will always be enough for me.”
There’s no hiding the way my breath hitches.
Delighted, his fingers skim over my inner thigh, drawing lazy circles over my skin. Unconsciously taunting me with the knowledge of exactly what those fingers could do if only a few inches higher.
“Please, baby . . . let me erase all that pain. Show you that you don’t have to shoulder it alone anymore.”
Every muscle in Emerson’s face tightens as my lips part. I can tell he’s nervous about what my next words are going to be. Wondering if I’m going to follow through with this. Em’s lips fold inwards, his eyes fluttering shut, awaiting my reply.
“Well, since you said all those pretty things and asked so politely, how could I ever turn you down?”
Even before his eyes open, I watch in awe as the tension fades from his forehead, as his mouth slowly pulls into a smirk. When they do, I’m met with the deepest shade of blue that threatens to pull me all the way under. And I’m finally ready to let him.
He lifts up the hair tie, and raises a brow. My cheeks warm, as he slowly raises my arms over my head and ties them together.
“Mask on or off?” His gravelly voice rumbles against my skin as the scruff on his chin tickles my stomach as he kisses it.
“O-off . . .” I stutter, distracted by the sinful way his fingers slip around the flimsy strings of my thong and begin to slide it down my thighs.
“Good.” The word leaves his lips with a guttural growl.“That way I can see how fucking stunning you look when you come on my tongue.”
Dear god. If his dirty mouth doesn’t kill me, the orgasm he just promised to bestow upon me most certainly will.
When he reaches my feet, he tosses the thin strip of fabric over his shoulder. Then he lowers himself down to his knees in front of me.
The moment his large palms wrap around the backs of my thighs, I forget how to breathe. He tugs me to the very edge of the bed. It feels like my ass is about to fall off.
“Relax, baby, I’ve got you,” he says, lifting my legs over his shoulders. “You just keep those beautiful eyes on me, okay?”
Before I have a chance to change my mind, he dives between my thighs.
His tongue slides from the back all the way to the front, parting me at an excruciating slow pace.
With my hands above my head, and my feet dangling over his shoulders, I’m completely at his mercy.
I find myself pressing my hips further toward his mouth, searching for anything to ease the burn searing within me.
Em’s lips find my clit, and I’m transported out of this world. Slowly, his tongue swirls around it in soft, deliberate circles. The scruff of his short beard scratches against the sensitive skin of my thighs, and my eyes roll back into my head from the delicious sensation.
My legs begin to tremble, not out of fear, but out of pure desire for this man and his talented mouth.
When his teeth graze over the top, I feel like I might pass out.
My chest heaves uncontrollably as my lungs search for air to keep up.
Just as he draws it into his mouth, he slips a finger inside of me, stoking my climax so close to the edge.
Every second feels so intense. Like at any moment I might implode.
I’ve decided Emerson Lane must be part magician because what he is doing down there is pure magic.
“Oh my god . . .” I rasp out as I try to squirm out of his hold.
His groan is muffled but loud enough to make me go wild as he continues to work me with his mouth and his finger.
Just when I think I can’t take anymore, he adds another two fingers and curls them deep inside me.
I know I’ve finally died and gone to heaven.
Everything goes hazy, and I feel like I’m about to ascend straight out of my body.
“I-I don’t think I—”
Lifting his head just long enough to catch my gaze, he smirks. “Yes, you can. Fuck, you’re doing so well. Fall, baby. Let me catch you.”
His grip tightens around my upper thighs as he slams me straight back onto his waiting mouth. With one more deep pull from his lips around my clit, and one more curl of his fingers, I fall.
Not only do I let go, but I shatter completely.
Emerson catches me, just like he promised, holding me steady as I break.