Chapter Fifteen
Arianna
The following day, I’m minding my own business, eating my breakfast of oatmeal, when Cormac comes into the kitchen wearing nothing but a towel. His body is dripping wet from the shower he just took.
The sight of his bare chest makes it hard for me to swallow my food. He looks good to say the least. All muscle and toned. Clearly, he works hard for his body and now his body is right in my face and I can’t ignore it.
Cormac touched me so intimately the day before that I haven’t been able to stop thinking of it. And now here he is, almost naked before me. There’s no denying it: I find my husband attractive.
He opened up to me yesterday about his anger and his family. Seeing his vulnerability made me feel closer to him. I wasn’t sure how far I was willing to go physically with him but now seeing him in nothing but a towel, it’s got me thinking things I’ve never thought for another person.
“Good morning,” he says, like he isn’t just standing there, half-naked.
“Good morning,” I squeak out before stuffing a spoonful of oatmeal into my mouth. My eyes can’t help but flick down to his chest.
“Like what you see?” he teases with a little smirk on his lips. It makes him more handsome instead of the terrifying scowl he used to wear.
“I…” My face is on fire.
“It’s ok if you do, Arianna. I’ve seen you naked before.”
“When you kidnapped me.” I wince the moment I say it. “I know. I shouldn’t keep bringing it up. It’s just not fair. You saw me at my most vulnerable and I haven’t seen all of you yet.”
“Do you want to see all of me?”
“Like…?”
He motions to his towel. “I can take it off but only if you want me to.”
I swallow hard. A part of me is nervous to go this route because once we start, there’s no going back. But there’s another part of me that really wants to see all of Cormac. That wants to make this marriage work.
“Yes,” I say, trying to sound confident. “I… want to see you.”
He doesn’t hesitate to drop his towel. His naked body is just as glorious as his chest. His legs are strong and powerful. The lower V of his abdomen muscles goes straight to his…
My eyes widen when I look at his penis. It grows erect the longer I stare at it. His length is… a lot bigger than I expected. I hadn’t given it any thought until now.
“You don’t need to be afraid of it. It won’t bite. I won’t hurt you again, Arianna. I promise.” I can hear the honesty in his words.
“Can I touch you?” The question is out before I can stop it. “You’ve touched me. It’s only fair.”
His lips quirk up, making me blush harder. “You can touch me. But I’m not sure doing it right here in the kitchen is all that sexy.” His eyes light up. “I have an idea. Let’s take a shower together.”
“But you just got out of the shower.”
“I can take another one. I want to see you again. All of you. I want to touch you too. And the shower would be a more intimate place than the kitchen.”
To be in the shower with Cormac… naked. It’s no longer an unsettling thought. Instead, it fills me with excitement.
“Ok,” I answer.
He leads me into the bathroom. I try to keep my eyes from flicking down to his waist but it’s hard. His body is so prominent and strong.
“Let me,” he murmurs as his hands find the end of my top.
I raise my arms, letting him take it off me.
Cormac isn’t wrong: he has seen me naked before.
But this time it’s completely different.
I’m choosing to show him my body. We’re married, bound for life.
It’s only right I get to experience this with my husband.
Cormac’s eyes flick down to my bare chest. “You are beautiful. I don’t know how I could have ever hated you. I can never hate you, Arianna.”
His words almost make me cry and it takes everything in me not to.
He gently takes off my brace so it doesn’t get wet in the shower. The tenderness he’s showing is surprising, given the man he is, but it also shows the complexity to him. How he’s not all evil.
His hands find my pants and pushes them down. Lastly, my underwear. His fingers skim along the waist band before he slips the fabric down my legs until I’m fully naked before him.
We both stand before each other, taking in all of our most intimate areas. All of our secrets. All of our flaws.
Cormac holds my hand as he helps me into the shower. The warm water provides comfort and relaxes any lingering stiffness in my body.
“You can touch me,” he says in a gruff tone. His eyes are dark but it’s not anger this time. It’s lust. I may be a virgin but I can recognize lust when I see it. I’ve seen enough movies and read enough books to figure it out.
Slowly, I reach out until my hand lands on his chest. The sigh that escapes him makes him sound younger than he is. More vulnerable.
I trace my fingers along his muscles, marveling at how strong he is. “You must work out a lot.”
“I do. It… helps with my anger.”
“That’s good.”
“But lately, you’ve been helping me with my anger. So… thank you for that.”
My hand stills over his stomach. “Do you still want my uncle dead?”
“Right now, I just want to focus on you. I don’t even want to think about him.”
Good answer.
My hand moves lower until I finally reach is length. Telling myself to be bold, I wrap my hand around him. He hisses.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“No,” he gasps out. “It feels good. So fucking good. You can squeeze it. Run your hand over it.”
I do as Cormac instructs. Every time I move my hand, a groan of pleasure escapes his lips. Pleasuring Cormac isn’t as hard as I thought it would be.
I watch his face as I stroke him. It’s a fascinating thing. The mixture of darkness in his eyes and the vulnerability of pleasure on his face makes him look… human. Just human.
For the first time since meeting Cormac, I could see myself falling in love with him.
“I’m going to come,” he groans. “You can pull away or…”
I don’t move my hand. I need to see this through. I need to be the one in control of his pleasure like he was for me. I need to experience all of it.
Cormac groans as his orgasm makes his body shudder. His semen spurts out of him, marking my stomach. The water washes it away before I get the chance to even look at it.
I thought I would be scared of something like this but I don’t feel any fear. I only feel… an arousal deep in my body. It makes me press my legs together.
Cormac notices. “Let me.” His fingers tap my inner thigh, silently telling me to open up wider.
I want this, I realize.
My legs spread so Cormac can cup me with his palm. A soft whimper escapes my mouth when his hand presses against my sensitive nub.
“Cormac,” I gasp. The sensation of his bare hand on my body compared to when he touched me over my underwear is much more intense. Much more pleasurable.
He smirks a little as he rubs his fingers over my lower body. He presses against my nub, flicking it and teasing it. My hips buck forward.
I clutch his arms to steady me. His muscles under my hands only turn me on more. I never knew I could have feelings for the man who kidnapped me but life has a weird way of turning out.
He flicks my nub harder.
“Cormac,” I gasp. I hold onto his arms so tightly, my fingers begin to dig into his skin.
“It’s ok,” he murmurs, still showing my body pleasure. “I got you, Arianna. You don’t need to be afraid of this. I know I don’t deserve to see you this way but I want to. Come for me.” He presses down hard on my nub, making my hips roll around.
My spine leans against the cool tile of the shower wall. It helps add to the sensation working its way through me. Hot and cold. Pain and pleasure. Fear and comfort.
Cormac’s eyes lock with mine as he presses down on my nub. My lips open up in a silent cry.
His index finger moves further down to my entrance where he gently pushes it inside of me. I’m amazed at how well my body accepts his finger. It doesn’t hurt at all.
“Cormac,” I whimper.
Without a word, he slides his finger in and out of me, stretching me deep within.
“Cormac,” I whine, though I’m not sure why. I’ve never felt this unhinged. All my life, I was taught discipline when it came to dance but with Cormac, all of that has flown out the window.
As his finger moves in and out of me, his thumb presses down onto my clit and it’s the perfect combination to send me over the edge.
I gasp and shudder as my orgasm consumes me. This height of pleasure is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.
It makes me squeeze my eyes shut but tears still slip out of me.
“Hey,” Cormac murmurs, removing his hand from me. “You’re all right.” He pulls me into his arms. The feeling of his strong arms around me brings me comfort like I never thought it would.
I let my tears come and cry out everything I’ve been holding in. Every fear. Every worry. Every confusing feeling. It all comes rushing out of me.
And Cormac holds me the entire time.
“I’m sorry,” he whispers into my hair. “I’m sorry I ever hurt you. I’ll keep apologizing for the rest of my life. You never deserved it, Arianna.”
“I don’t want you to keep apologizing. I just want to move on from it.
I just want to be happy… with you.” I get my tears to stop and I look up at him, taking in his open expression.
There’s vulnerability in his eyes. Fear in them.
Fear that I’ll hate him forever? “I don’t want to hate you anymore.
I just want to be free of all of that. Let’s be free of the past. Let’s start over. ”
“I’d like that,” he says with a lot of emotion in his voice.
Cormac brings his lips to meet mine in a tender kiss. For the first time, I feel hope, being with him.