Chapter 10 #2
She bit her lip and sent heat flooding through his body. "You see, I've always done everything I was told to. Never questioning authority."
A smile touched her lips. "It has to do with the fact that I grew up in a strict military home. I wasn't allowed to talk back. I never bucked authority. Ever."
"Never sneaked out to be with boys or go past curfews. I wasn't allowed to have sleepovers and never went to one. I was always the good girl, well behaved."
He took her hand, his palm pressing against hers and his heart melting.
He wanted to protect her, save her from all the evils in the world.
He wanted to cradle her and assure her that everything was going to be all right.
He wanted to be there for her in every way.
He wanted to- Deliberately reining in his thoughts, he forced himself to focus on her.
"You decided to break the rules."
His quiet understanding had her blinking at him.
"Yes. Are you turned off?"
"Turned off?" He chuckled softly, hand squeezing hers. "I want you. No." He shook his head. "I crave you. I had already decided that I had to have you." Lifting her hand, he brushed his lips on her knuckles, eyes smoldering as he stared at her. "It's going to hurt the first time."
"I already know that. I'm not a moron."
"You're certainly not." Spreading her fingers out, he started to kiss each one, taking his time, his eyes still holding hers. "I'll do my best to minimize the pain."
"You don't have to-"
"I don't want to hurt you." His lips trailed over her wrist where her pulse was jumping madly.
"I-"
"I want to take my time. Since this is your first time, I want to make it special."
Her breath was backing up inside her chest, making it difficult for her to breathe.
"You went to all this trouble." He nipped at the skin and sent heat blazing. "The dinner, the outfit, the champagne and candles. I feel so special."
"I wanted it to be." Her voice was wispy.
"No regrets?" He was tugging at the sheet, wanting to see her, to really look at her. His body was warning him that he had to speed things up.
"None. Zane-"
"I love when you say my name in that breathy voice of yours. Shall I tell you what I was thinking when you were doing your summation in court?" He was bracing her back on the mound of pillows.
"What?"
"How much I wanted my hands on you." He used those hands to stroke her neck and then followed up by trailing kisses there. "Here." He kissed her lobe, fingers toying with the tiny knob glinting there. "This is new."
"Yes," she whispered.
"Part of the new you."
"Yes." Her fingers curled into the sweater. "You're still dressed."
"Hmm." He toyed with the earring, tugging at the lobe before teasing it with his teeth. "I'll get to it eventually. I just want to concentrate on you."
"I want to feel you." She arched her body, fingers digging into his thick, dense hair.
"Words like that will certainly speed up the process." His voice was hoarse with emotion. Easing back, he tugged the sweater over his head.
"You didn't like my tattoos."
"They're starting to grow on me." She traced the one on his neck before going to the one on his arm. "Why?"
"Rebellion." He came back to her cheek. "I wanted to buck authority as well." He kissed the sides of her lips and had her sighing. "I wanted to be a rebel."
He used his tongue to slide along the crease of her lips and felt faint when he tasted her breath. "Be different." When her hands slid around his neck, he parted her lips. "I want to taste every inch of your body. I've been dreaming about it ever since I met you."
"I want you to."
"Good."
She felt her body bracing for the touch of his mouth on her nipples and wondered if she was going to survive the intensity. He was already trailing a fiery path with his mouth, leaving her breathless and aching.
"You're so beautiful." His voice was rough, a direct contrast to the gentleness of his hands.
"I don't want you to be careful with me."
"Am I being careful?" He cupped her breasts and felt humbled by her. She was giving herself to him, giving her innocence to him, and it was overwhelming.
"I just-"
Bending his head, he blew on the nipple and had her crying out in shock.
"I want to give you the ultimate experience." His mouth closed over the nipple. At the first tug, Kara swore she felt her stomach dropping. Pleasure burst inside her at a pace that had her gasping and gripping his hair. She wanted to keep him there.
When he used his teeth to scrape the sensitive bud, she dissolved. Her entire body felt as if she had been shoved headlong into shooting flames. Nothing had ever felt so good. Not even in her wildest dreams.
Zane knew he was moving way past the point of no return.
Her skin was like silk, her scent filling his nostrils and making him yearn like he never had before.
Skimming a hand down the quivering flatness of her stomach, he ventured further down, lifting his head to witness her reaction.
Desire, full-blown and powerful, swept through his body like a tidal wave.
Her lips were swollen and parted, her eyes heavy with that sleepy, sultry look that passion had brought to them.
When his hand cupped the core of her, her eyes widened, her body arching.
"Zane." The whispered yearning of his name maddened him. Easing a finger in, just the tip to test the waters and to make sure she was ready for him, he found her silky and wet. When he introduced another finger, going in deeper, the groan was ripped from his throat as she erupted.
With a low growl, he reared up and staggered off the bed to remove his clothing. It was only then that he realized he had been wearing his boots all this time.
Swearing profusely, he sat down to take them off, his fingers awkward, making the simple task take even longer. When it was done, he practically tore off his denims and underwear before covering her body with his.
Kara, still in the throes of the devastating climax, reached for him blindly, her fingers tangling in the hair streaming past his shoulders.
Zane wanted to distract her from the pain he knew was coming, and he chose the only way he could.
Closing his mouth over hers, he kissed her, gently at first, his tongue parting her lips so that he could sip from her.
Reaching between them, he guided himself to her opening, nudging in, forcing himself to go slow. He felt when she tensed for the invasion and hesitated briefly. Deepening the kiss, he lifted his hips slightly and drove into her.
Her body lifted, fingers digging into his chest and then his shoulders. Swallowing her cry of pain, he waited for her to adjust to him before moving. With his heart pounding like a jackhammer, he increased the pace.
She was wrapped around him like warm, wet velvet. The sensation, her incredible tightness, was too much.
It was exquisitely beautiful, he thought dazedly. Almost reverent, and he knew that as long as he lived, he could never get enough of her. Gentling the kiss, he started thrusting steadily, increasing the pace as she reached desperately for what he was trying to give her.
When the release came again, she felt the shattering of her insides, the quivering of her body as she was swept along a sea that was forever cresting. Tears leaked from her eyes and were sipped by him as they ran down her cheeks and into her mouth.
He went under with her. His long, lean body simply shattered, the climax powerful, intense, and devastatingly draining.
It shook him to the very soul and had him gasping out her name.
When he was finally emptied, he cradled her against him, body still shuddering, mind still a blur of lights that threatened to scorch his eyes.
"No." She held on when he tried to move.
"I'm crushing you." His voice was hoarse, he realized with surprise. "Let me-"
"No." To ensure he did as she demanded, she caged him in, not only with her hands wrapped around his neck, but with her legs as well. He was still snuggled deep inside her, the warmth of her soothing him.
"I'm heavy." Shifting slightly, he turned to the side, bringing her with him, his hands cradling her. "There. Much better."
She was lying half on his chest and still intimately joined to him. He loved the feel of her against him and would gladly stay this way forever.
"That was... illuminating."
He tipped his head down to stare at her quizzically.
"Illuminating?"
"An eye-opener," she explained.
"I get the meaning, but the context escapes me."
Poking a long finger out, she trailed it through the dusting of dark hairs on his chest. "It had my eyes popping wide open. Literally."
His laughter rumbled against her chest.
"Very clever phrasing."
She nodded. "I feel different."
"Good different?" He was getting hot and hard again and was wondering if she would be alarmed to discover that he needed her again. This was also something new to him. He had never wanted a woman so much in his life. It was disconcerting, to say the least.
"Absolutely." Her eyes popped wide open and flew to his.
"Something wrong?" he asked with arched brows.
"You- It's-" Words failed her as she felt him move inside her.
"That's how affected I am by you." Flipping her over, he brushed his lips on hers. "I hope you don't mind."
Her assent was lost inside his mouth.