I was pushing. I was trying to push her away. Does she really see me as some kind of hero in her mind? Fuck. I can’t even begin to tell her how wrong that is. So, I pushed. Only Hayden surprised me, yet again.

She didn’t run.

She didn’t back away.

As I watch those pants slide off her unbelievably long legs, I sit up in the bed. Christ, this woman’s legs are a work of art that lead all the way to heaven. She’s gorgeous, and it’s hard for me to believe there was a time when I thought differently. She peeks up at me, her face blushing a bright red. I love that she has this shyness. I don’t give a fuck what went down in her past. Hayden is special, I may not like that she was once Blade’s, but she’s not now…she’s mine. I let that cement a little deeper inside me. I don’t deserve to claim a woman. I especially don’t deserve Hayden, but fuck, I’ve tried to warn her, and I can’t fight anymore. I’m taking her, and whatever happens, happens. There’s only so much a man can take, and I’ve reached my limit.

“Hayden, you need to…” I trail off as she finally looks at me.

“Like this, Michael?” she asks, shyly. She slides on the bed, inching up slowly, and braces herself on her hands and knees. She lays her head to the side and looks at me…like a fucking trained submissive waiting to be conquered, and it’s too much for my poor cock to handle. He was hard before, but now it’s fucking physically painful to breathe.

I stand without answering, I think words are beyond me right now. I think I grunt at her in reply, but I’m not sure. I’m too busy pulling off my sweats and getting into position behind her.

I move my hand over her ass, loving the way the plush mound of flesh moves under my fingers. I pull the cheeks apart, admiring how the small opening to her ass moves. “You sure this is what you want, Hayden? Do you want me—like this?” I question her, giving her one last chance to escape. Leaning down, I place a kiss against the base of her spine, letting my tongue drift against it, tasting the salty, heated skin. Following an imaginary line that trails over her ass, I allow my teeth gently to nibble her flesh. My fingers slide slow between the lips of her pussy, finding the hot, wet center of her.

“Fu...ck,” I growl the word out without thought as her arousal slides against my fingers. She’s so wet. I’ve barely done or said anything and she’s soaked. A jolt of need fires through my body, sending electricity and heat through me. It’s so intense my hand on her ass convulses. I dig my fingers harder into her ass in reaction, at the same time my teeth literally bite her. She jerks from the sting of pain, but she doesn’t pull away. Her body pushes back into me and she tries to ride my hand. So fucking responsive…so fucking perfect.

“I’m sure, Michael,” she says. Her voice is laced thick with desire while her head is bent down as her body gently rocks against me. “I’m sure.”

Grabbing my cock, I push the head through the lips of her pussy, letting her juices coat me, and loving how she cries out at the intrusive first touch. The head of my shaft slides against her throbbing clit. I feel her body jerk like it’s been touched by a live wire. “You’re perfect,” I tell her, and for the first time in my life, I really mean that when talking to a woman. The only thing not perfect about her right now is that she left her shirt on. I have it pushed up, but I want it gone. The problem is I can’t wait that long. Next time.

“Please, Michael. I want to feel you. I want you inside—” her words end with a cry as I drag my cock against her clit one last time, then I find her warm, wet entrance and slide inside of her. I hold myself back. I want nothing more than to thrust into her hard and fast, but I don’t want to risk hurting her child. I’m a bastard for touching her, but I could never harm her or Maggie. After the head of my cock slides in, I push in, slowly. I go deeper inch by inch, stopping when I feel her body tighten and convulse around me. It’s sweet agony.

“Are you okay, Beauty?” I ask, needing to reassure myself and her before continuing. She doesn’t answer, instead she pushes back against me, taking my cock deeper inside. “Easy,” I caution her. “I don’t want to hurt you. We’ll do this nice and easy,” I tell her, needing to slow her down and remind myself. The urge to fuck her hard is screaming at me. The sweetest torture.

“You feel so good, Michael,” she says, moving away from me and then pushing back against me, fucking herself with my cock, taking what she wants. Fucking hell, this is the hottest thing I can remember experiencing. “I don’t want nice and easy…I need you,” she cries out, and the sincerity in those words shine, warming something inside of me I thought was gone forever.

Me. She needs…me. She’s not pulling away from me. She’s not scared of me. She’s not disgusted by the burns covering my body. She wants me. She’s begging…for me. I push inside of her, deeper, trying to be gentle and trusting her to tell me if I go too far. I bend over her body, my hands wrapping around her hips holding her to me. The fingers on my right hand caress against the hardened, rough texture of her skin. I know the feeling…scars. They feel intense. Something happened to her and it had to be painful. I make a mental note to find them later and kiss them. The thought flashes through my mind and then leaves as I lose myself in just how good it feels to be inside of Hayden. I lean over her, loving that I can. I’ve always been so large, towering over most everyone. Hayden is the first person to make me appreciate that, because I stretch over her and kiss her shoulder. Taste her skin that is a mixture of perspiration and sex.

“You’ve got me, Beauty. I’m not going anywhere,” I growl in her ear, biting down on the lobe. Her body quivers under me with the bite, her pussy tightens around my cock, squeezing it so tight that I barely remember to breathe. “Does it feel good, Hayden? Don’t let me hurt you,” I plead with her, my sanity almost completely gone. I keep one hand on her scars and let the other move across her stomach to her breast, kneading it gently, and worrying the swollen nipple.

“Good. So good, Michael,” she whimpers. “I’m going to come,” she admits, but I already know. I feel the exact moment her climax hits. Her body tightens beneath me as she moves faster against my cock, squeezing me so tightly that my balls constrict, nearly taking me with her.

Leaning down further, I let her back rake against my chest as she works my dick. My hand moves from her hip to her hand. She’s supporting herself with her arms, so she can’t move it, but I just place my hand over hers, not stopping until my fingers slide under to connect with her palm. There…that feels right. It’s with my hand on hers that I finally take over. Thrusting in and out of her, letting her ride out her orgasm while chasing my own.

I feel my cum gathering before it boils over, erupting from my cock inside of her tight little pussy, and I roar just one word. Just one, but it’s the only thing left in this world that I care about.

“Hayden!”