CHAPTER NINE
She straightened back up from her wicked explorations, but only so that she could free the bulge in his pants. Once and for all she was going to solve the size mystery of how much heat the man was packing down there. To her surprise Henry turned to the side and thwarted her roving hands. He pressed his forehead to hers and drew in a ragged breath, as though he were searching for strength to say what he needed to say.
“Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked, and the way he spoke, as though the very act of opening his mouth hurt, made her giggle. He clutched a hand to his heart as though her laughter had mortally wounded him.
“I’ve never been so sure of anything in my life,” she whispered huskily, and it was the truth. For a moment there she’d thought he was rejecting her. But he was just being noble, an attribute she’d never before believed existed in creatures of the male sex.
She had no intention of admitting it to him yet, but she was starting to fall in love with the man. Affection wasn’t something she gave easily. In fact, she’d never experienced the emotion for any of her previous boyfriends. The only person she’d ever genuinely loved was her foster sister, Michelle. And that brand of love wasn’t at all similar to how she felt about the larger than life bear shifter standing before her. It was as though day by day he’d chiseled away at the walls surrounding her broken heart, working relentlessly until suddenly she could feel again.
He began to undo her borrowed shirt, starting at the top and working his way down methodically. With every new inch of exposed skin he’d give her a teasing bite, and then lick the sting away with his tongue. Then he’d cover the whole expanse with exuberant kisses. By the time he reached the belt cinching in her waist his hands were practically shaking and she was all but drooling.
She felt so relaxed it was a wonder she didn’t slide off the edge of the counter because it was as though her very bones had forgotten how to hold her body up. When she reached the very last button he pushed open the shirt and slid it off of her arms, letting it fall in a forgotten puddle to the floor. They locked eyes for a moment, and the way he was staring at her made her feel like some kind of all-powerful sex goddess. This was quite a change for the scrawny little female no man had ever treasured before. He treated her like she was worth more than gold, while the others who’d come before had valued her little more than garbage.
Grace took a mental snapshot, storing that memory away in a new box she was going to call her happy place. Perhaps someday the good memories might outnumber the bad. With Henry in her life, that actually seemed possible. They could fill the rest of their lives, by tethering one beautiful hour to the next. It would be like heaven on earth.
He reached for her, cupping her breasts, one in each hand. She tensed, waiting for the beautiful dream to crumple into dust around her. This was the moment where he’d belittle her and tell her that her “tits were too small” or something equally hurtful. After all, all her former boyfriends had said such hateful things. But Henry wasn’t like those jerks, and he did the complete opposite.
“You’re perfect,” he whispered, and then he lowered his mouth to her breast and ran his tongue over the sensitive tip of her nipple. When he sucked hard, pulling it deep inside his mouth she arched up off the counter with a moan. Her fingers dug into his shoulders, seeking an anchor to hold her up.
“You’re wearing my underwear,” he growled, and all of the sudden she felt nervous. Had she done something wrong?
“Ummm, I didn’t think you’d mind. I only have the one pair and I’ve been trying to wash them every day, but that still leaves me without anything to wear half the time,” she was rambling, and couldn’t seem to stop herself.
“You’re using a clothespin to hold them up?” he asked incredulously.
“They kept falling down.”
She gasped when she saw that the tips of his fingers had suddenly sprouted claws.
“What are you going to do to me?” she asked anxiously.
“Nothing you won’t enjoy,” he replied as he used the wickedly sharp points to carefully slice the borrowed undies from her body.
The fabric fluttered down around her, and then he nudged apart her legs and buried his head between them. He inhaled deeply, basking in her unique scent. Embarrassed, she tried to push him away. But he wouldn’t budge from his sentinel. He was like a zealous guard on duty. Or better yet, like a starving man who’d just been set before a feast.
When he parted her folds and began to lick her she stopped protesting and dug her fingers into his hair as she let him have his way with her. She began to feel something building inside of her and she didn’t really understand what was happening until he leaned back long enough to order her to “Let go. Give it to me, Grace.”
He burrowed back between her legs and sucked sharply on her swollen bud, exposing it even further from its protective hood. She shattered into a million pieces and screamed his name as the exquisite convulsions tore through her.
“I didn’t even know that was possible,” she gasped weakly.
“You’ve never had oral before?” he asked, kissing the inside of her thigh affectionately.
“I’ve never had a real orgasm before,” she admitted honestly, and the moment the words left her mouth she wished she could haul them right back. She’d always thought that all the talk of feminine satisfaction during sex was no more real than the tooth fairy. Now that she knew she was wrong she felt mortified.
He pulled himself upright and stared her square in the eye. She tried to look away, but he gently cupped her head so she had no choice but to gaze at him. He wanted to ask her what type of losers she’d been screwing around with. He knew damn well that she wasn’t a virgin, so how was it that she’d never received pleasure before?
The thought of any other man putting their hands on his mate made him so angry that his bear threatened to force a shift right then and there. He took a calming breath, forcing the beast to back down. Then he swore to her, “I will never stop until you are satisfied.”
And that was hands down the sexiest thing anyone had ever said to her. She was afraid that he’d ask her questions about her past, questions she didn’t want to answer, so she did the only thing she could think of and leaned forward and kissed him. She conveyed everything with that one exchange, how she’d longed for him, yearned for the touch of his skin pressed intimately against hers.
She could taste her own musk on his lips and she moaned, reveling in the naughty exchange. He growled loudly and dragged her off the counter and into his strong arms. Before she had time to contemplate exactly where he was taking her, he was already laying her down on his massive bed.
He was still wearing his pants and she tugged at his belt, eager to see the rest of him. Woah. Mystery solved. He was a very big boy. When she saw the bead of moisture glistening on the tip of his rod she wanted to lean forward and lick it off but he stopped her at the last second.
“Baby, if you do that I’m going to come in your face and that is not how I want our first time to be. I’ve hungered for you since the moment I first laid eyes on you, and I don’t think I’m gonna last long as it is.”
Her eyes widened in surprise at his candor, but she nodded and scooted back away from him on the bed.
“You can still tell me to stop if you don’t want this,” he said, giving her one last chance to back out.
She could tell he was sincere, which was crazy, because what other man on the planet would be happy with going down on someone without expecting some reciprocal action? He really was one in a million!
“I want you,” she blurted out, and then slammed a hand over her mouth feeling embarrassed.
“I was hoping you’d say that,” he murmured, nudging her limbs apart and poising himself at her entrance. He was just about to plunge deep inside when she shouted one word, “WAIT!” and he stilled instantly.
“You forgot to put on a condom!” she said anxiously.