Chapter
SEVEN
She was falling again, the galaxy of stars spread like a velvet blanket around her. Except this time, she would land right in the arms of this strong, complicated man who made her heart hurt and her body burn.
He slipped his hands to the sides of her neck, deepening the kiss. She curled her fists into his shirt front, already lightheaded with blissful sensations. The taste of him—scotch and pure maleness—lit her blood on fire.
He moved off the stool without breaking the contact of their mouths. Took hold of her waist and lifted her right against him, as if she weighted no more than a feather. She obeyed the unspoken command and wrapped her legs around his waist and her arms around his neck.
He curved his large hands down to her bottom, holding her in place as he strode out of the kitchen. Mia was so awash in pleasure that she didn’t notice until he lifted his head that they were in his bedroom.
Her heart hammered, excitement and a hint of trepidation rising inside her. Much as she’d teased him, she wasn’t at all certain she could actually take everything he could, and would, give her. He was worlds apart from the college boys she’d been with—a hard, wounded, disciplined solider whose innate sense of command permeated all parts of his life.
He lowered her slowly, letting her body slide against his. Her nipples stiffened, her thighs trembling. His breath escaped as he pulled her shirt over her head, revealing the purple lace bra that pushed her breasts into a generous valley of cleavage. She thought for sure he would take her skirt off next, but instead he turned her around so her back was to him.
Gavin’s breath brushed her nape. His body was a solid wall behind her, his erection shoving against her lower back. He placed his hand flat on her midriff and worked it under her skirt and tights, right into her cleft.
Mia gasped, arching into his touch. He took her other hand and guided it to his groin. Arousal flared through her. She palmed the heavy, thick ridge of his erection, following it to where it rested along his thigh. Good God.
“On the bed.” His voice was a low, guttural order that Mia couldn’t have disobeyed if she’d tried.
Which she didn’t.
She climbed onto the bed, goosebumps prickling her skin. Before she could turn back around, he slid his hands to her thighs, parting them. She twisted to look at him over her shoulder, her breath catching at his expression—severe and unreadable save for the lust burning deep and dark in his blue eyes.
He motioned with his forefinger for her to turn again. She did, grabbing a pillow because she had a feeling she would need something to hold on to. Gavin stroked his hands over her legs, pausing to trace the flowers on her tights with his fingers. Then he flipped her skirt up and rubbed her bottom, the heat of his large palm burning through her tights and underwear.
He grasped the waistband of her tights and panties. She squeezed her eyes shut as he yanked them down, baring her ass and the cleft of her pussy, which she knew was already shiny with arousal. She buried her face in the pillow, a blush rising hot to her cheeks at the sudden, shocking realization that Gavin Knight—the man she’d teased relentlessly for a year—was now gazing at her private parts.
For all her flirtations and fantasies, she hadn’t considered what it would feel like to actually be exposed to this battle-hardened man who had a wealth of experience over her. Turned out it was thrilling, wildly exciting, and a little scary all at the same time.
Gavin slipped his finger between her legs, stroking up and down, teasing her clit. She groaned, gripping the pillow tighter, unable to fully open for him out of both shyness and the fact that her tights were still laced around her thighs. She twisted toward him again, but he placed his hand on her back to indicate that she should remain still.
He ran his fingertips up and down her thighs, creating a tickling pleasure over her skin. She squirmed, heat pooling in her lower body. He made no sound aside from the increased weight of his breathing.
“Gavin, please.”
He stroked her bare bottom in response, then gave it a light spank that sent a thrill through her. The unmistakable sounds of his shirt falling to the floor and his zipper rasping open as he shed his clothes jolted Mia’s heart. She struggled not to turn around, aching though she was to finally see Gavin’s body.
He moved away from her for an instant and tucked another pillow beneath her hips. A condom packet ripped open. Her body tensed with both nerves and excitement. Though in all her fantasies, he’d always taken her from the front—at least, at first—he appeared to have a different plan in mind.
Clutching her hips, he tugged her farther down the bed and nudged her legs apart wider. The elastic of her tights dug into her thighs. He worked his finger into her cleft again, a low chuckle rumbling from his throat when he discovered just how wet and ready she was.
“Gavin…” She panted, wiggling her hips a little in invitation. “Fuck me.”
“Bad words from such a pretty mouth.” He gave her bottom another slap—hard enough to sting but not really hurt. “Spread your legs as wide as you can, honey.”
Pulse pounding, she did, though her thighs trembled from the constriction of the tights. His breath sawed through the air, heavy and deep. Then the head of his cock pressed against her damp slit.
She gasped and arched forward, her head spinning. She’d known he was big, but she hadn’t imagined he’d feel impossibly big, like there was no way he’d ever fit inside her.
He stopped, his hands tight on her ass. “Don’t tense up.”
Mia took a breath, flexing and unflexing her fingers on the pillow. He slipped his fingers to her pussy, opening her even more. A sudden heat flushed over her as she imagined what she must look like, her skirt flipped over her back, her tights still around her thighs, and her pussy spread open and on display.
For him.
She pressed her face in the pillow. He pushed forward, penetrating her inch by inch, his thick shaft stretching her fully.
“Ah, fuck.” His deep groan reverberated through her blood.
Sweat broke out on her skin. Her body worked to accommodate him, the heat of his cock pulsing against her inner walls. Gradually her trepidation eased, colored over with a pleasure that mounted with every powerful beat of her heart.
He stilled, fully seated inside her, his voice strained. “Okay?”
She nodded, unable to speak past the heat in her throat. He throbbed inside her. Electric sparks shot over her nerves. He moved his hands to her waist, steadying her. Then he started to move, easing partway out of her before rocking forward. The gentle movement allayed the last of her anxiety, as he primed her to accept his rhythm.
Her breath burned her chest. She stretched her arms out, grasping the sheets, her nipples chafing on the bedcover. He increased his rhythm slowly but steadily, his hair-roughened thighs abrading hers, his fingers digging into her hips. Her clit throbbed, the constraint of her tights increasing the delicious pressure.
“Gavin…” His name escaped on a rush of air. “That’s so good… please…”
He slipped one hand beneath her, his fingers finding the swollen bud. “Come on, my sweet little princess. Nice and hard.”
Mia gave up all pretense of control and writhed beneath him, pushing her bottom back to meet his thrusts. Her body jolted against the bed, his cock driving her arousal higher and higher. She whimpered and moaned, clawing at the bedcovers, struggling with the need for release and the overwhelming urge for this intense bliss to go on and on forever.
“Gavin, I feel it,” she gasped, her fever rising to the breaking point. “I’m so close, I—”
He pulled out of her abruptly. Confusion flooded her for half an instant before he grabbed her hips and turned her to face him.
Mia stared at him through the veil of hair that had fallen over her face. Need blazed in his blue eyes, sweat trickled down his temple, and his jaw was set with restraint. And his body… more gorgeous and powerful than she could have imagined, with sculpted pecs and a rigid washboard abdomen that she wanted to touch all over. His sheathed cock stood straight out from his groin, pulsing almost visibly, damp with her fluids.
Without hesitation, she pushed her panties and tights off, unzipped her skirt, and moved back on the bed, spreading her legs wide. A growl rumbled in his chest. He mounted her, shoving his hands under her thighs and plunging into her. She gripped his arms, unable to take her eyes off his, struck to the core by the hot, crackling energy that bound them together.
She came with a cry, arching up against him, stars exploding behind her eyes. Even as the sensations consumed her, he kept moving, fitting them together again and again, letting her rise and fall through the wave. Only when her pleasure began to ebb did he loosen the reins of his control. He sank deep inside her with a rough shout, his muscles locking and tensing beautifully as he surrendered to his own release.
He rolled beside her on the bed, his chest heaving. Mia fell back against the pillows and pressed her hands to her face. Her body trembled and quivered with lingering sensations, but even through the intense physical pleasure she sensed a profound shift deep inside her, like the plates of the earth separating and coming back together.
His hand settled on her belly. Mia lowered her arms slowly and opened her eyes. She turned her head to face him, finding him watching her with a hooded gaze. She wanted to reach out and touch his face, smooth the crease from between his eyebrows, soften his rigid jaw.
Before she gave in to the urge, she fumbled to wrap the sheet around her body and climbed out of bed. She went to the bathroom, unable to help herself from looking at Gavin’s personal items—the black brush on the counter, the straight-edged razor and bar of shaving soap, the prescription bottle of sleeping pills.
She returned to the bedroom and got back into bed, her insides fluttering as the scent of sex and their mingled fluids wafted over her.
“Do you want me to go?” she asked.
“No. You’re staying.”
The command—soft, rough, drowsy—lodged somewhere in her soul. There had once been a time when she couldn’t have imagined Gavin Knight ordering her to stay. She’d hoped for it, maybe fantasized about it, but deep inside she’d never really believed this impassive, hardened soldier would allow her this close.
She curled up beside him, feeling as if months rather than hours had passed since he’d shown up at her doorstep yesterday. She ran her finger over his pectoral muscles, fascinated by their sheer hardness, the strength that ran through every inch of his body.
“Do you have trouble sleeping?” She slid her hand down to his abs. “I saw the pills in the bathroom.”
“Yeah.” He put his arm over his eyes. “Sometimes shit comes back when my guard is down. Nightmares.”
An ache filled her chest. She didn’t want to imagine what he’d been through. What still haunted him. But his darkness made her, with her stuffed animals, heart-shaped pillows, and love of French romantic poetry, feel pointless and juvenile. While she’d been worrying about finding the right shade of lip gloss, Gavin had been in hell.
She turned away from him, hugging a pillow to her chest. The bed shifted. He slipped his arm around her waist and pulled her back against him. The strength of his chest and his rhythmic breathing eased a little of her distress. She rubbed her cheek on the pillow.
“I’d never hurt you,” he said.
“I know.” She closed her eyes. “But I hate that you went through so much bad stuff.”
He was silent for a moment before he asked, “You want to know why I pretended to ignore you for so long?”
“Yes.”
“Because you make the bad stuff disappear.” He threaded his hand through her hair. “I go into the bakery, and you’re there, like an ice-cream cone on a hot day. And I can sneak looks at you and think about how pretty you look in that skirt and about all the dirty things I want to do to you. I listen to you talk about needing a date for the weekend and planning to see some new band. I watch you bustling around, helping Polly behind the counter, decorating cupcakes. I smell your sweet scent every time you pass me. And the whole time I’m sitting there, I’m not thinking of anything except how fucking perfect the universe is to have created a girl like you.”
Mia’s heart skipped a thousand beats. She turned in his arms, searching his expression for the tenderness his words evoked.
She touched his jaw. “That… that’s the most I’ve ever heard you say.”
“It’s the truth.”
“But why did you have to ignore me to do all that?”
“I was afraid if I talked to you, I’d break the spell.”
She traced his mouth with her fingers, stroking the secret notch beneath his lower lip. She couldn’t imagine him being afraid of anything.
“And now is the spell broken?” she whispered.
“No.” He curled a lock of her hair around his finger. “Now I’m trapped.”