AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Settle,” a stern voice commanded. “You’re okay.”
I shook my head. I wasn’t, and I wanted away.
A hand slipped beneath the hem of my T-shirt, a warm, steady presence against the small of my back. Another equally confident hand wrapped around the side of my neck, anchoring me in place.
“Easy, easy, easy.” A barely audible whisper brushed against my ear. “You’re okay. I got you. I got you. Breathe. In and out. In and out.” A pair of lips brushed my earlobe, textured tongue tracing over the shell.
Whimpering, I reached up to rip the AirPod from my ear so his whisper could get closer.
“You’re so good, Matthew. My good boy. Look at how good you’re being for me. I’m so proud of you. I got you. It’s just me and you right now. Just us. Just us.”
My breathing shuddered, chest collapsing as tension oozed from my body.
“There you go,” he whispered. “Matthew. Matthew. Matthew. Breathe.”
The ringing in my ear dropped a decibel, and I latched on to the sound of his whisper as tingles raced across my scalp so wildly it felt like my hair stood on end. It was good. So. Fucking. Good. His voice was a massage to my overcome system, kneading out the tightest knots and encouraging my body to succumb to him.
He kept up the whispering, conveying how good I was, how proud of me he was, and how everything was okay. In between the praise, he dropped into inaudible sounds, the perfect white noise to counteract and reduce the stimuli short-circuiting my neural pathways.
Slowly, things came back into focus, and I became aware of my breathing, the beating of my heart, and the warm hands anchoring me close. Still vulnerable and exposed, I curled a little closer to him, wanting nothing but him and the safe space he managed to create.
“Arsen,” I rasped, pushing my hands between us, dragging them up his chest and curling around his shoulders, not gripping the clothes he wore but deeper into the man underneath.
“I’m here, baby.” He assured me, and I let out a muffled sob against his shoulder, burying my face against him to sob again. My body trembled as it crashed, adrenaline and panic draining away and leaving me clinging to him like a wrung-out rag.
As if he felt me shrinking, he pulled me closer against him, the stale scent of beer making my nose wrinkle. Palming the back of my head, he guided my face into his neck where the scent of him overpowered anything else, and I purred.
“That’s it,” he murmured, voice vibrating his throat, which I could feel against my skin. “This is where you belong, princess.” The words were rumbly and vibrating against me again. “Right here with me.”
“Bear,” I whispered.
“Yeah, baby, I’m your bear.”
Breathing became natural again, and exhaustion made my limbs heavy. He was comfortable, and I was consoled. My mind went blissfully quiet, and I snuffled, floating in relief.
Arsen’s fingertips dragged along my lower spine, up and down, up and down. The repetitive movement made me drowsy.
A gust of cool air tickled my skin, and my lashes fluttered open. Pulling my face away from his neck, I blinked at the world around us, realizing we were outside. The dark sky had not one star in sight, and the scent of rain clung to everything.
I tipped up my chin to ask him how we got out here, but the words died on my lips when he covered them with his.
I went boneless, neck failing to hold up my head as it dropped heavily into his palm. Cradling it easily, he groaned against my lips, deepening the kiss. Desperation bloomed inside me as I opened wider, shivering with every swipe of his tongue. The noises I made were needy and insistent, matching the way I eagerly returned his kiss. He didn’t back down, giving as much as I could take, the scrape of his square, stubbled chin abrasive against my sensitive skin.
Straining onto tiptoes, I wrapped my arms around his neck, pushing every inch of myself against him that I could manage. Groaning, he palmed my ass, pushing his hips against mine.
I stumbled backward, body colliding with the side of the building, and he pinned me against the brick with his weight. “My little princess,” he growled, kissing across my cheek.
I whined, knowing he wasn’t speaking to my six-foot frame but the small boy who hid inside me, the one who never had any protection until now.
And just like that, reality crashed in. That vulnerable part of me wailed, reminding me the only true protection I had was myself.
I jerked back, head knocking against the unforgiving wall. My scalp burned, but I ignored it, adrenaline already starting to numb me again.
“Be careful,” he murmured, reaching up to rub the spot.
I pulled my head away, denying him.
His eyes narrowed, kiss-savvy lips pursing. “Matthew…”
