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With both hands he palmed her shoulder blades. “I wasn’t going to apologize.” He lowered his head to the top of her spine and brushed his lips across the scar there. Against her skin he whispered, “I was going to say, I wish I could have taken it for you.”
A soft gasp of surprise shook her shoulders and without giving it further thought, he trailed his lips down one long puckered line. By the time he reached the swell of her hips, her skin was covered in gooseflesh.
“Oh, god,” she moaned.
In response, he lifted his head and traced another scar with his finger, softly peppering kisses along the way. Taking his time, he gave each mark the same treatment, lavishing her skin with tender touches and warm kisses. When he finished, she was trembling.
“Please,” she whispered in a coarse voice and turned slightly so she could see him. “Cole, please.”
“Oh, Sasha.” He cupped her cheek and brought his lips down on hers. Her taste was a combination of sweet from the juice and salty from her tears. He couldn’t stop himself from pulling her closer so he could have more.
She twisted in his arms, her own attempt to draw them closer, but she winced at the movement and he cursed his disregard of her backside.
“Sorry, I shouldn’t have . . .” he started, pulling back.
But her arms stopped him. “Don’t stop.” She shifted toward him again and he saw her try to cover the pain. “Please?”
Her eyes held the look of longing he so often noticed in her expression. And how could he turn her down, this exquisite beauty who knew so much pain and asked for so little? The truth was, he didn’t want to turn her down. He wanted to hold her and bring her so much pleasure, the painful memories slid away, never to be remembered.
He stood beside the couch, his mind decided. “Not on the couch. Let me take you to the bedroom.” She moved as if to stand, but he put a hand on her shoulder. “I said, let me take you.”
“I can walk.”
“And I can whistle ‘God Save the Queen,’ but that doesn’t mean I’m going to do it right this bloody second.” Before she could protest further, he gathered her in his arms and lifted her from the couch.
She wrapped her arms around his neck and he carried her down the hall to his room. With her head tucked under his chin, he could smell the lemon mint scent of her hair. He wondered if her skin smelled the same and kissed the top of her head.
He gave a silent prayer of thanks the house was small. Holding a naked Sasha in his arms, impatient to touch her, and curious about her smell was chipping away at his control. He joined her on the bed once he had her reclining on the middle of his mattress.
He put a hand on either side of her head so he was leaning over her, smiling down at her. “Ah, yes, this is much better than the couch. I’ve dreamed about having you naked and in my bed.” His voice fell an octave. “And in my dreams, I always start like this.”
He lowered his lips to her neck and started to explore her body. In the last month, he’d learned and observed so much of her. He knew of her reactions and how she responded to certain things, but naked, she was an entirely new person. From the swell of her breasts to the gentle slope of her collarbones, his fingers were hungry for the feel of her and his mouth was thirsty for her shape. Earlier in the day she gave him her tears, but now he craved her moans, her gasps of pleasure, her breathy whispers, and he took and reveled in every one.
He kept her on the edge, not letting her fall over until he once more made his way up her body. Wanting to watch as she finally let go, he trailed his hand down her belly until his finger brushed her clit.
“Give me your pleasure, Sasha. Let me see you come.”
“Oh, god.” Her back arched while his finger rubbed faster and faster. “Like that.”
“Like that or like this?” He shifted his hand so he could push a finger inside her while still working her clit and her hips lifted, trying to draw him deeper.
She gave a loud gasp and her body froze as her internal muscles clenched around his finger. Wanting badly to keep his movements up and push her toward another orgasm, he forced himself to withdraw his fingers instead.
Watching her come had been better than his best wet dream and his cock was uncomfortably hard, but he did his best to ignore it. He rained kisses along her neck and cheek, then turned her to her side and curved himself around her body.
“Rest now, little one.” He engulfed her hands in his and brought them to nestle against her breast. “Let me hold you whilst you sleep.”
He held her until her deep even breathing signaled her sleep and he realized how uncomfortable he was. He still had his suit on and while his shirt had dried from where Sasha wet it with her tears, the vest had wrinkled under his side and his shirt sleeves had ridden up his arms. Not to mention he was wide awake.
Sasha would probably sleep until morning, so he gently pulled away and got up, covering her with a sheet when he left the bed. He stopped briefly in the bathroom to change before heading to his office to work on his research.
His head shot up when she walked into the office some time later. Then he glanced at the clock and realized two hours had passed. Sasha looked pale and vulnerable wrapped up in the sheet she’d taken from his bed. Fuck, he wanted to rip the sheet off and pleasure her until that lost look of hers was gone forever.
“Am I disturbing you?” she asked.
He slipped his glasses off and put them on his desk. “No, I got caught up working. I’m sorry you woke up alone. I meant to be there.”
She shrugged her shoulders and looked to the floor. “It’s okay.”
“Your body language suggests differently.”
“No, I get it. You had to work and you weren’t sleepy.” She said the words, but she still wouldn’t meet his eyes.
“Look at me, Sasha.”
She sighed, but lifted her head. Her eyes looked wet.
“There now,” he said softly. “Tell me what’s wrong. Honestly.”
Her spine straightened and she looked as if she was getting ready to tell him to fuck off when her shoulders slumped. “I thought . . . after . . . you would . . . we’d . . .”
Damn, she was sexy when she got all flustered. He raised an eyebrow.
“Ithoughtwe’dhavesex,” she said in a rush.
His cock, which had been slowly stirring, shot to full attention. “Ah, I see.”
“I mean, why only do half the job? Why stop just getting me off once? Why not”—she paused for a moment—“finish it?”
He drummed his fingers on top of the desk. “For several reasons, actually. One, I’d just caned you and I can’t imagine you weren’t in some discomfort. Two, you were highly emotional and I didn’t want to take advantage of the situation. Three, the expectations I set out from the beginning were very clear about sex.” He pushed back from his desk. “Shall I continue?”
“No, makes sense.” She looked back to the floor and bit her lip. “I get it.”
“Funny.” He stood up and made his way toward her. “I don’t think you get it at all. Because if you in any way think that I didn’t have sex with you because I don’t find you desirable, or because I don’t want you, you definitely don’t get it.” He took her hand and pressed it against his erection. Dropping his head, he whispered in her ear, “I didn’t want to only do half the job. I didn’t want to stop at getting you off once. And it’s taking all my strength not to rip that sheet off your body so I can, in fact, finish it.”
Sasha jerked her hand out of his grip, took a step backward, and in a move that left him momentarily stunned, let the sheet drop to the floor.
Hell and damnation, she was gorgeous. She was still too thin and he feared she was still too emotional, but he wouldn’t be alive if the sight her standing before him, naked, with her head held high and that just what are you goi
ng to do about it look in her eyes didn’t turn him on.
“Now look what you went and did,” he said in a low and even voice when he could speak again. He let a finger trace her collarbone. “You just changed the rules. I certainly hope you’re prepared to handle the ramifications.”
Chapter Seven
Anticipation electrified her body and every nerve ending she had was hyper aware of the man standing before her. Not just standing, though, he was taunting her, tempting her, and threatening to overtake the space, the very air, she breathed.
“I think,” he said as he lazily traced her collarbone from one shoulder to the other, “that you have no idea what you just unleashed. You have no idea how much I’ve been holding back.” He took a step forward, further invading her space, and wrapped his hand lightly around her throat so his thumb rested in the hollow of her neck. “I’ll give you five seconds to pick that sheet up and go
