I groan. "I think I did."
"Jesus, Princess. You've got a hair trigger. I'm going to enjoy counting the number of times I make you come."
I sag against him for just a second, boneless, my breath ragged, pleasure still shimmering through me in fading waves. Then the emptiness makes itself known again, deeper and more insistent than before.
I rock my ass back and forth on the bed, my muscles begging to squeeze something. Anything. The sheets are damp beneath me, the scent of my arousal thick and unfamiliar in the warm air. My clit is too sensitive already. "I can't bear it, Elias. I feel empty. How is it that I didn't know you before tonight and yet everything inside me feels like it’s been waiting for you?”
He stills. Just for a second.
The silence of the cabin presses in. The fire has burned low, just a soft orange pulse behind the grate. Outside the pines are hushed.
And I close my eyes. Brace myself to be pushed away. I went too far. He only promised me a few days. Our entire arrangement hinges on that. And I crossed a line.
Fear slithers down my spine and my heart pounds so hard I can feel it in my throat, in my temples, in the tender place between my thighs. I don't think I could take it if he pushes me away. Already I've bound myself to him.
What happens in a few days when I have to return to my old life? How do I survive walking away from this man who's already shown me a lifetime of pleasure in just a few hours?
I fake a laugh—even though it's the last thing I feel like doing—and dig my teeth into the meat of his shoulder. "Ignore me, okay? My stepsisters did tell me that some women get super emotional after their first orgasm. Clearly my brain is not thinking rationally.”
I feel his fingers drift over my back, warm and unhurried. Slowly he pulls the t-shirt off my head, pushes me back onto the bed, and crawls over me. With the lamp behind him, his face is in shadows.
For once I'm glad I cannot read his expression. I couldn't bear to see him laugh at me, or worse, feel sorry for me. His hands stroke me from my ankles to my neck, over and over, the rough drag of his palms against my skin the only sound between us, as if he's learning every line and curve and dip of my body.
"Spread your legs for me, Princess. I'll try to be gentle, okay?"
I clasp his cheek. Because I want to touch him. Because I want to keep this connection between us going. It's not just desire we feel for each other. I know that this man’s going to make his mark on me, change me forever. The Iris after Elias is going to be a different woman.
"I trust you, Elias. Even if you hurt me, don't stop, okay? I want this."
He groans and the sound seems to come wrenching out of the depths of him. "Jesus, Princess. I never believed in destiny before, you know, but now I don't know what to think."
And then his fingers are again at my core, playing me like he's a maestro, dipping inside and out, stroking my clit as if it's his favorite switch. Drawing more and more of my arousal out of me, he leans down, notching his cock between our bodies and a guttural moan rips out of me.
He's hot and hard against my aching flesh and I cannot wait to feel him inside me. His chest rubs against my breasts but he's very careful not to put his entire weight on me. The woodsmoke and salt scent of him fills every breath I take, warm and dark and entirely him.
And finally, his lips find mine.
I taste myself and his desire in that kiss. It's a sweet kiss, not at all possessive or dominating, but soft, slow, as if I'm already precious to him. He licks at my lips, asking to be inside me, and I laugh against his mouth. And then his tongue is inside me, licking up every corner of my mouth, even as I can feel his head poking at my entrance.
"Give me your knee. Push it up towards your chest."
I do as he says and feel myself stretch down there. Then slowly he feeds himself inside me.
"Move," I say, putting my hands on his shoulders. "I want to watch."
He laughs. "No, Princess. No watching. Only feeling this time. Maybe next time I'll let you see how you swallow me."
"Okay," I say, falling back against the pillow.
My hair fans out beneath my head, half dried now, cool and loose against the nape of my neck. I'm hot everywhere else, burning against the sheets, and on top of me he's a deliciousweight. His hips press me down into the mattress and I can feel him. My flesh resists even after he stretched me with two orgasms and three fingers.
"Relax for me, Princess. Tell me how much you want this. Look at me."
I open my eyes and my vision is filled with Elias. The scars, the rough bristle on his cheeks, the blaze of his eyes. He's my forever man. I know this now. I know it deep in my heart.
"I love how you make me feel," I say, pushing my head up and stealing a kiss. "I love how you make me see myself, Elias, and for that—" but I don't finish the words as he pushes in with one thrust.
My torso arcs off the bed, my body almost instantly trying to eject him out, but it's not possible. It's not what I want. The urge passes and I take deep breaths.
