My hands still had so many places—so muchman—to explore for the first time. And he liked it. A lot.
Aiden never talked much, but there was no restraint in how he expressed pleasure. Deep groans of approval rumbled in his chest, and slow kisses turned hungry, his touches deliberate, intentionally sensual, a desperate heat throbbing between my thighs…
Until he captured my hand and pinned my wrist to the bed.
I froze.
The wooden beams of the ceiling shifted from swirling in light and shadow to pitch black. Fear locked my eyes shut even when a tentative kiss grazed my cheek.
“Lola?” The heaviness of him eased off my body, but I still didn’t dare breathe. “I did something wrong.”
My world stayed dark. “Please don’t be rough with me,” I pleaded.
Aiden released my wrist. “You want me to be gentle, love?” He kissed the skin in a silent apology. “I can.”
Another piece of my shattered heart glued back together. He didn’t question why I asked; he simply listened.
I opened my eyes to a soft smile.
“There’s my girl,” he said. “Can I see the rest of you now, too?”
After waiting for my nod, he unknotted the belt around my waist. But before his fingers plucked open any buttons, I eased off the sheets, a little unsteady when I stood up.
I took a step away. “I’ll just turn out the light—”
“No.” Aiden snagged my hand, and, sliding to the edge of the bed, he coaxed me to stand between his knees. “Leave the light on.”
“But I’m…” Not much. Ordinary. Too…Lola.
“You’re beautiful.”
A glimpse of his hooded eyes and flushed cheeks reassured me that he was telling the truth. He flicked off each button of my dress, starting at the very top, and nudged it open to reveal pale skin.
“God, yes. See?” His palm slid up my thigh, pulling me close enough to sigh into the bare curve of my stomach. “So beautiful. What can I do to show you? What do you like?”
Feeling braver, I swept off one shoulder of my dress, then the other, silk pooling at my feet. “I’d like it if, um…” My hands twisted behind my back, and my bra was unhooked, too.
“Tell me,” Aiden pleaded, calloused fingers finding their way under lace straps to slip my bra down my arms and to the floor. “Whisper it if you’re shy.”
I gnawed on my bottom lip. Why was this part so hard? I was already utterly exposed, wearing nothing but sheer pink knickers and a shaky smile. But my fear wasn’t just about him seeing my body; it was about all my insecurities and hopes as well.
I needed to keep being brave.
A whisper was all I could manage in the end. “I’d like it if you could use your mouth, please.”
“Such sweet manners.” Goosebumps sparked under barely-there fingertips over my breast, my stomach, my belly button, and ended with a whisper of pressure to the already damp lace between my legs. “Here, love? You want my mouth here?”
I nodded.
“God, yes,” he said. “Let me do that. Come here.”
A guiding hand brought me back to the bed, and his mouth landed on mine in a deep kiss. His belt buckle clinked. A zipper whispered open. Fabric rustled, and his pants were down, off, on the floor, with only thin layers of cotton and lace left between us.
But there was still no rush.
We melted into slow, lingering kisses, exploring each other again with unhurried care. Even the fantasies I’d barely let myself believe hadn’t prepared me for the intensity of his gaze or just how much I loved curling my fingers into the ridges of muscle along his naked back.
Breaths ragged, Aiden’s lips hovered above mine. “Do you like how I kiss you, Lola from the City?”
