Shoulders are far away from my pants.
Shoulders are...
“Mara,” I groan as silky fingertips smooth over my biceps and remove my shirt the rest of the way.
…just as much of a danger zone as the rest of me.
Her touch the match to light me ablaze.
I’ve never wanted to think of Old Widow Hester any less than I do in this moment, but I might have to in order to keep my body in check.
Fuck.
Eyes lidded with hunger, I watch her warm brown fingers trail up my forearms. Up, up, up until they thread through my hair and drag my head down. “Wife,” I whisper before pulling her close and claiming the offering of her lips in a searing kiss. I drown in the taste of her surrender and let my hands roam the sweet curve of her hips. “I love you.”
I don’t know if she can understand the words as I murmur them into her mouth between breaths, but I need to tell her. Need her to feel how much I love her. How much I need her. My palms slide along her bottom, cupping it. So damn soft. “How about we take this pretty dress off now?”
Mara tenses for the smallest second, breath hitching. I’ve only ever helped her out of her nightgown that one night months ago when she was soaking wet from the rain. This is a new experience for both of us. But then she nods, and when her dress pools around her feet in a quiet rustle, she’sleft only in a white chemise with a matching ribbon that cinches her breasts together in the most delectable manner. She reaches for it, but I stop her.
“No. I want to do it for you.” Holding her gaze, I tug at the bit of silk, and it offers no resistance. Then there’s only a line of seven buttons separating me from what I want to see most, and if the slight trembling of my hand is as noticeable to her as it is to me, she doesn’t mention it as I undo each and every one.
And then she’s bared to me, chemise falling to join her dress.
“Jesus and all the angels,” I swear softly. My shaft lurches at the exquisite sight before me, from the rounded slope of her heavy breasts with dark brown tips to the hand shielding the treasure between her thighs. I’ve seen all of her before, of course. But not like this. Not with her lips so full and parted and her toes curled into the wooden floor as she sways with a bit of unsteadiness. Not with her wanting to give herself completely to me. “You’re so goddamn beautiful. So mine.”
I don’t give either of us time to think too much as I shed the remainder of my clothes. Freed from its cotton twill prison, my cock bobs heavily in the empty air and points like a damn arrow toward Mara’s quim.
It knows where it wants to be.
She moves into my arms, fitting her mouth to mine again, and in the next moment, we’re a tangled mess of limbs on the bed. I dare to give her more of my weight. Muscled hardness against soft woman, skin to skin. Christ, how I want to bury myself inside of her. But not yet.
“Talk to me, wife.” I nuzzle into her neck that she arches so prettily for me. “How do you feel right now?”
Her mouth brushes against my ear, her breaths coming quick and hot. “Shy. And a little scared.”
The passion of the moment cools, and I pull back to see the slight trace of worry she can’t hide. “Shyness, we can work with. But the other…is it me you’re scared of?”
“No, I know you’d never hurt me.” Mara’s dark hair hides her face as she turns from me, so I gently tuck it behind her ear and kiss the apple of her cheek. “It’s just that I can’t help remembering…the past. And I’m scared I’ll forget it’s you even though I want you so much it hurts.”
My aching heart cracks a little. I don’t expect her to miraculously forget what’s happened to her, but I hate for her sake that it might haunt her even in this sacred moment between us. “Is it because I’m on top of you? I can move. We can do something different.” I lean back, but she throws her arms around me.
“No. Stay like this. I…” Her lashes drop for a few seconds, then lift again. “I like you over me and pressing me down. It’s like you’re a…a blanket. Heavy and comforting and safe.”
“A blanket,” I muse as I ease onto her again. “Mhmm, I like that idea a lot. I’ll be your blanket, wife. Wrap you up all nice and tight with my body and hold you close.” And that’s what I do. Arms and legs caging hers so she’s held captive, movement limited even further when I slide my hand beneath her head. It’s a double edged sword, of course, being wrapped around her in a bear hug, because now the slightest tilt of my hips has me gliding over her core. “Just like this so you know it’s your husband keeping you safe.”
Mara shudders beneath me, but I know it’s from pleasure when a ragged sigh slips from her. “You feel…so good around me. Holding me.”
“So do you.” Stole the words right from my mouth, shedid, so I steal them back with a slow kiss as I hold her tight and grind against her. With her legs closed, I can’t gauge how wet she is yet. We’ve got time, though. There’s so much I want to do for her, for myself, but this is what feels right for this moment. What she needs. What we both need.
Fingers stroke across the small of my back, sending a cold shiver zinging down my spine and into my toes. Then she adds her nails, and I’m almost done for. I rasp her name, moving my hips harder against her, and she smiles against my lips before doing it again. Torturous woman. My groan is muffled by her neck, and I ensnare her hands, pinning them to the bed. Sharp alarm bursts through me the next moment when I realize what I did. With her arms and legs trapped, at least her hands were free. “Is this too much?” I scour her gaze for the truth.
“No,” she gasps. When her fingers interlock with mine, I relax. “Don’t treat me like I’m going to break. I want this, Warren. I want you.”
“I’ve never loved the sound of my name more than when it leaves these sweet lips of yours,” I murmur into her mouth. “Let’s see what else I can do to make you moan.”
Ignoring the demand of my cock to take, to claim, I ease down her body until I’m level with her breasts. Mara’s back bows as I draw a nipple into my mouth and lightly suck. A surprisingly powerful stream of milk shoots into the back of my throat, and I drink it down before moving to the other. Not too much, but enough to sate my incessant curiosity. Mildly warm with an oddly sweet note, just like the first time I’d tasted her. I come off one leaking breast with a pop before my head lowers again. “Delicious.”
Mara writhes beneath me, fingers strangling mine as if I’m her only anchor to this world. “You shouldn’t”—gasp—“do that.”
