“Please,” she whimpered, rocking against that hard ridge pressed right where she wanted him and yet not close enough.
Those fingers gripping her hips tightened. “I need you to use your words, babydoll. Be more specific.”
“Show me,” she whispered, letting her fingers drift down his sculpted chest to hover at the waistband of his sweatpants. “How it should be. I want you so badly it hurts. Please, Thunder, give me … you.”
“Be very sure, babydoll,” he ordered, his body taut with control beneath her. “Be sure you know what you want, what you're getting yourself into. It might not be fair of me to force you to decide when your whole world has once again been flipped on its head, but if you give yourself to me, that’s forever. I won't be able to let you go, babydoll. I'm not strong enough to do that.”
Chapter
Fifteen
March 4th
4:35 A.M.
She was going to say no.
Backtrack.
What else would a woman who had lived through what Maya had say when he’d just told her that the only way he’d have sex with her was if she agreed to be his forever?
That wasn't what he meant. Well, it was, but he also should have mentioned that in return, he’d give her every single one of his broken pieces. Maybe she’d do a better job at putting him back together than he’d done with himself.
It would definitely be better if she said no and pulled back, although it was unfair of him to put the burden of being the smart one, the responsible one, on her. That was a burden he should carry, but when it came to this woman, all common sense seemed to fly right out of his head.
“Okay,” Maya whispered in that soft, raspy voice that was without a doubt the most beautiful sound he had ever heard.That she had chosen him to be the first person to hear it in so many years was a gift he’d treasure for the rest of his life.
Along with the gift of her body that she was so freely offering him.
“Are you sure?” Thunder asked, clinging desperately to the last shreds of his self-control. If she were anyone else, she’d already be naked and spread out before him like a feast to be devoured. But she wasn't anyone else. She was Maya, and that made her special.
Doubt crept into the pretty gray eyes that just moments ago had been heated with desire. “Yes, unless you?—”
Before she could finish that offensive sentence, he had his mouth on hers, kissing away that doubt before it could fester. In the years since he and his team had moved into this mansion, he had only been with a handful of women. One night stands he’d pick up at one of the local bars. None of those women meant anything to him so he’d never spent much time worrying about their mental state. As long as they consented, wanted a night of hot sex as much as he did, then that was as deep as it went for him.
Sure, he’d make certain they enjoyed themselves, got off multiple times, but he’d never felt this driving need to take care of their mind as well as their body. It would take some time to get used to this different dynamic, to make sure he was attentive to every one of his girl’s needs, and not just the most obvious.
“Want you more than I can put into words, babydoll,” he whispered against her lips when he had to pull back enough to let her take a breath. “And what I should have added before is that I want to give you all of me. I know it’s not much, but?—”
The most adorable little growl cut him off, and Maya actually pouted at him. “It’s a lot. It’s everything,” she insisted.
Something settled inside him. Reality was that his broken pieces didn't come close to being worth as much as Maya, butthat she was giving him a chance meant more to him than she’d ever know.
“My room or yours?” he asked, readying himself to pick her up.
“Here,” Maya answered instead.
“Going to be too cold once I strip these clothes off your sweet body.” He might be able to withstand the chill, but Maya didn't have his enhanced ability to deal with temperatures.
“I don’t care. I want to be here. Outside, with the forest all around us, with the stars and moon looking down at us. I want to feel the cold air on my skin, to know I'm free, to be safe here in your special place,” she told him earnestly.
Whatever his girl wanted, she got.
Pressing his lips to the slender column of her neck, he sucked and nibbled as he unbuttoned her coat and slipped it off, laying it down on the wooden boards that made the platform of his treehouse. At least he could make it a little more comfortable for her.
Her sweater came off next, and since he hadn't put a bra on her when he dressed her in her room before bringing her outside, her perfect breasts were bared to him. There was no way he could look at them and not touch and taste them.
“So beautiful,” he murmured as he brushed his fingers along her ribcage, making her shiver. Since she was still sitting on his lap, with his erection pressed against her hot center, his length jumped when she rocked her hips, and he had to shove back his own desire as far as he could, so he didn't embarrass himself and come too soon.
