Page 6 of Protecting Her

I’d been sexually active a long time. Far longer than I should have been, probably, and I knew women. They slept with me because they found me attractive, or because some wanted to try to seduce me into marriage. Others knew the game and knew it was fuck and nothing more. Ember wasn’t any of those things.

I found her desirable. From the voracious way she’d eaten, to the way she’d hummed at the pleasure of a shower, to the adorable way she’d curled up on the end of the couch; she was desirable. Her body was incredible, and now that she wasn’t hidden under layers, I could see that. She had firm, high breasts, a nice curve to her waist, and wide hips with thighs a man could hang on to. But those eyes were her most desirable feature. They said things she probably hadn’t even realized she’d thought. I was in trouble, and I knew it. But for the first time in my selfish life, I didn’t run away from the trouble of her kind. I wanted to stay right where I was.

Ember

My brain was too exhausted to think. I didn’t want to be alone. In all my life, even when Mom was at her worst with the drugs, I’d not been alone. And when Graham had given me the silent treatment until my will broke and I gave in to whatever it was he wanted, I’d not been alone. Not until this week, in that room at night, terrified of what could happen because there was nobody there to keep me safe.

Even now, this stranger with seductive eyes and a kind voice was better than solitude. I’d barely spoken to anyone in the days I was on the street, and now, even if we didn’t talk, it was nice to have someone there. I was safe here, once the door was locked it would be hard for someone to get in, but I still didn’t want to be alone. That was why I gravitated toward parks so often. They were full of people and sounds.

The television on the nightly news reports, a full stomach, and the warm robe lulled me into sleep. Softly the sounds died away, my breath evened out, and I forgot how nice it was to use toothpaste and have clean teeth as sleep came for me. Everything just… faded.

Until Kevin woke me up. I startled, my arms went out to fend off whoever it was that had touched me, and a sound escaped my throat. I didn’t know what the sound was, it could have been a word, but whatever it was, the combination made Kevin jump back and say my name softly.

“It’s alright, Ember. It’s okay.” The sound of the name reminded me of where I was. I’d always hated my real name, but I did wonder what it would sound like in that old-fashioned accent of his. I bet it would sound nice growled into my ear…

I was already on my way back to sleep, but Kevin’s soft fingers on my face woke me up again. “Come on, lass, get in bed why don’t you?”

“What?” I felt my eyebrows scrunch as I looked into his eyes. So self-assured, so very certain of the world around him. I wished I had that kind of security. I’d never had it though, so there was no use wishing for it now.

“Get in bed. You need to rest.”

Something in me, some part that didn’t want to be alone, made me do something really desperate then. “Don’t leave.”

The words were a breath from my lips as my arms went around his neck, and I pulled him down to kiss him. I’d never in my life initiated a kiss. Not even with Graham. I did then though, and I wasn’t sorry either. Not when it felt so nice to have his lips on mine.

“Ember…” he said softly, as he tried to pull away.

“You don’t want me?” I asked, not an accusation, just curiosity.

“I do, but… this isn’t the right time for you.” I could see regret in his eyes and wondered if it was because he wished he could take the words back, or because he regretted what I’d done.

“I may never have the chance again. It’s the perfect time.” I pulled him down then and opened my mouth to flick my tongue along his lips.

I didn’t know what came over me. One minute I was the diminutive angel, the next a seductress, but whatever it was didn’t want to stop. I kissed him long and deep, and when his resistance caved he pressed his chest into mine to deepen the kiss, and we moaned together.

Maybe it was the fact that he seemed stable, self-possessed, confident, all of the things that Graham wasn’t. Graham had the confidence that low self-esteem gave him, bravado that could melt with the slightest word or look into rage as he tried to defend the wall he’d built around himself long before I came along. A wall that left him little more than a petulant child. But here, this man, Kevin, he was all the things a man should be, and I wanted that, if for nothing more than the moment he’d give me.

“I want this. Not because you fed me, or gave me a place to stay; this isn’t payment for services rendered. I need this. I need you.” I looked into his eyes and saw the uncertainty melt away. Something like surprise shown in his eyes, but he smothered it when he closed his eyelids and kissed me.

Then we both forgot everything except the pursuit of pleasure.

He settled between my thighs, a light pressure against my core, and I sighed into his mouth. My fingers sought to remove the crisp white button-up shirt he wore, and buttons left their holes as if that was all they’d ever wanted to do. Then his pants were gone, and silky flesh replaced the feel of silk cloth against my center. I wore only the robe and a brush of his hand made the panels open.

He didn’t just plunge into me eagerly, though that was what I expected. I’d become used to that frantic need to just get it over with, before I was left with an ache that wouldn’t be satisfied. No, this man took his time, despite being pressed into me in a very intimate place. Instead of just fucking me, he gazed down at the body he’d revealed with patient fingers.

His fingers traced the outline of my collarbone as his eyes squinted in appreciation. He looked intrigued, and I wondered if he’d ever been with a woman with some weight to her. He was delighted though, I could see it in the way his eyes lit up. I’d gained weight in Britain, and luckily, he’d saved me before I managed to lose too much of it because of Graham’s cold-hearted callousness.

He swept thoughts of the other man away when his lips touched the flat plane just below my collarbone. Gently, his fingers roamed that space until I was breathless with fascination. What would he do next?

I reached for his shoulders and my back arched when his fingers traced over a light pink nipple that had turned a darker color with my excitement. My heart pounded in my chest, and I wanted to move my hips, to force the moment when he was inside of me, but he just soothed me with a soft sound and let his lips take the place of his fingers.

Heat, wet and so good, encircled the bud, but his hands didn’t stop. They traveled down my ribs, down the right side of my waist, over my hips. For a moment I couldn’t breathe. Anticipation mixed with the pleasure he had already given me, he was going to touch me there. He was going to make me come. Things the other had stopped doing so long ago.

I could have screamed with the excitement that had started to build. This was going to be so worth it. My day had started off so bleak, but now, it might just be the best day of my life. Ever. I pulled my hips back when his hand probed between our bodies and waited, breath held. Would he really? Oh please, touch me there, please touch me there!

My brain was frantic, and so was my body as my hips curled toward him, toward that probing hand. And when he found me?

His lips tugged harder at my nipple, and I couldn’t think of anything but how good it felt to have his fingers on me. The ache inside of me built, and little sparks shot out from my center, from the spot that had been neglected far too often.