Page 74 of Unapologetic Love Story

Raina finally turned to look at him properly, the two of them still sat side by side on the couch with only a dinosaur cushion between them. ‘What was it?’

‘I saw the most beautiful person I’ve ever seen in my life. I saw her laugh. The most stunning laugh. And I thought I need her to look at me like that. I need her to look at me, full stop. Or I’ll go mad.’

Raina made a small sound of misgiving.

‘No, I know,’ he said hurriedly, his accent thickening a little. ‘It sounds hideous. It sounds dramatic and stupid. But that was it. The whole room went away, Raina. All I could think was, I have to talk to her. She has to look at me. She has to see me. And I’ve never felt that in my life. Never.’

‘You’re a writer,’ Raina said, more to herself than to him. ‘You know what to say.’

‘Not about this stuff.’

His use of the word ‘stuff’ made her soften. He did look a little frantic. His eyes kept falling to her lips and her breasts and she was edging closer.

‘I felt like one of my old subjects,’ he added. ‘I finally got it. Understood the weird compulsion they all have. I thought, I’ll do anything. Say anything. Be anything. So long as she’ll look at me. And never look away.’

The words undid something in Raina. She let out her breath in a rush, while his hand slid into her hair.

‘I’ve wanted you,’ he said, his mouth almost on hers, ‘since the first moment I saw you.’

She fell into him, crawling into his lap and straddling his hips. He groaned and she sighed. She put all of her doubt and hard-earned experience to one side as she kissed him. The way she’d wanted to during that very first meeting. She’d thought about it. Fantasized about it. And often considered it to be the most likely and effective way of shutting him up.

That theory was being proven.

She slipped her tongue into his mouth as he moved his hands beneath her dress. There was no pawing from him; he was attentive as he cupped her breasts in his palms. He took control of the kiss as he caressed her, and when he finally brushed a deliberate thumb over one nipple, she shuddered and gasped against his mouth.

‘You’re so beautiful,’ he said, his words spoken on a breath. ‘I’ve never wanted anything like I want you.’

Raina moaned and leaned back. She pulled his hands to the zipper on her dress and he instantly understood the silent command. He dragged the small piece of plastic until it hit the end of the line, and the straps of her dress slid down her arms. She shrugged herself free of the garment and his mouth immediately moved to her breasts. His gentle drawing of her nipples into his mouth, as well as the occasional and intentional scrape of teeth, made her whimper and writhe in his lap.

The sting of need between her legs had now turned into a powerful ache. She rubbed against him and he made a muffled sound of euphoria. When she writhed again, purposefully trying to coax him into taking her, he gave her a very gentle bite on her neck.

‘Be good,’ he ordered gruffly.

‘No,’ she sighed. ‘We’ve waited long enough. Fuck me.’

He groaned, as if he were in agony, and pulled her mouth to his. He drank from her while she moved her hands to his belt. She’d always found men removing their belts erotic and now, as she undid his, she felt too aroused to speak. A first fuck was always exciting, but this was like nothing she’d ever felt before. She was fighting to breathe and they’d only just started.

She fell back against the sofa and pulled him on top of her. She watched as he used his hips to urge her legs apart. He was steadying his own breathing, clearly trying to seem in control. She slipped a hand beneath his waistband and he made the same helpless sound she’d heard the night before. She smiled. His control was only an illusion, and she wanted to shatter it. She draped her legs around his waist and pulled him against her.

‘You have no idea,’ he bit out, as she undid his shirt, ‘how often I’ve thought about this. Dreamed about it. Fantasized. Imagined it in vivid detail.’

‘I can imagine.’

‘Kiss me.’

She did, losing herself in the heat of his mouth. When his fingers gently slipped beneath the lace of her underwear, caressing the most sensitive part of an always sensitive body, she bucked her hips and made a desperate sound. For hers was a body that felt everything all at once. The rush of every other living thing and every sensory atom in the air. So when Tom touched her, it was almost too pleasurable to bear.

She watched the realization hit him as he stroked her. He observed how she whimpered and moaned. In the past, with other men, the knowledge of her sensitivity had turned them into mindless, greedy animals, but Raina could see wonder pass through Tom’s dark eyes. His gaze shot to hers and he was looking at her as though she were something to be worshipped.

‘Oh, sweetheart. You feel it all, don’t you?’

He continued to stroke, whispering sweet things in her ear while she half sobbed. She caught words like ‘beautiful’ and ‘perfect’ as he slipped his fingers inside her, and the sensation was so overwhelming, she almost blacked out.

‘Condom?’ she managed to gasp.

He grunted and retrieved one from the pocket of the suit trousers she’d already kicked away from his hips. Raina loved that he had it. She knew Pepper hated when men showed up with a condom ready, thinking it presumptuous.

Raina loved that he’d wanted this so badly. He was ready for it. He’d thought about them like this. Her, full of need but powerful. Him, almost shaking with desire.