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After a much needed mental berating, I remind myself that negative thoughts have no place in my life anymore. Bear has been nothing but kind and gentle with me, I don’t know why I expect anything different in this situation.
Actually, I do. It’s because the one person at Master’s house I thought I could trust was just playing games with me, like everyone else.
But that’s just another thought that isn’t going to help me right now…
I’m safe. I’m free. I’m in the arms of the most amazing man who ever existed. Sighing, I begin to lightly trail my fingers across Bear’s chest, gradually moving lower toward his stomach, where the light line of curls leads down into his underwear.
Tentatively, I slide my finger beneath the waistband, slowly moving from side to side. He’s already hard, it’s impossible to miss, but it doesn’t scare me as I continue to explore him. He doesn’t make a move, allowing me to take this at my own pace, but his breaths get heavier when my hand gets lower and grazes against his solid length.
As if he can’t control himself, his chest rumbles, vibrating against my head, and his palm on my back gets firmer, his gentle touch more of a soft massage now.
“Oh, fuck.” He groans as I wrap my hand around him and push down. I pause when he turns to face me, my head now against his bicep. The look in his eyes says a thousand things and I can almost decipher a few, but mainly that we’re on the same page. And that sends relief shooting through my body with a jolt of fear for what’s to come. In the best possible way.
The idea that this is the equivalent of my first time makes it all seem natural and right. I choose him. I choose this moment. Even though I’ve been with more men than I can mentally handle, this will be the first with my consent. I can’t even explain how liberating it feels.
Bear searches my eyes for I don’t know what before he asks, “You sure about this, Baby Girl?”
I nod. “Yeah. I’m sure.” He grins when I remember to use my words, and it’s like he’s trying to memorize every inch of my facebefore he finally leans forward, kissing me like I’ve never been kissed, owning me heart, mind, body, and soul.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Bear
“Tell me what you like.” Our gazes still locked, I see the confusion in the slant of her brows and the way her eyes search out mine.
“What do you mean?” Her honesty makes me happy. It soothes the deepest parts of me. “I like touching you.”
“Hmm, Baby Girl, you can touch me anytime, anywhere, but that’s not my question. I wanna know what makes you feel good,” I whisper against her mouth, my lips grazing hers like a small prayer.
“I don’t know. I’ve never felt good before. Well, except when you kiss me, that’s definit—” Pulling her head back, I angle her mouth so I can cut off her words with one of the kisses that make her feel good. If I have one job in my life, it’ll be this one. Pleasing her. Pleasuring her. Making her feel like she’s the only thing that matters.
With one hand pressed against her ass, I pull her impossibly closer. I’m aware that it makes it difficult for her to touch mycock but that’s not the point. No one can go through life without knowing what sexual pleasure is all about. The fact that she doesn’t know it means they never allowed it and it takes every ounce of my self-control not to get up and punch a wall… or ten. Ideally, I want to kill the motherfuckers who hurt her all over again.
One of my thighs slides between her legs and the full-body shiver that overcomes me is the direct result of her moaning into my mouth. We’re perfect together and I can’t wait for her to find out.
“Oh, that’s…” I do it again until I feel her wetness seeping through her leggings and dampening my skin. It’s not enough, I need more.
“I’mma need you to take those off, Baby Girl. I wanna feel your cum on my skin.” My crude words could be a trigger for her, but it’s time to start the healing process. I want to build new memories that will incinerate all of her traumatic ones to ashes, blowing in the proverbial wind.
“Okay.” With lightning speed, she shimmies out of her clothes, taking the initiative to get rid of the shirt—my shirt—as well. I make a mental note to remind her how much I love knowing she’s wearing me all damn day. But right now, I have more important lessons to teach her.
My gaze travels from her lips to her neck, pulling back just enough to take in the rest of her. Her scars make her real, somehow. Some of them will have faded while others will remain, and I will make sure she’s never ashamed of them. These scars brought her to me, they tell the story of her and how she survived. Who the fuck needs superheroes when you’ve got Athena, goddess of war, fighting her own battles and slaying her demons.
“I can’t make them go away.” My gaze shoots back up to her eyes, expecting to find sadness or shame. Instead, I’m met withresilience. She’s not apologizing for her scars, she’s telling me that either I accept them or I move on. I don’t mean to, but my tongue tsks against my front teeth like I’m scolding her for even thinking this shit.
“I don’t want you to. Wear them proudly. You went to war and you won.” My hand palms her ass cheek and my fingers dig into her flesh, knowing she doesn’t have any injuries there. “I want you, Athena. Scars and all.”
“Well, I guess you could show me about that pleasure now.” She’s getting bolder by the minute and it’s beautiful to watch.
Leaning back, I shed the remainder of my clothing, chucking them behind me without a second thought. We are skin to skin, the heat from her body fueling my hunger for her. I don’t think I could ever get enough of this, of her.
As her breaths get shallower, my dick gets harder, pressing firmly against her stomach and begging to be touched.
But this isn’t about me. My sweet, resilient Athena is the star of this show and I’m about to blow her mind.
Flipping us over with a jerk of my hips, I lift her by the hips and place her pussy directly onto my face, inhaling the sweet, tangy scent of her like an obsessed madman.
“Oh gods, Bear. What are you do—” I cut off her protests as my mouth slides against her pussy lips, soaked with her cum and teasing my sanity with her scent. In an instant, she’s putty in my hands.