Page 20 of A Touch of Fate

Samuel worked on my buttons in silence, and every so often, his fingers brushed my skin as he loosened the buttons.

I could feel his accidental touches in the deepest pit of my belly, wakening something I had never felt before.

When he reached the last third, I stilled.

Those buttons were positioned right over my ass, and my heart sped up when I realized that Samuel would soon see me like no one had ever seen me, half naked with only tiny lace panties.

He kept opening my dress, but his fingers lingered often now, soft against my skin.

“Done,” he said with a slightly rougher quality to his voice that I couldn’t place.

I lifted my head a few inches and peered over my shoulder at him. “Thank you.”

Samuel dragged his eyes up from where his hands still rested on my backside, half on the fabric of my dress, half against my skin. He gave a tense nod. For a moment, neither of us said anything, and my confusion rose because his expression was one I’d never seen on his or any man’s face before.

“Why don’t you turn on your back? Then I can help you out of your dress.”

My breath stilled in my throat. I could have pulled the dress down myself at this point, but I nodded and rolled over on my back.

Samuel’s eyes slid along my body before he stood and bent over me, grabbing the straps of my dress.

My breathing quickened with nerves. Samuel gazed into my eyes, noticing of course, and he didn’t look away when he slid the straps down my arms. He halted briefly before hooking his fingers under my neckline and slowly pushing the dress down.

Surprise followed by something darker flashed in his eyes when he saw that I wasn’t wearing a bra. The dress didn’t allow for one.

My nipples puckered, and goose bumps covered my body.

I resisted the urge to cover myself and lay still under Samuel’s steady gaze.

I wasn’t self-conscious about this part of my body, and his lingering attention filled me with a strange warmth.

He pushed the dress farther down along my legs until I lay before him in nothing but my panties.

His eyes traced my legs. They didn’t look different from other people’s legs, a little less in control and less muscled, but nothing was obvious when I lay like this. They filled me with insecurity anyway.

He pulled his eyes away from my body, and disappointment filled me. I’d tried to keep my expectations low so as not to be disappointed, but I’d still secretly hoped for a real wedding night.

“We should talk,” Samuel murmured.

I nodded, swallowing hard, barely able to look him in the eye. I knew what was coming. He’d now explain to me that he couldn’t be with me because he just wasn’t attracted to me. I had expected something like that. Ours wouldn’t be the first fake marriage.

I reached for my nightgown. “I can—” I was about to tell him that I could dress myself in my nightgown before we had this talk, as my nakedness didn’t serve any other purpose than to make me feel even more vulnerable. Samuel stopped my hand with a gentle touch.

I frowned at him, confused and acutely aware of his dressed state and how close to my mostly naked body he was. “You don’t have to justify yourself,” I whispered. “Don’t give me any long-winded explanations.”

Samuel narrowed his eyes in contemplation. “I’m not sure what you’re saying.”

I swallowed, feeling almost sick from embarrassment and hurt.

Did I really have to spell it out for him?

“I don’t expect you to consummate our marriage if you’re not attracted to me.

I realize men can’t just fake being attracted to someone.

” I crossed my arms over my breasts, wishing I could walk and make a quick escape.

Samuel leaned back slightly, his brows climbing his forehead. He shook his head, looking as if I’d lost my mind. “You think this talk is about me not wanting to have sex with you?”

I blinked. His half-amused, half-aghast tone threw me completely off.

“Trust me, that’s not the case, and I won’t have to fake being attracted to you.”

“Okay,” I said hesitantly. “Then what did you want to talk about?”

He ran a hand through his hair, his eyes trailing over my panties, my exposed stomach, and my hands still clutching my breasts. “I wanted to make sure I’m not taking advantage of you.”

Now it was my turn to be completely taken aback until it dawned on me what he meant. “Because I’m in a wheelchair, you worry wanting to sleep with me is taking advantage of me?”

“Maybe.” He paused, his frown deepening. “And I don’t want to hurt you. You are more vulnerable than other women, so it crossed my mind that I might have to be more careful because of your injuries.”

I bit my lip. Maybe the mostly faded scars on my back, hips, and legs had caused him to worry, and I found it incredibly touching that he was trying to make sure that I would be okay.

“You don’t have to treat me differently.

I’m not breakable, and my injuries were treated properly, so they don’t cause me much trouble anymore.

I’m not any different from other women. The wheelchair doesn’t mean I feel differently or that I don’t feel desire.

I’m your wife, a woman, a person. The wheelchair doesn’t define who I am. ”

“All right,” Samuel said in a low voice, moving a bit closer. “Then I’ll cut to the chase. I want to have sex with my wife tonight. What about you?”

Boom. I stared at him. I knew he meant me, but it took a few heartbeats to sink in. My throat became inexplicably dry. I’d fantasized about it, but I hadn’t really thought it would happen. Now that I realized it would really happen, my nerves crashed down on me. “I-I…”

“It’s okay if you say no.”

“No,” I blurted. “I mean, yes.” I shook my head, feeling a bit lightheaded.

Samuel touched my neck lightly, a gesture that calmed and excited me at the same time.

“I-I want to.”

“Don’t think. Let me handle it,” Samuel murmured, sounding reassuringly confident.

The overthinker in me protested, but for once, I didn’t listen. I only nodded. Samuel oozed control and calm.

Samuel removed his jacket with utter poise, then unfastened his gun holster and put it down on the nightstand.

He climbed on the bed, and suddenly, he leaned over me, his face taking up my vision, and his mouth came down on mine, kissing me.

Kissing me like he meant it, not hesitant and restrained, but firm and demanding, and before I could process what was happening, his tongue found mine and tasted me, teased me, filled me with a fire I had been unfamiliar with.

He climbed on top of me, his weight pressing me into the mattress, surrounding me with his warmth and scent and strength.

Flames of need licked at my belly, making me ache in a way I’d never experienced. When he finally pulled back, his breathing harsh, his eyes dark and full of desire, I felt like he’d breathed life into me. He looked at me like I was the most desirable woman on this planet.

His hand brushed my shoulder before moving to my rib cage and my hands, which were still pressed against my breasts. He looked me in the eyes as he pulled one hand, then the other away, laying me bare.

I swallowed, my breath shaky.

“You can say no any time,” he rasped. I didn’t say anything. I didn’t think I could get a word out of my tight throat. I was so nervous and excited like never before.

His gaze slid lower, down to my puckered nipples, then his thumb stroked the underside of my breast. The touch was light and gentle as his fingers traced the curve of my breasts almost reverently. He lifted his head, and his blue eyes searched mine. Did he think I’d stop him?

Even if I was nervous, even if I wasn’t sure I was ready for what he wanted, I was too high on the look of hunger on his face to leave it unfulfilled.

I stared back at him, my tongue too heavy to speak the actual words—to tell him I wanted this, I wanted him—but he must have seen it in my face, probably from years of experience with countless women. His palm covered my breast, and his mouth claimed mine once more.

His fingers teased my nipple, rubbing it between them, sending a delicious tingling through my core, which intensified with every swirl of Samuel’s tongue in my mouth. I lay motionless, not because my body forced me but because Samuel rendered me as such.

He didn’t leave me time for doubt or fear as he pulled away from my mouth and latched onto my nipple.

I let out a surprised gasp at the feel of his hot, wet tongue pressing against my nipple, circling it, of his teeth grazing my sensitive skin.

My fingers found the back of his head, holding on to him almost desperately as I gasped and trembled, completely overwhelmed.

The feel of his crisp suit against my bare arms and belly was strangely erotic.

He moved from one breast to the next before he made his way down my body, nibbling and kissing, but when he reached my hip bone, I tensed, worried he’d touch my legs, legs that weren’t as sensitive as that of others.

Samuel peered up at me as he caressed from my calf up to my thigh. I distantly felt the touch in some places, mostly my thighs, like a dull pressure, but it wasn’t strong, and in other places, I didn’t feel anything at all.

I considered faking sensations, but again, Samuel acted before I could.

His touch became firmer as he kneaded my upper thighs, and finally, I felt it everywhere, especially deep in my core, as if my head had finally caught up.

He lowered his head and pressed a kiss to my thigh as his eyes regarded my face, gauging my reaction.

I saw the kiss more than I felt it, but by seeing it, seeing Samuel’s beautiful face against my thigh, my body reacted with a flood of desire.

He bit down lightly on my skin, and I felt that in my core like a shock wave of arousal.

My eyes widened, stunned and helpless in his hands.