Page 17

Seventeen

Dash

There’s a good chance I’m dreaming.

I have to be dreaming.

There is no universe where Willow St. Claire is straddling my naked body, in my bed…

Except she is.

And I’m wide awake.

A thousand emotions rattle through me in this moment—the most beautiful woman in the world slipping out of her robe.

I watch as she tosses it aside but stop her before she can remove any more clothing.

You don’t go from zero to sixty without a little…foreplay.

Hell, I haven’t even kissed her.

But I’m about to.

“Slow down, baby.” I reach up, gently caress her soft cheek with my fingers, and she leans into my touch.

She really is beautiful. Porcelain skin, delicate features, clear blue eyes, and lips I can’t wait to taste. She’s soft and vulnerable, but also stronger than anyone I know. She took a huge chance, leaving that hospital with a stranger, and now she’s in my bed.

It annoys the fuck out of me that I can’t just lift myself up and wrap my arms around her, but I’m supposed to be careful of my hip. I have the strength to do it, but everything is still healing, and if I wind up twisting the wrong way, I could dislocate it.

And that would be bad.

So I put both hands on either side of her face and gently coax her down.

Until our faces are close.

Close enough for me to feel the warmth of her breath.

“Are you going to kiss me, Hudson?” Her voice is like silk.

“Oh, yeah.” I close the gap between us and the first touch is like dynamite. My cock is already on full alert, nestled between her still-clothed body, but even this small amount of contact is fantastic.

Our mouths move together slowly at first, feather-light kisses I want to savor. Her lips are just as sweet as I imagined and despite the growing ache in my groin, I’m in no hurry to rush things along. I also can’t remember the last time I enjoyed kissing someone this much.

I nibble her lower lip, tugging a bit before I slide my tongue along the edge, making a little trail as I explore.

Her mouth opens, inviting me in, and there’s nothing delicate about the way she kisses.

Our tongues do a heated dance, vying for dominance.

She gives as good as she gets and we’re kissing like we’ve done it a million times.

My hands travel along the curves of her frame—the indentation of her waist, the curve of her hips, and the shapely thighs currently straddling my torso.

Even in the midst of our passion, I note how careful she is around my hip.

Making sure not to put too much weight there, not rubbing too hard on that side…

and I fall a little further under her spell.

I didn’t think to ask the doctor about sex, but it’s been five weeks—and there’s no force on earth that will stop me from taking this as far as she wants it to go.

I pull away, because I can’t kiss her and look at her at the same time, and right now I need both. The top she’s wearing makes very little attempt at modesty, and I can see her nipples poking against the fabric. Her breasts aren’t large, but they’re perfect. Just like the rest of her.

I run my hands up across her flat stomach and slowly cup the soft globes in my hands. A quiet moan escapes her. I use the pads of my thumbs, rubbing them back and forth across her nipples, watching a soft pink flush work its way up her body.

“You like that, princess?”

“So much.”

Her breath hitches when I squeeze her nipples between my thumbs and forefingers, just hard enough to get a reaction. As I suspected, she likes it gentler, and that’s fine with me. I’m a big guy, so I never want a woman to feel overwhelmed by my touch—especially not Willow.

I’m enjoying the hell out of this new intimacy between us, feeling the ripple of soft muscle beneath even softer skin.

Burning desire ripples through me as I struggle to stay in control—struggle to keep from ripping off her clothes and burying myself deep inside her.

But something tells me that’s how it always is for her, and our first time…

well, our first time shouldn’t be rushed.

Our first time.

Like it’s a given there’s going to be more.

“We need condoms,” I manage to say. “In the bathroom.”

“Oh.” She looks startled for a moment but then smiles and eases off the bed.

“Under the sink!” I call to her retreating figure. Sure, I could get up and get them myself but watching her do it is more fun. The sway of her ass is delightful and?—

“Did you find them?” I ask when she doesn’t come out right away.

“I did.” She stands in the doorway holding out a line of them that she lets hang from her hand.

But I’m not focused on the fact that she’s holding about a dozen condoms.

I’m mesmerized because she’s naked.

Willow St. Claire is fucking naked.

In my bedroom.

For me.

I swallow, my eyes glued to the magnificent woman who’s currently taunting me.

“Jesus, baby…what are you doing all the way over there?”

“Waiting for an invitation.” There it is—that hint of devilish humor that’s starting to resurface more often. I love it.

“Come to bed, princess.” I hold out a hand. It feels important that she comes to me, especially this first time. I have to be a million percent sure she’s okay and feels safe and secure and…wanted. Hell, if she knows exactly how much I want her she might run anyway.

Thankfully, she sashays over to the bed, making a point of slowly dropping the group of foil packages on my chest. A laugh rumbles out of me, something I don’t often do during sex, and she cocks her head slightly.

“I love the sound of your laugh,” is all she says.

“I love the sound of yours as well.” I trail my fingers along the outside of her thigh.

“Should I get on top?” she asks, pointedly looking at my hip. “Do you think that’ll be easier for you?”

I hesitate. This isn’t a normal pre-sex conversation, but these aren’t normal circumstances either.

I like being in control, and love being in a position of power, but that doesn’t seem important with Willow.

In fact, my gut tells me I’m going to need to give over control for a while—until she’s secure in… this. Us. Me .

“Yeah, probably.” I take out a condom but she stops me.

“That’s my job,” she whispers, taking it from me and then straddling my knees. With her free hand, she wraps her fist around my cock and strokes up and down. Once, twice, squeezing harder, until I hiss out a breath.

“Too much?” she asks softly.

“No. It feels amazing.” I watch in awe as she continues stroking me, her fist pumping up and down as if she doesn’t have a care in the world. Except for the look in her eyes.

I love that it feels like I can see right into her soul. She’s so raw and open and honest, and that arouses something in me I thought would never awaken. A beast I’ve kept tamped down tightly, unwilling to risk my heart.

Until now.

“Willow…” My voice is gruff, needy.

Without a word, she slides the condom down my aching shaft and then positions herself over me. Her eyes flutter closed as she begins to sink down, and I instinctively grab her hips, stopping her from going any further.

“Babe.” It’s a command and her eyes snap to mine.

“Look at me when I fuck you.”

She shudders slightly, beautiful azure eyes filled with need.

And then she slips down. One. Fucking. Glorious. Inch. At. A. Time.

“Oh my god.” The words are a cross between a gasp and a moan as I bottom out. “ Hudson .”

“Right here, baby. Keep looking at me.” I thrust up, just a little, testing out how it feels on the new hip. I’ve done a lot in physical therapy but my cock lodged between this beautiful woman’s legs wasn’t part of any of those exercises.

This feels fine, though.

Well, it feels amazing, and also, the hip doesn’t feel like it will give me any trouble.

“What do you like, princess?”

Her eyes pin me in place. “I like you , Hudson.”

“I like you too.” Sweat beads on my forehead, my control already beginning to erode. “But right now I need to know how to get you off.”

“It’s been so long since I had an orgasm, I don’t even know.”

We stare at each other and a million emotions run through my mind—rage at the asshole ex, need to break that streak…but it’s a slender thread of humor that has me saying, “Then I guess the first one should be quick.” I roll my hips up, and she settles more firmly against my groin.

“The…first?” She seems startled for a second.

“You didn’t think there would be just one, did you?” I slide my hands up her sides, move across her breasts, and then tug her torso down as I stroke into her. “Kiss me, princess.”

And she does.

Like a woman starved.

For affection.

For an orgasm.

For me.

I recognize her hunger because I’m starving too. I just never knew it was this particular woman I was hungry for.

She grinds against me as we kiss, her pussy clenching and fluttering.

She’s already close.

And I am too.

“How does that feel, princess? You want harder, faster?—?”

Suddenly she squeezes her eyes shut, her fingernails digging into my skin as her mouth falls open.

“Hudson! There —please…oh shit… don’t stop!”

A tornado ripping through the house wouldn’t have stopped me from finishing her off. I thrust and grunt, my balls tightening, instinct taking over. She screams my name, at least two or three more times, and it’s the most beautiful sound in the world.

My woman, coming apart for me.

Her pussy milks my cock as I shatter, her body rocking over mine—the two of us completely intertwined. I don’t know where I stop and she starts, and I don’t care. She can take all of me. Anything. Everything.

Fuck .

I’m done for.

Unless and until she asks to leave, she’s fucking mine.