Page 28 of Flare (Bearpaw Ridge Firefighters #17)

“ Holy shit, Emily.” His voice was rough with desire. “ I can ’ t believe how wet you are. You ’ re ready for me, aren ’ t you?”

“ Yes,” she moaned.

He explored her with slow care, circling her clit in a maddening tease before dipping into her folds. The friction from his callused fingers was everything she needed right now. Emily gasped and arched against his hand, her body on fire with need.

Ward watched her face intently as he worked, clearly focused on her reactions, adjusting his touch to what made her gasp and moan.

It was so different from Andrew, who had always treated her pleasure as an afterthought. Ward seemed to derive his own pleasure from hers, kissing her with each sound she made.

When he finally slid one thick finger inside her, then used his thumb to circle her clit, Emily cried out. He added a second finger, curling them to hit a spot that had her seeing stars. Her hips moved in rhythm with his hand, chasing the exquisite pressure building inside her.

“ That ’ s it,” Ward encouraged, his voice a husky whisper. “ Come for me, Emily.”

The combination of his skilled fingers and the raw desire in his voice pushed her over the edge. Pleasure crashed through her in waves, and she buried her face against his neck to muffle her cries as she pulsed around his fingers.

Ward worked her through the aftershocks, only withdrawing his hand when she became too sensitive. He kissed her temple, her cheek, the corner of her mouth.

“ You ’ re so beautiful,” he murmured.

Emily felt his hard length pressing against her thigh.

“ I want you,” she said, her voice thick with need. “ Please, Ward. I want you inside me.”

She reached between them to cup him through his pajama bottoms. Ward ’ s breath hitched.

Then he grimaced. “ Emily, I can ’ t .” He caught her hand as she tried to slip it beneath his waistband. “ Believe me, I want to, more than anything. But I can ’ t go all the way with you.”

“ Why not?” she asked, confusion temporarily overriding her desire.

“ It ’ s my bear.” Ward closed his eyes and exhaled. “ If we have full-on sex, it might… no, it would definitely try to mate you. And I won ’ t do that to you, not after everything you ’ ve been through with Andrew. Not until you ’ re ready… if you ever are.”

Gratitude washed through her, along with a fresh wave of desire for this man who respected her enough to deny himself.

“ Thank you for telling me.” She nuzzled his throat, her nose scraping the bristles of his short beard. “ But there are other things we can do, you know.”

She slid her hand beneath the elastic of his pajama bottoms and wrapped her fingers around his hot, rigid shaft. Ward ’ s eyes closed again, and a shudder ran through his body.

“ Emily,” he groaned. “ You don ’ t have to—”

“ But I want to,” she assured him, thrilling at the hard, velvety length in her hand. “ I want to make you feel good too.”

She wriggled and kissed her way down his body, tugging at his pajama bottoms as she went. Ward lifted his hips to help her, and she pulled them down, revealing his long, thick cock.

“ Yum,” she purred as she took him in her hand again and stroked him slowly from base to tip.

“ Don ’ t stop,” he begged.

When she lowered her head and took his magnificent cock into her mouth, Ward made a sound that was half groan, half growl.

His hand came to rest gently on the back of her head, not pushing, just maintaining contact.

Emily loved watching his face as she pleasured him—the way his eyes darkened, how his lips parted on each ragged breath, the flush that spread across his chest. He was so responsive, so unguarded. It made her feel powerful in the best possible way.

The entire time, he never stopped stroking her hair.

“ Emily,” he warned a short time later. His voice sounded strained. “ I ’ m close.”

She only worked him harder with her lips and tongue as Ward ’ s hips bucked beneath her. His fingers tightened in her hair, and then he was coming, his body shuddering as he shot his release into her mouth. He tasted of clean musk and salt.

Emily stayed with him through his climax, only pulling away when he relaxed back into the mattress, panting.

She swallowed and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand as Ward reached for her, pulling her up to lie in his arms. “ That was incredible,” he said, his voice still rough.

“ And you ’ re still hard,” she noted.

Andrew had been the same way. He always wanted to have sex until she was too sore to continue.

“ It ’ s a shifter thing,” Ward said, confirming her guess.

Before she could respond, he was pulling up her sleep tee, leaving her only in panties.

“ My turn,” he said, looking up at her with heated eyes. “ If you ’ re up for more.”

“ You don ’ t have to—”

“ I want to,” he said, echoing her earlier words. “ I ’ ve been dreaming about your incredible breasts since that first kiss.”

He rolled her onto her back, and set about worshipping her with his mouth and fingers. She loved having her nipples played with, and he seemed to love playing with them. It wasn ’ t long before she was arching off the bed and moaning as he teased her with tongue and teeth.

She was a quivering bundle of pure need by the time he raised his head and growled, “ I want to taste you. Can I lick your pussy until you scream for me?”

“ Oh God, yes.” She lifted her hips, and Ward yanked her panties down her legs, tossing them over the side of the bed.

He settled between her thighs, his broad shoulders spreading her legs wide. The first touch of his tongue against her had her gasping.

“ You smell delicious and taste even better than I imagined,” he told her.

Then he devoured her with the same focused attention he ’ d shown with his fingers, learning what made her tremble and what made her cry out. When he sucked her clit while sliding two fingers inside her, Emily ’ s back arched off the bed and she literally saw stars.

The climax that ripped through her was even more intense than the first, leaving her trembling and breathless.

“ Good girl,” Ward said from between her legs. “ You ’ re gorgeous when you come, you know that?”

He brought her up to the edge and pushed her over again and again, until she was boneless and sated, her throat raw from crying out his name. She ’ d never come so hard or so often in her life.

When she was completely wrung out, he moved back up her body and gathered her in his arms. Emily curled against him, her head resting on his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart.

The intense fear that had gripped her earlier was completely gone, replaced by a deep sense of peace and safety.

“ Rest now,” Ward whispered, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. “ I ’ ve got you.”